Long throw-in sees a resurgence as Rory Delap's legacy reshapes Premier League tactics

Between 2008 and 2018 Stoke City were known as one of the toughest teams to play against in the English Premier League, particularly during the tenure of Welsh tactician Tony Pulis. The Potters were known for their robust defensive displays, with not much to offer on the attacking front. 

One of their secret weapons in attack was midfielder Rory Delap.       

During Stoke’s decade of Premier League soccer, before they were relegated to the second tier, Delap regularly terrorised opposition defenders with his hands, as opposed to his feet. He was not punching anyone though, just launching long throw-ins with the same ferocity as Mike Tyson’s punches, thus causing chaos in the opposing box. 

A former javelin thrower in his youth, Delap struck fear and inspired respect amongst his peers with his ability. And while the appreciation for the long throw diminished with the relegation of Stoke in 2018, in recent seasons it has made a strong comeback.

Throwback to throw-ins 

While the 2025/26 season is still in its infancy, the resurgence of the long throw is there for all to see. According to the Premier League, over the past five seasons there has been a steady growth in the use of the long throw as a goal-scoring tool. 

During the 2020/21 campaign, long throw-ins totalled just 340. Last season statisticians recorded 578 throw-ins, which made their way straight into the penalty area in Premier League matches. By October this year, the total for the 2025/26 campaign was already at 359 long throws. 

The long throw, or the “Delap”, is fully back in vogue in English soccer. It’s a major shift away from the possession-based soccer of which Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is a master. The tactic, which many soccer purists love to hate, has even seen a number of teams in England’s top flight hire set-piece coaches.    

Since players cannot be offside directly from a throw-in, this strategy is highly effective at creating organised chaos in the box. Although goals are rarely scored directly from throw-ins, the tactic sometimes sees teams score from second or third sequences of play in those scenarios.

Pioneering Brentford

In an increasingly data and stats-based world, set pieces offer data analysts a chance to look at fixed sequences of play, as opposed to analysing the fluidity that comes with open play.    

“Brentford were the first club that was really invested in this. They started hiring set-piece coaches when no one else had one. That kind of paves the way for that coach to go on and do well,” Marc Orti Esteban, Brentford’s former set-piece analyst, told Sky Sports.  

“Then the rest of the clubs that have never heard of or never had a set-piece coach, if they are looking to hire one, they’re going to look at the guys that are doing it well and the guys that are doing it from the start.”

While in the early stages of the current season the top 10 of the teams with most long throw-ins to date consists of “small” Premier League teams such as pioneers Brentford, as well as the likes of Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Bournemouth and Burnley — prominent teams Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are also in the mix.

Archaic method?

Other traditional “big” English teams such as Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea are at the lower end of this spectrum. Seemingly, they still rely heavily on the purist approach of wanting to score goals in open play.

In fact, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, who now works as a soccer pundit, has criticised the resurgence of long throw-ins in the Premier League. He says he does not “hate” them, but also dislikes that they are sometimes used as a time-wasting tactic by the teams who heavily depend on them.  

“What I don’t like is every team taking long throws, and the time it’s taking out of the game. I totally get teams doing it who struggle and lack quality of getting the ball in the box. I also like seeing how teams cope with them,” said Carragher.

“But teams who have great technical players and have spent hundreds of millions on them should be getting the ball in play as quickly as they can to get these players on the ball. I’m no football snob, but this is taking the game backwards!”

Gunners’ arsenal 

While it makes sense for Spurs to be in the upper echelons of this trend since they hired former Brentford manager Thomas Frank before the ongoing season, seeing Arsenal adopting the long throw and other set pieces into their game has been surprising. 

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta was forged from the Guardiola school of tiki-taka. But he has been flexible enough in his philosophy to allow Arsenal’s set-piece coach Nicolas Jover to also sparkle. Jover shone last season as the Gunners finished second in the league behind Liverpool. 

But in 2025/26 his influence is shining even brighter. Of the 20 goals scored by Arsenal this season, 10 have come directly from set pieces (excluding penalties).

The Gunners may be regularly derided for this reliance on set pieces, especially so far this season. But goals win games, no matter how they come.

As Arsenal aims to end its 20-year Premier League drought, they won’t care how success comes in each game. As long as they keep collecting crucial points. DM