I met Blackburn in the league and lost 2-1. I was 2-0 down at one point and battled back well to come within one goal, but it wasn’t going to happen. It was a frustrating game in which I had Valeny sent off.

My red cards are becoming a problem. 19 dismissals in 25 games is a poor, poor record. In real life my club would have been up before the FA. I have to calm down…

After spending a week or two just playing next-gen FIFA08, I’ve more or less completely readjusted to PES2008 in all respects but this one. In FIFA08 I got into the habit of deliberately fouling CPU players to break up attacks, taking the inevitable (and realistic) yellow card, and just getting on with it.

In PES2008, tackles that should be punished with yellow cards - or even just by the award of a free kick and nothing else - are frequently punished by red cards. I’m slowly learning (again) to restrain my instincts, but until I get completely back on board it’s costing me.

One bright spot in the Blackburn game: a nice goal from Altintop. He’s come on strong recently and is starting to dominate the forward line in much the same way that Schwarz used to back in my first ML career. He’s currently third in the top scorer’s table with 14 goals (Elcherino is way out in front on 44 goals).

Turkey called up Altintop immediately after this game, so I was without him for the next, against Celtic.

I find that Celtic in PES2008 are either very easy to beat or ridiculously hard. They’re one of those teams that occupies no middle ground. I included them in this Superleague for a couple of reasons. Mainly because I love their kit. There’s something about a hooped football shirt that is evocative of the game itself. When I was about 5 years old I supported QPR solely because of their hooped shirts. This instinctive affection for the design has never worn off.

The game itself against Celtic was a minor classic. I went 0-1 down to a soft goal that I could and should have cleared upfield. But no, I had to try to pass my way out of trouble. Gatti hesitated on the ball when receiving the pass and a Celtic striker nicked the ball off him. Seconds later it was in the back of my net.

I was playing this game in my black away kit, despite being at home. That was fine with me. My equaliser came early in the second half, and it was one of my most favourite goals on the game so far.

It’s not only hooped football shirts that I have a weakness for. As anyone who has watched any of my PES5 compilation movies will testify, I do like to have a long-range shot…

Here’s Camacho, he of the fabled Middle Shooting ability and the callow youth, dispatching a screamer across the goalkeeper and in off the far post:

I scored the winner pretty quickly after that, but I forget who with, or what type of goal it was.

Another day, another few hours of PES2008. My opening games in Master League went surprisingly well. I drew the first game 1-1. I won the second game 1-0. I drew the third game. Then I had an amazing match in the fourth game, coming from 0-1 down to win 2-1 in the final minutes. I played against Celtic, who look very fetching on my HDTV in their green and white hoops.

(I know. These mobile phone snaps look terrible. There’s many a wag who would tell you that this is more or less what PES2008 looks like on the PlayStation3 anyway . But I’m not one of them. Really I’m not.)

I followed this up with a couple of poor results. Poor performances from knackered players led to a clutch of heavy defeats. Galatasaray trounced me 1-4 in a truly miserable defeat for the home team. As the first Cup game approached, I feared the worst. My already drained squad would be all but annihilated by two games in one week. Then I got a pleasant surprise. The player team has been seeded for the first Cup game and has a bye to the next round, said a popup message (in so many words). Whoo-hoo! No Cup games for me just yet. I celebrated by winning a few games in a row and drawing a few other games. Every little helps.

Here’s today’s completely random goal:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqKZva-bEz4&rel=1]

Hamsun can just be seen blurrily putting the ball into the net. I’ll score a real cracker one of these days. Then you’ll see.

So, after the opening dozen or so games I am in the unusual position of being 7th in the Master League - it’s unusual for me, anyway. Usually I struggle to string two passes together with the Default squad players, then hit rock bottom and stay there until I get to the first negotiation period. This year, however, there are 20 teams in the lower division and it’s a helluva long way to that stage. Perhaps I am rising to meet the challenge. Or perhaps PES2008 really is easier than its predecessors, as the word on the street has it.

I’m sticking with the First XI for the moment. Yes, Burchet has jet-heeled boots and would be the more logical choice to play as right-sided AMF instead of Espimas. But Espimas has the precious Middle Shooting ability. Against Celtic he got me the equaliser from 20 yards out. Burchet is more or less playing every other game anyway, as Espimas’ stamina is among the worst of the worst. His AMF buddy on the other side, Ximelez, is probably my least favourite player in the entire squad. But he is the only left-footed midfielder whom I feel comfortable with playing there. You go onto the field with the players you have, not with the players you want.

My defence is atrocious. I am usually a good PES defender but this lot seem to like nothing more than passing the ball straight to the opposition, and singularly failing to clear the ball when I want them to. The efficacy of the sliding tackle has been more than a little nerfed this year. It’s no longer a true sliding tackle. It’s more a case of the player going to ground and sticking his leg out while barely moving off the spot. CPU attackers simply sail by them.

As for the X-tackle… Don’t go there. It’s more common to concede a foul or poke your toe into thin air than it is to come away with the ball. It’s a mystery how I haven’t conceded 40 goals already. Every game finishes with the CPU teams having had 12 or 15 or 20 shots on goal. I rarely get even half that.

Overall, though, I can feel myself easing back into the comfortable groove of Master League on PES2008. The length of the first season is slightly worrying. Also slightly worrying are the frequent occasions when the game forces me to play at home in my away kit. (Stupid Konami, taking out the pre-game kit selection process. Or is its omission an oversight? Nobody knows.)

If I didn’t have to go to work I would be making a much bigger dent in this first season. I have a day off tomorrow, though, so I should be able to put a good few hours in. If I want promotion in this first season, I’m going to need at least four new players - good players - to do it. I really want to get to that first negotiation period. If I’m in the top 10 at that time, I think I’ll have a chance.