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ShapeShifters Joe Cole Review

I mentioned in my previous review how much I have appreciated this promo and in particular the Shapeshifter Heroes and their league changes.  While a Ligue 1 version of Joe Cole was a bit of stretch given only his brief stint at Lille, I still quite enjoy this concept and only wish that something similar had come sooner in the cycle.  Regardless, we are here now, and this card is one that certainly surprised me this weekend.  I was fortunate enough to pack the Englishman in a player pick prior to starting my matches this weekend and ultimately made the choice to review this card extremely easy.  Of course it was not a Ligue 1 link that provided the chemistry in this case, but as I mentioned earlier in the week, the ability to green link such a wide variety of players is a fantastic squad building option.  Unlike Abedi Pele, I was more torn on what position would better suit Joe Cole for this review.  Both in terms of my own squad/playing style… and where other FUT Managers might be deploying the card themselves.  In the end I opted for a hybrid of playing Joe Cole at striker for about 60% of this review… Followed by 40% as the RAM in my 4-2-2-2 formation.  In both cases the application of the HAWK chemistry style did the trick and everything was set for one of the most surprising weekends I have witnessed in a while.  Joe Cole was the silent assassin all weekend long in the following squad:   


Starting Formation:

 

 


 
In-game Formation:
 

 

Overall

Rating: 9/10
Pace Rating: 9/10
Dribbling Rating: 10/10
Shooting Rating: 10/10
Passing Rating: 9/10
Physical Rating: 9/10
Defending Rating: N/A

14 goals in 15 matches based on the positions mentioned above is already an impressive return… But then you add in the 17 assists in the same amount of games and you really start to see just how special this card was for me throughout the Weekend League grind.  Maybe it was my focus and hopes that Abedi Pele would light the weekend on fire that distracted me? Or perhaps it was just how evenly spread out his contributions were? But I was completely shocked at the returns this card put up.  It definitely felt like a solid card, but the 2.0 per game contribution was not on my radar closing out the review.                       

 

Main Statistics - Shooting

Shooting Rating: 10/10
Weak Foot:
★★★★★
Trait: Outside Foot Shot

Polar opposite of the Abedi Pele review when it came to shooting.  The 4 STAR WEAK FOOT had me expecting some misfires and difficult moments, but instead the statistics simply took over and produced a clinical masterclass.  I do think that a complete review at striker would have resulted in even higher totals, because what I witnessed was a ruthless performance.  98 FINISHING, 99 SHOT POWER & 99 LONG SHOTS gelled perfectly and carried over to Cole’s left in every situation I let fire.  Even the 93 POSITIONING was well implemented and felt closer to 99 with all of the brilliant areas this card took up on the pitch.  It always seemed that Cole was available for the extra pass, especially when deployed as a RAM, and only increased his returns across the board.

 

Main Attribute - Passing

Passing Rating: 9/10

Certainly a category that had me a little bit worried… The decided need for a HAWK application left me feeling that the passing might go astray with this review.  The results, however, certainly don’t lie as Cole turned set up man time and time again this weekend.  The 97 VISION & 95 SHORT PASSING lead the way as key contributors to the ever increasing assist total.  There were a couple of moments, especially as a RAM, where the 88 LONG PASSING and even 95 CROSSING did not quite live up to their suggested statistics… But the good far outweighed the bad as the end product showed.     

 

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

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

270k is a no brainer in terms of the value for coins in this case.  There is versatility in this card, easy squad building options, a plethora of statistics and I haven’t even got into the sneaky 85 STRENGTH.   If anything stood out for me with this review it was the strength, especially with all of the issues I had with Abedi Pele in this category.  It is a difficult task to dispossess Cole, which is on display in the video, and was a key contributor to the multi-purpose way that I deployed this card throughout the weekend.

I am not quite sure how I got to this point in the review without mentioning the fact that Joe Cole not only has a 176cm | 5’9 card with a lean body type, but also boasts 5 STAR SKILLS and the FLAIR trait.  The card was built for intricate dribbling and left-stick dribblers will be in their glory operating this card.  Again, the fact that I could bump into defenders without this card flying off of the ball was a much added bonus.  My one complaint would come in the pace department though… while the 99 ACCELERATION felt on point, the 99 SPRINT SPEED sometimes felt a little bit throttled back from what it should be.  This was a slight issue in certain situations when I thought I had created clear cut chances… But once I became more comfortable with Cole I was able to predict those moments and utilize the dribbling and acceleration for direction changes away from tracking defenders.  An inconvenience, but one that could be navigated with the cards' other abilities. 

 

Closing Words

Different feel to this review than earlier in the week.  I didn’t have a ton of expectations for Joe Cole… during the review he didn’t blow me away… but by the end I was not only intrigued, but made up with just how well this card operated.  Of course this is just one more way for me to intricately include Jude Bellingham in all of my squads… But in all seriousness I am more than happy to have packed this card and it would be a huge W for those that do the same in their FUT Hero Shapeshifters Upgrade.  Beyond a small sprint speed issue and some errant passes this card performed wonderfully and put up numbers that compete with the best cards I have used this year.  Fun concept. Fun card. What more can I say?  Hoping you are safe and well.  Cheers for reading.  

Game Stats:
 

 

 

Game Highlights:

 

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