At the very highest level, set pieces are playing an ever-growing important role.
At one stage, set-pieces were considered tools for sides who perhaps lacked the ability to create chances via other methods. Now though, with margins at the very top so tight, the very best sides are investing more resources and hiring more set-piece specialists to help them enhance and maximise their returns from dead-ball situations.
It’s believed that efficiency from set-pieces at both ends of the pitch could account for up to a 30 per cent improvement in teams, meaning these coaches could have a big say in things such as the Premier League title race and Champions League places next season.
But who are the key figures working behind the scenes on innovative designs and ideas to get the very best from the Premier League’s top clubs?
Manchester United - Eric Ramsay
Ramsay previously worked at Shrewsbury Town and with Chelsea's under-23 side before being hired last summer by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. His official role was to work on individual development and the club’s set pieces.
It was a hit-miss first campaign for Ramsay with only two Premier League sides scoring fewer than United’s total of seven set-piece goals. However, only three sides actually conceded fewer such goals than their total of six. And it’s this that technical director Darren Fletcher pointed to when praising Ramsay earlier this year.
“People only give the one narrative about scoring from set-pieces," he said.
"The biggest reason Eric was brought in was because we were conceding too many goals from set-pieces. We have really improved our defending from set-pieces and wide free-kicks this season. Eric is a fantastic coach.”
Arsenal - Nicolas Jover
It’s becoming quite common to see City players swapping the Etihad for the Emirates, with Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko both having made that switch this summer.
Jover though made this familiar move last summer, after Mikel Arteta poached him following two successful years with the champions. He’s had an instant impact during his first 12 months at the club, specifically from an attacking point of view.
Arsenal finished behind only Man City and Liverpool in terms of set-piece goals last season, netting 16, whereas in the season before his arrival, they scored the third-fewest with just six.
Manchester City - Carlos Vicens
Following Jover’s departure, Vicens was promoted from coaching City's Under 18s to joining Pep Guardiola’s first-team backroom staff. Even despite the good work previously done by Jover, Vicens was credited with revolutionising City's output from set-pieces last season.
City scored 21 Premier League goals from dead ball situations while conceding just once, that’s the best set-piece goal difference in the competition's history.
Guardiola looked set to lose him this summer after he agreed to become manager of Heracles Almelo in the Netherlands. Vicens reversed his decision though following their relegation and instead opted to extend his stay at Etihad.
Tottenham - Gianni Vio
Although later to the party than many of their other league rivals, Tottenham are the latest club to bring in a specialist set-piece coach. Vio comes to North London with an impressive CV having played a big part in Italy’s success in last summer's European Championships.
Only three Premier League sides scored fewer set-piece goals than Spurs last season, which is something Conte will be keen to see improve under Vio’s guidance. The former banker has spent more than 20 years studying the numerous variations of free-kicks and has reportedly designed 4,830 different routines.
He has even launched a website on his findings and released a book titled 'That Extra 30 Per Cent', which, as previously mentioned, refers to how much set pieces can improve a team’s goal tally.
Chelsea - Anthony Barry
Barry has built a strong reputation in the coaching world. After assisting Paul Cook at Wigan, he joined Chelsea in the summer of 2020 as an assistant coach to Frank Lampard and has excelled with the Blues ever since.
His brief under Lampard was to improve their poor record from set-pieces in both the defensive and attacking phase, and it’s fair to say he’s done that. Chelsea's performances from set-pieces have been on a consistent upward curve ever since he took over responsibility for them, leading to him also landing a role with the Republic of Ireland.
Lampard tried to bring Barry with him to Everton after joining the Toffees in January, however, Thomas Tuchel, who has spoken highly of the coach in the past, reportedly fought hard to keep him at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool - Peter Krawietz
For a while now, Liverpool have largely been considered one of the best in terms of maximising marginal gains.
They were one of the first top European sides to use a throw-in coach, they work with Neuro11 which is a company that specialises in fact-based mental strength training and now have an agreement in place with Zone7ai, a firm that use AI to highlight when injuries might occur.
It’s therefore not a huge shock that they regularly rank among the league’s best in terms of scoring the most set-piece goals while conceding the fewest. Unlike their league rivals, the Reds don’t have one specific coach dedicated to set-pieces, though assistant manager Peter Krawietz has been praised by Jurgen Klopp for a lot of their good work from them in the past.
Following their Champions League victory over Inter Milan in February, where a well-worked Roberto Firmino headed goal turned the tie in Liverpool's favour, Klopp said: "Yes. Pete Krawietz and our analysts are responsible for that (goal).
"When we do the analysis, we obviously see how the opponent is defending – everybody is doing that – and we didn’t have a lot of time to train, but yes we trained set-pieces yesterday.”
