Target Men and Playmakers: Part 5: Run Onto Ball 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.

Pace, acceleration, anticipation, first touch – these are attributes are vital for your target man as he will be making a lot of forward runs.

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.

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In modern day football you may not notice these types of target men because they are not really considered as target men as such, just fast strikers who get a lot of one-on-one chances. They will basically give your team the option to hoof the ball over the top of the defence or through the middle of the park for your target man to run onto; using his raw pace, good off the ball skills and creative freedom to move into channels. They are very useful for teams using a slow, defensive based game, leading to a counter attack played towards the front man. It his hard to give an example of teams that use this type of target man but players like Andy Johnson and Darren Bent do spring to mind.

Forward runs: Often – you want to be making forward runs a lot to give your side more opportunities to play the ball in front of him.

Closing down: Mixed/Often – sometimes telling a fast striker to close down more than usual can catch the defender off guard and make a goal scoring chance

Creative Freedom: Mixed/Much – you want your striker to have a fair bit of creative freedom so he exploit the space in front of him and move into channels; careful though, give him too much and he will try too much and miss goal scoring chances.

Mentality – This should be the highest in the team because you want him highest up the pitch, making the most runs. I recommend at least 2 notches above the second highest team-mate.

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.

Run with ball: Mixed/Often - Obviously the more skill he has the more often he should be running with the ball, however, try and restrict this to mixed unless he has good decisions.


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. If you use this target man in an attacking side then you should be looking to use the direct/long ball system. Don’t use a short passing method with this target man because he require high balls over the top to pounce on, unless you are playing a defensive, counter attack style.