Reviews

My team is mainly untradeable but I'm going for some past and present Man U players, I have POTM2 Bruno and Pogba SIF (reds) in my midfield and I needed another CM so I went with Beckham mid icon, since he's half the price of him prime icon with minimal difference in stats. I won him on bid for 415k but he's around that price anyway. I wanted Beckham since he was a man u player and also because I met him once which was pretty cool so I thought why not.

He is actually a really good CM, i have tried shadow, anchor, artist and i settled on finisher. I dont think he needs extra pace or defending as a CM since even with the boost those stats aren't insane or anything, finisher is great as is gives him 92+ shooting, passing and dribbling which is important for a CM. Having him, Bruno and Pogba is great in the mid since all three have super good passing. He doesn't stand out like bruno but you can tell he's really good in the CM position and makes a difference in my team.

I would recommend as a CM not as a RM, as he would be slightly wasted there

For Context: Low D1/High D2 player (~1900 SR), Average 14-16 wins in WL

Tactics: 4222 Defensive - Balanced, 5 Width, 8 Depth  Attacking - Fast Build Up, Width 8, PIB 6, Corners 1, Free Kicks 1

Instructions: Cut Passing Lanes, Balanced Attack, Normal Interceptions, Cover Center

Chem Style: Shadow

Given the sweatfest FIFA has become at this point of the year, I’ve given up with building typically meta teams, and instead have decided each weekend to try some underused Icons and hybrids for Weekend League! This weeks candidates were PIM Nakata and Mid Beckham, who both showed their class as they pulled me to a 17-12 record.

Beckham slotted in the team as my RW, and was playing in game as my LCDM in the 4222, which I utilise as a box to box playmaker and defender, basically a jack of all trades. 

Given the way the game plays this year, I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this card, given his average body type and height, as well as average agility and balance. Now whilst these held true, Becks did manage to hold his own, and was a decent member of the squad this weekend.

In attack, Beckham’s most positive traits shone through. Around the area he was always a goal threat, and his myriad of traits, including the fabled Finesse Shot, meant he contributed 7 goals across the weekend, including an absolute corker whipped top bins from 30 yards out. Whilst not a fox in the box, he was capable of tucking it in when needed, which is what I need from my CDMs. His passing was at times, sublime, and in transition was often able to put the ball on the money for my CAMs. This didn’t end up leading to massive assist numbers (only 9 for the weekend), which I could attribute to my play style, as Beckham often provided the ‘assist to the assist’. However, there were occasions where you could feel his 3 star weak foot, and if I wasn’t careful, he would feed the ball straight to my opponent, even in simple passing situations. This also impacted his shooting, as I always had to be conscious to move the ball to his right foot, making him predictable to read. Combined with his clunky dribbling, these issues resulted in Beckham being a decidedly average player going forwards all in all, lacking the dynamism I look for in a CDM.

Defensively, Beckham was also average. His High/High workrates meant he tracked back, but once back, unless manually controlled, his defensive AI was poor, especially compared with the premium DM’s in this game (and Mason Mount apparently, who caused me issues all weekend). He was okay in the tackle, winning the ones he should, but also never doing anything remarkable, which is fine, but obviously it’s nice to have the ability to pull out a Worldstar challenge from time to time. From time to time he would lack in strength, however because of his chunky player model, this wasn’t overly apparent, and he would deal with smaller attackers fairly easily. More sturdy attackers (like CR7) did cause some issues though, and I often needed to cover with a second defender in case of this. Finally, Beckham also was sometimes lacking in pace, but I didn’t expect him to be running down Mbappe and Neymar anyway, so I took this with a pinch of salt. Obviously this was all to be expected, given this cards mediocre defensive stats, however I was hoping he might play above the card stats, as some icons are wont to do.

Overall, for 177k (the amount I paid on Thursday), I was neither pleased nor displeased with Beckham, and for the coins, I would invest elsewhere, unless you were desperate for the English strong link. Everything about this card was average, which isn’t what you’re looking for in an Icon, and given the power creep of TOTS, this card probably isn’t viable outside of a ‘fun’ team like I used this week.

Packed him untradeable and this is a very, very good card. For the best results, at CAM use Hunter and at CDM/CM use Shadow.