Thread - Why crossing is overrated, misunderstood and underutilised

Recently I've been doing work on crosses, which you can see over the next few tweets and want to talk about some of my thoughts on crossing and how people perceive them. This will also probably be my last bit of work on crossing for a while

https://t.co/30wmoKylra
.https://t.co/6fDPnvGAYm
.https://t.co/HTQvh3UfUL
Crossing is a keystone of attacking play and one of the simplest methods to get the ball into the box. However, it is very inefficient. As Arsenal have shown recently and United used to show under Moyes, you can cross 40+ times in a game and fail to score.
Think isn't to say crossing is pointless, but in my opinion, crossing should be done with quality, not quantity. Attempting 20+ crosses in a game says one of two things
• Your plan is to cross (Liverpool)
• You can't do anything but cross (Arsenal)
Crossing is simple and it's easy to create opportunities to cross. However, I believe that it is viewed too simply. Liverpool and Arsenal cross in very different fashions, one is successful and one is not.
Liverpool's is calculated and planned for. Their players are able to cross extremely well and their 5'9 - 5'11 - 5'9 front line are able to exploit it. And if they don't then they are situated for the 2nd ball.
Arsenal on the other hand aren't tailored to crossing but are forced to. They aren't intelligently setup to score from these chances.
I then see people saying that Arsenal, and almost every other team, need a target man. But why don't Liverpool?
Headed goals from open play are completely different from set pieces. In open play, they aren't big contested headers where you go up against a big centre half, which I think is what most people picture.
Scoring from corners is about running onto the ball and intelligent movement and positioning in the box. Height and ability to head the ball is useful, but you don't need to be really physical and immobile
Screenshots of Lewandowski's last hour headed goals.
1 - positions himself well at the back post unmarked
2 - gets ahead of the defensive line to tap it in
3 - runs ahead of the defender and flicks it towards goal
4 - makes a run from deep to meet the cross unopposed
Being intelligent as the individual and the team is what matters. That's why Liverpool succeed. Having a bigger striker won't make a difference if they don't actually great good opportunities.
You need quality crossing with the correct decision making which the striker can run onto and that is ideally behind the defensive line. Wide players and forwards need to have a good understanding and strikers need to to make the right runs.
Hopefully, this wasn't too much of a ramble. But to summarise:
• Liverpool are smart
• Arsenal aren't
• more clubs should look at Liverpool
• Target man ≠ goals
• Clever movement + quality crossing = goals
• Win 2nd balls
• Attack at speed, cross behind the defensive line

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**Thread on Bravery of Sikhs**
(I am forced to do this due to continuous hounding of Sikh Extremists since yesterday)

Rani Jindan Kaur, wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh had illegitimate relations with Lal Singh (PM of Ranjit Singh). Along with Lal Singh, she attacked Jammu, burnt - https://t.co/EfjAq59AyI


Hindu villages of Jasrota, caused rebellion in Jammu, attacked Kishtwar.

Ancestors of Raja Ranjit Singh, The Sansi Tribe used to give daughters as concubines to Jahangir.


The Ludhiana Political Agency (Later NW Fronties Prov) was formed by less than 4000 British soldiers who advanced from Delhi and reached Ludhiana, receiving submissions of all sikh chiefs along the way. The submission of the troops of Raja of Lahore (Ranjit Singh) at Ambala.

Dabistan a contemporary book on Sikh History tells us that Guru Hargobind broke Naina devi Idol Same source describes Guru Hargobind serving a eunuch
YarKhan. (ref was proudly shared by a sikh on twitter)
Gobind Singh followed Bahadur Shah to Deccan to fight for him.


In Zafarnama, Guru Gobind Singh states that the reason he was in conflict with the Hill Rajas was that while they were worshiping idols, while he was an idol-breaker.

And idiot Hindus place him along Maharana, Prithviraj and Shivaji as saviours of Dharma.
Great article from @AsheSchow. I lived thru the 'Satanic Panic' of the 1980's/early 1990's asking myself "Has eveyrbody lost their GODDAMN MINDS?!"


The 3 big things that made the 1980's/early 1990's surreal for me.

1) Satanic Panic - satanism in the day cares ahhhh!

2) "Repressed memory" syndrome

3) Facilitated Communication [FC]

All 3 led to massive abuse.

"Therapists" -and I use the term to describe these quacks loosely - would hypnotize people & convince they they were 'reliving' past memories of Mom & Dad killing babies in Satanic rituals in the basement while they were growing up.

Other 'therapists' would badger kids until they invented stories about watching alligators eat babies dropped into a lake from a hot air balloon. Kids would deny anything happened for hours until the therapist 'broke through' and 'found' the 'truth'.

FC was a movement that started with the claim severely handicapped individuals were able to 'type' legible sentences & communicate if a 'helper' guided their hands over a keyboard.