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West Bromwich Albion FC / WBA - Officially a 'long ball' team

« on: February 12, 2015, 12:12:11 PM »

It would appear that we are now officially a 'long ball' team. Do the fans care about this or are we just concerned about getting results regardless of how we achieve them?

Interesting to see how ours and Stokes styles have reversed given all the stick we used to give them.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/31428316.app

The Premier League's long-ball table

Team          Long balls played   Premier League position

West Brom               1,063   14th
Burnley               994   19th
Hull City               852   16th
West Ham               793   8th
Crystal Palace       775   13th
Leicester City       772   20th
QPR                       768   17th
Southampton       755   4th
Newcastle               680   11th
Aston Villa               661   18th
Sunderland       577   15th
Tottenham               558   6th
Man Utd              529   3rd
Everton              515   12th
Stoke City.              504   10th
Swansea City      457   9th
Chelsea              432   1st
Arsenal              395   5th
Liverpool              390   7th
Manchester City      358   2nd

Long pass v long ball - the statistician's definition

According to football statisticians Opta, a 'long pass' is one that is 35 yards or more and is aimed at a particular team-mate. It does not have to be forward.

In contrast, they classify a 'long ball' as a forward pass that is 35 yards or more and is kicked into a space or area on the pitch rather than a precise pass aimed at a particular team-mate.

As such a 'long ball' is perhaps more indicative of a team that likes to regularly lump the ball forward, perhaps towards the opposition's penalty area.

"We agree and separate those two things out. In the Opta world a long pass is one aimed to a specific player (think Pirlo), while a long ball is one played into a specific zone (think "hit the channels")."

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West Bromwich Albion FC / Corners

« on: March 22, 2014, 04:05:18 PM »

That's at least 3 corners we've conceded from in Pepe Mels time in charge. Palace, Chelsea and now Hull. We've gone back to the Mowbray days of looking like we're going to concede from every corner. It's not good enough.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / 433 and transfer policy

« on: August 23, 2013, 01:09:58 PM »

If ever we needed reminding, the second half performance against Southampton confirmed how much more effective we are playing a 433/4231 rather than a 442 formation.

It would seem however that our transfer policy this summer hasn't really been aligned with what most people would consider to be our best formation. In fact, there is an argument that our squad make up is actually more aligned to playing a 442 formation that clearly doesn't suit us.

At present, we have four central strikers (Vydra, Anelka, Long and Roesenberg) who would essentially be competing for one position in our more effective 433/4231 formation. Some of these players can do a 'job' out wide but I for one am fed up of seeing square pegs being placed in round holes (please SC – no more Shane Long out wide!)

To compound this, we only have one genuine winger (Sinclair) suited to playing in an advanced wide position. Odemwingie is the other but he as we all know, he's unlikely to be considered for selection. Other potential wide players such as Brunt and Gera are really more suited to playing in a 442 formation given the 'type' of players they are. Again, they can do a job out wide but they aren't the out and out wingers who will give the formation the balance that it needs.

In summary, the balance of our squad doesn’t appear to suit what most people would consider to be our best formation. I appreciate there is some time left in the transfer window but at present, we are top heavy with central strikers.

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West Bromwich Albion FC / 23 goals now conceded from set pieces

« on: May 08, 2011, 02:17:26 PM »

I believe we overtook Arsenal today as the team who have conceded the most goals from set pieces. This has been our Achilles heel for so long now and MUST be addressed in the summer. We can't continue to rely on our strikers to dig us out of holes as they have this year.