FM23: The Secrets of Successful Goalscoring

[Cleon]

I posted this in my Ibis thread but it seems to have got a bit lost in there. So thought it deserved it's own thread.

FM23: The Secrets of Successful Goalscoring - In Football Manager, finding consistent goal scorers can be challenging. Many forum threads, blog posts, YouTube videos, and streamers discuss the difficulty of getting players to score frequently. With a lot of attention given to the striker position. But the problem may not lie in the player's role, duty, or settings, but rather in the type or level of support, they receive. This article will provide tips on how to give your strikers the best chance of scoring goals, regardless of the team, league, country or level you are managing. While initially, this will be a topic about the 5-2-2-1 formation I've been using, the principles apply to all formations.

FM23: The Secrets - The Obvious

A successful goalscorer has key characteristics such as finishing ability, movement, aerial ability, mental strength, and physical attributes. To evaluate these characteristics, we can use the following statistics; 

• Goals scored: The most obvious and important statistic for a goalscorer is the number of goals that they have scored. This can include the total number of goals scored in a season, as well as the number of goals scored per game or per minute played.
• Shots on target: A good goalscorer will be able to convert their chances into goals. So they will typically have a high ratio of shots on target. This can be measured by dividing the number of shots on target by the total number of shots taken, and it can give an indication of the player's accuracy and finishing ability.
• Conversion rate: Another key statistic for a goalscorer is their conversion rate. Which measures the percentage of chances that they are able to convert into goals. This can be calculated by dividing the number of goals scored by the number of chances created. It can give an indication of the player's efficiency and effectiveness in front of the goal.
• Minutes per goal: For players who have scored a significant number of goals, another useful statistic is the number of minutes that they take to score each goal. This can be calculated by dividing the total number of minutes played by the number of goals scored. It can give an indication of the player's ability to score goals quickly and efficiently.
• Expected goals: Expected goals (xG) is a statistical measure that estimates the likelihood of a given shot being scored. Based on a range of factors such as the location of the shot, the type of pass or cross that led to the chance, and the type of shot that was taken. A good goalscorer will typically have a high xG, indicating that they are able to create and convert high-quality chances.

These statistics provide insights into a player's ability to consistently and effectively score goals for their team.

What is good?

In football, there's no set number of goals per game that defines an acceptable level for a goalscorer. It depends on various factors such as the level of competition. Or the quality of the team and the playing style and tactics of the team. Generally, a player who scores more than 0.5 goals per game is considered to be performing well. This means they score at least one goal every two games. However, this may vary depending on the league and team. 

For example, a player in a lower-level league or weaker team may score at a higher rate and still perform well. Likewise, a player in a more defensive or possession-based team may score at a lower rate. But still, be effective if they make a significant contribution to the team's attacking play.

FM23: The Secrets of Successful Goalscoring - Types of Goalscorers

Strikers aren't the only goal-scorers you can have. You can make a midfielder or even a wide player the main goal scorer of the team, which may be harder but it's still possible.

A goalscoring midfielder is a player who consistently and effectively scores goals for their team. They have a range of skills and attributes that allow them to contribute to the team's attacking play and score goals regularly. Some of the key characteristics of a successful goalscoring midfielder include:

• Finishing ability: This includes being able to shoot accurately with both feet. Being able to finish with power or precision. And being able to make good decisions about when and how to shoot.
• Movement: They will be able to create space for themselves and get into scoring positions. This includes making runs off the ball, anticipating passes and making intelligent movements to create space for shots or passes.
• Aerial ability: Many goals are scored from crosses or set pieces. So a good goalscoring midfielder will be able to score with their head. This includes being able to jump and head the ball accurately and with power, as well as being able to time their runs to meet crosses at the right moment.
• Creativity and vision: The midfielder will also have the creativity and vision skills to create chances for themselves and their teammates. This can include the ability to pick out a pass, dribble past defenders, and create space for others to score.
• Physical attributes: These enable them to excel in the demanding physical environment of football. This can include being quick and agile and having good stamina. While also having the strength and power to hold off defenders and score in challenging situations.

Differences

Some of the main distinctions between a goalscoring midfielder and a goalscoring striker are;

• Position: The most obvious difference between a goalscoring midfielder and a goalscoring striker is their position on the pitch. A goalscoring midfielder is typically positioned in the middle of the pitch, either as a central midfielder or as an attacking midfielder. While a goalscoring striker, on the other hand, is positioned at the front of the team, either as a lone striker or as part of a front two or front three.
• Role and responsibilities: The midfielder is typically expected to contribute to the team's attacking play by creating chances for themselves and their teammates. As well as by scoring goals. A goalscoring striker, on the other hand, is typically the main source of goals for the team. They are expected to score the majority of the team's goals.
• Types of goals: Another key difference between a goalscoring midfielder and a goalscoring striker is the types of goals that they are expected to score. A goalscoring midfielder may be expected to score a wide range of goals. Including long-range shots, volleys, and headers, as well as tap-ins and close-range finishes. While the striker, on the other hand, is typically expected to score a higher proportion of goals from inside the box, such as close-range finishes and headers.

Overall, the two roles may have similarities. But there are also key differences in their position, role, and responsibilities within the team. As well as the types of goals they are expected to score.

A wide goalscorer is a player on the flanks of the pitch. They can be a winger, inside forward, wingbacks or fullbacks and so on. They consistently and effectively score goals for their team. They can be an important part of a team's attacking play. Providing an additional goal threat from wide positions and creating space for other players to score.

FM23: The Secrets of Successful Goalscoring - Is It Really That Simple?

The answer is no, it is possible to create a system on Football Manager that scores goals regardless of the striker's skill level. My approach to building tactics is to create as many chances as possible in various different ways. The striker in these systems I create usually finishes off the chances and may not be involved in the build-up. Their job is simply to finish the chances.

Individual players aren't as important as the system overall. A bad striker can score lots of goals if all they have to do is put the ball in the net. In my opinion, the real secret to successful goalscoring doesn't start with the striker, it starts well before that. Let's explore what I mean.

FM23: The Secrets of Successful Goalscoring - Understanding the System and Striker Roles

No matter the system you are using, the fundamentals of goalscoring remain the same. This applies to any country or level you are playing in. When I first started playing, I was in the 6th tier of Brazil and these principles still worked.

 

These topics are all about the tactic I am using and also give you an insight into how the tactic is and has evolved over time. As well as giving you an idea of the issues I’ve faced so far and how I’ve fixed them.

For me, the striker roles are split into three different kinds of strikers;

• Creative strikers
• Support strikers
• Attacking strikers

Some of the roles can overlap with others, especially with the change of duty. But I still think it’s a good way of understanding a role, by thinking of them in either a creative, supportive or attacking way.

For a better understanding and more in-depth explanation check out this article I recently wrote;

https://www.viewfromthetouchline.com/2022/09/09/choosing-the-best-striker-role/

 

FM23: The Secrets of Successful Goalscoring - Creating Space

Creating space for a goalscorer in football is an important part of attacking play. There are a number of tactics and strategies that teams can use to create space for their goalscorers, allowing them to get into scoring positions and convert chances into goals. Some of the key ways to create space for a goalscorer include:

• Movement and positioning: A good goal scorer will be able to create space for themselves by making intelligent runs and movements off the ball. This can include making diagonal runs behind the opposition's defence. Or making runs into the channels between the fullbacks and the centre-backs. Or making runs into the space between the opposition midfield and defence. By making these runs, goalscorers can create space for themselves and give themselves opportunities to score.
• Attacking midfielders and wingers: Attacking midfielders and wingers can also be used to create space for a goalscorer. By making runs down the flanks, these players can stretch the opposition's defence. This then creates space in the centre of the pitch for the goalscorer to exploit. This can be particularly effective if the attacking midfielder or winger is able to deliver a good cross into the box. Giving the goalscorer a chance to score with a header or a volley.
• Decoy runs and dummy runs: Decoy runs and dummy runs can also be used to create space for a goalscorer. By making runs that are intended to distract or confuse the opposition defence. The players can create space for the goal scorer to move into. For example, if an attacking midfielder makes a run into the box, the opposition defenders may follow them. Leaving space for the goal scorer to move into and score.
• Set pieces: Set pieces, such as corners and free kicks, can also be used to create space for a goalscorer. By delivering the ball into the box from a wide or central position. The attacking team can create confusion and chaos in the opposition's defence, giving the goalscorer an opportunity to score.

FM23: The Secrets of Successful Goalscoring - Applying This To Football Manager

To achieve success in Football Manager 2023, it is imperative to devise a tactic that utilises a diverse array of attacking strategies. The more varied the approach to ball movement and attacking, the greater the likelihood of achieving consistent and successful results.

From the analysis articles above and another one that will be released shortly, the tactic I am currently using is the one above. 

FM23: The Secrets - The Defence

Mainly I’ll just be focusing on the attacking metrics as we covered the more defensive ones in the previous analysis. I use six central defenders in total and they all get plenty of games a season. As we have games every 2-3 days, I rotate the whole defence rather than sub players off. This is the same all throughout the squad.

Whichever three centrebacks play, they all have specific tasks to do in this setup. They’re a big part of why we are successful and why we attack the way we do. Realistically they aren’t going to be creative from deep in our own half. Instead, the job of the central defenders is to move the ball forward. They’re also allowed to be risky with it too, that’s why we use a wide centre-back and a ball-playing defender. The metric that matters here the most for how we play is progressive passes.

A "progressive pass" is a term used to describe a pass made by a player that moves the ball forward towards the opposing team's goal. And increases the attacking potential of the team. A progressive pass is typically longer than a short, lateral or backward pass, and has the potential to lead to dangerous attacking opportunities. This is where the ball-playing defender and wide centreback come into their own.

In the top eleven in the league for progressive passes per 90, I have eight players. Of these eight players, five of them are central defenders. The other three are central midfielders. So already we are building a picture of how we attack from the back and progress the ball forward. 

Why is this important and how does it help create a goal threat?

First, when a defender is able to make a progressive pass, it can allow the team to quickly transition from defence to offence. And put pressure on the opposing team's defence. This can create space for the striker to receive the ball in a dangerous position, closer to the goal.

Second, a defender with a high progressive pass metric is likely able to play the ball accurately and effectively over long distances. This can allow the team to bypass the midfield and quickly get the ball to the striker in a position to score.

Third, a defender who is comfortable making progressive passes is less likely to play the ball safe and make short, lateral or backward passes, which can slow down the game and allow the opposing team to regroup.

In summary, having defenders with high progressive pass metrics can help the team to play more effectively and efficiently, create more attacking opportunities, and put pressure on the opposing team's defence, all of which can benefit the striker.

In-Game Example

We see how space opens up when the wide centreback receives the ball. Now he can drive forward here if he wants or has multiple passing options. He can choose the safer passing options like the wingback or the attacking midfielder. But this isn’t why I’m using the roles of the wide centre-back and ball-playing defenders. I want them to be riskier to open up the entire pitch with quick switches of play. What he does here is dwell on the ball for no more than a second or so.

Once the opposition has shifted over more, he hits a risky ball between the pressing forward and the advanced playmaker, to run onto. One simple pass and he’s taken out five opposition players in one move. Now we are on the front foot and a possible 2v1 scenario.

This is why progressive passes are key here, as they’re another tool for supplying the striker or causing movement from players that could benefit him.

Wingbacks

The wingbacks play a critical role in supporting the striker and building up play. This is because the formation places a lot of emphasis on the midfield and attacking players, with just 2 defenders and 2 midfielders in front of them.

The role of the wingbacks in this formation is to provide width to the team's attack, as well as to support the midfield and striker. The wingbacks are often the only players on the field who are in a position to stretch the opposing team's defence and provide an outlet for quick counter-attacks.

The wingbacks also play an important role in the build-up play by providing an additional passing option for the defenders and midfielders. They are also responsible for making overlapping runs and crossing the ball into the box to create scoring opportunities for the striker.

Wingbacks in this formation are also asked to support in defensive situations, therefore they need to be able to defend, but also to quickly transition to offence.

The graphic above only shows three players as the other right-sided wingback was sold before I took the screenshot. As we can see they have a fair few assists between them. A decent amount of crossing and a really high completion rate. In fact, if we use @FMStags metrics we can rate them for their contributions. This article explains more on that front of how the metrics are measured etc. I’d highly recommend reading it;

https://fmstag.com/statistics-what-does-good-look-like-in-fm23/

 

Using Stags metrics we can see what they excel in and what is “considered good” because his metrics have been added to various skins. The attributeless one made by Gaz which I use was the first to incorporate them. That skin can be found here;

https://community.sigames.com/forums/topic/571014-fm23-hodr-skin-attributeless-starless/

Wingback Metrics

"Open play key passes per 90" is a statistic that measures the number of passes that a player makes that lead directly to a shot during open play, on average per 90 minutes played. "Open play" refers to the moments of a match when the ball is not in a set-piece situation. A key pass is a pass that leads directly to a shot, either on goal or off target.

This statistic is often used to evaluate a player's ability to create scoring opportunities for their team during open play and is typically used for midfielders and forwards. A higher number of open-play key passes per 90 indicates that a player is more effective at creating goal-scoring opportunities for their team.

It's important to note that this metric does not take into account the quality of the key passes, the position of the player when making the pass or the success rate of the key pass. It only measures the number of key passes made per 90 minutes.

So to see wingbacks score high here is really pleasing. As it shows they’re a creative outlet from out wide and are able to create chances.

Another metric they excel in according to Stags metrics is xAssists (P90). For the role they play in the side, on Stags scale they’d be rated as creative wingers.

"xAssists per 90" is a statistic that measures the number of expected assists a player produces on average per 90 minutes played. Expected assists (xA) is a metric that estimates the likelihood that a given pass will lead to a goal. It's based on several factors such as the location, pass type and the receiver of the pass. The xA value is determined by using a complex mathematical model that takes into account the historical data of shots taken after a specific pass.

xAssists per 90 is used to evaluate a player's ability to create scoring opportunities for their team and to find players that are creating chances but are not getting credit for assists. Typically, midfielders and forwards will have higher xAssists per 90 than defenders.

It's important to note that xAssists per 90 is different than assists, since an assist is awarded when a pass directly leads to a goal, but xAssist only estimates the likelihood of a goal based on the pass.

That’s two really important metrics that both players who play the left wingback role score highly in. Again providing support for the striker and attacking players. The right side of the pitch though doesn’t score as highly.

On the right side of the pitch, the wingback has a support duty so this impacts what he does. He also has an advanced playmaker on this side of the pitch too. Everything the player does on this side of the pitch drastically differs from the left side. The entire build-up and link-up play aren’t the same.

He isn’t terrible in the other metrics and still contributes to play, just in a different way. This is why he scores higher for dribbles per 90 than the other two players. As he’s more involved with the actual build-up due to being deeper. So he’s in scenarios where he is encouraged to dribble with the ball more.

In-Game Example

Having one wingback deeper than the other can provide a number of benefits for a team.

First, it can create an asymmetrical shape on the field, which can make it more difficult for the opposing team to defend against. The deeper wingback can drop back and help the team to maintain possession and build up play, while the higher wingback can push forward and provide an outlet for quick counter-attacks.

Second, it can provide additional defensive cover. The deeper wingback can help to protect the team's defence by tracking back and marking the opposing team's midfielders or forwards, while the higher wingback can focus on getting forward and creating attacking opportunities.

Third, it can create numerical advantages in the midfield. The deeper wingback can drop back and create an extra man in midfield, which can help the team to maintain possession and control the tempo of the game.

Fourth, it can provide different kinds of attacking options. A deeper wingback can provide different types of crosses for the striker. For example, crosses from deeper positions, or crosses with more power, making it harder for the goalkeeper to reach the ball.

Having one wingback deeper than the other can also encourage the deeper wingback to dribble more. When the deeper wingback has more space in front of him and less defensive pressure, he is more likely to take on opposing defenders and try to beat them with his dribbling skills. 

This can create more attacking opportunities for the team, such as by drawing fouls, or creating space for the teammates.

Additionally, a deeper wingback who is encouraged to dribble more can help to break down the opposing team's defence and create space for the other attacking players. This can create scoring opportunities for the team and put the opposing team under pressure.

This is why productivity varies on both sides of the pitch. The right side is focused on the supply to the attacking players above all else. While the left side is focused on creating movement by running with the ball.

As you can see in the screenshot above, one simple pass inside and he’s taken out three players on the right. Or if he dribbles deeper with the ball, he commits them to come across to cut the cross out. Whether this move is successful or not here doesn’t matter on this occasion. 

All that matters is we see him committing the opposition players time after time. As this means fewer players to mark the striker or defend deeper in more central areas.

We’ve covered the defence now and seen how they help the striker or create movement around him. Remember that giving the striker the best chance of scoring lots of goals, all starts from the back. If these players don’t create movement or aren’t able to provide support then that means all creativity falls on the midfield.

This can mean attacks are more predictable. When building a tactic you want to supply, support and movement from every single area of the pitch. Not only that but the more varied the play, the better. This is why for most parts, I’m not a fan of mirroring roles on both sides of the pitch. I want variety and varied play. I achieve this by using different roles or duties.

FM23: The Secrets - The Midfield

The top two players are the players who play the segundo volante role in the side. While the bottom two are the players who play the defensive midfielder role. 18 goals and 44 assists between the four of them is an excellent return.

The two defensive midfielders are responsible for controlling the tempo of the game, maintaining possession, and creating attacking opportunities for the team. They can do this in a number of ways:

1. Covering: The defensive midfielders are responsible for covering the space in front of the defence and helping to protect the defence from the opposing team's counter-attacks. They can also help to mark and neutralize the opposing team's midfielders and forwards.
2. Ball-winning: The defensive midfielders are responsible for winning the ball back for the team and starting counter-attacks. They can do this by making tackles, intercepting passes, and pressuring the opposing team's midfielders and forwards.
3. Possession: The defensive midfielders are responsible for maintaining possession of the ball and helping to build up play. They can do this by making simple, accurate passes and recycling the ball.
4. Distribution: The defensive midfielders are responsible for distributing the ball to the other players on the team. They can do this by making long passes to the wingbacks or forwards, or by playing the ball through to the midfielders.
5. Support: The defensive midfielders are responsible for supporting the attack and creating attacking opportunities. They can do this by making runs forward, making accurate passes, and creating numerical advantages in midfield.

In the previous article I spoke about how we dominate the ball so have fewer tackles and interceptions than the average. That’s why the defensive metrics might look a bit underwhelming because we just have so much of the ball. Every game we tend to have 71-77% possession.

While the ball share metric is somewhere between 74-90% too. "Ball share" is a metric that measures the percentage of total possession that a team or player has during a match. It is calculated by dividing the amount of time a team or player has possession of the ball by the total amount of time played.

The ball share metric is often used to evaluate a team or player's ability to maintain possession of the ball and control the tempo of the game. A team or player with a high ball share is likely to have a lot of the ball and be able to dictate the play, while a team or player with a low ball share may struggle to maintain possession and be more reactive.

It's important to note that having a high ball share doesn't necessarily mean the team or player is playing well, as it's also dependent on the strategy and game plan of the coach, and the opposing team's tactics. A team with a high ball share but no clear strategy or game plan, may not achieve much with possession, while a team with a lower ball share but an effective counter-attacking strategy may score more goals and win the match.

This is part of the reason the defensive metrics are lower than the average for the league as we don’t have to do them as often as other clubs. But we can still top the pressures per 90 metrics.

"Pressures per 90" is a statistic that measures the number of defensive actions (pressures) a player makes on average per 90 minutes played. Pressures are defined as defensive actions taken by a player to win back possession of the ball, such as tackles, interceptions, and challenges.

Pressures per 90 is a metric that is often used to evaluate a player's work rate and defensive ability. A player with a high pressure per 90 is likely to be very active defensively, putting pressure on the opposing team's players and making it difficult for them to maintain possession. A player with a low pressure per 90 may not be as active defensively and may not be as effective at winning the ball back for their team.

It's important to note that Pressures per 90 is not the only metric that measures a player's defensive ability. It should be used in conjunction with other defensive metrics, such as tackles, interceptions, and clearances, to get a better understanding of a player's overall defensive performance. Additionally, having a high pressure per 90 doesn't necessarily mean that the player is a good defender, as it also depends on the efficiency of the pressures, and the success rate of the pressures.

I bet you’re wondering why I’m focusing on pressures per 90 and what it has to do with creating a goalscorer right?

Pressures per 90 are important for supplying the striker with the ball because they help to win back possession of the ball and create attacking opportunities.

When a player makes a pressure, it can force the opposing team to make a mistake and lose possession of the ball. This can create an opportunity for the team to counter-attack, and quickly get the ball forward to the striker. Additionally, pressures can disrupt the opposing team's build-up play and make it difficult for them to maintain possession, which can lead to more opportunities for the team to win the ball back and attack.

Another aspect is that pressures can also push the opposing team's defence deeper and create space for the striker to receive the ball in more advanced positions, this can lead to more goal-scoring opportunities.

In-Game Example

This is a simple example from in-game that we see happen often. But it highlights two key things. Originally the segundo volante won the ball back from a pressure. He then played the ball to the advanced playmaker. There was nowhere for the advanced playmaker to go.

So he plays the ball back to the volante. When he receives the ball he has two passing options. He can play in the striker or the shadow striker. Whichever option he chooses, he plays the player in for a 1v1.

Earlier on, I spoke about having variety in your play and the way you attack. I touched upon why it’s important but I didn’t say why it was vital. The reason I believe it’s vital to have as much variety as possible is that you want to force the opposition into making bad decisions. 

Take the above example for instance. Whatever decision the opposition’s defender makes here, it is the wrong one. It’s a two-on-one situation already. But when the volante receives the ball, the defender has to make a decision. Does he;

• Stay and try to mark the striker and shadow striker
• Does he try to press the volante

Ultimately it doesn’t matter which he chooses, as we have options. Every decision the defender can make will be the wrong one because we’ve variety in our attack. Due to us winning the ball back high up the pitch, we gained the positional advantage. That’s why the AI is so disjointed as they’d committed men forward ready to play out from the back. But they lost the ball.

Decisions are the key to Football Manager. I’m not talking about the attribute. I’m talking about giving the opposition multiple-choice decisions and everyone being the wrong one. Due to how you’ve set up and the way you attack.

Attacking Midfielders

The attacking midfielders are responsible for linking up with the wingbacks and forwards, and creating scoring opportunities for the team. They can do this in a number of ways:

1. By providing accurate passes and through balls to the striker, the attacking midfielders can help to create goal-scoring opportunities for the striker by putting him in on goal.
2. By making runs forward to support the striker, the attacking midfielders can create additional passing options for the defenders and wingbacks, and can also make runs into the box to create scoring opportunities.
3. Linking up with the wingbacks to create width and stretch the opposing team's defence, can open up space for the striker to receive the ball in dangerous positions.
4. By providing accurate crosses, the attacking midfielders can help to create goal-scoring opportunities for the striker by putting the ball into the box.
5. By creating space for the striker, the attacking midfielders can draw the attention of the opposing team's defence, and open up space for the striker to receive the ball and create scoring opportunities.

The top player is the advanced playmaker. The second one is the shadow striker and so is the bottom one. Leaving the third one, to be the backup advanced playmaker. They all have similar numbers for goals and assists apart from the top player. He’s been phenomenal with assists and is the team's main set-piece taker.

Cano is Elite. We are a passing team so he doesn’t have to dribble much, especially when he is positioned high up the pitch. His passing is perhaps lower than I’d like but then this is a byproduct of allowing him to do risky passes. 

It comes to dow risk vs reward and the reward is definitely worth it, as is reflected by his stats.

In-Game Example

In this example, we’ve just won the ball back from a goal kick. The volante gets the ball and immediately plays it to the advanced playmaker. Once he receives the ball there is only one thing on his mind and that is playing a ball over the top to the striker. It’s the risk vs reward I spoke about before. On this occasion, the defender beats the striker to the ball. But that’s not the end of the move...

We win the ball back again high up the pitch and the ball is played back to the advanced playmaker. And just like last time, he attempts the same pass again. But this time to the shadow striker who runs onto the ball and slots it home.

This was a great example because we saw all sides of the advanced playmaker's game here and the midfield in general. We won the ball back with pressures and then gave it to the most creative player on the side. He failed with the first attempt, which is unusual. But then at the second time of asking, showed his pinpoint passing ability. This highlights why he gets so many assists. He constantly has the advanced forward and shadow striker making runs into the box.

FM23: The Secrets - The Striker

When creating a tactic, it is essential to consider the specific roles and how they interact and complement each other. An unbalanced distribution of roles, such as having everyone designated as a playmaker, can lead to a lack of support and cohesion in the team. 

Support refers not only to pass the ball to a player but also to create opportunities for him by building play around him and providing him with multiple options when in possession. A useful approach when planning a tactic is to ask yourself questions such as:

• Who is going to score the goals?

For the system, I’m using, that is the striker mainly with all other players chipping in.

• Who will supply those balls?

The ball-playing defender, a wide centreback, wingbacks, segundo volante, shadow striker and attacking playmaker.

• How will they provide that support?

It’s all varied. We have risky balls from the ball-playing defender and advanced playmaker. We also have crosses from the wingbacks for him to get onto the end of.

There is also good play that comes from just passing and moving throughout the team too. The attacking patterns are varied and we don’t follow one type of support of a specific way of attacking. We do it in many different ways as highlighted throughout the articles.

• Does the role allow the player to create his own space or does he need it created for him?

All we need the striker to do is be the end of the moves. Anything else he does is a bonus i.e creating his own chances. All he is needed to do is be in the box and the ball will find him. He doesn’t need to be involved in the build or anything. Just score the chances you get.

• Will this happen from deep positions or will he be positioned high up the pitch?

He needs to stay high up the pitch ideally. If he’s lower than the other players or drops deep and is in line with them then he cannot do what he has been tasked with.

• Does he have options behind him, alongside and more advanced than he is?

He should always strive to be the most advanced player 90% of the time. He has options like the shadow striker getting alongside him inside the box. Behind the has the advanced playmaker, volante and wingbacks too.

Scoring Stats

In the last two analysis articles I wrote, which are linked at the start of this article. I spoke about changes I needed to make to the system to make it more efficient. After making those changes this happened;

This was a phenomenal season but also an anomaly so far. The strikers have always scored goals though all throughout the levels. Even when we were in the 6th tier of Brazil. Perhaps not this many but still score a lot of goals.

51 goals in 49 appearances.

59 goals in 54 games

Historically, my striker has always scored roughly every game. The reason for this is the system I’ve created. Doesn’t matter who plays the role, they’ll score goals.

So what makes a good goalscorer?

The answer is everything we have discussed so far. The player you use doesn’t really matter as much, as all the support and supply do. Everything we’ve spoken about throughout this article is the key to creating a goalscorer. Regardless of the level you’re at, the league you’re in and so on.

But to answer the question, the system makes a great goalscorer.

1. Attacking width: The team should have a good attacking width, with the wingbacks providing width and crosses from the flanks, this can create space for the striker and midfielders to make runs into the box and score goals.
2. Midfield support: The midfielders should provide good support to the striker, making runs forward and creating scoring opportunities with accurate passes and through balls.
3. Possession-based play: The team should have a good possession-based play, maintaining possession of the ball and controlling the tempo of the game can tire out the opposing team's defence and create more opportunities to score.
4. Counter-attacking play: The team should have a good counter-attacking play, winning back possession quickly and getting the ball forward to the striker can create scoring opportunities.
5. Direct play: The team should have good direct play, getting the ball forward quickly and creating goal-scoring opportunities with through balls and long passes.
6. Set-pieces: The team should have a good set-pieces play, with good delivery and good movement off the ball, this can create opportunities to score from free kicks, corners, and throw-ins.

You can do all the points above without playing that specific playstyle. By that I mean, you can play a possession game like I do but still have a direct play too when it’s needed. This is the job of the ball-playing defender and wide centreback for me.

The same for possession play. That doesn’t mean you have to dominate the ball. It just means retaining it as well as you can for what you are needing. If you play counter-attacking football then you still need to have possession of the ball at times. You aren’t constantly going to counterattack, you still need to pass and probe yourself when a counter isn’t on.

Vice versa with possession too, you still need to attack and use the ball while taking risks. If not you’ll just be passing the ball around with no product.

Perhaps this didn’t quite turn into the topic you were expecting eh? If so, the reason is probably due to you focusing on the individual rather than the system. The key to scoring goals is all down to what the team is doing and the way you attack.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the topic. It’s another deep dive, so apologies if it’s got quite long again. 

[OrientTillIDie]

This is a really great post. Loads of really useful insights, particularly regarding how the defenders move the ball forwards. That’s one of the areas I’m looking to improve in my use of the 3 CB system.

Are you able to talk through any team or player instructions you’ve used to aid your tactic? I often find that the hardest part of building and effective tactic so would be interested to see what you’ve done with yours. Are you still using the high line and low block that you implemented on your Ibis thread?

Edited February 17, 2023 by OrientTillIDie

[coach vahid]

I already read this on your site. And it was brillant. I'm a little disappointed because i'm still on fm 22 and the stats are not the same. But it's brillant.

By the way, i played with your possession stuff, and it work on fm 22. I just need to have better player, i think. But great work.

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Cleon said:

I hope you’ve enjoyed the topic

Brilliant post 

[herne79]

2 hours ago, Cleon said:

The player you use doesn’t really matter as much

I reckon someone should do an experiment using a fullback as a striker….😉

Great post mate 👍.

[Cleon]

2 hours ago, OrientTillIDie said:

This is a really great post. Loads of really useful insights, particularly regarding how the defenders move the ball forwards. That’s one of the areas I’m looking to improve in my use of the 3 CB system.

Are you able to talk through any team or player instructions you’ve used to aid your tactic? I often find that the hardest part of building and effective tactic so would be interested to see what you’ve done with yours. Are you still using the high line and low block that you implemented on your Ibis thread?

All the info is in that thread about player instructions, Team instructions etc. The low block post, if you read it, it shows I flipped the style and went from low block to a high possession game instead within the same post

It’s really indepth, I wrote 4 articles each one more than 7k words all about the formation. Along with analysis about the tactic too and how to spot issues before the happen and how to fix them. 
That’s what the Íbis thread is about.

1 hour ago, coach vahid said:

I already read this on your site. And it was brillant. I'm a little disappointed because i'm still on fm 22 and the stats are not the same. But it's brillant.

By the way, i played with your possession stuff, and it work on fm 22. I just need to have better player, i think. But great work.

Thanks mate.

1 hour ago, warlock said:

Brilliant post 

Cheers

18 minutes ago, herne79 said:

I reckon someone should do an experiment using a fullback as a striker….😉

Great post mate 👍.

Ha I was reading that post recently, was looking through some old stuff to see if I could put a spin on it and update it 😂

[Matty Aqua]

I read this on the website few weeks back, none the less a great post and really helpfull!

[HanziZoloman]

Read it all in Ibis Thread and I’m getting more and more comfortable, especially the tweaks during a match are really important adjustments and I’m in the promotion race now. Last time you congrats for 7th place @Cleon (remember?) it’s still the same season and now I’m 2 points behind 3rd. I‘m really happy. 

Meris Skenderovic is my goalgetter with 22 goals it’s all working out amazing

Wonderful! We secured the play off spot with the last match. Incredible! 

Edited March 2, 2023 by HanziZoloman

[HanziZoloman]

One of the guys here asked how I figured @Cleon tactic out. I had some real difficulties with that because I am just a part time player and not a football genius. I tried to describe the steps I took to get closer to Cleon’s way of playing and will post it here as well as it might be useful to others:

Sure, first I took his whole tactic, the possession based with counter-press and high-block, with that it was easy to receive promotion from 3rd division. I didn’t need to adopt to anything because in the end results were mostly in my favour.
After promotion things got a lot harder. 
teams were more difficult to counter-press, cleon described it with his men „running around like chicken“, that’s what I was seeing. Then it was time to switch off counter-press and play in a high or midblock, usually my team could do that and maintain high possession. I always try to dominate possession.
Next there were balls over the top and crosses which caused my team a lot of trouble. I dig into Cleon‘s text and answers and found how he emphasised to adopt with Defense dropping off or stepping up and I tried to figure out which is it that I need in this particular game and tried it. With crosses the same, funnel the opposition out or in was the question. Are they trying to attack via the flanks or via central long balls and I did the opposite, flanks- funnel them inside, long balls - funnel them outside. 
next was attack, usually I was afraid to change anything to avoid mistakes, but digging into Cleon’s I found that he is going for a higher tempo when he wants to irritate and confuse a solid Defense. I tried it, now I am more then ever adopting to the situation on the pitch and it’s good.

if someone is having a bad game, missing chances, sloppy passes I take him off, even in first half. Often the fresh man uses his chance and makes an impact.

While doing all this I tried to figure out who is the best for a specific role with the stats the players were producing and tried to ignore the attributes. 
I can’t blind the attributes because I don’t know how (but would like to), I just simply ignore them (except for the wonderful gains in youth development). My team is the same team like 3rd division and is now in play offs to 1st division. I have no money for players and rely on my youth. I hope the great performances will result in some good offers for my players.

 

thats all what’s football about: 

Play offs against the rival, got behind and in 2nd half my striker Meris Skenderovic puts in four into the net and we got the promotion. It’s the best! That’s why we’re playing this game. Amazing! Four goals! Imagine! And two seasons from 3rd to 1st with 1860 Munich.

great! Not possible for me without this great stuff here in this forum. Thx all

Edited March 3, 2023 by HanziZoloman

[Cleon]

On 03/03/2023 at 07:10, HanziZoloman said:

One of the guys here asked how I figured @Cleon tactic out. I had some real difficulties with that because I am just a part time player and not a football genius. I tried to describe the steps I took to get closer to Cleon’s way of playing and will post it here as well as it might be useful to others:

Sure, first I took his whole tactic, the possession based with counter-press and high-block, with that it was easy to receive promotion from 3rd division. I didn’t need to adopt to anything because in the end results were mostly in my favour.
After promotion things got a lot harder. 
teams were more difficult to counter-press, cleon described it with his men „running around like chicken“, that’s what I was seeing. Then it was time to switch off counter-press and play in a high or midblock, usually my team could do that and maintain high possession. I always try to dominate possession.
Next there were balls over the top and crosses which caused my team a lot of trouble. I dig into Cleon‘s text and answers and found how he emphasised to adopt with Defense dropping off or stepping up and I tried to figure out which is it that I need in this particular game and tried it. With crosses the same, funnel the opposition out or in was the question. Are they trying to attack via the flanks or via central long balls and I did the opposite, flanks- funnel them inside, long balls - funnel them outside. 
next was attack, usually I was afraid to change anything to avoid mistakes, but digging into Cleon’s I found that he is going for a higher tempo when he wants to irritate and confuse a solid Defense. I tried it, now I am more then ever adopting to the situation on the pitch and it’s good.

if someone is having a bad game, missing chances, sloppy passes I take him off, even in first half. Often the fresh man uses his chance and makes an impact.

While doing all this I tried to figure out who is the best for a specific role with the stats the players were producing and tried to ignore the attributes. 
I can’t blind the attributes because I don’t know how (but would like to), I just simply ignore them (except for the wonderful gains in youth development). My team is the same team like 3rd division and is now in play offs to 1st division. I have no money for players and rely on my youth. I hope the great performances will result in some good offers for my players.

 

thats all what’s football about: 

Play offs against the rival, got behind and in 2nd half my striker Meris Skenderovic puts in four into the net and we got the promotion. It’s the best! That’s why we’re playing this game. Amazing! Four goals! Imagine! And two seasons from 3rd to 1st with 1860 Munich.

great! Not possible for me without this great stuff here in this forum. Thx all

This is great and you deserve a lot of credit for taking the advice from what I wrote and making it work for you. At the end of the day that's what my writings are for. For people to take the workings and implement it in their own saves and adapt it to fit them. Well done mate

[HanziZoloman]

@Cleon that’s the knighthood I was hoping for! Thx man. I kneel down and bow my head. 

Man! Now it’s time for 1st division soccer. I don’t know if my men are ready but we got some new prospects from the academy and they are all looking just great (I simply ignore the bad attributes and knowing them just makes it more adventurous). One of them just has 20 Bravery and 19 Teamwork and 18 Work Rate the rest is 5 and he will start (of course) because he fits. My squad is like 40 players because I promoted every over 18 year old player and did so last season as well. Every one of them could make a difference because attributes doesn’t matter anymore. Ah it’s so great, I hope we‘ll survive. 
Edit: it’s not working out well. We get slammed in every away game. 
@Cleon how did you keep possession up when climbing the leagues? It’s still the 5221 tactical approach. 

Edited March 17, 2023 by HanziZoloman

[Cleon]

19 hours ago, HanziZoloman said:

@Cleon that’s the knighthood I was hoping for! Thx man. I kneel down and bow my head. 

Man! Now it’s time for 1st division soccer. I don’t know if my men are ready but we got some new prospects from the academy and they are all looking just great (I simply ignore the bad attributes and knowing them just makes it more adventurous). One of them just has 20 Bravery and 19 Teamwork and 18 Work Rate the rest is 5 and he will start (of course) because he fits. My squad is like 40 players because I promoted every over 18 year old player and did so last season as well. Every one of them could make a difference because attributes doesn’t matter anymore. Ah it’s so great, I hope we‘ll survive. 
Edit: it’s not working out well. We get slammed in every away game. 
@Cleon how did you keep possession up when climbing the leagues? It’s still the 5221 tactical approach. 

My possession numbers kept around the same. 

Perhaps if you're struggling, maybe look at a slightly modified approach until you can strengthen/develop players more suited.

[HanziZoloman]

vor 3 Minuten schrieb Cleon:

My possession numbers kept around the same. 

Perhaps if you're struggling, maybe look at a slightly modified approach until you can strengthen/develop players more suited.

But how, it’s very difficult. We lost 7 games straight and it’s very difficult, my striker up front is lost. I managed to bring possession numbers up to 50-60% but still the opponents just run at my players and catch the ball and score a goal. 
I need some help to stay up and develop the players I need because we don’t have the money to buy them. My team is really hard working. 
at the moment I switched the SVa into SVs and play a midblock witch works out but the problem is getting the ball up and on the goal.

[Cleon]

Okay so you know what the issue is, getting the ball up to the striker. But do you know why the striker isn't getting the service he needs? When you look at the stats from the game or pause it and look around and build up phases, what exactly is the problem?

If the opposition is just running at you and getting the ball from you no matter what, then don't focus on team instructions that dwell on the ball. That way you might be able to get it forward quick enough. An example of what playing out for the back can do for example;

The goalkeeper had the ball which meant the wide centreback and ball-playing defender dropped deeper and spread wide to give us passing options. The ball was played to the central centreback. But as soon as it’s played to him, you can see the opposition has already started to press us quite aggressively. 

They’re not going to give us much time on the ball at all, this is why I didn’t want us to play out from the back. As that would add an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves for no reason. I want the ball to move up the field quickly, to help the players beat the press. Asking them to pass it around more at the back or hold onto the ball for longer periods is risky in itself.

You increase the risk of the opposition forcing an error or giving the ball away cheaply.

We see how space opens up when the wide centreback receives the ball. Now he can drive forward here if he wants or has multiple passing options. Either way, we’ve beaten the initial press and now the opposition is shifting their position across the pitch to deal with the player in possession on the left side of the pitch.

This is where wide centre-backs and ball-playing defenders excel. They can choose the safer passing options like the wingback or the attacking midfielder. But this isn’t why I’m using these roles, I want them to be riskier to open up the entire pitch with quick switches of play. What he does here is dwells on the ball for no more than a second or so.

Once the opposition has shifted over more, he hits a risky ball between the pressing forward and the advanced playmaker, to run onto. One simple pass and he’s taken out five opposition players in one move. Now we are on the front foot and a possible 2v1 scenario.

As we are the underdog in every game, we face this kind of press a lot. You need to be aware of these types of things when playing in the game, so you can adapt quickly. Had I not noticed the opposition playing this way early in the game, then I'd have still had the team instruction to play out of defence activated. And that could have cost us the game.

We still commit numbers forward when we see there is a chance to attack. We also have plenty of support and passing options too or we can be really direct. Here we are direct and the wingback goes forward, crosses into the box to a free pressing forward, who heads the ball home to make it 1-0.

Or you can use the opposition scout reports and maybe take an advantage of the opposition that way too.

FM23: Data and Analysis Strengths and Weakness 

If we dig a little bit deeper into the scout report, we can see the strengths and weakness page;

Personally speaking here, I don’t really use this page much but still wanted to highlight it and talk about ways you could possibly use it. The reason I don’t use it is I don’t think a lot of the information in the weaknesses is that helpful to me, especially as I’m attributeless. So I’m aware of my own players too.

From the strengths, we can see that they have a few relating to goalkeepers. Straight away we know this is a strength and just exactly how by the descriptions. So what we’ve learnt here is;

• Aerial reach
• Keepers like to catch the ball
• They can organise their defence with a strong command of the area.

If we wanted to use this information to our advantage then we know any type of crosses into the box from open play or set pieces will likely fail or have to be very accurate to find success. Now, I play a possession-based brand of football and limit crosses. You can find more about the actual tactic I’m using here, rather than me posting about it here. As it was the last part of this series we did;

The 5-2-2-1: A Comprehensive Guide

So for me, crossing won’t be a big deal as we look to retain the ball and do passes to feet rather than play an aerial game. But if you did play a crossing game then you could find your usual play might not be an effective strategy. It’s something you’d either need to adapt for before the game or (this is what I’d do if it was me) keep an eye on during the game. This way you could see exactly how it was impacting you, if at all.

This is my preferred method of playing, adapting to the game based on the actual context of how the match is playing out. You could do it before the game starts but that’s a lot of guesswork and there’s nothing to say your players can’t be successful. But it is certainly something you need to be aware of and ready to adapt to if it does actually cause issues during the game.

In the weaknesses, we again also see a lot related to the goalkeepers.

• Bad reflexes
• Poor at one on ones
• It suggests they have low handling

So the opposite of the strengths, which means we could take advantage of this by trying to isolate the goalkeepers and get them into one on one situations. We could perhaps try and get our attacking players into areas that will force the goalkeepers to dive across the goal or try to hold onto the ball.

Every set-up will be different how they could do this. But if we are talking about the 5-2-2-1 formation we use, then our two attacking midfielders and the striker will be vital here. Things we could attempt to do here would be;

• Shoot on sight to take advantage of the bad handling
• Make the attacking midfielders more aggressive with a role or duty change
• Pass into space to encourage the attacking trio to run onto the ball, rather than having it passed to their feet.

All of the above would be good ways of trying to test the goalkeepers, reflexes, handling and possible one on ones. It also says the squad in general is poor at positioning, concentration, anticipation, work rate and much more as I scroll down the list. This can all tie into what we do above.

We could also maybe try and take advantage of this in other ways too.

• Higher tempo
• More direct passing
• More attacking width

A higher tempo would see us moving the ball around faster and players being more hurried in their approach overall. This can unsettle the opposition and you can take advantage of any positional issues they have.

More direct passing will also do the same and could take advantage of bad positioning along with a lack of concentration. If the scout is saying they have low concentration then it’s obvious that they switch off and can’t stay focused for a full 90 minutes.

Attacking width can really stretch the player as it increases the positioning between your own players, meaning the opposition would have to account for this somehow. We know they lack concentration and general work rate too. So if we are asking the opposition to do more and faster with the other changes, then we have the potential to take advantage of all the weaknesses I’ve mentioned so far.

I’ll not list all the weaknesses as I’ve already mentioned I don’t use them and just wanted to give you a few brief examples of how we can use this to our own advantage. It’s also important to note there that if you do adapt and make changes to take advantage of their weaknesses then you will likely stray from your own tactical approach and style.

So just be wary of that when adapting to the opposition. If you adapt too much you lose your own identity so try and find the middle ground and correct balance for you.

Comparison

Now as I’m attributeless this page is useless for me as it doesn’t show anything. But in essence, it gives you the average of all your attributes compared to the opposition. Here you can see how you pit against them based on attributes. The general tab shows you things like average age, international caps and so on. So you don’t really get anything useful from this tab.

On the other tabs though you can see how your defence matches up to the opposition and so on. Then you can even compare physical, mental and technical attributes. This information can be very useful if you want to target certain areas of the pitch. While initially, it compares your defence vs the opposition's defence, for example, we can still match this up with other areas.

If we know the opposition's defence has a low average in this category and our attack has better jumping, speed, finishing, heading and so on. We could then perhaps try and target this area to take advantage of it. Things we could try are;

Speed advantage - We can ask players to try and get in behind the opposition more. You can do this with team or player instructions such as passing into space, crossing early or running at the defence more. All of this would allow the player to use his speed. When I’m talking about speed here though I’m purely talking about acceleration.

Pace would only be useful if it was a distance of 20 yards or similar, as this is a player's top speed. In shorter distances, he is hardly going to use this. So acceleration becomes more vital in these types of scenarios. As that is the player's ability to reach his pace from a still position. But to actually reach the top of his pace he’d require time and distance.

You can apply the above logic to other areas too. Or if you’re the team who is lacking in an area, you can try and reduce the impact. So if we reverse the roles above and you’re the one lacking the speed advantage then here is what you could do to try and reduce the possible weakness.

Defensive Line - This is your best friend when you lack speed. If you believe your players are mentally strong then playing with a high line when you lack speed shouldn’t be a major issue. As the players should be strong enough mentally to be in the correct positions and react better. But if they don’t then it’s likely going to be a massive issue. Mental attributes can offset any physical or technical attributes in my opinion. Mental attributes are essentially how intelligent the player is and intelligence outweighs everything for me.

If your defence is lacking in both speed and mental aspects then perhaps playing a more standard defensive line could be beneficial. As can perhaps use a sweeper keeper to help with the balls that are played over the top of the defence.

You can also still use a high defensive line even if they lack in all areas but perhaps take a more cautious approach and use the following setting;

Drop Off team instruction - This instruction is a defensive line modifier to how you want it to behave. So even if you are using a high line, you can still use this instruction. It then instructs the defensive players to be more cautious when someone is in a possibly dangerous situation. 

The players should drop deeper and be warier of danger. Let me show you a visual of how it should work in the game, to better explain the actions you should expect from the defenders.

I use a high defensive line but in this scenario, we are slightly deeper than usual due to the shape of the opposition and how they set up. This impacts your own defensive line and can push it back. It’s worth noting that even with a high defensive line, it will look slightly different from game to game. So don’t expect high to always mean pushed up to the halfway line, lots of factors can alter the initial position.

So here we can see the defensive line we are holding. The opposition player, Souza is going to drive forward or pass the ball. This is where your defensive line setting kicks into action. If you don’t use the step-up or drop-off more instructions then the defensive line will just behave like usual.

But if you use the step-up instruction then in the image above, the players will be looking to step up at this point. As they know there is possible danger and you’ve instructed them to step up. So they’d look to reduce the space between the ball carrier/passer and play the attacking players offside.

With the step-up team instruction, you are possibly conceding space behind your defensive line to reduce the space in front of them between the ball and themselves.

If we were using the drop-off more instruction then they’ll be more cautious and if no one is pressing the ball immediately, then they’ll begin to drop deeper.  So in this type of scenario, you’d conceded space in front of the defence to reduce the space behind them.

This can be handy for cutting out those direct balls to the attackers or balls played over the top behind your defensive line. Rather than your defensive line remaining high and increasing the chance they’ll get turned and beat for pace, you can minimise the risk of this as they retreat backwards. Allowing you to stay tight and compact.

Jack Joyce who works on the match engine team for Football Manager, also posted about these settings. That post can be found here;

https://community.sigames.com/forums/topic/569916-step-up-more-drop-off-more-do-they-work/?do=findComment&comment=13808125

This is just one of the ways you can use this information and try and eliminate such issues. I’ll not write more about this page as I don’t have access to it but wanted to show you how you can use this information in your own save.

Before we move on to the team performance section of the article it’s also worth noting that the stats page of the team report can also be useful.

Here we can get a quick snapshot of the basic stats and who is the best and worse at them. If you click on the little boxes it will take you to the team's overview page and will have filtered the stats to show you the entire metrics for the team in that particular thing.

You could use this page to find a possible weakness and try to exploit it. Or to identify a specific player, like the best passer, and check what position they play. If they’re a playmaker then you know that the likelihood is, the majority of the play goes through them. You could try and cut the supply off or mark the player tighter to try and limit how influential he could be.

[HanziZoloman]

Thanks man! I‘ll dig into it and I‘m sure it will be of help

of course I’d already read it but fishing out the part for me to read is what helps the most. 

@Cleon Now watched some time and noticed that this kind of play you described does not happen. Usually my central defender gets the ball is being pressed like described, plays the ball to the BPD, opponents shift in pressing, he just slams the ball up front, my striker doesn’t have a chance against two or three defenders. 

sometimes if we manage to get past the pressing, the BPD or WCB plays the ball back inside towards the DMs who then tries to build up play with the APs which is working better and play is developing through the middle and resulting in a shot from outside the box. 

My WBs and WBa are usually bad rated and aren’t much more than passing outlets. It’s very difficult when opponents funnel my team outside, by then the ball is lost with my WB dribbling down the line.

I noticed if we try to soak the pressure in a mid block we are getting slammed and we play better with a high press but then are usually punished by a through ball and a fast striker.

Chances are rarely because we usually create chance by hoofing the ball up front or a through ball by APs towards the striker which happens around one time during match (it happens more often but usually working out one time)

My nightmare are Teams like Freiburg and Köln who defend in a mid block and hit me on a counter with fast strikers. I lose like 5:1 and 6:2 against them.

Edited March 18, 2023 by HanziZoloman

[HanziZoloman]

here is the leading goalscorer in german 2nd division after 10 matches with 10 goals. finishing 7 / otb 10 (just last week it was 9). He plays as a shadow striker and is in the right spot at the right time. everything else is teamwork.