I don’t remember any of that from any previous PES. Maybe it was when I wasn’t playing any video games at all. Or when I was playing FIFA. Yes back when Winning Eleven was still a baby, I was big on FIFA.

Re. the WF/CF debate,and on formations in general… I’m very reluctant to start playing around with my core 4-3-3 until I feel that I’ve ‘bedded down’ in this ML career. Historically that won’t happen until I’ve got a couple of straightforward Trebles under my belt. That can take a few seasons or it can take twenty or thirty seasons. Only then will I seriously consider a permanent change to my formation.

Adriano - didn’t you have the version where the CPU would kick the ball out if one of your players was injured? I think it was PES4. Might’ve been PES5. Whichever it was, I always felt honour-bound to return the favour whenever a CPU player went down injured. The CPU always threw the ball back to me afterward. And - get this - I always used to throw the ball back to the CPU from my throw-ins after they’d kicked the ball out.

I remember that if their player went down and I didn’t kick the ball out, the crowd would start to whistle and the CPU players would get hyper-aggressive. It was just something I did that I felt was in keeping with the spirit of that PES game and the wider game of football at the time.

Why do I get the feeling that my PES habits just enrage you the more you hear about them…

“Hmmm… so he doesn’t use R2. Well, that’s odd, but each to their own. Hang on… he doesn’t like the idea of employing his wide CFs as WFs in order to extract maximum value from all of his players and 4-3-3 formation? That’s odd too. Well, you can lead a horse to water, as they say, but - Now hang on. What? HE ADMITS TO KICKING THE BALL OUT OF PLAY TO LET A COM PLAYER RECEIVE TREATMENT?!!?!?! The bloody players aren’t even real!!! Aaaaarghhhhhh…..“

You mean in the past you have actually kicked the ball out of play when a COM player was down? Get outta here.

I’m optimistic that you will win the treble this year and fulfil your PES 2008 dreams.

That’s funny seeing the CPU player on the deck and you knocking the ball home. As you have said many a time, the CPU AI constantly cheats in game. So what goes around comes around. Nice out of the boot finish.

Going back to your debate with Adriano, regarding CF / WF. I am sure you have tried this, but I was getting loads of success in 2 AMF playing wide with 2 CMF. You could play Giggs and Camacho wide in MF and Cole and Kim upfront. In effect you will have 4 players attacking with your 2 midfielders on the edge of the box.

I try various formations, whilst keeping the same personnel. I have played BEN SAHAR as a WMF and he is as good their as he is as a CF.