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GeissbockHennes: I'd like to see some more tactical options

Written by emsi9

An interview with GeissbockHennes (1806088), manager of the Bajan Billy Goats (987670) from Barbados Premier League.

In general, I think it's important to make some smaller changes to the gameplay every few months that users have to adapt to, and that help keep the game interesting for everyone

- Could you please introduce yourself?
I am 46 years old, originally from Germany but living in New York State since the end of '99. I've been playing HT since October 2004. Started out in division V of the US league back then. Made it up to the Major League for 3 Seasons and managed to win the Cup once, but then went back down to rebuild. My Barbados team is currently in the Premier League. Unfortunately, due to the price increases I am not willing to buy Platinum supporter anymore, so this will be my last competitive season with Barbados as I will be losing my team in the middle of the next season.

- Did you have a mentor at the beginning of your career to help and guide you through the first steps of running your team?
Not really, there were a couple of league mates who gave me some tips and I read the forums and manual a lot. I probably made all of the newbie mistakes, like not having a proper training program, having the wrong number of staff members, buying the wrong players, overspending, etc. But it was a good learning experience.

- You have your second team in Barbados. Why did you choose this country? Are you connected to it somehow (RL or HT)? How do you interact with locals, if at all?
I'm a flag chaser and Barbados has always been one of the smallest and hardest to get flags, so I was very excited when I managed to land a team there. Also, match times are Sunday and Wednesday afternoon my local time, so that worked out well also for following matches live. What was also nice is starting up in a small country where it doesn't take as long to be successful as in bigger leagues. As for interaction, I haven't had much contact with locals except for a couple of match comments as far as I can remember. Barbados does have a pretty active community, but you don't see a lot of locals posting on the forums, mostly it's managers with second teams. I have to admit though that I didn't actively seek to connect with locals either.

- Tell us something about your second team. What is the inspiration for your team name?
The name comes from the mascot of my favorite football club in Germany, 1. FC Köln. Their mascot is a live Billy Goat named Hennes. The logo looks kinda similar, too. This was also the inspiration for my manager and first team's name.

(http://www.dw.com/image/0,,15629220_303,00.jpg)

- If second teams had been allowed only in your own country, would you have opened one?
Absolutely! One of the most interesting aspects of having a second team for me was being able to start from zero again.

- What motivates you to continue in Hattrick after so many years?
Well, my motivation has gone down somewhat lately, but I think that this is only natural after playing for 11+ years. I like that the game is slower paced and you don't have to be online constantly. I still want to complete my flag collection, so that's a motivator that'll keep me going for a little bit. Also, the community and federations are a big part of keeping me interested.

- How do you see HT in the future? Are there any feature you would like to have developed or changed?
It's hard to make a prediction. I hope the user decline will eventually slow down and the game will stay alive for a few more years. In terms of gameplay, I'd like to see some more tactical options and maybe the importance of midfield reduced somewhat. A complete restart for all users could be an interesting concept, too. In general, I think it's important to make some smaller changes to the gameplay every few months that users have to adapt to, and that help keep the game interesting for everyone.