FIFA 16 | Good teams for career mode – Bournemouth

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

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Bournemouth (Tier 2)

Tier 2 is all about teams that will struggle to survive in tough divisions, and they don’t come much tougher than the Premier League. Survive with Bournemouth and you’ll be able to overcome and challenge.

Contents

  1. Why choose Bournemouth?
  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

Starting transfer budget: £11,500,000
Starting wage budget: £60,000
Default formation: 4-5-1
Board expectations: Avoid relegation, reach cup round of 16
Key player: Max Gradel
Best young prospect: Callum Wilson

Why choose Bournemouth?

The Premier League is probably the most competitive division in the game, where even your relegation rivals can hammer you 4-0 if you don’t play well. That kind of unpredictability and abundant danger makes survival for a team like Bournemouth a constant uphill struggle. But that very same difficulty is part of the charm of taking a minnow in such a tough league – the reward of avoiding relegation feels fantastic when you know you’ve overcome the odds.

Bournemouth thus make a great team for career mode. They’ve got a strong enough budget to bring in some excellent players, and their current squad contains some real gems who can cause havoc in the Premier League. Keep them all fit and you’ve got a great chance of staying up.

Their key player is Max Gradel. Comfortably their best player, he’s at the top of his game at 79 OVR. He’s lightning quick (88 acceleration and sprint speed) and his 83 dribbling will cause all kinds of problems. He’s also got good finishing (rated 75) and a powerful shot, so will score plenty for you. Make sure he’s banging in the goals because he’s going to be a vital player.

Bournemouth’s highest potential player is Callum Wilson. He’s so good I featured him in my ‘best cheap strikers‘ article, and with 93 acceleration, 90 sprint speed and 81 strength it’s not hard to see why. He can hold off the challenges and outpace even the quickest defenders, and with 79 finishing and 77 positioning he’s got the ability to convert the chances his pace creates. A true poacher, he’s got 81 potential and will become a real beast.

Strongest starting lineup

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

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Highest potential lineup

Adjusting the formation slightly to 4-3-3, here’s Bournemouth’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: GK, CB, RB, CM.

While the front line is looking very good, there are some gaping holes in Bournemouth’s starting lineup, notably in defence and in goal, while midfield also needs some work. They’ll need patching up if you’re to last long in the Premier League, so read on to see who I’d recommend you buy.

Before we make any purchases, adjust your budget ratio to 71:29, giving you £10,380,200 in transfer funds and £81,534 in wages. Now let’s move on to the purchases.

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Train Jérôme Prior up and he’ll make an excellent future goalkeeper

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Jérôme Prior
Club: Giron. Bordeaux
Position: GK
OVR: 69
Potential: 82
Age: 19
Cost: £1.5m
Wages: £6,000

Bournemouth’s two main goalkeepers – Artur Boruc and Adam Federici – aren’t at all bad. However, Boruc is 35 and will be declining soon. Federici is 30 and could feasibly hold off the decline for another couple of years (keepers can keep growing into their early 30s), but there’s no guarantee of that. You’ll certainly need some young blood in soon to take over when the rot sets in.

Jérôme Prior is my choice. Although he’s got 82 potential and a decent OVR for his age, Giron. Bordeaux only want £2.2m for him, and you can negotiate that down to around £1.5m. That makes him very cheap indeed for a keeper with such potential. Start training him as soon as he arrives and he could be ready to take the number one jersey very quickly.

In terms of his stats, he’s a very well-balanced goalkeeper. While some keepers excel at reflexes and diving but are weak when it comes to handling, Prior’s ability to do well at all aspects of goalkeeping stands him in good really stead.


FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Erik Sviatchenko is pacey for a centre back and very strong too

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Erik Sviatchenko
Club: FC Midtjylland
Position: CB
OVR: 74
Potential: 80
Age: 23
Cost: £3.3m
Wages: £30,000

Bournemouth’s centre back partnership may seem decent enough at first – the promising Steve Cook and the rock solid Silvain Distin – until you realise that Distin is an almighty 37 years old and his OVR will sink faster than a lead balloon once you start the season. Bournemouth have a couple of promising young centre backs in Jack Simpson and Baily Cargill (potential 77 and 75 respectively), but they’re quite raw now and will take a few years to hit that. You need someone who can slot straight into the starting lineup and replace the creaking Distin.

My choice is Erik Sviatchenko of FC Midtjylland in Denmark. His stats make him an ideal Premier League centre back – 76 sprint speed is very fast for a centre back and should help him mop up opposition attacks, while his 83 strength means he can outmuscle those strikers that he can’t outpace. Strong tackling stats, excellent aerial presence, 80 potential and a solid 74 OVR make him a great buy for Bournemouth.

His club want £5m for him but I was able to get that down to £3.3m. He wants wages of £30,000.


FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Helibelton Palacios has great pace, which will come in very handy

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Helibelton Palacios
Club: Deportivo Cali
Position: RB
OVR: 72
Potential: 80
Age: 22
Cost: £2.4m
Wages: £20,000

The right back position feels a little stagnant at Bournemouth. Simon Francis has reached his potential of 72 and won’t grow any more, while Adam Smith only has potential 74. If you want to stay afloat in the Premier League, you’ll need to sort out the right side of defence to ensure it doesn’t become a weak spot that other teams can exploit.

My solution for this problem is Helibelton Palacios of Deportivo Cali in Colombia. Aside from a great name, he’s got a lot of things in his favour. 84 acceleration, 89 sprint speed and 87 stamina mean he can harry full backs and catch up with opposition attacks all game long, and his good defensive stats should help put a stop to any trouble. His 78 crossing stat is also fantastic and will come in very handy when he turns his attentions to attack. And on top of that, he’s only going to get better thanks to his 80 potential.

Usually when you find a player with this kind of OVR, age and potential combination, you expect them to be expensive. But not so Palacios – his club want £3.4m for him, and I managed to knock that down to £2.4m. His wages are £20,000.


FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Daniel Amartey is perfectly built for life in the Premier League

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Daniel Amartey
Club: FC København
Position: CM
OVR: 71
Potential: 84
Age: 20
Cost: £3.1m
Wages: £15,000

While Dan Gosling and Harry Arter will do a solid job in midfield, Bournemouth really need one more central midfielder to round that area out. Andrew Surman is rated OK but won’t grow any more, while Matthew Butcher has good potential but will take a while to get there. Given how important it is to boss the midfield, you’ll need a player who can cope with the physical demands of the BPL.

We return to Denmark for my next recommendation, Daniel Amartey. Like Wilson, I’ve recommended Amartey in my best cheap high potential players series, and he will absolutely run the show in midfield. 79 sprint speed and 92 stamina mean he’ll cover every blade of grass, and his superb tackling and passing stats – not to mention his amazing 88 strength – will have him breaking up attacks and starting his own in the middle of the park. Note that he can also play in defence – and his OVR goes up to 76 (!) at centre back – but you may find he’s best suited to midfield, given his ability to dominate that space and become a catalyst for your attacks.

He’s priced at £4.2m by FC København, but I got that down to around £3.1m, getting around 25% off his asking price. His wage demands are £15,000. For a player with 84 potential, that’s a ridiculously cheap price to pay.


After those four transfers we’re left with £80,200 in transfer funds and £10,534 in wages. You’ll need to raise some extra cash if you want to invest in a scout or bring in another player, and thankfully there are some players we can sell to raise that money. Let’s see who they are.

Suggested sales

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Simon Francis can raise about £1m if you decide to sell him

Bringing in Prior means you can sell Federici and Ryan Allsop (another goalkeeper), which will bring in around £1.7m combined. Keep Boruc as your first choice keeper and train Prior like crazy and in a year or so he’ll be ready to take over.

In defence, you can sell Stéphane Zubar and Simon Francis to bring in around £1m. Midfield can also undergo a small-scale purge, with Shaun MacDonald, Eunan O’Kane and Junior Stanislas making you about £1.4m in total.

Finally, striker Yann Kermorgant can net you around £400,000 if you sell him.

All those sales can make you about £4.5m if you decide to go through with them all – a significant amount that could provide you with another player or a couple of good scouts.

Future considerations – get a new central midfielder

FIFA 16 good teams for career mode: Bournemouth

Renato Tapia is a midfield powerhouse who will work well alongside Amartey

Although the addition of Daniel Amartey will make a huge difference to Bournemouth’s midfield, you may feel it’s worth adding one more central midfielder just to make it perfect. As I mentioned above, Bournemouth’s midfielders are perfectly fine, but they could be improved upon.

So with that in mind, you could go for Renato Tapia of FC Twente. He’s a real midfield dynamo – with 84 potential, 82 strength and decent tackling stats he’ll make an excellent ball-winning partner to Amartey. His 79 dribbling is surprisingly good for a big buy (he’s 6’2″), and his acceleration isn’t bad either. He’ll win plenty of headers thanks to his 79 jumping and 75 heading accuracy, adding to his appeal in both defence and attack.

He starts at 71 OVR at 19 years of age and has 80 potential. FC Twente want £2.8m for him but you can knock that down to a mere £1.7m, an absurdly low price; his wages are £15,000.


That just about wraps up this week’s article on good teams for career mode. Just avoiding relegation will be a success for Bournemouth, but they’ve got enough high quality players and money to spend to make it a fun career mode where every game is a challenge. The purchases I’ve suggested should help steer you to safety in one of the most competitive – but entertaining – leagues in FIFA 16.

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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