12 Mar 2026 14:33:47
Watching the City v Real game last night, and wondering what modern coaches have against crossing the ball.

Coaches like Pep, Arteta, and Slott have complained about the difficulty in beating a low block, but don't even try to whip crosses into the striker.

Last night was a prime example. Real sat back, allowed City possession in their half, and hit on the counter. City have the most prolific goal scorer in the world up top. Yeah, Haaland likes balls over the top to run on to. But if the opposition is set up to prevent this, surely you'd look to get down the line and get crosses in for Haaland to get on the end of?

Doku clearly had the beating of Trent. Yet every single time he got past him, he cut back inside, allowing Valverdi to cover. Haaland could have walked off the pitch and nobody would have noticed. What's the point in playing him if all he gets to do is watch the other players pass rge ball around the box behind him? Same with Gyrokes. Bringing in a 6ft plus powerful striker and not even attempting to get crosses into him, baffling.

I mean, I'm not advocating the Moyes style when he was here, but at least try a few crosses if the more intricate stuff isn't working.

1.) 12 Mar 2026
12 Mar 2026 17:53:10
Yep, fully agree. Something or someone needs to radically change and upset the apple cart. Same crap being served up week in, week out, with all teams.
LFC fan in peace.

2.) 12 Mar 2026
12 Mar 2026 19:06:53
How many times have I talked about crossing the ball? We have a tall CF. We need to attack the space between pen spot and 6 yard line.

3.) 12 Mar 2026
12 Mar 2026 19:48:48
Same here, Red Man. I searched 'cross the ball', and the number of times people have said the same thing. It's just as bad over here in Oz. Playing the ball out from the back at a largely pedestrian pace, trying to walk the ball into the net.

CTFB!!!!!

4.) 12 Mar 2026
12 Mar 2026 21:18:13
Danny, I was reading that and just gearing up to mention the stick Moyes got for the Fulham game. Then I saw your last paragraph. ?

5.) 12 Mar 2026
12 Mar 2026 21:18:42
Have to say, I totally agree. A number of times last season, I posted the very same thing about the complete lack of crosses/service to Rasmus Hojlund.

I have noticed the very same thing this season with Benjamim Sesko, you know, our 6'5'' centre forward who is excellent in the air!

6.) 12 Mar 2026
12 Mar 2026 22:30:29
Against Newcastle, Sesko received not a single pass inside the box.

7.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 09:02:54
We stand 4th for teams crossing into the box in the EPL.
We are making less crosses per game under Carrick.

8.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 09:55:02
It's strange that in today's game, which is dominated by set pieces and long throws, the crossing element of the game seems to have been neglected.

I think this is heavily down to the issue of left footers on the right and right footers on the left, so they are all naturally cutting back onto their strong foot, allowing defenders to get back in. I long for the day a "Giggs" bombs on the outside and whips a ball in behind the CBs.



I also wonder who out there is recognised as a great crosser of the ball from open play now? There doesn't seem to be a Beckham anymore and even the full backs, despite being great at getting forward, aren't great at crosses. Gary Neville, imo, had a fantastic delivery of the ball but would be regarded as an attacking full back.

Our best crosser of the ball is Fernandes, but he plays more central.

9.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 11:56:33
I believe it's based on statistical probability. A cross is a low-probability pass. This is why Pep's teams look for cut backs, as the striker is in the highest probable position to score (6 yard box), and a cut back is a high-probability pass, thus giving the striker the most probable scoring outcome.

You can take this a couple of steps further. You can play a system with the best statistical outcome, then purchase players who statistically fit that system. If you have enough data, and a sophisticated enough system to analyse the data, it gives you a high probability of success.

Key emphasis on probability; however, it does mean you will be far superior in your signing success ratios. The best examples of this are Brighton, who use Tony Bloom's Starlizard, and Brentford, who use Matthew Benham's data analytics Smartodds. Benham used to work at Bloom's betting company, developing his analytics, before they fell out. This is the reason Brighton and Brentford punch way way above their weight.

10.) 14 Mar 2026
14 Mar 2026 11:58:47
Ports, I think that part of the reason we looked so dangerous in Carrick's first few games is that Dorgu was playing as an actual winger. His delivery isn't brilliant, but having a player who looked to get down the line to cross unsettled defences. Fullbacks don't defend the outside because they know most players are going to try to cut back inside. Having a winger that crosses the ball exploits this.

Playing the game on the basis of stats and probability is pig-headed. Players on the pitch should be able to see if something isn't working, and have the freedom to switch things up.

The intricate link-ups around the box might look better on a spreadsheet. But getting the ball into the box with pace gives strikers a chance to score, and increases the possibility of defenders making a mistake.

Not every game can be won with fast counterattacks, and if big teams are buying big strong strikers, then use their abilities. Haaland, Sesko, Gyrokes, etc., are reduced to spectators if the only strategy is to pass the ball around on the edge of the box. Use them. And have midfielders bursting into the box to help them too.

I guess my main point is to mix things up offensively.

11.) 14 Mar 2026
14 Mar 2026 12:29:25
We are living in a time of extreme statistical analysis. Look at Arsenal's corner tactics, playing to the percentages.

Statistically, live crosses into the box have a very low success rate. If a winger finds a teammate 25% of the time with a cross, they are considered an elite crosser of the ball, which means even if you have a prime Beckham regen, you are giving away possession at least 75% of the time.

Then you have to consider that of those 25% successful crosses, less than 5% of them result in a goal, which means that you are looking at a goal rate of around 1.25% from live crosses.

Modern managers look at that and think, if my team make 100 crosses then statistically we should score 1 goal, but we will concede possession 99% of the time.

If you were crossing the ball 25 times a game, you'd score one in four matches.

Purely from a numbers perspective, it just doesn't make sense.

Crosses from deadball situations are very different. The crosser can take their time and be more accurate, you can overload the box with players, crowd out the keeper so that they can't claim the ball, and profit from the chaos. If you have 8 players in the box and the opposition have 9, then you still have a 45% chance of the second ball falling to one of your players, which will likely result in a high quality chance (player, fairly central in box having a shot).

12.) 14 Mar 2026
14 Mar 2026 14:50:28
The problem with taking a solely analytical approach to coaching is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If, for example, Beckham is the player crossing the ball and Shearer is in the box trying to get on the end of it, those statistics change. They played in a different era, but the key difference is that they honed the skills of crossing and anticipating crosses in the box.

Modern coaches start from the premise that crosses are less effective, and focus on other forms of attack in training. This has resulted in wingers and fullbacks with poorer crossing abilities, and strikers that haven't developed the skills of anticipating crosses, getting in front of defenders, etc., in turn, this reinforces the idea that crosses are ineffective.



My point is that crosses are an under-utilised method of attack, and that the struggle teams have with breaking low blocks is exacerbated because teams are discouraging traditional wing play, and players aren't being coached in ways that help them create better opportunities from crossing the ball.