It’s been a tough few years for Rangers, but they are now back in the big time and can challenge for silverware. The Gers were dumped out of the Scottish Premiership in 2012 and placed in the fourth tier of Scottish football due to a financial meltdown.
The Glasgow club rebuilt, taking just four seasons to return to the top flight. They still have plenty of ground to catch up on Old Firm rivals Celtic, who have lifted the league title six years on the bounce and are now targeting to be a threat in Europe.
Rangers are on their way back, but with the club still having some distance to go before lifting a Scottish Premiership title again, they are a great club to manage on FIFA 18’s Career Mode. Can you return silverware to Ibrox?
Team Rating
Rangers have a three-and-a-half-star rating on FIFA 18, reflecting their 71 overall. The Scottish heavyweights have a 72 attack, 70 midfield and 70 defence.
Formation
To keep things balanced, go for a 4-4-1-1 attack formation with Rangers. Against the weaker teams, you can switch to an attacking mentality (using the D-pad) and when you face Celtic, you may wish to drop deeper and go defensive. Other possible systems you can use are 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2.
Wes Foderingham is in between the sticks as James Tavernier, hard man Bruno Alves (90 aggression), Fabio Cardoso and Lee Wallace make up the back four.
The nifty Daniel Candeias (89 acceleration), Graham Dorrans, Ryan Jack and Jamie Murphy are the midfield four, with Jamie Windass operating just behind strong striker Alfredo Morelos (81 strength) in attack.
On the bench go for Jak Alnwick, Russell Martin, Declan John, Jordan Rossiter, Jason Holt, Michael O’Halloran and Kenny Miller.
Tactics
The margins will be small in the Scottish Premiership, and that little bit of extra quality Rangers have on most of the division should make the difference. Daniel Candeias is a threat on the flanks and you should use his movement (85 agility) to burst past opponents.
Jamie Windass should find space between the lines, and his dynamism (91 acceleration) will allow him to turn and drive at the defence. When you don’t have the ball, Bruno Alves should be able to bully attackers (90 strength) to win it back.
Training
Training is an added bonus in Career Mode. It allows you to improve the ability of your squad outside of matches, but make sure you use the right players. Using those with high growth will help you get the most out of your time, and at Rangers this includes Alfredo Morelos, Jamie Windass, Jordan Rossiter, Greg Docherty, Fabio Cardoso and Declan John.
The transfer market:
Starting transfer budget: £7.2 million
Starting wage budget: £96,000 a week
Who to sign – attacking midfielder
Jamie Windass is currently operating in the ‘centre forward’ role, but he is better equipped to play out wide on the left. You should then look to bring in a new attacking midfielder or second striker and attacking midfielder Milos Ninkovic could be the man to bring in.
Attacking or left midfielder Ninkovic is rated at 75, and with the Serbian’s contract at Sydney FC up in 2018, he can be a cheap signing. The 32-year-old holds stats of 80 agility, 78 vision and 78 ball control which will cost no more than £5 million with wages of just £10,000 a week.
Alternative options:
- Gerson Noalha – Chapecoense, Age 29, OVR 73, POT 73, Cost: £6 million, Wage: £17,000 a week
- Gustavo Lobateiro – Sao Paulo, Age 29, OVR 73, POT 73, Cost: £5.5 million, Wage: £26,000
- Fabian Sambueza – Deportivo Cali, Age 28, OVR 73, POT 73, Cost: £5 million, Wage: £4,000
- Pablo Barrientos – Deportivo Toluca, Age 32, OVR 74, POT 74, Cost: £5.5 million, Wage: £16,000
- Luis Bustamante – Deportes Iquique, Age 31, OVR 73, POT 73, Cost: £4.2 million, Wage: £4,000
Contracts
Four men have contracts running out at Rangers at the end of the season, and two of those should be given fresh deals.
David Bates is a promising defender who can achieve a potential of 74, and although Michael O’Halloran has reached his potential of 68, he can still do a job for your side.
As for Kenny Miller, at the age of 37 his 70 overall will decrease dramatically this season, so you should just let his contract expire. Niko Kranjcar is also past his best aged 32, and you could opt to sell the former Portsmouth and Spurs midfielder this season.
Managerial objectives
The managerial objectives at Rangers reflect their ambitions to be back at the top of Scottish football in a few seasons’ time. For your domestic success goal, you will need to ‘achieve a high finish’ which is the top three in the Scottish Premiership, and also reach the quarterfinals of the Scottish Cup. Within two seasons you will be expected to win the league title.
For brand exposure, you must sign a crucial first team player who is either a forward or midfielder. Your financial objective requires you to reduce player wages by £22,000 a week, so you may need to sell some of your fringe players.
Youth development requires you to sign two players under the age of 20. These must have a higher potential than the average rating of players in the same position. You must also sign a youth player to the senior team and play them during five matches over the season.
Return to the top
Considering the club could have gone out of existence, Rangers fans will be patient when it comes to lifting trophies. To be in the frame for silverware already is a testament to the club and you should use the first season to get acclimatised at Rangers before targeting the league title in your second campaign.
It won’t be easy, but the potential of the club is there to usurp rivals Celtic, and with the majority of the Scottish Premiership a step beneath Rangers, you may even push the champions close in your debut season.
Full Rangers player ratings
Player | Age | Pos | Country | OVR | POT | Value | Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goalkeepers | |||||||
Wes Foderingham | 26 | GK | England | 73 | 77 | £5.5m | £31k |
Jak Alnwick | 24 | GK | England | 68 | 76 | £1m | £15k |
Defenders | |||||||
Bruno Alves | 35 | CB | Portugal | 75 | 75 | £1m | £28k |
Fabio Cardoso | 23 | CB | Portugal | 73 | 81 | £8m | £33k |
James Tavernier | 25 | RB | England | 72 | 75 | £3.5m | £26k |
Lee Wallace | 29 | LB | Scotland | 71 | 71 | £1.5m | £29k |
Russell Martin | 31 | CB RB | Scotland | 71 | 71 | On Loan | £20k |
Declan John | 22 | LB LWB | Wales | 69 | 77 | £2m | £20k |
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