Defensiv Forward
 
Defensive Forward The most special player in Hattrick. Possibilities, prices and demands are unique. In this article, we shall focus on the technical defensive forward, who gains a larger passing boost than a non-technical player in the same position. We aim to describe the options for training defensive forwards, and go through the tactical options, the contribution from the defensive forward, special events and other recommendations for this player type. The first section may appear dry, boring and complicated to some - skip it, and read on a bit further down. I would myself, initially. Let's review the hard facts. *Midfield contribution: 45% playmaking This number is based on GM-Sule's midfield predictor, which I can only recommend. *Central attack contribution: A closer look at the central attack contribution from a normal forward. The classic rule of thumb says that 2.5-3 levels of passing equals 1 level of scoring. Passing is clearly a secondary skill, but a very valuable one. I use 2.5 as my rule of thumb, which means that 5 levels of passing corresponds to 2 levels of scoring. It is particularly important for teams who are getting close to the salary cap (ie. the total salary, a team can maintain without losing money over a two-week period, with away & home match). Now, let's look closer at the best and most important player type in Hattrick: The phenomenon that is the defensive forward. I used two calculations for the attack contribution, mostly to emphasize the value of both statements. HO numbers: Scoring: 61.1% Passing: 227.2% So, passing is increased by 227% when you play your technical forward defensive, whereas he only contributes with 61% of his scoring, compared to a normal forward. An example: After a couple of seasons of patient training, you have trained a player to the following skills: passable (6) scoring, brilliant (11) passing and magnificent (12) playmaking. This player has the same attack contribution as a forward with formidable (9) (very high) scoring and poor (3) passing. Total value: 9.99 + 3.66 = 13.656 Traditional numbers: The following values are generally agreed upon amongst conference users. Scoring: 60% Passing: 245% This implies that passing has the same attack contribution as a regular striker's scoring; we can assume the ratio of 1:1 between the defensive forward's passing and a regular forward's scoring. For example, a defensive forward with magnificent passing will contribute with the same amount of attack ratings as a magnificent (scoring) forward. But on top of that, the scoring contribution is higher than the passing contribution from a normal forward, so we can't just swap the skills and claim to get the correct contribution. All in all, the defensive forward will yield better ratings. Afforementiond player with brilliant passing and passable scoring will, when played as defensive forward, yield a contribution corresponding to an outstanding (high) forward with poor passing. Ie. about a level more scoring, compared to HO's values. Total value: 10.78 + 3.6 = 14.48. The difference between the two contribution calculations is less than a total level. This is not a significant difference. Personally, I tend to believe that Hattrick Organizer estimates the passing too low, and that the "traditional" numbers are closer to the truth. * Side attack contribution Midfield contribution: Check. Central attack contribution: Check Side attack contribution: Coming up! An often ignored aspect of the defensive forward is his quite significant contribution to the side attack, due to the big passing boost: Passing: 220% (advantage to the defensive forward) Scoring: 87.5% (small advantage to the normal forward) Winger: 92% (small advantage to the normal forward) Compared to an offensive winger: Passing: 39% (bigger contribution than winger skill!) Winger: 24% Scoring: 27% *End effect: The defensive forward is the best player in Hattrick, the most efficient player with regards to contribution per skill level, and the most salary-friendly player. But does this mean that he's the perfect player for every team? Who can use a defensive forward? Everyone. The problem is, that if you don't train the player yourself, the transfer price will be very high, which means a very large investment compared to the actual output value (with the classic exception, that players over 30 years are often so cheap, that the money invested will be small. This implies other problems though, but that's a different subject altogether). Hence, my recommendation is that every team below IVth division level, that isn't training the defensive forward itself, should spend its money elsewhere. We're often talking about teams, that haven't hit their salary cap yet, which means they haven't maximized their training with regards to multiskills. In short, it would be a waste of money for such teams to buy a defensive forward. Skill level and training Roughly, there are two versions of the defensive forward: The offensive player, who mainly contributes to attack (and secondarily to midfield), and the defensive variant, who typically starts as a midfield reinforcement, and then is trained to contribute more and me to the attack. I prefer the defensive type myself, where we aim to strengthen midfield without weakening attack too much. The offensive type is normally a pure forward, who has an extreme amount of passing, so that at a certain level, he will produce better ratings when played defensive, but the midfield contribution is still minimal. We may add another player type for U20 teams, where we will probably see several players, who are trained non-stop in passing and hence will produce an amazing contribution to the attack, and a free midfield boost. "Free" meaning without loss of attack rating, and a slight boost to midfield rating. Skill levels depend on your training and league level, but I would like an attempt at level suggestions: * Passing training: We're looking for a midfielder with potential for passing and scoring, how much depends entirely on your budget: the more, the merrier. Playmaking level should be around your midfielders' level, or a bit lower. Explanation: At first, your defensive forward probably won't contribute much to the attack, which means you won't use him much as a forward, but as midfielder/substitute/winger-towards-middle. 
VI and lower: Brilliant (11) - World class (13) playmaking. As always, I claim that any VIth level team should have a plan for their way to Vth. V-IV: Magnificent (12) - Supernatural (14) III-I: World class (13) - Titanic (15) Passing training is the most obvious way to produce defensive forwards. It's relatively easy to find the trainees, and there are good options for training them in positions where they won't initially hurt the team/ratings decisively. Passing trainers also have the best options for training several defensive forwards. As a passing trainer, I would recommend to train at least two defensive forwards, and preferably up to four. Among others, you will have the advantage of creating a varying mass of talents, so that you will always have a new player ready to take over, when you sell the best/oldest. Also, you will have the option of playing two defensive forwards in certain matches, typically against all-out attack teams, and still produce a superior attack. The disadvantage of training three or four talents is of course that you will be more vulnerable against weather events. But the rewards outweigh the risk, competitively as well as financially. For passing trainers, the offensive model will be to find a player, who is already trained in playmaking and scoring. With this very offensive solution, you may want to downgrade the recommended playmaking levels. This will be a very expensive player, but relatively fast, he will become a useful forward in all kinds of matches, which means that you can save yourself another, normal, forward from your roster, and at the same time you won't depend on using (training) him as a midfield substitute. If you can afford it, and have patience, this player is a unique extra tactical option. Furthermore, you should always aim to buy as much scoring as possible, since this gives good ratings as well as profit once you eventually sell the player again. I previously wrote an article about passing training, but this was before the second boost to defensive forwards, but the thoughts about passing training are still quite relevant. Translation in progress. *Playmaking training: It is hard to find players for this position, and hence also equally hard to come up with the specific recommendations, that are so comfortable to relate to. There are few players, who are trained in passing as main skill from their youth, but if you can find eg. a 19 years old player with outstanding passing, a bit of scoring and excellent playmaking, that would be close to optimal. Another approach is to consider what you want to train after playmaking, and if for instance you want to train passing, you can start with some less "complete" talents, and train them in playmaking and passing yourself. This would give you a way to save some money when buying talents, and make a smoother training transition. Later, I will bring an article about playmaking training, which is complicated for teams who want success in both league and cup matches. This implies considering rotational principles in training, but more on this some other time. *Scoring training: Effectively the same theory as for passing training. We seek a midfielder with potential for passing and scoring. The wealthy and ambitious scoring trainers should consider finding defensive forwards, who have already had passing training, but with no scoring ability worth mentioning. The first, quick levels of scoring training will raise the attack ratings faster than my own team's relegation plunge, and probably also make a solid, financial approach. However, the initial cost of these particular talents is considerable. If you buy a semi-finished defensive forward, ergo the expensive model, it will make good sense to downgrade his playmaking level a bit. But, as a starting point, these are my recommendations on playmaking: VI and lower: Brilliant (11) - World class (13) V-IV: Magnificent (12) - Supernatural (14) III-I: World class (13) and higher Scoring training and competitiveness don't go along very well. Scoring is perhaps the least effective training for teams from IVth level and upwards (the obvious exception being traders, who can pretty much be competitive with any training type). The low number of training spots (6) forces you to focus on training all of your forwards, and it is costly to skip even one spot. A possible solution is defensive forwards, who can help provide the necessary midfield boost, which constitutes the main problem for scoring traininers. The playmaking level means that you can use your defensive forwards as midfield substitutes / wingers-towards-middle until the attack contribution is in place. But the typical scoring trainer already needs to play a defensive forward anyway, due to this midfield issue. As a scoring trainer, this is what you should do now: Buy defensive forwards, train them in the fast, lower scoring levels, and switch to passing training. Of course this is a gross generalization, and, to many, a useless advice, but the essence is clear: Scoring training is problematic, and it is obvious to prepare one's new training setup. Tactics with defensive forwards The short version: Use your defensive forward as long as your attack is good enough. The ratio between attack and defense doesn't have to be level or better for the attack. If you achieve close to 1:1 ratings, your attack will be sufficient, and therefore it's about achieving the highest possible midfield advantage. Formations are not essential here. Special events A technical player yields various options concerning special events (SE). There are two types of SE's: weather and technical-vs-head event. Weather events give or take playmaking (and scoring) in sun or rain, respectively. The other SE is the rarer technical vs. head event. A technical player will always have a chance to trick his direct opponent, if this opponent is a head specialist. The event is relatively rare (compared to eg. the frequency of quick events from forwards), but it should not be neglected, as more and more managers prefer the head specialty on their defenders and midfielders. How high should you train? You can train players to earn money, or to win matches. Most people probably prefer a combination, and thus it is important to know, how high to train one's players. This concerns age as well as skill level. With regards to age, prices begin to drop around 27-28 years, so most managers should consider selling players at this age. Many will claim that this is a (too) high age for training, but if you want a player, who reaches secondary skills in passing and playmaking around eg. world class, it takes time. Furthermore, we are dealing with players, who can even benefit from tertiary skills. This takes time. With regards to skills, you always need to consider the salary, and here the playmaking level recommendations are a good pointer. I don't know of any salary studies for passing, but most samples indicate that passing has follows about the same salary development as winger, so Titanic (15) is an excellent level. However, I don't expect many to train their players that far. Typically, the next question is if it's a waste to have passing as the highest skill. And no, that's not a waste. Passing can be considered main skill for defensive forwards. Will it last? We have now examined and proclaimed the most valuable player in Hattrick. And obviously, this player is significantly better than any other. The only thing in Hattrick that came close to the power of defensive forwards was the original forward-towards-wing, before they got nerfed by the HT's. This implies, that sooner or later, we can fear (or expect) the defensive forward to suffer a similar fate. Only time can tell if the defensive forward will be changed, or other players will receive a boost. I expect a downgrade at some point, which means that you should probably think twice before spending all your savings on an exclusive defensive forward training setup. Thanks to: GM-Sule, HO, MK_Bold, jmadsen, SFTM. And a speciel thanks to usher. Links relevant for this article: Midfield predictor Hattrick Organizer Hattristics Upcoming articles: * Substitutions * Playmaking training * The ABC of Tactics * Homeboys, 1.5 years later * Specialties Criticism, Compliments or suggestions for new articles are always welcome. Mail me in hattrick or here. http://www.esnips.com/doc/370f451e-ed89-4be6-adf5-959e74b05196/midfieldpredictor-v1.12http://www.esnips.com/doc/370f451e-ed89-4be6-adf5-959e74b05196/midfieldpredictor-v1.12http://www.hattrickorganizer.net/http://www.hattristics.org/pub/statWeather.phpmailto:anders.elling.post@gmail.com?subject=HT-Mail.shapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3shapeimage_1_link_4
mandag den 27. apr 2009