Guimaraes has got to the stage where he is no longer merely a promising young player - he’s arrived as a fully-fledged star player. Defensively I have no complaints about him at all. Not much gets past him now that his stats have been beefed up by several seasons’ solid play. Going forward, he’s a proper Roberto Carlos (without those mostly anticlimactic free kicks).

Here’s a great long-range goal from Guimaraes in a 6-1 rout of Everton:

I think that’s the longest long-ranger I’ve scored yet in PES2008. I’d be delighted with it if only it was placed higher up in the net. In PES there’s nothing quite like a long-distance, high, curling, dipping, screamer of a goal. This Guimaraes goal is good, but I dislike how low down it is. It’s almost a daisycutter. Keepers should never be beaten by long-range daisycutters. The dreadful state of the goalkeepers in PES2008 should never have got past Konami’s first playtest phase - if there even was a playtest phase, of course…

Schwarz scored four of the other goals. He’s neck-and-neck with Rooney for the Golden Boot at the moment.

Schwarz is now so prolific that I expect him to bag at least a hat trick in every game. He certainly gets the chances to do it. It’s a rare game where I don’t create at least five good chances for him, and usually more.

When I’m in the groove - concentrating fully, no distractions, not thinking of anything else but the game - a 4-3-3 with a good squad of players is pretty much unstoppable.

This is something I found the other night when I played online for the first time. Setting aside the horrific technical problems that marred all but one or two of the games, I was more than able to hold my own.

When I left the formations in their default states - usually a standard 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 - I struggled to create openings up front. But whenever I took a minute beforehand to rearrange the players into my beloved 4-3-3 with a deep DMF, I was a danger. The only thing I had to watch out for was the counter-attack - and I paid the price more than once. Somebody playing as Brazil (I was Argentina) completely destroyed me 3-0, my heaviest defeat of the session.

When the lag and out of sync problems weren’t effectively wrecking any kind of gameplay on the pitch, I had an enjoyable time. Playing against ‘people’ made a refreshing change from playing the AI. I suspect that PES2008 gameplay has been optimised with online in mind. (A possible reason why the single-player game feels curiously easy, and a bit flat, this year.)

Online could be where PES2008 finds its longevity - which makes it all the more urgent that Konami knuckles down and gets it sorted out. Online play is definitely something I’d want to return to in the future. As things stand, I won’t be going near the online game again until I hear that it has been sorted - or until I finally crack and get an Xbox360. As well as the 360’s relatively flawless PES2008, other games like Bioshock and Mass Effect are starting to tempt me.

Getting back to my Master League, the only time I feel in real danger now is when a fast, determined CPU team collects the ball after one of my attacks and sweeps down to my end. This is where my alt 5-4-1 formation (mapped to a strategy button) has come in very handy. Switching between my starting 4-3-3 and the alt 5-4-1, and back again, is a press of two buttons away. It drags my players by the scruff of their necks back to defend in depth and in numbers, snuffing out the counter.

I’ve also spent some time tinkering with my other alt formation - the ultra-attacking 1-2-4-3, mapped to L2+Square. That formation was really only good for one thing: extreme attacking play in the final third. Losing the ball was a nightmare. There was no way my forward players (i.e. nearly all of them) could ever get back in time.

So I’ve amended it to an attacking formation that I can actually play with for some time. One that reduces the chances of being sliced open on the counter attack. A 3-2-2-3. The defensive line is set to high, and the Offside Trap is set to frequent. All three CBs have full defensive duties; the DMFs are on medium defending, but with run arrows pointing back to my goal; and everyone else is on full attack-attack-ATTACK mode.

It’s a formation I can leave on for much longer periods than I ever dared to leave the 1-2-4-3 on for.

After the Everton romp, I went on a mini-run of defeats. Poor defeats: 0-2 to Bolton, who I beat easily at the start of the season. I lost 2-1 at West Ham, picking up two red cards as my frustration grew.

Then it was Chelsea. I was nervous before this one, spending an uncharacteristic amount of time in the formation and the Regulate Condition screens. I took to the field and scored early, then had to withstand almost constant pressure for the remainder of the half. The CPU had the ball and I was not going to get it back. I’m trying to wean myself off talking about scripting, but it’s mighty hard. Every loose ball went to Chelsea. There. That’s my ration used up for the whole week.

Chelsea got their equaliser early in the second half, as I knew they would. The game went on with both teams attacking dangerously but not really creating a clear-cut scoring chance. Both goalkeepers were as butterfingered with weak shots as ever in PES2008, but there was always a defender on hand to clear up the mess.

Donadel played in this game - a rare appearance after I’d noticed him sitting on the bench with a red form arrow and a full stamina bar. I played him as DMF, for old time’s sake.

I know the rhythms of a Master League by now - the patterns of players’ comings and goings - and Donadel is not long for this world. I’ll be shipping him out at the end of the season. It makes me feel sad after all he has done for me so far. His arrival in season 2009 was the match that lit the blue touchpaper that ignited the run that swept me to promotion from Division 2.

After giving him this build-up, you’ll more than likely know what came next. Donadel scored the winner against Chelsea - a diving header in the six-yard box, in the 90th minute. It was probably Donadel’s last appearance and last goal for me in PES2008.

*Moment of silence*

I’m back up to 3rd place in the table. There are six games left in the season. I will only catch Man Utd to take 2nd place if they lose most or all of their remaining games and I win all of mine. It’s not going to happen. Liverpool in 4th place are level with me on points, but have a poorer goal difference. I really want to hang on to that 3rd spot.

As every self-respecting PES player should know, it is possible to map strategies to the controller’s face buttons and then use them on the fly during games by pressing L2+X, or Circle, or Triangle, or Square, or any combination thereof. (It’s the same for the Xbox 360, of course. Except with different names for the same buttons.) I’ve met PES players who have played the game for years and know nothing about any of this. They’re strange people.

My setup really hasn’t changed since the controller seen above was grey and belonged to a PlayStation1…

(For those truly strange people who don’t yet know, you configure your strategy setup via your team’s Formation settings. This year the options are tucked away under the Team Tactics heading. Go into that menu and start playing around. It can be a bit fiddly (setting up my strategy layout takes about 10 minutes) but it’s all fairly intuitive once you know where everything is. And don’t forget to save your hard work at the end of it all: Data Management>Copy Formation>Save Formation.)

Strategy Plan A (ultra-defensive)

(Both of the Strategy Plans provide alternate formations that you can configure how you please, and switch to for as long as you like in-game at the press of two buttons, without having to pause and visit the menu screen. FIFA take note.)

• All players set to HIGH defensive responsibilities.
• Back line set to DEEP
• Counter-attacking set to SELDOM

This alternate formation can be almost impregnable if you concentrate fully. Don’t let the CPU’s tricksy passing and one-twos drag your players too far out of position. It’s good for holding onto a lead when the other team is piling on the pressure. It’s also surprisingly good to play with for a little while, as the enhanced midfield and defensive presence leads to great possession in the middle and forward areas. It’s easy to leave this one on for longer than you intended.

Strategy Plan B (ultra-attacking)

Use with extreme caution!

• All players except the CB set to LOW defensive responsibilities
• Back line set to HIGH
• Counter-attacking set to FREQUENT

In PES2008 I have been absolutely carved wide open at times when using this to try to get back into a game. But at other times, as it’s intended to do, it has got me back into games and even won me games. It’s best employed when you want to contain the opposition in its half, especially when you have a corner or a free-kick in an advanced position.

Naturally, it’s at its best when you have the ball. When the other team has the ball, it’s best to cancel it in most cases. Your players will run back to their original positions and hopefully snuff out any danger. Switching straight into the ultra-defensive formation is often more effective than simply reverting to the standard formation (4-3-3 in my case).

The only times I play with this formation switched on all the time, and never cancel it even when the other team has the ball, are when I’m behind or level in the last few minutes and I feel like taking a gamble. It sometimes pays off, and I get the equaliser or the winner thanks to all those attackers. But it also sometimes costs me another goal. As I said, use with extreme caution.

Both of the above alternate formations are very useful for confusing the CPU players under certain conditions. What follows is a bit of an exploit, but I’m not ashamed to say I use it. Not much, but I use it. Considering all the advantages the CPU teams have over me, I think I’m entitled to this small one:

When the opposing GK is about to take a goal kick (for example), quickly switch to one of the above formations. As he takes the kick, none of your players will be where they were when the AI computed its kick. You stand a good chance of getting the ball. Switch back immediately to your regular formation, or play on with the alternate one at your discretion. Again, use this carefully.

Pressure and Counter-Attack

Pressure and Counter-Attack are fairly self-explanatory. In practice their effects are often imperceptible and/or annoying. Both have the potential to tire your players if left on continuously.

Pressure is highly controversial among the PES community. It makes your players go ball-chasing even more than they do already, leaving massive gaps that your opponent (human or CPU) can easily take advantage of. As with Strategy Plan B, I tend to be very sparing with Pressure, only really using it when I’m desperate.

Counter-Attack is an odd one. It’s reputed to make your forwards sit higher up the pitch, level or almost level with the other team’s defence. When you’re defending deep, though, your forwards are often so far away with counter-attack switched on that you struggle to clear your lines. I tend to use it when I have collected the ball in defence and have time to pick a pass to a midfielder, who will them hopefully play it forward to the advanced strikers. It’s not good to have this on when you’re desperately heading or hoofing the ball clear and you just need an outlet.

And that’s it. Obviously, the better your players, the better they will carry out your strategy. In years past, my ultimate teams of Master League galacticos have completely destroyed some opponents using the alternate formations at the right times.

I really do play with these strategies mapped to my controller all the time. I’ve dabbled in the past with Opposite Attack, Player Change, Centre Attack, and the rest of them, but I’m settled on these for now. I’ve never used them online, but that is going to change this year (as soon as the online play gets sorted out). It’ll be interesting to see how they work against a human player.