Originally Posted by
Keyser Soze
It’s pretty simple. Wingers traditionally get onto the outside of the full back to hit low crosses or floated ones in for headers. So right footers on right wing, left footers on left wing.
I have found this preposterous for many years because to me a professional player should be capable of using both feet equally well. So for example, Arjien Robben was a top winger because you never knew if he would cut in and create / or go on the outside and cross. He also assisted and scored often. Perfect winger.
The inverted winger is a more continental flavour where the left footed winger plays right wing, and right footed on the left wing. Barcelona, Liverpool and Man City are the best exponents of it. The theory is that by going on the outside there is only one option: cross. It is predictable and you also fail to create numerical overloads. The argument against it is that once the full back is beaten at pace then the back four has turn their bodies and re-adjust to deal with the cross.
By cutting inside you create numerical advantage on the inside where short 1-2’s can have typically slower centre backs in a mess. Equally you can eatablish interplay with the 8, 10 or 9. It is inpredictable. You can pass, go for another dribble or shoot as you have a wide angle to shoot. Salah is probably one of the best examples of this. On his right he is crap. On his left he get lots of goals by cutting in, and in his case he is actually the guy with a higher goal output than the central 9. By cutting inside you also raise your possession stats in theory as you have multiple options to retain the ball.
Ideally at top level, you boys should be able to invert or go on the outside to give full predictability. For me Arjen Robben, Ronaldo, Diaz, Jarrod Bowen are good examples of wingers who can do both. My favourite winger right now is that Georgian guy in Italy. I think he is Lazio or Inter. Ends in …shvili. That kid is the deadliest bastard on the planet at the moment.
Weirdly for our level I think a top coach could make Tanner top class. Technically he is lovely. He can go on the outside and delivery, but his attacking performance with this crossing from left wing was something else - I think it was v Southampton. Tanner is two footed and a good coach should be able to do something big with him.
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