What chance a Rory Delap throw-in producing a winning goal for Stoke at Wembley? Likely, according to tactics blogger Michael Cox, who takes a look at the Potters' talent for set-plays, exclusively for ITV.com.
If Stoke upset Manchester City on Saturday afternoon with one of their famous set-pieces, City manager Roberto Mancini won’t be able to say he wasn’t warned.
After all, Mancini’s first taste of English football as a manager was against Stoke, in a 2-0 home win on Boxing Day 2009. If there was ever a tough introduction to the physical nature of English football, that was it.
Furthermore, Mancini’s FA Cup dreams last season were finished by Stoke at the fifth round stage – and their defeat owed a great deal to a simple inability to cope with Rory Delap’s throws. With City set to go through in the initial game, Delap hurled a ball into the box for Ricardo Fuller to nod in, and forced a replay. In that replay, Delap again provided an assist with his hands, this time for centre-back Ryan Shawcross, which made it 2-1 to Stoke, and they went onto win 3-1.
Mancini had tried to drill his players appropriately before those games. “We had prepared for this because we knew Stoke are dangerous from throw-ins,” he said after the first leg. “But our players were in a bad position and they scored.” And then, ahead of the second – “Stoke have the tactic of many crosses, many long balls and many throw-ins. ...We must try to prepare for the ball being in the air, to jump and fight for every ball.”
Mancini knows that training ground work can only get you so far. Delap agrees. “They will have watched videos, but if it's done right there is no way of defending it,” he said. “It doesn't matter what team you are up against, it's going to work if I hit the right areas.”
There can be a danger of focusing too much on Stoke’s set-pieces, of course. Their astonishing 5-0 thrashing of Bolton in the semi-final showed that they can be effective on the ground, and last weekend’s excellent 3-1 victory over Arsenal showed how disciplined they are defensively, how willing they are to let passing sides play until the final 25 yards of the pitch, where a wall of Stoke players await.
The simple fact, however, is that exactly 50% of their goals this season have come from set plays, the highest figure in the Premier League. When coupled with City’s past struggles in this respect, it’s not unreasonable to pinpoint this as a potentially crucial factor in the game.
Vulnerable to aerial balls
Have City improved from last season in the way they defend set-pieces? The signs would appear encouraging. For starters, they’ve replaced Shay Given in goal. The Irishman is a fantastic goalkeeper, but throughout his career there’s always been a doubt about his ability to command the box – after all, at 6’1”, he’s one of the shorter keepers around. Joe Hart is 6’5” and physically stronger, and will be less intimidated in these situations.
Look around the team, and City are a big side. OK, ignore Carlos Tevez and David Silva – but Joleon Lescott is an improvement in terms of height on Kolo Toure, Yaya Toure is another huge physical presence, and Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko – if either start – will also be useful.
Yet despite this, City have still been vulnerable to aerial balls in the past couple of months. Consider the way Andy Carroll bossed City’s back four in Liverpool’s 3-0 win last month, or the way David Luiz found space to nod home a free-kick at Stamford Bridge. Even as recently as last weekend against Everton, City conceded two headed goals – one scored by their former captain Sylvain Distin, and another, amazingly, by 5’8 Leon Osman, who somehow managed to tower over Vincent Kompany to meet a right-wing cross. Tony Pulis will have been licking his lips.
If there’s sometimes nothing you can do to prevent Stoke’s aerial power, City can try and reduce the threat through other means – by denying them these opportunities in the first place. Mancini has always emphasised the need to keep the ball on the floor against Stoke, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an extremely possession-orientated approach for City, even more so than usual.
Closing down up front may also be important – and this is where the work rate of Carlos Tevez might come into play, despite his fitness concerns. Pressuring opponents is often used as a tactic to hamper a short passing game, but it can work against long ball sides too – a hurried long ball forward can be sliced woefully, and immediately concede possession before Stoke can become a threat.
In short – the Stoke set-piece and aerial threat is the key part of the game. It’s clearly Stoke’s biggest weapon, and both with and without the ball, City will be trying to prevent Stoke getting the ball up the pitch.
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