QuoteIsn't he also our top Premiership goal scorer this season, and with top number of assists?Originally Posted by richieos
You would think he would be the first name on the team sheet on that basis.
i agree, with the whole throw in thing, nobody has taken the time to notice that delap gets his tackles in, is a neat passer of the ball, and also takes stokes free kicks and corners. hes very involved in the game all round its just that the focus is put on those rocket throw ins
Isn't he also our top Premiership goal scorer this season, and with top number of assists?
You would think he would be the first name on the team sheet on that basis.
I have never seen anyone throw the ball like Delap, when did he start throwing it like most guys kick it? It is unbelievable, I presume coaches all around the country and trying to emulate this?? He has transformed the throw-in.
I have a guy on my team who can throw it as far.
If you want to vastly increase your throwing distance, exhale at the moment you release the ball.
Arm-strength and technique play a part too, but this is the key difference between an average throw and a long throw.
The guy on my team screams as he releases the ball, it's hilarious.
I agree with the top part - he's no world beater but he's no slouch either. He's been underrated by the Irish set up for years.
Regarding his throw & our lack of real height - you don't need height to win near post flicks and these are desperately hard to defend.
I'd resist the temptation to play him solely on the long throwing ability alone. It would have to be someone who can do a competent job with the added bonus of a long throw. Not the other way around!!!
This isn't water polo and its a bit of an insult to the player also.
He could be instrumental in causing some organised chaos if introduced for the final 10 mins of a game but again, there would have to be confidence in his footballing ability in open play, first and foremost.
Quoting years at random since 1975
I have that confidence. At least I think he deserves a look - even if it's only in training.
In my view:
He has played central mid before at club level. When he played there for Southampton I think it co-incided with their best run of form for years, albeit around 2003
He's an athlete - we have few enough of those, esp now Reid is out for the year
He's versatile
Past performances for Ireland don't really reflect on his ability - he has never been played in position.
After Keane's initial retirement I thought he was the obvious choice to come in as he was playing defesive midfield for Southampton at the time.
I think the answer to our problems is more likely to lie with Garvan & O'Toole though.
True - no harm can come of seeing what he can offer the team in the short term.
I've also a mild curiousity as to exactly how much mayhem those oft mentioned throws could cause towards the end of a game
Quoting years at random since 1975
funnily enough i've always thought that Delap had something to offer back in the days when we were plodding along with Kinsella and Matt Holland in the middle of the park and I still do now. He's a big lad and he's also quite a handy tidy player in the centre of the park. If he's good enough in the eyes of his club manager to keep Whelan out of the team then surely he merits a place in the squad at least....
"Well I think they'll be a little disappointed with that" - Matt Holland on TV3 after 5-2 drubbing by Cyprus
He's been involved in 13 Stoke goals this season. 11 assists and 2 goals scored............i think!
Only has 1 goal this year, don't know about assists
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
eleven-a-side are reporting that Bolton are interested in swooping in for him in January.
Wonder how much he'd go for?
How big of a bang on the head would the stoke chairman or manager have to get for them to decide to sell their best asset.
Mark "Grab all" Lawro on today fm on mon night didnt see any merit in calling delap up to the irish team. Said that international teams would be much wiser to it, gave the example of wimbledon years ago, that when playing for liverpool against them, they would sooner give the ball back to them than give away a throw in in their own half or a set piece.
I know one team in the premiership this season (cant remember who) employed the tactic of putting a player standing in front of delap as he took the throw and it seemed to work, surprised more havent done the same.
Was his thinking entirely related to his throwing though? That'd be an added bonus, but the real issue is shoring up a midfield that looked desperately light in Steven Reid's absence.
Really dont think that playing him centre mid would be a progressive move. I think we should be looking to bring on the likes of Garvan, McCann, O'Toole and McCarthy. I said before that his best position for us might be at left back. He has played at right full and on the left side of midfield and I think that he could be a more effective all round defender than KK. And before somone says that KK "played all last season at left full for Wigan" - he didn't. Most of his appearances were in midfield and most of his appearances at the minute are on the subs bench.
Trapattoni doesn't demand much from his central midfielders - it's basically sit in front of the back four and protect them. I don't see why Delap can't come in and adequately perform this role. His throw-ins are amazing and they would cause havoc for our opponents. I think given that Trapattoni wants our central pairing to be more destructive than creative, and with his throw-ins, Delap is arguably the best option in the absence of Steven Reid.
You have to be at least 2 yards away from the throw taker.
7 of Stoke's 13 goals have come from the throw.
Last edited by eirebhoy; 05/11/2008 at 5:48 PM.
Not many would admit to actually watching a whole 90 minutes of a Stoke game.
The only thing I saw on brief highlights were his 2 throw ins and an awful tackle from behind which caused an opposition to be carried off.
And now Delap is a name on Wenger's lips
well i watched the full 90 mins of their matches against arsenal, liverpool, and sunderland and delap is quite impressive, quietly effective in open play, and dangerous from set pieces
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