This is a very timely thread for me, as I've been working on a new 3. Bundesliga save and trying to figure out how to use my striker(s).
Basically, and this is a question I keep coming back to in general, I'm trying to figure out how to get the most out of the type of tall+strong but not necessarily quick, technical, or creative striker that is especially common at lower levels.
I've had middling success with the very intuitive choice of TM-s, but as you allude to in your article, in FM this comes with a lot of trade offs. Thinking about it some more, I've been wondering whether Poacher might make sense? This player would be a "target" in the sense that they would be a penalty box striker and nothing more, but discouraged from dribbling or trying to be creative beyond their basic technical capabilities. I haven't been able to bring myself to use DLF-a or PF-a for this type of player because of the Take More Risks for the former and Move Into Channels for both roles, which is not where I feel a slow and limited player would thrive. Similarly, PF-s feels like it would make this player more of a facilitator than a primary threat, which feels like a waste of the player on my team who has the best pure goal scoring abilities (Finishing, Composure, Off the Ball, etc.)
Does this make sense? Can a Poacher work with a player who isn't a line-breaker? What team shapes and supporting roles would complement such a player/role?