Attacking PPM's- My Theory

[y2k1]

Shoots with power- Good for AMC's and Wingers because they are further out. Makes sense.

Places shots. Good for strikers with poor composure. What? yes here me out on this. A player with bad composure is likely to blast the ball high and wide. If you give him the PPM of 'places shots' in theory he will naturally recognise his awful composure and take that little bit more time. To place a shot you will need to know where the goal is which means taking that extra second or 2 and thus composure becomes irrelevant. I also think its good for Wingers whose favoured foot is opposite their wing because the angle maybe tight. Hell maybe even a combo of both shoots with power and places shots.

Tries first time shots- I generally think this is more restrictive than its worth. Your striker will need good composure certainly though. Perhaps you could make an argument for slow strikers as they maybe closed down quicker?

Comes deep to get Ball- Great for supportive strikers. Strikers with great stamina and teamwork ability. Think Rooney/Cavani. I also find it very useful for wingers as it encourages them to do defensive duties, and also for AMC's as otherwise they can go missing in games.

Avoids using weaker foot. A definite no unless his weaker foot is atroscious. Even if it is weak I wouldn't dismiss the other foot completely. Let the strikers decision making attribute decide.

Moves into Channels- Really good in combo with likes to beat the offside trap. ESP good fo players with great movement/anticipation

Gets forward whenether possible. I cant see how this PPM can ever be a bad thing except arguable for the AMC or target man as you still need to maintain some sort of bridge.

Cuts Inside- Best for inside forwards and perhaps strong target men

Gets into opposition area- An absolute must for the fast centre forward

curls ball- Great for set piece takers and for wingers for great crossing ability

Likes to lob and likes to round keeper- These should really only be attempted when 1-1 with quite some space and when central. I hear it works well with AMC's with runs with ball through centre but I don't consider either viable or necessary.

Plays with back to goal- Definitely for the target man. Great for possession tactics esp if the target man is creative and good with possession.

Arrives late in box- This is for the box to box midfielder. Midfielders who defend deep then hit on the break. Think Gerrard. I don't really care for box to box midfielders as I think they have been replaced by the creative midfielder but thats just my opinion. Anyway you will need a player with good stamina and prefably high work rate and long shots.

Shoots long- definitely not. I dont care how good your player is with long shots or even if he has high decision making. Long shots give away possession cheaply.

Likes to beat man repeatedly. Great for quick wingers with skill

Attempts overhead kicks- This happens so rarely in the game that the only reason you'd have this ppm is for bragging rights. Not worth it

Likes to dictate tempo and plays 1-2s. Good for the playmaker- good passing/creativity/teamwork and decision making is vital

[furiousuk]

I'm not sure how strongly to go with but there is much there that I don't agree with...

Shoots with power- Good for AMC's and Wingers because they are further out. Makes sense.

Not really. Shooting with power from further out (AMC's) or from tighter angles (Wingers) will only ever decrease your accuracy (which is already hindered), accuracy is key from a tight angle and is also pretty darned important from distance (I don't care how hard you hit the ball, if it's never on target its never a threat).

I think this is better for guys shooting close from a central point. More goal to aim at, even less time for keeper to react.

Places shots. Good for strikers with poor composure. What? yes here me out on this. A player with bad composure is likely to blast the ball high and wide. If you give him the PPM of 'places shots' in theory he will naturally recognise his awful composure and take that little bit more time. To place a shot you will need to know where the goal is which means taking that extra second or 2 and thus composure becomes irrelevant. I also think its good for Wingers whose favoured foot is opposite their wing because the angle maybe tight. Hell maybe even a combo of both shoots with power and places shots.

Places shots does make you take longer over shooting.

Places shots does not make you recognise your poor composure.

Wingers with their favoured foot on the opposite side to their wing (i.e. left foot on right side) will have a better angle than a same-side-footer (i.e. right foot on right).

I'll agree that I think this PPM is good for guys shooting from a tight angle (i.e. inside forwards) because there is very little goal to aim at so accuracy is absolutely key. Curling the ball can be useful too but that's a different point.

Tries first time shots- I generally think this is more restrictive than its worth. Your striker will need good composure certainly though. Perhaps you could make an argument for slow strikers as they maybe closed down quicker?

This PPM is absolutely amazing, but only with a very small numbers of players. A shot taken quickness gives the GK even less time to react and means there is less time for the kicker to be closed down - this is very very very advantageous. Unfortunately it is also an incredibly difficult skill. Technique would need to be immense, probably composure, certainly finishing or long shots (mentals probably help too).

Comes deep to get Ball- Great for supportive strikers. Strikers with great stamina and teamwork ability. Think Rooney/Cavani. I also find it very useful for wingers as it encourages them to do defensive duties, and also for AMC's as otherwise they can go missing in games.

Whether you want this on wingers or AMC is purely subjective. For my wingers it would be absolutely appalling. If I want my AMC as a secondary striker, which many people use Rooney as in a 4231, it's a poor PPM - good otherwise though as you say.

Avoids using weaker foot. A definite no unless his weaker foot is atroscious. Even if it is weak I wouldn't dismiss the other foot completely. Let the strikers decision making attribute decide.

I normally don't value this PPM much either but it can be very useful, particularly for donkey defenders who should have the time to avoid using their weaker foot.

Gets forward whenether possible. I cant see how this PPM can ever be a bad thing except arguable for the AMC or target man as you still need to maintain some sort of bridge.

This PPM can be very bad in many many situations. A holding midfield pair (i.e. a 4231) will be destroyed by this PPM. Also, I might not want my FB's going bombing forward all the time. Conversely, I'd say it could be very useful for my AMC to make him act like a secondary stirker (Van Der Vaart, Rooney at times). On a side note, this PPM only changes a slider so whether you ever need it in FM is questionable.

Cuts Inside- Best for inside forwards and perhaps strong target men

Why is it good for target men? Most target men are inside already.

curls ball- Great for set piece takers and for wingers for great crossing ability

Does this PPM affect crossing? I didn't know that.

Plays with back to goal- Definitely for the target man. Great for possession tactics esp if the target man is creative and good with possession.

This can be a very aggressive move if other players are eager to advance beyond the target. Think Shearer. He rarely played in a 'possession' side but during the latter stages of his career was adept at playing with his back to goal and either turning to shoot for himself or playing in other players who were advancing on goal - both are aggressive not-possession-based options.

Arrives late in box- This is for the box to box midfielder. Midfielders who defend deep then hit on the break. Think Gerrard. I don't really care for box to box midfielders as I think they have been replaced by the creative midfielder but thats just my opinion. Anyway you will need a player with good stamina and prefably high work rate and long shots.

I like this PPM, on AMC's as well as B2B's but never found it really does anything. I play fairly direct mostly so that might be why.

Shoots long- definitely not. I dont care how good your player is with long shots or even if he has high decision making. Long shots give away possession cheaply.

If I can't keep the ball or don't value possession that highly (think Chelsea in CL final or Inter the year before) then this PPM could be useful on the right player. I don't favor it much either in general though.

Attempts overhead kicks- This happens so rarely in the game that the only reason you'd have this ppm is for bragging rights. Not worth it

I love this PPM!! Allows players to get a shot away when the chance would otherwise be missed. I've taught this PPM to a guy with only modest technique (still gets shots on target though) so maybe not the best option but it's still amusing to see a 6"3" unit throwing himself butt over face! Probably requires bags of technique and also agility to work really well. I'm still waiting for an overhead goal. Bragging rights are cool!

Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, feel free to disagree! I'm not trying to be harsh, just my opinion differs in several points. I haven't mentioned all the points I do agree with so don't feel I'm just slating a post, I'm certainly not.