High Turnover
A high turnover is a possession change that occurs within a defined distance of the opponent's goal, usually the attacking third or beyond the halfway line.
What it means
Because the definition is spatial, the count depends on where the line is drawn. A recovery ten metres outside the box leaves almost nothing between the ball and the goal; one forty metres out leaves a whole team.
Why it matters
It captures the difference between winning the ball where the opponent is comfortable and winning it where he is exposed, which ordinary recovery counts do not.
Where it is used
Pressing analysis and transition profiling, always reported with the average recovery height and the chance yield of the regains.
Where it misleads
The count alone cannot distinguish a press at the halfway line from one on the edge of the box, and it rewards sides that spend little time in possession and therefore have more opportunities to regain.
Key points
- Report it with average recovery height and the chance yield.
- The spatial threshold must be stated.
- Raw counts favour sides with less possession.
- It is a team behaviour before it is a player statistic.
- Value the regains by the expected goals they produced.
- Season windows are the minimum for a meaningful total.
Use the value for ranking within one dataset and use the cautions above before comparing it with anything outside that dataset.