<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Radman @ Feb 23 2009, 11:45 PM)
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I have two weaknesses which I need help with, I struggle in my own area on the edges of my box at times and give the opposition an open look because I get too carried away trying to press too much. I'm just struggling to hold my line and cover open shots. Any advice?. Will keep practicing though.
My second is goal scoring, I'm starting to get the odd goal now and then but I'm nowhere near the point you are where you can probably see a goal scoring opportunity as you move in for the kill and more often than not nail it and as I've seen in various ways as well. I'm getting way more opportunities than I used to but just struggling to find those open players and am not hitting the back of the net as much as I know I should. Again will keep practicing.
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Ok I am gonna give you a couple of tips that no one told me online (cos no one gives away significant secrets) and once I show you it will make scoring against you very hard to do. This is how I defend and I have slow as defenders...so this method has been proven using low ranked defenders against the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Drogba, etc.....arrrrrghhhh!!!!
On defence when they are attacking and getting near your box they are either gonna go two ways....straight thru the middle or around the edges on the wings. So basically you just defend according to those two directions. They will either go high in the air or low along the ground obviously.
Therefore you only have TWO gameplans on defence near your box. Stopping them going straight and stopping them going wide. Here is what I do.
Turn autoswitching fully down.
Opponent going straight at your box:
Use the "SUPERPRESS"....this involves NO manual direction controlling of a player (left thumbstick). Intead it is simply HOLDING DOWN of all THREE
press buttons at the same time. You do not let go until you get the ball. Your right index finger holds down sprint, your right thumb holds down BOTH x (selected player press) AND o (team mate press) and most crucially of all your left thumb holds down D Pad Direction DOWN. They only button that you have to think about is with your left index finger pressing L1 whenever they pass the ball to someone else. Anyway this method will crush any attack going up to your front end of your box. ALL of your players will press the nearest guy both on and off the ball. This method is also useful anywhere further upfield but it really only is effective away from the sidelines. Also known as the "suffocating" press this method can kill people who are trying to just get out of their own half. They look around to people to pass too but the recievers are being pressed so they panic. When they try a "blind" upfield pass (passing to someone not yet in the screen) they will find you are pressing on them and sometimes running ahead and intercepting. Superpress will get your players CLOSE to the recievers....from there you may master the art of actually controlling the guy pressing the reciever to go forward a bit and take the intercept.
Opponent going around the edge of your box (wings):
Well there are no magical buttons to press to make marking around the edges easier except learning to convert using the right control stick. As you probably already know when you push L1  "change player" it converts to the nearest to the BALL. However when you see that your opponent has a player running a line down the wing and sense that your opponent at any time is gonna give a ball towards the wing....you want to get your wing defender to go get him....but find when you try to convert to your wing defender it won't select him because it only selects the player closest to the current ball carrier. Well here is where you have to learn how to do the "right stick" change player. With the right stick while you are defending if you move it in any direction it will switch the player you are controlling to the person closest to him in THAT direction. So you use the right stick and push it towards the wing therefore selecting the winger. You have to tap it a few times very quickly as it won't go to the furtherest player in that direction but instead it will choose the closest...so just keep right sticking it until you get the furtherest player on the wing and then follow your opponents runner down the wing. Quite a skill to learn but very important because the last thing you want is cheap easy goals against you from attackers running down the wing and crossing it back in to some star guy (Rooney, Tevez) who will automatically due to their huge stats create a miracle and score an impossible goal under pressure even though you have 300 players in the box marking him. Really gets on my nerve these cheap goals from crosses due to a players stats. The cheapest of the cheap are Man U going down the wing and giving triple taps back in arrrrggghhhhh!!!!! The best prevention is not allowing them to get down your wing at all. Try and stay directly in front of them with your winger when they try to go down your wing because if they get just a tiny edge aorund you they will probably still cross it. Learning to tackle down the wing is another art form in itself and takes a lot of experience playing online....too many factors involved to write in a post...but I am sure you will get it.
Anyway when defending you basically alternate between those two major schools of thought...and you have to anticipate when to change between the two JUST BEFORE THEY CHANGE the focus of attack. When you learn to apply the superpress it is an AUTOMATIC defensive system...so all you have to do is WATCH the rest of the feild instead of the ball....watch where your opponent may pass too and if it is to a winger then quickly change and get somebody to get on that winger.
Sometimes you have to "concede" and realise that you have not got enough players around to superpress as it may compromise other areas....especially in situations where you are being counterattacked and many of your players are upfield.  This is where Radman you can employ your "concede" strategy (which is what I have seen you do) by having NO ONE press but instead relax, consolidate and pull back to your box (Basketball defence) and hope you get enough players to get back and reform your defensive line.
There is another style of defence that works well against "passers"...it is the "Computer press Player Intercept" method. You hold your right thumb on the o button to get the computer pressing the ball carrier while you run around looking for an intercept. I never use it but many pros do. I struggle against this method because I am a passer.
Lately I have added into my reportoire a new defence called "The Wall of confusion" which is based on three styles. In order they are:
- concede
- wing cover
- super press
So what happens is that when they have the ball in their half and all my players are on our side of the ball....I "concede" by not having anyone pressing on the ball carrier. Instead they all just hold their ground and I use the right stick to get my wing on the side I think they are heading towards to push further out "wing cover"...then when my wing (or both wingers if I am REALLY quick pushing them out) are quite wide I employ the "superpress"...my opponent will see all my players rushing and if they are a good player they will think "He's rushing all in...I can get aorund the wings"...the only problem is...he looks to the wings and realises too late that I have wingers rushing his wingers...he has no one to pass too! If he does get an edge around a wing I just go back to "concede" and try and cover that side of the wing....a bit like damage control.
What about if they get sick of getting blitzed and do the big hoof upfield?
Just change to having a sweeper. Go back to "formations" and choose the formation you like...but when you get to it press the sqaure button (or is it the circle)...you will see your formation change and have "SW" on it....now you have a sweeper who will hang back behind your last defensive line. I often change to a sweeper as soon as my opponent does his first big kick....that is because big kicks upfield show he cannot get upfield with passing as you are strangling him.Â
OK and now with your second question on scoring...well thats another LONGER post in itself lol!!!!!
I use AEK Athens so lots of people enjoy playing against me as opposed to Man U/Barca/Real M/etc....
