Long Throw! Oh No
BEFORE our new Icelandic midfielder made his debut in the first game of last season,no one mentioned a particular skill he possessed
So when he launched his first long throw most people around me were very excited at the prospect of the future use of it.
For me though the novelty has firmly worn off. There's no doubt its a threat to the opposition when properly used,but it does seem to be over used by the Sky Blues
Gunnarson must aim at least half a dozen per game. If he's played fifty matches by now there must have been about two hundred throws
How many goals have we got from them ?
There's the classic example against Newcastle in the Carling Cup last year. A McKenzie goal against Sheffield Utd last season springs to mind. And certainly one of Eastwood's recent hat trick.
I struggle to remember any others. It's a poor return compared to Stoke City's record from Rory Delap's throws for example
Often a haul from the touchline thirty yards out or more,fails to find a City player.The longer the distance the harder it is to find the right elevation to find any players head
The best use is five yards in from the corner flag.That gives us the benefit of a corner kick but with a straighter delivery. That dramatic equaliser against Newcastle was produced from that area
With proper consideration we can use the long throw more constructively. I believe Aron Gunnarson has more to offer than just this part of his game.
He played eight minutes against Ipswich and was on the long throw almost straight away.
I would hope that wasn't the only reason he was brought on
His best home performance last season was against Birmingham and not a single long throw was launched
If he's playing against Swansea I hope he has a great game. And any long throws produce a goal.
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What are you on about? We use the long throw far less than any other team with a similar weapon, and probably less than 5 times a game on average.
If anything, we need to make better use of it by pushing all of our big men into the box and practising it in training. Look at Stoke for an example of how to use a long throw effectively.