Reviews

What a pleasant surprise this card has been. I build a premier league squad every year and I was fortunate to pack this guy on the day of his release. Given that he was nearly discard value almost immediately after release I decided to hang on to the card for use in either a future sbc or to sell when an sbc appeared that required an inform.

A couple of key stats really caught my attention when looking at this card that made me feel he could be useful: First, 96 stamina was excellent to see, this meant Doherty could be making runs and tracking back effectively all game long. Second, 83 crossing meant that i could be sending in decent balls on the end of runs if the option presented itself. Third, 80 sprint speed was higher than most of the other fullbacks in the premier league that werent extortionatley expensive. Fourth, 80 interceptions meant I could rely on Doherty to cut out a fair few passes to wingers which in my opinion is the most effective way of attacking this year so far. Finally, 86 jumping paired with 6' height meant he wouldnt lose many headers.

So my first step was to slap a shadow on the card, the acceleration is a bit of a concern so bumping up 15 to 89 was a great help, the interceptions goes up to 90 as well which is something I love to see on my defenders. Leaving his instructions to balanced was fine for the most part, but I did notice that he sometimes didnt track back quickly enough if he had pushed well forward, I would put that down to medium defensive work rates. This is something that you should keep in consideration if you arent a confident defender and prefer the extra man back to help out.

Going forward the dribbling was just acceptable, fairly average stats other than a slightly poor 69 agility made it tough sometimes, but having good speed from the shadow meant that if i just knocked the ball past and ran straight there werent many issues. The low agility can also hinder in defense against very nimble players so I found myself not going in too aggressively on those players lest I risk missing a tackle or conceding a foul.

Passing was great, he finds short passes well and can send in decent crosses. I try to keep play simple with the defenders, their average attack stats can catch you out with stray passes and the like. I personally struggle to get crossing right all the time but I think better players will get more out of him in this regard. Shooting is not applicable to me, if your fullback is taking shots you're either desperate or incapable of finding your attackers.

Defending was solid and I rarely noticed Doherty, which is a great thing for defenders, if you dont notice them then they're not making mistakes. The strength and aggression is acceptable for a wide defender as 90% of the time the winger you are marking has inferior physicality, such is how EA likes to judge the physicality of wingers.

To summarise, you're getting a really solid player here for a really good price. Realistically even if you dont like this card in game its going to be a good investment of coins for when the market jumps up with flashback sbcs or icons. I strongly recommend a shadow chem style for this card but I think you could get away with an anchor as well. He covers a lot of ground and rarely loses challenges. I think he's worth your time.