My hattrick team

[Radii]

Any advice? There doesn't seem to be much to work with here. I've bumped the youth spending up to 20K, and I'm trying to decide what formation I want to go with. I figure the first thing I need to do is buy a keeper, but can I afford to dump 100K into a passable one right away or should I just find an inadequate one for now? I don't want to run up a bunch of debt unless that's the only way to turn things around. Nick Clayton is my keeper by default but he's weak.

Players below are sorted by value. Any early advice is welcome! I've been reading the hattrick dynasties and such, I'm just curious what people would suggest I try to do right away to make improvements.

Oh another specific question, how many assistants/trainers should i buy right off the bat?

I'm fifth in V.55 currently. Thanks in advance!


Your 18 players

Beau Weir
111 000 US$, 21 years, passable form
Has wretched experience and passable leadership abilities

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

Álvaro González de Buitrago
83 000 US$, 25 years, inadequate form
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities

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

Edgar Rice
67 000 US$, 25 years, weak form
Has weak experience and wretched leadership abilities

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

Charlie Davis
58 000 US$, 28 years, inadequate form
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities [Quick]

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

William Beatty
55 000 US$, 23 years, poor form
Has poor experience and wretched leadership abilities

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

Bobby Sloan
47 000 US$, 19 years, poor form
Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities [Powerful]

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

Mikey Miller
46 000 US$, 26 years, weak form
Has poor experience and passable leadership abilities [Head]

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

Nick Clayton
31 000 US$, 24 years, inadequate form
Has wretched experience and weak leadership abilities

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

Bankaranayakan Bhushan
29 000 US$, 26 years, weak form
Has weak experience and wretched leadership abilities [Quick]

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

Adam Locklear
28 000 US$, 23 years, poor form
Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities

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

Lloyd Puckett
27 000 US$, 27 years, inadequate form
Has poor experience and wretched leadership abilities

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

Mitchell Mercado
19 000 US$, 28 years, poor form
Has poor experience and inadequate leadership abilities

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

Gary Robbins
17 000 US$, 22 years, inadequate form
Has wretched experience and weak leadership abilities

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

Bern Stout
14 000 US$, 20 years, poor form
Has disastrous experience and weak leadership abilities

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

Jerome Levine
11 000 US$, 25 years, inadequate form
Has poor experience and poor leadership abilities [Unpredictable]

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

Palmer Duvall
9 000 US$, 26 years, weak form
Has wretched experience and passable leadership abilities

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

Joseph Loyd
7 000 US$, 25 years, passable form
Has poor experience and poor leadership abilities

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

Elvin Harkins
0 US$, 43 years, passable form
Has wretched experience and wretched leadership abilities

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

[bbor]

Buy a passable goalie to start.....it is a must.

[McSweeny]

i dumped 100,000+ into a passable keeper right off the bat. Thing is i bid on 2 different ones and to my surprise(and dismay) i got both of them. Needless to say i'm now in debt (-150,000).

So BE CAREFULL with your money!

[Qwikshot]

I'm doing fine with two inadequates aged 17 and 20...I'm not so ready to jump up into promotion only to get relegated next season, my team is now very young and I'm working to become a goalie factory till I'm good with cash and youth pulls.

[vex]

Get a passable keeper. Run the 3-5-2 unless something else suits your team better. Midfield is very importtant in Hattrick, regardless of what some around here will tell you;)

Get 1, maybe 2 GK trainers so that your Keepers will keep their form.

Somebody else would probably be better to help you out with the rest.

[McSweeny]

4-5-1 all the way!

[bbor]

i second that McSweeny :)

[daedalus]

It's SOOOOO all about 3-5-2*. :)

*Unless it's CM, then it's 4-5-1 for me. :)

[vex]

About time, I had begun to think that Horned had brainwashed everyone.

[HornedFrog Purple]

I would start off with 5 or 6 assistants and 2 goalkeeping coaches then as you get some money slowly increase it to 8 assistants. Anything over 10 total coaches is pointless.

Even if you are not training goaltending, the goalkeeping coaches will help keep your goalie's form.

Actually in CM I made a killer 4-5-1 where my lone striker would get 30-40 goals a season, of course that was usually in the conference heh.

[sterlingice]

Ok, it's time for the roster doctor (C 2003) :D here to take a look.

Roster
GK: (Clayton)
DW: Rice, Sloan
DM:
WI: Puckett
MI: Weir (off), Buitrago, (Levine)
FO: Davis, (Bhushan)
BENCH: Stout (MI)
SELL/FIRE: Beatty (sell), Miller (sell), Locklear (sell), Mercado, Robbins, Duvall, Lloyd
(parenthesis either indicate positions or players who you need to upgrade)

Things that jump out
Weir might be lacking complimentary skills, but a solid 21yo playmaker with solid scoring is a blessing no matter what. Starting middie, played offensive and he's your star.

Wow, you have some holes. Spend your money wisely: you will need to make it go a long way. Levine and Bhushan will need to be upgraded eventually but you have bigger holes to fill. First off, decide what you are going to train. I suggest midfielder so you can strengthen the inside game that is so crucial in hattrick. You already have a great canidate in Weir. Personally, my suggestion would be to let him bump, sell him, make a mint, and then build with that money. Not the most fun, tho.

Before you go shopping: 2 very, very, very, very important things to look at:
1. You know that guy you are looking at that looks like a good deal so you're going to impulsively get in a small bidding war or just go "wow, $20K for a guy who has inad in 4 skills" or whatever for, DONT. You'll have this voice in the back of your head saying: "I haven't seen anyone this good or cheap and if I don't get him now, another won't come along". SQUELCH THAT VOICE NOW. Just ask everyone in hattrick, and they've been burned by it. Unless you're up at 3am and searching international markets and run across some really unbelievable price, it probably isn't. For a good rule of thumb, go find a player of comprable skill on Sverige and see what the highest bid price is (not asking, actually bid) and then you'll have done your homework. Sverige is the highest inflated market but it's a pretty good barometer.
2. If you have patience, wait until next Tuesday/Wednesday to snag players- it's the cheapest time as there is a glut of everyone's youth squad guys on the market. Everyone is either selling youth squad guys or the players displaced by youth squad guys. Consequently, don't try to sell then. Also, about timing: don't try to buy during mid afternoon in the USA. Bidding wars = bad price.

You have two pretty nice wingbacks. Go snag a young passable defender for less than $20K. Since he's middle, about the only other skill you need to look at is stamina. Grab a 2nd winger- you should be able to get a passable winger with inad passing for less than $10K, 20K max or a solid winger for under $30K if you're lucky and keep your eyes open.

Lastly, get a passable goalie. Find one whose value is as close to $160K as possible. Pay no more than $100K, whatever you do! Many people on this board have been burned by goalies for $150K, at which point you've now lost yourself a good $50K player (ie a solid winger). Be patient and don't overpay.

Your team has quite a few holes so you will want to get all young guys and start building for the future. You have problems with your team and they will take some time to fix. Be patient and build the right way: training and youth. And don't fall into the debt hole the rest of us did.

SI

[daedalus]

Originally posted by HornedFrog Purple
Actually in CM I made a killer 4-5-1 where my lone striker would get 30-40 goals a season, of course that was usually in the conference heh.

I use a variation of 4-5-1 pretty extensively in CM. But I have 2 of my middies up at the AMC slots and one of the defender nudged up slightly in front of my central defenders.. Can't do that in Hattie or I would. [Playing a middie offensively just doesn't seem to do it for me.]

My favourite low level-type formation currently is the 4-4-2 where 1 midfielder is down at DMC and 1 is up at AMC and the two middle ones start at the circle but are arrowed out to the wings. It's worked pretty well for me.

[Radii]

Thanks for the responses everyone, much appreciated! Now, to explain to my boss that I really don't have time to work on this new project I got assigned at work... ;)

[DataKing]

When you go looking for trainees, start cheap. 18 and 19 year old inadequates are pretty inexpensive, especially now that we are late in the season.

But remember that these guys are going to age a year in a couple of weeks (during the off-season). You'll see prices for teenagers (and particularly, 17 year olds) go through the roof right after player aging takes place.