Jackson and Kompany
Season 2009 got underway with a big game against Lazio, one of Division 2’s toughest teams.
Lazio always give me a good game. I don’t recall ever having an easy time against them. Truth be told, there aren’t many games where I have a really easy time against anyone. It’s not just because most of my players are only above-average. My House Rules dictate that I keep the size of my squad to 25 players and that at least 5 of them have to be original Default players. Consequently I struggle to field a decent, fit team. Usually about half my players are missing several notches from their green stamina bars.
The only times when this does not apply are at the start of the season and just after the mid-season negotiations. So, actually, right now is the best possible time to play Lazio. I approached the game as if it was a very early championship six-pointer…
Singers FC 1-0 Lazio
…and it didn’t disappoint. This was one of the hardest games to get a result from that I have ever played on PES2008.
From start to finish it was as if I was fighting with the controller to get my players to do what I wanted them to do. I don’t think it was scripting. I never felt that my players were suspiciously below-par.
It was the Lazio players. They were superb, always chasing me down, intercepting passes, stringing together dangerous moves. My new defensive pairing of Jackson and Kompany (Jackson & Ko., I might start calling them) had their work cut out stopping the trademark Italian passing triangles on the edge of my box. Mathieu played deeper in this game than he probably will for the rest of the season. He was a true DMF, making numerous last-ditch tackles and generally just getting in the opposition’s way. Akinfeev was heroic at times in goal.
Then I had Kompany sent off. It was in the middle of the second half and I was starting to get complacent, thinking I had the defensive game sussed. I mistimed a sliding tackle and that was that: red card. Looks like I picked the wrong season to give up playing dirty…
But yet again, having 10 men seemed to give me a new lease of life. This happens so often in PES2008 that I have to say I believe it must be hard-coded into the game that a human player enjoys a wee bonus with 10 men. I kept the ball better. I passed better. My aerial through-balls started penetrating the Lazio back line. Near the end, I forced a corner…
The goal was a Lazio own-goal. I’ll take it.
Sampdoria 1-0 Singers FC
This game was everything that the Lazio game wasn’t. I enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, keeping Sampdoria down to one half-chance for most of the game, and pounding their goal with shot after shot (after shot) seemingly at will. Surely it was only a matter of time before I broke through?
But no. Their keeper saved everything. In three consecutive attacks I hit the post, the bar, and then the other post. I had that sinking feeling…
On a breakaway attack by Sampdoria, it happened. Their striker broke through clean on goal. El Moubarki was nearby. I did it again. I deliberately fouled the striker, from behind, 25 yards out. A red card and a free kick followed.
They scored from it. I’ve started to remove my defensive wall before most CPU free kicks (L2+down on the D-pad, repeatedly, until it’s done). Doing this moves your keeper back towards the middle of the goal, making it easier for him to save direct shots from the free kick. My goals conceded from free kicks have gone down by about 75% since I started doing this.
Akinfeev saved this free kick—but only deflected it onto the bar. Naturally the ball rebounded back into play and bounced through a penalty box packed with my players straight to the lone Sampdoria player. He tucked it away.
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So, I start season 2009 with a victory and a defeat. Not too bad really. Could have been better. I’ve yet to score a proper goal. I’ve really missed Altintop. Caracciolo is good, but Altintop was very good and well on his way to becoming great. I’m sure I would have got at least one goal with him in these games.
When you play nothing but Master League, after a few games of a season you just know how it’s going to go. You can instinctively take the measure of your team. It’s too early to tell right now. I’ll know after playing a few more games and seeing how my new players bed down into the team. If Kompany, Cassano, and Mathieu turn out to be good buys—and if the likes of Camacho and Caracciolo continue their solid progress—I’m convinced I could not only win promotion but win the D2 Championship as well.
When I moved back to Kansas and started supporting the Wizards (Kansas...
I’ve noticed that you always start your new season very tentatively in ML. It’s supposed to be like in real life. With players still getting into shape and the team working slowly back up to speed, it’s harder to get the results. But it does seem a little forced. I’ve frequently struggled to DRAW against much lesser teams in the first season match.
You really think Seabass thinks we deserve team work and morale?
I’ll also not say where, but I wonder when the mistake will be spotted. One clue who scored the goal?
p.s I also have a confession. Many people have rituals with many things. And I must say, turning the computer on, logging on the internet, load up Hotmail and read the latest post of PES Chronicles will it loads. I WANT MY PES MINUTES BACK!!………..only joking, but seriously I do fell wrong if I don’t read the latest you have to offer or if you don’t offer one at all!! argh the horrible.
@Mirandinha: It’s the “teamwork” factor, which I think is a brilliant idea, but is implemented a bit too strongly. When my teamwork is poor, I can barely scrape a goal, and once it becomes good, I can’t stop scoring.
Too heavy-handed.
Maybe it’s the pace of a yearly production cycle, but I don’t think they playtest ML near enough.
Mirandinha – & ck – I love the Teamwork aspect of PES, always have done. It’s an area of the franchise where I’ve never felt wronged. It’s realistic, and it showcases PES’s magnificent modelling of player stats and abilities (FIFA’s got nuthin’ on this front – NUTHIN’). Yes I always struggle when a clutch of new players come in but look at a real team that brings in half a dozen new players in a transfer window and tries to play them all and that team’ll struggle too. (Mostly.)
Lakriss – thanks for your appreciation and I’m going to try to keep up my record of at least a post every day. Funnily enough, this coming Monday may be a problem on that front. I’m due to have a wisdom tooth extracted at hospital. And I’ve made the mistake of reading on the internet about wisdom tooth extractions… Well, as long as I survive the ordeal and I’ve got the post written beforehand I should at some point have the strength to crawl to a computer and publish it, so hopefully I won’t miss a day.
I’m confused about your comment about the mistae re. who scores the goal – ? If you’ve spotted a ‘continuity error’ on a post, I’m not surprised. I do write the posts several days in advance at times (sometimes I keep pace, but most often I’m ahead of the blog). I get really muddled sometimes and I know there have been errors. For example, my current squad list now features Pjinatnigh, who I bought in the last mid-season negotiations. I forgot to add him to the list until yesterday! That’s just one of dozens of errors I’ve made. But the overall narrative is the most important thing, I think.
I’ve always found the opposite, I’ve been leading games when going down to 10men then lost them, every time. When they start piling on the pressure that lack of 11th man really can hurt!
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I don’t know about wisdom teeth being pulled but I’ve had root canal (twice!) and that was over rated. The only thing that really hurt for me was the bloody needles that stuck in my gums to numb the pain of the op lol.
Paul – yep, that’s what I’m dreading most. The needle or needles. In many ways the waiting for Monday is worse, I think, than the actual procedure will be. I think I’ll be fine once it gets going.
I agree– I love the concept of teamwork, but it affects my players performance in ways that don’t make sense. Players have more clumsy touch on the ball, keepers bat into danger more often, etc.
I do like that players who haven’t played together don’t space well, have trouble completing passes, beating the offside trap, etc.
And while we love to have a moan about PES, playing FIFA for a while will help you understand all the things PES does get right, and having different players *feel* different to handle is one of them!
Re: oral surgery. Just remember what my Zen warrior friend says: “Pain is only an emotion.”
He usually says this while he’s hurting you.