Tuesday, 1 April 2014

All IF Silver team

Silver IF's are expensive, very expensive, in part because EA give very little consideration to that mode of Ultimate Team but also because price fixers love to buy them all during the first week of release. In recent months I have been picking up a few silver IF's because I felt there was a possibility I could make a decently priced team which was fun to use.
I believe I have done that and despite the lack of pace it plays pretty well.


Riou - 9k - Having used Riou before I was happy enough to use him again instead of trying another IF keeper, plus he is the tallest silver French keeper. He does has his flaws, sometimes he's a little slow and can struggle to reach top corner shots but generally he is very solid and bats the ball away well, he makes good saves from corners and does what he needs to do to stifle the opposition. He distribution is fine and he won't lose you many games; he is clearly a silver keeper, and not like Forster, but he's not a bad one in the slightest. (7.5/10)

Laporte - 12.5k - He is a man mountain; amazing standing tackles, great sliding ones, brilliant positioning but of course he lacks a little pace. Strength wise he is very useful and rarely gets shoved off the ball and when the ball is in the air you can assume he's probably going to win it, especially when attacking corners. He is pretty damn good in my opinion and a very competitive member of this team, he does a great job and his pace should be overlooked, then again he does look pretty quick next to Squillaci. (8.2/10)

Squillaci - 12.5k - He might be slow but he seems to always know where the ball is going and wins it with ease. He is strong enough, has a brilliant standing tackle, is great in the air but of course when the ball us going over his head you need to rely on his great positioning rather than his acceleration, fortunately you can. I really like him, he's very solid and has it all apart from pace, and actually in defence a player who has good positioning is worth their weight in coins. (8.2/10)

Bertran - 17k - I always wanted this guy but sadly price fixers had their way from day 1 and 35k was a little too expensive, a recent price drop has proved that I was right to assume he'd be useful as he is a quality member of the team. His standing tackle is very good and he can slide around with success but his pace and willingness to get forward can cause him some issues when tracking back. He isn't the best in the air but he gets under his man and can cope with those long balls if you drag him back first.
He does like to come forward but has good positioning when retreating but it's his great pass and decent dribbling which allows him to really make the team tick. (8/10)

Souare - 19k - Another guy I've been after for months but he is regularly price fixed and regularly drops to 20k. Souare is brilliant; strong in the air, strong in the tackle, quick enough to support in defence and attack and he has a brilliant pass which allows midfielders to get forward. There isn't much negative about him, maybe he could have a better shot and more agility, but all in all he's a solid defender with a great amount of quality. He also has a great corner and free kick which is very beneficial as I lack left footed players in this team. I have heard the SIF is even better but I'm not quite willing to pay 40k just yet. (8.5/10)

Fran Rico - 8k - Having tried Pardo, Verza and Soriano I came to the conclusion that Rico is the best player for this defensive role especially as his interceptions and extra pace are very noticeable. Of the three Pardo is the best dribbler but he simply can't defend and his passing is good but not spectacular, Verza and Soriano can't dribble whereas Rico seems to have this attribute, though he's not brilliant at it. His passing is better when being used short, he can beat a man with his pace and isn't a weak as you might think. His tackling is very good and he challenges the man in the air rather than rolling over and losing every header but he is a defensive guy with defensive qualities, shooting definitely confirms that. In this M/M midfield I chose his high interception stat over Soriano's H/H tallness, purely because Soriano is a nightmare to dribble with. (7.5/10)

Makoun - 28k - Here at the Villa we love Makoun and I was happy to grab his IF and put him in one of my teams; he doesn't disappoint. His short passing is strong, his long passing decent, he defends well and has enough pace to beat a man when needed. He isn't the strongest but he's a 50/50 player which is fine for me because I prefer to pass rather than get caught on the ball. His dribbling is decent and he wins many headers despite being short but he's a solid guy with solid stats. His shooting could definitely be improved but he can put the ball away when needed, just don't shoot from distance as it will leave you frustrated. 2* skills is annoying but that's the price you pay for a full IF team. (7.9/10)

Alex Lopez - 18k - He is a star; his short passing is excellent, long passing absolutely superb and his shooting tests many keepers though perhaps he should've scored a few more for me. His dribbling is good enough and his positioning strong and in defence he actually does offer something despite not being a natural defender. He always seems to be in the right place, even when the ball is bobbling in the box or being cleared, I don't naturally look to play him the ball but it always ends up at his feet. If you get him then use his through ball, his vision might not be incredible but he will find a man with a useful pass. Another 2* skiller, which while sad can be overlooked when you hit that pass button. (8.7/10)

Kadir - 14k - He's right footed, very right footed. His crossing is better than average, as is his passing with his right foot, but his dribbling lets him down because he struggles to beat a man with his feet or his strength. He is the weak link in this team because he doesn't really have that much that is special. Despite having Deadeye chemistry he also misses a lot of chances but I have changed his chemistry to Catalyst so I'll update if there are any changes. I did this because ideally he needs more pace, I did think about using Engine but hopefully his agility will be improved with Catalyst because more agility would definitely benefit his dribbling. He's average, very average, made worse by those 2* skills and M/M workrates, but a necessary evil in this team and manageable if you pass the ball to someone else and give it him back at the end of the move or when he decides to get forward. Swapping wings hasn't seemed to help me that much either. (6/10...I might be being generous)

Javi Guerra - 20k - Guerra is a hidden gem, his has unusual work rates for a striker M/H but don't let that fool you; his attribute is making critical runs. He is strong, quick enough, has a great header as well as a good finish, plus his positioning for scrambles in the box seem brilliant. His runs are superb and is always arriving at the right time for a header or late pass but he does have one flaw, average dribbling, though this is manageable you just need to think about what you're about to do instead of reacting like you might with someone like Riascos. His passing is decent and his defending excellent which is good with my M/M midfield. I really like using him and I think he's a star, much as he was in FIFA13. A fantastic silver bargain, especially when you consider silver IF's can be very expensive. A goal machine and with 3* skills. (8.8/10)

Cejudo - 19k - I had used Acoran, who was decent, but I noticed a huge change when I grabbed this bargain of a player. 3* skills which is very useful, 5* weak foot which is extremely noticeable and practically no drawbacks. Crossing is excellent, passing very good, shooting purposeful especially as he has a 5* weak foot, and positioning brilliant. He could perhaps use a little more pace but he's always on the shoulder making runs players can't track and with Lopez behind him you can be sure he's going to get away from the full back. Sometimes he is lonely due to other attackers work rates but he seems strong enough to get by his full back and his dribbling allows you to turn and get a chance to test the keeper. He was a brilliant upgrade on Acoran and gets the majority of the teams assists. His corner taking is also superb and he and Laporte have built up a quality understanding. (9/10)