Former Premier League striker Charlie Austin shared his thoughts on Chelsea's decision to reinforce their coaching staff with a set-piece specialist during an appearance on Sky Sports.
The expert noted that, despite decent attacking statistics—around 11 goals from set-pieces last season in the Premier League—the Londoners made far too many glaring errors at the back.
Charlie Austin's comments shed light on the key challenges facing the London club:
Look, when you watched Chelsea last season, it was immediately clear why they brought in another set-piece coach. People laugh at such appointments, and I get it, but football has changed. At the moment, every little detail makes a difference.
Last season, Chelsea scored around 11 goals in the Premier League from set-pieces, which is quite a respectable record, but they also had too many failures in defence. Too many goals were conceded because players switched off during phases of play, lost their opponents, or were outmuscled in aerial duels for the first ball.
What frustrated me the most was that most of the conceded goals weren't the result of any revolutionary combinations from opponents. It was basic defending. Mark your man, attack the ball, clear the danger. That’s all there is to football.
Can the new set-piece coach make Chelsea better? Of course. If he helps them become stronger in both penalty areas, eliminates cheap goals conceded from dead balls, and adds a couple of goals at the other end, he will earn every penny.
But no coach can step onto the pitch and head the ball away for you. Players must take responsibility. Get your house in order in your penalty area, play aggressively, win your duels—and suddenly everyone will start talking about how brilliant the set-piece coach is.
Only time will tell, but if Chelsea can turn these defensive errors into clean sheets and become more ruthless at corners and free-kicks, this appointment could be one of the smartest moves of the entire summer.
Fortifying the defensive foundation at set-pieces will be a key objective for Xabi Alonso's staff ahead of the new Premier League season.
