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Thread: Changing face of passing statistics in the Championship

  1. #1

    Changing face of passing statistics in the Championship

    There has been suggestions on here that football in the Championship is changing to a more possession, passing based game. Thanks to www.whoscored.com it is relatively easy to see if this is the case, thanks to good old Excel.

    Stats, then. This season's stats are obviously after only 3 games.

    Overall pass accuracy:
    2015/16 - 72.5%
    2016/17 - 73.2%
    2017/18 - 73.6%
    2018/19 - 73.8%
    2019/20 - 76.1%

    Long balls played as a percentage:
    2015/16 - 19.9%
    2016/17 - 19.2%
    2017/18 - 18.4%
    2018/19 - 18.0%
    2019/20 - 17.1%

    Long pass accuracy:
    2015/16 - 38.8%
    2016/17 - 39.3%
    2017/18 - 40.2%
    2018/19 - 40.0%
    2019/20 - 42.5%

    Short pass accuracy:
    2015/16 - 80.9%
    2016/17 - 81.2%
    2017/18 - 81.1%
    2018/19 - 81.3%
    2019/20 - 83.0%

    Clearly football in the Championship overall is moving towards a more possession based game where pass accuracy is increasing. It's most noticeable that while the number of long balls hit is in decline season on season, long ball accuracy has increased quite a bit over the last 5 years. That suggests teams are using the long ball more effectively (less often, find a team mate more often) and the amount of "whack it long and high and hope for the best" is on the decrease.

  2. #2

    Re: Changing face of passing statistics in the Championship

    Quote Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee View Post
    There has been suggestions on here that football in the Championship is changing to a more possession, passing based game. Thanks to www.whoscored.com it is relatively easy to see if this is the case, thanks to good old Excel.

    Stats, then. This season's stats are obviously after only 3 games.

    Overall pass accuracy:
    2015/16 - 72.5%
    2016/17 - 73.2%
    2017/18 - 73.6%
    2018/19 - 73.8%
    2019/20 - 76.1%

    Long balls played as a percentage:
    2015/16 - 19.9%
    2016/17 - 19.2%
    2017/18 - 18.4%
    2018/19 - 18.0%
    2019/20 - 17.1%

    Long pass accuracy:
    2015/16 - 38.8%
    2016/17 - 39.3%
    2017/18 - 40.2%
    2018/19 - 40.0%
    2019/20 - 42.5%

    Short pass accuracy:
    2015/16 - 80.9%
    2016/17 - 81.2%
    2017/18 - 81.1%
    2018/19 - 81.3%
    2019/20 - 83.0%

    Clearly football in the Championship overall is moving towards a more possession based game where pass accuracy is increasing. It's most noticeable that while the number of long balls hit is in decline season on season, long ball accuracy has increased quite a bit over the last 5 years. That suggests teams are using the long ball more effectively (less often, find a team mate more often) and the amount of "whack it long and high and hope for the best" is on the decrease.
    Except at Cardiff. There is a logic which says that a side which plays in a different way to the rest can enjoy success because opponents are less used to facing it than they were, but, with that you, surely, need to have more of the ball than we do because sides build to prosper on possession will clearly tend to do so if you provide them with as much of it as we do. We have reached the stage where you can imagine 47 per cent possession like, we enjoyed yesterday, possibly finishing up as our season high.

  3. #3

    Re: Changing face of passing statistics in the Championship

    In the season we were away overall pass accuracy went up 0.2% and % of long balls reduced by 0.4% (possibly mainly just due to us not being there!).

    There may well be a longer-term trajectory emerging but in 17/18 we won 27 games and got promoted automatically which is tricky to explain as just football moving on over the one season we were away imo.

    Think there is likely to be a few factors at play.

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