Sheffield United: Numbers reveal dramatic change of approach last season
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Academics at the CIES Football Observatory calculated the percentage of long passes made by the likes of Wes Foderingham and Robin Olsen, his former United team mate, over the course of last season.
Olsen, whose loan from AS Roma was terminated two months after Heckingbottom took charge in November, returned a figure of 37.7 under the 44-year-old’s predecessor Slavisa Jokanovic. Although Foderingham made six appearances under the Serb when Olsen suffered an injury on international duty with Sweden, he ‘went long’ on the nearly half (45.3) of the occasions he was in possession.
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Hide AdThe CIES’ findings demonstrate how Heckingbottom, who led United from 16th to fifth in the Championship table before they were beaten in the play-offs by Nottingham Forest, encouraged those under his command to take a more direct approach than Jokanovic.
Swansea City’s Ben Hamer attempted fewer long passes than any other goalkeeper in the division (26.2%), just ahead of Fulham duo Marek Rodak and Paulo Gazzaniga (27.9 and 28 respectively).
Hamer’s colleague Andy Fisher was fourth on the list (29.3), with Simon Moore, who left United to join Coventry City, Forest’s Brice Samba and Mark Travers next on the list. Their counterparts at Peterborough, Derby County and Luton Town were the only ones to attempt more long passes than Foderingham.
Keylor Navas of Paris St Germain tried the fewest worldwide (8.2), with kicks of 40 metres or more being counted as long by the CIES.