BEN YEDDER

With the second set of informs dropping on Wednesday it was time to take one of the shiny new toys out for a spin.  With quite a few intriguing review options available I decided to settle on the Sevilla Frenchman Wissam Ben Yedder.  Ben Yedder was no surprise in the TOTW and he was rewarded for his three goal and single assist performance over the weekend with a +3 upgraded 84 OVERALL card.
In the spirit of future reviews I have reorganized my squad to fit some fan favorites such as Fred and Ndidi into the mix and Ben Yedder was just the icing on the cake.  In game I often employ a 4-2-2-2 or a 4-2-3-1 formation and Ben Yedder switched between the ST and CAM positions in both.  What did cause me issues was which chemistry style I should apply for Ben Yedder; in the end I settled on experimenting with HAWK (7 goals, 0 assists) and HUNTER (8 goals, 1 assist) for 10 games each.  Ben Yedder was the marksman in the following squad:

Pace & Dribbling

Before I get into the specifics of Ben Yedder’s pace it is important to considering his dribbling first.  Ben Yedder feels incredibly responsive on the ball and can get the ball out of tight situations with the precision of a SWAT team.  This might be a weird issue but at times his dribbling was almost too tight and could hinder his sprint speed in a dead sprint.  I realize that you can control some of this with larger touches, but then you run the risk of losing the ball as it moves out of your reach.  This issue was 100 times more noticeable with Ben Yedder as a ST and did not impact his ability as a CAM at all.  When we actually talk about pure pace I found Ben Yedder extremely fast without the ball and sluggish on it.

Dribbling Rating: 9/10
Pace Rating: 8.5/10

Shooting

Earlier in my review I called Ben Yedder The Marksman and ultimately this category sums up everything that Ben Yedder is.  In FIFA 18 I felt like the 5 STAR WEAK FOOT trait was sometimes misleading and without enough evidence in FIFA 19 I will not comment just yet.  In the case of Ben Yedder this is one example that 5 STAR WEAK FOOT can accurately represent cannons on the end of each leg.  I could not decipher I single difference in the trajectory, power, and precision of either foot throughout the review.  With both HAWK and HUNTER applied you have +90 RATED FINISHING, SHOT POWER, and VOLLEYS; combined these attributes equal goals.  Not the best goal scorer I have used (Mbappe), but definitely the best finisher.  

Shooting Rating: 9.5/10

Passing & Defending

Finally, a review that is aided by my new pass rating system.  Ben Yedder passes the ball accurately enough, but does not cut defenses apart or find the impossible through ball to open up a tight game.  Just your average 7.5/10 player when passing the ball.  I decided to lump defending into this category due to the arbitrary nature of this rating for Ben Yedder as well.  As a ST he does not retrieve the ball that well, and as a CAM… let’s just say he wouldn’t be in the midfield of any Mourinho squads.  He doesn’t track or intercept the ball well, but I don’t think anyone was expecting anything different.

Passing Rating: 7.5/10
Defending Rating: N/A 

Physical 

At 91 JUMPING (99 with HAWK) I was optimistic that Ben Yedder’s 5’7 – 170cm HEIGHT would not be an issue in the air.  I was even prepared with witty nicknames like Wissam Ben Header… but alas, “all that is gold does not glitter” and time and time again Ben Yedder ‘fell short’ of would be heading opportunities.   Ben Yedder’s physical stats take a nose dive off the deep end at this point with 73 STAMINA and 60 STRENGTH.  Nearing the end of games I did notice a drop off in Ben Yedder’s abilities and he is really only good for 70-80 minutes max.  His paper light physique is also an issue against defenders that get close to him and holding up the ball is not really an option.

Physical Rating: 6/10

Final Score

Overall: 7.5/10

At this point in the FIFA cycle this man has some serious firepower already.  Bang for your buck he will give you tons of bang and in the right squad I could see him scoring a lot of goals.  I found him as lethal as a pit viper and his ability to slither through would be challenges was quite enjoyable.  In the end the lack of a physical presence makes him more suited for a CAM role in my opinion and he can operate quite nicely in those pockets of space.  Unfortunately he can really only operate for ¾ of a match and then needs to call it a day.  The other issue of course is his lack of strength and the difficulty he has keeping the ball when a midfielder or defender does manage to lay a hand on him. My final thought on this card is that 60k (XBOX) is just a bit too pricey for what you get in return. However, in a week or two this card could re-emerge as a serious CAM option if his price slowly falls.  Cheers for reading.
 

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