Downloaded the patch at last, but I'm not sure about it yet.
There are definitely some very good things about it. Those horrible cheap AI goals are mostly gone, for a start. Fewer thumping through balls past your reeling, useless defenders, and based on a few games it seems the cpu doesn't score every single free kick any more. Instead, the computer now plays some nice football, putting together some neat passing moves (occasionally even passing the ball backwards) and feinting and jinking through your defence. That's fantastic. It actually feels dangerous when they build an attack now, you're not just waiting for that killer long ball down the middle. Individuals on the other side seem to show their skills more often. I'm sure this improved AI isn't just placebo, even though I can't remember it being mentioned in the list of patch contents.
Some bad things too. I'm definitely not keen on this massively increased pressure. Pre-patch the pressing was probably a bit loose (most obviously on the wing, where it was non-existent), but as usual Konami have gone too far the other way, and now it's slightly over the top. As soon as you start to move with the ball, three or even four opposition defenders swarm in on you, bump you off the ball and stroll away with it (while you do that hateful stumbling animation). Out on the wing, those lovely "bullfighter"-style standing-still one-on-ones are very, very much a thing of the past. It's pretty frustrating - it makes the game a LOT harder, but not always in a good way.
The increase in game speed sucks, as well. You release a game with a choice of five speeds (including one so fast it's ridiculous) - why the fuck do you then increase the overall speed in a patch? I suppose it's partly down to the increased pressure, but when you put the two together you end up with a game that can sometimes look very clumsy indeed. Then again, I remember thinking this when I first got the game and hadn't learnt it properly yet, so maybe I've just got to re-learn it a bit.
I was quite impressed, though, to get thumped 4-1 by Monaco - first time the cpu has ever beat me by more than two goals - Park Chu-Young got all four, and I've never seen a cpu player play like that before. Really intelligent movement, cool slaloming past defenders, neat sidefooted shots from unusual angles. Top Player feels really hard now (at least until I get used to the patch) and while that's partly for bad reasons, there's also a bright side.