strikers stop scoring

due to bad form, cold streak, whatever you call it. How to deal with this disaster, when generally good strikers suddenly drop below 6.6 and stop scoring, game after game? I usually increase their attacking and shooting training, also put them on individual finishing training (though their finishing is above 16 anyway), but it doesn't seem to help, and in the meantime we are losing important matches. any suggestions?

Yeh, it happens. My star striker led the way with highest av rating and goals scored and assists until the chill winds of winter blew in, then suddenly his morale dropped, he was getting ratings of 5 and couldn't score. We tumbled from top of the league to out of the play off zone. I tried everything - blasting him, dropping him, working with different roles and supporting forwards, bringing him on as a late sub when the oppo were tired to get a tap in to restore his morale - everything. In the end what worked was time (or temperature). He just found his mojo when the Spring came and finished the season strongly.

It just happens - happens to Rooney, happens to Drogba, happens to Torres. Their managers didn't find a magic wand; neither will we.

Tell me about it... In my first season incharge of Chelsea, I went on to score a collective team goal count of around 89 while not having 1 team member over 20 goals. This season, with Drogba and Anelka aging, I brought in a few youngsters hoping that by next year they will be ready to replace the stars. Oh how I was wrong... I needed much more immediate firepower.

Its been 5 games in, and I have scored a collective 2 goals. Both from midfielders who were 19 year old subs! Lost to Man City in the first round english cup too (not a big deal though).

The thing that bothers me the most is the fact that I have hit the post 11 times in those 5 games. Had a total of around 2 Clear cut chances per game! AND to make it all worst, I can't slam my players because they're ratings are actually sitting at 6.9, and the whole defensive unit is sitting at an average rating of 7.4.

The team is playing well but the finishing has been awful... So after a few more games both Anelka and Drogba dropped to 6.5 average rating and I interacted with them and sent them to reserves, with which they were acceptant. Brought out more youth and a new formation to suit the players and magically, i won 3-0 against Sunderland! (Though i am still wasteful as I created 6 clear cut chances and hit the post twice).

Moral of the story : Sometimes you got to accept defeat in a season and opt for new avenues. I now know I am probably out of the race for first (Even though my record is sitting with 2-4-1) with 3 teams sitting with 6 wins and 1 game in hand. I am just going to introduce the youth and aim to finish 3rd, and put full concentration on champions league as I have not lost there yet. Winning the league the first time around is great but that second year syndrome is a killer.

I've found that strikers seem to be streaky and very inconsistent in the game.

They tend to have far too many 3 or 4 goal games and then won't score for 2 or 3 games. Then boom another 2-4 goal game.

Had that with Van Persie. First he was scoring hat-tricks everywhere, then... Nothing. He snapped out of it after dropped him and let him find his form in the reserves. He played one average game and then started scoring regularly in the reserves. I brought him back to the bench and he scored when I introduced him against a weak opposition after 60 min of play. I did the same in the following match a he scored again from the bench. He hasn't found that God-mode form he had before the slump, but at least he's performing above 7.1 consistently again.

My Paul Heffernan went on an amazing scoring run at the start of the season, he had 12 goals in 8 matches. Not too long after that though he had a scoring drought lasting 2.5 months, I told him to train harder, rested him, nothing worked. Finally he came on as a sub and we got a penalty, he tucked it away and has been scorig at a reasonable rate ever since. These things happen from time to time, such is the life of a striker...

If they ain't scoring I take them off. Don't play them for a few games. Give someone else who is scoring goals a chance. After a few games I stick them back in when 2 or 3 nil up (only if before 60 minutes) and let them go at it and score a goal.

If they start scoring regularly again then they play again. I think I once went 20 hours of football without my top striker scoring. Incredible run of bad form.

Youre not the only one, im Chelsea 16 games in, and on the preview screen against fulham my top scores are Lampard 5 - Ramires 3 - Malouda 2.

Fulham have Dembele 8 - Zamora 8 - Kamara 6 , thats 3 of their strikers!

Drogba and Anelka suck for me, my goals come from everywhere in the team bar those 2

Although i would much rather be 2nd than 9th like fulham, even if my strikers arent playing anywhere near they should be

There should be a 'hit them round the back of the head' option. That'll perk their ideas up.

thanks for input, I thought I was the only one LOL, and it's something in my power to change. I have 5 strikers (4 regular ones and 1 youngster on a loan), and ALL 5 not scoring. It's like a virus in a team!! I didn't make any changes to the team (no new players), no changes to tactics (though I did try different tactics after they stopped scoring) - nothing!! I guess it was because we were in a good form prior to that, 20 matches without losing, and game figured - enough is enough. It feels like a challenge: now try to win without your strikers!!! Sometimes the challenge is injuries, in my case it's strikers... hmmm... seems unfair.

Rooney has been the streakiest striker I have ever had.

Rooney scored 1 in 9 then scored 11 in 7 and now has 2 in 6.

Luckily I have messi and ronaldo so I don't worry about it too much

Youre not the only one, im Chelsea 16 games in, and on the preview screen against fulham my top scores are Lampard 5 - Ramires 3 - Malouda 2.

Fulham have Dembele 8 - Zamora 8 - Kamara 6 , thats 3 of their strikers!

Drogba and Anelka suck for me, my goals come from everywhere in the team bar those 2

Although i would much rather be 2nd than 9th like fulham, even if my strikers arent playing anywhere near they should be

We know, Mr. Ancelotti. Play the boy Sturridge - he's hot right now.

I ran into this recently and I turned it around by making some small tactical changes.

I was playing a target man and poacher combo, but I switched to a deep lying forward and an advanced forward with the two switching places. Things have picked back up since.

Yeah I think the best thing to do in these situations is to freshen the tactics up a little, and maybe give your striker a games rest.

Give them a few games in the reserves to get their confidence up and bang in a few easy goals.

We know, Mr. Ancelotti. Play the boy Sturridge - he's hot right now.

funny enough, I was trying to be cautious in introducing Sturridge into my team incase he flops and keeps doing it. But recently His stats rose in training finally and has 15 finishing (highest of all my backup strikers!)

Its been 4 games and he's scored 9 goals. Luckily, this occured the exact same time Anelka proved his worth in reserves and i brought him back into the squad. So I have Sturridge and Neymar swapping on the left and striker spot and have Anelka playing on the right and tracking back wingers (despite his poor tackling and concentration its working out well).

Brought myself from being 10th for 3 months and a half to being joint second in january.

(Still though, i tend to average a very unrealistic 2 woodworks per game)

I managed to get one striker going today: before the matches and in half-time I kept telling him I had faith in him. In second game he finally started scoring. However, the trick didn't work with other 3. Maybe it's because of his personality, he is "spirited". The rest 3 are "fairly ambitious", "balanced' and "professional", those are still on cold streak. Oh well, I guess I have to wait until the spring comes!