The numbers game

[GazX]

Hughes presented his ideas in the now defunct magazine Match Analysis and concluded most goals were scored from less than three passes. So it was important to get the ball quickly forward as soon as possible. He based this analysis on over one hundred games at all levels, including games involving Liverpool F.C. and the Brazilian national team, as well as many England Youth games. His ideals were developed from the those developed by World War II Wing Commander Charles Reep.[3] From his statistical analysis, Hughes emphasized the importance of particular areas of the field from where goals were most often scored. He called these area the POMO - Positions of Maximum Opportunity - and asserted that players would score if the ball was played into the POMO enough times. He stressed the importance of set plays and crosses into the box.[4]
Many British coaches advocated his long ball philosophy but critics have derided his philosophy for encouraging a generation of players who lack basic technical skills and have lack of understanding of diversity of different tactical playing strategies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charle...ootball_coach)

Wonder if he's stayed awake to count Spain's goals to passing ratio.

[Karl]

...his analysis was done in an era when most team did not value 'possession' as today. In today's game if any one team just kept firing balls into the POMOs the opposing team would be happy to take these gifts of possession, be miserly in returning the ball and would be using that possession to create scoring opportunities with higher percentage chance of scoring that those 'willy-nilly firing in of balls to the POMOs.

*Most goals are still scored from 'around about'(approximately) 12 yards and less.