Heading the football

Pogue Mahone

Closet Gooner.
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Feb 22, 2006
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"like a man in silk pyjamas shooting pigeons
I've just discovered something else we're shit at!

Occurred to me recently that the only time we ever seem to win headers in the opposition half is when it's Sabitzer that heads the ball. And he is surely under six foot tall?

So I did some digging...

As you'd expect, defenders are generally top of the list of aerial duels won. With Ivan Toney being an honourable exception, in second place (109).

If you filter by midfielders, we're pretty bad.
Casemiro is in 10th place overall (48).
McT is 17th (32)
Bruno is in 50th place (18)
Sabitzer is 71st (13)
Eriksen 90th (8)

Forwards statistics are even worse.
Rashford tops the list for us with 20 (34th place).
Toney and Mitrovic average five aerial duels won for every one that Rashford wins.
Watkins, Adams, Kane, DCL, Moore, Joelinton and Antontio win about 3 x as many.
Haaland, Vardy, Jesus( :eek: ) Nunez and Bamford have averaged around 2 x as many

Weghorst (who has only been here since January and is shite in the air, despite being massive) is already within 5 of Rashford on 15 (42nd place).
Garnacho, Sancho, Martial and Antony have won 13 aerial duels between them all season!
There is no other forward in the Premier League who has won less aerial duels than Sancho (2).

Soooooooooo...

Is this a problem?
How do we fix it?
 
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I mean, surely to feck we’ll never win anything if we’re being dominated by all our opponents every time the ball is over head height? It would explain a lot anyway. Can a new manager make a whole squad better at heading the football? Or do we need to sign a whole bunch of new players who are actually competent at this basic skill?
 
You could say Arsenal also have a problem with these stats - Jesus (40) is their only attacker with over 10 duels won. But he's also lost 68 according to whoscored stats (use the Detailed tab).
I think for us it's partly a self-fulfilling prophecy - our attackers aren't great in the air so we avoid creating potential duels (e.g. fewer long balls) which further suppresses the numbers. And apart from Weghorst we don't have attackers built like target men (strong, tall or both like Toney, Mitrovic, Kane, Haaland).
So I'd say it's a playstyle decision and not really an issue until we need a plan B, which does happen, e.g. West Ham. They knew we were unlikely to score from an open-play cross and defending seemed straighforward.
 
RK said:
You could say Arsenal also have a problem with these stats - Jesus (40) is their only attacker with over 10 duels won. But he's also lost 68 according to whoscored stats (use the Detailed tab).
I think for us it's partly a self-fulfilling prophecy - our attackers aren't great in the air so we avoid creating potential duels (e.g. fewer long balls) which further suppresses the numbers. And apart from Weghorst we don't have attackers built like target men (strong, tall or both like Toney, Mitrovic, Kane, Haaland).
So I'd say it's a playstyle decision and not really an issue until we need a plan B, which does happen, e.g. West Ham. They knew we were unlikely to score from an open-play cross and defending seemed straighforward.
Click to expand...

Are you familiar with the work of a Spanish footballer called David De Gea?

I’d say Arsenal’s numbers probably are suppressed by a preference to keep the ball on the deck but there’s unfortunately no way we can use that excuse at United.
 
What’s the point of asking them to head the ball when they’re so much more dangerous with the ball at their feet.

leave the heading to the defenders and get our goal keeper to man up and stop flailing every time he goes up to catch the ball.

Our forwards and midfielders need to improve on their pressing more than their heading.
 
Long term planning. We're saving ourselves a fortune in the inevitable brain damage class actions.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Are you familiar with the work of a Spanish footballer called David De Gea?

I’d say Arsenal’s numbers probably are suppressed by a preference to keep the ball on the deck but there’s unfortunately no way we can use that excuse at United.
Click to expand...
Totals across the front 4 positions this season:
Code: 
Team     Total    Won    Won%
United    210     71     34%
Arsenal   268     75     28%

Arsenal have been relatively successful without aerial superiority, but I'd say they also lack a decent Plan B.
 
RK said:
Totals across the front 4 positions this season:
Code: 
Team     Total    Won    Won%
United    210     71     34%
Arsenal   268     75     28%

Arsenal have been relatively successful without aerial superiority, but I'd say they also lack a decent Plan B.
Click to expand...

That's interesting. Surprisingly similar to us.

I guess the big difference is how much better Jesus is at winning aerial duals than Rashford (twice as many, despite making 20 less PL appearances) Which we could at least fix by just signing one player, a decent number nine.
 
I swear I see the likes of liverpool and man City score far more headed goals than us even with their small stature players like silva, jota, mahrez, mane (last year), salah, foden etc..
 
Pogue Mahone said:
There’s definitely an opportunity to create duels. If United players were looking for them. It’s not as though he’s pinging out hard, flat long passes. They’re generally lofted and floaty as feck.
Click to expand...

And they always land in the same areas. Our forwards have no interest in trying to win them, it's awful.
 
Well I know we struggle clearing corners at one end and can't score from them for shit at the other end, so it's not a shocking revelation!

Plus we have a 6'6 front man who I've barely seen win a header since he's been here.
 
Get better and more reliable build up from the goalkeeper and midfield so you don't have to go long as often. But also a big part of our struggles have been having nobody who can receive the ball when we go long. Martial is decent with it, doesn't need to head it really, more needs to control it with a man on his back which is the last remaining thing he offers to a good level (when fit).
 
Dr. Dwayne said:
And they always land in the same areas. Our forwards have no interest in trying to win them, it's awful.
Click to expand...
The bigger problem is everyone knows this yet we never seem to win the 2nd ball either. The opposition always win the contest in the air and retain possession at the same time.

Look at spurs goal, the rb wins the header and simultaneously plays kane through because our whole team but mainly malacia was asleep.
 
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