FC 24 91 UT Birthday James Player Review- Cop or Flop

A new week in ultimate team and the final days of the Ultimate Birthday are among us. I think it’s fair to say this has been a really decent promo thus far. Pack content has been great with the inclusion of past promo cards added back into packs, making completing SBCs and gathering fodder that much easier. 

Speaking of SBCs, the right back position is getting some love today with an absolutely cracking looking SBC in the form of Ultimate Birthday Reece James. It may just be me here but it feels a lot like outside of the occasional icon SBC, we don’t see a lot of right backs in the SBC section. Or at least viable ones. But does that change today?

You can check out the card here!

This item sees a +3 on the previous Dynasties card with very mild stat upgrades. But what we’re really here for is the playstyles as this card of course has gained a secondary playstyle+ and for fallbacks it’s one of my favourites in the whipped pass+. On top of this he has also seen a boost in weak foot from 3* up to 5*.

James of course slots straight into the RB position behind none other than George Best. My first impression on this card is that he feels like he could be a potential upgraded version of what Kyle Walker was a few months ago. Quick and Strong but now has one of the overpowered playstyles for a fall back that can setup goals nicely. This card has me excited.

Chemstyle is pretty clear in the shadow here. A very popular option amongst the community and it’s clear why. You just want to max out the pace and physicals on this card to make him an absolute machine at the back.

Here are the following segments to unlock the Ultimate Birthday Reece James SBC

#1 - England

Number of players from England: Min 1

Inform Players: Min 1
Squad Rating - 86
Pack Return - Small Prime Gold Players Pack

#2 - Premier League

Number of players from Premier League: Min 1
Inform Players: Min 1
Squad Rating - 87
Pack Return - Jumbo Premium Gold Pack

This SBC is surprisingly very cheap compared to what I was expecting. You see a Premier League SBC and typically expect a premier price. Especially when the card looks as good as this one does. But to complete this SBC it is going to cost just under 200k which in my opinion is incredible value when you compare other RB options.

The high tier of RBs such as TOTY Frimpong or the best versions of some of the icons such as Cafu, Alberto, Zambrotta are all going to cost you nearly 2 million coins. This card has very similar stats and great playstyles for a fraction of that price. Sure he doesn’t offer the chemistry boosts but still, you can’t go wrong at that price.

How did he perform in-game?

+ Physicality wise he is absolutely solid, he holds more than enough strength to fight off the opposition to gain/hold possession.

+ Passing was really good too especially that crossing when utilising the whipped pass. He’ll pick out his man from the other side of the pitch and create a clean goal scoring chance.

+ He was absolutely rapid too as you would expect with high pace.

+ Positioning is also really good too as with him having high/high workrates, he gets heavily involved in the attack but is quick to track back into position on a counter.

+ Defending in general is really good as he possesses both Bruiser and Block playstyles, so he was a brick wall to get around and quite often was seen intercepting plays.

/ Dribbling was just about what you would expect on a card with 87 dribbling. Though I didn’t feel it was anything amazing he did a fairly good job at manoeuvring around opposition with the ball.

James - Cop or Flop?

I won’t beat around the bush here, this is an incredible card and as I mentioned earlier, reminds me of Kyle Walker from earlier in the game cycle, just with the more up to date stats and playstyles. I have a heavy feeling this one is going to be in a lot of peoples teams especially with how easy he is to fit into squads. Go out and get this one asap because he is incredible in-game and superb value for coins! 

Verdict = COP