Newcastle have been amongst the highest pressing and most attacking teams in the Premier League this season, according to stats obtained by FBref.
Ask any Newcastle fan to cast their minds back to the football of Steve Bruce just 12 months ago and you will be welcomed with moans and groans. It is no surprise, as ‘Brucey Ball’ often featured pitiful possession stats and his team inviting pressure for 90 minutes.
The contrast to the tactical strategy of Eddie Howe could not be starker, with the former Bournemouth boss having the Magpies’ second in the Premier League for both successful tackles and pressures in the attacking third, along with touches in the opposition penalty area.
When it comes to tackles in the attacking third Newcastle’s ten is second only to Chelsea, while with pressures Leeds 90 is one more than our 89. Considering we finished fifteenth in both these metrics last season despite a little over half a season of Howe shows just how far we have came in the last year.
Liverpool have had 96 touches in the opposition’s penalty area, which is still 23 more than us despite being ranked second. However, four of our players rank inside the top 20 for this statistic. Miguel Almiron, who leads the league with 18, is joined by: Allan Saint-Maximin (16), Joe Willock (11) and Callum Wilson (10).
In terms of individual performance, Joe Willock has been the stand-out reflection of this new high-pressing system. The midfielder ranks second for tackles completed in the attacking third, third for % of successful pressures and fourth for total successful pressures – showing there is more to his game than just the attacking output of 2020/21.
While the data set is small, and I’ll come back and reflect on how we are progressing in a few weeks, there is a clear intent and direction to our style of play.
