English Premier League coaches are bringing back the method of pushing the ball into the fray sports

Pushing the ball into the fray is a well-established tactic in the world of football in its recreational form, where players who do not have great technical skills resort to sending high passes or long throw-ins towards opponents’ penalty areas.

This has been common even at the highest level with Wimbledon’s legendary ‘Crazy Gang’ side, who cruised to an FA Cup win in 1988, and then more recently with Stoke City’s Rory Delap, who terrorized defenses in the 21st century with his 40-metre throw-ins.
It seemed that those days, at least in the English Premier League, were over, as Manchester City, led by Pep Guardiola, won four consecutive Premier League titles, through a complex style of play that relied on possession, while others tried, but failed, to replicate this model.

But it seems that these ways of playing have re-emerged.

English Premier League coaches bring back the method of pushing the ball into the fray

Yesterday, Monday, seeing Brentford duo Michael Kayode and Kevin Shade drying the ball with a towel before throwing it from a distance raised concerns among West Ham United’s defenders.

Neither of Brentford’s goals came from direct long throws, but this tactic annoyed West Ham’s defense to such an extent that they panicked every time a corner kick, free kick or long pass approached them.

When Brentford equalized after a long throw against Chelsea last month, it was their seventh goal from those throws since the start of the 2024-2025 season, and no other team has scored more than two goals in this way.

But if the current approach continues, we are likely to see more goals from long throw-ins this season.

This tactic, which is still ridiculed by critics, has made a comeback.

In the opening week of the English Premier League season, 11 out of 20 teams used long throws, an increase of four teams compared to the opening day of the 2024-2025 season.

Opta’s analysis of sports statistics for the first 50 matches of the English Premier League this season indicated that one-pass tactics, including long throws, have increasingly become part of coaches’ plans.

According to Opta, passing rates are at a 15-year low in that sample, while teams such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle United are quicker to move the ball forward using the fewest passes.

Some teams focus on long forward kicks immediately after kick-off to gain more ground.

However, long throws are the bigger talking point.

Data-driven approach

Throughout last season, the average long throws (20 meters or more) into the penalty area was 1.5 throws per match. That rate has doubled this season to 3.85 shots, according to Opta data.

No less than six goals were scored as a direct result of long throws, compared to 15 goals scored in the whole of last season, with Brentford, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur among the most regular users of long throws.

In analyzing Brentford’s win over West Ham for Sky Sports, former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth coach Gary O’Neill said that the increasing use of long throw-ins depends on the available data.

He said, “I spoke to a number of dead-ball coaches and the data so far is in favor of throwing the ball into the opponent’s penalty area. You are more likely to score than trying to play something from the side, because it is very difficult to clear the ball and you can push all your big defenders forward to handle the ball. Coaches do not feel embarrassed now.”

The increase in advanced pressing in recent seasons and the subsequent loss of the ball in dangerous areas may have prompted goalkeepers and defenders to play long balls.

From a peak of 16.7 throws or long passes of the ball per game in the 2023-2024 season, this number decreased to 11.5 in the 2025-2026 season, which is the lowest in 10 seasons.

However, not everyone is a fan of this new trend, including former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher who believes there is something of a reaction against short passes inspired by coach Guardiola’s thinking.

“If the data tells you there’s a greater chance of scoring a goal (with this method), then you do it. I would do that if I were a coach,” he told Sky Sports.

He added, “But this makes me bored. We have retreated a lot. Not only in throw-ins, but even in kick-offs. Rather, it has become like rugby and playing in the opponent’s penalty area.”

He continued, “Graham Taylor (former England coach) was severely criticized 30 years ago for his approach to kicking the ball from the first touch, and now Paris Saint-Germain is doing it as well.”

He also explained that game time was being consumed with Brentford taking an average of 25 seconds to throw a single throw-in.