Michael Hall

Michael Owen on his idea of not having a wall for long distance free kicks: "I was watching Szoboszlai’s free kick and thought: ‘I think the wall in this situation is an obstacle.’ It wouldn’t surprise me if, soon, when teams have a free kick from that far out, more than 30 yards, the goalkeeper just stands in the middle and there’s no wall. I bet he wouldn’t even need to dive. I’m sure he could just move sideways and save it. The wall in that situation is an obstacle for the goalkeeper, not for the kicker. The keeper doesn’t get a clear view. Plus, it gives the kicker a target to aim over, a reference point. And so the keeper always has to shift to one side of the goal or the other. If the keeper stays in the middle and there’s nothing in front of him, what would happen is that the opponents would start blocking. They’d form their own wall. And that shows you that the free kick taker wants a wall, because it gives him a point of reference. From 20 yards you need a wall. But from 33 yards, I think the wall is an obstacle for the keeper."