Reading, Ipswich and Bristol City lead the way, whilst Fulham, Aston Villa and Wolves have played the fewest.
Reading have played the most long balls in the Championship
A number of Championship teams are often criticised for their direct approaches to the game. Whilst the late 2000’s saw Barcelona and Spain lauded for their ‘tiki-taka’ style, based on short passes, movement and excellent technical ability, there has been something of a backlash in the last few years and a movement away from such an approach.
The consensus that Barcelona and Spain played the game in the ‘right’ way, or the way in which football was ‘meant’ to be played is no longer accepted as fact, coinciding with the rise of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, who became European powerhouses with an emphasis on moving the ball forward quickly and less of a focus simply on keeping possession.
Leicester City won the Premier League title last season with an average of less than 50% possession over the course of their campaign, becoming the first team to have ever done so. This was perhaps the finest indicator of the change in attitudes within the game, and playing long balls or a more direct style is no longer seen as a necessarily negative trait.
Leicester won the Premier League with less than 50% possession
In the Championship, Reading have in fact played more long balls than any other team, yet most would consider them one of the best ‘footballing’ teams in the division since the arrival of Jaap Stam.
Whilst the Royals have played the most long balls in the league, they have also played the second most short passes, with only Fulham having played more than the Berkshire based outfit.
Conversely to Reading though, Fulham do not place highly in both the long balls and short passes statistics, having played the fewest long balls of any club in the Championship.
Fulham have played the most short passes and the fewest long balls
In terms of long balls, Ipswich Town, Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers follow behind league leaders Reading, all four having played in excess of 85 long balls over the 11 games played so far this term.
First placed Huddersfield are actually next up on the list with 83 long passes to their name, the Terriers ranking fifth in the league in terms of both long and short passes.
In terms of the fewest long balls played, struggling Aston Villa are second to Fulham, with Wolves, Wigan and Derby trailing the former European champions. The full list from 1-24 accompanied by the number of long balls played by each team is below:
Ipswich have played the second most long balls in the Championship
Reading – 95
Ipswich Town – 90
Bristol City – 88
Blackburn Rovers – 87
Huddersfield Town – 83
Birmingham City – 83
Cardiff City – 81
Preston North End – 81
Queens Park Rangers – 80
Sheffield Wednesday – 78
Brighton & Hove Albion – 78
Burton Albion – 78
Rotherham United – 77
Barnsley – 76
Leeds United – 75
Brentford – 75
Newcastle United – 73
Norwich City – 73
Nottingham Forest – 73
Wigan Athletic – 72
Derby County – 72
Wolverhampton Wanderers – 70
Aston Villa – 69
Fulham – 67
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