Hattrick - my tips for getting started

OK, first things first: these are MY tips, others may vehemently disagree with them; in fact, I know some do. But this is what I have found out in my first few weeks, plus asking about. In truth, it is nearer to a list of mistakes I made at first that cost me money. OK, so, knowing that these tips will be personal and quirky, and that I take no responsibility for bankruptcy's or 11-0 drubbings caused by folowing them, here goes:

1) Read the rules first. And the manual. Boring, I know (which is why I didn't do it), but it does give an excellent overview and you kow where you are starting from. Also read Hattrick Wiki. Do all this BEFORE subscribing. I know subscriptions are free, but do this first, then you can start knowing what you are doing and not making a complete arse of yourself.

2) Get your manager's licence ASAP. It will take a few days, shouldn't be more than two weeks tops if you are serious about it, but it will walk you slowly through very nearly everything you need to know. Several vital things for the game can only be done once you have completed the relevant part of the manager's licence. You also get paid, and paid very handsomely for the beginner level, for passing each part. Adds up to a couple of hundred thousand pounds for your club. And you also get a scroll to display on your club page. Do not do anything other than play a game with your given (and pretty much useless) squad until you have finished the licence. By then you'll have the funds to improve your squad and, hopefully, an idea of what you are doing.

3) First real decision to make. Answer the folowing question: why am I here? People play for various reasons, all of them valid so long as they don't involve cheating or trying to annoy other people (too much). Hattrick are strict about this; they won't tolerate abusive or insulting messages, not even about the French, which is a step too far in my opinion! Anyway, why are you playing? To create a strong team by training them up, or to make money by either trading on the transfer market or by training mono-skilled players to sell at a profit, or do you want to win a cup, get a player into the national squad, or what? When you know you can really start playing! While doing your licence you should visit lots of forums, ask questions, read articles, and then you are ready to start.

4) You now have some (not much) money, and a feel for the game. First thing to do is buy a coach and sack your current one. I don't care who he is, the coach you are given is not worth the very small salary he receives; he is a dead weight for your club. You need to replace him REGARDLESS of what you want out of the game, unless you want to lose and be a laughing stock for a long, long time. Sack him and go to the training page, select 'change coach' and buy a solid/poor coach. It will cost you almost all of what you earnt doing the manager's licence (which is why you have waited) but this is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most important single thing you will ever do, and the most vital for your team. Decide if you want an attacking, defending or neutral coach. Which you go for is really a personal choice, and every player has a different opinion about this. Mine is neutral. If you want a lot of goals (both for and against) go attacking; if you want a better defence, go defence.

5) Now you can really start to play. Log on for some CHPP programs (they are listed under 'community'). There are loads of them, mostly not really of any use. The ones you need to get are team selector and team analyses ones. They will give you impartial advice about who to play and where, and also which positions need replacements, as a mater of urgency. HT Organiser is probably the best known and most popular, but I can't get on with it. I like HT Dog and a few others, but have a look. They are all free (I think - for the basic versions anyway, which is all that is needed). You need to know what type of team you are after (defensive, attacking, counter-attacking, whatever) and your chosen formation (4-4-2, 3-4-3, 5-4-1, 3-5-2, whatever) and then you can start to form your perfect squad.

6) Build up your back-room boys. You need certain things. You need some coaching assistants, and I would recommend 1 GK Coach and 9 Coaching Assistants straight away, plus, probably, 1 spokesperson and 1 (at least) physio. If you have a crucial player injured, also get 1 (at least) doctor. Steer well clear of accountants and psychologists, they are, for the time being, a waste of resources. Same goes for large numbers of doctors and spokespeople. As soon as you have any money spare, probably after your first home league game, you also should invest in your youth. Read the rules, ask on the forums, and decide between having a Youth Squad (very easy to run, no time or effort involved, you can change investment each week, you can start getting young players from week one, but they are very poor quality. Very much a lottery, but, in general, a lot cheaper than buying players on the open market) or else a Youth Academy (a lot more effort, but you get individual players, who play matches, so more fun. Also, in general, a better quality of trainee, but you have to train them for a season before you can promote them, so slower. Still very much a lottery).

7) DO NOT TOUCH YOUR ARENA. Or ground. I've never been to a football arena in my life. But this was my biggest, and most expensive, mistake. Expanding your ground costs shed-loads of money, also costs more to maintain every week, and it is money down the drain. Never expand your arena unless you have to. If you get maximum crowds twice in a season, and you don't expect to start losing fans (relegation, or crowds were only there for an exceptional cup run) then increase your ground. The close season is the best time to do it. Use one of the "arena optimiser" tools in the CHPP programs page to decide how much to increase it by. And remember, crowds increase by about 10% on promotion, and decrease on relegation.

8) Now sort out your team. Get a training program running. You have the coach, you have his happy little helpers, you should know what you want to train (keepers, defenders, wingers, whatever - look in the manual, ask on the forums if not sure). Get a training regime and play accordingly. No point in training forwards if you always play a 5-4-1 formation. Training = better players, for your team and to sell for real amounts of money. Done properly, in two or three seasons' time you should be making a few million in transfer profits. How? You buy, or already have, or promote from the youths, a teenager with, say, solid defending skills. You train him in defending, defending, defending, with your solid coach and his merry band. He gets better ('pops'). Things vary on what you, and he, are doing, but he should 'pop' at least once per season you have him. In three seasons he is now 'brilliant' defender. If you got him through your Youth Squad, he cost you £1 333 (plus wages). If he has some half-decent secondaries, like wing or passing, reasonable stamina and experience, you will be selling him for, most likely, in excess of one million pounds. And you can train up to ten defenders at one go! And he has played for your team as well. Some prefer multi-skilled players, so may change between defending, passing, play-making, and get players with a lower main skill (excellent instead of brilliant, maybe) but secondaries that are almost as good (passinf, set pieces and wing all passable/excellent, instead of poor/weak). Such players are worth less on the transfer market, but much more in a team, and are much more flexible. How you go is your choice - are you trying to build up a squad that will be able to compete at higher levels - in which case you need a lot of multi-skilled players suitable for your tactical formation, buying only a few for other positions - or are you trying to 'skill train' as many players as possible for as much profit as possible, and, once you sell them, buy in players to make up your squad?

9) Use the transfer market from the start, and sack dross. This goes against most advice, for beginners anyway, but I have found it to be very useful, profitable and fun. Work out your first team from what you have (using HT Dog or similar CHPP program), use a CHPP program like HT Organiser to find out your weak spots, then buy in better players for those spots. At the start-up level, these players won't be expensive, and still won't be that great. Two or three elderly (30+) players, in your weak positions (ones that you are not training, preferably) can be bought, with excellent skills (much better than you will have) and much better stamina, experience and form than your original squad. You can, with luck, get what you need for under £20 000 the lot. And they will improve your squad by at least 100%. Next, see who no longer features in your preferred first eleven. If they are over 25, or don't have any skills at all (some won't) then put them up for sale or sack them. Check them against the 'transfer compare' button. If players with their skills normally go for £667 (the minimum bid allowed) or no more than £1 333, then sack them. It costs £667 to list them for transfer, plus you pay a fee at the end to the agent, so if they are not likely to go for over £1 333 it is cheaper to sack them. Use any money gained to buy more players, as young as possible, with as good skills as possible in whatever you have decided to train, and play them as your reserves in friendly matches until they are good enough for you first team, or until you sell them. These will be your cash cows in years to come, and as you sell these, buy better trainees. 17 year old kids with good skills can go for several hundred thousand pounds, even a million plus, so you won't be buying these yet. But a kid with brilliant or supernatural scoring at 17 can be trained to Divine/Utopian and sold for ridiculous money - and, due to his wages being so high, will probably be sold several times, with you netting a % of the sale fee each time. So buying them young is also expensive, but worth the effort when you have the resources to do it. Not everyone, by any means, skill trades. I don't intend to. But I do play different formation for my reserves, to maximise training with a view to sales, than I do for my first team.

10) Play friendlies, every week. These bring in revenue, ensure that your entire squad gets the benefit of stamina training, and maximises the number of players who get training that week. My advice is to join the friendlies pool, and play home matches against international opponnents. It will maximise revenue and minimise costs. After a season or two, play internationals away. It will cost more, but well worth it as you get a lot of additional experience boosts. And it isd more fun, but I don't feel that the extra costs (£4 000 per game) can be justified in the first two or three seasons.

11) Finally, go and join Hattrick Supporter (£20.74 a year). Lots of tools that make training and team selection easier, but mostly, it is fun! Ever wanted to follow a team that wore pink and yellow hooped jerseys? With HT Supporter you can! Design your arena as peculiarly as you like - all 30 000 seats behind one goal if you wish! Send out press statements like there is no tomorrow - thar's what I do!

Anyway, end of rant, the above is what I do. So far, it has worked, on the field and in the coffers.