Since I'm new to this board, I was just wondering if anyone else around here has taken on the somewhat masochistic task of training defense? I'm planning on sticking with it for a while in order to take advantage of the money that comes from the extra training slots, even though it's hurting my competitiveness this season. Is anyone else using this strategy?
Pal, your team's lack of competitiveness isn't due to defensive training. It's due to the fact that the other managers in your series are so much better than you are.
I trained it my first couple of seasons, I hated the formation options so I cut it short after making some money and was left with a couple excellent defenders... I had a hard time remaining in d5 training defense, probably would have worked better to start in d6 with defending training... what formation do you use??
I've been going with primarily a 5-4-1 since I acquired a pretty good winger earlier this season. I'll also break out a 5-3-2 with CA if I really don't have a chance. I started out using a 4-4-2, but I decided it was more worthwhile monetarily to get that 10th training spot.
Going the defense route as well but I also just started and has only been 6 weeks. Spent the first 3 getting stamina up so it's going slow.
All series-related kidding aside, and with the caveat that I'm not a defensive trainer, I would think that the 5-4-1 or 5-3-2 is the way to go instead of the 4-4-2. It might make it difficult to win in the short term, but in the long term you'll have more profits, which will help to upgrade you mid and offense to make it easier to win with a 5-4-1 in series matches. AFAIK, most posters on BS.com seem to be IMers, with a strong contingent of keeper trainers (yours truly included--and I miss Alan Lair already) and a smattering of winger trainers. On the HT conferences there have been periodic threads devoted to how difficult it is to win at a high level while training defense (esp. given the conviction that mid and offense are more heavily weighted than defense), but I'm not really qualified to comment on the veracity of these. Anyway, I doubt most teams will train the same thing forever (I plan to switch in the next few seasons), so by the time you get ready to move up to D.IV and III that might not be an issue. And in the short term, having 5 full training slots makes defensive training a very profitable venture. [/ramble]
There was a post on HT about a team in Canada in a higher division that trains defense and counter attacks, there's several game links where he beat his opponents despite losing possesion. I'll see if I can find it. Anyways, if you need wingers just gimme a call.
I want to build a well-rounded team by training almost all of my players. I figure that if I rotate training PM, defense, and scoring (probably 4 years of each), I can build myself a good team and only have to buy keepers and wingers. Once I reach the higher levels, though, I'd probably have to stick to training one thing for longer periods of time so that I could develop high-level players and just use trainee sales to support my team so that I can buy other top-notch players.
Another advantage (if you can call it that) of a 5-x-x lineup is that you only have to upgrade 6 other positions. You can put more money into fewer players to improve your team than say, scoring trainers (who have to upgrade 8). Of course, a 3-4-3 is a lot better than a 5-x-x, but the money makes up for the tactical disadvantage IMO.
There are quite a few teams I've come across in the Defense Fed. that rely on the CA when they can't win possession. I'm planning on building my team around the CA in the future -- at least after my first batch of trainees turns over.
My friend is a defense trainer, but I'd hate to call him out on here and embarass him. It seems to be an art of patience, but soon enough no one will score on him.
My league match last week was against a defense trainer. I actually won posession 51% to 49%, but I created exactly ZERO scoring chances.
Defense trainer here myself. The way I figure it is that from what I understand everything in Hattrick goes in cycles. Right now PM is the hot thing - eventually they will tweak the program and something else will be the rage - hoping its defense and I get a jump on everyone.
Wouldn't be too sure about that. A couple of seasons ago I ended #1 in the IV.25. I had a 3x formidable (old) defence, whereas the #2 had a 3x divine (old) defence. We both had the same amount of goals against.