Now we can concentrate on the cup
Posted by: Greg Downs in 4-3-3, D1 Cup, Donadel, Liverpool, formations, league table, relegation battle, tags: 4-3-3, D1 Cup, Donadel, formations, league table, LiverpoolAhhh… I found that missing screenshot of my league position. It shows the state of play going into the last three games. It was tucked away in a sub-sub-folder on my PC along with photos of my best friend’s wedding two years ago. Go figure, as they say.

I’m 3 points clear of the relegation zone with three games to play. My goal difference has come down to a workable level. (See Celtic on the bottom with just three wins all season? Guess who they got two of those wins against. Go on, guess.)
This morning I played the critical last few games of the Division 1 League season and the Division 1 Cup Final. It was a very interesting session of play. I’ll post about the League separately later today. For now I want to concentrate on the Cup.
Last night I overcame Manchester United in the semis after a 0-0 draw at my ground and a 1-0 win at theirs. The goal I scored was notable for a couple of reasons. Here it is:
That’s the first goal of its kind that I have ever scored in any PES game. Really. I meant it when I said that I’m not a dribbler. The people who are complaining about these kinds of goals being too easy in next-gen PES2008 might have a point.
I’m still not capable (or really willing) to play like that all the time, so hopefully it won’t become a universal get-out-of-jail card for me. But it is a worry. If I can do it, I can only imagine what players who routinely used to do this in previous PES games must be doing. No wonder so many have said they’ve traded in their copies of PES2008 for FIFA08, or gone back to PES5 or PES6. Hmmm.
So it was Liverpool in the Final. Before starting the game, there was one important thing I had to do. I had to change my First XI. When I started this blog I was naive and never dreamed that it would attract commenters, or that those comments and suggestions would influence my decisions in playing the game. But I also never dreamed I would struggle with PES2008 to the extent that I have.
A consensus seemed to emerge over the past several days. Shore up the defence. Pick midfielders with better strength and body balance. Concentrate more on defending - you don’t have to go charging in. And lots more along those lines. Thanks, all.

I moved the defence upfield a notch or two, and brought the AMFs back a similar distance. By playing the defence deep and the AMFs too far ahead of the DMF, I was inviting the almost constant pressure I came under in most games.
Suzuki had to go from the CB position. Thinking back now I have no idea why I continued to play him while Felipe was sitting on the bench. Pride? Almost certainly.
After careful deliberation I decided I could afford no more than one show pony in the AMF slots. It had to be Shaw on the left. Djiba - poor, neglected Djiba with his high stamina and body balance (high compared to Shimizu, anyway) - came in on the right.
And as for the DMF slot… well, it finally had to be done: Donadel is retired to the bench and Muntari takes his place. Forgive me, Donadel. Don’t look at me like that. Cheer up - look what happened to you:

Up front, Chiesa on the right is another player I’ve probably stuck with for too long due to misplaced pride. Schwarz was relatively blunted out on the left, which is a position more suited to a nippy striker who can do a passable impression of a winger when called for. Poor old Schwarz lumbering down the wing… Let’s not dwell on the past, eh.
So, with my all-new, all-improved First XI, how was I going to get on - in the Cup Final first of all? An instant heavy defeat - requiring more work on the drawing board - or instant success?
Gulp. I won the D1 Cup Final, hammering Liverpool 4-0!

Look at those stats! Liverpool’s world-class stars barely had a kick of the ball. I think Kewell might have had a glancing header at one point. (When I was distracted by a car horn in the street outside. Otherwise it would never have happened.)
My players were like a team at last - a team with a proper spine: Felipe, Muntari, Djiba, Schwarz…
None of my goals were ‘all that’ - each one was crafted, though, with passing and movement (pass and move is how I like to play - no, how I love to play - PES). A header and a snapshot and a scramble and a deft finish from the edge of the box - those kinds of goals. Reyes, Schwarz, Djiba(!), and Reyes again were the scorers. (Leading me to ask myself yet more soul-searching questions about why I’ve left Reyes on the bench most of the season.)
And not a single yellow card.
After the game I was very, very happy to see my Team Ranking progress bar shoot up almost to the end. I’m about this far >-< from going up to rank C. Another couple of wins will do it.
It’d be great to get those wins in the final league games of the season. The Cup is all well and good, and the performance was amazing, but I’ve had these kinds of moments in PES2008 before. I’ve always got up only to fall down again. Would that happen this time? Only one way to find out…


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