Swansea City’s “pass maps” give an interesting insight to their passing patterns in games – who plays a central role in the passing game while others are little more than spectators.
I’ve often liked to use the average positions diagrams to understand the overall balance in the team, how defensive or offensive we were etc, but thanks to twitter user 11tegen11, we can go a step further and look at passing patterns, player movement and player influence (number of passes).
Leon Britton has, for many seasons now, been an integral part to Swansea’s passing and possession game, proving to be a master at playing the deep, pivot role just in front of the back four as he provides a link from defence to attack, but the passing map for Saturday’s game at Arsenal shows that he couldn’t get involved as much as we’d like him to. That was mainly down to Arsenal’s early dominance and the Swans having to go long or down the sides.
Having said that, Britton still had 90% passing accuracy (35/39), compared to Jack Cork’s 88% (38/43). Kyle Naughton matched Cork’s accuracy, but with 65 successful passes – almost double compared to the two midfielders, and three times more than Taylor.
Those passing accuracy stats may be surprising considering how often we conceded possession in the first half of the game, but it was in Arsenal’s half where we struggled. Fer (79%), Sigurdsson (70%) and Barrow (72%) were often isolated and had to hit hopeful balls into space.
Not for the first time this season, right-back Naughton is the main passer of the ball for #Swans.#passmap pic.twitter.com/jKctmr4OHB
? 11tegen11 (@11tegen11) October 16, 2016
Looking at the passing map above, which covers the first 62 minutes before substitutes were made at Arsenal, Swansea’s passing game centralised on the right side of the middle third, with right back Naughton being the most active passer. Most of Swansea’s play went through the two right-sided defenders, with Naughton often looking to either Fer or Barrow for passing options.
The passing map also alarmingly shows such little involvement on the left flank. So little, that Wayne Routledge played so deep he pretty much occupied the same position as left back Neil Taylor, who made less passes in 90 minutes than Rangel did in 8.
Swansea’s lack of left sided attacking play has been a major problem all season. A Neil Taylor and Wayne Routledge attacking combination down that side is hardly inspiring. If Montero returns, I’m sure he’ll want a more pro-active full back partner than Neil Taylor. Montero has shown his frustration with him in the past, due to his hesitation on the ball and tendency to pass backwards rather than making a first time pass to the Ecuadorian.
After a difficult away game at a team like Arsenal, who extended their winning run to 6 after beating us and going joint top with Manchester City, it’s worth looking at our last home game, against another tough side – Liverpool and seeing how it compares.
Under previous boss Francesco Guidolin, it’s no surprise to see below, a line of six in the midfield line, with the two full backs adding to the four midfielders. Leon Britton played as part of a flat midfield three in a 4-3-3 setup, so he wasn’t as deep or playing his usual pivot role in front of the central defenders.
Impressive play from #Swans to reach Borja Bastón from so many angles.
Also nice, insde left & outside right winger.#passmap pic.twitter.com/TCZGNtHCzC? 11tegen11 (@11tegen11) October 1, 2016
It also shows Sigurdsson’s and Borja’s regular movement, plus how Jack Cork was given a more free role. Due to no natural winger on the left, compared to Routledge, who was actually able to play in attack in this game, and Sigurdsson’s habit to move inside, Cork had to be versatile and move across to offer a wide option to Kyle Naughton.
Once again though, we see the right full back is by far the most active passer. That again shows our over-reliance on using the right flank to attack. The Swans will have to find a way to ensure more balance, and to avoid becoming too predictable that we’ll often look to that flank. Opposition teams will be aware of this and look to counter down their right where there’s less Swansea players and more open space.
New manager Bob Bradley was limited for options on Saturday at the Emirates. No striker fully fit to start, and having to adopt Sigurdsson as a false nine with Fer in support, and as the graphic above shows, the link up play between them was virtually non-existent. Arsenal’s strength and quick passing pegged us back in our own half however, forcing us to kick long and direct, and you can see the long passing arrows from Amat to Sigurdsson, and Fernandez to Barrow.
Hopefully Bradley will have Borja fully fit to start on Saturday in a crucial game at home to Watford. If he has, and he should unless the striker picks up yet another knock this week, he’ll have to decide what midfielder drops to the bench. And can he improve the left side? Will Montero be fit, and will Kingsley have an opportunity? Who knows, but getting the balance right in that side will be vital, it was something that Guidolin didn’t seem too bothered about. I’m hopeful Bradley will identify it as a big issue though that needs addressing.
