Well, at least it’s nice to be back in the Champions League in season 15. I’ve had a moderate group draw. I shouldn’t go into these matches with anything to fear. I’ve played and beaten all three teams at various times during my PES2012 adventures.
Season 14 ended trophyless. There have been no trophies for a few seasons now. My club ranking has slipped to no. 18 in the ML world.
Just three or four seasons ago, it was no. 2. I seemed all set to dominate every competition for some time. Ah, but then I went up to Superstar difficulty.
Life on Superstar is tough. It challenges me in ways that PES has never challenged me before. When it’s great, it’s the best PES gameplay ever. When it decides to exert its machine intelligence (or when I allow it to, I should say), I find it unplayable.
For the first time since the move to Superstar, I’ve been questioning my decision. One of the PES2012 AI’s key features are its ‘magic dancers’, as I have come to call them. Players who will just jink and glide past your players. Even if you get a tackle in, it won’t stop them.
Superstar takes the ‘magic dancers’ and makes them routine. You’re always up against that, and it gets wearying after a while.
So I’m thinking about going down to Top Player. I’m not thinking about it very much, because Superstar gameplay is actually pretty sublime most of the time. But I’m not ruling out Top Player. This coming season and how I perform will determine that.
There are grounds for hope.
Back in season 13, my first on Superstar, I was out of the Cup early and finished 6th in the table. But then last season I got to the FA Cup semi-final, the Europa League final, and finished 4th in the table. Progress is being made. And there’s nothing as sweet as victory on Superstar.
Season 15, then. For the first time in a long old time, I find myself playing PES at night. This is because my mornings are currently occupied by other stuff, unavoidably.
I released Nadal and Del Piero. What a shame about Del Piero. He was rotting in the OTHER list when I found him aged 24 and 66OVR. He stayed at 66OVR for his entire two seasons with me. I was going to keep him until he was 30 to see if he blossomed, but his best chance of doing that is away from me right now. I’ve got enough young players who need nurturing.
I was looking to add a big beast of a striker to my team. Drogba and Sibon, both in their late 20s but capable enough of doing a job for a few seasons, were my targets of choice. Repeat bids for both players utterly failed. I’ll keep trying, with an eye on the January window.
I bought just one player, HELMES (CF, 69OVR), a kid who popped up when I searched for players with shot power over 90. Did I really want another youngster to develop painfully slowly? Apparently, the answer to that question is YES.
In pre-season, one of my perennial Training Match opponents, Bate Borisov, scored this screamer against me:
That’s Joe Hart in goal. I think he needs another season on the bench, really.
My first two fixtures of the season: Man Utd, AWAY; and Liverpool, AWAY.
Man Utd abslutely creamed me 3-0. I was lucky not to concede 6 or 7. Emmanuel Thomas, playing alongside Roberto Mancini up front, got his regulation goal against me. A pest for 15 seasons, that man.
Liverpool had Ibrahimovic playing alongside Papin up front. I tell you, this ML world of mine is pretty lethal.
I ground out a 1-1 here. A game I could not afford to lose. There was added pressure on these two games knowing that they were early 6-pointers.
1 point from my opening two matches. I deliberately averted my gaze from the league table when it flashed on-screen. I’ll pay attention when 10 matches have passed and I’m hopefully within shouting distance of the top. This season, I have to win something for the sake of my self-respect.
Shift* 9-10
Max—I’m tempted to leave your wonderful typo intact as a very apt summing-up of Life With Defaults.
With your permission, of course. Say the word and it’s gone, but it’s such a happy accident, given our constant complaints about the Defaults and what they can and cannot do…
haha sure i almost didn’t even correct myself!
Last nights session…. up against league leaders, Liverpool.
So thought id try the NG tactic – 2 holding DMF’s, 3 across the midfield in front, 1 lone target man….
I Lost 5-0.
Yep, FIVE-Nil. Further evidence that some games in PES u just wont win no matter what.
My ‘keep them at bay’ tactics were rendered useless after 10 in-game mins by a feeble ploffy little shot from Drogba which hit my defenders left scapula, and deflected weakly towards the net, for my GK to lie down on the spot rather than attempt a meaningful save. 1-0 Liverpool and I now had to attack.
Again, every defelction, every loose ball, every tackle, all won by the CPU.
Dribblers that do the tango round my player 5 times just for fun, etc etc etc. gets boring.
Anyway, finished the season 5th, a change from my last 6 seasons of 4th i guess, due to the emergence of Man City as a force, who finished 4th.
On a positive note, in past seasons I hav been 20+ points off challenging for the title, finished this season 12pts behind in the end, so making progress.
But I am a little dejected as I wonder how I’ll ever win the league if these so called úber teams are so unbeatable all the time. Liverpool only lost 4 games all season.
End of season period was focused purely on keeping the core of the team, letting 2 o3 players go and bringing in a good CB and a good CF as cover, thats all I wanted.
After several attempts I managed to sign Sibon, CF at 89OVR, also a transfer target I have been after for 2 seasons now, KMou a CB at 96OVR finally agreed to sign, then to my shock, Eridivisie player of the byear and first team regular Simao, rated 96OVR agreed to sign after 2 attempts. Only on a one year deal though, thankfully managed negotiate it into a 3 year deal. So 3 big sifnings for me and all key targets.
Roll on Season 16!!!!
Paul—I’ve written some more about my new tactical approach in the post up later today. All I’ll say now is that the first goal is the critical one, naturally. As soon as that went in, you had to attack, and the tactical plan was gone. It is working for me right now. How did you get on with deliberately playing dirty, taking a yellow card to stop a flowing move, etc.? Never underestimate the power of the reducer. That’s a crucial part of my approach now.
Keep me updated on how your Sibon gets on. I’ve got my eye on him or Drogba for the next January window.
NG – I Know you are standing by this methodical tactical approach but i guarantee if i could have had every player on this blog to play against Liverpool last night, as they played against me, no one would have beat them. It was quite blatantly purely scripted that Id be beaten, well.
No tactical nuances or methodical play or fouling was gonna help, it was just a defeat, end of, no discussion. Ive seen it happen enough times now to know wether i could have played any better or done anything differently.
As for Sibon/Drogba, The Drog has been at liverpool about 8 seasons now, and just as much of a menace as Carroll was. I’ll let you know how Sibon pans out.
I did a search for regens last night, C Ronaldo is 80OVR as a 17yr old – he rejected my advances, and Carroll is 69OVR as a 16yr old, struggling to get into the PSG team, but wouldnt join me as it was a move down!!?
Cheeky twat.
Paul- Alex Fergesson once said you can’t expect to win the league if u lose more then 3 games. How many points did you finish with? I think that’s the best way to see how ur season went, if other teams have stupidly high points it’s not ur falt.
I to am an avid believer in the 4-2-3-1 but an attacking one. 1-cm 1-DFM on the half way line the wing players pushed high and wide in a diamond with the CF and AMF. On ss I play a lot of balls to the wing and then back to SB or CM while sending the winger forward this stretches the CPU deffence and creates spaces for the AMF AND CF. When my CM/DFM Pass the ball I never press L1 so they stay more or less in position to defend if I lose position.
Max – well Liverpool lost 4 and won the league.
I lost 10 games, i know i need to lose less to stand a chance, thats common sense but 6 of those games were to Chelsea, Liverpool, and Man Utd – the unbeatable teams.
I finished on 77pts i think.
Liverpool won with around 89pts and over 120 goals scored!
I play exact same diamond formation as you Max, it suits my style of play much better.
Paul—my new defensive approach is still fairly new, lots of time yet for it to go tits-up.
I’m not buying any more new Regens, no matter how mouth-watering, until they’re at least 20-22. Even Gerrard, probably the best of youngsters at the start, could have done with three full seasons at another club before I got hold of him. They’re awkward buggers to have around and train up this year.
Max—I always find that the top teams will lose more than the regulation 3 matches to keep me interested—although they won’t lose too many more than that.
Life in the basement is a little better at the moment, although I feel I’m entering a critical phase (yes, NG – season 2, not a new game). I’m 9th after 7 games (3/1/3), 4pts off promotion, 5 off 2nd to last. I reckon if I win the next couple I could be classed by the game as a challenger, if I lose them morale will fall and I’ll struggle with just 14 players. The mighty Ribeiro is top of the scorers again with 5, but Cinalton scored possibly my best PES 2012 goal yet – a cross that eluded the big men and playing as my LMF he caught a volley from the edge of the area that curved into the top corner. I couldn’t believe it went in – that seems to be the difference, they are finding their shooting boots and so I don’t need to go hell for leather trying to create chances. I have signed Jomaa for January – not great, had him before but he is quick and can play across the front and wings – a replacement for Shimizu and Sahafi who are getting international calls. I now have a few quid for youth as well. Time will tell…
Alex Fergesson said that when United and Arsenal were dominating the league but now the title race is more open like in ML so you can expect all teams at the top to lose 3-6 games but the rest they win. I always look at it as a points total, i go for 90 points thats 30 1-0 wins if i have to. What will kill ur tittle hopes are to many draws.
When i’m challenging for the league i would never ever accept a draw and do anything to go for the win even if i ended up losing. Going all out attack i’d turn more draws into wins then draws into losses which is +expected value.
I think its more important then ever this year to have 90+ players in every position if u want to win anything at SS. From the evidence of both your videos NG and Paul it will come, maybe a few more 90+players in the squad, and the self satisfacion will be worth all the scripted matches in the world!!
uncle turf—got a replay of the Cinalton goal? Sounds like the kind of goal I’m always wishing I could score in PES2012 but never have yet.
NG – absolutely, I was desperate to get it saved (alongside my many ‘see ribeiro is not just about heading’ efforts)
uncle turf—are we going to upload it anywhere? Goals of the PES Year So Far, by definition, are worth watching. Please!