Countdown To Almen Abdi Day 30/04/21

This is from November and lists the premier league all time free kick scorers:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54773207

It also shows the conversion rate ranges from about 8% up to 13% (JWP) so even though the top players only scored about 1 in 10 direct free kicks, it’s still makes us look pretty pathetic considering our conversion rate is 0% over 5 years.

Also not sure about the ball theory, Beckham was a while ago now, surely the PL ball back then, wasn’t still lighter than the championship ball is now? Not to mention we were in the PL for five years and still didn’t score one.

 

We don't try much variation. Keepers know they can take the standard position as we're such a low threat. We're highly unlikely to try to catch them out with a low one under the wall or going for the 'wrong' side of the goal.

Plus completely anecdotally I'd say we put an inordinate amount wide or over the bar. Surely when practicing in training they can get them within the frame of the goal?

 

Keepers could sit in the stand for the most part. This is what irritates me the most about this debacle, we never hit the target by trying to go over the wall, it's not like we've been denied by a series of good saves. Quite how no-one connected to the squad has accepted that we just don't have anyone with this ability so we should do as you suggest and try something different is beyond me.

As far as I can work out from the stats, neither Pereyra nor Deulofeu have ever scored a free kick. Yet we let them burn through countless efforts over about three seasons. And letting people like Capoue, Chalobah and Navarro take them smacks of just giving up. You can tell from the position they adopt in the run up they're not going to score. At least Cleverley has the right technique, albeit a chronic inability to get the ball down in time once it's over the wall.

 

True but has every free kick we've had been analysed? Were some too far away, was a shot attempted or a cross preferred, etc.?

 

That game was generally just insane. Also had the Gomes triple save and Paredes getting away with a foul after the 2nd save.

 

I don’t know, I doubt there are any actual stats that we can find to confirm, but every team will get a number of free kicks in a game and most won’t be direct scoring opportunities. Surely it’s not an unreasonable assumption to suggest that (on average) most teams get about 1 free kick a game that is in direct range and ‘scoreable’? You would assume that this season, with us being a top championship side who has more possession and more attacks that should be true. So that’s still 38/46 scorebale free kicks per season, of which we’ve scored 0 in five years.

 

I helped Levanthal look at this for The Athletic last year: https://theathletic.com/2259719/2020/12/17/watford-free-kick-curse-analysis/

as of Dec 16th it was:

80 shots taken
20 on target
30 off target
30 hitting the wall

 

One of my favourite ever away games.

I think it must have been one of Ekstrand's last matches before his awful injury, which came just as he was showing his best form, a real shame.

I remember the day we went up, the squad went for dinner at Zinco's. I just happened to be passing and saw Almen hanging out with Ekstrand who was of course on crutches. Fans were queuing up for photos with Abdi and virtually ignoring the stricken Swede. I felt bad for him.

But I joined the queue for an Abdi pic. I said "well done", he said "thanks."

Class act.

 

Amazed we've hit the target that much to be honest!

 

I'm struggling to think of a keeper having to make a worldy of a save so I imagine most were just tame efforts at a nice catchable height.

 

You mean "a Navarro"? He literally took a two step run up and chipped a ball into the keeper's midriff from about 30 yards last time he took one. Was like he was doing some sort of YouTube challenge where he got a point for just hitting the target so played it ultra safe.

 

Surely it should be called Almen Ab-day?

 

CLOSE THREAD.

 

So who saw that coming?

 

What a ***** one but they all count. This starts the run of FK’s Mark my words...

 

https://streamable.com/6f7sg1

 

And so it turns out that the Lord sent his only son, Adam, to end the drought that plagued the land.

 

Reckon we'll score another in the next 3 years

 

I would just like to point out that I started this thread deliberately to force the hand of fate into us scoring a free kick. And so it came to pass, a wide angled free kick with a left back who's never taken a free kick before in his life and blasted it right at where the keeper was standing in the last minute ended up breaking the drought.

You are all welcome.

 

Not me.

Not Masina either from the sound of it.

 

You