Eddie Howe Bournemouth
Newcastle United has made a strategic addition to their coaching staff by appointing Mark, a set-piece specialist coach, to bolster Eddie Howe’s backroom team. This move, which has been in the pipeline for over two years, aims to enhance the team’s tactical expertise and alleviate some of the responsibilities from assistant manager Jason Tindall, who has been primarily handling set-plays.
Eddie Howe said: “It’s something we’ve been looking to fill now probably for two-and-a-half years but we needed to find the right person. Jason has been doing a fantastic job covering a whole breadth of set-plays, it’s such a demanding job now and the detail we have to go into to be successful is all-consuming. We really needed a specialist just to solely focus on that area. I don’t think he will be able to cover everything, one man, I think we will have to divide it up but he will have a key role and we really trust him. We have had a lot of Zoom calls with him over the summer and a lot of in-depth conversations to find that he was not just the right person but the right personality to fit in with how we do things. He’s made an impressive start and he has a real presence about him and hopefully he can make a positive impact.”
Mark, who hails from FC Midtjylland, has already joined Newcastle’s training camp in Austria and has quickly made a positive impression on both players and staff. His reputation for meticulous attention to detail is expected to be a significant asset for the Magpies. The introduction of a set-piece specialist is part of Howe’s broader strategy to refine Newcastle’s tactical approach, particularly in set-play scenarios.
Jason Tindall will continue to play a pivotal role in the set-piece coaching framework, alongside set-play analyst Kieran Taylor. Howe emphasized the complexity of set-plays, which encompass everything from corners to free kicks and goal kicks, necessitating a collaborative effort rather than reliance on a single individual. Last season, Newcastle’s defensive record from set-pieces was among the best in the Premier League, with only Brentford, Aston Villa, and Manchester City conceding fewer goals. Additionally, the team scored 13 goals from set-plays, highlighting the solid groundwork laid by Tindall and Taylor.
Despite these achievements, there remains room for improvement, particularly in scoring from corners, where Newcastle only managed five goals. Howe’s decision to divide responsibilities among his coaching staff aims to address these areas and elevate the team’s performance to the desired level of detail and effectiveness.
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