My latest Chalkboard/Opta stats review for the Bolton game now available at http://wearepremierleague.com Rather than focus on the passing of Allen/Britton, which was superb but has been well covered elsewhere, I've focused on Williams and Vorm as I felt Bolton's pressing game was a bit half arsed, even with 11 men. They'd press briefly then Williams/Vorm/Monk would put a couple of passes together and invariably it'd be Williams in plenty of space as Bolton retreated in to their own half. Some of Ash's long range passing was superb and if the opposition are trying to pack the midfield it's a great option to have. Vorm only made 2 unsuccessful passes yesterday compared to 20 against Wolves as there was rarely any need to pump it long.
Must say I like your threads, DBJack. These Opta stats certainly drill down to the nitty-gritty. Do you have to pay a subscription to get at the information? When Vorm has the ball, Monk and Williams tend to go to the corners of the penalty area. Bolton often covered them by pushing two forward (Ngog & Pratley?). But then Leon would come back centrally outside the 'D' unmarked and off we go. If Bolton had a bit more courage and pushed 3 forward, they could have posed us more problems. In such cases our next option is usually a short diagonal ball out to Taylor or Rangel wide on the half-way line.
I sagree with your statement about Bolton's 'pressing'. The little neat play found it easy to unlock them and find an open man within several passes. Well played the Swans and well played on the thread!
Good blog DBjack. Interesting stat abuut Vorm. I noticed that in the game yesterday, but didn't realise his pass completion was so good. It definitely let us control the game alot easier. Like you said Bolton pressed sometimes, and when they did, it was in ones and twos, so we just passed backwards and then sideways and space opened up. Poor management from Owen Coyle I think, because like we all know, if we are pressed high up the pitch, we struggle to play our game.
I haven't looked at the stats yet, is there a better player out there who can do the diagonal pass that Ash. Some of the balls he passes out to Dyer are exquisite, Dyers control is mind boggling. Funny why Sinclair never get's these diagonal balls passed to him, would understand as Ash being a right footer.
aswan_dam - The Opta stats are available on the guardian website, don't need to pay but you do need to register www.guardian.co.uk/chalkboards has a lot of info but not as much as the clubs buying the full Opta data would have e.g., On the guardian you can filter on who makes the pass but not who receives it.
