I own Fifa 2004, I own WE6I, I have owned Fifa '03, '02, '01 as well...
Fifa 2004 looks wonderful, and nothing beats beign able to play an 'actual' season. The money system however isn't nothing much to write home about tho'. Plus, the music is absolute crap. Waste of space.
I'm not a Fifa hater, I'm not a Konami emplyee either. But I have pretty much shelved '04 since I got WE6I in the mail.
Fifa seems rushed. I relaize it can't be easy to hone in and perfect a game engine, when you completely scrap it and start over every year. But, the passing just isn't up to snuff. What's really wrong though, is that it's damn near impossible to lead players with the ball sometimes. The passes always seem short and the player turns back to get it. They never let it run ahead of them into space. The OTB maybe good/ it may not be... it may get better with time... but the fact is, you don't friggin' need it. Fifa is nice in some ways. I don't think it is nearly as bad as people make it out to be. But the fact is, it's just not as smooth as its komani counterpart.
So, with the passing system it has now, it's very cumbersome to unlock the defense with that final pass and unrealistic when u actually do it. Also, 40 yard scorchers get old quick. However, you can fix that easier than the whole pasing system.