You rang? 😉

FIFA 09? Man that feels like a life time ago! I can't remember what exact features that game had, although FIFA 09 was the turning point when FIFA games started becoming good again. FIFA 10 is the best in the series since 1998 (and yes, I've played them all since then) but hey, for 8 of your American space bucks you can't go wrong!

You're better off learning with single player anyway. FIFA online isn't the environment to learn anything. If you're crap, other players will just destroy and mock you to the point where it stops becoming fun. If you're good, you'll barely finish a game because of the other dude rage quitting. Single player is your friend.

Don't worry about assists. I've played every FIFA, ISS and PES game since 1996 and I've never weened myself off assisted controls. You don't need to and the vast, vast majority of football game players don't. There's a very small sub set of FIFA players who do play without assists, but getting to that point is frustrating and takes years of practice and experience to actually get used to. If you're the sort of FIFA player who pays $8 for a 2 year out of date version, I can't recommend that this would be the best way for you to enjoy the game! What you can do however is toggle the assists to suit your own game, although don't worry about that straight away.

I'd advise playing with good teams from the outset, even I'd it's just a few friendly matches or tournaments before you start a proper career game. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan are usually the best teams on the game, so give them a go. As you wont be playing online you don't have to worry about the scorn of others by only being the best teams. It's easier to translate your game down to smaller teams once you've practiced and got used to the game. As for gameplay tips? Just make the most of the space available on the pitch. If you've got a couple of quick wingers, giving them the ball and crossing it into the box is always useful. Pace is probably the biggest asset on the game, so if you play with fast players that will help you out a lot. Also, does FIFA 09 have a "placement shot" button? It should be one of the trigger buttons. If it does, press it at the same time as the shoot button. Rather than just blasting the ball, this will make your player place his shot which in many circumstances makes it easier to score. It won't work every time but particularly with one-on-ones, it'll increase your chances.

Errr.. that should be an OK starting point. Let me know if you've got any other specific issues! Oh and yes "soccer" is frowned upon in the UK!

Also, if you're interested in any more half decent footie games for cheap, you should look out for World Cup 2010. I've always found the World Cup spin offs have been some of the better FIFA games over the years, even when FIFA was crap. WC 2010 is an improvement on FIFA 09 and has all the stadiums and licensing from the tournament. It's a decent game, especially if you like international football (which EA has always gimped for the full FIFA games just so they can sell their tournament spin off's every 4 years) and dropped price drastically in the UK after the World Cup (well, after England got knocked out. Arf). If you enjoy FIFA 09 you should see if you can pick up WC 2010 for cheap too.

You've just summarised really well some of the things that make football such an exciting sport to follow. In the UK and other countries in Europe, it's similar at club football. That tribal nature of supporting a team, you vs them, the banter with other groups of fans.. it's great stuff. In the World Cup it is, as you say, about watching people from across the entire world following the same sport, supporting their teams in the same way and coming together to watch the matches. One of the things I love the most about World Cups is seeing other teams and nations. My wife's family originate from Chile so it was great fun supporting them during last years tournament, and I'm also quite fond of the Germanys.. although you tend to have to whisper that in England!

Strange one about those prices? Maybe it's because of the smaller circulation in general? We kind of have a similar thing in the UK with NFL, NHL, NBA games etc. Madden games will hold their value at £30+ right up until the next one launches, so you usually have to go a few years back to pick up the really cheap ones. If you were that bothered about getting any older football games in the future, I could always look to shipping you a copy? Wouldn't have thought it would be too pricey. Depends on how much you're interested in playing it!

As for transfers.. persistance is key. Just keep upping the offer as best you can and sugar it with decent bonuses. Sometimes players will also be reluctant to sign if the contract is too long or short, although I can't remember if FIFA 09 indicates this anywhere.