The Striker's Mentality

The Beautiful Game.  Well, it might not live up to the appellation when the Terrible Tiggers take the field, but we do what we can.  And in my case, that involves little else than putting shots on goal.

In my other sports -- basketball, frisbee, etc. -- I've developed the skills to patiently work the (flat)ball for high-percentage scoring opportunities.  However, despite so many semi-hungover mornings watching the EPL, my soccer skills are still in their adolescent phase.  I'm generally good at watching my betters and synthesizing what I see for my own use.  That said, my best attribute as a soccer player is probably my willingness to simply send the ball toward the goal.

I rationalize my "gunslinger" mentality with simple math.  Let's say a given shot I put toward the target has about a 15% chance of tallying a goal.  Sweet.  But alternatively, I could try to pass it up to set up a teammate for a better shot.  Unfortunately, my skills are almost exclusively in shooting.  My passes have no more than a one in three chance of reaching its intended target in such a way that furthers our attack.  And not to throw my teammates under the bus, but their shooting percentage is no higher than mine, say 10%.  Should I really pass up a 15% shot on goal for a combined 3% chance of a score?  You tell me.

No, more often than not, Dano is going to send the whatever-skin goalward.  It won't look like this, but I can hope...