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S Harrow (in the semi-finals)

Written by Oaklan

Oaklan, the manager of S Harrow (II.4) took time out from his Cup semi-final preparation to answer a few questions from hattrick press.

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You received your first team in June 2012, and signed up for a 2nd team in September 2019. Harrow reached R8 both last season (78) and the one before (s79), your previous deepest runs and this season you're in the Semi-Final for the first time, facing CARLISLE DRAGONS whom won the EPL in s75. You must be delighted with your team progression and the win in the quarters over the holders and current top team in the Prem?

It's been amazing, the cup is such a difficult competition to get a decent run together, and I'm so proud of the boys and how well they have done. I was hoping to get Falmouth in the draw for the quarters as I didn’t think I'd progress further. I thought if I was going to go out it might as well be to the current holders. The week before the game I lost both my keepers to injury and really thought that was the end of it. It was a really good game and, on the night, luck was with us. They have a hell of a team and I tip my hat to them. The dragons look really strong as well and I can't wait till Tuesday night. I've had a good look at them and it's clearly going to be tough but the boys are up for it. I can't wait!

You're an Arsenal supporter. Were you in favour of the "Wenger Out" campaign, and in hindsight do you think that maybe he was doing a much better job than fans gave him credit for at the time of that campaign?

Wenger was an amazing manager, and did so much for the club. What he achieved was unbelievable. The whole Wenger out campaign was crazy. There was so much money flowing into other clubs it was always going to be hard for us to compete. The new stadium took a hefty chunk of the available funds and I do believe he did an amazing job keeping us in the Champions League with the team available. He deserved more respect than he was given. Did he stay on too long? I suppose he did, as the club needed fresh ideas but it should have been handled by the board a lot better than it was.

And, following on from that, is Arteta the chosen one that can bring balance to football by getting Arsenal to beat & destroy the financial dark side of the game?

Simply put, in Arteta we trust. He knows what it is be a part of Arsenal. He has to be given the time to make the changes needed. He has cleared out so much of the dead wood in the club and brought in some really exciting young players. Our back line is ever so young, but you can see the talent in all of them. Add to that the lads like Saka, ESR & Martinelli and we now have a young exciting team. It's scary when you think how Newcastle will look in a few seasons, the money at City, Chelsea, Utd, Liverpool... Money can't buy you passion and passion can win you games. If he can get them young lads to enjoy their football who knows. All I know is that it's exciting times at the club, and we're above Spurs: p

Harrow seems pretty devoid of English talent in the first team. Was this a conscious decision on your part and perhaps you could tell us a little about how the team has evolved so far?

It wasn’t no, it was more a case of getting the best value players at the time. hattrick is so much harder to master than I initially gave it credit for. I've been playing for around 9 years and it's only really been the last few that I've really started to progress. I would build teams up to win the 3rd division but the players would age and I'd have to start again. A few years ago, I made a conscious decision to make a run for the Prem. I had a decent young squad and focused more on training than buying and selling. I wanted to try and do it with a traditional team and to avoid the long shots, counter attacking styles. A strong midfield with a strong attack was the plan. They score 3 we score 4... that was the idea, at least.

David Seaman is at Mos Eisley. Not something I thought I'd ever ask in an interview, but there it is. What's your opinion on the "Han Solo shot Greedo first" debate and do you think David will ever return to play in goal for the England NT?

Lol Han shot first for sure but the little green fella had it coming. Mos Eisley has given me such a renewed passion for Hattrick. It has given me a chance to take all that I've learned and to build a team the way I want right from the start. I have the competitive stuff with harrow fighting to get into the Prem so I can just take my time with Eisley. David (450791024) is going to be one hell of a keeper and I'd love nothing more than to see him play in the NT. He's working hard in training atm. Let's hope the scouts are watching... I have a really good bunch of trainees and some amazing youth talent in the club. Unlike Harrow I'll be training up my youngsters rather than cashing them in and look forward to seeing a few Internationals at the club.

What's the last book you read, and would you recommend it to your fellow managers?

The last book I read was one of the classics, "The Catcher in the Rye". I'm not a great reader but enjoy books by Dan Brown and the like. I'd heard about Catcher in the Rye, mentioned in a few films, and wanted to find out what all the fuss was about.

It's mentioned in "Conspiracy Theory" with Mel Gibson and apparently Lee Harvey Oswald had a copy on him when he shot Kennedy. Can I recommend it? Definitely. It’s a really interesting & funny in places sort of read. It's been linked to all sorts of true-life murders and I can't see why particularly, but the book is amazing. Thank me later,

If you could change one thing about hattrick to be implemented next season, what would it be?

Bring back hattrick internet radio! When I first started, we had an internet radio station dedicated to Hattrick games in England. It would be live on Tuesdays and Sundays and start about half hour before the games. They would read out scores and stuff and some managers would text in and have live messages read out to other teams. It was a bit of a laugh while the games were on. It definitely helped connect the managers in the same divisions and gave a better sense of community than we've had without it. I covered the Sunday slot for a bit but this was with a team I had back in 2010 before Harrow. We would play music and give commentary on some of the games and it was a great laugh.

The game is continually evolving of course, so maybe someone will take that idea on board. There's some talk of secret missions being introduced. I recently heard about a lower league team that was offered £100k by their board to win one of their remaining league fixtures - a 'having a difficult season' mission. What kind of secret mission do you think you'd accept if offered it, and how much do you think would be a fair financial incentive for achieving it?

I'm not so sure about secret missions but it might be nice to have a ‘nobble the other teams striker' option in the tactics. You would run the risk of getting a red yourself, but let's face it, it happens in football all the time. I could probably do with that option against the Dragons on Tuesday :-)

Ed. Man marking with an edge? I think the National Team managers would have a fit, but I like the way you think.

II.4 is in the Division battle representing England as our highest ranked series in the World Battle, with you, Reado and Vendetta in 24th with 3 to play. It's a fine effort, have you been enjoying playing these Friday fixtures?

I really do, I love a bit of friendly rivalry and as a division we have some cracking teams. With games on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday it gives you plenty to do. Reado and Vendetta are the boys... they giving a good account of what life in II.4 is about. Reado handed out a lesson to me on Sunday that's still hurting a bit, but the boys were holding back for Tuesday night. It’s a great idea and I hope it continues.

It's good to see The Gatekeeper was fit to play in the league on Sunday, the injury must have worried you a bit with such important games coming up?

Just a little bit. Not having him for the game last Tuesday was huge. I was lucky in a way to be playing a long shot team, so defence didn’t figure too much in my plans. He's back and feeling better than ever. I think he's going to have a busy night Tuesday but he’s well up for it and we’re glad to have him back.

What's your current choice of music to listen to?

I have a really wide and varied taste. I'm comfortable listening to almost anything and it can change from day to day. A bit of country on the way to work can turn into dad rocks by lunchtime and reggae on the way home. I love a bit of RnB, hip hop just good music in general. I really love live music and nothing can beat that live sound. A drummer doing his thing or a great vocal, a guitar solo, anything really that moves me and I'll crank the volume up.

You're clearly a bit of a Star Wars Fan. Please could you rank these 6 recent additions to the franchise from most enjoyable to least enjoyable and explain your reasons (for the best and worst)?

Solo
Rogue One
The Force Awakens
The Last Jedi
The Rise of Skywalker
The Mandalorian

OMG what a question, that’s like a book's worth of debate just there. This kind of thing has been known to start wars you know! Clearly "Rogue One" was by far the best. What a film, the way it blends into "A New Hope" was just amazing. You fall in love with the characters and have a vested interest in them, the pace and story were just so, so good. Solo was another cracking film, who doesn't love Han? I was worried when they announced the film that they wouldn’t do him justice but they got it spot on and his back story needed to be told. Lots of information to bring the younger viewer into the original Star Wars trilogy. I really loved the Mandalorian series. I mean it had baby Yoda in it! Ok, so it's not Yoda but it was a captivating story line. The other 3 films are all good but it's kind of hard to rank them. I'm a fan of the Originals the first 3 that came out got me hooked and I'm a fan for life. The next 3 were really good and the last 3 you mention... Well, they a bit of fun. Good films but not to the standard of the originals. It's funny, Star Wars does that to people. If you met me, you would have no idea I was a fan until you asked me, and then I probably wouldn’t shut up. Everyone wants to be a Jedi don’t they? Let's hope the force is with me on Tuesday. I think I'm going to need it.

May the Force be with You