beatific blade
Active Member
I saw this graphic on Twitter this morning and it threw into stark reality for me just how weird this season actually is.
The rule changes for this season (longer added time, more VAR, multi-ball, etc) have contributed to a ridiculous jump in the number of goals in the PL. It’s changed how officials run a game and equally how teams approach the game.
Many of the established teams have built into a high-pressing, high-line, ball-carrying midfield dynamic style. Teams that haven’t adapted (e.g. Man Utd) are being left behind by their relative competitors.
Don’t get me wrong: we are shit… but our poor squad development has come when we have joined the top table in a season where clearly scoring goals is more important than ever.
We were never going to come up and out-score everyone, granted. But the approach of keeping games tight and nicking several 1-0 wins to keep our heads above water seems to me to be impossible this season.
This huge statistical anomaly emphasises just how outgunned we are - far more than we had planned for or expected.
If this huge jump in goals is a theme rather than an anomaly, then we better be prepared to change our style of play.
It’s already feeding into the championship: look at Boro, Leeds, Ipswich under McKenna, WBA under Corboran, even Sunderland under Mowbray, Blackburn under JDT.
They attempt to play angled, vertical, line-breaking passes to clear a press. Or they have midfield ball carriers to achieve the same thing. Not sure any of them play 3-5-2. The teams that do are struggling (Cov/Millwall).
My point is that the game has become way less about structure/settled possession. Teams press hard off the ball but then in possession they invite a press. It’s pretty much intentional chaos from managers, with more focus on transitional, explosive exploitation of space after breaking a press.
Only a couple of years ago it felt like half the premier league would sit in a low block and play the probability of getting enough points from low-scoring games. Not any more.
We need to respond to this strategically otherwise we will find ourselves outgunned when we drop down a league, never mind currently.
The rule changes for this season (longer added time, more VAR, multi-ball, etc) have contributed to a ridiculous jump in the number of goals in the PL. It’s changed how officials run a game and equally how teams approach the game.
Many of the established teams have built into a high-pressing, high-line, ball-carrying midfield dynamic style. Teams that haven’t adapted (e.g. Man Utd) are being left behind by their relative competitors.
Don’t get me wrong: we are shit… but our poor squad development has come when we have joined the top table in a season where clearly scoring goals is more important than ever.
We were never going to come up and out-score everyone, granted. But the approach of keeping games tight and nicking several 1-0 wins to keep our heads above water seems to me to be impossible this season.
This huge statistical anomaly emphasises just how outgunned we are - far more than we had planned for or expected.
If this huge jump in goals is a theme rather than an anomaly, then we better be prepared to change our style of play.
It’s already feeding into the championship: look at Boro, Leeds, Ipswich under McKenna, WBA under Corboran, even Sunderland under Mowbray, Blackburn under JDT.
They attempt to play angled, vertical, line-breaking passes to clear a press. Or they have midfield ball carriers to achieve the same thing. Not sure any of them play 3-5-2. The teams that do are struggling (Cov/Millwall).
My point is that the game has become way less about structure/settled possession. Teams press hard off the ball but then in possession they invite a press. It’s pretty much intentional chaos from managers, with more focus on transitional, explosive exploitation of space after breaking a press.
Only a couple of years ago it felt like half the premier league would sit in a low block and play the probability of getting enough points from low-scoring games. Not any more.
We need to respond to this strategically otherwise we will find ourselves outgunned when we drop down a league, never mind currently.
