What does this tell us about the pros and cons of passing football?
The Premier League table 2012/13 based on number of passes played:
1) Arsenal – 20737 passes
2) Swansea – 19569 passes
3) Liverpool – 19449 passes
4) Man United – 19294 passes
5) Man City – 19284 passes
6) Chelsea – 18011 passes
7) Wigan – 17483 passes
8) Fulham – 16581 passes
9) Southampton – 16518 passes
10) Tottenham – 16344 passes
11) Everton – 15386 passes
12) Newcastle – 14246 passes
13) Aston Villa – 13922 passes
14) West Brom – 13694 passes
15) QPR – 13249 passes
16) Norwich – 13081 passes
17) Sunderland – 12747 passes
18) West Ham – 12248 passes
19) Stoke – 11996 passes
20) Reading – 11484 passes
Analysis:
– Arsenal, Swansea and Liverpool played more passes than any other club in the league last year – as a result of their slick footballing philosophy.
– Arsenal and Liverpool’s style however didn’t guarantee results, with the former scraping fourth place last year, and Liverpool struggling to seventh.
– Under Michael Laudrup, Swansea maintained the passing brand of football installed into them by Brendan Rodgers, who similarly installed the philosophy into his new club Liverpool.
– Wigan played more passes last year than 13 Premier League sides, but it still didn’t stop them from being relegated.
– Reading’s direct approach did them no favours whatsoever. The team played less passes than any other side, and got relegated without putting up too much of a fight.
– Long ball teams like West Ham and Stoke played less passes than any side other than Reading last year. Their direct approach helped both of them to easily avoid relegation.
– Surprisingly, only three teams completed less passes than Sunderland last season, but they will be expected to feature higher on the passing table now Paulo Di Canio is in charge.
– Seven of the ten clubs that played the most passes last year finished in the top half of the league table – showing that a direct approach can only get clubs so far.
Stats via Squawka.
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