Player Review
92 - Icon
I've been trying a number of different Icon ST options for the past month (93 Van Basten, 92 Nistelrooy, 91 Trezeguet, 91 Kluivert, 91 Shevchenko, etc.) for review purposes, and the prime Lineker was definitely the most enjoyable and best lone ST option for a budget of 850,000 to 1.25 million coins in my opinion.
*I plan on writing reviews for the rest of the aforementioned icon STs within a week or so.
His shooting, particularly in close to mid-ranges and around the box, was remarkably accurate and saved me from numerous difficult matches. His trait of beating defensive line with 90 acceleration (without any chem boost) provided me with an ample amount of one-on-ones with GKs. He definitely is not a fancy dribbler or finesse shot master, but he is agile enough, strong enough, and fast enough for any formation or style of offense. While there may be better options with more coins, I strongly think that the prime Lineker stands to be the best option for anyone looking for an icon lone striker under 1.25 Mil.
- Pace: With 90 acceleration (which you can make it even higher with a chem boost), he felt extremely rapid in the game
- Shooting: This is by far the best attribute of this card. His offensive positioning, shooting, and finishing were incredible, and they make you realize why it may be worth investing ~ 1 million coins into a single position.
- 4 star WF: As much as I liked other icon ST options, their 3 star WF was really noticeable in the game. His 4 star WF felt as consistent and reliable as 5 star WF.
- Passing: I used Engine for his chem style to boost his passing #s after several matches. But even without any chem boost, his passing felt perfectly fine and assisted in almost every other game.
- Physical: 85 stamina with his H/L work rate was perfectly good enough for him to feel fresh for 90 mins. Despite his tendency to beat defense lines without having to out-muscle defenders, when needed, he felt stronger than 79 strength and was able to hold the ball until taking shots.
- Heading: I've decided to briefly mention about his heading, because it caught me by surprise. I was not expecting much heading effort from him due to his height (5'10") and 78 jumping. However, his superb offensive positioning frequently positioned him for open headers.
- Finesse shots: His shots pretty much do NOT bend. Due to 64 curve, even if I were to try, his shots were always straight. But this didn't seem to matter, because bent or not, his shots go into the net anyways. The fact that I prefer to take finesse shots with my wingers and CAM also made this almost unnoticeable.
- 3 star skills: This card would have been near perfect if it had 4 star skills. But with everything else in mind, 3 star skills are alright.