Poacher Problem!

Alrightt guys, basically I have this quality regen who I bought from Juventus and in his first season banged in 39 goals in 34 Prem games, second season 26 in 31 and the current season 10 in 23. The problem is, especially this season, the amount of goals he's scored has dropped by quite a bit. I currently have him as a poacher as that's where I've had all my success with Strikers whether it's Adam Le Fondre, Hernandez, Torres or Gameiro etc. Basically I was wondering is it possible that he's too good to just be a poacher?... he gets tons of assists and his team work/work rate are 20 and 18 but gathered as his Pace, Acceleration, Finishing and Composure are all good plus after his first season I thought he'd carry on scoring loads as a Poacher but maybe I'm wrong?

Cheeeers!

are your other players stepping up and getting more goals? is your striker getting more assists than previously

Does he play on his own, or does he have a strike partner? From personal experience, I find a poacher works best with a target-man type...

That's kinda the problem mate, I play 2 upfront, Djelloul and one of these 3: Aguero (in his 30's now) or Muniain who normally partner him or Babacar occasionally and they don't come close to scoring his 39 goals as I play them Trequartista or Deep Lying Forward and Babacar as a Target Man which never seems to do well for me. Muniain's top scorer so far with 16 from 23 when normally my Poacher would be flying at the top. It's weird as I haven't changed the way I've played so why he's stopped scoring so many I really don't know! My defenders seem to get a quite a few goals from corners though, in fact I just checked my CB has 9, one less goal than him, weird!

I also forgot to say I bought him in January before the 39 in 34 game season and he got 18 in 14 so I thought he'd be Torres's long term replacement... Maybe not!

And as for Assists he's leading that with 21! But in his 39 goals season he still got 19 Assists so not much has changed. He's a good Corner/Free Kick Taker so a lot of them come from that.

Have you changed any of the midfielders/wide player (including fullbacks)? It may be that the service he's getting isn't as good. Or the players in those positions aren't providing the same quality of chances?

Could look at who created the most assists previously.

Could be you've changed a defensive midfielder who's not as good as previous player and other players are compensating his weaknesses and not getting forward as effectively as before.

Or a change of captain or coach he's liked has left.

If I was to guess from what you've mentioned I'd say Aguero or Muniain provided the most assists. Aguero is getting older so maybe not as effective. If it's Muniain and if he's got a "drifts into channels" preferred move then a change in wide/midfield player could affect the space he's had before to create chances.

Apologies if not much help but there's lots to look at and consider

As an extra note, have you looked in the tactics forum to see if there's anyone else who's posted similar situations?

To be fair, 16 in 23 isn't a bad ratio....I'd suggest you're worrying about a problem that doesn't exist.

If a striker gets 20 he's had a good year.

Have you changed any of the midfielders/wide player (including fullbacks)? It may be that the service he's getting isn't as good. Or the players in those positions aren't providing the same quality of chances?

Could look at who created the most assists previously.

Could be you've changed a defensive midfielder who's not as good as previous player and other players are compensating his weaknesses and not getting forward as effectively as before.

Or a change of captain or coach he's liked has left.

Made quite a few good points there! Had a look at the season where he scored 39 goals and Aguero and Pastore had 11 assists each which was the most

If I was to guess from what you've mentioned I'd say Aguero or Muniain provided the most assists. Aguero is getting older so maybe not as effective. If it's Muniain and if he's got a "drifts into channels" preferred move then a change in wide/midfield player could affect the space he's had before to create chances.

Apologies if not much help but there's lots to look at and consider

As an extra note, have you looked in the tactics forum to see if there's anyone else who's posted similar situations?

Made quite a few good points there! Had a look at the season where he scored 39 goals and Aguero and Pastore had 11 assists each which was the most apart from Djelloul himself and could well be the problem because as you said Aguero's getting older plus playing much less and Pastore broke his leg a few games into this season so I'm playing my back up Advanced PM which is pretty much his first season so might take a while to get used to each other maybe?

Also I have changed the captain... to Djelloul! Maybe something to do with that, he has got 19 Influence though. Both my FB's are the same since he first joined and probably even better now, my DM's quality so don't think it could be that. Chamberlain's been there since the start of the game but have put in a 21 year old LM for this season, although he has been good with goals and assists, maybe something to do with that?

Thanks a lot for the help lads, much appreciated!

To be fair, 16 in 23 isn't a bad ratio....I'd suggest you're worrying about a problem that doesn't exist.

If a striker gets 20 he's had a good year.

I agree mate but pretty much all my games I've hit pretty amazing results through Poachers so just wondering why he's not getting as many as maybe he could be!

I agree mate but pretty much all my games I've hit pretty amazing results through Poachers so just wondering why he's not getting as many as maybe he could be!

I use poachers as well, and the most one has ever got for me is 30. I'd not panic, if I was you...although maybe a little praise and a new contract wouldn't go amiss...

In my experience strikers just do this. as Truro I had two great strikers, Mauricio was a brazilian poacher-style player, Tassalli a frenchman I liked as an advanced forward but had the pace and finishing to be a poacher too, Mauricio after he developed in the first year or two, started banging them in like mad, he had a very good ratio, but as seasons went on, it seemed like the enemy just.. countered him better, marked him out of the game, gave him less freedom, he really had to work for his goals and pounce on every opportunity.

Then again, it could have just been a random form-factor, but it ebbs and wanes, a striker can have a "okay" season then start cracking in 2-3 a game the next season, only to get injured for 4 months and come back in less stellar form. It's a lot down to luck - I wouldnt say it's neccesarily a problem.

Made quite a few good points there!

Thanks glad I could offer some insight.

Also I have changed the captain... to Djelloul!

How old is Djelloul? I gave captaincy once to a teenager and he was "feeling the pressure of being captain". It could be that, if he's got distinguished older players around.

I think you should check your poacher's contract, after playing so well he will drop in form if he is not one of the teams better paid players. He may want a new contract, he may actually be not well paid. As far as captains go - the ideal attributes are a combination of influence, a professional personality and to a lesser extent (depending on personal opinion) determination.

Right, offered him a new contract putting him onto £115,000 from about £95,000, hopefully that'll help. Checked his stats and personality, 19 Influence, 17 Determination and he's a Leader according to my Ass Man, but he is only 24. Lets just hope my CB's will keep scoring !

Again, thanks for the help!

Yeah he will be "depressed" for ages before complaining to you that he wants a better contract, so bad form could be explained by hidden stuff like that.

However, I suppose those last two-three seasons your team has improved a lot? Your reputation has increased, your success has finally brought you into a leading position in the league? This is ten+ years into the game yes, which team are you?

If the other players become better, a player formerly dominating a lot will find he is no longer the only star on the team, and thus he will not be the main creative outlet. In addition, you may be taken more seriously by the other teams which will defend deeper diminishing the efficiency of a poacher.

With increase in player reputation, the marking on player inc. plus opposition manger target to cover him first. As you are using same tactics it's easy for AI manager to shut him up. Try to confuse AI.

I always tend to use 2 poachers up front that compliment each other well. I had two fairly average strikers on poacher duty and they both got over 20 goals with Sheffield Wednesday in the champonship. Using a target man has never worked for me in any previous games even when using suitable players such as Hugo Almeida or Andy Carroll. Far more effective to have two poachers imo.

Tbf I'm Chelsea so I've always been in a leading position but it makes sense that the opposition would maybe mark him tighter making it easier for others around him to get more goals. I'll mix up the tactics a bit and try the 2 poachers upfront! I am 82 unbeaten in the Prem mind but this season only winning by slight margins so I need a constant goal scorer again so hopefully this works!

Keep in mind you have will need a ball provider from midfield then.