Sir Alex Ferguson’s face flushing red on a frosty winter’s day. Emile Heskey returning from an injury. Xavi and Iniesta gently stroking the ball back and forth to one another to the rising applause of the Catalan faithful. Steven Gerrard’s wife. The sweet smell of bacon, beans and eggs permeating the pub on a matchday morning. England bowing out of an international tournament on penalties. A shady Internet stream of a big match freezing right before a goal. Adidas cleats. These are a few of my reliable things.

The Adidas adiNOVA TRX FG, in classic black and white, continues a proud tradition of dependently decent, entry-level Adidas soccer shoes. Those who prefer understated style will appreciate the traditional look of these cleats. Like their competitors, Adidas has begun exploring the outer limits of design at the high-end level. It’s comforting to know that they still expend energy on everyday pairs.

Like most natural leather kicks, they are stiff at first, requiring a break-in period. Wider-footed players may find the shoes to be a tad tight. The studs are heavily weighted towards the outside, non-pacy players may find a lack of grip along the middle of the shoe. The lacing is off-center, allowing more surface area with which to feel and control the ball, and the overall profile of the shoe is sufficiently low. The tongue is molded on one side with the body of the shoe itself, helping to keep the foot from pronating and making the laces almost superfluous.

The Adidas adiNOVA TRX FG is a perfectly serviceable pair of cleats made all the more appealing by its reasonable price. Like the immortal Adidas Samba, a simple-looking pair allows one’s game to speak for itself. As befits their status as one of the world’s biggest soccer companies, Adidas has never strayed far from what works.

The Adidas adiNOVA TRX FG, along with a wide array of soccer shoes and other soccer equipment, may be found at soccerpro.com. The friendly folks at soccerpro.com were kind enough to give me a pair for this review.