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Introduction: How do these articles work?

Each Sunday I examine a different team in detail and look at why they’re a good team for FIFA 15’s career mode. The teams are broken down into the following categories:

• Tier 1: Teams in tough divisions that can push on to challenge for silverware
• Tier 2: Teams that will have to fight for survival in a challenging division
• Tier 3: Teams that start in a lower division but can hope to get promoted and work their way up higher leagues
• Tier 4: Teams that start right at the bottom of the pile, with few funds or high potential players

Relegation favourites Burnley will provide you with a mountain to climb if you want to stay in the Premier League – but that’s all part of the charm.

Burnley (Tier 2)

Contents

1. Why choose Burnley?
2. Lineups
   1. Strongest starting lineup
   2. Highest potential lineup
3. Recommended purchases
4. Suggested sales
5. Future considerations
   1. Get a new central midfielder
   2. Get a new left midfielder
   3. Renew player contracts

Starting transfer budget: £6,500,000
Starting wage budget: £40,000
Default formation: 4-4-1-1
Board expectations: Avoid relegation, reach cup round of 32
Key player: Danny Ings
Best young prospect: Danny Ings

Why choose Burnley?

In the Premier League, Burnley really do have the odds stacked against them – they’ve got the lowest transfer budget, lowest wages budget and fewest high potential players (only 3 with 75 potential or higher). Then there’s the competition they’re going to come up against, including some of the best teams in the game. Even the mid table teams are better than mid table teams in pretty much any other league. Surviving the drop with Burnley would therefore qualify as a minor miracle.

It’s not all bad, though. Being in the Premier League, they have a pretty good budget compared to relegation strugglers in other leagues – £6,500,000 may be the lowest in the division, but it’s still a decent amount with which to bring in reinforcements. And they do have some quality players both in attack and defence, the key areas for any team that aims to stay in a division. If you do survive then it probably won’t be by much, but survival is certainly possible.

Burnley’s key player is Danny Ings. If you’re going to have any hope of staying up, you need a potent goalscorer, and Danny Ings matches that description perfectly. He’s lightning fast – 89 acceleration and 89 sprint speed – and is great with the ball at his feet thanks to his 77 dribbling. Combine that pace with his 76 finishing and he’ll be scoring you plenty of goals, too. He’s even good in the air, with 80 jumping and 70 heading accuracy meaning he can pose a threat from corners and set pieces.

He’s also Burnley’s most promising player, with 81 potential. This wasn’t really a difficult decision – only Kieran Trippier (potential 78) and Michael Keane (potential 77) are set to grow above 75 – and it underlines how important Ings is to the team. But he should grow quickly, especially if he scores plenty of goals, so if you want to stay up, keeping him fit and in goalscoring form is essential.

Strongest starting lineup

Here’s Sampdoria’s strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:

Suggested formation and starting lineup

Now here’s Burnley’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:

Burnley lack many truly high potential players, so let’s see who we can bring in to change that.

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: CB, LB, CM, RM.

Although Burnley’s best starting lineup isn’t bad, it isn’t great either. But the real problem is one that is hidden by the OVRs – most of their best players have reached their potential, with some being on the cusp of declining. With Heaton, Duff, Shackell, Ward, Jones, Taylor, Boyd and Kightly all at their peak, improvements are needed across the board.

The young players in the squad won’t grow much, either. So before you buy anyone, change the budget ratio to 47:53 so that you have £4,154,800 in transfer funds and £90,100 in wages. Now let’s get some players!

Sergey Bryzgalov
Club: Spartak Moskva
Position: CB
OVR: 70
Potential: 80
Age: 21
Cost: £550,000
Wages: £20,000

Centre back is a key problem area for Burnley. Michael Keane is young and promising, but while Jason Shackell is the highest rated player in the team, he is also 30 and will start declining soon. Once you get past those two, the quality really starts to drop off, so much so that if either Keane or Shackell got injured, you’d be in serious trouble. For a team like Burnley trying to survive in a wolf pit, something needs to be done.

My choice is Sergey Bryzgalov of Spartak Moskva in Russia. His 77 sprint speed – very rare for a centre back – will ensure he won’t get beaten for pace when most other centre backs would, and his 73 interceptions mean he’ll cut out passes as much as he will outpace strikers. His excellent starting OVR and high potential also mean he’ll have an impact both as soon as he arrives and in years to come.

For some reason, Spartak Moskva only want £650,000 for him, which can be bargained down to £550,000. His wages are £20,000.

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Jon Flanagan
Club: Liverpool
Position: LB
OVR: 71
Potential: 80
Age: 21
Cost: £1,400,000
Wages: £25,000

Burnley are seriously lacking a decent left back. Stephen has met his potential of 70, while Ben Mee will only grow two points to 71. If you want to ensure Burnley are solid defensively in future seasons, you’ll need to bring in someone better.

It seems unlikely, but you can actually bring in a left back who is younger than both Ward and Mee, better than them and only costs just over £1,000,000. That player is Jon Flanagan from Liverpool, who not only makes a good full back – one of his best assets is his flexibility, and he can be drafted in at centre back or defensive midfield if needed. He’s got decent pace, excellent tackling and his 70 strength means he should be able to win the ball back where weaker players would fail.

Liverpool want £1,600,000 for him, but I got him for £1,400,000. His wages are £25,000.

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Sebastián Cristóforo
Club: Sevilla FC
Position: CDM
OVR: 69
Potential: 82
Age: 20
Cost: £1,200,000
Wages: £9,000

Though Burnley’s starting centre mids come with decent OVRs, they suffer from the same problem as their left backs – they won’t grow much. And at 32 and 29, Matt Taylor and David Jones are going to start declining soon.

My solution is Sevilla FC’s Sebastián Cristóforo. What I like about this player – other than his 82 potential, of course – is that he excels at a number of different things, making an excellent central midfielder. He can tackle, pass and shoot from distance, while his high aggression and interceptions mean he’ll be winning the ball back one way or another. He’s got all the attributes needed to act as a midfield ball-winner who can start attacks and help raise your goal tally.

Sevilla FC wanted £2,000,000 for him, but I got that down to a measly £1,200,000. His wages are also affordable at £9,000.

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Nabil Bentaleb
Club: Spurs
Position: CM
OVR: 72
Potential: 83
Age: 19
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £20,000

Because of Burnley’s central midfield problems, I really want to bring in another midfielder in case the team’s existing players start declining earlier than expected. The last thing you need is your players getting worse as the season wears on, especially if the relegation battle is heating up.

At the same time, there’s not too much money to spend, so I’d suggest bringing a player in on loan – my recommendation being Nabil Bentaleb of Spurs. With 72 OVR, he’ll be one of your best players, and his 83 potential will ensure he’ll grow quickly. He can defend, but his real speciality is his passing, so combined with Cristóforo’s defensive capabilities, you should have a brilliant midfield partnership. Bring him in on loan and we’ll sort out the long term future of Burnley’s central midfield below (read on or click here).

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Alexy Bosetti
Club: OGC Nice
Position: RW
OVR: 71
Potential: 78
Age: 21
Cost: £1,000,000
Wages: £15,000

You’ve probably guessed it by now, but Burnley’s recurrent problem (players not growing) strikes again on the wings. Though Boyd and Kightly are two of the team’s best players, they won’t grow and you’ll need to find replacements going forward. On the right, Scott Arfield is OK but Ross Wallace isn’t up to much, so if Arfield gets injured you could find yourself in a spot of bother.

Cue the new signing: Alexy Bosetti of OGC Nice. He brings the injection of pace that Burnley really lack on the wings – his 82 sprint speed, 84 balance and 75 dribbling will make light work of defenders. But what I really like about Bosetti is that he can score goals thanks to his 72 finishing and 71 positioning. That should ease the burden on Ings and ensure you get more goals from your matches – vital if you are going to avoid relegation.

OGC Nice want £1,200,000 for him and you can get him for £1,000,000. His wages are £15,000.

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After those transfers are done, you’ll be left with £4,800 in transfer funds and £1,100 in wages. That doesn’t leave much for scouting or bringing in any other players, so you could try selling some of the players below.

Suggested sales

Burnley start with three left backs, and Flanagan’s arrival means you could sell at least one in order to raise funds. I’d recommend selling Daniel Lafferty – he’s the club’s worst full back and only has potential 69, but could raise around £400,000 if you sell him.

The team also seem to have an over-abundance of strikers, so you could sell Marven Sordell. There are better strikers than him in the club and he only has 71 potential; his sale could bring in around £600,000.

Finally, the arrival of Alexy Bosetti means you could sell Ross Wallace, who should net you around £700,000.

Future considerations – get a new central midfielder

Although Sebastián Cristóforo makes an excellent signing, you’ll probably still want to bring in one more player in central midfield, especially as your current centre mids will start declining after a season or so. A good option, therefore, is to bring in a player whose contract is expiring – that way they will join at the start of the second season, just as your current players start to go down.

My suggestion would be to get Vincent Pajot of Stade Rennais. He starts at 72 OVR and has 78 potential, and is 23 years old. By the time he arrives at the start of the second season he should be rated around 74-75 OVR, and will therefore be an invaluable asset in the middle of midfield. Because his contract is expiring, there’s no transfer fee involved – just approach him in January of the first season and choose the option to sign him on contract expiry. His wages are £20,000.

Future considerations – get a new left midfielder

While we’ve sorted out the long-term future of Burnley’s right midfield, the left wing still needs addressing. Because there is so little money left over after the above transfers, getting a player on a free transfer seems like the best option.

My choice here would be Daniel Aquino of Atlético Madrid. He starts at 71 OVR and has 78 potential, and is 23 years old. As with Bosetti, one reason I like Aquino is because he can score goals as well as create them, something which will be extremely useful in your bids to stay in the Premier League in years to come.

However, there is a potential bonus with Aquino in that he has glitched for some people and hugely exceeded his potential. Because he spends a year growing at Atlético Madrid before joining Burnley, he could arrive with a far higher OVR than expected. I can’t guarantee that will happen, but it will be an amazing boost for you should it come to fruition.

Future considerations – renew player contracts

The final consideration going forward is to ensure you renew the expiring contracts on your team. Though some players can probably be let go, there is one player who you absolutely must offer a new contract to – Danny Ings.

Because he is so important to the team, losing him for nothing when his contract expires would be a disaster. So make absolutely certain that you renew his contract as soon as possible; that way if he does leave the club, at least you can get a decent price for him.

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And that just about wraps up this week’s article on good teams for career mode. Burnley start in an insanely difficult league and have very few high potential players, but with some sensible investment and good performances from your key players, survival is a very real possibility – and it’ll be a fantastic journey to ensure they stay up.

I’d also like to hear if you have any thoughts about the format of the article itself. Did you find it useful? Conversely, do you think it was missing something that you’d have liked me to include?

And don’t forget to connect with me on social media. I’ve just launched the FIFA Scouting Tips YouTube channel, and you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest updates.