In the past, i had been a fanatic hattrick manager too. But as I learned more and more how the game worked, I also started to dislike this game more and more. Until i realised hattrick is a very much flawed football simulation. And instead of improving it, they fucked it up more and more over the years. Compared to Buzzerbeater (given the different sport), Hattrick is on a much lower level as a sports manager game.
Actually i always was much more of a football fan than a basketball fan, but i recognized the difference in quality of Buzzerbeater vs. Hattrick as a sports manager game.
+ 1, I couldn't have told it any better. I played basketball in my youth but I had always dreamed of football, which my parents never agreed to, and this has sticked today, I'm an avid football fan. So I went into hattrick as soon as a friend told me of it. I played many seasons, went as high as D.4 back then when you started in D. 9 (!). But just like you, the more I knew about it, the less I liked it.
Buzzerbeater is an breather in comparison, I hope it sticks longer but I fear for the future when I see the number of active manager dwindling ...
This game isn't a sprint, it's a marathon (or 5 or 6) and maybe this isn't appealing to younger players anymore. Or maybe they don't own a computer and are playing on their cellphone. That's really too bad because this one jas a depth I had rarely seen !