Brighton play longer Potterball to catch out Man United and Ten Hag

There was a time not so long ago when Potterball was welded to a single style which made Brighton & Hove Albion somewhat predictable to play against.

The only aim of the game it seemed was to keep the ball. If that meant five yard sideways pass followed by five yard sideways pass followed by five yard sideways pass followed by 10 yard backwards pass, then so be it.

Opponents knew that if they defended deep and invited Brighton to break them down, most times the Albion would simply stroke the ball around on the edge of the box with no real idea of how to get through.

This is what made Erik ten Hag’s post-game analysis of where things went wrong for his Manchester United side in losing 2-1 at home to Brighton all the more interesting.

Ten Hag said afterwards: “Brighton is a team who normally wants to play from the back, they didn’t. They played long ball, so it’s not about pressing.”

“It’s about winning the second ball, and then in such occasions, we did not always do what we laid out before the game and we definitely have to learn from those lessons. I didn’t expect that this team would play long routines and I think it was a big difference.”

A lot of Albion fans bristled with anger at this suggestion that Brighton had played longer balls forward, as if it were offensive for an opposition manager not to say what lovely five yard passes the Albion produce under football.

Funnily enough, the times when Brighton tend to get praised for their normal Potterball style is when they have been beaten. Most famously, Pep Guardiola described Potter as the best English manager in the world after Manchester City beat Brighton 5-0, 1-0, 4-1 and 3-0.

When Potter got the better of Guardiola by turning a 2-0 deficit into a famous 3-2 win over the champions at the Amex, Guardiola threw a tantrum. He stormed down the tunnel at full time, refusing to shake Potter’s hand.

Give me an opposition manager moaning about the Albion’s style when Brighton have three points in the bag over nice words from Guardiola but an absolute pasting on the scoreboard any day of the week.

Anyway, Ten Hag kind of had a point. The Tweeting Seagull rather kindly did the research so that nobody else needed to bother, revealing that Brighton played 15 percent more long balls at Old Trafford than their 2021-22 season average.

For context, according to @Premier League stats, @OfficialBHAFC played 66 long balls today compared to an average of 57 per game last season.

Higher than average, but only by around 15%. A reasonable margin of variance. #bhafc #mufc https://t.co/IrlEkBpKqq

— The Tweeting Seagull (@TweetingSeagull) August 7, 2022

The initial reaction to Ten Hag’s comments was that he was trying to portray Brighton as 1980s Wimbledon (football club not tennis) reincarnated. That all the Albion did was hit the ball 80 yards up the pitch.

Looking at the Dutchman’s analysis in the cold light of day, that is probably not what he meant. It was more that if there was a 20 or 30 yard forward pass on, Brighton tried to take it at Old Trafford. Whereas normally they don’t.

Potter had clearly instructed his players to get the ball up to Danny Welbeck more quickly than they would if Neal Maupay was leading the line or Leandro Trossard was a false nine.

Welbeck’s target man style of play allows Brighton to play a longer form of Potterball. He is more suited to holding it up and bringing others in.

He is also deceptively quick for a 6’1 striker whose leg muscles are made of cheese. Or were made of cheese during his injury problems which, touch wood, are now behind him.

Not only can Welbeck get the ball and bring others into play, but he can also chase balls over the top. There was one such moment in the first half against United when a long ping sailed over the top of the United defence with Harry Maguire and Welbeck in chase.

Dat Guy produced one of the most outrageous first touches you will ever see, plucking the ball out of the air as if his foot was made of the finest silk.

Having already struggled to keep up, Maguire was completely out of the game once Welbeck had the ball under control. Fortunately for Maguire, Dat Guy had strayed a fingertip offside as spotted by the eagle eyed linesman.

Longer passes also suited getting Leandro Trossard and Solly March in behind. When the starting XI was announced, it looked like they would be deployed as wing backs.

In reality, both were miles further up the pitch than anyone would have predicted at 1.30pm. At times, they almost formed a front three either side of Welbeck. It was a bold selection from Potter but one which paid off handsomely.

There was other evidence of Brighton playing a longer version of Potterball, most notably for the opening goal. Trossard picked the ball up on the left and drilled a 25 yard forward pass through a gap in the United defence for Welbeck.

When the team long ball is used, most associate it with a smash from defence. Trossard’s was a long pass of a different kind and as Ten Hag said afterwards, it caught United completely by surprise. Welbeck crossed and Pascal Gross applied the finish at the far post.

Would Trossard have played that sort of risky pass in the past? Or would he have taken the safe option and gone five yards sideways to the unmarked Moises Caicedo?

We all know the answer to that, which is why Ten Hag’s complaints about long passes are music to the ears. It makes Brighton more dangerous and a greater attacking threat.

The controversial second half incident in which the Albion should have been awarded a penalty also came from a long pass. Lewis Dunk sent the ball 50 yards down the pitch, over the head of Lisandro Martinez and into the United area.

Welbeck raced away from the £57 million signing from Ajax to collect the ball on the by-line, where he was unceremoniously bundled over by Martinez.

At any other ground in the Premier League, the away team get a penalty. Not at Old Trafford however, where the officials continue to do their best to aid and abet Manchester United at every turn.

Had Brighton been awarded the blatant spot kick they deserved (and not missed it for once) they would have led 3-0. The game would have been dead and buried and Ten Hag given even more reason to be upset that he was outthought by Potter compromising on his normal style of play.

During those two long winless streaks which punctuated the record-breaking 2021-22 season, the Albion were too pedestrian and too predictable. Nobody could level that charge on the Seagulls at Old Trafford.

Man United and Ten Hag could not cope with Brighton playing this longer version of Potterball. If Potter sticks with it, instructing his side to play more forward passes and take more risks in possession, then there will plenty more opponents who endure similar struggles against the Albion in 2022-23.