Cheltenham Town capped off a brilliant season by winning League Two, their first-ever Football League trophy, and thereby securing promotion to League One for the 2021-22 season.
While there were several factors behind this successful season, not least the impact of manager Michael Duff since his arrival in November 2018, one of the most intriguing and noteworthy aspects of Cheltenhams season was their use of throw-ins as an attacking weapon.
Regular watchers of the Robins will have become used to seeing captain Ben Tozer launching throw-ins into the penalty area from either flank, and this tactic often caused a lot of disruption and panic in opposition defences.
This tactical analysis piece will attempt to decipher Cheltenham Towns tactics from throw-ins and the routines and setups that allowed them to use this unorthodox tactic successfully.
The Setup
While Cheltenham have varied their positioning and runs from throw-ins, some key principles have more or less been constant, which we will try to illustrate here.
In this image, we can see the typical setup from Cheltenham during a long throw-in.
As Tozer winds up to fling the ball into the box, there are two players stationed outside the penalty area to pick up clearances and loose balls, as well as to prevent counter-attacks.
Two play
