Why don't we put a player on the half way line.

[The Swan]

 Many times on Tuesday and other games when we were defending corners or free kicks in our half we have all eleven players in our penalty area.
That means we have 11 players marking  no more than 8 players.
Why don't we have a fast player like Aluko on the half way line. If our keeper gets the ball he can throw or kick the ball up to Aluko who should be able to outpace the defenders and hopefully score a goal.
Sounds simple but I am sure that it would work at least once in a game.
If it does then the other team will have to put two players on the half way line to help mark Aluko.

[ScalleysDad]

Along with a decent throw in, effective set plays including corners, exploiting space oh and a well worked shooting opportunity with a shot on target on the end of it's a basic in the coaching manuals.
Seems we have doing this for ages. BZ used to take up space in the penalty area when he would have served a much greater purpose as an outlet.

[H4usuallysitting]

Agree...We should also have a man on the 18yard line near the corner taker to stop near post attacks, and to defend the penalty taker

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

I've long been an advocate of 1 or even 2 players on the half way line.
Leave the big guys to defend and put your fastest/shortest on attack.
They could be people like Sessegnon and Aluko.
That would either reduce the amount of opposition players in our box or
give us an edge from clearances, which mathematically, I'm sure are
more frequent than attempts on our goal.
It would also keep teams like Burton/Cardiff from relaxing when they have a corner.
It also mixes up our style of play and makes us more attacking when the opportunities arise

Keep them guessing and it makes our opponents coach's 'plans' indecisive and we won't be
so easy to read.

What else have they got up their sleeves?

Also, short corners, what on earth are they  ?

[Snibbo]

And a man on each post for corners.  Do we do that?

[bobbo]

Many times on Tuesday and other games when we were defending corners or free kicks in our half we have all eleven players in our penalty area.
That means we have 11 players marking  no more than 8 players.
Why don't we have a fast player like Aluko on the half way line. If our keeper gets the ball he can throw or kick the ball up to Aluko who should be able to outpace the defenders and hopefully score a goal.
Sounds simple but I am sure that it would work at least once in a game.
If it does then the other team will have to put two players on the half way line to help mark Aluko.

i said exactly the same thing on Tuesday evening not only does it give the option you mention it reduces the chances of constant pressure after the corner.

[MJG]

This is one explanation

If you want to prevent the ball from being played back into the box right away, the best method may not be to put a man by the halfway line. When he was at Bolton, Sam Allardyce allegedly succeeded in significantly improving their defending on corners not by putting a man on the halfway line, but by analyzing which areas the ball was most likely to be cleared to and putting a man in that area to pick up the ball or at least contest it.

The problem with putting a striker near the halfway line is:
a. that is not usually where the ball is cleared to when you just have to get it out of the box, so he usually won't worry the opposition all that much.
b. he will therefore usually be brought into play when you already have control of the ball after a set piece, in which case there are often better options than launching halfway up the pitch to a lone striker.

Often, the best way to launch a counterattack after a set piece is for the keeper to throw the ball to a player advancing with speed into the middle of your own half. He will be more likely to get control of the ball and catch the opposition flatfooted.

---
Again back to stats, its been shown that the amount of goals stopped by extra men in the box cancels out any goals scored by leaving a man up as the figure is so small. In the end its a numbers game for teams and now and the numbers show its better to try and stop a goal at a corner rather than try to score one from one you are defending first.

Likewise as a study showed that 75% of goals at corners are scored by inswinging ones is a reason they crowd the area 4-8 yards out.

[MJG]

Didn't we have this discussion a while ago?

I'm from the School of thought touched on by MJG above (I believe Benitez was particularly vocal about it in the past) which says you devote all your resources to defending opposition corners and attacking your own.

Devoting bodies to launching a counterattack, or worrying about the opposition launching one after your own corners, isn't statistically justified.

My explanation below was taken from an LFC discussion board and it also quotes Benitez explaining it as you said.

A lot of the tactical changes we have seen over the last couple of decades really go back to a lot of stuff Wenger introduced at Arsenal's peak and RB then came in with a lot. These two men have been for me the most influential (in tactics) managers in UK in that time.
Jose has been a winner, but in essence his stock tactic has been to basically kill a game stone dead. He might not have invented parking the bus, but he bloody well drove it on to the piitch.

[fulhamben]

Wimbledon used to leave three on the halfway line. And 9 out of 10 times, the opposition would have their back 4 marking them reducing their threat at corners.

[MJG]

Wimbledon used to leave three on the halfway line. And 9 out of 10 times, the opposition would have their back 4 marking them reducing their threat at corners.

But on the downside their is more space in the box for players to find and possibly score against.

it all used to be a game of cat and mouse...is the striker going back...now hes staying on halfway line...oh wait the CB is now going forward..will the striker follow him?

IF it had been shown that the Wimbledon (And for me Northampton at one stage were the experts at leaving men up) way worked best then teams would do it.

[f321ffc]

Wimbledon used to leave three on the halfway line. And 9 out of 10 times, the opposition would have their back 4 marking them reducing their threat at corners.

This was done by the opposition at least one time this season ( may have been Brum) and of course we had to keep men back  to mark them.
I have been saying this for ages, at least the last four managers have had all back to defend, surely a variation would not be a bad thing.

[ScalleysDad]

A combination of stats and variation is as ever the perfect compromise. One of the regular sessions we used to do was reading the game and making adjustments. At corners if the opposition left bodies between the box and halfway to put clearances straight back in the mixer then to counter this or indeed scupper this plan a couple of players would be put close to the centre circle. If the big centre backs showed up on the edge of the box again a couple of players would be sent out to the big expanse of space behind them. For the most part a player in the team for his/her pace would always be sent to a flank as an outlet. Does anyone remember seeing AJ marking at corners? What a waste of time that always was. I get the stats and Alladyce presented the defending conumdrum at Filton many, many years ago but there should always be a place for a little variation. The key is a smart, vocal keeper or a leader..................................

[Carborundum]

Well, at the risk of drawing responses along the lines of "No kidding Sherlock" or similar, what I have seen is that over the course of a season teams with tall strapping players tend to do well at corners - defending and attacking - whilst shorter flimsier teams struggle.  This season, as we have lined up pre kick off, we have generally looked bigger and stronger than opponents.  Take Scott Malone - he's listed as six foot two inches and rather more useful at corners than Luke Garbutt.  McDonald is over six foot and looked pretty happy playing as a stand-in centre half the other day.  Indeed he rather looked like he was getting to play the position the school games teacher had denied him many years ago.

Guess what - we're doing OK at corners.

For all Sam Allardyce's statistical analysis of where the ball lands on clearance, maybe the real point is that he wasn't sending out a team of waifs and shrimps.  A man who picks a unit like Guy Demel at full back is making himself perfectly clear through actions rather than explanatory words.

It is a bit more exciting when we leave someone up.  MJG's desire to see the ball released fast to a breaking player is exciting too.  The breaking player will need a mate to pass to and/or draw defenders away. Do both!

[MJG]

Well, at the risk of drawing responses along the lines of "No kidding Sherlock" or similar, what I have seen is that over the course of a season teams with tall strapping players tend to do well at corners - defending and attacking - whilst shorter flimsier teams struggle.  This season, as we have lined up pre kick off, we have generally looked bigger and stronger than opponents.  Take Scott Malone - he's listed as six foot two inches and rather more useful at corners than Luke Garbutt.  McDonald is over six foot and looked pretty happy playing as a stand-in centre half the other day.  Indeed he rather looked like he was getting to play the position the school games teacher had denied him many years ago.

Guess what - we're doing OK at corners.

For all Sam Allardyce's statistical analysis of where the ball lands on clearance, maybe the real point is that he wasn't sending out a team of waifs and shrimps.  A man who picks a unit like Guy Demel at full back is making himself perfectly clear through actions rather than explanatory words.

It is a bit more exciting when we leave someone up.  MJG's desire to see the ball released fast to a breaking player is exciting too.  The breaking player will need a mate to pass to and/or draw defenders away. Do both!

Just to clarify I'm just giving reasons why modern teams do what they do.

I'd always have men on the posts at corners (left footed on the right post and right footed on the left post) and I also tried to get three men to stand on the halfway line when we conceded a corner.

[epsomraver]

Wimbledon used to leave three on the halfway line. And 9 out of 10 times, the opposition would have their back 4 marking them reducing their threat at corners.

0001.jpeg

[nose]

just to echo what is said above... I believe a player on both posts and a player on the half way line would be a massive advantage.  This 11 back has been a mania for years and makes no sense

also at corners players spend to long holding and pushing rather than watching the ball and the runners.

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

Wimbledon used to leave three on the halfway line. And 9 out of 10 times, the opposition would have their back 4 marking them reducing their threat at corners.

But on the downside their is more space in the box for players to find and possibly score against.

it all used to be a game of cat and mouse...is the striker going back...now hes staying on halfway line...oh wait the CB is now going forward..will the striker follow him?

IF it had been shown that the Wimbledon (And for me Northampton at one stage were the experts at leaving men up) way worked best then teams would do it.

On the other hand the space should be beneficial as it allows the goalie
more opportunities to come and collect or punch the ball cleanly and subsequently
(hopefully) set up an attack, especially as you say, in-swinging corners.