Home
WANDERERS are hoping to renew their set piece threat as an extra weapon in the relegation run-in.
Corners, free-kicks and long throws provided a rich seam of goals for Phil Parkinson’s side last season but this time around the supply line appears to have run dry.
According to statistics from squawka.com, corners have provided just three goals for the Whites – a divisional low matched only by Burton Albion – and the same number from crossed free-kicks.
Taking all available data, the likes of Ipswich, Cardiff City, Reading and QPR have been twice as likely to score from a set piece as Bolton this season.
Considering the aerial threat posed by Mark Beevers, David Wheater et al, which had been such a force in League One, it is surprising to see Wanderers struggle.
After sharing 16 goals between them last season, Beevers and Wheater have yet to get off the mark this term. Derik Osede, Mark Little and Reece Burke are the only Bolton defenders with league goals to their name, although Dorian Dervite also netted in the EFL Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday.
Parkinson admitted recently he was keen to try and spread the supply of goals, especially given the recent departure of one of the biggest set piece threats, Gary Madine.
“We’d like the centre-backs to chip in, which they haven’t been able to do this season,” he told The Bolton News. “They’ve been unlucky in fairness, they’ve had a lot saved and blocked on the line but we need to keep chipping in all over.”
Wanderers have scored 29 goals in the Championship this season, their average of 0.89 placing them third bottom in the division above Burton and Birmingham City.
Madine’s exit to Cardiff City has taken away what had been their chief scoring threat and forced a slightly different approach. But the signs are that Parkinson is looking to boost his goal supply by putting a greater emphasis on set pieces on the training ground – much as he did when he first walked through the doors in the summer of 2016.
“We have been working very hard on set pieces,” said Wheater last week. “It’s an area I think the gaffer wants us to get a lot better at. We were a threat last season but for whatever reason it hasn’t happened for us this year. But I think there are signs it is coming back and hopefully we can all chip in.”
Stats from Squawka also show Wanderers have had less possession than any other side in the Championship (44 per cent) and that only Cardiff City (9,115) have played fewer passes (9,625) in total.
Only Burton (171) have had fewer shots at goal than Bolton (199) but the Whites’ shot accuracy of 44 per cent is 12th overall in the table.
Wanderers are also shown to have the hardest-working defence, with 191 interceptions, 59 blocked shots and 665 clearances so far.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/16053869.Why_Wanderers_are_trying_to_revive_their_set_piece_threat_in_the_Championship/
Corners, free-kicks and long throws provided a rich seam of goals for Phil Parkinson’s side last season but this time around the supply line appears to have run dry.
According to statistics from squawka.com, corners have provided just three goals for the Whites – a divisional low matched only by Burton Albion – and the same number from crossed free-kicks.
Taking all available data, the likes of Ipswich, Cardiff City, Reading and QPR have been twice as likely to score from a set piece as Bolton this season.
Considering the aerial threat posed by Mark Beevers, David Wheater et al, which had been such a force in League One, it is surprising to see Wanderers struggle.
After sharing 16 goals between them last season, Beevers and Wheater have yet to get off the mark this term. Derik Osede, Mark Little and Reece Burke are the only Bolton defenders with league goals to their name, although Dorian Dervite also netted in the EFL Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday.
Parkinson admitted recently he was keen to try and spread the supply of goals, especially given the recent departure of one of the biggest set piece threats, Gary Madine.
“We’d like the centre-backs to chip in, which they haven’t been able to do this season,” he told The Bolton News. “They’ve been unlucky in fairness, they’ve had a lot saved and blocked on the line but we need to keep chipping in all over.”
Wanderers have scored 29 goals in the Championship this season, their average of 0.89 placing them third bottom in the division above Burton and Birmingham City.
Madine’s exit to Cardiff City has taken away what had been their chief scoring threat and forced a slightly different approach. But the signs are that Parkinson is looking to boost his goal supply by putting a greater emphasis on set pieces on the training ground – much as he did when he first walked through the doors in the summer of 2016.
“We have been working very hard on set pieces,” said Wheater last week. “It’s an area I think the gaffer wants us to get a lot better at. We were a threat last season but for whatever reason it hasn’t happened for us this year. But I think there are signs it is coming back and hopefully we can all chip in.”
Stats from Squawka also show Wanderers have had less possession than any other side in the Championship (44 per cent) and that only Cardiff City (9,115) have played fewer passes (9,625) in total.
Only Burton (171) have had fewer shots at goal than Bolton (199) but the Whites’ shot accuracy of 44 per cent is 12th overall in the table.
Wanderers are also shown to have the hardest-working defence, with 191 interceptions, 59 blocked shots and 665 clearances so far.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/16053869.Why_Wanderers_are_trying_to_revive_their_set_piece_threat_in_the_Championship/