Whether it be in Fleetwood, Bristol, Burton or Whaddon Road, cries of ‘no short corners’ will be common to most. The club's tactic of passing between Hussey and Sercombe before even attempting to put the ball in the box is a source of frustration to some Cheltenham fans and one which has been seen to cost us and waste opportunities.
But is there any benefit to crossing it in straight away versus passing short?
So far this season, Cheltenham have found the net ten times with four different players contributing, but how have these goals gone in?
Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Cheltenham: Crewe’s defender played an ill placed back pass to his goal keeper which saw the ball go straight to Andy Williams who tapped in from close range.
Bristol Rovers 0-2 Cheltenham: Some nice play out from the back lead to a long ball from Callum Wright being fired home by Alfie May to get the first. A short throw-in and some good build up play lead to a rather confident bicycle kick attempt which fell to the feet of Kyle Vassell who slotted home to make it two.
Cheltenham 1-3 Wycombe Wanderers: A Callum Wright cross was headed home by Andy Williams to equalise against Wycombe after some good work from Sean Long. Proof that crossing it in works or a one off?
Cheltenham 2-1 Ipswich: A long ball wasn’t cleared and allowed Will Boyle to cross into the back post for Callum Wright to head in, Cheltenham’s second headed goal out of six goals scored. Cheltenham’s only long throw goal of the season was defended poorly and prodded home by Boyle.
Fleetwood Town 3-2 Cheltenham: Some good passing football and good holdup play from Andy Williams saw Callum Wright played through on goal and finding the corner to put Cheltenham a goal up. Another cross into the box, with more bad defending, came with another goal; Alfie May tapped in after a sliced clearance from Chris Hussey’s cross.
Gillingham 1-1 Cheltenham: A long ball from Ellis Chapman was brought down well by George Lloyd and the ball fell to Alfie May to finish past the goalkeeper.
Burton Albion 1-1 Cheltenham: Playing out from the back led to another long ball into the strikers and the ball wasn’t cleared and fell to Callum Wright who fired home from outside the box.
Outright Defensive Error: 1 (Williams vs Crewe)
One on One: 2 (May vs Bristol, Wright vs Fleetwood)
Tap In: 1 (Vassell vs Bristol)
Cross and finish (open play): 3 (Williams vs Wycombe, Wright vs Ipswich, May vs Fleetwood
Long throw: 1 (Boyle vs Ipswich)
Long ball: 2 (May vs Gillingham, Wright vs Burton)
So that’s ten goals scored in seven games with our top scorers being:
Callum Wright - 3, Alfie May - 3
Andy Williams - 2
Kyle Vassell - 1, Will Boyle - 1
Our so-called ‘long throw FC’ has so far only scored from one long throw, with former captain Ben Tozer absent for most games. With one goal coming from poor passing from Crewe and a couple one on ones mixed in with a tap in and a couple long balls, it’s clear that the robins have been mixing it up when it comes to finding the net.
The method responsible for the most goals on its own, however, is crossing from open play with three occasions to its name. Boyle’s goal versus Ipswich is the only goal so far this season from a set piece with open play clearly the overriding method, perhaps that is why the club insist on short corners?
Either way, the club are yet to score from a corner either direct into the box or played short.
Benefits Of The Short Corner
For teams that focus on retaining the ball and playing it around the pitch to work towards goal, a short corner makes perfect sense. Firing the ball into the box to eighteen players isn’t the most effective way of keeping it,l especially if your ball playing squad isn’t full of six footers.
Playing it short also allows you to change the angle of a cross, having to put the ball in from along the goal line can be tricky and moving to give yourself those extra few yards could be beneficial. Either way, the ball should be ending up in the box. The short corner gives time for defenders to close down the takers and put pressure on Hussey or Sercombe. Over playing can also lead to the ball not ending up near the goal.
The short corner worked well for Barcelona in their prime, who had the likes of Iniesta, Messi and Xavi on the ball and no large players to find in the box. Whilst Cheltenham don’t quite have those three, we do have Will Boyle. Boyle has shown countless times that if you can get the ball to him in the box, he will score.
The main benefiter of Ben Tozer’s long throws scored six goals last season and has twenty two in total for the club, beating the likes of Dan Holman, Luke Varney, John Finnigan and Martin Devaney. Boyle is also the top scorer of players currently at the club, beating Alfie May and Connor Thomas who make up second and third.
So Why Not Get The Ball Into Will Boyle?
When you look at Boyle’s league goals last season, you will see that four came directly from a Tozer throw headed in and one came from a Tozer throw which fell to Wright and Boyle tapped in his shot. The other came against Harrogate from a Sean Long cross headed in. Boyle also scored directly from a long throw against Mansfield in the FA Cup.
Last season clearly showed getting the ball in the box works, especially when you give it to Boyle. In 2019/20, Boyle scored two headers, one from a free kick and one from open play. In 2018/19, Boyle scored five headers, four of which were from open play and one from a free kick. Boyle scored a tap in from a free kick as well.
Andy Williams has also shown good aerial ability, heading in Cheltenham’s equaliser against Wycombe and in 2020/21 he scored four of his eight goals from balls played into him in the box. We cannot forget the likes of Raglan, and the other six outfielders who could get a touch to put it in from a corner.
The Cheltenham Way
For many supporters of Cheltenham in recent years, the headed goal will be no stranger. A key emphasis on getting the ball into the box was key to our survival in 2016/17 and 2018/19. Football under Gary Johnson was simple, get the ball in the box, get the ball in the goal.
There were of course outbreaks of good passing football and attractive play but the aim remained the same. It wasn’t until the appointment of current manager Michael Duff that there has been a switch to more fluid passing football and playing out from the back, rather than hit it long to Danny Wright.
Perhaps the annoyance of seeing short corners comes from the familiarity of Munns to Wright, or Storer to Wright, or even sometimes Rowe to Graham. It cannot be denied that short corners did exist in the Johnson era, with Billy Waters keen on the set piece routines, but more often than not the ball went into the box.
It seems that with the evolution of Duff-Ball and a far more attractive and entertaining brand of football, we may have to make sacrifices. Corners straight into the box could be that sacrifice. Duff has, however, found a way off effectively hitting the ball long and launching the ball into the box from a throw (which is lauded as more accurate than a corner). Maybe he’ll find a way to make effective corners.
No matter what though, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of Hussey, to Sercombe, to Hussey.