The Lurker

[olivermain83]

I've been trying for ages to create a 'poacher' in my team with little success and always revert back to an AF as it seems to work better for me. Last night however I had what you might call an epiphany and realised that the TC settings for poacher are not what I think of as a poacher.

Therefore I want to create a new role in my team using the poacher settings as a starting template to create what i've dubbed 'The Lurker'.

Essentially, it's what Gary Lineker did so well for England. For those of you not familiar with the works of Mr Lineker, this video should show you what I mean by 'Lurker'.

Other examples of players could be Inzaghi for Italy, Alan Shearer, Robbie Fowler. They all had different ways of playing but all had a knack for finding a half yard of space and punishing teams for it.

I'm posting this on here as my expertise with the sliders is not the best so i'm hoping someone can help me in creating this role.

These are are the settings i've got so far:

I've reduced RWB to sometimes but i'm thinking it should maybe be rarely too. Lurkers don't run with the ball.

I've lowered CF to the last notch of little as I found the player often drifted towards the corner flag which is not where i want him. This was more of a guess as i'm not entirely sure if that will affect his movement or not.

Another thing i'd like to ask people about is what attributes this type of player would need.

In my head at the moment essential attributes i should be looking for to get the right player are:

Finishing

Composure

Off The Ball

Anticipation

Acceleration

Agility

I'm not sure but I think Concentration might be an important one too as he could spend a bit of the match standing around waiting for his chance.

Ok, so that's what i've got so far and i'd really appreciate any feedback of any kind with regards to getting this idea to work.

I guess other things to consider would be how to build the team correctly around this type of player too so if people have ideas with that please feel free to share them.

[Cleon]

You want to remove 'moves into channels' as you want him to be inside the box all the time.

[olivermain83]

I'm guessing moves into channels is what's dragging him wide then? I was thinking that moves into channels might have been a good PPM to look out for too.

So would it be wise to put his CF back to where it started with normal wideplay then or am I on the right track with limiting his CF?

[peleJunior]

I always set closing down to very first notch for my poachers. Just want him to have tunnel vision for the net.

[Cleon]

I'm guessing moves into channels is what's dragging him wide then? I was thinking that moves into channels might have been a good PPM to look out for too.

So would it be wise to put his CF back to where it started with normal wideplay then or am I on the right track with limiting his CF?

Why would you have thought it was a good PPM to have? You want to create a role where the player is the focus of it all and in the box at all times, yet going to look for PPM's that go against all of this Lineker very rarely ever left the box at all.

When trying to recreate this role, watch the video you posted then ask yourself if the settings you've chosen will make hims tray away from this type of style of play. I don't think your settings are that far off. I'd deffo change moves into channels though and possibly run with the ball.

You mentioned Shearer and Fowler above too, for me they weren't lurkers at all and did a lot of work outside the box and scores quite a number of goals outside the box. Lineker really didn't and about 90% of his goals came from 6 yards out or less.

The type of attributes for this type of player are pretty simple really and you don't need someone who is great at everything. They just need finishing, agility, balance, acceleration, technique, composure and off the ball. They won't really be using many of the other attributes imo.

The main thing you need to work out is how he's going to receive the ball while in these type of areas. The focus needs be on how and who will be providing him with those types of balls so he can get the ball in those areas and attempt a shot. This will without a doubt be the hardest thing. You might get the players role right but if he isn't being used by those around him then it won't work even though he might have the perfect settings for how you want him to play.

[JOSEPH!]

Yeah, a one track mind. No other jobs except putting the ball in the net. I'd say you're right for limiting his creative freedom, unless you think he is intelligent enough to enhance your instructions. If you're confident that you have tweaked instructions to perfection or if you don't feel he has the necessary intelligence then keep his creative freedom low.

Ensure your support is top notch. You can tailor the lurker role and fine tune it until it's perfect but he won't fashion any chances for himself or team mates so his supporting cast need to be on the ball as well.

Are you confident that your team can create space and time for him? Otherwise, I feel, he may be suffocated. That's the disadvantage of the poacher for me.

edit: Cleon made that point about supporting cast as I wrote my reply

[olivermain83]

Thanks for the replies, this is really helping.

I thought that moves into channels meant move into the spaces between defenders. So in a flat back 4: between the CB and FB or CB and CB. That's why i thought it would be a good idea.

I mentioned Shearer and co as examples of poachers who don't fit the TC settings for me but yeah, they're not really Lurkers either.

I'll be sure to lower his Closing Down. One track mind is exactly what i'm looking for.

With regards to supporting cast, what do people think of the roles at the minute in the tactic i've got. The idea is that the AP(A) runs at the defense hopefully drawing out the CB marking the P and then slips the ball through. The DLF(S) drops into the hole bringing his marker with him and creating a little pocket of space for the P to dash into. Then i've got the DW's crossing (should i take HUB off them and/or make them hug the touchline?). There's also the DLP who has got tries long passes PPM which could provide another avenue of attack if I catch them on the break.

[peleJunior]

Early crosses would be nice considering a good poachers attributes. Whenever I think of Lineker I think of Peter Beardsley in support playing between the lines. A highly creative playmaker. With Lineker keeping the back two honest space can open up between the lines, you can exaggerate this space even more with a deeper central midfield pair. Similar to what I did in my Liverpool thread.

[allyc31]

Any update on this?

It sounds really interesting.

[olivermain83]

I'm still working on it at the minute. I've only played 2 competitive games so far and they were against Man City and Spurs (welcome to the Premier League).

I think I've got a player capable of playing the role and i think i've pretty much got the right settings for the role too. As someone said earlier though, the hard part is getting the rest of the team to make space for him and feed him.

[lam]

I think Cleon has nailed the finer points.

You do not want them roaming around finding space out wide. Just keep them as close to the box as possible.

Delivery is important. If you have a very pacey man and are playing perhaps a little deeper then run onto ball could be good. If you have a stronger player or are pressing up the field then to feet might work well.

For me, you want to be looking for agility, balance and acceleration. Pace, whilst being important, is not as dangerous when playing that close to goal. You just need to create that 'half a yard' and it's acceleration that gets you that.

I think you should also consider looking for first touch and good technique. Many of Lineker's goals were on the volley or pulled out of the air or first strikes at goal.

Regards

LAM

[RonnySanchez]

I good PPM for this kind of player is "tries first time shots", take a look a selection of goals on youtube by Marco Di Vaio, Inzaghi, Darko Pancev or similar players and see how many touches they have before they shoot.

[JOSEPH!]

I good PPM for this kind of player is "tries first time shots", take a look a selection of goals on youtube by Marco Di Vaio, Inzaghi, Darko Pancev or similar players and see how many touches they have before they shoot.

I'd agree in some cases. If a player has fantastic decisions, then tries first time shots is wasted on them and it means their intelligence is useless. If I had a poacher and his decisions attributes was high I'd not intervene. Let him make his own mind up. If he feels that a first time shot is his best option, he'll do it. However, if he feels that he has the ability to round that last defender and calmly tuck it in, let him do that too. Tries first time shots is good in cases as it may catch the keeper off guard but if they're intelligent put your trust in them.

[olivermain83]

I think PPM's could be pretty important to getting this player right. First Time Shots was something I was thinking myself.

At the minute I've got my player lurking but he doesn't seem to make those incisive runs into space or the final ball into isn't quite right. It's almost there but not quite.

Problem is I don't know if the player isn't quite as good as I want him to be so won't see those runs. He's not surrounded by Zidane's, Xavi's etc either so that wont help either in someone playing the right pass to him.

Most of the time he gets the ball too deep and get's most of his chances from the edge of the box. Not enough tap in chances for my liking yet.

[olivermain83]

Could do with more advice/second opinion on this behaviour from my last match...

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The Lurker

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Lurker Settings

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So, the question I have really is why wouldn't my DLF play the ball through when he had several opportunities to do so? Am I expecting too much or did my DLF keep making the wrong choices?

[peleJunior]

This is just my two cents but the DLF's creativity, which I believe is his ability to see things on the pitch, and his anticipation are quiet low for the Premiership. His flair is nice, which will see him attempt the more ambitious but if he can't see the ambitious to begin with it will be unlikely. Also his passing is way below standard for the league which is 14 if I am correct.

[olivermain83]

Yeah I know. I don't have the best players by any stretch of the imagination but my 9k a week maximum wage massively limits what i can do. Survival is the key this season till i can get better.

On a side note. He played incredibly in a cup match i just played against Sunderland with a different guy as the poacher. Poacher got 2 classic poacher goals. Even though this poacher isn't anywhere near as good as Barreto.

The Differences are:

1) Baretto speaks Zero English at the minute

2) The other poacher and Hoult are both friends.

Maybe these facts make more of a difference than I assumed. The friends thing might make them be able to read each other's games better.

[peleJunior]

Yeah I know. I don't have the best players by any stretch of the imagination but my 9k a week maximum wage massively limits what i can do. Survival is the key this season till i can get better.

On a side note. He played incredibly in a cup match i just played against Sunderland with a different guy as the poacher. Poacher got 2 classic poacher goals. Even though this poacher isn't anywhere near as good as Barreto.

The Differences are:

1) Baretto speaks Zero English at the minute

2) The other poacher and Hoult are both friends.

Maybe these facts make more of a difference than I assumed. The friends thing might make them be able to read each other's games better.

Interesting, It would be great if we could get an official line on the benefits of players being friends when it comes to on field chemistry.

Edit: wwfan said it helps with team bonding and motivation to play for each other.

[TheMaestroTactician]

Just curious, why would changing 'move into channels' make the poacher more likely to stay in the box?

I thought wide play determines what the player will do if he starts to drift wide and if this is the case would it be more effective to reduce CF and keep roaming off to stop the player from drifting wide in the first place?

Thanks