Short Corners: The Facts

[sambaDTR]

The thing with corners is … when you are defending them the defence just need to get them away somewhere. If you are attacking they must end up in the net. That is why there is this statistical thing. If I was the coach I would I would have everybody attack the front post, with a few behind. You win the header at the front post it goes in or you flick it on to score ala Big Jack Charlton.

 

[BoroMart]

A short corner that never ends up in the box gives you no chance.

Not true, you can shoot from outside the box, you can also work a through ball opportunity or a cross from a different angle. To defend these options properly requires several defenders to react in unison quickly, so short corners can be dengerous.

Problem is we’ve changed a lot of players and we need to relearn how to work together at short corners, it’ll come

 

[Nano]

Not true, you can shoot from outside the box, you can also work a through ball opportunity or a cross from a different angle. To defend these options properly requires several defenders to react in unison quickly, so short corners can be dengerous.

Problem is we’ve changed a lot of players and we need to relearn how to work together at short corners, it’ll come

The point wasn't that a short corner wouldn't result in a goal but a short corner does often result in the ball never being in a position to score where as a long corner is (almost) guaranteed to end up in the box.

I.e. a long corner is a guaranteed chance to create a chance but a short corner isn't.

 

[BoroMart]

The point wasn't that a short corner wouldn't result in a goal but a short corner does often result in the ball never being in a position to score where as a long corner is (almost) guaranteed to end up in the box.

I.e. a long corner is a guaranteed chance to create a chance but a short corner isn't.

If it were true then a lot more goals would be scored, the fact you are ignoring us that a defence is in balance, perfectly placed to clear a corner, because it’s fairly predictable. The idea behind a short corner is to make it less predictable and thus much harder to defend

 

[Nano]

If it were true then a lot more goals would be scored, the fact you are ignoring us that a defence is in balance, perfectly placed to clear a corner, because it’s fairly predictable. The idea behind a short corner is to make it less predictable and thus much harder to defend

I'm not disputing anything about the effectiveness of short corners but it relies on the ball making its way towards the goal at some point and I've seen us play short corners back to our keepers in the past which has no chance of success. Just taking short corners doesn't increase the likelihood of scoring if you don't have a plan. Free-kick routines that are unusual probably result in more goals being scored than direct shots but if you do it every time, or even regularly they become far less effective because a defence can plan. You mention predictability from long corners but playing it short and trying to break down 10 men is difficult to do and it allows a team to defend in their regular shape.

The other thing you are over looking is that short corner is a catch all term. If a corner is moved 2 yards and then whipped in it goes under the short corner stat but it's far more similar to a long corner than a possession based short corner. I'd wager that the majority of short corners still result in the ball being crossed in but from a different angle. That's not always what we do when we just keep possession. You are also completely missing the fact that a short corner that leads to a possession based attack should be included in the "goals from open play" stat and the chances of scoring a goal from open play is lower than the chance of scoring from a set piece.

Stats can be used to tell what ever story you want but there are no hard and fast rules. Just because 1.4% of corners lead to a goal it doesn't mean it will for us because not everything is equal. Scoring from corners might be low statistically but that's because most teams are bad at them. There are teams that are good at them, probably because they practice them more or they have players that are better at taking corners and/or scoring from corners so you can't just apply stats equally. The highest scorers from corners last season in the PL were Kane and Haaland. If it was just statistics then goals would be spread evenly among all players from all teams and you'd be able to work out how many each team should score based on the number of corners they had but it doesn't work like that.

Similarly, scoring from a free-kick is a low percentage but whether you have James Ward Prowse taking your free-kicks or Jonny Howson makes a huge difference. If you have JWP you have more shots on goal because he has the ability to score them. If you have Howson then you don't bother shooting because he never scores them so you cross into the box instead. Personnel makes all the difference. Also, goals from throw-ins must be a really low chance but put Rory Delap in the team and that changes things.

 

[BoroMart]

I've seen us play short corners back to our keepers in the past which has no chance of success. Just taking short corners doesn't increase the likelihood of scoring if you don't have a plan.

And there is the issue, it takes passes, players need to understand their roles to make it work, we’ve changed too many players for it to be effective at the moment, but with practice it will improve.

 

[Nano]

And there is the issue, it takes passes, players need to understand their roles to make it work, we’ve changed too many players for it to be effective at the moment, but with practice it will improve.

Not necessarily to the point of it being more effective than a corner (for us). We could improve corners whatever personnel we play by practicing them rather than having to rely on certain players being in the side to score from a short one. We struggle to break teams down that sit deep. A packed defence is not what we want to be facing and that is exactly what you get from a possession based corner.

I know why we don't play long corners. We have a short team so it seems logical but Arsenal were the top PL corner scorers last season and they don't have a big team. They just take good corners. It's a repeatable process. It should be easy to get better at it. Short corners aren't repeatable so they are impossible to practice.

 

[BoroMart]

Short corners aren't repeatable so they are impossible to practice.

Of course they are, there are a small number of a decision points in the process that make it repeatable. The whole point of coaching is making repeatable moments

 

[Nano]

Of course they are, there are a small number of a decision points in the process that make it repeatable. The whole point of coaching is making repeatable moments

If it's repeatable then it's predictable which makes the situation the same as defending a long corner. It can only be repeatable until contact with a defender. As soon as people start moving then the variables change too much for anything to be consistent. You can't effectively practice something that is always changing.

There is no right answer. It can't be all short corners and it shouldn't be all long corners. For the best chance for your short corners to work you have to make long corners the default. It's like in the NFL where teams have to establish a running game to be effective in the passing game or vice versa otherwise it makes it easier for teams to defend against one type of offense.

 

[BoroMart]

If it's repeatable then it's predictable which makes the situation the same as defending a long corner.

Not necessarily, you create predictable patterns, with unpredictable starts, and with decision points that can throw defenders

We should have scored from one on Tuesday but Barlaser put his free shot wide