Calming things down
Changing my attitude to the PSP seems to have resolved my troubles with PES6 on the console. Because of its portability, the PSP tends to be played in less than ideal conditions. Instead of snatching a few minutes here and there, I’ve taken my time and made sure to play PES6 when I’ve got time and space to concentrate.
Results are quite good: played 3, won 2, lost 1. WE United are now 5th in the table.
I’ve also refined my 4-3-3 formation. I considered switching to a 4-4-2 or even a 3-5-2 in order to dominate midfield. But the 4-3-3 has been so effective for me on the PS2 for seven years now that I’m not used to playing PES any other way. Having just two strikers up front feels unnatural. Wingplay is such a huge part of football and of PES that I like having two AMFs and two CFs positioned ready to exploit those areas. Only a 4-3-3 delivers this kind of wing coverage. So I’ve stuck with it.
I’m passing better and taking less risks going forward. The rewarding thing about PES has always been the satisfaction gained from stringing together a good move that ends in a picture-book goal.
I scored one last night in the first game. It was against my old nemesis, Rosenborg. My DMF picked up the ball after a cleared corner. I passed it back to my CBs and knocked it aound the defence for a while. The CPU ran out. A few quick one-twos got my right winger in on goal. Two CPU defenders were closing, and I knew that just shooting would be a waste – the game mechanics would likely spoon the shot way over the bar. I about-turned, dribbled away, cut back inside, squared the ball to my DMF in a bit of space…
Normally I would have shot first time. You can score some spectacular goals on PES6 with first-time shooting. But I wanted to play a bit, so I took the ball on, jinked inside the first defender, stopped, and cut across the tackle from the next. Now my DMF was on the edge of the area with the entire goal at his mercy. All the frustrations of the past few days melted away. I tucked a lovely curling shot into the top corner of the net. The keeper didn’t even move.