Winger with a team with no heading ability?

[Herolover]

So, I admit I really like IF and IW in the Attacking midfield spots. But I wanted to ask what people's thoughts were on a certain situation.

I have a team with very poor heading, at least in the attack, that is about the worst in the league. As such I continously make sure I am on "Low Crosses" or "Whipped Croses" as a team instruction. I have a couple of players that could be played as Wingers, that is my assistants preffered role, but I usually play them as IW. Is there a used to playing a player as a Winger when I have to have low or whipped crosses.

As a lot of teams sit deep and crowd the box against me I do often play with overlap and my fullbacks send balls into the box. Isn't that the same thing as having a Winger playing? Wouldn't the effect of having a Winger in the spot nullify the overlap on that side?

 

[Piperita]

The Winger role is more than just "run the line and cross high to the centre", even when the description and highlighted attributes may say otherwise. 

The W(a) is one of my favourite wide attackers. They start out pretty wide when attacking from their side but both when getting close to the box or when the play is on the opposite side, they cut inside pretty aggressively. This is especially dangerous because they often get in situations where they cut inside "late" from the side of the box. From there they get lots of shots or flat, short passes to the striker/parallel wide player. In my experience the only "traditional" crosses from this role go to the opposite wing and for that First Touch/OTB/ technique of the recipient are the key attributes.

The Ws can be pretty effective as a wide holder and recycler. An underlapping fullback and a late-arriving CM can make him shine and these options help against senseless long crosses as he tends to pass to them first. 

The Ws when PPM'd to be like an IWs is a role that does a lot of work but is a pretty demanding and situational beast.

[Tsuru]

The Winger is not just about crossing to a tall man - I believe it is about speed, flank movement and dribbling power. Modern football is too crowded at the middle of the field, so you have more space on the flanks. A good dribbler/speeder can wreak havoc on stubborn defences and be a cheap option to open space for the attacking of smaller teams, which do not have the money power of a big one which can buy a powerful Inside Foward or Raumdetter, for example. 

But it is about crosses, too - even if the winger miss the cross and shoot the ball on an opponent, he may get you a corner kick, which is a good and powerful goalscoring opportunity. And even if you do not have a tall man, a crossed ball can finish at the feet of your striker which will kick on goal. Or even the cross can be aimed at the far post and find a speedy player to score.

I prefer the Wingers on Support, operating close to midfield, helping on transitions/defence and also being a kind of a "decoy" for a more adventurous fullback. That is, the winger operate on the flank but near the midfield and "pulls" the opponents, leaving the flank free for an attacking fullback to cross or even dribble inside. Or the opposite, the attacking fullback "pulls" the opponents outside and open the mid-space for the winger to be a surprise/speedy finisher.

Wingers can be nice weapons in many ways and help you a lot. They are cheap, easy to find, don´t require many attributes to operate and you can adapt speedy players into that role (fullbacks, midfielders, strikers). And also big teams tend to prefer inside advanced midfielders, so good wingers can be nice business opportunities.