FIFA 23 TROPHY TITANS LAMPARD PLAYER REVIEW

What. A. Grind.  Throwback to the battle of attrition that was the 40 match Weekend League quagmire.  At the outset of this review I was prepared for what was ahead… But about half way through the task at hand did start to feel rather daunting.
Thankfully, I had a lot of coffee to drink, a lot of Peaky Blinders to binge (a little late to the game on this one), and a lot of SBCs (Squad Battles Chores) to complete…. All in all it wasn’t as bad as it could have been and my only hope is that a bad case of stick drift doesn’t develop from being almost permanently bent this weekend.

I should mention that when Trophy Titan Team 2 dropped there were two ICONs in particular that were interesting to me… Obviously, the idea of a usable Steven Gerrard was an exciting prospect… But in addition to that the idea of a usable Lampard was also intriguing.  The fact that two legends of the game have such unusable FUT cards just doesn’t seem right and the hope was that this would be put right with upgrades.

If you read our Trophy Titans Hero Forlán review then you might have noticed TT Gerrard was in that squad as well… And it is with deep sadness I report that nothing has changed from other versions, Gerrard generally feeling way behind the curve (90% of which comes down to mobility and body type).  

In truth this was another blow to my motivation to complete Lampard… Similar issues would no doubt still exist in the Chelsea man… and the 93 Objective isn’t even on par with the 94 that would be more inline with Gerrard.  Thankfully, surprises were yet to come.  

But the show must go on and so we pulled up our bootstraps and finished off the 40 matches required to get the Englishman to play him as the Box to Box midfielder in our 4-2-2-2 formation.  The application of the SHADOW chemistry style was added in hopes of bolstering the pace required to truly run the middle of the pitch and all was set.   
Frank Lampard was the long sought-after recruit, running the midfield in the following squad:

Overall 

There is no rhyme or reason why this 93 Lampard feels faster, more agile, and more responsive in game than TT Gerrard, but it is the key separation between the two and makes this version of Lampard an actual viable option.  While he was not perfect in any way, shape or form, Lampard survived 8 matches at the tail end of Weekend League and did so in impressive form.

Main Statistics – Passing

Passing Rating: 9/10

Weak Foot: ★★★★

6 assists in 8 matches from a box to box midfield position demonstrates both the ability to get into the right offensive positions to have an impact, along with the quality of passing to make sure that those positions turn good.

Lampard embodies the same “arrive at the right time” attribute on the digital pitch that made him so effective in real life.  From there the 95 SHORT PASSING took over and truly delivered some quality assists and passes in general.  In fact it easily could have been a much higher total with a bit more cutting edge from my strikers this weekend. 

The short passing definitely stood out the most, but the 85 VISION & 94 LONG PASSING combined for some line breaking quality.  The accuracy and weight of pass was a great addition to this weekend's midfield and kick started a lot of what I did well in attack.  

Value/Time

Value/Time Rating: 4/5

I mentioned the 40 matches and if all you got was this version of Lampard it would be hard to justify the time, even if it was only 20 matches.  But along the way there were additional rewards including the 86 and 90 rated versions of Lampard required to continue with Objectives and a variety of high quality fodder packs.  In the end I can’t say it was all worth it, but all was not lost either.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

The good was just that with this card… Good… But not always great.  The card is usable though and here are some of the qualities that helped get Lampard into that conversation.

+ This card is actually pretty smooth on the ball.  The 70 AGILITY & 70 BALANCE do not tell the entire story and instead Lampard thrives with his 88 DRIBBLING & 92 ACCELERATION.  I still can’t wrap my head around how this card felt okay on the ball while Gerrard (with similar size and stats) didn’t.  But it was what occurred.

+ 184cm | 6’0 with 81 JUMPING & 82 STRENGTH… This card is built for the midfield battle and went to work in that area throughout the review.  A couple of assists from headers only highlights the size importance when going to Weekend League War.

But it was not all great and some areas really let the English Legend down across the review.

- The Shooting with this card should be sublime given the statistics and instead felt rather tame in game.  The 93 SHOT POWER seemed non-existent and just about everything from the top of the box out was easily dealt with by keepers.  The 4 STAR WEAK FOOT felt like a bit of a lie as Lampard’s quality dropped significantly when striking them on his left.

- The defending with this card was quality during this review, but there were a couple instances involving lost tackles that simply shouldn’t have happened.  The 88 STANDING TACKLE was not always 100% reliable and that simply  doesn’t cut it in the most intense of matches.

Closing Words

After Gerrard I was certain this review would be a huge disaster and to my suprise Super Frank pulled off some decent performances and contributed heavily for a box to box midfielder.  The presence of a bit more pace and agility really allows Lampard to be a usable option.  Not the top echelon of midfielders mind you, but one that can play and contribute.

Lampard produced some quality performances and generally represented a solid card in game but I don’t see this card lasting in my squad given the alternatives.  The possible addition of 93 rated fodder still makes the overall grind feel just about worthwhile.  I do wish I had had a bit more time to try the 94 now though, the potential is there for a serious box to box operator.  The 93 put in a shift for sure and with the fodder returns just about feels worth the time I put in.
Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading.