A few big matches against the big teams, with lots at stake, and results worked hard for, and I’m in a good place with PES2018 in its final season.
A match versus Liverpool, at Liverpool, saw me put into place my new ‘Arsenal rule’ for playing against big clubs in PES2018.
I know it’s more like the Myth of Arsenal these days, but if you let them have the ball in PES2018, they’ll keep it and you will make yourself unhappy while trying to get it back. So my ‘Arsenal rule’ is that I keep the ball. That’s it. Even if I’m not really doing anything with it. Squandering possession on daring raids and speculative through-balls and crosses is a no-no against the Arsenals of PES2018.
I observed the Arsenal rule against Liverpool in this match, and ran out an easy 4-1 winner, with a hat-trick from my Classic Ronaldo (the Brazilian one, who gloriously looks nothing like the original).
A few posts ago it looked like the title was way out of reach, but a few results for me means that the teams above me have slipped – of course they have – and now look at this table. I’m 7 points behind. With 10 matches to go I could easily overhaul the leaders. Will the game let me do it?
It might, you know. The situation is complicated by the fact that I’ve played the key 6-pointer against Man City, and it only ended 1-1, so there’s no opportunity for me to put a dent in their armour.
If I can keep my current form going, I stand a chance, that’s all I know.
And I am still in the FA Cup and of course the Champions League. I’m in the semi-final of the FA Cup, Shakhtar Donetsk are first up in the knockout round of the Champions League. A very unlikely Treble might be on. I’ll be disappointed not to win something in my final season.
I’ve decided to do my End of Year Review of PES2018 immediately after I finish up Season 8. It makes sense, as there are no more Years for me in PES. August/September time will be just like any other time.
In my End of Year review of PES2018 I’ll be giving the game two separate scores. One score will consider the game as the generic, market-friendly, Western-facing, FIFA-style football game that it undoubtedly is, and it will be a pretty good score. The second score will consider it as a PES game, and will be a pretty low score. The second score will of course be PES2018’s real score, but I’m not churlish enough to deny that the first score still means something. Times change, and PES has changed with them. I’ve accepted it.
When will the end come? With 10 league matches remaining, and still being in two Cups, I’m thinking it’ll be closer to mid-March now.