Crossing the ball into the box

17Larsson

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Why does this seem to be avoided at all costs by our players in the first 80 minutes of every game?

What's the point in getting the ball down the line only to then pass it around between full back and winger. A lot of the time the ball goes around the edge of the box to the other side where they then do the same thing.

JUST GET IT IN THE BOX!
 

limerickcitykid

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We cross the ball all the time and it's a waste of time. Unless it's an early low cross then it's a waste of time. There is a reason no good team regularly use aerial crosses. Because it is a waste of time.
 

Snow

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limerickcitykid said:
We cross the ball all the time and it's a waste of time. Unless it's an early low cross then it's a waste of time. There is a reason no good team regularly use aerial crosses. Because it is a waste of time.
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Like a third of Liverpool's goals are a result of this. Difference is we only cross the ball when the defenders are in position.
 

Jonno

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We don’t cross because Rashford and Martial have no presence and hide from crosses. They need it to feet which when teams sit deep is impossible to do. A Fellaini is what you need to bring on not Greenwood
 

cyril C

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17Larsson said:
Why does this seem to be avoided at all costs by our players in the first 80 minutes of every game?

What's the point in getting the ball down the line only to then pass it around between full back and winger. A lot of the time the ball goes around the edge of the box to the other side where they then do the same thing.

JUST GET IT IN THE BOX!
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May I remind you that we sold Fellaini and Lukaku, so who to receive the ball?
 

Ekeke

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You can cross the ball and aim for something other than the head of a 6'3 striker. If Martial or Rashford want to be strikers longterm then they need the required movement to get on the end of crosses
 

17Larsson

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limerickcitykid said:
We cross the ball all the time
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We clearly don't

There is a reason no good team regularly use aerial crosses. Because it is a waste of time.
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I don't just mean looping crosses, I mean anything into the box. Running down the line is the perfect time to knock it in. Stopping and passing it around is such a waste of time.

Ekeke said:
You can cross the ball and aim for something other than the head of a 6'3 striker. If Martial or Rashford want to be strikers longterm then they need the required movement to get on the end of crosses
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Yeah we really need a poacher in the box always looking to get on the end of chances
 

MikeKing

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Because of possession. If we cross immediately every time we'll more than likely end up having to run back to defend, and we can't play a high line if that happens since we'll get countered and don't have the pace in the back to catch up. We should have a few patterns of play on crossing situations, so players run into the most likely positions. As the fullback overlaps, Rashford runs to the back and Martial on the front, McTominay outside the box. Basic stuff. Instead we have players wanting different things, and have totally different ideas when they should be co-oriented.
 

UncleBob

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Ekeke said:
You can cross the ball and aim for something other than the head of a 6'3 striker. If Martial or Rashford want to be strikers longterm then they need the required movement to get on the end of crosses
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It's a good idea when there's space between defence and goalkeeper, with players making runs towards goal, slightly more difficult when its a defence sitting comfortably waiting for the ball, not much space to move in and you're depending on the cross being inch perfect. Most of the times when we had the chance to move the ball quickly, the attack broke down either because the pass wasn't accurate or because the player with the ball decided to slow down play.
 

Bubz27

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Di Maria's angel said:
Exactly. Our manager decided to get rid of the two threats we had in favour of some very one dimensional players.
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Not what I meant. Just that a) we don't work good crossing opportunities and b) we don't get enough bodies in the box on the rare occasions we do.
 

Freak

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People saying we don't cross because we don't have a physical presence in the box. Have you guys seen the sizes of Mane and Salah? Yet Liverpool play a big crossing game. You don't need physical presence in the box, you just need an overload (players getting into the box) and a crossing system will work.
 

drunkmonkmeth

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1)we have no one to cross to.. sold them both
2) we have no one who can cross.. never did.
 

drunkmonkmeth

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Freak said:
People saying we don't cross because we don't have a physical presence in the box. Have you guys seen the sizes of Mane and Salah? Yet Liverpool play a big crossing game. You don't need physical presence in the box, you just need an overload (players getting into the box) and a crossing system will work.
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What salah and mane have is a manager who drills running patern for them to follow in the bix.. we dont.. what salah and mane have is positional awareness. None of our forwards do.
 

BusbyMalone

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First off, we don't have the quality in the wide positions. AWB is a great defender, but he's average in attack. And Ashley Young is Ashley Young. Pereira is also average in this department. He's put a few good crosses in, but overall he's poor. Also, we don't have the numbers in the box, so there's really no- body to cross to.
 

The Original

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Jonno said:
We don’t cross because Rashford and Martial have no presence and hide from crosses. They need it to feet which when teams sit deep is impossible to do. A Fellaini is what you need to bring on not Greenwood
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Ironical Greenwood hit the bar from a cross.
 

Resch

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We do not have the pace or creativity to find a way through the middle. We do not cross the ball. We do not find a way behind the last line. A Set piece and a counter attack are the only options to score. This are the characteristics of a team battling against relegation not of a team battling for a CL spot. Ole has no clue how to break down a modern defense with his players. He does not even try to find a way. He has no Plan B, C or D. For example Salzburg do not cross the ball too often. They try find a way through the heart of the defence. Not working? No problem, get the ball behind the defence and attack the 2nd ball. Not working? Time for Plan C attack the wings. Get the FB or wingers and the Ball behind the defence. Not working? Mix everything, capitalize on the set pieces and scoring on the counter is always an option. To maximise the chances they change the formation. 4 4 2, 4 2 2 2, 4 4 2 with a diamond, 4 3 3 or 3 5 2 or 3 4 3. They start with a 4 222 and after 30 minutes they play 4 3 3, because the 4 222 did not work.
I miss good ideas at United. No new tactics and formation. Not crossing the ball is just another hint Ole could not perform with these players!
 

Adam-Utd

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We cross badly, our forwards rarely ever move to actually try and get on the end of them. Rashford especially just stands there and expects it to land on his head.
 

M16Red

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Reddevildans said:
Our players are not great in the air and our full backs can't cross. Were not an aerial team. Crossing is pointless.
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Crosses don't have to be aerial, just finished watching MOTD its crazy how many goals come from the side areas.

Bubz27 said:
Who we crossing to?
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Yesterday first half Rashford was too wide and then he was close to Martial trying to pickup the ball in the 10 position.
 

RussellWilson

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Crossing is vital against low blocks. A large chunk of both City and Liverpool goals come from crosses and cut backs because when teams sit in there just isn't any other way to spread a team out and make chances. And you don't need giants, you need a pattern of play and good movement and delivery. They have no target man and still do this very well.

However, we don't know how to build to get to cut back positions, we dont get enough numbers in the box, the movement from the front players is non existent and the quality of the ball is often aimless.

To sum up were a very very poorly coached team.

We did it for years under Fergie. You pin a team back and you bombard the box until the other team can take no more.
 

Ekeke

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Di Maria's angel said:
Well yeah. But added with our current options, as a team, we wouldn't be one dimensional.
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We would. We'd be back to throwing it long to them when we need a goal

We had floor options before when they were here, when Fellaini came on it was all about him
 

Bestietom

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Even from counter attacks we fail to cross the ball quickly enough. If we are to play 2 up front, then at least one of them should stay on the shoulder of last defender.
 

MrBest

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The issue is not the number of crosses it is we have no one who wants to attack the ball from a cross or even make the space and the position of where we cross. We always try to bring the ball wide as possible whereas if you look at TAA he whips it in from all angles which throws defenders off guard as it comes from a unconventional position.
 

tony54

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17Larsson said:
Why does this seem to be avoided at all costs by our players in the first 80 minutes of every game?

What's the point in getting the ball down the line only to then pass it around between full back and winger. A lot of the time the ball goes around the edge of the box to the other side where they then do the same thing.

JUST GET IT IN THE BOX!
Click to expand...
I'm not sure why the 18 yard box is an area not to be used. We dilly dally all over the place but woe betide anyone venturing there.
When you look at us 10 years ago we were all over the 18yd box zig zagging about but now one is lucky to see one or possible two players in there. It seems to me that the whole team is not playing as a pack when attacking.
Maybe this is because unlike, our glory days, we haven't the class of players to
boss the majority of other teams.
For example AWB is a good defender but how many time does he cross a ball or mix it in the goal mouth. He is just an example but most of our players can't take on players, Cross a ball successfully or play the ball forwards to someone running into space. I think this is the problem, a lack of top class players, but coaching seems to be lacking too.
 

DomesticTadpole

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We have no aerial threat even from corners, as we can't take corners. However we insist on just trying shots at goal from god knows where. A cross does not always need to be a high cross, a hard low cross can cause chaos to defenders. Try getting people in the box and lo and behold someone might just get on the end of one.
 

Di Maria's angel

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Ekeke said:
We would. We'd be back to throwing it long to them when we need a goal

We had floor options before when they were here, when Fellaini came on it was all about him
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Yes, because we're still suffering from the same issues as we were back then. We're just not very good at playing consistent attacking football. Hence why LvG and Mourinho preferred the Brush as he was a really good direct option when we needed a result. Whilst our football wouldn't have improved with Fellaini in the team, I reckon we'd have won quite a few more games. The difference between where we are and Leicester would have been closed off. Shame Ole couldn't wait to get rid of him in favour of world class players like Rashford, Lingard and Martial.
 

Red00012

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17Larsson said:
Why does this seem to be avoided at all costs by our players in the first 80 minutes of every game?

What's the point in getting the ball down the line only to then pass it around between full back and winger. A lot of the time the ball goes around the edge of the box to the other side where they then do the same thing.

JUST GET IT IN THE BOX!
Click to expand...
We have Martial , Rashford and possibly James in the box possibly a Pereira or a Lingard or god forbid Mata .
I don’t think I need to say anymore
 

Resch

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In Austria and Germany we have a cross called "Stanglpass". A hard low cross 3 to 8 yards parallel to the goal line.
Some years ago we scored 8 or more own goals, most of them forced by perfect Stanglpasses. Would be a good option now, but bot used probably.
 

M16Red

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Another problem is the wide position to inside, if we attack through the middle which we try countless times the wide men need to run across the RB or LB to either received the through ball or pin back the RB or LB for our RB or LB to wip a ball in.

We move inside ether too quickly or not at all.

All in all we play too slowly.
 
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