FIFA 12 | So You Want A… Target Man (Winter Update)

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In the last of the updated data tables, here is the article for target men. These players are strong and good in the air. They can be used to hold the ball up for teammates or to dominate the opposition in the air. If you get a target man, make sure you have a least one wide player with good crossing stats, as target men are often (though not always) better with their head than with their feet.

As usual, in an attempt to make this relevant to as many players as possible, I have not included any target men whose OVR is above 73 – this way you can keep your costs down and have some cash left over for other purchases (be they real players or new scouts). Furthermore, I have listed the players by cost, with the cheapest at the top of each sub-group (players are grouped by potential). However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the lowest-OVR players are at the top – notice Valentín Viola is £2.5m cheaper than Federico Andrada, despite being 3 points better.

Here are my recommendations:

• Conor Wickham
• Valentín Viola
• Jonathas

Conor Wickham is already big and strong for his age and his equally adept with his feet as with his head (a valuable skill for a target man). He is not only a good target man, but can also be put on the wing, as he has decent pace and good dribbling skills. His high potential will make him into the best forwards in the game, so don’t just let him rot on the Sunderland bench!

Valentín Viola was one of my recommendations on the target man article before the winter update came out, and he’s done it again thanks largely to his extremely low price. The chance to have an 83 rated player on your team that cost you so little is not one that you should miss. But that’s not all he’s got going for him – he is very decent in the air and will continue to improve, and all of his physical stats are very decent, suggesting they will all develop excellently (rather than having, say, a weak but slow target man, you can have one who will become both quick and strong). Furthermore, his attacking work rate is high and his stamina is very good, so he’ll keep working hard for you throughout every game.

Finally, Jonathas is my third recommendation because he typifies the archetypal target man. He already has jumping 88 and strength 86, and because he has the power header trait if he gets his header on target then he’ll likely score. He’s not slow either, and has a ferocious shot on him. He even has stamina 82, so like Viola he’ll keep working right until the end.

Don’t forget that if you want a free player, just go for Wellington. Put him into the Brazilian national team, then replace him with someone else. When you start a new career, you’ll have an 81 potential player waiting for you in the free agents.

Please bear in mind that these figures may not be exactly the same on your game. These stats are taken from my own personal experiences, but are likely to be very similar to those on your own game. The best thing to do is to make sure you keep checking these players, as their prices may drop radically after a while.

Finally, if you’ve had any experiences of good players’ prices changing wildly (especially if their price drops), please post it in the comments!

So, without further ado, here are the players: