Training defensive set pieces

[NeoGeo7 10,560]

While looking at who we are bringing in (potentially) at the back I was thinking it should help with set pieces but in training you'll have an attacking side and a defending side.

To improve you generally have to test yourself against better opposition so it got me thinking about what the defending side would have to contend with when training set pieces. We all know that we don't like to send free kicks and corners into the box for someone to challenge in the air so how can the defending side be tested if the attacking side is not that great?

You imagine our defenders having to cope with a Hateley, Gough, Amoruso, Prso etc. etc. when having to defend a corner in training. It's a lot different from having to deal with players who are better on the deck than they are in the air.

Garner and Senderos/Lescott would certainly add another 2 people who are good in the air so it might just help out a bit for practising set pieces where we are attacking and defending aerial balls.

[graeme_4 34,684]

Might do. 

Could bring Kevin Kyle back in too. 

[Essandoh 21,224]

I'd pay to watch how we prepare for defending set pieces in training, I really would. It's dreadful to watch in games.

[STEPPS BOY 74,232]

All about players taking responsibility.

If you get a man to mark then defend like your life depends on it.

Dont get pushed out road or turn your back like a nonce..

[Scottywellhousetb 50,613]

33 minutes ago, Essandoh said:

I'd pay to watch how we prepare for defending set pieces in training, I really would. It's dreadful to watch in games.

I don't think you need to pay m8 it's pretty straight forward 

1- Every cunt stand about pointing.

2- Don't mark anyone.

3- If an opposition player jumps, do not under any circumstances jump as well.

4- If it ends in tears blame Rob Kiernan.

[Sweetheart 8,458]

36 minutes ago, Essandoh said:

I'd pay to watch how we prepare for defending set pieces in training, I really would. It's dreadful to watch in games.

That's actually a good idea to raise funds for Rangers charity foundation

[graeme_4 34,684]

We've mostly a team of small, technical and talented players, with only 2 or 3 normal starters who hit 6 foot.  We're up against a lot of teams with limited ability, but physical hardworking guys. 

Would you sacrifice our style of play for a more physical presence? I certainly wouldn't. Under Ally the likes of Jig, Moshni or Darren McGregor weren't often beaten in the air, but could hardly string two passes together at times. 

And the highly technically gifted AND physically imposing players are the Ibramhimovic, Pogba and Ronaldos of this world. 

[Sweetheart 8,458]

53 minutes ago, graeme_4 said:

We've mostly a team of small, technical and talented players, with only 2 or 3 normal starters who hit 6 foot.  We're up against a lot of teams with limited ability, but physical hardworking guys. 

Would you sacrifice our style of play for a more physical presence? I certainly wouldn't. Under Ally the likes of Jig, Moshni or Darren McGregor weren't often beaten in the air, but could hardly string two passes together at times. 

And the highly technically gifted AND physically imposing players are the Ibramhimovic, Pogba and Ronaldos of this world. 

A question I think needs answering is which opponent players in this league are likely to cause a problem. Is the problem because they are technically better or are a more physically imposing player. If we can't overcome them with what we have, we need to get someone in who can.

[TMB 14,167]

Warburton's Brentford side were criticised by the chairmen for the lack of quality in the second-pieces.  After Warburton left a specialist coach was brought in to teach the set-piece routines.  Gianni Vio is a class act at this and I wish we could find someone like this to bring to our club.

Brentford are the Championship's set-piece innovators with unusual free-kick routines: http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11748/10121492/brentford-are-the-championships-set-piece-innovators-with-unusual-free-kick-routines

Video of him coaching a corner routine:

 

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In 2014/15 only two teams scored fewer goals from set-pieces in the Championship than Brentford. The percentage of their goals scored from those routines was the lowest in the division.

So far in this campaign, following Vio's summer arrival from AC Milan, only five Championship teams have scored more than Brentford's 10 set-piece goals. Twenty-seven per cent of their goals have come from dead-ball situations, which puts them in the top half of the league in that category.

It's a substantial improvement - and stems from the mind-set of club owner Matthew Benham.  

[Leeds_Bear 8,112]

5 minutes ago, THE_MIGHTY_BEARS said:

Warburton's Brentford side were criticised by the chairmen for the lack of quality in the second-pieces.  After Warburton left a specialist coach was brought in to teach the set-piece routines.  Gianni Vio is a class act at this and I wish we could find someone like this to bring to our club.

Brentford are the Championship's set-piece innovators with unusual free-kick routines: http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11748/10121492/brentford-are-the-championships-set-piece-innovators-with-unusual-free-kick-routines

Video of him coaching a corner routine:

 

Bar the goal, those set pieces were all shite. Would love to know the stats of how many goals they scored/conceded via set pieces vs us. 

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Just now, Leeds_Bear said:

Bar the goal, those set pieces were all shite. Would love to know the stats of how many goals they scored/conceded via set pieces vs us. 

Apparently there's been a significant improvement since Warburton left and the success is attributed to the new specialist coach. 

[TMB 14,167]

Here's an old article on Gianni Vio

AC Milan seeking set-piece mastery with Gianni Vio

AC Milan have hired renowned set-piece specialist coach Gianni Vio in an attempt to improve their efficiency in dead-ball situations, which was one of the weaker aspects of the team last season. 

Formerly of Catania and Fiorentina, Vio has a reputation for being one of the best, if not the best dead-ball strategist in Europe.

With a sole focus on the attacking side, Vio will be tasked to work with at AC Milan, with the team boasting of a modest record in dead-ball situations during the 2013/14 Serie A season.

Of the 57 goals scored by AC Milan last season, 26% of them (18) came from set-pieces, the equal-fourth best record in the league. Of them, six came from corners, five from direct free kicks, four from indirect free kicks and three from penalties. Serie A Champions Juventus boasted of the best record for set-piece goals in the league with 23.

AC Milan mostly scored from open play (66%), but when you consider that between 40-50% of opportunities at goal come from dead-ball situations, there is clearly much scope for improvement.

“The thing I liked the most is the enthusiasm with which [Filippo] Inzaghi asked me to come and work at Milan,” he told the club website.

“Now my focus is on getting to know the players better, how they play and their characteristics.

“I have always focused on attacking dead-ball situations, we are lucky enough to have Tassotti on the defensive part.”

Vio is lucky to have two of Italy’s great set-piece specialists in Mario Balotelli and Riccardo Montolivo, with Keisuke Honda also quite handy with the dead-ball.

Balotelli, should he remain with the club, is a deadly direct free-kick tacker, while Montolivo and Honda’s strengths are at the corners and should be utilised effectively by the new coach.

AC Milan are very much a ‘work in progress’ under Inzaghi, and while the club and their fans are not used to that tag, they are going to have to be patient and potentially endure a rough patch in the near future.

The fact of the matter is that AC Milan are no longer the European powerhouse that they aspire to be, and that does not sit well with the board, fans and players alike.

If all are patient with coaches like Vio there is a chance of huge rewards for the Rossoneri however, as evidence might show by the tactician’s coaching history.

When he arrived at Catania in 2008, he made the set-piece the hallmark of their game, with the fans dubbing him ‘Il Maghetto’ or the Little Wizard. Vio sets out in making the set-piece one of the grand illusions of football, with dummy runners, blocks or false walls put in place in order to create a chance.

At Fiorentina he produced much of the same, getting the best out of the likes of Gonzalo Rodiguez, Stefan Savic and Facundo Roncaglia in attacking set-piece situations, and making it a strength of the Viola game.

Creating new routines all the time, Vio has written several books, among them a book called “Dead-balls: the 15-goal striker,” with the title mirroring the description of Vio by former Catania coach Walter Zenga. “He isn’t just a free-kick wizard. He is like having a 15- or 20-goal striker in the team,” Zenga stated. “A 20-goal a season player can get injured. He can get suspended. But there are set-pieces in every game. Always. And he knows how to exploit them best. He’s very skilled at it. He manages to get players scoring who otherwise wouldn’t score.”

He brings an unorthodox methodology to set-pieces by using the art of deception rather than plain structures. Vio’s aim is to disorientate the opponents and catch them by surprise, and the surprise factor will be crucial to an AC Milan side that has been so predictable in front of goal last season.

Many AC Milan fans have grown very skeptical of any signings the club now makes, and rightly so, but this man will in no doubt have a profound impact on the club’s use of set-piece situations.

Football’s version of David Copperfield he might be, but there is not doubting that his work is very much ‘real’.

http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2014/08/ac-milan-seeking-set-piece-mastery-with-gianni-vio/

[Leeds_Bear 8,112]

Just now, THE_MIGHTY_BEARS said:

Apparently there's been a significant improvement since Warburton left and the success is attributed to the new specialist coach. 

Has there? Like I say I'd love to see the stats. All conjecture otherwise.

[TMB 14,167]

Technical staff acquisitions

Bartek Sylwestrzak is a free kick coach who was originally with the youth side, but has recently been promoted to the first time. Some of Bartek’s excellent work is public and can be found on his personal website here and on his Youtube here. My favourite video is shown below.

What stands out about Bartek is his focus on developing the one repeatable aspect of the game – kicking. Many of his tutorials focus on hitting a ball with top spin instead of the usual side-spin. Side-spin depends on gravity to pull the ball towards the ground, and swerves off uncontrollably towards the side.

These types of balls are traditionally easier to save, because the path of the ball continues in the same direction and the height it travels at changes at a constant speed (e.g. it returns to the ground at a constant speed). The top-spin free kick on the other hand pushes the ball towards the ground more quickly, making it unpredictable for goalkeepers due to the dip the ball has. Notable examples that Bartek points out in his videos are Juninho, Marcos Assuncao and Ryan Williams.

You may never have heard of Ryan Williams – but guess who he just signed for? Yep, you got it. Brentford. Williams features heavily in Sylwestrzak’s videos as his case study for his training working. What’s intriguing is the sort of role that Williams is due to play next season and how much of an effect the new free kick coach will have.

Williams only recently signed from Morecambe – who play in League Two – so his general play may not be as effective as that of his team mates who have played at this higher level previously. More on Williams in part three. One theory that is plausible is that Brentford are trying to train up the squad the best that they can so that they can approach any dead ball situation and have a greater chance of converting it into a goal – regardless of who is on the pitch.

Think of them as an American Football style special team when it comes to set pieces. It’s certainly going to be intriguing to see the set pieces that they come up with next season. This talk of philosophy is one which plays very well into the next technical coaching hire – Gianni Vio.

Gianni Vio

Gianni Vio has a great story, covered by the ever excellent James Horncastle. A man obsessed with attacking free kicks and corners joining a team that’s trying to game attacking free kicks and corners in their favour – a match made in heaven surely.

Vio joins from AC Milan, after previously working at Fiorentina and Catania. He’s regarded by many as the best free kick coach in Europe, which is quite a coup for Brentford. Below is a video of some of his work at Fiorentina:

Where Vio and Sylwestrzak differ though is in their work on set pieces. Whereas the latter is more focused on the mechanics of kicking the ball and its flight path after being struck, Vio is more focused on the setup with the free kick. From setting up a second wall to making dummy runs and even pulling down a players shorts to distract the keeper, these are all tactics that Brentford could be using in the near future.

One of Vio’s books is called “Dead balls: the 15 goal striker”. The name of the book comes from how Walter Zenga (current Sampdoria coach) describes Vio’s work:

A 20-goal a season player can get injured. He can get suspended. But there are set-pieces in every game. Always. And he knows how to exploit them best. He’s very skilled at it. He manages to get players scoring who otherwise wouldn’t score.

What is going to be interesting to see if Brentford try and sign players who also try and win a lot of free kicks or corners so that they get more chances to put the new dead-ball tactics into practice, or just that when it comes to these situations they are better prepared.

The latter seems more appropriate, as it is better for a team to rely on scoring from open play rather than set pieces. Having said that, if the side can replicate the form of their Danish brothers (FC Midtjylland) who scored almost a goal a game from set pieces, they’ll end up in a good place come the end of the season.

Below is a link to a compilation of all many of Midtjylland’s set pieces from this season.

They definitely make it look easy.

Interestingly, taken from the piece by Horncastle Vio claims that “Ninety percent” of his approach to free kicks is psychological. This fits nicely with the signing of Flemming Pedersen in the last post, and how the mental side of the game is viewed of as an equally important aspect to the others. Which leads nicely into the next signing.

[TMB 14,167]

16 minutes ago, Leeds_Bear said:

Has there? Like I say I'd love to see the stats. All conjecture otherwise.

Edit: thought I had found those stats but they hadn't been updated.

[The Godfather 72,083]

I get the fear whenever we concede a corner

[ForeverAndEver 71,685]

5 minutes ago, THE_MIGHTY_BEARS said:

Here they are. 

 

Scored more when he left according to that. Must be during the season.

[TMB 14,167]

2 minutes ago, ForeverAndEver said:

Scored more when he left according to that. Must be during the season.

Those stats are wrong as the 2015/16 ones were only up until a point as the season hadn't finished.  I think these are the accurate ones:

Brentford scored 3 more after he left. 

 

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6 minutes ago, ForeverAndEver said:

Scored more when he left according to that. Must be during the season.

These ones are even more detailed.  Goals from corners more than doubled after Warburton left.

[GrandSuckMaster 1,775]

Fuck aff with yer stats

[Thewhitesettler 2,711]

We lost the Scottish Cup because of a defensive error at a corner. The mhanky mob scored from a corner in the semi-final. These are just two incidents that I can remember, where our defending of set pieces has cost us goals. I'm sure there are lots of others, but my memory is worse than our defending at corners.

[TMB 14,167]

9 hours ago, Thewhitesettler said:

We lost the Scottish Cup because of a defensive error at a corner. The mhanky mob scored from a corner in the semi-final. These are just two incidents that I can remember, where our defending of set pieces has cost us goals. I'm sure there are lots of others, but my memory is worse than our defending at corners.

Corners don't seem to be Warburton's strong suit.  Hiring a specialist is probably the way to go.