PES 2012 Football Life thread

Okay so my failure with the defaults has been bugging me so much, every year I have successfully built a dominating team from that default team.. I don't want this year to be different, I mean seriously on PES2011 I took the defaults and built them up to create this line up:

Goalkeepers: A. Areola 95 rated, 26 years old. Abbiati 86, 17. Shovkovskyi 85, 19. Wimbee 83, 17.
Centre backs: Palmieri 103, 26. Thwala 94, 25. Ballesteros 80, 16. Cirillo 78, 16. Valeny 85, 23.
Right Backs: Santon 96, 28. Sarpei 84, 17.
Left Back: Agostini 91, 19.
Defensive Midfielders: Baumgartlinger 93, 23. Pablo Orbaiz 74, 18.
Right Midfielders: Aurier 91, 26. Luciano 80, 18.
Left Midfielders: Pelaez 98, 26. Calleja 81, 17.
Attacking Midfielders: Shimizu 97, 25. Bruggink 70, 18.
Second Strikers: Tote 86, 17. Di Michele 83, 19.
Centre Forwards: Altidore 97, 27. Schwarz 96, 25. Salah 86, 20.


And including the player I have had in the past such as Di Maria, Chicharito, Coeff, And the Farinos regen!

Why is this year so hard! I'm trying again though I cant let it beat me! Blackpool here I come and defaults, get ready.
 
Just finished a season a Blackpool with the defaults.. And I got to say, even though I could have cried at times, it's been brilliant..

Plus my players have actually got better this time around!

Team at the end of the season was this:

Goalkeeper: Turbacci, joined from US Lecce for a fee of £234k the 17 year old italian looks like he will be a huge addition for the future.

Right Back: El Moubarki, rated 66 and 24 years old the Morrocan survived the first year without being replaced.

Centre backs: the original partnership of Palmieri 72 rated and just 18 years old and Jaric 63 rated and 25 years old hit the rocks when Jaric was sidelined with an injury, the Serbian centre back missed 24 weeks of the season, allowing Cotsload to make the place his, the now 65 rated 22 year old has been impressive alongside Palmieri.

Left Back: Scottish fullback Ruskin kept his place all season, but at 60 rating and 25 years old he will be one to replace next year.

Defensive Midfielders: the youth partnership of Camaho and Duffy worked wonders this year, both players rated 70 now, Duffy was named captain as I want to mould him into a Roy Keane shape the 18 year old led the team well this season, while 19 year old Spaniard Camacho has began attacks well from deep.

Right Midfielder: Shimizu, the young Japanese superstar has already hit 80 rating and at just 18 years old will have the world at his feet for the next few years.

Left Midfielder: I couldn't resist making this signing in the January, Dernis joined from Montepelliar and helped transform the side as we climbed the table, the fee of £425k is a small price to at for a immensely talented player, rated 74 the 30 year old can still do a job on any team an is a class above the championship opposition.

Attacking Midfielder: Ettori held the place for the season, rated 71 and 23 years of age the Frenchman has been an inspiration this year, however free transfer Firmino a 20 year old Brazilian will be competing for the number 10 spot next year, also rated 71 he will be one to watch.

Centre Forward: neither Ordaz or Ribeiro could hold form long enough to really be the starting player, Ribeiro is now rated 61 at 17 years of age and so will probably be given the nod ahead of Ordaz from now.


We finished 14th in the table, winning 11, Drawing 9 and Losing 14 we scored 37 and conceded 45.
Our top scorer was a joint leadership between Ordaz and Ettori both on 8.
While assists was led by Shimizu on 9.

I decided that a new striker an left back will be vital for progress, and with limited fund available I'm looking into the free players, As well as a bid for Ben Basat. I worked out that I should have roughly £429k to spend.

I nearly cried just then, happily secured Kevin Doyle on a free from Wolves, his wages taking up £287k, cut scene of me showin him off, skip a day for training cutscenes to coach Doyle injured 25 weeks!
 
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Glad you're enjoying it, because I think I'm probably done with it now. I'm 99.9 certain not to see out my first season. Frankly, it's just too hard. I've never come across a game or game mode that so unashamedly tries to fuck you over like this game does, it's like the designers set out to piss people off.

I'm currently sitting second from bottom after 15 matches, I won two of my first three games but haven't won since, and I lost, I think, around five in a row by a 1-0 or 2-0 scoreline. I'll be the better side, be unable to score because I could be right in front of an open goal but the ML default players can't shoot for shit, it's like their shooting is magnetically drawn to something wide of the goal or straight at the goalie. I know for a fact it ain't my shooting, I have no issues with regular teams. Default ML players miss deliberately, which I guess is realistic because they are, in fact, shite.

Anyways, I FINALLY score a goal, my first in six games. To my amazement I net a second. I then comfortably see out the majority of the game until around the 75th minute when I just drop my pad with laughter, as yet again the game manufactures itself a goal in ridiculous circumstances. You see, when playing with ML defaults, for whatever reason, if you go 2-0 up and tactically cut out the opposition and reduce them to zero chances, it'll still find a way to score by producing a, frankly, laughably amazing long shot out of nothing, then the game decides everything else will go tits-up.

So, I'm comfortably holding out a 2-0 lead until 75 minutes, Palmieri wins a header on the edge of his box, and the ball drops to a CPU player rated at 50, who then hits a 30 yard dipping volley that no keeper in the world would stop. 2-1, and now I know what's coming. Since playing ML, I must have conceded at least 20 goals that leave you stunned at how farcically good they are from lowly rated Division 2 players.

So I could do nothing about that, then again I'm powerless to stop a lofted through ball. I tracked the run off the ball, get to the ball first as it drops in behind my defence, am in control of the ball, charge up a clearance, the CPU attacker runs into the back of him and just pushes my defender over, he runs through and scores easily. 2-2. I was in control of a defender and the game just made him crumple to the ground for no good reason.

Then in the 85th minute, the good old game decides it'll gift itself another goal by whipping in a cross and all four of my defenders just wander off away from the ball. 3-2. Then in the 90th minute it does it again. 4-2.

It's a joke. I lose five in a row by a 1-0 scoreline, comfortably see out each game and get mercilessly punished by some shitty, scrappy goal that is down to having awful defenders, then when I finally do manage to score, the game goes over-powered to the point where you can't stop it.

I guess the solution is to buy better players, but wait, oh no, you can't, because the game gives you ZERO funds to build a team with. Nothing. And frankly I can't be arsed spending ten seasons repeatedly being fucked over by the CPU just to build a team that is capable of competing against the CPU.

FL with default ML players is totally broken, it's stupendously overpowered in favour of the game, and literally gives you next to no tools with which to achieve any success beyond playing the game for a huge number of seasons. I love a game with depth, but I ain't spending ten seasons being screwed over just so I can acquire eleven players who can kick a ball in a straight line.

So, I think this year's ML iteration has defeated me. It's simply too difficult. I don't know why Konami thought they'd make the default players SO bad this year, and couple that with making whatever team you chose to be on the verge of bankruptcy, then remove any capacity to improve your club's financial status, but here we are. Maybe I'll carry on, but I have to give the game a break or just play with a team and its real players.

It's sad, I've always loved playing with default ML players but the game is just ridiculously hard to the point where it's unplayable.
 
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LT i mind you got the Wii version a while back after not being keen on PS/360 version, Have you stopped playing the Wii game after going back to PS/360 is it not as good? Reason i ask got a chance of a Wii for cheap and PES would be the only game im interested on it.
 
LT with your finances you really need to be willing to take a risk.. I'm in my second season by 21 games (yeah ive been playing all day!), my Expected Earnings is showing -£879k, I have 8 home games remaining which cause of my shit form will only get me a grand total of £112k, tha automatically makes my Expected Earnings -£757k not a massive difference.. But it's enough, then factor in my Sponsorship it's bringing in a further £1.2m and so where my Expected showing a loss.. I'm actually around £500k to the good, and with that you can sign some real gems in the world..
For me I took some risks, right now I've just agreed to sign Taarabt, Dramé and Poepon on frees at the end of the season, their combined salary is around £1.8m, there's no way I can afford it without selling and releasing, and when the time comes that's what I will do, because these new players can improve my team.. And a player like Taarabt after one good season can attract a HUGE fee, enough to replace the rest of the team!

I know that the game fucks you in the ass a lot, it does it evey 5 minutes for me.. Just play a difficulty down from what you're used to, but hold on.. In my first year I finished 14th having lost 14 games of which I felt I had been screwed of at least half.. This year I'm sitting 16th, having lost 12 so far, I know it's unfair but as long as you keep your job and grit your teeth, there are moments of beautiful football to come, and utilising the transfers well can help you stablise the team and eventually play the game how you know it can be played.

Basically what I'm saying is, throw all your cards on the table.. Your team can be improved on the tightest of budgets.. So long as your transfer market prowess is perfect. The results will be fucked up.. But I'd say the first two years are just about keeping your job anyway you can.. At least till your players show signs of being brilliant.. I've mainly done conditioning with the odd stint of other trainings on my team and of the youth players I signed the following has happened in terms of growth:

Shimizu 75 > 83 (and growing)
Camacho 64 > 77 .. Best part is he is a beautiful example of a centre mid who can attack and defend well of amazing passing stats!
Duffy 61 > 76. My captain and now he feels like another player and not a shitty youth player.
Ribeiro 56 > 67. Brilliant in the air, and holds the ball well, a lot of corners and he will score headers!

Of course I'm not saying the game play is great with the defaults, it's shit. But ML as an experience as long as you scrap for your job is beautiful.
 
Flaw3d Genius said:
LT i mind you got the Wii version a while back after not being keen on PS/360 version, Have you stopped playing the Wii game after going back to PS/360 is it not as good? Reason i ask got a chance of a Wii for cheap and PES would be the only game im interested on it.
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It's good fun, I haven't tried it with the regular controllers but if you liked the older PS2 games then you'll most likely enjoy it. To be honest you can pick it up for less than £15 now so it's worth a shot if you don't like any of the other games out right now :)
 
Taylor_94 said:
LT with your finances you really need to be willing to take a risk.. I'm in my second season by 21 games (yeah ive been playing all day!), my Expected Earnings is showing -£879k, I have 8 home games remaining which cause of my shit form will only get me a grand total of £112k, tha automatically makes my Expected Earnings -£757k not a massive difference.. But it's enough, then factor in my Sponsorship it's bringing in a further £1.2m and so where my Expected showing a loss.. I'm actually around £500k to the good, and with that you can sign some real gems in the world..
For me I took some risks, right now I've just agreed to sign Taarabt, Dramé and Poepon on frees at the end of the season, their combined salary is around £1.8m, there's no way I can afford it without selling and releasing, and when the time comes that's what I will do, because these new players can improve my team.. And a player like Taarabt after one good season can attract a HUGE fee, enough to replace the rest of the team!

I know that the game fucks you in the ass a lot, it does it evey 5 minutes for me.. Just play a difficulty down from what you're used to, but hold on.. In my first year I finished 14th having lost 14 games of which I felt I had been screwed of at least half.. This year I'm sitting 16th, having lost 12 so far, I know it's unfair but as long as you keep your job and grit your teeth, there are moments of beautiful football to come, and utilising the transfers well can help you stablise the team and eventually play the game how you know it can be played.

Basically what I'm saying is, throw all your cards on the table.. Your team can be improved on the tightest of budgets.. So long as your transfer market prowess is perfect. The results will be fucked up.. But I'd say the first two years are just about keeping your job anyway you can.. At least till your players show signs of being brilliant.. I've mainly done conditioning with the odd stint of other trainings on my team and of the youth players I signed the following has happened in terms of growth:

Shimizu 75 > 83 (and growing)
Camacho 64 > 77 .. Best part is he is a beautiful example of a centre mid who can attack and defend well of amazing passing stats!
Duffy 61 > 76. My captain and now he feels like another player and not a shitty youth player.
Ribeiro 56 > 67. Brilliant in the air, and holds the ball well, a lot of corners and he will score headers!

Of course I'm not saying the game play is great with the defaults, it's shit. But ML as an experience as long as you scrap for your job is beautiful.
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Do you pick up free transfers on kind of pre-contracts in the January window? I need to take advantage of this...

Since my little moan I continued to fall down the table this afternoon until I hit bottom place, but all of a sudden two wins in a row has pushed me up to third from bottom with six vital points.

I figured enough is enough, changes have to be made, so I brought in some players in the squad who I've never given a chance. So in came Burchett and Elegost, and both have been a revelation and instrumental in both wins. Burchett started as a left winger for his first appearance of the season and duly banged in two goals to win the game for Benfica 2-1, with Elegost having a hand in both goals. Burchett's second goal saw him race through the middle of the park for about 30 yards unopposed before slotting home.

I then really changed up the make up of the team. Tolcholtrzyn was in and out of my side, struggling to find a place with Duffy in the DCM and Ettori in the AMC role, but I changed it up and went from a diamond formation to a flat 4-4-2, with Tolcholtrzyn as a CM, Duffy a DCM, and made Tolcholtrzyn captain. I then put Shimizu on the left of midfield but set his actual specific role to AMC, and used him to cut inside onto his right foot. Maqualao, who I'd been using as a midfielder, has now been pushed up into a side striker role and he seems more suited there. I only currently have Hamsun, Ordaz, Cinalton and Gutierrez as strikers right now so I need all the ability up front as I can get.

Anyways, the first match with this change up went brilliantly, I raced into a shock 4-0 lead before the CPU antics kicked in and they scored two goals in the last three minutes. Tolcholtrzyn stole the show, netting a hat-trick from CM. The first, he hit a free kick into the wall, it came back out to him, and he struck a deflected shot back through the wall and in. Second goal, he curled in a beautiful free kick into the top corner, the third, he smashed a penalty straight down the middle after Maqualao was tripped. Elegost then scored possibly the goal of the game, with a superb 25 yard drive into the top corner. I'll post the videos later if I have time.

Elegost seems better than his stats indicate, as does Maqualao as a SS.
 
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You can start negotiating with the players who put their deals on hold in february, then successful deals are finished at the end of the year.

Good to see some results are there, just hang on mate, it's possible!
 
Okay cheers, I'll take a look when the time comes :)

Well, my season has at last, maybe, started to kick off. From sitting bottom of Division 2, a remarkable turnaround of four wins, one draw and one unlucky defeat has seen me rocket up the table to tenth place :))

I'm in the January transfer window at the moment, and have finished my trading with three players coming in. First up was goalkeeper Noguirveja and giant left back Gilnica, both from fellow Division 2 teams. Both are rated at 74, and both cost a mere £150,000 each. Very good business.

Then, I signed an Argentinian striker called Bergessio from Italian side Calcio Catania. Bergessio is only rated at 68, but I'm not sure how, his attacking stats necessary for a striker are all in their high 70's.

First match with my three signings, they helped me ease to a 3-0 home win, with Bergessio netting twice, Shimizu with the other. So far Bergessio seems like a different class, he has the 'fox in the box' card which I felt was important to have, and it's showing. His movement in and around the box is superb, light years ahead of the other forwards I have, and his ability to find space in the box, and just be there on the end of rebounds, loose balls etc is very good.

Tolcholtrzyn is another signing from earlier in the season who has finally come into his own, ousting Ettori and taking the captain's armband at the same time. His long range shooting is fantastic, I'll post an absolute piledriver that he scored at some point. He's become a firm favourite with his shoot from anywhere mentality and playmaking from the middle.

I also renewed some of my younger player's contracts, and I noticed that for some reason the yearly salary they demand is a fair bit less than the deal they're all currently on. This is odd but very helpful, as renewing the contracts for Shimizu, Palmieri etc has enabled me to cut £100,000 off my yearly wage bill. Nice.
 
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LTFC said:
Okay cheers, I'll take a look when the time comes :)

Well, my season has at last, maybe, started to kick off. From sitting bottom of Division 2, a remarkable turnaround of four wins, one draw and one unlucky defeat has seen me rocket up the table to tenth place :))

I'm in the January transfer window at the moment, and have finished my trading with three players coming in. First up was goalkeeper Noguirveja and giant left back Gilnica, both from fellow Division 2 teams. Both are rated at 74, and both cost a mere £150,000 each. Very good business.

Then, I signed an Argentinian striker called Bergessio from Italian side Calcio Catania. Bergessio is only rated at 68, but I'm not sure how, his attacking stats necessary for a striker are all in their high 70's.

First match with my three signings, they helped me ease to a 3-0 home win, with Bergessio netting twice, Shimizu with the other. So far Bergessio seems like a different class, he has the 'fox in the box' card which I felt was important to have, and it's showing. His movement in and around the box is superb, light years ahead of the other forwards I have, and his ability to find space in the box, and just be there on the end of rebounds, loose balls etc is very good.

Tolcholtrzyn is another signing from earlier in the season who has finally come into his own, ousting Ettori and taking the captain's armband at the same time. His long range shooting is fantastic, I'll post an absolute piledriver that he scored at some point. He's become a firm favourite with his shoot from anywhere mentality and playmaking from the middle.

I also renewed some of my younger player's contracts, and I noticed that for some reason the yearly salary they demand is a fair bit less than the deal they're all currently on. This is odd but very helpful, as renewing the contracts for Shimizu, Palmieri etc has enabled me to cut £100,000 off my yearly wage bill. Nice.
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Great stuff bud, and full marks for sticking with it. It can be a very frustrating experience, but that is football. The lows define the highs, it's that simple. Also, bringing in some decent quality is not only rewarding, but also very exciting. There is nothing better than the urge to play 'one more game' with your new players. Also, just for the record, my 4th season was actually my worst. I have no idea how it finished so bad, I had a decent team yet finished 2nd bottom. The following season, I won the Championship. It's a funny old game.

Boro are now 5 points behind West Ham after securing an excellent 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Riverside. Ballo-bellend got both for City, and two own goals gave Boro a massive point. It was a very even game with Possession ending 50/50 and Shots on Goal, identical. Boro were a little lucky with the two own goals, especially as one came in the last minute. But, you earn your luck in football, and that's exactly what happened here.

Boro then dropped two points against Crystal Palace at Selhurt Park in a 3-3 thriller. Palace were leading after a horrendous mistake by me and my keeper. They then doubled the lead before Giroud pulled one back before the break. A switch of formation brought Asamoah from a left-sided CMF role to a more advanced CMF role in the AMF territory. He basically needed to be more involved, so off came Martins, and on came Terreria who swopped places with Asamoah.

The change was dramatic, Asamoah burst through the defence leaving 4 defenders with his pace and strength and slotted home. 2-2. Boro dominated but couldn't score. Then Palace did, on 86 minutes. It wasn't looking good for Boro who had expected all 3 points prior to kick-off, but as their manager knows only too well, there are no guarantees in football. It was then left for Asamoah to grab a point with basically the last kick of the game, a superbly struck low drive from all of 30 yards that smashed right into the far corner.

This game is incredible. :WOOT:
 
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Jimmy G-Force said:
Great stuff bud, and full marks for sticking with it. It can be a very frustrating experience, but that is football. The lows define the highs, it's that simple. Also, bringing in some decent quality is not only rewarding, but also very exciting. There is nothing better than the urge to play 'one more game' with your new players. Also, just for thre record, my 4th season was actually my worst. I have no idea how it finished so bad, I had a decent team yet finished 2nd bottom. The following season, I got won the Championship. It's a funny old game.

Boro are now 5 points behind West Ham after securing an excellent 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Riverside. Ballo-bellend got both for City, and two own goals gave Boro a massive point. It was a very even game with Possesion ending 50/50 and Shots on Goal, identical. Boro were a little lucky with the two own goals, especially as one came in the last minute. But, you earn your luck in football, and that's exactly what happened here.

Boro then dropped two points against Crystal Palace at Selhurt Park in a 3-3 thriller. Palace were leading after a horrendous mistake by me and my keeper. They then doubled the lead before Giroud pulled one back before the break. A switch of formation brought Asamoah from a left-sided CMF role to a more advanced CMF role in the AMF territory. He basically needed to be more involved, so off came Martins, and on came Terreria who swopped places with Asamoah.

The change was dramatic, Asamoah burst through the defence leaving 4 defenders with his pace and strength and slotted home. 2-2. Boro dominated but couldn't score. Then Palace did, on 86 minutes. It wasn't looking good for Boro who had expected all 3 points prior to kick-off, but as their manager knows only too well, there are no guarantees in football. It was then left for Asamoah to grab a point with basically the last kick of the game, a superbly struck low drive from all of 30 yards that smashed right into the far corner.

This game is incredible. :WOOT:
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Second from bottom? It's a harsh world down there, I know, you get into a losing mentality that's hard to break! Glad to hear you're back to winning ways though!

The game does replicate the highs and lows for sure, and having used default ML players, the joy of making a signing on the cheap who 'feels' vastly better is so rewarding. After a while you get used to the likes of Ordaz etc all standing still up front, and you try and adapt to that, but then signing Bergessio, in particular, has added that 'one more go' factor because his presence livens up my attack so much more. His movement is so good in comparison to his team mates, somehow he just has the ability to pick up free space in the box and be available.

Actually my experience with Bergessio should be a prime example of never looking at a players' overall rating when deciding on a player. Bergessio is only 68 overall, but the stats that matter for a player in his position tell a different story. His stats are (roughly) attacking 77, shot accuracy 78, teamwork 74, ball control 76 plus I'm positive that it's his 'fox in the box' card that makes him able to take up superior positions, follow up rebounds etc where other players on similar overall ratings don't. That's the reason that Bergessio, at 68, cost me £600,000 whereas Ordaz, at 63, would cost barely a sixth of that.

Likewise, my new left back, Gilnica, is 74 overall which is good for a player of his cheap price range, but his stats are very specifically good for a left back. His defence, long range kick accuracy (for crosses), speed, height and teamwork are all good, plus you can tell a player's tendency to get forward which is vital for choosing a full back. In Gilnica's case, he's strong, fast, tall, a decent crosser, and races forwards when you need him to, but he's technically awkward. His power seems to overcome his shortcomings though, and I'm delighted to finally chuck Ruskin out the team. He cost me a lot of goals during the first half of the season with awful defensive positioning.

So that's a factor that I do really enjoy in ML, not just plumping for whoever's got the best overall rating, because it doesn't really mean anything. It makes you really scout a player's abilities before deciding to make a bid or not.

Actually does anyone know what the best stats to look for are when it comes to positioning? When I next come to buy some midfielders or strikers, I'd need them to be more like my new signings in that they instinctively take up better positions, make more intelligent off the ball runs, or know when to drop back etc. I suppose teamwork would be a big factor, and attacking, but for for general midfield positioning? I'm not sure. Generally, I go for tenacity if I can, teamwork and tecnhical ability, but there's nothing specific to indicate a player's general intelligence so to speak. Maybe it's just a case of getting a 'feel' for that through their stats, as I think I did when making some of my signings.

Anyways, I'm at the halfway stage and hopefully I can kick on and push up the table even more. I don't want to slip into another run of bad form. The last five matches were unrecognisable though, Elegost and Shimizu on the flanks, with Shimizu cutting in from the left have been a revelation for me. Shimizu has found himself getting into far better positions in this role. And my players have found their shooting boots for sure, I'll post some vids when I can showing some of my efforts from recent matches. Six goals in twelve matches, then suddenly eleven in five. It's a funny old game.
 
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My season is really starting to go downhill a bit, got knocked out of the champs league at the group stage, of the fa cup cup and the quarters and after a few losses jus holding on to 4 on goal difference. To make things worse had to sell reina and skrtel after they refused to renew they contracts, at least i got about 55 mil for them (finally i have some cash and dont have 2 look for frees) already bought their replacements astori from cagliari and david james (dont normally buy these regens but for the price i jus had 2), got both of them for bout 5 mil.
 
LTFC said:
Actually does anyone know what the best stats to look for are when it comes to positioning? When I next come to buy some midfielders or strikers, I'd need them to be more like my new signings in that they instinctively take up better positions, make more intelligent off the ball runs, or know when to drop back etc. .
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Teamwork and Tenacity are the ones for the midfielders, then also the Player Cards, such as Box-to-Box.

The strikers that have a 3 for Attack will always make plenty of runs and the Fox-in-the-Box and Goal Poacher Cards mean players will never be too far away from being in the right place at the right time.
 
Ah okay that makes sense, I'll keep a look out for those types of player.

I'm close to wrapping up my first season and I've stormed up the league. I began December bottom of Division 2, but since then I've recorded nine wins, three draws, three losses to leap up to seventh in the league with around six or seven matches to play. Bergessio, my January signing, has lead the charge up the table with eight goals in ten appearances.

I've also signed some exciting free transfers, and they'll join up with me in the summer. I just hope my finances can stretch to their wages, I negotiated them down as much as I could and hope that gate money will see me through any tiny shortfall after trying to roughly guess my finance totals come September, but we'll see, it'll be tight.

Coming in will be a Moroccan AMC called Belhanda, signed on a free from Montpellier after he refused to sign a new contract. This is a major coup for my side, his stats are by far and away beyond anyone else at the club. He's just 21 years old, already rated at 78, the vast majority of his attacking and midfield stats are 80 or more already, and he has FIVE player cards to his name including 'Trickster', 'Free Roaming', 'Roulette Skills', 'Scissor Skills' and 'Step on Skills'. I don't know if he'll be disciplined enough to play within a flat 4-4-2 but I may play him in the hole between the midfield and a lone striker. For a zero transfer fee and yearly wages of £350,000 he could be the best signing I ever make in this game.

I'll have a selection headache though because I've also signed Jorge Martinez from Cesena, another top rated striker/attacking midfielder who can fit in various positions. I may have to wheel and deal for a better defence, but I couldn't turn down blowing most of my budget on these two and Bergessio. It could be an exciting second season!

I'm finding so far that my players are also improving well. I'm mainly concentrating on training my players in technique and speed over most others, but trying to get a decent mix so as not to lower other stats too much. Players like Shimizu, and even Tolcholtrzyn, are developing very nicely indeed.

In fact during my run of nine wins in fifteen matches, Tolcholtrzyn has embraced the art of shooting somewhat. Here's his hat-trick from earlier in the season, which was eclipsed by Elegost's long range effort at the end;

YouTube - 4-2

And here is my goal of the season so far, I can't imagine a shot that will come close to be honest. The ball hit the underside of the bar so hard that it echoed round the half empty stadium!

YouTube - Tolcholtrzyn Piledriver!

Loving it so far!
 
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Coming in will be a Moroccan AMC called Belhanda, signed on a free from Montpellier after he refused to sign a new contract. This is a major coup for my side, his stats are by far and away beyond anyone else at the club.

That is an absolute coup, I also got him on a free last season and he's 23/4 and his 92 overall atm.

Anyway does any1 know (with club management turned off) if ur current budget gets overwritten or added too in a new season (I cant remember) and considering im halfway through this season i need to know.
 
I always play with club management on, couldn't imagine other way. Though, once or twice I might have forgotten to activate club management and, if I recall correctly, my assistant said something like 'spend the budget, leftovers will not be carried into next season' at the beginning of a season. I don't remember him saying so in other campaigns, when club management option was activated.
 
LTFC said:
Coming in will be a Moroccan AMC called Belhanda, signed on a free from Montpellier after he refused to sign a new contract. This is a major coup for my side, his stats are by far and away beyond anyone else at the club. He's just 21 years old, already rated at 78, the vast majority of his attacking and midfield stats are 80 or more already, and he has FIVE player cards to his name including 'Trickster', 'Free Roaming', 'Roulette Skills', 'Scissor Skills' and 'Step on Skills'. I don't know if he'll be disciplined enough to play within a flat 4-4-2 but I may play him in the hole between the midfield and a lone striker. For a zero transfer fee and yearly wages of £350,000 he could be the best signing I ever make in this game.
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You have signed a truly brilliant player in Belhanda, I tried and failed to get his signature on 3 seperate occasions. I've played with Montpellier, and he was an absolute joy to control, his feet are off the map. You've done very, very well to get him, and I'm sure he'll become a real legend at your club.

Great goals as well, the piledriver was beautiful, and you have become a real dab hand from set-pieces. Great stuff. :TU:

I played a lot of UFC last night, so only had time to get one ML game played, against Spurs at White Hart Lane in the F.A. Cup Semi-Final. Spurs took the lead through Modric, before Asamoah equalised with another screamer from range. He is loving his new CMF/AMF role. Spurs then went ahead again through Bale before Giroud smashed one home from the edge of the box to level the tie. Matty Bates then scored his first goal in 5 seasons with a brilliant run and finish to take Boro to Wembley to meet Man Utd in the final. Regardless of what happens in the EPL, I'm almost certain that win against Spurs will get me into the Europa League now. Get in you little beauty !! :WOOT:
 
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Haha cheers guys, that shot took me totally by surprise, never expected such a rocket to be honest!

Right, well, season one is now complete, and I had a blast. From sitting in last place in the table with 2 wins, 3 draws, 8 defeats and just 8 goals, I finished the season in 7th place with a record of 14 wins, 7 draws and 13 defeats, scoring 38 and conceding 37.

That means I rose up the table with 12 wins, 4 draws and 5 defeats :))

Bergessio was the star of my rise up the table, with 11 goals in 18 starts after signing in January. Despite joining half way through the season, he finished 3rd top scorer in Division 2. I'd say the majority of his goals were the decisive ones that won me points. Brilliant signing, one that helped change Benfica's fortunes, and an old school goal poacher who offers little outside the box, but play it in to his feet in the 18 yard box and he's a nightmare to defend against.

So, I'm in pre-season, I have some more fringe players to offload to help balance the books, but the club has been a tight ship this time around. I think I have the hang of training, it seems to be working nicely. Shimizu is now up to 82, Tolcholtrzyn (who I forget is only 21 himself) is up to 78, Duffy up to 70 etc. Players are developing nicely. Evan Belhanda arrived in the close season, and after just a fortnight at the club he's risen to 79 already.

In terms of signings, my pre-contact free transfers, Belhanda and Martinez, arrived to a big fanfare, and between them, Bergessio and Shimizu, I have an exciting four-pronged attack. Martinez is rated almost as good as Belhanda, and both can play anywhere across the forward line or as wide players. Combine that with having Duffy and Tolcholtrzyn in a more 'anchored' midfield, and I have a solid team that is young and developing, and cheap!

I've offloaded Schwarz on a season-loan, and sold El Moubarkhi for £180,000, which was a great deal that, combined with his wages, totals the cost of Behlhanda for a season.

But I'm desperate for a new keeper and at least one CB. I want an experienced defender, and have failed trying to lure various players away from their clubs, but I'm going to also loan out Palmieri. His stats look good, and he'll be a good player, but the game must take into account that he's only 17 years old, because when he plays, he's a liability, wandering off from his marker at vital times. My defence was a lot meaner when I dropped him for Cotsload and Libermann. I think player age and experience tells in this game, which is fantastic.

Given that I finished only 10 points off the promotion spots, I suppose I should now be aiming for promotion given my two new signings in the summer, but I can't think of that yet, at least until I strengthen at the back.

But the sense of achievement was great, having been firmly rooted to the bottom of the table near the halfway stage of the season, to then finish 30 points clear of last place was brilliant fun. I think that signing Bergessio, Tolcholtrzyn and Gilnica were huge factors, but equally important was a change in formation and tactics.

I'm not sure whether to leave my tactics as they are, however, as I currently have my team's position switch set to only 6 and was designed for having poor players with little movement. Now that I've signed better players, I'm not sure whether to leave these settings well alone or to try and allow my players better creative licence. I'm tending to think that it's better to leave it alone, as players like Belhanda will still find his own space and forward runs regardless.
 
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So I have finished the second year and played the first league game of the third! Sorry for the lack of updates, currently in exam period.

To pay the bills of Taarabt and co, I knew I had to sell.. First I released Doyle, he was a bit shit anyway.. And his quarter of a million wages are not worth it! And a late bid on Dernis left me with a choice to make, the bid of £750k was a profit and allowed (along with the salary cut) for me to pay most of what was left on the new freebies..real shame he had helped me to a 14th placed finish two years on the trot.

In the first game of the new season, in came Taarabt on the left of midfield.. And he is a class act! Rated 86 on that left side, he can dribble as well as anyone and showed it with a goal jus before half time in a 4-0 destruction of Burnley, he collected the ball on the side line on the left side.. Took on one, then another, got to the byline checked back inside onto the very edge of the 6 yard box and curled into the far corner.. Wish I'd sved the replay! But I don't know how to put them up online anyway, first class noob ;)
The other 3 goals came courtesy of new boys Dramé and Poepon while default boy Ettori grabbed the fourth

About to enter my second game against Leeds, full of confidence for the coming year!


Well This year has been remarkable so far, 8 games in and I finally taste defeat for the first time! In the previous 7 we won 6 and drew 1 before wolves crashed our party with a 3-2 win! In that run we scored 15 goals and conceded just 1.. Poepon scored 6 in 7, Taarabt grabbed 4 in 7 (plus two more in the wolves game to make it 6 in 8) and even goalkeeper Turbacci has a goal from the spot against Crystal Palace! Shimizu has created 5 of those goals. While Duffy has grown to 81 overall and is playing so well he's managed to get a international call up!

Hopefully we can keep the form and this defeat won't create a downward spiral, I believe we could get a shock promotion this year if the form is right!

Also LT look at keepers in the French league and bottom half of the Italian sides.. Their players are relatively cheap and young talent is available there!
 
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Taylor_94 said:
So I have finished the second year and played the first league game of the third! Sorry for the lack of updates, currently in exam period.

To pay the bills of Taarabt and co, I knew I had to sell.. First I released Doyle, he was a bit shit anyway.. And his quarter of a million wages are not worth it! And a late bid on Dernis left me with a choice to make, the bid of £750k was a profit and allowed (along with the salary cut) for me to pay most of what was left on the new freebies..real shame he had helped me to a 14th placed finish two years on the trot.

In the first game of the new season, in came Taarabt on the left of midfield.. And he is a class act! Rated 86 on that left side, he can dribble as well as anyone and showed it with a goal jus before half time in a 4-0 destruction of Burnley, he collected the ball on the side line on the left side.. Took on one, then another, got to the byline checked back inside onto the very edge of the 6 yard box and curled into the far corner.. Wish I'd sved the replay! But I don't know how to put them up online anyway, first class noob ;)
The other 3 goals came courtesy of new boys Dramé and Poepon while default boy Ettori grabbed the fourth

About to enter my second game against Leeds, full of confidence for the coming year!


Well This year has been remarkable so far, 8 games in and I finally taste defeat for the first time! In the previous 7 we won 6 and drew 1 before wolves crashed our party with a 3-2 win! In that run we scored 15 goals and conceded just 1.. Poepon scored 6 in 7, Taarabt grabbed 4 in 7 (plus two more in the wolves game to make it 6 in 8) and even goalkeeper Turbacci has a goal from the spot against Crystal Palace! Shimizu has created 5 of those goals. While Duffy has grown to 81 overall and is playing so well he's managed to get a international call up!

Hopefully we can keep the form and this defeat won't create a downward spiral, I believe we could get a shock promotion this year if the form is right!

Also LT look at keepers in the French league and bottom half of the Italian sides.. Their players are relatively cheap and young talent is available there!
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Scrap this post, game crashed before I could save :(
 
Taylor_94 said:
Scrap this post, game crashed before I could save :(
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Oh no! Make sure to save after every game!

Right, season two is underway, I've won two and lost one of my opening three matches, with Martinez and Belhanda netting the goals on their debuts in a 2-1 win.

However, something odd has happened, and I don't think I'll play the game until I figure out what it is ...

Basically, since the pre-season, the teamwork stats of ALL my entire squad have plummeted. Belhanda, when I signed him, had a team work stat of 70. It's now 10. Same for Martinez. Most players have their teamwork set to between 20-30, with Liberman the lowest with a rating of 9.

The result is that even though I've won two games, they've been anything but fun, there's no cohesion in my team at all, player runs aren't being made, even the likes of Belhanda on a green form arrow feel like a default ML player - really clunky, piss poor ball control, the lot.

What have I done wrong? I played the same starting eleven, same formation and basic tactics for an entire half a season, everyone's teamwork was pretty high, then the summer came and went and it's as if my players have never met each other. I only made two real changes to my starting eleven with Martinez and Belhanda coming in, so it's not as if I've ripped my side apart and started from scratch. It just doesn't make sense.

I've heard in the past that playing people regularly will steadily build your teamwork, but it's not working. Before match one, Belhanda had a teamwork stat of 21. Three games later, with the same starting eleven, and Belhanda with three straight starts, now has teamwork at just 10. Yet at the same time, a number of players' general stats rocketed in just a few weeks. Belhanda, again, joined me rated at 78, and after just five or six weeks at the club he's now rated at 85!

WTF? This teamwork issue is ruining my game. All three matches have seen my settled defence less solid than butter, and my attacks are stagnant, resulting in me playing long ground passes up to the front two and trying to do everything on their own because there's no movement from the rest of the team. Is this a gameplay feature or a bug? If playing players regularly improves teamwork, I've seen no evidence of it in the first three games, and if that is the case, then it's ridiculous because 90% of my starting eleven have already played virtually an entire season together. If you start every season with your teamwork stats reset to some lowly score, that puts you at a massive disadvantage at the beginning of each season and defeats the object of playing a settled side from season to season.

I just don't get it.
 
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LTFC said:
Oh no! Make sure to save after every game!

Right, season two is underway, I've won two and lost one of my opening three matches, with Martinez and Belhanda netting the goals on their debuts in a 2-1 win.

However, something odd has happened, and I don't think I'll play the game until I figure out what it is ...

Basically, since the pre-season, the teamwork stats of ALL my entire squad have plummeted. Belhanda, when I signed him, had a team work stat of 70. It's now 10. Same for Martinez. Most players have their teamwork set to between 20-30, with Liberman the lowest with a rating of 9.

The result is that even though I've won two games, they've been anything but fun, there's no cohesion in my team at all, player runs aren't being made, even the likes of Belhanda on a green form arrow feel like a default ML player - really clunky, piss poor ball control, the lot.

What have I done wrong? I played the same starting eleven, same formation and basic tactics for an entire half a season, everyone's teamwork was pretty high, then the summer came and went and it's as if my players have never met each other. I only made two real changes to my starting eleven with Martinez and Belhanda coming in, so it's not as if I've ripped my side apart and started from scratch. It just doesn't make sense.

I've heard in the past that playing people regularly will steadily build your teamwork, but it's not working. Before match one, Belhanda had a teamwork stat of 21. Three games later, with the same starting eleven, and Belhanda with three straight starts, now has teamwork at just 10. Yet at the same time, a number of players' general stats rocketed in just a few weeks. Belhanda, again, joined me rated at 78, and after just five or six weeks at the club he's now rated at 85!

WTF? This teamwork issue is ruining my game. All three matches have seen my settled defence less solid than butter, and my attacks are stagnant, resulting in me playing long ground passes up to the front two and trying to do everything on their own because there's no movement from the rest of the team. Is this a gameplay feature or a bug? If playing players regularly improves teamwork, I've seen no evidence of it in the first three games, and if that is the case, then it's ridiculous because 90% of my starting eleven have already played virtually an entire season together. If you start every season with your teamwork stats reset to some lowly score, that puts you at a massive disadvantage at the beginning of each season and defeats the object of playing a settled side from season to season.

I just don't get it.
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Didn't dannyfc (or somesuch) say that, after experience this issue, he put training on condition for a week straight and it brought teamwork back up into the 60's? Did you ignore condition training during the offseason?

also, do you have a bad egg in the group, someone on purple arrow? I remember also that in pes 2011 when i traded away a highly regarded youth player, the rest of the team went nuts on purple arrows for weeks. did you trade shimizu or palmieri, for example?
 
The problem your having LT, is that your not training Strategy, working too much on Technique, Condition and Speed will cause this. You feel it more if you go through the full Pre-season break without Training in this area. I had the same problem with Boro. Start training Strategy for the first 3-4 days per week, Teamwork will then rise back up.
 
Jimmy G-Force said:
The problem your having LT, is that your not training Strategy, working too much on Technique, Condition and Speed will cause this. You feel it more if you go through the full Pre-season break without Training in this area. I had the same problem with Boro. Start training Strategy for the first 3-4 days per week, Teamwork will then rise back up.
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I think you've got it, jimmy, strategy not condition. But LT also check your trades, sending away a fan favorite youth player can really blow up your team. before trading anyone away, check their popularity. you might check the graph of your team's popularity before and after a big trade you made.
 
Thanks guys I'll do that asap. It's odd how the game does that though, I'm pretty sure if you don't train technique then people's ball control won't plummet to 10 for example.

Konami must treat teamwork as a more dynamic stat then that works between player's togwther rather than on a purely individual basis. I've improved my players sufficiently though to be able to boost teamwork in the coming weeks, but with hindsight it's interesting to see how teamwork affects your team on the pitch. So many passes hit behind a mistimed player run, for example, so I suppose it's great that Konami make it necessary to keep this fresh on the training pitch.
 
LTFC said:
Thanks guys I'll do that asap. It's odd how the game does that though, I'm pretty sure if you don't train technique then people's ball control won't plummet to 10 for example.

Konami must treat teamwork as a more dynamic stat then that works between player's togwther rather than on a purely individual basis. I've improved my players sufficiently though to be able to boost teamwork in the coming weeks, but with hindsight it's interesting to see how teamwork affects your team on the pitch. So many passes hit behind a mistimed player run, for example, so I suppose it's great that Konami make it necessary to keep this fresh on the training pitch.
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All your Technique-based stats will fall, no doubt about that. You got to mix it up, focus on certain areas but never forget to chip in here and there with the other areas.

Edit -

Nightmare about your non-saved game Taylor, there is nothing worse, more so when you had accomplished good results. :(
 
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I think im def going to be starting over. Finished my fourth season 3rd but heres the problem. I had bout 110 mil in the bank, I got a 50mil offer for carrol which i was going to accept, thinking i would just get a cheap replacement plus i already had lewandowski who was doing well. Anyway thats a budget of bout 160+, Now heres where the problems lie

I cant find any decent replacements mainly because as club management is turned off, I have no control of hiring staff etc and some how my scout was changed from level 5 to 3 making not only negotiations difficult but also decreasing the level of players available.

But the main problem is this, I decided to go to next season to see what will happen and as a i always knew I lost the whole 160+ and to make it worse I was given 58mil from my chairman which obv wasnt enough to pay wages.

So I think im def going to start over, prob with a championship team with the defaults or norwich (def with club managent turned on this time) Its a real shame cus after getting top four for 4 seasons I definely felt like i now had a team that could win the league and champs especially after getting gotze, josep llicic etc on frees.
 
I've looked in the manual but it doesn't say, can you control the GK in online matches?
 
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