7am kickoff today analyses the effectiveness of corners.

[Ashberto]

Qualitative Executive Summary: Man Utd and Chelsea score lots of goals from them, while Arsenal are rubbish at them (which surely most of us knew). Özil might help with them, though.

Link: (warning, may contain numbers)
http://www.7amkickoff.com/2013/of-course-corners-matter-why- the-numbers-game-got-it-wrong/ (http://www.7amkickoff.com/2013/of-course-corners-matter-why-the-numbers-game-got-it-wrong/)

[Luis Anaconda]

It’s a bold statement, which is correct in terms of correlations between number of corners taken and net goal difference, but patently wrong in terms of the way the game is actually played.

[Luis Anaconda]

I was being kind

[Mack]

[Pat Vegas]

[Ashberto]

and Man U and Chelsea are strong.

Unless we want to go down the road of sneering at Americans for looking at stats, even though we are happy to use them ourselves in cricket.

[Luis Anaconda]

Hence all the info on the scorecard from the dawn of time. Football is free-flowing. Chelsea may have been much better at corners than us but they only scored 3 more goals overall so presumably corners aren't important as all that they are just one way to score a goal

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Gibbs, Sagna, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski all from what would have been our starting 11 last season – none really likely to win that aerial duel in the box. Subtle defending of messers Mertesacker and to a lesser degree Koscielny and the job is done.

Factor in also that a lot of our dead ball delivery is appalling.

An ‘interesting’ stat may be how many of our corners we chose to play short and to try to work an opening. A corner at it’s most basic level is a hopeful punt into the area, a 50/50 ball where the defence has as good a chance of winning it than not, probably better based on number of bodies. Such a hopeful punt is the antithesis of Wengerball.

[redgunamo]

statisticians are keen to grab their share of it.

[Monty91]

[Classic Jorge]

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Not interesting to me you understand.

[Luis Anaconda]

[Monty91]

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

I just cannot be arsed to demonstrate this on an internet forum which I use simply as a distraction from the world of direct mail and database management.

Meet me in a pub before or after games and I am often found re-creating tactical issues with beermats and on occasions re-enacting them with complete strangers.

[Classic Jorge]

It's monty now, as I want to hang around with his rich jewish stepdad

[Classic Jorge]

You of all people, an english jewish gentleman

[Ashberto]

them instead, and perhaps picked up a few more points. Just because we are maybe better at doing some other things than Chelsea are, doesn't mean that we can't improve in other areas.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Strikes me as the type to sidle up the bar at 2:25 and ask what types of coffee they have.

[Monty91]

http://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/daniel-finkelstei n-at-the-times.89774/ (http://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/daniel-finkelstein-at-the-times.89774/)

[Classic Jorge]

Bring your own, innit.

Of course, this is forgetting LA, PSRB, red, snin, Dr Head, Fleeetwoodetc, Chief etc etc etc

[Classic Jorge]

I thought it was a 'Tree Torty' sort of thing. Now I'm technically an Irish national I was going to report you to Mfanwy+.

[Ashberto]

LA might be forced to criticise paid journalists instead - which is a risky business. ;-)

[redgunamo]

Naturally, Wenger would prefer us to play Wengerball.

Even hiring Steve Bould to "sort our set-pieces out" for instance, can only be effective up to a point because he is only in the job BECAUSE he has bought into the whole WB doctrine and NOT because he wants to change it.

[Ashberto]

Matchday is a long one for our Irish pals, what with the pub being open at the airport at 7am.

[redgunamo]

[redgunamo]

[Ashberto]

[redgunamo]

[Ashberto]

[Luis Anaconda]

and the game is all about pace these days