Long throws are back - and Brentford are the masters

The long throw is back in vogue, it seems.

It was a tactical weapon Rory Delap used to shake up the Premier League after Stoke's arrival in 2008 - causing havoc by launching the ball into the box.

And now it is happening more and more in the top flight, with Brentford proving to be the masters of it.

Against Chelsea on Saturday, Fabio Carvalho scored a late goal following a Kevin Schade long throw to secure a 2-2 draw.

That was the last of a glut of long throws during the game from first Michael Kayode and then Schade.

Earlier on, Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez had tipped a Schade long throw over the bar even though nobody had appeared to touch it on the way through.

It is the seventh goal that the Bees have scored from long throws since the start of last season, five more than other Premier League team.

It might not be pretty, but it is effective.

"I felt there's a little bit of snobbery in the game around scenarios like that," said Brentford boss Keith Andrews.

"If the big boys do it, then it seems to be accepted."

Asked how to avoid conceding goals from long throws, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said: "First of all, try not to concede the throw-in.

"They have Kayode, Jensen, Schade and even Pinnock who are strong on throw-ins."

BBC Match of the Day pundit Ashley Williams, the former Wales captain, said: "It's weirdly difficult [to defend long throws].

"The day before a game you practise defending corners and free-kicks but not long throws.

"Because it's coming in from a different angle, it creates chaos. It's something teams should work on more."

Former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given added: "It's refreshing. Sometimes a bit of old school 'throw it into the mixer' can cause a bit of carnage."

Before stepping up into the head coach role, Andrews was Brentford's set-piece coach.

A defensive midfielder in his playing days, the 45-year-old came up against Delap's long throws many times, something he recently described as an experience that "wasn't pleasant".

That may have played on his mind when he took up his coaching role at Brentford, and last season the long throw was a regular tactic of theirs. As well as scoring five goals from them, they also created 48 chances worth 7.2 expected goals.

Andrews even said it was a factor when they signed Italian right-back Kayode from Fiorentina in January.

"It's been here for numerous years, it's not new to us," added Andrews.

"That was probably the last eight to 10 games of last season, big Champions League games, it was quite prominent and I felt it would probably trickle down the game."

He added: "I was obviously in a different role last year, where we caused a lot of chaos from situations like that.

"We'll always try and find ways to get results and win games. It's nice that we're able to have multiple players able to take long throws.

"I just think it's a useful tool. Any coach should look at a game and try to find advantages. Ultimately, the game is about scoring goals at one end and keeping goals at the other end."

Earlier this month, England boss Thomas Tuchel declared that the long throw was back in vogue.

The announcement must have delighted those who can remember Dave Challinor's hurtling throws, Steve Watson's somersault flip throw-in at Newcastle and the techniques used by Stoke City and Bolton, among others, that sent Premier League defences into a panic.

Brentford may be good at them, but they aren't alone in using them, with even Premier League champions Liverpool recognising their value.

In 2018, Liverpool brought Thomas Gronnemark as a specialist throw-in coach, while in the first game of this season 11 of 20 teams launched at least one long throw into the opposition box.

Before this weekend, there were an average of three long throws into the penalty area per Premier League game, double the average of either of the past two seasons.

"Throw-ins are underestimated - by coaches, players, commentators, fans - as something you should just do and see what happens," said Gronnemark.

The Reds' possession stats from throw-ins improved from 45.4% to 68.4% under Gronnemark's tutorship, moving from 18th to first in the league on that metric.

Premier League clubs are trying to harness the power of the long throw - the average number of throws of at least 20 metres ending in the opposition box increased from 0.9 per game in 2020-21 to 1.5 in 2024-25.

Meanwhile, long throws that led to goals increased from 0.03% in 2020-21 to 0.38% in 2024-25.