Man, 18 corner kicks this year, with zero to show for it (-1 actually if you count the DC game). I'm struggling to remember the last time we scored direct from a corner kick. Surely the last one wasn't Petke? What's our problem? No height at forward? Not enough people in the right spots? Maybe I'm complaining at minor things here, considering how sweet the rest of the metros play looks, but c'mon, 18 corners w/o one goal?
Jolley provided all the scoring from corners last year and the year before. Also, Ross Paule used to keep every ball in the 18 and rarely let the ball get passed him. Since they lost those 2, corners havent been much of a threat.
Have to agree with your assesment though I think Jolley might have scored last year off a corner from Magee. Seems to me Magee is our best server from the corner surprisingly so. I am surprised Eddie Pope does not score more of of these plays as he is quick and athletic in addition to being relatively tall. Maybe Him , Gaven and Parke can be our targets in the box as it is sad to watch us play it short at the end of the game rather than taking it to the goal area.
I know how much people love Guevara, but his corners flat out suck. Over hald the time they're right at the near post and a defender is there to clear it away.
Last year, we scored on a lot of set plays, especially when you count the win over C-bus in the Open Cup. That said, last season I often wondered when/if we'd ever score in the run of play. This year's team can play. I've seen more good passing and combiation play in three games than I saw in a season last year. If we're not as good on corners/set plays, I'll take that trade-off.
Oh, I definitely agree. Instead of 30 minutes of sucky play yet pulling off a great header on a corner, I'd rather see 30 minutes of pretty dominance, lots of Oles, and DC midfielders running around like chickens with their heads cut off - followed by a goal But its just weird, especially Sunday. Ball goes out of play, and I'm thinking "ah cr*p, another corner"
We traded him for a slow, bench-warming SI. Pope should definitely be more involved in set pieces. Clark and Parke as well. We're very short up front and in midfield (except for Woly)... the likes of Vaca and Galvan Rey aren't going to win many headers. I'd like to see Lisi take a few corners when he's playing.
Neither are the antichrist. Bonseu's just a slow SI who got beat out for a starting spot by the last pick in the draft. And a guy who most folks thought would be a vast improvement over Jolley, but clearly has not been, at least so far. I'm more than willing to give him more of a chance to prove himself, but it seems even Bob isn't, since Parke is starting now. Magee, on the other hand, is an 18-year old with a lot of talent and potential who just happens not to be one of the top 2 strikers on the team right now. I like Magee a lot, don't know where you got that from.
... and costs about half as much as the guy we traded away. We have seven goals in three matches, all from the run of play, none from set pieces. In fact, I can't remember a free kick from within 30 yards of the goal in any of these games. I don't know if any of this signifies a real trend or just a blip, but it's interesting nonetheless. The corner situation is partially due to size, partially to the crosses. Pope could be the guy who gets up for the big header but we're still too vulnerable to the counter-attack, and Bob probably fears having Leitch and Zaidie in the back by themselves. I'd like to see Vaca take some corners, partially because I think he could hit them well but also because the chances of a corner ball falling to him are nearly zero.
That is the big one (pope). While tall and great for the situation, you gotta consider the consequences if there's a counter. The small guys we might drop back aren't national team defenders. If we're losing, Pope should be there. If not...well, maybe I'm pretty conservative.
Sorry, that wasn't really directed at you. But Magee holds the mantle on the BigSoccer boards as the "Most Criticized Player in MLS History to have 8 goals before his 20th birthday."