The Target Man in Poacher's Clothing

[Mr Phalanx]

The poacher's description paints the picture of a ghost, sort of. Some fellow who seems to be a part of the team but isn't really on the pitch. The guy whom his teammates struggle to  find because he pops up whenever he wants. Sometimes he's actually there but has been engulfed by the tanks in the backline.

The hard coded instructions of the role also describe a coward or maybe a liability. He doesn't take risks with the ball because he's a terrible footballer with no balls.   How can someone this limited be considered an option for a team looking to score goals? He's bad news and should only be partnered with an actual footballer upfront.

The only positive thing about about him is that he's made to score goals. His primary attributes suggests he's hungry for goals and should score them when the chance comes.

-"I can't play ball but I'll just hide behind this big fellow  and wait for the pass in behind". 

-"They won't see me coming, I'll just stick a leg out and poke it home to make it 1-1".

-"Dropping deep is for kids. Real ones stay with the defenders and have a chat with them until they forget their job".

These are the thoughts I used to associate with poachers until recently.  My quest for "HIM", a target man who would occupy defenders and run in behind while being a focal point who kept things simple made me love and appreciate the poacher. This was someone I needed for my most advanced striker position in a 442 long ball tactic. Before I met the poacher, I settled for the Target Man(att). He looked, dressed and talked like ''HIM". But it was all a lie. He was just a  Deep Lying Forward without sauce. Of course, he didn't drop as deep as the DLF, but he wasn't offering a threat in behind as much as I wanted. I think he suits possession football better.

The Advanced Forward was another option. He stretches defenses while being the focal point.  But he still wasn't "HIM". His first action is to carry. I love a runner but I hate to lose the ball. I also hate a striker that keeps running the channels to cross. Leave that to the wingers. They are the dribbly boiz and crossing machines.

The poacher came and showed me love. I couldn't resist. He promised to keep things simple and be my focal point with the threat in behind. The poacher doesn't have the "hold up ball" instruction but the "dribble less"  and "take fewer risks" instructions slightly  mimic it.

Poachers are seen as the small forward in a 442. How about using a proper Target Man as a poacher.  The fact that the poacher stays high makes him an easy target for long balls. The target man is known for being a ball magnet but the mere fact that someone is up there ready to receive behind the defense triggers the long ball.  A tall and strong poacher makes a difference. In situations where he's not running behind, that's literally a target man. 

Many people think of a target man (support) knocking it ahead for a poacher but that is not always the case. The poacher plays with his back to goal too. A big poacher knocks it down for his support duty striker more times than you think.  His unwillingness to run the channels simplifies his game. You can tell him to move into the channels but he won't carry the ball through it. He'd simply drift wide to receive, play simple passes to his wingers and dash into the box to be at the end of the cross. An AF would carry it all through to the touchline to cross. He could lose it, he could not. But it complicates things. Poachers make things easy for themselves, they retain the ball better.

The Poacher is my favourite striker role not just because it perfectly suits my 442 long ball tactic but because its flaws make it effective.

Edited April 13, 2023 by Mr Phalanx

[crusadertsar]

I love the Poacher too 

And above average jumping reach and heading attributes are definitely a requirement for all my poachers.

Edited April 13, 2023 by crusadertsar

[Mr Phalanx]

6 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

I love the Poacher too 

And above average jumping reach and heading attributes are definitely a requirement for all my poachers.

You know ball.

[De Nile]

I think this is similar to the Lukaku situation at Chelsea where most descriptions about how to use him were target man like whereas he was more suitable as a poacher.

[Cloud9]

55 minutes ago, De Nile said:

I think this is similar to the Lukaku situation at Chelsea where most descriptions about how to use him were target man like whereas he was more suitable as a poacher.

I think Chelsea tried to play him as a TF/Poacher which was the problem (along with other things). At Inter he'd pick up the ball deeper and run at opposition while Martinez did the dirty work alongside. At Chelsea there was a lot of him sitting in the box throwing up his arms isolated from the buildup play.

Although I suspect the underlying problems were that he felt loved at Inter, while at Chelsea he struggled w/big expectations again and an underlying cynicism on him from the Press. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Cloud9

[Johnny Ace]

Do like me a Poacher 

Many of my tactics are based around "feeding the Poacher"

Have said it before but Haaland makes a great Poacher, keep it simple, the guy's a phenom

[De Nile]

18 minutes ago, Johnny Ace said:

Haaland makes a great Poacher

True he reminds me of Van Nistelrooy at least when it comes to dominating the penalty box, sure these days you ask a lot of a striker but sometimes it is good to know that simplicity is still important. 

[HanziZoloman]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb Johnny Ace:

Do like me a Poacher 

Many of my tactics are based around "feeding the Poacher"

Have said it before but Haaland makes a great Poacher, keep it simple, the guy's a phenom

How do you setup in the youth challenge, you have a poacher there?

I Love the Shadow Striker didn’t make a poacher work but like to,

[Johnny Ace]

9 minutes ago, HanziZoloman said:

How do you setup in the youth challenge, you have a poacher there?

I Love the Shadow Striker didn’t make a poacher work but like to,

It's in the 4-4-3 thread 

[Mr Phalanx]

4 hours ago, Johnny Ace said:

Do like me a Poacher 

Many of my tactics are based around "feeding the Poacher"

Have said it before but Haaland makes a great Poacher, keep it simple, the guy's a phenom

Another thing I love about the poacher is that he can still bag assists, create chances and be a wonderful outlet to get up the pitch  despite being the guy that's supposed to be fed all the time.

-Knockdowns to the support duty striker running behind him while he occupies a defender: Many times, deep players intentionally hoof it to him under pressure. This is not the "target forward" effect. He's a poacher and always stays high. He will naturally attract long balls and link up with people around him. This is also proof that he doesn't always want to run behind. He can play with his back to goal and bully CBs. This is why a big, strong poacher can be an alternative Target Man(attack). They are the  most "static" attack minded roles. He doesn't have to be Michael Owen. He can be Godzilla. 

- He takes fewer risks but he still slides it through defences. He's not Kane but if someone's making a run behind him, he will not hesitate to play him through, so far there's no chance of losing the ball. 

 

-He's no playmaker but he keeps things ticking. Team wins the ball deep in their half and hoofs it to the channels for the big poacher to chase. Big poacher receives but admits he's not Adama Traore. He holds it up and plays it safe to a supporting player (SP). SP sees other runners ahead of him and plays one through. GOAL!.  Big poacher didn't score but he kept the move alive by being the big log of wood upfront that his teammates used to bounce the ball off.  

[Prolix]

Brilliant thread. I've been struggling for years to figure out how to get the best out of the big, limited center forwards that populate the sub-elite levels. I have been slowly gravitating towards this solution, but I think I was afraid to commit to it because it feels "wrong". But this really is it. Just go and score goals, lad. 

 

(Bonus: my current striker has the "plays with back to goal" trait. He does a bit of everything!)

Edited April 15, 2023 by Prolix

[Mr Phalanx]

10 hours ago, Prolix said:

Brilliant thread. I've been struggling for years to figure out how to get the best out of the big, limited center forwards that populate the sub-elite levels. I have been slowly gravitating towards this solution, but I think I was afraid to commit to it because it feels "wrong". But this really is it. Just go and score goals, lad. 

 

(Bonus: my current striker has the "plays with back to goal" trait. He does a bit of everything!)

Plays with back to goal? Perfect!

[tpalan]

Undiluted truth OP. If you want the poacher to be unstoppable, add "roam from position" and "shoot more often" to his instructions, 30 goals before  xmas becomes standard even for an average striker.