The Target Man Isn't Just the Big Lad

Mention a target man role and everyone pictures the big lad up top winning headers. That's lazy, and it misses what actually makes the job valuable: hold-up play, which is one of the most generous things a footballer can do.

A proper target man receives the ball with his back to goal, under pressure, and keeps it — shields it, holds off the defender, waits the half-second it takes for his team-mates to get up and join him. He's not there to be tall. He's there to give the rest of the team time to arrive. A forward who can win a ball and hold it turns a hopeful long pass into a settled attack. That's a gift to everyone behind him.

The English game has always had this player, from the old-fashioned centre-forward to the modern link man, and the best of them were never just big — they were strong, clever, and brilliant at the timing of when to hold and when to release. Size helped. It was never the point.

The trade-off: lean on a target man too much and your football becomes "hit it long to the big lad and hope," which is a quick way to stop developing footballers. Hold-up play is a tool to link attacks, not a substitute for building them.

Monday, a drill that teaches it without a giant: a forward receives a pass with a defender on his back, has to shield it and hold for three seconds until a midfielder sprints up to support, then lays it off. Any size of kid can learn it. It's the quiet partner to the false nine and the number 10 — someone has to hold it while the clever ones arrive.

Ask the Gaffer who your best link forward is, big or small. We go again.