Can anyone tell me how I can make my players run into the box when I am about to cross in? They hover around the edge and wait until I commit instead of looking for a good position BEFORE I actually cross, and by the time the ball flies in, they are usually too late and I get that pretty 'wow, you just missed that cross by a few inches' diving header animation which I am really a bit tired of.
Particularly, how can I make one of them position themselves around the penalty spot which they all seem to avoid as if it spreads a contageous desease? I am playing 4-3-3 with the center forward all the way up the pitch, almost at the touch line, yet when I am crossing it in I see six or seven CPU-opponents in the box and none of my guys anywhere even close to the goal.
You're better off doing a "Beckham" style cross, i.e. crossing from further back (rather than from the byline) which means the ball has to travel further and seems to go more slowly, allowing the striker time to run into the box. This is a shame, because in real life tall centre forwards love a ball coming in at pace from the wing, and will position themselves properly to run on to it.
When you are crossing from the byline, using lofted cross is a good idea, because again it stays in the air a bit longer (which shouldn't be necessary, but often is). You can also sort-of get round this (sometimes) by using a chipped through ball from out wide, with the stick forced back and to the side, which produces a slow teasing cross that hangs in the air even longer. Easy to get this wrong though, and when you do it looks terrible.
Playing with two strikers also makes it easier to score with headers from crosses. I know that's stupid, but it's how it is. The problem is, when you play a lone striker on PES he tends to play almost as a "false nine", dropping deep to receive the ball early rather than playing on the shoulder of the last defender. There doesn't seem to be much you can do about this.
I think it's to allow you to play the Barcelona / Arsenal style - in previous games, playing a front three with Messi in the middle (even withdrawn) would have been stupid, as Messi would be hanging around in the box waiting for crosses rather than dropping deep and looking to run at defenders. But of course there should be tactical options to sort this out - for instance an option to play 4-3-3 (false nine) or 4-3-3 (target man). Wouldn't be hard to program - in the first option the CF would drop deep and the wingers would cut inside, in the second option he'd look to lay off the ball to touchline-hugging wingers and then make a run into the box to receive the cross. Failing that, you should be able to sort it by setting your central striker as either an SS or CF... in actual fact it makes little difference in a 4-3-3.
Another semi-acceptable workaround: if one of your wingers is tall and good at heading, try setting him as a CF but leaving him positioned out wide. When the ball's on his side, he'll just play more or less as a WF, but when a cross comes in from the other side he'll come into the box and try to nod it in at the far post.
I agree with you, that "oops, I've just dived at this cross and missed my header by an inch" animation is really infuriating.
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