Tom,
Solo Practising is something I had to do in my early years in the game
and my best form came when I adopted a crazy training routine...

I set up the table and put a small box in front of 1 net

I put the ball on the shhoting line and my figures in the other
shooting zone

The aim was to use one figure to slide up and touch the ball into the
shooting zone, maybe 1 touch for control and then a chip over the box

I did that until I scored 100 goals on the LHS and then another 100
on the RHS

It took me all weekend, or that's what it seemed like

I had a really sore back at the end of it all but found that
it improved my long flicking accuracy

After that I found the game alot easier

It might not work for everyone, but I can recommend long distance
flicks, not just to hit the ball, but actually to control it

The best players flick the length of the field to come to rest
against the ball without moving it. That's the degree of accuracy
needed and it takesa lot of work (and flicks) to get up to that level

Also, you can never practice enough shots...

Every angle, long and short distance, make it as difficult as possible
Ball just in the shooting area a nd shooting figure as far away as
possible, with an obsticle to chip over

I never shoot at an empty net, even when I'm off form and cant chip
the ball as much as I'd like, I keep going...

To get better, there's no shortcuts
Just hard practice and lots of it

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

David Baxter
www.worldtablesoccer.com