Hull City, Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley and Tottenham have played the most long balls in the Premier League, with West Brom surprisingly low down.
West Brom manager Tony Pulis before the game
There is something of a divide within the world of football as to whether or not there is a ‘right’ way in which to play the game. For much of the late 2000’s, Barcelona and Spain were seen as the epitome of how to play the beautiful game.
Their exquisite ball retention, movement, vision and ability to pass their opponents off the park was lauded by pundits, players and supporters alike. But then came a backlash, as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund began to make inroads with a fast, direct and quintessentially ‘German’ approach to the game.
The 2012/13 Champions League semi-finals were arguably a turning point, as Bayern Munich beat Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate and Dortmund defeated Real Madrid 4-3 to set up an all-German Champions League final.
Bayern Munich celebrate winning the Champions League
Three years on and attitudes have continued to change. Leicester City won the Premier League last season despite averaging less than 50% possession over the season, becoming the first team to do so.
Tottenham and Liverpool both base their games on pressing high and attacking with pace and incisiveness, whilst only this week Ronald Koeman talked about how Everton fans prefer to see a faster and more direct style at home, rather than his team playing it out from the back.
Clearly then, there is no longer the same stigma attached to being known as a team who like to play a direct style, although you might want to tell that to Tony Pulis, who is one man who does still come under a great deal of scrutiny and criticism for his penchant for a long ball.
Stoke City played very direct football under Tony Pulis
You may be surprised then, to find that West Brom do not rank among the Premier League leaders in terms of long balls played, although one could argue that is down partly to them often seeing so little of the ball, staying compact and looking to hit teams on the counter attack, that they play fewer passes of any kind.
No team has played more long balls than newly-promoted Hull City, who have played 80 long balls in their opening 6 games, an average of just over 13 per game. In fact, of the top four teams to have played the most long balls this season, three were promoted from the Championship last season.
Everton are the one team to break into the newly-promoted trios dominance in terms of long balls played, whilst Tottenham Hotspur are in fifth. Arsenal have unsurprisingly played the fewest long balls, followed by the two Manchester clubs. The full list is below:
Hull City have played the most long balls in the Premier League
1. Hull City – 80
2. Middlesbrough – 79
3. Everton – 77
4. Burnley – 76
5. Tottenham Hotspur – 75
6. Crystal Palace – 75
7. Leicester City – 73
8. West Bromwich Albion – 73
9. Watford – 71
10. Bournemouth – 68
11. West Ham United – 68
12. Chelsea – 64
13. Southampton – 64
14. Sunderland – 62
15. Swansea City – 61
16. Stoke City – 61
17. Liverpool – 59
18. Manchester City – 59
19. Manchester United – 59
20. Arsenal – 48
Arsenal have played by far the fewest long balls in the Premier League
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