Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive as Unai Emery discusses a significant change in the way the English game is evolving tactically
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Matty Cash prepares to take a long throw for Aston Villa(Image: James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has explained the growing trend of Premier League rivals adopting a more direct approach to their football.
Statistics show that the number of passes per top flight game have plummeted to a 15-year low as more and more teams opt to play long balls and utilise long throws into the box.
“I think this is a consequence of how it is changing tactically overall in football,” Emery told Sky Sports.
“Football is becoming man-to-man all over the pitch.”
He added: “With teams playing man-to-man, pressing against their direct opponent, even in a medium block, trying to jump man-to-man, we are seeing a lot more of this than last year. It is because teams in England, and in Italy are performing well doing it.
“Here, for example, one team that is being consistent, man-to-man marking all over the pitch, is Newcastle. But as well, others teams, they are adding it now. The result is more duels, less time to pass, and more opportunity to exploit the opponent in behind.”
Emery believes the tactical trend started in Europe, pointing to Gian Piero Gasperini in Italy and saying: “He was doing it for years with Atalanta and now with Roma. There are a lot of teams, in Italy and in Spain, who are trying to introduce this same idea to their game. Everything is quicker and more direct, less passing.”
As for long throw-ins, a tactic once frowned upon by the purists but extremely effective for the likes of Stoke City and former long-throw specialist Rory Delap, they appear to be being adopted by many more, including title favourites Arsenal, while Villa have their own long throw weapon in the form of Matty Cash.
Emery explained: “Set pieces are improving, the development is so quick. Brentford were one of the first. It was like a corner, six or seven players in the box. Now, there are more teams, maybe 10 in the Premier League, doing it, being more direct. Even we are doing it sometimes.”
He believes the style of Premier League refereeing encourages it.
“In England, you can disturb the goalkeeper, block the centre-backs. In other leagues, it is not like that. In Europe, it is a clear foul.”
As for how much his Villa team will change, he said: “You have to be always updating tactically, learning quickly, using all your experience to change because football is progressing. We are updating our ideas but we are only changing small details.
“We are trying to keep the same mentality, trying to add some tactical ideas to the collective, to the individuals, but not over the top.”
Today Emery is pitting his wits against one of the modern day tacticians, Thomas Frank at Tottenham.
“Frank is very creative,” he says. “He changes it, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and he can press high or sometimes he can set the team in a middle or low block.”
Citing their performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup in August as an example of the latter, he added: “He is finding different ways, tactically. And that increases the demands on us. It is becoming more difficult against them. We have to be ready.”
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