A match i HAVE to win to atleast prove i can win the premiership. My midfielders except Parker,as usual and two strikers are all their subs.
Match Result -
A i-0 loss to Reading. unbelievable. Got too confident and didnt do enough. No transfers done....
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
1st MATCH OF THE SEASON vs LIVERPOOL
1st HALF -
A Full West Ham United team vs Liverpool. Any way you look at it, its not a very good fixture to start this season with. Anyways, very good first half for us. With a lot of chances, hich we will try to finish on in the 2nd half.
2nd half -
A draw with Liverpool is a good start to the season. Lets see if we can keep it up.
Match Analysis -
A good game. Just need that cutting edge and our team will be extremely good. Ljungberg was dissapointing to say the least though....
None of the transfers except Tiago worked out. I bid for Rivaldo, Larsson and some other guys.
A Full West Ham United team vs Liverpool. Any way you look at it, its not a very good fixture to start this season with. Anyways, very good first half for us. With a lot of chances, hich we will try to finish on in the 2nd half.
2nd half -
A draw with Liverpool is a good start to the season. Lets see if we can keep it up.
Match Analysis -
A good game. Just need that cutting edge and our team will be extremely good. Ljungberg was dissapointing to say the least though....
None of the transfers except Tiago worked out. I bid for Rivaldo, Larsson and some other guys.
4th WEEK - FINAL PRE-SEASON vs Villareal
Pre Match -
Bid for Roberto Carlos, Pardo and Nedved and put Quashie on the transfer list. Ljungberg, Boa Morte, Dyer, Ashton and Bellamy are out with Bowyer, Etherington, Faubert, C.Cole and Zamora taking their place.
1st HALF ANALYSIS -
We are 1-0 down at half time. A Nihat goal at the 21st minute proves to be the undoing. Ok play and fine attacking so far. Just need to get a bit of a balance right. We lead in possesion by a 54-46 margin.
2nd Halk Analysis -
Thrilling end with an 86th minute goal by Zamora from a Cole Cross. It was a play of possession and West Ham won out in the end and capitalized with a beautiful goal by Zamora. Cole ran in the wings and crossed to Zamora who chested it, waited for the bounce and tapped it in.
Match Analysis -
A draw over Villareal is an ok result. And a win was possible. Which makes the draw even more frustating. Etherington and Zamora really shined. And as always, Parker was a workrate machine and was the center of almost all the attacks. Overall a good team performance which could have been better...
Post Match -
No transfers took place. Bid for Nolan, Tiago Gomes, Mauri and Grandoni.....
Bid for Roberto Carlos, Pardo and Nedved and put Quashie on the transfer list. Ljungberg, Boa Morte, Dyer, Ashton and Bellamy are out with Bowyer, Etherington, Faubert, C.Cole and Zamora taking their place.
1st HALF ANALYSIS -
We are 1-0 down at half time. A Nihat goal at the 21st minute proves to be the undoing. Ok play and fine attacking so far. Just need to get a bit of a balance right. We lead in possesion by a 54-46 margin.
2nd Halk Analysis -
Thrilling end with an 86th minute goal by Zamora from a Cole Cross. It was a play of possession and West Ham won out in the end and capitalized with a beautiful goal by Zamora. Cole ran in the wings and crossed to Zamora who chested it, waited for the bounce and tapped it in.
Match Analysis -
A draw over Villareal is an ok result. And a win was possible. Which makes the draw even more frustating. Etherington and Zamora really shined. And as always, Parker was a workrate machine and was the center of almost all the attacks. Overall a good team performance which could have been better...
Post Match -
No transfers took place. Bid for Nolan, Tiago Gomes, Mauri and Grandoni.....
3rd WEEK - PRE-SEASON vs BAYERN MUNICH
Pre Match Preparations -
First, i've put Bhasera for loan and bid for Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspurs. I've also bid for Kevin Nolan who is on the transfer list. My Starting Budget of 4,000,000 has gone down to 2,900,000 approx. My First Team members are all available so i head into a David vs Goliath Fight with atleast all my slingshots intact.
1st HALF ANALYSIS -
0 - 0. A good result till now for me especially against a team like Bayern. As expected Toni was a force to be reckoned with and nearly scored twice. But not to be outdone, Bellamy, ran circles around the Bayern Defence and came close to scoring twice too. A good first half. Also have better possesion of 57-43.
2nd HALF ANALYSIS -
0-0. A good result overall. A draw against the top Bundesliga team is always good, and the icing on the cake was the amount of chances West ham had, especially Bellamy to get the win. The tight defending was also a highlight. Also a possesion lead of 56 - 44 was another bright spot.
WEEK ANALYSIS -
Having Bale and Nolan's offers rejected, i've rejected Bhasera's loan offer for the time being. I've bid for Roberto Carlos and Pardo. I've also put Quashie on sale....
First, i've put Bhasera for loan and bid for Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspurs. I've also bid for Kevin Nolan who is on the transfer list. My Starting Budget of 4,000,000 has gone down to 2,900,000 approx. My First Team members are all available so i head into a David vs Goliath Fight with atleast all my slingshots intact.
1st HALF ANALYSIS -
0 - 0. A good result till now for me especially against a team like Bayern. As expected Toni was a force to be reckoned with and nearly scored twice. But not to be outdone, Bellamy, ran circles around the Bayern Defence and came close to scoring twice too. A good first half. Also have better possesion of 57-43.
2nd HALF ANALYSIS -
0-0. A good result overall. A draw against the top Bundesliga team is always good, and the icing on the cake was the amount of chances West ham had, especially Bellamy to get the win. The tight defending was also a highlight. Also a possesion lead of 56 - 44 was another bright spot.
WEEK ANALYSIS -
Having Bale and Nolan's offers rejected, i've rejected Bhasera's loan offer for the time being. I've bid for Roberto Carlos and Pardo. I've also put Quashie on sale....
First two matches and otherwise.....
Well, since i decided to make this blog a bit late.....well, actually i decided to make this blog beore actually starting the Manager Mode, but i was too lazy to do it, lol. Anyways, since i decided NOT to be lazy a bit later than when i started, the first two pre-season matches have gone by and i can only just give you vague reports about the happenings in these two weeks.
First, i had to choose 4 pre-season opponents. I chose Celtic(wanted to face Nakamura), Benfica(My Minor League Fav. Team), bayern Munich and Villeral(this time, i wanted to face Riquelme).
NEGOTIATIONS :-
I always like to keep my squad to a managable amount and based around a formation and gameplay i like to play. Since i most always play a 4-4-2, i would need, at the bare amount, 22 players, with 2 GK's, 8 Def's, 8 Mid's and 4 Attackers. Each player with a substitute just in case. Anyways, after having a good look at my squad, i found that i had 3 extra midfielders and an extra striker. Plus, i didnt have a Left Back Sub. So i placed Henri Camara on the transfer list(since he's on loan in real life anyway and he hasnt played a single match of importance at West Ham yet) and Nolberto Solano on the transfer list. I left it with 2 extra midfielders just in case. I also went to the transfer list, and found a 17 year old LB by the name of Bhasera on the transfer list. Bingo, a LB and one who was below 25 years old. It was like hitting two birds with one stone so i bid the given amount for him and since only 3 bids are allowed at first, i left the transfers at that.
MY TEAM :-
Anyways the Default West Ham formation is a 4-4-2 with a midfield based on two side midfielders, an attacking midfielder and a defensive midfielder. So anyways, this was my West ham squad before any transfers were made.
1st Team -
Pos - Name - Age - Overall Rating
GK - Green - 27 - 77
RB - Neill(Captain) - 29 - 77
CB - A.Ferdinand - 22 - 78
CB - Upson - 28 - 79
LB - McCartney - 26 - 70
DMF - S.Parker(Actual pos. - CMF) - 26 - 82
RMF - Ljungberg - 30 - 80
LMF - Boa Morte - 29 - 77
AMF - K.Dyer - 28 - 77
CF - Bellamy - 28 - 78
CF - Ashton - 23 - 77
Subs -
GK sub - Wright - 29 - 73
RB sub - Spector - 21 - 68
CB sub 1 - Gabbidon - 29 - 77
CB sub 2 - Collins - 23 - 72
DMF sub - Mullins - 28 - 73
RMF sub 1 - Faubert - 23 - 76
RMF sub 2 - Solano(Transfer List) - 32 - 75
LMF sub - Etherington - 25 - 75
CMF sub 1 - Noble - 20 - 72
CMF sub 2 - Quashie - 28 - 74
CMF sub 3 - Bowyer - 30 - 75
CF sub 1 - Henri Camara(Transfer List) - 30 - 79
CF sub 2 - Zamora - 26 - 76
CF sub 3 - C.Cole - 23 - 73
Also there were two youth academy products which i checked out but wasnt too impressed.
Anyways after all this, my first ever match at West Ham and the first pre-season was against Celtic.
The match ended in defeat with me struggling a bit in my first match. Two Vennegoor goals sealed my fate. But bright spots such as good play and a Dean Ashton goal were good signs for a New Manager.
TRANSFERS -
I got offers for both Solano and Henri Camara and sold them both out.(Ironically, Henri Camara went back to Wigan. the team from which he's in loan at West ham United in real life). bhasera, the 17 year old LB was snapped up and so i had finished on of the board requirements. Also, i upgraded my Stadium Manager and finished another expectation.
ACHIEVEMENTS -
Two Expectations Met (Stadium Upgrade and Buy a player under 25)
Two Extra Players sold (Solano to Birmingham City and Camara to Wigan)
SECOND MATCH -
The Match with Benfica HAD to have a good result. Doing Bad in the beginning of your career isnt a good thing. I was left without Ashton, Bellamy, Ljungberg and Boa Morte, but was able to capitalise on the situation. My team played flowing tight football based around good passing, and tight possesion. Though we finished the first half 0-0, we had a possesion advantage of 68-32. Finally, the goal came with a mistake by the Benfica Keeper, and Carlton Cole pounced on it. Tight play and good defedning gave us the win from there on.
WEEKLY RESULT -
My bid for the free agent Di Natale was rejected and i recruited both the youth academy products and immediately loaned them to second division clubs.
First, i had to choose 4 pre-season opponents. I chose Celtic(wanted to face Nakamura), Benfica(My Minor League Fav. Team), bayern Munich and Villeral(this time, i wanted to face Riquelme).
NEGOTIATIONS :-
I always like to keep my squad to a managable amount and based around a formation and gameplay i like to play. Since i most always play a 4-4-2, i would need, at the bare amount, 22 players, with 2 GK's, 8 Def's, 8 Mid's and 4 Attackers. Each player with a substitute just in case. Anyways, after having a good look at my squad, i found that i had 3 extra midfielders and an extra striker. Plus, i didnt have a Left Back Sub. So i placed Henri Camara on the transfer list(since he's on loan in real life anyway and he hasnt played a single match of importance at West Ham yet) and Nolberto Solano on the transfer list. I left it with 2 extra midfielders just in case. I also went to the transfer list, and found a 17 year old LB by the name of Bhasera on the transfer list. Bingo, a LB and one who was below 25 years old. It was like hitting two birds with one stone so i bid the given amount for him and since only 3 bids are allowed at first, i left the transfers at that.
MY TEAM :-
Anyways the Default West Ham formation is a 4-4-2 with a midfield based on two side midfielders, an attacking midfielder and a defensive midfielder. So anyways, this was my West ham squad before any transfers were made.
1st Team -
Pos - Name - Age - Overall Rating
GK - Green - 27 - 77
RB - Neill(Captain) - 29 - 77
CB - A.Ferdinand - 22 - 78
CB - Upson - 28 - 79
LB - McCartney - 26 - 70
DMF - S.Parker(Actual pos. - CMF) - 26 - 82
RMF - Ljungberg - 30 - 80
LMF - Boa Morte - 29 - 77
AMF - K.Dyer - 28 - 77
CF - Bellamy - 28 - 78
CF - Ashton - 23 - 77
Subs -
GK sub - Wright - 29 - 73
RB sub - Spector - 21 - 68
CB sub 1 - Gabbidon - 29 - 77
CB sub 2 - Collins - 23 - 72
DMF sub - Mullins - 28 - 73
RMF sub 1 - Faubert - 23 - 76
RMF sub 2 - Solano(Transfer List) - 32 - 75
LMF sub - Etherington - 25 - 75
CMF sub 1 - Noble - 20 - 72
CMF sub 2 - Quashie - 28 - 74
CMF sub 3 - Bowyer - 30 - 75
CF sub 1 - Henri Camara(Transfer List) - 30 - 79
CF sub 2 - Zamora - 26 - 76
CF sub 3 - C.Cole - 23 - 73
Also there were two youth academy products which i checked out but wasnt too impressed.
Anyways after all this, my first ever match at West Ham and the first pre-season was against Celtic.
The match ended in defeat with me struggling a bit in my first match. Two Vennegoor goals sealed my fate. But bright spots such as good play and a Dean Ashton goal were good signs for a New Manager.
TRANSFERS -
I got offers for both Solano and Henri Camara and sold them both out.(Ironically, Henri Camara went back to Wigan. the team from which he's in loan at West ham United in real life). bhasera, the 17 year old LB was snapped up and so i had finished on of the board requirements. Also, i upgraded my Stadium Manager and finished another expectation.
ACHIEVEMENTS -
Two Expectations Met (Stadium Upgrade and Buy a player under 25)
Two Extra Players sold (Solano to Birmingham City and Camara to Wigan)
SECOND MATCH -
The Match with Benfica HAD to have a good result. Doing Bad in the beginning of your career isnt a good thing. I was left without Ashton, Bellamy, Ljungberg and Boa Morte, but was able to capitalise on the situation. My team played flowing tight football based around good passing, and tight possesion. Though we finished the first half 0-0, we had a possesion advantage of 68-32. Finally, the goal came with a mistake by the Benfica Keeper, and Carlton Cole pounced on it. Tight play and good defedning gave us the win from there on.
WEEKLY RESULT -
My bid for the free agent Di Natale was rejected and i recruited both the youth academy products and immediately loaned them to second division clubs.
FIFA 08 Manager
The meat of the FIFA 08 gameplay is at Manager Mode. Though there is a new mode called "Be a Pro" in which you take control of the career of a football player rather than a manager, it is still flawed. But its a unique idea which makes you ask "why didnt they think of this before??" and i hope instead of dumping it, they improve it in the next iteration.
Anyways, back to FIFMan Mode. First, you have to create your FIFMan Profile, which includes writing your first name, last name, your date of birth, Country and a profile pic from some pre entered images. Next you get to choose which club to be a manager of. Do you choose a small club to get a good base from, or do you choose a major club and face the consequences. Cos there WILL BE consequences. The Dev. Team has done well in the incorporation of Player Confidence, Board Confidence as well as Supporter confidence in the game. So if your a rookie manager taking control of, say, Chelsea, then you'll have to face a monumental task of meeting huge expectations. But if you build up a good reputation from some lesser known team where they dont mind a newbie manager as much, then you can have a good reputation going to Chelsea. Not that the task will be any easier, but it pays to be famous.
FIFA 08 has a VERY detailed Manager Mode. Not only can you customise the nuances of your team, such as formations, captains, kick takers, etc..., you have to manage your club in areas such as Transfers, Stadium build, etc.... Other than the routine upgrading, selling, buying of players, you have to upgrade the staff as well. Better Trainers for the respective positions(Midfield, Goalkeeper, etc) results in quicker player improvement, while the scout can get better at, um well, scouting, and negotiators can get better players for cheaper prices. The medical staff heals injuries and keeps players fir while upgrading the stadium manager results in increase in ticket revenue, but for a heavy price.
You also have to choose a sponsor from a list of choices with different requirements and pay benefits but these mostly coincide with the Board Requirements. New to FIFA 08, you can also set up training camps during off days in the calendar, which boost player improvement but at a hit in stamina.
So, basically this introduction was made because for all would-be readers have to get accustomed to this blog should be familiar with it. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the stories of my manager days in FIFA 08!!!!
Anyways, back to FIFMan Mode. First, you have to create your FIFMan Profile, which includes writing your first name, last name, your date of birth, Country and a profile pic from some pre entered images. Next you get to choose which club to be a manager of. Do you choose a small club to get a good base from, or do you choose a major club and face the consequences. Cos there WILL BE consequences. The Dev. Team has done well in the incorporation of Player Confidence, Board Confidence as well as Supporter confidence in the game. So if your a rookie manager taking control of, say, Chelsea, then you'll have to face a monumental task of meeting huge expectations. But if you build up a good reputation from some lesser known team where they dont mind a newbie manager as much, then you can have a good reputation going to Chelsea. Not that the task will be any easier, but it pays to be famous.
FIFA 08 has a VERY detailed Manager Mode. Not only can you customise the nuances of your team, such as formations, captains, kick takers, etc..., you have to manage your club in areas such as Transfers, Stadium build, etc.... Other than the routine upgrading, selling, buying of players, you have to upgrade the staff as well. Better Trainers for the respective positions(Midfield, Goalkeeper, etc) results in quicker player improvement, while the scout can get better at, um well, scouting, and negotiators can get better players for cheaper prices. The medical staff heals injuries and keeps players fir while upgrading the stadium manager results in increase in ticket revenue, but for a heavy price.
You also have to choose a sponsor from a list of choices with different requirements and pay benefits but these mostly coincide with the Board Requirements. New to FIFA 08, you can also set up training camps during off days in the calendar, which boost player improvement but at a hit in stamina.
So, basically this introduction was made because for all would-be readers have to get accustomed to this blog should be familiar with it. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the stories of my manager days in FIFA 08!!!!
Monday, March 31, 2008
FIFA 08 improved....
FIFA 08 is the most popular football videogame in the world. FIFA has always dominated the football videogame market due to a combination of stellar presentation(graphics, small but important details, commentary,etc..), simple to approach gameplay and the FIFA brand itself. But recent years show the market, especially that of the hardcore gamers market turn towards the Konami Football game series, Pro Evolution Soccer.
Pro Evolution Soccer has, for the most part, inferior graphics, player details, commentary, presentation as a whole and due to the brand monopoly of FIFA, most of the players in the PES(Pro Evolution Soccer) series are fake(though this has been rectifies in recent years to the point where, most of the players except the EPL players have their real identities and not names like Rinaldo for Ronaldo).
So why is PES gaining such popularity you ask?! Well i can attribute it to two good reasons.
1. FIFA has dominated the scene from the very beginning, and driven every other competitor out of business. And it shows. The FIFA series, especially in the recent years has been getting lazy, to the point that evry FIFA game just becomes a roster update of the previous year, with almost no update to the gameplay or rubbish additions which dont make that much of a difference and in some cases actually hinder gameplay.
2. PES's own stellar gameplay. The game utilises, for the most part the directional buttons to move, four buttons to do all the passing, shooting basics of football and a few butons to do extra stuff, which for the sake of simplicity, arent really even needed to enjoy the game. All of this combined with precise response from the players to the extent that you can actually picture every pass or shot going to the right place with the right touch, and when any error occurs in the game, you know its your own fault and not of the game. Also, PES has nailed the part where individual players, though might not look as much as their real life counterparts as FIFA, they FEEL like their real life counterparts. Not everyone can do a rabona or elastico ar marseille roulette, And every small character specification really makes a difference. A person with long pass rating of 95 will definitely pass better than a person with the rating of 75. Basically you will know the difference between an Aaron Lennon and David Beckham, between the Maradona's(yes they even have unlockable players from the past) and the wannabes. Also, character customisation is so detailed that even if the players dont have their real names, with a litle patience and tweaking, you can have your entire EPL season authentically ready to go in a few hours.
Well, thank goodness for competition i say, cos FIFA has been really shaken up and have realised that substance really is important and in some cases, even more so than style. So recently, FIFA has picked up their game and has improved with each year. FIFA 08, though far from PES level of greatness, has come the closest to simulating football(No soccer crap here!!) in the FIFA series.
Therefore, the improved features in FIFA 08 are as follows :
1. First, the expected roster updates from more than 100 clubs from around the world are all there till the 8th of August 2007.
2. Graphics, as usual are top notch.
3. Controls are much more refined and ironically, are following a PES based control system.
4. Manager mode in FIFA easily trumps its PES counterpart with tons of options and the option to move around different clubs(PES only allows you to play as one club in its Master League mode).
Some issues still remain, like players all identical, with no distinction between Ronaldinho and Beckham as much as you might wish there to be. And long passes are still kinda awry and its impossible to execute any special maneuver with a keyboard. But these are small gripes, and overall, FIFA has done very well this year.
Pro Evolution Soccer has, for the most part, inferior graphics, player details, commentary, presentation as a whole and due to the brand monopoly of FIFA, most of the players in the PES(Pro Evolution Soccer) series are fake(though this has been rectifies in recent years to the point where, most of the players except the EPL players have their real identities and not names like Rinaldo for Ronaldo).
So why is PES gaining such popularity you ask?! Well i can attribute it to two good reasons.
1. FIFA has dominated the scene from the very beginning, and driven every other competitor out of business. And it shows. The FIFA series, especially in the recent years has been getting lazy, to the point that evry FIFA game just becomes a roster update of the previous year, with almost no update to the gameplay or rubbish additions which dont make that much of a difference and in some cases actually hinder gameplay.
2. PES's own stellar gameplay. The game utilises, for the most part the directional buttons to move, four buttons to do all the passing, shooting basics of football and a few butons to do extra stuff, which for the sake of simplicity, arent really even needed to enjoy the game. All of this combined with precise response from the players to the extent that you can actually picture every pass or shot going to the right place with the right touch, and when any error occurs in the game, you know its your own fault and not of the game. Also, PES has nailed the part where individual players, though might not look as much as their real life counterparts as FIFA, they FEEL like their real life counterparts. Not everyone can do a rabona or elastico ar marseille roulette, And every small character specification really makes a difference. A person with long pass rating of 95 will definitely pass better than a person with the rating of 75. Basically you will know the difference between an Aaron Lennon and David Beckham, between the Maradona's(yes they even have unlockable players from the past) and the wannabes. Also, character customisation is so detailed that even if the players dont have their real names, with a litle patience and tweaking, you can have your entire EPL season authentically ready to go in a few hours.
Well, thank goodness for competition i say, cos FIFA has been really shaken up and have realised that substance really is important and in some cases, even more so than style. So recently, FIFA has picked up their game and has improved with each year. FIFA 08, though far from PES level of greatness, has come the closest to simulating football(No soccer crap here!!) in the FIFA series.
Therefore, the improved features in FIFA 08 are as follows :
1. First, the expected roster updates from more than 100 clubs from around the world are all there till the 8th of August 2007.
2. Graphics, as usual are top notch.
3. Controls are much more refined and ironically, are following a PES based control system.
4. Manager mode in FIFA easily trumps its PES counterpart with tons of options and the option to move around different clubs(PES only allows you to play as one club in its Master League mode).
Some issues still remain, like players all identical, with no distinction between Ronaldinho and Beckham as much as you might wish there to be. And long passes are still kinda awry and its impossible to execute any special maneuver with a keyboard. But these are small gripes, and overall, FIFA has done very well this year.
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