659: Future Stars II x ''The ART of FUT''

[00:00:02] Hello, footies, and welcome back to FUT IN REVIEW, episode 659. And I know we're probably one of your favorite Football Ultimate Team podcasts because else, why would you be listening? Anyways, I'm your host, John, and we had two jaunts today, but due to technical difficulties, we thought one would be enough now.

[00:00:27] So, to balance that out, I've got a special guest and I mean a true guest. It is Archum. Welcome, Archum. And I know you usually run your own show. It's the special Art of FUT show, but today you get to sit in the passenger seat. So, try not to mess with all the radios too much or all the audios button to get John kicked off again. How are you doing, Archum?

[00:00:52] I'm good. Thanks for inviting me, John. Good evening, all. Good evening, footies. And I just hope that I really won't break anything. Yeah, you broke John's audio, so maybe that happened. I did. I did. Sorry, John. Anyways, it's going to be a 2-0 show today. So welcome, Archum. Today, we are driving into Future Stars number two, who is living up to the hype and who's just food follower.

[00:01:18] And I'll also be sharing my week with Robin van Persie. Did he make me feel like the prime version from Arsenal, Feyenoord, Man United, or was it more like his Fennepachi career jog? And finally, we are introducing something special, a quickfire quest to test, or in this case, only Archum.

[00:01:39] So, get ready for some laughs and some wild guesses, all that and more in today's show. Let's get the show started. Archum, welcome back. We're going on a Friday, which is very different than things we used to do. How have you been and have you seen all those responses from the Art of Foot show we did last week?

[00:02:01] Oh, I did. I did. And I'm very happy that our show is being talked about. So, the questions, the comments, let them come in. Let them come in and we'll try to answer every question that you guys have. And I'm very happy that you guys are listening to the show. Definitely, we are. That show will be available on your YouTube channel next week, I think.

[00:02:25] Just for this once, because we think there's lots of post-patch talk which we should be talking about. So, and also for your dedicated audience. And we'll be back, of course, with a February version of that as well. Archum, we always start the Friday show with something special. And last week, Danny was here, but this week I have him on audio to introduce the next topic. This week in Football Ultimate Team.

[00:02:53] In this week in Football Ultimate Team, we rate our weeks in foot from 1 to 10. 1 being really poor, 10 being really good. So, Archum, what is your rating for this week in foot? And what has been your highlight or your absolute nightmare this week? You know what, John? I'm actually surprised with that question. I wasn't expecting it. And it's very hard for me to rate. Because I'll give it 10 because I'm resting from game.

[00:03:23] After they're grinding very heavily during the Team of the Year. And if it comes with the content and everything, like, it's very hard to top it after the promo that we just had before. But I'm glad that we have slower weeks right now. Just a little bit slower, right? With the content, with the stuff, with the objectives to do. And I'm enjoying that time to recharge my batteries right now.

[00:03:52] I played the weekend league. I was just one game away from another ranked one. So, it was a pretty good week for me. I'm going to skip the topic about the rewards. Because there was nothing to mention about it. Like, nothing special. But I don't play for rewards. So, I enjoy one thing with the current promo. And that's evil that you can make with your own.

[00:04:21] You can make your own icon, actually. Right? You have to do it in a specific order. All the objectives to, you know, apply the play styles, play style pluses, weak foods, whatever. It just takes some time to do it. But I'm enjoying it. I'm so attached to the players or cards that I'm using in the game that I spend time on. You know? That I choose. And I work to improve them. Yeah. So, I get what you're saying. And again, I think evos are so convoluted.

[00:04:52] Especially when you say you have to do it in a specific order. When the sun is at a certain time of day and stuff. It's just a little bit too much for me. But who are you evoing then? The selection of players you've got last year. You know what? I decided to go with the Simeone. Because it's no specific reason. It's just he suits my team. Right? I mean, with chemistry and stuff. With the La Liga team a little bit. So, that was the reason. I was looking also for attacker.

[00:05:22] And I liked his initial stats on a card. Maybe not the composure. Because it's very low. So, I just hope with the final upgrade. It's going to be a little bit upgrade coming for that stat. But I like the aggression on a card. Those attackers. You know? The aggression. That stat is not. I mean, it's. Some people don't look at that stat. But for me, it's very important.

[00:05:50] For those jammy things that we are speaking about. Jammy things in a box of the opponent. They're just making more animations sometimes for me. Than they're just attacker who doesn't have that aggression stat boosted. Yeah. I can. I can get behind that. Yeah. I know what you're saying. You say it's hard for you to rate this week for yourself. I think for me, it's really hard to rate this week. Because I have played FC25.

[00:06:19] But I have not played FC25 as well. I know that sounds weird. So, let me try to explain. So, I, Archon. I have not played FC25 on my Xbox or PlayStation this week. Okay. That is, I only played the old gen FC25 this week. For a couple of matches. Old gen. Yes. And I'm actually calling it old gen. People said current gen. Current gen is new gen. Guys. Same. So, I played the old version of the game.

[00:06:49] Because there was apparently... And I completely missed that. Because I was so busy. Apparently, there's... This happens every single year for the last three years. Where there's a movement going on. Saying old gen of games better. Shadow patched the new game. Et cetera, et cetera. And I was like... I'm getting too old for this. Which I probably am. But I decided to take it a little bit easy this week. Play some other games. Try to relax a little bit more. Get out of the office a little bit more. But then I said...

[00:07:17] I am sort of curious about that old gen version now. Is it actually better? Is there something changed compared to last year? Or is it still the same game? Arch-O-Mid, it's still the same game. I played about six, seven matches. Do you know? Last year. The year before. And the year before. You can just do a lob. And shoot from the lob. Green time it into the goal. It works. It still does. First match, I won 6-1. Because I scored six lob balls into the goal. And my opponent was like...

[00:07:47] Let's try that again. Try that as well. On the other side. And that worked as well. But I already scored six. So he gave up. I know you went 14-1 weekly. Like we said on the previous takes of this show. I think you go 15-0 if you just lob and just shoot. And the one who shoots the most wins this game. There's no stopping it. The animation doesn't allow it to manually block it. The animation doesn't allow you to actually interfere with this.

[00:08:15] Nor moves your goalkeeper in time to actually do anything about this. So it's just... I think it's... It was a broken game. It's still a broken game. Same with crosses. You know, they could get time to cross. And that still works. You can still do that on all-gen as well. So no offense if it's the only version people can play. I mean, that is what it is. But I do think that if you have the option to play the current-gen version and play Switch 5, the Xbox, or the PC version,

[00:08:45] that version is far superior, especially after the patch, to anything that came before this. Just by two cents. I haven't tried the Ogin this year. And I was going to actually before the patch. I was a little bit tired of the game that we had before. And I was planning to just download and try the Ogin for a change. You know, just for a fresh perspective.

[00:09:12] Even if it's an old game, like you're saying, I don't mind. I just wanted something new. So sometimes I told you that many times before, sometimes I just changed the camera. Just to have a new perspective, whatever, for the game. For a vote. Yeah. It works for some time. But we got the patch. And I'm not saying it's a new game. But it's like a totally different game. Maybe not totally. It's also too much of the word. But it's a different game. Let's just be honest. It's a different game.

[00:09:42] And I'm enjoying it right now. So I will stick with the new gen so far. But I do understand why people are saying that my say that Ogin is better. I mean, it's faster because there are not so many animations that you have in a new gen. Everything stays. When was it? FIFA 20, 21? Nothing changed from that time? Well, they introduced, of course, play styles and stuff. Okay.

[00:10:12] Okay. Yeah. But basically, it's a squad updates. And the graphics is like you mentioned that to me are not that bad, right? No, I do think graphical, it's really not bad. No. It's not like you're looking at an N64 version of a game or anything like that. But I do think there's some upscaling going on.

[00:10:33] But no, you can see the difference mainly because in actual FC 25 this year, you also have retracing shadows and stuff. So especially colors, HDR, shadows, it looks way better. But it's definitely not a bad looking game either on the old gen. So I've got to admit that. No, but I don't think if you own the new version, you should go back. And I've said this a couple of times before, and I will get a lot of hate again this year about this.

[00:11:02] And I try not to say anything about this, but for some reason, this week has been very vocal. People have been very vocal towards it about this. I think you should try the weekend. Try to lop and score, lop and score, lop and score. And see, one, if you get bored, and two, if you can get a 15-0 in old gen as well. I might try it. I might try it. But you know what you're saying to our listeners to not go back to old gen. If you want to guys try it, just go ahead. Yeah, sure. I mean.

[00:11:31] Just go ahead and try it. It's just like for the future, if you are like thinking about playing whatever improving in the game, in the UFC, there is no reason at all to go back to old gen. Like for a long period of time. There is no reason at all. I mean, the difference is huge between those two games. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It did feel a lot more similar to UFL, though, which I've been playing as well over the last couple of weeks,

[00:12:01] which I've said a fair amount about as well. It's far more basic. I think that's the biggest difference. But the same as in UFL. You've got certain ways you can score and you will score. And that's the same in the old gen. But that was my week in food because like I did from Paris, but like I said, I literally took a little bit of a break. Because, well, most of the day consists out of doing FIFA stuff and FIFA content, talking to people about FIFA.

[00:12:30] And then if you want to play FIFA at night, it has to be some relaxation as well, which sometimes it's just good to step away for a week. I will play this week, though, because I got a 4-4-2 setup ready to go, which I'm eager to try. And, of course, I've got room for Persi to actually try and give a proper review for him. Although his 79 stamina, I think, is definitely something that I might feel. But it's good that we have so many strikers on the bench.

[00:12:59] And today brought us a SBC, which I probably will have to do in the form of Pirlo, I think, Art, which makes me... I had a feeling you were going to say it. Yeah. I've seen it, this SBC, and I'm like, okay, John's going to love it. I have to. Shall we talk about Pirlo first when we talk about content? Go ahead. Talk about the Pirlo. It's like, I think still, I know that the second team is released today, two packs. And then some players, two objectives.

[00:13:28] But I think this is the main guy. I hope so. I think so. I know so. What do you think about the price? I don't think it's, like, scary. The price, I think I did the room for Persi and then people were like, why did you pay 600k for Persi? I'm like, oh, was he 600k? It took me five minutes to complete it. I actually didn't check it out. So if Persi is 600, Pirlo 500, I think that's fine. Although I'm not sure this is one of those cards which will stay in your team all year.

[00:13:58] I'm sure. That's... Well, you know, we are looking at stats and stuff and et cetera. But sometimes the cards, like, play over the stats. Like, you know, he may surprise you. Like, every pass is going to be so assisted, let's say. Yeah. You're going to say, hey, no, I'm keeping this guy to team of the season. No, I think 500k is about right.

[00:14:23] He's got five-star skills and four-star weak foot, which is the same as a regular, which I think I also have. Yeah, it's a regular, it's the same. Yeah, I mean, dynamic image gets a plus one for me. Talk about his rules. Deep-lying playmaker plus, plus, playmaker plus, plus. He can also play CDM as a deep-lying playmaker plus, plus, which I really like on players. Just to drop back between the center defenders and get the ball in their feet. And he's got holding plus on CDM and CM. What do you think about the rules?

[00:14:54] Fine, right? Rules are great. He's highly upvoted, I think. Like, what, 80% to 20? Yes. More even. Really, really, people like him. This is BC. I know there are going to be complaints about not having any defensive playstimes. Yes, although he's actually never been a real center defensive midfielder.

[00:15:18] No, no, I think, you know, for people who are using any setup with three CMs, maybe two center mids and one cam, whatever, he's like, he should do the job. But maybe the people who are struggling defensively in this game, in a setup with the two CDMs, you may notice those playstarts are missing time to time.

[00:15:44] But still, he has a great stats if it comes to interceptions, defensive awareness, it's like up there. So, he should do the job. Yeah, I think the face stats say he's 83 on defense, but if you look at his actual defensive stats, 87 defensive awareness with 93 interceptions, which that's uncommon, to say the least. What I really like about this card, of course, the dribbling is amazing with his 97 composure.

[00:16:14] Awesome passing. I mean, engine gives him passing maxed out, I suppose. Something like that. Yeah, pretty much. Engine gives him 99 passing, except for crossing, that will be 98. So, probably good to give him an engine, I suppose. I think people will still go for shadow. That's like my opinion. You know, boosting the pace and then as much as they can, the defensive stats. Yeah, I would go for engine though.

[00:16:42] Just keep in mind, whoever decided, I know John is probably going to do this SBC, but whoever is doing this SBC, just keep in mind why you're doing this player, why you want to have this card. This card is, as his role says, play breaker. Yeah. So, use him accordingly what he has the best in hand. Give him the ball, let him make some space, let him make a pass. Yeah, that's it. That's it.

[00:17:07] This is why, and of course, that ball, if you're missing someone who can shoot any free kick, that's your guy. Yeah, he won't miss. At least, might be safe, but there's a lot of free kicks going in, I think. And I think free kicks are definitely still stronger than actually taking a penalty. I don't know about you. Yeah, sometimes they are, right? I score mere free kicks than penalties. Sometimes they are, I agree. So, I think that's definitely my point. I think 96 stamina, I think the speed is pretty good.

[00:17:37] But, I mean, I quite like this card, and I will do him. I don't even know. One of the guys on the footbind says Rome wasn't built in a day because they didn't have this guy pass them bricks. I think that sort of sums it up. I really like this SPCR, Joe. And one more thing. I know you guys all can see this, but it's an icon. It's an icon.

[00:18:04] I mean, why I'm saying this, if you need some boost for chemistry in your team, he will help you with that also. Yeah. So, I got this 90-rated version, and I was switching him around with, I think, Schweinsteiger in midfield next to, of course, 94 Zidane, a center midfielder. He'll probably take that center midfield play away from him, I think. I'm probably going to skip this. The reason why, because I'm so stuck right now. Yeah, you're the Evos.

[00:18:35] Evos is one thing, but don't forget that we got the Freezy Dunn. Which is next to Biela, we might think. It's my favorite card. It's my favorite card from every EFC game or FIFA even before. And I packed the Bellingham, right? So, I'm stuck there. So, for now, I'm not looking for improved my center mids or CDMs positions so far. But, either way, it's a great card. Definitely.

[00:19:06] We also have one more SBC player. Yes. It's a Rodgers. Morgan Rodgers from Aston Villa. And we can choose one of two players. One of two. We have two choices, basically. Or it's going to be a Cam or it's going to be left wing, left mid player.

[00:19:28] So, you know, the funny part is I think we had a good evolution with him for his Team of the Week player recently. And right now, we are getting the SBC for future star players. So, the one who probably did the Evo, they can skip this one. But still, I think it's not a bad priced SBC. Just under 200k.

[00:19:58] But is it a good card? It is a good card. I mean, it's like I'm looking at stats and he has the right stats, basically, for Cam. He has the right stats, if you choose, for left wing. I'm just thinking if I choose, which player would I choose over here? I cannot tell you, basically. I know the finesse shot and technical. It's just like two play style pluses are just so good and meta in game.

[00:20:30] And probably would go with this one. But, you know, it's still not a card that I'm going to do myself. But whoever is looking for any left mid or Cam from Premier League, it's your guy. Yeah, I think the left midfielder is the one you're probably the most likely to pick because he can also play Cam. Yeah. And the Cam version, you can also play striker, but I don't see it's a real striker, if I'm honest.

[00:20:57] And the left midfielder with the finesse shot and technical does work. Honestly, I considered him for just a sec, but I got the Centurion Son on left midfielder. Which means like, okay, now I'll stick with Son, right? But four star, four star. Decent. I think good SBC, good, well-priced. But nothing wrong with the card on its own. On midfield position, although he's a Cam, of course, not a CM. I prefer Perlone much more. But then again, he's more than twice as expensive.

[00:21:27] You know what? Before the content drop today at 7 p.m., we also had the player of the month from Premier League, Kluivert. Yes, but it's not Premier League, right? Or is it easier? It is. What do you mean it's not? Okay. Here we go. You're right. Yeah, of course. Yeah. He's back to the Premier League. And I'm just comparing those two players and the Rodgers is basically cheaper.

[00:21:53] Not like crazy amount cheaper, but like 20, 30k cheaper. And overall looks better than the Kluivert. But, you know, it all depends how the players behave. Kluivert's faster though. He is faster. He is faster. But he has less play styles, less position changes. I don't know. It's just like, I think personal preference, whoever, maybe you are more fan of Bornemov than Aston Villa.

[00:22:22] Or you go with the Bornemov right Kluivert. But, you know, just to consider you have two options right now. Basically, you can do both. One play left, rink left mid, and the second one on Cam. Yeah, true. And I do think like, even like Kluivert, I forgot he's actually back to the Premier League. But I think that must be the first Dutch Premier League Player of the Month in seven years, if I'm not mistaken. To my mind, shouldn't do these stats on live shows. But probably. But he's having a great season. And I think this card is also really good.

[00:22:52] Well priced as well. Just a tad different. Plenty of options. Keep them coming like this. I think this is... These are actually the upgrades Player of the Month should be, mate. Like... Right? These... I agree. I mean, I don't know how they, as I said, perform in a game. So it's just hard to tell me. I'm not doing a review of the cards. So... But the prices, like below the... Or just around 200k.

[00:23:21] With the fodder that we have, basically. Yeah. From before the grinding. It's just three teams. Three squads to do. Even I can do three squads. If you are looking for that player, you basically can't do it. Right? Yeah. So it's not going to cost you basically anything. No. And like even I can keep my focus for three squads. That should be fine. That's what I'm saying. It's not 20, right? So... No. Oh, mate. Yeah. Still fine. But we have the second team of future stars.

[00:23:52] And it's... You know what? It's hard to satisfy our community. Because sometimes we complain that we're getting... From each promo, the same players. And now we have like... Let's say different players. Right? Young players that maybe will become a team of the years in the next games. Right? In the next couple of years. I like the selection. I don't mind the selection. But you guys...

[00:24:21] Everybody has to understand that after getting the cards from team of the year. You're not going to get the players or cards better than those cards. It's... It's not going to happen to team of the season. Basically. So... They're going to lower it a little bit. And our expectations are so high. We just have to a little bit drop it. For now. There are still good cards here. That you can use. That you can buy.

[00:24:48] The only thing that I don't like so far. It's just... Puck weight. Puck weight. That's why those prices of those better cards are so high. Yeah. I've heard that. I'll stop you. One more thing, John. I want to say. Let's compare the Balde. His special card. With the Carvajal. It's like... Not the Future Star promo card. But they're basically the same price. And the reason why? Because we could obtain Carvajal more.

[00:25:18] They're more on the market. Than those Balde cards. And that's the reason the prices are similar to that. And... Well, you know. The puck weight could be a little bit higher. I think. I think I disagree. On the simple fact that... In fact, people pack Carvajal. That there's more Carvajal on the market. Means people have been grinding thing over the year. All out. And I don't think that's an increase of like 10%. I think 80% more people are...

[00:25:46] Even I was grinding menus during thing over the year. Right? So... And I don't think many people either have folder left. Because I wouldn't be... Like the 83 times 14 has been released this week. I think on repeatable. I couldn't even do that. Because I would have to toss in two high players for it. I don't think it was worth it. And people haven't been grinding the game so hard for these cards. I think. I don't think necessarily we can say the pack weight... Has been less or higher than team of the year. I think many people were just...

[00:26:16] There was way more activity in the menus. And much more packs being opened during team of the year actually. If anything, I think pack weight now would be higher. But there's just less being opened. I can't wait to say it. But I think that's the nuance on this one. But you know what? Even when it comes to this team. We let's say have of course players. There are like... I don't like to say that. But like Puck Sellers. Sure. Marcola. Joanne Neves. Centerberg Pau. Diallo.

[00:26:46] We still have cards that people definitely want to try on. And the only thing that I always suggest is... When you see the player like Andrei Shantos. Or... Yeah. Those let's say folder cards. When they drop to like 15, 14, 16, maybe even 10, 11k. Paolo Tomas is 13k now, right? That's what I'm saying. Just get one in the team. She is 87 rated.

[00:27:15] With an intercept playstyle plus. Just a one playstyle plus. And you might be surprised... If they drop the Evo that she fits. And she'll be crazy. Even if they don't pack in. Like she's got full back plus plus, wing back plus plus. Attacking wing back plus plus, right? She's got 91 pace. 88 and 91 sprint speed. 90 composure. She's got 92 standing tackle with 90 heading accuracy and 84 interceptions.

[00:27:43] 84 interceptions is that high, but still good for her left back. 90 short passing. 85 crossing for overlapping. She's got 91 stamina. And 85 strength, which is really good. She's got intercept plus. There's nothing wrong with this card. She's 13k. I mean, that's what I do like about these promos. There's cards which we've never seen before. Like the Tomas card. But also cards.

[00:28:11] And I had a different one in top of my mind. Kuwassi. I think it's a right winger. So Rosamonde Kuwassi. 97 pace, generally speaking. 97 acceleration. 97 sprint speed. She's got 90 attacking position. I think finishing 90 shot power. This is all on boost. It's at with 87 composure. This could be a really annoying card to face, honestly. Great rules as well.

[00:28:40] Most positions can play left and right winger. Quick step and acrobatic. Acrobatic I know many people don't care, but quick step is really cool. Really cool card made for like 30k. Agree. Agree. So, yeah. I think there's a couple of cards in here which you could just pick up, which will strengthen your team. Murillo was also a card I was looking at. Center defender, I think, from Nottingham Forest. Great pace. Slight tackle. Bruiser plus.

[00:29:09] Good composure. Good defending. 90 reactions on this thing. Give him a shadow. And I think he looks absolutely terrific. 99 sliding tackle as well. He is... I would wait though. I think his price will drop. Yeah, I think so as well. But left foot is center defender from the Premier League with his pace and these stats. But we are spoiled, John. We are spoiled because this promo comes after the promo that spoils us so much.

[00:29:38] Especially that they allow us to have SBC so grindable that we're just, you know, basically every team has, at least most of the teams, let's say, he has one totti player in his squad. So, we are spoiled. That's why I'm saying. But if you are looking to buy any cards from future stores, team two, if you wait till Saturday, Sunday evening,

[00:30:07] they will definitely drop to the lower point than there on the opening night, right? So. Yeah, that is true. And I think we've seen that happen this year all over. But, like, this is the thing. I don't like the very expensive player, but I quite like some of the cheaper players which will not get any playtime. I think this is also because the promo has to keep going. There's a new promo every week. It keeps rolling. Power curve is all out of the window now, right?

[00:30:36] Just go nuts. Some of these cards are overlooked. And I think it's good to have options. If you're a new player to FC, Archul, you can build a really good squad for almost. Like, if you have 300k to spend, you can go wild, right? You can build couple squads, basically. Yeah. Yeah. And you are the living proof that teams don't matter that much when you just know the basics and you can perform. Well, I'm not saying I have a bad team, John.

[00:31:05] No, but, I mean, you could play with a far less team. Yeah, but it seems bad. You know what I mean? But when I choose my players because you are talking about my Evo team, right? And that I'm using the whole journey of AFC 25. But I choose my players for evolution carefully. And I'm pretty sure that not everybody is doing the way I do it.

[00:31:32] So, I take three cards, four cards that I'm interested in. And before I drop them to evolution, I'm just trying them for a couple games. I'm looking, I'm watching, observing their animations, whatever, how they're dribbling, how they act. Because the evolution will not change the basics of the cards, how they move on the pitch. Yeah, fair. That's what I'm saying.

[00:31:59] So, my team is not that bad, but as you're saying, it's definitely far from being those 50, 60 mil teams, right? So, I'm using lower rank players, but they're still doing the job. And the funny thing is, I'm sorry because you don't want to interrupt me already. The funny thing is, John, how many comments or posts have you seen that players, people saying,

[00:32:27] hey, I had better results with a worse team than after I bought like three, four upgrades for a team. And I'm doing the same or even worse. Yeah, but that is because of, no, I won't say it. That's because of the game being broken, right? No. I think if you have a lesser team on paper, you feel less pressure to perform with those players, generally speaking.

[00:32:57] I mean, I can be very critical at Robin van Persie's card, going to be honest. It's not the best card there's been. And I honestly don't think he should. It's a recommended SBC, right? Straight up. Nevertheless, Robin van Persie. Okay. I don't think he's like the meta player should be. However, he's going to be easy in my team. Pirlo, however, I think definitely has a place, but I also see that he's not going to be a fan favorite to actually use in your team.

[00:33:29] My fullbacks are just fun cards, which I wanted to try. I used to play with him on Salah, which people say he wasn't good enough. When he actually got released, he's scoring like crazy for me because I tend to use these players from a certain way, which he just happened to fit, got inside, take a finish, right? And I think having a squad or using players you enjoy using or you have a certain connection with, like you with the EVO squad, makes up for the actual matter of stats.

[00:33:59] And let's be quite honest here. It doesn't matter if you have 98 or 92 defending on a player. That will make a difference. If you still pass the ball to an opponent, that will make a difference, right? And I think I used the 94 rated goal. 95, the Berger goalkeeper, I think, the team of the year goalkeeper just last week. And sure, she wasn't as good as Castillo's, but she's definitely also not going to lose games for you, you know?

[00:34:27] And if you like using those, you can definitely. I was actually thinking about using her just to get another team blue card in the team just to have fun for it. My thing is, this power curve this year, players without even good stats, I used Timber, 89 rated center midfielder. I used Timber because I'm a final fan even after this week. But I'm a final fan and I like that card. Sure, he's not as good as Zidane.

[00:34:56] And sure, Zidane will get the benefit and will be in the team. But I'm not losing three matches in Wicked League XR because I used Timber over Zidane. Because I think still the basics you do yourself. You're still the one pushing the buttons yourself, right? I totally agree. It's not like you're using bronze card against the gold card. It's not a huge difference. Exactly. I'm saying like you mentioned, you're using Salah Player of the Month.

[00:35:24] You know how this card behaves on a pitch for you. You know what to do with it. And if you are using to the full potential of whatever the card is supposed to do on the pitch, you will enjoy the card. The card will get your results, score goals. Make the place if you need to or whatever. But you know how to use the card. Now, hence I'm saying that if you look at the cheapest players this week again,

[00:35:54] and last week as well, there are definitely like cheap beasts in there, which are very viable, which are very annoying to use. And unfortunately, because of the rapid pace of these promotions these days, these players won't even get to be used. Most of the team, I bet there's a lot of players just going straight into the discard piles. And I used the Urdgaard card from Arsenal, the 90 rated one,

[00:36:22] the light blue version I've got, which for you, what's it called again, honestly. Really enjoyed that card. Right? I've never faced them. Ever. And I think there's a lot of cards which will have that. Anyways, I think that's just one of my little bugbears. There's so much content coming out with so many players in it that I think it's also, you won't see it happen.

[00:36:46] But I just want to highly say to people, like, just enjoy the cards you think. Don't let an opponent's team take the win out of you when you face them. Sure, Mbappe, Team of the Year is good, right? Much better than any other card. But the Golden Mbappe at this stage of the game is still a very strong card. Of course. Of course it is. Of course it is. And you know what?

[00:37:12] Regarding the whole promo, I mentioned that the one thing that I really like, that they introduced that new evolution that you can make your own icon, right? Mm-hmm. I wish they could tell us a little bit more before dropping it. Yeah. And where are we going with this? John.

[00:37:36] They gave us a pick right away when we opened the game or logged in to the game. You have to pick. And you had to choose. Some people made a mistake. They couldn't go back. Like, they had to stick with that player, right? Then they dropped that player to another evolution that made the card, like, not a future star anymore. So, the whole upcoming evolution for that specific card is gone for them.

[00:38:04] So, not everybody is going to make their icon, unfortunately. But where I'm going with this, I got the rank 2 with one game just last. And I was using the whole weekend league Simeone, the card that I choose. And let's remind me, it was 84 rated. 84. Hey, I'm sorry. It was 80 rated. I got it to 84. 84.

[00:38:33] And I used the whole weekend league with that striker. And it's not because the card has great shooting, great dribbling. No. I was struggling with him. But I was so surprised by movement of that card. He was always in the right spot for me. He was making goals. He's scoring goals basically with a top hit. But he was there. You know what I mean? He was open for a pass. He never was offside. He was just making the great runs.

[00:39:03] And the reason I'm telling this is because you really can find cheap beasts in this game. Yes. Don't rely only on what everybody is saying. Including us, though. If you want to... Kind of football manager. Sometimes you have to go deep to find that really young beast and just improve that. Yeah. Talking about improving, Arjun. Okay.

[00:39:33] I had a new topic in mind for the day. And, of course, we started this show with three people on this show. And I just wanted to quick fire in. Because normally we would say it's time, but we haven't joked that clue. We did some quiz with Chris. We did some quiz with Yngwie. But Chris has been busy lately and Yngwie is taking that little break now.

[00:39:56] So I said to the Patreon fans this morning, hey, if there is someone who can help, just send me a DM. I got a fun topic to actually play you and the other John against each other today. Well, the other John isn't here, but Adam and... So I won. Adam and... No, you won. Okay. Adam and Homer both participated in it. So big shout out to them. And let us know if you are listening to the show. If this is something you would like us to do still.

[00:40:26] You can put that in the comments, for example, on Spotify. And talking about Spotify, before I go into the new topic, I think we have someone. And yeah, Mario, he said, I did cry if he's not better than my 96 Zidane. He commented that on Spotify. But I think his Spotify might have hung because I got that message 49 times. But still, thank you for putting in the comments. We are now number one on the most responded podcast this week. But I don't think that was intended.

[00:40:56] We still appreciate it. Now, seriously, let us know in the comments if you think this is a cool topic. But I think it works better with two people. But hey, it is what it is. I'm going to ask you the questions. It is true or false? Or true or worse, so to speak. It is FIFA related or it is non-FIFA related? I'm just going to quickly fire them to you. I might just laugh a little bit about it or ask you some details. But you can't really think you have to say true or false right away. Okay? I cannot think. Okay, cool. Just say. The first thing you can come to mind.

[00:41:25] Is it true or false that Cristiano Ronaldo has been in Team of the Week in every FIFA since FIFA 11? True. That is true. True or false? A group of owls are called a parliament. False. It's true. Of course, as non-native English speakers, that's something. Do you think it's true or false that labradoodles have wept feet? False. It's true. I love it.

[00:41:58] Bonus. True or false? Is it true or false that Adam took five attempts to get the train home from work today? That has to be true. It's false. It only took him four. Only four times. Oh, man. I feel for you there. Okay. Homer sent us some questions. Is Hypermotion 6 in FC 25? It's false. It is false. Because it's?

[00:42:28] Hypermotion 5? Yes, sir. All right. There are more than 700 clubs in FC 25. Oh, my God. True. It is true. Team of the Year Sophia Smith is faster than Team of the Year Mo Salah. True. Also true. Yeah, I see. I see where your expertise lies, mate. Team of the Year Jude Bellingham has more in-game stats than Team of the Year icon Ruud Gullen. True.

[00:42:58] That's also true. Yeah. This one is especially familiar. HM Kane has better shooting overall than the Winter Wildcourt's Icardi. No, it's false. It is false. Yeah. Icardi is better shooting. Yeah, he has 99, I think. Yeah. In popular opinions, he says, FC 25 isn't the worst game. Isn't the worst game. Yeah.

[00:43:28] Yeah, it's true. So which is the worst? In my opinion, FC 24. True or false? Archon will still lose the final in Creed 25 to John. That's definitely false. You're not coming. Now it's true. You have to add the point.

[00:43:56] I'm racing into Creed here for a second because in May, from May the 12th to May the 17th, we are back in Creed with our special event week. Well, one of the two special events we do every year. If you're a patron member, you can sign up. There's a link on the Discord to sign up. If you sign up, you get a free, yes, that's true, a free stay in the Eva Mar Hotel. Of course, the flights are on you, but the stay is on us.

[00:44:25] Breakfast is on us. The two big meals we eat with the family is on us. And of course, we play a tournament. We're going to do some live matches. We get a special edition food in review event kit, which we'll be releasing very soon to see with the public. But the first draft, oh, you see my color. I'm actually changing colors already thinking about it. It's so nice, even if I do say so myself.

[00:44:55] But yeah, FC25 food in review. Well, hat trick week, actually, I think it is week, this year from May the 12th to May 17th. Sign up if you are a patron. And even if you are the lowest tier, you're still very important for us. And that gives us the opportunity to make this possible for you as well. So go to patreon.com forward slash food in review.

[00:45:20] And of course, check out all the details and previous videos and ask around how people liked it last year and the year before to get yourself a trip to Crete. And if you're like, yeah, well, my partner will not allow me to go to Crete on my own. That's all right. Bring her or she or him with you as well. Bring your partner. It's fine. It is a kit free hotel. But if you want to bring your partner, sure. Bring him or her along.

[00:45:49] Perfectly fine. We're paying for the rooms anyways. One or two people. That doesn't matter. So enjoy. Art, you've been there with your wife. And now you're getting married. So I think that should be good, right? Which part is good? I regret that. I'm not sure. I like, like, let's say 70% that I'm not going to come to Crete this year. That would be three to three years in a row. It just, I cannot recommend more.

[00:46:17] If you can find guys just four spare days to rest, to reset from whole life, from every, like, stressful things that are going in your life, just go there. You can meet us. We're having so much fun there. So much laughing going on. And the EFC tournament, whatever, it's just, like, part of it, right? But we are just meeting each other, talking, like, making, creating new friendships.

[00:46:47] So, and regarding my marriage, whatever, I don't want to talk about it, guys. I just, there's something in life that you have to do. And I'll just stick with it. On behalf of the whole team, mate, congratulations on your engagement. Thank you very much. You knew I had to put it somewhere in the show, though. No, I wasn't expecting it.

[00:47:11] But, okay, next time, whatever, I'm going to just share with you, like, any secrets coming to my life, I'll do it after the show. Mate, I've not told anyone about the new kid coming. Oh, sorry. Of course, that's a joke. I'm just putting it. That is a joke. That's not something I'm aware of. Even if, Artem is now coloring all red. So, it might be true. But it's false. It's false.

[00:47:40] And again, thank you so much for everyone dropping in those Spotify comments. Yeah, I quite, I like, I love seeing those. These popped up on our phones as well. And if you're wondering why we're a little bit, let's call it, less active on socials, we're in a little bit of a mix on which socials we should focus on and how we should focus on. Currently, it very much looks like we'll be a little bit more active on Blue Sky, at least.

[00:48:10] So, check out Blue Sky, our account there. It's also, of course, Food & Review. We're working on a plan because, well, certain aspects has been popping up lately in the state of social media. So, we're looking into that. But if you want to send us a message, you can always go to any of your podcast services. Go to foodandreview.com. Send an email to, I think, foodandreview.com. Or, actually, I don't even mind if you send me my personal email. It's johnatfordcoaching.com. Just send me a message.

[00:48:39] We'll find it there as well. So, enjoy. I'm going to do the Pyrrho SPC and I will definitely be playing this week with a 4-4-2, which I will be uploading to the Patreon as soon as I find it good enough. But, well, it should be good enough soon enough, I think, Archon. Anything you are especially looking forward to doing this weekend? And, you know, the cards that I have right now in my team and the reason behind it is because I want to use all of them.

[00:49:08] I'm going to try 4-2-4 because this is the only formation that fits them all. And I'm not so scared about it. I used that in arrivals yesterday, actually. And it's not that attacking like people think. No, I think it's really good, actually. It's the same way as 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1. You just have two strikers and if you set up correctly, but you know what the advantage of it? It's so attacking.

[00:49:39] It's like the chances that you have after you get the ball, you intercepted the ball, the creation of counterattack is beautiful. So, if you want to play 4-2-1-3 and you don't have CDMs, I think a 4-2-4 is actually the perfect way to go. Yeah. Actually, I prefer with the two CMs from now on. I like the two DMs. It does help if you have Jude Bellingham team of the year in a team, eh? Oh, yeah. I think so.

[00:50:09] It does. I mean, yeah. Bellingham and Zidane are doing the job. Definitely. Talk about doing the job. You were terrific today, mate. Thank you for joining me on this Friday evening. We'll be back next Tuesday with the Tuesday clip, of course, consisting out of Shaq and Nathan. And who knows? I might drop in on this Tuesday show as well if I'm able to find the time next week. And else we'll be back next Friday with a recording. Of course, if you're not a patron, our shows will be live every Wednesday morning at 9 a.m.

[00:50:39] or 8 a.m. UK and on Saturday, 8 a.m. UK as well. Thank you so much, Arsham. The following week, I'm going to leave us with one thing left to do and that is to drop it. Drop it. F-U-T F-U-T F-U-T F-U-T Bye.