Long throws are back! Plus: Man Utd and Spurs set up Europa League showdown

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Hello! Bend It Like Beckham? These days it’s Launch It Like Delap.

On the way:

Throwback: Delap used to launch ball into the box — now the trend has returned

Before we get to our usual Friday quiz, an early trivia question: which contender for this year’s Ballon d’Or was once responsible for taking long throws at Leeds United?

The answer, believe it or not, is Raphinha, back in 2022 when the threat of relegation was making Leeds itch. It felt counter-intuitive — the Brazilian is an open-play demon if ever there was one — but the club were under the cosh and no kidding, Raphinha could launch it.

Naturally, assigning him that task raised eyebrows. Attacking long throws have a stigma, in England especially. Historically, they were regarded as a means of attack for teams with no sense of style; cloggers, to use an Anglo-Saxon term. Teams aren’t after Liam Delap because of the forward’s throw-in ability but his father, Rory, above, was a leading exponent (and absurdly consistent) for Stoke City 20 years ago. Stoke, in that era, had a reputation for being agricultural.

But guess what? Long throws are making a comeback in the Premier League. And not just there. Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal was notable for Arsenal’s Thomas Partey launching no fewer than 11 into PSG’s box. It’s a record in any game since Mikel Arteta took over at the Emirates Stadium in 2019.

Why is this happening? And why is the tactic finding favour again, when ‘getting it into the mixer’ (‘aiming the ball into the 18-yard box’, to use the King’s English) was so maligned for so long? The reasons, as ever, involve marginal gains — and the fact that no fashion in football is permanently in or out.

Brentford bombardment

For the purposes of the data Ahmed Walid and Mark Carey dug up, a long throw is classed as one that travels at least 32 metres, or 35 yards. An attacking long throw is one that takes place in the final quarter of the pitch.

In the 2019-20 season (when Pep Guardiola’s ball-at-feet mantra was everybody’s favourite model), attacking throws lobbed into the penalty area dropped to just eight per cent. This season, that figure stands at 17 per cent — and the graph, above, is clearly trending upwards.

Brentford are mad for them, aiming 63 per cent directly towards the opposition’s box. Ahmed and Mark’s analysis shows they’re effective, too. Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace are similarly partial, though certain clubs aren’t joining the revolution. Newcastle United almost never go long. Nor do Liverpool or Chelsea. Aston Villa and Forest are the only Champions League-chasing sides regularly employing attacking long throw-ins as a strategy.

Maligned or not, it stands to reason that teams — not least Arsenal, Villa and others with specialist set-piece coaches on their payrolls — would try to make any scenario work to their advantage. If corners and free kicks are planned, why not long throws? Safe in retirement, Rory Delap can consider himself a trendsetter. It just took two decades for his party piece to catch on.

Mounting Hope: Man Utd and Tottenham set up money-spinning Europa League final

(TNT Sports)

No turn up for the books in the Europa League last night. Manchester United made mincemeat of Athletic Club, tickled pink by Mason Mount’s maiden home goals. It’s only taken him 22 months. His first was the spitting image of Federico Macheda’s flick-turn-and-curl-it routine on his United debut in 2009.

Up in the Arctic Circle, Tottenham Hotspur filleted Bodo/Glimt and Ange Postecoglou gave a softcore version of Russell Crowe’s speech in Gladiator. Lo, we have our all-Premier League final. Who wins? You decide, based on the three previous meetings between United and Spurs this season. As TAFC wrote last week, the carrot is massive: a trophy, sure, but a Champions League place to the winners too, which could amount to a cash injection of £100million ($132.6m).

(TNT Sports)

The Conference League offers no such incentive, but Chelsea are into the final without breaking sweat, blooding a million youngsters in the process. The bigger story was Spain’s Real Betis joining them after an extra-time win against Fiorentina. Antony stuck a beauty of a free kick past David de Gea (below) and then assisted the winner for Abde Ezzalzouli, generating more food for thought.

News round-up

• Stamford Bridge’s home sections were infiltrated by scores of Djurgarden fans last night, leading to disturbances. The Chelsea Supporters Trust has accused the club of “the most serious breach of stadium security in recent memory”. Chelsea are investigating.
• A FIFA council meeting has been rearranged to allow president Gianni Infantino to join Donald Trump on a trip to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. It was supposed to be held in person in Paraguay next week but will now be conducted via videoconference instead. FIFA says this is totally normal.
• Just what Aston Villa didn’t need, with Champions League qualification in the balance: Youri Tielemans is likely to miss their remaining Premier League matches through injury.
• Canadian goalkeeper Tom McGill has signed a new two-year contract at Brighton & Hove Albion. If you’ve never heard of the 25-year-old, no wonder. He made Canada’s Gold Cup squad last year but he’s been at Brighton since the age of 14 without playing for their first team once. That has to be some sort of record.

40 years on: The Bradford City fire that left 56 dead

(Allsport UK/Getty Images)

It was a heck of a weekend for Bradford City, a club founded in 1903 in the heart of England’s industrial north. A deflected goal in the 96th minute — basically the final kick of their entire season — took them into League One, their first promotion in over a decade. They haven’t stopped dancing yet.

Football matters in Bradford but triumph and despair is relative there because in 1985, the city and its football team suffered an appalling stadium tragedy. Fifty-six supporters died when fire consumed the main stand at Bradford’s Valley Parade ground — on the afternoon when the club were collecting what is now the League Two title.

This Sunday marks 40 years since the disaster, and Richard Sutcliffe has written sensitively on it, speaking to several survivors and witnesses. The fire started when something ignited the litter piled up beneath the stand, most likely a discarded cigarette. The flames spread quickly and many fans had no chance to escape.

One of the most harrowing details in Richard’s feature is that the stand was due to be replaced after that match. The end of the season should have been the cue for major improvements to a 77-year-old structure. Those upgrades were critical — and they came too late.

Around The Athletic FC

• I respect the fact that MLS Cup holders LA Galaxy haven’t rushed into culling their head coach, Greg Vanney. Eleven games without a win could easily cause itchy trigger fingers. They’re in a bad way, owing to salary cap issues, injuries, form and more. “When it rains, it f*****g pours, man,” to quote one of their players. Paul Tenorio has the inside track.
• Meet Tyler Bindon, the 20-year-old Nottingham Forest defender who could have declared for the USMNT but is likely to go to the 2026 World Cup with New Zealand instead. His grandfather, Bill, is a Vietnam veteran with two Purple Hearts. Enjoy this cracking feature on an under-the-radar name.
• Quiz question (the real one): Three of the four defenders with the most goals and assists in Premier League history have played for Liverpool or Everton. Who is the one who hasn’t? You’ll find the answer here later today and in Monday’s TAFC.
• Most clicked in Friday’s TAFC: David Beckham’s Salford City takeover.

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Catch a match

(Selected games, kick-offs ET/UK)

Friday: Championship play-off semi-final first leg: Coventry City vs Sunderland, 3pm/8pm — CBS, Paramount+, Fubo/Sky Sports.

Saturday: Premier League: Bournemouth vs Aston Villa, 12.30pm/5.30pm — NBS, Peacock Premium, Fubo/Sky Sports; Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs Borussia Monchengladbach, 12.30pm/5.30pm — ESPN+ (U.S. only); MLS: Minnesota United vs Inter Miami, 4.30pm/9.30pm — MLS Season Pass/Apple TV.

Sunday: Premier League: Newcastle United vs Chelsea, 7am/12pm — USA Network, Fubo/TNT Sports; Liverpool vs Arsenal, 11.30am/4.30pm — NBC, Peacock Premium, Fubo/Sky Sports; La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid, 10.15am/3.15pm — ESPN, Fubo/Premier Sports; Serie A: Napoli vs Genoa, 2.45pm/7.45pm — CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime/TNT Sports, OneFootball.

And finally…

There’s nothing like an issue that stirs up the hornet’s nest. Tim Spiers’ column on guards of honour did precisely that. At the last count, it had generated more than 500 comments.

The debate he had with himself was: should teams, as Chelsea did last Sunday, applaud the title winners — Liverpool — onto the pitch before they play each other? And should Arsenal follow Chelsea’s lead at Anfield this Sunday?

Tim calls it performative nonsense (as I knew he would). Me? I reckon football gives us enough to fight about already. I can’t summon the energy for a brawl over this but, hell, hit us with your opinion at the email address below. And have a top weekend.

(Top photo: Neal Simpson – PA Images via Getty Images)

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