Does Fulham have a problem with set-pieces?

Milo Hodgkiss digs into the numbers to see if dead ball situations expose a tactical frailty.

Despite our excellent start to the campaign, Fulham are the only Premier League club yet to score from a set-piece this season, and our defending of set-plays is among the worst in the league in the first seven games. Why is this? And will it improve?

Last season: strong at both ends

Fulham conceded the joint fewest goals from corners last season, along with Manchester City (three). This is particularly impressive considering we played with multiple centre-back pairings (Calvin Bassey was our only CB to start more than 20 league games).

In an attacking sense, to me we have always felt like a team that doesn’t score from set-pieces. In reality, last year we were about par, scoring 10 times from dead ball situations.

Set-piece goals, Premier League 2023-24 (Source: Whoscored).

What’s happened this season?

Not only are we the only side yet to bag from a set-piece this term, but we are also in the bottom five for set-piece goals conceded (three of our seven conceded goals have come from corners). However, on closer inspection there are some factors which may explain this dip in efficiency.

In an attacking sense, of the 10 set-piece goals we racked up last campaign, seven were scored by players who have now left the club (Joao Palhinha [three], Tosin Adarabioyo [two], Tim Ream, Bobby De Cordova-Reid [one each]). The physical threats of Tosin and Palhinha in particular are obvious losses. In terms of sheer height, we have adequately replaced that rangy pair with Joachim Andersen (6’4) and Sander Berge (6’5), although Berge only made his first league start last time out at the Etihad. But it’s likely he’ll come in for the injured Sasa Lukic for this Saturday’s game against Villa, and it will be interesting to see if this has any bearing on our set-pieces at both ends of the pitch.

Average height of starting XI, Premier League 2023/24 (source: Tranfermarkt).

Similarly, losing so many first-team starters over the summer is bound to have influenced our defending of set-plays. It takes time for players to become familiar with particular roles and movements. As we edge towards a consistent first XI, and with the extra time on the training ground afforded by the international breaks, I’m confident we will tighten up.

Do we need a specialist set-piece coach?

Set-piece coaches are all the rage in the Premier League right now. Each time Arsenal or Aston Villa win a corner, the cameras pan to a dutiful bloke in a tracksuit, whispering something in his manager’s ear or furiously swiping on an iPad. In fact, six Premier League clubs now have specialist set-piece coaches. And, in fairness, three of these six teams lead the set-piece scoring charts so far this season.

Appointing a specialist coach is not always the answer. Spare a thought for Jack Wilson, who arrived from Manchester City to become Wolves’ set-piece coach in July. With Wolves having conceded six set-piece goals in their first seven games, Wilson was sacked last week.

Rather than a dedicated coach, Fulham’s set-pieces are overseen by performance analyst Antonios Lemonakis, who has worked with Marco Silva since 2015. As he proved last year, Lemonakis is clearly capable of preparing the side for dead-ball situations.

Does anything need to change?

As suggested above, I think most of our set-piece issues so far this term will improve as the season goes on. One thing we could look at however is our attacking free kicks.

Since 2013, we have only scored directly from one free kick in the Premier League, and this was a cross from Willian against Leicester in May 2023, which happened to sneak in at the far post. A far cry from the heady days of Jimmy Bullard and his postage-stamp curlers.

Andreas Pereira has been our dedicated free kick taker since he arrived at the club. He seems to give off the vibe of a dead ball specialist, without having backed it up in a Fulham shirt yet. Although Pereira’s corner deliveries are consistently dangerous, perhaps it’s time to give someone like Emile Smith Rowe a go from 25 yards, or to try some more creative free kick routines.