FIFA 14 | So You Want A… Target man UPDATE


This is the second article on strikers; whereas before we looked at goalscorers, tonight we’re examining target men. These players rely on their height and strength to cause havoc in the box. If you enjoy crossing then these are the perfect strikers for you; alternatively, use them to hold the ball up and feed it to a quick, skillful strike partner. If it’s that sort of player you’re after, be sure to check out the article on goalscorers. Anyway, let’s have a look at my target men picks:

  • Anthony Martial
  • Gonçalo Paciência
  • Richmond Boakye
  • Jordan Rhodes

As long as he’s in the game, I think I’m going to keep recommending Anthony Martial. As you can see from the list below, he has by far the best potential, but I’m not picking him on that alone. He grows into an absolute machine – pace, strength, aerial ability, you name it. He’s great with his feet too, and becomes a genuine all-rounder. Play it to his feet, cross it in to him, get him to hold the ball up – with a few years of development, he’ll be able to do it like no other. Like most players on this article, unfortunately, you can’t buy him straight away, but move for him in the January window because by the second season his OVR – and price tag – will have absolutely shot up.

I’ve tried to pick a few players who bring something a little different to the target man role, and this is well exemplified by Gonçalo Paciência. When you think of a target man you often imagine a player who is dominant in the air but not so good with his feet. Well, throw that idea out of the window, because this guy is not your average target man. Four star skills, the flair trait and excellent dribbling and pace mark him out as something different. But he’s strong, has a lethal shot and real aerial presence, placing him firmly in the target man camp. His price and wages start off pretty low, so get him as soon as you can – again, you’ll have to wait until January to do it.

While we’re looking at unusual target men, here’s another – Richmond Boakye. Whereas Paciência brought skill, Boakye brings lightning pace, in strong contrast to your standard slow target man. His 82 acceleration and 86 sprint speed will give you a great option with the ball at his feet, and his 74 strength, 83 jumping and 74 heading mean he’s a threat in the air as well. Thanks to all this he’ll feel much better than his OVR would suggest, both at the start of a career and when he’s near his potential.

Given that so many players here are unavailable, you’ll be glad to see I’m recommending one who you can buy straight away! Jordan Rhodes is that man, and at first I wasn’t sure whether he should be a target man or goalscorer. The thing is, he excels at both roles. He’s got the best finishing and positioning stats of anyone in this article (both 80) and has excellent pace, so he’s going to be popping up in the right place to tuck in any loose balls in the box. But as well as that he has excellent strength and presents a great aerial threat. In the end I felt his height and these latter stats made him a target man, but it’s a nice situation to be in where you have a player who is superb in multiple roles! Despite his asking price of £7m, my very first offer of £4m was accepted, so try offering a little less and you may be pleasantly surprised.

As a final note, if you’re on a tight budget then go for Yuri Mamute. His low asking price and one year contract allowed me to get him for £700,000, and he combines pace and strength with a great potential and very affordable wages.

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The articles in this series should give you some ideas if you’re looking for a new signing in a key area. There is one article for each position on the pitch to make it easy for you to quickly find players to bolster your squad.

All of the players given here have a minimum potential of 80, so you know you’re getting quality. The maximum OVR for each player is 73, both to keep transfer prices down and to avoid presenting you with too many options and thus making it too difficult to choose the player you need.

The ‘Avai?’ column is short for ‘available?’ and refers both to whether or not you can buy the specified player at the start of the first season and how long their current contract is. Let’s take Y/2 as an example – Y means that yes, you can buy him at the start of a new career, and the number means he has two years left on his contract. Similarly, N/3 would mean that no, you can’t buy the player straight away, and he has three years left on his contract. These ‘no’ players are often available for transfer if you wait until the January transfer window, however. For some players this column is blank – this means that they are out on loan at the start and are therefore unavailable for purchase until the second season.

Initial player costs may seem very low this year. The figure in the player cost column refers to the price you are given if you scout the player. But I’ve also added a new column this time round – ‘They want’. This refers to the price the other team want for the player if you enquire about him. Often there is a large difference between the player cost obtained through scouting and that obtained through an enquiry. This leaves a lot of room for negotiation, so don’t be put off if a price in the ‘They want’ column is high, as you can usually get the player for much less. Try bidding lower than what you think will be accepted – you may be surprised at their response. If the ‘They want’ column is blank it’s because the team refused to give a price, either because the player has just joined them or because they are loaning him in.

And as a final note, in FIFA 14 EA update player OVRs and potentials every week. Mose of the time these are very minor changes, and most players won’t be affected at all unless they have had a very noteworthy week. Furthermore, some players occasionally disappear if they have been put in the reserve squad that week. So just bear in mind that these figures should be read as a guide only and not a definitive account of player costs, potentials, etc, for the entire season.[/expand]

Here’s the list in full:

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And don’t forget to check out the other articles in this series by going to the ‘So You Want A…’ button in the top menu!