Delap - No secret to throw-ins

Midfielder enjoying success with delivery

Last updated: 3rd November 2008

Rory Delap

Delap: Long throw specialist

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Stoke City midfielder Rory Delap insists there is no secret behind his trademark long throw-ins.

Delap has been an instrumental figure in Stoke's start to the Premier League season by creating seven of the club's 13 goals.

His accuracy with a long throw-in proved to be Arsenal's undoing at the weekend as he set up Ricardo Fuller and Seyi Olofinjana to score in the 2-1 win.

Opposition teams have yet to come up with a plan to handle Delap's delivery, and the Irishman is keen to make the most of troubling defenders.

Buzz

"I haven't got a clue how fast it is," said Delap in The Sun of his throw-ins. "There's no secret.

"It's just throwing it in there and the lads are doing ever so well to get on the end of it.

"If I throw the perfect ball in, it's so hard to defend against. If I was coming up against it, I wouldn't know how to defend it.

"I don't look after my arms especially. I'm still in the garden with the kids, throwing balls for them.

"It's a buzz and it gets the fans going.

"Obviously everyone knows about it now, but it's still working, so it's still worrying teams. If it's not working, then I will probably start getting slaughtered, but at the moment I'm enjoying it."