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

Notts County (Tier 4)

Tier 4 teams start right at the very bottom, with few resources and a real struggle ahead. These are long haul career modes, so don’t expect anything too easy. For my first tier 4 article, I’ve chosen Notts County. They start at the very bottom of the English league system in FIFA 16, but with some clever purchases and wise investments, can develop over time into a real force. It’ll be a great journey.

Contents

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

Starting transfer budget: £1,100,000
Starting wage budget: £10,000
Default formation: 4-4-2
Board expectations: Win the league title, reach cup round of 32
Key player: Stanley Aborah
Best young prospect: Elliott Hewitt

Why choose Notts County?

As I mentioned earlier, Notts County start in League 2, the very bottom English division. Even accounting for a promotion every season, you’re still looking at three years before they hit the Premier League – and that’s if they do fantastically well. It’s going to be a long old slog up the divisions, and with some ageing players few promising youngsters, you’ll have to take your time and build up your squad slowly.

That said, they do have one of the best budgets in the division (along with Portsmouth), a fantastic stadium and a couple of excellent players buried within their ranks. Build your team around these players and spend your money wisely and you’ll be able to transform them into an efficient fighting force. And the good thing about starting at the very bottom is that the sense of achievement when you rise up the leagues is even greater – nothing is handed to you on a platter, you have to work for your rewards – and believe me, it is very rewarding.

Notts County’s most important player is Stanley Aborah. He’s a midfield dynamo and the key to controlling the game. What makes him great is not only his OVR (obviously), which is one of the best in the team, but that he is so well-rounded. He can play as an anchorman mopping up opposition attacks, or he makes a capable playmaker a little further forward. However, as he’s 28 and the next best central midfielder (Alan Smith) is 34, you’ll need to find a player to partner Aborah and eventually replace him.

The most promising young player in the squad is Elliott Hewitt. He’s a rapid full back and has excellent stamina, so will be able to both attack and defend with pace all game long. He’s got 74 potential, which is one of the better potentials in League 2, so should grow quickly and will soon become a key member of the team. Try to resist offers from other teams from him, as you’ll need his pace and potential as you move up the divisions.

Strongest starting lineup

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

Highest potential lineup

Changing to a 4-1-2-1-2 formation, here’s Notts County’s highest potential lineup, with potentials in brackets:

Recommended purchases

Key signings required: GK, LB, CM.

It’s rare to find players with over 70 potential in League 2, so it looks like most areas of Notts County’s starting lineup could be improved. But the most glaring problem positions are in goal, at left back and at central midfield. While Roy Carroll is the side’s best player, he’s also 37 and will decline rapidly and soon retire, so a replacement should be found. As I mentioned above, Alan Smith will also be declining straight away, and it’ll only be a year or two before the same happens to Stanley Aborah, so you’ll need at least one new central midfielder. Finally, there’s not much potential at left back, so that could really do with sharpening up.

Before you start, adjust the budget ratio to 55:45. This gives us £891,000 in transfer funds and £14,019 in wages. Now let’s see who we can bring in with that.

Augusto Batalla
Club: River Plate
Position: GK
OVR: 61
Potential: 77
Age: 19
Cost: £420,000
Wages: £2,000

Roy Carroll may be good at the start of your career, and goalkeepers may keep growing later in their careers than outfield players, but it still won’t be long before he starts declining. The problem is that there’s no ready-made replacement for him in the Notts County squad. Scott Loach only had 65 potential and… that’s it – there aren’t any other keepers in the squad. So a promising young replacement is needed to be Carroll/Loach’s understudy and eventual replacement.

My choice is Augusto Batalla of River Plate in Argentina. He’s a little raw at the moment, but what is very encouraging is that he is very well rounded – there’s not one area of his goalkeeping game that is particularly weak. That means that when he approaches his 77 potential, he’s going to be great at everything. So make sure you spam the training for him when he arrives and thanks to that high potential, he’ll be ready to take over the number one jersey in next to no time.

River Plate want £600,000 for him but I was able to negotiate that down to around £420,000. His wages are £2,000 and he wants the ‘squad rotation player’ squad role.

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Rico Henry
Club: Walsall
Position: LB
OVR: 64
Potential: 80
Age: 17
Cost: £0 (loan)
Wages: £1,000

The left back situation at Notts County is looking dire. They’ve got the 64-rated Alan Sheehan in on loan, but his loan expires on 28 December. Once he’s gone back to his parent club, you’re only left with Rhys Sharpe (54 OVR, 65 potential), and he’s just not good enough. There is Blair Adams out on loan at Mansfield Town, but with 69 potential he’s nothing to get the pulse racing either.

My solution to this problem comes in two parts. The first is to loan in Rico Henry from Walsall. His wages are only £1,000 so he’s eminently affordable, and for that you get and absolutely rapid full back with bags of potential. With 93 acceleration, 90 sprint speed and 81 stamina he’ll be tearing League 2 apart, and his 80 potential should see his growth progress just as quickly. He’s an absolute must-get player for a Notts County career.

Like I said, just loan him in for the year. Then we can move onto part two of the left back solution.

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Florent Hanin
Club: Strømsgodset IF
Position: LB
OVR: 68
Potential: 72
Age: 25
Cost: £0 (contract expiry)
Wages: £9,000

Because Henry is only on loan, we’ll need a longer term solution. My suggestion is Florent Hanin of Strømsgodset IF in Norway. He’s very very pacey and has good stamina, so can cause problems for 90 minutes. Unlike many attacking full backs, though, his defensive stats are some of his best, so you know he won’t let you down when the opposition are on the attack. He’ll make a real difference to your team and should solve those left back woes.

Don’t bother making an offer for him straight away – there’s no need, because you can get him for free as his contract is expiring. Wait until the January transfer window, then find him and select ‘approach to sign on contract expiry’. He’ll want £9,000 and the ‘crucial 1st team player’ squad role, but that should be enough to lure him to Notts County. He should be rated around 70 OVR when he arrives at the start of the second season, making him a brilliant player to have at both League 2 and League 1 level, should you get promoted.

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Eslem Öztürk
Club: Beşiktaş
Position: CDM
OVR: 63
Potential: 80
Age: 17
Cost: £420,000
Wages: £1,800

Stanley Aborah needs a midfield partner, because Alan Smith and Gill Swerts (34 and 32 respectively) won’t maintain their starting OVRs for long. I’d recommend you go for Eslem Öztürk. What I like about this player is he can play in so many different positions – in fact, if you play him at CAM, his OVR goes up two points. That flexibility means he’ll be able to provide plenty of cover across the midfield – ideal in a division like League 2, where you end up playing so many matches.

As well as that, he’s got 80 potential, so there’s a very good chance he’ll end up developing into a complete midfielder with enough time and growth. Get him early before his price rises and you’ll have a fantastic midfielder along for Notts County’s journey up the divisions.

Speaking of his price, Beşiktaş in Turkey want £650,000 for him, but I was able to get that down to about £420,000. You’ll need to bump his wages up slightly to £1,800 and offer him the ‘important 1st team player’ squad role, and then he should be happy to join your side.

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All those transfers will leave you with £51,000 in transfer funds and £219 in wages – not exactly a lot. If you want to raise a bit more cash, you could try selling some of the players below.

Suggested sales

Notts County have tons of strikers they don’t need. To bring in some extra money, you could sell Filip Valencic, Colby Bishop and John Stead – those together would net you around £300,000.

Similarly, Liam Noble is probably surplus to requirements, so selling him would bring in around £100,000.

Notts County are a bit thin on the ground in other positions so you probably won’t want to sell too many other players, but that extra £400,000 could come in very useful if you wanted to buy some scouts or bring in another player or two.

Future considerations – get a new centre back

One of these potential problem areas is at centre back. I don’t just mean there aren’t many high potential centre backs in the squad – there aren’t many there at all. Only four, in fact, and of those one is 35 and another 32, so don’t expect them to last too long. If you end up with an injury crisis, it could be bad news.

I’d recommend going for John Egan of Gillingham. You can get him on a free transfer in the first January transfer window (he wants £8,000 in wages). He’s a solid buy because not only does he have 79 strength, but he’s got decent pace for a centre back thanks to his 73 sprint speed. He’s got good defending stats and can score a few goals with his head too. He starts at 67 OVR at 22 years of age and has 72 potential, but should be around 69 to 70 OVR when he arrives – like Hanin, that’ll be an excellent OVR to have in League 2 or League 1.

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That’s it for this week’s article on good teams for career mode. If you want to start right at the bottom and work your way up the divisions, Notts County are a great team to choose. Their decent budget should give you plenty of room to maneuvre, but you’ll still have to spend it wisely if you want to get successive promotions and build a real dynasty at the club. One thing’s for sure, though – for a fun career mode that’ll keep going and going, Notts County make for a superb choice.

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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