Lone Striker Roles

[auberius]

So, quick precis...

I'm having reasonable success with a 4-5-1 (the V-shaped one with advanced wingers) but I get the feeling I'm not getting the most out of my star striker. He's a 20-year-old in his third premiership season, and so far in each season his shots on target and goals have gone down and his dribbles/game have gone up, and my experience of him is that he's picking the ball up too deep, running from halfway to the edge of the box and then blazing it over the bar. His stats are pretty hot (Finishing 17, Composure 16, Pace 17, Acceleration 18, Heading 17, Jumping 13) and yet, even with the Places Shots PPM he's now at 37% on target and has a grand total of one headed goal from open play (because he's never anywhere near the right place for a cross)

I've currently got him set as a Deep Lying Forward, which is what I've always read a lone striker ought to be, but given that his tendency is to turn and snap a shot from 25 yards rather than play the overlapping winger in, I suspect that's not much use. Any advice what role will get the best from him?

[shaunwwfc]

With the pace he has he really needs to be getting in behind. Deep lying forward is more suitable for a Kevin Doyle esque lone striker IMO who will come deep and feed the wingers, im guessing your striker isnt this kind of player. Id consider poacher or preferably for me advanced forward. If one of your wideman is an inside forward this would work even better.

[dz47]

I’d be interested in what his other PPM’s are (if any?). I’ve only just started playing fm11 and am playing the same formation as you with Arsenal. This is the same formation and roles I had used extensively on my previous FM10 saves. I am only in pre-season at the moment (though I have saved and re-played numerous times as I always do to get a feel of the new game....well, new for me anyway!) and I believe that I am seeing quite different behaviour from the lone striker in this role than what I used to see in fm10.

I am currently playing with RVP’s role, but what I have noticed is that any of his shots from outside or around the edge of the box are tending to be blazed way over the bar or very wide. This would seem to reflect what you have experienced with DLF/support role. From the stats/ppm’s you have posted for your striker, I would consider the DLF/attack role as this would enable him to still come deep (though probably not as deep and not as often as with the support role) but also to pick the ball up in dangerous positions and use his pace/dribbling to run at the defence.

I’d see how he does on these settings for a few games and then adjust depending on what you see and how the other players (particularly the other wingers/wide forwards) are set up.

[furiousuk]

The lone striker is a demanding role, from the attribs you've shown us he looks like a poacher-type striker but it doesn't tell the whole story. My lone strikers have to have strength, they will almost always be marked so need to be able to match it with strong defenders - if they move deep then the defence tends to push up and cramp the space whereas if they play high they will really be in the defenders pocket but will stretch the opposition (hopefully creating gaps between the lines). This means that the lone striker has a massively important job to do tactically as well as getting the best out of him as an individual, as I said, its a demanding role.

For the record, I play the same formation and I generally use 2 inside-forwards-attack on the wings. I use a complete forward up top (I feel the lone striker needs to be well rounded so should be able to play complete forward), I originally used support but it's never worked as well as an attack duty. For me, complete forward-attack allows my striker the freedom he needs to make decisions on and off the ball but also encourages him to stay high and keep the defence pinned back which does a job for me tactically. Of course, there might be times when you'd like to encourage him deep to entice the defence forward - my point is to also consider his role within your tactical system.

[Marsupian]

I think you can devide lone strikers into two general types.

You have the ones that lead the line (poacher, advanced forward or targetman on attack). They start from the shoulders of the last defender, often seek space out wide and try to beat their marker on pace to then get 1 on 1 with the GK or get a cross in to another attacking player. They are also the ones that will always be ready for a cross into the box.

Then you have the deep lying forward/playmaker type (target man on support probably also falls into this category). He drops deep into the hole between midfield and defense and start a play from there. They rely on wingers or attacking midfielders to make runs in front or past him. He is not just a creator for others as he will also make runs and get into a scoring position but he will rarely lead the line.

Alternatively some strikers are able to do it all and if they are good mentally and are given the freedom they will try to do both jobs. If you find a striker like that it will often make your job a lot easier.

Both types are viable but you have to realize how the rest of your team works in combination with your striker. If you have one that leads the line and has a lot of pace he will usually push the defensive line back (they are afraid of through balls/long balls in the space behind them) and that creates space between the lines. This creates space for attacking midfielders and playmakers to operate in.

If you have more of a playmaker/deep forward type you have someone who drops deeper to link up with your midfield but this isn't of much use if you have no players making runs past him or leading the line as there is no player at the end of crosses or through balls.

I think the player you have is ideal to lead the line and try to get on the end of throughballs so I would play him as an advanced playmaker or a complete forward/target man on attack. It's probably a good idea to put an advanced playmaker behind him (in the mc position) who will come forward in the space he creates and gets into a position to supply him (also try to fit your wingers into the picture, do they cut inside to exploit the space he leaves behind when he moves wide into the channels or do they stay wide and try to beat their man and get a cross in or maybe both).