The Beautiful Game: FC Dallas at Chivas USA
April 21st, 2008 . 4:20 pm . By: Lorenzo de MediciIt is often said that the mark of a good team is to get results when not playing particularly well. For long stretches of all four early season games FC Dallas has been outplayed, that they are now the only unbeaten team left in MLS hopefully adds credence to the old adage about getting points when not at the top of your game. Dallas has played well during portions of each game and has certainly taken their limited chances when they have shown up and one can only hope that this trend continues as the team continues to find it’s feet and jell as a unit. The team has been out shot in each game yet so far has found a way to hit the back of the net with a high percentage of shots. Kenny Cooper for example has 4 goals on 5 total shots (all of them on target) a phenomenal return and one that will be very difficult for him to maintain. The team still struggles to create many chances for the forwards (something we saw quite a bit of last season ) and this must surely be addressed by the coaches for the team to be able to continue their good start to the season. Maintaining possession, creating width, getting runners forward from deep positions, some more shots and goals from the midfield players are all in need of improvement for this team to develop into the force we all hope it can be in this league this season. I love the mobility shown by the front three, the constant interchange of positions with the resulting difficulty for opposing defenders to know just who they are supposed to be marking. This is in stark contrast to last season when you-know-who was parked up top as a so called “target” striker. I am of the opinion that, just like the “sweeper,” the “target” striker is a dinosaur and very few top level teams seem to use one these days and the time of the Duncan Fergusons of this world seems to be fading fast. Of the four teams left in the European Champions League only Didier Drogba could be said to be even remotely a “target” type and given his pace, power and mobility he certainly doesn’t fall into the classic mold of the centre forward. Tell me who is the target striker at Manchester United? Remember that it was at Manchester United where Cooper honed his skills. Target type strikers these days are just too easy for competent defenders to mark and they much prefer to play against this type rather than the fit, fast, active, mobile players who drag them all over the field and make them work much harder than they want to. We should all be encouraged by FCD’s start to the season and the confidence in the team that surely must be building after the first four games. The team is unbeaten without maintaining it’s best form throughout any of the opening games. They have got good results despite showing only glimpses of their best. We can only hope that the old statement about getting points when not playing all that well holds up for now and when the team really hits it’s stride we could all be in for one heck of a season. 6 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |
Depends on definition of “target” striker I think. If it simply means a player who is strong having the ball played into their feet with back to goal (my personal definition), I would say they are alive and well.
If anything, I think the advances in strength training and fitness over the last few decades have merged “types” of strikers such that more strikers have the ability to play as both “target” strikers (using my definition) and still get behind a defense with pace.
It’s funny that you write this now since I posted about this very same topic in the NYRB ratings article. The only real target strikers in the PL are Kevin Davies of Bolton and Emile Heskey at Wigan and neither of them have hit double digits in goals this season.
Does Brian McBride not count as a target striker anymore????
Luca Toni, Roy Makaay, John Carew, Jan Koller are others that i can think of. Maybe even Jan Venegaar of Hesselink.
What about Carew and Santa Cruz also in the EPL? Berbatov also plays what could probably be considered a target striker imo.
I would agree that McBride, Toni, and Hesselink are target strikers. (Sadly I have not see enough of the other players mentioned to have an informed opinion).
Perhaps it is not the target striker that is becoming extent. I think quality wing players capable of providing service may be the creature whose epitaph should be written.
some of the players mentioned (McBride, Kevin Davis etc) are target strikers, maybe thats why their teams are in relegation trouble and NONE of the players mentioned are with the very top teams.