I understand that EA do not really show much interest in making major overalls to game modes such as career mode because that is not where they believe the money is but there are millions of players who still prefer to play offline as opposed to on. Making changes to the mode can bring back a lot of players of FIFA who decided to leave the game a few editions ago. These are the changes I would make to the career mode for being a manager.
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1. New Player Positions –
One thing that has always been an issue with me is the player positions and how they are set in stone.
For example, if I play with Daniel James he has three positions in the game. They are LM, RM and RW. Now he is a natural born winger. He has the pace and ball control worthy of one of the best young wingers in the game.
My issue came in a few days ago when I was playing my FIFA 20 career mode. As in real life my West Ham United team had a injury list longer than any other in the league and at one point I found myself with only one fit striker. His overall was 64 and he had no real abilities to be able to cut it in the Premier League so I tried different players up from to see how they would perform.
Felipe Anderson did not really do too well as a striker, nor did Manuel Lanzini so my next shot was Daniel James. Let me tell you this, the boy is better as a striker than he is as a winger. I tend to play counter attacking football so his pace leaves most defenders in his trail. By the time his stamina is hitting rock bottom he has usually scored a couple of goals or at least set them up.
Needless to say I stuck with him as a striker even as the likes of Haller and Antonio recovered from their injuries and he did not disappoint. He scored 24 goals and set up a further 18 from the end of November until the end of the season. He won the golden boot and made it to the team of the season.
Now the issue I have is that the following season he is not recognised as a striker. He was by far the best striker in the league yet this is not acknowledged so his value does not reflect on it.
Over the years we have seen countless players move positions and end up becoming the best at what they do. Thierry Henry was a winger until Arsene Wenger decided he would be better as a striker and he become one the best strikers in Arsenal’s history and the Premier League.
Another example would be Gareth Bale at Spurs. He was playing at left back and did not have the best of luck (especially the losing streak he had) until Harry Redknapp decided he would try him as an attacking winger. We all know how this turned out but in case you don’t he ended moving to Real Madrid for around £85m. He would never have been valued that much if he was still a LB.
So this is the first change I would make in FIFA 21. Recognise different player positions in the game and make the changes at the beginning of each season.
2. Player Swap Reversal – FIFA 21
I assume we all like the player swap option in FIFA 20. I know I do because it gives me the opportunity to get rid of some dead wood on my team in exchange for spending less on the players that I do want.
The one thing I would like to see changed though is the ability to add player swaps from other teams as a way of negotiating.
For example, after a very successful season Barcelona offered me £60m for Felipe Anderson and because he done so well I was reluctant to sell because I did not have many options as backup for the left wing. Now if Barcelona would have offered me £50m plus Ansu Fati as as way of sealing the deal and giving me the option to choose a different Barcelona player then this could have made the deal more realistic.
For the FIFA 21 career mode we need to be able to have more control over the transfers like we do in other games such as Football Manager. This would make it a lot more realistic to what we have now. Please do not get me wrong. FIFA have come a long was from where it was a few years ago but they need to be making major changes each year to keep players hooked and I think the first two points in this article would do that.
3. Youth Academy – FIFA 21
My last point and most probably my biggest point is that I would love to see a better set up for the youth players that are scouted in FIFA 21.
As it stands in FIFA 20 we are able to hire three scouts and send them out to find us the best youth players in the world but once we have found them there is not many options for us accept send them out on loan for a couple of years.
We need a youth academy section so we are able to hire somebody to come in and manage that youth academy. Youth games should be simulated but at least we would have a foundation for them in the game.
We could insist that the youth academy manager trains them in certain ways to progress, whether that be as a team or individual. The youth manager would then have to get back to us each month with his report of which players are progressing more than others and who he thinks is worthy of a few first team appearances in the domestic cups or friendlies etc. This would add so much realism to the game and would be a welcomed addition by so many players.
Another thing that could be added along these lines would be the reserve leagues. If players in your first team are not performing then we could have an option to send them to the reserves. Following along the same lines as above the reserve team would not be playable but could be simulated so players are getting play time and trying to get their form back.
Once a player is marked as a reserve player he will not be playable for the first team until he is unchecked as a reserve player. This could also go a long way in player morale because if a player is promoted and demoted too many times it could lower his morale to the point where he wants to leave.
I know for me I always have so many players who do not get a look in all season and their only chance of any game time is if I simulate a few weeks and the choice is out of my hands so these changes could make a huge difference to player progress.
So these are the changes that I would like to see in FIFA 21. I know FIFA has come a long way in improving each and every section of their game but adding things like Volta are novelty which people soon get bored off. They could use that time and effort to improve aspects of FUT and career mode that player actually want to see.
4. Full Career Stats
Now my favourite mode in FIFA has been and always will be career mode. I get the chance to take a team from the pits of the football league and turn them into Premier League winners. It is a feat I have achieved in each and every addition of FIFA
The change I would like to see in the FIFA 21 Career Mode is the tracking of stats from players. As you can imagine managing a lower league club does not give you much funding to be able to buy the best players so I like to use my scouting system to bring in youth players.
Even in the lower leagues you can find some real gems and because your team are in the lower divisions the starting stats for some of these youth players are not to far off from your main squad.
So for example I scout a player called John Smith in my first season and straight away he is in my team. Ten years later he is still in my team and has become a superstar.
The only statistics I have for this one player is how many goals and assists he has for the current season.
The FIFA 21 career mode changes need to be able to let you see him lifetime stats. Get commentators to mention milestones such has his 50th goal for the club or his 100th appearance.
Career mode sees us managing for 15 seasons so it would be nice to be able to see who our best signings were during that time and who flopped.
5. Loans to parent clubs
There are not to many people who are aware of this but most big clubs have affiliations with smaller teams so that they have somewhere to send their youth players to gain experience. This is how so many Chelsea youth players ended up playing in Holland.
We can all admit that the loan system is flawed in FIFA 20 and has been for some time. If you have a player who is 18 years old and rated at 65 overall stats it is going to be very hard to get him to leave on loan. It would take for a team in the top leagues to come in for him and then he may leave but the system is flawed.
Being able to have a parent club will give teams the opportunity to offload some youth talent who are not in contention for the first team. In return your parent club could offer you players who they think would make an impact in your team.
6. Half Time Team Talks
We have all been there. It is half time and your losing 2-0 to a team that has run your ragged for the entire first half. This is not just normal but it is football.
In real life the managers team talk can transform a team for the second half. Take the likes of Fergie or Wenger when their teams have trailed at half time. They come out of that tunnel a completely different team than when they went in.
I have to admit that the new addition to FIFA 20 with the press conferences and player interactions have been a welcomed and long overdue change but it cant stop there.
