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Rory Delap's bicycle kicks


Colinjb
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I can remember he scored an absolutely astounding overhead kick against Spurs in a 1-0 win but I recall he performed another similar goal against someone but it was disallowed. I think maybe Man City?

 

Can anyone else remember?

 

That Spurs game was one of my best memories at St Mary's. The bitter feeling towards them (not for the first or last time!) was so intense, being Hoddle's first game back. Even though the 4-0 in the cup not so long after was a great day, I recall the 1-0 being a lot more intense and pure joy/relief when we won it.

 

Never felt Delap was very good for us - always felt like he was on the brink of being good but never got there, was weird seeing him be such a success at Stoke - funny how little use we made of his throw ins.

 

Can't remember the other overhead unfortunately!

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That Spurs game was one of my best memories at St Mary's. The bitter feeling towards them (not for the first or last time!) was so intense, being Hoddle's first game back. Even though the 4-0 in the cup not so long after was a great day, I recall the 1-0 being a lot more intense and pure joy/relief when we won it.

 

Never felt Delap was very good for us - always felt like he was on the brink of being good but never got there, was weird seeing him be such a success at Stoke - funny how little use we made of his throw ins.

 

Can't remember the other overhead unfortunately!

 

Beattie scored in the game you're thinking of. Delap was the following year.

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Beattie scored in the game you're thinking of. Delap was the following year.

 

So it was, guess the memorable goal and memorable game with same scorelines have merged over the years! In which case then, the Beattie game was the one I remember fondly, but obviously still remember the Delap strike well!

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Was it Arsenal '04 and the 2-2 game where he could have had a hat-trick?

 

Don't think it was at Highbury. But, wow, that game was crazy.

 

With Delap, always makes me laugh that we had the best long throw specialist in the league and barely used him. Only once did we try it and of course it worked, Peter Crouch scoring a header v Everton straight from a throw.

Edited by Colinjb
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Don't think it was at Highbury. But, wow, that game was crazy.

 

With Delap, always makes me laugh that we had the best long throw specialist in the league and barely used him. Only once did we try it and of course it worked, Peter Crouch scoring a header v Everton straight from a throw.

 

It was definitely Arsenal away in our relegation season. Winning 2-1 going into injury time and the referee just kept playing till they scored.

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Don't think it was at Highbury. But, wow, that game was crazy.

 

With Delap, always makes me laugh that we had the best long throw specialist in the league and barely used him. Only once did we try it and of course it worked, Peter Crouch scoring a header v Everton straight from a throw.

 

Tessem got one against Sunderland from a Delap long throw once, c.2002.

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YES!!!! The 2-1 Cup win. It was while the scores were at 1-1 in the second half.

 

Wasn't that Higgy? Could have sworn he had one disallowed offside from a corner. Chalkias came flying out to claim a corner, got nowhere near it and ended up on the floor by the edge of the D, thus playing Higgy off in a bizarre twist of accidental genius.

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We definitely used the long throw throughout his time with us. It got booed on occasion in the relegation season! Was much more loopy and easier to defend compared to how it was for Stoke.

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

Spot on. His long throws during his time for Saints were utter garbage. As you say, he just looped them into the box with no real venom. Quite why the coaching staff at the time thought that was a brilliant plan was beyond me, that was just basic stuff. Once he developed the much flatter throw at Stoke, of course it was much more effective!

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I can remember he scored an absolutely astounding overhead kick against Spurs in a 1-0 win but I recall he performed another similar goal against someone but it was disallowed. I think maybe Man City?

 

Can anyone else remember?

 

Proof, if any were needed, that there really isn't anything to talk about in International breaks.

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Did we ever discover he had a long throw while he was here or was it only after he went to Stoke? Incidentally, why doesn't every team train a long throw specialist? It's another means of attack and they lead to quite a few goals.

 

We scored a Crouch header from a Delap throw at St Mary's. Jamie Redknapp was stood on the edge of the box watching it, and later said on MNF that he "didn't know Delap had a throw like that when he was at Southampton".

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Spot on. His long throws during his time for Saints were utter garbage. As you say, he just looped them into the box with no real venom. Quite why the coaching staff at the time thought that was a brilliant plan was beyond me, that was just basic stuff. Once he developed the much flatter throw at Stoke, of course it was much more effective!

 

Untrue, they were just as good and as flat as when he was at Stoke, we just didn't exploit them.

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Untrue, they were just as good and as flat as when he was at Stoke, we just didn't exploit them.

 

RIGHT !. it was a good tactic that worked....(as Pulis proved at Stoke, when he signed Beattie and a few other ex-Saints)...and had couple of good seasons.

 

It was difficult to find many Delap fans at SMS, but tbf.....having been signed for record fee by one manager, he ended up being moved around into other positions by those who came after , and whenever we had form /injury problems (and there were a few of those) ..Delap was never seen as " having settled into one position ", and thus became branded " a utility player " and the (then) ...£4 million record fee tag :scared:...hung around his neck like the proverbial albatross, when people expected more.

 

Pulis played him in an effective role and it worked. His long throws and free kicks found their mark. He was never allowed to be the player he might have become with Saints, and (seemingly) never refused to play any role " the Manager of the Day " put him in, and this eventually left him without a regular shirt to play in.

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Untrue, they were just as good and as flat as when he was at Stoke, we just didn't exploit them.

 

Yet the one scored against Everton was a high looping one that found Crouchy in the area, not the usual flat missile he became known for. Funny old game.

 

Cannot vouch for the previously referenced Jo Tessem goal mind.

Edited by Colinjb
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Untrue, they were just as good and as flat as when he was at Stoke, we just didn't exploit them.

 

Well I must have missed this when I was a season ticket holder back then. My overriding memory was that his long throws were generally crap for us and exactly as Berkshire Saint described above.

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Well I must have missed this when I was a season ticket holder back then. My overriding memory was that his long throws were generally crap for us and exactly as Berkshire Saint described above.

 

They were alright, but he just didn't use them that often - certainly not all the time like he did at Stoke, and we didn't do anything in particular to try and attack the throws, block off defenders, load up the near post, practice flick-ons, movement off the ball etc. All of which were things Stoke explicitly worked on, not to mention the gaps in the ad boards, towels to dry off the ball, narrow pitch, and whatever else they got up to.

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