Ole Gunner1. The fact that Song's average touch position is so high is due to how high a line we held in the 1st half, and masks how deep Arsenal defended in the 2nd half.
2. As usual Campbell sat rather deep even when we pushed up. There was a lot o space behind Clichy & Vermaelen, a factor which led to the situation that led to the wrong penalty decision.
3. We didn't play with too much width. Clichy got forward and got crosses in, but the 4 forward players occupied a narrow patch of the pitch.
4. Balls played back for Almunia to distribute were better and put him under less pressure, and his kicking was better. Either that or he's got his composure back.
5. No chalkboard or graphic can capture the character shown to dig deep and get a result with 10 men in a derby.
20.03.2010
FeriAtsThe penalty awarded to WHU was a complete joke. The linesman who raised flag should quit refereeing, he's just not cut for it.
20.03.2010
nvrAnd then there's Man U's out of box penalty on top of that...
22.03.2010
ZolaWhat is this "touch position" then? Is it the places where a player meets the ball? How do you calculate the average? I'd really appreciate some more info about how you come up with these.
24.03.2010
Ole GunnerAverage touch position is the average of points where a player touches the ball. I consider it a very good demonstration of team tactics assuming that players play to instruction. But even if players don't play in line with team tactics, it still shows us what they did and so what the team's tactics actually were.
I can't tell you exactly how they are calculated. I suspect, they map all the player's touches. Then, based on coordinates, they measure where the player's average touch position was.
The data I use comes from the Telegraph website. Telegraph.co.uk
25.03.2010
ZolaOh, thanks for the info, I don't generally read torygraph, I had no clue they had this. They must be using post game video technology to produce these.
25.03.2010
FeriAtsPolitical stance aside, Telegraph has the best sports section in British press. Anyone not following them is missing a lot.
25.03.2010
