Free Kick concern

[fluke]

I'm with those who say don't panic but can certainly relate to those who are. saturday was the worst performance i've watched since the 3-2 loss to city a couple of seasons ago. that familiar sinking feeling was not missed last season. two real concerns for me is a) the carrick deal seemed inevitable for so long that it is dissapointing that equivillent back up wasn't found. by this i mean someone tried and proved in the prem already. this issue has been discussed in previous threads however. less discussed but just as troubling is ;

b)is anyone else concerned about the lack of creativity, accuracy and sucess from our deadball situations? there have already been quite a few opportunities squandered from such situations. i know jenas hit a beauty against united last season but i would hardly call him a specialist from what i've seen since. it concerns me because set peices are such a big part of a successfull teams repertoire in the modern game.

[SurreySpur]

I completely agree with your second point regarding creativity from set-pieces. In a post a month or so ago i said i thought that michael dawson would step up and start getting on the end of a few corners and free-kicks, im sure he'll get a few this season but i always get the impression that the players dont have confidence in themselves from dead-ball situations, other teams always look threatening wether it be from the right, left or a central position.

[highlander]

it was a worry of mine last season about the amount of free-kicks that were wasted with training ground routine's which that never ever worked. Jenas some decent strike's last season, Defoe, Davids, Keane, Zokora & Lennon are all pretty handy with a dead ball. if the Downing deal comes off then we will certainly have a clear fre kick * corner taker