It's nearly time for FIFA 16.
Luckily, we at Balls.ie have had a chance to play a sneak peak of FIFA 16, and while we had our time with the game, you just know we had to head straight for Team Management for a look at the Irish FIFA 16 player ratings.
These are from an almost finished build of the game, so they are subject to change, but that's unlikely.
These are not all Irish players in the game, but those in the Irish squad and selection pool. The comparison is against their overall rating in FIFA 15, players in bold are ones we will discuss below:
Cyrus Christie - 65 Overall - Up 1
Paul McShane - 66 Overall - No Change
Sean St Ledger - 67 Overall - No Change
Kevin Doyle - 67 Overall - Down 1
Harry Arter - 69 Overall - Up 3
Stephen Quinn - 69 Overall - Up 1
Jeff Hendrick - 70 Overall - No Change
Stephen Ward - 70 Overall - No Change
David Meyler - 70 Overall - Up 2
Jonathan Walters - 70 Overall - No Change
David McGoldrick - 71 Overall - Up 1
Richard Keogh - 71 Overall - No Change
David Forde - 71 Overall - Up 2
Jack Grealish - 71 Overall - Up 6
Robbie Brady - 71 Overall - No Change
Marc Wilson - 72 Overall - Up 1
Daryl Murphy - 72 Overall - Up 2
Damien Delaney - 73 Overall - Up 1
James McClean - 73 Overall - No Change
Ciaran Clark - 74 Overall - Up 1
Shay Given - 74 Overall - No Change
John O'Shea - 74 Overall - Down 1
Keiren Westwood - 75 Overall - Up 1
Glen Whelan - 75 Overall - Up 1
Stephen Ireland - 75 Overall - Down 1
Darron Gibson - 76 Overall - No Change
Shane Long - 76 Overall - Up 1
Aiden McGeady - 78 Overall - No Change
Robbie Keane - 79 Overall - No Change
James McCarthy - 80 Overall - No Change
Seamus Coleman - 80 Overall - No Change
Once again the Everton boys Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy are the highest rated Irish players. Good old Robbie Keane hangin' in there as well. Here are our major talking points:
Harry Arter
Harry Arter is terribly under-rated. 66 Overall is a League One standard player, whereas the leading midfielder in the Championship, which Arter proved himself to be one of last season, are closer to 74. Arter is a goal threat and hopefully he finds form in the Premier League to see a stats boost.
Jonathan Walters
Only 70 overall for big Jon Walters? The last time we checked he was still doing his job in the Premier League of running channels, taking penalties, and generally just being a big physical issue for the opponent. This rating seems low although perhaps Walters doesn't suit the FIFA gameplay style.
Jack Grealish
Ireland's biggest improver, Grealish broke through at Aston Villa last season and he's been rewarded with a six point jump in overall rating, he should be fun to use, and we imagine his career mode potential is very high.
Daryl Murphy
72 Overall is a bit low for a striker who was as dominant in the Championship last year as Murphy was. 74 or even 75 and gold status in Ultimate Team would be more fitting for a striker who chose to stay at Ipswich which presumably means he'll do similar things this year.
Glenn Whelan
Go on the Glenn Whelan. Part of the furniture at Stoke and still in the heart of the Irish midfield due to our total failure to find anyone who can do a job better, Whelan has managed to go up in overall rating from a 74 to a 75, which means he will now be a gold card in FIFA 16. If you are building an Irish team in FUT, he's going to be dirt cheap from the start.
Not long to go now! FIFA 16 is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC from September 24.
