The General Managers Club
The General Managers Club (otherwise known as "The GMC") is a general purpose federation which boasts an excellent community vibe and fantastic features. The GMC was created on 6th July 2009 by Broughy1322 and is now a very successful federation with around 400 members and plenty of things to get involved in.
| The General Managers Club (85054) | |
| |
Founded By: |
Broughy1322 |
| Founded On: | 06/07/2009 |
| Members: | 400+ |
| Languages: | English |
History
The Old Youth League
The GMC name was born from an old youth league Broughy1322 used to run. It was a 16 team international league and was very successful as it ran for three long seasons. It eventually disbanded to make way for the GMC Youth League System.
A Difficult Beginning
So with a name all set it was time to get members. This was easier said than done though, as Broughy1322 sent HT-mails to all 15 other members of the old youth league, as well as every member of every league he'd ever been in and the top 50 teams in England. This naturally brought about a fine for spamming very quickly, but The GMC managed to get 5 members and secure it's existence. The first ever member other than Broughy1322 was Aces-manager of Anning's Aces, a team Broughy's Scorpions had shared a league with in seasons gone by. He joined the day after creation, on 7th July 2009.
Progression
Slowly but surely The GMC started to grow as word spread of the organised and active forum. After increasing his activity on other forums, Broughy eventually met Dyna-Mikey who put in a lot of work to attract plenty of people he knew from various other feds. The GMC was well on it's way and quickly hit 50 members. The forum began to be a lot more active and the first official cup and other competitions were held. It was during this time that the Youth League System started too (see below).
Growth
After a few months of dedication from it's members The GMC had become one of the best communities in HT. A very tight knit collection of members who all enjoyed each others company. Broughy wanted more people to experience this though and what followed was a very steady but increased growth of the fed up to the number it has now. A lot of work along the way to keep the forums littered with interesting topics and allowing everyone to get involved on the various activities meant that a lot of people now are able to enjoy what The GMC has to offer. The quick growth continues to astound Broughy and he considers The GMC to be his defining moment on Hattrick. The future looks bright.
Main Attractions
Community
It is the people that make the GMC such a successful federation. The constant forum chat, willingness to get involved and helpful attitude from all the members help the GMC have a warm, friendly and engaging community. New members are easily accommodated and integrated regardless of background and level of knowledge. The various different aspects of the fed makes sure that there is something for everyone and the tireless work by Broughy ensures it stays organised and easy to find (check "Forum Links" screenshot). Help is always available from experienced members and there is always something to talk about. There is a real buzz around the GMC forum and the community remains one of the best in Hattrick and the defining aspect of the federation.
The Logo
The GMC Logo isn't just a collection of faces from the HT world, it is actual managers from the federation. A manager can be featured on the logo for various things including winning competitions or the cup, and it is changed every season to keep it fresh. With the "nobody is allowed on the logo two seasons in a row" rule in force it gives all managers plenty of chance to get featured.
The GMC Awards
One of the most hectic times in the GMC is at the end of every season when the GMC awards are sorted. A forum thread is started asking for nominations for the various awards on offer and then polls are created to determine the winners. The winners gain notoriety in the GMC and get their face on the logo, so these are always an interesting end to the season. Some awards are for fun whilst others really do reward great achievements. The winners are always deserving of them.
Staff of The GMC
These are some of the faces you're likely to see the most around the forums. They all do the important jobs that keep the GMC running smoothly.
| Founding Manager | Assistant Manager | Forum Managers | Cup Manager | Youth League Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Broughy1322 | beatleboyo | NatTheRat1 --- Le-Special | vikingcliff | Art-Frisson --- canagoon --- Blue_Villain |
The GMC Cup
The GMC Cup started in global season 40 which was the first full season the GMC had experienced. It started off as a friendly competition but has developed into a classic test of tactical knowledge. Only the best are crowned GMC Cup Champions.
Editions
The first edition of the GMC cup had only 16 teams compete, with an England v Australia themed Semi-final and Final (with England being victorious). The second edition saw this expand to 32 teams as interest grew, but another England/Australia battle in the final stages resulted in an Australian winner. The third and fourth editions again saw 32 teams compete but, with the GMC growing and becoming more international, a whole host of teams from different countries were in with a shot. The Cup continues to grow and be a much anticpated feature each season.
Prizes
As the cup expanded so did the prizes. Now there is a specific "trio" of prizes for the winner which include their avatar being featured on the logo, a game in a rare country, and the office role of "Cup Winning Manager". Along with that the winner obviously becomes a famous face in the community and is recorded in GMC history.
Youth League System
The GMC name came from a youth league and therefore the youth academy was always going to be a huge part of the federation's make-up. Early in the fed's life an idea was floated around for a multi-divisional youth league system with promotions and relegations. Each league would have 4 teams and each season break would be 3 days long, with teams leaving their leagues and entering their new ones as soon as possible. All detailed info on the youth system including results and past winners can be found in the "Forum links" thread on the GMC forum.
Organisation
Before any concrete system could be set up a mammoth organisation task took place to get everyone on the same league schedule. A sign-up thread was created and it gained immediate interest with lots of teams signing up to the idea. It was then just a case of figuring out how to get everyone on the same schedule by entering into 4, 6 and 8 team leagues. The idea being that whilst the 4 team leagues went round and round, the 6 & 8 team leagues would eventually finish at the same time. After a lot of excel documents, date calculations, and re-created leagues the GMC youth system was ready for it's first season.
Season One
The first GMC youth league season had 8 leagues for a total of 32 teams. It was a simple ladder system with teams being placed in the system based on the number of stars in their matches. Then the 4th placed team in the top league would replace the winner of league 2 and this would continue down the system. Initially there were two tiers, the "Football League" containing the Premier League and Divisions one, two & three, and "Non-League Football" containing Non-League A, B, C & D. The youth system proved to be very popular and a great way to increase enjoyment in the youth academy. The number of applicants on the sign-up sheet increased ever more.
Seasons Two, Three and Four
Three days after Season One finished Season Two began with the same number of leagues, as some great organisation and quick movements by members had leagues re-created and entered very quickly. The ladder system remained for the next three seasons but the number of leagues expanded as more and more people wanted to join - Season Three had 10 leagues and Season Four had 14.
Season Five & The Pyramid System
Continuing the ladder system any longer was clearly going to be a problem as it would take far too long for new members to reach the top (14+ seasons of 6 weeks each is a long time!) even if they promoted every season. Therefore a new "Pyramid System" was introduced based on Hattrick's own league system. This would have one premier league at the top with two relegated teams each season, then two leagues in division II and four leagues in all the divisions below that. This would allow a maximum of 23 leagues up to division VII and there would only ever be 7 steps to the top. See the picture on the right to see how promotions/relegations work. This proved very popular with all members and season five started with 15 leagues across 5 divisions.
Seasons Six, Seven, Eight, Nine & Beyond
Since the youth system is a massive organisational nightmare the decision was taken to cap the number of leagues at 23 (92 teams over 7 divisions). Season Six had 17 leagues and Season Seven had 19 leagues across 6 divisions. Season Eight saw the first division VII leagues with 21 leagues in total and Season Nine saw that grow further to the maximum 23 leagues. With little space left for new teams, the waiting list now not only requires teams to sync up, but also wait for teams currently in the league to drop out. The GMC youth league system is one of the best features of the federation and an amazing achievement. Long may it continue.
Other Attractions
Logo Designers
Thanks to Mistfit joining the GMC the federation now has the ability to produce some fantastic logo designs for it's members. As with the kits it's simply a case of filling out a form and waiting for it to be completed. This is a fantastic addition for members as the logos themselves are of an extremely high quality.
Kit Designers
The kit designers in The GMC are the best in the business. We have plenty of kit makers ready to create your team's kit based on your requirements. Simply fill out a form and wait. Some examples of kits made by paquebot, our primary kit maker, can be seen here
Buying & Selling Players
Threads dedicated to advertising players are present in The GMC too, making searching for players to buy or getting an bit of money for players an easy prospect.
Competitions
Many competitions are held within The GMC and are usually based on a weekly entry system. The very popular "Predict Your Players" competition, where managers have to choose the three players that will gain them the most points in their league match based on pre-set criteria, has been running for many seasons. New season-long competitions are added all the time to keep things fresh.
Special Interest Topics
The GMC also includes a number of special interest threads, dedicated to those who specifically enjoy that topic. Threads of this kind include the "Battrick" thread, real life football discussion, music discussion, etc
Statistics
Below are statistics of the federation, from the highest number of members to winners of the various cups we have. You can find more stats in the "Forum Links" thread on the GMC forum.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Highest Member Count | 414 |
| Highest Number of Different Nationalities | 57 |
| Most Forum Posts in One Day | 550 (approx) |
| Most Subscribers to a Single Thread | 123 |
| Total Forum Posts (as of 15/01/13) | 212,892 |
| Edition | Season | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| I | 40 | Chaos Zitarigroda (63934) |
| II | 41 | Crusherpool (418907) |
| III | 42 | Livercrewe Tigers (59316) |
| IV | 43 | AFC Luddite (57766) |
| V | 44 | Teesside FC (62313) |
| VI | 45 | Cyclones F.C. (419536) |
| VII | 46 | Nagoya Grampus Eight (767912) |
| VIII | 47 | Woking Wednesday (7985) |
| IX | 48 | Walton Troopers FC (952053) |
| X | 49 | Polomint (67635) |
| XI | 50 | Stinging Scorpions (62264) |
| Season | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1 | maschio f.c. (81654) |
| 2 | maschio f.c. (81654) |
| 3 | Tornados FC (1237487) |
| 4 | maschio f.c. (81654) |
| 5 | Dodgeball Academy (20218) |
| 6 | Mini Scorpions (53946) |
| 7 | Dodgeball Academy (20218) |
| 8 | Old Forge Appleton (607596) |
| 9 | Welling Wings (1447173) |
| 10 | Campbelltown Cobras (1237506) |
| 11 | JHT Juniors (135632) |
| 12 | Cheeky Tadpoles FC (1614196) |
| 13 | Cheeky Tadpoles FC (1614196) |
| 14 | Mini Hadley (1424538) |
| 15 | Mini Hadley (1424538) |
| 16 | Cheeky Tadpoles FC (1614196) |
| 17 | Cheeky Tadpoles FC (1614196) |
| 18 | Chute Colts (1385427) |
| 19 | Hadley Rangers U18's (1424538) |
