The long throw tactic

[JTofBFC]

Presumably it is permitted to start a thread on this, can't see another one.

Anyway, would be interested to hear what others think as this tactic irritates the hell out of me.

Aside from the fact that the person delivering the throw (Clayton) should be one of those in the box on the end of it doing what he is paid to do, it isn't even a particularly good long throw and rarely gets past the near post.

Must have been over a dozen yesterday and the defence could have dealt with them with a cigar on.

Surely we can manufacture something a bit more creative from a throw in such an attacking position., so we at the very least get the occasional cross put in at speed behind the defence rather than this easy to deal with lobbed ball .

Waste of time as far as I am concerned and it worries me that the management can't see this.

[hanworthbee]

its rubbish, never works, says to me we have no ideas what else we can do apart from fling it in and hope for the best

[BRbee]

I've seen it work occasionally for other teams.

The problem is, as JT says, that you need someone with heading ability in the penalty box to be available to take advantage of it but in our case it's been the bloke who takes the throw who should be in the box.

Maybe we'll have some success with it if Farid's in the box?

[shouldbee]

its rubbish, never works, says to me we have no ideas what else we can do apart from fling it in and hope for the best

Agree, says something about the coaching ?

[WARFIELD BEE]

Perhaps if CD threw it high enough he could run on and head it in! cant do smilies
bloody daft tactic while we have no one to take advantage of it.

[mattbee]

I agree, does anyone who goes to the training ground see how much they practise it? With a team like Stoke its done with military precision, with us it looks like they turn up and give it a go on the day. It never even looks like they have set out a player to win the first phase from Donaldsons throw and so in turn the other players never seem to be anticipating the chance to follow it in.

[GuyBee]

It has worked for us, we scored a goal from a Hunt long throw on at least one occasion, maybe more. Might have been v Hull cant quite recall.

The only way for it to be a valid option is

a) have someone who can head it

and

b) put a few players on the edge/just outside the penalty box to pick up the clearances.

And how many throws that are taken short end up with the ball in the box at all? Not many I would guess

However, when the one taking the throw is the one that should be on the end of it then you have to question its validity

[aawharris]

Didnt David Hunt get sold due to the fact "all he could do was throw it a long way" (imho he was a great player) maybe Uwe has realised its all CD is good at and could be heading the same way?? After all, we have far too many strikers now....

[NorthamptonBee]

It doesn't work and is a bit rubbish, it's a tad on the desperate side of things.

[WARFIELD BEE]

It has worked for us, we scored a goal from a Hunt long throw on at least one occasion, maybe more. Might have been v Hull cant quite recall.

The only way for it to be a valid option is

a) have someone who can head it

and

b) put a few players on the edge/just outside the penalty box to pick up the clearances.

And how many throws that are taken short end up with the ball in the box at all? Not many I would guess

However, when the one taking the throw is the one that should be on the end of it then you have to question its validity

I can only recall 1 goal from long throw in David Hunts reign and none since, surely that confirms its a waste of time, particularly when you take a striker out of the middle to take it.

[Houghton Bee]

I can only recall 1 goal from long throw in David Hunts reign and none since, surely that confirms its a waste of time, particularly when you take a striker out of the middle to take it.

its an absolute waste of time.

[Mick.C]

Only goal we got from it was in the first 50 seconds against Oldham on a Tuesday night towards the end of last season. Bean sprinted in unmarked and nodded/volleyed it in to everyone's amazement,

Yesterday it looked like the players were making this set piece up, for Clayton to throw it towards Sam and Forshaw who were static looking to flick on dwarfed by the centre halves in the middle looked odd and you could see Clayton was losing heart with each throw as they got shorter and shorter, one barely made the box.

Im All for a long throw in the last 10 mins when you are chasing the game and want to create mayhem in the penalty area, but if this is a planned set piece we are relying on to make a difference in a game, it needs a rethink of who does what, because yesterday it looked predictable and a bit weak.

[Owlsmoor_Bee]

It doesn't work and is a bit rubbish, it's a tad on the desperate side of things.

Not to mention the fact that it seems to fly in the face of the footballing philosophy that Rosler has spent time trying to instill in the players.

[Bill Benn]

Said on another post,waste of time.

[bostonhanwell]

The secret is you have to keep the opposition guessing. A short throw when they are expecting it to go long creates space and vice versa.

[JimLevack]

Said on another post,waste of time.

I agree with Bill ... The only way it ever works is if you have real aerial power and the throw has pace and the trajectory of a cross - we rarely have both together

[The Pipe]

Recall reading that despite all the talk at Stoke in actuality they have only scored 3 goals from it. Agree that for them it does create a scene of chaos and perhaps from the clearance and subsequent play they may get some goals

For us it is a rubbish tactic unless we are desperate and chasing a game with the likes of Leon playing as centre forward. Would like to see it ditched asap

[Bill Benn]

It's on par with bringing the goalie up for a corner in the last minute.

[buzzbee]

the long throw most of the time gives the opposition a 50/50 chance of getting it... play it on the floor no more long balls however its delivered. you bees

[Keighley Bee]

I've seen it work occasionally for other teams.

The problem is, as JT says, that you need someone with heading ability in the penalty box to be available to take advantage of it but in our case it's been the bloke who takes the throw who should be in the box.

Maybe we'll have some success with it if Farid's in the box?

But yesterday we did have someone with heading ability in the penalty box! Dean, Legge and Craig all trooped forward for all the long throws (Logan and Barron stayed back to cover breakaways). It didn't make a blind bit of difference, we didn't look like scoring from any of them.

[BRbee]

But yesterday we did have someone with heading ability in the penalty box! Dean, Legge and Craig all trooped forward for all the long throws (Logan and Barron stayed back to cover breakaways). It didn't make a blind bit of difference, we didn't look like scoring from any of them.

Good points.
I also note (from the Sky website) that last season Stoke attempted 522 long throw-ins, 243 more than any other side and had the fewest shots (290) and shots on target (94) and scored the fewest goals in the Premier League.

[Invipai]

I'm not a fan of it, but that said I don't think we should use it absolutely never. As with anything it depends on the situation, if you have a tall player in the box, and have identified that the opposition are weak from balls into the box then feel free. But it shouldn't be used every time, which we seemed to do from Wrexham onwards last season.

Hopefully it won't be a trend that will always continue. I'd prefer the short throw always, you can put in a more composed ball into the box often anyways.

[hanworthbee]

we should mix it up, have someone 20 yards from goal, direct the long throw to them to volley at goal...

[Brentford 4 Life]

we should mix it up, have someone 20 yards from goal, direct the long throw to them to volley at goal...

Most people have hit the nail on the head with the long throw as it is so simple to see that it doesnt work for us. This is mainly because of the point you make, we dont mix it up. Never do we set up to take a long throw and instead through it short or throw it to someone on the edge last minute etc, as you suggest. Its all very one paced, predictable, against Uwe's football philosophy and unimaginative. Apart from that i like it.

[Brentford_till_die]

These throw ins has got to stop especially with no other strikers on the pitch. Straight from the off ar bury we used Clayton to launch one in the box and continued to do it every other time. Looks very desperate and sends out the wrong vibe to the other team. For all of his throws and Huntys we have only ever managed one goal. I don't mind if we're trying to get back in the game late on maybe but at least mix it up you don't have to launch them into the box every time.