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The Ten Commandments Of A Good 'Hattricker'

Written by Julian1890

Not only the players are important to win a match. Why I am not winning? What’s the meaning of the coach level? What is loyalty? Why aren’t my players recovering from their injury? To Buy or Not to Buy? The old youth system or the new Academy? Some questions that I faced (and still do) and that I would have wished someone was there to answer them. Here are some answers to some of these and other questions, from both my own and others' experiences.

Footnotes will be marked by an indication like this: {#}

Hi everyone, I am Julián and although I've played at different times since 2006, I am playing with my current team since May 2020, during the pandemic. After loosing my team and my achievements due to inactivity, I decided to come back. With my previous team (2011-2019) I became the first and only club in HT Colombia to have won both the first division and Cup, during the first season at the top tier. With an exclusive Colombian team, and a majority of mother club players. I tell you this only to try to convey that I've managed to grasp something of Hattrick's basic rules.

With my newest team, I realized that, as in chess, before moving the pieces, it is essential to understand them, know their weaknesses, strengths, movements and especially, think before to every play and every action to try (not always successfully) to go one step ahead of the opponent.

While I would like to address so much more, I will just limit this article to what I consider the Basic rules that, in my opinion, shall always be respected and that represent what I have called "The Ten Commandments of good a Hattrick player". {2}
I enlist them and then to explain them one by one:

1. Meet the manual on all things;
2. You shall never play any match in vain;
3. Sanctify the spirit of your team;
4. Honor your rival, all alike;
5. You shall not improvise - or at least not all the time;
6. You shall not commit impure acts;
7. You shall ask and ask;
8. You will get up, fall and then rise again;
9. You shall never play without a pure goal;
10. Covet - and especially - learn from other teams.

1. Meet the manual on all things
Perhaps one of the biggest problems with people who get started in Hattrick, but then decide to leave the game because of misunderstanding or disagreement with specific topics (such as results), is that they do not understand some basics of the game and have not even taken the time to read the manual. So, before any doubt, always the first and best way to succeed: read the manual. And between us (shhh, don't tell anybody else), you should always take a look at the Unwritten Manual! (17372624.1) (This is the 10th Edition of the Zorbas' Manual!)

2. You shall never play (or simply “not to play”) any match in vain
Hattrick is a strategy game where every match counts. In which each decision has consequences for the next one. It is therefore essential that all matches played have a clear objective. Do I mean by “clear goal” to win a game? No, definitely not. When I say that you shall never play any match in vain, I refer to that it should be aimed at obtaining a goal. It's usually “to win”, but many other times it can be just train the maximum number of possible players (regardless of the outcome), and even though some do not believe it other times it could be “to lose”. So, for the respect of this commandment, it is essential to understand the pure target of your team (see Commandment 9) and know that with every match, you get yourself on the desired track.

In this regard, it is important that you consider if your goal is “to train”, then the alignment should correspond to it and you shall place the maximum number of players in trainable positions. The typical example: If you train Playmaking and your goal is training, you should ideally use line-ups with 3 inners and 2 wings. Think of 352, 253, 550, 451, etc. Or if your train Defense, your line-ups ideally should contain 5 defenders.

3. Sanctify the spirit of your team
Perhaps one of the most fundamental issues of Hattrick is team spirit. You should know that a high TS means a better performance of your team (midfield-wise specifically), and the better you can fight your rival. If that's what you're looking for, of course.

As we know, the team spirit can be handled in several ways: (i) With the trainer, (ii) the "team attitude", game by game, and with some desperate measures like (iii) Psychologists and (iv) intensity of training.

i. On the coach, I will simply say that the more leadership (being [b] Good [/ b] the maximum possible), the more likely to keep team spirit high.

ii. Regarding the attitude of the team, as you know, there are the acronyms PIC (which stands for Play it Cool ) and MOTS ( Match of the season ).

At the beginning of each season, a reset of the spirit occurs and drops to 4.5. For each set of PIC, it will be multiplied by 1.33 and for every game in MOTS, it will drop to half of what it was.
On the exact percentages of performance depending on the level of TS, I recommend reading (17372624.36).

iii. Similarly, another tool that is a little less conservative is hiring a sports psychologist, who will raise your team spirit and confidence accordingly with their level of skill.

iv. The ultimate measure, even more aggressive, is to decrease the intensity of training. This is not recommended, because in addition to harming the training that week (or which the percentage is left) also imply that the day they rise again to 100%, will be severely affected. And therefore, the TS of your team will be dramatically lowered.

In short, I believe that a good hattrick player should know how to handle each match taking into account the spirit of their team to use all the potential (and even more) from their players, if necessary.

4. Honor your rivals, all alike
Honoring your opponent means to dignify your them. Consider him/her as the greatest enemy there is. So, if your goal is to win, climb the ladder, or become champion, you must honor all your rivals alike. No matter if they are first or last in their competitions.

In this regard, it is essential that you analyze your opponents and know their teams like the back of your hand. You must know their weaknesses and bet on the "gaps" in their line-ups. Like a chessboard, there are always weak boxes, which if attacked, will certainly give you an advantage or –hopefully- lead you to a victory.

5. You shall not improvise (or at least not all the time)
Planning things, in my opinion, is crucial to the future of any club. Whether planning what attitude I take into every match to reach X match with X team spirit, or a very long-term planning as a training method, for example, 10 seasons.

Today with the rise of the Homegrown Teams, planning long-term training is booming. I declare myself a follower of long-term training, but I clarify that statement, saying that it is important to improvise if the situation demands it: Perhaps a new formation to take advantage of an opponents' weak spot, or try a new tactic that could counteract an opposing one. Or perhaps a training plan can be affected if a future youth jewel comes out from my youth academy and I have to change a train to harness the full potential of the player. It all depends on the circumstances, but in any case, I think it is better to plan things. Whether more or less success, but knowing where you are going.

6. Do not commit impure acts
Beyond the symbolic name of the sixth commandment, consider “impure acts”, like acts that a good manager cannot –never- make. A list, without limitation, of those acts could be:
- To not send specific orders for each match;
- To not arrange friendlies every week;
- To not check "Transfer compare" before buying any player;
- Not knowing or studying the following rival;
- To not adjust my formation to my training plans;
- To not read the manual;
- To play a tactic without knowing it or not knowing what to expect from it in relation to my team;
- Not understanding what skills are essential for each position. See (17372624.8);
- To not get a coach Solid ASAP;
- And so on...

7. You shall ask and ask
As I mentioned earlier, I think it is essential not to be quiet and with any minimum notice of doubt, to ask. There are always people more experienced than you and are willing to help out. Use forums, at least read them. If you have Supporter, use the federations tool, learn something from everyone

8. You will get up, fall and then rise again
I think Hattrick, like life, stands for a cyclical development. A constant seesaw. Maybe some are in it longer than others, but with planning and knowledge, they can either be used or wasted. Maybe someone is at the top of the first division, but he should know that in the not too far future, his players will be old, if this player did not think or found a solution, he will inevitably descend. Just as with those in lower divisions, perhaps (and also depending on the operation of their teams, orders, knowledge –and so on) can make you rise to the first division.

9. Never play without a pure goal
You can imagine what I am referring with a “pure goal”, a pure target. I’m talking about this special thing, which makes you enter to Hattrick every day or week. The purpose of your game, that gives you pleasure to play. I think that it ends up being the most important aspect of the game. And the most beautiful. Interestingly, the nicest thing is not always the same for everyone. So that for some may be simply to make money and save and save, but for others it can be to win a cup, a division, or simply collect flags, or to get all the achievements possible.

I think my first time playing Hattrick I didn't establish a pure objective and therefore I ended leaving. With my second team (what I won almost everything in Colombia with), after having met a couple of my goals, I realized how nice the game and how addictive it could be. It's great to get a personal satisfaction, achieving the goals you have.

10. Covet and-especially- learn from others teams.
Finally, I consider it a golden rule to know to learn from others, but not only asking, but observing the behavior of "the big ones". What formations are used in the first division, which specialties do their players have, why was player X used in match X, why was formation Y used in match Y, and so on. I think in this way you can always learn. Observing is a very valid knowledge resource.

{1} I'm talking about over there in 2009, because in 2008 I left my team to stuck in fourth division.
{2} Note that I do not speak for the guidance of the better Hattrick gamer, much less pretend that this is the best or which must necessarily be taken into account. It's just another of so many.

Disclaimer: I wrote a similar HT-Press several years ago. I believe it is still actual and important. I updated some info and added some things that I believe matter nowadays. I hope to lead in some way or another, to those managers who started his successful career in Hattrick. And if the more experienced managers, find that my considerations are not sufficient, adequate or correct; I cordially invite you to correct me ... So we all can learn…

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You can discuss the article on the forum: (17428778.1).

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