Supporters of Everton have been reacting to a post from David Alexander Hughes in which he relayed a stat from before and after Carlo Ancelotti’s arrival.
According to the Reach PLC journalist, the Toffees were averaging 88.11 vertical passes per game prior to the Italian’s arrival and since, the side have managed an average of 144.13 per game (per David Alexander Hughes), which some fans loved.
Everton are averaging 144.13 vertical passes per game since the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti, they averaged just 88.11 per game in the eight weeks before he joined.
This may seem trivial, but don't forget his comments not long after he was appointed. pic.twitter.com/HTOU4ojILA
— David Hughes (@DAHughes_) February 18, 2020
It seems so fundamental that you wonder what on earth Silva was doing
— Richard A. Hughes (@ricardofodol) February 18, 2020
Almost every single stat/metric coming out of the side now compared to Silva’s shows a lot of improvement. Good signs.
— EF (@efcfootbalI) February 18, 2020
And it’s been extremely apparent on the pitch too! He’s playing individuals to their strengths while instilling a good team philosophy
— Alex Johnson (@DaAlexJohnson) February 18, 2020
Great stuff, although I’d never heard of a ‘vertical pass’ until about 6 weeks a go!
— Chris Hayter (@chayter_2000) February 18, 2020
Do you believe Carlo Ancelotti is a tactical genius?Yes, he has made us into a real teamNo, the quality was already there |
The Toffees have seen a meteoric rise in the table since Ancelotti’s arrival following his sacking by Napoli (per BBC), with the club having won five, drawn two and lost two during the 60-year-old’s reign so far (per BBC).
Having been situated at 15th in the Premier League table before the Italian was at the helm for his first game (per BBC), Everton now occupy ninth, five points behind a Champions League spot (per BBC), however, some fans were not fussed about the journalist’s stat.
We are winning games, playing better, who cares
— Chris smith (@cgs0883) February 18, 2020
I wish people would just call them ‘forward passes’. Unless they’re mean to represent passes played both forward and back, in which case the stat is a bit misleading anyway?
— Colin Gillbanks (@cjgillbanks) February 19, 2020
What do we think?
The change in form that the Toffees have seen since Ancelotti’s arrival has been nothing short of sensational, which has been an impressive turnaround in results since the 1-0 victory over Burnley (per Sky Sports).
That will be in no small part down to Ancelotti as the intricacies in football are infinite and to simply ‘work harder’ will achieve little, it is the tiny details that will make a huge difference (per These Football Times).