Liverpool’s Set-Piece Mastermind Joins City: What James French Leaves Behind
Analyst turned architect of dead-ball dominance
There was a time when set pieces were an afterthought, lumped into training drills between five-a-sides and tactical walkthroughs. Not any more. Liverpool knew that. Manchester City now know it too. And at the heart of that modern obsession is James French. As per a report by The Athletic.
Liverpool’s loss is City’s gain. After 13 years on Merseyside, French has moved across the divide to take up a specialised role with Pep Guardiola’s staff. Not just as another analyst, but as a dedicated set-piece coach, replacing Carlos Vicens and stepping into one of the most granular and vital areas of elite football.
His appointment is no vanity hire. French’s fingerprints are all over Liverpool’s dominance from dead-ball situations between 2018 and 2022, a period in which they outscored and outmanoeuvred rivals at set plays. According to Harrison Kingston, Morocco’s director of performance analysis and a long-time colleague, French is “such a powerful tool”. “When I’ve thought, ‘I remember something but I can’t recall what or when it was’, I will message him and, within minutes, he has the exact date, players and setup.”
It’s not just data, it’s recall. Not just theory, but application.
Learning from the shadows of Liverpool’s rise
French joined Liverpool in 2012 under Brendan Rodgers, following a stint at Swansea. He wasn’t loud. He didn’t need to be. Those who worked alongside him, like Kingston and John Achterberg, the club’s long-serving goalkeeping coach, talk about his precision, humility and forensic attention to detail.
“We analysts were getting closer to the pitch, and we had a system where we could review live training,” Kingston explained. “The first big win in that regard was set pieces. We had an iPad next to the pitch, so as soon as a set piece happened, James could rewind five seconds and show a coach or player. That refinement really improved things.”
When Jurgen Klopp arrived in 2015, he overhauled the flow of information between analysts and the training ground. Peter Krawietz, the assistant known as “The Eye”, acted as the bridge. But it was French who, by 2018, had reshaped Liverpool’s set-piece approach, turning them from underperformers into a threat from every corner and free-kick.
He even found gaps in walls. Philippe Coutinho’s low strike against Brighton in 2017 came from French’s observation that the wall tended to jump high. “Klopp credited French for noticing that,” said the report. It was a detail, but one that brought goals.
Manchester City now play from his book
City’s Club World Cup campaign showed early signs of French’s influence. Three goals from corners in four games is no fluke. Guardiola, once sceptical of devoting coaching time to set plays, has been converted by results. Mikel Arteta first opened the door during his time on City’s staff, pushing Guardiola to respect the work of specialists like Nicolas Jover. Now French, bilingual and meticulous, takes centre stage.
He is more than a man with a database. His ability to shape data into practical decisions sets him apart. “We have to do hundreds of hours to come down to five or 10 minutes of useful clips,” Kingston said. “It is getting easier with technology, but there isn’t a shortcut to pretend you know what will make the impact.”
Even in penalty shootouts, French had influence. Achterberg noted how his insights guided Liverpool to victories over Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup, Carabao Cup and FA Cup. “Whenever we won a trophy or shootout, I always immediately sent him a message saying, ‘Well done, James, great work, we needed your decisions.’”
And he delivered when it mattered. Ahead of the 2018 Champions League final, with Real Madrid’s penalty data scarce, French sourced material through a private contact at a Spanish club. “He looks everywhere to find the right data and video. I knew he would find something,” Achterberg said.
Legacy left behind at Anfield
At a time when analytics is often spoken of as a support system rather than a catalyst, French’s story suggests otherwise. His work bled into the club’s identity. When Liverpool became feared at set pieces, it wasn’t through luck or simple repetition. It was a product of design, hours of tape, and relentless curiosity.
His success is a reminder of how the game continues to shift. The modern set-piece coach is part analyst, part tactician, and increasingly part psychologist. They must convince elite players to rehearse what looks like minutiae, but turns games.
Now at City, French has more resources, a different environment, and a group of players known for precision and tactical fluency. The early signs are good. “In the United States (at the Club World Cup), everyone was talking about James after the goals and chances City created from corners,” said Kingston.
And French? Quietly, he continues his work. Less fist pumps, more frameworks. Less attention, more accuracy.
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This one hurts. Not because James French is a household name or because fans sang his name on the Kop. But because his influence was so deeply embedded in Liverpool’s rise to the top. When the club became the most feared side in Europe, it wasn’t just down to Klopp’s gegenpress or Alisson’s saves. It was also because they could win games with a set play, a flicked header, a dragged shot through a wall that everyone else overlooked.
French spotted things others didn’t. He wasn’t front and centre, but he made the difference. And losing him to Manchester City? That’s a blow.
Supporters might not realise how much his work contributed to trophies. But those inside the club knew. Those 2-1 wins from corners, those shootout victories against Chelsea, those tight margins, they weren’t accidents. They were planned.
It’s not just about losing a staff member. It’s about losing a piece of the edge, the advantage Liverpool worked so hard to build. French had been approached by other clubs, including one in Saudi Arabia. But City got him. And that should ring alarm bells.
The real question now is: who replaces him? And can Liverpool maintain the standards he helped set? Because at this level, margins matter. And James French owned the margins.
