Countdown To Almen Abdi Day 30/04/21

In just over two months, it'll be five years since we scored a direct free kick (Almen Abdi vs Aston Villa).

As it stands, we've played 212 games since then without scoring one, a quite phenomenal feat of ineptitude. Even though the club hasn't seen fit the sign any player that can take a set piece for years, you'd have thought we would've scored one through a lucky deflection, but no. Honourable mentions go to Cleverley and Garner for hitting the bar against Woking and Reading, and Kaboul for scoring via a deflection from a free kick that was passed to him against Arsenal.

Now there are just 11 games to go until we reach this impressively crap milestone, so here's a thread to track the progress and review any attempts as we build up to Almen Abdi Day.

Will we try the classic Cleverley attempt that would be an excellent free kick if only goals were two feet higher? The Chalobah, a two step run up and blast it at a near vertical angle into the top of the stand? Or my new favourite, Marc "deadly in training" Navarro shuffling up to delicately chip the ball over the wall direct to the keeper?

When will we score one again? Who will break this run? Predictions here.

I think it will be the fifth game of next season by a player we haven't yet signed.

 

Even Foster said we never score free kicks in his Blackburn video. So the squad must be aware of it too.

Anyway, I think it'll be broken by a jammy free kick curled in from far out wide that sails across the box evading everyone and curls just inside the post past the stranded keeper.

 

The fact that as a club we haven’t scored a direct few kick for so long is an absolute farce, but it does surprise me that more players don’t take it upon themselves to get better at them.

Sure, there is a certain amount of natural ability that a player will need, but surely most semi-competent ball playing type players posses this? Of course it would require a certain amount of extra curricular practice, so I’m probably answering my own question, but surely that would be worth it? If you can add an extra 5 goals or so a season to your CV then you’re going to add extra value to your price tag, more noughts at the end of your salary and potentially get to play for bigger and better clubs and basically have a better career.

I think Reids made the point on here about corner and throw in coach costing relatively little, compared to how much extra you’d need to pay for a striker who would score that many more goals that it’s pretty much a no brainer.

it always surprises me how clubs and players neglect what are such easy and cheap wins in football.

 

Zinckernagel will score it me thinks.

 

When it happens, we will probably score two in one game (would be very Watfordy?)

 

We will never score another.
We should retire the concept in AA's honour.

 

Even though we don't score those either, that won't count in breaking Sir Almen's run. Has to be deliberate.

 

Can we not just get AA back as a consultant free kick specialist coach?

 

Daniel Toszer scored five free kicks in 14/15 alone. Five! Incredible that we're now closing in on five years without scoring one.

 

I think Lazaar will score a peach, v those ****s up the road.

 

He's only scored once in the last five years so seems like a good bet. Everyone in the pond when it happens.

 

Are there any other clubs in the top 92 that have gone this long without a goal from a FK?

I'm still amazed that so many of our FK's either go into the wall or over the bar, surely it can't be hard for a professional footballer to at least challenge the opposition keeper?

 

I was thinking about this the other day, and how it seemed like when I was growing up as a football fan in the 90’s with the likes of Beckham, Zola etc there were free kicks being smashed in on a regular basis.

I don’t know if I can remember the last free kick I saw somebody score in general, without even taking into account our own incompetence at them.

 

The solution is obvious.

Almen Abdi, player manager.

 

Did you see him on saturday. Absolute dog chit. Yet for some reason I've pinned all our promotion hopes on him*, based on the fact that he wasn't afraid to have a go

*until Success returns obv.

 

I know Cleverley touches it off for him but I’ve always thought that this strike from Kaboul v Arsenal (Jan 31 2017) should be considered a direct free kick goal.

 

Chalobah to toebog one in the top corner v Bournemouth in the Playoff final.

 

Video unavailable.

Probably because it wasn't a direct free kick.

 

To be fair @Steve Leo Beleck does give it an honourable mention.

 

Probably don't score any in training either which is why it feels like we're ill prepared and appear to concede so many crucial ones!

 

I feel like players try too hard to score worldies when the simple option is there. People try to copy knuckle-ball Ronaldo rather than the far more consistent in-step Beckham.

You'd think a professional footballer could hit a "top bin" 9/10 times. Accuracy over power and you at least test the keeper rather than the wall or the stands.

 

Has to be genuinely one of the most pathetic, embarrassing active stats in world football.

How the **** can a professional football club not have scored a free kick in FIVE YEARS?

 

Even worse than the total lack of ability is that we keep trying the same thing, a free kick up and over the wall that no-one is capable of doing. There aren't even any good saves, clawing it away from the top corner, it's always either into the wall, over the bar or straight down the keeper's throat.

I genuinely cannot believe we had to watch the last few years of mainly Pereyra and Deulofeu do this on repeat and no-one thought it might be worth trying a clever short free kick routine or even an old fashioned touch to the side and blast it like Kaboul scored from. I would even have backed rolling it to Deeney and getting him to blast it like a penalty, just to try something different.

Jon Marks saying "ah now this is interesting, Marc Navarro is stepping up and I was watching training during the week and he is deadly" then watching him kick the ball about as hard as a ten year old was great.

Shame that Zarate got injured after one and a half games as he is a set piece specialist.

 

43 seconds, it’s not that hard even Barnsley can do it:

 

Unless I missed them, no attempts at a direct free kick yesterday and now looks like Cleverley is injured. Presumably he's the best at them in training as he seems to be the first choice. 10 games until the five years is up...

 

I’m amazed it isn’t a stat the championship pundits and commentators haven’t picked up on yet. I think we should alert them to it as I’m not sure how many more times I can hear about WTE’s house in Hertfordshire, or the fact that Sarr cost £40m.

 

Leventhal gets most of his article ideas from threads on here so it won't be long.

 

He's already done one on our freekick failures.

 

Ashley Young is desperate to return here for some reason this Summer, but if that actually does happen it won't bode well for this awful statistic.

 

Zinc.

 

On a related note, Abdi was really good.

One of my favourite Abdi moments was Bolton away in 2015 and his ongoing battle with the Bolton keeper.

Almen was determined to score from 25 yards. He had a pop and the keeper made a good save. The Professor did not give in and a few minutes later had another, better attempt only to be matched by a finger-tip save. The Swiss maestro then entered some insane zen-like state in which he was determined to complete his mission. Picking up the ball again outside the box, he sent the ball high into the corner of the net with a goal that should have been Goal of the Season. Inhuman when on his game.

Bizarrely, Abdi did win Goal of the Season that year for a very similar yet much less crucial goal at Fulham, which put us 4-0 up. I will never understand why that won ahead of the Bolton goal.

 

Please can someone like Superhorns or Reid's with the stats produce a list of how long its been for direct free kick from each of the 92 clubs?

I'll bet theres a few who have gone longer. Because they never had Almen Abdi, Almen Abdi, da da da da da da dada da.

 

Ward-Prowse and Bruno Fernando's are the only players I can think of, outside of Messi, Ronaldo etc. Maybe it has something to do with footballs being lighter?

 

That was a great game. Back in the day's when the phrase "it's never boring" had a ring of truth to it. Almen was on another planet, when on his game.

 

Yeah, I was wondering whether the lighter balls played a part in it. I would also estimate that goalkeepers have gotten faster/more agile, making it harder to beat them unless it’s a perfect strike.