BY NOT shooting more at goal, Crystal Palace are only shooting themselves in the foot, according to columnist DAN GIBBS...
CREATIVITY leads to chances, movement creates goalscoring opportunities, openings create goals, goals create wins and a win means an all-important three points.
It's been three weeks since Palace managed that simple formula to come away with victory. Of late, we've been struggling to convert the chances we create but more so, we aren't shooting enough in my opinion.
A common shout I hear from sitting in the Holmesdale is your ordinary football fan yelling "just bloody hit it!" Not the world's best advice, but frustrated fans can't help it as another touch once again proves one too many.
Sometimes, particularly against Stoke and Aston Villa, we tend to adopt Arsenal-like tendencies. We try to literally walk the ball into the goal. In reality we aren't Arsenal, we don't have the technical ability in the box to pass it between the back-four which ultimately leads to a tap in from two yards.
The answer to that problem? Have some more shots from distance. The amount of times I watch Match of the Day and The Football League Show and see teams scoring goals from long range; goals that make you sit up and want to watch the replay. We don't score many goals like that.
We had Mile Jedinak's free-kick, Yannick Bolasie's first Premier League goal against Everton and perhaps Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha's strikes up at Newcastle, but no other goals of shots hit first-time or from distance stand out to me this season.
I'm not suggesting next time Brede Hangeland gets within 25 yards of the opposition's goal he tries a rabona, but if he lays it off to either one of McJedley who hits it first time, it could go in.
Those three have all got a fairly decent strike on them as do Puncheon and Marouane Chamakh. Bolasie is hit and miss. If he were to have five attempts in a game, three would rattle the crossbar and two would end up out for a throw-in but at least he has a go – although he also falls victim to the one too many touches syndrome.
At the end of the day, a goal is a goal and I don't care if it comes off Scott Dann's backside or the strip of orange hair on Yannick's head, they are all worthy to the cause.
I just feel if we stopped trying to play the clever stuff around the box sometimes and just had an effort instead of taking another touch and losing possession, we could have had a lot more goals this season.
Basically Palace players, when you get an opportunity to have a shot, just bloody hit it!
