March 18th 1950 @ 3.50pm was pretty much the very second that the "Long Ball Game", a tactical theory, involving minute statistics, was born. At this time on March 18th 1950, Swindon and Bristol Rovers were just about the kick off, for their second half, in a Third Division (South) game. Taking notes on the match was former RAF Wing Commander, Charles Reep. He had embarked on the first great statistical analysis of football and he quickly came to the conclusion that 85% of all goals were scored from passing sequences that involved a small number of passes, usually three or fewer. Also, two thirds of goals came fromballs recovered by a team in the last third of the pitch. He said there was not pint in playing possession football; better still to "hoof" the ball upfield and flood the area a quickly as possible with forward players etc.
The word "hoof" was "technically" replaced with "reacher" which Reep called " a single pass from the defensive third into the attacking thrid of the pitch. In other owrds, get the ball into the danger area as soon as possible!
Reep's idealogy was picked up by Wolves manager, Stan Cullis, in the 1950s. This was soon adopted by the FA's Director of coaching, Charles Hughes (a man I met several times and especially when I was being assessed for my "Full Badge", some years ago!) Hughes ramped up the jargon, creaying POMO...the Position (for the ball) in the Position Of Maximum Opportunity. Hughes introduced the theory to Graham Taylor (remember him) and he took it on board for this teams.
Egil Olsen, coach of the very "crude" styled, Norwegian national team also studied the method. Cullis won three League titles but remain the last team to rely on the "long lump". On June 2nd 1993, Olsen's Norway played Taylor's England in a World Cup Qualifier and in terms of aesthetics it was probably the worst game of football the tournament has ever produced. Reet was in the stands as a guest of honour.....
| Score | 2-0 to Norway |
| Referee | Sandor Puhl |
| Competition | FIFA World Cup Group 2 |
| Venue | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo |
| Attendance | 20,000 Team: Chris Woods Tony Adams Lee Dixon Gary Pallister Des Walker Paul Gascoigne Carlton Palmer David Platt (captain) Lee Sharpe Les Ferdinand Teddy Sheringham + Subs: Ian Wright, Nigel Clough. |
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