650: Numero FUT & TOTY Train Starts Rolling

[00:00:00] Hello footies and welcome back to our very first FUT IN REVIEW podcast of 2025. I hope you've all had a really good festive period, you've not eaten too much, not drank too much or if you have I hope you've had a great time doing so. Today is the first Wimby less Tuesday club but we will Wimble on anyway. I am joined by the man of the moment, Shaq. How are you doing Shaq?

[00:00:26] I'm great. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me and yes, this is going to be a Wimby less podcast over the next couple of months or so and you know what it just feels like, well at least I consider myself a complete not an amateur compared to when Dan opens his mouth. It's just like roses and flowers where I just talk random babble.

[00:00:48] That's the way to do it though. It's quite good to have a bit of unpredictability about it as well.

[00:00:53] That's right.

[00:00:54] I don't think anyone has that smooth voice as Dan but we will do our best to plug that little gap just now.

[00:01:00] Firstly, first things first Shaq, how was your festive period? Did you have a nice break? Did you keep playing? Did you have family time? How did it go?

[00:01:06] Oh, it was awesome. I actually did play quite a bit of EFC along the way. I had time off all the way from the 25th through the 2nd so I just played quite a lot of FIFA along those every night and it was good fun.

[00:01:19] I must say, I was quite engaged with the game. I wasn't ranting or raving. I wasn't trying to get a certain amount of wins. I just enjoyed myself a little bit here and there where I could.

[00:01:30] Ideal. No, that sounds the best way to do it. I mean, I've had a two-week break. Yesterday was my first return. It was quite a productive day back to be fair, getting three quarters away through rivals and all the rush objectives done quite quickly.

[00:01:42] So, can't grumble with that. But it was also quite nice to have a wee break from it. I kept up with the menus but didn't really get involved in the gameplay at all.

[00:01:49] So, it was quite nice. But plenty to talk about following the sort of year-ending show that John and the crew did before Christmas.

[00:01:57] So, I know they touched a bit on Winter Wildcards then but we've had a few teams out from them.

[00:02:01] But the biggest talking point, I guess, Shaq, from Winter Wildcards was the introduction of these two playstyle pluses.

[00:02:09] How did you see that go? Before, did you think that would be a game-changer? Has it been a game-changer?

[00:02:16] Has it not really affected things so much? What's your experience with it since it's launched?

[00:02:21] I expected it to be a game-changer. I think some of the playstyle pluses combinations are a bit weird.

[00:02:26] For example, Kenny Daglish, as one example, has been passed along with his finesse, which is his regular playstyle plus.

[00:02:34] And I think, I just find it odd that some cards, the combinations are really weird.

[00:02:40] But some cards, the combinations are pretty spot-on. Like that Centimate Roll 4.

[00:02:44] She's got the combination of the long-ball pass and the incisive pass.

[00:02:48] So, some of the combinations are really, really unique and cool and very, very meta.

[00:02:52] But then there's some ones that really don't make sense.

[00:02:55] Like the Daglish one, okay, yeah, sure.

[00:02:57] It makes sense that, yeah, he's got pink pass, which allows his passing.

[00:02:59] But his passing, if you don't use the pink pass playstyle, it's really bad.

[00:03:03] So, that's the part I don't really agree with.

[00:03:07] Some cards are okay. Some cards not so okay.

[00:03:10] You can just feel like EA just half-assed this particular one.

[00:03:13] It's not really done the way it was intended.

[00:03:16] It was just like, yep, let's just excite some.

[00:03:18] It's good for certain, I think, top-tier cards.

[00:03:20] It's definitely good.

[00:03:21] But on the whole, I don't think it's as...

[00:03:23] Yeah, it also was very sporadic, the way they handed out the two playstyle pluses.

[00:03:28] Yeah, that was the one thing that came to me.

[00:03:30] I did think that there would be more of a rhyme or reason to the cards that got two.

[00:03:34] Or, you know, I thought maybe it was a promo with all of them having two.

[00:03:38] So, it was a bit of a strange one.

[00:03:39] I mean, I can't say that I've noticed lots of teams that you face going out and getting these players for two playstyle pluses

[00:03:46] because they've got two playstyle pluses, if that makes sense.

[00:03:49] I think the good players are still the good players if they've got one or two,

[00:03:53] if they've just kind of got the basic playstyle.

[00:03:56] Exactly.

[00:03:57] I think one of the things I was noticing, I don't know if you've done the Avalanche Evolution.

[00:04:02] I've done the Avalanche Evolution, and I think I did Nico Williams, who's got two playstyle pluses.

[00:04:07] And it's just one of those things where it feels odd when you expect one playstyle to kick in,

[00:04:14] and it doesn't really kick in, and you're just wondering,

[00:04:15] is it because I pressed something wrong or the other one's activated at the wrong time?

[00:04:19] I mean, it just doesn't feel organic.

[00:04:23] It just feels like it's like a bolt-on rather than an organic move across from one playstyle to two playstyle like we had last year.

[00:04:31] And it just feels a bit odd.

[00:04:32] I don't think the game was quite ready for it yet, but again, we will see what Team of the Year and the future holds, I guess.

[00:04:40] Yeah, I mean, my tin hat on, if you like, is saying that this is them sort of like testing the waters to see if they can bring these out pre-Team of the Year

[00:04:49] rather than, you know, at Team of the Year where that was like the game-breaker type thing.

[00:04:53] And we'll get on to Team of the Year in a bit because obviously that's kind of going to be the focal point for the next sort of three weeks to a month or so.

[00:04:59] So we can crack onto that.

[00:05:01] But in terms of wild cards, has there been any cards that you've picked up from it to be like, this is incredible?

[00:05:06] Or have you just not bothered?

[00:05:08] Or has your pack looked as good as others or less?

[00:05:11] No, I haven't really packed anything off-north during winter wild cards.

[00:05:15] I don't think I really packed anything.

[00:05:17] I'm just trying to think through.

[00:05:18] I don't think I really packed anything that was worthy.

[00:05:19] But I did try quite a few cards because we had the draft objective, which was actually quite a lot of fun.

[00:05:25] I mean, there's a couple of drafts where I went to the finals and a couple of drafts where I lost literally in the second round.

[00:05:30] But it didn't really matter because I was driving new cards.

[00:05:33] And I tried a lot of winter wild cards.

[00:05:34] And I think I sent you guys a couple of messages as well that I tried this card, I tried that card.

[00:05:39] And some of the cards, like especially that R9, the baby version of R9 winter wild card, he was exceptional.

[00:05:47] Some of the movement that he made in game.

[00:05:50] I mean, it shouldn't be a surprise for a 4.5, 5 million card.

[00:05:53] But I think as someone that's used R9 every year, I think this was probably my favorite R9 to use.

[00:05:58] And that maybe could be the fact that I was using a free R9 in draft and he just felt amazing because I breezed through the final with him.

[00:06:07] Or it could be the fact that this R9 actually is good.

[00:06:10] I did see some reviews online and that said that this particular R9 is really, really good.

[00:06:14] So that was a really interesting card.

[00:06:16] I mean, it's a really expensive card.

[00:06:18] So let's put it that way.

[00:06:18] But the other card that I really loved using was this roll 4 card that I addressed earlier.

[00:06:23] Those two playstyle pluses that she's got, the incisive pass as well as the long ball pass.

[00:06:28] That was a beautiful combination.

[00:06:30] And she really glides along the pitch.

[00:06:33] Her passes are impeccable.

[00:06:35] She does things that, you know, you would exactly need in your midfield.

[00:06:38] And I mean, if you've used a roll 4 card, you know how solid she is.

[00:06:42] And combine that with those two playstyle pluses.

[00:06:45] I really enjoyed using that card.

[00:06:47] Apart from that, some of the other cards I used.

[00:06:49] I think Daglish was one that I really liked.

[00:06:51] But then there's certain times where if you don't use his ping pass, his passing is just so horrendous.

[00:06:58] And his movement goes from being really nice to really clunky, depending on the gameplay.

[00:07:03] From my perspective, at least.

[00:07:04] So I think he's still cheap.

[00:07:06] He's still good.

[00:07:07] His finish shots are amazing.

[00:07:08] But I just didn't really think he wasn't my kind of player, which is a shame.

[00:07:13] But he's a Liverpool player, so I'm not that gutted, to be honest.

[00:07:16] But he was a fun card to try.

[00:07:19] I think I tried even the Xavi card.

[00:07:20] That was a really good card as well.

[00:07:22] Two playstyle pluses.

[00:07:23] He's got Tikitaka and Incisive.

[00:07:24] That was a fun card.

[00:07:25] I think overall, I think quite a lot of cards were fun cards.

[00:07:28] But apart from the R9, which is the obvious, no card seemed to be like, oh, this is a must-have in your team.

[00:07:36] Yeah, no, that makes sense.

[00:07:37] There's quite a few nice ones.

[00:07:38] And obviously, me being a dragon hasn't gone out and bought any of them.

[00:07:42] Although I've been very tempted for the Haaland card, I have to say, even though he's a City player.

[00:07:47] I thought that both versions of him look incredible.

[00:07:50] The centre-back.

[00:07:52] Sorry to cut you off there.

[00:07:54] The Haaland card.

[00:07:55] I tried the centre-back card in draft, and he was actually quite good.

[00:08:01] Just imagine like a really big Virgil van Dijk.

[00:08:04] Well, Virgil van Dijk is actually big.

[00:08:05] But Haaland just felt that bit bigger, and you just know he just would stop people.

[00:08:11] And yeah, he was a very fun card, actually, to be honest.

[00:08:14] And it just felt weird having him in that position.

[00:08:16] But he was actually really good in centre-back.

[00:08:18] Yeah, I mean, we're seeing less and less of the gold van Dijk card now.

[00:08:22] He seems to be phased out.

[00:08:23] I think the nerve on the corners, that's one thing I've noticed.

[00:08:26] The amount of headers I get from corners, which are free headers, and they just go flying over the bar or whatever.

[00:08:32] I think that's kind of taken away a bit of that van Dijk-esque sort of necessity,

[00:08:36] because he was almost like a cheat code to start with when those corners were so good.

[00:08:39] But if you can't direct them, then it makes it a lot harder.

[00:08:42] I can tell when someone hasn't played during the Christmas break,

[00:08:46] because during the Christmas break, it's almost like everyone literally was given a free van Dijk.

[00:08:50] And every game I've played, I've literally faced van Dijk, and he was still good during the Christmas break.

[00:08:56] I think since over the past three or four days, people have just moved on to other centre-backs.

[00:09:01] But during the break, because Kanate was being upgraded, and a lot of people were trying to fit Kanate in,

[00:09:07] and van Dijk was literally...

[00:09:08] Every game of champs seemed to have a van Dijk in there, and he was still killing it.

[00:09:13] I think Saliba is definitely done and dusted.

[00:09:16] The gold Saliba is definitely done and dusted.

[00:09:17] He's not being used anymore, but the van Dijk is still surviving somehow or the other.

[00:09:22] Yeah, well, like I said, I've seen them kind of phasing out a bit,

[00:09:26] but it'll be interesting to see some of these Evos, which we'll come on and talk about as well.

[00:09:29] But some of these new Evos might have sort of revitalised certain other cards.

[00:09:34] Going from Winter Wild Cards, then, we've got the current promo just now.

[00:09:37] We've got Numero Foot.

[00:09:39] We were talking before this kind of release going,

[00:09:42] Team looks a bit meh, you know, it's kind of, you know,

[00:09:45] they're trying to kind of lull you in before Team of the Year comes.

[00:09:48] But on actual release, there are still a few tasty cards in this shack.

[00:09:55] There are some really decent cards in here.

[00:09:59] I think some of the cards are decent,

[00:10:00] but I'm just really finding the back way to be so ad hoc

[00:10:04] that the chances of backing these cards are almost impossible,

[00:10:07] but they're not that expensive on the market.

[00:10:09] So they're certainly worth a try.

[00:10:11] Some of them are certainly worth a try.

[00:10:13] Yeah, I mean, obviously the standouts for Rafael,

[00:10:16] who if you get him, he'll be phenomenal.

[00:10:19] But I mean, I would just sell him straight away if I had him tradable.

[00:10:23] Lewis Dunk is one that quite intrigues me

[00:10:25] because he's 33 foot tall, a big monster.

[00:10:29] But he's only 120 odd K, so he looks good.

[00:10:32] James Rodriguez, I don't know whether you saw the irony.

[00:10:34] He got his first promo cards in a while

[00:10:36] and then he got released from his club.

[00:10:38] So he's actually without a club now.

[00:10:40] But I mean, he looks pretty decent to be fair.

[00:10:43] And then, you know, the one fair trio in the former Tuesday club,

[00:10:48] Kamavinga.

[00:10:49] I mean, what a card that looks like, even with the one play style plus.

[00:10:52] But if you had him, you'd be laughing, I think,

[00:10:54] because that looks a really tasty card.

[00:10:57] I think one of the things that Evolutions have done is,

[00:11:01] in a good way, I think in a good way from a consumer point of view,

[00:11:04] from a player point of view,

[00:11:06] is some of these cards don't really,

[00:11:09] it doesn't make you feel like,

[00:11:10] oh, I need to go and try the Kamavinga card out.

[00:11:12] Because you can easily Evo a gold Kamavinga

[00:11:16] to make him close enough to that particular card.

[00:11:19] Not exactly like that card, but close enough.

[00:11:21] So just really, for example, I think

[00:11:24] there's another evolution today or yesterday

[00:11:26] that came out the way you could Evo show many.

[00:11:29] And a lot of people are talking.

[00:11:31] So it's just, I think,

[00:11:32] I know Kamavinga was a very popular Evo

[00:11:34] during the winter wildcard season.

[00:11:35] So I think seeing this card here is,

[00:11:38] yeah, he's got really good play styles.

[00:11:39] I think he's got five-star skills, if I'm not mistaken,

[00:11:41] which is a weird combination to have.

[00:11:43] Yeah, five-star, four-star, yeah.

[00:11:44] Yeah, five-star skills on a CDM.

[00:11:46] It's a bit weird, but also he's a left-back.

[00:11:48] I think he can play left-back as well,

[00:11:49] which is a good thing.

[00:11:50] Definitely a good card.

[00:11:51] But I think a million coins for a Kamavinga

[00:11:54] that I can Evo that's close enough

[00:11:55] for quite cheaper than that.

[00:11:57] That's the,

[00:11:58] I don't know how I feel about that

[00:12:00] because normally we would be salivating

[00:12:01] about this Kamavinga card.

[00:12:03] But just knowing the fact that you can get

[00:12:05] a bargain basement Kamavinga from Evo's,

[00:12:09] kind of, I don't have the same desire

[00:12:11] to go out and try this particular card.

[00:12:13] Yeah, I think what EA have done quite cleverly

[00:12:15] with this one is they've boosted the shooting

[00:12:16] quite a lot.

[00:12:17] So I think from the Evos that you get

[00:12:19] with Kamavinga especially,

[00:12:21] and say, Chiumeni,

[00:12:22] is that they keep the shooting still really low.

[00:12:24] But if you play them as, say,

[00:12:26] an actual center mid,

[00:12:27] then it kind of boosts that

[00:12:28] so he's a bit more of a goal threat.

[00:12:29] So I think actually EA have been quite clever

[00:12:32] because they've given you very good Evos

[00:12:33] where you can have, you know,

[00:12:35] certain players that you like in certain roles.

[00:12:36] But the actual cards do bring that

[00:12:39] a little bit more.

[00:12:40] I think, like I say, with the shooting,

[00:12:40] you could actually have him almost as a box-to-box

[00:12:42] with those type of stats and stuff like that.

[00:12:45] So I think they have been pretty smart.

[00:12:47] One other thing to talk about numero foot,

[00:12:51] I've kind of called this segment

[00:12:52] New Year, same old EA.

[00:12:55] There has been another,

[00:12:56] quite a big mistake,

[00:12:57] which they left up for quite a number of hours,

[00:13:00] which, to be fair,

[00:13:01] I don't know how people managed

[00:13:02] to do all those objectives that quickly,

[00:13:04] which is crazy.

[00:13:05] But on, was it Friday night?

[00:13:07] They'd released an objective

[00:13:11] where you can get a winter wildcard guarantee.

[00:13:13] And it seems like 99% of them

[00:13:16] was the striker, Hal, and Shaq.

[00:13:18] What do you think's going on?

[00:13:19] So what happened there was,

[00:13:20] it was literally,

[00:13:21] I think all of us had the,

[00:13:22] like, for example,

[00:13:23] I opened the pack a couple of days

[00:13:24] before the glitch happened

[00:13:26] because we were able to complete the season.

[00:13:29] I think it was a weekly milestone.

[00:13:30] I can't really remember the objective,

[00:13:32] but every week,

[00:13:33] you completed a series of objectives,

[00:13:35] which is, I think,

[00:13:36] 10 rival games

[00:13:37] and 10 squad battle or rush games.

[00:13:40] And that gives you an opportunity

[00:13:42] for that promo card,

[00:13:43] promo pack.

[00:13:44] And we,

[00:13:46] last week's objective reward

[00:13:47] was to get one winter wildcard player,

[00:13:49] which I think predominantly

[00:13:50] was open during the week.

[00:13:52] I think there's quite a lot of people

[00:13:54] that for whatever reason

[00:13:55] didn't claim that pack

[00:13:56] and they opened it

[00:13:57] after the objective was,

[00:14:00] after the week was done.

[00:14:01] And yeah,

[00:14:02] that particular pack

[00:14:03] seemed to have Haaland

[00:14:04] over and over and over again.

[00:14:06] I couldn't believe my eyes

[00:14:08] when the number of Haalands

[00:14:09] are being popped up on stream.

[00:14:11] But yeah,

[00:14:11] it was a big glitch.

[00:14:13] It was a huge glitch.

[00:14:14] I think I feel in these situations,

[00:14:15] I certainly feel bad

[00:14:17] for the people that

[00:14:17] are back to Haaland

[00:14:19] fair and square

[00:14:20] during the promo

[00:14:21] and suddenly

[00:14:22] it just doesn't feel as good.

[00:14:24] Yeah.

[00:14:25] I mean,

[00:14:25] one thing,

[00:14:26] one thing to say about that

[00:14:27] is when you look at the price of Haaland,

[00:14:29] he hasn't dropped that much.

[00:14:30] So it makes me feel like

[00:14:32] it's a small sample size.

[00:14:34] I think it's a lot on social,

[00:14:35] but in the wider terms,

[00:14:36] I don't think it was

[00:14:37] as widely packed as we think,

[00:14:39] but it's still very frustrating

[00:14:40] when that's a player

[00:14:42] that you know,

[00:14:42] most people would love to have

[00:14:43] in their side,

[00:14:44] especially if you play

[00:14:45] like a one striker formation.

[00:14:47] He's,

[00:14:47] you know,

[00:14:48] he would be an absolute

[00:14:48] tremendous lead in the line.

[00:14:50] Absolutely.

[00:14:51] Absolutely.

[00:14:51] I think for this week's objective,

[00:14:54] I think the recommendation

[00:14:55] is to hold on to that back

[00:14:56] and open it

[00:14:57] after

[00:14:58] this team

[00:14:59] leaves the

[00:15:00] lease packs

[00:15:01] and then you can probably

[00:15:01] pack a Raphael layout.

[00:15:03] That'll be perfect.

[00:15:04] That would be tremendous.

[00:15:06] I mean,

[00:15:06] the one thing to say on that though

[00:15:07] is I am hoping

[00:15:09] that it's not setting the precedent

[00:15:10] for another year of mistakes

[00:15:11] because

[00:15:12] this is probably a record

[00:15:14] for,

[00:15:14] you know,

[00:15:15] brand new year

[00:15:16] and within two days

[00:15:16] there's this type of mistake.

[00:15:18] So let's hope

[00:15:19] it's not a sign of things to come,

[00:15:20] but you never know.

[00:15:23] I don't know how

[00:15:24] I'm trying to be fair to EA,

[00:15:26] but to be fair to EA

[00:15:27] compared to

[00:15:28] last year,

[00:15:29] for example,

[00:15:29] the number of,

[00:15:30] I mean,

[00:15:30] I'm still,

[00:15:31] there are errors,

[00:15:31] but the number of errors

[00:15:32] that are happening

[00:15:33] on a day-to-day,

[00:15:34] week-to-week basis

[00:15:35] have reduced.

[00:15:37] Yeah.

[00:15:37] So there is some,

[00:15:38] yeah.

[00:15:39] I think it comes,

[00:15:40] they come in clusters,

[00:15:41] don't they?

[00:15:41] They seem to happen,

[00:15:42] you know,

[00:15:42] two or three within a week or so

[00:15:44] and then it calms down.

[00:15:46] So it makes it feel like

[00:15:46] there's a lot all at once,

[00:15:47] but hopefully,

[00:15:48] hopefully they can kind of

[00:15:49] stay on top

[00:15:50] and maybe they've got

[00:15:51] a new quality assurance manager

[00:15:52] or something like that

[00:15:53] to kind of test these things

[00:15:54] before going,

[00:15:55] you never know.

[00:15:56] Shaq,

[00:15:57] before we go on

[00:15:58] to the market watch,

[00:15:58] just a wee chat about evils

[00:16:00] because,

[00:16:00] you know,

[00:16:01] there has been a lot of evils,

[00:16:03] like a lot,

[00:16:03] a lot of evils.

[00:16:05] I was raging

[00:16:06] because I went to go in

[00:16:07] and start at the,

[00:16:08] sort of attacking evils

[00:16:10] with Nico

[00:16:11] on your recommendation yesterday.

[00:16:13] Turned out that I'd missed it,

[00:16:14] it expired.

[00:16:15] I think that one was 250k,

[00:16:17] which in my dragon head

[00:16:19] is actually wonderful.

[00:16:20] It saved me 250k.

[00:16:21] But I mean,

[00:16:22] how do you think

[00:16:23] they're doing with evils?

[00:16:24] Has there been any sort of

[00:16:25] amazing ones

[00:16:26] that took your eye?

[00:16:27] Has there been,

[00:16:27] you know,

[00:16:28] what's your overall thoughts

[00:16:29] on them now?

[00:16:29] We've kind of had a bit of time

[00:16:30] to bed in with this,

[00:16:31] this new ones.

[00:16:33] From a purely,

[00:16:35] from my particular perspective,

[00:16:37] I think those evils came

[00:16:38] at a time

[00:16:39] when the club that

[00:16:40] I,

[00:16:41] we support

[00:16:42] was not doing the best.

[00:16:43] So I wanted to be

[00:16:44] as far away

[00:16:45] from a Man United player

[00:16:46] as I possibly could.

[00:16:47] And I think that's why

[00:16:48] my enjoyment

[00:16:49] of that particular week

[00:16:50] wasn't as much

[00:16:51] as it should have been.

[00:16:52] Having said that,

[00:16:53] I still did some evils.

[00:16:54] I evoed

[00:16:56] Inaki Williams,

[00:16:57] who,

[00:16:57] sorry,

[00:16:58] not Inaki,

[00:16:58] Nico Williams,

[00:16:59] who is,

[00:17:01] I want to dislike him.

[00:17:03] I really want to dislike him

[00:17:04] because it just feels weird

[00:17:05] to have a goal guard

[00:17:06] that plays that good.

[00:17:07] He does play really well

[00:17:09] at striker.

[00:17:10] I tried him,

[00:17:10] I mean,

[00:17:11] the reason I evoed him

[00:17:12] was the fact that he had

[00:17:13] the role plus plus

[00:17:16] as the inside forward

[00:17:17] on LM,

[00:17:18] which is the same thing

[00:17:19] that Vinicius has.

[00:17:20] And I started using him there

[00:17:21] and he was very ineffective

[00:17:23] for me on the wing.

[00:17:24] But as a striker,

[00:17:25] he's got the size,

[00:17:25] he's got the heft,

[00:17:26] he's got the strength,

[00:17:27] he's got the press proven.

[00:17:29] Oh,

[00:17:29] he's just doing bits for me.

[00:17:31] He's playing really,

[00:17:32] really well for me

[00:17:32] and I'm really enjoying him

[00:17:33] at the striker.

[00:17:33] I keep,

[00:17:34] I keep getting better,

[00:17:36] I mean,

[00:17:36] I keep getting shinier strikers

[00:17:37] and I keep putting them in

[00:17:38] and then realizing,

[00:17:39] oh,

[00:17:39] this Nico Williams,

[00:17:40] damn it,

[00:17:40] I spent 250k,

[00:17:41] he's actually good.

[00:17:43] And yeah,

[00:17:44] overall,

[00:17:44] I think the evos

[00:17:45] were pretty good.

[00:17:46] I think it was,

[00:17:46] there was a lot of variety

[00:17:47] of evos.

[00:17:48] The only drawback,

[00:17:49] the only thing that I didn't,

[00:17:50] well,

[00:17:51] the fact that this flashy

[00:17:53] was literally came

[00:17:54] and went before you

[00:17:55] could do anything

[00:17:56] because there were

[00:17:56] so many evos

[00:17:57] coming all at once.

[00:17:58] And I think a lot of people

[00:17:59] like you,

[00:18:00] a lot of people have missed

[00:18:01] out on a few evos

[00:18:02] there,

[00:18:02] here and there.

[00:18:03] I think I missed out

[00:18:04] on a few chains as well

[00:18:05] because I just didn't

[00:18:06] complete one chain.

[00:18:07] And one of the things,

[00:18:09] Nate,

[00:18:10] you would probably

[00:18:11] understand this as well

[00:18:12] because I don't really

[00:18:14] understand why we're not

[00:18:15] able to evo,

[00:18:16] maybe two evos at a time.

[00:18:18] It's,

[00:18:19] I don't understand why

[00:18:20] when they're releasing

[00:18:21] the number of evos,

[00:18:22] especially if it's

[00:18:22] a paid evo,

[00:18:23] at least if you can

[00:18:24] pay for an evo

[00:18:26] and evolve multiple

[00:18:27] at a time,

[00:18:28] I'm okay with that?

[00:18:30] I'm guessing it's more

[00:18:31] just a coding issue

[00:18:32] to be honest

[00:18:32] because there's,

[00:18:33] there's no reason

[00:18:34] why they can't

[00:18:35] because if the evos

[00:18:35] are in store,

[00:18:36] then it's either

[00:18:37] coding or they're

[00:18:38] trying to drive up

[00:18:39] like engagement.

[00:18:40] Maybe they think

[00:18:40] that's a way to

[00:18:41] keep people playing

[00:18:42] the game as if

[00:18:43] you can only do

[00:18:43] one at a time,

[00:18:44] but there's two players

[00:18:45] you want to evo.

[00:18:46] I think it probably

[00:18:47] comes down to one

[00:18:48] of the two.

[00:18:48] The game can't handle,

[00:18:49] you know,

[00:18:50] the change of stats

[00:18:51] and the evo sort

[00:18:52] of process or,

[00:18:53] you know,

[00:18:54] they think that actually

[00:18:55] by adding another

[00:18:55] 10 games in,

[00:18:56] their sort of figures

[00:18:57] will go up for engagement.

[00:18:59] I think it's the latter

[00:19:00] because last year

[00:19:01] there was a glitch

[00:19:02] where you could actually

[00:19:03] evo two players in game

[00:19:04] for a short period of time.

[00:19:06] So it's definitely

[00:19:06] technically possible,

[00:19:08] but I think they've

[00:19:09] gatekept that

[00:19:09] and I think you're right.

[00:19:11] I think the engagement

[00:19:12] factor is what's

[00:19:13] actually driving up

[00:19:14] this whole process

[00:19:15] of evoing

[00:19:15] just one player

[00:19:16] at a time,

[00:19:16] which is,

[00:19:18] I think it's silly.

[00:19:19] I just think

[00:19:19] if you're releasing

[00:19:20] the number of evos

[00:19:21] you're releasing

[00:19:22] just and you're

[00:19:23] most of these evos

[00:19:24] that are really,

[00:19:24] really good.

[00:19:25] Well,

[00:19:25] there are some

[00:19:26] good free ones,

[00:19:26] but most of the

[00:19:27] expensive ones

[00:19:28] are like 250k

[00:19:29] for attacking avalanche,

[00:19:30] which is a hefty

[00:19:33] chunk of coins,

[00:19:33] but might as well

[00:19:35] if I'm paying

[00:19:36] for the evo

[00:19:36] just give me

[00:19:36] the opportunity

[00:19:37] to do evo multiple.

[00:19:39] Yeah,

[00:19:39] no,

[00:19:39] I'm absolutely

[00:19:40] with you on that.

[00:19:41] I mean,

[00:19:41] we have seen

[00:19:41] even through the objectives

[00:19:43] we've seen this

[00:19:43] sort of movement

[00:19:45] from EA

[00:19:46] to kind of keep it engaged.

[00:19:47] So,

[00:19:48] you know,

[00:19:48] some of the weekly

[00:19:50] objectives where

[00:19:51] it's not score

[00:19:52] one goal

[00:19:52] in 10 different

[00:19:53] matches

[00:19:53] and champs

[00:19:54] or rivals

[00:19:55] and squad battles

[00:19:56] or rush.

[00:19:56] So,

[00:19:57] they never used

[00:19:58] to do that.

[00:19:58] It used to be

[00:19:59] score 20 goals,

[00:20:00] score,

[00:20:01] test,

[00:20:01] play five games,

[00:20:02] whatever.

[00:20:02] So,

[00:20:03] I think that

[00:20:04] they have kind

[00:20:04] of taken that

[00:20:05] sort of conscious

[00:20:05] effort to try

[00:20:06] and keep people

[00:20:07] playing.

[00:20:07] So,

[00:20:08] I'm not fully

[00:20:09] against it

[00:20:09] because it's things

[00:20:09] that I would

[00:20:10] have been doing

[00:20:10] anyway.

[00:20:11] I would have

[00:20:11] played rush

[00:20:12] anyway.

[00:20:12] I would have

[00:20:12] done squad

[00:20:13] battles.

[00:20:14] Sorry,

[00:20:15] I've not had time

[00:20:15] for squad

[00:20:15] battles,

[00:20:15] but I would

[00:20:16] have done

[00:20:16] rivals anyway.

[00:20:17] So,

[00:20:17] it doesn't really

[00:20:18] put me out

[00:20:19] my way too

[00:20:19] much,

[00:20:20] but I could

[00:20:21] see some

[00:20:21] people getting

[00:20:22] a bit miffed

[00:20:23] that it's not

[00:20:23] a bit easier.

[00:20:24] But it also

[00:20:25] means that the

[00:20:26] season pass has

[00:20:27] kind of dragged

[00:20:27] out a bit longer,

[00:20:28] which is okay

[00:20:28] because for the

[00:20:29] last few weeks

[00:20:29] of it,

[00:20:30] you feel like

[00:20:31] there's no

[00:20:31] reason to play

[00:20:31] apart from

[00:20:32] getting your

[00:20:33] wins in.

[00:20:35] I've got two

[00:20:35] opinions on that.

[00:20:36] Number one,

[00:20:37] going back to your

[00:20:37] objectives,

[00:20:38] one of the things

[00:20:38] I've noticed

[00:20:39] is that with the

[00:20:40] rush objective,

[00:20:41] for the past

[00:20:42] couple of weeks,

[00:20:42] we had to score

[00:20:43] one goal in each

[00:20:44] game.

[00:20:45] And in the past

[00:20:46] couple of weeks,

[00:20:47] every time a player

[00:20:48] within your team

[00:20:49] scores,

[00:20:49] it counted as a

[00:20:50] goal for you,

[00:20:51] as in for the

[00:20:52] objective.

[00:20:53] Whereas this

[00:20:53] particular week,

[00:20:54] it's almost like

[00:20:55] you have to score.

[00:20:56] And if you're

[00:20:57] using the rush

[00:20:58] objective,

[00:20:59] the rush mode

[00:21:00] where there's only

[00:21:00] defenders and

[00:21:01] CDMs,

[00:21:02] you're trying to

[00:21:02] play with the

[00:21:03] center back or

[00:21:03] whatever most

[00:21:04] games to meet

[00:21:05] the rush

[00:21:06] requirements,

[00:21:07] and it's so

[00:21:07] hard to bloody

[00:21:08] score.

[00:21:08] You want to

[00:21:09] defend as much

[00:21:09] as you can.

[00:21:11] I've played quite a

[00:21:12] lot of rush games

[00:21:12] and I think I've

[00:21:13] scored three goals

[00:21:14] in all those

[00:21:14] rush games that

[00:21:15] I've played.

[00:21:15] So I need to go

[00:21:16] back and try and

[00:21:17] play with an

[00:21:18] attacking center

[00:21:19] midfielder or

[00:21:20] CDM that actually

[00:21:21] has some finishing

[00:21:21] stats like a

[00:21:22] Valverde or

[00:21:23] someone.

[00:21:24] And yeah,

[00:21:25] let's see if I

[00:21:26] can do that.

[00:21:26] The good thing

[00:21:27] about rush I've

[00:21:28] noticed though,

[00:21:28] especially yesterday

[00:21:29] was I don't think I

[00:21:30] had a single game

[00:21:31] where anybody was

[00:21:32] AFK.

[00:21:33] I think everyone

[00:21:33] seems to be playing

[00:21:34] a bit more.

[00:21:35] And to be honest,

[00:21:36] it shows you rush is

[00:21:37] a good game when

[00:21:37] people want to

[00:21:38] play.

[00:21:38] It actually is.

[00:21:40] We said that right

[00:21:40] from the beginning.

[00:21:41] If people took the

[00:21:42] game, I'm not saying

[00:21:43] take it seriously in

[00:21:44] terms of sit up and

[00:21:45] play really hard and

[00:21:46] sweat, but if people

[00:21:47] just participated, it's

[00:21:49] actually a really fun

[00:21:50] mode if you've got guys

[00:21:51] that aren't just

[00:21:51] either forgetting where

[00:21:53] the pass button is or

[00:21:54] just putting the

[00:21:55] controller down.

[00:21:56] So I think that's

[00:21:57] clearly been a good

[00:21:59] move from EA to

[00:22:00] either kick players

[00:22:01] early or to get them

[00:22:03] engaged.

[00:22:04] Yeah, I completely

[00:22:05] agree.

[00:22:05] I completely agree.

[00:22:06] I think it's good in

[00:22:08] one way where there's

[00:22:09] no AFKs, but then

[00:22:10] that doesn't really

[00:22:11] stop you from

[00:22:12] matching up with

[00:22:13] players that use

[00:22:14] centre-backs.

[00:22:15] Like I was playing

[00:22:16] with a guy yesterday

[00:22:16] who was using

[00:22:17] Wittich and he kept

[00:22:18] trying to do skill

[00:22:19] moves up the pitch

[00:22:20] and kept losing the

[00:22:20] ball.

[00:22:21] He just didn't learn.

[00:22:22] He kept doing the

[00:22:23] same thing over and

[00:22:23] over again and

[00:22:24] just there's no way

[00:22:25] to communicate with

[00:22:25] them to say,

[00:22:26] please stop doing

[00:22:27] that.

[00:22:27] Yeah, I would love

[00:22:28] a free text sort of

[00:22:29] bubble and there are

[00:22:31] some options, but

[00:22:31] then I would probably

[00:22:32] get banned quite a lot

[00:22:33] I think for what I

[00:22:34] would say to them.

[00:22:35] Just while we were

[00:22:36] circling back around to

[00:22:37] Evos, the one thing

[00:22:39] that I am liking,

[00:22:39] I sent you a screenshot

[00:22:40] yesterday, the

[00:22:42] showdown Ugarte has

[00:22:44] actually a very good

[00:22:47] Evo apart from, he

[00:22:49] seems to get a chip

[00:22:49] shot from the chain,

[00:22:50] which is weird, but

[00:22:51] you can put him into

[00:22:52] the Octopus and a

[00:22:53] number of other ones

[00:22:53] and actually he looks a

[00:22:55] very solid sort of

[00:22:56] CDM.

[00:22:57] And also, you

[00:22:58] know, the way that

[00:22:59] he's playing, United

[00:22:59] have been terrible, but

[00:23:00] he's been one of the

[00:23:01] bright sparks.

[00:23:02] You know, he clattered

[00:23:03] a few boys from

[00:23:04] Liverpool, which is

[00:23:05] tremendous.

[00:23:06] So I think he's one

[00:23:08] that I might look to

[00:23:09] do just because it

[00:23:10] gives me a bit of

[00:23:10] grit and besides

[00:23:12] sort of either Kobe

[00:23:13] or Casemiro.

[00:23:15] Shaq, seeing as we

[00:23:16] have the Discord's

[00:23:21] market expert,

[00:23:22] market guru, just

[00:23:24] wanted to pick your

[00:23:26] brains a little bit.

[00:23:27] obviously we've had a

[00:23:29] fairly decent promo

[00:23:29] in Winter Wild

[00:23:30] Cards.

[00:23:31] We've had potentially

[00:23:32] sort of a step down

[00:23:34] for Numero Foot

[00:23:34] and, you know, we

[00:23:36] now started the

[00:23:37] voting process for

[00:23:37] Team of the Year.

[00:23:38] So what's the

[00:23:39] current state of the

[00:23:40] market and where do

[00:23:40] you expect it to go

[00:23:41] over the next few

[00:23:42] weeks?

[00:23:43] I think people have been

[00:23:44] prepared from, I think,

[00:23:46] Winter Wild Cards.

[00:23:46] Ever since Winter Wild

[00:23:47] Cards were wrapping up,

[00:23:49] you could see the

[00:23:49] market was a bit unsure

[00:23:51] as to what was going

[00:23:51] to happen.

[00:23:52] I think some of the

[00:23:53] low-tier cards, I

[00:23:54] think the cards with

[00:23:55] the range between,

[00:23:56] say, 50k to 200k,

[00:23:59] they are doing really

[00:24:00] well.

[00:24:00] They keep going up a

[00:24:01] little bit, tiny little

[00:24:02] increments every single

[00:24:03] day.

[00:24:04] That particular market,

[00:24:05] but the top-tier market

[00:24:07] is going down every single

[00:24:08] day with a small amount

[00:24:10] of percentage.

[00:24:10] Every single day is

[00:24:11] just going downwards.

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

[00:24:13] things that anyone,

[00:24:15] Dragons included, if you

[00:24:17] have a huge chunk of

[00:24:19] coins, you're eyeing a

[00:24:20] particular player, I

[00:24:21] think from now till

[00:24:22] probably a couple of

[00:24:24] days after the attackers

[00:24:25] are in packs is when you

[00:24:26] should be pulling the

[00:24:28] trigger on a card for

[00:24:29] your team because I

[00:24:30] think there will be a

[00:24:31] point where these

[00:24:32] cards become, they're

[00:24:33] already quite cheap.

[00:24:34] I think some of the

[00:24:34] drops we've seen in the

[00:24:35] past two or three days

[00:24:36] with some of the top-tier

[00:24:37] cards is incredible.

[00:24:38] I think Mbappe is

[00:24:39] finally under 1.5%.

[00:24:41] There's a whole heap of

[00:24:42] cards that are dropping

[00:24:43] downwards.

[00:24:43] And I think as soon as

[00:24:45] the attackers come in

[00:24:45] pack, there's going to

[00:24:46] be a really startling

[00:24:47] observation that we can

[00:24:48] make is to understand

[00:24:50] whether the pack weight

[00:24:51] is high or low.

[00:24:53] If the pack weight is

[00:24:54] high, you can expect

[00:24:55] these cards to go down

[00:24:56] a little bit more.

[00:24:57] If the pack weight is

[00:24:58] low, the cards will

[00:24:59] slowly start to go up.

[00:25:00] But still, people hope

[00:25:01] that there will be more

[00:25:02] cards in packs when all

[00:25:03] the teams are in the

[00:25:05] full team is released.

[00:25:06] So I would suggest

[00:25:07] from the time the

[00:25:08] attackers are released

[00:25:09] till the time the full

[00:25:10] team is released, that

[00:25:12] is your perfect buy

[00:25:13] window.

[00:25:14] So the market right now

[00:25:14] will still be floating

[00:25:16] along quite nicely

[00:25:17] till then.

[00:25:18] It won't really die

[00:25:19] down.

[00:25:20] Neither will it

[00:25:20] rocket up.

[00:25:21] But after the full

[00:25:23] team is in packs and

[00:25:24] if the pack weight is

[00:25:24] like last year, I can

[00:25:26] see all these cards

[00:25:27] going up at least a

[00:25:28] good 10 to 20%.

[00:25:30] Oh, wow.

[00:25:30] Yeah, I mean, we do

[00:25:31] sometimes see that,

[00:25:32] isn't it?

[00:25:32] When especially with

[00:25:33] the EA, like you say,

[00:25:34] with the doom switch on

[00:25:35] for the back weight.

[00:25:36] And to be fair, there's

[00:25:38] not really been a lot

[00:25:38] this year that convinces

[00:25:40] me they're going to

[00:25:40] open those floodgates and

[00:25:41] let a few more of those

[00:25:42] sort of out.

[00:25:43] I think it's going to be

[00:25:44] quite, you know,

[00:25:45] they're going to gate

[00:25:45] keep those cards.

[00:25:47] And rightly so, in my

[00:25:48] opinion, to be fair,

[00:25:49] at this stage, you don't

[00:25:50] want all these totally

[00:25:51] cracked ones, but a few

[00:25:52] extra here or there

[00:25:53] would be very nice.

[00:25:54] I'd love to see the

[00:25:55] pack pulls and our

[00:25:56] wonderful discard

[00:25:57] card popping off with,

[00:25:59] you know, at least guys

[00:26:00] that we know and we

[00:26:00] like having these very,

[00:26:02] very good top tier

[00:26:03] cards.

[00:26:04] So we can but hope.

[00:26:05] But that, you know,

[00:26:06] that takes us on very

[00:26:07] nicely, Shaq, to the

[00:26:08] next subject that, you

[00:26:10] know, we were wanting

[00:26:10] to talk and it's

[00:26:11] probably going to be a

[00:26:11] bit more in depth than

[00:26:13] what we've done for the

[00:26:13] rest of the pod so far.

[00:26:15] Team of the Year

[00:26:16] month.

[00:26:17] So last night they

[00:26:18] opened the vote in.

[00:26:20] We'll not go through

[00:26:21] them all because it's

[00:26:22] easy to find, but

[00:26:23] there's some very special

[00:26:24] cards looking like they

[00:26:26] could potentially

[00:26:27] come through for both

[00:26:28] the men's and the

[00:26:29] women's game.

[00:26:30] So first things first,

[00:26:32] what do you think of

[00:26:33] the nominees?

[00:26:33] Is there anyone that's

[00:26:34] been blatantly missed?

[00:26:35] Is there anyone included

[00:26:37] that you're a bit like,

[00:26:38] oh, not sure if they are

[00:26:39] the actual best?

[00:26:40] To be perfectly honest

[00:26:41] with you, I didn't pay

[00:26:42] too much attention to the

[00:26:43] nominees as it just

[00:26:45] came out overnight and

[00:26:46] I haven't really had much

[00:26:47] time to look into the

[00:26:47] nominees this time around.

[00:26:49] But one of the things

[00:26:49] that I'm really, it's

[00:26:51] going to be a weird

[00:26:52] team of the year because

[00:26:53] I don't really see how

[00:26:55] there's going to be a

[00:26:56] Messi or Ronaldo team

[00:26:57] of the year card in

[00:26:59] there.

[00:26:59] And that, I don't know

[00:27:01] how I feel about that.

[00:27:02] I just feel like it's an

[00:27:03] end of an era, but also

[00:27:05] I feel like there might

[00:27:05] be a way that EA

[00:27:06] actually tries to shoe

[00:27:08] on them in somehow.

[00:27:09] So what are your

[00:27:10] thoughts on that?

[00:27:11] Yeah, I mean, I would

[00:27:14] be absolutely flabbergasted

[00:27:16] if both Messi and

[00:27:17] Ronaldo don't get

[00:27:18] an honourable mentions.

[00:27:19] They're not in the

[00:27:21] actual lineups as far

[00:27:23] as I could see.

[00:27:24] Oh no, Ronaldo and

[00:27:24] Messi are both nominated,

[00:27:25] sorry.

[00:27:26] But I think when you've

[00:27:28] got the actual meta and

[00:27:29] the people that are

[00:27:30] voting on this, it's

[00:27:31] basically going to be

[00:27:32] Vinny Mbappé and one

[00:27:33] other.

[00:27:35] On current form, even

[00:27:37] though I'm a United

[00:27:38] fan, Salah has to be,

[00:27:40] Salah's had an

[00:27:40] incredible year.

[00:27:41] So I think realistically

[00:27:42] he should be.

[00:27:43] But then there are

[00:27:44] other players.

[00:27:45] There's Lamine

[00:27:46] Yamal, there's Harry

[00:27:47] Kane, although to be

[00:27:48] fair, I'm not his

[00:27:50] biggest fan.

[00:27:50] And, you know, even

[00:27:52] like Gokker has

[00:27:54] incredible numbers.

[00:27:55] So you've got that

[00:27:56] type of player in

[00:27:57] there.

[00:27:57] So there are some

[00:27:58] good players.

[00:27:59] There's some random

[00:28:00] ones in there as well.

[00:28:01] I'm not quite sure they

[00:28:02] deserve an even look

[00:28:03] in.

[00:28:03] But I don't see how

[00:28:04] anyone that's not

[00:28:06] Mbappé, Vinny and

[00:28:07] one other gets it.

[00:28:09] I mean, look, some of

[00:28:11] these nominees, there

[00:28:12] can be something said

[00:28:12] about every single one

[00:28:13] of them.

[00:28:14] For example, like a

[00:28:15] card like Lautaro

[00:28:18] Martinez.

[00:28:18] He's had an incredible

[00:28:19] last season.

[00:28:20] He's won the

[00:28:22] Serie A.

[00:28:22] He's actually gone

[00:28:23] ahead and won the

[00:28:24] Copa America.

[00:28:25] He's scored a lot of

[00:28:26] goals, a bucket

[00:28:27] load of goals.

[00:28:28] So there's an option

[00:28:29] there.

[00:28:29] I think you said you

[00:28:29] mentioned Giocarez.

[00:28:30] Giocarez, yes, he's

[00:28:31] scored a lot of goals

[00:28:32] but inconsequential goals.

[00:28:35] And can we say the

[00:28:37] same thing about

[00:28:38] Vinny?

[00:28:38] Not really because he

[00:28:39] actually won the

[00:28:40] Champions League.

[00:28:40] I had to check

[00:28:41] myself there but he

[00:28:42] did win the

[00:28:42] Champions League.

[00:28:44] Yeah.

[00:28:44] It's going to be a

[00:28:45] tricky one but I

[00:28:46] think Salah is a

[00:28:48] good shot.

[00:28:49] I think Kane is

[00:28:50] one that scored a

[00:28:51] bucket load of

[00:28:51] goals but the

[00:28:52] problem with Kane

[00:28:52] was the fact that

[00:28:53] those bucket

[00:28:54] load of goals

[00:28:55] equated to

[00:28:55] absolutely nothing.

[00:28:56] So it's going to

[00:28:58] be a really tricky

[00:28:59] front three I think

[00:28:59] this time around.

[00:29:01] Yeah, especially

[00:29:02] with Kane going

[00:29:02] missing in those

[00:29:03] big matches in the

[00:29:03] World Cup and

[00:29:04] Euros as well which

[00:29:05] was a pain.

[00:29:06] Correct.

[00:29:07] I mean you look

[00:29:07] through the

[00:29:07] midfielders, I

[00:29:08] mean you'd have to

[00:29:09] think Rodri would be

[00:29:10] a dead cert for one

[00:29:11] because he's been

[00:29:12] unreal and he's

[00:29:13] good in the game so

[00:29:14] that kind of ticks

[00:29:14] both sides.

[00:29:15] Yeah.

[00:29:17] After that though

[00:29:18] like Jude, yeah,

[00:29:19] Jude probably should

[00:29:20] be in there.

[00:29:21] I mean they've got

[00:29:21] Nico Williams as a

[00:29:22] midfielder.

[00:29:23] I mean I would love

[00:29:23] to see him get a

[00:29:24] card but I don't

[00:29:25] think he probably

[00:29:25] would.

[00:29:27] Apart from that

[00:29:28] I mean they've got

[00:29:29] It could be, I'm

[00:29:30] looking at the

[00:29:30] nominees here and

[00:29:32] maybe Palmer

[00:29:34] sits as, yeah

[00:29:35] Palmer, it could

[00:29:36] be Palmer, between

[00:29:37] Palmer and Nico

[00:29:37] Williams.

[00:29:38] Could be, I mean

[00:29:39] Rice as well, I

[00:29:40] mean he's not won

[00:29:41] anything but he's

[00:29:41] had an incredible

[00:29:42] season.

[00:29:43] Shabby Simons, so

[00:29:44] there's some nice

[00:29:45] ones.

[00:29:46] It's not quite as

[00:29:47] dead set as the

[00:29:49] midfielders, as the

[00:29:50] strikers, sorry.

[00:29:51] Defenders you're

[00:29:52] probably going to

[00:29:52] get, Van Dijk will

[00:29:54] be in there.

[00:29:55] You'd imagine Theo

[00:29:56] Hernandez will be

[00:29:57] in there.

[00:29:58] Saliba.

[00:29:59] So yeah, you're

[00:30:00] probably three from

[00:30:01] four are pretty much

[00:30:01] already certain and

[00:30:03] it'll probably be

[00:30:05] Emi Martin as you'd

[00:30:06] imagine for the

[00:30:08] goalkeeper spot

[00:30:09] because it's not

[00:30:09] really anyone else

[00:30:10] been like that with

[00:30:11] Coutuac being injured

[00:30:12] and such like.

[00:30:13] You know what, I

[00:30:14] think with Van

[00:30:14] Dijk, I think it's

[00:30:15] not a dead set that

[00:30:17] Van Dijk will actually

[00:30:18] be in there because

[00:30:19] if you think about it

[00:30:20] on the balance of

[00:30:20] things, someone like

[00:30:22] Rudiger who's won the

[00:30:23] Champions League might

[00:30:24] just be a better

[00:30:26] shot than a Van

[00:30:27] Dijk who's not really

[00:30:28] won much last year.

[00:30:29] I mean, I don't think

[00:30:31] Van Dijk's been the

[00:30:32] best centre-back going

[00:30:33] since his injury but I

[00:30:35] also know how a lot

[00:30:36] of the FC and FIFA

[00:30:38] public kind of think

[00:30:39] can vote and I'd

[00:30:40] imagine if you're

[00:30:41] voting for this to

[00:30:42] get a Carrington

[00:30:43] team of the year,

[00:30:43] you're going to want

[00:30:44] Van Dijk over probably

[00:30:45] like a fully souped

[00:30:46] up Van Dijk in terms

[00:30:48] of the game is the

[00:30:49] most meta centre-back

[00:30:50] so although I'd love

[00:30:52] a Rudiger, I'd love

[00:30:53] somebody else, I don't

[00:30:54] think I can see anyone

[00:30:55] else doing it.

[00:30:56] And a quick look to

[00:30:58] the ladies, I mean

[00:30:59] I can't say I know

[00:31:01] totally the forms of

[00:31:03] a lot of these so

[00:31:05] Man City have

[00:31:06] obviously won a lot,

[00:31:07] Diani, I can imagine

[00:31:09] the players like

[00:31:10] Diani, I had that

[00:31:10] Shula card last year,

[00:31:12] he was tremendous in

[00:31:13] team of the season,

[00:31:15] love to see her get a

[00:31:16] card, again if it's

[00:31:17] packable, everyone

[00:31:18] likes the Padjorg,

[00:31:19] the SBC and Sophia

[00:31:21] Smith as well is

[00:31:22] obviously just always

[00:31:24] elite on this game.

[00:31:26] Definitely, I think

[00:31:28] with the women's

[00:31:31] cards, I think it's

[00:31:31] quite clear from just

[00:31:32] purely a meta's

[00:31:33] point of view,

[00:31:34] there's like some

[00:31:35] cards like Diani, as

[00:31:37] you mentioned, there's

[00:31:38] even cards like

[00:31:39] Hansen, we want

[00:31:41] Hansen, Sophia

[00:31:41] Smith and I think

[00:31:43] even Selma

[00:31:44] Paraluelo to

[00:31:46] actually be

[00:31:50] Selma Paraluelo

[00:31:52] well played

[00:31:54] to be part of the

[00:31:56] team and she's got a

[00:31:57] really sick evolution

[00:31:58] right now as well,

[00:31:59] the same evolution that

[00:32:01] I evoked Nico

[00:32:02] Williams, there's a

[00:32:03] Selma Paraluelo that

[00:32:04] you can evo and she's

[00:32:05] incredible in game

[00:32:06] with the finesse shot

[00:32:07] plus play style as

[00:32:09] well.

[00:32:09] Anyway, going back to

[00:32:10] theme of the year,

[00:32:10] there's a whole heap of

[00:32:11] guards in the attacking

[00:32:13] space.

[00:32:13] In the midfield space,

[00:32:15] it gets a little bit

[00:32:16] trickier because all I

[00:32:17] want is Bonmartie and

[00:32:19] Batri and

[00:32:20] Poteas.

[00:32:21] Yes, probably.

[00:32:22] Yeah, I was going to

[00:32:23] say you could probably

[00:32:24] guess that.

[00:32:24] I mean, Gioro may be in

[00:32:25] with a shout just for

[00:32:26] how well she plays in

[00:32:27] game.

[00:32:28] I know from the people

[00:32:30] that I've spoken to

[00:32:31] around the game, they

[00:32:32] don't really know much

[00:32:34] about in real form for

[00:32:36] the teams that aren't

[00:32:37] the top, top teams and

[00:32:38] they know them about on

[00:32:39] FIFA.

[00:32:40] So it'd be interesting to

[00:32:40] see if they vote for them

[00:32:42] for that.

[00:32:43] And then if we just touch

[00:32:44] on the defenders because

[00:32:45] I don't want to do them a

[00:32:46] disservice.

[00:32:47] Rennard, I love Rennard in

[00:32:48] this game.

[00:32:49] Same with Batcha.

[00:32:49] I know you're a big

[00:32:50] Batcha fan.

[00:32:51] Oh yeah.

[00:32:51] And with and why I still

[00:32:53] have PTSD from the team

[00:32:57] of the season she got

[00:32:58] and she popped out all

[00:33:00] the time.

[00:33:01] All the time.

[00:33:03] Paradis always gets a

[00:33:04] decent card.

[00:33:05] You'd imagine that she

[00:33:06] could be in there.

[00:33:07] I'm just trying to look

[00:33:08] at us.

[00:33:08] There's not really Olga

[00:33:09] Carmona from Real

[00:33:10] Madrid, so usually a

[00:33:11] decent player.

[00:33:13] And then the goal

[00:33:14] keepers.

[00:33:15] There's only five goal

[00:33:16] keepers to choose from.

[00:33:17] And I have absolutely no

[00:33:19] idea who'd be a good

[00:33:20] one or not.

[00:33:20] What's your team of the

[00:33:21] year plan?

[00:33:22] Because I think that

[00:33:23] yours and mine is going

[00:33:24] to be very, very

[00:33:25] different.

[00:33:25] So how are you

[00:33:26] approaching the lead

[00:33:28] into team of the year

[00:33:29] and then obviously

[00:33:29] team of the year

[00:33:30] itself?

[00:33:31] This time my plan is

[00:33:32] actually to try and

[00:33:33] accumulate all my

[00:33:34] coins together and

[00:33:36] keep it ready to buy

[00:33:37] one player attacker

[00:33:40] that I can actually buy

[00:33:42] when they release and

[00:33:43] they look cheap and

[00:33:44] just use them for a

[00:33:45] while.

[00:33:45] That's the aim.

[00:33:47] Whether I actually go

[00:33:48] through with it because

[00:33:49] it's just you just get

[00:33:51] stuck in the hype of

[00:33:52] trying to wonder whether

[00:33:54] it's the lowest price or

[00:33:55] whether you keep those

[00:33:55] coins to do something

[00:33:57] else with.

[00:33:58] I don't really know,

[00:33:58] but that's what I'm

[00:33:59] planning to do this year

[00:34:00] is to buy one attacker

[00:34:01] that I can use.

[00:34:02] Maybe like even as an

[00:34:03] example, Sophia Smith

[00:34:04] last year, I should have

[00:34:06] bought her.

[00:34:06] I really should have

[00:34:07] bought her when I wanted

[00:34:08] to and just didn't.

[00:34:09] She was amazing.

[00:34:11] She lasted me right

[00:34:11] through till team of the

[00:34:13] season.

[00:34:13] So if you get the right

[00:34:15] cards, the longevity is

[00:34:16] definitely there.

[00:34:17] How many coins are you

[00:34:18] setting on in preparation

[00:34:19] just now?

[00:34:21] Liquid, I think less than

[00:34:23] a million, but I think

[00:34:24] if I put everything

[00:34:25] together and sold

[00:34:27] everything or whatever,

[00:34:28] I think I should be

[00:34:29] ending up with close to

[00:34:30] maybe three and a half,

[00:34:32] four million, I think,

[00:34:33] if I'm not mistaken.

[00:34:34] So roughly around there

[00:34:35] should be.

[00:34:36] That's a very good sort

[00:34:37] of nest egg to have

[00:34:38] ready for team of the

[00:34:39] year.

[00:34:40] Packwise, what are you

[00:34:41] doing?

[00:34:43] Packwise?

[00:34:43] Okay, so what I did

[00:34:44] was I think yesterday,

[00:34:46] I just thought to

[00:34:47] myself, this is, I just

[00:34:49] went back to last year.

[00:34:50] Last year around this

[00:34:50] time, EA released 83

[00:34:53] plus, 83 times 10 SPC

[00:34:55] on a day-to-day basis.

[00:34:56] So you can accumulate

[00:34:57] that.

[00:34:57] I think it was even the

[00:34:58] 84 by 5 SPC that you

[00:35:00] could just accumulate

[00:35:00] because they knew that

[00:35:01] people are holding on to

[00:35:02] packs and team of the

[00:35:04] week started to spike.

[00:35:06] So I just went ahead

[00:35:06] yesterday and bought a

[00:35:08] whole heap of team of

[00:35:09] the weeks, which means

[00:35:09] I can't open any packs.

[00:35:11] So as of yesterday, I'm

[00:35:13] unassigned with team of

[00:35:14] the weeks and which

[00:35:15] means I don't really

[00:35:16] have any packs that I

[00:35:18] can open till all my

[00:35:19] team of the week sell.

[00:35:20] So that's where I'm at.

[00:35:22] That's a clever thing.

[00:35:24] Only thing with that

[00:35:25] though is with the, with

[00:35:26] if they do start

[00:35:27] bringing out sort of

[00:35:28] regular 83s and 84 by

[00:35:29] 10s or 5s, how are

[00:35:31] you going to get the

[00:35:31] fodder then?

[00:35:32] Are you just going to

[00:35:32] buy the fodder as

[00:35:34] needed or are you going

[00:35:35] to leave them alone?

[00:35:35] Like how are you going

[00:35:36] to do that?

[00:35:37] I think what I'm going

[00:35:38] to do is I'm just

[00:35:39] going to keep buying as

[00:35:40] much as I need on a

[00:35:41] day-to-day basis.

[00:35:42] And I'll just use all

[00:35:44] the club supply.

[00:35:45] I think I have a good

[00:35:45] maybe 30 to 40 team of

[00:35:48] the weeks in the club

[00:35:49] already, the untradeable

[00:35:50] that I could use towards

[00:35:51] these SVCs.

[00:35:52] So I tend to use that

[00:35:53] and I'll just keep buying

[00:35:55] 83s, 84s along the way

[00:35:56] to try and supplement

[00:35:57] that.

[00:35:58] I'll just keep a stash of

[00:35:59] 500k just to do these

[00:36:00] packs if needed.

[00:36:01] And look, at the end of

[00:36:02] the day, I think I wasn't

[00:36:04] planning to save packs,

[00:36:05] but it's so the numero

[00:36:06] foot promo seems to be

[00:36:09] very dead for me.

[00:36:11] The pack weight's low.

[00:36:12] There is no incentive to

[00:36:14] open.

[00:36:14] If Winter Wild cards are

[00:36:15] still going on right now,

[00:36:16] I would open every single

[00:36:17] pack because those are the

[00:36:18] cards that I actually

[00:36:19] really wanted.

[00:36:20] Yeah, no, I get that.

[00:36:22] I mean, just slightly

[00:36:23] differently from you, I

[00:36:24] know you're now saving

[00:36:25] some indirectly and I

[00:36:26] know Dan is basically

[00:36:28] ripping everything as soon

[00:36:29] as he gets it because

[00:36:30] he's like a kid at

[00:36:31] Christmas, isn't he?

[00:36:32] But I am saving basically

[00:36:35] everything that has a

[00:36:37] guaranteed value or

[00:36:39] guaranteed sort of rate.

[00:36:40] And so probably anything

[00:36:42] over 80 plus I'll save

[00:36:44] apart from, you know,

[00:36:45] when you get those sort of

[00:36:46] season rewards, rare

[00:36:49] players or whatever, rare

[00:36:50] player packs that have no

[00:36:51] rate, but you know,

[00:36:52] they're all rare.

[00:36:52] So there's probably a

[00:36:53] better chance of getting

[00:36:54] something from them.

[00:36:55] So all these mixed packs

[00:36:56] and premium gold packs and

[00:36:58] stuff are just ripping.

[00:36:59] So I can either put them

[00:36:59] into the player packs or I

[00:37:01] can still do marquee

[00:37:02] matchups, et cetera.

[00:37:03] But I think I am saving

[00:37:05] everything that looks like

[00:37:06] it's got at least the

[00:37:07] chance of a bigger player

[00:37:09] coin wise.

[00:37:10] I'm sitting on, I think

[00:37:11] it's about 4.2 million

[00:37:12] just now.

[00:37:14] I've got a few team of

[00:37:15] the weeks, but that's

[00:37:16] pretty much everything

[00:37:16] sold up.

[00:37:17] I've not really invested

[00:37:17] now for, I don't know,

[00:37:20] most basically sitting on

[00:37:21] that for about a month

[00:37:21] or so, haven't I?

[00:37:22] So I don't really plan on

[00:37:24] buying any players to

[00:37:25] try out.

[00:37:26] I'm just going to hold and

[00:37:27] see if the team of the

[00:37:28] year and my game time

[00:37:30] will be severely limited

[00:37:31] after April anyway.

[00:37:32] So there's a good chance

[00:37:33] that I might just, you

[00:37:34] know, probably put maybe

[00:37:36] 70% of my coins into one

[00:37:38] player and that will see

[00:37:39] me through until the end

[00:37:40] of my game cycle.

[00:37:41] You know, I'm not saying

[00:37:42] it's the end of the FIFA

[00:37:43] cycle, but if I play, it'll

[00:37:45] be for like an hour here

[00:37:46] or an hour there.

[00:37:46] So I think I may as well

[00:37:48] just use that and enjoy the

[00:37:49] final sort of two months

[00:37:50] that I'll get on the game

[00:37:51] with these players.

[00:37:53] There's lots of, lots of

[00:37:54] things around it.

[00:37:55] And you can imagine with

[00:37:56] team of the year coming up,

[00:37:57] there's going to be a lot

[00:37:58] of objectives coming with

[00:38:00] decent pack rewards as well.

[00:38:01] So I'm also opening the

[00:38:03] player picks from objectives

[00:38:05] and rivals because at least

[00:38:07] it gives me a way of

[00:38:08] supplement.

[00:38:09] And then, you know, some of

[00:38:10] these, some of these promos

[00:38:11] will still have decent

[00:38:12] players.

[00:38:12] And so there's a nice chance

[00:38:13] to still have these

[00:38:14] players.

[00:38:15] Half of me thinks I should

[00:38:16] save everything, but then

[00:38:17] I'll not be able to, you

[00:38:18] know, buy, you won't even

[00:38:19] be able to buy fodder if

[00:38:20] you've got too many

[00:38:21] unassigned and such.

[00:38:22] So I think that's probably a

[00:38:23] good way of doing it.

[00:38:25] And there's not really any

[00:38:26] SBCs out.

[00:38:26] I've done this to Icon ones

[00:38:28] that came out, but there's

[00:38:28] not been a dearth of SBCs

[00:38:30] that have been must do.

[00:38:32] I think we're both swithering

[00:38:34] between doing Neto or not.

[00:38:36] Half of the time I'm like,

[00:38:37] yes, I do.

[00:38:38] Next moment I'm like, maybe

[00:38:39] not.

[00:38:40] So I think it's a good way,

[00:38:41] you know, you have to buy a

[00:38:43] lottery ticket to win it.

[00:38:45] And, you know, we've had

[00:38:46] people like John who has not

[00:38:49] saved anything open, like a

[00:38:50] random single gold pack and

[00:38:53] pack team of the year,

[00:38:54] Cristiano Ronaldo and such.

[00:38:55] So I think when he looks in,

[00:38:56] he looks in.

[00:38:57] But in my head, if I don't

[00:38:58] give myself a good chance, and

[00:38:59] to be honest, I like I'm one

[00:39:01] of these guys, I love a

[00:39:02] massive pack opening as well.

[00:39:04] So I'll probably, unless the

[00:39:06] pack weight looks really high

[00:39:07] straight away, I'll end up

[00:39:08] waiting until probably the

[00:39:09] Tuesday to start opening.

[00:39:10] So you can recycle them into,

[00:39:12] you know, player picks and

[00:39:13] whatever.

[00:39:13] It depends what SBCs come out

[00:39:14] at the same time.

[00:39:15] But I get really excited at

[00:39:17] this time of the year.

[00:39:18] I think this is a great

[00:39:18] time.

[00:39:19] And if you are a pack

[00:39:20] hoarder like myself, then

[00:39:22] this is a perfect time to go.

[00:39:23] And, you know, after

[00:39:24] Christmas, pack savings on

[00:39:26] for me.

[00:39:27] And I think, you know, let's

[00:39:28] try and hit one of those big

[00:39:30] baddies.

[00:39:30] But realistically, we'll

[00:39:32] either hit nothing or we'll

[00:39:33] hit the goalkeeper from,

[00:39:34] you know, the goalkeeper

[00:39:36] for the female league, which

[00:39:37] probably is the least usable

[00:39:38] team in the year card that

[00:39:39] we'll get out of all of them,

[00:39:40] I'd imagine.

[00:39:41] I think one of the things I

[00:39:43] would say to all brothers and

[00:39:45] sisters who are holding on to

[00:39:46] packs right now, trying to

[00:39:48] save packs.

[00:39:49] Don't do the same thing you

[00:39:51] did last year in the sense

[00:39:52] don't hold on till everything

[00:39:54] is in packs.

[00:39:55] I am just ripping everything

[00:39:56] on the first day of

[00:39:58] attackers.

[00:39:59] I don't care.

[00:40:00] Whatever I have saved, it's

[00:40:01] going to be open right there

[00:40:02] and there because I think the

[00:40:04] pack weight seems to seem to

[00:40:06] have been really good during

[00:40:07] the attackers.

[00:40:08] And after that, it just

[00:40:09] dwindled.

[00:40:10] So my focus would be to

[00:40:12] open as soon as they hit,

[00:40:13] as soon as there's something

[00:40:14] worth packing from the

[00:40:17] store, I'm just going to

[00:40:18] rip open my packs.

[00:40:20] I'm not going to hold on till

[00:40:21] everyone holds on to those

[00:40:22] packs in the hope that you

[00:40:23] pack something.

[00:40:25] You will generate packs as

[00:40:26] you go along.

[00:40:27] So just open them up.

[00:40:28] That's what I'm going to do

[00:40:28] anyway.

[00:40:29] Would you not be tempted to

[00:40:31] wait and look around and see

[00:40:32] through Discord and

[00:40:33] socials or you just, is that

[00:40:35] in your head, that's what

[00:40:35] you're doing?

[00:40:36] That's it.

[00:40:37] Attacking.

[00:40:37] As soon as, because I don't

[00:40:39] want to go through the same

[00:40:39] disappointment that I had last

[00:40:41] year, just holding on,

[00:40:42] holding on for the whole

[00:40:43] team of the year promo,

[00:40:44] you're just waiting for that

[00:40:45] one day when everything's in

[00:40:46] packs and just results in

[00:40:48] this, this absolute

[00:40:49] nothingness.

[00:40:50] And I don't really want that

[00:40:51] feeling again.

[00:40:52] So that's, that makes

[00:40:54] absolute sense.

[00:40:55] So it's an exciting time.

[00:40:56] Now this is, this is probably

[00:40:57] one of my favorite times of

[00:40:58] the game cycle.

[00:41:00] Is it though?

[00:41:02] The buildup.

[00:41:03] I think a lot of people have

[00:41:05] articulated about team of the

[00:41:07] year being their favorite

[00:41:08] promo, blah, blah, blah.

[00:41:09] And I'm really in the complete

[00:41:11] opposite camp.

[00:41:12] It's one of those promos where

[00:41:13] if you pack something, it feels

[00:41:15] amazing for a few, for a few

[00:41:16] moments.

[00:41:17] It feels amazing for that

[00:41:18] particular year.

[00:41:19] You feel like, yeah, I'll pack

[00:41:20] the team of the year this

[00:41:21] year.

[00:41:21] But if you end up with

[00:41:22] nothing and the amount of

[00:41:23] grind that we do to try and

[00:41:25] pack something is, is enormous.

[00:41:27] And at the end of the, I think

[00:41:28] for the past two, three years,

[00:41:29] I've just grinded and grinded and

[00:41:31] not ended up with a single

[00:41:32] team of the year.

[00:41:32] So I'm just like, I keep

[00:41:34] telling myself every year

[00:41:35] that there's no point.

[00:41:36] So this year, I'm just going

[00:41:37] to go nonchalant.

[00:41:39] That's why I'm opening packs

[00:41:40] whenever I feel like I'm not

[00:41:41] going to hold on till a

[00:41:42] particular time.

[00:41:43] As soon as they're in packs,

[00:41:45] I'm just going to start

[00:41:45] ripping them open.

[00:41:47] And if I get something, I

[00:41:48] get something.

[00:41:48] If I don't get something,

[00:41:49] that's fine.

[00:41:50] Because otherwise, as a

[00:41:52] promo itself, it's a very

[00:41:53] lackluster promo.

[00:41:54] You have a whole heap of

[00:41:55] cards.

[00:41:56] It's like having, you know,

[00:41:57] it's like having Raphael

[00:41:58] Leo, for example.

[00:41:59] It's like having a whole,

[00:42:02] every single card in packs

[00:42:03] is that sort of drop weight

[00:42:05] where you can barely see

[00:42:06] them, but yet we expect to

[00:42:08] see them, which is weird.

[00:42:09] It happens every year.

[00:42:11] Yeah.

[00:42:11] But you've been conditioned

[00:42:12] now that pretty much every

[00:42:13] promo is like that.

[00:42:14] So the disappointment is

[00:42:16] less, but no, I like, I

[00:42:17] like the whole sort of stuff.

[00:42:18] I like the excitement of,

[00:42:20] you know, opening packs.

[00:42:21] And to be fair, there are

[00:42:22] usually some very good

[00:42:23] SBCs.

[00:42:24] I think last year we had

[00:42:24] the flashback Bruno

[00:42:25] Fernandez.

[00:42:26] I'm sure.

[00:42:27] Was it not?

[00:42:28] Yes.

[00:42:28] Yes, we did.

[00:42:29] He was a very, very good

[00:42:30] character.

[00:42:30] There's usually quite a few

[00:42:32] decent either icon SBCs or

[00:42:34] icon roulettes where they

[00:42:35] actually up the minimum

[00:42:36] rating or it's a peck.

[00:42:37] True.

[00:42:37] I'm sure the year before that

[00:42:39] we had, I'm sure it was like

[00:42:40] Eto'o or something like that

[00:42:41] we had at the same time.

[00:42:42] Like there's usually decent

[00:42:43] things to come alongside it.

[00:42:44] So it's not just the players

[00:42:45] that are in packs, but it's

[00:42:47] what you can recycle your packs

[00:42:48] into is usually fairly like

[00:42:50] captivating, I would say.

[00:42:51] And it gives you plenty to do and

[00:42:53] plenty of menus to grind as well.

[00:42:55] So it does seem to hit

[00:42:56] everything.

[00:42:57] And to be fair, like, you

[00:42:58] know, I'm not blowing it, not

[00:43:00] bragging, but the last couple

[00:43:01] of years I've managed to have a

[00:43:02] team of the year as well.

[00:43:03] So it definitely makes the promo

[00:43:05] a bit better when you've had

[00:43:06] one, you think, oh, I could get

[00:43:07] one again.

[00:43:08] Yeah.

[00:43:09] That really leaves a really good

[00:43:11] taste in your mouth.

[00:43:11] And I completely get that.

[00:43:12] I think it's really good to have

[00:43:14] both our perspectives as well,

[00:43:15] because there's quite a few

[00:43:16] people that have packed, I

[00:43:17] think, every one every other

[00:43:19] year or every year.

[00:43:20] And that just gives you that

[00:43:22] hope of seeing a blue.

[00:43:23] And that's a special sort of

[00:43:25] time of the year, whereas

[00:43:26] people like me that are sitting

[00:43:27] on the grinchy side of team of

[00:43:29] the year where we haven't seen

[00:43:30] a blue for a while.

[00:43:31] It's like, oh, can this promo

[00:43:33] just come and go and no one

[00:43:34] back anything.

[00:43:35] So I don't have to feel any

[00:43:37] formal.

[00:43:38] The last year was an Iona,

[00:43:39] though, because I did expect the

[00:43:40] drop point to be a bit better

[00:43:41] having twice the amount.

[00:43:43] And when you had the men's and

[00:43:44] the women's team and it kind of

[00:43:47] just stayed the same.

[00:43:48] So that was the disappointment.

[00:43:49] But we've got plenty of things

[00:43:51] to come.

[00:43:52] And I'm sure, you know, as the

[00:43:53] votes go in, as time goes on,

[00:43:55] we'll get more of a feeling about

[00:43:57] what potential players are going

[00:43:59] to get in the team.

[00:44:00] But also they may do SBCs.

[00:44:02] Like I say, I would not be

[00:44:04] surprised if there's not, I

[00:44:05] would sorry, I would be surprised

[00:44:06] if there wasn't either an

[00:44:08] honorable mentions for Messi and

[00:44:10] Ronaldo.

[00:44:11] Ronaldo or potential SBCs for

[00:44:13] them, like flashback SBCs or

[00:44:14] something.

[00:44:15] I think both of these may be

[00:44:18] involved in some way.

[00:44:19] Maybe it might not even be a

[00:44:20] flashback.

[00:44:21] I think they've done flashback

[00:44:21] ones, but it may be like

[00:44:22] moments SBCs.

[00:44:24] So I think that EA are very clever

[00:44:28] and, you know, we've done quite

[00:44:30] well today not to dig out EA on

[00:44:31] many things.

[00:44:32] And this isn't a dig.

[00:44:33] They're very clever at knowing

[00:44:34] how to sell packs and get people

[00:44:37] to either open packs or, you know,

[00:44:39] invest either time or money.

[00:44:40] So I think this is a, you know,

[00:44:42] a surefire way for them to actually

[00:44:43] do something engaging, whether it's

[00:44:46] engaging with your, you know, your

[00:44:47] own purse or with your time.

[00:44:50] But I would absolutely almost

[00:44:53] guarantee it that these two are

[00:44:54] going to be involved in the, in

[00:44:56] along the way.

[00:44:57] Because remember Neymar had a

[00:44:58] terrible season.

[00:45:00] Wasn't, I don't even think he was

[00:45:01] nominated.

[00:45:02] I don't think.

[00:45:02] And they still got him involved in

[00:45:04] on your own mentions just because

[00:45:05] Neymar at that point was meta and,

[00:45:07] you know, sold everything.

[00:45:09] So we'll, we'll move on from that

[00:45:11] with the last two segments, Shaq.

[00:45:14] Player in review.

[00:45:16] I'm not quite done with that, but

[00:45:19] have you got a player that, you

[00:45:21] know, we've probably got about three

[00:45:24] or four weeks since we've last

[00:45:25] recorded.

[00:45:25] So there's a fair space of time.

[00:45:27] So have you got anybody there that

[00:45:28] you wish to review?

[00:45:29] I think I've already briefly reviewed

[00:45:31] Rolfo, which I spoke about her

[00:45:33] Winter Wild Cards card being quite

[00:45:35] impeccable with the playstyle

[00:45:36] pluses.

[00:45:36] But I think one of the cards you just

[00:45:38] mentioned earlier was the Neto

[00:45:39] card, the Petro Neto card.

[00:45:40] And I've actually gone ahead and

[00:45:42] done, finished the SPC yesterday and

[00:45:43] used him about five, six games.

[00:45:45] I should, sorry, I didn't message

[00:45:46] you about this, but he's actually

[00:45:48] pretty good.

[00:45:49] He is, I wouldn't say he's like a

[00:45:50] must have or he has a must do, but

[00:45:53] he's got the unique uniqueness of

[00:45:56] having the inside forward plus

[00:45:57] plus and a left, left footed five

[00:46:01] star weak foot finesse shot.

[00:46:02] His finesse shots are very, very,

[00:46:04] very nice.

[00:46:05] They go in really, have you, have

[00:46:07] you been, has Salah scored against

[00:46:09] you in the game?

[00:46:11] Not for a long time.

[00:46:13] I don't really see Salah very often

[00:46:14] to be honest.

[00:46:15] I still, there's certain points in

[00:46:17] the game where you see Salah at the

[00:46:18] top left hand corner of the box and

[00:46:20] you know he's going to actually score

[00:46:22] a finesse and it actually goes in and

[00:46:23] the keeper can see it, you can see it

[00:46:25] and the ball just goes in.

[00:46:26] Neto somehow has that same sort of

[00:46:28] capability.

[00:46:28] I'm really enjoying his finesse shots.

[00:46:31] It's a really fun card.

[00:46:32] I'm really enjoying using the card.

[00:46:33] He's got lots of versatility as well

[00:46:35] because he can play as a striker, he

[00:46:37] can play as a right winger, left

[00:46:39] winger.

[00:46:39] It's a good fun card.

[00:46:41] It's definitely cheap enough to do

[00:46:42] as well.

[00:46:44] Yeah, he is definitely one but I'd be

[00:46:45] trying to use him on the right side

[00:46:46] because I've got Saka on the left

[00:46:49] hand side and Saka to be fair is

[00:46:51] still very, very good.

[00:46:53] One thing though for the Neto card,

[00:46:55] I don't know whether you've picked up

[00:46:56] on this Shaq.

[00:46:57] I know this is your view.

[00:46:58] Have you seen his body type?

[00:47:00] Have you looked into that?

[00:47:02] So Footbin says that his body type

[00:47:04] is a Ronaldinho body type which I

[00:47:05] don't agree with.

[00:47:07] It's not a Ronaldinho body type by any

[00:47:08] stretch of the imagination but I

[00:47:10] think Foot.gg says that it's a

[00:47:12] Pedronetto so it's a unique body

[00:47:14] type and I think we had the same

[00:47:15] issue happen last year as well.

[00:47:17] I don't know if you remember but

[00:47:18] there was a really popular Pedronetto

[00:47:20] evolution last year and had the

[00:47:22] same issue.

[00:47:23] Everyone wanted to do him and I

[00:47:25] think he was extinct for a long

[00:47:26] period of time and the same sort of

[00:47:28] issue happened there as well.

[00:47:29] So yeah, so he's got a quite a

[00:47:32] different unique body type as well.

[00:47:34] That's good.

[00:47:35] It's probably quite a good one to be

[00:47:36] aware of if you're sitting on the

[00:47:37] fence to do it because you won't

[00:47:38] feel like anyone else then if he's

[00:47:40] got his own unique body type.

[00:47:42] My one is actually coming from

[00:47:44] Winter Wildcards.

[00:47:45] I can't remember if I had them last

[00:47:47] time we recorded.

[00:47:49] I've used Carrasco as my left mid

[00:47:51] quite a lot because he's left mid

[00:47:54] inside forward plus.

[00:47:59] Tremendous for 50k.

[00:48:00] You know, I'm not saying he's

[00:48:01] tremendous.

[00:48:01] He's on Vinny's level who I've got

[00:48:03] but it doesn't work because I've got

[00:48:05] the base ones who doesn't have any

[00:48:06] roll pluses for left mid.

[00:48:09] But he is tremendous.

[00:48:10] That sort of technical dribbling is

[00:48:12] unreal.

[00:48:13] He's got 90 odd pace.

[00:48:14] His finishing is absolutely correct

[00:48:15] especially being right foot playing

[00:48:17] on the left.

[00:48:18] Those near post finishes are just

[00:48:19] stupid.

[00:48:20] His dribbling is excellent.

[00:48:22] His passing is decent.

[00:48:22] I just wanted a different option

[00:48:25] and because I've got a few icons

[00:48:26] in the team he kind of fits in on

[00:48:29] 2chem usually.

[00:48:30] But for 50k if you want a fun player

[00:48:32] that's, you know, totally not matter

[00:48:34] and out of the ordinary like he's

[00:48:37] really good fun to try.

[00:48:38] So he's worth it for a wee cheap

[00:48:41] beast.

[00:48:41] I would definitely say pound for pound

[00:48:43] he's one of the better pound for

[00:48:44] pound players you get.

[00:48:46] Awesome.

[00:48:47] Awesome.

[00:48:47] I did try him in draft and he was

[00:48:49] pretty good.

[00:48:50] Really, really good.

[00:48:51] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:48:52] Just misses that.

[00:48:52] Those, you know, he's four star

[00:48:54] four star.

[00:48:54] So either a weak foot or skill move

[00:48:56] upgrade would have been tremendous.

[00:48:59] Lastly today, Shaq, on our sort of

[00:49:01] we call it a double pod because you

[00:49:02] had to have that break in the middle

[00:49:04] formation and review.

[00:49:06] Is there a formation that you're

[00:49:07] using that you've tried, you know,

[00:49:09] that you've cemented now?

[00:49:11] Like what are you doing?

[00:49:12] So I've tried a whole heap over the

[00:49:15] Christmas break.

[00:49:15] I told myself to get out of my

[00:49:17] comfort zone and try something

[00:49:18] different because I've been doing

[00:49:19] 442 for such a long time that I

[00:49:21] tried.

[00:49:22] I think the 4213 is probably the most

[00:49:25] popular formation going on right now

[00:49:26] and it's effective.

[00:49:29] It's very, very effective, but it's

[00:49:31] boring for me.

[00:49:32] I found it boring as bad

[00:49:35] expletive.

[00:49:36] It just was.

[00:49:36] It's good.

[00:49:37] It works.

[00:49:38] It really works.

[00:49:39] I think our friends at the

[00:49:40] Nothing But A Foot Thing podcast,

[00:49:42] I think Bridges FC has got a really

[00:49:44] good 4213 as well.

[00:49:45] That works.

[00:49:46] I think Adam A from our Discord has

[00:49:48] got a really good 4213 that works

[00:49:50] really well as well and that's more

[00:49:51] attacking and really good for

[00:49:52] friendlies.

[00:49:54] But I just, I just, it's a very one

[00:49:57] dimensional sort of play where you're

[00:49:58] just waiting for the wingers to be

[00:50:00] free and you give a through ball and

[00:50:02] it's a goal.

[00:50:03] Every single time.

[00:50:03] Just get rinse and repeat and it

[00:50:04] works.

[00:50:05] It's so effective because you have so

[00:50:06] many people behind the ball as well.

[00:50:09] It's fun.

[00:50:09] It's effective.

[00:50:10] And I think in weekend league,

[00:50:11] I tried to go different ways and went

[00:50:12] back to 4213 and I did really well.

[00:50:14] So that's the formations I tried.

[00:50:18] I tried the 41212 narrow.

[00:50:19] I really enjoyed that formation.

[00:50:21] Really good fun, but it can be

[00:50:23] ripped apart by the 4213 from time to

[00:50:25] time.

[00:50:26] But right now, the formation I just

[00:50:28] found yesterday is a 4411.

[00:50:31] It's a slight difference to the 442

[00:50:33] that I've been playing all year,

[00:50:34] that I always play.

[00:50:35] It's a slight variation where the cam

[00:50:37] does a bit of like a, does a bit of

[00:50:41] bamboozling from the midfield as such.

[00:50:43] So you have three midfielders as such

[00:50:44] that can rotate.

[00:50:45] And if you have one holding and two

[00:50:47] players that are on free roaming as

[00:50:49] such as the cam and the center,

[00:50:51] the CM, it offers a whole lot of space

[00:50:54] in the midfield.

[00:50:55] So you can play like a 4231 without it

[00:50:57] being like a, without it being 4231

[00:50:59] and static.

[00:51:00] So I'm really enjoying the 4411 that

[00:51:02] just tumbled upon.

[00:51:03] I think just scrolling through X,

[00:51:05] I just tumbled upon this particular one

[00:51:06] that fit in with what I was thinking

[00:51:08] to do.

[00:51:08] And it's working wonders.

[00:51:10] It's really, it's nice, slow,

[00:51:13] pleasurable sort of formation.

[00:51:15] Oh, perfect.

[00:51:16] Now that sounds good.

[00:51:17] It's not one that I've used.

[00:51:18] I know Engvi used to love the 4411

[00:51:20] which was quite cool as well.

[00:51:22] I think he was a bit of a,

[00:51:23] that was his sort of gospel,

[00:51:24] if you like, of the old FIFA.

[00:51:26] So that's cool.

[00:51:27] My ones are 451,

[00:51:29] but not in a positive way.

[00:51:31] I've seen lots of people like love it.

[00:51:33] But I have tried to make my own one

[00:51:35] and it's not working now.

[00:51:37] Basically my one striker is really isolated.

[00:51:40] I think what I need to do is put the

[00:51:42] wide men on attacking.

[00:51:43] I think I've got them on balance just now.

[00:51:44] So you end up having a flat line of five,

[00:51:47] but nothing really happens attacking or

[00:51:49] defensively.

[00:51:50] So I think if I put them on inside forward

[00:51:52] as Shaq brings in his new puppy,

[00:51:54] a little puppy,

[00:51:55] that's probably sounds really wrong.

[00:51:56] John will probably want to edit that out.

[00:51:59] But yeah, no, I think with the tweaks,

[00:52:01] you could probably make that 451 go into a

[00:52:03] 4-3-2-1 or a 4-3-3

[00:52:06] and also make it defensively solid as well.

[00:52:08] So still lots of tweaking to do.

[00:52:10] It's got,

[00:52:10] it's definitely got the basis of a decent one.

[00:52:13] But again,

[00:52:14] I've not got a CM withholding plus or plus plus.

[00:52:16] I think Casemiro plays there and he's fine,

[00:52:18] but you can notice the difference from,

[00:52:20] I was playing the 4-2-1-3 as well.

[00:52:22] And before my break,

[00:52:23] I had 4-2-3-1 wide,

[00:52:25] which I may still go back to as well.

[00:52:27] I'm just finding,

[00:52:29] I can't find a formation that's super fun at the moment.

[00:52:31] That's my only issue.

[00:52:32] Like there's very effective ones.

[00:52:35] And it's,

[00:52:35] you know,

[00:52:35] EA have done a good job of making different formations usable.

[00:52:39] But I can't say I've really found a super fun one because everyone like

[00:52:43] either is quite meh or you play a couple of games,

[00:52:46] you get absolutely shredded and then you throw,

[00:52:47] you know,

[00:52:48] your controller away.

[00:52:49] I think the problem is,

[00:52:51] you might,

[00:52:51] you might,

[00:52:52] you might understand where I'm coming from is the fact that I've tried a lot

[00:52:55] of formations.

[00:52:55] As you,

[00:52:56] as you start tinkering with the formations,

[00:52:58] you start tinkering with,

[00:52:59] Oh,

[00:52:59] this particular player is working well,

[00:53:02] but he's got a plus plus.

[00:53:03] That's a completely different thing.

[00:53:05] Let me just try that out.

[00:53:06] And then you try one and then you see the other player is,

[00:53:10] for example,

[00:53:10] you change your camp from a playmaker to shadow striker because he's got a

[00:53:14] plus plus.

[00:53:15] And then suddenly you think,

[00:53:16] look at a CM and think he's got a deep line playmaker or any of those

[00:53:19] things.

[00:53:19] And you start tweaking those things before you know it within a couple of

[00:53:22] clicks,

[00:53:23] because you're so far away from the formation you started with and you just

[00:53:26] don't really know what is not working anymore.

[00:53:29] And it gets really complicated and you just drop it and you start all over

[00:53:33] again.

[00:53:34] And that's what I've been finding where I start with a formation.

[00:53:37] I think I like it.

[00:53:38] Then I start tweaking a little bit and then I get carried away with all the

[00:53:40] plus pluses.

[00:53:41] And yeah,

[00:53:42] it's,

[00:53:43] it's,

[00:53:43] I'm finding it's a really hard juggle.

[00:53:45] So I've just decided that I like certain things to happen in the team,

[00:53:48] like one insight forward from my midfielders.

[00:53:51] I think I like LMR as opposed to left wing and right wing.

[00:53:56] I don't know why.

[00:53:57] I just find having those things as midfielders as opposed to wingers really

[00:54:01] works for me because then I can actually control the play rather than just

[00:54:04] passing a through ball and hoping for the best.

[00:54:06] So yeah,

[00:54:08] I'm trying to stick to formations that have LMR and also have an opportunity

[00:54:12] to use my right back or left back with a wing back so I can use them into the

[00:54:16] attack as well.

[00:54:17] Yeah,

[00:54:18] I'm trying my best to be as fun and creative as possible rather than just

[00:54:22] following a meta formation as such,

[00:54:24] but yeah,

[00:54:25] it's,

[00:54:25] it's a bit of a grind.

[00:54:26] It is hard.

[00:54:27] It is hard,

[00:54:27] but Shaq,

[00:54:29] uh,

[00:54:29] we will leave it there because I think there are two,

[00:54:31] two bits.

[00:54:32] We're approaching the hour mark.

[00:54:33] So we've gone a wee bit over.

[00:54:34] So,

[00:54:34] um,

[00:54:35] um,

[00:54:35] I want to say thank you very,

[00:54:37] very much Shaq for joining us today.

[00:54:40] anyone less than there,

[00:54:41] um,

[00:54:41] please be sure to check out our wonderful discord.

[00:54:44] Uh,

[00:54:45] the discord is free.

[00:54:46] If you'd like to contribute a cup of coffee,

[00:54:48] uh,

[00:54:49] to the team to try and help them,

[00:54:51] you know,

[00:54:52] uh,

[00:54:53] keep this podcast going basically,

[00:54:54] you know,

[00:54:54] with the equipment and the software that's required.

[00:54:57] Um,

[00:54:58] it's Patreon,

[00:54:59] uh,

[00:54:59] slash foot and review,

[00:55:00] sorry,

[00:55:01] patreon.com slash foot and review,

[00:55:02] I should say.

[00:55:03] Um,

[00:55:03] if,

[00:55:04] uh,

[00:55:04] you know,

[00:55:04] we've not really touched about the store,

[00:55:06] which has been a bit of a theme for us before,

[00:55:08] but if you'd prefer to go the coaching way rather than store,

[00:55:12] check out foot coaching as well.

[00:55:13] Cause John does a tremendous job there with,

[00:55:16] you know,

[00:55:16] top of the range software,

[00:55:17] which isn't just used within,

[00:55:19] uh,

[00:55:20] you know,

[00:55:21] video game.

[00:55:21] And he also has like,

[00:55:22] you know,

[00:55:22] the software that uses used by actual football teams as well.

[00:55:25] So really,

[00:55:26] you know,

[00:55:26] state of the art stuff used there.

[00:55:28] So quick,

[00:55:29] thank you to,

[00:55:29] to everybody for listening.

[00:55:31] Uh,

[00:55:31] like I say,

[00:55:32] I hope you all had a wonderful festive time.

[00:55:34] John and the crew should be back on Friday.

[00:55:37] Um,

[00:55:38] I've not seen any leaks for what the next promo is,

[00:55:40] which is probably a good thing.

[00:55:41] Um,

[00:55:42] but they'll obviously deep dive into whatever,

[00:55:44] whatever comes in,

[00:55:45] anything that comes in between,

[00:55:46] uh,

[00:55:47] now and Friday.

[00:55:48] Uh,

[00:55:49] Shaq with that,

[00:55:49] there's just one thing left to do.

[00:55:52] Drop it.

[00:55:53] We are going to drop it.