Competitive Gameplay Doesn’t Suit Clubs

I believe Competitive Gameplay is one of the main reasons why player movement and ball control in Clubs currently feel unnatural and overly restricted.

The biggest issue is the locomotion system. Players often feel like they are being forced through predefined movement and animation states instead of responding naturally to the Left Stick. Small directional adjustments feel heavier than they should, acceleration into sprint can feel delayed, and body positioning is often awkward.

Another major issue is ball control. The ball stays extremely close to the player’s feet during normal dribbling, first touches and many skill moves. Instead of feeling like the player is controlling the ball naturally, it often feels like the player is chasing the ball while the game constantly pulls it back toward the body. (Compare this to Fc24 or Fc25 to see the difference)

First-touch animations are also too restrictive. When receiving higher or bouncing passes, players often control the ball inward or downward instead of being able to extend the leg and take the first touch naturally into space. This can leave the body in a poor position for the next action.

Walking is another problem. With very light Left Stick input, Authentic Gameplay allows proper walking, while Competitive Gameplay often gives a slow jogging animation instead. This removes an important level of analog control and makes precise movement feel less natural.

Skill moves also suffer from the same problem. Many animations move the body more than the ball, and the ball remains too close after the move is completed. This reduces the ability to create real separation and makes many skills feel less effective than they should.

Running styles also appear to have very different levels of responsiveness. Some styles feel much lighter and transition into movement or sprint more quickly, while others feel noticeably heavier. Running style should primarily be a visual preference, not something that creates a competitive advantage.

I am not asking for Clubs to use full Authentic Gameplay. I believe Clubs needs a better version of Competitive Gameplay with more natural locomotion, better first-touch freedom, more natural ball distance, proper walking, smoother sprint transitions and less restrictive animation behaviour.

Another issue is the overall gameplay speed in Clubs. Competitive Gameplay feels so fast that it reduces the sense of control, balance and enjoyment during matches. It becomes much harder to slow the game down, maintain possession and build attacks through short passing. Instead, the gameplay constantly seems to push players toward direct, vertical and long-ball football because there is very little time to receive, turn, assess options and recycle possession. Clubs would benefit from a slightly more controlled tempo that allows different styles of football to be effective, rather than rewarding fast and direct play almost all the time.

It would also be worth comparing FC 27’s movement, animation quality and ball control in Clubs with FC 25 and FC 24. Those games are good reference points for how much more natural and responsive player movement and ball control could feel.