So, FM 14 is here (well the beta anyway) and most of the attributes have probably come to stay, at least for a while. The question is, did SI get it right? Obviously it's impossible to please everyone, there will always be disagreements on what attributes the different players deserve. But let's at least try to look at this objectively.
Having said that, I realize that it might be hypocritical of me to look into the Liverpool team, as I'm a Liverpool fan. Then again, it's the team I'm most familiar with, so bear with me.
First of all, Simon Mignolet. I know he's the second choice behind Courtois, but let's face it, Liverpool replaced Reina with a better keeper. His shot stopping abilities are extraordinary, and his reflexes are amazing. Surely no one can argue with that? Yet he's been given a 16 Handling rating. Sure, 16 is good. It's very good, and Reina's 14 makes it seem pretty fair. Then again, Joe Hart has 17. I'm not saying Mignolet is a better goalkeeper than Hart (although I'd take that discussion on any day), but when it comes to handling? Yes, he is.
Now for the reflexes. Mignolet is given 15 here, with Reina also at 15. Joe Hart? 19. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Reina's reflexes has dropped significantly the last few years. He used to be like a cat on the line, making saves you usually only see in handball. The last couple years in Liverpool he acted more like a potato. In my opinion Mignolet's should be at least 17, and Hart's 17 at tops. Then maybe Reina could justify his 15 rating, although I'd prefer seeing it at 14.
By the way, who decided Mignolet has ****** positioning skills? It's rated at 9, which suggests he often finds himself in a bad position. So far this season I've yet to see this happen, at least as I can recall.
The agility doesn't help either, with Mignolet given 13 and Hart 18. I agree Hart is more agile, but not by 5 rating points.
All in all, I'm really disappointed with the attributes given to Mignolet. Here I am celebrating that Liverpool finally signed a top class goalkeeper after Reina's recent decline, yet he's rated a lot worse than I had expected. In my opinion he's one of the best goalkeepers in the league, and although I admit this view might be biased he's surely in the top tier?
There are of course several other player attributes I don't agree with, like Agger's and Sturridge's technical attributes. I also feel Sturridge's pace of 16 is too low, this should at least be 17 - once he puts on the turbo, you won't catch him. Also, Skrtel has been given 15 in both heading and jumping reach. Skrtel is not the best defender out there, by far, but if there's one thing he's good at it's getting high up there to win the headers.
I'm sure I'd find more to whine about if I tried, but a lot of it would probably be nitpicking. So, my question to you is, have you found players with attributes you feel are too low, or even too high? I'm sure there are lots of opinions on this, and of course mine are as subjective as anyone elses, but like I said let's at least try to be as objective as possible. I did, but feel free to let me know if you disagree.
PS: I noticed Messi has nine 20 ratings. That has to be some kind of record if you disregard regens. Then again, he's all about breaking records, so I suppose it's justified.
EDIT: Oh, and Tiago Ilori, described as a speed merchant who beat Ronaldo's and Pepe's sprint records in Sporting, has been given 13 in both acceleration and pace. Now that, is objectively plain wrong.
Having said that, I realize that it might be hypocritical of me to look into the Liverpool team, as I'm a Liverpool fan. Then again, it's the team I'm most familiar with, so bear with me.
First of all, Simon Mignolet. I know he's the second choice behind Courtois, but let's face it, Liverpool replaced Reina with a better keeper. His shot stopping abilities are extraordinary, and his reflexes are amazing. Surely no one can argue with that? Yet he's been given a 16 Handling rating. Sure, 16 is good. It's very good, and Reina's 14 makes it seem pretty fair. Then again, Joe Hart has 17. I'm not saying Mignolet is a better goalkeeper than Hart (although I'd take that discussion on any day), but when it comes to handling? Yes, he is.
Now for the reflexes. Mignolet is given 15 here, with Reina also at 15. Joe Hart? 19. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Reina's reflexes has dropped significantly the last few years. He used to be like a cat on the line, making saves you usually only see in handball. The last couple years in Liverpool he acted more like a potato. In my opinion Mignolet's should be at least 17, and Hart's 17 at tops. Then maybe Reina could justify his 15 rating, although I'd prefer seeing it at 14.
By the way, who decided Mignolet has ****** positioning skills? It's rated at 9, which suggests he often finds himself in a bad position. So far this season I've yet to see this happen, at least as I can recall.
The agility doesn't help either, with Mignolet given 13 and Hart 18. I agree Hart is more agile, but not by 5 rating points.
All in all, I'm really disappointed with the attributes given to Mignolet. Here I am celebrating that Liverpool finally signed a top class goalkeeper after Reina's recent decline, yet he's rated a lot worse than I had expected. In my opinion he's one of the best goalkeepers in the league, and although I admit this view might be biased he's surely in the top tier?
There are of course several other player attributes I don't agree with, like Agger's and Sturridge's technical attributes. I also feel Sturridge's pace of 16 is too low, this should at least be 17 - once he puts on the turbo, you won't catch him. Also, Skrtel has been given 15 in both heading and jumping reach. Skrtel is not the best defender out there, by far, but if there's one thing he's good at it's getting high up there to win the headers.
I'm sure I'd find more to whine about if I tried, but a lot of it would probably be nitpicking. So, my question to you is, have you found players with attributes you feel are too low, or even too high? I'm sure there are lots of opinions on this, and of course mine are as subjective as anyone elses, but like I said let's at least try to be as objective as possible. I did, but feel free to let me know if you disagree.
PS: I noticed Messi has nine 20 ratings. That has to be some kind of record if you disregard regens. Then again, he's all about breaking records, so I suppose it's justified.
EDIT: Oh, and Tiago Ilori, described as a speed merchant who beat Ronaldo's and Pepe's sprint records in Sporting, has been given 13 in both acceleration and pace. Now that, is objectively plain wrong.
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He had 11 in 15 last year if I remember correctly, that continued his form even better this year. He deserves it!