2024 is the year of the set-piece coach.

Watch an Aston Villa game and you’ll see as much of Austin MacPhee strolling the touchline as you will Unai Emery deep in thought stroking his chin. Nicolas Jover, Arsenal’s own, has been handed enough PR to last a lifetime and Chelsea, admittedly not shy of spending, recently paid Brentford £1million to secure the services of their dead-ball expert Bernardo Cueva.

All told, as clubs look to push marginal gains in any and every direction it makes sense for budget to stretch to set-pieces. This season a seismic 20 percent of goals in the English Premier League have derived from set-pieces excluding penalties.

Rangers have had good spells from corners and free-kicks in recent seasons although Celtic have boasted a marginally higher set-piece xG in the league during three of the last four campaigns. During the 2022/23 season, the Ibrox side managed 21 set-piece goals in the league including direct free-kicks. Last season that number dropped to nine goals even though Rangers’ xG from set-pieces was higher than the previous year, 17.05 to 16.26.

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However, as December approaches the worrying reality for Philippe Clement is this - Rangers are the only side in the Scottish Premiership yet to score a set-piece goal. 

Considering the Ibrox side are struggling to find the back of the net as it is, with just 16 in 11 league outings, that's a concerning number.

The below chart compares Rangers’ set-piece goals to set-piece xG per 90 in the past five seasons. Meaning, how much did the side overperform the chances they were creating from set-pieces in the Scottish Premiership?

For three seasons Rangers overperformed from set-pieces. That likely owes to a degree of variance, more direct goals from free-kicks, and perhaps even the variation of delivery and routine carried out. Since last season, while the underlying numbers haven’t dropped off dramatically, the goals have.

Asked in February if the club would look to employ a specialist coach, Philippe Clement said: “No, because I love set pieces and that is a thing of the past but is also a reason, I think I played a lot of games as I scored a lot of goals from set pieces so I will not give away that part.”

Last season Clement’s instincts were somewhat justified. Although Rangers only managed nine set-piece goals they dramatically underperformed their xG of 17.05. Meaning on the basis of chances created the moments they fashioned merited eight more goals.

And yet as we enter the third international break of the season Rangers are the only team who haven’t scored a set-piece goal in the top-flight this campaign.

Again there is some retribution when looking at the value of chances created. Clement’s side have scored no goals from an xG of 3.37. Meaning, if they’d finished at an expected value the Ibrox side would be sitting with at least three set-piece goals in the league.

However, the chances Rangers are creating from dead-ball situations has fallen from 0.43 last season to 0.3. In terms of set-piece xG, Rangers sit in the middle of the pack domestically with scope to improve. 

Of course, set-pieces are a leveller and there is no guarantee the wealthiest clubs, or even the most physical, in each respective league will come out on top. With that said a greater share of resources should normally allow the top teams to exploit thin margins most successfully.

When Clement came to the club he was insistent on the use of outswinging corners, in part to ensure full-backs weren’t crossing the pitch and potentially defending a transition attack on their wrong side. While this may seem too fine a detail to stress over the numbers Rangers commit forwards at corners has often left them vulnerable to counterattacks. Most notably, Benfica scored the goal that would eliminate Rangers from the Europa League last season from an attack that originated defending a corner.

This season that has flipped. Of the 65 corners that Rangers have taken to date in the Scottish Premiership, only seven have not been inswingers. James Tavernier (33) and Vaclav Cerny (19) have been tasked with the predominant shares of delivery.

Rangers’ highest-value xG misses from set-pieces in the league this season read:

  • Dujon Sterling, Aberdeen 2-1 Rangers: 0.33xG
  • Cyriel Dessers, Kilmarnock 1-0 Rangers: 0.28xG
  • Dujon Sterling, Aberdeen 2-1 Rangers: 0.21xG
  • Robin Propper, Kilmarnock 1-0 Rangers: 0.21xG
  • Dujon Sterling, Rangers 2-1 Motherwell: 0.20xG
  • Cyriel Dessers, Rangers 2-0 St Johnstone: 0.20xG
  • Robin Propper, Rangers 1-0 Hibs: 0.17xG

The data suggests luck has been unkind to Rangers. If they'd finished at an expected rate, or slightly above, Clement's men could've scored crucial goals in defeats against Aberdeen and Kilmarnock. The fact they've generated around 0.5xG from set-pieces in each game and failed to score is an unfortunate detail. 

Heading into a defining month the Belgian coach needs these small margins to fall in his favour, and create a greater value of opportunity from dead-ball scenarios to help that cause.