Getting out of form players back into the groove.

[sporadicsmiles]

I am very curious to hear how other people deal with returning out of form players back to their best.

I am currently struggling immensely to get my strikers into any kind of form. I say form, rather than a tactical issue (which I know most people will jump on here) since the tactic itself is not doing any worse now than it was at the same point last year. We create similar chances, and similar numbers of chances. We have not been stupidly successful relative to the standing when I took over so I do not think the AI is going to treat me any differently than before. In fact, they still attack me both home and away unless they are a much weaker side. My defence is quite shaky when pressed hard, but that is simply because the players are not the best. 

So currently my real problem area is with my strikers. I play with a single striker alone up front, so I have 3 strikers in my first team squad. Two to rotate and a younger player to get experience. One striker is rated as "good for the league" and another is "a leading player". They have both excelled at previous points during this save, and the team around them has not changed hugely (I am trying to rely on young players in this save). The young player has the potential to be a star, but has missed most of the season either due to injury or being on international duty (and then getting injured!).

At the moment, the strikers are out of form. By that, I mean that things they would normally do, they no longer are doing. For example, they lose almost every 50-50 for a ball. They are unable to hold the ball up even a little. Their passing is extremely wayward (to the point that silly misplaced passes lead to counter goals). They are having chances created for them and are snatching at them, or finishing awfully. They, naturally, get poor ratings. Worse, they affect those around them, since the role they play expects them to link with the midfield and score goals. The striker is not expected to be the main scorer in the side, but if he plays badly, I become very reliant on crosses. 

So, how would you guys go about trying to restore some form to these players? Normally, I would get them to play some reserve football until they start to do well there. But I do not have a reserve side I can use for this (only an U19 side which has strict age rules). I have tried to be patient with them, to reassure them both during team talks and with conversations. I have tried warning them, criticising them, dropping them (as much as possible). Obviously my next step is to just replace them (I already have my shortlist) but I would love to have some tips for getting them playing well. I also have terrible luck. My main striker finally got a goal around 10 games ago (his only this year, he had 14 last season across all competitions), and I could see things starting to click. Then he got injured later in the game! 

Any and all help will be appreciated. 

[herne79]

8 minutes ago, sporadicsmiles said:

Then he got injured later in the game! 

Sod's law .

The answer is breaking the spiral of decline.  The longer the barren spell, the worse morale and confidence becomes.  Could a tactical tweak help?  Sure, but that's not the only answer.  The trick is to get their confidence back.  You don't have a reserve team, but could you perhaps arrange a mid week friendly or two against poor quality opposition?  Score a few goals there and morale will pick up.  You've tried all the talk options.  Maybe try giving the youngster a chance for a few matches (he can't do any worse) and leave your 2 problem strikers on the bench / in the stands for a while.  They may end up complaining, at which point you can say fine, I'll give you a run but I expect you to perform (or whatever the wording is).

Is there anything in their coach reports about a lack of consistency, pressure, big matches etc?  That'll have an impact on their performance too.

Ultimately a tactical tweak may be the answer.  Yes they've previously performed ok but teams may be getting wise to your team's performance and might be playing differently against you now, denying the space your strikers perhaps once enjoyed.  Just guessing there, but still a potential issue.

[sporadicsmiles]

21 minutes ago, herne79 said:

Sod's law .

The young player came back from the SA youth games, where he scored 9 goals in total, played a game, got 2 assists in a 6-0 win (easily my best of the year)... and went off hurt. Luck has not been with me this season, I can take that, it comes and goes.

A midweek friendly may be a good idea actually. I am out of Europe, so I do not have fixture congestion, and there are a couple of younger players in the squad who I really want to take a look at. It is not something I usually think about, so I will give that a try. 

I had one of them complain about a lack of games already, and said fine go play well. He actually had a decent spell, but it all spiralled down. Both players are considered consistent performers. To be fair, they have been consistent all year =P. I do not really think it is a problem of the players themselves, I just cannot get them out of the spiral of lacking form. Which is as much my own failing as their own.

Tactically, I would love to get some help close to them in the form of an attacking midfielder. This would certainly create more space for the striker, and take some of the onus off him to dominate that area. The problem I have is that I do not trust my defence enough to play without a DMC. I have young CBs who are good but error prone, and having a defensive minded player ahead of them helps them out a lot. Then again, we have been very solid defensively of late (three 0-0 draws in a row), so maybe I should show a bit of faith in them. On top of that, the two best players on my team are on the wings, and they are performing well. So the difficult I have for mixing things up is that I have to weaken myself elsewhere. I definitely have the depth in midfield to mix things up to provide better central support. 

I'll give friendlies a shot, it cannot hurt to keep fitness for backup players up anyway, and to look at youngsters. I will also have a look to what I can do to take some of the pressure of the striker. So he can either focus on linking or on scoring, not both. 

EDIT.

Ironically, after posting this, my main striker just scored the winning goal against the best side in the league.. who I have never actually lost to. When I am able to play defensive counter attacking football, it is great. Lots and lots of praise for him (which I hope does not backfire) and a start in the next match.