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 16’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
UD Las Palmas (Tier 2)
This week we’re looking at a tier 2 team. These sides are in a tough league and will struggle to stay up, but it’s your job to make sure they do. Are you up to the challenge?
Contents
- Why choose UD Las Palmas?
- Lineups
- Recommended purchases
- Suggested sales
- Future considerations
Starting transfer budget: £2,500,000
Starting wage budget: £45,000
Default formation: 4-2-3-1
Board expectations: Avoid relegation, reach cup round of 32
Key player: Jonathan Viera
Best young prospect: Sergio Araujo
Why choose UD Las Palmas?
Being in Liga BBVA, you’ll obviously come up against two of the world’s best teams in FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. But keeping UD Las Palmas in the division gets more difficult when you consider the other sides in the league – Valencia, Atlético Madrid, Villarreal and many more are capable of inflicting heavy defeats and sending your campaign southwards. Oh, and UD Las Palmas have the least amount of high potential players in the division – just 9 with potential 75 or higher.
It’s not all bad. Their budget isn’t great, but it’s not the worst either. While there are a lot of very strong sides in Liga BBVA, there are also some very beatable teams too. And if you keep your key players fit, you stand a decent chance of staying up.
UD Las Palmas’ most important player is Jonathan Viera. Rated 77 and with 79 potential, he could easily be on stronger teams (so make sure you keep hold of him!). He’s pacey, has great dribbling, can score goals and is a superb passer, so will do equally well as a creator as he will as a finisher. He will be the player to fire you away from the relegation zone.
The team’s most promising young player is Sergio Araujo. In many ways he’s a lot like Viera, but has the added bonus of four star skills – great for anyone who loves beating defenders with tricks. He’s got 80 potential, but seeing as he’s rated 76 at 23 years old, don’t be surprised if he exceeds that and reaches into the early- to mid-80s.
Strongest starting lineup
Keeping the formation as 4-2-3-1, here is UD Las Palmas’ strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:
Highest potential lineup
Changing the formation to 4-1-2-1-2, here is UD Las Palmas’ highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:
Recommended purchases
Key signings required: CB, CAM, LM.
The lowest potential area of the team is at centre back, so you’ll need a new player there. Juan Valerón is a legend but is also 40, so will retire almost instantly. Finally, Mubarak Wakaso is good but only on loan, so you’ll need a replacement for when he goes.
Before buying anyone, change the budget ratio to 64:36. That’ll give you £3,097,589 in transfer funds and £33,507 in wages. Now let’s see who we can buy with that.
Tommie Hoban is super cheap for his OVR and potential
Tommie Hoban
Club: Watford
Position: CB
OVR: 69
Potential: 79
Age: 21
Cost: £750k
Wages: £11,000
As I mentioned earlier, centre back needs improving, as Aythami Artiles isn’t going to cut it in the long run (plus he’s 29 and will decline soon). If you’re going to survive against the might of Barcelona and Real Madrid, you’ll need a long-term replacement.
My recommendation is Tommie Hoban of Watford. He’s only a couple of points behind Artiles and so it won’t be long until he takes the number 1 spot, and he’s got all the stats you need from a decent defender. With 79 potential, he can easily grow into the 80s with enough good performances and game time.
He’s rated 69 and has 79 potential, but costs far less than other players with the same ratings. You can get him for just £750,000, although you’ll need to boost his wages up to £11,000 to convince him to join.
Alejandro Romero Gamarra is pacey and can play on the wing
Alejandro Romero Gamarra
Club: Parque Patricios
Position: CAM
OVR: 68
Potential: 79
Age: 20
Cost: £1.2m
Wages: £9,000
While Juan Valerón may be a hero to many, he’s 40 years old and even if he doesn’t retire in the first season, he’ll certainly decline at an incredible rate of knots. You’re going to need a new creative, dangerous attacking player to replace him.
I suggest you go for Alejandro Romero Gamarra of Parque Patricios in Argentina. With 84 acceleration and 81 sprint speed, he brings far more pace to your team than Valerón, and with 84 balance he’ll be very hard to stop going forward. His dribbling is also very strong, so he can easily be played on the wing if you want to play Jonathan Viera in a more central role.
Parque Patricios want £1.6m for him but I got him for £1.2m. His wages are £9,000.
Diego Fagundez has four star skills, great for beating defenders
Diego Fagundez
Club: New England
Position: LM
OVR: 67
Potential: 79
Age: 20
Cost: £900k
Wages: £10,000
The highest potential left midfielder at UD Las Palmas, Mubarak Wakaso, is only in on loan for the season. It’s therefore a good idea to buy in a replacement this season who will grow over the course of the first season and be ready to take over when Wakaso leaves.
My suggestion is Diego Fagundez of New England. His 84 acceleration and 83 balance will make him a nightmare for defenders, and if that wasn’t enough, his four star skills will help him run rings around them. And with 76 dribbling and a powerful shot, he’s likely to score plenty of goals for you. 79 potential rounds out a very promising young player.
New England want £1.1m for him but you can get him for £900,000. His wages are £10,000 and he wants the ‘squad rotation player’ squad role.
That will leave you with £247,589 in transfer funds and £3,507 in wages. Let’s see who we can sell in order to raise some more money.
Suggested sales
Momo can be sold for about £400,000
Goalkeeper David Ramírez only has 67 potential and isn’t worth keeping, so you can sell him for about £100,000.
As for defenders, I’d sell Maykel for £175,000 and Dani Castellano for about £500,000. You can also sell midfielders Vicente Gómez, Momo and Montoro and about £500,000, £400,000 and £1,000,000 respectively.
You could probably also sell either Jeremy or Jefte for £100,000 or £300,000, depending on which one you go for.
You’ll get somewhere in the region of £2,775,000 to £2,975,000 if you sell all those players.
Future considerations – get a new goalkeeper
Although Javi Varas is a goalkeeper (and so won’t decline until later than outfield players), he’s still 32 and so doesn’t have too many years left in him.
Seeing as the next best goalkeeper in the team only has 72 potential, you might want to think about buying a new goalkeeper. If that’s the case, Bruno Varela of Real Valladolid makes a very good choice. He’s rated 69 and has 81 potential, so will easily grow into your number 1 goalkeeper. With excellent diving and reflexes, he’ll keep things safe at the back and quickly react to close-range opposition shots. He can be yours for around £1.7m; his wages are £7,000.
That’s it for this week’s article on good teams for career mode. Staying up in Liga BBVA is a solid challenge for UD Las Palmas, but get some good results against fellow strugglers and ensure Viera and Araujo perform and you’ll be in with a chance.
I’d 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?
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