The long throw-in is in town

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
23 Feb	7:45 PM	P	Stoke City (H)	1	0	Win

Stoke visits Arsenal on Wednesday bring an irritating yet effective long throw-in that has given them a goal against just about every premiership team. That damned throw-in works and that is why Stoke has gone to the trouble of customising the role and equipment of ball boys to include a towel. Later in this article, we shall look at why that throw-in works.

Arsenal will need to be very efficient to dispatch Stoke. I note that Alex Song and Arshavin played 90 mins against Leyton Orient (for nothing) so Arsenal has to do everything to win the game in the first half. As discussed in Paul Williams's article yesterday and here earlier this month, Arsenal has a very good squad but only one viable team because it is constraint by the defensive midfielder position and the playmaker position.

Rosicky is an attacking midfielder only – not a playmaker. Rosicky was a better playmaker at 23 than he is now. Then Alex Song is so critical in allowing the playmaker to work efficiently. So in spite of the big squad we simply just buy ourselves a replay for the future when those two positions don't have their first team players. Yes, Chamakh/Bendtner doesn't work and Squillaci is really struggling with premiership (though I was very impressed with his visible support and on-field coaching of Miguel) and Almunia has no confidence. But all of that is worth a goal for Orient, it doesn't excuse why we score only one. The reason is because there is no playmaker in the B Team. Anyway, so it is, we will see what this all means at the end of the season.

Back to Stoke, a commentator claimed that Stoke scored 17 goals last season from throw-ins or situations linked to it. I cannot verify that but it is clear that it is critical to Stoke's game. But why is it so effective? Two friends and I have conducted an unscientific study from Stoke throw-in goal videos and concluded that it is all about the speed at which the ball is travelling – in the case of throw-ins into the box, the lower speed compared to a corner makes them a nightmare to defend.

Let's consider what happens during a corner. Players take their positions and the ball is delivered into the box. The main characteristic of a corner is that the first touch on the ball is the most significant. The threat of the corner is fully determined on the first touch. This is so because when the ball is travelling at such speed, any touch on the ball has a large impact on its flight. After the first touch, the situation is generally over almost immediately.

If the opponent takes the first touch, it is either on target or flies off target and then it's over. On rare occasions, there might be a flick-on on the near post. If the defending team gets the first touch it is the same outcome – another corner, own-goal or cleared lines. Corners are over very quickly because the touch on a high speed ball has a large and immediate impact.

Another characteristic of a corner is that again because the speed the ball is travelling, only a few players can get to end ball. It is not possible for everyone to reach it as it arrives quickly into the box. The end ball of a corner is generally contested by only 2 to 4 players.

Now the throw-in causes all kinds of problems for defending teams because all the rules for defending a corner are altered due to the lower arrival speed of the ball.

Firstly, the first touch on the ball is not always significant. A defender who connects with a throw-in will not get the ball away very far so it keeps it in the danger area. Secondly, flick-ons are a lot more likely since the ball is travelling at lower speed again keeping it in the danger area. Thirdly, the ball takes a long time to arrive at the box, that second longer allows for the end position of the ball to be judged by all in the box and it gives a lot of players time to get there. A throw-in could end up being contested by up to 8 players and there are generally more than 4 players involved in the end ball. That is a lot of confusion in the box.

Fourth aspect is the goalkeeper. Because the ball travels slower, the goalkeeper is always tempted to come and get it and because there are so many players contesting the ball, it is extremely easy for the opponent to put a man whose only job is to disrupt the keeper. In the middle of the melee of players, it is extremely difficult for the referee to spot disruption and fouls on the keeper. In fact, it is very difficult for the keeper to even reach the ball. As we all know, if the keeper tries to get the ball and misses it, a goals is very likely to occur, especially if the first touch from anyone keeps the ball in the danger area.

Basically, the fact that a ball takes a second or less longer to arrive in the ball and that is carrying less speed can create chaos of defending. But then you could ask, if this is so effective, why do teams not play their corners in this way or use the same throw-in tactic.

I will take the last one first. Not everyone can throw a ball that far – so it is not all that easy to copy. You need a player that can do the throw-in. In all my time of watching football, I have only known three players who could throw that far and that accurately.

Then why do teams not play corners at lower speed? Well, because it is impossible.

A corner is played from a dead ball on the ground. To get it into the box that far away and get it into the air using a foot, you have to give it speed. You cannot chip that distance effectively. You may think of players chipping the keeper from the half way line, however those chips start at very high speed upwards, and then slowly on the way down. The first part of it is at high speed. If you do that with a corner, it will only drop to heading height closer to the other corner flag than the goal. In fact, if you could get the ball up and down at low speed that effectively, then you will score 90% of your direct free-kicks.

A corner is also delivered from a dead ball in line with the post. A throw-in however, is delivered usually with an angle from the post – that aids accuracy. A throw-in is delivered not from the ground but from over head height so there is no investment required to get the ball in the air which usually compromises the control you have – you will need a lot of skill if you were doing that with your feet. With you hands, you only need to have the power to deliver the ball. Playing with you hands is always easier.

A lot of fans hate the Stoke throw-in. There is even a Facebook page for those who abhor it. In my view, it is a legitimate tactic. It is a bit like building a car that is optimised for going downhill and rubbish at going in a straight line, round corners or uphill. Without an all-round car, Stoke just survive to fight relegation again the next year – there is no progress. That is their choice and it is a legitimate one no matter how annoying it can get when they play against your team.

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