Backbiter Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 ...at crossing: From the Observer: 118 crosses Success rate of 9.32% Phil Neville: 72 crosses 27.88% success Sagna 90 crosses 29.78% He is the worst crosser in the Prem this season (of those who've put over 70 or more) Do you reckon we should ask Everton for a swap deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 It's not his job to cross balls. This is what he does: Put into net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superdan Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 This is one statistic I just don't believe - I can think of a few pinpoint Joe Cole passes over the years - He's a quality all round footballer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MannyJello Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 if Cole is crap, what is SWP? shudder to think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibs Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Get rid of him. Always said he was all hype and little else. (Or was that Ethical?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethicalstrategy Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Get rid of him. Always said he was all hype and little else.(Or was that Ethical?) Saved me the job of commenting The stat doesn't surprise me, but it is a bit unfair on him. They should have used something more relevant like number of times you can beat the same man without going past him! BTW. I don't think he is crap at all. I just don't think he is as great as some think he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backbiter Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Of course he's not crap. On his day he's phenomenal, and has been one of our best players in the last few years, but he's still not as good as he could or should be, given his talent and attitude. Those stats caught my eye because they confirm that the end product isn't there with his play as often as it should be, and when a donkey like Phil Neville proves to be a far better crosser than him then you know he needs to raise his game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loz Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I take stats like that with a pinch of salt as the style of play we currently have means that any player out on the flank will often only have one genuine target to aim at when we break forward. Given that it is hardly surprising that the 'success rate' is low. We break, the cross is delivered and in the box we have Drogba surrounded, Ballack arriving late and Kalou who is rarely going to win a header against a defender of any quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backbiter Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 You could argue that if there's a lack of targets in the box, or the target(s) is/ are heavily marked, the option to cross is not likely to be the best one. Maybe he isn't successful with his crosses (let's face it, only finding your target once in every 10 crosses isn't good enough) because he's just hitting and hoping rather than picking out a target, when a different pass would be less wasteful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enrico Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 That list does not include Jermaine Pennant, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_mac Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 He puts more crosses in, so that has to be good right? Anyway, stats like that don't take into account that we play a solitary striker. As they say, 90% of all stats can prove anything you want, 50% of the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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