FOF PTG João Félix Review

These Tournaments!?!? Crazy goals, crazy moments, crazy storylines, everything we love about the beautiful game.  I won’t lie I have watched an unhealthy amount of football in the past few days and long may the good times continue.  Mixed in somewhere amongst the hype has been the continuing Festival of Football promo, raising the stakes that little bit more for each match.  I won’t lie, Team 2 really hit on a lot of cards that I have been wanting, looking forward to, and now hoping to try.  One of those cards on my list was none other than the Portugese starlet and Atletico wonderkid João Félix.  While this year has not always been sunshine and rainbows for Félix in reality, it can’t be denied that his pixelated performances normally do not disappoint.  With all of this in mind, I grabbed Félix for my squad and dove into a slightly new format for these reviews.  Nothing crazy, but it has been agreed that 15 matches will be the standard for reviews moving forward.  1) We still believe that 15 matches are enough to truly gauge player abilities and effectiveness during the Weekend League grind.  2) The real reason for the change… I have lost about 6 million coins doing reviews this year and the price drops from Friday to Saturday are the biggest cause of this; With 15 matches I can purchase a player… play across three hours… sell, and only lose the tax… which was the case with Félix thankfully.  With all that said, we dove into the new and improved 15 match review this weekend, playing Félix with a HAWK chemistry style as the ST in our trusty 4-2-2-2 formation.  Félix was the promising potential all weekend long in the following squad:       


Starting Formation:

Overall

Rating: 7/10
Pace Rating: 7/10
Dribbling Rating: 8.5/10
Shooting Rating: 8.5/10
Passing Rating: 8/10
Physical Rating: 6.5/10
Defending Rating: N/A

If you want a rundown of this review, just look at the recent match between Portugal and Germany at the Euros.  It started well, much like Portugal going up 1 - 0.  Félix felt decently agile, with enough pace, and then finished his chances early on. Overall, while I was certain this was not going to be a banger of a review, I was confident we were headed for a classic 9/10. But then, like the match, the wheels started to fall off for Portugal and Félix.  Now, 18 goals and 6 assists in 15 matches is not an awful return by any means… but it has to be said and remembered for future reviews that match 15 - 20 in the “old review style” were what separated the good from the great.  Now, matches 10 - 15 will be a slightly less daunting stress test for these reviews.  Yet still, Félix struggled significantly in these matches and had we gone to 20 I am not sure how many more contributions he really would have had… the fall off was insane.        

Main Statistic - Dribbling

Dribbling Rating: 8.5/10
Skills: *****
Height: 181 cm | 5’11
Trait: Flair

The fact that this is both the best statistic Félix has going for him, and was also one of his downfalls speaks to how poor this card felt to review.  The 96 AGILITY & 91 BALANCE should have felt fluid and responsive… and instead was more fractured and sluggish.  It was as if Félix was not always connected to the movements that I wanted from him, resulting in comedic possession loss and frustrating end results.  True, if I skilled more the 5 STAR SKILLS would have certainly been an asset… but even then I don’t think many skillers will gravitate towards such a sluggish feeling card. 

Main Attribute - Key Statistics

Weak Foot: ****
Shooting Rating: 8.5/10
Trait: Outside Foot

The fact that Dribbling and Shooting are the two best statistics with this card is honestly the only saving grace.  The HAWK chemistry style taking Félix to 99 POSITIONING, FINISHING, SHOT POWER & LONG SHOTS… then you add in an impressive 92 VOLLEYS to the mix as well.  With the 4 STAR WEAK FOOT I felt Félix was poised to truly bang them in all weekend… and on his right he did… for the most part.  The left was a completely different story as I never truly felt any of the 99 SHOT POWER when staring down Félix’s left foot.  The lack of consistency was quite frustrating with Félix as one game he would bang them in for fun… producing venom with accuracy.  Followed by a match where Félix wouldn’t be able to break a pane of glass with the muffins he was throwing towards goal.   

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad 

Value/Coins Rating: 4/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 3.5/5

At 400k this card has some real tempting statistics.  One look at Félix and you can’t imagine that a card this good could be so cheap.  The mixture of a slowly fading game… better options… the new and interesting preview packs… and the Germany humbling have certainly crushed the value of this card.  However, it is truly the in-game performances… or lack thereof… that have been the death of this card's value. 

I think I could deal with a card that is not always responsive… I could maybe even get past a card that doesn’t always finish every chance created… but when a card isn’t responsive, misses chances, and feels slow… that is game over.  For a card with 94 ACCELERATION & 98 SPRINT SPEED this card is painfully slow … especially in acceleration.  The application of a HUNTER chemistry style for games 8 to 12 did nothing but remove the 83 STRENGTH and 99 LONG SHOTS… leading to a return to HAWK.  I guess the 83 STRENGTH did not really matter in the end as the lack of acceleration did lead to a lot of 50/50 battles for the ball, most of which were lost despite the size and strength associated with this card.  Then consider the fact that Félix picked up the front post position on corners all weekend with his taller frame and 99 JUMPING, yet did not win a single header … and you are starting to see why this review was a disappointment in the end. 

Closing Words

This card is not a complete loss and I hope the 7/10 speaks to this.  Truthfully, I just feel for the Atleti and Portugal supporters who might have really been looking forward to this card… you are not getting what you would have hoped for and after Freeze Firmino I feel your pain.  In the end that is the biggest takeaway I had from this review… just “not getting what you would have hoped for.”  The glaring deficits simply outweigh the potential upsides and the price tag speaks volumes to proving my point.  This one gets a hard pass from me in the end… a decent card, but nowhere near the level of cards we currently have at our disposal.  Hoping you are safe and well.  Cheers for reading.

Game Stats:
 

Game Highlights: