I don't know to be honest mate, I think it may have been because we were pissing about instead of playing it "seriously" (i.e. trying desperately to beat the CPU playing out of its skin). We were - well I know I was - just experimenting with the buttons half of the time. It does feel faster, and I don't like the speed of it on normal, but it's not the running of the players - it's the passing of the ball, passpasspasspasspass.
I think it's a combination of the increased ball speed and the CPU playing like a fully-assisted little bitch.
As I've just said on FSB...
If you just hammer the pass button on fully-assisted - which you can do - then of course it's going to be fast, there's not much they can do about that bar ban you from pressing the pass button more than once every 5 seconds!
If I just walk around the field - or run around the field - without kicking the ball, on the slow speed, the players move at the speed they would in reality. They're not running like sprinters at the olympics. Therefore, it's not the speed of the game that's too fast. At the very most, it's the speed of the passing, but if they reduce that then you won't be able to get the ball to your players without it being intercepted.
Also bear in mind that you're playing a 90 minute game condensed into 3 minute halves in the demo. Take a look at the video on the FSB front page, does that look too fast to you (genuine question)? Maybe when you put the halves up to 6 minutes - which is the new default half length I believe - it's not as frantic, because player urgency will be reduced etc... Just a random thought.
All I can say when you say this is that you're seeing what you want to see.
I played as Chicago Fire v Chelsea (a friend, not the CPU) this afternoon and got murdered. I couldn't compete, not just because of the speed difference, but because of the skill difference. Passes were going astray, dribbling was a nightmare, their defenders had the strength to win the ball (without it feeling like a cheat - it would happen in reality so it happens here)... Absolute fact, I couldn't get NEAR them.
Could not disagree with you more, so I don't know what to tell you. I'm not trying to sound like an arse when I say this - although it definitely will sound like I am - but you just don't want to like the game, so you're not going to. There is no point in you picking up the final version because you don't like it now and you won't like it then.
You can come up with faults - I am all of the time because I've already said what was great at the Emirates, now is the time for finding faults and trying to get them fixed before it's too late. But the fault you're talking about here does not exist and how you come to the conclusion that you have, I have absolutely no idea. But enjoy PES 2010 anyway...!