A dedicated set-piece coach costs less than a squad player and returns more goals. That arithmetic has finally been accepted across the division.

The routines themselves are not complicated. The preparation is.

Blocking without fouling

Legal screens are built from body position and timing rather than contact. Referees tolerate the first, punish the second, and the margin between them is measured in inches.

Attacking the second ball

Most set-piece goals now arrive from the rebound rather than the initial contact. Teams therefore staff the edge of the box more heavily than the six-yard area.

The defensive answer

Zonal marking has returned, but as a hybrid. Two zonal players protect the near post while everyone else marks individually.

The numbers

The best sides in the league now convert close to one in eight corners into a shot on target. Five years ago that figure sat nearer one in fourteen.

The gains are small, repeatable, and almost impossible to defend against consistently. That is precisely why they matter.