“You never get fed up of scoring goals”
Alan Shearer
We’ve just finished looking at Andros Townsend’s shooting choices. Before we go on, it’s important to remember we’re focusing on the absolute elite-level of professional football in one of the world’s top leagues. Andros Townsend is in the top 0.1% of players in the world.
Sometimes there’s a lack of respect from coaches and analysts when discussing players, especially on social media. It’s especially important to remember this context if you’re a younger coach or analyst working at a professional club. You’re likely working with the best of the best, even if in this environment they’re a weaker player.
We’re looking at ways Townsend’s game could be improved further.
Townsend’s teammate Wilfred Zaha was highlighted as a perfect example of what Andros Townsend could possibly be. This section will be used to demonstrate these differences
The first video in this section shows Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend picking up the ball towards the centre of the pitch.
In the first clip, Townsend comes inside onto his right foot and makes the decision to shoot from long-range. Based on a database of thousands of shots from thousands of professional football games, we know only about 1 in every 100 of these shots are scored.
In the following clips, Wilfred Zaha receives the ball in almost identical situations but has no intention of shooting. He decides to drive forward before passing the ball to a teammate.
In both clips, notice how much more dangerous the resulting attack is for Crystal Palace instead of a 1% chance of a goal.
The next video focuses on counter attack situations. In these examples both players receive the ball centrally with plenty of space to drive forward at the opposition.
Andros Townsend chooses again to shoot from distance while ignoring passing options to his left.
Zaha decides to use this passing option to his left, despite there being more space to run forward into.
The final video example shows both players receiving the ball out wide and cutting inside off the wing.
In both examples, Zaha chooses to pass, creating a more dangerous opportunity for his teammate who wins a penalty.
Townsend chooses to shoot from long range. Both of Townsend’s shots are blocked and the opportunity to attack is wasted.
What can we take away from this section?
Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend often find themselves in similar situations
Townsend often looks to shoot and instead of considering other options. Zaha looks to dribble and combine with teammates
Despite having many similar opportunities, Zaha creates better opportunities for himself, and others, than Townsend
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