Should I get: Football Manager 2005 or Winning Eleven 8?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Woot! Nice goals . I have had some really nice ones with Arjen Robben .

[FrustratedPoet]

Great replays, Maq.
It says something about the AI that the goal it scored was better than either of yours.

[Maquiladora]

I play 3 up front and 2 OMF so it doesnt say that much

My goals were flukey but i dont go in for the marseille twirl tricks etc, no striker would do that faced with a good attacking opportunity, maybe in midfield going nowhere but not around the box.

Killer manual passes or anything that hits the bar or post (or both) is always worth saving even if it doesnt go in

[Imran Siddiqui]

So you play a 3-1-2-3? Very interesting. I haven't experimented too much .

[Maquiladora]

4DF - 1DMC - 2OMF - 3STR and play most of the game on full attack (red bar), only bring it down to save stamina on players i cant sub. Defence is mostly emergency, if the AI is determined to have a good chance, theyll just step it up and it wont make hardly any difference that you have 2 extra men at the back.

Last season I conceded 12 goals in 30 league games and with the same 4 defenders and GK that Spurs start with. Using super-cancel to move defenders is really important playing this way, since the AI knows where youre defenders are gonna run otherwise, like when you super-cancel running onto a through-ball and the AI chases you instead of the ball, this is the only way to do the famous Pelé dummy around the keeper too

[Imran Siddiqui]

Just moved to 3 star level... definetly MUCH harder than 2 star level. But that's ok. Just bought the new soccer balls during the match and also bought "Classic Brazil" team. What are the other best things to buy? I know I can get a new stadium, some more classic teams, and certain players.

4DF - 1DMC - 2OMF - 3STR

Ooops, my counting was off... yeah, 4 in the back . That's how I played with the Netherlands in the International Cup. Didn't play offensive or defensive style really... just normal.

And I think I have to do more training. I couldn't really get the whole super-cancel thing. And shooting from beyond the 18 is difficult for me as well. At least getting it somewhere for a decent shot.

[FrustratedPoet]

I usually prefer a 4-2-1-3 formation because it gives me more defensive stability. Plus I like to build up moves from the back and this formation lets me do that easily. The key is to have an excellent attacking midfielder to link up with the forwards, Aimar of Argentina is the perfect player for that position IMHO. It's the most important position on the team using that formation because that player is the link between defence and attack, plus they often get scoring opportunities from making late runs into the penalty area.

[Maquiladora]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Just moved to 3 star level... definetly MUCH harder than 2 star level. But that's ok. Just bought the new soccer balls during the match and also bought "Classic Brazil" team. What are the other best things to buy? I know I can get a new stadium, some more classic teams, and certain players.

I guess you have most fun with the classic teams, although once youve bought them it means theyll be included in your master league if you start one, which isnt very realistic but its nice to buy Pelé or Lineker.

4DF - 1DMC - 2OMF - 3STR

Ooops, my counting was off... yeah, 4 in the back . That's how I played with the Netherlands in the International Cup. Didn't play offensive or defensive style really... just normal.

And I think I have to do more training. I couldn't really get the whole super-cancel thing. And shooting from beyond the 18 is difficult for me as well. At least getting it somewhere for a decent shot.

Yeah the R1 and R2 (black) buttons are placed really awkwardly compared to the PS2 pad which are right next to each other on the shoulder. I cant imagine how hard it would be to do super-cancel if you had those xbox pads with the black and white buttons below ABXY.

I usually prefer a 4-2-1-3 formation because it gives me more defensive stability. Plus I like to build up moves from the back and this formation lets me do that easily. The key is to have an excellent attacking midfielder to link up with the forwards, Aimar of Argentina is the perfect player for that position IMHO. It's the most important position on the team using that formation because that player is the link between defence and attack, plus they often get scoring opportunities from making late runs into the penalty area.

I guess my formation would get torn apart by a human using manual pass, as my 2 SB make runs to meet/overlap with the 2 OMF/SM, so i end up with a massive gap down the wing if i lose the ball. The DM covers the flanks on emergency though so thats a key position. Yeah i build up from the back always too, even short corners, since none of my midfield can jump/head for ****, same for my forwards, so my main goals come from drilled crosses or through balls.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Ah, manual pass. I still haven't gotten used to it yet, so I just press the A or B button for passes . I'm just starting to utilize the black button for special moves.

Btw, I wonder who made the Classic Teams at Konami? If you buy Classic Brazil, Pele is ON THE BENCH! Are you kidding me? So I had to change that on the options menu .

[FrustratedPoet]

I never use the manual passes. I don't see the point of them to be honest. You've got more than enough control over where and how you pass the ball using the three different pass buttons and by proper use of the analog stick. Manual passes are over-complicated IMHO.

[Maquiladora]

With A and B you dont get full control of the speed, it also depends a lot on the skill of the player passing how good it is with A and B, and especially through balls, plus with manual passes the AI doesnt see it with its super-senses until quite late. On 6 star the AI definitely uses manual passing and super-cancel.

But obviously you dont ever need to use manual pass to beat the AI, but at some point you can only score a certain range of goals. Like using Y for throughball instead of manual pass means the AI will stick to you much tighter, with manual pass you get more space if the pass is perfect which means you can do allsorts of tricks or score how you like without the AI smacking you to the floor just before you hit a screamer. Its used heavily in pro tournaments because the play becomes too predictable with 2 humans reading where A and B passes will go.

Btw, I wonder who made the Classic Teams at Konami? If you buy Classic Brazil, Pele is ON THE BENCH! Are you kidding me? So I had to change that on the options menu

That definitely sounds like a hearty serving of bull**** They have some pretty weird choices for classic England players too, like Terry Fenwick.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Btw, just got Football Manager (ehm.. Worldwide Socer Manager) yesterday . So I've been neglecting WE8 for a bit unfortunetly.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Damn, another day without playing WE8... got too addicted to my Newcastle career in FM2005! Oh no!

[DrSpike]

Should have bought one.

[Imran Siddiqui]

No, stop that talk!