Give me an odd over hit or under hit corner over a stupid short corner routine where the defence just pressure us and nick the ball of us leaving our CHs in the box having just ran 90yds to join the attack and the scrambling to get back to prevent a counter attack any day of the week.
I did notice that Cullen has been studying the old Kinsella ball placement techinique of putting the ball at least a few inches along the goal line from the actual corner quadrant.
Hahaha, Kinsella used to put it a yard closer when in the NW corner.
Give me an odd over hit or under hit corner over a stupid short corner routine where the defence just pressure us and nick the ball of us leaving our CHs in the box having just ran 90yds to join the attack and the scrambling to get back to prevent a counter attack any day of the week.
This
I can imagine Jason Pearce's thoughts as he's desperately sprinting back!
Some interesting stats on corners in this video. Not beating the first man is fairly common, and there aren’t as many goals from corners as you might expect.
I guess some of us are spoiled by the memory of the days of specialist wingers, when good delivery of a corner was part of the flipping job description. I know memory can be selective but I don't recall Paddy Powell or Keith Peacock hitting the first man. Ever
Josh Cullen deliberately over hit that first corner to lull QPR into a false sense of security, hey presto Pratley then scores from a Cullen corner. Jacko genius.
Some interesting stats on corners in this video. Not beating the first man is fairly common, and there aren’t as many goals from corners as you might expect.
I guess some of us are spoiled by the memory of the days of specialist wingers, when good delivery of a corner was part of the flipping job description. I know memory can be selective but I don't recall Paddy Powell or Keith Peacock hitting the first man. Ever
Maybe 30 years ago teams had better crossers of the ball, but then 30 years ago central defenders were better in the air as most of them (in the UK) were big lumps, picked because they were big, brave and good in the air, rather than because they were able to bring to ball out and make Hoddlesque passes!
Phillips: another quiet game cos of pony oppo but did what was required, POS strong contender Matthews: very good Lockyer: best performance for a long while, quixotic as ever, barely championship standard Pearce: looked OK, with this ref being lenient on the physical stuff, Hoops toothless Oshilaja: decent again for the most part, subbed rightly when his game fell apart late on McGeady: contributed nothing and faded quickly Cullen: quietly excellent, absolutely key to Bowyer's current format Pratley: not as quiet as Cullen and his experience is hugely influential Morgan: sees excellent openings and usually finds the pass, really industrious too Bonne: almost zero service but tirelessly willing, one goal will loosen his shackles Hemed: ran about for 15 minutes or so then offered nothing, shoulda got the hook at half time at the latest Doughty: electrifying pace and defensive strength Aneke: showed how strong he is for about 5 minutes then didn't try a leg, don't see his value Referee: very lenient on the physical stuff but evenly for both sides, got a bit rattled late on, didn't he used to be a cricketer?
Purrington: essential replacement for the collapsed DO Green: made no contribution whatever in his cameo and shirked his defensive obligations Field: the ready made stand in for Cullen or Pratley and gonna be crucial in this flurry of games
This swooning adoration of Cullen is utterly ridiculous. He regularly
misplaces passes and fluffs dead balls. Wasted two corners yesterday - one wildly overhit and straight out of the play, the other
misdirected straight to the opposition.
Against stronger
opponents he and the rest of our midfield are brushed aside. We
witnessed this regularly against better teams at The Valley before
lockdown. A raft of opponents were able to convert resolute defence to
dangerous attack in a few seconds with three or four passes.
Cullen is merely an
adequate defensive midfielder for a club in the lower-second or
upper-third tier. We are fighting against relegation precisely
because of his shortcomings and those of his team-mates.
The best man by
miles at our club is Lee Bowyer. At last at Charlton, here is a man
with guts and spirit. Without him, we would be dead and buried.
I honestly don't know if you are bored and looking for a response or if you just want to increase the number of Lols you have. Because surely you can't be serious.
Look at some of the wasters we have had on loan in recent seasons, people scarcely even bothering to try. Josh Cullen is the exact opposite. He has given 100% in every game he has played for us. Even now he had extended his contract to help us out in these last few games - he could easily have done a "Taylor" and said I don't want to play.
But it is not just his commitment that has been outstanding, he is a talented player consistently winning the ball and laying it off intelligently. And your criticism of his deadball taking is absurd - he is one of the best at this that we have had for years.
Josh Cullen is an outstanding young man and a fine footballer. We are very lucky to have had him play for us for 2 years. He will go on and have a fine career. It is just a crying shame it will not be for us.
Cullen has been excellent, I'd love to keep him and I agree with nearly all you say. However, his corners have been poor all season, often going straight to the first defender. Yesterday, he tried harder to get it over the first defender and skied it over everyone. I'd consider Morgan taking them, but then Morgan is needed on the edge of the box because he can shoot and Cullen's shooting is also poorish.
Few are perfect and if Cullen was anywhere near the finished article, he'd be in a W Ham team that are struggling from falling into The Championship.
I'm not knocking Cullen he's excellent. I'm just pointing out a couple of weaknesses in his game.
That’s why you should always have someone on the near post. Players should be fined for not going to the near post if told to. Or dropped. Or sold to Gillingham.
Comments
I can imagine Jason Pearce's thoughts as he's desperately sprinting back!
I know memory can be selective but I don't recall Paddy Powell or Keith Peacock hitting the first man. Ever
Jacko genius.
Matthews: very good
Lockyer: best performance for a long while, quixotic as ever, barely championship standard
Pearce: looked OK, with this ref being lenient on the physical stuff, Hoops toothless
Oshilaja: decent again for the most part, subbed rightly when his game fell apart late on
McGeady: contributed nothing and faded quickly
Cullen: quietly excellent, absolutely key to Bowyer's current format
Pratley: not as quiet as Cullen and his experience is hugely influential
Morgan: sees excellent openings and usually finds the pass, really industrious too
Bonne: almost zero service but tirelessly willing, one goal will loosen his shackles
Hemed: ran about for 15 minutes or so then offered nothing, shoulda got the hook at half time at the latest
Doughty: electrifying pace and defensive strength
Aneke: showed how strong he is for about 5 minutes then didn't try a leg, don't see his value
Referee: very lenient on the physical stuff but evenly for both sides, got a bit rattled late on, didn't he used to be a cricketer?
Purrington: essential replacement for the collapsed DO
Green: made no contribution whatever in his cameo and shirked his defensive obligations
Field: the ready made stand in for Cullen or Pratley and gonna be crucial in this flurry of games