Poor Performance

One of my strikers, is playing well below his best. i.e. His ratings are down & he's not scoring despite being a very good striker attribute wise and having a very respectable goalscoring record

Its the end of preseason and I have to option to discipline him for this but should I warn him or fine him

Usually for straight reds, I give warnings and subsequent red cards get fines.

I've yet to discipline on 9.0.3 for anything else. Whats your view?

I wouldn't recommend disciplining him just for poor performance in pre-season. If he is your number one striker, then just play him in the first few games and see how he gets on. If he is still getting poor ratings after 5/6 games maybe release a press comment saying he is playing below the standards you expect.

How is his morale?, is he wanting a new challenge/contract.

Tactics??

I wouldn't recommend disciplining him just for poor performance in pre-season. If he is your number one striker, then just play him in the first few games and see how he gets on. If he is still getting poor ratings after 5/6 games maybe release a press comment saying he is playing below the standards you expect.

How is his morale?, is he wanting a new challenge/contract.

Tactics??

My tactics are successful so it cant be that plus he's done very well in my system before now.

He's happy at the club and his morale is superb and he's happy with his training schedule.

The option to discipline him is now greyed out again too.

I'd comment on his form through Player Interaction. Somewhere between acceptable, below-part, or disappointed - depending on how low his form is. If he still gets high match ratings, don't be too harsh. Get this right and he'll be motivated to do better. On the next match, set 'Expect a performance!' as his team-talk. He'll be fired up. From here on it will be your tactic. Personally I'd targetman him to give him loads of chances.

I'm surprised the option to punish him was 'un-greyed'. Maybe it was the game giving you a clue that a mild rebuke was the right course of action. The more normal action is to drop him for a couple of games - maybe make him play a reserve game or two to get his touch back.

Also bear in mind that at the start of the season players are still getting their fitness levels back and lack serious match practice. I find that commonly strikers don't find their shooting boots until 2 or 3 games into the competitive season.

Well, I didnt do anything and this is how the season started for him

Preseason:

Apps: 4(1) Goals: 1 Assists: 1 MOTM: 0 Average 6.64

League:

Apps: 4 Goals: 5 Assists: 3 MOTM: 2 Average 8.18

League Cup:

Apps: 1 Goals: 2 Assists: 1 MOTM: 1 Rating 8.9

The best course of action was to leave him alone!

Glad it worked out for you. I guess a rest for the off season was what he needed to reboot.

In the future, I'd recommend peeking at the Board Confidence every 2 - 4 weeks. If you look under the Players Section, the fans are very good at offering suggestions on what they feel is the appropriate action for a struggling player. Also Player Interaction, as others have suggested, is key to maintaining a productive squad. I have a reminder in my Notebook to comment on my players performance once a month. Up or down.

First time I did it, I commented what I thought was fair:

• 6.8 - 7.1: Acceptable
  
• 7.1 - 7.4: Pleased
  
• 7.4 +: Sensational (or whatever - used it once)
  

Similar scale when criticizing. Be sure to check what their reaction was to the praise/criticism. Most will typically respond favourably, but some will think your criticism was harsh or that your praise is too easy to get. I recommend making a Note on the players screen and double-checking it before next months Player Interactions.

This little 'system' works for 95% of my players. I'm listed as Favoured Personnel by 10 of my 18 First Team players and morale & overall form has been great.