former Pes Fanatic

The start of my Norwich City Manager Mode career I have seen a different side to FIFA 09.

The feel of the game playing with an average team, opposed to the likes of Celtic, Valencia, Portsmouth and Man City is dramatic.

In the opening three fixtures seen a comedy of errors due to the players average attributes.

Passing

No longer on semi-assisted are the passes played to feet 99% of the time.  It felt like cheating when playing in my Valencia MM as all passes were going to feet no matter the body position, therefore I switched to Manual.  With these Norwich City players, the ball is going all over the shop due to the players average passing attributes. It really does put too bed the argument that all FIFA players feel the same.

Control

Again due to the averageness of my players, no longer does my players instantly control the ball when receiving a pass with pace.  The ball ricochets of all parts of the body with their first touch when the passes are played with pace and their second touch is a tackle.

Shooting

Is the attribute I feel the most, no longer one-on-one with the opposing keeper am I guaranteed a goal.  With Celtic and Valencia I would take these chances 8 times out of 10.  Using the same technique with very different results.

I mastered the ‘finesse shot’ both in FIFA 08 and 09 but I rarely hit the target with these players and when I do it is tamely into the keepers hands. 

Strength

The one thing I have noticed throughout my squad is that it is too lightweight, my players are often ‘bullied’ off the ball.  FIFA 09 has the physical aspect of football spot on this year.  The two Watford strikers brushed my defence aside in the opening fixture.

I have played a few games so far in this MM and I have already identified players I will be signing in the January transfer window that meet the criteria I set in yesterday’s post.  Entering an advanced search for power and transfer fee brought a batch of players that I have shortlisted.

I will almost certainly have to reassess the salary cap I have put in place.  I am a few games ahead of blog and I have built up a healthy bank balance.  I am thinking of £10K per week salary which will still rule out players from the major leagues and keep the realism, but will ensure a better quality of player.

I will be looking at signing Scottish based players out with the ‘Old Firm’ as I know this market well. The players will all meet the transfer criteria set.  

Possession

Very much like my Valencia MM, moving to World Class difficulty has really upped the ante of the AI.  I cannot believe the difference in how they deny you time and space to play the ball.  Can it get any more lifelike than this?  With the Norwich players and the above mentioned attributes it really is hard at times to get out, they hunt you down in packs.  It’s a case of playing safety football at times, long punts just to get a breather.  

All of these factors have brought a realism playing with an average team.  I really am having fun trying too find ways of breaking down the AI.  It is frustrating, but that’s football.  I will assess my full squad as I have kept the ‘fitness upgrade’ at default level 3 and have to rotate every game.  It should be higher as most professional players are now athletes who can play every week.  I will keep it the way it is for now.

I am loving every minute of this new challenge.  I appreciate it won’t be too everyone’s liking on WC difficulty but I love the fact that it is really tough.  In fact I am getting humiliated at times, what I can say is that World Class will provide a long term challenge with the ‘house rules’ I have applied.  

I lost to Watford in the opening fixture 1-0 which saw the Strength attribute come into play and they bullied my team all over the pitch.

I beat Cardiff 2-1 but I was a little disappointed at losing a cheap goal in injury time.  

The best game of the three came against Sheffield Wednesday.  They raced into a 2-0 lead after 17 minutes.  I couldn’t get a hold of the ball in the first half.  I got back into the game when I tricked the AI into a rash challenge and gifting me a penalty early in the second half.  The AI does appear to jump into challenges more in 09, they receive a lot of cards and I have been awarded in the region of 20+ penalties ( It took me months to get a penalty in FIFA 08).  My created player ‘Heraldo’ won and dispatched the penalty and the equaliser came late in the match.  I was delighted with the draw, it felt like a win.