Guys: I saw an image of a passing network on social media and wanted to know more, in researching I fell down a rabbit hole of tactical analysis! I’m back now, and thought I’d share my findings with you!
As a caveat, I’m no tactical analyst; I’m just adding a bit of depth to what I see from my seat in K7.
My initial attraction to this intriguing image was the passing network and average position of Álex Moreno (Emery’s first signing for Aston Villa). We knew from his Villareal days that Emery’s preferred build-up was to be predominantly down the left-hand side, and you can see how this has evolved since the Brighton game by swiping through the images below – don’t go too deep yet just grasp the shape for now.
PASSING NETWORKS
Right, let’s get into it. What the hell are we looking at:
The pass network will show you the structure of a team’s approach and possession of the ball. It gives you an overview of the players’ average positions (like we looked at above with Moreno) and shows you where the team makes the majority of its passes.
Let’s use an example of one of our recent games: Southampton away.
The number of passes between players is indicated by the line width.
To keep the network from becoming too cluttered, there is a minimum threshold of more than 5 passes before it registers. We can see the line width between Martinez and Konsa, and Mings and Moreno as our most frequent combinations in this game.
The darker the line, and the darker the circle edge of the player will indicate the higher xT – don’t stress; we’ll touch on xT (expected threat) shortly.
The circle size of the player indicates the total number of successful passes – again, at a minimum of 5 passes.
Got it? So, we regularly see shared statistics on social media posts or player stats used on television as: “X player” made “X amount of passes.” What is interesting about the passing network is that it adds a visual image to support the statistics.
In the game against Southampton, Douglas Luiz completed 63 passes and Tyrone Mings 60, highlighted by the thicker line width.
We can also gauge the players who are passing progressively; passing into areas of threat (xT): Luiz, Kamara, Young, Ramsey, and Buendia all contributed between 5 and 8 progressive passes each. (Progressive passes exclude those not 40% away from the defending goal.)
And Ezri Konsa completed the game with a 93.2% pass rate, with Luiz and Mings on 87.5% and 85.7%, respectively. Highlighted by the players’ circle size.
So, without delving too deeply into the numbers, the passing network provides an instant visual overview of the team’s passing and tactical structure.
Another interesting look at passing networks is comparing two sides post-match, which I hope to add to our post-match content. Watch this space!
EXPECTED THREAT (xT)
If you’ve made it this far well done! So, what is xT: Expected Threat.
We’ll stick with the Southampton game – below is a graphic that visually illustrates our danger creation xT.
xT is looking at the bigger picture; it’s not calculated the same way as expected goals or expected assists; it’s looking at how the ball gets into those dangerous positions in the first place.
Our highest expected threat of 0.41 is highlighted in the darker shade area; this area of the pitch also ties in with the strongest passing networks on the left-hand side, telling us our chance of goal scoring creation in our current possession of the ball is at its highest in this position.
We can also consistently see where the ball is progressing up field: building out of the back, playing narrow, and using the left side more in the build-up.
That’s it, you made it! You can go much deeper into player xT – ball carriers, progressive passer, etc. but we’ll save that for another day.
Thank you for reading: any likes, retweets, or shares on the social media post where you found this article would be highly appreciated.
AUTHOR | RYAN MCKEOWN
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HIT THE IMAGE – to be diverted.
