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Irish Hammer 2:11 Mon Apr 4
Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

Top corner, wand of a left foot etc etc

Not many footballing outcomes are foregone conclusions, but Aaron Cresswell wheeling away to celebrate a successful set-piece delivery has become a familiar sight.

Whether it is corners or free kicks, the full-back has a penchant for being a dead-ball specialist. Oscar season might be over, but it would be a slap in the face if Bend It Like Cresswell isn’t in the works.

This season he has scored twice and registered seven assists in 32 cup and league appearances. What is most impressive about his form is he is improving with age. At a time when West Ham United could look to bolster their full-back options, the 32-year-old continues to provide more evidence why the contingency plan for his successor should remain on hold.

His contract is set to expire in the summer of 2023 and his goal in the 2-1 win against Everton was a reminder that his talents are not waning. It was similar to the free kick he scored against Manchester United in September 2019. What sets Cresswell apart from other defenders at the club is that none are capable of producing a similar strike. This is what makes the 2015 Hammer of the Year recipient such a valuable member of this team. He is hugely important for his set-piece delivery and overall contribution to their style of play.

The left-back, who made his 450th career league appearance against Everton, has scored four direct free kicks since joining the club from Ipswich Town in 2014. It is more than any other player.

Player

Direct Free Kick Goals

Aaron Cresswell

4

Dimitri Payet

3

Nolberto Solano

2

Carlos Tevez

2

Mark Noble

2

For all Cresswell’s set-piece qualities though, it had been 923 days since the club last scored from a direct free kick in the league. There have been countless attempts with Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen also throwing their names into the hat. David Moyes was full of praise for the defender after the match.

“He played much better before his back injury,” said Moyes. “He was in top form until mid-November and there are signs he is getting back to it. We were trying to work out how many free kicks he’s taken before he scored today. I guessed 625. We don’t know exactly, but he’s been great on free kicks and corners. I don’t remember him scoring many from a direct free kick. Everton have a top goalkeeper, so to get it over the wall and in was really good.

“People ask us, ‘Do you practise a lot of stuff?’ Our response is ‘no’. But it’s becoming so relevant in the game. We’re not daft — we look to see what the opposition do and vice versa — but when you can bend the ball over the wall, you need players who are technically good to do that.”

The former England international was sidelined for five weeks having suffered a back injury against Manchester City at the end of November. Moyes’ side may have won three of their next seven league games, but the adage “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” was fitting to describe Cresswell’s absence. West Ham struggled to pose a threat on set plays and his replacement, Arthur Masuaku, only impressed sporadically.

cresswell-west-ham
Cresswell whips in his fantastic free kick against Everton (Photo: Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)
It has reached the point where Cresswell being on set pieces should strike fear in the opposition. He provided the assist for Michail Antonio’s solitary goal against Tottenham. It was Cresswell who provided the pass for Jarrod Bowen’s fourth-round FA Cup winner against Kidderminster Harriers. The defender has also impressed on the European stage, having created two assists from set pieces in the 3-0 Europa League group stage win against Genk.

He showed how unselfish he is, having played 120 minutes in the second-leg victory against Sevilla, despite suffering a knock in the 2-1 win against Aston Villa four days earlier.

He has provided nine assists from dead-ball situations since 2019-20 — the second-highest in the league. It is only a matter of time before he equals his tally of eight from 2020-21.

Since 2019-20

West Ham have scored 11 goals from set plays this season, which is the third-highest in the top flight. It is worth stressing the club does not have a specialist set-piece coach. First-team coaches Paul Nevin and Kevin Nolan are the contributing factors; Nevin, in particular, does a lot of the pre-game analysis and will look at the upcoming opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. He will then try to align West Ham to best exploit them.

“We take our work seriously here,” Cresswell told The Times. “With the gaffer’s tactics, everything is carefully worked on and Nevin and Nolan are massive on the set pieces. Every Thursday and Friday we work on them and the coaches will stay behind until five, six o’clock, looking at the opposition and working out their weaknesses, whether it’s front post, back post, middle or whatever. Then we’ll work on a routine to exploit that.”

With six weeks to go until the season ends, West Ham will be hoping for more moments of magic from their set-piece specialist.

chim chim cha boo 4:04 Tue Apr 5
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

We've all seen most of our free-kicks go sailing over the bar and as some are implying the last time the crowd got on their feet in anticipation of a FC leading to a goal was Payet and I think that I would probably go all the way back to Nobby Solano in the twilight of his career before that.

Where Cressy excels is at corners and particularly getting to the byline playing short passes with someone like Manu or Fornals and whipping a ball into the box from there. Then within about 10 seconds if the ball breaks to the opposing team trying to counter with a quick ball over the top he"s made it back to defend.

I think that he is pretty rare in the modern game, good going forward AND a good defender and we've got TWO on both flanks although I would rate Cressy just above Vlad. How many times do you hear a pundit say of a full-back 'he's good going forward' ignoring the fact that the fucker can't defend? Ben Johnson is perfectly decent at covering for Coufal but Cresswell is just about the only position we don't have cover for.

The problem is that at 32 and the longest serving player once Nobes retires, We've got yet another position where we have to get a decent replacement because he's at that age where you don't bounce back so quickly after a knock.

Anyway, he's still the first player on the team sheet for me and thanks as usual Irish.

BillC79 1:51 Tue Apr 5
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

Think Payet got three in the cup as well - Man Utd, Blackburn and Accrington Stanley.

6 in 18 months is pretty incredibly - especially with 3 months missing through injury

Mex Martillo 8:09 Mon Apr 4
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

We really did miss his set corners when he was injured, cannot understand why Fornals takes some now?

Kicking the ball in Ricarlisons face was bad, but it was a lose ball that needed to be cleared!
I loved how pissed of Cresswell was with Richarlison's reaction, but then he did apologise and Richarlison wouldn't accept it and you could also see Cresswell thinking fucking arse.

Thanks Irish

master 4:06 Mon Apr 4
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

Apparently ref watch thinks Cresswell should've been sent off for kicking the ball at Richarlison's arm. Meanwhile he reacts like he's been kicked in the face and receives no punishment for blatantly cheating.

Texas Iron 3:54 Mon Apr 4
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

Cheers…

epsom 3:33 Mon Apr 4
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

Thanks Irish

⚒️ 3:02 Mon Apr 4
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

Payet got one in the last minute vs Accrington.

BillyJenningsBoots 2:52 Mon Apr 4
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

Far Cough

I think Payet must have scored a few in the Cups as well.... but I thought he'd got more PL free kicks too

Pedro 2:52 Mon Apr 4
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

Payet definitely has more than 3 but that includes cups.

I remember :
Bournemouth away
Blackburn away
Man Utd away
Palace home
Liverpool away

Any more?

Far Cough 2:40 Mon Apr 4
Re: Aaron Cresswell, West Ham’s set-piece specialist who is improving with age

Could have sworn that Payet had more than 3 direct free kick goals?