One for the pro footballers and trainers - how does a striker recover form?

[eelpie]

It always happens, top strikers suddenly miss everything. Often there are mitigating circumstances, like fatigue following a hectic summer tournament with little rest, and I feel this has happened to Long, or losing confidence from being played in an unfamiliar position. Obviously every situation is different, but what are your favourite training techniques to get back that scoring touch? Or is there nothing that can be done and it's just a matter of time?

[Ludwig]

Is this genuinely a thread aimed at professional footballers?

[sammysaint]

I play Sunday league as a striker and it deffo helps scoring and having encouragement from your team mates, however every few weeks some teams you play will be so rubbish I can score a few goals and look good, so I am never out of form for long.

 

I have had friends play pro and semi pro for teams like Winchester Eastleigh and Basingstoke, they get dropped if they lose form and normally have had to work harder and get dropped to reserves to get a few goals and confidence, not sure how that would help someone like Long, I think playing him Wednesday would be good with Jay Rod up top, Palace will rotate some players as well.

[manina-pub]

If you lose form the answer is simple - return to basics and work hard. That was told to me verbatim by Alan Ball when Saints manager and again almost word perfect by Geoff Hurst.

[Lord Duckhunter]

I realise this is aimed at pros , but doubt if many will reply so hopefully I can contribute something .

 

I played an OK standard for local football, Hants Div one pre Wessex league and played up front before moving back to kick a few from my mid 30's till hung boots up at 47 .

 

I was a streaky player , 8 in 10 then none is 6 , that sort of thing . As I got older I realised I was trying too hard in a dry spell and I think Redmonds in that position now . He's trying to make sure & burst the net . Once he misses one he tries even harder & that makes it worse. It certainly doesn't help a young player having the crown moan and then sing for a guy on the bench. Some players need a rollicking , some need an arm around them . I played my best stuff with Managers I thought rated me, less so when I felt I'd be coming off or kicked down to the stiffs . I think Redmonds like that , he needs an arm round him . Hopefully Puel will do this as there's defo something there .

 

Austins different , he knows he's a goalscorer and knows they'll come along in the end. Look at today , misses a sitter , yet had supreme confidence to bury the next chance that came along .

 

As for Shane Long , I get the feeling that misses don't bother him either ( he should be used to it by now) . He's obviously older and because of his work rate the crowd will never get on his back. He's actually at the perfect club for his type of striker , at Utd or Liverpool the spotlight would really be on him . Misses like the ones at Arsenal would not be excused.

 

One thing I've always looked out for with strikers and judge them on , is when they score their goals. I played with guys who ended up with 20 a season , but when you drill down into it didn't win us many matches . They'd score 3 in a 5-1 or 1 when we're already 4 down . The best strikers put you one up, win you a game or rescue a point . It's not always about raw numbers. We've had 2 of the best in that regard Rickie & Matt . What sums up what I'm trying to say was that goal on the last day of the Dell . Never in a million years was he going to miss that. Scorers of important goals can be better than scorers of more goals , if that makes sense.

[wadesmith]

I played Subbuteo to quite a high amateur level, and I started "shoving" with the side of my finger rather than "flicking to kick" My mate said I was cheating. I referred him to the "rules pamphlet" which made no reference to this.

[The9]

I played Subbuteo to quite a high amateur level, and I started "shoving" with the side of my finger rather than "flicking to kick" My mate said I was cheating. I referred him to the "rules pamphlet" which made no reference to this.

 

Cheat.

 

I never had a loss of form, I always played at my absolute peak. Miss a chance? Will score another one later. It's all about confidence - which is always easier when you play at a lower level than you think you should... then again I was never a pro.

[OttawaSaint]

Redmond just needs to trust his cerebellum and stop forcing the motor cortex to take over.

[Turkish]

When I'm managing teams on football manager and one of my strikers has a loss of form I'll drop him and bring him on the next game with 30 minutes to go and they usually score. It worked when I took Plymouth from bottom of the conference to world club champions in 10 seasons.

[Supersubpuckett]

It's often psychological - as another post said, when you lose form you try harder and get more tense, which means you focus too much and put yourself under way too much pressure. This tension then prevents your body from performing at its best. If we're talking about redmond then he needs reassurance from management and support from his team mates. He should also set himself milestones, such as making sure he makes good contact with the ball, then just get the shot on target and then focus on placing the ball.....eventually it will come.

 

Maybe we should sing him a song as I don't think he has one yet.

 

Alternatively maybe the 'striker' isn't a striker after all.

[SonicBoom]

I always had a theory that if your striker isn't scoring I would park him in front of goal between the six yard line and the penalty spot (from where he will finish 9 out of ten) and get the younger lads to cross balls in to him one after the other. He just nods, volleys or hammers them in. If he does that in training then when on the pitch he will be used to hitting the net he won't overthink it.

form is largely a mental thing providing you are fit and it requires a simple change of thinking for things to flow again. Anyway its just an idea..

[5string]

I'd suggest at pro level the strikers aim at narrow targets: bottom left, top right, etc.

 

Coaching youngsters in the past, I found if any were struggling it was mainly cos they were trying too hard to be too perfect, and the slight misses from imperfect strikes (eg. hit the post) affected them more, causing too much effort and subsequent worse results.

My tip was: "Just aim at the [centre of the] goal." Any mi****s are more likely to be on target and may possibly squeeze in the corner. Point is, they're giving themselves a greater chance of hitting the target.

 

Pro players hit it hard enough that even slight mi****s are powerful, although it also means wayward shots go further off target (ref: Redmond & Long). Aim at the centre, give yourself a better chance. As confidence comes back, accuracy can be narrowed down.

 

Even MLT said some of his best long-range goals were ones when he aimed at the centre of the goal and the ball then curved away from the keeper: vs Villa and Coventry (I think) are examples. It works.

 

This is football's equivalent of golf's "Just stand up and hit it" rather than over-thinking it, and it works for that sport too.

[Maggie May]

Hi, pro footballer here.

 

Ronaldinho once told me to play like nobody was watching. It works, and to be fair, I bossed it and wanted the whole world to watch me. Bagged a hat trick and MOM bonus. That night out was BIG.

[simo]

By scoring goals!?

[Whitey Grandad]

Hi, pro footballer here.

 

Ronaldinho once told me to play like nobody was watching. It works, and to be fair, I bossed it and wanted the whole world to watch me. Bagged a hat trick and MOM bonus. That night out was BIG.

 

And was anybody watching?