In The Spotlight – a new and in-depth look at some of the managers and their teams from the HTUM-federation.

The town of Banská Štiavnica in Central Slovakia is home to MOD-paul33, manager of the locally based FK Sitno Banská Štiavnica. In the interview with the HTUM fed blog reporter Paul33 talks about the past few years when he has been “sheriffing” the public forums as a MOD and his long-term plans for FK Sitno Banská Štiavnica.

Thanks for taking out the time to talk to us, Paul33. Can you tell the readers something about yourself?

Paul33

I am 23 years old and I’m studying management science. Besides sitting @Hattrick I enjoy running and football. I don’t really support any team. I like Manchester United, Bayern Munchen and Juventus at present and I was a fan of Real Madrid during the era of Zidane, Rául, Beckham, Figo, Robert Carlos etc. Nowadays I prefer watching those three teams mentioned, but only in the Champions League. I like to watch cycling and NHL (Colorado Avalanche) a lot, but I like all sorts of sports. I haven’t seen any Avalanche game yet, but I had an option via Eurolanche.com – the first Avalanche European fan club! The fan club made five trips to Denver already, the last one on March 13!

Another hobby beside sports is probably marketing. I really like all kinds of marketing and advertising. I study a lot of case studies about this topic. I also like being with friends or playing some game with them – like poker.

You currently live in Banská Štiavnica. Is there anything particular about the region, something you would recommend people to see/visit? What would you recommend people to eat and drink when visiting?
Banská Štiavnica is an old mining town with the first Mining Academy in the world, established by Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. There is a lot to see, such as the Old and New Castle, the Slovak Mining Museum, etc. Also, I recommend a visit to the brewery Erb. Every beer there is tasty, but also a bit expensive (for a student definitely!). For our region there is no specific food I think, but the Slovak national food is “Bryndzové halušky” (sheep cheese dumplings) – AWESOME FOOD!

Bryndzové halušky

What made you start blogging on HTU? What are your plans with your blog?

I really like to talk. On the internet you can mostly just write. I really like sport and commenting, if possible (haha lol). So I made a blog to I do what I like. There no plans right now, I don’t have much time for the blog at present, but maybe in the future I’ll write in English if there will be an interest.

How does one become a MOD? Do you apply for the job or get contacted?

I think I became a MOD in June 2011. I was contacted by a local GM because former moderators were busy and did not have much time left to moderate. So I was asked to join, because I was pretty active. An experienced MOD gave me a lecture on what to do and how.

What are your main tasks? How much time do you spent on average sheriffing the forums?

As moderators we have to make and keep a pleasant environment on the public forums. We have to use our tools to make people behave on the forums, e.g. avoiding any kind of offense and keeping the rules of the forums. It is hard to say how long it takes per day. It depends on the activity of the community. For example on Friday evening, when the U20/NT matches are played there are much more posts than normally.

What do you like most/least about being a MOD?
Hm….I really hate when I have to solve some bigger issues. I don’t even enjoy banning. What I like at most? I have no idea, haha Well, being a mod is no fun at all. As I said, we have to make a pleasurable environment, but some people just don’t like it when their post is deleted or they are banned for breaking the rules. I guess there are no funny stories. I log in, I check the forums, I moderate them. Daily. So it’s a routine and a habit I think. And someone has to do it.

What are your plans for the future – as a MOD, but also for your own team?
As moderator I want to act in such a way that I won’t be a “badass” for the users. As far as my own team is concerned, I started a rebuilding project and I am training passing right now. I want to grow my own inner midfielders and technical defensive forwards (TDF) (for the team core) and I bought forwards and wingers. In about one or two seasons I would like to promote to Division III. It is definitely a long term project – at least the way I do it. I started out by training the inner midfielders in playmaking with the idea to switch to passing when they reach a certain level of playmaking. In the process I found out what a TDF is and how cool it is. So I bought some TDFs and trained them in playmaking. I am training passing presently, which benefits both inner midfielders and TDFs. Afterwards I will switch to scoring to “finish of” my TDFs.

Thanks for talking to us and best of luck with the team project and as a moderator!

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The ninth interview in the ‘In the Spotlight’-series of the HTUM fed blog took place in Sydney, Australia. The blog reporter virtually travelled to the other side of the world to meet up with Kitto, the experienced manager of Sera’s Angels. Kitto has been active for almost a decade on HT, the last five years in various official positions (MOD, GM and now NTA), and talks about both his team as well as life as an HT-official.

Kitto, thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to the HTUM blog. Can you tell the readers something about yourself – who is the man behind GM-Kitto and what is the story behind the name?

I’ve been playing Hattrick for almost 10 years. It is the longest relationship I’ve had! I used to play a MUD called MUME, Multi-Users in Middle Earth, based on the Lord of the Rings. A friend of mine had a character called Ritto, so I made one called Kitto – a beorning man (a race of men in Middle Earth) if I remember correctly. When he started playing Hattrick, I joined with the name Kitto. We both play Hattrick and unfortunately he is doing better than I am. My first team name was Mumi United – we played MUME at University so we often said we went to Mumi (a joining of the two words).

Outside of HT, I live south west of Sydney, and in between jobs at the moment. I play field hockey which keeps me busy. I’m a goalkeeper, and usually end up with bruises after every match. I played a lot as a kid and got back into the game last year. I’m now playing in the top division in my local area.

You currently live in Sydney. Is there anything particular about the region, something you would recommend people to see/visit? Where would you recommend people to eat and drink when visiting Sydney?

If you visit Sydney, there are a few obvious places to visit. I used to walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge every day on the way to work. In the morning, as the sun was rising, you could see the water shine and the ferries scurry about far below, and the cars would race beside you. You have a good view of the Opera House and the beautiful houses alongside the water. I never got sick of that walk. The Rocks is probably the oldest area of Sydney, right on the waterfront. There are a lot of bars that have rooftop areas where you can sit and have a great view of the city. I love the old sandstone buildings and the history this place has.

Unlike many HTU blogs, you do not really blog a lot about your own team, but touch upon a wide variety of topics both related to HT – whether it is the new supporter package (and second teams) or HT meetings in RL – or outside of HT (like the recipe for Buttermilk Rusks). What made you decide to blog in general and on these topics in particular?

I want my posts to have a wide appeal. I don’t think anyone except me is really interested in my team, and since I’ve been playing the game for a long time, most of that as an official, I hope that I can contribute a unique insight into general issues effecting the game that no one else can provide. I’m hoping that will make my blog popular.

The last five years you have been ‘officially’ active on HT. How does one become involved and what are your main tasks?
Just over 5 years ago I was asked if I wanted to be a MOD. I was quite the spammer on the forums at the time – I think I was subscribed to just about every English speaking forum available. I was able to make a lot of friends around the world and provide help to many newbies. I organised competitions and a mentoring scheme. I guess I was asked because I seemed to be everywhere.
Later I was asked to become a GM after an existing one decided to step down. I have since moved into a more specialised role as a National Team Administrator (NTA). This means I no longer deal with new team applications or cheat reports – only issues that effect national teams, such as player releases, sabotage or elections. Just about all of the NTA work is handled by myself and one other GM. There always seems to be some new drama each election which keeps things interesting.

Are there any interesting/funny stories you can share from your time as a GM (without getting into trouble yourself)?
The most fun I’ve had as an official was the April Fool’s Day prank in 2009. A MyHT was released in Oceania saying that there was going to be a split into Australia and New Zealand. It is a very long running argument in Oceania with very little number of people wanting to split the community, which made the “announcement” more effective.

What are your plans for the future with Sera’s Angels?
My own team is part way into a very long plan, so I’m not really concentrating on results. I want to reach the top division some day. A few seasons ago I bought 5 17 year old Oceanian technical players very cheaply, along with three high skilled wingers and two titanic forwards, all with nice specialties. I’ve trained them all up to around supernatural, and now I’m training playmaking. I’ll do a few weeks here and there of scoring training, so at the end I should have a really strong team to take on the highest divisions, and also the cup.

Thanks for talking to us and best of luck with Sera’s Angels and as a HT-official.

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A new and in-depth look at some of the managers (and their teams) from the HTUM-federation.

For the already eighth installment of the ‘In the Spotlight’ interview series, the fed blog reporter virtually traveled across the Atlantic to meet up on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco with Jaeboo. The manager of US Division V team, Sidekicks FC, is currently the only female manager in the HTUM federation. Her youth team, SF Youth, is certainly not unknown to other managers playing the HTUM youth leagues – with several former youth players already forming an important part of her senior team, trying to make it all the way to the Major League in the USA.

Jaeboo, thanks for taking the time out to talk to us. Can you tell the readers something more about yourself?

Jaeboo

My username is a nickname my family and friends call me. I got it from when I was a toddler, because I would scrape my knees frequently from playing outside. It’s short for “just a boo boo”. I believe Jboo was taken, so I selected Jaeboo. I am in my early 20’s and I reside in the United States. My interests include being outside in warm weather, socializing/making new friends, traveling, and playing cribbage with my grandfather.

You currently live in San Francisco. For most HTUM members this will probably bring up images of the Golden Gate Bridge and similar sites. Is there anything particular about the city, something you would recommend people to visit outside of the ‘main tourist sites’? What would you recommend people to eat and drink when visiting San Francisco?

San Francisco

If you are someone who tends to steer toward leniency regarding the speed limit, I would suggest renting a car and cruising fast down some of the streets of San Francisco. San Francisco doesn’t have a roller coaster in the city, so this is the closest you are going to get. There are some really great streets that make your stomach drop. I am not going to say my favorite streets, as I hate traffic and lines, but give it a try… if you don’t mind a potential speeding ticket. It’s fun.

San Francisco has every food you will crave. Depending on what district you are in, there are a bucket load of great options. When I was new to the city, I would pick random people off the street, and ask for their recommendation. If you like donuts, I would suggest heading to Bob’s Donuts on Nob Hill. It is a 24-hour donut shop, and has very good donuts. They also sell a gigantic donut and if you can finish it in 3 minutes you get your donut for free, a t-shirt, and your name on the wall. Unfortunately, that’s never happened for me. Not sure how possible it is either. I also like Pancho Villa Taqueria. It’s located on Mission Street. They have huge burritos, and it comes with guacamole and sour cream (I feel like every place nowadays makes you pay extra for it). I LOVE THIS PLACE.

How did you find out about HT and what keeps you interested in the game?

From googling soccer stuff I came across it. I like Hattrick because I enjoy soccer. I think it’s fun taking a different perspective then the playing side of the game. I also enjoy the friendships I have formed with the people on here. I think I am a very competitive person, so what keeps me coming back is the illusion that my team will make it to the MLS one day. Oh yeah, and the great people, that too.

What do you feel is missing in HT to make the game more interesting for you?

This would never happen, as in real life it is not like this, but then again a lot of things in HT are not realistic. I think it would be cool if there were maybe, a small percentage of women that could play. Like 1% of the player population.

How do you keep informed on the development of your team and where do you get your information on tactics, team management etc?

I use HT organizer. I also have two mentors and read the forums for specific questions. When I first started, I was so absorbed into the game I printed out the HT manual and bound it. I then would put notes in the margins and take it with me to places.

Where did you come across your mentors? What do you in general discuss with your mentors?

My brain is kind of fuzzy, but I think I remember getting my mentor’s from the US forum. Also, some people randomly started messaging me asking me if I wanted help and they kind of have become my mentors as well. With my mentors, I discuss a wide variety of things, ranging from what I got for Christmas, to match strategy. Nowadays I think I kind of trust my judgment, so I only ask for their help when I am going against a tough opponent. I also ask them about what certain players I should look for in the transfer market to help my team. Unfortunately, this upcoming season will be a very tough season for me.

Clint Waterman

Your senior squad, Sidekicks FC, has a reasonable large number of players that started out in your YA (SF Youth). Clint Waterman, whom managers playing the HTUM youth leagues might remember, as he was the second best Division I player in the inaugural season, is one of many. Is this a mere coincidence or a long term strategy to implement as many YA players as possible into your senior team?

Yeah, I’m trying it out, seeing how it works for me. I think the difference will come down to if their performance still surpasses players I bring onto the team two or three seasons from now. I kind of want to have my team full of specialties, and some of my homegrown players lack that. So I might end up selling them after my transferred players reach divine loyalty.

Would you ever be interested in training a player for a U20/NT – even if it might be at the detriment of your own team?

I’m actually pulling up two youth players in the next month that have a great chance at making the youth national team as wingers if trained right. They even have specialties. Unfortunately for me, it’s not the right time to train that, so I am going to sell them and use the money to buy one huge impact player for my team. Right now, I’d rather focus on my team’s success, and maybe after I reach the Major League I will change my ambitions.

What are your long term ambitions with your senior team? What would you like to achieve?

This sounds completely nerdy. But one day I hope to make it to the MLS. Once I do that, or fail to do that, I probably will try to win the cup. I have quickly come to realize that the higher you advance in a division, the more addicted and difficult of an opponent you face. So I understand that this may never happen because I want to have a life (not saying those who do win, don’t have a life. Just saying if it came to my priorities, HT would not be at the top)

Thanks for talking to us – and best of luck to you and Sidekicks FC in the new season!

Don’t miss out on previous ‘In the Spotlight’ interviews!

In The Spotlight – a new and in-depth look at some of the managers and their teams from the HTUM-federation.

In Rochdale resides a manager with a special knack for finding and nurturing talent. In his hometown he trained local lad Charles ‘Charlieboy’ Colbourne, already a two time winner of the HTUM Goalkeeper of the Season Award, to the England U20 team (and a NT hopeful) and worldwide he scouts and monitors (would-be) players for the England and Brunei NT and for the Bangladesh U20. It’s Politzia of Rochdale United!

Politzia, thanks for taking the time out for this interview. Before touching upon the main topic of this interview, can you first tell the readers something about yourself – who is the man behind Politzia?
Who is Politzia? That’s a good question that I guess can only be answered by going back to the beginning. When Rochdale United came into ‘being’, I started with the user name Pirahna1uk. This name I had used for all other online games, so it made sense to use it here. Over time I got to know various managers through HT-mail. This progressed to me being invited to meet up with managers in my area, who also played Hattrick at what they called ‘Super Sunday’ at one of the other managers’ house. Before I arrived at my first meet, some of the other managers were concerned that I could be anyone, good or bad. Some even suspected I may be the Police. This is where my name came from. One of the managers I met coined the name Politzia, with which he greeted me with on numerous meets, so I decided that as I was being called Politzia, that I may as well change my manager’s name to Politzia.
Outside of Hattrick, I’m known as Chris (29), a husband, and father to two gorgeous girls 7 and 4. I work full-time as a Senior Care Assistant on a Residential Dementia Unit, but I’m looking at completing FA coaching badges, with a view to becoming a football coach professionally. Musically, I enjoy listening mainly to Rock music, and also play a bit of guitar.

You live in Rochdale (Greater Manchester). Is there anything particular about the region, something you would recommend people to visit? What would you recommend people to eat and drink when visiting the Rochdale region?

Rochdale’s Town Hall

Personally I love Rochdale, it’s my home town, and the place I spent most of my life. I met my wife here, and my kids were born here. Rochdale does however have a bit of a bad reputation as of recent; however what is seen in the news, in my opinion, doesn’t reflect accurately the town.
Rochdale is world famous as the birth place of the co-operative movement, and Rochdale’s Town Hall is a grade I listed building, dating back to 1871, and is one of the UK’s finest examples of Victorian Gothic revival architecture. Rochdale’s Town Hall is said to have come to Adolf Hitler’s attention, and that he wished to ship it brick by brick to Nazi Germany. The town hall obviously is a good place to visit, then opposite the town hall is Rochdale’s war memorial. A special place for me as that is where I proposed to my then girlfriend, now wife.

One of the best places to eat is China City, a Chinese restaurant near the centre of town. The food is amazing, and the decor is impressive. I would also suggest if you consider venturing out a little further from the centre, to visit the Copper Pot, an Indian restaurant situated in Sandbrook Park. It is surrounded buy laser quest, pin bowling, cinema, B&Q and a few other eating establishments, so you can have a day out as well.
Rochdale is also home to the Rochdale Hornets is one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, making it one of the world’s first rugby league teams. I’d like to direct you to Rochdale’s Wikipedia page, as there is so much history of this town, that I could be writing all night.

Outside of Rochdale, you are involved in the scouting network for England, Brunei and Bangladesh. While a connection to the England NT is not that extraordinary for an Englishman, how does one happen to end up scouting for countries like Brunei and Bangladesh?
I first got involved by taking on a player to train for both Brunei and Bangladesh, from there, when the scouting positions came up, I applied and was accepted. Simple as that! At the start of Global season 50, however, I decided to vacate my scouting positions as I had become disillusioned with the NT, after a farce of a campaign with England’s previous manager Ville. Whilst I admit to voting for him, and in some cases sticking up for him, I felt he let a lot of people down with his actions, and the fallout that came from his actions meant I was constantly reading numerous negative posts, which all said the same things. However when I saw that England had been drawn in the same group as Brunei and Bangladesh, I felt that this was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down, and resumed my scouting position for Brunei. (I would just like to clarify, despite remaining in the England NT fed and the Brunei NT fed, I disclosed no information to either side about the other). This season I have enjoyed the NT side of HT more than at any other time.

What exactly do you take care of as a scout? Can you describe some of the activities that you are involved in?

As a scout I’m the manager’s eyes and ears for whichever position I may be the scout for (playmaker for England & Brunei, U20 keeper for Bangladesh). I’m required to track the players, or bookmark them, I have numerous writing-pads with players id numbers, skills etc at home. I will also search on regular occasions for players that may not be currently being tracked, to ensure that the nations have the best players to choose from.

I also will contact the managers of the players being scouted, for updates on training, skills, stamina share etc, and try to work with them to craft these players into world beaters. I will also have spreadsheets and databases that I will sometimes need to manually update, these will be accessible by the NT/U20 managers, allowing them to be able to monitor these players also, and enable them to select the best possible squad for each tournament.

I find there is very little difference between how I operate between England, Brunei and Bangladesh. Sometimes I will need to use google translate to help get the messages across, which is more so in Brunei and Bangladesh as they tend to have more international trainers than England. It’s also harder to find the gems, as there is generally a smaller pool of players, especially when it comes to specs.

What do you consider the hardest part of your scouting role? And the most enjoyable?
The hardest point is probably translating some of the answers. Even with google translate, some things still don’t make sense. Whilst none of the poor translations have yet made me chuckle, no doubt it will happen at some point
The most enjoyable, for me at least, is getting to know other managers, and being involved in creating something. It’s certainly not a one man show, and there is room for many people to get involved, each bringing with them their own strengths and weaknesses. Pulling all those characters together and getting them to work as a well oiled machine can sometimes be quite an achievement, so to be a cog in that machine when its running perfectly is a proud thing for me.

You do not only scout for several NT/U20s, but also had a home-grown England U20 GK in your team – Charles ‘Charlieboy’ Colbourne. When and how did you realise his U20 potential?

‘Charlieboy’

‘Charlieboy’ was my first major player from my youth academy. Once I realised he had solid keeping, and with him only being a young 15 yr old, all my focus went into him. I managed to max him out in his keeping, defending and set pieces, and promote him at 17.0. Foxtrick had previously informed me of his Q1 14/14 status, meaning he could play all 14 matches in the first qualifying stage, making him the perfect candidate for England’s U20′s.
I must add, in RL I’m a goalkeeper, and want to train to be a goalkeeping coach, so I had a buzz for training a keeper to U20 level, and beyond that to NT level. I set about training Colbourne, and my squad went into a kind of stasis as everything revolved around him and giving him the best chance. I was fortunate to not pick up much in the way of injuries; this allowed me to get Charlie into an excellent position. This meant the rest of my team suffered, except for any set piece training I was doing. The income from selling my second keepers, meant I could improve my team slowly, but as I wasn’t selling Charlie, it meant I only had the one sellable trainee which took around 1.5 seasons to train before selling.

In the friendly season before the U20′s kicked off, my keeper was talked about a lot in the fed, his defensive skill was higher than his nearest rival (Jones), but his keeping skill was lower. Because of this he was overlooked for most of the friendlies, until towards the end of that season. Charlie managed to make it to the bench sometimes, but never quite made it onto the pitch, until finally making an appearance. By this point he was developing so well, that he caught up with Jones, and actually overtook him in skills, putting him into prime position, but then the cruel hand of fate struck, Charlie’s form took a nosedive. The new manager came in, and chose his squad; leaving Charlie out due to his form. Charlie’s form took over half a season to climb back up, but by then, England’s campaign was a bit touch and go, and they didn’t want to risk to TS hit.

What holds the future for ‘Charlie Boy’? Does he stand a chance of playing for the England NT in the future? How far would you go in keeping and training him yourself for the NT (to the detriment of your own team) – or would you rather transfer him?

‘Charlieboy’ will not be sold! He’s a future Hall of Famer, and has been integral to my club’s survival this season. I have moved onto defence training, and he has recently improved his defending, however this has been from a no training position, so he has dropped a little behind some of his competition. However, I’ve noticed that he isn’t far behind, and still has the potential to play for the English NT side. This has got me to thinking that I may start to train him again, but I remain undecided on the matter.

I am though at the point where I feel I need to focus on the rest of my team as well, and started a long-term project half way through Season 48, to build a home grown team, starting from the back. I’m currently working on my defence, but whilst ‘Charlieboy’ could benefit from that training, I’m too reliant on him being in goal in my league matches and don’t want to risk losing him to injury by playing him outfield in the friendlies.

Thanks for talking to us. We wish Rochdale United and their extremely talented goalkeeper Charles ‘Charlieboy’ Colbourne the best of luck in the barely started new season!

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Georg Casabella

A few weeks ago Leebebbs, manager of the Flaming Wodkas FC, founder of the prestigious Golden League and member of the board of the HTU Manager Federation received a request of the national coach of Dawlat Qatar, CoPredator, asking whether he could give the NT blog a complete makeover. He didn’t hesitate and began the work together with some other members of our federation (every single one a genius ) and together they created the new blog design for the Qatari NT within the shortest amount of time. After the work was done, I had the privilege to ask the involved parties – Leebebbs of the Flaming Wodkas FC (Poland), Emo_e_Bushido of AFC Wirschtlstand (Austria), Cuomos of Vi Flæsker jer (Denmark) and Vgrille of Los Mejores Fútbol Club (Brasil) – some questions.

Even though I thought I knew the answers I would get for the first question I still had to ask: what made you decide to help the Qatari NT out?

Vgrille: I think it was the opportunity to work on a blog that is not mine together with some of the ‘experts’ of the FED in a project that can help HTU to become more used.

Cuomos: First of all because I like challenges, in this case it’s both the CSS part and especially the graphical part. Solving “stuff” gives me a kick and I learn from it every time

Emo_e_Bushido: Why not? It’s an initiative Lee wanted to involve more people from the fed in. And when I can help and have some spare time to invest, then I do what I can.

Leebebbs: It seemed the natural thing to do, taking into account the range of talents in our Federation. We have people who can handle any aspect of blog design. Our Federation is for HT users who have Hattrick United blogs… why wouldn’t we start moving on to creating high profile blogs, and where better than for national teams?

Interesting answers and I have to say, that I expected answers including the word ‘fun’ but this word wasn’t mentioned once. During the work on this project the involved parties put their minds and skills together and discussed many things in hundreds of posts in a specially created thread on the HTUM forum. Many issues had to be solved, but what was the biggest challenge from their point of view?

Vgrille

Vgrille: Definitely the biggest challenge was to have ideas for what to do in the blog. When you’re designing your club’s blog you already know what you’re going to do, you already know the story behind your club and if you don’t you can create it, but when you’re working on a NT blog it’s completely different, you don’t have a story for it and you can’t create it and as no one was a follower of the Qatari team we couldn’t do some things that we normally do on our own blogs. Fortunately, with 4 of us working together we obtained a great result.

Cuomos: The biggest challenge was to implement the pendant! But also: being somehow green, but willing (LOL sounds corny ) to learn about CSS, gave (and gives) a huge challenge when you are supposed to do something that you don’t really know how to do. I wasn’t the one solving it (the pendant thing), but I had my go at it and it’s a good feeling searching out what exactly the code should be to make it work. The good thing about CSS is that simply by looking at the source code you can learn – also if you are a complete novice (that’s how I started up with CSS!). Beside that Firefox has a great incorporated CSS tool part that helps you out regarding the CSS code on an internet page.

Emo_e_Bushido: To keep the freaking pendant at a fixed place. The default.css is a bit confusing here. Glad we made it, eventually.

Leebebbs

Leebebbs: The biggest challenge was something that became easy to overcome. In the beginning of the project, I was the only user able to directly access the blog. Now I know that our later solution (adding all the workers as users) was a much more effective way of working. It enabled much quicker resolution of problems that couldn’t always be translated or explained via the Federation forum.

The pendant was indeed a major challenge and I read many posts on the subject in the forum. In every project there are challenges and of course throwbacks, but I was not interested only in the bad but also in the good things that happened during this project. What was the highlight during your work on this design?

Vgrille: Well, I was the one that worked the least, so let’s just say it was the final look of the blog

Cuomos: Answering that a bit teasingly would be to say; the result! The result of several people’s teamwork, everything working out and the immense joy about it afterwards.

Emo_e_Bushido: I think we all, and I explicitly include myself here, learned a few things

Leebebbs: We now have a working template with which to quickly redesign any NT blog, and a team of people who are just chomping at the bit to do our next project.

Can you hear the ‘proud-ness’ and the happiness? Since this project wasn’t finished in only a day or two and all of the involved parties are busy in a RL-job, they had to give some (or a lot) of their spare time to do this excellent work. That’s why I wanted to know whether they would join the team again if there would be another job like this?

Vgrille: Without hesitation

Cuomos

Cuomos: It’s a plain and simple; Sure! As mentioned before, I love the challenges. One should remember that the deadline for this project wasn’t a couple of days (at all), but as so many contribute, we only work on small pieces each. Sure it takes time, but the time span isn’t that big as if 1-2 people should have fixed everything themselves. Beside that it’s a bit like a snowball effect – when it first starts to roll form top of the hill, it won’t stop until it hits the valley! By that I mean that you get encouraged by the job done by your “team-mates” and things just kind of develop step by step, fast and smooth because so many are helping out. It doesn’t feel like a huge amount of work (at least I didn’t feel it that way) – again simply because it’s teamwork – I love teamwork

Emo_e_Bushido: yes, anytime

Leebebbs: Speaking for myself, I would be really disappointed if the NT blog of Qatar was the only blog we put our ‘special’ stamp on. I’m sure in future projects there will be some new guys who help out and the usual suspects as well. We all get a kick out of it, and for different reasons. It’s a brilliant mix.

Great – while most assure that they’ll do it again Lee would be disappointed if there won’t be a following project. As far as I know these guys, I know that if they are working on things like this, they’ll do it with all of their heart and they won’t be happy before the result is perfect. But is it really perfect? The final look is awesome, but would they still like to change something?

Vgrille: I wouldn’t say it’s perfect, but it was the best we could do and I think that this is enough.

Cuomos: Hmm…a good question really. A part of me says that if you really think you can’t do anything better, then you miss something, while another part of me says “it’s okay to be happy and proud of something”. Most of all I think that – No, I would not change anything – but I guess that there can always be small tiny parts where you think that this or that would look nice, but I guess it has to do with taste after all.

Emo_e_Bushido

Emo_e_Bushido: As said in the Qatari thread already, I tend to be a perfectionist. So it’s never done. I was thinking there could be more custom widgets with own images/links. Also the horrific yellowish/green default colors from the hattrickunited logo don’t fit at all to the color scheme. I’d liked it better if we replaced it. However, I can certainly live with how it is now.

Leebebbs: If it was my blog, yes of course I would still be working on it. However, I think at some point when you redesign a blog for someone else you just have to hand it over and let them continue with the content. The NT manager has a beautiful blog now, and will be able to mould it in the direction that he sees fit. I think we took it to a level that he and we can be proud of. Can we take it to a new level on our next project? I think that is all of our aims.

These answers were no surprise at all. As I mentioned above all the involved mates are perfectionists and therefore they may always change something. Usually if a project is done and it is handed over, instructions and advice are included. In this case there won’t be any instructions but for sure every one of the men on duty had something to say. I wanted to give them the chance – I’m sure that the ‘customers’ is very happy about the result. Would you give them some final advice?

Vgrille: Just… Take care of the blog and don’t let it die

Cuomos: Two things. First thing is to remember to keep using the blog and the last thing is don’t hesitate to come back if there’s anything about the blog you would like to do (and don’t know how to do it).

Emo_e_Bushido: yea, don’t use bikini chicks on a banner for a muslim country. Not that it necessarily offends anyone, but still it could. I know its HT. though it still represents the real life country Qatar somehow, and I believe there are a few managers from there. To me it feels a bit like a lack of respect for the culture there, whether I like it or not.

Leebebbs: I think the biggest advice I would give was to keep the blog active. There are a lot of NT blogs out there that died a death shortly after they were created. A regular post and up to date content will keep the Qatari blog active. Their NT manager doesn’t have to worry about the look of his blog any more, but if he does, he knows where to find us.

That’s what I thought when I wrote this question: The most important advice is to keep the blog alive.

Thanks mates for the answers, the excellent work and the outstanding representation of what the HTUM Fed is able to produce! I heard once in a seminar that one thing makes the difference between a solid and an excellent project manager: if he hands over a closed project he already has a plan what would be the next project to do! As I have heard some other NTs are probably interested in help like this. But if there isn’t; what about giving the HTUM Fed Blog a look like this?

Vgrille: If the opportunity comes…

Cuomos: Great idea and honestly I have thought about that ever since I saw our fed blog But after rethinking it at that time, I kind of liked the clean conservative look and if the HTUM Fed Blog should get a make-over it’s of utter importance that it’s kept clean and conservative, to give it a trustworthy appearance.

Emo_e_Bushido: uhmm, I like the HTUM fed blog as it is atm. There are always improvements possible of course. But I would rather do it for some other NT blog first. And we should not publish not working intermediate steps anymore. Rather make screenies and discuss it in the fed.

Leebebbs: I think the Fed blog is something just calling out for our ‘pimp our blog’ team to work on. I’d like one more NT blog to have a shot at, just to hone all our skills working together… then just wait and see what we can do with our Fed blog. It’s mind-blowing thinking of the possibilities.

This final question wasn’t meant to be answered by the men on duty, but to pose it to the readers. But anyway the answers are very interesting, while some would love to change the look others seem to show a lot of respect for the actual look. To end this story I have to say that it was a great and interesting time following the work and the progress of this project from outside. The job was done in a way which I would call ‘teamwork at its best’!

Originally this story should end here, but then I got the impression that there might be some other fed members who like to share something related to this. And so it was. Here now some short statements of people which were not involved in the project.

* Hojris, the brain behind HU-Press and founder of the HTUM Fed:

I guess that we have just witnessed the ultimate challenge for our federation – to style a blog from outside the federation –  and the final result looks absolutely fantastic. The best of the best designers from HTU Managers, and on Hattrick United, worked together and made a beautiful design for Qatari.

Hojris

The color combination, the logo and every single detail on the blog made it the best design on Hattrick United ever. Qatari is hopefully proud of their new beautiful blog and we, the federation, should be very proud of the work done by Emo_e_Bushido, Lee, Jacob and the other members who have contributed to this project, and the federation should be proud of the work too. The result shows that our federation can do everything we want, when it comes to designing blogs, if we work together. Luckily we always help each other, when needed, and we have now shown that we can and are ready to help others if someone needs it.

I hope that other bloggers and the rest of the Hattrick communities will look at the blog and then maybe we will get another chance to help someone get a beautiful blog design, and maybe… just maybe, more will start blogging, when they look at the possibilities on how to make a beautiful and informative blog for their team.

* Horus, the master of stats and the HTUM Blog:

Although not involved in the project at all, I don’t think I ever visited a NT blog on HTU as much as I have been on the Qatari blog the last fortnight.

Horus70

It was most interesting to witness the intensity and frenzy with which some HTUM fed members got immediately involved in this project. While this might sound like the beginning of a joke – an Austrian, Brazilian, Dane and Englishman joining forces to revamp the Qatari NT blog – it is actually an indication of how far the HTUM fed has come over the last year and a half. The dedication with which they tackled all issues related to the Qatari blog was indeed most impressive. The most important aspect of the entire project lies, in my opinion, however beyond HTUM and HTU: it is an illustration of how people from different walks of life and various corners of the world can work together, share ideas and inspire one another. To me, more than the revamping of the NT blog, this is the major outcome of the project (which will hopefully be only the beginning of more!).

* Lupachuk, awarded best HTUM-manager of season 49 and logo designer:

Lupachuk

The whole project was organized so professionally and it was great that Lee shared the project with us. It was really great to follow the progress and the work rate was absolutely amazing! They did so much in such a short period of time! When you make blog appearances etc. by yourself, you can find it quite boring at times but you could see how great it was to work as a group listening to others thoughts and help each other. Personally, I prefer to work in small groups than alone. It’s just so much fun when you work with others. I really hope we will have these projects more often in the future!

And finally I wondered if the coach of NT Dawlat Qatar, CroPredator, has something to say about how he experienced the work and progress of the new blog design. And he had:

I must say that I’m very impressed of great work in NT blog. Quick and professional work, excellent design makes me proud of Qatari NT blog. I will use blog very often to write something. And of course I will recommend HTUM to everyone for creating a blog for U20 or NT team.

Now that sounds great! And there’s nothing to add. Seems like the small team made a lot of managers (including themselves) happy and proud, and they don’t deserve a big round of applause, no – this is calling for standing ovations! Thank you guys and take care!

Georg Casabella / Schluurggi