Chaos in the set piece moment comes for Everton

It has been impossible to avoid the set-piece story so far this Premier League season.

From Match of the Day to the headlines, every pundit in the world is talking about Mikel Arteta’s tactics, the return of long throws, and whether it’s all ‘good’ for the game.

Indeed, more fixed goals are being set than ever before. Last year, of the 1,115 league goals scored, 215 came from set play, which is just under 20%.

Of the 241 goals scored so far this year, 63 have been set-pieces. That’s just over a 6% increase in the number of goals coming from set pieces. It’s certainly a change, but we’re still a long way from having a series of plays up and down the field like an American NFL game.

Until last weekend, Everton had not experienced any of the madness raging in the rest of the league. Going into Sunday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur, the Toffees were the only team in the Premier League yet to concede from a set-piece.

An hour later, Everton’s perfect clean sheet record was gone, thanks to two corners on the head of Tottenham player Micky Van de Ven.

But these things happen over the course of the season; At first glance, conceding from a few well-taken corners against an organized team is not a sign of a more worrying trend.

However, there is something to be said about Everton’s set-piece score. The Toffees have only scored twice from set pieces this season; only Liverpool, Manchester City, West Ham and Wolves scored fewer from set play.

While teams as a competition are scoring a greater percentage of their goals from set-pieces, Everton’s share of set-pieces has fallen.

Last season, twelve of Everton’s 42 Premier League goals came from set-pieces: around 28%. So far this year, that’s down to 22%, or two out of nine.

This while it also has one of the bigger teams in the Premier League. Even with 6’5 Jarrad Branthwaite out of action, Everton still regularly have 6’5+ outfielders on the pitch, along with Beto, Thierno Barry and Jake O’Brien.

Add to that the fact that Everton also have the Premier League’s most fouled player, Jack Grealish. Combined, this should mean regular set-piece scoring, but it doesn’t.

It is worth noting that, unlike last year, Everton do not have a member of staff dealing with set pieces. Charlie Adam joined David Moyes’ staff as permanent coach in January but left the club in the summer to take up a role as full-time manager.

Whether or not his departure has led to a decrease in emphasis on set pieces during training is unknown. But for a team that seems well-equipped for the league’s most fashionable trend, Everton are not yet in the game.

Perhaps it is time for David Moyes and his staff to reconsider bringing in a permanent coach to help play to his side’s strengths as goals from open play prove harder to come by.

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