New data makes compelling case for Leeds to make major backroom change
Leeds boss Daniel Farke had plenty of reasons to be jubilant when Joe Rodon headed his team in front against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Yes, it was a well-earned goal in a close game that helped to justify Rodon’s continued selection ahead of Jaka Bijol in the Leeds team.
It was a goal that helped Leeds earn a point against Bournemouth in a Premier League relegation battle that’s looking set to be tighter than in the past few years.
But, beyond that, it was a goal scored from a Leeds corner – a set piece goal – something that Farke had been discussing at length with the media in the prior days.
Daniel Farke doesn’t want a set piece coach, but new data suggests Leeds have room for improvement
Farke was asked whether he had considered hiring a set-piece coach at Leeds, and the German was adamant that he was pleased with the structure of his coaching set-up.
He argued that Leeds had a good record from set pieces, pointing out that they scored more goals from corners than any other team in the Championship last season. And he’s right about that.
They scored 11 times from corners on their way to becoming champions.
However, new data from The Athletic suggests that this statistic might not be so telling because Leeds also earned more corners than any other team (327).
Their data evaluated last season’s Championship teams based on the number of goals occurring from every 100 corners scored and conceded — and Leeds were found to be below average on both counts.
Data available from this season is more basic, but arguably shows an even clearer need for improvement.
While Leeds have scored four set-piece goals this season, they have conceded six. Only one Premier League team (West Ham United) have conceded more.
Daniel Farke should be left to structure his coaching staff how he sees fit
Currently, it’s Leeds’ assistant coach Eddie Riemer who is leading Leeds’ work on set pieces, although that’s as part of a wider team effort.
If that’s how Farke wants to structure his coaching team, so be it.
Farke is changing people’s minds about Leeds being favourites for relegation. He has the team playing well and securing impressive results. That should be all that matters.
| Player | Efforts on goal from corners | Goals from corners |
| Joe Rodon | 33 | 2 |
| Pascal Struijk | 21 | 4 |
| Sam Byram | 15 | 1 |
| Ethan Amapadu | 8 | 0 |
| Georginio Rutter | 7 | 1 |
There may be room for improvement from set-pieces, but the German should be trusted to address that in his own way. There’s no need to pressure him into adopting a new coaching trend just because other teams are doing it.
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