I'm not saying FIFA hasn't improved, and having been a part of developing the new series of Champ Man games (post-SI) he should know a thing or two about manager modes. That aspect doesn't interest me nearly as much as in-game action, though that's just me. If I want a management game, I buy Football Manager.
To me, though, the FIFA strategy remains the same as it always was, new developer or not. The hype about the new development team is just that, hype, and that further fuels the consensus among many that FIFA is superior. The last 2 years FIFA has just added new features and hasn't improved their still-poor AI or the lack of variation in gameplay much at all. It's still a better game than it was in previous years, but I'm not blinded by FIFA fanboyism. Reading the game developer's Twitter and talking as if he's your best friend, dude, you're a fanboy. No getting around it.
For me, this is the bottom line... I get bored of FIFA a lot more quickly than I get bored of PES, some editions of which I've never tired of at all.
Also, people will like Rutter because he's from a football nation. A knock against FIFA people always had was that it's developed by Canadians, this is no longer so.