Leeds United are in the process of appointing a new set-piece coach this month with more focus on gaining important advantages in the Premier League.
Daniel Farke was backed with around £100million of spending during the summer window, but will still feel short in the final third when it comes to creativity.
Leeds notably missed out on Harry Wilson on deadline day, who not only would have improved United’s output from wide areas, but also from a dead ball too.
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Leeds United plan to appoint new set-piece coach to join Daniel Farke’s backroom team
A ‘marginal gain’ many Leeds fans point to as an area the club has very rarely been effective in is set-pieces, whether it’s Marcelo Bielsa’s indifference to what the players do from a dead ball, or Farke’s struggles to find consistency outside of Joe Rothwell’s wicked deliveries last season.
Now, though, the club are in the process of rectifying this shortcoming as the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth reveals a set-piece coach hire is looming:
“The YEP understands that the club are in the process of hiring a set-piece coach for the first time in Farke’s reign. There has been a greater focus placed on the area already with analysis and coaching. Farke’s obsessions will probably always be possession and structure because those fundamental principles are his way,” Smyth wrote.
Analysis has indeed weighed in much more significantly on Leeds’ recruitment decisions since the 49ers’ takeover, and it stands to reason that Leeds would bring in such a coach to make use of set piece situations.
Arsenal have been a dominant force from set-pieces in the Premier League and showed Leeds United how important they are, when executed well. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge)
Leeds’ recruitment over the summer has been well documented in its focus on physically imposing signings, with an average height across 10 signings of 187.9cm (6ft2.8in), the ‘shortest’ of those being Gabriel Gudmundsson at 5ft11in.
So far, though, Leeds haven’t looked too impressive from attacking situations with the 6ft4in Anton Stach on corner duty, while also conceding two of their five goals at Arsenal from corners to the same player, Jurrien Timber.
Coincidentally, Arsenal are the one side many view as top of the class when focusing on dead ball situations, with 50% of their goals this season coming from corners, having hired Nicolas Jover in that department back in 2021 and now seeing the fruits of his labour.
Leeds United taking inspiration from Arsenal, Brentford and others with set-piece hire
It’s an area that Leeds simply cannot afford to neglect this season, especially after putting so much emphasis on signing big players.
We not only need to be defending these situations well, but need to be making more of our own free-kicks and corners than we often do under Farke.
The German will brush this off by using data from last season, but that was with Rothwell taking every dead ball, a player who isn’t here anymore and therefore needs replacing.
Stach’s crosses into the box aren’t bad, but for someone of his height, he needs to be on the end of crosses rather than taking them.
Hopefully a set-piece coach makes some sense of what we’ve built this summer.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!