We all want players who press, overlap and drive the game. Trouble is, relentless running without structure often just burns legs and brains. If you’re chasing most of the game there’s an obvious physical and tactical cost, and I think that’s what we’re seeing.
Why chasing games sap you
When a team spends long spells playing without the ball the workload changes. It isn’t just distance covered — it’s repeated high-intensity sprints, counter-pressing, transitions and the mental effort of tracking runs. Do that for 70 minutes and the legs go. You don’t suddenly forget how to press; you simply don’t have the legs or sharpness to do it as often or as effectively.
What Raskin's numbers suggest
You mentioned Raskin: eight Europa League appearances and just over 62km in total. That works out to roughly 7.8km a match, which is noticeably below the 10km-plus people often eyeball as a chasing midfielder’s output. Now, that figure alone doesn’t prove everything — role, opposition and minutes all matter — but it does sit with the feeling that being the perpetual chaser reduces effective running rather than increases it.
What to take from it
We don’t have SPL running data to hand, so a lot of this remains impression rather than hard proof. Still, it’s sensible to question our instinctive demand for non-stop gambles up and down the pitch. Proper shape, rotation, and picking moments to press might give more bang for the buck than asking players to sprint until they’re knackered. In short: energy is brilliant, but efficiency and control are just as important.
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