Of the many exciting benefits that Tranmere’s promotion brings, for gamers the return of the club the video game “FIFA” is a big one.
(Note: If you’re not one of the 42million people around the world who enjoyed playing FIFA over the last 12-18 months, this article probably won’t be for you.)
So, given that we realise a large proportion of our demographic are indeed likely to be FIFA players/fans, we thought we’d add some coverage of the game from a Tranmere perspective over the coming months.
How will EA SPORTS calculate the ratings of Tranmere’s players in FIFA 19?
The ratings are calculated through a mix of data collection, statistical analysis and guesswork, as it happens.
Michael Mueller-Moehring is the man behind the ratings of players on FIFA, and he recently told ESPN how EA SPORTS have a network of some 9,000 data reviewers that include professional football scouts, fans and experts around the world, that will supply data for the player ratings. While some pure statistical data from the season just finished can be used, inevitably every single one of the 18,000+ players in FIFA will need to be watched in action by one of the huge network of EA SPORTS scouts.
These initial stats are then edited down by 300 data editors and each player given attributes across 35 individual aspects of their game. All of this number recording and crunching is taking place on a giant, online, hidden database as we speak, by the way.
Physical data is also factored in (height, speed, weight, etc) as well as other circumstances such as what level the player is operating at. For example, Lionel Messi playing in League Two would obviously have a lower rating than the one he has at Barcelona.
Read more about the process here on ESPN.
What likely ratings will Tranmere players have?
Going on the above, and previous ratings for players in League Two, expect Tranmere’s squad to be made up of players with an overall rating between 55 and 60, with a couple of players breaking in to the low-to-mid 60s.
Current Tranmere players who appeared on FIFA 18
As a steer for what we may see on FIFA 19, three current Tranmere players appeared on the current verson of the game, FIFA 18, for former clubs. They are Mark Ellis, Ollie Banks and Josh Ginnelly. A breakdown of their FIFA qualities are as follows:
Mark Ellis
Position: CB
Club: Carlisle United
Rating: 64
Ollie Banks
Position: CM
Club: Oldham Athletic
Rating: 65
Josh Ginnelly
Position: LM
Club: Lincoln City
Rating: 60
Current squad members’ ratings on previous version of FIFA
Going a little further back, we can see that many of Tranmere’s current squad have already been on FIFA at some point in the past. Here is a breakdown of the ratings when they last appeared, and the year they appeared.
Scott Davies
FIFA 15
Club: Fleetwood
Rating: 59
Adam Buxton
FIFA 17
Club: Portsmouth
Rating: 59
Liam Ridehalgh
FIFA 15
Club: Tranmere
Rating: 59
Ritchie Sutton
FIFA 15
Club: Mansfield
Rating: 60
Steve McNulty
FIFA 16
Club: Luton Town
Rating: 62
Larnell Cole
FIFA 17
Club: Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Rating: 65
Jay Harris
FIFA 09
Club: Chester
Rating: 50
Ben Tollitt
FIFA 17
Club: Portsmouth
Rating: 57
Oliver Noburn
FIFA 15
Club: Plymouth Argyle
Rating: 59
Connor Jennings
FIFA 14
Club: Scunthorpe United
Rating: 58
James Wallace
FIFA 17
Club: Sheffield United
Rating: 66
James Alabi
FIFA 15
Club: Stoke City
Rating: 60
George Waring
FIFA 17
Club: Shrewsbury Town
Rating: 63
James Norwood
FIFA 11
Club: Exeter City
Rating: 43 (Potential 56)
Will Tranmere players be as recognisable as their Premier League counterparts?
In short, no. Last year, Forest Green Rovers were given the full head-scanning feature by EA SPORTS so that their players could be included in full detail to celebrate the promotion of this ‘small village team’ to the EFL.
This was a special case though. Scanning of players at Premier League clubs begins earlier in the year and was completed for many in February. We would not expect to see Tranmere players given this treatment, sadly.
Will Prenton Park be included?
Again, almost certainly not. The eagle-eyed among you may see the likes of Portsmouth have a lifelike Fratton Park on FIFA games even when they were in League Two. This is merely a hangover from their Premier League days. Stadia do not get deleted as teams drop away from the top flight, so it seems, instead new Premier League teams see their grounds added in.
When is FIFA 19 due out?
Release will most likely be September, week commencing 24th.
Which consoles will FIFA 19 be available on?
FIFA 19 will be available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Last generation consoles (Xbox 360, PS3) may miss out this time, but that is yet to be confirmed.
What new features will on FIFA 19?
Expect inclusion of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League as officially licensed competitions. The license was held by Konami in recent years and a staple part of PES, however, expect it’s inclusion on FIFA 19 to be confirmed at E3 this week.
The Journey will also return as Alex Hunter continues his career in the third part of the series, while dynamic weather is also hotly-tipped to make FIFA 19. This essentially means a match may start off with dry conditions, but be raining by full-time (or at points in between).