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Talking Tactics: Is the art of the corner overlooked?

By on November 21, 2014

It is clear that in professional football, clubs will do almost anything for a win, especially at the top level where no small detail is left uncovered. However, often it is the one overlooked nugget that gives a clever team their key edge. For instance, Tony Pulis discovered one while at Stoke City: throw-ins. Rory Delap, their specialist in the field, could throw into the box from anywhere thirty meters around it, at speeds reaching up to 60kmh. It was their edge, largely because it was something new and unique; an uncovered nugget, a situation overlooked. Defenders did not know how to handle the flat trajectories of his throws. Of course, these are the little things, and may only result in three or four extra goals a season, but in modern day football, that is everything Premier League managers crave — maximizing their squad’s potential.

So the question is, what are the next nuggets? Well, one of them may be more obvious than throw-ins: corner kicks. When teams like West Ham United can average over seven corners per game, isn’t there a better way to leverage them than just swinging them into the box, or playing it short but then doing so? Is there a new gem that teams can uncover?

In 2012/2013, research has shown that only 3% of corners resulted in goals, and 19% in shots. However, there is hope. That means that every corner the attacking team gets their head on, 15.6% are converted. Of the 805 corners resulted in shots, 126 scored, resulting in over one tenth of the total goals scored that season, or a little bit more than one goal from a corner per three games. This is a better conversion rate by around 5 percentage points than that from shots from open play.

So, what can you do to improve your chance of scoring from corners? Well, you could try to earn more as a start — West Ham United have won more than seven corners per match so far this season, more than three times as many as Swansea City win. However, that could involve a change in play style, as West Ham under Sam Allardyce are considered to be more long-ball oriented, while Swansea is more possession-based. Another option is improving the number of shots that comes per corner. The conversion rates of those shots is good enough, and can become even better depending on where you connect with the ball and if your run and cross is a well-planned routine. So what if you can boost the odds of your man meeting the ball? You could double your chances of scoring from corners, all while maintaining a nice tiki-taka style of play. And if you knew your man would meet the ball, then teams like West Ham, Arsenal, Manchester United who average over six corners per match could be expected to score a goal per match from corners. All it takes is a “Rory Delap idea” to do so.

Everybody knows about Manchester United’s crafty corner kick routine they played against Chelsea in 2009. Wayne Rooney seemingly left the ball for Ryan Giggs at the corner spot, only to have actually rolled the ball in play. Thus, Giggs took it toward goal unmarked, and with Chelsea left unguarded at the back by the confusion, Ronaldo got to the ball and headed it in. The goal was only denied because the linesman got it wrong. But if it weren’t for the bad refereeing decision, United would have had a goal, in a game that was 0-0 against Chelsea.

Nonetheless, that moment illustrated what clever routines can do, and has been copied since. Honestly, it is a really good idea and if done correctly, and at the top level it should be, turns conversion rates up to more than 50%. Have a host of those tricks prepared, and hope one is your gem. Serbia’s U-17 scored via another original routine. In both of those videos, the opposition was caught completely unaware. They didn’t, and furthermore weren’t prepared, to defend the new situation. They, and United, unturned a stone overlooked.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.