[Lone Star]

Just posted this on the II.3 Forum, and I figured I'd go ahead and post it here as well. It's rare that I write so many words at one time...........

It's a rainy Saturday afternoon, the wife and daughter are both taking naps, Escape From New York is in the DVD player, the beer's cold........that means only one thing! No, it's not time for 'Over-30 Suburbanites Gone Wild', but a midseason match-by-match report for Panther City FC!!

Week 1
PCFC hosted TiMeWaR to open the season. And stats be damned, at this level I feel I should win every home match. Those are the vital points. After taking a 1-0 lead, things looked good. Then a starting inner mid was red carded. TiMeWaR tied things up 1-1 in the 79th minute, and PCFC lost 2 points at home. This was not the start I had hoped for. HatStats rating: TiMeWaR 117, PCFC 104

Week 2
Hattrick is a funny bird. One usually wins matches they should, and conversely one usually loses matches they should. But sometimes things just go ape poopy. PCFC traveled to Muncher's stadium in Week 2, and got pasted 7-0. Seven to friggin goose egg. Not much to say about it, really. I expected to lose, but keep it at least respectable. I hadn't got stomped like this since I was the resident patsy in the Major League. 1 point in 2 matches, when I had wanted 3 or maybe even 4. HatStats rating: Munchers 120, PCFC 107.

Week 3
Ladies and gentlemen, this was the match I needed to make everything better. PCFC vs Sporting Loxahatchee, in my stadium. I needed a win, I was at home, I had to avoid a horrid start like last season (when I lost my first 3 matches). Well, 3 missed scoring chances later, we were licking our wounds to the tune of a 2-1 loss. These are the matches that piss me off. 66% possession, Utopian vs Outstanding midfield. Other stats be damned, this was an upset. With 3 points lost at home, PCFC only had 1 point after 3 matches and were sitting pretty in 8th place. HatStats rating: PCFC 121, Sporting Loxahatchee 109.

Week 4
Wasn’t sure what to expect when I traveled to take on Club Horsemen. Talk about a stellar matchup, #7 hosting #8 in the league. PCFC was able to get in the win column with this one, though, to the tune of a 5-0 victory. This was a very early pivotal match, had I lost then the season would’ve basically been over. Instead I was catapulted from 8th into 6th place, and still had a pulse. I also had to set up a MASH unit to handle all the injuries I was suffering. HatStats rating: PCFC 112, Club Horsemen 87

Week 5
Game 1 of a 2 game home stand, nothing less then 6 points would be accepted. PCFC vs crunchers. A nailbiter early on, the goals finally came right as the first half was drawing to an end. The 4-0 victory was a relief, especially since I was missing two starters and a top backup due to injury. I was now sitting in 4th place, but the most important home match was only 7 days away. HatStats rating: PCFC 112, crunchers 104

Week 6
PCFC vs Siena AC, who just happened to be the undefeated #1 club in the series. Oddly enough, only 71,000 fans came out for the match…….what does it take to get a sellout in this world????? I needed this one, I mean really needed it. You just can’t keep above the fray if you continue to piss away home points. Hmmm, maybe I should get that statement tattooed somewhere. Form was in good shape, I’d been PICing cup matches like I should, I was unveiling my new Danish striker…….and I pulled it off. With the ‘tighter then I was hoping for’ 2-0 victory, PCFC moved to a 4-way tie for 2nd place, and gained 3 points on the leader. HatStats rating: PCFC 129, Siena AC 120

Week 7
Karma, man……karma. Ohhhh, I get it. Sorry, channeling The Simpsons there for a moment. PCFC vs Street Walkers, the match I threw to the wolves in order to beat Siena AC. A loss to be sure, but hopefully not on the scale of the 7-0 shellacking I received earlier in Week 2. Then something funny happened……the HT Gods gave me a gift in return for losing some matches that maybe I should’ve won. I defeated Street Walkers 4-1. Although the stats were close, these are the matches where I take the points and keep my mouth shut about it. The win pushed me into the lone #2 spot in the series at midseason, 5 points behind Siena AC, and 3 points ahead of the 3 clubs tied for 3rd place. HatStats rating: PCFC 117, Street Walkers 116

Man, what a whirlwind. In typical Hattrick fashion I won some matches I should’ve lost, I lost some matches I thought I should’ve won, and my notoriously overachieving team managed to fight their way back into things. Let’s hope the 2nd half of the season works out for me as well. I don’t have ambitions to win the series so much as I want to finish above the playoff/relegation line.

Good luck to everyone.


Panther City FC
II.3 - USA

[ArsenalTexan3]

Week 1
Ah the new season starting and againt the winner of the playoff game. I looked at the team and then the day before the match, it changes owners. A good chance to get 3 pts and after a 5-nil win, things looked bright expect lost a few players due to injury.

Week 2
Looked like it would be a lose and sure enough it was. It was against the demoted team, but some what respectable score. 3-nil.

Week 3
Against Northern Tiberon who I took two points from in my battle to stay up at the end of last season. Started off like a lose, but battled back to tie it and then to a late lead, but lost it.

Week 4
Might be another chance for a pt, but it ended in a lose. 2-1. Could have been worse and my team fought.

Weeks 5&6
Got trashed so we'll skip those weeks.

Week 7
Didn't expect to win, but managed to have an early goal and then they had a played sent off, but it didn't help. Lot 4-1 to a team I have never beaten and play again this week.

Could be worse, but I hope to get a few more points and try to stay in V.215

[kuhnscoot]

Week 1: Game against the 4th place team last year, was expecting a closer game, won 7-1, he's only got 3 pts this season so far.

Week 2: Got upset by a team I should have beat, 3-0. Team just played bad, plus it was mostly back ups as I played the cup game as well.

Week 3: Big 6-0 win over the 2nd place team last year, he seems to be struggling this season, his form hasn't been the greatest.

Week 4: Got an away win against a team fighting for a qualifier to stay up. Always a good thing to win away from home. 4-1

Week 5: Lost to the demoted team, his first game with his first teamers playing league, he had just gotten knocked out of the cup, still a good result considering he kicked my midfield all over, 2-0.

Week 6: Really bad game against the team battling me for top 3 finish, lost at home 7-3, controled most of the game, but his keeper had a good game, and I didn't, Mats Ohrsjo got his 3 hattrick of the season in the game.

Week 7: Got back on course away against the current number 3 team, won away 4-2, and will head into the return leg at home hoping for the same result.

Over all, I am a little lower then I figured I'd be at mid season, I was only expecting 1 maybe 2 loses, not 3. I still have the 1 and 2 teams away coming up, so those will be hard, but if I can pull off the win this week, and another one against one of those 2, I should be in a good position to take 2-3 probably.

[Craig P]

Coming into season 22 in V.84, it looked like a three horse race for the top spot: my own Brays Bayou FC, a sometime daytrader who came in a week or so before me in Flashotcite, and the demotee from IV in ole. I was expecting two clubs to play spoiler -- New Bremen Chickens and vick tyme's -- and the rest to be struggling to stay up.

Week 1
Thanks to my second place finish last season, I opened at the demotee's place. I had made a big trainee sale in the offseason, and I identified midfield as a big need position for an upgrade, all the moreso considering ole is a midfield trainer. I hoped that my new midfield and all-around ratings would be good enough for the win. It turned out to be a very even match; Brays was ahead 4 - 3 when our star midfielder was sent off. Somehow, we held on for the win, setting a positive tone for the season: as I saw things, we were now in the driver's seat in the series.

Week 2
Gimme home win where the goal differential was more at issue than the result.

Week 3
At New Bremen Chickens, one of the "spoiler" clubs. New Bremen pulls relatively high ratings in a vanilla 4-4-2, with the result that they're tough to score against and pull the occasional upset -- I was the only one to get more than two on them in a game last season. The game was doubly troublesome because I had gone with an MOTS in my cup match. Despite the low team spirit, I still managed a one-level midfield advantage and pulled out a 2 - 1 nailbiter.

Week 4
The big showdown... Flashotcite had also opened the season undefeated, they were riding a run of good form, and I was hoping to make a statement. The team was coming off a league PIC and a cup PIC (with an MOTS in the cup match a week and a half prior), so it seemed like a now or never match. I suspect, based on the ratings, that they may have MOTSed too. Although we pulled an excellent midfield, our 52%/54% possession suggests it was a low excellent vs. a high solid. A 57th minute BBFC goal was answered by an 80th minute FFC goal, for a disappointing draw. Now we need to take points in the rematch.

Week 5
On the road against Stingers... their high ratings belie a weak vanilla 4-4-2, and although we only barely lead in the midfield (weak vs. weak but we take possession at 53%), we earn a 3 - 0 win.

Week 6
At home against vick tyme's. They've given my team fits in the past, but they've been battling some problems this season that have led to mid-40's ratings and disappointing results. Brays shows no mercy in a 7 - 0 pounding.

Week 7
On the road against Grand Rapids. Newly promoted from VI, not a bad team but my team has moved far enough into the competitive realm in division V that they're not a real threat. The match is over early as Brays scores three goals in 21 minutes en route to a 5 - 0 blanking.

Looking ahead... there are only two matches that look like serious threats. Flashotcite in week 11 will most likely be for the series; if either team wins outright, then they will probably be in line to autopromote at the end of the season. As I've noted elsewhere, FFC recently put $4.6 million into midfield upgrades, fueled by the sale of their secondary trainee. Their key players remain in ridiculously high form, so I can only hope that they suffer some dropoff before we play again. The match at home against ole in week 14 could be dangerous, although I'm expecting it to be a mutual MOTS affair that sees Brays post a record rating.

Looking back... the win in week 1 was beyond my expectations, but turns out to have been absolutely necessary. I was disappointed with the tie in week 4, but it was probably a minor upset considering they won ratings by ten points. I had hoped to be in control of the series at midseason, but I'm not; my lead is a slender two goals scored. I haven't suffered any upsets, so I really have little to complain about.

[junjunforever]

my season:

MOTSed an away Cup match to get a home Cup for sure. Lost at over time.

Lost, then lost again, in the series with bad team spirit, form and bad luck. slowly made my way back up. Currently at second place.

pulled my first excellent player (although he was 18).

Overspent 700 000 USD on a Bosnian trainee, in hopes that he'll make it to U-20. I'm skeptical of it thoguh...

[Deuteriumoxide]

Season so far:

I won my first cup game, then koppite had his way with my young boys (sicko) in my second cup match... its ok I sold out my stadium =).

21 points on a +39 goal differential. I'm not in a bots league, but sometimes it seems like i ought to be. If I win today with my injury depleated midfield I am going to auto promote for sure.

I have five players in the top ten in scoring in my series... amazingly I don't have the top scorer.

[Helghallen]

I just went to the Hattrick cup rank site. It is here. At the pace both of us are on, we will both advance to V at the end of the season. And we are near the top of the promotion list. Look out V, here we come.