Sports

FIFA 18: Cheltenham Town’s Rating Refresh

With Cheltenham exceeding expectations this season and only two silver players in their squad – surely we can expect a few upgrades?

Here’s a list of most likely upgrades:

Mo Eisa 56 –> 64

  • The Sudanese striker has been Cheltenham’s top scorer this season, scoring 15 of their 46 goals (33%). Eisa should receive an upgrade on his pace from 75 to 81 (+6) – he’s quicker than most players he comes up against and this should be recognised.
  • You could also expect a +8 in shooting and dribbling, not only because he deserves this, but also because it reflects his 64 rating.
  • Eisa earned a silver in-form (IF) in the Team of the Week (TOTW) 22, the only Cheltenham player to have received an IF this season, after scoring a hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Port Vale.
  • Eisa has enjoyed a successful debut season in the Football League, after signing for The Robins from Greenwich Borough last summer.

William Boyle 60–>63

  • Boyle has made 23 appearances so far this season, and is Cheltenham’s highest-scoring defender with three goals.
  • His defence should rise from 59 to 62, his physical from 70 to 73 and pace from 57 to 64 – he’s deceptively quick for a lad standing at 6’3”.
  • His rating of 60 is somewhat unjust, as the games in which he hasn’t featured (11), Cheltenham conceded 17 goals.
  • Since joining Cheltenham 12 months ago, the former Huddersfield Town man has excelled in central defence, and has served as a competent understudy to veteran Aaron Downes.

Joe Morrell 59–>63

  • Morrell has featured 29 times for Cheltenham this season and has shown his versatility by playing in central midfield, defensive midfield and left midfield.
  • Morrell has greatly improved his passing and should see it rise from 59 to 63-69. His physical could also improve from 44 to around 60, standing at 6’1” he rarely gets bullied around the pitch.
  • Half of the games Morrell has missed this season have been due to national team call-ups; playing in the Wales U21 victory over Liechtenstein and the 0-0 draw against Romania.
  • The Welshman has been brilliant for Cheltenham since arriving on loan from Bristol City in the summer.

Unfortunately, there have been some underperformers for Cheltenham this season and they may get a downgrade:

Sanmi Odelusi 65 –> 61

  • Odelusi was also recently red-carded in a reserve game and has been suspended for three games. Hopefully a fresh start with Cheltenham might kick-start his season but based on past form it’s likely he’ll get a downgrade.
  • His pace should remain 79, but his dribbling, shooting and passing could suffer.
  • Struggling for match-fitness, Odelusi has only completed a full 90 minutes once this season.
  • A recent addition to the side, Cheltenham’s joint highest-rated player Odelusi has only featured 14 times this season, and has been involved in three goals from the left-wing.

Daniel Wright 60–>58

  • Something which further hinders Wright’s claim to a high rating is the emergence of Eisa, who has taken League Two by storm this season. This has limited Wright’s game-time, which may further result in a downgrade. Due to EA’s history of downgrading old players and players with a poor disciplinary record, it looks likely he will receive a downgrade.
  • Wright has scored five times in 32 appearances this term and has received two red cards.
  • Wright may be downgraded by no fault of his own, but it’s become a habit for EA to downgrade players as they got older.

Cheltenham have exceeded expectations so far this season and multiple players – including ones that aren’t mentioned – deserve an upgrade.

Honourable mentions:

  • Carl Winchester
  • Harry Pell
  • Jamie Grimes
  • Kevin Dawson
  • Taylor Moore