Master League Update

Master League offline mode in PES 2011 is much more challenging than in the 2010 version and previous. The way you run your team is crucial and depending on which team you have chosen can make the difference, especially if you are not the best of players. My offline master league is coming along nicely. I chose Blackburn Rovers as this is my favourite team. I also decided to start a master league with Manchester United to see how the game would differ with a much stronger club. 

From the start, I realised the money you first receive is different. With Man U, I started with around 179 Million. With Blackburn there was a substantial difference and I started with only 76 Million. You will also notice the difference in wages and general club costs. With Rovers, I ended up paying around 50 Million in expenses when the first expense period came around early in the season. This did not give me a lot of money to play with. I knew I had to do well in the league and cup to win some decent money. 

Skipping to the end of the first season, I had managed to sign Malouda due to him being on the transfer list and he was a lot cheaper than normal. Plus I sold some players. El Hadj Diouff was sold along with Samba which were 2 players that were crucial to my team. Samba was replaced with Jones and Malouda took Dioff's place. In the end of season transfer window, I sold Robinson and Givet for a joint price of around 35 Million. I also managed to win a lot of games which helped with my finishing place. The revenue from home games and home win bonuses along with a second place Premiership finish and FA Cup winners Trophy made my balance grow to 130+ Million. This was before any fees had gone out early in the second season. I then managed to sign Robinho and Defoe for 46 and 28 Million Respectively. I also signed a few youth team players and 3 other new players including Alvarez who has lots of pace. The start of season 2 started great with a couple of 3-0 wins and 2 draws, but still unbeaten (touch wood). 

The master league is not an easy campaign, plus when playing in top player mode, you have your work cut out. My fan base has grown from 90k to 120k + . In the process of signing new players, and playing them, my previously selected first team players have become a little unhappy, so I have had to do a bit of squad rotation to keep them happy. 

My next step is to hopefully strengthen my defence and centre midfield due to selling players for funds. This may be a problem due to my balance being drastically drained from transfers and fees. I am just above the 1 Million mark. Having said this, I have extra games in the form of The Champions League, FA Cup and league games to look forward to. I am sure by the end of the season I should be able to come up with the funds to ensure the club's survival, as well as possibly sign a few players along the way. 

My first instinct was to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, but after many attempts to negotiate and finally getting a deal, I had to decline the 79 Million plus 12 million wages that was being asked. Maybe in a couple of seasons mu budget will be better, but for now I am going to concentrate on winning games and strengthening other areas of the squad.

Thanks for reading and I hope to post again soon.

Please leave comments and let me know about your experiences with Pro Evo.