BOLA ATTA IPSO's professional analyst looks deeper
Bola Atta
“Is a football professional bridging the gap between technical analysis and strategic management. With hands-on experience as a Head of Analysis and Scouting and managing sports companies, I specialise in delivering data-driven insights while shaping long-term operational strategies. Skilled in negotiation, project management, and budgeting, I am passionate about modern football management and aspire to lead as a Sporting Director, combining technical depth with visionary leadership.”
I had the privilege of winning the Jordanian Pro League with Al Ramtha SC in 2021.
First BLOG: “Throw-Ins as Weapons: The Silent Game Changer”
While modern football is captivated by complex tactics like intense pressing, methodical build-up, and rapid attacks, the simple throw-in is making a comeback as a surprisingly effective strategic tool.
No longer just a simple reset of play, the throw-in is now being meticulously planned, practised, and used for tactical advantage.
During the 2025-26 Premier League season, many teams are transforming throw-ins into powerful opportunities to attack or initiate pressure.
This shift is forcing opponents to rethink their defensive strategies for sideline restarts and is changing how coaches, analysts, and players approach this once-overlooked aspect of the game.
In this tactical analysis, we will examine tactical insights into different teams’ routines for throw-ins in the English Premier League.
The resurgence of throw-ins in the Premier League
The throw-in is quietly redefining attacking strategy in the 2025-26 Premier League. Once a simple way to restart play, it has become a calculated weapon, with the average number of long throws—covering 20 meters or more into the box—more than doubling to 3.99 per match.
Clubs are increasingly using them as a direct route into the final third, bypassing the challenge of compact defences.
Driven by a culture of “marginal gains,” teams now optimise even these brief moments to create goal-scoring opportunities.
Specialist throw-in takers and rehearsed routines have transformed the sideline restart from a chaotic afterthought into a highly orchestrated and potent tactical tool.
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews has the luxury of deploying three long-throw specialists
— Michael Kayode, Mathias Jensen, and Kevin Schade — which helps explain why the Bees lead the league in this department, launching 47 throws directly into the penalty area so far.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace (through Chris Richards and Jefferson Lerma), Sunderland (via Nordi Mukiele), and AFC Bournemouth (with Antoine Semenyo) have also emerged as consistent practitioners of this specialised tactic.
Remarkably, every Premier League side this season has begun incorporating long-throw variations as a means of forcing entries into the opposition box — a clear indicator of how mainstream the strategy has become.
Under Oliver Glasner, Crystal Palace have been the most efficient executors, connecting with a teammate on 34% of their long throws — double Brentford’s success rate. This precision has enabled the Eagles to generate the highest number of shots and the greatest Expected Goals (xG) from throw-in situations across the division.
Structured Chaos: The Art of Controlled Throw-In Attacks
The evolution of throw-in routines in the 2025/26 Premier League has produced two dominant attacking models — the near-post flick and rebound and the flat mid-box distribution
Both serve different tactical purposes but share a common foundation: structure designed to create chaos in the opponent’s defensive line.
The near-post flick and rebound routine focuses on fast, powerful deliveries aimed at the first zone inside the box.
In this sequence, Maxence Lacroix times his two-step movement perfectly to attack the near-post zone, flicking the long throw across the face of goal.
Meanwhile, Ismaïla Sarr exploits the blindside of his marker at the far post, arriving untracked to finish — a textbook example of how layered throw-in routines can manipulate both first-contact and second-phase defenders.
A designated flick-on target redirects the ball across the goal while secondary runners attack the rebound or second ball.
Van Den Berg arrives from deep to attack the near post, drawing defenders and the goalkeeper out of position to disrupt the defensive line.
This movement manipulates defensive zones, drawing markers toward the near-post and freeing space for back-post or late-arriving finishers, as we see here gives Ajer space to flick it to Ouattara on the second post and score. In contrast, the flat mid-box distribution and control routine prioritizes possession and second-phase structure over immediate aerial confrontation.
The thrower targets a central or edge-of-box zone, where an advanced midfielder or winger can receive, control, and link play.
Here, Damsgaard reacts quickest to the second ball at the edge of the box, delivering a direct pass into the central area where Igor Thiago narrowly fails to convert.
Supporting runners maintain positional discipline to recycle the ball or exploit gaps in the reshaped defensive line.
The result is a hybrid form of attack that blends set-piece precision with open-play rhythm — calculated yet unpredictable.
Defensive Tactics for Chelsea and Manchester United
From a tactical perspective, both Chelsea and Manchester United have exhibited recurring weaknesses when defending throw-ins in the 2025‑26 season.
Key issues include poor organisation in congested near-post zones, delayed reactions to flick-ons or knock-downs, and a lack of clear marking assignments for secondary runners.
Chelsea’s late equaliser against Brentford in the 93rd minute exemplifies this: Kevin Schade’s long throw exploited the Blues’ zonal gaps.
With defenders drawn toward the initial contact and leaving space at the back-post.
Similarly, Sunderland capitalised on Chelsea’s failure to track runners after a long throw, exposing systemic vulnerability in box coverage.
With defenders drawn toward the initial contact and leaving space at the back-post.
Similarly, Sunderland capitalised on Chelsea’s failure to track runners after a long throw, exposing systemic vulnerability in box coverage.
Here, the focus is on first-post zonal marking, where Sunderland commits three players to generate chaos and overload the defensive zone.
Under sustained pressure, Josh Acheampong’s clearance landed in the middle of the box, where Bertrand Traoré capitalized on the chaos, setting up Wilson Isidor to finish and score.
In this sequence, the attacker drops to receive the ball before flicking it toward the far post, while three supporting players time their runs to exploit the space created.
The defence manages to clear the ball, but the final runner remains unmarked in the blind spot, as the defensive line is drawn entirely toward the ball and the aerial duel.
Consequently, teams can score from the second, third, or even fourth phase if they maintain goal-side positioning, populate the second-line zone with penetrating runs, anticipate rebounds at the edge of the box, and exploit the defenders’ blind spots to initiate the deliberately orchestrated chaos.
Conclusion
The 2025–26 Premier League season has clearly demonstrated that throw-ins are no longer a peripheral phase of play — they have become a potent tactical weapon.
Throw-ins have evolved into a decisive tactical phase, far beyond a simple possession reset. Well-rehearsed routines — from near-post flicks to mid-box control and second-phase rebounds
— exploit defensive blind spots, create chaos, and open goal-scoring opportunities.
In modern football, the difference between conceding and scoring can often come down to anticipation, movement, and coordination in these seemingly minor moments.
EI Case Study – Colin Chambers
Colin Chambers is THE Football Scout.
With over twenty-three years of experience, he is now sharing his knowledge through IPSO (International Professional Scouting Organisation) empowering Scouts with high-accuracy details for spotting talented players.
Colin is a Scout of the National Polish Football Federation at the last World Cup, he worked for Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town, Middleburgh, and Northern Ireland.
His company is the Scout’s educator of a multitude of professional teams, universities, and football federations such as Uzbekistan, India, Malaysia, Romania, Poland, Estonia and many more including the Malaysia Ministry of Sport.
Colin’s main drive is bringing professional scouting to a higher level, empowering them with detailed step-by-step guidance and practical tools enabling them to offer their best for clubs, and federations.
Providing high-quality scouting courses is his main objective.
“Attention to Details” is his motto!
We have had a very interesting chat regarding the quality of coaching and scouting, the importance of analysing humans before analysing players and professionals and on top, how to realise when a player needs support for performing at peak and with a light heart.
We talked about the evolution over time of the Mental and Psychological importance and how success and often money play a huge trigger on the players’ minds.
Colin shared his perspective about the importance of body language, the importance of pressure and the optimal degree of discomfort, and the crucial factor of knowing how to talk to different players as they are all different humans.
Mistakes will always happen; the point is to do our best in order to minimise them.
Great insights from Colin using real-life examples of players that suffered huge changes in terms of performance during transitions from one team to another or vice versa.
“It’s all about man management”, Colin stated, the reason why we found each other on the same page.
We are humans before being professionals and performers.
Finally, Colin empowered the interview with his vision concerning how Clubs can support their players to perform effortlessly, gain clarity and welcome guidance, and emphasized the importance of having a mindset-trainer professional the same as a physiotherapist and other professionals in the team to work on Prevention rather than Resolution of problems.
Colin, thanks for sharing Your wisdom and expertise!
Enjoy the video!
Former Chelsea Scout Gives A Brilliant Interview About Scouting In The Modern Game.
IPSO were very impressed with the knowledge and delivery that Chris gave in this interview and Chris covered a lot of things we talk about when we train our students when it comes to scouting. A very impressive and detailed interview.