49ers have failed Daniel Farke again as Leeds United emerge as Premier League anomaly
Daniel Farke is not being given the level of backing he needs to succeed in the Premier League.
The last few weeks have been entirely focused on the summer transfer window, of which Leeds United failed to take advantage.
Despite Farke making it clear that he wanted attacking reinforcement before the end of the window, the 49ers failed to deliver and have ultimately set Farke up for failure at Elland Road.
However, it isn’t only from a recruitment perspective that they have failed him in, with Leeds emerging as an anomaly when it comes to an appointment behind the scenes.
Leeds one of four teams without a set-piece coach
Ironically, Leeds’ only goal this season has arrived from a set piece, with Lukas Nmecha scoring from the spot in the opening day victory against Everton.
However, aside from that, Leeds have failed to pose any real threat from set-piece situations so far this season.
It isn’t just a coincidence either, with it revealed by Set Piece Guru on X that Leeds are just one of four Premier League teams who are yet to appoint a set-piece coach.
Wolves, Everton and West Ham are the only other teams in the top flight to have a vacancy in that position.
With Farke not backed by the arrival of new attackers in the latter stages of the window, the 49ers need to rectify the set-piece concerns at the very least.
How many goals did Leeds score from set-pieces last season?
Joe Rothwell, now at Rangers, was a real threat for Leeds whenever they had a set-piece situation.
In the 24/25 campaign, however, Leeds only scored in the primary phase from a corner on one occasion, and that was when Pascal Struijk scored in a 2-0 win over Sheffield United, according to LUFCData.
15 goals in total were scored from these situations, though the majority of them were either penalties or second phases of a corner.
In the Premier League, you need to take advnatage of them, and with Leeds having signed several giants in the summer, to not have a set-piece coach is truly bizarre.
If there’s anything the 49ers can do to improve Leeds’ chances of survival, it is to appoint a coach immediately.
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