For those of you who play default ML on Top Player, how is PES09 ML experience compared to earlier versions.
I found it to be a lot more difficult than PES 6. But in comparison to PES 2008 (PS2) I'm not sure if it's that much more difficult. I would say it was definitely a touch more harsh to get to grips with, but once you find your rhythm it suddenly becomes that all important tad easier to score that extra goal or two needed to clinch victory. But I suppose it is the same in all versions.
It was certainly a testing campaign in the first season, even after the first transfer window, but once you've made a few decent signings I would say most should secure promotion in their second season.
I'd say PES 2009 would either be first, or second, in relation to being the most difficult default ML on Top Player.
In the first games do you feel it is easier or harder to win?
I personally found it very hard to win the first few matches. But the difficulty will be relative to how much time has been spent playing the game before venturing into a default ML on Top Player. I personally had played very little of the game outside of Become A Legend, and as thus had not got to grips with it all that much, nor settled on a formation, nor tactics, all of which contributed to making my debut season that much more of a testing battle.
I started out with one formation which I used for maybe half of the season, if not three quaters of the season, before switching to another for the remainder of said first season, and the beginning of the second, before, again, switching to a new set-up (three games into the second campaign) which I then settled on.
How many seasons did it take you to get promoted to D1?
I finished 9th in my debut season, going out of the D2 Cup in 2nd round of games. And then I secured promotion in my second season, taking the title with three games to go. I also won the D2 Cup. I ran away with it in my 2nd season, losing only three matches, two of which came late on. But it was still a tough campaign, believe it or not. I found myself 1-0 down in a lot of matches, and I also won quite a lot of my games by just the single goal. Toldo, whom I signed on a free, but with insanely high wages, also played a massive part in seeing us get promotion. I would have drew, if not lost, a good few more games if not for Toldo's intervention as the last line of defence.
Are you enjoying it as much?
It was an enjoyable, if frustrating first season, followed by a similarly enjoyable and testing second. I've only played two games of my third season, the first of which I lost 3-0 away from home, and the second of which I won 3-0 at home. I hope it remains challenging, ideally seeing me battle to finish mid-table, aiming above my weight for a European spot, etc. I have a decent squad now, though. I got the likes of Toldo, Jonny Evans, Babic, Muntari, De La Red, Ramsey, Yakubu, Abbruscato, and Lafferty, on free tansfers. And with the younger players being available on frees, too, I put together a very respectable team.
Out of the default players, the best performers for me were Valeny at CB, Giersen at RB, Stein as DM, Jaric at DM, and Gutierrez as CF. Hamsun, and Baumann, were also quite good. No one was overly bad, to be honest. Those who are still part of my squad would be El Moubarki, Giersen, Baumann, Stein, Ettori, Fouque, Gutierrez. I wish I'd kept hold of Jaric, to be honest, he was always a favorite of mine, but I had no room for him in my new set-up.
