Instagram story viewer> @thefootballanalysisguy> Posts

Harry Lowe | Football Analyst

@thefootballanalysisguy

60.4K

followers

472

following

⚽️ I make football easy to understand
🏆 Club, National and International level
🤝 I help people become football analysts

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

1 year as a football analyst intern.

Working with a professional football club taught me more about the game and how to be an analyst than any qualification ever could.

Getting hands on and real life experiences go a long way towards helping you grow and develop.

After 12 years within the game, I have a lot to share.

Follow me if you want to learn about football analysis ⚽️

#football #footballanalysis #worldcup #analyst #internship by @thefootballanalysisguy

12k

48

6 months ago

What does a World Cup analyst actually do? Here’s the honest answer.

Who else had no idea this role existed?

#FIFA #WorldCup #footballanalysis #analyst by @thefootballanalysisguy

18k

108

6 months ago

Most people don’t know this job exists.

And it’s the best job in football (not bias) 😂

#fifa #worldcup #footballanalysis by @thefootballanalysisguy

14k

146

6 months ago

All that ball, where's the danger?

Forest 0-1 Arsenal. Five things I learnt.

Arsenal had 74% of the ball but just one shot on target all game, and it was the winner. Forest had more shots (14 to 9) and more on target.

1. Forest's shape. A 5-2-3 out of possession that dropped into a 5-4-1 around their box. Lots of bodies centrally, no space between the lines, and Ødegaard struggled to combine and rotate with Saka, White and Havertz. Through balls in behind were cut off too.

2. Saka was doubled up. When the ball went wide on the right, Forest's wing-back and winger on that side got tight quickly and took away his time, his run beyond them and his close combinations.

3. Arsenal leaned right. Eze was closed down on the left and couldn't find his rhythm, so Madueke came on at half-time to take on the full-back one v one and stretch the back five.

4. Merino on was meant to give Arsenal another central option and let Ødegaard drop out to connect play. It didn't happen as often as Arsenal hoped. The idea was Ødegaard driving and looking up for Merino to drag the Forest line. On 80 minutes Madueke cut inside Muñoz and his shot deflected off Jair Cunha past Sels.

5. Konsa. My player of the season so far. Well-timed tackles, physical duels, recovering to match runners in behind, calm in and out of possession. Late on he stopped Delap when he raced clear.

When Saliba is fit, do you drop Konsa?

🔖 Save it for later
💬 Comment yes or no
📩 Send this to an Arsenal fan who wants Saliba straight back in by @thefootballanalysisguy

607

51

17 hours ago

Pause the replay before you look at the finish.

1. At the turnover, identify the available choices. A straight pass, a dribble and a connection through a teammate may all be possible.

2. Follow a player away from possession through the whole sequence. Their movement can open a route even if they never receive.

3. Notice what the defenders remove. A recovery run can close a passing lane without producing a tackle, and delay can allow teammates to return.

4. Compare the choice with the options at that moment, rather than with the final result. A goal does not make every earlier decision good, and a missed shot does not erase a well-created opening.

Save this for your next match. 🔖
Send this to someone who skips straight to the goal. 📩
Which team would you pick for a transitions lesson? 💬 by @thefootballanalysisguy

203

0

2 days ago

Follow the ball and you miss most of what a striker does.

The chance is usually made before the pass is played.

1. The starting spot. A striker standing in the gap between two centre-backs leaves both unsure who should step out, and that pause is the half-second a runner needs.

2. The unselfish run. A sprint across the line can pull a centre-back with it and open the lane for a midfielder arriving late. It does not show up in the striker's goals or assists.

3. The timing against the line. The run starts as the passer shapes to play. Too early and the flag goes up; too late and the defender has already dropped off.

4. The first press. When the opposition build from the back, the angle the striker presses from closes one centre-back and pushes the build-up towards the other side.

5. The follow-up. When the keeper parries or a defender blocks, the striker who kept running is first to the loose ball.

Save this for your next match. 🔖
Comment the striker you would pick. 💬
Send this to the friend who only watches the ball. 📩 by @thefootballanalysisguy

245

6

3 days ago

What is going wrong at Man United? 🫠

Five games without a win, 13th in the league, six points from six.

From sporadic pressing, to changing positions. Man United are approaching another full circle moment, but what’s happening?

Between the Spurs draw and the trip to Atletico, five of the six defensive slots changed hands: Heaven came in at left-back, while Santos and Baleba started side by side for the first time.

Ahead at Everton from the 88th minute, and held to 2-2. Two up against Brighton early on and beaten, the club's first home defeat from two goals up since 1976. Ahead against Spurs from the 73rd minute, against ten men from the 78th, and caught in added time.

It was not all one way in Madrid. Carrick spoke of "four big chances, big opportunities".

Earlier this season, when Fernandes moved, it was deeper rather than wider: against Ipswich he almost swapped with Tielemans, and against City he dropped into central midfield after Tielemans went off.

So the question is, where should Fernandes play?

Save it for later. 🔖
Comment 10 or right. 💬
Send this to a United fan. 📩 by @thefootballanalysisguy

432

10

5 days ago

How to watch one player for a whole match.

Following one player for a whole match is powerful analysis work, and it needs nothing more than a seat and your notes app.

Pick one and keep your eyes on them, especially when the ball is somewhere else.

Start with a player who is in every phase. A winger can go ten minutes without a touch; a full-back or a holding midfielder cannot.

Where they stand at the first goal kick is your reference point, and every later move is read against it.

With play on the far side, watch whether they come across to support it or hold their width for the switch.

Out of possession, watch their body: marking a player, they turn and follow the runner; marking space, they face the ball and hold the line.

At the moment their team loses it, two steps to the ball is a press and two steps back is a recovery. Count their shoulder checks, because the look comes before the pass arrives and it decides which way the first touch goes.

Late on, they start the recovery run later as they tire, so compare that gap with the first five minutes. Then pick one thing to count: recovery runs, touches in their own half, passes that break a line.

Save this for your next match.

Which player would you watch for 90 minutes? 💭 by @thefootballanalysisguy

297

7

6 days ago

Have Arsenal found their winning formula?

Against Leeds, Odegaard was there to receive, but the forward pass into him did not come until Bruno G arrived on 63.

Against Lille it was the opposite. Bruno G was there to play forward, but Lille's mid-block shut the middle and Merino, at 10, was never found. Arsenal overloaded their left and switched out to Madueke on the right, and the first half stayed slow, with few clear chances.

Lille's head coach Davide Ancelotti said afterwards: "For us it was difficult to keep up with the rhythm they put after 60 minutes."

Arteta made a positional change at half-time, then a triple change on 65: Odegaard, Saka and Havertz on for Merino, Madueke and Gyokeres.

The opener came a minute before that, down the right: Madueke picked out Timber arriving from deep, and Timber chipped Ozer from a tight angle.

Two minutes after his introduction, Odegaard and Bruno G took Timber's regain forward quickly and released Saka down the right channel, whose low ball found Eze. Then Odegaard added the link between the lines: on 71, his one-two with Saka at the corner of the box sent Havertz to the byline, and the cut-back gave Saka the finish.

64, 67, 71: the opener as the tempo rose, the next two with all three parts of the formula in place.

Is this the formula that wins the title?

Save it for later. 🔖
Comment yes or no. 💬
Send this to an Arsenal fan. 📩 by @thefootballanalysisguy

396

19

5 days ago

Liverpool had City where they wanted them.

Then the game changed shape.

Up to the red card, City's xG was 0.16.

Liverpool's midfielders stepped onto City's and their wingers tracked the full-backs, so the ball rarely reached anyone dangerous. The cost was where they won it: deep, with little left to break with.

City's change came at 56'. Doku replaced Ndiaye on the left and took Araujo on straight away, with O'Reilly running past on the inside to make Araujo pick one.

Six minutes later Gravenberch was off for a second booking, for a foul on Doku.

Three goals in 13 minutes, all from that side.

A blocked Doku shot fell for Haaland, Doku curled in the second himself, and Doku, Anderson and Gvardiol combined around the box to put Cherki in for the third.

Did the red card create the space City needed to break Liverpool's defence?

Save it for later. 🔖
Comment yes or no. 💬
Send this to a Liverpool fan. 📩 by @thefootballanalysisguy

415

13

7 days ago

A post-match report needs to explain what happened and what the team can work on next.

Start with the things that affected the game. If we struggled to play through the press, show where the passing options disappeared. Was the midfield too far away? Did the player receive facing their own goal? Was there a pass available that they did not see?

The clips should help the coach and player understand the point. Go back through the game to see whether it kept happening, and include the moments when the team found a solution as well.

Use the numbers to check what you saw. Shot locations can show where attacks ended. Passes through the press can help check whether we reached the next line. Regain locations can help check where we won possession back. Watch the clips to understand what led to those actions.

Then decide with the coach what needs working on. The player should know which decision or movement to practise, and you should be able to check it again in training and the next game.

These pages show one way to organise a report. The diagrams show what to look for, rather than data from a particular match.

Save this for the next report you write. 🔖
Send it to an analyst preparing their first post-match report. 📩
What do you check first when you review a game? 💬 by @thefootballanalysisguy

155

0

7 days ago

Why did Arsenal face so many problems against Leeds?

For an hour, Arsenal played without urgency. Leeds' block did well to cut out the spaces between the lines, and the pass into Odegaard never came. The ball moved slowly between the full-backs and midfielders, so Leeds never had to shift or open. Five shots in the first 55 minutes, 0.41 xG in the first half.

Leeds high press and man to man orientation was chasing Arsenal headaches. Combined with some passive passing, required a fresh approach.

With the ball, Leeds were direct and wide. Going long into Calvert-Lewin skipped Arsenal's press, his hold-up play brought the wing-backs in, and Arsenal's full-backs had to defend first. Their goal came that way: Gudmundsson's low cross from the byline, Justin arriving at the back post.

Bruno G, Gyokeres and Timber came on. Bruno G brought speed and assertiveness: a quicker tempo that stopped Leeds getting close to the ball, and passes that went forward and through. Arteta said afterwards he wanted people who can play forward and penetrate against this high press.

The winner showed it. Odegaard found Rice's run into the box, Rice flicked it first time, and Bruno G finished from the edge of the box. Arsenal's xG went from 0.41 in the first half to 2.17 in the second.

Should Bruno G start the next Arsenal game?

Save it for later. 🔖
Comment yes or no. 💬
Send this to an Arsenal fan who agrees. 📩 by @thefootballanalysisguy

1k

41

9 days ago