Expert: Southampton are ‘pinching’ from Man City as Alex Clapham deal agreed
Southampton are effectively “pinching” from the likes of Man City by appointing a specialist set-piece coach to maximise their output from corners and free kicks.
That is the view of training ground expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
As relayed by Training Ground Guru last Friday (1 July), the Saints have poached Alex Clapham from Notts County to be their new set-piece maestro.
City were one of the first Premier League teams to hire a set-piece coach in Carlos Vicens, who made them the most deadly side in the division from dead ball situations in 2021-22.
Dinnery saluted the Saints for following in the champions’ footsteps with their appointment of Clapham.
“Ralph Hasenhuttl does his homework,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“The big take-home is that, if you look at last season’s set-piece data, Man City and Liverpool top the charts with 22 and 19 goals respectively.
“If you want to be the best, you have to be pinching from them. You want to mimic and mirror those top clubs in terms of how they perform.
“It’s a game of small margins. Set piece routines now are a pivotal part of the game. If it’s working for the best teams in the world, you need to follow suit or you slip further and further behind.”
Southampton have also promoted Carl Martin from his role with the under-18s to become an in-possession coach.
Hasenhuttl’s side will soon travel to Austria for a pre-season training camp.
In other news, Tottenham and Southampton in race to sign Murray Campbell.