Agbonlahor hits back at Murphy’s bizarre Aston Villa verdict
Gabby Agbonlahor has hit back after Danny Murphy questioned why Aston Villa employ a specialist set-piece coach.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Villa’s record Premier League goalscorer insisted Danny Ings’ goal against Newcastle United showed why Dean Smith added Austin MacPhee to his staff this summer.
Ings scored a magnificent bicycle click after Tyrone Mings flicked on a long throw from Matty Cash.
Villa sealed a 2-0 win over Steve Bruce’s side with an Anwar El Ghazi penalty.
Speaking on the BBC’s Match of the Day programme, Murphy questioned why “normal coaches” could not work on set-pieces.
“Danny Murphy, I think he’s wrong there,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“The money that clubs in the Premier League spend on players, on wages, to pay an extra wage, which won’t be super high, on a set-piece coach is nothing.
“I don’t think it’s a problem. We’ve seen the results already from teams that have one.
“It’s a big part of the game. Danny Ings and Tyrone Mings knew exactly what they were doing for that goal.
“And other coaches, it’s not their role. They are looking at team strategies, team plays and different formations. They’re not really looking at set-pieces. As a coach, you only really know the basics of set-pieces.
“For me, it’s definitely a good idea.
“It just shows with the money involved in the Premier League now, it can take teams to the next level.”
Smith has already lost two key members of his coaching staff this summer – Richard O’Kelly and John Terry.
Football Insider revealed on 18 August that O’Kelly quit the club after they tried to demote him to a role with the Under-23s.
In other news, Aston Villa have been backed to sign the “final piece of the jigsaw” after confirmed news.