Forwards, PPMs and filters
Which players do I need for my tactics?

Fast Striker

Required:

Pace, Acceleration, Dribbling, Technique, Finishing, Off The Ball

Further key attributes:

Composure, Flair, Creativity, Long shots, Passing, First touch, Decisions.
Bonus: Height, Jumping, Heading.
If he supports a strong striker: Crossing, Teamwork, Anticipation.

Why these attributes:
Pace and Acceleration are obvious here. Crossing, Teamwork and Anticipation can be very important for the overall attack performance. Quick strikers often will go into one-on-one situations, and may try to finish them all the time if they do not have the ability to work well with their team mates. A quick striker linked up with a strong striker can be much more effective he is able to create chances for his strong partner as well.

All striker types: Finishing is highly overrated by many players and says next to nothing about a striker’s performance. Of course high finishing will grant a very good shot on target rate, but the conversion rate seems to be much more dependent on Creativity, Off the ball, Flair, Composure and Technique.

Technique can be a major plus for any striker as well, since it will make him very dangerous with the ball and this can make up for a lack of skill in finishing and composure.

Strong Striker

Required: Jumping, Heading, Strength, Off the ball
Further key attributes: Height, Composure, Long shots, First touch, Finishing
Combo setup: Teamwork, Anticipation. Bravery.
Bonus: Flair, Creativity, Technique, Dribbling, Crossing, Passing

Why these attributes?
Height, Strength, Jumping & Heading, are obvious again. Please note though that a very tall player may even lack a few points for jumping and heading since his length will give him already a good advantage at most opportunities.

Off the ball is important for any striker, but essential for most strong strikers, since many will not be lightning quick or the most brilliant technicians with the ball. So they should be at the right place to convert quickly instead of doing fancy things with the ball. A good First touch will support this, certainly.

Bravery may be important for his willingness to go into rough aerial challenges and win them.

Teamwork, Anticipation again are very important if you want to establish effective forward partnerships, e.g. the strong/quick combo.

Flair, Creativity and technical skills are maybe less important for a strong striker, but the more he has, the more versatile he will be.

Poacher

Physical strong, but decent paced strikers with a good mixture of strong striker and quick striker attributes. Ideal for forming partnerships with any other kind of forward as well as playing the lone role.

Required

: Pace, Acceleration, Jumping, Heading, Dribbling, Technique, Finishing, Off the Ball

Further key attributes

: Composure, Flair, Creativity, Long shots, Passing, First touch, Decisions, Crossing, Teamwork, Anticipation, Bravery.
Bonus: Height, Strength

Why these attributes?
As mentioned before, these strikers have to combine almost all attributes of quick and strong strikers. They do not need to be as lightning quick as an explosive striker and as tall as a strong striker, so their attributes may be lower in certain areas.

As a logical consequence, good poachers can be hard to find, since it is easier for strikers to specialise on speed, technique or aerial ability.

Height, Strength: Not as essential as for a strong striker, but of course they should be decent enough to give the poacher a physical advantage and support his ability in the air.

Mental attributes and the importance of PPMs

One aspect often overlooked by managers looking for players are their preferred moved (PPMs). Since PPMs can make a huge difference to how a player performs and behaves, it is important to consider whether the role you want a player to play is contradictory to his natural tendencies.

As we covered in the Tutoring article, PPMs can be passed on, so you can re-cycle your favourite skills amongst the youth. However, bear in mind what sort of squad you want to build. For example, if you want a player to stay back and help out the defence, then it not only helps to be strong, have a good work rate and good concentration, but PPMs such as “always stays back” can help you devise a tactic with this holding player in mind. Similarly, this PPM is absolutely useless for a fast, forward driven winger. Simply put, if a player has contradictory PPMs to what you want them to do, think twice before buying them - even if their attributes look astonishing.

Of course, it can even be worth bringing in a player with a few desirable PPMs or high determination, say, to tutor your youngsters and play as a reserve. Certain players in their late 30s, early 40s are perfect for this, since they’re willing to play at virtually any level, are dirt cheap and, crucially, can pass on some vital tricks and mental fortitude to the youth squad. In many cases, they may serve as a backup coach or even assistant manager. If they’re actually good enough for the matchday squad, then this is an obvious bonus.

Some players are perhaps not as skilful or important to a club for their abilities alone but for what they can offer in the dressing room. There is no point in having the most talented team on the continent only for the captain to be an undetermined, unprofessional 18 year old from darkest Peru. Having a native (or settled) player with great determination, influence, decisions and work rate, yet slightly less skilful, can actually benefit the team far more than simply playing the “best eleven”.

Similarly, a player may make up for his lack of talent with the ball (especially at lower levels) with great mental attributes or certain physical advantages. This explains why some players, despite dropping attributes, can play at a high level well into their thirties or even forties, while more skilful players drop by the way side. When signing or selecting players, therefore, always keep in mind their overall contribution to the team on the field of play, not just their ability to run, jump or kick the ball better than their counterparts.

TT&F: Player Guide Filters

These filters are designed to give you an easy to use template for refining your own scout report lists and player searches. Each of the key attributes as outlined in the TT&F: Player Requirements guide is listed in each position with a value of 5. Simply increase these numbers on the filters to find a player more suited to your level of football and/or requirements.

To download this file, please visit the forums at http://www.fm-britain.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=5023.

The filters have been compressed in RAR format, and will require WinRAR to extract
them. If you need to, get WinRAR here:- http://www.rarlab.com/

Tactical Bible Credits
thegooner, garyh, crazy gra. Written by The next Diaby & Millie
TT&F filters created by Millie