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FIFA 2004 CAREER WALKTHROUGH
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I believe this is not the first FAQ/Walkthrough you will use. This
walkthrough is not written for commercial purposes: it is a pure sample of
a way to share game experience. So, the only thing you are allowed to do
with it (based on the copyright laws) is to make a copy for your own use.
By reading this walkthrough you hereby accept never to use it for your own
benefit, never plagiarize it, as well as all other things stated in the law
books. Read them! It will be most useful for you :-)
If you need anything from this Walkthrough for another work based on FIFA
2004, you are obliged to e-mail me and then credit me in your own FAQ.
1. Career mode in FIFA 2004 – the true fun indeed!
2. Picking up a team. Information and considerations.
3. The 5-year managerial quest for prestige.
3.1. Team strategies.
3.2. Transfer strategies.
4. An example of a 5-Year career.
1. Career Mode in FIFA 2004 – the true fun indeed!
Hi, folks! If you happen to wonder why I decided to write such walkthrough,
here’s the simple, but hard fact: a lot of people play FIFA 2004 just
because of fact, that their favorite teams are there, and are able to win
the EFA trophy, or the Champions league or whatever other cup you think of
(included in FIFA 2004). Yet... I was amazed that very few people are
actually ready to take a third division team in England, for example, and
actually bring it to the FA Premier League, win it, and finally reach the
Champions League on their final, 5th year, and win it too.
I know this may be a little hard, since you’re starting an amateur team.
This is why many people just shun the lower leagues. But I will tell you
this: there is no greater feeling than starting a rookie team and making it
the fear of Europe in the end. This takes time, I know. Still, this is a
simple way of experiencing everything in this game.
So, if you haven’t tried the career mode, I strongly encourage you to do
this. If you prefer to stick to the tournaments, I believe this walkthrough
is not for you.
If you are ready for the new experience in this game – the career mode, you
are heartily welcome to proceed reading the next chapter of the
walkthrough.
2. Picking up a team. Information and considerations.
2.1. FIFA 2004 Creation Centre.
Before selecting the team that you’ll be using throughout your game, I
strongly encourage you to download the FIFA 2004 creation centre version 2.
Why? This will not spoil your experience, but FIFA 2004 is by no means
complete in terms of players in some teams.
Why is that? I don’t know, but I can give you an example. I’m a fan of
Bolton Wanderers for 12 years now. In FIFA 2004, Youri Djorkaeff and Henrik
Pedersen were missing (and not only them, but let’s pretend we haven’t
noticed), and were kind of “replaced” by Dean Holdsworth and Bo Hansen.
These people left Bolton quite a time ago. In FIFA 2004, Henrik Pedersen is
here, along with most of the people in the Bolton squad... But Mario
Jardel, Ibrahim Ba and Youri Djorkaeff are out of the team once again.
Nice... Why spoiling the experience with an incomplete team of players?
So if you see something like that, use the FIFA 2004 Creation centre to fix
the problem. I myself have added these 3 players: Ba, Jardel and Djorkaeff
to the Bolton team and tried to make them as real as possible.
Example: Mario Jardel is great striker, so he’ll be getting high Shooting
Power and Shooting Accuracy marks (around 75-85). In addition, he’s great
with the ball heading, so he receives at least 80 heading (I put 85). To
compensate for this, he’s a bit slow: his pace mark should be low (I put
55), and so on. Finally, he ended up with an evaluation mark of 85, which I
believe suits his skills as a veteran football player.
Almost the same goes for the other veteran. Youri Djorkaeff: his heading
skill should be low, and compensate this with Shooting Accuracy and
Shooting Power marks (remember the goal for Bolton against Blackburn (ended
3-4 in favor of Bolton), as well as a high passing mark. His final
evaluation mark was 65. Maybe it is a bit low, but anyway, he was extremely
useful for me.
Generally this is it. If you like to make the game a bit more interesting,
add yourself to the game by replacing a pre-existent squad member. Put your
marks accordingly to your needs, but I strongly urge you to be wise. Don’t
put extraordinary skill marks for yourself.
Example: I decided to play Torquay in the England’s Third division. I used
the Creation centre only once: I swapped the Goalkeeper, Arjan van Heusden
with myself, without changing any of his marks. This way I made myself a
goalkeeper of Torquay with an overall skill evaluation of 49. And believe
it or not, I think it suits me. I’m a good goalkeeper, but I will never
become a professional one. I have other ideas for my future that do not
include football and goalkeeping.
So, this is all about the Creation Centre. I urge you to use it ONLY to
enhance the game or enhance YOUR OWN experience. If you happen to wonder
where to get it, I believe that was the website:
www.fifasoccer.ru
had one uploaded. If not, use any search engine and find yourself one. It’s
not that hard.
2.2. Selecting a team. Information and considerations.
I strongly urge you to play the career mode at Semi-Pro difficulty. I think
it is the best one of all, if you really want to enhance your game
experience. With some restarting (hmm, who doesn’t) you may even be able to
win, for example, the League cup and the F.A. cup while still in Third
division, while striving for promotion to Second Division.
NOTE: If you start a Premier League team or other good team (Real Madrid,
Barcelona, AC Milan and so on) I recommend Professional difficulty. Otherwise
it’s just too easy.
Still, nobody stops you from selecting a higher difficulty, though. If
you’re good at the higher difficulties, go for it. As for myself, I
switched to professional difficulty as soon as I reached the Premier League
(meaning the year 4 of my managerial quest), because my team was really
good and was quite capable of standing his own in Premiership. This was a
result of good transfer decisions and selection of players, and for all
this, I’m going to write a lot about the transfer periods and how to use
them best to your advantage: mainly because you start quite low on cash,
especially in Third Division (Torquay started with 1.5 M).
It’s time to pick a team. I strongly suggest that you pick a lower division
team. If you happen to wonder why, the game experience is best this way.
Advancing through leagues will keep your interest up and going at all
times, and you’ll hardly ever get bored (believe me; I get bored very
quickly when a game starts to get repetitive). If you pick Real Madrid,
unless you’re this team’s biggest fan, you won’t be able to “survive” more
than 2-3 years: you’ll get bored.
It is up to you. I picked Torquay, since the team’s colors are yellow and
blue, which happen to be my favorite colors :-) I had no other reason to
pick this team :-))
After you’ve picked the difficulty and the team, it’s time to start the 5-
year quest for managerial prestige!!!
There’s nothing much to the Career mode: each year you’re given 4
objectives, with each objective evaluated in prestige points. There are 2
800-point objectives and 2 200-point objectives. There are also several
400-point bonus objectives, which give you certain benefits if you complete
them (Win the league, win a domestic cup, qualify for EFA, and so on).
Oh. I almost forgot. You must have at least 1000 prestige at the end of the
league matches in order to complete successfully the year. I’m confident
you will do well.
We have started talking about prestige, as you see :-)
The first year you will start with 1000 prestige. You will use it during
your transfers (transfer market), during the training of your team members
(team training), and of course, for individual training of selected team
members. The better you do the more prestige you’ll be able to spend on
training and transfers the next year.
And now – the teams.
3.1. Team strategies.
It’s time to talk about your team. Your main objective concerning your team
is to keep it in shape. In FIFA 2004, your players get tired after every
match. They recuperate over time, of course, but don’t think that you’ll be
able to play with your star team throughout the entire game. Your players
get tired, as I said which reduces their performance throughout the game.
Don’t be surprised if a player with 100 points on fatigue gets extremely
tired in the 30th minute of the game.
3.1.1. How do I keep my players in shape?
First of all, you mustn’t allow them to get very tired. A tired player
recuperates slowly; sometimes it may take 2-3 weeks, depending on the team
training you’ve assigned and the number of matches in a week: if they are 2
your players will get tired quickly especially if you use the same team for
both matches.
The second thing is to plan your matches firsthand. If you have a single
match for the week, check your players’ status. If most of them are tired
(I’d say over 30 fatigue), or very tired (over 50 points fatigue), I
recommend you assign no training and let them rest. Still, if you have a
tough match this week, assign normal training.
If they’re ok, assign normal training by all means. They must still be in
shape regardless of the situation, or they’ll get quickly tired in the
match and suffer greater fatigue penalty after the match is over compared
to the situation where the players have trained.
Example: In semi-pro difficulty, players who have received normal training
in a week with only one match, may suffer no more than 30 fatigue. The next
week, if you still have them on normal training, and there is also only one
match, their fatigue will drop to about 5-10, which is means they’re ready
to participate in the next match also without problem, and still be at
their best.
Sometimes, you’ll have 2 matches for the week, and sometimes, both of them
will be important (like both EFA and Domestic cup matches in one week),
which means you’ll have to take certain precautions. The first one is to
assign extra training. The second is to check the fatigue value of your
star people. If they’re at 0-10, they’ll do well in both matches. If it’s
10-20, they won’t be at their best in the second game. If it’s over 30,
don’t use them in the second game, or they’ll be tired in the first half of
the game already.
If you happen to wonder what I do in a case, where a star player is very
tired (over 50) and there are serious matches ahead, here’s my trick:
1. Assign extra training.
2. Put the star player as a substitute in the first match. I use him only
if the things go bad, or the match goes to penalties.
3. If his fatigue is about 40 or under 40, I put him as a start team
player. Otherwise, I put him as a substitute and use him in the second half
only.
3.1.2. How do my players advance?
A player advances when you assign individual training for him. You can
train sprints, shooting, passing, heading, tackling, technique, goalkeeper
ability, goalkeeper skill. According to your player’s current overall
evaluation statistic (for example, 49), his training will cost some
prestige (roughly 50 prestige for 1 training for player under 50, 100 for
player under 60, 250 for player under 65-70, and so on). Still, you’ll soon
see the results. For example, I’m in the 4th year with Torquay, just
entered the Premier league (this is the second time I do career mode with
Torquay), and Dobrev is already 67 skill (starting 49). These are 18
points, which he gained by training his GK ability and GK skill every week
for 3 years.
Not bad, huh? Still, he’s my substitute goalkeeper, since Man United were
so kind as to sell Fabien Barthez to me :-)
And don’t worry; you’ll have enough prestige points later in the game for
individual training. It’s tough with only 1000, but if you do well, you’ll
get 4500 for the next year, which means a lot of training.
3.1.3. What should my squad look like?
First of all, it must be balanced. The “balanced” term depends on the
particular tactic scheme you’re using. My favorite is 4-3-3, but I have
seen that a lot of people prefer 3-4-3.
Balanced team means: you must have a substitute for every player plus a few
reserve players. For example, in 4-3-3 this means:
2 goalkeepers
At least 8 defenders
8-10 midfielders (to have reserves when there are a lot of matches in the
several weeks that are coming)
At least 6 strikers and forwards
This is 2+8+8+6 which is 24 players. The max squad is 30, so plan
carefully. Don’t purchase too many midfielders and few strikers. If you
make an unbalanced team, you’ll suffer the consequences.
And never forget, that it is very tough to make a balanced team. You’ll
hardly be able to do it in the first year without a lot of planning and
good transfers.
Why do other teams are always in good condition?
Because the game is based on making your going tough, why else? :-) Still,
teams like Real Madrid, AC Milan, Manchester United and such have wonderful
first-team and second-team players, which means that they will always be
powerful opponents, regardless of the players’ condition.
For example, sometimes when you enter the ECC, you must play 2 matches in 2
weeks with Arsenal, for example for the ECC with a match between them for
the FA Premier League. This means 3 matches, in which Arsenal use exactly
the same team, while you may have to swap several sets of midfielders,
strikers and defenders. Nasty... But this is why you need to make a
balanced team, so that you don’t suffer from such occasions.
And come to think of this, this is our task: to create a team with equal
first and second team players. This will help you throughout the game:
you’ll never suffer from any problems in the difficult weeks to come.
Always remember that a midfielder line-up of all 60 skill players is better
than 40% 70 skill (because the 70 skill are much more expensive than 60)
and 60% 50 skill.
Still, I am aware that this depends on the team, but keep this thought in
mind when you’re transferring players.
3.1.4. Time to pick the players for the match.
The most important thing here is to use players that are totally rested (0-
10 fatigue). They’ll do best in the game, even if they are a bit weaker
than their substitutes. You can count on such player to get on and play the
entire match for you, rather than having to make 2nd half substitutes. In
addition, it has another bonus here – by using this player, you ensure that
your star player for this position will have rested enough as to
participate in the next match to the best of his ability.
In a scheme with strong midfielders (those that actually enter the attack
and participate in the defense), the most important thing is always to keep
several sets of midfielders (I always have at least 9 midfielders in my
squad for my 4-3-3 scheme), as they’ll get tired very quickly. I’m positive
that on Semi-pro difficulty, most people prefer scoring goals from slightly
father than the professional difficulty. This calls for strong midfielders
with good pace, tackling, passing and shooting skills. It’s not easy to
find such players, though... And definitely, not cheap.
3.1.5. The match itself.
I’m not going to tell you how to score goals in this chapter. This
Walkthrough is not designed to teach you how to play the match. We will
rather discuss the behavior of your players, how quickly they get tired,
and such.
First of all, the behavior of your players is determined by the tactical
scheme you’re using in the game. If the players aren’t acting the way you
want them to, simply change the scheme in the Team management.
The free kicks and the corner kicks are another thing. You can go to the
Set piece menu in the options settings and change the way your free kicks
will be taken (there are a lot of options... So you’ll have to check them
all out, and afterwards decide which one to use). I personally, use the
basic set. I’ve gotten used to it, and I’m not going to change the things.
As the match progresses, your players will get tired. This means they must
be well rested for the match, or they’ll cripple in the first 30 minutes.
This means they should have trained, you should have enough players for
substitutions, and so on. Be wise. Create a team that has players of equal
(or similar) strength. This way you’ll always be sure that your team will
perform the same way every match. There’s nothing better than this. If you
see that one of your players is getting to tired, substitute him, but first
ensure that he is really tired! If a midfielder makes 2-3 consecutive runs
at goal, he’ll get tired. Still, if he stays out of the action for about 10-15
minutes, his stamina bar will get somewhat replenished (well, not
entirely, but well enough).
This is important if don’t have a suitable substitute.
3.1.6. The hidden weapon – your substitutes.
Your substitutes are just that – a hidden weapon. You’ll definitely have
some matches that will go to penalties. In this case, you can do a little
trick – quickly substitute some of your players with lower shooting skill
with your substitute star players (even if they’re very tired) somewhere in
the second extra time period, including the goalkeeper, if you have a
better one. Weaker goalkeepers may not save the penalty even if you guessed
the place where the ball is put.
So, the morale from the story is as follows: don’t underestimate the
substitute players and take advantage of them regularly. They may save the
game for you.
3.1.7. The Star Players.
Every team has a star player. He has the highest skill mark; depending on
the strength of the team (could be 55, for example... Or it could be 97).
A star player is an important thing to have, but unless he’s a goalkeeper
(however, even goalkeepers don’t play to the best of their skill if tired
over 85) you can’t use him all around, in every game. However, I’d still go
for a team with equal strength rather than a team with a specific star
player (He’s 90, and the rest are 70 something).
3.2. Transfer strategies.
You have 2 transfer windows in a season (before the start of the season +
the first month of the season) and from January 1 to January 31. Use them
wisely.
3.2.1. Selling players.
In FIFA 2004 you can’t just sell a player to another club who has lots of
cash. Finally EA have done something about that – YOU CAN ONLY SELL A
PLAYER WHICH HAS DRAWN THE INTEREST OF ANOTHER CLUB TO HIM.
Still, you can do something about it – put this player in your team for
several games, and if he does well, offers will start to flow into the Team
News menu. Now, you can sell him to the club that gives the most cash for
him :-)
If you did that and there’s no interest in him – well, this means that
you’ll have to sit with this player for years to come. Yet you may try to
train him – Martin Petrov and Delroy Facey are a good example of people who
never draw attention to themselves, but however, build-up their skills very
quickly. Just assign 3 times individual training (although effectively
losing prestige) and watch the results. Martin Petrov was 81 (starting 67)
skill in Bolton at the end of year 5, Professional difficulty, and Delroy
was 78 (although individually trained for only a season).
3.2.2. Purchasing players.
3.2.2.1. How to do.
Simple – you just enter the Transfer Market and choose a player from it.
Provided the other team is willing to sell him, and you have submitted a
good offer, you’ll strengthen your squad with another player.
NEVER FORGET THAT MAXIMUM SQUAD SIZE IS 30!
3.2.2.2. Info and considerations.
Every team has a few players that will be transfer listed. Just click the
arrow next to “All” and it will change to “Listed” and you’ll access only
the people that are transfer listed.
The cash required for purchasing a player depends on his skill and
importance for the team he’s in. A first team player would require quite a
bit of cash over his transfer price to persuade his current team to sell
him to you.
Let’s try to analyze.
A player, which is transfer listed costs his actual transfer price.
This changes after you purchase several players from this team – they’ll be
less willing to sell other players to you at cost. It may be so even if you
add a million to the price.
A second team players which is not transfer listed will require some
additional cash to his transfer cost (somewhere to 0.2 to 0.5M) in order to
persuade the other team to sell him.
A first-team member is another thing, though. Sometimes even a million
above his transfer cost may not do the trick. This goes especially to the
high-rated players – I managed to purchase Oliver Kahn for 11.0M, which was
actually 1.2M above his transfer cost. The next year I sold him for 12.5M:
meaning that I even had a surplus of 1.5M for the next year. Sometimes it’s
real nice to start with 25M in transfer money thanks to a transfer made in
the previous year :-)
But one way or another, after each season you’ll get more transfer money,
depending on the objectives completed. If you did not manage to purchase a
player you wanted this season, you’ll have to settle with the thought of
signing another player or wait for the next season.
IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE YOU SPEND _ALL_ YOUR TRANSFER MONEY, SINCE THAY WILL
NOT BE AVAILABLE AS AN ADDITION TO THE ONES YOU RECEIVE THE NEXT SEASON!!!
3.2.3. Transfer strategies: going in-depth.
The most important time of the year is not the season itself, but the
transfer period. It is here where the faith of your team is being decided
and this is the moment which will have great influence on the season games
and the way your team will be going in the league.
The most important thing here is to refrain from overlooking the transfer
period. A lot of people make this mistake just because they want action.
Such people usually shun the career mode, since it requires more wits and
patience than fast reflexes.
Transfers are important. For that reason, as an Appendix, I’ll give you the
development of Torquay United (from English Division 3) and Bolton
Wanderers (from the Premier League) throughout the 5 years of the career
mode. In these two teams’ development, I have tried to preserve the balance
and I really did it :-)
Another important thing is to refrain from spending all your cash in the
first transfer period. You have another one, and you may find better
players there, as well as sell a few :-) to purchase others. I know it
sounds difficult, but as long as you preserve the balance, all will be OK.
Still, of course, if you find everything you need in the first transfer
window, spend them to the last dime!!! :-)
SO, why don’t we point out the most important things to know when doing
transfers?
1. Put the unnecessary players in the transfer list. Unnecessary players
for one team are necessary for another.
2. Sell the unnecessary players as soon as there’s an offer for them.
3. If you can buy a player, but don’t have enough roster space, release
some of the weakest players (or sell some of those, who have drawn the
interest to them).
4. Purchase players accordingly to the tactical system you are using. No
point in having too many strikers, too many defenders, or too many
midfielders.
5. If you have a player with good skill, surrounded by players with low
skills, consider selling the good player and purchasing 2-3 others with
similar marks. This way your team will never suffer (albeit losing his star
player).
A lot of examples may be given: just check out all teams and analyze those
who have 1-2 star players (skill 80+), a couple 70+ and the rest are 50 or
60+. Such teams may try to sell their best players and aim at obtaining 4-5 70+
players effectively losing some of their strength in certain matches,
but bettering the team’s status overall. IF you’re planning on playing more
than 1 year... Having a team with good overall marks is better than a team
with several key players and lots of supporters.
NOTE: IT IS VERY IMPORTANT to be sure that every single player can score a
goal given the chance. Sometimes, your technique in scoring doesn’t matter,
it’s up to the player. Sometimes even a defender may find himself in front
of the goal... And miss. This is why a defender must be trained in shooting
and heading also (or find one that has high marks on SA&SP and Heading, as
well as tackling) rather than having him act as a simple defender.
6. Take your time and study all of the leagues! When you see a player that
might be useful (or generally useful), grab a paper and pen and write down
the most important info about him.
NOTE: This is a must for people who have started a team from a lower
division.
7. Start planning. Take a pen and paper and start analyzing the tactical
scheme and put the players to the scheme. Afterwards try to have at least
2-3 options for substitute players and add 1`to the entire scheme, because
sometimes players get injured... Nasty thing, for it may ruin your entire
tactical scheme.
After you put the players to the scheme and analyzed the second and
probably third teams. Now try to which positions lack players and which
have excess players. Add some of the excess players to the transfer list
and sell them given the chance.
Then purchase players that complement the tactical scheme.
8. Here’s a small tip how to add players to the scheme and find the correct
number of players for it, then purchase them.
Goalkeepers x2 (maybe 3, but 2 will do the work, and never forget that you
have only 30 players for your squad!
Defenders x2 +1 – meaning the number of defenders according to the scheme
plus one in case of trauma or suspension.
Midfielders x3 +1 – meaning the number of midfielders according to the
tactical scheme +1 in case of trauma or suspension. If you play a scheme
with 4 midfielders, remove the +1.
Strikers x2.5 (or 3) +1 – depending on the tactical scheme and rate of
swapping due to tiredness. Plus one for the same reasons.
Let’s compute:
My scheme is 4-3-3
2 goalkeepers
4 x 2 = 8 + 1 = 9 defenders
3 x 3 = 9 + 1 = 10 midfielders
3 x 2.5 = 7.5 +1 = 9 strikers
2 + 9 + 10 + 9 = 30 Exactly :-)
3-4-3
2 goalkeepers
(3x2)+1=7 defenders
(4x3)+1=13 midfielders (here I recommend 12, since you’ll have too many)
(3x2.5)+1=8 or 9 strikers.
30 again.
The same goes for all other schemes.
How did I make up this scheme?
It wasn’t easy. It took a lot of trial (and putting strikers as midfielders
:-)) to make this up. Generally, it looks quite simple, but it’s not.
However, I finally manager to get this scheme up and going with Bolton and
Torquay around the 3-4th years and used it wonderfully in the 5th year. I
simulated most of the matches and still won most of them. Even though the
AI was doing its best to make my going tough by injuries and suspensions.
One final thing. As for me, the career mode was interesting just because of
the transfers, and not the play itself. The game quickly becomes
repetitive... I don’t like this, but it’s fun anyway :-)
As we have discussed this, it’s time to cut the theory and go to the
practice :-)
3.2.4. Transfer recommendations.
This chapter is for people, who are ready to start a lower-division team
and get it up to the best of their skill. It is not easy to have only 1.5M
and go for the FA cup or the League Cup :-)
First step: get a pen and paper. Now start pointing out the cheap transfers
(worth 0.1-0.3M) and compile a list of them. Write their SA&SP (shooting
power and shooting accuracy) marks, their skill mark, their value.
Afterwards pick the best ones (after a small comparison) and go for it. You
have 4 weeks for this task (the first transfer period) and then 4 more (the
second transfer window).
Still, don’t go buying them right away :-)
Second step: Choose a tactical scheme and try to fit as much players as
possible to it (it’s very difficult the first year, I know). If you manage
to do it the first year, your promotion is 50% assured :-)
Third step: Now, you are free to start transferring. Finally!
Fourth step: Make up 2 different squads, preferably with similar strength.
Use them separately when the other squad’s players get tired. Be prepared
to use the rest for proper swaps when you can’t use certain people for
different reasons.
And now, for some names and clubs. Check them out, they may be your best option
:-)
1. Kevin Nolan – Bolton Wanderers. Skill: 48; over 80 SA&SP. Very quick
training. Position: CAM Value: 0.1M
2. Stelios Giannakopoulos – Bolton. Skill: 52; over 80 SA&SP. Quick
training. Position: CM Value: 0.1M
3. Antonio Pacheco – Albacette. Skill: 53 (!?); nice heading and shooting
skills. Position: ST Value: 0.3M
4. Gianluca Pessotto – Juventus. Skill: 53; nice stats overall. Extremely
useful. Position: RCDM Value: 0.1M
5. Simon Charlton – Bolton W. Skill: 53. Great defender for a start.
Position: LB Value: 0.1M
6. Anthony Barness – Bolton W. Skill: 53. Great defender. Position: LB
Value: 0.1M
7. Luigi Sartor – Roma. Skill: 53. Great defender. Position: RB value: 0.1M
8. Salvatore Bruno – Ancona. Skill: 53. Nice stats for 3rd division.
Position: ST Value: 0.2M
9. Christian Lell – Bayern Munich. Skill: 51. Good defender. Position: RWB
Value: 0.1M
10. Toro Acuna – I’m not sure how he came to my squad, but... I believe it
was from Atletico Madrid. Skill: 51. Position: LCDM value: 0.1M
11. Richard – Valencia. Skill: 58. Well worth the cash. Position: ST Value:
0.4M (If I’m not mistaken).
Well, that should do for a start. In addition, I strongly recommend that
you perform a thorough “scan” of the Korean League. Some of the people, who
are transfer listed, have great stats even for their low skill marks.
For example: (I can’t remember the teams)
Lee Ki Hyung – RWB, skill 51. SA: 75 SP: 85!!!
Jo Yeong Ho – CB, skill: 43. SA: 72 SP: 70!
A lot of such players are available in the Korean League, and in addition,
they are cheap. Go for it!
Here I’ll give you the advancement of two teams: Torquay United and Bolton
Wanderers. I started Torquay first, on Semi-pro difficulty, and followed
with Bolton on Professional. Needless to say, these 2 teams are my personal
favorites :-)
Note: Bolton is with the improved squad (Jardel, Ba, Thome, and Djorkaeff)
and this is why I got so much players from this team.
Torquay United Semi-Pro End year 1 Transfer budget: 1.5M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | Dobri Dobrev |GK | 60 | In Torquay | Created Player
3 | Anthony Barness |LB | 53 | Bolton |
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 50 | Bolton | Was 48
5 | Lee Ki Hyung |RWB | 51 | Korean League | SA: 75 SP: 80!
6 | Jo Yeong Ho |CB | 43 | Korean League | SA: 72 SP: 70!
7 | Valeri Boijinov |ST | 34 | Lecce | Quick training
8 | Gianluca Pessotto |RCDM| 53 | Juventus | Good overall
10 | Simon Charlton |LB | 53 | Bolton |
11 | Jun Woo Geun |CM | 40 | Korean League | SA: 73 SP: 53
12 | Craig Taylor |CB | 49 | In Torquay |
13 | Antonio Pacheco |ST | 56 | Albacette |
14 | Seo Jung Won |RAM | 56 | Korean League | SA: 79 SP: 67
15 | Kevin Wills |CAM | 53 | In Torquay |
16 | Daniel Bierofka |LM | 59 | Bayer Leverkusen |
17 | Dede |LWB | 56 | Borusia Dortmund | SA: 65 SP: 75
18 | Luigi Sartor |RB | 53 | Roma |
19 | Graham Killoughery |LM | 53 | In Torquay |
20 | Ben Camara |ST | 51 | In Torquay |
22 | Scott McLaughlin |ST | 58 | Livingston | Good transfer!
23 | Kain Bond |ST | 54 | In Torquay |
24 | Lucas Burgess |RB | 49 | In Torquay |
26 | Salvatore Bruno |ST | 53 | Ancona |
27 | Stelios Giannakopoulos |CM | 53 | Bolton | Was 52
28 | Scott Corderoy |GK | 50 | In Torquay |
29 | Nam Gi Il |CM | 47 | Korean League | SA: 66 AP: 59
30 | Lee Jong Min |RWM | 56 | Korean League | SA: 61 SP: 70
32 | Christian Lell |RWB | 51 | Bayern Munich | Tackle: 70
33 | Toro Acuna |LCDM| 51 | Atletico Madrid |
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 58 | Bolton | Quick training
63 | Richard |ST | 58 | Valencia | Good
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis:
Tactical Scheme: 4-3-3
Goalkeepers: 2
Defenders: 10 (2 made in offensive midfielders: No. 5 and 6)
Midfielders: 11
Attackers: 7 (well enough for me)
As it is obvious, there is no balance in this lineup, but the game ran
fairly smoothly, and I had absolutely no problems thanks to the 2 Koreans
(No. 5 and 6) which I used as defenders, midfielders and strikers
throughout the game. Universal players – I like that!!!
Still, this team was superb. On semi-pro, I managed to beat teams like
Tottenham, Southampton, and Newcastle without restarting a game. It took
some restarting on the 2 finals, but I believe it was an earned victory.
It’s difficult to beat the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea with this
squad...
Torquay United Semi-Pro End year 2 Transfer budget: 6.0M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | Dobri Dobrev |GK | 64 | In Torquay | Created Player
2 | Glen Johnson |RB | 70 | Chelsea |
3 | Celestine Babayaro |LB | 73 | Chelsea | Picture :-)
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 52 | In Torquay | Was 48
6 | Ki Yeong Ho |CB | 46 | In Torquay | SP&SA
7 | Valeri Boijinov |ST | 39 | In Torquay | Was 32
8 | Gianluca Pessotto |RCDM| 54 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
9 | Velamazan |CM | 62 | RCD Espanyol | SA: 80 SP: 90!
10 | Simon Charlton |LB | 54 | In Torquay | Training
11 | Jun Noo Geun |CM | 43 | In Torquay |
14 | Seo Jung Won |RAM | 56 | In Torquay |
15 | Kevin Wills |CAM | 54 | In Torquay |
20 | Ben Camara |ST | 51 | In Torquay |
21 | Bosko Balaban |CF | 71 | Aston Villa | Picture :-)
22 | Scott McLaughlin |ST | 58 | In Torquay |
23 | Kain Bond |ST | 54 | In Torquay |
24 | Stefan Moore |CF | 69 | Aston Villa |
25 | Anthony Le Tallec |CAM | 69 | Liverpool |
26 | Salvatore Bruno |ST | 55 | In Torquay | Training
27 | Ronny Johnsen |CB | 69 | Aston Villa |
28 | Scott Corderoy |GK | 50 | In Torquay |
29 | Nam Gi Il |CM | 49 | In Torquay |
30 | Lee Jong Min |RWM | 56 | In Torquay |
31 | Jeremie Aliadiere |ST | 69 | Arsenal |
32 | Christian Lell |RWB | 51 | In Torquay |
33 | Toro Acuna |LCDM| 53 | In Torquay | Training
34 | Stelios Giannakopoulos |CM | 55 | In Torquay | Was 52
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 58 | In Torquay |
63 | Richard |ST | 61 | In Torquay | Was 58
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
And again, the analysis.
This team is extremely good and just breezed through the second division.
The bad thing though, was the fact that I had to make a number of
consecutive clean sheets... Which is a nasty job. Well, I just simulated
most of the matches, played the rest, and fulfilled all objectives save for
this one. And I was punished: with less money for players the next season.
Tactical Scheme: 4-3-3
2 Goalkeepers
7 Defenders (too few...)
11 Midfielders (too many... I used Kevin Wills as right back)
9 Attackers
Total of 29 players... Didn’t have the cash for a 30th player :-)
Best lineup:
(LS-ST-RS)
(LCAM-CM-RCAM)
(LB-LCB-RCB-RB)
(GK)
Aliadiere Balaban Moore
Le Tallec Pessotto Velamazan
Babayaro Johnsen Livesey Johnson
Dobrev
Torquay United Semi-Pro End year 3 Transfer budget: 5.0M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | Dobri Dobrev |GK | 68 | In Torquay | Created Player
2 | Glen Johnson |RB | 70 | In Torquay |
3 | Celestine Babayaro |LB | 73 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 56 | In Torquay | Was 48
5 | Roman Szewczyk |CB | 54 | SV Salzburg |
6 | Olivier De Cock |CB | 63 | Club Brugge |
7 | Valeri Boijinov |ST | 44 | In Torquay | Hard Training
8 | Gianluca Pessotto |RCDM| 55 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
9 | Velamazan |CM | 62 | RCD Espanyol | SA: 80 SP: 90!
10 | Simon Charlton |LB | 58 | In Torquay | Training
11 | Damief Duff |LM | 75 | Chelsea |
12 | Mohamed Kallon |ST | 76 | Inter Milan | Picture :-)
14 | Seo Jung Won |RAM | 58 | In Torquay |
15 | Kevin Wills |CAM | 56 | In Torquay |
20 | Ben Camara |ST | 51 | In Torquay |
21 | Bosko Balaban |CF | 71 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
22 | Scott McLaughlin |ST | 58 | In Torquay |
23 | Kain Bond |ST | 54 | In Torquay |
24 | Stefan Moore |CF | 69 | In Torquay |
25 | Anthony Le Tallec |CAM | 69 | In Torquay |
26 | Salvatore Bruno |ST | 59 | In Torquay | Training
27 | Ronny Johnsen |CB | 69 | In Torquay |
28 | Scott Corderoy |GK | 50 | In Torquay |
29 | Nam Gi Il |CM | 51 | In Torquay |
30 | Lee Jong Min |RWM | 58 | In Torquay |
31 | Martin Petrov |LS | 67 | Wolfsburg |
32 | Christial Lell |RWB | 55 | In Torquay |
34 | Stelios Giannakopoulos |CM | 58 | In Torquay |
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 62 | In Torquay |
63 | Richard |ST | 61 | In Torquay |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis:
Not a bad team for first division. Still, to compensate for the low cash, I
had to do some transfer tricks. I bought Mario Stanic from Chelsea and sold
it for a higher price (B: 2.1M; S: 2.8M) in invested these money in
Mohammed Kallon – my best striker in First division. This time though, in
the lineup I’ll give you my first team plus my substitutes, so that you get
a better idea what was I trying to tell you by “keep balanced squad”.
Tactical Scheme: 4-3-3
2 Goalkeepers
8 Defenders
9 Midfielders
10 Attackers
Again, total of 29. This time, with some balance, at last!
I used a trick here. Martin Petrov has great shooting skill, and is fast.
He is a striker, but sometimes I used him as a LCAM. He did great work on
that position, so I suggest that switch if you purchase him.
With this squad, I had little trouble winning the First division and advancing
to the Premier League.
Best lineup (with subs):
(LS-ST-RS)
(LCAM-CM-RCAM)
(LB-LCB-RCB-RB)
(GK)
M. Petrov Balaban Richard
(McLaughlin) (Moore) (Kallon)
Le Tallec Pessotto Velamazan
(Nolan) (Giannakopoulos) (Duff)
Babayaro Johnsen Livesey Johnson
(Charlton) (De Cock) (Szewczyk) (Lell)
Dobrev
(Corderoy)
And of course for the toughest matches (like the finals), I used my best
team. Just substitute Petrov with Moore, Richard with Kallon and Pessotto
with Duff and there you go.
Torquay United Semi-Pro End year 4 Transfer budget: 9.0M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | Dobri Dobrev |GK | 72 | In Torquay | Created Player
2 | Glen Johnson |RB | 70 | In Torquay |
3 | Celestine Babayaro |LB | 73 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 61 | In Torquay | Was 48
5 | Ciro Ferara |RB | 70 | Juventus |
7 | Valeri Boijinov |ST | 49 | In Torquay |
8 | Gianluca Pessotto |RCDM| 57 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
9 | Velamazan |CM | 62 | In Torquay | Hard to train!
10 | Mark Pembridge |LM | 66 | Fulham |
11 | Damief Duff |LM | 75 | In Torquay |
12 | Mohamed Kallon |ST | 76 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
13 | Fabien Barthez |GK | 78 | Manchester Utd. | Picture :-)
16 | Dimitar Berbatov |ST | 73 | Bayer Leverkusen |
17 | Tobias Rau |LB | 70 | Bayern Munich |
21 | Bosko Balaban |CF | 71 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
22 | Scott McLaughlin |ST | 58 | In Torquay |
23 | Kieran Richardson |LM | 71 | Manchester Utd. |
24 | Darren Fletcher |CM | 68 | Manchester Utd. |
25 | Anthony Le Tallec |CAM | 70 | In Torquay |
26 | Salvatore Bruno |ST | 59 | In Torquay |
27 | Khalilou Fadiga |LM | 70 | Inter Milan |
28 | Ronny Johnsen |CB | 69 | In Torquay |
29 | Richard Dunne |CB | 71 | Manchester City |
30 | Stefan Moore |CF | 69 | In Torquay |
31 | Martin Petrov |LS | 71 | In Torquay |
32 | Christian Lell |RWB | 55 | In Torquay |
34 | Stelios Giannakopoulos |CM | 61 | In Torquay | Was 52
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 62 | In Torquay |
63 | Richard |ST | 64 | In Torquay |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis: For premier League at semi–pro difficulty, this team is
outstanding. I had little problems winning the league, although teams like
Man Utd, Chelsea and such were putting stiff resistance. A lot of good
transfers really strengthened the team and made it work the same way
throughout the year. This actually compensated the fact that the other
teams were always at their best.
Tactical scheme: 4-3-3
2 Goalkeepers
8 Defenders
10 Midfielders
9 Attackers
Again, 29 players, but finally, a balanced team! The marks of the players
aren’t that different, which means this team will have same strength
throughout the season. Nice. This is the thing we were striving for!
Best lineup:
(LS-ST-RS)
(LCAM-CM-RCAM)
(LB-LCB-RCB-RB)
(GK)
Richard Balaban Kallon
(Petrov) (Moore) (Berbatov)
Babayaro Johnsen Dunne Johnson
(Rau) (Lell) (Livesey) (Ferara)
Barthezz
(Dobrev)
There it is. You may blame me for using different types of defense (one
stronger, the other weaker), but keep in mind that defenders at “contain”
tactic get tired slowly and you are free to use one set of defenders for a
long time. For insignificant (or surely won) matches, swap the defenders
and all’s fine.
Torquay United Semi-Pro End year 5 Transfer budget: 9.0M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | Dobri Dobrev |GK | 76 | In Torquay | Created Player
2 | Glen Johnson |RB | 70 | In Torquay |
3 | Celestine Babayaro |LB | 73 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 64 | In Torquay | Was 48
5 | Radostin Kishishev |RB | 69 | Charlton |
6 | Bernard Mendy |RWB | 62 | PSG | Fast; Useful
7 | Valeri Boijinov |ST | 53 | In Torquay | Balanced
8 | Gianluca Pessotto |RCDM| 59 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
9 | Velamazan |CM | 62 | In Torquay | Hard to train!
10 | Mark Pembridge |LM | 66 | In Torquay |
11 | Damief Duff |LM | 75 | In Torquay |
12 | Mohamed Kallon |ST | 76 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
13 | Fabien Barthez |GK | 78 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
14 | Svetoslav Todorov |ST | 74 | Portmsmouth |
15 | Thiago Motta |CM | 64 | Barcelona |
16 | Dimitar Berbatov |ST | 73 | In Torquay |
17 | Tobias Rau |LB | 70 | In Torquay |
20 | Emerse Fae |SW | 60 | Nantes |
21 | Bosko Balaban |CF | 71 | In Torquay | Picture :-)
22 | Florent Sinama Pongolle|ST | 73 | Liverpool |
23 | Kieran Richardson |LM | 71 | In Torquay |
24 | Darren Fletcher |CM | 68 | In Torquay |
25 | Anthony Le Tallec |CAM | 72 | In Torquay |
27 | Khalilou Fadiga |LM | 70 | In Torquay |
28 | Ronny Johnsen |CB | 69 | In Torquay |
29 | Richard Dunne |CB | 71 | In Torquay |
30 | Stefan Moore |CF | 70 | In Torquay |
31 | Martin Petrov |LS | 73 | In Torquay |
34 | Stelios Giannakopoulos |CM | 64 | In Torquay | Was 52
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 64 | In Torquay |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
And this was the team with which I finished the game. My final result was
about 15800, which isn’t bad, but isn’t good either, because the best
result is 18000. No need for analysis, the roster speaks for itself.
The next game I completed was with Bolton Wanderers. Since I started with a
better team, I felt that it was prudent to start a higher difficulty game.
So I picked them and started the game. I can only say one thing – it was
difficult, but not THAT difficult. Bolton is regarded as a bottom-of-table
team, which means that most of the simulated matched will be lost unless
you’ve put a good lineup and you’re doing will in the league.
Since Bolton’s squad was incomplete, I allowed myself the luxury of adding
Mario Jardel, Ibrahim Ba, Emerson Thome and Youri Djorkaeff to the list. It
wasn’t cheating, since these are real Bolton Wanderers players and they
should’ve been in the roster.
With the real Bolton’s team, I decided to start the season and the new
manager career. I strongly suggest adding players using the editor I
mentioned before, because as I said – this game is far from complete in terms
of players and so on. Still, EA have made a great game with plenty
new things :-)
NOTE: Added players will never draw other clubs’ interest, unless they
replace existing ones!
Bolton Wanderers Professional Year 1 Transfer budget: 11.0M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | Kevin Poole |GK | 54 | In Bolton |
2 | Anthony Barness |LB | 54 | In Bolton |
3 | Mohammed Kallon |ST | 76 | Inter Milan | Came with ¹3
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 51 | In Bolton | Was 48
5 | Bruno N’Gotty |CB | 62 | In Bolton |
6 | Youri Djorkaeff |LCAM| 65 | In Bolton | Created player
7 | Stelios Giannakopoulos |CM | 53 | In Bolton |
8 | Per Frandsen |CM | 65 | In Bolton |
9 | Henrik Pedersen |ST | 78 | In Bolton |
10 | Jay-Jay Okocha |CM | 80 | In Bolton |
11 | Ricardo Gardner |LCB | 64 | In Bolton | LCB??? No way!
12 | Jonathan Walters |ST | 67 | In Bolton |
13 | Mario Jardel |CF | 85 | In Bolton | Created player
14 | Kevin Davies |ST | 69 | In Bolton |
15 | Ibrahim Ba |CM | 64 | In Bolton | Created player
16 | Ivan Campo |CM | 73 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
17 | Florent Laville |CB | 64 | In Bolton |
18 | Nicky Hunt |CB | 52 | In Bolton | Was 48
19 | Delroy Facey |ST | 74 | In Bolton | Fast Training
20 | Jeff Smith |CM | 68 | In Bolton |
21 | Martin Petrov |LS | 67 | Wolfsburg |
22 | Jussi Jaaskelainen |GK | 64 | In Bolton |
23 | Simon Charlton |LB | 55 | In Bolton | Was ¹3
24 | Jermaine Johnson |CAM | 66 | In Bolton |
25 | Louis Saha |ST | 77 | Fulham |
26 | Emerson Thome |CB | 69 | In Bolton | Created player
27 | Khalilou Fadiga |LM | 70 | Inter Milan |
28 | Timo Hildebrand |GK | 74 | WFB Stuttgart |
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 60 | In Bolton |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis:
This was my starting team. For Professional, and in the Premier League,
it’s not that bad. Still, I had some trouble getting up and going. The team
was compact and balanced:
3 Goalkeepers
8 Defenders
10 Midfielders
8 Attackers
This is why I had little trouble winning the league. By starting a better
team, the probability of finding one that is easy to balance is extremely
high.
As usual, I played the 4-3-3 system with the following best lineup:
Pedersen Jardel Saha
(Petrov) (Kallon) (Davies)
Djorkaeff Campo Okocha
(Nolan) (Fadiga) (Giannakopoulos)
Bolton Wanderers Professional Year 2 Transfer budget: 14.0M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 | Glen Johnson |RB | 70 | Chelsea |
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 53 | In Bolton |
5 | Bruno N’Gotty |CB | 65 | In Bolton |
6 | Youri Djorkaeff |LCAM| 65 | In Bolton | Created player
7 | Stelios Giannakopoulos |CM | 55 | In Bolton |
8 | Per Frandsen |CM | 65 | In Bolton |
9 | Dimitar Berbatov |ST | 73 | In Bolton |
10 | Jay-Jay Okocha |CM | 80 | In Bolton |
11 | Ricardo Gardner |LCB | 64 | In Bolton | LCB??? No way!
12 | David Bellion |ST | 70 | Manchester Utd. |
13 | Mario Jardel |CF | 85 | In Bolton | Created player
14 | Kevin Davies |ST | 69 | In Bolton |
15 | Ibrahim Ba |CM | 64 | In Bolton | Created player
16 | Ivan Campo |CM | 73 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
17 | Michael Ricketts |ST | 75 | Middlesbrough | Former BW pl.
18 | Florent Laville |CB | 67 | In Bolton |
19 | Delroy Facey |ST | 74 | In Bolton | Fast Training
20 | Anthony Le Tallec |CAM | 69 | Liverpool |
21 | Martin Petrov |LS | 73 | In Bolton | Fast Training!
22 | Jussi Jaaskelainen |GK | 64 | In Bolton |
23 | Paolo Montero |CB | 66 | Juventus | Picture :-)
24 | Stilian Petrov |CM | 74 | Celtic |
25 | Louis Saha |ST | 77 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
26 | Emerson Thome |CB | 69 | In Bolton | Created player
27 | Khalilou Fadiga |LM | 70 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
28 | Timo Hildebrand |GK | 74 | In Bolton |
29 | Robert Huth |CB | 68 | Chelsea |
30 | Florent Sinama Pongolle|ST | 73 | Liverpool |
31 | Henrik Pedersen |ST | 78 | In Bolton |
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 63 | In Bolton |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis:
A lot of transfers this season, however, there were a few that made me feel
sorry for the spent cash. Anthony Le Tallec prove very difficult to train
(or I just didn’t pick the right skills to train), and the second player
was David Bellion – he was useful in very few matches, so I started to
regret this signing. One way or another, the fault was entirely mine.
Still, there were several “good hits” like Stillian Petrov, Ricketts and
Montero. I still managed to win the league and all other cups, but failed
to achieve that awful “7 consecutive clean sheets” objective, so I was
penalized with less cash for transfers the next season.
A note here: I bought Ricketts because I had the cash and for one other
reason: he is a former Bolton Wanderers player. It was unclear to me why
Sam Allardyce sold him, but one way or another he found his way back to
this team :-)
As you see, the team is a lot stronger now. It is gradually starting to
improve and is becoming a serious threat to the other teams in both England
and Europe.
I won’t give you other analysis save for the team lineup – once you’ve
balanced the team, it’s easy to keep it this way.
Tactical scheme:
4-3-3
Pedersen Jardel Saha
(M. Petrov) (Berbatov) (Ricketts)
Djorkaeff S. Petrov Okocha
(Le Tallec) (Fadiga) (Campo)
Gardner Thome Laville Johnson
(Montero) (Huth) (N’Gotty) (Livesey)
Hildebrand
(Jaaskelainen)
A formidable lineup, I’d say. I had enough swaps to replace the tired
players – of course, due to the balanced scheme. Despite the fact that I
gave you the (4x2)+1 scheme for defenders, I always prefer having 8
defenders which I use in a rotation system. This way even if one of them is
injured, the rest will compensate for his loss. This simple scheme allows
you to have one more midfielder, which is quite nice if you want that
middle line strong in all matches (since they’re sometimes 6+ in a month).
Bolton Wanderers Professional Year 3 Transfer budget: 11.5M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | Oliver Kahn |GK | 94 | Bayern Munich | for 11.0M...
2 | Glen Johnson |RB | 70 | In Bolton |
3 | Celestine Babayaro |LB | 73 | Chelsea | Picture :-)
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 57 | In Bolton |
6 | Youri Djorkaeff |LCAM| 65 | In Bolton | Created player
8 | Per Frandsen |CM | 65 | In Bolton |
9 | Salva Valesta |ST | 74 | Valencia |
10 | Dimitar Berbatov |ST | 73 | In Bolton |
11 | Tomas Rosicky |CM | 74 | Borusia Dortmund | Picture :-)
12 | David Bellion |ST | 70 | In Bolton |
13 | Mario Jardel |CF | 85 | In Bolton | Created player
14 | Kevin Davies |ST | 71 | In Bolton |
15 | Ibrahim Ba |CM | 66 | In Bolton | Created player
16 | Ivan Campo |CM | 73 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
18 | Fabio Cannavaro |CB | 77 | Inter Milan | Picture :-)
19 | Delroy Facey |ST | 74 | In Bolton | Fast Training
20 | Anthony Le Tallec |CAM | 69 | In Bolton |
21 | Martin Petrov |LS | 73 | In Bolton | Fast Training!
22 | Jussi Jaaskelainen |GK | 64 | In Bolton |
23 | Owen Hargreaves |CM | 77 | Bayern Munich | Picture :-)
24 | Stilian Petrov |CM | 74 | Celtic |
25 | Paolo Motntero |CB | 68 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
26 | Emerson Thome |CB | 69 | In Bolton | Created player
27 | Khalilou Fadiga |LM | 70 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
28 | Kolo Toure |CB | 76 | Arsenal |
29 | Robert Huth |CB | 72 | In Bolton |
30 | Florent Sinama Pongolle|ST | 73 | In Bolton |
31 | Henrik Pedersen |ST | 78 | In Bolton |
32 | Timo Hildebrand |GK | 74 | In Bolton |
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 67 | In Bolton |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To achieve this lineup, I had to break my heart first and sell Jay-Jay
Okocha and Louis Saha. Okocha left for Chelsea (transfer money: 6.7M, with
Okocha’s transfer value: 5.0M) and Louis Saha for Manchester United (where
he was actually transferred now from Fulham). I parted with 2 of my best
players and well as with some secondary ones, but one way or another, I got
Oliver Kahn (who was the main reason of my success this year) and managed
to purchase several other good players, which made my lineup even stronger.
You can take this as an example of point 5 of the In-depth transfer
strategies. Selling Okocha and Saha allowed me to buy Rosicky, Hargreaves
and Cannavaro – 3 great players. So I guess there’s no point to feel
heartbroken now :-D
Hargreaves S. Petrov Rosicky
(Djorkaeff) (Campo) (Le Tallec)
Babayaro Cannavaro Toure Johnson
(Montero) (Huth) (Thome) (Livesey)
Kahn
(Hildebrand)
Bolton Wanderers Professional Year 4 Transfer budget: 11.5M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 | Glen Johnson |RB | 70 | In Bolton |
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 61 | In Bolton |
5 | Alpay Ozalan |CB | 75 | Aston Villa |
6 | Youri Djorkaeff |LCAM| 65 | In Bolton | Created player
7 | Olof Mellberg |CB | 77 | Aston Villa | Picture :-)
8 | Per Frandsen |CM | 65 | In Bolton |
9 | Salva Valesta |ST | 74 | In Bolton |
10 | Dimitar Berbatov |ST | 77 | In Bolton | Training
11 | Tomas Rosicky |CM | 74 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
12 | David Bellion |ST | 70 | In Bolton |
13 | Mario Jardel |CF | 85 | In Bolton | Created player
14 | Kevin Davies |ST | 71 | In Bolton |
15 | Ibrahim Ba |CM | 66 | In Bolton | Created player
17 | Mario Stanic |RM | 75 | Chelsea | Picture :-)
18 | Fabio Cannavaro |CB | 77 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
19 | Eric Djemba-Djemba |CM | 79 | Manchester United | Decent :-)
20 | Anthony Le Tallec |CAM | 69 | In Bolton |
21 | Martin Petrov |LS | 77 | In Bolton | was 67
22 | Dmitri Sytchev |ST | 82 | Marseille |
23 | Owen Hargreaves |CM | 77 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
24 | Stilian Petrov |CM | 76 | In Bolton |
25 | Delroy Facey |ST | 74 | In Bolton |
26 | Emerson Thome |CB | 69 | In Bolton | Created player
27 | Khalilou Fadiga |LM | 70 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
28 | Kolo Toure |CB | 76 | In Bolton |
29 | Robert Huth |CB | 72 | In Bolton |
30 | Florent Sinama Pongolle|ST | 73 | In Bolton |
32 | Timo Hildebrand |GK | 77 | In Bolton |
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 71 | In Bolton |
65 | Santiago Canizares |GK | 82 | Valencia | Picture :-)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this season, my team was at his best and I just went on simulating games
(I simulated about 45% of the games) – and actually missed the second
transfer window. Quite foolishly of me, because I had 5.0M in my transfer
budget which I clearly wasted. Well, what’s done is done. And as you well
know, these money do not add up to your next year’s transfer budget, so
consider them lost... I did. Still, I wasted one dodgy objective this
season: Score in every match (League). I give you 100% certainty that I
scored in every match (even in the simulated, even when I lost to other
teams), but made 0-0 in the second math with Bordeaux (2-1 agg.) and went
on, but I guess this was considered a waste and the objective wasn’t
completed. Absolutely awful, which meant less transfer money for the
following season too.
Hargreaves S. Petrov Rosicky
(Djorkaeff) (Djemba-Djemba) (Stanic)
Cannavaro Mellberg Toure Johnson
(Thome) (Ozalan) (Huth) (Livesey)
Canizares
(Hildebrand)
Bolton Wanderers Professional Year 5 Transfer budget: 11.5M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.| Name |Pos | Skl | Bought from | Special
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 | Glen Johnson |RB | 70 | In Bolton |
4 | Kevin Nolan |CAM | 61 | In Bolton |
5 | Alpay Ozalan |CB | 75 | In Bolton |
6 | Youri Djorkaeff |LCAM| 65 | In Bolton | Created player
7 | Olof Mellberg |CB | 77 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
8 | Per Frandsen |CM | 65 | In Bolton |
9 | Salva Valesta |ST | 74 | In Bolton |
10 | Dimitar Berbatov |ST | 80 | In Bolton | Training
11 | Tomas Rosicky |CM | 74 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
12 | David Bellion |ST | 70 | In Bolton |
13 | Mario Jardel |CF | 85 | In Bolton | Created player
14 | Mateja Kezman |ST | 77 | PSV |
15 | Ibrahim Ba |CM | 66 | In Bolton | Created player
16 | Boudewijn Zenden |LM | 77 | Middlesbrough |
18 | Fabio Cannavaro |CB | 77 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
19 | Eric Djemba-Djemba |CM | 79 | In Bolton | Decent :-)
20 | Anthony Le Tallec |CAM | 69 | In Bolton |
21 | Diego Forlan |ST | 82 | Manchester United | Picture :-)
22 | Dmitri Sytchev |ST | 82 | In Bolton |
23 | Owen Hargreaves |CM | 77 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
24 | Stilian Petrov |CM | 77 | In Bolton |
25 | Delroy Facey |ST | 78 | In Bolton |
26 | Emerson Thome |CB | 73 | In Bolton | Created player
28 | Kolo Toure |CB | 76 | In Bolton |
29 | Robert Huth |CB | 72 | In Bolton |
30 | Florent Sinama Pongolle|ST | 73 | In Bolton |
31 | Martin Petrov |LS | 81 | In Bolton | was 67!
32 | Timo Hildebrand |GK | 77 | In Bolton |
35 | Danny Livesey |CB | 71 | In Bolton | Tackling: 91!
65 | Santiago Canizares |GK | 82 | In Bolton | Picture :-)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was the team with which I finished my career. I’d say it is a mighty
fine one! The training and proper transfers have made Bolton one of the
best teams around. Just take a look at them:
6 players with 80+ skill marks
19 players with 70-79 skill marks
5 players with 65+ skill marks
Let’s compute:
Overall skill of the team: 74.733 (75)
Now, that is something :-) So, let me give you my final and best lineup :
I ended up with this team. My final result was 17200, which is quite nice
keeping in mind that 18000 is the best one:
2 objectives x800 pts. = 1600
2 objectives x200 pts. = 400
4 optional objectives x 400 pts = 1600
Total: 3600
X5 years = 18000
It is clear that I’ve missed 4 objectives x 200 points, isn’t it :-) Most
of them were “#? consecutive clean sheets (league)”, which I think on
Professional is almost impossible to complete, unless you like to win and
restart the game just because you’ve beaten Newcastle 3-1 and they’ve
scored in the 90th minute... Absolutely awful. I simply stopped paying
attention to these objectives. On Professional and World Class, I consider
them forfeit...
===========================================================================
FINAL WORDS
===========================================================================
I hope you’ll like this Walkthrough and hopefully it’ll change something not
only in your game style, but your way of thinking. It is based on development
of the person (the thinking, computing, planning and analyzing skills) rather
than a simple description of the game. If something changed in you after
reading this walkthrough and them playing the game, you should be really proud
of yourself.
So, good luck to you all, and thank you for reading.
DG Dobrev
06.02.2004
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