by MaddFM.
“A Target Forward can transform an average team into a good one by using sheer physicality to disrupt the opposition’s defence and open space for a striker partner and supporting midfielders. The Target Forward uses strength and aerial presence to bring team-mates into play rather than relying on technical ability”.
Target Forward according to Football Manager.
Football has changed a lot in the last 20-30 years. Wind back the clock to the 80s and 90s and it was rare to see a team operating without a “big man” up front, or deploying a “little and large” striker combo as part of a standard 4-4-2 formation and for years, many teams and managers thrived off the benefits of having a big, strong, powerful striker leading the line as a focal point around which the main crux of their tactical setup was constructed. Back in the 90’s, strikers like Niall Quinn, Duncan Ferguson and Chris Sutton all thrived in this role and were highly effective in holding up the ball to bring more creative or technical players into the game accordingly, and this arguably continued through the 00’s in the likes of Didier Drogba, Mario Gomez, Luca Toni and even Peter Crouch all of whom were a nightmare for opposition defenders due to their physical/aerial presence and enjoyment in receiving the ball and holding off defenders through their brute force and strength. More recently and though the role has evolved somewhat, we have seen the same effectiveness of size, strength and hold-up play through the likes of Olivier Giroud, Edin Dzeko, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku and even this season through the successful deployment of the likes of Wout Weghorst at Man Utd or Aleksander Mitrovic at Fulham - players who offer their side a central node through to feed the ball and subsequently link up play and offset the ball to bring other forward players into the game and create goalscoring chances and opportunities.
But what is it about the Target Forward role that was/is so effective and why has it become more rare in football than commonplace as it was in the recent past? It’s fair to say that football has evolved such that managers (and especially foreign managers) have shifted towards a far more intelligent, technical and mobile striker rather than the traditional “big man up top” mould, wherein even taller/stronger strikers are expected to offer much more in terms of athleticism, technique, off the ball movement and overall mobility in the forward line hence why strikers of the more old-fashioned ilk are less favourable and less desired in the modern game. That said - the game has changed so much that some defenders out there simply have absolutely no idea how to operate when up against such a target man, and often struggle to defend against these having become so used to the smaller or quicker type of forward that they would have faced earlier in their careers. Based on this - it’s time we make a case to bring Target Forwards back to the fore of modern football and what better way to do so than through the medium of Football Manager, wherein we will look at a selection of Target Men in FM23 and in particular we will focus on what it is about their profile that makes them so well suited and so effective in this role accordingly.
We are going old-school today people - here are 6 Target Forwards that you should sign in Football Manager 23.
1. Gianluca Scamacca
Granted he has only just arrived in East London when you load up a new save in FM23 however I would be tempted to start a West Ham save just to see if we can get more out of Scamacca than David Moyes seems to be able to in real life currently. At 6’5” Scamacca has been touted as the next Zlatan for years during his time in Serie A, not only based on his physical profile but also on his technique, touch, ball control and all round finishing ability which has led to him being on the verge of becoming Italy’s first choice striker (albeit with a lack of healthy competition for reasons unknown by this author). Having come through the ranks at Lazio and Roma before a move to PSV at age 16, it was Sassuolo who were astute enough to see the makings of a unique and highly effective striker in Scamacca, and after a couple of loan spells he became a key part of a forward line that helped the Neroverdi finish 8th and 11th respectively in the last two seasons, scoring 16 goals last year which paved the way for a £35m move to West Ham. Hailed for his technical and finishing ability for a player of his size, all eyes have been on Scamacca being the solution to Italy’s recent dip on the international stage and it remains to be seen if he can fulfil this potential in the Premier League at West Ham having only netted 3 goals in his opening 16 games at the time of writing.
In FM23 however, there is no real need to wait - Scamacca is absolutely stacked as a 23-year-old Target Forward with 16 Strength, Balance and Jumping Reach not to mention 17 Finishing and (wonderfully) 16 Flair which means he will be more than noticeable when it comes to the in-game match engine. Throw in 16 Determination and we have a striker of potentially biblical proportion within the Football Manager universe - safe to say that if you have the funds and tactical desire, Scamacca is not to be trifled with if you are looking for one of the most effective Target Forwards in-game this year.
2. Maximiliano Gomez
@FridayNightFM likes this. Having scored 29 goals in 50 odd appearances for Defensor Sporting in the Uruguayan Primera Division by the age of 20, Gomez made an early move to Europe via Celta Vigo and spent two seasons there before a 14m move to a then progressive Valencia. Despite showing a proven goalscoring record at the Mestalla, the club’s continued downfall led to Gomez eventually being offloaded to Trabzonspor for a mere 3m last summer, scoring 4 goals before joining up with Uruguay’s World Cup squad where he made a handful of substitute appearances before their disappointing group stage exit at the expense of Portugal and South Korea. It’s safe to say Gomez has had an underwhelming career to date however still only 25 he has plenty of time to prove himself in what has become a highly competitive league in Turkey (he’s fond of a red card or two which helps).
That said - Gomez is highly rated in FM23 by the Sports Interactive researchers and is a top tier Target Man in-game. Slightly shorter (by target man standards) at 6’1”, what he lacks in height he more than makes up for in Strength, Heading, Jumping Reach as well as having excellent Finishing, Composure and Off The Ball attributes. His low value and relatively short contract at Trabzonspor make him highly attainable in FM23 and if you are looking for a powerful and consistent striker to lead the line in-game then Gomez is a must-scout for any higher or mid-level team this year. Don’t believe us? The lad was mustard for Joe in his 3 seasons with PSG as a Target-Forward, scoring 56 goals in 67 games wherein he was mainly used for big games and was a nightmare for opposition defenders to defend against. Get it done.
3. Evan Ferguson
What can we say about Evan Ferguson. At the time of writing the 6’2” 18-year-old has already scored 7 goals in 16 appearances for Brighton in all competitions (only half of which he started), scored his first international goal on his first full start for Ireland AND has become Brighton and Ireland’s youngest ever Premier League goalscorer while averaging a goal every 100 odd minutes this season. The lad is EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. His recent performances wherein he has clearly shown his physical and technical ability as well as his composure and finishing in front of goal have attracted global attention already, particularly his close control and ability to create goalscoring opportunities out of seemingly nothing, and not since Robbie Keane have Ireland had such an exciting player and striker enjoy such an incredible breakout season at such a young age.
As of FM23 he was recently one of the players who was given a substantial (and deserved) upgrade in the Winter Data Update, and as you can see above he has remarkable attributes for a player who is still only 17 at the start of the game - 15 Pace, 14 Finishing, 14 Strength with excellent technical and aerial ability, we are looking at potentially one of the go-to strikers in this year’s game and this author can’t wait to see what he can do for Ireland both in-game and in real life for club and country on the big stage.
4. Jonas Wind
The Danish have always had somewhat of a reputation for big strong centre-forwards (see Nicklas Bendtner, Andreas Cornelius, Kasper Dolberg, Youssef Dolberg and one of our current favourites Rasmus Højlund whom we profiled in our Wonderkid Watch series lately). That said, few have come through with as strong a balance of technical and physical attributes as Jonas Wind, who after a number of successful seasons at FC Kobenhavn during which he helped them reclaim the Danish Superliga title in 2022, made a 12m move to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga who themselves were on the hunt for a new Target Man having sold the aforementioned Wout Weghorst to Burnley. Since then he has averaged a goal every two games for Wolfsburg to help them push for a European place this season, and still only 23 is staking a strong claim to be their first choice striker amid healthy competition from the likes of Omar Marmoush and Lukas Nmecha.
Flip over to FM23 however and we can see what the SI researchers think of him - his physicals are very similar to Ferguson however at 23 we can see increased technical attributes and superior movement, composure and determination meaning he is a ready made Target Forward who should be relatively attainable by the time the first season has passed. Though not the quickest, Wind is ideally suited to be the larger half of a big man/small man combo wherein a speedy poacher or wide forward would thrive alongside him - this one is a no brainer for me.
5. Alvaro Rodriguez
Our cover star who has quite literally burst onto the scene at Real Madrid this season, taking even well known La Liga journalists and football enthusiasts by surprise such was the nature of his explosive emergence from the relative obscurity of Real Madrid Castilla to scoring an 85th minute equaliser in the Madrid derby earlier this season. Standing 6’4” at only 17 years old, Rodriguez looks set to have a huge future ahead of him at the Bernabeu and who better to mentor him accordingly than Karim Benzema and Carlos Ancelotti who himself is no stranger to big powerful strikers (no wonder he had big Duncan Ferguson as his assistant at Everton). While it’s very soon to detail Alvaro Rodriguez in terms of ability and potential, it’s clear he is highly thought of at Madrid and interestingly he has recently declared for Uruguay despite being born and raised in Spain.
In FM23 - well you can see for yourself. If I offered you a 6’4” 17-year-old striker with 14 Finishing, 13 Technique, 14 Strength, 15 Jumping Reach and 16 Heading you’d bite my hand off right? Enough said - this boy is the future of Target Men.
6. Ludovic Ajorque
If Rodriguez is the future then this guy is the present. I would go so far as to say that Ludovic Ajorque is one of the most underrated forwards in the last few versions of Football Manager (unless your name is Dave Azzopardi or FMRazz) such is the unique profile and all round attributes he has consistently carried for a number of years now. Until this season Ajorque had spent the entirety of his career in Ligue 1 and his 46 goals in 4 seasons have helped Strasbourg ensure their top flight status year-on-year not to mention helping them win the French Cup and reach the Europa League Group Stages in 2019. At 29 it looks unlikely that Ajorque will ever go on to break into the French National side however a January 23 move to Mainz 05 will do him no harm as he looks to test himself at an even higher level.
In FM23 he is already levels above both in terms of height (man is 6’5” for crying out loud) and Target Forward attributes - 18 Jumping Reach with 17 Heading as well as 15 Finishing and outstanding Mental attributes - Ajorque is Target Man royalty and can literally break the match engine if deployed effectively in-game (imagine JWP’s 20 Crossing with Ajorque’s aerial ability?). Endless possibilities here - while it might not be pretty it will surely be effective nonetheless, but that’s why you are here right?
There you have it - 6 Target Forward options for you to sign in Football Manager 2023 who might just inspire a tactical revolution for you if you are fed up of deploying the usual in-game formations and tactical styles, quite literal game changers if you can get them the service and quality they need in order to flourish in the Target Forward position. Let us know if you have had any success with this role previously and who your ultimate Target Forwards are either in the comments below or @5StarPod on Twitter.
Thanks for reading.
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