Defending at corners...

[spudski]

47 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Believe it or not, that’s what we did at the start of last season until Xmas, and the only goal we conceded was O’Hare (Coventry away).  But we got sussed out!!!

I wrote this last December.  Maybe I shouldn’t have!!

Helps when you have Baker, Kalas, Atkinson and Martin to attack the 6 yard ball.

Yes Dave...I remember we used a mix of zonal and man marking in the past.

Granted those players you mention would help. 

However, our record at the moment could be a lot better. 

 

[Davefevs]

20 minutes ago, Clutton Caveman said:

When we leave a fast player up the pitch most times the opposition mark him with 2 players. I would like to see us leave 2 up the field standing on half way on each touch line.  I think the opposition would bring at least 3 back and each time Max catches the ball a break is on.

What we tend to see when 1v2 or 2v3 happens is that one of the defenders makes a late run to the box, and drags our player with them.  In your approach, if you leave one or two up, are you brave enough to ignore a defender making an unopposed run into the box?

[Three Lions]

On 30/10/2022 at 11:02, spudski said:

Surely we have to change what we are doing when defending corners?

After what imo, a performance that deserved a win yesterday, we shot ourselves in the foot again when defending a corner.

What are we thinking? 

We zonal mark...and have a couple players trying to block the runners.

Yesterday we allowed three players to be unmarked. 2 on edge of box, 1 at the back of the 18 yard box.

If our players do their job and win the header, which they did, where's the ball most likely to drop? Exactly where Swansea put their 3 unmarked players.

It's not rocket science. 

This is such poor coaching imo. 

Look how Swansea marked at corners. They aren't a big physical side. Yet they marked well. 

We are shooting ourselves in the foot so many times this season.

Something needs to change. 

Man Mark, bloke runners, create room for Max, mark players outside box. 

Players keep retreating into the six-yard box and their not zonal marking unless the six yard box is their zone. Its not brave enough. Boss the box.

[spudski]

8 minutes ago, Three Lions said:

Players keep retreating into the six-yard box and their not zonal marking unless the six yard box is their zone. Its not brave enough. Boss the box.

Pretty much 6 yard box being used as the zone. 

[Three Lions]

3 minutes ago, spudski said:

Pretty much 6 yard box being used as the zone. 

Which means they are giving up the majority of the box using four players . whats sort of zonal marking is that? if four players go into the six yard box because there one swansea or anybody elses player in there they have stopped zonal markig.

[Davefevs]

37 minutes ago, Three Lions said:

Which means they are giving up the majority of the box using four players . whats sort of zonal marking is that? if four players go into the six yard box because there one swansea or anybody elses player in there they have stopped zonal markig.

My observations are that when we did our mix of zonal and blockers, our four zonal “markers” lined up near the 6 yard line, and covered the zone a few yards behind them and in front of them, so not covering the 6 yard box but a 6 yard (ish) zone from 3-9 yards from the goal line.

Crude pic to demonstrate:

Basically leaving Bentley to deal with the two players inside the 6 yard box, who would be offside from any header from the “runners”…or Bents to clean them out if the ball was in that area.

What started to happen was that those 4 zonal players started to drift closer to Bents (3 yards out) and then left the runners to attack flat footed defenders 6 yards out.

Cowshed will probably give it better “coaching terms” than me.

We also left the back post open, and teams started to hit deep also.  It was however quite successful until in got got sussed around Xmas last year.

[chinapig]

20 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

What started to happen was that those 4 zonal players started to drift closer to Bents (3 yards out) and then left the runners to attack flat footed defenders 6 yards out.

The keeper is key here imo in that he must be yelling at them to get out of his space. Indeed you sometimes see keepers physically shove defenders further away from goal.

I'm not sure our keepers are assertive enough in that respect.

[Davefevs]

Here’s some more:

This next one was QPR, the first time we conceded last season from the initial contact.

why only 3?  Andy King had been sent off!!!

Next, very deep.  Guess where the corner was directed?

Yep, Lerma no 8….tame header from 15 yards.

Same game, deep, deep, deep:

This was us really struggling for any solution / method.

 

[Cowshed]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

My observations are that when we did our mix of zonal and blockers, our four zonal “markers” lined up near the 6 yard line, and covered the zone a few yards behind them and in front of them, so not covering the 6 yard box but a 6 yard (ish) zone from 3-9 yards from the goal line.

Crude pic to demonstrate:

Basically leaving Bentley to deal with the two players inside the 6 yard box, who would be offside from any header from the “runners”…or Bents to clean them out if the ball was in that area.

What started to happen was that those 4 zonal players started to drift closer to Bents (3 yards out) and then left the runners to attack flat footed defenders 6 yards out.

Cowshed will probably give it better “coaching terms” than me.

We also left the back post open, and teams started to hit deep also.  It was however quite successful until in got got sussed around Xmas last year.

Your doing well. Drift is a fine description.

City are drifting to differing zonal starting positions. The consistent drift is deeper into the six-yard box, not drifting out past it. The drift increases the space in front of the zonal line which has to leave more space to control. Teams are putting bodies in that created space and there is a theme to the goals conceded.

Zonal marking has to be the control of space, City's zonal line dropping concedes control.

Step up the starting line a metre or two the picture changes.

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Cowshed