I agree with you. The game was getting better and better each version on the PS2 and then onto the PS3 it was a total disaster. A complete dump for years, before they started to climb back out of the hole. Last year was ok, but man, we're missing things that made the game better a decade ago!
I truely wonder if EA really knows how large percentage of their audience has been playing the game since the 90s (NES for me), and KNOWS that the game was once better off the field?