sullydnl
Ross Kemp's caf ID
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2012
- Messages
- 35,131
Even though I rate him, prem football is a different game. The likes of Chris Wold etc will eat this kind of players alive, they dont care about high line, they bully on set pieces. He already is very suspect in the air that trait is very important in the premier league, wether we like it or not
We're currently the tallest and most aerially dominant (in terms of % of aerial duels won) side in the league. Last season we were the second most aerially dominant and presumably not much shorter. Yet we conceded the second most set-piece goals in the league. Meanwhile Arsenal, the second least aerially dominant side in the league, conceded the fewest set-piece goals.
Meanwhile if we compare the side who won the biggest percentage of aerial duels with the side that won the least last season, the side that won the most conceded one more set-piece goal and just as many goals from corners.
That's how much aerial dominance matters in isolation when it comes to conceding from set-pieces. Defending set-pieces is far more about organisation and not conceding those opportunities in the first place. That's how you stop Chris Wood from bullying you, not by out-Burnleying Burnley at corner kicks.
Beyond that, set-piece goals are only a fraction of the total goals conceded by most teams. The team who conceded the most total goals last season conceded 17.1% from set-pieces, the team who conceded the fewest total goals conceded 18.75% from set-pieces. So it makes sense to put far more weight on what a defender will contribute to you in open play than on set-pieces, because it's multiple times as important.
Which isn't to say it isn't something to consider. People just tend to overplay its overall importance.
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