I haven't played PES09 yet, but I'd like to ask you something about the Manual Passing.
I gave it a try in PES6 (PS2 version) and it just didn't work properly, I was better off using the Standard Controls.
Have you tried Manual Passing in the PS2 version of PES6?? If so, is the Manual Passing better in PES09??
By the way, I also think there are better ways of arranging Dribbling Skills into the game, for one thing holding the L1 button and then using the Left Stick would be far better and Intuitive.
Good call about L1 and the left stick - that would work well.
Anyway- the manual passing in PES6 was R3 and pointing the right stick wasn't it? I didn't like that because R3 is an irritating button at the best of times, let alone pushing it in the desired direction and holding it for the perfect amount of time. I don't know about manual passing on the PS2 version of PES2009, but on the PS3, it's the same, except you don't need to hold down R3. If you come fresh from playing FIFA (which I did) it's quite irritating, as you pass instead of control the ball, etc. However, it's just brilliant. Really easy to aim, you can place it a lot easier (when using R3 for manual passing, I often just hit it directly up, down, left or right; never at an angle) and get the power down to what you want.
However, I don't use the manual passing all the time, so I am sure there are people better placed to compare it.