Good Morning. It's Friday 5th September, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Leeds finally to appoint set piece coach In a move that signals a significant shift in tactical strategy, Leeds United are set to address a long-standing weakness by appointing a specialist set-piece coach. The decision is widely seen as long overdue, particularly when considering the growing importance of dead-ball situations in the modern game. With nearly 20% of all Premier League goals in recent seasons coming from set-pieces, the value of a specialist in this area cannot be overstated. For years, the club's inability to deliver corners and free-kicks with consistent accuracy has been a source of frustration and grievance among the Elland Road faithful. While other clubs have exploited these marginal gains to secure vital points, Leeds have often squandered their opportunities. As one of only four top-flight clubs to operate without such a specialist, this appointment could be crucial if Leeds are to avoid the drop. Farke's players are yet to score in open day, but given the height and strength advantage, has a chance to turn a chronic weakness into a consistent threat. Fine margins so often decide a team's fate, and the gaffer needs to find a way to unlock defences, and has little creative influence to call upon. The 49ers have set him a target of 38 points for survival; he will need every advantage he can get his hands on, if Leeds are to achieve this! please log in to view this image Calculated Gamble or Missed Opportunity Leeds United's recent transfer window activity continues to spark intense debate, leaving fans questioning whether the club's decision to retain key players was a calculated gamble or a missed opportunity to bolster the squad. Faced with the potential need to comply with PSR, Managing Director Robbie Evans and the board opted against selling high-value assets like Wilfried Gnonto, Mateo Joseph, Pascal Struijk, and Ao Tanaka, despite knowing their departures would have injected tens of millions into the transfer budget. Initially, the club believed they could secure their primary targets without player sales, but as pursuits for players like Igor Paixao and Rodrigo Muniz stalled, the need for additional funds became increasingly clear. Ultimately, Evans stood firm, deeming the offers for players like Gnonto undervalued and concluding that suitable "stretch" signings weren't available to justify their sale. This decision has split the Leeds fanbase. Some argue that the club missed a golden opportunity to reinvest in the squad, potentially strengthening areas of concern and allowing for greater squad depth. They believe the reluctance to sell may limit the team's chances of promotion and potentially lead to future financial difficulties. Others, however, trust the long-term vision of retaining promising talent, believing that the squad's inherent quality is sufficient to achieve their goals. They argue that sacrificing key players for short-term financial gain could have been detrimental to the team's performance and morale. Whether this strategy was primarily driven by the 49ers ownership, manager Daniel Farke, or a collaborative consensus, the success or failure of this approach will be definitively judged at season's end. If Leeds retain their Premier league status, the gamble will be hailed as a masterstroke. If they fall short, the questions surrounding their reluctance to sell will undoubtedly resurface, leaving Evans' bet resting precariously on faith - faith in the squad's potential and the belief that the best deals are sometimes the ones you choose not to make. please log in to view this image
I assumed we had a set piece coach. Just that he/she weren't very good Considering the amount of money involved and the difference between the good and the bad in terms of goals scored/conceded from set pieces, I'm surprised 4 PL clubs don't have a specialist coach. Be interesting to see whether all 4 of those are near the bottom for goals scored/conceded as a percentage of attacking/defensive set piece stats. You would expect that a coach studies the set piece strategies of your next opponent and role plays them out in sessions during the week as a bare minimum in the modern game. Didn't look like we'd done it at Arsenal
We don't have a set piece coach. WTAF? Thats obvious. Next we'll find out we don't have a goalkeeping coach. Would that be a surprise...
Obviously not done the best business up front but with 4 points in 3 games that suggests different. Come on all, let’s have some positivity, we’ve started really well and we’ll make it difficult for any team at Elland Road. I think solid defences are more important than goals and Wolves finished 13th by only scoring 31 goals in 22/23 season so achievable. Therefore keep it tight and as an example we only realistically need Tanaka/Struijk/Bijol/Longstaff to get 1 each, Bogle/Stach/Gnoto/James/Harrison/Aaronson/Piroe to get 2 each, Nmecha to get 3, Okafor 4 & DCL 6. All shown signs that’s achievable so I think we need to get over the transfer window and start thinking it’s all but over.
I'm sure everyone will get behind the team on matchday's and bleat like hell on here afterwards. That's what it's for. Personally i haven't resigned us to relegation, i think it will be tough but I thought last years team were a step up from recent promotion winning teams and we had a head start. I think we'll make like difficult at home but I am frustrated/disappointed at the lack of attacking options available... and the injury risk potential of the ones we did get in. It's management by hope. It could work out fine and I'd still think that.
Yeh we improved... depends how good the defences are. I'd image we were outright top for number of corners won etc and bottom for number of corners conceded so it's the relative numbers that are most relevant. Have no idea whether that would change matters. Where's Aski when you need him
Villa rely heavily on a set piece coach, watch Arsenal block the keeper from coming out as seen against Man Utd and watch how many goals from corners they get. Zonal marking doesn’t cut it in this league
Back in April I made a post on one of Sniffers threads that clarified that the average percentage of goals scored from corners in the Championship last season was 2.9% and over the last 10 years the highest percentage had been 4.2. At the time I posted, we had scored 7 goals from 284 corners, so a conversion rate of 2.4%. One extra goal would have seen us with an average conversion rate, whilst 2 extra goals would have seen our conversion rate increase to 3.2%. Think on average for last season in the Championship, most teams scored around 10% of their total number of goals from corners, so we should have scored around 9 or 10 goals. At the time I posted those stats we still had 7 games to play starting with the away game at Luton. We scored 16 goals from those remaining 7 games but none from a corner, so we ended up with approx 7.3% of our goals being scored as a result of a corner. Last season on average we took the highest number of corners per game with 7. The closest rivals were Sheff Wed with 6.1 and Coventry with 6 per game. We also had the least number of corners to defend per game at 3. Burnley on average faced 3.8, with Bristol City facing 4.2 followed by Sunderland defending 4.3 corners per game. In total we took 327 corners and scored 7 goals as a direct result of a corner, (there were a few that we scored goals from the 2nd ball etc, think James at Luton was one, but I may be mistaken). So our conversion rate was poor at 2.1, but our game wasn't built on scoring from set pieces.
outstanding work. Love it when statman backs up my point. Although certain playing styles/teams play for set pieces, and you’d expect the big lump sides to do better…. Everyone would take a ‘free’ goal or two if they could get it.. and no one likes to concede from them
