Tactic advice for small strikers?

[Erith22]

There seem to be a lot of small strikers in my save. I've acquired an elite one who is good at pretty much everything except being tall.

 

Any advice on how to use him in a 433?  I have naturally inverted wingers.  I've tried playing him as a DLP(A) and (S), F9, and Treq.  Despite a 19 off the ball, he still seems to crowd deep into the box with the two IWs set on support and my Mezzala(A), resulting in a lack of space which with his stats he clearly needs since he's not going to out-jump or out-muscle defenders.

I thought with the DLP, F9 and T roles, he'd back off and find space between the midfield and the defenders, but its not happening.  He does that before the ball reaches the final 3rd, but after that point he's leading the line of the attack.   Suggestions of what has worked for others?

 

Rough formation:

 

               T/F9

IF(S)                     IW(S)

        BBM   MZ(A)

            DLP(D)

CWB(A) CD(D) CD(D) WB(S)

               SK(S)

 

It's build on vertical tiki taka as a foundation.

[CARRERA]

13 minutes ago, Erith22 said:

He does that before the ball reaches the final 3rd, but after that point he's leading the line of the attack.

Well, in the end he is a striker, so he will position himself accordingly in the final third. Its also likely, that another player is already occupying the space between the line or there simply is no space to drop into as the other team is protectinc that area with one or more DM

[Erith22]

18 minutes ago, CARRERA said:

Well, in the end he is a striker, so he will position himself accordingly in the final third. Its also likely, that another player is already occupying the space between the line or there simply is no space to drop into as the other team is protectinc that area with one or more DM

Yes the 2 DM formations are very common.  But then, how do I use him in that case?  My question is less 'why isn't this working' but 'how can I make something that does.'

[Meazie]

Well tbh, in the final third you want him to occupy defenders so they can't attack the ball.

If you want your striker dropping into space then you need to create space to for this. Playing through the centre on a narrow width (vertical tiki taka) will make this area very congested. I would recommend playing extremely wide in order to free up space in the "hole". Bare in mind you may wanna try a different strategy if they have DM's.

Personally I use Callum Wilson up top in a possession based 4231 as advanced forward and he has bagged me around 50 goals a season in all comps.

Honestly I think your tactic and roles lacks penetration, you have many supporting roles but no one looking to get on the end of chances. An AF making runs off the defenders would give an option for your creative players.

[CARRERA]

10 minutes ago, Erith22 said:

Yes the 2 DM formations are very common.  But then, how do I use him in that case?  My question is less 'why isn't this working' but 'how can I make something that does.'

well, its very hard to make a player work in an area that is well protected. You could allow him more freedom to roam but this might only have a slight effect. Most effective will be to simply exploit the space that is exposed somewhere else. Its very likely, that a formation that uses 2x DM is exposed on the flanks or in front of the midfield. So if your key player is kind marked out it can be helpful to position him in areas with space available. obviously he needs to suit that position and role :-).

Anyway, every player on the pitch is looking to create space either behind or in front of him. A F9 for example is looking to create space behind the others team defensive line by dropping deep, so you most likely want wide players to make runs into that space and exploit it. If your transition is too slow, the defense can reorganise and your are basicly stuck. increasing passing directness, pass into space and tempo will help you to transition quicker and exploit the space behind the defensive line.