Passing & build-up
Are we better playing direct — or keeping the ball?
Team style, territory, who moves us up the pitch, and whether more passing actually buys better chances.
What this tells us
Fairly direct — and the goals mostly come quickly
48% of the ball, 16% played long, 58% of goal kicks long — that profile reads fairly direct. Of 27 open-play goals, 63% came from moves of two passes or fewer — when we score, we score fast. Whether more passing buys better chances, check the correlation explorer below — and note it is association, not cause.
48%
Possession
of the ball
393
Passes / game
own + opp half
51%
Opp-half share
passes in their half
16%
Long-ball %
directness
55
Final-3rd entries
per game
58%
Goal kicks long
vs played short
Fairly directour index ⓘ · 2025–26
← DirectPossession →
Aberdeen keep 48% of the ball, play 51% of passes in the opposition half, and send 16% long. Of 27 open-play goals, 63% came from moves of two passes or fewer — or none at all (tracked moves: 4.7 passes incl. the assist, 18s from winning the ball to the shot, on average).
Where we pass
199 / 194 per game
Goal kicks
58%
42%
LongShort
Goes long from the back despite keeping the ball elsewhere.
Does more passing create better chances?
Each dot is a match (38). Green win · gold draw · red loss.
r = +0.32
weak positive link
X · passing metric
Y · chance output
Association from Aberdeen's own matches — not controlled for opponent or game state (a team chasing a game passes more and higher up).
More final-third entries tends to go with more xg.
Where our goals come from
Every goal (2025–26) · hover for scorer & match · click a goal for the match report.
Build-up length — open-play goals
Total passes in each scoring move (the assist counts as one), for all 27 open-play goals — “0” is a solo run or rebound with no pass at all. Corners, set pieces & penalties have no passing move — see the map.
Click a bar to list the goals behind it.
Tracked moves (15): avg 4.7 passes (incl. the assist) · 18s from possession win to shot.
Style over five seasons
Possession % · final-3rd entries/g · long-ball % · goal-kicks long %
Poss %
58
47
49
53
48
21–2222–2323–2424–2525–26
Final 3rd/g
62
55
64
57
55
21–2222–2323–2424–2525–26
Long-ball %
16
17
20
14
16
21–2222–2323–2424–2525–26
GK long %
65
66
67
46
58
21–2222–2323–2424–2525–26
Explore next
38 matches · 2025–26 · data: WhoScored + FotMob · updated 17 May 2026 · xT = expected threat (danger a pass/carry adds) · xA = expected assists · how the numbers work · glossary