| Practically every other team is better on transition than us. 17:54 - Nov 8 with 495 views | cbower |
Outtara and Maeda (and sometimes Enciso) aside, we are painfully slow when we regain possession. This starts from Walton and goes right through the side. In addition, whoever we play in midfield, nobody busts a gut to get in the box whenever we do get in behind. |  |
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| Practically every other team is better on transition than us. on 18:10 - Nov 8 | bsw72 |
I'm not sure the numbers back that up. We’re chaotic, certainly, but chaotic and bad aren't the same thing.
Look at what happens when we win the ball. We have the highest rate of turnovers leading to shots in the Premier League, just over 6.2 a game, and nearly 18% of the xG (take xG with a pinch of salt though) in matches comes from fast breaks, the second highest share in the division. This isn't a team that struggles in transition. It's a team built around it, moving the ball forward quickly and vertically the moment possession changes.
It isn't one player doing it either. We’re third in the league for sprint volume, so the breaks come from the whole side getting up the pitch. Leif Davis is second in the entire league for total sprints and is the obvious outlet down the left, but he's part of a collective effort rather than a one-man show.
Where the criticism has a point is the other way round. The PPDA of 14.8 puts us 16th, and tend to drop off and reset rather than counter-press high when they lose it. Play this vertically and that is when we get caught on the break, and our npxGA per match is the second worst in the league. That's a real problem.
So the honest description isn't "one of the worst in transition". It's one of the best attacking transition sides in the league, with a defensive transition that leaves them exposed. [Post edited 8 Nov 18:19]
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| Practically every other team is better on transition than us. on 18:24 - Nov 8 | cbower |
| Practically every other team is better on transition than us. on 18:10 - Nov 8 by bsw72 |
I'm not sure the numbers back that up. We’re chaotic, certainly, but chaotic and bad aren't the same thing.
Look at what happens when we win the ball. We have the highest rate of turnovers leading to shots in the Premier League, just over 6.2 a game, and nearly 18% of the xG (take xG with a pinch of salt though) in matches comes from fast breaks, the second highest share in the division. This isn't a team that struggles in transition. It's a team built around it, moving the ball forward quickly and vertically the moment possession changes.
It isn't one player doing it either. We’re third in the league for sprint volume, so the breaks come from the whole side getting up the pitch. Leif Davis is second in the entire league for total sprints and is the obvious outlet down the left, but he's part of a collective effort rather than a one-man show.
Where the criticism has a point is the other way round. The PPDA of 14.8 puts us 16th, and tend to drop off and reset rather than counter-press high when they lose it. Play this vertically and that is when we get caught on the break, and our npxGA per match is the second worst in the league. That's a real problem.
So the honest description isn't "one of the worst in transition". It's one of the best attacking transition sides in the league, with a defensive transition that leaves them exposed. [Post edited 8 Nov 18:19]
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It seems my gut feeling, the eye test if you like is not backed up by the metrics.
It's right to say we get hit on the break far too easily as you point out and perhaps this failing is why I feel other teams are better than us, but I cannot shake this feeling that we move the ball too slowly when we get it and don't get enough bodies in and around the box when we get in behind. Not just this season neither. | |
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| Practically every other team is better on transition than us. on 18:30 - Nov 8 | bsw72 |
| Practically every other team is better on transition than us. on 18:24 - Nov 8 by cbower |
It seems my gut feeling, the eye test if you like is not backed up by the metrics.
It's right to say we get hit on the break far too easily as you point out and perhaps this failing is why I feel other teams are better than us, but I cannot shake this feeling that we move the ball too slowly when we get it and don't get enough bodies in and around the box when we get in behind. Not just this season neither. |
I think you’re partly right, when we don’t break fast it feels painfully slow, and that is what we tend to remember as fans after a defeat. I do base it on analysis from late October so may have changed in last couple of games. | | | |
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