I have just read this on the EA Forums, posted by Xoar. Its one of the best posts ive read about the pressure problem in fifa.
Why the pressure buttons must go - Why they mar a great game
This is meant as a second part to a trilogy of threads based on core problems in FIFA. The third will address a wider range of issues, whereas the previous two are quite specific. The first in the series. The first, of course, was this still continuing ball of anger known as:
Why the assists must go - why they mar a great game
This topic is on an issue which should hopefully be less controversial (it's not so much about choice) but nonetheless at least as significant. This is hardly a new comment - a lot of people have said this and will continue to say it: the pressure buttons are a huge problem. It's obvious why - in our fast-food generation we want more for less, we want to put in tiny effort to get out far too much - which is why in this game defending can be done in lalalalamost automated lackadaisical way - as soon as a player receives a ball - especially if it's in the air - hold down A, or B, charge into them, somehow get the ball as they foolishly bumble around trying to control it.
The response most people use, unsurprisingly, is to pass, and to pass, and to pass, which leads to a huge propagation of the ping-pong-passing tactic so lamented on this forum. So, this single problem, the pressure, has a massive effect on the balance of the game.
I have the fortune of being privy to a better-than-the-norm sample of people to play against. I play on manual and thus use the manual filter - and people who do use the manual filter tend to be of a mentality which does allow proper football to be played. Football where we're not seeing 100s of tackles being put in within 12 minutes. It is on these occasions which you can see what a wonderful game FIFA can be. Balanced, tactical, beautiful.. but unfortunately for me, and everyone else not everybody on manual plays this way. A lot do - thank God - bulalalala incredible the change when you play against someone who does. Suddenly you have no time on the ball - every time you try to run past a player you'll get massacred off the ball unless you are using a strong player - they will make ridiculous tackles. You pass the ball remotely long, and you will lose it every time as a robot player speeds into do some kind of matrix trapping whilst your player stands their admiring the 3D grass.
The game becomes choppy, scrappy, and horrible. You have to play fast, and you have to be opportunistic. Worst of all is when their strikers pressure your defenders. One small piece of bad luck (or a pseudo glitch) where your defender for whatever reason controls it badly, and slam, a steroidal Imbrahimovic slams into your defender whilst the other defenders scoff and laugh whilst the striker paces into a 1 on 1.
Don't get me wrong. Pressure does exist in football, and pressure should continue to exist in FIFA.. but it needs to be dramatically rebalanced. Pressure in football is usually applied to .. pressure a player. Not to tackle him, but to pressure him. To make him make a mistake. To close down his options... in FIFA... pressure is used primarily, and secondarily to tackle, to tackle, to tackle. Of course, you'd think that if a player was constantly accelerating to charge to a player every three seconds, he'd be half dead and useless quite quickly. Not in FIFA. In FIFA, fatigue still remains a small, semi irrelevant part of the game. I occasionally make substitutions when my winger's (poor old Arshavin and Rosicky - I'm a gunner) energy bars start to decrease but I'll only bother with this in extra time. I only do it to entertain myself - I've never noticed it making a remote difference.
The problem is fundamentally that tackling is far, far too prominent in this game. Tackling is actually NOT the bread and butter reason for a turnover of possession in football. Interceptions and misplaced passes are just as much. In this game, you can often see 40 tackles apiece in a 12 minute game. How ridiculous.
The automation is part of the problem. I see a lot of quite effective players who I swear don't even know what the left trigger DOES in defence - even though it really should be your primary defensive button. I bet a lot of them don't know your player actually tackles without you pressing A, and B, either. In fact, I'd say that the game is just as realistic whether you use the A/B (X/O) buttons or not. Even if you didn't use them at all - you'd be playing an as realistic, if not more realistic game than what FIFA 10 is if you use them. The game would be far better off if A (X) was changed to be the make-a-tackle button - and not have it run towards the player at all. I swear that's how it used to be in FIFA.. you know, when it was supposedly unrealistic (and defending actually was... kinda more realistic?!).
The attacking in this game has it's problems - partially because of the assists - partially because of the pressure - and a lot because of a whole array of other stuff... but the defence in this game is terrifically bad.
It's not thalalalala ineffective - it's thalalalala ineffective where it should be effective and effective where it should be ineffective. Tackling needs to be toned down. Interceptions, and blocking, perhaps needs to take a slight upping. Mainly, some real ability to cover a man needs to be introduced... At the core of this issue is the pressure - and this is my way of showing what I feel about this.
Someone's a little slow. LOL