One thing we have become accustomed to when playing FIFA 22 Ultimate Team is seeing players line up out of position.
Many see this as just part of the game, trying to get the best players involved and keeping top chemistry.
However, it can cause more problems than it's worth, with repercussions that affect the gameplay.
A problem in the middle
Being able to change a players base position doesn't seem to be a problem along the backline and on the wings.
For a start, a centre-back is a centre-back, he can't make a move out from that role, so there he stays.
A full-back can be changed to a wing-back, and visa versa, but that is as far as the move goes - a basic adjustment.
Left and right midfielders can take it one step further, able to be converted to a winger, then a forward, but never switching sides.
All that seems to make sense and has a cap to it.
As soon as we get the central positions it's a totally different story!
There is no limit in changing a CDM (via CM, CAM, CF) to a ST, or the other way.
Yes, this opens up more squad building opportunities, but it is just a cheat to get that top chemistry, with gamers formation changing within the match.
The 4-2-2-2 issue
As we progress through FUT 22, get ready to encounter the 4-2-2-2 formation more and more.
The reason for this is that you can adjust the central positions around easily, often filling all of them with very attacking players.
This effectively lets you play a solid defence, with the option to field six strikers ahead of them to run riot.
We know that Ultimate Team isn't the mode to be in if we're wanting the most realistic play, but even so, this feels like taking things a bit too far.
Pacey meta
We've spoken before about patches changing the meta, and the possible reasons behind that, but this could be another one.
Strikers will often be quicker than midfielders (that aren't on the wing), so become a more sought after option in the middle of the park.
If you come up against an opponent that doesn't have that pace, regardless of the slower players' other top attributes, if they don't have the legs to get to the ball quickly or escape from a quick player, they will be swarmed and overrun.
This makes fast strikers more effective in midfield than their stats would suggest, as you use them to quickly win back possession and storm forward to areas they are more effective in, rarely needing them for defensive marking or slow build-up play.
This also leans into a faster-paced, counter-attacking game, which you need to match to not get outrun, and thus the pacey meta is born.
Potential fixes
Really, the only place that needs to see a fix is central player positioning, which could be easily done if you take out the CAM<CF position modifier.
It still gives you free rein to move the midfielders around how you like but makes a clear cut-off between forwards and midfielders.
We understand that this may not go down too well in the FUT community, but feel it could be better for gameplay.
Another option could be a blanket three-movement option, so a player can only move three positions away from their base one.
You could still change a ST to a CAM, but then if you are playing them in CM or CDM, they will see reduced chemistry.
Maybe we need to see a total change in how position modifiers work, where instead of moving players through the range of positions you give them an additional position they can occupy.
The new position would act as a secondary position, much like in Career Mode, however, the player would have reduced chemistry when playing there.
Whatever happens, we would like to see a change to this aspect of Ultimate Team and feel it would be a change for the better.