new to Fifa 09 ... please explain to me ...

[steebu]

(I'm normally playing at Professional level)

1. why my guys never come to the ball. I'll pass it to a guy and he'll stand there, even if it's a fairly short pass, and the defender will come around him and intercept. He won't even bother to shield the defender off.

2. playing as Spain against China, China pressures the ball quite a bit. Meanwhile, even if I set all my pressure options way up, there's no pressure; my defenders literally stand 2-3 yards off.

3. why are my fast guys (Torres, etc.) unable to outrun anybody at the higher difficulty level? I realize it's a higher difficulty level, but that's just STUPID. You're telling me that if I play at the highest difficulty level I can't outrun anyone even if my guy is WAY faster than your guy in real life?

4. why is the defensive AI so bad? If I don't switch to control a defender, he will literally let the attacker go all the way to the goal and attempt a shot.

5. If I'm knocking the ball around in my own end under immense pressure, how come my midfielders don't drop to get the ball? I'm left with four defenders knocking it around with no help. Do I have a "call for midfielder" button?

Do I have to manually do everything? Do I have to manually press? Do I have to manually switch to a defender in order to get pressure on the ball? Do I have to manually switch to a guy to have him shield or come to? Basically, do you have to be a thumb jockey to be any good at this game?

It's very frustrating to play this game ... I especially love playing soccer in real life, but this is getting ridiculous and I'm about ready to throw this game away. Is 10 any better?

[Peregrinity]

I have 09 and 10. Honestly, I like 10 better, but I think it's just because after playing 09 and 10, I finally got used to the controls (having never played a soccer game before) and know what I'm doing now. Of course, I play with MLS only, so my experience is limited to just the Dynamo. But when I played with Arsenal versus Liverpool, I found it easier to play compared to playing with Dynamo, but I enjoy the extra challenge.

I agree. Some AI things do seem to be a bit off. Like you say, when the ball is near a AI teammate, they just stand there and look at it until you switch to them and move to get it by yourself.

There is definitely a learning curve for this game, compared to Madden and NBA games I think.

[Lecrae]

1. If you aren't looking at the person you are passing to and you use direct pass it will kick it soft and they will have to run to it. Just turn towards the person your passing to.

2. All teams pressure too much, you will have to get over it though until 11 comes out and they say that teams will play more like their real life counterparts (at least the big names will imo).

3. When you are on the ball you run slower, use the sprint button and knock on to run faster.

4. Use the call 2nd man button to have them apply pressure to the guy on the ball, and honestly would you not want to control the guy about to make the tackle anyway?

5. You shouldn't be playing with the ball in your own end with just your defenders then, set your team's mentality to defensive and they won't go as far up but it is better if you don't pass it around the back while trying to run down the clock because of the CPU's pressure settings always trying to get the ball.

It isn't hard to hold down a button and make yourself chase a guy or have an AI opponent do it. Yes you have to go get the ball because unless you are on BAP mode the AI doesn't know what you want to do because you are the team. If you play soccer in real life you know that you can't run straight ahead and make a perfect pass to someone on your right. Use auto pass/cross/through/shoot for now until you get used to the game, when you press those button with it on auto it will slightly adjust how your player kicks the ball in your favor.

Plus Legendary is where it's at, try a few games with Accrington vs Man U, it is the most fun I ever had (I won 1 in like 20 tries).