Putting it to the test. Bad teams online.

[Dougaldinho]

Putting it to the test. Bad teams online.

After much debate in other threads about peoples choice of team online I decided to give a go what others constantly bemoan the lack of. People not using their 'own teams' online.
I have argued against this for obvious reasons - your opponent will very rarely be doing this so why should you? your team may well be awful and lack the ability to properly compete.

Supporting the mighty Bristol Rovers (a League One team & in real life on a decent FA cup run having knocked out Fulham on penalties a few weeks ago) a half star team with very little quality, it wasn't going to be at all easy. There were the obvious worries I had before really trying this.

Would I be able to compete at all? Is it actually that much harder to compete? Would I get any real enjoyment out of getting (most likely) destroyed by people using far superior sides?

And so the test began. I would play all games as ranked games to ensure that the standard of opposition would hopefully be fairly strong. My online record generally using Inter exclusively gave me a 60% win rate roughly, so I am probably about average as skill level goes.


I lay in wait for my first opponent. Which lucky player would get to witness the might of Inter swiftly morphing to the English Premier league, then the championship, and then League One before falling static on Bristol Rovers?

Game One

Bristol Rovers (Dougeh) Vs Manchester United (Meebo - Rank 3829, Skill level 16)

The game started out initially with my thoughts confirmed as Ronaldo skinned my team for pace. I was however able to take possession and at least work it into midfield and keep the ball with no more difficulty than if I was using a top side. The first goal came from a cross and decent finish from Saha - which to be honest could have been conceded by any side. His second then came from me trying to pass it out of the box and allowing the ball to be intercepted. Thats a lesson learnt as you have to realise that it is not as easy to work the ball out of your defence relying on your players ability. Opting for a more cautious approach in defence I was able to close the doors, and when he made an arrogant error and was dispossessed by Richard Walker - it was pegged back to 2-1. I had been repeatedly trying to score from 20 yards or so through the match and I was forcing corners here and there and I actually had him on the back foot and smelt an upset. It was then a shame that his connection appeared to die, and I got the default win.

Score: 3-0 Win (1-2 Before disconnect)

I was actually suprised after this game at the level which I could compete. I included the ranks/skill level to give a vauge idea of the level of player which I was facing and its obviously he wasn't completely awful and had some experience. This gave me confidence to go on and see if real success was possible.

Game Two

Bristol Rovers (Dougeh) Vs Chelsea (BugzytheKid - Rank 17253, Skill level 12)

I was able to control the game and maintain a good amount of posession all game and was denied the lead after several good saves from Chech - one denying Lambert a magnificent volley. A spilled ball from the keeper Phillips gave him an opening, but the followup was straight at the stranded keeper.
Drogba was a nightmare all game, and generally smashed his way through everything. I had to withstand a period of huge pressure during the second half but at around the 70th minute got a breakaway - a first time cross ricochet off a Chelsea defender and fell to Lambert who stroked home with ease. I was able to withstand the pressure and maintain a good level of possession up to the final whistle.

Score: 1-0 Win


Game Three

Bristol Rovers (Dougeh) Vs Inter (Joshabusa - Rank 20883, Skill level 8)

This was a game that I completely dominated. Also a rare chance to play the side which I usually use. Cesar made a fantastic save from Walker and another from Lambert both from around 10 yards. Several 25 yard drives missed by a whisker and in the end the game was lost due to raw power from Crespo and Ibrahimovic. Having won possession in a 2 on 2, my defender was put under so much pressure he wouldnt even kick the ball and was just overpowered till he lost possession. This led to a simple 1v1 finish for Ibrahimovic. A game in which I had 60% possession and twice as many shots from varies distances goes begging - lost to pure brute force of superior players.

Score: 0-1 Loss

While I play to continue using the side to evaluate this - I have to admit I have enjoyed the past three games Ive played far more than the past thirty with Inter combined.

It is obvious that the main issues you have to deal with when playing with sides at this level are physical strength, and raw pace. These seem to have a huge effect on how good a player is in Fifa, hence why Ronaldo, Drogba & Ibrahimovic all proved almost impossible to handle. I did find however that it is perfectly possible to play a good passing posession based game, and if you are smart - despite a woeful lack of pace - you can put fairly decent counter attacks together.

Anyway - I thought I would put this together to share my experience with others, and hopefully encourage others to try the same thing. It completely changes the complexion of a game when you play with absolutely no expectations, and is actually a lot of fun.

Thanks for reading (if you made it this far.)

[ElaElaElano]

Interesting stuff indeed. I support Man city, so I suppose it's not such a big challenge playing against 5 star opposition, although lately I've been trying out some of the Irish teams like Bohemians and UCD, and doing alright. Good luck on your world beating quest my friend!

[WWSyndicate]

I applaud you good sir.

I have been using LA Galaxy for the past month and a half and the game
is sooooo much more fun, every now and then I will run into a stand up player
who will use an evenly matched team and they usually turn out to be really really great games.

I have a new found appreciation for Fifa 08' and have realized that it is
a more realistic than I have given it credit for. The problem is when you
constantly play 5 star teams you abuse the player ratings but when you
play 3 even 4 stars and under you must really have a strategy and skills of course.

It might seem like a worthless cause but at least I know I'm having fun, even in defeat which is what the game is about.

[daviebhoy08]

im a fair player always try to match ppls teams h8 unfair games

[Dougaldinho]

Just found a Barca player to play. When I swapped to Bristol Rovers and confirmed he had a very long pause. He was either looking at his TV set with a puzzled look or doing laps of his room in sheer joy. Either way, he whooped me 5-0 (Rank 12740, Skill level 9). The sheer pace makes it almost impossible. Commit anyone forward and you get absolutely slaughtered by their pace on the break. Unbelievably fast. The irony of this is I am certain that he was probably the worst player out of the lot that I have just played... oh well.

Thanks for your comments guys.

[Some guy....]

Barcelona is probably the hardest to face with lower ranked teams... Now with Derby (far better than the Rovers) the way I usually play them is basically short passing... Lot's and lot's of short passing. The problem is though, if you lose the ball in their penalty area, the big four shread what remains of your defence, you have to make an awesome tackle and clear over the touch line!

[Joobieo]

I love what your doing in this post keep it up .

- Joobieo

[Dougaldinho]

The real concern Im having at the moment is that Im picking up wins here and there. Just beaten West Ham & Juventus ... but the games against semi-decent players using Barca/Man Utd - I just take an absolute whipping when if I chose a similarly ranked team Im confident I could compete.

I do feel it forces me to up my game though. Making every pass count and constantly paying attention to all aspects of my team.

[Some guy....]

Exactly!

[androctonvs]

great thread... made me want to pick benfica... if only the rosters were updated..

[Robalenko]

I just came offline. I was in a room of 6 (5 without me) They were Barcelona, And I jumped over and took West Ham. They all laughed, and no one else joined. So I said I'd take em on. 90 Minutes of Game time later Final score: Barcelona 0-2 West Ham. A 20 yard rocket from Ashton, and an 89th penalty by Bellamy. They were nice though, and congradulated me, which was cool, but I still feel light as a feather right now 5V1, Barca V the Hammers, and I pull off a 2-0. History in the making folks

[OwynJnr]

I beat Barca 2-1 with MK Dons. I was so chuffed, i took a screenshot with my cam-er-RAH.

[DaLittleMagician]

try using a 2nd account when doing this.
i did exactly the same thing but with Stockport/Wrexham...
went onto the lobbies and yelled out " anyone looking for easy win, im using Wrexham"
immediately i get 3 game invites. one was a level 20 player ranked 1056. he picked bayern munich.
proceeded to rap3 him 3-1.
did the same thing, and lost in the 122nd min to barcalona (one of those games that i REALLY wanted to chuck the controller at the screen).
beat inter, beat united beat chelsea.

the hard part is finding the players to play against you (with a rank <10000). try it out Dougaldinho, it gives them an element of surprise when you're level 1 and beat lvl 20+

[daherlihy]

As a rank 3 player at present, I played a rank 20 player. He chose Barcelona and he whalloped me 4-0. My question is why do they play like this?

Yes they can chose whoever they want, but do they not have any gamesmanship or consideration whatsoever for who they play, in terms of rank? Surely, they can change their team in cases like this, especially if they are using the best team in the game all the time?

[DaLittleMagician]

well FIRST of all. your point would be invalid IF you were playing a quick ranked game. your opponent has NO idea what skill level you are.

however, if you are talking about custom lobbies... i would say the level 20 ranked player is an idiot for challenging you in the first place. he stands to lose quite a lot of ranking points IF he loses. if it was the other way around, and you as a lvl 3 player, really shouldnt be playing a lvl 20 player, for exactly that reason...that the level 20 player would be mad NOT to pick a good+ team to defend his ranking points.

[daherlihy]

Originally Posted by DaLittleMagician

well FIRST of all. your point would be invalid IF you were playing a quick ranked game. your opponent has NO idea what skill level you are.

however, if you are talking about custom lobbies... i would say the level 20 ranked player is an idiot for challenging you in the first place. he stands to lose quite a lot of ranking points IF he loses. if it was the other way around, and you as a lvl 3 player, really shouldnt be playing a lvl 20 player, for exactly that reason...that the level 20 player would be mad NOT to pick a good+ team to defend his ranking points.

Forgot to say, it was via the lobbies that the game was arranged. My point is what is with these mindless fools? Its like life and death for them!!

[Baker011]

We use Blackpool here, one night we hae a 6 wins and 2 loss record. Was quite good when taking on Man Utds, Inters and co. Just wish people would match the team and not pick a 5 star.

[daherlihy]

Originally Posted by EAUK_Baker011

We use Blackpool here, one night we hae a 6 wins and 2 loss record. Was quite good when taking on Man Utds, Inters and co. Just wish people would match the team and not pick a 5 star.

Some other forum user and I just agreed on something there in another thread - the higher ranked a player is, the lower the level of teams they should be able to select from when playing players of lower ranks. Good idea / bad idea??

[EAUK_Adroit]

Originally Posted by EAUK_Baker011

We use Blackpool here, one night we hae a 6 wins and 2 loss record. Was quite good when taking on Man Utds, Inters and co. Just wish people would match the team and not pick a 5 star.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but playing 5v5 on the PS3 for me at least, the opposing captain is more likely to pick a similarly rated team then when playing single player games. Although this is probably because it isn't ranked.

Unfortunately, people will use the best team(s) in the game in single player online as it's by far the easiest way to give you a chance of winning.

[Agilaz2008]

There is a solution to that.

Next time, remove ALL STATS from all teams, make them all run as fast, shoot as good etc..

Who cares, it's a game anyway, and it's not like the stats are realistic now..

[daherlihy]

Its VERY noticable the amount of gamesmanship and nothing-to-lose feeling in 5v5 and unranked matches. And it really needs to be harnessed into ranked matches also, IMO. There is no fun or enjoyment in it anymore. Take for example Call of Duty 4 - the more you play, the more experience you get, and you are achieving something in the background (promotions, unlocks etc), even while you're getting whipped!!

It is a game and should be there to be enjoyed, not slated. At the moment, it is being slated though by a large percentage of gamers because a worryingly large number of cheaters and sore-losers are ruining it for everyone and they continue to do so freely...

[MikeH...]

What I find most frustrating is the feeling of the top few teams in their leagues making you feel like your team should be in a whole different division. You've got to work so hard to win yourself some shots on goal and they just go through you like a knife through butter.

It's not only unrealistic but it can't do any good for future sales when so few can enjoy playing the teams they support.

[Dougaldinho]

I think that the frustration levels are natural when playing competetively. Playing games like COD, Counter-strike etc at a reasonable level - I know that a large percentage get extremely frustrated & angry if things go their way. Im not going to lie about it either - Fifa 08 has created some immensely frustrating moments for me and Ive got really peeved off on occasions. I think thats just the nature of playing online with a must win attitude - especially 1v1 when you can only really blame yourself. But then, thats not really the case is it? As people will often start shifting the blame - blame it on their opponents team choice etc.

An interesting thought though - would be interested to any responses to this - while you can definately argue that using a lesser team makes you up your game and play in a different style... Doesn't it dampen the effect whenever you make a mistake? Its easy to shrug off mistakes in your own play and blame it entirely on your team. When you start doing this for every defeat - surely it will start to have a negative effect on your play? or at the very least stop you from learning from your mistakes as effectively as if you were using a decent side.

[Some guy....]

I agree!

[Zomoniac]

I always use Leeds (my team, League 1, rated 2 stars I think). beating the Man Utd boys is always hilarious