Martin Laursen backs Aston Villa defenders to come good

Feb 20 2011 by Mat Kendrick, Sunday Mercury

FORMER favourite Martin Laursen has leapt to the defence of the claret and blue backline over Villa’s worrying vulnerability at setpieces.

Gerard Houllier’s men have the Premier League’s worst record for conceding from corners having let in 11 goals from flag-kicks so far this season.

It is in stark contrast to Laursen’s days at the heart of Villa’s defence when Martin O’Neill’s setpiece specialists were dominant in both boxes.

However, the Danish defender believes the claret and blues are still adjusting to a different way of marking from deadball situations.

Under O’Neill, Villa tended to use a zonal system where players were charged with the task of clearing the ball from a designated part of the penalty box.

Houllier, meanwhile, favours more of a man-marking approach where each of the defenders is assigned a particular opponent to deal with.

Laursen believes the tactical change could account for the setpiece susceptibility which reared its ugly head for Blackpool’s equaliser in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road.

But the retired ex-captain is convinced Richard Dunne, James Collins and Co have the quality and experience to adapt to Houllier’s system before too long.

Regular watchers this season have noted that, although Villa put a man on the near post, they have struggled to defend the space directly in front of it, unintentionally inviting opponents to attack that area.

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel’s tendency to stay on his line or occasionally come for and miss deliveries into the six-yard box also seems to have unnerved the defence.

“I don’t know the exact reason for it,” said Laursen who popped back to Villa’s Bodymoor Heath headquarters to say hello on Thursday.

“If you look at last season I don’t think Villa conceded that many goals from corners and free-kicks and they still scored a lot from corners and free-kicks also.