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Craig Wozniak Cup Winner's Interview

Written by dangreen1104

Last season, after dropping out of the English Cup (main) Dan took his team DG's Dodgers! on to win the Craig Wozniak Cup. We caught up with him over the off season, and asked him a few questions.

You joined Hattrick in May 2008. How did you hear about it?

I think I actually first started back around 2002 with a different club. I began playing Hattrick after starting a new job and being introduced to it by a work colleague. I played for a few seasons making all the usual mistakes and eventually gave up. I was then reunited with HT when I visited an old friend who was active, which made me want to re-join.

After being knocked out of the English Cup somewhat unluckily (526256359) in round 6 you were then parachuted into the Craig Wozniak Cup during your 2nd ever season in Division III. In the final (527186941) you won 5-1 with a strong midfield and attack, but lower overall hatstats, what were your thoughts going into the match?

To be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect in the final and decided to stick to my usual crowding of the midfield. The 5-1 score line was quite flattering as I was expecting a much tighter affair. I knew we would have a good shout in the final though, a couple of key players were back from injury and suspension at the right time.

You have won a consolation cup now, but do you have any ambitions to win bigger prizes?

Oh yes, I now take the cup very seriously and always play my strongest side. Traditionally the cups were used to give the reserves a run out until a few seasons ago.

You have an all English squad, without many home-grown players. You've also picked plenty of spec players, but very few Heads or Quicks. Is this a deliberate strategy?

I switched to an all English side in an attempt to keep the wages down. They can get pretty high with the rise in quality of player required, if you want to move up through the leagues. When it comes to specialities it all depends on if the player is going to be a trainee or not and also the current training regime. A few seasons back whilst in the lower league I was a defence trainer and my team then consisted of a majority of quick and powerful players.

You've probably noticed that some changes to the match engine will be implemented in 16 weeks time. What do you think of the proposals, and how do you anticipate adapting your team to take advantage of the changes?

We will have to see how the impacts reflect on match ratings before I go drastically changing things. The reductions to offensive wingers and playmaking increases to normal forwards appear to be quite frustrating, as my team utilises defensive forwards and offensive wingers.

You have a complete away flag collection (256/256), but only 26 home match flags. Is that something you’ve purposefully worked on?

I’ve always concentrated on the away flags and now that they are all collected I am chipping away at the home flags. I decided to go for the away flags first as I thought it would be easier to travel abroad to play friendlies than to ask teams to travel to England. In the early seasons I was able to collect a lot of new flags but the rate of accumulation has really slowed down now due to progressing further in cup competitions.

You have a gold supporter. Please give us your opinion on the recent price restructuring?

To be honest the price of everything has increased over the years so I don’t see a problem with paying a little more for supporter. It does seem to have been quite an issue with the HT community over the years but unfortunately the price of things will always increase.

You are a member of 6 federations. Which is your favourite and why?

I must admit to not being so close to the federations of late. I was a big user whilst trying to collect Manager achievements and rare flags and I’m sure I will be back again when I get a chance to have a go at this again.

What tips would you give a newbie manager?

Training is key and you also need plenty of patience. After deciding what training regime you’re going to follow you want to get a solid foundation of trainees and to concentrate on training results, not match results. As long as you are patient the team results will improve and you will reap the rewards of your training.

What skill(s) are you currently training and what stamina percentage are you currently using and why?

I am currently training scoring with a stamina percentage of 13%. After a few seasons of playmaking training I have switched over to scoring because I’m tempted to change things up formation wise. I just think I decided on 13% a few years back and never really played with it too much. Over the years my team has always been full of younger players but maybe I do now need to increase my stamina percentage, especially with my average team age increasing.

If your team had a song to run out to (maybe it does!), what would it be? And while we're on the subject of music, what album would you want on a desert island if you could only take one.

A personal favourite of mine is Ace of Spades by Motorhead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iwC2QljLn4) which I think is quite funky and upbeat to get the team and fans going. If was to be lost on a desert island I think the album that I would most like to have would be Experience by The Prodigy. This album has so many memories to me from my earlier years and I still love hearing it.

How many hours a week do you spend on Hattrick?

My time on here has definitely decreased over the years and I probably only spend a few hours a week looking after my team. In the early stages when trying to learn more and setting up the team I could easily spend 8-10 hours a week but now I don’t need to so much. Every now and again when I’m scouting for new players or changing training regimes then I will be a bit more active for a few weeks.

I see that you are a Reading/Liverpool supporter. What do you make of Liverpool's summer signings so far, and do you see Reading being relegated from the Championship next season?

I’m quite happy with the players Liverpool have brought in and hopefully the players that arrived last year will click a bit more too. We’ve made good signings to replace leaving players and the owners have been quite shrewd and quick to get their business done early.

You never know how things will go for Reading as the Championship is such a tough division. Hopefully they will have enough to avoid the drop but I won’t be panicking just yet.

When did you last kick a football, and what happened?

I actually play 6 a side on Thursday evenings and last week we won 1-0. I play in goal so it was nice to keep a clean sheet too.

What's your favourite drink? And where would be the ideal place to drink it?

My favourite drink is definitely a Mojito with plenty of rum and mint. Ideal place would have to be sat on a sun lounger on a beach, hopefully not a deserted one though.

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

We met about 4 months ago in a pub after I had been out for a curry night with the football lads. I struck up conversation and then we ended up talking for hours. She did have a chuckle when I explained Hattrick to her and she couldn’t stop laughing at the player profile pictures.

What was the last book you read? Was it any good? (or please provide a link to your favourite work of art)

I’m currently reading a book called Who’s Your Caddy? by Rick Reilly (https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Who_s_Your_Caddy.html?id=8jmScX3bIXkC&source=kp_cover&hl=en) . I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick laugh and one who wants to get an insight on walking with some of the pros on the PGA.

Your home is on fire. (Don’t panic! It’s not. This is just theoretical. Unless you can smell smoke. Then I hope you’ve invested in a fire blanket.) You can save one object. What would it be?

This is an easy one, my laptop. It’s just used for too many things in my life and it would definitely be the thing I would miss the most, if all my possessions were gone.

What question should I have asked you that I haven't?

This is a tough question as you seem to have covered most of the bases but maybe something regarding recent or upcoming vacations. Or a question about pets, most people have an animal or two roaming around at home.