So how did everyone get on?

Tim look at the site on the first page, it will offer you some helpful tips. Basically: Keepers need keeper skill, defenders need defending, midfielders playmaking and stamina, wingers winging and strikers scoring. Edit: Also read the introduction for beginners, the link is on the front page!!

Hattrick is divided into levels, in England there are 6. The top teams play in the Premier League, while middling teams like myself are further down the ladder (I'm in division 4). You'll start in division 5 or 6 with a host of other teams who are new like yourself. Each level consists of a number of 8 team leagues. There is one league at the top, 4 second level leagues, 16 third level leagues, 64 foruth level leagues and so on. To have a chance to promote you need to win your league, while the bottom four teams in a league may get relegated.

Cocker: When you start playing I would advise you not to go and buy loads of players until you know what you're doing. Otherwise you'll buy a load of mugs who may look good but are pretty useless.

1. Hattrick doesn't have real life teams. It's completely different from CM I'd think. Definitely worth playing. 2. The allocation of a team takes about 4 days if I remember, as the GMs (Gamemasters) have to validate your application (make sure you're not trying to get a second team or anything). You get allocated a team in the bottom two divisions. The Hattrick league works like this: There is a top division for each country with eight teams. The division below that consists of four leagues of eight teams, the one below that 16 leagues, then 64 etc. Your team will be in either the 5th of 6th division. Most teams should be of a similar standard to yours (slightly better as they'll have played for a bit longer maybe). However you may get allocated to a league where there are 7 other newbies. 3) There is no cost. It is free and the developers have said many times they will not change this. if you like it you can buy supporter for about £10 a year which gives you some fun features but no in-game advantage. 4) The game is played in real-time. You play a league game on sunday and then a friendly/cup match (at this stage of the season it will be a friendly which you arrange yourself) during the week (usually tuesday). Friendlies are important to give your reserves run outs and keep them in good form. Between this you can buy players, make stadium upgrades etc. Hence the game does not require masses of time per week. One or two hours is plenty. One of the main aspects of the game is training. You can train one specific skill (I train goalkeeping for example) and those player's skills will increase. You can then sell them and buy players for other parts of your team or keep them. Young players train faster so people pay higher prices for 17 and 18 year olds. Try it and see and if you need help don't be afraid to ask, it is a little confusing at first.This site here provides some good tips for newbies. Hattrick 101, Rookie Q+A and Advice for new players should help. Also read the rules. They are complicated but will give you a good basic grasp of the game.

Ahh hattrick. The site is down atm due to server problems but should be back up by 11:00 tomorrow (thursday). It's a fantastic game, I've been playing since March 2002 and manage Claygate A.F.C. in England (IV.55). I've won the league the last two seasons but have missed out on promotion in the playoffs. Anyone else?

Spot on. Although this WC has not attracted the masses who appear when the nation is gripped by the 'we're going to win it' hysteria, every two years. Blimey. Do you get that a lot in Northern Ireland? Fortunately (and obviously) we don't. Instead we watch from across the water in horrified awe as every man, woman and dog, spirals into a state of uncontrollable and blind expectancy. Yawn. I don't know what your problem is but you obviously have one with England fans. If you came out of your cubby hole where only media stereotypes penetrate then you might realise that the vast majority do not think we'll win the thing. The tabloid media whip things up but in all honesty who actually thought we were going to win 2002? I certainly didn't and nor did anyone else who actually knew what they were talking about . As rover6 says it's the non-supporters. I can see what he'd trying to say, my knowledge of rugby (in any form) is limited but that doesn't mean I can't take an interest. What I don't do is suddenly become an expert as I find that annoying with football, sure I can marvel at Carlos Spencer flicking the ball through his legs, but I can't give a detailed analysis of NZ's performance man by man. And after all at least England are actually in Euro 2004 and everyone start's equal

What can I say?? Sittting here with a huge grin on my face, what a way to win it Thought we'd lost it when Flatley equalised in the last minute but to be honest who cares? England are world champions Oh yes

And to add to what Bryan said Paul Sturrock at Dundee United almost took them down.

Sadly it's because he's cheap and not a releagtion candidate rather than his prowess

My team- Claygate AFC Friedel, Sullivan Gallas, M. Svensson, Hreidasson, McEveley, Unsworth Pires, Emerton, Jensen, Fernandes, Hitzlberger Shearer, Christie, Allback.

The Antipope, East of Ealing, Brenford Triangle, or any of the 5 part Brentford Trilogy. The armageddon series can be hard to read if you've not read any of his stuff before. I read 'Waiting for Godalming' and enjoyed it. Some while later I read 'Nostradamus ate my Hamster' and found it the strangest book I've ever read. Then I read another one about Billy Barnes, can't remember the name. That was very disturbing too (and not the Barnes web thing). I've now given up on Rankin as being too weird. Terry Pratchett is enjoyable and quite easy. My favourites are the witches with the watch in a close second. On a different note Ursula Le Guin is very good and thought provoking and Kim Stanley Robinson's "the years of rice and salt" is a must read if only to see how the author deals with the task of trying to construct an alternative history after Europe is wiped out by the Black Death. IMO he does it very well.

Voted no as I feel the wider consequences of increased anti-Americanism and Islamic terrorism are not worth it.

Blackburn Rovers have been drawn away at Aston Villa in the FA Cup Third Round. This is one of six all Premiership ties in the third round including Chelsea and Middlesborough, Bolton and Sunderland, Fulham and Birmingham, Southampton and Spurs and Liverpool and Manchester City. Of the three non - league sides in the draw Farnborough and Redbridge play Darlington and Plymouth, while Morecambe play Ipswich. These matches will be played on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of January. (See comments for full draw)

I thought yesterday Cole and Yorke made some good intelligent runs, problem as the midfield (except Tugay) didn't care. Our main problem was that Soton wanted it more. They were first to every ball and were challenging us and chasing the lost causes. The ref was very poor, although the penalty decision could have gone either way it seemed. One good point was the performance of Brad, Tiny and Short. While Tiny and Short made some mistakes they tried to recover them unlike Neill (who had his worst game for a long while) and Curtis (who was even worse). I've seen worse though... last year away to W.Ham and Fulham for example.

It is vital we score at Celtic as I don't think we'll shuit them out for 90 minutes. It'll probably be 2-1 to them as they will have a massive advantage from the crowd. Which means that it'll be finely balancedat Ewood. We should be able to beat them but knowing Rovers...

Blackburn midfielder Craig Hignett has being linked with the Barnsley job, after manager Steve Parkin and his assistant Tony Ford were sacked on Tuesday. Hignett was reported by the "Independent" to be one of several possible candidates for the jobs along with Paul Wilkinson and Ronnie Glavin. In Hignett's case he would probably be assistant to Paul Wilkinson if appointed. However Barnsley denied the rumours on Thursday saying that while they were in administration, reserve team coach Glyn Hodge would be the caretaker manager. Hignett was signed from Barnsley in the summer of 2000 by Souness, for over 2 million pounds.