Community » Hattrick Press

Conspirator interview

Written by Conspirator

This week, h00ligans were facing a team with no human manager, so we turned to the lowest ranked 'active' manager left in the cup, to get some answers to our questions.

Your team, Kicker Conspiracy knocked out II side The Identity Shakers in the last round (R8) (540809912). You played 2-5-3 (reverting to 3-5-2 against a very tricky looking 4-4-2 CA. Next up you are facing Matt- who some say is going to do the double this season.

I thought we had a decent chance of a result in the last round, purely because there's such a strong PM skillbase throughout my side, meaning we would get enough chances to convert some of them. This week it will take a miracle for us to go through against Vince Hilaire's Afro (540916115). Promotion is our real priority anyway and we can be pleased with our cup run.

You took charge of your team on 1st September 2006 (exactly 9 years ago), and you previous best cup performance was R8, which you did way back in s45 before doing it again last season (s58). You've spent a total of 3 seasons in Div III, and are currently 4pts clear at the top of IV.8. Is your current team the best you've ever had, and how did you set about building it?

This is definitely the best all-round team I've ever had, although I've played my part in developing a number of England internationals in the past, focusing on PM training. I'm now in my 13th(!) season of a strategy which involves developing a whole team in every position (training everything except Goalkeeping). It may prove to be a waste of time but it's been an interesting challenge. I've been stuck in Div IV too long but hope to progress quickly if I don't manage to screw up matches like I did in my last league outing with a stupid mistake setting up my substitutions.

If you have a favourite tune from 2015, please provide a link to vimeo/utube/soundcloud for us to listen, but an older classic tune would be fine too.

There can be only one song choice: the club anthem (http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=46&v=LctPleLOgqk)

As a manager with a platinum supporter, and no second team to go with it, no doubt you have an opinion on the recent price hike to the supporter package?

Personally speaking, I think HT is incredibly good value for money comparing it with any other pastime I spend equivalent amounts of time on. Having said that, the overriding priority for the game has to be to keep player numbers up so the pricing options must suit all pockets.

Please provide a link to your favourite work of art?

How could there be one favourite? But the recent Eric Ravilious exhibition at the Dulwich Gallery was wonderful so how about (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00880/fe6eeef0-d7c7-11e4-_880475c.jpg)

What do you think of the proposed changes to the match engine, and player contribution revisions?

I'm looking forward to the changes to the match engine. At first glance, they don't look too cataclysmic for the way I've been developing my squad but, to be honest, I now need to start doing some serious homework and consider exactly how it will affect my approach to next season.

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

At university. Over two decades, she's never once complained about my football obsessions (HT and real-life) so I'm very lucky.

Your manager page says that you are a Chelsea supporter. With the transfer window closing this weekend, who are the players you've been delighted to see arrive, and who have you been delighted to see leave the club this summer?

Yes, I'm a season-ticket holder and have supported Chelsea for over 40 years (so I've been through the bad times too). Whatever Jose decides will be fine with me but the current problems are much-discussed and so changes will be necessary. Personally, I'd like to see Chelsea go back to the way we used to play with a solid midfield (goodbye Fabregas) and swift, ruthless attack (which would need a new Lampard and Drogba). This tika-taka stuff is horrible and I'm glad to see that the game generally seems to have moved on towards a quicker, more direct and more powerful one (but we haven't, which is why we've struggled this season). Like most Chelsea supporters, I'd love to see some of the youth come through but I might have to wait a bit longer (i.e. forever) for that.

What was your first car (or bike) and what happened to it?

Don't talk to me about cars – I spent this morning being towed a hundred miles home by the AA.

(Ed. You are not the only one. I spent this evening waiting for a recovery truck, thanks to me stupidly putting petrol into a diesel. As a result we didn't get this interview up until after the cup games were run)

Thanks for inviting me to answer some questions.