Leagues loaded: All leagues from Finland, Belgium, Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland. England (League one and above), Spain (Liga Adelante and above) and Italy (Serie B and above)
NOTE: I initially had no intention of keeping track of my process, until winter sat in here and with -15 outside writing down my career’s progress suddenly seemed really tempting.
Media expectation: Mid table (8th)
Board expectation: Avoid relegation
The club seemed to lack any decent facilities and the only two players worth mentioning were two Brazilians whom were closing in on their expiry date fast.
The club has a professional status, but I have yet to figure out whether that is positive or not. Besides one or two coaches I signed 4 players for a total of 12k and managed to get a decent player on loan.
Only one of the signings made it as a regular, his name shall be the German (not because he is German, but his name hints that he has bratwurst-loving grandparents).
The season started of amazing. Amazingly poor that is. We managed to get 2 points out of our first 6 matches, which made me wonder whether I was cut out for the job at all. Then I decided to do something radical and come up with something called a tactic.
Alas! With the German linking up midfield with attack goals suddenly started flowing and we were winning games! Unfortunately my fairly thin squad combined with the very strict discipline rules meant that I often had to miss some of my key players, which ultimately lead to a poor streak 2/3rds in to the season.
Still, we managed to pull through and defy all that is logical by finishing second and making it to the playoffs! Unfortunately we met our arch rivals, FC Oulu, there and lost the two legged battle for the Veikkausliiga.
Overall it was a very eventful season which got me excited about what was to come. Missing the title by only 2 points (winners being PS Kemi Kings) however, is a slightly bitter pill to swallow.
That being said, I doubt we are anywhere near ready for the Veikkausliiga due to the lack of talent and debt.
Final position: 2nd
Games: 26 (16|3|7)
Goals: +10 (43|33)
Pts: 51
Media expectation: Mid table (6th)
Board expectation: Avoid relegation
WAIT! WHAT THE HECK!??! This season there are only 12 teams from which 5 will relegate?!?
On top of that, the numero uno will not be automatically promoted but instead has to go through playoffs?? However, this is all part of a plan made by the Finnish FA to make both leagues more competitive and attractive. Attractive for the supporters? Yes! For the managers? Not so much..
Being frightened by the potential massacre ahead, we dove into the transfer market to strengthen our fortress with as many bodies we could find. Well, not really.
6 Players went out for a very respectable 32k (I play in euros) and 10 players came in for a massive 1k.
Our long pre-season in warm southern nations had made us some money and kept our players in perfect condition for the start of the season.
This season was pretty boring when it came to results. We never had a great run of good results going, but the same has to be said about the bad run.
Many of the 10 players picked up did a great job and we were far more stable than the previous season. However, the eventual winners RoPs were simply the better team.
They slaughtered us 3-0 in both matches and eventually won the league with 4 points difference. They also managed to win the playoffs, meaning that 3 teams would be joining the Ykkonen from the Veikkausliiga.
The season itself was not that special, we managed to get in some talent for next season and were always focussed on making next season work. On top of that, the board granted my request of upgrading our youth facilities and to build an academy! This set us back 350k, but surely shows that the board has some ambition.
Final position: 2nd
Games: 22(14|3|5)
Goals: +17 (42|25)
Pts: 45
