srezel

Hi, i play Man U and i play an attacking 442 formation where i use short passing to retain possesion.

Do i need a Target Man ? As i was once told that Target Strikers are only good for when the ball is played LONG, so that the Target Strikers can knock the ball down.

So does that mean a Target Striker would have no use in my style of play ? I ask this as i am looking to buy Luca Toni.

Asmodeus

I play both- my players have the option of a target man to aim for if necessary. Plus, I have a target for my crosses.

I'd buy him if I were you- add another dimension to your play- useful when chasing the game too.

srezel

does that mean i have to change my style of passing to direct when using him ?

Ans Gulrik

As soon as you play a target man your possesion will go down.

A TM is extremly effecient - too much probably.

Also I wouldn't say that it adds a dimension. Well it does, but it removes all other dimensions, so you end up in a very one dimensional way.

That is why you do not really see a classic TM IRL.

However 90-100% won headers for Toni might be worth it.

I use on. But I would recommend you to get a back up. If you loose Toni you need to change a lot otherwise.

And yes - be prepared to play more direct, cause your players will look for the TM a lot, and for most of them that means they will be inclined to direct passing.

srezel

But although he may win alot of headers, direct passing usually means loss of possesion, which could in turn result in alot of goals conceded.

So i guess target strikers are not for me then ?

Unless Toni plays as a fast striker too ?

gunnerfan

I've been doing a lot of experimenting with TM, because I'm currently managing RBNY, and John Wolyniec is almost perfect for the TM role. When he plays and I don't tick TM, my possession is good but Wolyniec is almost invisible; when I make him the TM, possession goes down but he becomes much more of a force in the game. Other players on the team - Djorkaeff, Magee - don't have the physical capabilities for TM, although I did try it with either playing the ball to feet or running onto it. Not impressive.

I'm coming to the conclusion, both through my own experiements and the discussion in the TT&F thread, that one should use the TM option only when you have someone who is very suited as a TM but rather limited otherwise - like Wolyniec.

gunnerfan

BTW, I'm sort of a fan of Wolyniec's because I remember when he played for the Long Island Rough Riders. He and some of the other players used to hang out near the gate after games and sign autographs and chat with the kids. He gave my son a lot of encouragement.

srezel

Gunnerfan, do u play short or direct passing ? cause thats my main worry, that with short passing even with target man ticked, a TM would be ineffective ?

eMeMTea

Set the balls played into the target man as either To Feet or Run Onto Ball.

Scally Of The Wag

you dont need a target man as such for short passing, it helps if you have a player who is good at heading but you dont need to set one up in the tactics