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

Oxford United (Tier 4)

Tier 4 sides like Oxford United start at the lowest rung of the football table. They’re great if you want a long-running career mode where you rise through the leagues.

Contents

1. Why choose Oxford United?
2. Lineups
   1. Strongest starting lineup
   2. Highest potential lineup
3. Recommended purchases
4. Suggested sales
5. Future considerations
   1. Get a new left back

Starting transfer budget: £650,000
Starting wage budget: £4,000
Default formation: 4-4-2
Board expectations: Fight for promotion, cup round of 32
Key player: Kemar Roofe
Best young prospect: John Lundstram

Why choose Oxford United?

League 2 is very popular in career mode because it’s the lowest division in the game – most countries in the game only have one or two divisions, but there are four in England, so starting at the bottom makes for a very long-running career mode challenge. Go up one division and you will struggle to stay up, so you’ve got a long journey ahead of you if you want to make it to the Premier League.

Oxford United are a great choice, though, because they strike the balance between pros and cons – a decent budget and plenty of promising players on the one hand, but they’ll be easily outspent by the likes of Portsmouth and Notts County on the other. They’ve got a good chance of getting promoted, but it’s certainly not guaranteed.

The team’s key player is Kemar Roofe. He’s a very pacey striker and has excellent stamina, so will last the full 90 minutes, and his combination of good finishing and dribbling means he’s just as deadly up front as he is on the wing. That flexibility enables you to change the formation to one you’re comfortable with, and you know he’ll fit in. But whether you play him as a striker or winger, he’ll be vital as you push up the table.

Oxford United’s most promising young player is John Lundstram. With 74 potential he’s one of the most promising players in League 2, and his 74 short passing and 68 long passing will see him create plenty of chances for his teammates. He’ll keep things steady in the middle of midfield and will grow into an excellent playmaker.

Strongest starting lineup

Here is Oxford United’s strongest starting lineup, with OVRs in brackets:

Highest potential lineup

Changing the formation to 4-3-3, here is Oxford United’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: GK, CB, RB.

There are a few areas to improve, most notably in goal. No need to change the budget this time, so let’s get straight on with our new signings.

Jack Ruddy
Club: Bury
Position: GK
OVR: 60
Potential: 78
Age: 18
Cost: £220,000
Wages: £1,200

Oxford United have three goalkeepers in their squad, but they really aren’t up to much. Their highest potential keeper (Sam Slocombe) only has 64 potential – he’s easily the weakest link in the above ‘highest potential lineup’ image. You’ll need a better goalkeeper as you make your way up the divisions.

My suggestion is Jack Ruddy of Bury. At 60 OVR he’s only a couple of points behind Slocome, so he’ll soon become the team’s number one goalkeeper, and his 78 potential means he’ll grow quickly and soon become a fantastic player. He’s a bit raw at the moment but his GK stats are very well balanced, so just train him up and he’ll grow quickly. With a bit of extra training and some good performances, he can easily grow past his potential.

He’s a bargain, too – Bury want £350,000 but you can knock that right down to about £220,000. His wages are £1,200.

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Jérôme Junior Onguéné
Club: FC Sochaux
Position: CB
OVR: 58
Potential: 75
Age: 17
Cost: £180,000
Wages: £1,350

Centre back is also a weak spot for Oxford United. The lowest rated player in the ‘strongest starting lineup’ image is a centre back, and it’s the same in the ‘potential’ image as well. Canice Carroll, the team’s highest potential centre back, is only rated 49, so will take a while to reach his 71 potential. We’ll need to get a new centre back to remedy these problems.

I recommend Jérôme Junior Onguéné of FC Sochaux in France. His 58 OVR means he can almost instantly slot into the starting lineup – just give him a month or two and he’ll be ready. Even more impressive, take a look at his strength and jumping – 80 strength and 82 jumping is unbelievable for a player rated 58. Just imagine how good he’ll be once he hits his 75 potential! He’s already well equipped to cope with the physical English game, and give him plenty of first team action and he’ll start growing rapidly.

FC Sochaux want you to pay £250,000 for him but you can buy him for just £180,000. His wages are £1,350.

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James Bree
Club: Barnsley
Position: RB
OVR: 59
Potential: 78
Age: 17
Cost: £230,000
Wages: £1,300

Right back is also in a bit of a sticky situation. The team’s best right back isn’t even a right back at all – Jake Wright is a centre back but drops one point if he plays at right back (but that still makes him better than the only other right back – Jonjoe Kenny, who’s only in on loan anyway). Basically, it’s a bit of a mess! You really need a dedicated right back who’s not going to return to a parent club once the season is over.

So I recommend you buy James Bree of Barnsley. What I like about him – apart from his fantastic 78 potential – is that he’s as fast as he is strong. As long as you don’t overtrain him, his physical stats should grow equally well, meaning he’ll be able to cope with both fast and strong forwards in the future. Like Onguéné, it won’t be long until Bree will be your first choice right back, so give him plenty of matches and he’ll soon be on his way to his potential.

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Those transfers will leave you with £20,000 in transfer funds and £150 in wages. We’re pretty much out of cash, so read on to see who you can sell to raise some money for scouts and extra purchases.

Suggested sales

Now that you’ve bought Ruddy in goal, you can sell Benjamin Büchel and Jack Stevens. They’ll bring in about £110,000 together.

Sam Long can be sold for about £80,000, as can Jonny Giles (£30,000) and Adriel George (£40,000).

Finally, you can clear Ryan Taylor off the books for about £150,000. If you need even more cash, sell Danny Hylton for 250,000.

In total, those sales should net you between £410,000 and £660,000 – plenty to help you meet the board’s expectations of fighting for promotion.

Future considerations: get a new left back

Jordan Evans is one of the highest potential players at Oxford United, but unfortunately he’s only loaned in. The alternative (Joe Skarz) only has 67 potential, so we’ll need another left back in the long run.

My suggestion is Alex Gersbach of Rosenborg BK in Norway. He’s rated 64 and has 75 potential, so will be a great fit for Oxford United. He’s pacey, has good stamina and is fairly strong too, making him a bit like a more developed James Bree. Rosenborg BK want £700,000 for him but you can get him for about £550,000. His wages are £2,150, and he wants the ‘important 1st team player’ squad role.

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That’s it for this week’s article on good teams for career mode. Oxford United are in a great position to work their way up the divisions. Their budget is at a great point – not so good as to make things easy, but enough to give you a good starting point. And who says you need millions to build a good team anyway? My recommendations are super cheap and high potential, showing any team can improve itself with a bit of careful spending.

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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