Hattrick help

[Alf]

Hey guys, since there seem to be a lot of hattrick minds aboard, I wanted to get input from you for my team
- which formation to use
- what players to start
- areas to improve
- etc...

Keeper Donskoy is my only purchase (thanks HFP). I already put 20K in youth squad, hiring 2 GK trainer and 8 assitant coaches as well as 4 spokespersons (I understand it is supposed to increase revenue, correct ?).

After firing a few coaches, I got a passable one :
François-Xavier Grillot (8230628)
36 years, disastrous form
A passable coach who prefers a strong defensive game
A sympathetic guy who is temperamental and upright.
Has solid experience and inadequate leadership abilities.


here is a rundown of my team (sorry, don't know how to format):


Olivier Astoul
21 000 Euro, 23 years, poor form
Has wretched experience and inadequate leadership abilities [Quick]

Stamina: passable Keeper: wretched
Playmaking: inadequate Passing: weak
Winger: poor Defending: poor
Scoring: weak Set Pieces: wretched

Gilles Berroir
46 000 Euro, 20 years, passable form
Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities

Stamina: passable Keeper: wretched
Playmaking: weak Passing: weak
Winger: inadequate Defending: inadequate
Scoring: weak Set Pieces: poor

Pascal Berthu
32 000 Euro, 23 years, weak form
Has wretched experience and poor leadership abilities

Stamina: poor Keeper: disastrous
Playmaking: inadequate Passing: inadequate
Winger: wretched Defending: inadequate
Scoring: poor Set Pieces: passable

Erwan Bouffard
28 000 Euro, 27 years, poor form
Has poor experience and poor leadership abilities [Powerful]

Stamina: inadequate Keeper: wretched
Playmaking: poor Passing: poor
Winger: poor Defending: passable
Scoring: weak Set Pieces: passable

Manuel Cames-Pintaux
12 000 Euro, 31 years, poor form
Has poor experience and weak leadership abilities

Stamina: poor Keeper: poor
Playmaking: wretched Passing: wretched
Winger: wretched Defending: disastrous
Scoring: wretched Set Pieces: passable

François Chapier
30 000 Euro, 25 years, weak form
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities

Stamina: inadequate Keeper: disastrous
Playmaking: poor Passing: weak
Winger: inadequate Defending: weak
Scoring: inadequate Set Pieces: weak

François Chicherry
111 000 Euro, 30 years, passable form
Has weak experience and wretched leadership abilities [Head]

Stamina: poor Keeper: wretched
Playmaking: passable Passing: passable
Winger: inadequate Defending: inadequate
Scoring: solid Set Pieces: solid

Ivan Cremillieu
14 000 Euro, 22 years, weak form
Has wretched experience and inadequate leadership abilities [Powerful]

Stamina: weak Keeper: wretched
Playmaking: wretched Passing: inadequate
Winger: weak Defending: poor
Scoring: poor Set Pieces: weak

Yohann Dom
53 000 Euro, 27 years, passable form
Has wretched experience and poor leadership abilities

Stamina: passable Keeper: disastrous
Playmaking: wretched Passing: passable
Winger: weak Defending: poor
Scoring: poor Set Pieces: solid

Artur Donskoy
140 000 Euro, 19 years, weak form
Has disastrous experience and passable leadership abilities

Stamina: wretched Keeper: passable
Playmaking: disastrous Passing: wretched
Winger: disastrous Defending: disastrous
Scoring: disastrous Set Pieces: wretched

Brice Duneau
22 000 Euro, 29 years, disastrous form
Has weak experience and weak leadership abilities [Head]

Stamina: inadequate Keeper: disastrous
Playmaking: passable Passing: weak
Winger: weak Defending: poor
Scoring: passable Set Pieces: weak

Marc Duquesne
35 000 Euro, 27 years, weak form
Has wretched experience and weak leadership abilities

Stamina: inadequate Keeper: wretched
Playmaking: inadequate Passing: poor
Winger: weak Defending: inadequate
Scoring: weak Set Pieces: inadequate

Paul Etienne
12 000 Euro, 22 years, poor form
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities [Powerful]

Stamina: weak Keeper: wretched
Playmaking: disastrous Passing: inadequate
Winger: weak Defending: wretched
Scoring: weak Set Pieces: poor

François-Xavier Grillot
0 Euro, 36 years, disastrous form
Has solid experience and inadequate leadership abilities

Stamina: disastrous Keeper: wretched
Playmaking: disastrous Passing: wretched
Winger: disastrous Defending: disastrous
Scoring: wretched Set Pieces: disastrous

Olivier Redon
23 000 Euro, 25 years, weak form
Has poor experience and poor leadership abilities

Stamina: wretched Keeper: disastrous
Playmaking: inadequate Passing: inadequate
Winger: poor Defending: poor
Scoring: inadequate Set Pieces: disastrous

Johann Severs
74 000 Euro, 25 years, wretched form
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities [Unpredictable]

Stamina: passable Keeper: disastrous
Playmaking: passable Passing: wretched
Winger: inadequate Defending: weak
Scoring: solid Set Pieces: passable

Paul Shoenberger
23 000 Euro, 21 years, inadequate form
Has wretched experience and poor leadership abilities [Unpredictable]

Stamina: poor Keeper: disastrous
Playmaking: poor Passing: weak
Winger: passable Defending: weak
Scoring: weak Set Pieces: solid

Erwan Tati
17 000 Euro, 29 years, poor form
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities [Quick]

Stamina: poor Keeper: disastrous
Playmaking: inadequate Passing: inadequate
Winger: wretched Defending: inadequate
Scoring: poor Set Pieces: poor


Looking for my first friendly tonight vs Scranton Sime (game ongoing match ID : 5013340) currently I am down 1-2.

[Alf]

dola, is Hattrcik supporter or Hattrick Assistant Manager any good ? I started hattrick because it's free of charge, so I don't want to spend money on side things if not needed.

[Alf]

double dola : we lost 2-3 to Scranton Slime (TredWel).

here is my players ratings sheet:

Midfield: disastrous !!!
Right Side Defence: inadequate
Central Defence: passable
Left Side Defence: passable
Right Side Attack: weak
Central Attack: weak
Left Side Attack: weak

I played a normal 4-4-2 - team fielded with mybestteam
* : 1 star
~ : 0.5 star

GK : Donskoy **
WB : Dusquene *~
CD : Berthu *~
CD : Berroir : **
WB : Bouffard *~ (1 goal)
Wing : Dom *~
IM : Redon ~ (weak point !)
IM : Severs * (idem)
Wing : Schoenberger *~ (1 goal)
F : Chapier *~
F : Chicherry **~

[3ric]

Hattrick Assistant Manager is free, and highly recommended!
Check out www.mybestteam.tk as well.

[Alf]

HAM is not freeware anymore, it's shareware, and it's supposedly limited with the current free version, no ?

[3ric]

Is it? I just had it running... let me check.

*opens HAM*

*checks*

Yikes! I can't download data after March 1st, it says.

Oh well, mybestteam.tk is still free...

[sterlingice]

Yeah, it's a shame- HAM will essentially be disabled soon. And I had just started really liking it.

Keeper Donskoy is my only purchase (thanks HFP). I already put 20K in youth squad, hiring 2 GK trainer and 8 assitant coaches as well as 4 spokespersons (I understand it is supposed to increase revenue, correct ?).
Donskoy was a good purchase and all of the above is spot on correct.

BTW, for transfer wire players, you are at the tail end of the fun transfer period so this isn't the time of week to get players. Basically, when youth pulls happen on Fridays, there is a glut of players in the market so you can typically get some young guys for cheaper than during the rest of the week.

Anyways, I'll try to delve into your team as much as I can the 10 minutes before I have to leave for class (in the next post)

SI

[NevStar]

About supporter: You definately don't NEED it to enjoy the game. It has a couple of extra fun perks, but nothing earth-shattering. It's very inexpensive.

A couple of points about HAM:

1) Actually, even after March 1, HAM allows you to download up to 30 days of data before it stops working.

2) The registration fee will be tiny (around $6, I think), and the developer promises that will get you every update for free. Plus, everybody on this board loves to support the independent developer, right? right?

3) If I ever get the combination of free time & motivation, I'm thinking of writing a free hattrick utility.

4) My underwear is too tight.

[sterlingice]

GK: Donskoy - Passable goalie is the best you can ask for early in the game. Good pickup.
WB: Berroir - Inad/inad def/winger isnt too bad. Young and trainable with passable form so he should play pretty well.
DEF: Bouffard - He's a bit older than you would like since he can't be trained and for that reason you'll want to transfer him as soon as you find a suitable replacement. That said, he's passable at defense and that makes him servicable.
DEF: Eep- see below.
WB: Redon - Inad/inad at your other wingback. Not ideal but servicable.
WING: Shoenberger - Not great, but he's young.
MID: Duneau - He's the protoypical offensive middie. Like some others, a bit too old.
MID: Severs - Not entirely sure where to put this guy but another offensive middie probably. I love his scoring but he has absolutely no passing so he's not a great forward. Still, passable playmaking and stamina make him a good middie canidate.
WING: see below
FO: Chicherry - Your scoring stud. Solid scoring, passable passing. Unfortunately he is old so you might want to sell him off while he still has nice value. You should be able to get a pretty decent chunk of change for him and then you can turn around and buy a younger forward or fill another need.
FO: see below

BENCH/SELL
Astoul - Not much useful: too old to train and crappy stats.
Berthu - Backup middie. Not much else.
Cames-Pintaux - Put the old man our of his misery and retire him.
Chapier - Might be able to get a few bucks for him on the transfer wire, but that's about it. A backup until you get trainees.
Cremillieu - Pink slip.
Dom - Many good ratings all in bad categories. Maybe try to sell him, will likely have to fire him.
Duquesne - Career backup.
Etienne - fired.
Tati - Career backup.

First, check out my points at the bottom of this thread- a lot of it applies here.
http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5350

Anyways, specifically towards your thread. It does not appear the hattrick gods have smiled upon you. You lack talent and what talent you do have is old. Still, the greater the challenge, the greater the glory or something like that.

First, it looks like you might want to see what you can accumulate off the transfer wire for cheap in the next couple of weeks. Don't go blow your money all at once, or you'll end up in debt like the rest of us. Sit there and watch some guys of interest in the Sverige transfer list (I say Sverige since it is, by far, the largest), see what they go for and then try to steal some on the US or international transfer lists.

As for players, you desperately need to find some starters and then you can start on your trainees. Hell, judging by your talent and expenses, I'd say if ever there was another team to do a 3-4-3 run-and-shoot with offensive middies, you have it. Unfortunately, the run-and-shoot will not work against better teams, as ardent will attest to (even he's changing to a 3-5-2).

Secondly, you need to decide what to do about Chicherry. He still has value but will lose it as he continues to decline. He's, by far, your best player but he won't be there for long. If I had your team, I would pack it in for now and sell off your older talent (Chicherry and possibly Duneau).

Third, you have a player hunt on your hands. I think you are best suited for a 4-4-2 because of the prohibitive cost of finding 2 very good middies so concentrate on finding one, a passable and young defender, and a passable scorer/inad passer (or better for all of these). Try to think young so you can train them. As for the specifics of training them (and subsequent trainees)- check out the link I posted above where I passed along some advice.

I won't lie- you have some work to do. More than most teams, but if you are smart with your cash, you can acquire some guys cheap and start training your team and basically doing a complete youth movement.

SI

[Alf]

HAM is becoming beerware, meaning the developper is selling it for the price of a beer : $7.5, Woaw, he drinks expensive beers :D. But I agree, that's a small fee.

[DataKing]

OK, first off, here is what I would suggest for each of the players you listed:

Astoul: Inner Midfielder
Berroir: Wingback
Berthu: Inner Midfielder/Central Defender
Bouffard: Central Defender (definite starter)
Cames-Pintaux: Crap. Fire him.
Chapier: Winger
Chicherry: Forward (definite starter)/Set Pieces ace.
Cremillieu: Fire him.
Dom: Fire him.
Donskoy: Starting goalkeeper.
Duneau: Inner Midfield (definite starter)/Forward
Duquesne: Inner Midfielder/Central Defender
Etienne: Crap.
Redon: Inner Midfielder/Forward
Severs: Forward (definite starter)
Schoenberger: Winger
Tati: Inner Midfielder

You've got some talent (albeit older talent) at forward with Chicherry and Severs, so I wouldn't worry about strikers right now. Donskoy looks like a decent purchase, and should serve as an adequate goalkeeper for you for a while now.

Berroir looks to me like the only guy who can play wingback for you. I'd pick up someone with decent winger and defending skills (inadequate in each at the very least). Also, your midfielders seem a bit lacking. Plenty of them, but they don't seem all that good. See if you can't find a passable playmaker or two with decent stamina, and a decent rating in passing or defending. These won't be cheap, btw.

You asked about formation. The formation of choice in the game is 3-5-2, but there are some teams that use others. Your primary (league match) formation should probably be either 3-5-2 or 4-5-1. I would suggest 3-5-2 for you since you have a couple of good strikers.

Your second formation should depend on what you plan to train. I train defenders right now (and will continue to do so for about 2 more seasons), so my second formation is a 5-4-1. That way I can train 8 defenders per week (3 on Sundays and 5 on Wednesdays). Whatever position you intend to train, pick up some young trainees for that position. 18 and 19 year old inadequates are pretty cheap, and are a good place to start.

Get your team's stamina up. This is especially important for your inner midfielders. I do not recommend training it for more than a week or two at a time, however, because it tends to have a detrimental effect on your players' forms. All three of my starting midfielders have excellent stamina, and it is very rare for my possession rate to go down in the second half of a match.

Fire Cames-Pintaux and pick up an inadequate goalkeeper as a backup to Donskoy. This shouldn't cost much.

Avoid going into debt if possible. You may need to cut back on the number of assistant coaches you have right now. My first season, I think I had 2 GK and 4 assistant coaches. Work out your finances on a bi-weekly basis, with one home league match and one away league match. That will give you a good idea of whether or not your club is making money at the moment.

Keep the coach that you have for a while. I still have a passable coach as well, and he seems to be doing fine (although I may be replacing him at the end of this season).

I hope this helps.

[Alf]

Thanks for the advice guys. And thank you hattrick gods for giving me such a crappy team. I'll need to build from the basement !

I'm definitely going to put my best players on sale. And I might go your way DataKing with 3-5-2 and 5-4-1.

For both of you : I like Dom (I'm not attached yet, but the feeling was close : I need to get rid of him since he doesn't seem to fit anywhere !)

Thanks again for tips. And I need a friendly for next week, so if you want to invite me abroad, that's still be a lot better than my 675 home spectators this wednesday (1550 euros income...)

[Poli]

Alf, I would, but GM-George is coming in for a visit to Raider Field this upcoming week. If you travel to my field, you're sure to turn a profit...as I can guarantee to cover your travel cost. I imagine a lot of us can actually do that by now...but I just wanted to point out the Raiders can definitely cover you.

[sterlingice]

For both of you : I like Dom (I'm not attached yet, but the feeling was close : I need to get rid of him since he doesn't seem to fit anywhere !)
Well, no one is forcing you to get rid of him. This is an objective look. For instance, I am keeping around Storm Jordan on my team until I can find another guy with a cool name to take his "cool name" place.

SI