Exploring turn demands of an English Premier League team across league and knockout competitions over a full season.

Turns are key performance actions in soccer, but can also induce high mechanical loads resulting in tissue damage or injury. This study aimed to quantify the turn demands of an elite English Premier League soccer team. Turning data were obtained from 49 soccer matches (2022-23 season), from a single...

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Main Authors: Erin Griffiths, Thomas Dos'Santos, Christopher Gaffney, Timothy Barry
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321499
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author Erin Griffiths
Thomas Dos'Santos
Christopher Gaffney
Timothy Barry
author_facet Erin Griffiths
Thomas Dos'Santos
Christopher Gaffney
Timothy Barry
author_sort Erin Griffiths
collection DOAJ
description Turns are key performance actions in soccer, but can also induce high mechanical loads resulting in tissue damage or injury. This study aimed to quantify the turn demands of an elite English Premier League soccer team. Turning data were obtained from 49 soccer matches (2022-23 season), from a single team that played 35 Premier League, 5 UEFA Europa League, 5 League Cup and 4 FA Cup matches using Sportlight LiDAR technology. Turns were analysed from 29 players who were categorised in playing position groups: goalkeeper (GK), central defenders (CD), full-backs (FB), central-midfielders (CM), wide-midfielders (WM), central-forwards (CF). Turn categories: high (120-180°), medium (60-119°) and low (20-60°) angled, and very high (>7.0ms-1), high (5.5-7.0ms-1), medium (3.0-5.5ms-1), and low (<3.0ms-1) entry speed (ES) was analysed. Primary findings show, on average, per match, CM performed more total turns (~35), than all other playing positions. Additionally, CM performed significantly more low and medium entry speed and high angled turns than other outfield positions. There were no significant differences between turn frequencies and turn characteristics in different competitions (p >0.05). The turning demands of soccer appear to vary significantly between player position. These findings may help inform position-specific return-to-play protocols, physical preparation strategies, drill design and rehabilitation programmes.
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spelling doaj-art-4622b01bb4304dcd97722fb5f163d8352025-08-20T02:30:09ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01204e032149910.1371/journal.pone.0321499Exploring turn demands of an English Premier League team across league and knockout competitions over a full season.Erin GriffithsThomas Dos'SantosChristopher GaffneyTimothy BarryTurns are key performance actions in soccer, but can also induce high mechanical loads resulting in tissue damage or injury. This study aimed to quantify the turn demands of an elite English Premier League soccer team. Turning data were obtained from 49 soccer matches (2022-23 season), from a single team that played 35 Premier League, 5 UEFA Europa League, 5 League Cup and 4 FA Cup matches using Sportlight LiDAR technology. Turns were analysed from 29 players who were categorised in playing position groups: goalkeeper (GK), central defenders (CD), full-backs (FB), central-midfielders (CM), wide-midfielders (WM), central-forwards (CF). Turn categories: high (120-180°), medium (60-119°) and low (20-60°) angled, and very high (>7.0ms-1), high (5.5-7.0ms-1), medium (3.0-5.5ms-1), and low (<3.0ms-1) entry speed (ES) was analysed. Primary findings show, on average, per match, CM performed more total turns (~35), than all other playing positions. Additionally, CM performed significantly more low and medium entry speed and high angled turns than other outfield positions. There were no significant differences between turn frequencies and turn characteristics in different competitions (p >0.05). The turning demands of soccer appear to vary significantly between player position. These findings may help inform position-specific return-to-play protocols, physical preparation strategies, drill design and rehabilitation programmes.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321499
spellingShingle Erin Griffiths
Thomas Dos'Santos
Christopher Gaffney
Timothy Barry
Exploring turn demands of an English Premier League team across league and knockout competitions over a full season.
PLoS ONE
title Exploring turn demands of an English Premier League team across league and knockout competitions over a full season.
title_full Exploring turn demands of an English Premier League team across league and knockout competitions over a full season.
title_fullStr Exploring turn demands of an English Premier League team across league and knockout competitions over a full season.
title_full_unstemmed Exploring turn demands of an English Premier League team across league and knockout competitions over a full season.
title_short Exploring turn demands of an English Premier League team across league and knockout competitions over a full season.
title_sort exploring turn demands of an english premier league team across league and knockout competitions over a full season
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321499
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