RebelClown's Hattrick Weblog » Log Archive » Season 15 » Winning

03-11-2008 Top of the league
We are top of the league! Trashing newcomer Di_Tommaso doesn't mean a lot however. They won their first match against the other debutant stumpers with impressive figures: 10-0. Soon after that their manager announced they would temporarily take it easy with Hattrick. That they did, haven't won a game since. So, while the 7-0 victory is good for morale and more importantly our goal difference, I was more interested in the results of other matches.
At the start of the season I figured it would be a two horse race between me and Hindu Heaven. That changed when I lost a match to "Geen vuiltje aan de lucht", and HH was defeated by the demoted fc chopchop. The path to the title appears to have more obstacles then I thought. Yesterday Chopchop and vuiltje, the current leader, met each other and it was a good result for me: chop chop won 5-2, and so I could take over the lead in VI.280, for the first time since my arrival.
With my other eye I was following the game between Gelreboys F.C. and Burgjes. The Gelre Boys is managed by pspaan, who started playing Hattrick 3 months ago. He approached me for some tips after reading this blog, so I think of him as my "apprentice" ;)
He is in a division with just one other human, so it was crucial for him to win that match in order to escape the bot league. I'm very happy he won that contest, especially since he followed most of my advice. To be fair I believe he was on the right track and would have played in more or less the same formation anyway. But hey, it's all in the details, right?

29-10-2008 Gamble
The main goal this season, or basically the only goal, is to do well in the league and get involved in the title race. I realize I might not win it, but I would be disappointed if mid-season it turns out RebEleven stands no chance in hell of winning it. That's why I view the cup more as an opportunity to boost my team spirit than as a goal in itself. The fourth round opponent galop seemed like a though one, my gut feeling was like a 50/50 divide for a victory.
So my original thought was to pic and take the quite possible loss for granted. However, when I found out that he was selling Robin Houtman, I changed my mind. That was his best player, a nine star striker and the reason for galop's outstanding attack ratings. Given the asking price I thought he would get sold, so I took a gamble and switched the team attitude back to normal. The league game the coming week I can take easy, and if I'd win I could always pic next week, right?
Right. The attacker moved clubs yesterday, and although manager d0peY bought a new player today (my main fear) this wasn't in time to put him in the lineup. As a result I faced a merely excellent attack, no match for my outstanding defense. Even though the midfield was slightly in his favour, and there wasn't a lot to seperate us in terms of HatStats, I squeezed a 3-1 triumph out of it. The gamble paid off.

28-10-2008 And another one
At the start of the season I viewed the matches against Hindu Heaven as crucial in my endeavours to reach the top of the VI.280. Especially the home game needed to be won, otherwise my chances of succeeding would become very slim. After loosing the season opener against vuiltje this has become even more urgent. Therefore I fielded my best team and did not play it cool for once.
It all went just as I envisaged it. Even though there was very little difference in our midfield rating I managed to get the most chances. The real difference lay in efficiently dealing with them though. My superior defense paid off with the Hindus only able to score once out of 3 chances and a special event. As most of my chances were of the set pieces type (2 penalties and 2 free kicks), Cornelus Konijn earned the three points by himself by scoring 4 times. End result: 5-1.
This doesn't mean I'm top of the league (yet), Geen vuiltje aan de lucht keeps on winning and does not seem to want to relinquish his hold on the number one spot. It looks like it's going to be one of those seasons where anyone can beat anyone, suits me fine as long as I get the medal in the end.

23-10-2008 One down
Well, that's one down of the two crucial clashes. The match against AS Calcio went realtively smoothly. We got a good start with a goal in the third minute, but they scored halfway through the first half so I had a nervous tea break. Strangely both teams scored in the exact same minute, the 55th, so nothing really changed there. In the end, more possession for my lads, 57 percent, paid off and they sealed the game 4-2. No cards or injuries and pretty neat ratings make me a very happy manager.
The next cup opponent will be galop from Rotterdam. Although they play a division higher, they are actually on their way down. Only 5 seasons ago you could find them in III division, now the club is in danger of relegating to VI after staying pointless in the first 2 league games. That's not to say it's an easy opponent, for from it. After buying a new player their ratings have soared, edging just in from of RebEleven. Next week we will have the home advantage, but to quote my fans: "It will be a close affair".
By the way, I've just discovered that last season's Dutch cup, the KNVB beker, was won by PSVzuipsite.nl. That name somehow rang a bell, I thought it was the team that kicked me out of the national cup previous season. Turns out that my memory is not completely right. They did kick me out of it, but that was 3 seasons ago! How time flies.

20-10-2008 Two wins
The past week was a good one for RebEleven, but nothing to really get excited about. To start with FC Didier Malaga was beaten 5-1 in the second cupround, but that's par for the course againsta team playing a division lower. Next up was FC Stumpers, a team not even reaching 100 HatStats, so to be honest the 6-0 win was a bit disappointing. The next week will see much tougher opponents and has the potential to make or break the season in an early stage. The cup draw has fixed me up with a strong team from VI, AS Calcio. So far the lineups they fielded in the cup are not necessarily alarming, but the squad used in their league is a bit better than what I can show at the moment. Last Sunday their manager apparently has fielded the B-team, so two days from now we will receive a team clearly going for the win. To my surprise I'm already playing at home, one of the advantages of relegating from V. The next fixture is possibly a decisive one. I regard Hindu Heaven as the main rival for the title, and a loss at home against them could put a stop to my aspirations. Last round they scored the highest rating of the eight teams so far, but again the home advantage lies with us. Hopefully last season's result (4-1) will be an inspiration for the boys.