In-depth stats allows you make the necessary changes
In between match days you’ll receive internal memos and news, from reports on player progress to the dreaded vote of confidence from the board of directors. There’s plenty of variation in the memos you’ll receive and many involve a multiple choice option where your decision can affect the team and fan’s morale. For example, we received a memo saying that fans had stopped the team coach and wanted the players to have a kick around. We had a list of three options to choose from ranging from telling them to take a hike to the whole squad getting off the bus and having a kick around. In this instance we boosted supporter’s morale by joining in, but lost some fitness points as a result. These memos are obviously meant to make you feel more involved in all of the club’s decision making, but more often than not, it’s pretty obvious which response you need to choose in order to gain the maximum benefit.
You can also manage player contracts, but once again there are only three choices available, allowing you to set the length of the contract, salary and bonus. Managerial mode isn’t as in-depth as some might like, but personally I just want to play football and you don’t need to buy and sell players, negotiate contracts or deal with the financial aspects of the club if you don’t want to; in semi-pro mode I played a whole season without doing any of these things and still won the FA Cup (English cup) and Premiership whilst still maintaining a healthy bank balance.
Click for larger imageEA have included a new system called growth status. This works through training and match experience where they receive points based on their growing experience. This means that you can slowly nurture a youth team player or try and create a balanced squad by being liberal with you’re your training orders and making sure that all players are given some time on the pitch. I tested out the new system by making sure I brought on substitutes (even if there was just 1 minute left in the game) and found that those players that weren’t good enough to get a place in the starting line-up would receive growth points because they’d played a few minutes on the pitch. It’s a good way to introduce new players and bring their rating up and means that you don’t always have to search on the transfer market when you can build up your own players just as easily.
On match days you can simulate the match after choosing your formations and team management options or jump straight into the game with the pre-set tactics. The team management section has been expanded and now there is a formation editor so you can choose your own gameplay style as well as setting up man markers. During the game you can use the d-pad to switch between different gameplay styles such as counter attack or wing attack and you will visibly see the changes on the pitch as the players immediately adapt to the chosen style.
Click for larger imageThe coaching feedback at half-time is extremely in-depth and allows you to see a multitude of stats to assess where your team might be failing on the pitch. Based on the mind-boggling list of stats, ranging from passes completed to tackles made, you can make the necessary changes for the second half. These statistics are also used so that FIFA 07 can come to a balanced decision on a man of the match award, and instead of winner always being the player who scores or a goalkeeper if it’s a 0-0 draw, the player who wins the award will be one who deserves it. Some of the un-lockable achievements in the game are based around the man of the match awards, so for once it’s nice to know that the decision isn’t just made up, but is based on what has actually happened on the pitch.