Hattrick

[Craig P]

Originally posted by junjunforever
did anyone read the "platypus guide" to "starting strategy" at hottrick.org? i think its the best start up strategy i've ever read, apart from the fact that he suggests to invest 20,000 in the youth squad from the beginning.Well, since I've got a set of standard advice to offer to new players, I'll have to look at that when I get home and see how well it compares. I agree with you (and disagree with platypus) that investing $20k in the youth squad at the start is not a winning strategy.

[AAGunner3]

Originally posted by Craig P
Well, since I've got a set of standard advice to offer to new players, I'll have to look at that when I get home and see how well it compares. I agree with you (and disagree with platypus) that investing $20k in the youth squad at the start is not a winning strategy.

I read it too. It's a very good guide.

I'm still debating that one (YP) myself. It's the friggin lottery. We all have dreams of pulling that national teamer, that more than pays to cover your team's weak sposts. But let's face it, it's not a sound 'fianancial' strategy. Your financial analyst doesn't say, put this much in stocks, bonds, oh and the lottery too. Your investments are your trainees. Over time, they and your weekly gate receipts(and sponsors) are what bring you the money. Depending on the youth pull lottery is a gamble. And the house (overall big picture) always wins.

When I started, I figured hey, I'm going to lose money anyway, why not spend 20k on the lottery? But once it reached passable, I cut it back to a more reasonable 10k to keep it there. I'm glad I cut it back. It helped me get outta debt faster.

Now, if you get enough 'decent' pulls from it that people train, you can reap some nice cash down the road. Otherwise your waiting, hoping for that mythical youth pull. Buddy, it ain't gonna happen, unless you are the chosen one.

Now, we need the youth pull system, to keep the national player pool growing. So, I'm staying with it. And when I make enough money, I'll bump my YP contribution up to 20k. That's outta national pride and whatnot. But for now, I'd highly suggest newbies not invest more than 10k, if not 0k.

But like gambling, and seeing some other fella win big, we want part of the action. It is human nature.


GenghisKahn
Mongrel FC 221913
USA V.188

[kopiteinkc]

I started out putting 20K in right away and it didn't help my finances for at least a season or two.

I was heavily in debt as a newbie as a result. However, I have kept with it and now it is reaping good rewards. I have an excellent youth squad and while I haven't had the mythical excellent 17 year old, I have pulled enough young solids to make a decent profit and plugged a few gaps for my training program.

I concur with the stadium expansion question, don't do it unless you are making a significant jump in seats. To expand by just 2,000 is a waste of money.

My history of expansion was from the initial 7,000 to 15,000 then from 15,000 to approx. 30,000 and more recently to 55,000.

Takes a lot of money, but I feel my stadium needs are met for a while and now my extra money is devoted to buying formidable and above players.

[Helghallen]

Now in my first full week. I'm so excited. I have friendly scheduled for this week. I'm sure to get relegated but this will allow me to learn in relative calm in VI.

I am spending little money at this point. I am going to take a hit after relegation so I want to be ready. I am currently investing 10K in my youth squad.

This is just so cool. Thanks Mark

[Chris Caron]

When I first started I paid 5K into Youth for two weeks and then cut that to expand. I concentrated on spokespeople, building my fan base and trying not to get my butt whipped.

I expanded my stadium...I would suggest that the first thing a new player should do is get a solid/inadequate coach and expand their stadium. Once you get a 13000+ seat stadium a 20K investment into youth is more affordable. My youth squad went down to disastrous but is now only weak after a few weeks of throwing money at it.

I have a different perspective on the train one thing school of thought. One of the things that has changed over the season is the insight to buy players that you can improve. At the beginning of the season I was buying inadequates for way to much money...I think I got on 17yr old that I wasn't even going to be able to train for 40K at one point...absolutely stupid. To compare I just bought to passable defenders for 5.5 and 6.5K yesterday, so I'm learning the markets a bit better.

In one way I agree on the 20K for Youth is too much. But then if your buying trainees you more than likely have to go overseas to get them at an affordable price (like 5.5K for a passable). The problem is that your paying a 20% more for a foreign player than if you had pulled him from your youth system. While your starting out that is not such a huge problem...but as you get up into higher ability players it starts to maybe drain your budget.

I think what happens a lot of times when someone looks for advice and they are starting out that people give them the sound bite answer. If your in Div. 5 or Div. 6 and your not competitive your dollar is going to go farther by buying trainees than getting out of your youth system...I mean an inadequate 17 yo can sometimes be picked up for 1K...if you look hard enough...and you can buy 22 players a week at that pace with what most clubs put into Youth and Pulls.

[kopiteinkc]

Originally posted by Helghallen
Now in my first full week. I'm so excited. I have friendly scheduled for this week. I'm sure to get relegated but this will allow me to learn in relative calm in VI.

I am spending little money at this point. I am going to take a hit after relegation so I want to be ready. I am currently investing 10K in my youth squad.

This is just so cool. Thanks Mark

You're welcome! :D

Glad you got your team, and found this thread. It is a fountain of advice, a good place to find friendlies and an excellent sounding board for potential strategies.

I have started bookmarking some of the teams on here and following their progress. All makes the game that much more fun when you have half a dozen teams to root for.

Now if I can only get my team to recover from its 8-1 loss last weekend!

[AAGunner3]

Originally posted by Helghallen
Now in my first full week. I'm so excited. I have friendly scheduled for this week. I'm sure to get relegated but this will allow me to learn in relative calm in VI.

I am spending little money at this point. I am going to take a hit after relegation so I want to be ready. I am currently investing 10K in my youth squad.

This is just so cool. Thanks Mark
I still feel that way after almost two seasons. Have fun playing, and don't lose sight that this is just a game. It's funny the number of users that seems so bent outta shape when something unexpected (aka losing) happens. Learn from it, you may even be the beneficiary of one of those unexpected situations.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chris Caron
When I first started I paid 5K into Youth for two weeks and then cut that to expand. I concentrated on spokespeople, building my fan base and trying not to get my butt whipped.

I expanded my stadium...I would suggest that the first thing a new player should do is get a solid/inadequate coach and expand their stadium. Once you get a 13000+ seat stadium a 20K investment into youth is more affordable. My youth squad went down to disastrous but is now only weak after a few weeks of throwing money at it.

I have a different perspective on the train one thing school of thought. One of the things that has changed over the season is the insight to buy players that you can improve. At the beginning of the season I was buying inadequates for way to much money...I think I got on 17yr old that I wasn't even going to be able to train for 40K at one point...absolutely stupid. To compare I just bought to passable defenders for 5.5 and 6.5K yesterday, so I'm learning the markets a bit better.

In one way I agree on the 20K for Youth is too much. But then if your buying trainees you more than likely have to go overseas to get them at an affordable price (like 5.5K for a passable). The problem is that your paying a 20% more for a foreign player than if you had pulled him from your youth system. While your starting out that is not such a huge problem...but as you get up into higher ability players it starts to maybe drain your budget.

I think what happens a lot of times when someone looks for advice and they are starting out that people give them the sound bite answer. If your in Div. 5 or Div. 6 and your not competitive your dollar is going to go farther by buying trainees than getting out of your youth system...I mean an inadequate 17 yo can sometimes be picked up for 1K...if you look hard enough...and you can buy 22 players a week at that pace with what most clubs put into Youth and Pulls.

I totally agree. I searched the entire market for cheap players to fill my roster holes, and some trainees. I'm probably 2/3 domestic. But, if you are trying to plug a hole immediately, you really ought to search the foreign markets for good deals. If you are trying to keep costs down, by all means stick with the domestic pool, as long as the price is right. And we might even be able to bring an american or two home from time to time. I have a hard time remembering that.

[kuhnscoot]

Originally posted by Chris Caron


I have a different perspective on the train one thing school of thought. One of the things that has changed over the season is the insight to buy players that you can improve. At the beginning of the season I was buying inadequates for way to much money...I think I got on 17yr old that I wasn't even going to be able to train for 40K at one point...absolutely stupid. To compare I just bought to passable defenders for 5.5 and 6.5K yesterday, so I'm learning the markets a bit better.

I mean an inadequate 17 yo can sometimes be picked up for 1K...if you look hard enough...and you can buy 22 players a week at that pace with what most clubs put into Youth and Pulls.

It is really easy, I mean to start this season off, I bought two strikers at the age of 18, both for under $10K, one just went to solid, one to passable.

Hey Mark, got me bookmarked??? I mean come on a fellow Wizard fan here.

[Craig P]

Even though I've never won the lottery, at this point I've broken even (through the end of this season) on a $10k/week youth squad investment. I've sold youth pulls for $41k, $63k, $70k, and $90k, and I'm currently training a youth pull whose market value I estimated at $200k at the time I pulled him.

So I do not argue that youth squad investment is worthless (in fact, I generally argue that we don't know whether or not it pays off, on average, lottery picks notwithstanding). However, I don't think a young club has good enough cash flow to weather the slow periods before it pays off, so I don't recommend spending the max immediately.

[kopiteinkc]

Originally posted by kuhnscoot
Hey Mark, got me bookmarked??? I mean come on a fellow Wizard fan here.

Of course! :D

[kuhnscoot]

Well, won another friendly in the V and VI Cup Consalation group, I'm now 3-1, and avenged my only lose in the tournament, I could finish with the best record outside the champion, oh well, I'm planning some good competition, and selling a lot of tickets to my friendlies which is a good thing, more money.

[AAGunner3]

Originally posted by kuhnscoot
Well, won another friendly in the V and VI Cup Consalation group, I'm now 3-1, and avenged my only lose in the tournament, I could finish with the best record outside the champion, oh well, I'm planning some good competition, and selling a lot of tickets to my friendlies which is a good thing, more money.

I too won my tourney game, 3-0. I pulled out a 3-4-3 in the hopes of springing it on one of my series opponents. Or, at least, making them think I might. Probably a wasted action in my series.

I lost a trainee for 3 weeks though. My stadium is completed on time and on budget! Thankfully, this sim is not like real life. Yay! :)

[Helghallen]

Me too Mark?

Lost my friendly yesterday 5-nil. A fellow series V team but according to hatstats a team that has about 20 mil more in player value than I do. The loss was expected and I was really wanting to just put more players on the field to train (playmaking, at the moment). I was just hoping more than 700 fans would have shown up, Argh.

I am just counting down the days till relegation.

[Craig P]

BBFC won our first round DarqCup game, and are now rewarded with a home draw with Drunk&Disorderly (currently sitting 3rd in Major League). By my count, they pulled a 78 rating with what I presume to be their "B" squad, and I'd be hard-pressed to get a result against that with my "A" squad, so it looks like I'll only be in this one for two rounds.

[kopiteinkc]

Yes Chris, I have you bookmarked too.

I lost my friendly 4-1. Played my trainees and didn't suffer any injuries.

Big big game this weekend. I am hoping to win it by playing normal, I really can't afford the drop in Team Spirit with some other tough matches ahead.

[Helghallen]

Originally posted by kopiteinkc
Yes Chris, I have you bookmarked too.

Whooo. I have you bookmarked as well. Don't you feel special now? :D

Originally posted by kopiteinkc I lost my friendly 4-1. Played my trainees and didn't suffer any injuries.

I didn't suffer any injuries either. Only slip was a sub getting a yellow card.

[ur_land]

Originally posted by Helghallen
Me too Mark?

Lost my friendly yesterday 5-nil. ... I was just hoping more than 700 fans would have shown up, Argh.

I am just counting down the days till relegation.


Hmmm....that sounds like my week so far as well. I'm not giving up though--I'm even on points with the #6 team in my series, so maybe I can squeak a pro/rel game (maybe against the winner of a bot league? Please?) and MOTS it........

[ur_land]

I'm trying to upgrade (via cheap transfers) my two keepers (one is Keeping: weak and the other is poor) to two inad keepers, and noticed that one of the keepers I bid on has specialty: Quick and Set Pieces: Passable.

Seems pretty bizarre/useless for a keeper. But do Keeper's defesive ratings come into play at all? If I get that keeper should I not play him in the rain?

[kuhnscoot]

you can probably get passable ones cheap too, at least go after inad that are close to $100K because those are the closest to jumping to passable. Right now I'm sitting with a passable and a solid keeper.

[AAGunner3]

Originally posted by ur_land
I'm trying to upgrade (via cheap transfers) my two keepers (one is Keeping: weak and the other is poor) to two inad keepers, and noticed that one of the keepers I bid on has specialty: Quick and Set Pieces: Passable.

Seems pretty bizarre/useless for a keeper. But do Keeper's defesive ratings come into play at all? If I get that keeper should I not play him in the rain?

No, I've never heard of an instance where a keeper (for better or for worse) had his specialty kick in. I don't think they apply to keepers, yet.

Set Pieces, nothing wrong with a keeper for a knack of kicking a dead ball in your opponent's net. Nothing wrong at all. Even better if he's got decent experience.

Now the rules say that anyone with sufficient scoring ability and set pieces skills can be awarded a 'long shot' event. Taking htis one step further, does anyone have a keeper with solid scoring and set pieces? :D

*******
Looking at my next opponent, the series leader, I think I've got a shot at defeating him at my place. Come on form, don't let me down! I'm going to play normal and give it a shot. If I do win, that's 3 points I wasn't expecting to get.

GenghisKahn
Mongrel FC 221913
USA V.188