Striker Ratings and Goals

I know a lot of people have complained that scoring goals affects the ratings of players too much, but my current experience is starting to make me wonder whether, for strikers at any rate, it doesn't affect them enough...

To set the scene, in the summer I spent £45m on a regen striker from HSV with stonking stats (Finishing 18, Heading 18, Composure 17, Acceleration 19, Pace 17, Jumping 19) and a decent Bundesliga record (56 goals in 111 appearances).

Now don't get me wrong, he's had a great impact; I've spent ages playing with a lone striker who wasn't an aerial threat and suddenly I'm bossing possession in 95% of games. But I can't reconcile these stats in my head;

20 games, 4 goals, 5 assists, 67% passing, 50% shooting - Av. Rating 7.28

But what finally got me posting was the last two games, both 0-0 draws where we more or less dominated (@ Blackburn, 55-45 possession, 12 shots 3 on - 1 shot 1 on; vs Tottenham, 51-49 possession, 17 shots 3 on - 9 shots 2 on). My striker's performances?

@Blackburn - 2 key passes, 0 key headers, 6 offsides, 5 shots, 2 on target - 7.1

vs Spurs - 1 key pass, 0 key headers, 1 offside, 1 shot, 0 on target - 7.3

So what am I to do? I want to call him out in the press, but I can't because officially he's played well, although it doesn't particularly appear to me that even the stats bear that out :confused:

What's the score of the 2 games? If you win big, all players will usually get a low 7 plus.

Just like for my gk, I won a game my game by a big scoreline. He didn't really have anything to do but gets a low 7.plus in the end.

Well technically speaking he didn't play too badly in either game, he set up 3 goal scoring chances that were missed. I am not too sure what you are looking for here, a rating of 7.1 is not exactly high.

I agree that sometimes the rating don't seem to match with my impression of a players performance and sometimes I want to criticize a player but I feel I can't because the game thinks he has done well.

In your case though, he's making key passes so he's obviously contributing and can't really be considered to be playing badly and it would be a bit unfair (and probably bad for his morale) to criticize him for not scoring enough.

alos what foramtion is he in, alone or partneder and what are his roles set too. One key factor is off the ball, what is his stat?

One of the oddities of my management style is that I tend to think it flipping well should be bad for a players morale... I think the context matters, one goal in five for a top end Premiership striker, particularly when the rest of the team are blazing so many shots over the bar (leaving me needing my striker to take games by the scruff of the neck) is pretty pathetic.

Also, an interesting contrast, two games later, vs Man City (second vs third);

3 key passes, 4 offsides, 4 shots, 2 on target, only goal of the game - 7.5

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much you can do to get a striker scoring again other than show some patience - criticizing him or getting angry with him is unlikely to work.

If he is on one goal in five and this is symptomatic of his career then clearly he is lacking something vital in his game. You didn't post his Off-The-Ball, First Touch, Anticipation, Dribbling, Aggression or Bravery stats and you hinted that you are playing him as a lone striker.

Judging by the quantity of Offsides he is getting called against him each match it looks like his movement is poor. Judging by his goals to games ratio it looks like his ability to control the ball and beat his marker is also poor. Its all very well being fast and lethal but if you cant beat the off-side trap, skin your marker or are afraid to challenge for headers and scrap in the box then you wont be in a position to finish anything.

Well like I say, he was one goal in two over four years in the Bundesliga. The aggression bit may well be the problem; he's got Off The Ball 16, First Touch 20, Anticipation 17 and Dribbling 16, but Aggression 8 and Bravery 11 and does have a tendency to not get shots away at the end of runs or when the ball falls to him in a 50/50. But my query was less about the tactics and more about why his rating is holding up when he's not doing the fundamental strikery thing of actually scoring.

striker's (and all player's) ratings seem to be at least in some way affected by their ratio of headers won, I've found rooney and tevez get poor ratings when they don't score, whereas laurito does much better

Well like I say, he was one goal in two over four years in the Bundesliga. The aggression bit may well be the problem; he's got Off The Ball 16, First Touch 20, Anticipation 17 and Dribbling 16, but Aggression 8 and Bravery 11 and does have a tendency to not get shots away at the end of runs or when the ball falls to him in a 50/50. But my query was less about the tactics and more about why his rating is holding up when he's not doing the fundamental strikery thing of actually scoring.

It's possible that you think he is doing poorly as a striker when infact he is playing half decent game in game out as a target man or forward playmaker. Basicly if a player is doing well but is not doing the things you want then it is either a tactics problem or a problem with the players profile. Ratings for forwards and strikers are not purely based on a bulging net and your original post shows that he is setting up the odd chance a game, which means he was the key man in a decent move and that will pull his ratings out of the level required to berate his performance.

I understand your frustration, he is doing just enough in a match for you to be unable to complain about his performance, but he is not doing what you want him to do and you are indeed unhappy with this performance. This guy should be scoring goals with the right tactics, and if you cant get him to score then maybe there is something deeper in his profile that is making him a dud. Maybe his consistency is low, maybe he can't handle the pressure of your club, maybe his motivation is affecting his performances negatively. There could be many factors influencing his lack of goals, but I would say that he is doing enough on the pitch to warrent a 7 rating, certainly not doing enough on the pitch to fulfill expectations of his ability though, you are completely right.

My strikers are terrible on my save game McCarthy and Santa Cruz just dont score goals if anything my midfield scores the goals for me..

Must be a tactical thing.