Target Men and Playmakers: Part 4: Supply To Feet Target Man

A quick explanation for those who don’t know

The target man and the playmaker are two types of players who are very similar in one way and quite different in another. They are similar because they both become a player that your team will generally look to pass to. They are different due to the roles they play in your team; the playmaker will receive the ball and look to dictate tempo and spray creative passes around the pitch. The target man will look to collect balls from your other players, either to their head, their feet or in front of them to run on to; becoming the focal point of your attack.

Target Men

Like the playmaker there are three types of target men and they all will give your team something to aim at; there is the target man who will look to win headers and flick on’s, the type that likes to receive balls to his feet and use his touch and strength to hold up the ball and the final type is the striker with raw pace and will look to latch on to long balls played over the top. In this article we will be looking at the supply to feet target man.

Some attributes to consider before using this target man

Off the ball, finishing, composure, - any target man will need to be good off the ball and obviously will need the quality in front of goal.

First touch, strength, anticipation, aggression – these attributes define how good your target man will be good at receiving the ball to feet and holding it up.

Using your target man effectively

Now you know some important attributes, you need to know how to employ the play maker into the heart of the team.

ST

This type of target man is the strange type, big, strong man with a good touch, that combination itself is one that doesn’t come along too often. Their importance is to receive the ball using their slick skill and then their strength to hold the ball up until other options become available. This gives your team time to get forward and re-group whilst the target man battles of defenders. Alan Shearer would be the best and most obvious example of the supply to feet target man, but one of today’s best example would be Mark Viduka. Last Season Viduka played upfront with Yakubu and played a vital role within the Middlesbrough team, by coming deep collecting the ball and holding it up.

Forward runs: Mixed – like the supply to head article you want your target man to come deep for the ball and restricting him to mixed forward runs should do that.

Closing down: Rarely – your striker will always need to be available to receive balls and with the burden of closing down he will be caught out of position, hence becoming unavailable.

Creative Freedom: Little/Mixed – giving you target man to much creative freedom will make him less effective, because he will move into channels and try to much when he basically needs to keep it simple.

Mentality – again like the supply to head you want this to be slightly lower than other attacking players to force him to come deep and be positioned lower down the pitch. A useful guide to follow is if you are playing with two strikers, have your target man 2-4 notches below him; if you are playing with wingers then have him at least 1 notch less.

Through balls: Mixed – he is an attacking player so there should be a lot opportunities for passes though the middle.

Passing style: Short/Mixed – when you striker has the ball at his feet you ideally want him to keep it short and simple, but try and keep it close to your overall passing style.

Hold up ball: your target man will obviously need to hold up the ball or his role will be useless.


One more thing:

Don’t try and use this player if he doesn’t have the right the right attributes. For example, if your target man has crap off the ball skills then he will never be able to get to right place and lose his marker. Also don’t try and play a long ball game because this type of target man requires low balls to his feet which is more adapt to a mixed/direct style of play.