REVIEW - TOTS FIRMINO

As the blue tide of TOTS cards continue to come rolling into the FUT markets; it is hard for FUT Mangers to decide which direction to go, myself included.  Having tired and enjoyed every version of Roberto Firmino in FIFA 18, I made the decision to continue upgrading from the PTG and purchased TOTS Bobby prior to Weekend League starting.

The past few FUT Champ competitions I have been using a 4-2-2-2 formation with more success than in the past and so I needed to fit Bobby into the squad.  In the past I would have probably preferred a 4-2-3-1 and used him as a CAM.  In the end I decided to use Bobby as the LEFT ST in the 4-2-2-2 and used FALSE 9 player instructions, pulling him back into the midfield to receive the ball.  I have always used HUNTER on past versions of Firmino, yet upon further inspection I realized that HAWK provided a larger boost and less wasted ratings above 99, so I went with that.  Firmino was the talisman in the following squad:

PACE

FINALLY! Every past version of this card has been slightly short in the pace department.  All it took was five upgrades to finally get to a level where I can use this card and not think, “should I be looking at a slightly quicker option.” There are quite a few cards out there, and I have reviewed many who do not live up to their pace statistics.  Bobby is definitely not one of them and I could immediately feel the increase in his quickness.  He does not quite reach the lightning levels of 2POTM Salah or TOTS Alejandro Gomez but he is still rapid and a huge improvement on his past cards.

RATING: 4.5/5

PHYSICAL & SHOOTING

TOTS Firmino plays like he is 6’3 - 250 pounds (18 Stone) and yet can dribble like a magical pixie, which I will get to later in the review.  Like I was saying, the man plays like a giant and simply inflicts himself upon opponents.  I would liken Firmino’s Physical and Shooting to Thunder and Lighting, especially with HAWK applied.  Thunder: He is powerful when sprinting, strong when protecting the ball (92 STRENGTH), amazing in the air (99 JUMPING), and finally 99 STAMINA means he can do all of this. All. Game. Long.  Lighting: 4 STAR WEAK FOOT and 99 RATED SHOOTING STATS in ALL CATEGORIES except penalties.  The ball flashes off of his foot and it took me a few games to adjust having hit numerous crossbars early on.  If you are playing next week and notice dents in the FeWC Stadium nets, that was me, or at least it was Bobby. After I sorted out the power adjustment I was shocked at how many balls would find the top corners and I had a lot of fun hammering shots from around the pitch and really testing the limits of this card…. I didn’t find many.

PHYSICAL RATING: 5/5

SHOOTING RATING: 5/5  

DRIBBLING

I already referenced the magical WL pixie, but I will elaborate a bit.  Any FUT Managers who have previously owned a Firmino card will know that this guy is silky on the ball.  Now, with 90 RATED DRIBBLING STATS across the board (87 COMPOSURE just under) it is incredible to see him get even better on the ball.  Responsive turning, touch tight dribbling, fluent direction changes, and agility while dribbling at pace all add to the threat of this card.  Bobby is like Houdini on the ball and it didn’t matter how many extra defenders were brought in to lock me down, I felt like I could escape any situation with relative ease.  One thing I noticed is how close he keeps the ball in his feet when cutting and often avoids the outstretched legs of would be defenders.  I could almost hear Ray Hudson screaming “MAGIC!!!” as I swerved through my opponents barrage of pylons.  If you can’t tell already I really, really, like the dribbling on this card.

RATING: 5/5

PASSING & DEFENDING

While I always struggle to quantify the passing stats in FUT reviews, I will say that Firmino’s 84 CROSSING feels like it is about 15 stat points short.  In my video are a few examples, but that is a small sample set.  Often in the second half I will sub in TOTS Alejandro Gomez which moves Bobby out to the LEFT CAM of the 4-2-2-2.  In all honesty Bobby is almost more dangerous as a playmaker than in the box himself.  The crosses he whips in are accurate and have a height that lands the ball perfectly into the dangerous positions for attackers.  In these wide positions I was also able to see some of Firmino’s defensive work on display.  While low defensive ratings affect Firmino’s ability to dispossess opponents running at him.  The pace, strength, and dribbling stats Firmino does have make him a threat when chasing down opponents.  I wouldn’t be starting him as a CDM, but if FUT Managers are interested in a CM who can chip in with some goals I would definitely give Bobby a shot.

PASSING RATING: 4.5/5

DEFENSIVE RATING: 3.5/5

FINAL SCORE:

RATING: 4.9/5

During every Firmino celebration you have the opportunity to observe his neck tattoo of a crown and the name “Deus” (God) attached.  While I don’t recommend getting your name tattooed on your neck, I will make an exception in Bobby’s case.  At the risk of getting carried away I will summarize TOTS Roberto Firmino by saying he is the best attacking player I have used in FUT this year.  NIF Ronaldo, 90 Rated Aubameyang, 98 POTY Salah, Prime ADP, and the list goes on.  None of the aforementioned players can match Firmino in the key category for a striker, stats.  If I hadn’t spent the first five games trying to rip the net apart I would say that I could have added at least 5 goals to my final review picture, he is that good.  Beyond goals and assists you even have the little things thrown in with this card.  One example would be his heading.  If you are late in a match and you need to launch the ball forward from goal kicks or clearances he beats most CB’s in the air and you can relieve the pressure.  All weekend long I was surprised with the different qualities in this card.  I based my final score on the attacking abilities of TOTS Firmino and in all honesty I feel like he is the complete package and a 5/5.  However, I want to reserve this rating in case a card should come around that really blows me away.  As it stands, Bobby Firmino is the perfect storm for my team and he rained down punishment on my opponents throughout the weekend, I don’t doubt he would do the same for you. 

Cheers for reading!

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