The effect of this is clear: long-ball clubs have fewer chances to score and therefore score fewer goals, and they end their seasons battling relegation. Sides that treasure possession tend to be at the other end of the table, contesting titles (Figure 37). Those exceptions—from Pulis’s clock-watching Stoke in Figure 37 back to Bolton under Sam Allardyce, who was among the first to apply analytics to the long-ball game—have found a style that helps them maximize their resources and fulfill their ambitions.
