Leeds journalist Phil Hay hits the nail on the head with set-piece summary
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
It’s been over a month since Marcelo Bielsa claimed that he’s been working hard on scoring from corners in training, and since that point Leeds United haven’t found the back of the net from one of those scenarios.
It’s not as if they’ve not had the chances either, Leeds have had more corner kicks than any other team in the Championship, yet they’ve continuously struggled to score from them.
Phil Hay has now bemoaned the Whites’ incessant wastefulness from those types of situations.
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What’s been said then?
The former Yorkshire Evening Post journalist was hosting a Q&A session on The Athletic after the Whites’ 1-0 win over Reading on Tuesday, and one disgruntled fan asked him his thoughts on the club’s wastefulness from set-pieces.
“Corners especially. Almost a waste of time. Leeds have had roughly 140 in league games this season and have scored from one. It’s an oddity with Bielsa – that his team send so many deliveries into the box when so few pay off.”
Needs to change
Hay is absolutely spot on with his summary of this, and Marcelo Bielsa really has to change something about it.
You really have to wonder what Leeds have been working on in the corner training that Bielsa spoke about earlier this season because it simply isn’t working.
It’s not as if Leeds have a poor set-piece taker either. Kalvin Phillips was topping the charts in terms of successful corners delivered last week, but Leeds still aren’t scoring from these scenarios.
Hay says that it’s an oddity that Bielsa’s side continue to deliver balls into the box, and perhaps it’s time for Leeds to switch to a short corner tactic in the near future.
It might have something to do with a lack of an aerial threat in the team. Only Liam Cooper has won more than four aerial duels per game in the whole side.
In other news, A Leeds journalist has painted a rather concerning picture around one man’s contract situation..