Brentford's Michael Kayode has taken 54 long throws in 11 games this season
Once upon a time the long throw was almost exclusively the preserve of Tony Pulis and his Stoke City team, but now it is being used by pretty much every Premier League team - and it is working.
Last season 20 goals were scored through throw-in routines. We are only 11 rounds into the 2025-26 season and already we have had 12 goals come about this way.
It is also shown in the increase in the average length of a throw. Two seasons ago it was 16.5m, last season it was 16.7, and there has been a leap in this campaign to 18.6.
A long throw is defined by data analysts Opta as exceeding 20m, so the average length of a throw is creeping up to that.
