Player Review
92 - TOTS
let's not make any quick assumptions here. we all know that ALL goalkeepers in this game are the most inconsistent things ever. sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit. after getting stevie in my reds i decided to try him out replacing Ter Stegen... here's how i thought he was
REFLEXES - goddamn stevie could honestly dodge a bullet like neo from the matrix. 1v1s he dominates most, saving shots that you wouldn't expect to be saved. he's good from headers too, not that anybody's going to score a header in this game anyway though.
HANDLING - he scoops up most loose balls in the box fairly easily with his 92 handling (99 in-game technically), and you should be able to feel confident that he won't spill it up. stevie has that cool animation where the goalkeeper dives for the ball while also grabbing it at the same time, which is pretty neat. when corners get whipped in, he most likely safely catch the ball instead of punching it which is nice.
POSITIONING + KICKING - i still don't understand how positioning on goalkeepers works in this game -- or if it even works at all. he's got a solid boot though, and will successfully make driven crossing clearances (R1+square) without doing the annoying thing that other keepers do which is kicking the ball straight into the opponent. goal-kicks are solid and his overall distribution is good too (which should be expected from a 99 kicking stat keeper).
SPEED - stevie is fast as fuck
DIVING - now you were probably wondering what could be so bad about stevie since i just gave you this list of PROS. i'll tell you now. i don't know what it is with his card, but he doesn't always dive for the ball. sometimes he doesn't even move. like in real life when a goal looks cooler than it actually was because the goalkeeper didn't move, that's what i'm talking about. this is annoying for a few reasons. first off is because it means he lets in way more goals than he should be doing with the rest of his stats being god tier. the second reason is that there isn't any real reason why stevie should be having a phobia of diving when he has a higher diving stat than most keepers in the game. third reason is that it means that stevie will never get the true recognition he deserves which pains me inside. overall, his diving is pretty disappointing, and even when he does dive and makes saves, it doesn't make up for the fact that this takes away so much from the card. but as i said in the title, when he's on form, he is one of the best keepers in the game...