Keane: We Need to Do Better at Set Pieces
Wednesday, 6th Oct 2010 10:14

Town manager Roy Keane says he is looking for his players to score more often from set pieces and says his midfield players need to chip in with their fair share of goals, particularly when the Blues are operating with a lone striker.

Keane said: “I think we can do a lot better at set pieces. You see other teams - Stoke last Sunday, for example - they had two set pieces against Newcastle and won 2-1.

"I’m happy with that or a 1-0. In terms of clean sheets we’ve looked pretty solid. I don’t think any team other than QPR has done a good job on us.

“Aside from that, we’ve not looked like we want to give away much, but of course when we go forward we’ve got to take our chances.”

Keane, who has generally played one lone central striker this season, says that it’s not so much about the number of opportunities which are being created but the quality of those chances: “It doesn’t concern me in terms of the system and how we’re set up.

“We’re not scoring as many as we’d like, but we didn’t score as many as we’d like last year and we played two up front in a lot of games then.

“It’s about creating those clear-cut chances. At Scunthorpe in the second half, we couldn’t have created clearer chances than one or two that we had there."

The Blues boss says he’s generally happy with his frontmen: “We’ve got to take it easy with Connor, but in terms of Tamás and Jason I think they’ll score goals for us.

“You’ll always want more from different players and, particularly when we play one up front, it’s up to the two widemen and the two lads in the middle of the park to get forward and get goals. It’s not illegal. I won’t be too upset if my midfielders get me double figures.

“Sometimes that's the sacrifice you make for your one striker, you find that he’s linking play up and it’s the other lads who have got to be getting in behind teams. It’s not just on the strikers to score goals.”

Meanwhile, Keane has again been named as English football’s second richest manager behind England boss Fabio Capello in FourFourTwo’s annual Football Rich List. Keane’s wealth, largely earned during his time as a Manchester United player, is estimated at £28 million.

Photo: Action Images

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BobbyRobson added 10:41 - Oct 6 Does this mean our corner will no longer be headed away at the front post?
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SWGF added 10:47 - Oct 6 "Roy Keane says he is looking for his players to score more often from set pieces" - difficult for anyone to score from our abysmal set piece delivery. Offer Dagenham a few thousand for Darren Currie!
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sussexblue added 10:48 - Oct 6 I take it you are assuming Leadbitter will actually get the ball as far as the front post !!!!
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haynes_is_a_ledgend added 11:03 - Oct 6 well our corners are just crap so work on it!!! leadbitter is just gredy and has to have everything, Townsend seems better and edwards just do not play the sort ball
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Big_Foot_Blue added 11:11 - Oct 6

Hallelujah! I always wondered if the staff realised that us scoring from a freekick or dare I say those dreaded words "an ITFC corner" is about as common as pigs flying. However It seems that they do realise our corners have only ever got past the 1st man once this season and that was when it hit the side netting instead! They may not be able to improve the standard of our set-pieces but at least we know their trying which is the important thing in life.

dirtydingusmagee added 11:19 - Oct 6 strikes me as odd they need to be told !
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naa added 11:30 - Oct 6

A big problem (other than delivery) is the lack of height in our team. Without Wickham McAuley is the only guy with any presence (and he's not that tall), so not too hard to mark up the one danger man at set pieces.

As for midfielders chipping in with goals. The reason this season is the same as last, the midfield sit too deep. RK has to decide if he wants us to be defensively solid or adventurous going forward. There's a happy medium somewhere but at the moment we're definitely playing it safe. Scotland is very isolated up front most of the time.

We have attacking players in the midfield who are capable, but I had assumed that they were under instruction to not get too far up the pitch, but now RK is suggesting that isn't the case. So why are they sitting so deep?

brian_a_mul added 11:42 - Oct 6 I wonder if Leadbitter and Norris are sitting deep to protect/support Hyam in his holding role. Now that Luke has some experience and confidence maybe we will see the other two push on up a little bit more.
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WadzillaBhoy added 11:44 - Oct 6 With players like Townsend, Livermore, Peters and Edwards in mid you can afford to sit deep as with their speed you can hit your opponents on the break.
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Big_Foot_Blue added 12:00 - Oct 6

I would say that us having a small team is a little unkind. Admittedly when they come out the tunnel most other teams make us looks like dwarfs but we do have a few tall guys in there. Delaney and Smith are no midgets and Fulop is 6ft 5" but unfortunatly cant use that at corners. However our problem isn't the height it is the delivery. Not only does it rarely get past the 1st man but if it does it NEVER reaches a blue shirt! We are the only team I know who can concede a goal within 30 seconds of getting a corner! We've done it several times in the last few years (QPR were the last team to do that) and we must get it sorted!

If we can take corners and the midfield chip in a few goals then Play-Offs here we come!

OldClactonBlue added 12:17 - Oct 6 I suggest RK bans Leadbitter from taking corners then, maybe even leave him out all together. He rarely passes forward to anyone in our team, Livermore must have more assists already. Quality of delivery is the key to success at set plays, ours is awful.
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Deano69 added 12:20 - Oct 6

Height is only a small factor from corners and set pieces, blimey, look how many headers Jaime Peters wins. It is all about delivery, it comes to something when you would rather have a wickham/edwards throw than a corner!!
There always seems a level of anticipation from a corner from the crowd, but quickly followed by a sigh and groan. Last season short corners seemed to be in vogue (still with no success) perhaps this was because we couldnt get a ball past first man.......??

bluepeter added 12:28 - Oct 6 How many teams have beaten us with a last gasp cornerin the dying minutes over the past few seasons. Why can't WE do that to other teams? I am glad the weakness has been recognised at last and hope to see improvement.
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Big_Foot_Blue added 12:31 - Oct 6 Good point Bluepeter, even Burnley got a draw with clark carlisle header from a corner against us. Would be nice if we could score from one for a change
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J45 added 12:32 - Oct 6 at last
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BlooooCD added 12:35 - Oct 6 Yep! All the above are spot on... Leadbitter would be better placed on the edge of the box as he can drive them in with some pace. I woudl opt to hand the responsibility of corenrs and freekicks to edwards or someone else that can be more effective!
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Bergholtblue added 12:38 - Oct 6 Whilst I rate Leadbitter as a strong tackling midfielder, it is beyond me how every corner and free kick outside the box has to be taken by him. he did it last year and is doing again this year, surely RK can see his delivery is poor. Why doesn't he tell him to let someone else take them?
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gazza3967 added 12:41 - Oct 6 At last . RK has realised that he's wonder kid Leadbitter cant take a bloody corner.
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whymark4lazio0 added 12:52 - Oct 6

It seems to me that in every match we have at least one corner where the ball goes sailing over the top of everybody and goes for a goal-kick or throw-in on the other side or is picked up by our opponents. This is usually followed by somebody saying "Why don't we make sure we have somebody beyond the back post making sure his the last man to pick up these over hit corners?"
I think back to Tony Adams who, as a corner was being taken, would run to the near post and then peel off to the back post to get a free header (think he scored like this in the cup against us at PR).
So coaching experts- is there any reason not to have one person whose job at corners is to make sure he's the last man?

comeonthegoodtimes added 13:06 - Oct 6

mmm, it's seem to me that its a bit of a no brainer.
We have townsend on one wing and normally edwards on the other, There job is to run the last man and get crosses in for our strikers. They seem to do this in a match so why not let one take them from one side and the other from the other?
They can obviously cross the ball hense being wingers so it makes perfect sense to me to give them the corners. It seems to me that the more grant takes a bad corner or makes a bad pass that his confidance gets knocked even more and it shows in his general play at the minute. Let him consintrate on being the midfield genteral alongside Chuck and hyam/livermore and leave the corners to the wide boys.
Leave the likes of Peters,Hyam/livermore and O'Dea/Kennedy at home and give our attacking boys something to attack. This is not a knock at leadbitter just an observation that clearly everyone has made and to let him get some confidance back in his game.......We have the players to do it it's just getting the right players to do the right jobs at the minute....

COYB

TractorRoyNo1 added 13:07 - Oct 6 leadbitter's corners are dreadful, kennedy is out best 'dead ball' man
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Help added 13:15 - Oct 6

well accuse me of being basic, but the answer liesin the question. We the fans know what happens at corners. So why are the boys not practicing this:

Leadbitter takes corner, goes to man on front post who nods it away. ITFC players strategicaly positioned just outside box knocks ball back into danger area. Goal. Simple.

If you let someone else take the corners the above example will not happen, so know need for leadbitter to strategicaly position himself there because anyone else taking the corners will get it past the first defender.

Simples!

Optimistic_Mark added 13:19 - Oct 6 What happened to Mark Venus ? Maybe we could get him back to take the corners as I seem to remember he could take a corner that made it past the 6 yard box and had enough pace on it to be a problem for the defenders (so my Dad tells me!) The other option is to ask if Wickham can throw the ball instead of Leadbetter kicking it !!!
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