JCR and the magnetic corner flag

This is not really a criticism of JCR - more of an observation based on seeing him on telly on Monday.

He was probably our most industrious player -BUT- spent too much time being jockeyed away from goal.

Surely with his pace he could be attacking the penalty area and winning us free kicks or possible penalties rather than fruitless corners (no muller jokes).

Or is that too simple a theory???

 

I don't reckon he's as fast as many people believe

He rarely beats a full back for pace.

 

It's a very fair one

He does win lots of corners because I think at that point he's run out of ideas - I posted a youtube video on here on Sunday of Bully getting into the box - that's what he needs to do - instead of winning corners he may win penalties

 

Agreed,

by the looks of it he hardly ever tries to take his man on the outside.</p>

One of the lumbering Burnley Centre Halves took about 10 yards out him last Saturday when he was away and clear.</p>

I do like his step-overs though.</p>

 

He gets corners coz ,

he isnt quick enough to get that half a yard to get the ball past the guy defending him.

 

I'm a big fan of the old fashioned style of winger who gets to the line and pulls the ball back, defeating the off-side trap, and forcing the defence to drop deep. I think, for whatever reason, certain players (of whom George Best was maybe the first, and lately Christiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs are possible examples) have changed the role of the winger to simply third and fourth striker, making late runs into the box, and cutting inside almost all the time looking for personal glory and twenty goals per season (don't get me wrong - these players are enormously gifted and entertaining - but the ones who can actually do it effectively are as rare as rocking horse ****). I'd like to see more wingers playing the simple game, taking the ball wider, drawing defenders out of the box, creating space in the area for the strikers to move into, and then supplying decent balls into the appropriate positions for the centre forwards to attack. JCR is great at getting to the line. I love to see him attacking the full back and pushing him and the whole defence backwards, he wins a lot of corners (which is good - although we don't generally make the most of them) - only slight criticism would be that JCR does get a lot of his crosses cut out (hence the corners). If he got more balls past his full back we'd be far more likely to have someone on the end of them. As for playing for free kicks and penalties - well, I think that's a cynical side of the game that has emerged gradually over the last twenty years and I'd like to see it gradually fade away again.