Long Goal Kicks

How about we take some short ones? When you are going without any real possession for ten minutes, something is very badly wrong. Yet we persist with long goal kicks and I would say the other team is coming away with possession more than 9 out of 10 times. Our team isn't particularly good in the air and it is terribly predictable. When the other team is on top of you, sometimes just playing around a few non-threatening passes can slow their momentum. If they start pressing you and you need to send it long, at least you have sucked 3-4 of their players away.

When we do play it short often we make a poor pass infield and end up losing the ball. The problem for us is that we are to slow on the ball, often taking 2 or 3 touches to bring the ball under control and then we have the lack of movement from the support players. Saw yesterday the support players running straight lines(often 3 in a row) which gave the player with the ball, no angles to pass the ball.

You have to set the team up to play out from the keeper. They have to work on it at training, as said above it looks like it's something we haven't done a lot of work on. Maybe next season!

Implement the new strategy when Riera comes back

I think our set pieces in general suck hairy donkey balls. I know Stein isn't a great header of the ball but he's our leading scorer this year and one of our bigger players, but he takes corners. Would rather see him in the box looking to tap home a rebound. His delivery hasn't looked good enough to justify his taking them. Carlos doesn't seem to want to back himself with shots on freekicks and even our general positioning is a bit all over the place. Basically we just look like we hit and hope every time rather than having any plan.

Frustrating because set pieces are easy to practice and plan for and if you get them right they are great goalscoring chances.

Just on this...stats prior to last round

What does the "Set Play" column mean? It's not for free kicks.

Actually maybe it's kickoffs? Or indirect free kicks?

I think it means direct free kick but one that doesn't go directly in ie cross and score a header.

The column name isn't very good for dir free kick.

Maybe short corners and goals that come from free kicks that aren't diretly scored?

I don't seem to remember the Phoenix ever being good at Corners.

My memory of other set pieces is a bit cloudy, just remember always moaning about our corners..

Maybe just a plan? I am not sure there currently is one.

I have always wondered why we get excited when we win a corner. Must be three years since we have scored from one

Fair enough. Buggered if I can remember them.

Once was Kenny's goal in the 90th against Sydney to tie the game up.

The other may have been Duras penis against Perth in Chch?

Wasn't that a freekick?

There was Leo's 40 yarder in the rain but other thanthat, how many goals have we scored directly from a free kick in our history? Must be less than 5.

I rate Jason Hicks as a corner taker.

He was floating in some menacing balls when we played West Sydney at home late last year.

More of that, please!

Menacing balls? Hmm. Nah, too easy....

didnt siggy score from a corner this season?

Nope, Siggy hasn't scored at all this season.

Gonna go out on a limb and say that Siggy won't score this season.

I'm gonna go out on another limb and say that Moss won't either.

My limb is safer than yours ;)

I will be on the safest Limb of All.... Vinnie will not score this season!   Beat that

I'm picking that this would need to extend to next season before any of us were in any trouble at all actually.