Update - What I've Been Up To (And What I've Been Buying)

Hello, old friend.

It’s been a bloody long time.

This is a bit of a short-ish article going over a few things. Mostly, what I’ve been up to - and a few stat deep-dives I’ve been looking at.

My Recent Purchases (or lack of)

Recently, I’ve actually been very quiet in buying.

Not because I don’t think it’s a great time to buy or anything like that.

Here are a few reasons why.

• I’m doing some coaching for a club here in Australia. It’s awesome and I love it, but it’s eaten into a lot of time I’d dedicated to the hobby (which also explains why I haven’t been writing or podcasting recently - although I’m hoping for a season two of the pod to start soon).

• Moving house - so I was actively trying to sell cards to make the move easier.

• I had a massive… well, actually, two massive ticket grading subs hanging over my head and wanted to keep cash aside for that. Including this bad boy

• I’m ‘big game hunting' for a few specific items. Not necessarily a big game in regards to prices, more so in regards to time and effort. So far no luck on these purchases.

One thing I have been buying though is some PC stuff - mostly Mark Viduka and Christian Vieri. Nothing crazy - but a lot of fun.

A Few Young Strikers That Have Tickled My Fancy

I’ve also been using Smarterscout recently to do a little prospecting. I like SmarterScout because they use a few different algorithms to try and predict/project a player’s impact in a different league.

They also use FIFA-style ratings out of 99 on things - the score out of 99 may not be as accurate as a Wyscout or something, but they’re easier to look at and understand.

Now, these guys are by no means completely off the radar. They’re some of the brightest young stars.

However, they’re not the ‘hobby-relevant’ guys you all hear about.

I’ve basically used Smarterscout to look at young strikers that, according to their algorithms, would perform well in the Premier League.

All ratings (besides style ratings) are based on Premier League standards.

The style ratings just measure how often a player does a certain action - how successful they are at it doesn’t count for that.

Goncalo Matias Ramos

While his teammate, Darwin Nunez might be getting all the attention, Benfica’s other young stud, Goncalo Ramos is someone with a super bright future.

UEFA Champions League @ChampionsLeague

Gonçalo Ramos (20 years, 297 days) = second youngest player to score in the Champions League knockout phase for Benfica ⚽️ @slbenfica_en | #UCL

Here’s how his stats look according to SmarterScout.

Find his cards on eBay (this is an affiliate link)

Myron Boadu

France is a hotbed for talent.

The young Dutch striker has really impressed in his first season at Monaco.

His stats stand up compared to Premier League standard too according to SmarterScout.

Smarterscout also looks at player’s shots against the quality of keeper and try to give them a shot rating too. His 85 shot rating (not shown) shows that he can bang the goals in at a good rate.

Find the Cards on eBay (affiliate link)

‘til next time.

Vince