Aston Villa News 24/7The debate surrounding the pros and cons of zonal marking versus man marking at set pieces will doubtless rage on, but most of the big teams will continue to use a combination regardless. Indeed, the argument about what constitutes zonal rather than man marking will be no more likely to reach consensus any time soon.
All of that is outside the scope of this post, I’m simply going to go through each of Bolton’s eight corners and translate what I saw on video to the usual diagrams. You can make your own mind up.
What I will say, if Bolton had been kind enough to line-up for a corner in this fashion, as you’ll see from the analysis that follows, you would probably expect Villa to respond thus:
Daniel Sturridge (#15) would take up the spoiler role, making himself a nuisance in front of Brad Friedel, Luke Young (#2) would not be very far away, mopping up any loose balls dropping in.
Bolton’s better headers of the ball are unlikely to make life so easy by lining up in such a tame manner, but had they done so I think you would have seen Nathan Baker (#32) keeping his eye on Gary Cahill (#5), Ciaran Clark (#21) nullifying the aerial threat of Kevin Davies (#14), Kyle Walker (#36) matched up against David Wheater (#31) and Darren Bent (#39) left to pick up Johan Elmander (#9).
Makes sense, right?
Well, Bolton scored directly from two corners and indirectly from a third, so let’s see how they did it.
Corner One: 1st minute
First of all, question should really be asked about why we were facing a corner 30 seconds into a game we kicked off.
The diagram below shows the position of the players as Stuart Holden prepared to take the corner as the TV angle allowed me to see. Darren Bent was still coming back to mark Elmander, Clark was already tight to Davies, but Walker and Baker were in conversation as they exited the frame to the left.
Cahill and Wheater were not on screen, but the cut shot that followed showing Cahill in the foreground jockeying for position suggested that bother players weren’t far away from the D.
Holden’s inswinger was met by Wheater, who now had Walker in tow, and his nod down got stuck under Clark’s feet as he prevented Davies getting on the end of it. Luke Young was able to clear the ball away for a throw-in.
Corner Two: 14th minute
The second corner was interesting. It was on the opposite flank and Martin Petrov went over to take while Stuart Holden initially lurked just outside the box. Elmander took up a position in the six yard box with Bent for company while Bolton’s other three aerial attackers hung back, their markers provided a mirror image.
And then Holden made it interesting by jogging over to provide a short corner outlet.
Villa responded by despatching Marc Albrighton from the near post and Stewart Downing to close down the short corner. As it was, Holden’s cross was blocked by Albrighton and the ball went out for a throw-in, but it should be noted that Delph remained guarding his post so far as I could tell.
I’ve no idea of the positioning of the other players once the camera angle cut to the action near the corner so I’ve left them in their previous positions, slightly transparent.
Corner Three: 43rd minute
Elmander once again took Bent to the six yard box while Davies, Cahill and Wheater all hung back, monitored by Clark and Baker as Walker jogged over from his position after conceding the corner.
No one paid much attention to Martin Petrov.
Holden fed Petrov and he was able to take his time shaping a ball to the far post as Downing and Reo-Coker looked to close him down.
Cahill had made a near post run with Baker for company, Wheater hung back and made a late run into space in the middle, hoping to receive a nod down, Davies drifted wide as Sturridge challenged for the ball, but was beaten in the air by Albrighton.
Corner Four: 46th minute *Goal*
The crucial set piece, a minute into the two added minutes at the end of the half. Again Holden went over to the corner to give Petrov a short outlet, but this time it was a dummy and Petrov sent the ball in himself.
Crucially, Albrighton and Delph both left their posts to close the short corner option down. Cahill hung back on the edge of the box alone, watched by Baker.
Cahill timed his run perfectly to meet Petrov’s inswinger, beating off attention from Baker, and nodded diagonally to the far post.
Could Delph have prevented the ball going in if he’d been on the post? Possibly, but the ball did have some pace on it. We can’t know for sure, but it should be questioned why he went to shut down the short corner routine and Downing stayed in the six yard box.
Corner Five: 73rd minute
With Petrov now substituted (replaced by Lee Chung-Yong #27), Holden would take the remaining corners. Elmander had also been replaced by Ivan Klasnic (#17) who would go on to score the winning goal.
Cahill made a late run to the near post, but the ball drifted over the heads of almost everyone, only Wheater had drifted off the back and attempted to nod the ball back into the crowd. Reo-Coker was there to head clear.
Corner Six: 74th minute *Goal*
Clark and Davies jockeyed for position in the middle while Cahill and Wheater again hung back, Cahill prowling laterally before making a run into the centre to meet Holden’s cross.
Cahill lost Baker on the way in and headed powerfully on target, Brad Friedel pulling off an excellent save only to see the rebound fall straight back to Cahill who continued his run to the left. Cahill volleyed in despite Delph and Baker attempting to charge down the danger.
Corner Seven: 85th minute
Again Cahill held back with Nathan Baker as his shadow.
The most interesting thing from this corner was Brad Friedel’s reaction as he casually glanced toward the far post only to spot no one there. Since Delph and Albrighton had substituted by this point it fell to Stiliyan Petrov and Gabby Agbonlahor to fill in. Apparently Gabby needed a not so gentle reminder.
This time Luke Young got on the end of the cross, but his header looped up high and Reo-Coker helped it clear of danger. Substitute Mark Davies picked up the loose ball and sent it out wide to Holden again, but his cross was charged down for another corner by Petrov.
Corner Eight: 86th minute
The final corner would eventually lead to the winning goal after a couple of failed clearances.
Bolton made no special effort at the corner and actually lined up pretty much as depicted in the theoretical line-up used in the very first diagram above.
Darren Bent stretched to get his head on the ball as Ivan Klasnic lined up a volley at the far post. Walker and Klasnic chased the loose ball, Klasnic won and sent in another cross which was cleared by Baker.
Holden’s attempted cross was blocked by Baker again, the rebound ending up with Sturridge who floated a hopeful ball into the area. Walker appeared to beat Wheater in the air, but nodded only as far as Klasnic who pounced on the loose ball and fired in from close range.
Game Over
And that’s it. Unfortunately, on the two occasions the ball got anywhere near Gary Cahill, he not only manage to beat Nathan Baker to get on the end of it, he also got his efforts on target. Three times as it would turn out.
It remains a possibility, and no more, that Fabian Delph may have prevented the first goal, but we can’t ever know for sure.
The third goal was the result of the familiar sight of not clearing our lines properly. I said in the initial match report that it was second phase, it was actually more like fourth, but the principle remains.
So, are there any management failures here? Not in my opinion. I don’t want to single Baker out, he’s outperformed my expectations at this level, it just remains a basic fact that he was clearly tasked with taking care of Cahill and on the two occasions it mattered most, he was beaten by the more experienced player.
With all due respect to Baker, had Dunne, Collins and Cuellar not all been injured he probably would not have been on the pitch. However, not one of those three can offer any kind of guarantee of not being beaten themselves, but you’d be justified in feeling more confident.
Ultimately, you don’t win many games by conceding three goals, it’s true, but we shouldn’t lose sight of how many quality chances were squandered at the other end. This game should have been dead and buried even before Ashley Young stood over the ball at the penalty spot.
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17 Comments to “Zonal marking or man marking? All eight Bolton corners reviewed”
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Good analysis, lets hope the issues we had on Saturday can be sorted. I do feel though if either of Dunne, Collins or Cuellar were on the pitch we probably would have won the game.
Nice site as well BTW!
thanks and yeah, with any combination of collins/dunne/cuellar we usually use zonal, but the more i look at this one, the more it looks like man marking used because we had such a makeshift back line.
There seems to be pattern developing in most if the top sides – defensive frailties, especially when injury strikes key players. Look at Utd, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal – they all reguskrky have their crap defence days.
Two theories to explain this…..
1. Budget cuts have resulted in prioritising spending in other areas if the pitch, particularly with bench warmers.
2. OK, this one’s a bit leftfield (but I’m a little disillusioned with the honesty of international sport at present) – SKY are making payments based on goals per game.
3. the illuminati and our reptilian overlords have conspired to make it so. it’s all part of their plan to enslave us. probably.
Really interesting ( if a little hard to follow! ). Thanks for this. It makes a change for someone on the web not to just blame houllier for no other reason than that they don’t like him. From what I saw and heard, this was one of our best attacking displays for a long time. Nobody wd have given the defence much chance before kick off, yet by full time everyone thought houllier cost us the game!? Sick of fickle villa fans! Good work dan.
thanks for the feedback. i wondered if it was a little too much, but decided all 8 corners needed to be shown as the approach was consistent.
fans will tend to overlook most shortcomings with a good result. the opposite is the case with a loss. that’s why i liked this from vital bolton:
“History will show that we won 3-2. That we should have lost 8-1 won’t be.”
http://www.bolton.vitalfootball.co.uk/matchrep.asp?a=234053
Very interesting – there was an article in the FA Insight magazine a couple of seasons back comparing zonal and man-to-man at corners for international teams and as a result I switched my team to zonal and haven’t conceded from a corner all season. I think that in normal circumstances you would back your defensive players to attack and win the ball in the box if they are not having to track an individual player, however, if your team is not great in the air then it may be best to go man-to-man and hope to disrupt the opposition run. Perhaps this was why a change was made but not something I would want to mess with mid-season.
that’s interesting.
i hope it was just a one of because of the unfamiliar back line.
i checked my dvr last night & found the blackburn & fulham games, the corners looked very different, definitely zonal.
of course, we still conceded from a corner, dempsey got in powerfully and beat dunne all ends up.
as you say, comes down to personnel.
Looking at that, there was not much wrong with the way Villa set up at corners. Players on the post, free man (men) to attack the ball in the six yard box, and the runners being man marked.
Clearly Cahill’s goal could not be blamed on the defensive plan. Firstly his run was well timed and determined. If we have to be critical (and we do) the goal was Nathan Bakers fault. The idea of marking the runners is not necessarily to win the ball; it is to slow the runner down (legally) usually done by putting your shoulder in just as the ball is about to be delivered, then staying doggedly with the runner as the ball is coming over and finally putting in enough of a challenge to prevent the runner having a clean strike of the ball.
Young Nathan failed. In a way, purely for his own learning curve it is best that they actually scored from his slackness. The longer young players keep getting away unpunished with bad habits, the harder it can be to convince them they are not doing something right.
No there can be no argument, the ball ended up in the back of the net; he has to tighten up next time.
On the point of zonal marking, Now that the outfield positions are being picked on skill and technique rather than height and aerial ability, like most modern sides we simply do not have the players to make it work
UTV
that’s exactly how i look at it. nothing emphatically wrong with what they did, baker was just beaten. it happens, but overall i’ve been pleasantly surprised by baker at this level.
Great analysis Dan. It really helps “see” how the plays developed.
One thing that seems clear (at least for this game) is that lack of a regular back four has made it difficult for each player to know their defensive responsibilities. You noted that on the first short corner, Delph stayed home on his post yet he was pulled out of position on the second. I don’t know what is right but one of those times he was in the “wrong” place.
On the third corner Martin Petrov was left all alone while others hung out in space. On several corners it seems like they marked their runners tight at the beginning while others the defense waited in the box for a run to be made. All this inconsistency has to be due to the level of experience of the players as well as the lack of playing time together.
One note, and I know I harp on this. I didn’t see any of the corners where Bolton kicked it straight to Friedel. How about a floater over everyone’s head? Both Holden and Petrov got their kicks into the danger area EVERY time. Eight corners, eight good opportunities. We need a set-piece kicker who can deliver in the same way (for example, Albrighton and Downing?)
indeed. the key point being that bolton deserve some credit; they varied their corner routine and made their delivery count.
we could certainly take a leaf out that manual.
Excellent analysis. Refreshing to see an article have a proper look at aspects of our game, rather than just blindly blaming Houllier/the defence because we conceded 3 goals.
Having said that, I wonder what would have been the outcome had Warnock played? I know he’s not flavour of the month at VP, and by all accounts his attitude stinks, but with the makeshift defence we had I can’t help but feel that his experience would have proven useful. I’m all for playing the youngsters, but I think the youth and inexperience in defence is what cost us on Saturday. Baker should play when he has Dunne/Collins/Cuellar to help him out, especially when we have a full-back playing in the centre (a short one at that!). Something we’ll never know though.
BTW, did you take the player graphics from Football/Championship Manager? They look strikingly familiar
mmm, warnock will clearly be off this summer. he captained the reserves in their loss at wigan on tuesday night. he and beye played in the loss at wolves too, beye the captain that time.
the problem is, he was a liability in open play when he was playing this season, and not much use in set pieces like these here. tbh, i’d rather just about any motivated player from our squad at left back over a mardy, disinterested warnock.
as for the graphics, i suppose they’re similar to the footy manager games, but it’s a fairly standard way of looking at things, there isn’t a great deal of scope. but i’ve created these myself, right down to the texture of the grass on the pitch.
I agree Warnock’s days at VP are numbered. I don’t begrudge GH not playing SW, as good players don’t just become bad players overnight – I think there is still some ill-feeling on SW’s part over the way he felt he was treated by the gaffer whilst at Liverpool, so I can see why, with an attitude like that, he doesn’t play. However, a bit of experience can sometimes prove vital in a young defence. Hindsight though is a wonderful thing and his name wouldn’t even be being mentioned if Baker had just been a bit luckier/quicker.
Beye I’ve never rated so I’m not surprised we haven’t seen him this season.
It will be interesting to see if we sign a LB in the summer. Baker has potential there, certainly, but as far as I was aware he’s not a natural LB by trade? Could be wrong though. Either way, I don’t think he’s yet ready to be our permanent first-choice LB, just like I don’t think Lichaj is ready yet to be our permanent RB.
here’s a weird thing. in my mind, warnock was poor before houllier arrived, i wrote a post a while back about all the bookings he was picking up – he was suspended for 5 in short order this season.
i just checked, although he did start collecting yellow cards before houllier officially took charge, it was after his appointment was announced.
have to be careful of thinking 2+2=5, but there is a stark contrast between 4 bookings in 41 appearances for us last season and 8 in 21 this season.
it’s almost like he just didn’t care any more. we do know that houllier asked him to move to the area, something he doesn’t want to do.
it’s shame as he was better than shorey, but probably still not as good as bouma at his best.
and yeah, baker’s a centre half by trade, but i saw him play left back for england U19s in the past.
IMO Warnock is a very poor defender, he ducks under crosses, he would rather kick players up in the air than work hard and jockey them. He kicks the ball out needlessly for corners etc…. He disappears completely from his position; off the top of my head; he was nowhere in sight for the goals scored by Blues (LC), Sunderland (away), Spurs (home) when they crossed from our left.
When he gives away a needless free-kick in a dangerous position, he jogs away with a stupid grin on his face. No apology to his team mates, just a silly schoolboy expression; and you know full well that in the same situation he will do exactly the same next time. If I was Dunne or Collins I’m afraid he’d have had a good shaking by now at the very least.
£8m for him 18 months ago, I think Blackburn must still be laughing. We were ripped off big time and I think we’ll be lucky to get £1m in the summer.