Played two, won two.

Yes, that really is my Coventry City, blurrily riding high in the #1 spot.

I won both games 1-0, playing well and scoring with Schwarz (he’s 19 now - they grow up so fast these days…) in the first game, and, crucially, Frutos in the second game. It’s reassuring to play with a solid striker at last.

Frutos’ goal was nothing special - a snapshot finish during a melee on the edge of the area. I scored it early in the first half of the second game, and spent the rest of the match defending for my life. My new CB, Rami, played in this match (Suzuki was unfit). Rami was immense. He seemed to head everything away from my goal. A commanding presence in the centre of defence is what I’ve been lacking.

I also played a first round game in the Division 2 Cup. I played Hammarby away. (I always seem to play Hammarby in the first round.)

They went 2-0 up before half-time. Both of their goals were among the worst of the worse goals I have conceded in PES2008. Here we go again, I thought.

I decided that I needed an away goal at the very least to take into the home leg and give me a chance. Shortly before full time, Macco came on as a substitute and I switched my formation to Strategy Plan B - the ultra-attacking 1-2-4-3 formation.

I got my reward in the 90th minute. It was a rare kind of goal for me. A sliding tackle on the right wing broke my way for once, and I passed inside to Macco, then jinked past a couple of defenders. After going on a rare dribble and getting in on goal I usually panic and blast it high and/or wide. But I kept my focus and executed a nice dinked finish past the Hammarby keeper.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuHRtfiHVH8&rel=1]

The game ended 2-1 to the hosts. I think I’ll turn them over back at my place.

The cup is a nice bonus - a way to earn extra spending points and experience for certain players, and it would be nice to win the D2 Cup before I hopefully leave the Division forever. But the league is the priority.

The league table right now means nothing. I won’t be taking my eye off the ball. Promotion is the ball. And I’m not taking my eye off it.

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.