High Line ..Pros and Cons

[MWARLEY2]

Thought i would put this up as i just saw some stats.. top 5 current teams in the Premier League this season with offsides won

Arsenal...16

Liverpool...21

Man City ..22

Spurs....38

Villa ..58 !!!!!

They must have our back 4 working on it 24/7. 

[Wainy316]

Pros - we catch the opposition offside **** loads.

Cons - some of the pundits don't like it

[Rodders]

Pros - it's got us to 5th in the league

Cons - I think it makes it harder for Unai to make subs, doesn't want to disrupt a side in rhythm maybe

[villa4europe]

1 minute ago, Wainy316 said:

Pros - we catch the opposition offside **** loads.

Cons - some of the pundits don't like it

And fans... 

Its mad how many replies of "got away with one there" you see for every offside 

[Adam2003]

Pros - keep winning most games.

Cons - every now and then we don’t win and it contributes to that at times

[Adam2003]

1 minute ago, Rodders said:

Cons - I think it makes it harder for Unai to make subs, doesn't want to disrupt a side in rhythm maybe

Quite a thoughtful one there that I hadn’t considered

[fruitvilla]

5 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Pros - we catch the opposition offside **** loads.

Pros - some of the pundits don't like it

FIFY

[briny_ear]

Best thing is I can play commentator high line bingo when watching our matches on tv.

As soon as the opposition launch a high ball over our defence and get caught offside, the commentators start babbling about the “high line” and never stop. My high line bingo card is soon full!

BTW Dion Dublin doesn't like it so that’s a bit of a con I guess.

[Mazrim]

Pros - It works the vast majority of the time.

Cons - ... errrr.......

[CarryOnVilla]

It gets the same stick as “playing out from the back”

They look like risky tactics, yet done correctly with good players then you are top 5 in the premier league 

parking the bus and playing long ball is safe, yet gets you in the bottom 3.

I rather look risky and get results than look safe and get beat

 

[jimmygreaves]

19 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

And fans... 

Its mad how many replies of "got away with one there" you see for every offside 

"The more you practice the luckier you get"

The only con I can think of is the bloody linesmen don't give the offside when it's totally obvious. The play generally continues with defenders throwing themselves to block crosses, etc... when they shouldn't have to.

Bailey got injured last time out doing just this. 

The other associated issue is the opposition players and fans get an unwarranted psychological boost of a shot on target or a disallowed goal. If the offside is called when it happens (as it should) they wouldn't have this advantage.

[villa4europe]

Just now, jimmygreaves said:

"The more you practice the luckier you get"

The only con I can think of is the bloody linesmen don't give the offside when it's totally obvious. The play generally continues with defenders throwing themselves to block crosses, etc... when they shouldn't have to.

Bailey got injured last time out doing just this. 

The other associated issue is the opposition players and fans get an unwarranted psychological boost of a shot on target or a disallowed goal. If the offside is called when it happens (as it should) they wouldn't have this advantage.

I'm of the opinion that it's because they want the chance or even better the goal, makes it more exciting

Think it was the Chelsea game where Emi made 3 great saves... But they were all from offsides, sky get a great game though

They're doing in to make the game seem more exciting than it actually is 

[Zatman]

34 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Pros - we catch the opposition offside **** loads.

Cons - some of the pundits don't like it unless you play it with 9 men and get smashed

Fixed for ya

[villanmac]

An unintended benefit of the high line is it keeps the back 4 and midfield switched on and focused it for the full 90. The midfield know they have to press the ball every time or the whole thing goes tits up and the back 4 have to always be perfectly in position.

When you play deeper you have more of a safety net and players can switch off more individually and get away with being a bit more lax at times. That starts individually and can become contagious to the whole side eventually. With the high line if you mess your individual bit up it's glaring obvious and so it keeps u honest.

[MaVilla]

pro's:

Watching people creating threads and debating the merits/drawbacks of manager having us play a tactic that has gotten us our best performances and points return in the last 25+ years, and broken or equalled records going back 20 to 90 years.

cons:

Watching people creating threads and debating the merits/drawbacks of manager having us play a tactic that has gotten us our best performances and points return in the last 25+ years, and broken or equalled records going back 20 to 90 years.

[Yorke81]

5 minutes ago, villanmac said:

An unintended benefit of the high line is it keeps the back 4 and midfield switched on and focused it for the full 90. The midfield know they have to press the ball every time or the whole thing goes tits up and the back 4 have to always be perfectly in position.

When you play deeper you have more of a safety net and players can switch off more individually and get away with being a bit more lax at times. That starts individually and can become contagious to the whole side eventually. With the high line if you mess your individual bit up it's glaring obvious and so it keeps u honest.

That’s a really interesting take on it. No room for leniency, keeps everyone on their toes - and the benefit is obvious seeing the amount of goals we produce!

[MWARLEY2]

2 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

pro's:

Watching people creating threads and debating the merits/drawbacks of manager having us play a tactic that has gotten us our best performances and points return in the last 25+ years, and broken or equalled records going back 20 to 90 years.

cons:

Watching people creating threads and debating the merits/drawbacks of manager having us play a tactic that has gotten us our best performances and points return in the last 25+ years, and broken or equalled records going back 20 to 90 years.

Hahaha. You are spot on. I just wanted to see if there was anyone still against it due to causing them heart attacks.  Its brilliant how he has evolved. Remember the back 6 against Brighton away and the lowest of low blocks 

[Sulberto21]

Only con is that in the Liverpool and Newcastle games the players of the opposition had time and space to play whichever pass they want and no1 tracked their midfield runners from deep.

Buendia was a catalyst for the pressure on the ball which we have missed this season. 

[DJBOB]

Interesting that Arsenal's is so low. They press very aggressively in the opponent third but as soon as the opponent builds out, they drop and are content with blocking/intercepting instead compressing the pitch.

I think as a result, Arteta has sacrificed some of the high turnover possibilities with a more solid defense. The numbers show true as they are the league leaders in xGA while we are 4th in xG but the high line results in some opponents running free.

An interesting contrast in philosophies.

Edit: If you take npXG into account as Arsenal have won 6 penalties, they are 11th in the league. Arteta playing it safe this year.

Edited November 13, 2023 by DJBOB

[punkiller1981]

1 hour ago, MWARLEY2 said:

Thought i would put this up as i just saw some stats.. top 5 current teams in the Premier League this season with offsides won

Arsenal...16

Liverpool...21

Man City ..22

Spurs....38

Villa ..58 !!!!!

They must have our back 4 working on it 24/7. 

I wonder if that includes the number that are offside that seem to get ignored that pundits seem to view as real chances. I’m thinking as an example estupinian vs Brighton at 0-0 and they say it might have been a different game if that had gone in as opposed to the reality that is it would have been ruled out by var because the line was spot on as it usually is