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rbir83 in the hot-seat again.

Written by rbir83

A second interview with respected Premiership manager rbir83, manager of Hairy Chinese Kids, who are now the highest ranked team left in the cup.

Last week, h00ligans were knocked out of the cup by Bungalow (526515341), who you face this week. Last week, the champions opted for a CA, but only had two reported CA chances (with an ET CA rating) one which failed, and the other resulting in a free kick indirect SP goal. Bungalow scored 2 from 3 chances, despite h00logans dominating the respective defense and attack ratings. The luck really seems to be with Bungalow at the moment, which is a difficult thing to prepare for, are you worried?

Bungalow has been on a really good run and I think we'll be closely matched in ratings tonight. I'm not really a believer in fate in the Hattrick world though so I think I have a decent chance of going through.

This is your second interview. Last time it was as the lowest ranked team left in the cup, whilst you were in Div IV (17482) back in season 53. You were promoted that season into III.16, then promoting to II.1 after just two seasons. You won II.1 at your first attempt and were promoted last season into the Premiership where you finished 3rd. This season it seems that matt-'s Vince Hilaire's Afro have bumped Stinging Scorpions out of the top 3, posing a real threat to the Champions (h00ligans). With Ville still in the top 4 what is your assessment of the top 4 in the Premiership, and do you see yourself becoming an "established" top 4 team?

My main aim has always been to establish myself as a top 4 side in the Premiership. There's a fairly significant difference in sponsorship and prize money which makes it profitable just to survive each season and with the strength of the series II leagues below, it's really important to avoid the playoffs. I think I'm probably the weakest of the top 4 at the moment, with the other 3 being very closely matched. My guess is that whichever of us gets the most good luck in the match engine over the season will win the league. At the moment it looks like a two horse race.

hattrick have announced some game engine changes. What do you think this will involve in terms of the ideal team to build, and will it really lead to teams relying on side attacks and/or relatively weak central defence being weakened?

I think if they are able to tweak the player contributions to have more balance between side attacks and central attack then we will at least see a little more variation between teams in the top divisions. It's really hard to tell what the ideal team will be because it depends on which positions they boost and nerf and how big the changes are. The most likely result is that normal forwards will become more powerful. That could have a pretty big impact, especially on the counter-attack tactic. It may become essential for all teams in the higher divisions to own at least one good normal forward if only for the threat of being able to put out a big central attack rating at any time.

Since we last spoke, staff changes have encouraged more polar approaches to training/building resources, and then turning down the training effect with fewer assistants and a higher stamina share for teams competing at the top level. As an example of the latter, please could you update us on your current training stats, in terms of the mix you use of staff and stamina, and your thoughts as to whether this sort of polarization improves the game experience?

I regularly change my training type between playmaking, passing and crossing depending on the teams I've had to put out over the week. Unfortunately, it doesn't make much difference because I only have 1 assistant coach and a 26% stamina share. This means that I've had to give up on prioritising giving training to my young homegrown wingers because my training is so ineffective and it's more important financially to ensure that I make it through each round of the cup and get results in the league.

The new staff system is probably the worst change Hattrick have made since I joined the site 4 years ago. Whereas before I would have to decide whether to take risks in certain games by playing my young trainees, now there is no point because if you want to survive in the higher divisions you need at least one form coach, a medic, a psychologist, a spokesperson and a squad of old players who are cheap and powerful. It effectively forces me to field the same team every game.

You do not have supporter, and last time you told us that you thought the introduction of 2nd teams was a nice idea, and that it was a shame the old management spent all the money. We are now potentially on the edge of a new team 'apocalypse' with a substantial price to platinum, which could have knock on effects to the transfer market and money flow within the game. What are your thoughts on all of this?

I wasn't really a big fan of allowing second teams, I just thought it was a decent way of raising money compared to simply raising the price of supporter. I chose to not renew supporter partly because I think it's too expensive and partly out of principle. I don't agree with Hattrick's policy for increasing the price of supporter based on demand forecasting. Firstly, I think this ignores or at least underestimates outside factors such as the decline in the value of supporter and the site as a whole, as other supporters stop paying. But even if it's more profitable to have fewer numbers of supporters paying more money, the overall negative feeling it generates within the community isn't good for the game. Furthermore, there's a risk that the users who can no longer justify the cost of platinum and have to give up their second teams might decide to just quit Hattrick entirely.

I think that buying supporter should feel more like contributing to a developing project rather than feeling like you're being milked for every possible penny. Perhaps this is too idealistic and I know it's easier said by someone whose wages aren't paid for by HT supporters. However, Hattrick is driven by the community and there are a lot of users who volunteer their time moderating forums, answering questions, mentoring newbies, running federations, writing press releases etc and so I think supporter should be in keeping with this spirit. As for the impact on the in-game economy I have no idea but that's surely an easier fix than losing a large part of the core userbase.

Do you play any other games, what are they, and how do they complement your hattrick manager skills if at all?

I play Fantasy Premier League which is a great game and I'm sure most English users are already aware of it. It's similar to Hattrick in regards to it's slow pace and long-term planning. Otherwise, I don't play many other games anymore. I used to play a lot of Civilization II and Left for Dead II.

Do you have a favorite piece of art you could share with us?

I'm no art connoisseur but I tend to like art that is atmospheric and melancholic and that goes for all art forms. I like romanticism, impressionism and abstract art. One of my favourites is Starry Night Over the Rhone by van Gogh (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone.jpg).

When was the last time you kicked a ball, and what happened?

I honestly can't remember the last time I played football. It must have been around 5 years ago. What probably happened is I charged all over the place like a maniac for about 5 minutes and then collapsed in a wheezing heap on the ground.

In our last interview you mentioned having to stop drinking, and go to the gym more for health reasons. Hopefully you are fit and healthy now, but what actually happened, and are there any lessons to be passed on to some of us more sedentary managers?

It was a long-term illness so nothing brought about by laziness fortunately! I am close to being back to full health and by the end of this year I should be able to drink again. I would recommend starting lifting weights to anyone who hasn't done it before though, if only because it means you can pretty much eat as much as you want and still be in decent shape. I do miss smoking though!

You told us that you had recently graduated last time. Has that led to a flood of employment offers, what did you study, and what's your job? Most importantly how easy is it for you to log into your team from work?

I did my degree part time through the Open University whilst working as a software developer. I studied politics, philosophy & economics and loved it. I was really lucky because I started the degree the year before tuition fees skyrocketed. I strongly recommend the OU to anyone interested in part-time or long-distance study. At the moment I am freelancing so I can log on as often as I want!