644: Black Friday Aftermath

[00:00:00] Hello footies, welcome along to your latest dose of footballing ultimate team podcasting goodness.

[00:00:07] We are FUT IN REVIEW powered by footcoaching.com. We are recording this on Tuesday the 3rd of December 2024.

[00:00:16] My name is Dan Wimbush. I am joined by the scout Nathan Downs and my main man Shaq Attack.

[00:00:21] We're going to be debriefing the carnage and chaos that was Black Friday slash Thunderstruck.

[00:00:26] Plus, you know, still got a few days to go. So we'll be giving some tips and advice for those of you still cracking away,

[00:00:32] trying to pack that elusive player that your heart desires.

[00:00:36] You're also going to be answering your questions on our general feelings about the weekend and much, much more.

[00:00:41] Again, a big thank you to all of our Patreon members, patreon.com forward slash FUT IN REVIEW.

[00:00:45] Those of you who took up the Black Friday offer as well, if you've just joined us, thank you very much.

[00:00:49] We much appreciate you being here. And of course, it helps us, you know, supports the show, gives us that feel good feeling

[00:00:54] and you get access to great things like custom tactics and this show early.

[00:00:58] We call it, as Nathan was saying on yesterday's show, on the shorts with John.

[00:01:01] We call it the Tuesday Club. Why do we call it the Tuesday Club?

[00:01:04] Because we record on a Tuesday, but most of you will hear it on a Wednesday unless you're a Patreon member.

[00:01:10] Right, let's dig in, chaps. Absolute chaos that was Black Friday.

[00:01:14] It's been quite impossible to not be glued to the companion app.

[00:01:18] Nate, we had a question in from Adam in the Discord, just sort of saying his comment on Thunderstruck was,

[00:01:24] Thunderstruck wasn't incredible, but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

[00:01:27] It makes me feel we were robbed of the first two and a bit months of the game.

[00:01:32] I know you chatted a bit about John yesterday, but overall, what are your feelings, Ben?

[00:01:36] Yeah, I kind of agree. I used yesterday perspective, like that word, quite a lot.

[00:01:40] And I think this is a key part of it as well.

[00:01:42] I think it's definitely a lot better than we've seen probably right through the cycle,

[00:01:47] probably add it all together, as we've done with obviously the campaign packs and the best of impacts.

[00:01:52] But I think it's definitely a lot better.

[00:01:54] I would be happy if all promos were like this.

[00:01:56] I don't really see them continuing the SBCs like they have,

[00:02:00] because, you know, obviously we've had a lot of the Flash SBCs,

[00:02:03] which is kind of a Thunderstruck Black Friday type deal.

[00:02:06] Some of the player SBCs have definitely gone up a notch.

[00:02:09] Some of them aren't to everybody's taste,

[00:02:10] but they've definitely started bringing out more attractive SBCs, shall we say.

[00:02:14] So I think it's good.

[00:02:16] I don't see it continuing in this manner,

[00:02:18] probably until sort of team of the year,

[00:02:20] where they'll put a lot back into the menus for those that save and stuff.

[00:02:23] I think it's a solid sort of eight, eight and a half out of ten for me on this.

[00:02:28] Yeah, Adam's second part of his question was,

[00:02:30] how do you foresee content going from now to team of the year?

[00:02:32] And do you think it's going to slow down or continue to pick up?

[00:02:35] I mean, we'll touch on that a little bit later on.

[00:02:38] But Shaq, how was your experience of this whole weekend?

[00:02:42] It's funny how experience can be really tainted by what you actually ended up with.

[00:02:47] If I came to the sport grinding the amount I've grinded

[00:02:50] and didn't come out with anything, I would probably be frustrated.

[00:02:53] But I did back something, so that changes my perspective a little bit.

[00:02:56] And I hadn't played for two weeks and finally got to playing this week.

[00:03:00] And I've enjoyed my gameplay because I'm in lowly Division 6,

[00:03:03] just promoted myself for Division 5.

[00:03:04] So it's a completely different gameplay experience that I'm experiencing in Rivals.

[00:03:08] Completely different to what you guys are dealing with

[00:03:10] because I did play the friendly mode and it was a completely different...

[00:03:13] Anyway, we'll get to that.

[00:03:14] But from a promo perspective, I think this is well needed.

[00:03:18] We all needed something to grind and something to make us feel like this game actually exists

[00:03:25] because it's not...

[00:03:26] As Adam said, for the past two and a half months, it's just been a different game.

[00:03:29] It's been a game that it was so easy to walk away from.

[00:03:34] That was going to be my sort of follow-up question, I think, to both of you.

[00:03:37] Just overall, has it been fun, Nate?

[00:03:40] Have you sat there saying,

[00:03:41] I've really enjoyed being knee-deep in the NFC 25 in my gaming life?

[00:03:48] Has it been fun?

[00:03:49] Yeah, it has been fun.

[00:03:51] It's been frustrating at times.

[00:03:54] We all want that Mbappe or whatever, the top-tier cards,

[00:03:58] even from the best of the Van Dykes, etc.

[00:04:01] But I think it's been fun.

[00:04:02] It's given a headache as well because my team has changed.

[00:04:05] I mean, I put a picture in our group chat up from the team on Friday

[00:04:09] and the team Friday to now is almost unrecognizable.

[00:04:12] So, I mean, it's frustrating in that point of view

[00:04:14] because I don't really know where to put a lot of these players.

[00:04:16] And Dan, you moan at me for my pat look,

[00:04:18] but we'll touch on yours in a bit.

[00:04:20] But you've got the fortunate position.

[00:04:22] You're in the fortunate position where you've got multiple players now

[00:04:25] for certain areas of the pitch.

[00:04:27] Don't know what to do.

[00:04:28] I'm the same.

[00:04:29] So, I think it's frustrating.

[00:04:30] But, I mean, that's a very, very nice headache to have.

[00:04:33] And, you know, I would take that all day long

[00:04:35] and it gives you options for the bench.

[00:04:36] It means that I've got like three setups in my club

[00:04:38] that I can have different teams for different, you know, enjoyment factors.

[00:04:41] So, I think it has been quite enjoyable, to be honest.

[00:04:44] I mean, it's just the frustration of not getting that elite-level card.

[00:04:47] Yeah, and John touched on this in the shorts that was released yesterday

[00:04:50] with the two of you that, you know, he's in that position as well

[00:04:53] where he suddenly sat and said, I've got options, options, options.

[00:04:55] I may have a question again from Adam on yesterday's show

[00:04:57] to turn that very same subject.

[00:04:59] But, Shaq, is it fun?

[00:05:00] You touched on a really good point

[00:05:01] and Nathan sort of brought up a relation to my team, you know.

[00:05:04] You said to yourself, it's tainted a little bit.

[00:05:06] Your opinion of this weekend is tainted

[00:05:07] because you had a really big pull or spoil the game.

[00:05:10] You got Jairzinho Thunderstruck, which, you know, game-changing card.

[00:05:14] My card on the table, I got Lillian Taram yesterday

[00:05:18] and Mike on this morning.

[00:05:20] So, I feel in that blessed camp to have had a little bit of pack luck.

[00:05:24] But my overall feeling is it's been fun,

[00:05:27] but there's something I haven't been able to put my finger on, Shaq,

[00:05:30] that stops me from really loving this weekend.

[00:05:33] And I don't know if we can wheedle out between the three of us

[00:05:36] what that might be.

[00:05:37] I think upon reflecting on what exactly we're going through right now,

[00:05:42] last year Thunderstruck was arguably my favorite promo

[00:05:45] of the whole of last year.

[00:05:46] The reason it was so good was that it led up,

[00:05:49] there was decent content that was going through

[00:05:51] all the way from the start of the game,

[00:05:53] all the way to Thunderstruck.

[00:05:54] And then Thunderstruck was like, you know,

[00:05:55] all gates were open, the floodgates were open,

[00:05:57] everything was ready.

[00:05:58] And we were all primed to that particular promo.

[00:06:01] Everything was perfect.

[00:06:02] And we enjoyed ourselves there.

[00:06:03] But this year it almost went from like nothing, nothing,

[00:06:07] nothing, nothing, nothing, more of nothing.

[00:06:09] And to Thunderstruck where it's been a random amount of SBCs

[00:06:13] that came out.

[00:06:14] Again, even the quality of the players,

[00:06:15] if you actually assess the quality of the players that we received,

[00:06:18] apart from Benetius Jr. Player of the Month,

[00:06:21] the rest of the cards are either too overpriced

[00:06:23] or not good enough technically,

[00:06:24] as opposed to what we were getting last year.

[00:06:26] And leading up to Thunderstruck,

[00:06:28] we didn't get many SBCs that were of the similar quality of last year.

[00:06:31] So essentially it just feels like it's been thrown at us.

[00:06:36] We've enjoyed it because it's nothing compared to what we were having.

[00:06:39] But going forward,

[00:06:40] if it goes back to how it was a couple of weeks ago,

[00:06:43] that'll just be really weird.

[00:06:45] And I think you're probably in that limbo where you're not really sure

[00:06:47] what the future holds.

[00:06:48] Whereas last year,

[00:06:49] I think we all ended up,

[00:06:50] I think Thunderstruck just took our expectations

[00:06:53] and our motivation to a completely different level.

[00:06:55] Where this year, nah, not really.

[00:06:57] It did feel like last year was a lot more,

[00:06:58] I think straightforward is one of the words that I'm going to use for this promo.

[00:07:02] I think a lot of the SBCs and the upgrades and the icons

[00:07:05] and everything they brought out were very straightforward.

[00:07:07] It was easy to see whether that's something worth doing.

[00:07:10] The daily content was much worth doing.

[00:07:13] I think for me, again,

[00:07:15] it goes back to a load of little points that niggle away at me.

[00:07:18] I thought the Flash challenges, for example,

[00:07:21] were awful this year.

[00:07:23] The requirements versus the rewards

[00:07:25] were garbage on an absolutely personal, selfish level.

[00:07:29] Like, they've done their absolute best this year, EA Sports,

[00:07:32] to make bronze cards beyond useless.

[00:07:34] To the point where you may as well just get rid of them at this point

[00:07:37] because there's just,

[00:07:38] just make every card a silver or something

[00:07:41] or just have a gold tier and then a whatever.

[00:07:45] Call them platinum cards or whatever.

[00:07:47] Anything below 74.

[00:07:49] Because every requirement is all minimum silver players.

[00:07:52] Why?

[00:07:52] Why have you got that?

[00:07:53] But that's an aside.

[00:07:54] So I thought the challenge is,

[00:07:56] even from the non-bronze pack method point of view,

[00:07:58] were garbage.

[00:07:59] Like you say, like the Flash players,

[00:08:01] Cavani, okay, good.

[00:08:03] A bit of nostalgia.

[00:08:04] We like that.

[00:08:05] And Elshar, he's a menace when I faced him.

[00:08:08] So I can't really complain about too much.

[00:08:10] But everything else just feels like,

[00:08:13] I think you're right, Shaq.

[00:08:14] You're at that crossroads.

[00:08:15] Do I really want to put my money into Saka?

[00:08:17] Do I really want to put my money into this player or that player?

[00:08:21] I mean, Vinny Jr. is out of their control

[00:08:23] because it's a player of the month.

[00:08:24] So they didn't decide to release that.

[00:08:26] They kind of had to.

[00:08:27] Yeah, it's just...

[00:08:28] And I think it kind of loops back in to the gameplay as well

[00:08:33] because it's still not been able to paper over that huge crack of...

[00:08:37] You go back in...

[00:08:37] When you actually go back into the game,

[00:08:39] it's still where it was.

[00:08:41] I think I touched on it a bit yesterday as well.

[00:08:43] When you've got some of these combo upgrades,

[00:08:45] it's an absolute sort of...

[00:08:46] It's a bit of a dute that because you think,

[00:08:49] oh, there's an 85 upgrade.

[00:08:50] Brilliant, I'm going to do it.

[00:08:51] And then you look into it and it's like,

[00:08:53] I don't know, is it one of three?

[00:08:55] 185.

[00:08:56] 185 and two or three unders or whatever.

[00:08:59] Yeah, exactly.

[00:09:00] So actually for...

[00:09:01] Is it not an 83 rated squad or something unique to that?

[00:09:04] It's quite a high rating for...

[00:09:05] 84 rated squad.

[00:09:07] Yeah.

[00:09:07] So that's...

[00:09:08] I mean, that's ridiculous.

[00:09:09] Like, I don't know who in their right minds...

[00:09:12] Like, I'm not trying to offend anybody that's done it,

[00:09:13] but who in their right mind is doing that?

[00:09:15] Because, you know, the pack weight isn't so much that...

[00:09:18] And if you get a guaranteed over 85,

[00:09:20] you're going to get a promo.

[00:09:21] And especially you're not going to get a good promo.

[00:09:23] You might get like, you know, the base...

[00:09:24] You know, that Braze Mendez card

[00:09:26] that I seem to get on repeat or whatever.

[00:09:28] I just think that's daft.

[00:09:30] Like, I'd rather do them on the 84 player picks

[00:09:32] for an 84 rated squad

[00:09:33] because at least you get a bit of control

[00:09:34] and that higher chance

[00:09:35] and all of them are going to be at least,

[00:09:37] you know, over that rating.

[00:09:39] I think one of the things I noticed about content this year

[00:09:42] was it was designed in such a way

[00:09:45] that it manipulated all of us to feel like

[00:09:48] we had to go to the store.

[00:09:49] There's multiple times over the weekend

[00:09:50] where I thought,

[00:09:51] I just need to finish Cruyff.

[00:09:53] I think if I open up two packs from the store,

[00:09:55] I can finish up Cruyff.

[00:09:56] And it was so hard to resist that urge

[00:09:58] because at some point in time,

[00:09:59] after doing your daily grind,

[00:10:01] you're still stuck with,

[00:10:02] oh, I still have seven segments of Cruyff left.

[00:10:04] I still have five segments of Cruyff left

[00:10:06] every single day.

[00:10:07] That's one thing.

[00:10:08] Secondly, the 80 plus upgrades.

[00:10:10] I don't know if you guys were getting

[00:10:11] the 80 plus upgrades every hour

[00:10:12] that you had to do those 80 plus.

[00:10:14] At some point in time,

[00:10:16] my club was dry of non-rare goals.

[00:10:18] So I literally went

[00:10:19] and I spent some coins in the provision pack.

[00:10:22] So literally everything for you

[00:10:23] to continue that grind led to being,

[00:10:26] you had to go to the store.

[00:10:28] As opposed to content being free flowing

[00:10:31] where you could just recycle yourself

[00:10:33] and get yourself to where you want to go.

[00:10:34] And what annoys me is,

[00:10:36] we've discussed this before,

[00:10:37] is the pure,

[00:10:40] it's all well thought of from their end.

[00:10:42] And that's the part that really disappoints me

[00:10:44] that they've really thought this through

[00:10:45] from their perspective.

[00:10:46] And really,

[00:10:47] it's almost like it's just squeezing

[00:10:48] every little inch of you.

[00:10:49] And if you're knowledgeable enough,

[00:10:51] you just to realize that,

[00:10:52] hang on a minute,

[00:10:53] this is just manipulating me

[00:10:54] to go to the store.

[00:10:55] And it's happened to me this weekend.

[00:10:57] It was so hard not to go to the store.

[00:11:01] Yeah.

[00:11:01] And that is exactly what I mean

[00:11:02] when I talk about straightforward,

[00:11:03] like you two have literally just said,

[00:11:05] like, all right,

[00:11:05] there's loads of upgrades,

[00:11:06] but they're all fiddly.

[00:11:08] They're all like committing more players

[00:11:10] than you know sensibly

[00:11:12] you're going to get back.

[00:11:13] Yes, of course,

[00:11:14] you've got to buy a ticket

[00:11:15] to win the raffle.

[00:11:16] If you don't do them,

[00:11:17] your chances of packing anything are slimmer.

[00:11:20] But I think my experience this weekend

[00:11:22] sums it all up for me.

[00:11:24] I've had three very good pulls.

[00:11:26] I've mentioned Mycon,

[00:11:28] Lilian Taram,

[00:11:29] and I got a tradable Hierro,

[00:11:32] I think it was.

[00:11:33] Yeah.

[00:11:33] Where did I get them from?

[00:11:35] Hierro and Mycon came from the League SBC.

[00:11:38] Taram came from the League Mastery objective,

[00:11:42] that one where you've got to play like games

[00:11:43] with four MLS players,

[00:11:46] four Erediv easy players

[00:11:46] that I've been very slowly working away,

[00:11:48] chugging through the Evos.

[00:11:50] And we will get on to some of the positives as well

[00:11:51] because I thought that by the way

[00:11:52] Flash Evos absolutely nailed it.

[00:11:55] Please have more of that content.

[00:11:56] But yeah,

[00:11:57] it's not straightforward.

[00:11:58] It's not like you say like,

[00:12:00] oh,

[00:12:00] an 85 double upgrade

[00:12:01] for an 83 rated squad

[00:12:03] where you're like,

[00:12:04] okay,

[00:12:04] I know I'm giving up lots of players,

[00:12:06] but this makes sense

[00:12:07] as opposed to an 84 rated squad

[00:12:09] for one 84,

[00:12:11] one of three.

[00:12:12] And it's just,

[00:12:13] like you say,

[00:12:14] it's all designed to strain your club.

[00:12:15] But as I've brought it up,

[00:12:18] let's move on from that bit

[00:12:19] to the good side.

[00:12:20] And again,

[00:12:21] Nath,

[00:12:22] Flash Evos,

[00:12:23] damn good.

[00:12:24] Thank you,

[00:12:25] EA.

[00:12:25] I've now got

[00:12:26] four Reading players

[00:12:27] in my starting lineup.

[00:12:28] So,

[00:12:29] cannot say anything more than that.

[00:12:30] It's great.

[00:12:31] Yeah,

[00:12:31] the Evos have been a very big plus.

[00:12:33] I mean,

[00:12:33] I eviled Rashford and Dillow

[00:12:34] a bit further.

[00:12:35] Although,

[00:12:36] I think I must have missed one

[00:12:37] because Dillow only went to 86.

[00:12:38] So,

[00:12:38] I couldn't quite fit him

[00:12:39] into the last one.

[00:12:40] So,

[00:12:40] that was frustrating.

[00:12:41] But it's a great thing.

[00:12:42] It means people can get players

[00:12:44] either they started to evo earlier

[00:12:46] and they seem to be a lot more flexible

[00:12:48] in terms of positions.

[00:12:49] I know this is like,

[00:12:51] defense would field an attack.

[00:12:52] But,

[00:12:52] I just think it definitely brought

[00:12:54] some of these cards

[00:12:54] that you almost brought you joy

[00:12:56] that you eviled early on.

[00:12:58] it brought them relevant again.

[00:12:59] you know,

[00:13:00] some of them are not top tier,

[00:13:01] don't get me wrong,

[00:13:02] but they're definitely

[00:13:02] a lot more fun to use.

[00:13:04] You can have them

[00:13:05] in your starting team.

[00:13:06] You can have them off the bench.

[00:13:07] You know,

[00:13:07] obviously,

[00:13:08] Dan,

[00:13:08] you're quite involved

[00:13:10] with the Redden Evos.

[00:13:11] But,

[00:13:11] and you're a grinder.

[00:13:12] You play a lot of your main team

[00:13:14] with these Redden teams.

[00:13:16] So,

[00:13:16] I think that's amazing.

[00:13:17] It's very good for people

[00:13:18] like yourself

[00:13:19] that kind of has that

[00:13:21] sort of sentimental

[00:13:21] sort of attachment

[00:13:22] to certain cards

[00:13:23] and players.

[00:13:24] And it means that you're not

[00:13:25] wasting these Evos.

[00:13:26] So,

[00:13:26] it'd be nice.

[00:13:27] You know,

[00:13:28] it still,

[00:13:28] it goes back to the,

[00:13:29] why are they capping it still though?

[00:13:31] There's still a few cards

[00:13:32] that I wanted to put in

[00:13:33] and it had like

[00:13:33] one place to have too many

[00:13:35] or,

[00:13:35] you know,

[00:13:36] just open up.

[00:13:37] You only get

[00:13:38] upgraded to

[00:13:39] X amount,

[00:13:40] you know,

[00:13:40] whatever stat it is,

[00:13:41] it only goes up to

[00:13:42] like a cap stat.

[00:13:43] Brilliant.

[00:13:43] You can boost like,

[00:13:44] Cobby Minu

[00:13:45] could have been boost

[00:13:46] phenomenally

[00:13:46] without sort of,

[00:13:48] you know,

[00:13:49] overreach

[00:13:50] and kind of

[00:13:50] from other cards.

[00:13:51] So,

[00:13:52] that's still my little bugbear.

[00:13:53] You know,

[00:13:54] I think it's great

[00:13:54] having these here,

[00:13:55] but I still want them

[00:13:56] to be that little bit more

[00:13:57] looser and flexible

[00:13:58] in terms of

[00:13:59] what goes into them.

[00:14:00] And then let's see an

[00:14:01] absolute trick with

[00:14:02] Evo as well,

[00:14:02] because I've said this

[00:14:03] in the past,

[00:14:03] like,

[00:14:03] I have not understood

[00:14:05] their pricing strategy

[00:14:06] for the Evo's

[00:14:07] they've released

[00:14:08] this year,

[00:14:08] because more often

[00:14:09] than not,

[00:14:10] the ones you've had

[00:14:10] to pay for

[00:14:11] have actually been worse.

[00:14:12] You could charge me

[00:14:13] 300,000 coins

[00:14:15] and whatever,

[00:14:16] 10 pounds worth

[00:14:17] of FC points

[00:14:18] to kind of have

[00:14:19] stat limits

[00:14:20] that are in the

[00:14:21] high 80s,

[00:14:23] low 90s

[00:14:24] that aren't going

[00:14:25] to completely break

[00:14:26] the power curve

[00:14:27] of the game.

[00:14:27] And when you look

[00:14:28] at the way these

[00:14:28] Thunderstruck cards

[00:14:29] have been released

[00:14:30] now,

[00:14:31] that's the level

[00:14:32] of the power curve

[00:14:33] that we're at,

[00:14:33] isn't it?

[00:14:33] We're at the,

[00:14:34] most cards released

[00:14:35] now are in the

[00:14:36] high 80s,

[00:14:37] low 90s,

[00:14:38] and they're sort of,

[00:14:39] as we've seen last year,

[00:14:41] they keep,

[00:14:42] the power curve

[00:14:42] has been maintained

[00:14:43] not so much

[00:14:43] by face stats,

[00:14:45] it's been retained

[00:14:46] by roll plus pluses,

[00:14:48] by play style pluses,

[00:14:49] regular play styles,

[00:14:50] weak foot skill move

[00:14:51] upgrades.

[00:14:52] That's where they're

[00:14:52] kind of gatekeeping

[00:14:53] and trying to keep

[00:14:54] room to grow,

[00:14:55] because we've,

[00:14:55] you know,

[00:14:56] we've still got

[00:14:56] eight, what,

[00:14:57] eight, nine months

[00:14:58] left of this game.

[00:14:59] So they are missing

[00:15:00] the trick,

[00:15:00] but it was a fantastic idea.

[00:15:02] I didn't necessarily

[00:15:04] love the whole idea

[00:15:05] that you had to complete

[00:15:06] all of these objectives

[00:15:07] within a three-day period.

[00:15:10] I understand the word

[00:15:10] flash and everything,

[00:15:11] but I still found

[00:15:13] myself having to,

[00:15:14] in amongst doing

[00:15:15] housework and stuff,

[00:15:16] just setting my

[00:15:17] Steam deck to one side,

[00:15:19] playing squad battles

[00:15:19] by itself.

[00:15:21] after I completed

[00:15:22] all of my games,

[00:15:23] I just set it on

[00:15:23] semi-pro,

[00:15:24] just left it on the side

[00:15:25] because I just needed

[00:15:27] play games.

[00:15:28] So, but again,

[00:15:29] I feel like that's

[00:15:31] slightly defeating the

[00:15:31] point,

[00:15:32] but Shaq,

[00:15:33] your feelings on Evos?

[00:15:34] I love the flash Evos.

[00:15:36] I think it was really

[00:15:36] nicely done.

[00:15:37] The only one change

[00:15:38] that they could have had

[00:15:39] is not have as many

[00:15:40] limitations that they

[00:15:41] had.

[00:15:42] Secondly,

[00:15:43] they could have had a

[00:15:44] flash timer for us

[00:15:46] to choose the Evo,

[00:15:47] but give it some more

[00:15:49] time to complete it.

[00:15:50] Like, once you've

[00:15:51] chosen it,

[00:15:51] there's nothing you can

[00:15:52] do.

[00:15:52] So that's it.

[00:15:53] We've locked it in.

[00:15:54] That's your choice

[00:15:55] and live with it.

[00:15:56] 27 days or 21 days

[00:15:57] to complete the Evo

[00:15:58] after you've chosen it.

[00:15:59] You get three days to

[00:16:00] pick it.

[00:16:00] That would have been a lot

[00:16:01] because I was,

[00:16:02] as I said,

[00:16:02] I was traveling.

[00:16:03] I was away on a holiday.

[00:16:04] I was trying to pick

[00:16:05] and choose and trying

[00:16:06] to get things done

[00:16:06] through remote play

[00:16:08] and it was just like,

[00:16:10] it was fine.

[00:16:10] I felt a little bit,

[00:16:11] it felt a bit odd

[00:16:12] on a family holiday

[00:16:13] trying to grind

[00:16:14] some evolutions.

[00:16:15] It just felt like

[00:16:16] the wrong thing to do

[00:16:17] on a family holiday,

[00:16:18] but hey,

[00:16:19] here we are.

[00:16:20] But apart from that,

[00:16:21] I think what I really

[00:16:22] have to commend the Evo

[00:16:23] was the fact that

[00:16:24] you could actually make

[00:16:25] some extremely meta players

[00:16:26] like the Rashford

[00:16:27] that I've created.

[00:16:28] Thanks to Nate,

[00:16:29] he gave me a suggestion

[00:16:30] on Rashford to begin with.

[00:16:32] He's just incredible

[00:16:33] and this is at least

[00:16:34] a 500k,

[00:16:35] 700k player

[00:16:36] that I got

[00:16:36] for less than 100k.

[00:16:38] So yeah,

[00:16:39] that's,

[00:16:39] you've got to give

[00:16:40] well done Evo

[00:16:41] on that front.

[00:16:43] Yeah,

[00:16:43] they could have been very,

[00:16:44] you know,

[00:16:45] I hate to say it,

[00:16:46] they could have been

[00:16:46] even stingier

[00:16:47] with them.

[00:16:47] They didn't have to do this.

[00:16:48] I was expecting

[00:16:49] just a couple of

[00:16:50] just general Evos

[00:16:52] the same way,

[00:16:53] but as you said,

[00:16:53] it's been able to let people

[00:16:55] have that more flexibility,

[00:16:56] which is,

[00:16:56] in fairness though,

[00:16:58] this is what they promised us.

[00:16:59] This was part of the pitch

[00:17:00] for this game

[00:17:01] that they were going to make

[00:17:02] Evos more open

[00:17:03] and more accessible.

[00:17:05] And as I said,

[00:17:06] if I compare my team

[00:17:06] this year

[00:17:07] to last year

[00:17:08] and the amount of,

[00:17:09] yes,

[00:17:09] it helps having that bit

[00:17:10] more kind of knowledge

[00:17:11] about how Evos

[00:17:12] were going to work,

[00:17:12] but I'm already

[00:17:13] in a position

[00:17:14] where I've got four

[00:17:15] in my starting line-up,

[00:17:16] which is,

[00:17:17] for me,

[00:17:18] absolutely brilliant

[00:17:18] and makes the game,

[00:17:19] even when,

[00:17:20] as mentioned,

[00:17:21] the gameplay

[00:17:21] isn't where I want it to be.

[00:17:23] It still gives me

[00:17:24] that nudge

[00:17:25] to pick up the controller

[00:17:26] a bit more

[00:17:26] because I enjoy

[00:17:28] seeing Sam Smith

[00:17:29] score goals.

[00:17:31] So that goes ahead.

[00:17:32] But any other thoughts

[00:17:33] on the kind of

[00:17:34] Black Friday content

[00:17:36] or the weekend

[00:17:37] or Thunderstruck

[00:17:38] in anything

[00:17:38] we've just seen

[00:17:39] over the past few days now?

[00:17:40] I think it's quite a lot

[00:17:42] of what we expected.

[00:17:43] We did think

[00:17:44] there'd be a massive

[00:17:45] push on Pax.

[00:17:46] There was.

[00:17:47] We thought there'd be

[00:17:47] an onus to sort of

[00:17:48] drive you to the store

[00:17:49] and there was.

[00:17:50] But I also think,

[00:17:51] you know,

[00:17:52] I see your points

[00:17:53] on the players.

[00:17:54] Some of them are

[00:17:54] maybe not must-dos,

[00:17:56] but a lot of them

[00:17:57] are when you face them

[00:17:58] or when you play with them

[00:17:59] that actually

[00:17:59] they become

[00:18:00] a lot better.

[00:18:01] I was saying yesterday

[00:18:02] on the pod

[00:18:03] that Saka's a could do

[00:18:04] after deciding

[00:18:05] I was going to use them

[00:18:06] because I wanted to

[00:18:06] absolutely rip that

[00:18:07] finesse.

[00:18:08] He's an,

[00:18:09] I mean,

[00:18:09] I would say he's a must-do

[00:18:10] on my own experience

[00:18:11] and I know he's,

[00:18:12] again,

[00:18:12] that's not to everyone's taste

[00:18:13] but in my sort of

[00:18:15] five or six games

[00:18:16] using him,

[00:18:16] he has been like

[00:18:17] one of the more fun

[00:18:18] cards to use

[00:18:19] and that's an Arsenal player.

[00:18:20] So,

[00:18:20] you know,

[00:18:21] things like that is

[00:18:22] mental and Casemiro

[00:18:23] I instantly did.

[00:18:24] Corey I instantly did

[00:18:25] although I'm not quite

[00:18:26] getting on with him.

[00:18:27] So,

[00:18:27] I think some of these

[00:18:28] players are like,

[00:18:30] I think they're

[00:18:30] slightly better

[00:18:31] if you use them.

[00:18:32] It's not all about

[00:18:33] obviously the stats

[00:18:34] like you said.

[00:18:35] So,

[00:18:35] I think it was pretty much

[00:18:37] what we expected.

[00:18:38] I did maybe think

[00:18:38] we would have

[00:18:39] an elite tier

[00:18:40] icon.

[00:18:41] I was hoping,

[00:18:41] obviously,

[00:18:42] Cruyff came,

[00:18:43] so the name

[00:18:43] and the way that

[00:18:44] some people can use him

[00:18:45] as elite tier

[00:18:46] but I mean,

[00:18:46] I was hoping for

[00:18:48] potentially like a

[00:18:48] 90,

[00:18:49] 91 rated,

[00:18:49] you know,

[00:18:50] top,

[00:18:50] top card to grind

[00:18:51] but that's maybe

[00:18:53] me being a little

[00:18:54] bit too wishful

[00:18:56] in the Christmas spirit

[00:18:57] of things already.

[00:18:58] So,

[00:18:59] that's the only thing

[00:19:00] but I think it's

[00:19:00] been good.

[00:19:01] I think it's what

[00:19:02] we've expected

[00:19:02] and I think it makes

[00:19:04] it quite exciting

[00:19:04] to see if they

[00:19:05] progress with us

[00:19:06] or if they revert

[00:19:07] back to type

[00:19:08] of the last

[00:19:08] sort of two

[00:19:09] or three months.

[00:19:10] Yeah,

[00:19:10] I'll just get

[00:19:11] your feelings out.

[00:19:12] We'll kind of save it

[00:19:13] for whole,

[00:19:13] you know,

[00:19:14] player in review

[00:19:15] and we'll talk

[00:19:15] about some of the

[00:19:16] players we've used

[00:19:16] and picked up

[00:19:17] over the week

[00:19:17] but I think

[00:19:18] it's a good point

[00:19:19] to answer that

[00:19:20] next part of Adam's

[00:19:21] question and I know

[00:19:22] we've touched on it

[00:19:23] a little bit already

[00:19:24] but I mean,

[00:19:25] Shaq,

[00:19:25] do you think

[00:19:26] it will slow down

[00:19:27] or is,

[00:19:28] have EA now set

[00:19:29] a precedent

[00:19:29] of the level

[00:19:30] of content

[00:19:31] they want

[00:19:31] to keep people

[00:19:32] engaged

[00:19:32] or do you think

[00:19:33] this has just

[00:19:33] been a kind

[00:19:33] of one-off?

[00:19:35] Look,

[00:19:35] a phenomenal

[00:19:36] game that

[00:19:36] literally could be

[00:19:37] used by anyone

[00:19:38] outside the box

[00:19:38] and this year

[00:19:39] we have a card

[00:19:39] that's slightly

[00:19:41] not the easiest

[00:19:42] out of the box

[00:19:43] and the content

[00:19:44] going forward

[00:19:45] and I think

[00:19:45] last year

[00:19:46] around this time

[00:19:47] we had a

[00:19:47] Eusebio

[00:19:48] Centurion

[00:19:48] Eusebio

[00:19:49] came out

[00:19:49] so I would

[00:19:50] expect that

[00:19:51] the content

[00:19:51] that comes out

[00:19:52] from now on

[00:19:52] in will be

[00:19:53] slightly sub-market

[00:19:54] better last year

[00:19:55] but hopefully

[00:19:56] it'll be better

[00:19:57] than what we have

[00:19:57] right now

[00:19:58] if that makes sense

[00:19:59] so my expectation

[00:20:00] is that we will

[00:20:00] get content

[00:20:01] it'll still not be

[00:20:02] the ideal content

[00:20:03] that we used to

[00:20:04] but it'll just be

[00:20:05] nearly good enough

[00:20:06] but my other

[00:20:06] big issue is

[00:20:08] I still don't know

[00:20:10] where fodder

[00:20:10] is coming from

[00:20:11] I really am

[00:20:12] struggling to pack

[00:20:13] fodder

[00:20:13] it took me a while

[00:20:14] to get Cruyff done

[00:20:15] and Cruyff's not

[00:20:16] a major SPC

[00:20:17] so unless I

[00:20:18] actually spend

[00:20:18] some coins

[00:20:19] I really don't

[00:20:20] know how to

[00:20:20] get the fodder

[00:20:21] flowing in

[00:20:21] so please

[00:20:22] teach me

[00:20:22] Nate

[00:20:23] how are you

[00:20:23] getting all

[00:20:23] these SPCs

[00:20:24] done

[00:20:25] I'm not anymore

[00:20:26] I'm completely out

[00:20:28] it's about 100k

[00:20:29] doing Saka

[00:20:29] to be fair

[00:20:30] I've managed to

[00:20:30] do quite a few

[00:20:31] because I did

[00:20:31] Patrick yesterday

[00:20:32] which I know

[00:20:33] that came after

[00:20:34] the shots

[00:20:34] Patrick by the way

[00:20:35] is unreal

[00:20:36] so good

[00:20:37] so I've got

[00:20:38] Patrick Casemiro

[00:20:39] we've done

[00:20:39] Cruyff

[00:20:40] done Saka

[00:20:40] to be fair

[00:20:42] Cavani was an

[00:20:43] absolute no-brainer

[00:20:43] for 184 rated

[00:20:44] squad

[00:20:45] for an

[00:20:46] 88 fodder

[00:20:47] who is actually

[00:20:47] very usable

[00:20:48] in game

[00:20:48] I don't know

[00:20:48] if any of you

[00:20:49] have used him

[00:20:49] but he is

[00:20:50] actually

[00:20:50] tremendous to

[00:20:51] use as well

[00:20:52] so there's been

[00:20:53] plenty there

[00:20:53] but I also had

[00:20:55] nearly 100 packs

[00:20:56] saved up before

[00:20:57] I've spent some

[00:20:58] coins

[00:20:59] so yeah

[00:21:00] it's pretty much

[00:21:01] going to quiet down

[00:21:02] now

[00:21:02] because I don't

[00:21:02] think there's

[00:21:02] going to be a

[00:21:03] massive pack

[00:21:03] saving until

[00:21:04] maybe two or three

[00:21:05] weeks later

[00:21:05] where I'm going

[00:21:06] to start saving

[00:21:06] for team of the

[00:21:07] year

[00:21:07] because it's

[00:21:08] probably the next

[00:21:08] big thing on the

[00:21:09] horizon

[00:21:09] I think this will

[00:21:11] all be driven by

[00:21:12] the analytics

[00:21:13] that EA get

[00:21:13] because has this

[00:21:15] drawn enough

[00:21:15] people back

[00:21:16] from going to

[00:21:18] play back

[00:21:18] black ops

[00:21:19] and other games

[00:21:20] and you know

[00:21:20] the people that

[00:21:21] sort of drifted

[00:21:22] away because

[00:21:23] of the you know

[00:21:24] as Adam said

[00:21:25] in his point

[00:21:25] you know

[00:21:26] it makes him feel

[00:21:26] like he's robbed

[00:21:27] of the first two

[00:21:28] and a half months

[00:21:28] of the game

[00:21:29] and yeah

[00:21:29] I'm sure lots

[00:21:30] of people hopped

[00:21:30] back in for this

[00:21:31] weekend

[00:21:32] but I think you

[00:21:32] know he would have

[00:21:33] burnt a lot of

[00:21:34] people because

[00:21:34] the first two

[00:21:35] and a half months

[00:21:36] of this game

[00:21:36] were not good

[00:21:37] enough with the

[00:21:38] amount of gameplay

[00:21:38] changes that we

[00:21:39] had to have

[00:21:40] the way the menu

[00:21:41] content was structured

[00:21:42] and just again

[00:21:43] things like having

[00:21:44] no player picks

[00:21:45] for months

[00:21:46] we didn't you know

[00:21:47] the evos were

[00:21:47] broken for a few

[00:21:49] weeks and things

[00:21:49] like that

[00:21:49] it was all those

[00:21:50] things that were

[00:21:51] just building up

[00:21:51] building up

[00:21:52] building up

[00:21:52] has it done

[00:21:53] enough has this

[00:21:54] brought the feel

[00:21:55] good factor back

[00:21:56] to the game

[00:21:56] I think there

[00:21:57] was certainly a

[00:21:57] buzz this weekend

[00:21:59] but I don't know

[00:22:00] that it's done

[00:22:01] enough to make

[00:22:02] me think god I'm

[00:22:03] suddenly really on

[00:22:04] this FC25 hype

[00:22:05] train but

[00:22:06] look we will

[00:22:06] see yeah I do

[00:22:08] expect as Jack

[00:22:08] said I think we

[00:22:09] will see a bit of

[00:22:10] a slowdown to

[00:22:11] team of the year

[00:22:11] EA does like to go

[00:22:13] in this feast and

[00:22:13] famine curve where

[00:22:15] they get us really

[00:22:15] hyped up and

[00:22:16] buzzed and then

[00:22:17] pull the brakes

[00:22:18] back a little bit

[00:22:18] so you know

[00:22:19] you're ready to

[00:22:20] because we'll

[00:22:21] probably have what

[00:22:21] winter wildcards

[00:22:22] you would imagine

[00:22:23] again in the next

[00:22:24] few weeks and that

[00:22:25] will be a big

[00:22:26] sort of pinch

[00:22:27] point that they

[00:22:28] will want when

[00:22:29] they know a few

[00:22:30] people will be

[00:22:31] getting the game for

[00:22:31] Christmas

[00:22:32] they'll be getting

[00:22:33] vouchers and things

[00:22:34] like this so they'll

[00:22:35] want to kind of get

[00:22:36] people hungry again to

[00:22:37] spend but we will

[00:22:38] we will see about

[00:22:40] that one

[00:22:40] sorry go on

[00:22:41] Shaq

[00:22:41] you spoke about

[00:22:42] feast and famine

[00:22:43] do you actually

[00:22:44] consider this a

[00:22:44] feast I mean I

[00:22:45] know I know

[00:22:46] we've had a lot

[00:22:46] of content but

[00:22:48] I still don't think

[00:22:49] this is a feast it's

[00:22:50] great that we've all

[00:22:50] packed something yes

[00:22:51] yay we've all packed

[00:22:52] but just feels a little

[00:22:54] bit unfeast like I

[00:22:56] don't know how do I

[00:22:57] explain it it just

[00:22:58] doesn't feel like

[00:23:00] it's a proper feast

[00:23:01] and you still want I

[00:23:02] want something more

[00:23:03] I'm looking forward

[00:23:04] to something better

[00:23:05] content going from

[00:23:05] here to win wild

[00:23:06] card if we have a

[00:23:07] lull period where no

[00:23:08] one gets to do any

[00:23:10] any upgrades it's

[00:23:11] going to be a tricky

[00:23:13] Christmas period

[00:23:13] I think it's a

[00:23:14] bridge I don't think

[00:23:16] it's a feast but I

[00:23:17] think it's a bridge

[00:23:17] you know they've

[00:23:18] started to mend

[00:23:19] that men that sort

[00:23:20] of broken crossing

[00:23:21] if you like where

[00:23:21] we have we've I

[00:23:23] mean we've had

[00:23:23] pretty much nothing

[00:23:24] for most of the

[00:23:25] cycle so I think

[00:23:26] it's a definitely a

[00:23:28] good move and I

[00:23:28] think that it's

[00:23:30] better than what

[00:23:31] we've had and I

[00:23:32] think it's probably

[00:23:33] as good as we could

[00:23:34] have hoped for

[00:23:35] because it's been so

[00:23:36] sort of minimal

[00:23:37] before so you know

[00:23:39] I think that this

[00:23:40] is definitely a step

[00:23:41] in the right

[00:23:41] direction I could

[00:23:42] see them kind of

[00:23:43] doing a mix I

[00:23:45] think they would

[00:23:45] spring out better

[00:23:46] SBCs going forward

[00:23:47] but I don't think

[00:23:48] they'll be doing

[00:23:49] them every day or

[00:23:50] even every second

[00:23:50] I think each promo

[00:23:51] will now have a

[00:23:53] top tier card going

[00:23:54] forward because like

[00:23:55] you say there's no

[00:23:56] fodder there's you

[00:23:57] know they've I know

[00:23:58] onto it but season

[00:23:59] points SPs now very

[00:24:02] hard to get so that

[00:24:03] you're not getting

[00:24:04] those sort of

[00:24:04] rewards so I think

[00:24:05] there's different

[00:24:06] things they've done

[00:24:07] so unless it is the

[00:24:08] most obvious move

[00:24:09] ever to drive people

[00:24:10] to the store I think

[00:24:11] that they have to

[00:24:12] calm down

[00:24:13] I think one of the

[00:24:14] things that I'm

[00:24:14] finding different

[00:24:15] this Black Friday

[00:24:16] promo as opposed to

[00:24:17] last year is how

[00:24:18] many pack animations

[00:24:20] have you seen that

[00:24:21] are not

[00:24:21] thunderstruck even

[00:24:23] from your 82-14

[00:24:24] or those kind of

[00:24:25] things I haven't

[00:24:26] seen many of the

[00:24:27] older promos walking

[00:24:28] out like I've not

[00:24:29] seen many there's so

[00:24:30] many other promo

[00:24:31] cards the only cards

[00:24:32] I see are either

[00:24:33] thunderstruck or team

[00:24:33] of the weeks I

[00:24:34] haven't seen a

[00:24:35] single one of the

[00:24:36] other specials coming

[00:24:37] out of these packs and

[00:24:38] that's the part I find

[00:24:39] a bit strange because

[00:24:40] all these other

[00:24:40] specials are in packs

[00:24:41] and last year I

[00:24:42] remember a lot of the

[00:24:43] fodder was coming

[00:24:44] through these other

[00:24:45] cards these other

[00:24:45] special cards they were

[00:24:47] filling up a lot of

[00:24:47] they were making a

[00:24:48] lot of fodder for us

[00:24:49] but this year they're

[00:24:50] not coming as

[00:24:51] freely and that's the

[00:24:52] part I think it's a

[00:24:53] it's a miss from my

[00:24:54] perspective yeah I

[00:24:55] absolutely agree with

[00:24:56] that and I think it

[00:24:57] was one of the things

[00:24:57] I wanted to bring up

[00:24:58] is that yeah these

[00:24:59] best ofs have been in

[00:25:00] packs but you're just

[00:25:01] not seeing them so I

[00:25:02] don't know if whatever

[00:25:04] algorithm they use

[00:25:05] because they were

[00:25:06] really hard to pack

[00:25:06] when they came out the

[00:25:07] first time around

[00:25:08] weren't they it's not

[00:25:09] like they were

[00:25:10] suddenly plentiful

[00:25:10] before and now they've

[00:25:11] dried up so whatever

[00:25:13] algorithm EA used to

[00:25:15] determine pack weight

[00:25:16] they've clearly not

[00:25:16] really tweaked it it all

[00:25:18] just felt like with

[00:25:20] like with the best of

[00:25:20] team it's all window

[00:25:21] dressing to me this is

[00:25:22] all window dressing

[00:25:23] like you said Shaq to

[00:25:24] just get you into the

[00:25:25] store it's like this is

[00:25:26] you know you literally

[00:25:27] you're walking past a

[00:25:28] shop you see this glitzy

[00:25:29] glamour it's like oh

[00:25:30] my goodness why

[00:25:31] wouldn't I open a store

[00:25:32] pack right now look at

[00:25:33] all the things that are

[00:25:33] in packs but actually

[00:25:35] in actuality again don't

[00:25:37] really want to give you

[00:25:38] all those good cards so

[00:25:39] you know it's just kind

[00:25:41] of to get you into the

[00:25:42] shop and then yeah you

[00:25:43] find out about all the

[00:25:44] hidden extras that will

[00:25:45] cost you to actually

[00:25:46] obtain any of those

[00:25:47] things but yeah and

[00:25:48] and I think as I was

[00:25:50] touching with gameplay

[00:25:51] they've they've done a

[00:25:52] good job Nathan I

[00:25:53] think I wanted to pick

[00:25:54] pick apart one thing you

[00:25:55] said there you said oh

[00:25:55] this was the best we

[00:25:56] could have hoped for and

[00:25:57] I'd absolutely disagree

[00:25:58] with that because we've

[00:25:59] seen last year that they

[00:26:00] can do better as we

[00:26:02] talked on they can make

[00:26:03] easier upgrade pass

[00:26:05] SBC packs and things

[00:26:06] like that this was

[00:26:07] certainly better than

[00:26:08] what we've got before

[00:26:09] but again it's only in

[00:26:11] comparison to the last

[00:26:12] few weeks rather than

[00:26:13] past few years so I

[00:26:15] think that left a little

[00:26:17] bit of a bad taste and

[00:26:18] yeah events around the

[00:26:20] game and you just

[00:26:20] touched on the SP being

[00:26:22] in you know not in

[00:26:23] gameplay anymore and

[00:26:24] that was Ingrid's

[00:26:24] question he said why do

[00:26:25] you think EA changed the

[00:26:27] weekly season point

[00:26:27] requirements for manager

[00:26:29] player objectives etc to

[00:26:30] playing and why were

[00:26:31] they bugged for almost a

[00:26:32] week so if you've if

[00:26:34] you've moved away you

[00:26:35] know you used to be able

[00:26:36] to go into like manager

[00:26:37] mode and do a couple of

[00:26:38] really easy things to get

[00:26:39] SP and they've kind of

[00:26:40] taken that away my whole

[00:26:43] feeling with SP and

[00:26:44] again if you if you've

[00:26:45] kind of been wondering

[00:26:46] why your season points

[00:26:47] haven't been going up

[00:26:48] it's because they've

[00:26:49] now taken away daily

[00:26:52] the daily objectives and

[00:26:53] things like that they've

[00:26:54] now put them in a in

[00:26:55] friendly modes to get

[00:26:57] most of them so I've

[00:26:58] been sat on like 5k

[00:26:59] basically since day one

[00:27:02] Shaq to me again I got

[00:27:04] my very cynical hat on

[00:27:05] but this is all just

[00:27:06] another ploy for me to

[00:27:08] introduce that paid

[00:27:09] season pass I think I

[00:27:10] think this is softening

[00:27:11] us up for that one

[00:27:12] there's two things just as

[00:27:14] an example last missed

[00:27:15] almost two and a half

[00:27:16] weeks of gameplay last

[00:27:17] season and I came back

[00:27:18] just before the season

[00:27:19] ended and I was able to

[00:27:21] grind literally from

[00:27:22] scratch all the way

[00:27:23] through SP without

[00:27:25] spending a single dollar

[00:27:26] or coin I just could just

[00:27:27] grind stuff in all the

[00:27:29] different modes so at the

[00:27:31] end of the season I'm

[00:27:31] hoping for those kind of

[00:27:33] XP boosts to come out

[00:27:34] so it can increase

[00:27:35] engagement because they

[00:27:37] don't really have to

[00:27:37] worry about gameplay

[00:27:38] engagement this point in

[00:27:39] time so you would hope

[00:27:40] that when the game starts

[00:27:41] to lull down a little bit

[00:27:43] at the end of the season

[00:27:44] they could potentially put

[00:27:45] some extra SP in the

[00:27:47] in the object in

[00:27:48] objectives for us to

[00:27:49] complete the season

[00:27:50] that's the one one

[00:27:51] that's one way of

[00:27:51] looking at it the other

[00:27:52] way of looking at it is

[00:27:53] they just shell it out in

[00:27:55] the store and all of us

[00:27:56] want that canate what

[00:27:57] are we going to do I

[00:27:59] think the canate thing

[00:28:00] here I think they're

[00:28:01] slowing it down because

[00:28:02] that card you know

[00:28:04] they'll want you to work

[00:28:05] for that card I think if

[00:28:06] you have especially

[00:28:07] because there's a very

[00:28:08] high chance it's going

[00:28:08] to be upgrading when you

[00:28:10] get it anyway the other

[00:28:11] thing in terms of the

[00:28:12] manager mode and the

[00:28:13] player mode those reset

[00:28:15] I'm sure it's on a

[00:28:16] Wednesday is it not that

[00:28:17] they reset so it may be

[00:28:20] that it was just they've

[00:28:21] just put that in now for

[00:28:22] the launch of the season

[00:28:23] but actually come this

[00:28:25] week they may bring back

[00:28:26] the the hat tricks and

[00:28:27] the give contracts and

[00:28:29] whatever else so I don't

[00:28:31] know I might be

[00:28:32] completely wrong but it

[00:28:32] might just be the fact

[00:28:33] it already started into

[00:28:35] the way that SP

[00:28:36] refreshes it's just a

[00:28:37] slight guess yeah it

[00:28:39] could be and look as

[00:28:41] for the second part you

[00:28:41] know the question said

[00:28:42] why were they bugged

[00:28:43] for almost a week yeah

[00:28:44] that's a good an

[00:28:46] explanation as any but

[00:28:47] you know we have shown

[00:28:48] this year that they can

[00:28:49] break things at a

[00:28:50] moment's notice out of

[00:28:51] absolutely nowhere you

[00:28:53] know they just like

[00:28:54] player picks and stuff

[00:28:55] like this is you know

[00:28:56] the list is too long to

[00:28:57] go in for so again

[00:28:58] yeah I think why they

[00:28:59] were bugged for almost a

[00:29:00] week is a question that

[00:29:01] we're not going to be able

[00:29:02] to to really answer but

[00:29:04] I guess if I was had my

[00:29:06] non-cynical hat on with

[00:29:07] all of this like they did

[00:29:09] kind of promise that

[00:29:10] friendlies would be a

[00:29:11] bit more meaningful and

[00:29:12] fun this year and on

[00:29:14] paper I suppose getting

[00:29:16] more people playing in a

[00:29:17] friendly vibe would do

[00:29:19] so but I can see Shaq

[00:29:20] frantically shaking his

[00:29:21] head it's just in

[00:29:22] practicality that's not

[00:29:23] what friendlies are is

[00:29:24] it goodness the demons

[00:29:26] that play that

[00:29:26] these days is ridiculous

[00:29:28] I told you I came

[00:29:30] across multiple people

[00:29:31] that were timing their

[00:29:32] headers in friendlies and

[00:29:34] I thought I'm just I

[00:29:35] just I'm just not good

[00:29:36] enough at this level I

[00:29:37] just can't play these

[00:29:38] games I think the one

[00:29:41] of the issues is that

[00:29:41] they've they openly said

[00:29:43] that the form-based

[00:29:44] matchmaking would only

[00:29:46] take into account games

[00:29:48] that you play fully and

[00:29:50] actually most people are

[00:29:51] now playing golden goal

[00:29:52] so on paper you're

[00:29:55] getting most people now

[00:29:56] so I don't know what

[00:29:57] the limit is if it's

[00:29:58] like plus 10 or minus 10

[00:30:00] well I actually imagine

[00:30:01] that most people are

[00:30:02] even if they don't think

[00:30:03] they are sitting around

[00:30:04] plus 8 to plus 10 because

[00:30:06] no one's actually

[00:30:07] finishing a game so

[00:30:09] according to the

[00:30:10] algorithm everybody is

[00:30:11] sat around that same

[00:30:13] 8 plus 8 to plus 10

[00:30:14] level so I wonder if

[00:30:16] that is why Shaq part of

[00:30:18] the reason why everything

[00:30:18] is so sweaty because

[00:30:20] people aren't actually

[00:30:21] playing friendlies

[00:30:21] properly everybody's now

[00:30:23] just hugely clumped

[00:30:25] together so now you're

[00:30:25] getting that completely

[00:30:27] random matchmaking

[00:30:28] where you can just get a

[00:30:29] load of demons clumped

[00:30:30] together yeah could be

[00:30:31] that could that's

[00:30:32] probably what's

[00:30:33] happening to me because

[00:30:33] yeah haven't played a

[00:30:34] single full game because

[00:30:35] either the guy scores

[00:30:37] and pauses and I'm like

[00:30:38] I can't be bothered I

[00:30:39] just quit because I

[00:30:41] just can't be bothered

[00:30:41] fighting on it's just not

[00:30:42] worth it against these

[00:30:43] demons yeah we'll see

[00:30:46] how that pans out but

[00:30:47] I'm I'm not a fan of

[00:30:49] things that just force

[00:30:50] you to play extra I

[00:30:51] think there's already

[00:30:52] too much to do on this

[00:30:53] game I think especially

[00:30:54] because you know we've

[00:30:55] not even talked about it

[00:30:56] so far with the swap

[00:30:57] tokens being batnate you

[00:30:58] know we're now now

[00:30:59] being really incentivized

[00:31:01] to go and play squad

[00:31:02] battles even more to go

[00:31:04] and make sure we get the

[00:31:05] top rivals wins to make

[00:31:06] sure we we compete

[00:31:07] through champs as well

[00:31:08] and to then ask you to

[00:31:10] play friendlies on top of

[00:31:11] that it just it does feel

[00:31:13] that sense of overload

[00:31:14] yeah I mean we've said

[00:31:16] all along there's there's

[00:31:17] plenty to do you know

[00:31:18] there's maybe a day a week

[00:31:20] you get a bit of a lull or

[00:31:21] maybe two if you're very

[00:31:22] good but there is you

[00:31:23] know that there's so much

[00:31:25] to be doing and that's me

[00:31:26] without doing qualifiers

[00:31:28] and champs as well so for

[00:31:29] somebody like yourself

[00:31:30] Dan that does grind it

[00:31:32] really hard and does

[00:31:32] pretty much every mode

[00:31:33] that you can like and

[00:31:35] have a normal job and

[00:31:37] have a family life and

[00:31:39] have you know a social

[00:31:40] life like it's crazy

[00:31:42] like and I know you know

[00:31:44] you pick and choose and

[00:31:45] prioritize and whatnot

[00:31:46] but there's so much

[00:31:47] carrying on to be doing

[00:31:49] so yeah I think I think

[00:31:51] at the start of the year

[00:31:52] we thought this is

[00:31:53] great it means that

[00:31:53] you're not just logging

[00:31:54] on doing your qualifiers

[00:31:55] doing your whatever it

[00:31:57] was seven rival wins

[00:31:58] last year logging off

[00:31:59] again until the next

[00:32:00] week like there is

[00:32:01] plenty to be doing

[00:32:02] but the fact that

[00:32:03] there's tokens in and

[00:32:04] there's SP it kind of

[00:32:05] makes you have to like

[00:32:07] work it in at some

[00:32:08] point.

[00:32:09] Jack what's your

[00:32:10] experience been of the

[00:32:11] token system as well?

[00:32:13] This is a completely

[00:32:14] unpopular opinion but

[00:32:16] this is my opinion I

[00:32:18] don't like this the way

[00:32:19] these tokens are being

[00:32:20] handed out here I

[00:32:20] rather want to go back

[00:32:22] to the way swaps were

[00:32:23] that's just a happy spot

[00:32:24] where you could just

[00:32:26] sort everything for a

[00:32:27] while just go on the

[00:32:28] swaps hunt for a little

[00:32:29] fun time and I really

[00:32:30] enjoyed just just

[00:32:31] going my merry way I

[00:32:32] know it was frustrating

[00:32:33] because some swap tokens

[00:32:34] would be in an SPC some

[00:32:36] would be here some be

[00:32:37] there and I couldn't

[00:32:37] care less it was at

[00:32:38] least right now it's

[00:32:40] just almost I have to

[00:32:42] play rivals if I want to

[00:32:43] get a swap to 35 points

[00:32:45] if I want to get a token

[00:32:45] that's fine I have to do

[00:32:47] squad battle to silver

[00:32:48] which is easy enough

[00:32:49] and then on top of

[00:32:50] that I have to get four

[00:32:51] wins in champs up after

[00:32:52] qualifying and I

[00:32:55] think last weekend I

[00:32:56] really I had to talk

[00:32:57] myself out of trying to

[00:32:58] jump into champs just

[00:32:59] qualify just to get the

[00:33:00] four wins just for the

[00:33:01] one token I had to

[00:33:02] really push myself back

[00:33:03] and say hang on I

[00:33:04] can't do it just you

[00:33:05] have the time it does

[00:33:06] mean you dedicate your

[00:33:07] life to this game to

[00:33:08] get those stupid tokens

[00:33:09] I didn't like that

[00:33:10] part I really I like the

[00:33:12] part this swaps was

[00:33:14] you just had this you

[00:33:15] had four weeks you

[00:33:16] start collecting them

[00:33:17] you have friendlies along

[00:33:18] the way just do your

[00:33:19] own bits as as you see

[00:33:21] fit as opposed to right

[00:33:22] now it's almost like a

[00:33:23] I feel like a factory

[00:33:25] worker I have to do this

[00:33:26] at a certain time I

[00:33:27] have to do this again

[00:33:27] at a certain time and

[00:33:29] then I do disagree with

[00:33:30] the year because I have

[00:33:31] a job where I'm

[00:33:32] expected to do sort of

[00:33:33] things as well so yeah

[00:33:36] I'm fully with you

[00:33:36] there Shaq I was saying

[00:33:37] to you guys yesterday I

[00:33:38] was getting some sort

[00:33:39] of connection issues

[00:33:40] with squad battles so I

[00:33:42] was getting disconnected

[00:33:42] every second game so

[00:33:44] I've got no idea even

[00:33:45] if I'll make you know

[00:33:46] how much how many

[00:33:47] points I'll have to make

[00:33:47] into any token so

[00:33:49] things like that I

[00:33:50] think is very annoying

[00:33:51] I don't understand why

[00:33:52] it can't be like play

[00:33:54] X amount or win X

[00:33:55] amount in squad battles

[00:33:56] rather than get points

[00:33:58] because I think things

[00:33:59] like that you know

[00:34:01] rivals if you lose a

[00:34:02] rivals game you just go

[00:34:03] back a check go back a

[00:34:04] notch you can go again

[00:34:06] squad battles if

[00:34:07] whatever happens you

[00:34:08] know there's there's no

[00:34:09] coming back from that so

[00:34:10] that's my own personal

[00:34:12] frustration so it's

[00:34:13] kind of blocking me out

[00:34:14] because I I don't know

[00:34:15] whether it's service or

[00:34:16] my own internet but

[00:34:17] something was was going

[00:34:19] wrong yesterday when I

[00:34:19] was trying to do it

[00:34:20] yeah but we've

[00:34:21] literally just talked

[00:34:22] ourselves around in a

[00:34:22] circle there because we

[00:34:23] we've started talking

[00:34:24] about well we don't

[00:34:25] really like SP being

[00:34:26] behind friendlies and

[00:34:27] now Shaq saying well I

[00:34:28] actually want friendlies

[00:34:29] to get icon swap so you

[00:34:31] can't you can't have it

[00:34:32] both ways that's more

[00:34:33] chill though if it's

[00:34:34] behind icons behind

[00:34:36] friendlies as well

[00:34:37] though because SP like

[00:34:39] if it's over say four

[00:34:40] weeks you've got a lot

[00:34:41] of time to grind it

[00:34:42] whereas if it's only

[00:34:42] over a week or

[00:34:44] whatever it is then

[00:34:45] you've got to cram it

[00:34:46] in with everything else

[00:34:47] that you're doing

[00:34:48] whereas if it's over a

[00:34:49] longer period then you

[00:34:50] can do a couple a day

[00:34:51] or say you can get two

[00:34:52] wins a day or whatever

[00:34:53] then you can relax a

[00:34:55] little bit more

[00:34:55] and I think one of the

[00:34:59] things as well with the

[00:35:00] way it's actually been

[00:35:00] formatted right now it's

[00:35:02] it's almost driving

[00:35:03] everyone for example

[00:35:04] squad battles I don't

[00:35:05] know about you I find it

[00:35:07] hard to get elite three

[00:35:08] it's really hard I

[00:35:10] literally have to treat

[00:35:11] it like a proper mode

[00:35:12] and then I can probably

[00:35:14] squeeze delete three

[00:35:15] getting elite two in

[00:35:16] squad battles is you

[00:35:18] need to be at a really

[00:35:19] really high level of

[00:35:20] gameplay to reach that

[00:35:21] so that's again you know

[00:35:23] it's not even like okay

[00:35:23] I'll just do squad

[00:35:24] battles to gold gold one

[00:35:26] no you have to do to

[00:35:27] elite two if you want to

[00:35:29] get the extra tokens so

[00:35:30] you can't really dedicate

[00:35:31] yourself to squad battles

[00:35:32] then you say okay I'll

[00:35:33] get one from rivals and

[00:35:34] one from squad battles so

[00:35:35] essentially for all the

[00:35:36] grinding if I do every

[00:35:38] single bit if I earnestly

[00:35:40] do everything I can get

[00:35:41] three tokens a week

[00:35:43] that's just it's yeah

[00:35:46] you've got the added

[00:35:47] conundrum of the fact that

[00:35:48] some of these tokens are

[00:35:49] actually quite usable

[00:35:50] players so you might well

[00:35:52] hit on one of the

[00:35:52] players that is actually

[00:35:54] really good and then

[00:35:54] suddenly that's thrown a

[00:35:55] spanner at you I think

[00:35:56] I'm the only person in

[00:35:57] this game that is

[00:35:58] desperately hoping to pack

[00:35:59] Lewis wing from squad

[00:36:01] battles rewards and of

[00:36:01] course week one no wing

[00:36:04] for me a couple of

[00:36:05] people in the discord

[00:36:05] got him but yeah you

[00:36:08] could send a Lewis wing

[00:36:08] my way please EA I think

[00:36:10] I'm the only person I'll

[00:36:10] just put him on the

[00:36:11] market I'll buy him

[00:36:12] why couldn't they just

[00:36:13] make a player pick that

[00:36:14] particular thing just

[00:36:15] make a player pick so

[00:36:16] people can choose whoever

[00:36:17] the hell they want

[00:36:19] again it's that's too

[00:36:20] simplistic and it goes

[00:36:21] back to we're now saying

[00:36:22] it's all the best we could

[00:36:23] hope for again it's it's

[00:36:25] not we they've nailed

[00:36:26] things like this in the

[00:36:27] past like with icon

[00:36:28] swaps in the past where

[00:36:29] they had you know open

[00:36:30] matchmaking in friendlies

[00:36:32] deliberately deliberately

[00:36:33] put golden goal modes in

[00:36:35] there that people could

[00:36:36] engage with at their own

[00:36:38] pace as you guys said and

[00:36:39] get the swaps and have

[00:36:41] the options to do so but

[00:36:42] they took it away

[00:36:42] yeah but you're going

[00:36:44] back to different

[00:36:44] iterations I'm talking about

[00:36:46] this actual game is the

[00:36:47] best we could hope for

[00:36:48] going by the standard set

[00:36:49] in FC 25 not by EA

[00:36:52] standards but by what

[00:36:53] we've experienced so

[00:36:54] far and to be fair it's

[00:36:56] exactly even swaps is

[00:36:57] kind of what you'd

[00:36:57] expect you know champs

[00:36:59] oh fair enough they

[00:37:00] made it three out of six

[00:37:01] but three out of five

[00:37:02] that's you know that's

[00:37:03] eliminating certain

[00:37:04] people having it in

[00:37:06] in a limited squad

[00:37:06] battles is eliminating

[00:37:07] other people having it

[00:37:08] in friendlies eliminating

[00:37:09] people so it's it's

[00:37:12] exactly what we could

[00:37:13] hope for in the current

[00:37:14] state of FC

[00:37:16] and that's but that's

[00:37:17] that's the problem isn't

[00:37:17] it Nate that year on

[00:37:19] year now they are

[00:37:21] lowering our expectations

[00:37:22] and so you know we're

[00:37:23] we're happy with smaller

[00:37:25] and smaller rations

[00:37:26] because you know the

[00:37:28] rations we got we don't

[00:37:29] think about the rations

[00:37:30] we got five years ago we

[00:37:31] think about the ones we

[00:37:31] got a year ago it's like

[00:37:33] with league SBCs and

[00:37:34] stuff I sit here

[00:37:34] complaining about I want

[00:37:35] a slight tweet to the to

[00:37:37] the copper section

[00:37:38] forgetting that three years

[00:37:40] ago we had whole leagues

[00:37:43] to go through with players

[00:37:44] at the end and all

[00:37:46] things like that so

[00:37:47] again it's just the

[00:37:48] the process we go

[00:37:49] through but look we

[00:37:50] spent 40 minutes I

[00:37:51] think picking apart

[00:37:51] Black Friday and the

[00:37:54] latest developments

[00:37:54] this game let's let's

[00:37:55] talk about some actual

[00:37:56] players shall we because

[00:37:57] it has been a good time

[00:37:59] for actually getting

[00:38:00] different players in

[00:38:01] your team having some

[00:38:02] to try out so let's go

[00:38:04] let's go with our

[00:38:05] favorite segment

[00:38:06] player in review

[00:38:10] I think it's almost

[00:38:11] impossible to to just

[00:38:13] talk about one particular

[00:38:14] player in view for each

[00:38:15] of us but Shaq I'll

[00:38:16] start with you which

[00:38:17] kind of players have

[00:38:18] you picked up lately

[00:38:18] and you want to share

[00:38:20] some thoughts about

[00:38:20] I think I will share

[00:38:22] a slightly off-center

[00:38:23] one I

[00:38:25] Georgia Stanway in one

[00:38:27] of the campaign SVC

[00:38:28] player picks

[00:38:29] and this card is

[00:38:31] absolutely unreal

[00:38:33] I really enjoyed using

[00:38:34] her

[00:38:35] somehow squeeze her

[00:38:36] in on full cam into

[00:38:38] my squad and I can't

[00:38:40] see her leaving she's

[00:38:41] she reminds me of Saba

[00:38:42] from last year with

[00:38:44] extra she's got a pink

[00:38:45] pass plus which just

[00:38:46] makes it so easy to

[00:38:47] move the ball around

[00:38:48] and she's defensively

[00:38:50] solid she's very agile

[00:38:52] she's quick on the

[00:38:53] dribble and she can

[00:38:54] really pass the ball

[00:38:55] exactly the way you

[00:38:56] want it and I really

[00:38:58] enjoyed using her and

[00:38:58] she's not very expensive

[00:38:59] either so if she can

[00:39:00] fit in your squad I'm

[00:39:02] sure you have a rash

[00:39:03] for things like that

[00:39:04] she's I think just

[00:39:04] around 40k 35k 100%

[00:39:08] worth your money she is

[00:39:09] definitely worth every

[00:39:10] single coin that you

[00:39:11] put into her she's

[00:39:12] just brilliant

[00:39:15] and anybody else you

[00:39:16] want to bring up

[00:39:17] I also would like to

[00:39:19] give a shout out to

[00:39:20] Fernando Hero I

[00:39:21] packed this guy as well

[00:39:22] as a center back and I

[00:39:24] just put Saliba out

[00:39:25] because I was sick of

[00:39:26] seeing in my

[00:39:26] opponents teams and

[00:39:28] I've really enjoyed

[00:39:30] using him I think he

[00:39:30] was a 150 odd k right

[00:39:32] now he's incredible in

[00:39:34] game he's got the

[00:39:34] bruiser plus very

[00:39:36] solid decent pass even

[00:39:38] though it's a 75

[00:39:38] passing there's something

[00:39:39] about the way he

[00:39:40] passes the ball but

[00:39:41] he's got a long ball

[00:39:42] pass that's why he

[00:39:43] passes the ball

[00:39:44] beautifully well out of

[00:39:45] defense I've really

[00:39:46] enjoyed using him he's

[00:39:47] strong agile enough

[00:39:48] quick enough good

[00:39:50] passer like it

[00:39:52] Naith who would you

[00:39:53] like to spotlight

[00:39:55] there's a few I'll

[00:39:56] start with Carlos

[00:39:57] Enrique

[00:39:58] Venantia

[00:39:59] Casemiro

[00:40:01] just to confuse

[00:40:02] us all I just wanted

[00:40:03] to throw that in

[00:40:03] there and I

[00:40:05] actually he's one of

[00:40:06] these players I have

[00:40:09] deep line playmaker I

[00:40:10] put a shadow on him

[00:40:11] I was saying to Dan

[00:40:12] that he's a bit too

[00:40:13] stiff to be a deep

[00:40:14] line playmaker he

[00:40:15] takes a little bit too

[00:40:15] long on the ball but

[00:40:17] put him in as a holding

[00:40:19] player his defensive

[00:40:20] stats are ridiculous

[00:40:21] with shadow his pace is

[00:40:22] good as well it's got

[00:40:23] long ball pass so he

[00:40:24] can spread the play so

[00:40:25] I wouldn't do him if

[00:40:26] you're wanting to be a

[00:40:27] box-to-box or like

[00:40:28] super involved but in

[00:40:30] terms of a bit of a

[00:40:31] destroyer I always like

[00:40:32] to have a destroyer on

[00:40:32] my team he is absolutely

[00:40:34] tremendous for that

[00:40:36] 250k I'd probably say

[00:40:38] he's 50k overpriced but

[00:40:39] he's a Man United

[00:40:40] player so I was happy

[00:40:41] to do it

[00:40:42] hey Nate

[00:40:43] Stanway

[00:40:44] CDM

[00:40:44] deep line playmaker

[00:40:46] see I'd be tempted

[00:40:48] but I've just done

[00:40:49] Patri as well

[00:40:50] so that's I've got

[00:40:51] Patri and Casemiro as

[00:40:52] my two CMs so I

[00:40:54] think that's quite you

[00:40:55] know they kind of

[00:40:55] cover all bases

[00:40:56] they're okay going

[00:40:57] forward they're very

[00:40:57] good defensively

[00:40:58] both got long ball

[00:40:59] passes so I'm kind

[00:41:00] of going to set a

[00:41:02] set on that I was

[00:41:02] trying to change my

[00:41:03] system around a lot

[00:41:04] but Dan's taught me

[00:41:04] out with that

[00:41:06] yeah because you're

[00:41:07] trying too much you're

[00:41:08] changing too much too

[00:41:08] soon I play so for

[00:41:10] context I played co-op

[00:41:12] with Nate on it was

[00:41:14] Friday wasn't it

[00:41:14] Friday morning just

[00:41:15] before the promo got

[00:41:16] released and we were

[00:41:18] in good form I think we

[00:41:19] won a handful of games

[00:41:21] and really liked the

[00:41:22] feel of Nate's team

[00:41:22] I then get a screenshot

[00:41:24] from him I think it's

[00:41:25] yesterday and there's

[00:41:26] about six players

[00:41:27] different I think the

[00:41:28] formation had changed

[00:41:29] I'm like why are you

[00:41:29] what are you doing

[00:41:30] like no no it's the

[00:41:31] same formation I'm

[00:41:32] trying to perfect

[00:41:32] it's the same formation

[00:41:33] it's just a lot of

[00:41:34] different players

[00:41:35] though yeah and I

[00:41:37] think this is a if I

[00:41:38] had a foot coaching

[00:41:39] let's see if I let's

[00:41:40] see if this soundbite

[00:41:41] works foot coaching's

[00:41:42] top tip my top tips

[00:41:44] that everybody coming

[00:41:45] off this weekend is

[00:41:46] don't change too much

[00:41:47] too soon it might be

[00:41:49] really appealing that

[00:41:50] you've packed through a

[00:41:51] four good players and

[00:41:52] you just want to chuck

[00:41:53] them immediately

[00:41:54] straight into the team

[00:41:55] I would try your best

[00:41:57] to just gradually

[00:41:58] change and tweak

[00:41:59] things because it's

[00:42:01] then hard if then

[00:42:02] you start to go on a

[00:42:03] bit of a bad run it's

[00:42:03] harder to find where

[00:42:05] the problem is because

[00:42:06] it's like oh well is

[00:42:08] it because I took out

[00:42:08] this particular player

[00:42:09] was it this is it the

[00:42:10] balance of these two

[00:42:11] being together so try

[00:42:13] and go slow go slow

[00:42:16] with all of that

[00:42:18] going back to player in

[00:42:20] review player in

[00:42:23] review I'm just I'm

[00:42:24] just using it as

[00:42:25] excuse me

[00:42:26] love it

[00:42:28] which players have I

[00:42:29] picked up this weekend

[00:42:29] I'm going to tell you

[00:42:30] about Ivo Charlie Savage

[00:42:31] and Tyler Binden

[00:42:32] I'm not

[00:42:35] will look I would

[00:42:37] tell you how good

[00:42:38] Lillian Taram is but I

[00:42:39] think of it like with

[00:42:40] Shaq with Jairzinho

[00:42:40] what's the point because

[00:42:42] he's an absolute monster

[00:42:43] there's a reason they're

[00:42:44] two million coins

[00:42:46] fair enough

[00:42:47] so the player I'm going

[00:42:49] to talk about who is

[00:42:49] a lot cheaper who I

[00:42:51] think is worth picking

[00:42:51] up is Ashley Cole

[00:42:52] at left back I picked

[00:42:54] up his thunderstruck

[00:42:55] version I had the base

[00:42:56] going into this weekend

[00:42:57] thankfully sold just

[00:42:58] before the crash

[00:43:01] Cole again just very

[00:43:03] very solid as a left

[00:43:04] back around if you're

[00:43:05] looking for a player

[00:43:06] that will just give you

[00:43:07] versatility in those

[00:43:09] icon links he's not a

[00:43:11] player that's great at

[00:43:12] any one thing like he's

[00:43:13] not overly quick like

[00:43:14] his passing is not

[00:43:15] brilliant his

[00:43:17] physicality is not

[00:43:18] not necessarily top

[00:43:19] tier but overall he

[00:43:21] will do exactly what

[00:43:22] you need him to do he's

[00:43:23] also got the full

[00:43:23] back plus plus which

[00:43:25] not a lot of people

[00:43:26] have he's got four

[00:43:27] defensive play styles

[00:43:28] he has got whipped

[00:43:29] pass and he has got

[00:43:31] technical as well so

[00:43:32] could do a great job at

[00:43:33] left back and for how

[00:43:35] cheap this card is I

[00:43:36] mean I bought it at

[00:43:37] 246 I think he's gone

[00:43:38] up a little bit now I

[00:43:40] think he's sort of

[00:43:40] hovering around two oh

[00:43:41] no he's still about 245

[00:43:42] by the looks of it on

[00:43:43] the market

[00:43:45] and Chelsea smashed

[00:43:46] Villa

[00:43:47] is he linked to

[00:43:48] Chelsea or Villa I

[00:43:49] just need to double

[00:43:49] check that

[00:43:50] is he linked to

[00:43:51] Chelsea I was gonna

[00:43:52] say Chelsea smashed

[00:43:53] Villa at the weekend

[00:43:54] 3-0 so he's very

[00:43:55] close already

[00:43:57] only needs one win

[00:43:58] out of the next four

[00:43:59] and three goals in the

[00:44:00] next four games as

[00:44:01] well so chances are

[00:44:02] he's gonna be an 88

[00:44:03] rated card

[00:44:04] with two new play

[00:44:05] styles and a role

[00:44:06] plus so

[00:44:08] yeah I would very

[00:44:09] heartily recommend

[00:44:10] Ashley Cole

[00:44:10] again I think is very

[00:44:12] underpriced for what

[00:44:13] it is and what this

[00:44:14] card could be so

[00:44:15] that is my

[00:44:16] player in review

[00:44:18] gents

[00:44:19] anything else

[00:44:20] that you wanted to

[00:44:21] bring up on today's

[00:44:22] show

[00:44:22] Shaq I'll start with

[00:44:23] you

[00:44:24] nothing I think I've

[00:44:25] spoken enough in

[00:44:27] length about EA and

[00:44:28] Thunderstruck but

[00:44:29] yeah nothing at all

[00:44:30] thank you

[00:44:31] nice

[00:44:32] yeah just to reiterate

[00:44:33] kind of what we said

[00:44:34] in the short show

[00:44:35] yesterday I've seen a

[00:44:36] lot of people down

[00:44:37] about pack weight and

[00:44:38] pack luck it happens

[00:44:39] to everybody you know

[00:44:40] we can't all be down

[00:44:41] when Bush packing two

[00:44:42] and a half million

[00:44:43] pound players you know

[00:44:44] in about 12 hours

[00:44:46] straights if it's not

[00:44:48] happening now you

[00:44:49] know there's a good

[00:44:49] chance it'll happen

[00:44:50] in the next pro moral

[00:44:51] team of the year or

[00:44:52] something like that so

[00:44:53] don't focus too much

[00:44:54] on the negatives and

[00:44:55] to be honest a lot of

[00:44:56] the cards won't make a

[00:44:57] lot of difference to

[00:44:58] how you actually play

[00:44:59] obviously the Mbappes

[00:45:00] will but there's not

[00:45:01] many out there that

[00:45:02] will really be the

[00:45:03] next level they just

[00:45:04] look a lot nicer to

[00:45:05] have higher rated but

[00:45:06] it happens to us all

[00:45:08] and it'll you know it

[00:45:09] comes full circle at

[00:45:09] some point

[00:45:10] yeah

[00:45:11] a couple of things to

[00:45:13] finish for me is

[00:45:13] just on what Nath

[00:45:14] has just said and I

[00:45:15] know he's joking about

[00:45:16] my pack luck but I've

[00:45:17] been grinding through

[00:45:18] league SBCs really hard

[00:45:19] and my coin balance has

[00:45:20] probably been going down

[00:45:21] what I would say to

[00:45:23] people is don't be

[00:45:24] afraid to spend a few

[00:45:25] coins this week I know

[00:45:27] Nath said on yesterday's

[00:45:28] show that he's bought

[00:45:29] some provision packs as

[00:45:30] well this is the time to

[00:45:31] have a little bit of a

[00:45:33] gamble because there is so

[00:45:34] much in packs may as

[00:45:36] well yeah okay you might

[00:45:37] be down 100 200k or

[00:45:39] whatnot but you will

[00:45:41] slowly make that up over

[00:45:42] the next few weeks and

[00:45:43] it's probably not going to

[00:45:44] be the difference maker in

[00:45:45] your team or not so you

[00:45:47] may as well go and pay

[00:45:49] that you know I look at

[00:45:50] the league SBC is the

[00:45:51] price of it that Lib

[00:45:53] Sud section keeps going

[00:45:54] up but I'm like well

[00:45:54] okay it's an extra two

[00:45:56] three grand a spin but

[00:45:58] the benefits of getting

[00:45:59] one of these big cards

[00:46:00] as I did outweighs it

[00:46:02] and also just wanted to

[00:46:03] pick up on one thing you

[00:46:04] said on yesterday's show

[00:46:05] as well Nath you

[00:46:06] mentioned about team of

[00:46:07] the weeks and Shaq like

[00:46:10] if we'd done a trading

[00:46:11] show this year I think

[00:46:13] we would have our heads

[00:46:14] in our hands because

[00:46:15] EA and this is a great

[00:46:17] thing for anybody who is

[00:46:19] relying on past

[00:46:20] strategies to make

[00:46:22] their coins a perfect

[00:46:24] example Shaq of how EA

[00:46:26] can do one thing click

[00:46:27] their fingers and

[00:46:28] absolutely decimate an

[00:46:29] investment I think one

[00:46:31] of the things that

[00:46:32] anyone can do is just

[00:46:33] have a look at your

[00:46:34] untradeable stockpile

[00:46:35] within your dupe

[00:46:37] storage you would see

[00:46:38] that you have more team

[00:46:40] of the week cards as

[00:46:40] opposed to having

[00:46:41] non-rank gold cards

[00:46:42] that's literally the way

[00:46:44] well that's that I have

[00:46:45] so many team of the week

[00:46:47] cards just chilling in

[00:46:48] there and it has just

[00:46:50] upped the weight of

[00:46:51] team of the week cards

[00:46:52] number one secondly I

[00:46:53] think Dan you literally

[00:46:54] threw this on me last

[00:46:56] week where you said

[00:46:57] they've released a team

[00:46:58] of the week provision

[00:47:00] pack that actually costs

[00:47:01] approximately 14,000

[00:47:03] coins a team of the week

[00:47:04] player which means

[00:47:05] team of the week

[00:47:06] players will be in their

[00:47:07] minds will be cheaper

[00:47:08] on the market than 14,000

[00:47:09] coins which really blew

[00:47:11] my mind I thought this is

[00:47:12] ridiculous and that's

[00:47:14] exactly happened it's

[00:47:15] almost like a player has

[00:47:17] found a way to actually

[00:47:18] stop the tap from

[00:47:19] actually collecting some

[00:47:20] coins because roughly

[00:47:22] the strategy was up

[00:47:23] up until Black Friday

[00:47:24] you collect all these

[00:47:25] team of the week cards

[00:47:26] in your club just

[00:47:26] stock them just keep

[00:47:27] them away and this is

[00:47:28] payday this is your

[00:47:30] saving loan payday

[00:47:31] where you just sell all

[00:47:31] those team of the week

[00:47:32] cards and start sail your

[00:47:34] way to the sunset

[00:47:35] photo starts to go up

[00:47:37] you sell all those

[00:47:37] photo cards that you

[00:47:38] packed in day one

[00:47:39] that you just didn't

[00:47:40] think were worthy enough

[00:47:41] from here on in things

[00:47:42] start going up you cash

[00:47:44] shin on your investments

[00:47:45] and you start buying the

[00:47:47] cards that you want to

[00:47:48] use it just completely

[00:47:50] changed the tune this

[00:47:51] year completely changed

[00:47:52] the tune so what will

[00:47:54] happen from here I don't

[00:47:56] really know but I don't

[00:47:57] expect order as a viable

[00:47:59] investment at least for

[00:48:00] the next month and a

[00:48:01] half two months yeah and

[00:48:03] again we've never seen

[00:48:04] this the EA have

[00:48:05] released what was it

[00:48:06] 70 odd team of the

[00:48:07] weeks back into packs so

[00:48:09] again but what I would

[00:48:11] say is there is still

[00:48:13] that you know me and

[00:48:14] Shaq talked about this

[00:48:15] last year on the trading

[00:48:16] show that you know your

[00:48:17] ISA your savings account

[00:48:18] team of the weeks you

[00:48:20] might think of them of

[00:48:21] course they're not going

[00:48:21] to make you any money

[00:48:22] anytime soon but I would

[00:48:24] still unless you

[00:48:25] desperately need the

[00:48:26] coins just still keep

[00:48:27] them in the club and

[00:48:28] actually I would say to

[00:48:30] people probably go out

[00:48:32] and pick up a few of

[00:48:33] the 86 87 rated team of

[00:48:35] the weeks that are

[00:48:36] basically discard because

[00:48:37] there is that good

[00:48:38] chance as the year goes

[00:48:39] on I don't know that

[00:48:40] we're going to see this

[00:48:41] again I would be

[00:48:43] surprised we see such

[00:48:44] a huge release of team

[00:48:45] of the weeks again and

[00:48:47] certainly when we get

[00:48:48] into and it's a long way

[00:48:49] away I know but when we

[00:48:50] get to May and the season

[00:48:51] ends and team of the

[00:48:52] week finishes you know

[00:48:54] you'll be able to clean

[00:48:54] up for footies and stuff

[00:48:55] like that even if you've

[00:48:56] just got like 10 15

[00:48:58] stashed away they are

[00:48:59] going to double or

[00:49:00] treble in price at some

[00:49:01] point they already have

[00:49:03] a couple of weeks a few

[00:49:04] weeks ago I wish I'd

[00:49:04] sold up then because

[00:49:06] they went to 2025k a few

[00:49:07] weeks ago so people have

[00:49:10] a very short the

[00:49:11] majority of the use

[00:49:12] base has a very short

[00:49:13] term mentality they'll

[00:49:14] quick sell all these

[00:49:15] team of the weeks at

[00:49:16] the moment or list them

[00:49:18] up for min value and

[00:49:20] actually if you do hold

[00:49:21] on I'm not saying go

[00:49:22] and buy 200 of them but

[00:49:23] yeah just just have a

[00:49:25] few lying around

[00:49:25] Shaq yeah completely

[00:49:27] agree just just a few

[00:49:28] lying around would do

[00:49:29] you a lot of good

[00:49:31] right just just on your

[00:49:33] point there about you

[00:49:34] know it's nice to spend

[00:49:35] some coins you'll be

[00:49:36] happy that I spent 1.3

[00:49:38] million on one player I

[00:49:40] did have the sweats I

[00:49:41] do have the sweats and

[00:49:42] I've checked he's

[00:49:43] already gone up 40k so

[00:49:44] I'm like do I cash in

[00:49:45] already he's only he's

[00:49:48] only been left with

[00:49:49] what two and a half

[00:49:50] million left two and

[00:49:51] a half left I went

[00:49:52] and bought a

[00:49:54] thunderstruck

[00:49:55] he's a while in for

[00:49:56] you I went and got

[00:49:58] thunderstruck Rooney

[00:50:00] Jesus and you have two

[00:50:01] and a half million left

[00:50:02] after that yeah I do

[00:50:03] I was very fortunate

[00:50:05] the likes that Tio

[00:50:06] Hernandez that I got

[00:50:07] last week ended up

[00:50:08] being tradable so he

[00:50:09] went straight onto the

[00:50:10] transfer list I've been

[00:50:11] very fortunate recently

[00:50:12] oh my goodness what a

[00:50:15] guy why do we what do

[00:50:16] we record with this

[00:50:17] guys I might just sell

[00:50:20] him anyway at some

[00:50:21] point because you know

[00:50:22] what I'm like having

[00:50:22] tradable players but

[00:50:24] Rooney's quite nice to

[00:50:25] have by the time this

[00:50:27] pod gets released to

[00:50:28] the general public on

[00:50:28] Wednesday morning

[00:50:29] Nath would have already

[00:50:30] sold sold Rooney I did

[00:50:32] joke when he says he

[00:50:33] sent me the messages

[00:50:34] like saying have you

[00:50:34] sold him yet he is the

[00:50:37] biggest dragon of all

[00:50:38] look I could sit and

[00:50:39] chat to you gents for

[00:50:40] hours and hours but I

[00:50:41] know John is a very

[00:50:42] busy man and I don't

[00:50:43] want to give him too

[00:50:44] much editing to do so

[00:50:45] we are going to leave

[00:50:46] the show here for the

[00:50:47] day look again thank you

[00:50:48] to everyone listening

[00:50:50] especially to those

[00:50:51] patrons patreon.com

[00:50:52] forward slash foot in

[00:50:54] review go on it's

[00:50:55] Christmas give us a

[00:50:56] little present

[00:50:57] subscribe it's a cost

[00:50:58] of a I think it's a

[00:50:59] fiver a month it starts

[00:51:00] with and you get

[00:51:01] access to as a

[00:51:02] as I said those

[00:51:02] custom tactics

[00:51:03] videos this show

[00:51:05] early so it's nice

[00:51:07] and ready for your

[00:51:08] commute home or your

[00:51:09] commute to work and

[00:51:10] lots of other things

[00:51:11] I said you know it's

[00:51:12] the Christmas spirit you

[00:51:13] know be giving but I

[00:51:14] look thank you to

[00:51:15] everybody else who

[00:51:16] leaves those five

[00:51:16] star reviews leaves

[00:51:17] those comments on

[00:51:18] Spotify Apple podcast

[00:51:20] wherever you get this

[00:51:21] show on YouTube as

[00:51:22] well don't forget you

[00:51:22] can watch the video

[00:51:23] version and see our

[00:51:24] lovely faces and all

[00:51:25] the gestures I make

[00:51:26] towards Nathan on that

[00:51:27] video and you know

[00:51:29] just leave us a thumbs up

[00:51:29] there and subscribe to

[00:51:30] the channel and again

[00:51:31] I'm cynically even if

[00:51:33] you don't listen to it

[00:51:34] there it all helps

[00:51:35] helps the channel grow

[00:51:36] helps more people find

[00:51:37] us and just keeps the

[00:51:38] train rolling so

[00:51:39] thanks everybody I

[00:51:40] hope you've all enjoyed

[00:51:42] Black Friday I know

[00:51:42] we've picked apart a lot

[00:51:44] of the things we don't

[00:51:45] like but I will go back

[00:51:47] to what we say after

[00:51:48] every show we're still

[00:51:49] playing this we're having

[00:51:50] a laugh as a group

[00:51:51] about some of the

[00:51:52] things and the

[00:51:53] frustrations and that's

[00:51:54] what it's all about and

[00:51:55] that's why you should

[00:51:55] again if you want to

[00:51:57] kind of join in join the

[00:51:58] discord that is free the

[00:52:00] link is on the show

[00:52:00] description and we're

[00:52:01] always in there having

[00:52:02] these kind of similar

[00:52:03] discussions in text-based

[00:52:05] format so I'd encourage

[00:52:07] people to head over there

[00:52:08] as for the rest of the

[00:52:09] housekeeping shorts will

[00:52:10] return for the rest of

[00:52:12] the week with John and of

[00:52:12] course he'll be back with

[00:52:14] a show on Friday and I

[00:52:15] mean Shaq do we know what

[00:52:16] the next promo is yet have

[00:52:17] we had any leaks no not

[00:52:19] really there's there's a

[00:52:21] couple of things floating

[00:52:21] around but there's no

[00:52:22] confirmation on exactly what

[00:52:23] the next promo would be

[00:52:24] unless Nate knows no no

[00:52:28] not that I know of I'm

[00:52:29] just having a quick look

[00:52:29] to see if there's

[00:52:30] anything but I can't see

[00:52:33] can't see anything leaked

[00:52:34] as yet which is odd to the

[00:52:35] way it's been going

[00:52:36] recently yeah I mean I

[00:52:38] think last did we have

[00:52:39] something like we had

[00:52:40] team of the group stage

[00:52:42] didn't we last year but

[00:52:43] of course the group stage

[00:52:44] isn't over they don't

[00:52:45] finish till January now

[00:52:46] I'd think so I don't know

[00:52:48] if we can do that because

[00:52:49] there's still group games

[00:52:50] after Christmas I'm sure

[00:52:51] yeah I wonder if it'll be

[00:52:52] something like I'm trying

[00:52:54] to look through last last

[00:52:55] year's last year's promo

[00:52:56] list so we had Black

[00:52:59] Friday then we had

[00:53:01] Radioactive I could see

[00:53:03] I could see some sort of

[00:53:04] radioactive thing come back

[00:53:05] for that again those of

[00:53:07] you who weren't here last

[00:53:07] year Radioactive was

[00:53:08] giving extra chem boosts

[00:53:10] in that weird funky we

[00:53:13] nuclear yeah nuclear design

[00:53:17] dynasties then followed

[00:53:18] that and then we had team

[00:53:20] of the group stage just

[00:53:21] before winter wildcard

[00:53:23] so dynasties wasn't a

[00:53:24] particularly great promo

[00:53:25] team of the group stage

[00:53:27] was pretty horrible so

[00:53:29] hopefully EA come up with

[00:53:30] something interesting to

[00:53:31] keep us occupied but

[00:53:33] again John and John and

[00:53:34] Yngwie and the crew will be

[00:53:35] here on Friday to talk

[00:53:37] through all of that

[00:53:38] gents thank you very much

[00:53:40] for your time as always

[00:53:41] thank you to everybody out

[00:53:42] there listening only one

[00:53:44] thing left for us to do

[00:53:45] Shaq drop it

[00:53:46] nice drop it we are gonna

[00:53:49] drop it

[00:53:50] drop it

[00:53:52] you

[00:53:53] you

[00:53:56] you

[00:53:56] you

[00:53:56] you

[00:53:57] you