Super Keepers or Tactics?

[itsallaboutthierry]

I noticed over a series of matches in the second half of my first season that the opposition 'keeper was man of the match on several occasions. Now I know 'Super Keeper' is quite a dirty term around here but I'd like it if anyone could maybe shed some light on why the opposition 'keeper is being named man of the match so often against me.

My personal theory is that if the first couple of shots of a match are easy saves for a goalkeeper then their confidence becomes highly inflated. This then affects their match performance in an unbalanced way which leads them to overperform. I've felt this for several incarnations of the game but it is just a theory. I think that this is a factor that should be considered in a GK's performance but has been too heavily weighted for a few years now. Again if anyone can provide evidence to disprove this theory please do.

Below are screenies of the results from the 2nd half of the season with the matches in question highlighted. Also below are the 'keeper ratings for those matches so you can see that they are MoM. In the sequence of games my own 'keeper was MoM once in the League Cup semi against Chelsea.

Fixtures:

'Keeper Ratings:

Below is a link to the tactic I've been using so if anyone wants to look in there and see if you can see anything that could be causing this please feel free

http://www.mediafire.com/file/omanzxzo1uz/Arsenal Base (Arsenal, Jul 2009).tac

http://www.filefront.com/15424785/Arsenal%20Base%20%28Arsenal%2C%20Jul%202009%29.tac

So basically - Am I right to think that the regularity of goalkeeper's winning Man of the Match against me is too high? And is there anything I can do tactically to counter this?

[Noel Gallagher]

There is a known issue that the keepers save a lot of straight one on one chances with the latest patch. So if you are creating a lot of these types of chances this may be part of the reason.

However, it could be a host of other reasons too. It may be worth looking back at some of your older matches to see what types of chances the keeper has been saving as it may be something tactical

[Cleon]

Where they games you created lots of CCC's in? If so it could be due to the bug that Noel highlighted above.

[itsallaboutthierry]

My most recent match is a loss to Chelsea (I've played them a lot this season and Cech seems to have cracked how to play against me even if the defence in front of him haven't)

As you can see a 9.5 rating to add to his 9.4 and 8.7 already banked against me this season. The match stats show Chelsea having a lot of chances but most of these came as the game opened up as I chased an equaliser.

Some shots analysis from the match:

Having reviewed the highlights the Walcott chances are mostly (4 of the 6) from one on ones from a fairly central position. Arshavin's however tend to be more evenly split between the one on ones and shots from the edge of the box after good passing build up. If you want any more info please ask.

[Cleon]

Having reviewed the highlights the Walcott chances are mostly (4 of the 6) from one on ones from a fairly central position

That's what the bug is, from central positions they always hit the keeper regardless. It's like he's a magnet and he'll always save the shot. Its fixed in next patch but that's what is giving him the high ratings. That and the fact a lot of the shots are from 18 yards out. You expect a keeper of that quality to save them 9 times out of 10. Then Arshavins edge of box shots.

That could be one reason.

Another could be what Noel says below as Walcott has very poor stats until after about 3 or 4 seasons.

[Noel Gallagher]

Well, from what I can see in my game, Walcott only has 12 for finishing and 9 for composure. So regarding Walcott's missed chances it could be the fact he's lacking in those attributes when he's in front of goal? Also, how have you got him set up? Is he a winger or an inside forward cutting inside? If he's cutting inside then he'll be taking these chances with his weaker foot.

As for Arshavin, if he's taking a lot of long shots it may be worth instucting him to take long shots rarely so that he dribbles with it more or plays a pass instead of shooting?

[itsallaboutthierry]

Its fixed in next patch

Thanks Cleon that's really what I was hoping for

Well, from what I can see in my game, Walcott only has 12 for finishing and 9 for composure. So regarding Walcott's missed chances it could be the fact he's lacking in those attributes when he's in front of goal? Also, how have you got him set up? Is he a winger or an inside forward cutting inside? If he's cutting inside then he'll be taking these chances with his weaker foot.

As for Arshavin, if he's taking a lot of long shots it may be worth instucting him to take long shots rarely so that he dribbles with it more or plays a pass instead of shooting?

Walcott's finishing and Composure aren't first rate but as a result of that he's not first choice (playing in this game due to injuries). He's played as a poacher on the left side of a front two to cut in onto his stronger right foot. Van Persie is played on the right as a complete forward so again, he cuts in on his stronger left foot. This has worked well for him as he's averaged a goal a game this season.

I wouldn't say Arshavin was taking long shots - the furthest in the match was from 19 yards out. He's a trequartista played AMC with long shots 'sometimes'. From the sounds of it though I should set him to long shot 'often' to avoid him getting too close to the keeper or playing people in for clear cut one on ones!

I think the most surprising match stat for me is my 21 shots, 17 on target but only 4 CCC's. I'm more than happy with that. I just think I need to make sure I score first so the 'keeper doesn't have such a blinder.

[Magnakai Haaskivi]

One of the things I've noticed is that keepers seem to have a weird kind of "momentum" that's exacerbated by this bug. Like, as a keeper's match rating creeps towards seven, he gets slightly better, which causes his rating to go up, etc., etc. If a keeper's rated around 7.5 it probably means two things:

1) He's going to be man of the match.

2) You've been pulling your hair out trying to figure out why you can't score on him.

This has always kind of been there, but the marking bug - which has keepers saving more CCC, which (presumably) improves their match rating - has made it much more noticeable.

I only mention it because it seems like, if the keeper falters early on, none of these problems exist.