654: A Blue Monday = A Good TOTY Monday

[00:00:00] FUT IN REVIEW Hello FUTs and welcome along to your regular Tuesday session of everything FUT IN REVIEW and FC25. I'm Nathan, I've just found out that I have access to all these really cool music and extra bits so if I get a bit carried away my apologies in advance but I am delighted as always on a Tuesday or nearly always on a Tuesday to be joined by my very good friend Shaq. Shaq how are you doing?

[00:00:30] I am doing fabulous thank you very much and it was amazing to start off with the FUTIN REVIEW theme song it just kind of gets you revved up to go. It's good. Hopefully we can, we haven't peaked too soon and we can keep it going throughout. That's right. We got plenty to get on to today we've obviously kind of got to go with the patch that was released last week which was touched on. Team of the year has officially started rolling and gathering momentum as we speak.

[00:00:58] But before we get into all that Shaq how has your weekend been since we last spoke last Tuesday? I think since we last spoke last Tuesday things have been completely turned 180 degrees from the community point of view with the new patch. I think it's been, let's just say it's been enjoyable. It's been extremely enjoyable. I haven't really had a game, well I've probably had one or two games the whole week since the new patch.

[00:01:21] I thought, oh what's going on? But the rest of the gameplay has just been fun. It's just been fun. I've enjoyed myself, enjoyed my team, enjoyed trying new things. It's lovely to see everyone positive. It's a really positive thing to see everyone positive I guess. Yeah, absolutely. The patch to be fair on social certainly seems to have divided opinion which we'll get into. I mean, my week, you know, you and Dan will be well aware I've had a very up and down few days.

[00:01:49] It appears that by taking advantage of these Evos released I have been market banned for the rest of the game. So I've been hacked off. I was, I got a nice, you know, my tally was up to 4.4 mil. I had some plans so it's changed the way I felt. I had a wee bit of a downer after it. I've appealed it and they're like no, not budging. So I'm a bit hacked off at that. I'm trying to keep this, you know, PG. But last night I got a wee pick me up, opened because I've got, I can't do anything with my coins.

[00:02:18] I decided to open a store pack and I finally got, well I say finally, we've only just started, but I've got a team of the year right. And so, you know, that's kind of reinvigorated me a little bit. So I'm feeling a bit better about the game, but we'll move on. So first things first, what was your initial thought on the patch? But you know, when you played your first maybe five games or so, like, what did you think? Was it massively different? Was it, did you love it? Did you hate it? How did it go?

[00:02:42] I think from one of the things I struggled, I think you believe it or not, I was sending John foot coaching messages during the week last week, I think straight after the pod last weekend. I'm sorry, last Tuesday, I sent him a message stating that I'm struggling with the game. I really need to get in together to have a session just to understand where I'm going wrong, because I just couldn't understand what I was doing. Because I kept manually, manually defending, I kept doing my kind of game style, which is slightly, I think, one of the things I struggled with is John's always mentioned that,

[00:03:12] whenever you look at John play or even Dan play is nice and slow and controlled. I think Dan's a bit of a hybrid, but John's extremely slow. So I want to do that. I never could. And I think in the previous version of the feet of the game, it was better if you could be nice and controlled in attack and very, very controlled, but also using a lot of AI with your defending, which I like to be manually defending. I like to be aggressive in the tackle. I just couldn't do that. I just kept getting, yeah, getting my backside handed to me.

[00:03:41] But this particular patch, I'm sure I'm not great at defending, but I know I can score. So even if I get five goals down, I know I can win 6-5 and that's just fun. That's just what the game is supposed to be. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, from my experience and again, looking at socials that you do see lots of people seem to be enjoying, you know, a lot of games, you seem to be high score and which is great. You know, in the past we've plugged Adams for, what was it? 4213.

[00:04:09] You know, we said it was only for friendlies because it was a bit too aggressive, but, you know, we've had that experience. And just before that patch came out, we saw it kind of getting picked up a little bit more. I think a couple of pros used it in the open tournament. It was starting to pick up the hype train. I hadn't changed to it, but, you know, having played for it a bit and friendlies, you got that advantage. And as soon as this patch came in, you know, pace kind of turned into king, especially for the first, you know, two or three days of the patch till people really sussed it out. You know, people, it was just running riot. It was, I mean, it was so much fun.

[00:04:39] I don't know whether you've experienced the same, obviously different continent, different matchups. Formations have tweaked a little bit again. We are seeing some more conservative formations, I think, you know, 442, even a 4231 kind of people set in that little bit. I think it's made people a little bit scared to, especially to pull out the fullbacks because the wings seem to be vital just now. I don't know if you've had that experience too. I haven't really noticed tremendously, but I've noticed a lot of people, the people that I'm playing in Div 3,

[00:05:08] even in champs, I think it was quite ping-pongy sort of gameplay in the sense that if I'm attacking, they're attacking literally next second and it was almost, but it didn't feel out of place. It didn't really feel glitchy or it didn't feel weird. It all felt pretty organic, which is probably the best part for me. It didn't feel like I just have to be careful about getting counted on.

[00:05:29] It's just part of the game. For example, if I screw up and my whole team was fully attacking, I probably have to sort out what do I do with my defenders to ensure that I don't really cut myself thin. And it was almost things like, if you're manually defending, I'm trying, I'm learning, I'm trying my best not to move my centre-backs out of the central zone. I'm trying to keep them close to the goal, close to the centre of the pitch as much as possible and keeping my fullbacks nice and tucked in and not really stretching out too much.

[00:05:58] And that's really been helping. But again, having said that, every now and then I get excited to try and tackle and I probably mistime my tackle and it's a goal. It's fine. I'm enjoying that part, to be honest. Yeah. I mean, kudos to EA because, you know, we said straight away, it looks like it was going to be potentially the biggest patch. I think they've called it the biggest live tuning they've ever done. And to be fair, it does feel like a different game. And for all their flaws and all the tight ends, we criticize them. I think they've got this pretty spot on and it has driven a bit of a skill gap. But like you say, the defendant is a lot harder.

[00:06:28] So you can't just rely on your defenders now because they attack it. I don't know whether it's the defendants been nerfed or the attacking AI has been nerfed, but there's definitely seems to be a lot more space. Like we said, like speed and pace seems to be still quite, quite vital at the moment, which is good fun. I think when you, especially in the 4-2-1-3, your central striker is such a pivotal part. The amount of times you can get the ball into him and bounce passes back, like the passing nerf as well. Like I love the passing nerf.

[00:06:55] Like it feels like it's a lot more accurate, you know, passes on the hole, you go where you want. Driven passes are tremendous. Like I just think, I think it's now turned into the game that we kind of hoped for right at the start. You know, we have said it's a bit of an unfinished game right through. But I think finally now they actually seem to be hitting it on the head and there's still things that can be improved, obviously. You know, and you can't meet one game that makes everybody happy. But I think this patch is definitely, you know, it's not just one step, you know, it's three giant leaps in the right direction.

[00:07:26] Absolutely. I think, look, we, we always criticize EA for when they do things wrong. I think it's, it's fair due for us to actually try and acknowledge the effort that they've done. I know a lot of people are going to say this should have been, this is never, should have been, should never have been released. It should have been done on day dot and things should have happened. Yeah, completely understand that argument. But also the fact that they've actually acknowledged the issues and tried to correct it before leaving it for another whole game cycle. That's a GG for me. I'm happy.

[00:07:55] We're all happy. I think the community as a whole, before team of the year, I think honestly, as a community, I think this is bigger than, I think, team of the year as a promo. I think the patches are finally, I don't think we need to be disheartened about not backing a team of the year because our existing teams suddenly feel like brand new players. Like I'm using the same team that I was using pre patch and some of the players feel like brand new players that I've never used before. So it's, it's a great, it's amazing.

[00:08:22] Yeah. You've just kind of answered the question I had in mind then I was, I was a way to ask if you adapted your team or changed any players to kind of fit the new meta that we see in development. But if you're using the same players, then does that mean that your players are already suited or you, you've changed your style or is it kind of a bit of everything? I think I stumbled upon this just a day before the patch turned out. I stumbled upon this new formation and I was using a shadow striker as a cam instead of using playmaker. So finally through Cruyff out of my squad and then put in a shadow striker.

[00:08:52] So I, I did some digging online and found that there was an explanation, I think from, I can't remember who it was from. There was a clear explanation as to why a shadow striker in a cam position is really useful and they articulated why. And it made sense to me that the shadow striker would be definitely jumping in to try and be that other attacker. If your striker were to fall behind in a, in a single striker formation, but also in defense, the shadow striker would come back a little bit deeper to try and defend and try and get the ball back for you.

[00:09:20] Like almost like playing like a, not really a classic then, but also like a track or taste. Like we'll just come back, try and do something and get the ball forward as much as possible. And the only shadow striker I had in my club was a Claudia Pina, Champions League version. I packed a while ago. I just chucked her in five star weak food. I thought I'll just chuck her in. And she had incisive pass plus. And I think it was almost like a match made in heaven with the new patch. And I was already clicking with her roughly just before the patch came out.

[00:09:48] And when the patch came out, her through passes were incredible. The incisive play style plus as an inner cam position with a shadow striker, it was just opening up a lot of doors. I mean, I could pass or to either the wing, I could pass in the central to the striker and it just opened up my whole game. So that's really been a, it's I've stumbled upon this and it just happened to be just before the patch. And I think I've read online as well. Now, a lot of people were talking about using shadow striker and also talking about the incisive pass and the importance of that play style plus.

[00:10:18] No, that's, that's really good. I mean, I was using Del Piero just because he had finesse shots. So if you picked up those, those areas at the edge of the box, you could do it. And to be fair, like they have nerfed finesses from outside the box a little bit. They're still really powerful and it's not like it's useless at all, but it's not quite like before. Cause he had this five star weak foot, I think. So you could literally just get a little bit of space and you'd be banging it top corner. So now you have to think about it a bit more. And, you know, one of the questions we've got, which we'll talk about is the Zidane Evo, but I've done him and I've thrown him in.

[00:10:47] And he, he, he just plays differently. He's probably the best version of Zidane that I've used. Especially for like, you know, the, the, the state of the game that we're in just now, you know, obviously it's not all 99s and 98s. So that's, you know, that's a kudos. So when they, like I say, we'll get on to him. But no, I, I think it's been, it's been really, really positive. I'm really happy with that. Hopefully they don't just set, set, set back and leave. This is kind of like what they, what they've done and they're not going to touch it again.

[00:11:16] Cause I'm sure we'll find little things as the year goes on as well, that may need tweaking as well, but it seems very balanced just now. And I'm, I'm really happy. I think there's a little bit of, uh, there's a little nervous twitch that I constantly have is because I'm worried that we're all in this honeymoon phase because we've come from like this abusive relationship with the game that it's suddenly gone to such a positive stance that I hope it's real.

[00:11:42] I hope we're all feeling the positivity because the game is actually good in the way we wanted to play and not really a flash in the pan where it's amazing. As any new game comes through the first two weeks seem new and we don't really know what the meta or whatever it is. Everyone's trying to figure out what they want to do. And suddenly you get the meta videos and you have the age old crossies videos coming through and team Hullet saying this is what the new patch does. And everyone goes back to a five back formation to stack up back line.

[00:12:10] And I don't know, I'm just, I'm just hoping that we stay in this state for the rest of the game cycle and everyone stays positive and we get to play the way we want to play. And the game feels, it's about the feeling. The game feels good. The game feels positive. The community feels positive. I just wanted to stay in this state because I don't want to go back to how it was last week. I just don't think I can handle that negativity anymore. And the, the, the frustrating gameplay. I can't deal with that anymore. Yeah, absolutely. So here's looking forward, but well done so far to you on, on this big patch anyway.

[00:12:38] Um, but Shaq, it's probably time. I know most people will be listening to, to our pod and obviously FC 25 pods because the main talking point at the moment is team of the year. You know, we've, we've already had the attackers out. They've kind of been in packs and then they've been away obviously, because they do the phase release. We're now currently in midfield. Uh, have you, first things first, how did you get a sniff of any attacker? It was there any of them that you kind of thought you're going to pick up? Is there anyone you're watching just now in the midfielders?

[00:13:08] Uh, I, I did at one point in time when, um, Lauren James was extinct and the start of the, when, when the game just went, when team of the year just released, I really wanted to snipe one. And I was a bit bummed that I just couldn't. And, um, I obviously just couldn't snipe her and never ended up sniping her and how price range went up. Same. Um, I think everyone looked at that. And when writing was, um, extinct yesterday, I think a lot of people tried the same thing as well. Obviously I just couldn't snipe a writing.

[00:13:37] Uh, but having said that, I really do want to try Lauren James. I don't have the coins right now because my coins are tied up with, uh, trying to use our nine. So I don't really have any liquid coins. I don't have as much, as many coins as I would like to have at this point in time to try Lauren James, but Lauren James is definitely a card. I really, really, really want to try. I mean, of course I do want to try the, the, the Alexia as well as the Bon Marti cards, but they're a bit out of the price range for now, at least. So I'll get to them eventually.

[00:14:05] But Lauren James is a card that I'm super excited to try. Yeah, absolutely. I, I, I've just done that friendly, the team of the year cup. Um, it took me about an hour to do, so it wasn't too painful, but I used my lone team of the year Mbappe up front and my word, like what a card. Him with his power shot is just crazy. If he gets that space for the power shot, it's, it's game over. Yeah. And especially when it's golden goal, it's, it's tremendous. So that is good. Right. And obviously feels, feels very nice, but it's a very limited game playing friendly. So obviously I can't pick anybody up now.

[00:14:34] So I'm relying purely on, on Pat look, but I think, uh, one of the things that I've noticed is the price. And, you know, obviously you're our resident, uh, foot and review market expert, Shaq. I just wanted to touch on some of the pricing because some of the prices, you know, like you say, Paters, I think was about seven mil last I looked. Um, but then you've got Palmer right. And that are only sort of 2.4, 2.5. What's, what do you think is the reason behind this? Are these cards, you know, they're not going to be readily packable.

[00:15:02] Don't get me wrong, but are we seeing a few more team of the years being packed? Is it because we've had evos again, another subject we'll talk, we'll touch on sooner, or is it just because there's not so much demand for these type of players? Like why, what, what do you think behind these sort of, it's not even a pricing strategy, but just how the market sees certain cards and especially with team of the year use them, especially before full release being, you know, really high. And obviously coming down once there impacts a little bit.

[00:15:27] I think you've made a very astute observation just before we started recording about the fact that how the, some of the evos are probably having an impact on some cards player, some of the team of the year cards prices. And I think you're, you're onto something there because, um, I think we were having a conversation on the, on day one, cause Lauren James, correct me if I'm wrong. When Lauren James team of the season came out last year, she was about five or 6 million coins. Easy. Easy. She's roughly fluctuating on that price.

[00:15:55] And eventually she did come down, but I think for the first couple of days, she was above the 5 million mark. I should have a double check and just to confirm, but anyway, uh, and you would expect this Lauren James to be around that price as well. Cole Palmer. I was just about to say Cole Palmer. Cole Palmer is another player that you would expect it to be in the four, five, four to 5 million. He seems to be packed fairly heavily. And I think a lot of people I know, uh, I've actually lost some money trying to invest into Cole Palmer. That's a separate thing. And Wrighton's the other one with Wrighton.

[00:16:24] I think you can discount with the fact that she was exiting for a while and then she shot up. She could still go up, but I think these three, what do they have in common? They seem to be some, firstly, they both all three are wingish kind of players. And Cole Palmer central, but Cole Palmer can be, there's an evolution for Cole Palmer that can remake, make the Cole Palmer evil close enough to the team of the year. I know the team of the year is way better, but you can still get a 50% off discount discounted car for card for like 500 K.

[00:16:55] And I think these kinds of things are having an impact on the wingers team of the year. I mean, Salah is a completely different breed. Winnie is a different breed. So you can't really include them in that same discussion, but I think Cole Palmer, Wrighton, and, um, Lauren James have, have been impacted by the evolution is my opinion. Also, I think the pack weight these out of all the team of the years we've had so far, I think these three are probably the most packable. So I think that those T those two things combined have kept the prices low.

[00:17:21] What happens over the next, maybe when they're all back in packs is something that I'm really curious to see, because if you remember last year when team of the year came around around this time, when we had a larger pack weight for the attackers, like Sophia Smith was really cheap. Renard was really cheap. A lot of these cards are cheap when they were first originally in packs. And when everyone assumed that they would be much cheaper, when everyone was in packs, they went the other way around. They weren't much more expensive. So it's a bit of a watch to space at this point in time.

[00:17:49] I'm really curious to see what the pack weight is when everyone is back in packs. But I think the evolution certainly have had an impact so far, at least. Yeah. I think out of all, all the players we've named the Cole Palmer one sticks out like a sore thumb, because I think if you have his 87 in form, he's pretty much identical to the 95 team of the year. Apart from, I think his passing is 85 instead of 95, if I remember right. So it's almost the identical card, but your 500k plus whatever, I think his, his inform may be extinct.

[00:18:18] But if you had that or even the 86 goes, you know, mighty, mighty close, because the Evos are done in such a way that the stats are almost pushed up that high. So I think you're right with that. It's going to be so interesting to see on full release if we see this weight. I've certainly never packed one before maybe the second or third last day of it. So having one before full release has been, you know, it's been nice. And it almost takes the pressure off the packs that I've saved. Because, you know, at the end of the day, if you've got one, you've got one. Do you know what I mean? That's kind of like the golden chalice that we're all chasing.

[00:18:47] So I think that's, that's fascinating. And I do like the fact that some of these cards are a bit cheaper. Well, I would like it if I could spend my coins, but I do quite like that. It does make me wary, Shaq. I don't know if you've had this feeling, but obviously a team of the year, the year cards have three play style pluses. The sort of the icons in the SBCs only have two, but it does make you think, where do EA go from there? Because originally when I heard it was three play style pluses, I thought, right,

[00:19:12] they're going to elevate all team of the year cards as in my opinion, they should to be untouchable almost right through until team of the season. But I'm not saying that's not going to be the case because there's some, you know, excellent cards. But does it make you kind of wary for other promos until team of the season? Or how do you see that kind of going? Oh, I think if you think about it, I think they've done it pretty cleverly because only team of the years are the cards that have three play style pluses.

[00:19:39] But then again, you have icons, the team of the icons that only have two play style pluses. So they've been very clever with that. And the play style pluses on the icons we have are pretty good ones. They're not, you don't really have a, I can't remember. I don't think we have a trickster plus or anything along those lines. It's all really, really good play style pluses on the icons.

[00:19:58] Whereas the team of the years, I think some of them have been shafted where I think even Mbappe's, I think he's got PowerShot, he's got Rapid and I think he's got Travella. Travella? Yeah, PowerShot Rapid and Travella. It doesn't board really well with me. I think that's something that, I think Travella is probably not a really, not a play style that I really look forward to, but even a silver Travella would do things that a gold would.

[00:20:25] Anyway, that's besides the points. But basically, none of the team of the years have really all three meta play styles. And what I expect to happen over the next couple of months is we will see two play style pluses promos, but you'll have a sprinkle of three play style pluses in maybe new icon releases. You might have three play style pluses. You might have another Foot Birthday promo that might have a couple of three play style pluses. They might just be sprinkled in until team of the season.

[00:20:52] When team of the season hits, then those cards will be all the three play style pluses and going forward, all will be three or more play style pluses from there on in. So it's a really good strategy from EA to keep it at this level, keep those team of the year cards slightly hyped more than other promo cards, but also not take the power curve to the next level where every single card from now is three play style pluses. So it leaves them that little bit of leeway to maneuver a bit more.

[00:21:19] Yeah, that's a really good observation. And to be fair, although there wasn't a lot of time in between, it reminds me a bit of Foot Birthday where they went from one to two play styles, but only with certain cards as well. I think it was Foot Birthday was the first one that they brought that in. So obviously like certain cards had the two, but then we were all like, oh no, they're bringing them to so soon, blah, blah, blah. And all of a sudden it was like, oh, there's only a handful that have that and the rest kind of don't. And like you said, the play styles in those cards weren't always the ones that you'd expect certain cards to have.

[00:21:48] So I think you're right. I think they're obviously trying to do something to make team of the year a little bit better because I think last year they went obsolete fairly quickly. Obviously, the top ones are always going to see you through. And to be fair, I mean, you saw Gold and Bappe still in May last time. So not saying these cards are, you know, they might not ever be bad cards per se, but they may get overtaken. So I think it's fascinating what they're doing. I like the fact they're trying something a bit different as well.

[00:22:16] So obviously they don't really have control of the players that get voted in. So we can't really say it's a copy paste promo. You know, some of them we are quite critical at, but I think the fact they are trying to push something a bit different, I think it's only a, you know, that can only be a positive in my opinion and, you know, prolong the game cycle. So with that, I mean, we've obviously had the team, we've talked about the team for the last two weeks as well. We had the, what we thought the team may be, we kind of spoke of it last week as well. But there has been an absolute shed load of content.

[00:22:45] We've had SBCs, we've had upgrades, we've had Evos. And the first one, you know, I'm going to go to our mailbag, which comes from our incredible Discord. If you go into the Discord, it's free to join. We've had a couple of questions kind of along the same elk. So just to get your review, AlexRed93 has asked, is KDB, Kevin De Bruyne worth it? With the free Zidane card being available, are you best saving off fodder for something like bail? And Adam kind of follows that up.

[00:23:13] Why would they drop the Kevin De Bruyne card at the same time as Zidane? Surely it makes De Bruyne way too expensive and pretty useless. So what's your take on that? I do agree. I think Kevin De Bruyne is one of those acquired days where I think some people love Kevin De Bruyne. I think Team of the Year Kevin De Bruyne has been a mainstay for I think the past six or seven years. So it's nice. It's an ode. It's an homage to all those Team of the Year cards that we've had with Kevin De Bruyne in the past couple of years.

[00:23:39] And it's unfortunate that we've got a Zidane card literally on the same day as Kevin De Bruyne. If Kevin De Bruyne had come one day before Zidane, I think 30% of the people that we're talking about here would have started Kevin De Bruyne at least. Because he's a really good card. Just when you compare that with Zidane, you start to think, do I really need a Kevin De Bruyne? Which is why you and me and Dan and the likes haven't really started at the SPC.

[00:24:08] But if you break it down, if you actually think about it, Kevin De Bruyne and Zidane both can exist in your team. So Zidane or Kevin De Bruyne can be your CM, whereas the other one could be the Cam. And I could still work. I think both of them have really good play styles and really good roles as well. I think Zidane's got literally every single role under the sun. So he can literally play either as a box to box or a Shadow Strike or a Classic 10 or whatever it is. However you envision him to play, you can do it. And Kevin De Bruyne can play that, you know.

[00:24:36] I think I've read a review about Kevin De Bruyne that he's probably one of the best passers in the game. So that's another thing that people can leverage off. So he seems a little bit expensive, but I think we can't really begrudge getting more content than less content. I'm more than happy to get all the content and for me to choose what I would like to do as opposed to getting very limited, shoddy content where I don't have any options. Yeah, no, that's a great point. I mean, I don't know whether you've evoked Zidane or not, but he is a very nice card.

[00:25:03] Like I said at the start, he's probably the best version of Zidane at a time that you can use him that I've used. I think he's kind of got a bit of everything. So I think that's really good. Kevin De Bruyne, as soon as he dropped, I thought 2 mil on that card. You know, not even with, you know, United City, because I don't really want to talk about United for the corner of the state of us just now. But even with that, you know, I can't grudge him coming because you've just got to say in real life, he is a phenomenal player. Or he was, to be fair, his legs have gone, etc, etc.

[00:25:34] That's a bit too soon. A bit too soon. He's still good. Yeah, but he's just not that level anymore. Anyway, we digress. I just don't, I think 2 million for that card, I think is a little bit overpriced. You see, if they put maybe 1.5, I'd be sitting going good value, you know, I'd be saying a decent to good value. But I think just now it's just over 2 mil. Maybe that will come down once everyone actually starts shredding all their packs. I know certain people, present company included Shaq, have opened all their packs.

[00:26:03] But I know a lot of people are still holding on, especially to the biggies like myself, because I am a dragon. So I just think that it's maybe 500k overpriced. Can I ask you a question then? You're saying it's 500k overpriced. What would your estimation be if Zidane was not involved in this picture at all? I'd probably say it was overpriced. I said that as soon as it dropped before we knew exactly what was happening with Zidane. Like I knew we had that 90 card coming, but nobody really knew how it would work out.

[00:26:33] So once we saw the leaks, sorry for it coming, and I think I put into our group chat straight away, I'm not paying 2 million for that card. Like straight away. Like you say, it's a love him or hate him. He's a bit like Marmite, which is my favorite phrase at the moment. But I just don't think that in game that card would play like a 2 million card. I may be wrong and there's some people that I bet will absolutely shred me with him. Like you say, you know, 4-5-1 seems to be quite prevalent or 4-3-3.

[00:27:01] So if you've got De Bruyne on one side and Zidane on the other, maybe a defensive beast, that could be, you know, a very good midfield. But I think if you had to choose one between two, Zidane all the way. And I think obviously with certain other players coming, you know, we've dropped it last week about the leak of Gareth Bale. And, you know, I am holding everything. I've done Casillas because I needed that link. Because right, and I don't have WSL and I don't have a Norwegian player.

[00:27:29] So kind of needed another icon in there dropping Del Piero. So that aside has definitely been more of a, you know, I think there's potentially better ways to use your FOD. Again, that's a question we're going to come on to shortly from our leader, John. Dan in the chat has just put in another perk of being part of our Patreon and our Discord. As you can listen live to us raffling on. Dan's actually said Zidane is actually decent, which is wild for him saying that. So Dan, if I remember right, Dan's one of these people that always does Zidane EVOs.

[00:27:59] Oh, no, it's not the EVOs, Zidane SBCs. And he loves him and then he hates him and then he loves him and then he hates him. So I don't think it's too wild, Dan. I think you just need to make your mind up. Last year, Dan and I, when the Zidane SBC came out last year, we did a podcast and we both have this love-hate relationship with Zidane where I think Dan did one SBC, I think in FIFA 23. And I actually packed the Zidane in FIFA 23 and I couldn't stand that Zidane. Zidane and Dan hated Zidane, the SBC that he did.

[00:28:28] And we both have this love-hate relationship where we know what he's capable of, but with the medium, medium work rates, he just frustrated us. So when the SBC came out, we both slated the SBC. We never said it was bad. It just said it wasn't a car that we were interested in. We said that it was probably not the best use of coins. It was pretty expensive as well, the SBC. And we got slated pretty badly. I think a lot of people online were talking about, oh, skill issue and this and that.

[00:28:56] And I think if I remember right, I think John posted a thing on TikTok about our snip of the show. And that was probably one of the most popular TikTok shots that we had about how people are complaining about us having a skill issue. And I just wish they realized how good Dan actually is in the game. Anyway, so that's where the Zidane hit love came from. And I used Zidane earlier this year and I messaged you guys and said, this Zidane this year is slightly different source and this particular Zidane as well.

[00:29:25] It's, yeah, I can, might as well get to it. Again, another complete kudos to EA because when we heard about a free Zidane, I really expected one of those David Beckham from a couple of years ago or Harlan from last year, that kind of card. Even the Jude card this year was way better than those cards. So I just thought it was going to be along those lines where we have an 87 or 86 rated Zidane who's good, but good for maybe the brand new people into FIFA, but to EA FC rather.

[00:29:52] But this Zidane, I think this is on the market. This 94 rated Zidane would be at least a two to three million coin card. So complete kudos to EA. Like really, really, really anyone that dislikes EA for doing this. I mean, the only people that can begrudge EA are the people that either packed Zidane or had a tradable Zidane in their club. Those are the only people that can begrudge this decision by EA. Are there anyone else? What are you hating on about? This is brilliant. Yeah, absolutely. And I think you've hit the nail on the head then when you said about the work rates.

[00:30:22] The work rates are always a biggie in the last however many years of FIFA. So I think getting rid of the work rates actually makes the game a bit more enjoyable because you know that your players are going to get into positions a bit better. So that's great. And touching sort of carrying on the trend of the content. We've had a few player SBCs, probably most notably last night we had honorable mentions. I'm going to let you pronounce her Shaq, but Salma Paraluelo.

[00:30:50] So, I mean, I think EA have something on her because, again, I think she's been done a little bit dirty. I think the card should be up there with some of the better ones, to be honest. I think that she's a nominee for the women's Ballon d'Or. I think a gold card was, you know, pretty much useless apart from exploiting speed. I just think that this card should be a very big SBC because she's a big name, a great player in real life.

[00:31:19] She's obviously very young still. That's... 515k is well priced, but I just think there's better options out now. And I know those that did the EVO over Christmas had, you know, the Anaki Williams or whatever they'd use for the left wing. But I just don't think this card is it, if you like. I think, okay, I think after the last conversation we had, I went and did a little bit more digging with Salma and noticed that she was really hyped even in the Women's World Cup as a youngster coming through. So, she's very young. I think she's 20 or 21 years old only.

[00:31:50] I think she could be the face of the women's game in the coming years. And right now it's the Alexia, it's the Bon Marti show. And I think people like Wright and James, they're stealing the show. So, I think EA is trying to keep Salma under wraps. It's almost like keeping Lamine Yamal under wraps as well. Because they know the future is probably with Salma. So, by giving a really intense cards right now, they just don't want... Probably, I'm just thinking from their point of view, because it doesn't make sense. Because last year she was completely overlooked.

[00:32:19] And this year as well, she was completely overlooked. So, it could be that she's just probably... She's going to be the next cover star. I'm not cover star, but you know what I mean. Something really big on the EA terms in the next couple of years. So, they might be holding it under wraps at this point in time. And then eventually it'll just be a Salma show. I think a lot of people have actually EVO'd her in the previous EVO that we had that converts and gives you two play style pluses. And I think that was... Yes, she's a really, really good kind of face that the Avalanche EVO with Salma. Oh my goodness.

[00:32:49] She's a hard one to... She's a really hard one to face. Yeah, absolutely. And to be fair, keeping with the content, but the EVO chat will keep this theme going. Marquinhos was released 316k, so not overly expensive. Jack's kind of shaking his head. And yes, the year, Marquinhos was obviously the defender to have along with sort of Virgil.

[00:33:13] We know that Mbappe, Neymar, Messi, or even Ligue 1 means that it's not the most desired league. But also the card itself, you've got one play style, which is Intercept, which I quite like that play style to be fair. I know it's kind of... It's not the anticipated bruise that everyone's on the belt now. I think it's a decent priced sort of SPC. But I just think this card is already potentially behind the curve.

[00:33:40] When you've got some of the defenders in back, you get that free Canati from SP last season. The John Stones SPC. And obviously we've got this major team of the year, EVO, ongoing at the moment, which... If you do that team of the year, EVO, although at the moment it'll be a 90 against a 91 rated, it's just so much better. So better, in my opinion. And it's almost like, why are they putting an SPC out? Which I think, you know, on FootGG just now, it's got 11% upvote and 89% downvote.

[00:34:09] So it's not just my opinion that it's this. It's obviously the community are looking at this going like, that's a pointless SPC just to have there. The only question I have, which I haven't really checked is, does that Marquinhos fit into that evolution that we're doing with the centre-backs? If he does. I think his base one's 87, so it would do. Oh, sorry. The SPC is 91. The SPC is 91. So he won't fit as Nels. So it just seems to be a bit pointless in my opinion. It doesn't make any sense.

[00:34:38] I mean, he's a decent looking card, but he's fairly expensive for one-play style plus. And the links are a bit weird as well. I mean, as you said, we had a lot of those cards in Ligue 1 before, but right now the only card that I can think of that screams at me is maybe an Usman Dembele. And that's the only Ligue 1 card that I can think of that is meta that people may want to use. And one-play style plus really is confusing me when you have like three-play style pluses team of the years,

[00:35:04] two-play style pluses icons, and you have some evolutions that are giving out two-play style pluses and three as well. Why would you release an SPC for the one-play style plus? It doesn't make any sense. Yeah, it's wild. I mean, the only other SPC player-wise that I think I've underlooked because of my links, but Joshua Kimmich coming at 1.2, nearly 1.3 mil. On the face of it, I didn't even give it a time of day because I don't have Bundes players. But when you dive into him, what a card that is, by the way.

[00:35:31] That card is phenomenal, like ridiculously good. You know, his face stats are all incredible. He's got long ball and anticipate. I know long ball seems to have kind of gone down. It was the be-all and end-all to begin with, but I think that's still very useful, especially if you're playing him. You can, you know, play those passes to your wingers. You can switch the play well. He's got decent position, decent role, sorry. Very good play styles and play style pluses. Like, I think this card is actually one of those that's flying under the radar

[00:36:00] because I don't see it very often. But 1.2 for that, actually, if you're on a Bundes team or a team with icons, you can put men, especially being able to do CDM, CM and right back. What a card. I think you're onto something that this is why you're the level of player that you are because this is a really under-looked card. And I think the beauty is, from a right back point of view, this is your coach brain turning on where just imagine having a right back that actually has anticipate and also has long ball pass.

[00:36:30] And he's got really good defensive stats and can ping the ball exactly where you want him to ping it to or the other wing or even as a through ball. Like, you know, long ball pass works with those lob through balls as well. It's a beautiful card to have as a right back even. Even CDM with the deep line playmaker plus plus. He's got all of it. The only thing I think people are burnt, even me, I'm a little bit burnt is because last year I did that Kimmich SPC.

[00:36:54] There was a road to the final Kimmich SPC, which was a really good value SPC that I did at one point in time and never actually used it even though he kept getting upgraded. I never threw him into my actual squad and used him for an extended period of time. And I think a lot of people are falling down that same trap where they want to do it. It looks like a good card, but will it really be in their team for long? That's probably what's holding them back from doing the card. Yeah, potential.

[00:37:21] And especially right back, you know, we've seen a lot of the big content creators saying you must have 90 plus pace on, you know, both full backs to keep up with these. So it'll be interesting to see if you see him a little bit more once fodder's kind of flowing, once backs are open, because people will be wanting fodder dumps. I know there's going to be big SPCs coming out soon as well, but there might be some of those that, you know, 1.2 isn't wild, which kind of takes me on to Engby. Engby, who's our Friday regular. He's put a wee question in as well.

[00:37:49] Do you think the EA pricing with SPCs are too high now? Kevin De Bruyne and Kimmich seem quite expensive at the moment. So if I could just jump in straight off the back, Shaq. KDB, we've kind of said overpriced. Kimmich, I actually think is nicely priced. Salma Parallelogram, I think is okay for the card. I just think they've kind of done her dirty with the card. I don't think the pricing's too wild. Ronaldinho was below what I'd expected.

[00:38:18] Fiera was kind of what we thought. Cheaper. Stan was cheaper than you said as well. So I actually think they're doing all right, especially when EA aren't going to give you super good value, affordable SPCs, knowing that everyone's got, well not everyone, but a majority of the player base has either 100 plus packs stored. They're giving us quite good rewards very frequently. The 84 times 5s, 83 times 10s are in packs or in SPCs sorry. So I don't think they're two miles off to be honest.

[00:38:46] You couldn't expect much more in my opinion. I think they, I take your point with Kevin De Bruyne. I still feel he's okay. He's priced fairly correctly compared to what his team of the years would be in yesteryear. But Vieira, I was extremely surprised that Vieira's pricing is much cheaper than I expected him to be. Same with Ronaldinho. He could have been a lot more expensive, but I think the one play style plus is really impacted on an EA really soften the blow with the fodder requirements there.

[00:39:14] Even Stam is fairly well priced, I think. So EU is doing a good job, I think, in pricing, considering as you said, with 84.5s, with 83.10s, it's a repeatable SPCs that have started from today that go on for the next 10 days. If they throw in exchanges in the mix as well, oh, we are laughing. If they throw in exchanges maybe on Friday, I think we're in for a week of our lives from Friday onwards with exchanges and all these SPCs available. And the Welshman that's due to come out as well.

[00:39:43] I think with his pricing, that'll be the catalyst to see whether we've actually got a brilliant promo ahead of us or whether we've got a promo that we actually have to grind a lot to get all the things done. Yeah, I mean, my initial thoughts are it's going to be a mix. I think Bale's going to be pretty high. He's been very popular already in the game. How high?

[00:40:04] I think, well, if the leaks are correct and it's a 92 rated card for those places, I think you're talking three and a half, three to three and a half. That's a big match. It could be. That's a big match, I think. But I think a card like that, it would be so OP. I think that it's to stop every single person going and getting him. Again, I could be, I could be wrong because we were pretty off the mark with like Ronaldinho and such like, but I think he'll be a high price one because two play style pluses. So good in game.

[00:40:33] You know, if they're going to keep with the two and even a three play style pluses, I think that he'll still be viable for a long, long time. So I could see them making this more of an onus in all honesty, like kind of almost what we thought Ronaldinho would be when he came. Yeah, that's a fair point. That's it. I'm really curious to see how they actually price Gareth Bale because at the end of the day, would you use a Gareth Bale wide or centrally? In my current setup, he'd have to be central. Central. Okay.

[00:41:03] Yeah. I think it's worth spending that kind of coin on a central striker or someone that plays from the middle as opposed to a winger. If you're spending that much coin to be a, for it to be a winger, that's not really skillful as such. Just, yeah, it's a bit of a, yeah, it's, I'm curious to see how he's priced. I'm intrigued and I'm really holding off and doing any SPCs because I really want to see how he's priced and whether I can get him done quickly and use him soon enough. But yeah, I hope he's under the, under the three. I really hope, but yeah, let's see. Yeah.

[00:41:33] And that kind of takes us on nicely to our very last question in our mailbag, which comes from John, our great founder, leader of foot coaching. And he says he'd love a path to grind SPC. He's got plenty of fodder, but not sure what to do. Picks icon gavels eight times X, et cetera. Like what first thing, like, is there a clear way or, you know, a right or wrong way to a, to get fodder and then what to do with it. And then sort of following on for that, how are you handling your sort of fodder situation?

[00:42:02] That sounds really wrong, but I apologize. It's, it's quite simple. Picks ignore them. That's an IQ test. Don't fall for the IQ test of 75 player picks. Just ignore them for now. Don't even look at them. What I would do is just put everything into the league SPC, sorry, the, the, the league upgrades, put all the non-res into your, the, the regular league upgrades. And all your res that come out into the premium league upgrades and keep on grinding clear out of any single gold card.

[00:42:31] That's under 83 rated. 83 rated, of course, go into the 83 by 10 or 84 by five, 83, 84, 85 is going to that. And then the last question is what do you do with the high rated fodder? The high rated fodder is completely down to your, your own squad situation, because right now I think all of us are stuck with a lot of high rated fodder. All of us are waiting for bail. All of us have already been burnt by a casino.

[00:42:53] So it's just a matter of choosing whether you want to do STEM or whether you want to do the air or whether you want to do Ronaldinho for whatever reason, or you want to hold off a bail. It's just making a choice as to where you want to dump that fodder at this point in time. We have so many players available. I think, okay, this is just my personal opinion. I'm really holding off on trying to do a casino icon or a casino hero because I've been burnt so many times that I'd rather spend all this fodder on a card that I can use a guaranteed card.

[00:43:23] And I mean, it's not like we're short of options. We have a lot of options. So choose one lane, get into that lane. Once you've completed those cards and if you have fodder left, then go and do a casino gamble is my, is my recommendation. Yeah, it's really hard to disagree with that. The only thing I would say is that I've got no interest in icon and hero SBCs, even if you know a complete bail and whatever else. I think that the facts were now on two and three play style pluses, unless you get lucky and you get a Hullet or an Iron Eye.

[00:43:51] I think that, you know, I think it's far too kind of limited in terms of what, you know, what my team's at. And I'm not just saying my team, but across the board, I think it's too limited in what teams at this stage are like compared to what you're most likely to get back, if that makes sense. So I would most easily, I would most recommend kind of thinking, right. So, you know, we don't always advocate for leaks. Obviously, we've done it for team of the year because I felt last week that it was a big thing that we needed to touch on because it helps people prepare.

[00:44:20] But it's a good time to know about leaks and all honesty. So, you know what to expect coming up. So I would highly suggest that that's the way to go. And all I can say is, please don't fall for those things you see on X where there's a unicorn with a pick. I saw a pick today. And as soon as you see these kind of picks, it makes you want to go and do an SBC. I saw a pick with Zico Centurions, Hullet Thunderstruck, I think of the Centurions, whatever the special version of Hullet was. And it had a third version of a Ronald Dania.

[00:44:51] And I really, really, really, really wanted to use my fodder and complete that particular SBC. But I thought to myself, I've been burned too many times. Let me just hold off. Let me try and do a player instead. And I just, I'm holding off and I want to hold strong for the next couple of days, at least till Bale comes out. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's the best way to do it. And just a wee thanks to Shaq there, because I think he saw that the postman came to my door. So he had to keep talking a little bit longer.

[00:45:18] So I think John will appreciate that, that he doesn't have to edit that bit out. So thank you for that. But wholeheartedly agree. I mean, we've kind of been here done that with Team of the Year now. So we've kind of know what to expect. So I think that's, that's the way to go in all honesty. Shaq, I think we've kind of done Team of the Year now to death almost. Carry on. Oh, there's one more thing. We haven't really, really gone through the evolutions and I really want to touch upon the evolutions and also get your take on who you're planning to evolve.

[00:45:46] And also one more, I know this is a very EA positive show. And I just want to give EA the kudos because it just occurred to me that it's a really smart thing that EA has done is giving us that evolution on day dot that we can evolve any player that we want and get three play style pluses allows us to engage with the content without actually having to pack a blue. And that's a, that's a significant move.

[00:46:13] I mean, for someone like me who ends up with no Team of the Year, for example, at least knowing that I'll have a three play style plus card lying in my squad, just, I don't have to use them, but just a card that I can use my squad and feel like I've engaged with the promo is a really positive thing. I think that's has to be commended. Sorry, I told you I've found the, found the special effects. No, I think you're right.

[00:46:37] I think people seem to get disheartened and a lot of people that, you know, put a lot of time and effort and even their own money into Team of the Year. If you don't get one, a lot of people sort of disengage. So I think, I think you're right. And with the evil side of things, one's going to be my player in review. So the center back one, I'll keep the, the attacking one that we've got that gives you the three play style pluses. I'm because I fell out with Man United. I am avoiding them. So I'm doing Brian and Boemo for Brentford, my other, you know, my other love in terms of football.

[00:47:06] So I'm at the 90 stage. I've kind of got to venture back into rivals, which has annoyed me a little bit because I done all my rivals, for the week. So I need to kind of go and hit that. But I think it's nice, you know, it rewards you, it rewards the grind. You know, the requirements are quite onerous. I get that. But you also get very good cards at the end of it. And like you say, it's so nice being able to take players from clubs that, you know, like and Boemo's had to, I think he's got an 83 team of the week and he's got an 87, probably like he's right back to his best position in that.

[00:47:35] But it's nice having these players that would never really hit those heights, especially at this time of year. So, I mean, I think that's great. Shaq, have you kind of looked at, have you started it or are you doing it? Yeah. When I first came out, I really wanted to do a Man United player. And then the way we've been playing, I've been so disassociated with my own club that I've just gone ahead and I'm just, I've decided that I'll do. I have a Osman Dembele evolution that I've already done before that I will Evo again.

[00:48:03] So I'm just going, I'm really, really, I love that card. I'm raging because there's no boo. I was going to boo you for going pure meta, but there isn't a boo sound. No, I totally get that. These, these characters. Have you used that card though? No, I've not, I've not used any Dembele this year. So I've actually Evo'd a particular Dembele that gives me, that gives him, that had him at 85 shooting and his, his skills from a cam are ridiculous. I mean, it just is so good to scale with him and get away.

[00:48:32] I think he was really good in the previous version of the game that in this version of the game, I'm purposely not using him to like Evo him. And I'm just going to, yeah, he's going to be my super sub that just comes in and just wreaks havoc. So, yeah, I'm really looking forward to evolving. It sucks that I'm not doing my own club players, but a club is just giving me such heartache that I just want to be away from them as much as possible. Yeah, absolutely. Well, that's why, that's why I kind of deferred over to, to Brentford.

[00:48:57] But it's quite nice as well, because it makes non meta players matter as well as the nice play styles that they're given. Obviously, you need to check if they've got a play style plus already because they keep one of them. And I think that usually replaces the finesse shot, which I think is, you know, especially if you plan to have him as a winger. I like the finesse plus, especially in Bermow cutting inside. So I think that's, that's quite cool. I've not spoken to John talking foot, but hopefully that means that he can get one of his St. Johnson players up to a good level as well.

[00:49:25] If that's the way he goes, because I know he's, he's dying to get, you know, a good St. Johnson player in the game. So hopefully for the player, the fans of these clubs can kind of have a bit more enjoyment and, and see what Dan takes as well. Because his Red and Evo side is already going really well. So it's fascinating. I find it really interesting. You're right to kind of, to, to give them the kudos and the applaud it for. Because I think it's a, it's a good thing that they've done. And like you say, you know, your team's not going to get left behind between that and the center back Evo. And have you started the center back one at all?

[00:49:55] No, I'm actually giving it a break to see what exactly happens with the actual trajectory of all those Evo's that come through and then just jump in and get it all done. At this point in time, I think I, it is a logical reason why I want to do the Evo to Varane because I did the SPC a while ago and that SPC is still. So, and Varane, it's an end of the year, the last club that, well, he played for Como, but he also ended up his career with Man United basically.

[00:50:21] So, it just feels like he's the last, probably the last chance we'll have a Varane in the, in the game. So, I might stick to Varane. I know it's very meta, but yeah, he's a card I really enjoyed using. So, it just gives him some more life to use for the rest of the game cycle. Yeah, absolutely. It's interesting. And for those of you who aren't aware, I think there's a, there's a logical step in how you Evo these cards now. So, I think there's one maybe in a daily play that comes with anticipate plus.

[00:50:49] So, I think if you complete the shooting Evo than the anticipate plus one, it means you don't get the pinged pass, which you get from the cup. So, have a look around. I may be incorrect in the exact ways around it, but it's quite good to know because I think having anticipate for a centre-back is definitely better than having pinged pass for your defender. So, one just to look into. Shaq, as we start wrapping up the, wrapping up the pod for the day, I just want to go on to our section.

[00:51:16] And because it's been a few weeks since we've heard his lovely voice, I just want to play this. Player in review. Big shout out to our own Wimby Dan Wimbush there. Shaq, have you got a player for us to review just now? I do. I do. I packed this guy back in, I can't even remember. It was one of the casinos. I think it was a, yeah, I packed him and he was like a discard. He was literally a discard. And I just kept him in my club for a rainy day.

[00:51:45] And after the new patch, I just chucked him in. This is Sejani Reinders. And I think incidentally, I saw a lot of pros using him. I'm not, it's not like I'm a pro or anything, but I just thought that if he's good enough for pros, he's certainly good enough for a lowly player like me. And he is incredible. I think the Tiki Taka plus, he, it's just, just hear me out on this. If you don't have a Tiki Taka plus in your team, if you don't have a Tiki Taka plus in your midfield, buy one player, whoever it is. I don't care who it is.

[00:52:15] Just buy one Tiki Taka plus player. And you just start to notice the confidence in which you start passing in midfield. It's incredible because there is not a single pass that I make with him that I'm worried about the pass being intercepted or gets pulled off by someone else. Or he doesn't get the right power. It always, always, always keeps, he always keeps the ball moving.

[00:52:35] And this is why I think players like Rodri with all those numerous play styles and a Tiki Taka plus and the 99, whatever, 97 defending, he's going to be an epic, epic, epic card. So I really think Tiki Taka plus is massive. Reinders is beautiful. I really enjoyed using him and I can't really, I can't really see an upgrade from him for him, even though he's 30, 35 K. I think he's well worth the coins. He's worth 10 times that price. That's a great review.

[00:53:03] Yeah, the Tiki Taka I noticed I've, I use in Cobby because although we're in a terrible state, Cobby's so much fun. I like, I like him in real life and he's, he's well-rounded without being incredible, but he just does his job. So for my player in review, I'm going to talk about a partially Evo's Dean Hoyson, who's a Bournemouth center back. So I spent ages figuring out who to Evo and who not to Evo. But Hoyson six foot five, he's young, he's Spanish in the Premier League.

[00:53:32] So he's got decent links as well. I can't remember what base Evo I did, but I did something to give him an intercept to begin with as well. So he's got intercept plus just now. And he has those long leg traits. So he didn't play to begin with because stones and canati, but I've dropped stones for Hoyson and then, and he's, he looks tremendous already. He feels really good in game. His passing's cracked even before the passing upgrade. So really, really nice all rounded center back. Once he gets his anticipate, I can imagine him going on to just be absolutely tremendous.

[00:54:00] So that's my player in review. Obviously it's good to wait and like you say, see where it's going. But yeah, I just think that sometimes, you know, looking at sort of the physicality side of things as well, because some, you know, there could be a time where this crossing meta comes back in as well. And having a six foot five center back is always going to help. Yeah, definitely. I think having a large, large, large player in this squad really is useful.

[00:54:27] I think, I don't know if you've come across that six foot nine Touré in Rush. Oh my God, he's a demon. If anyone who actually knows how to use that card plays against you in Rush, it's a goal every time he tries to take a header from a corner every single time. Yeah, he's another monster. On that, Shaq, as time is fast running out, is there anything else you've got for us this week? No, I think that's pretty much it. And like I said, I just hope the positivity train keeps chugging along.

[00:54:56] I mean, it's cynical and stupid and silly of us to be positive, but hey, we just speak the truth. When it's horrible, we say it's horrible. When it's good, we say it's good. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's something that we try and do ourselves is to try and keep it balanced. And we do have negative weeks. We have positive weeks. And to be fair to EA, you know, the mistakes have been reduced. They're not completely out of the game, but they've been reduced. The patch has been good. The Evos are definitely a big win.

[00:55:23] And to be fair, the pack weight, not even just in terms of team of the week, but, you know, I did a couple of the La Liga upgrades and I was still getting 86, 87 players back from them. So it feels like they're just the fodder pack weight at the moment is slightly higher than usual, which is nice when you know you've got big SBCs on the horizon. So that's a good thing. But no, sorry, carry on with you. No, exactly. I completely agree with you. If they keep the pack weight this way and I don't end up packing a team of the year,

[00:55:52] but I have enough fodder to complete bail and Stam and maybe another player after that. Hey, I'm happy. I'm happy. I don't need to pack a team of the year. You're giving me the evolution. You give me Zidane. I'll end up a happy customer. Absolutely. So we'll not get too carried away because we know historically what happens with EA when they get onto something good. But if they keep it this way, then, you know, hopefully the rest of the cycle is going to be one of, you know, enjoyment and fun.

[00:56:18] So with that, another plug for our wonderful Discord again, you know, it's picking up again. We've got team of the year coming. Everyone's getting excited. We've had a couple of big pulls already. You know, not name dropping myself, but haha. But it'd be nice to see that pop it off even more. And always chat, you know, post patch about the best, you know, tactics and how to experience it. So I think I've just, I think I've just broken Jack there.

[00:56:42] I love the fact that in the middle of my sleep, I saw you post the picture and I hearted the picture in WhatsApp and then didn't have time to process it because of the middle of the night. And then halfway through my working day, I got into the group chat just to say bleep you. I know. I love it. I love it. I love why you guys up to be fair. It's fun because I know you guys get tilted a little bit. But obviously post patch as well. If you're struggling, foot coaching is always the answer.

[00:57:13] I will plug that until I give up the game. I think it's really good. It helps you adapt a lot quicker. But obviously just enjoy. And hopefully we see lots and lots of blues from the community. But obviously we want a lot more blues in our discord than anywhere else in the entire game base. Yes, 100% completely agree. So with that, Shaq, we only have one thing left to do today. Drop it. We are going to drop it. Drop it. F. U. T.

[00:57:44] F. U. T. F. U. T. T. In view. U. T. 2020