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Hattbacking into R7

Written by JulmVana

This week F.C Bluelake go into R7 as the lowest ranked team left in the cup. Their manager JulmVana, plays the game 'hattbacking' (a mix of backpacking whilst hattricking), and was interviewed whilst sitting by a beach in the Philippines.

Your team, F.C Bluelake knocked out II.1 side Blackburn Rovers in the last round (R6) and now face the reigning Cup and Prem double champions h00ligans in R7, as the lowest ranked team left in the cup. You must be delighted with the progress beating your previous cup record when you were knocked out in R4 two seasons ago, so please tell us a bit about yourself and your team?

All right, all right, all right. I am 36 years old, originally from Estonia, and now a world traveller. I have lived and worked in 6 different countries, and currently in the Philippines.

It's been a slow and steady progress to stay in the cup. I sacrificed my league position and PIC'd most games in order to maintain performance in the cup ties, and to manage my team spirit. So far, it has worked well for me, but my next opponent will be a bit too tough a nut to crack I'm afraid. Of course I´m happy with my team's progress, getting to R7 is a great achievement considering my current bank balance and that I´m still building my team (Ed. Average age of squad is 23/67 with inadequate stamina)

You took charge of your team at the beginning of May 2013, around the time that many managers acquired a second team. Has it helped having an active series conference with experienced knowledgeable managers as a new manager, or is it that you have played before, and your current team was just a new start for you?

I've had two teams before. I started for the first time in 2006 in Estonia and played for about 8 seasons. I didn't make it to the big game and lost interest. Then, after I got really sick of online poker, I decided to return to my old hobby and restarted. This time however, I'm putting in some serious hours, as my primary goal is to become a Premiership team manager. There is a long way to go, but I have few new ideas I´d like to experiment with. Hopefully it will work and I make it to the Premiership in 10 seasons time.

A few new ideas to experiment with? This sounds interesting can you tell us a bit more?

Well, it is actually just an old idea with few new twists. Essentially I want to build up the team from my own youth club, strengthen this with some international players (Ed. for wage discount and high experience) and ... the rest is secret :)

If you have a favourite tune of 2015 so far, please provide a link to vimeo/utube/soundcloud for us to listen, but an older classic tune would be just as interesting?

I like to watch a lot of movies and series. One of my favourite tunes is the theme song of the "Vikings“. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqh-es7r06Y)

If a fan wanted to buy you a pint, which pub or bar would it be easiest to find you in, and what's your poison?

My favourite beer is Guinness, but I'll drink anything that burns :D I started to like it while living in Ireland. Any bar in the world I go into now, I try Guinness and find that it always seems to taste just a bit different in each.

I´m currently in the Philippines, so if if anyone would like to meet up, come to Manila, where the booze is cheap , the weather is hot and the chicks are even hotter. In UK, when I started my team, I lived in Hinckley, LE. But I have no plans to move back there :D

This lifestyle of yours sounds enviable. How do you make it work?

My lifestyle is pretty simple. I find work in a first world country, save like mad and then spend it living in a 3rd world country. In 2001 I moved to USA, where I started out as a waiter, which paid off my student loans and I saved some money on top after 2 years. I then blew the savings (stupidly in Estonia), before I moved to Ireland, working as a tiler for the next 2 years. I returned to Estonia, bought myself a new laptop, rented a high-end apartment, started playing online poker and lost it all :D.

After this I moved to Norway (this was my favorite country by far, with breathtaking scenery, really nice people, as well as being a wealthy, well developed nation). I worked in construction, saved a lot of money and continued to play poker, this time a bit more successfully :D. This was the catalyst for me so really start travelling. I visited Egypt, Turkey, Canary Islands and Thailand to name but a few.

However, the poker games got tougher and it was seriously affecting my nerve system, so I had to take a break. It was at this point that I decided to move to the UK in 2013 and whilst there, I worked in a pharmacy warehouse. I then went on holiday to Philippines and instantly fell in love with the place. I am planning to buy property here and stay for good one day. Right now, my next planned destination will be to Japan, hoping to stay there for few years, make enough money to help me to buy my property and build my own house to retire in the Philippines at the age of 40. :D

You are not a supporter, and you are obviously pretty footloose and fancy free. Have you any tools or apps that you use as a non-supporter to help you manage your team effectively, and if so, what are they?

I´m using Hattrick Organizer (http://sourceforge.net/projects/ho1/) and Hattrick Control (http://hattrick-control.en.softonic.com/) to help manage my team effectively and to help me keep an eye of my teams progress. I'm not using any phone apps, and I even sold my Iphone5 here. Part of the reason I did this is that there are too many thieves here, & I could easily become a target. I'm just using my trusty old NOKIA now. You have to be so careful in 3rd world countries, being a white man is viewed as being a walking wallet, with a neon sign on your forehead saying "Rob me, I am rich!"

Please provide a link to your favourite work of art?

I´m not into art, to be honest. I´ve been to Hermitage in St.Petersbourg (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0f/ef/d5/0fefd5bbd1fabde61a92bc27054d2c52.jpg) and Louvre in Paris (http://www.paris-saint-honore.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/louvre-museum-paris.jpg) , I found it kind of interesting, but I don't like any specific piece particularly.

Your manager page states that you are an Liverpool Fan. in the 2013/14 season Liverpool had lethal attack ratings and scored for fun against any defence. This season, without Suarez, the team seems less clinical. There is talk of Sterling leaving in the summer on a free, yet he plays every week whilst Balotelli doesn't get selected. What do you think about the development of the team, where it is going wrong, and what needs to be done?

It was sad to see Suarez go, but you gotta look at it from the club perspective. No man will ever be greater than the club, period. Still, we can do well without him, there is a lot of talent on the bench. We have to give Brendan Rogers some more time. Maybe a few new quality signings would help. We need to sign few world class stars like we did when we brought in Xabi Alonso, Torres or a Hyypiä, someone to light up the fire. If the current players like Henderson, Coutinho and other younger guys step it up , get their act together as a unit and start to produce, we'll be on our way again. YNWA

There are bigger and wider problems in English football. Money has ruined everything! Players get paid hundreds of thousands a week… no man should get that money for kicking a ball. They get more in one month that I will ever make in my life with 9 to 5 everyday work. And what's the net effect? The England national team hasn't achieved anything in the World Cup or Euro Cup. Even the Premiership clubs are under achieving in Europe, they are beginning to look like a bunch of overpaid millionaires constantly chasing the ball and lacking any creative quality.

Please tell us how/where you met your other half (or last conquest), and how he/she feels about your hattrick addiction?

Me and women… that´s a happy subject! Estonians are often quoting Hemingway: "In every port in the world, at least two Estonians can be found.“ Happily, in pretty much, every country I go, I now seem to have a girlfriend. As I said before, currently I'm living in Manila, enjoying some great weather, an inexpensive lifestyle and superb Asian hospitality. My current girlfriend doesn't give a damn about Hattrick :D . I once showed her a picture of Steven Gerrard, the only thing she was interested how much money he was making. I told her that he is the captain of Liverpool and he makes £7.2M a year. Her automated response was: "I want to marry him.“ :D

Have you ever been to a hattrick social event, if so please tell us about it, if not will you please arrange one?

I remember watching a Premiership game in a pub in Estonia once, whilst at the same time we had the Hattrick World Cup finals where Estonia played against Czech Republic (2007 March, Estonia won 4-0 which is our only gold medal so far). I'm happy to organize the next meeting for you guys here in Philippines, there are 7200 beautiful islands and some of the most gorgeous beaches in the whole world. Hatrick social events are fun, but they should only be once a year.

Good luck to all fellow Hattrick managers and remember, it´s a long perspective game. It takes time to achieve your goals, so be patient.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErvgV4P6Fzc)