But in this case I’m really talking quite specifically about a single club, in Manchester United.
A club of which - sorry - I am a lifelong fan.
In the past decade of post-Ferguson hinterlands, however, that coverage has taken on a particularly fascinating slant.
But the interesting bit is how the conversation has changed about that not-goodness.
Sporting directors, scouting networks, corporate management structures, ownership schemes.
Something deeper must be going wrong, these articles proposed, some mismanagement at a higher level.
They were absolutely right.
But systemic change takes time - if it ever happens at all.
And the fans need their daily hot takes.
And then, somehow, something even beyond that.A reaction to the reaction itself.
Articles about writing articles aboutthe reaction to the sustained causes of the problems.
(And after that, erm, I suppose whatever you’d call articles like this.)
What has all this got to do withEA Sports FC 25?
Well, if you’ve been paying attention then I suspect a lot of that sounds really quite familiar.
An organisation with vast, unparalleled global popularity and which seems unshakable regardless of performance or public opinion?
A household name (well, sort of, while it was FIFA)?
A recent opportunity for a top-to-bottom rethink (after it got rid of FIFA)?
I am Gary Neville, and this is EA Sports United.
Let’s get into it then.
There are three big points of difference, which are probably three of the better parts of FC 25.
The first, which sounds rather shallow but is in fact a pretty big deal, is the menus.
For the first time in as long as I can remember, this is now what they are.
Minimalised and switched to a simple horizontal list and overarching dropdown, they’re quick and clean.
The menus were laggy and annoying, now they’re not.
Like with so much of FC 25, there are successes and failures here.
Players now have positions, roles, and focuses.
The position is simple enough, like, say, Right Back.
The role is what then governs their overall actions and goals on the pitch.
Then there’s their focus, which governs how offensively or defensively minded they are.
The results are twofold.
Are they about to go from holding R1 to switching to R2 for a sprint?
Or do I hold course and risk being out-paced by not anticipating it soon enough?
These decisions play out over and over, each in a fraction of a second.
Sometimes I just want to play football, not a 30-rounds deep mind-game at the World Championship of rock-paper-scissors.
Until the next counter of easy pinged balls to wingers in the spaces I’d left open).
There’s always space left open on a football pitch.
Lastly, there is one ultimate, utterly infuriating sin that continues on the pitch.
This is always lesson number one for anyone who wants to instantly get better out of possession.
Whatever the cause, it’s awful, and has been awful for far too long.
EA Sports reckons this is because small-sided games are a key part of youth development.
Which is sort of true but also, kind of totally wrong?
Young players also have to learn how to pass and dribble and position themselves, just like grown ups.
Nevertheless the youth nerds will get a kick out of this part of the game being visible at all.
But many of my long-running Career Mode gripes also continue.
Press conferences are interminable.
That’s what FM is for!
There’s Rush, which is actually new.
Rush is Volta, only un-futsalified.
(Nothing personifies this more than the “goallllllll”-screaming MLS commentary EA Sports has brought in here.
Here’s how it works.
Four of you plus an AI goalkeeper sprint forwards to attack all at the same time.
Last and absolutely least is Ultimate Team.
What do you say about Ultimate Team today?
That question is moot.
What matters isn’t the legal definition, but the material impact of it.
Does this feel very similar to gambling?
Is it just generally, in a game rated 3+, something that feels very gross?
But here we are again.
This is why FIFA and EA Sports' rendition of the game always made for quite good partners.
This is EA Sports FC 25.
It’ll probably be like this forever.
A copy of EA Sports FC 25 was provided for review by EA.
