My strikers are £$%&!!!!!

Has any one else got severly "miss" firing strikers. so far this season i've had 111 shots and scored 8 goals we have had 44 shots on target in 10 lge and cup games. My players are good but i think some forwards just can't score(and i've bought two).

Here are my strikers and tactics my DM sometimes plays in a flat mid 4. Any advice would be great.

i think you need some pace

Indeed, these are all players that need service, they all lack pace and dribbling.

I play with 3 up front and the centre one can be more like these players with aerial abilities but the others have to have some speed and dribbling to create the chances with just these guys its all coming from great passes into them while they are in dangerous positions.

The shot percentage on two of them is particularly low. Check you have long shots marked right down, and consider encouraging them to place their shots.

Which division are you in?

Of the 3 Falcone is the only one who even seems half decent.

Baldock is an okay finisher, but seems neither here nor there in terms of a striker. Not an amazing finisher, has little pace, okay off the ball but lacks good anticipation and decisions. His complete lack of any aerial ability and strength means he's quite frankly a bit of a poor player. He also lacks the ability to link up with the midfield well. He could survive in the Championship maybe, I'd think 15 goals would be extremely ambitious though. I'd think maybe ~10 if he does well. He's be okay in League One.

Falcone lacks a bit of finishing but at least has a bit of strength and aerial ability. I wouldn't expect him to be prolific, but he'd do well with a good finisher next to him. Play him as a target man or deep lying forward, which ever floats your boat.

Brown is a bit more rounded than Baldock, but doesn't have the off the ball or anticipation either. Another neither here nor there player. Him and Falcone up front might be good for 20-25 goals in a Championship season, but really...

You need pace, doesn't really matter if they can finish or not, just a forward who's a bit zippy even if only to bring off the bench. Baldock and Brown could play as poachers maybe, more so Baldock, but both aren't very good.

Depending on which League you're in:

League Two: They should be an okay striker force, I'd still suggest more pace though.

League One: Should be okay. Again, pace!

Championship: Not going to get you anywhere but the bottom half. Get some pace in there and you'll be midtable.

Premiership: Cry!

Looking at them though I'm not surprised that you're not scoring.

He's in league 1, so they really should be doing a lot better than they are, pace or no pace.

Are you using attacking mentality? Maybe tone it down to normal and see if that helps. By being less desperate to get the ball in the back of the net they might actually take their time and manage to finish.

Thanks for the good advice guys, in leaue one i thought htey would do the job but maybe i'll look into a pacey striker in the next transfer window. i play a normal mentality so we shouldn't be to desperate to score. maybe i'll try telling them to relax before the game but sometimes i find they lose interest and don't perform.

Good luck!

Any idea what is a good combo fr my strikers. They are still not scoring but the rest of my team are playing well and creating the chances.

The league I play in is about the reputation of League One and the average players are about the same. I left everything on default 4-4-2 and everything about the strategy and playing style is the middle option. When I got your problem with poor finishers I just changed the ML's and MR's "wide play" instructions from "hug touchline" to "normal". That way the wingers are more helpful in front of the goal and sometimes score or create better chances.

My advise is if you are not playing a world class team not to fiddle too much with the tactics, because it never worked out for me But maybe it's just me as I never tried a top team to see if it gets better.

Oh, and I keep match preparation always on team blend.

I have miss firing strikers in every save, no matter how good they are based on attributes or how good is their morale I get long droughts between goals for each and one of them and silly games where I utterly dominate shots and shots on goal and the opponent has one or two shots on goal and scores... Morale options in pre-match tactics don't seem to have much of an effect on scoring.

I tell my mis-firing strikers "no pressure" once they have played four or more matches without scoring. This seems to help.

One explanation for the lack of goals is that you have a deep defensive line playing counter-attacking, short-passing football but with slow forwards. This means that your strikers aren't through on real scoring chances on counter-attacks (where there are less opposing players to worry about) because they are too slow and poor at dribbling to challenge on the counter, and the through balls are probably quite rare anyways. Those team instructions would force your team to play an intricate and advanced passing game to create chances, and by that time the opponents will be cramming up all the space, stopping your strikers from aiming their shots.

You need to push higher up, play more directly (normal/default style?), close down more often, have a more attacking mentality and generally ensure you dominate possession and chance creation in order for those strikers to score goals.

At least, that is what I believe based on your screen shots.

'Positioning' and 'off the ball' are also very low.

'Positioning' and 'off the ball' are also very low.

Positioning is a defensive stat.

Try lowering your tempo. Maybe they are rushing their shots.

Positioning is a defensive stat.

Surely 'positioning' is a stat that everyone needs not just defensively?

Off the ball is the attacking equivalent to positioning. It is possible to be good at one and crap at the other.

Surely 'positioning' is a stat that everyone needs not just defensively?

Nope. Positioning dictates how well a player positions himself in order to break up an opposition move. While it doesn't hurt a striker, it's not particularly useful.

Off the ball is about creating space for yourself, positioning is about covering space and making sure the opposition can't create space.