Why do teams no longer put players on the posts for corners – Part 3

We have talked about the what? and the potential why? Now let’s talk about the when where and the who. All these things influence what happens in a match and may directly impact what happens at a corner.

It would be interesting to follow a team’s defensive structure at corners throughout a game and if you had the time and patience, throughout the year. What do they do when they are 1, 2, 3 goals down? What do they do when they are 1, 2, 3, goals up? do they keep the same structure no matter who they are playing? This is of course why professional teams are professional, they have the time, resources and money to fund such research. They can then decide how to best defend and deal with the opposition set pieces and it appears for the majority at least that players on the posts are surplus to requirements.

However, at amateur football I believe that players on the posts still have a place. Without knowing your opposition and with teams changing every year, doing the best to create a one system fits all philosophy at corners is best in my opinion. You never know who will be there on the weekend, who will turn up to training and more than likely you are only training 2 nights a week maximum. Its one of the easiest things to tell a player, “If we concede a corner you and you get on the posts”.

So, there are my thoughts on why teams no longer have players on the posts, do I 100% agree with it? No, I think that in some circumstances professional teams should have players on the posts. But it all depends on the situation. I like having them there having said that if your still conceding massive amounts of goals from corners then maybe they would be better off elsewhere.