retired_brendaokc

Leagues Running

Finland Full
Sweden Full
Norway Full
Denmark Full
IcelandFull
England Full
Norn Iron Full


VPS Finnish 1st 2006

Due to the untimely demise of my Welling United game I decided on a different challenge. Being fascinated by someone elses game on here I decided to head to Scandinavia, and Finland to be exact. Not knowing any clubs over here I asked Frank and he told me to head to Vasaan Palloseura aka VPS in the Finnish 1st division.
I packed my bags, headed to the airport and arrived in the freezing cold to see what I could find.
What I actually found was not a bad run club, in the red to the tune of 4k.Good training facilities and a 6000 capacity stadium with undersoil heating. The board wanted promotion. They gave me no transfer funds, a wage budget of 3.6k and a squad of ne’r do wells. This was going to be interesting. Off went my scouts to see what they could find to help bolster my squad, and on the list went 4 players. I managed to bring in 5 players on frees, and got rid of 4, also on frees.

Things didn’t start well. Winning 1 out of 6 friendlies, but managed to negotiate the first 2 rounds of the Suomen cup before the league started in earnest. A 1- 0 defeat in the 1st game had me worried but I shouldn’t have. We then embarked on a fanstastic 18 game run without defeat with a couple of Suomen cup wins included, until a 3-1 home defeat to the amazingly named Honka.
This started a run of 6 games without a win, and again had me worried especially as it was so close to the end of the season. A 4-1 win v OLS secured 2nd place and the play offs for me, as I finished 1 point behind leaders FC Haameenlinna.
The play offs matched me with RoPS who had finished 2nd bottom of the Veikkausliga, but they proved no match and they were despatched 5-0 on aggregate, cementing promotion in the 1st season. 1 final match remained, a 7th round Suomen cup match v Tampere United who had finished 6th in the top division.
Things started well, taking the lead after 12 minutes, but they pegged us back straight away before taking the lead in the 26th minute. I didn’t reckon on my top scorer though who equalised in the 89th minute and that’s how things stayed. Penalties it was. Now anyone who followed my Welling game will know Penalties don’t work for me, and again it was proved this time. They missed 3, We missed 4 and we were out. Still, they battled well and I was proud of them. Veikkausliga here we come!!

Final Position 2nd P26 W 14 D 8 L 4 F45 A 24 P 50

Suomen Cup 7th Round 2-2 V Tampere United, Lost 2-1 on Pens.

Players in 5 all free
Players out 4 all free

Average attendance 643

retired_brendaokc

VPS Finnish Veikkausliga Season 2006

A 2 year contract worth £1800 PW was signed and now safely in my back pocket.
The board and fans wanted me to battle to avoid relegation and offered me 24k in transfers and 8.7k PW in wages.
This war accepted, I decided to take the offers that were made to me for the players that had served me so well, and out went my top scorer, my AML and AMC for a total of £475’000. This gave me real money to play with and consulted my scouts again. They had found me a lot of players, most around around 17 years old so I decided to invest in youth with a couple of wise heads to see them through.
In came a massive total of 26 players for a combined total of 55k, one player ( A keeper) cost 30k on his own! This proved to be a wise investment though, as you will find out later!
With my u20s full and all training my way I left them to their own devices so I could concentrate on my 1st team.
A run of friendly victories gave me confidence going into the new season, and my new signing, a Guinea intl was having a field day.
The 1st 2 rounds of the Suomen cup successfully negotiated it was league time, and it started with 7 games without defeat! Ok 6 of these were draws but hey, got to take a point when offered! A 3-0 defeat to Inter Turku gave me my 1st defeat in the league.
I feared a downturn in fortunes, but they were allayed with a 2-0 victory against SoVo in the 6th round of the Suomen cup and a 4-1 victory against Jaro in the league.
This was as good as it got however, and we were never able to make a consistent run, finishing the league safe from relegation, in 10th place, with more draws than defeats.
The Suomen cup left to play for, the 7th round gave me a 4-0 away win against Gnistan, and a QF away draw v Lahti. This was the end of our cup run though. Lahti scored all the goals as we succumbed 3-1. Time to rebuild for the 3rd season!

Oh my U20s won their group, winning 24 out of their 26 games.


Final position 10th, p 26 W5 D11 L10 F21 A30 P26

Suomen Cup, QF v FC Lahti, lost 3-1

Players out 3 total £475’000

Players in 26 total £55’000

Av attendance 932


And yes the 1st report should ahve been season 2005!!

retired_brendaokc

VPS Finnish Veikkausliga Season 2007

A massive transfer budget of £210’000 was offered to me by my board, who again wanted me clear of relegation.
In came 9 players for £180’000, all with an eye on the future, including a 17 year old Slovenian my scouts had found. And he was good, He was very good.
Out went 7 players all on frees to balance the wages. And training was set for them all. Happy days, we are ready to rock!!
Pre season saw 8 friendlies, 7 wins and 1 draw, and I was optimistic. A 7-0 win in the 4th round of the Suomen cup and a 3-1 win in the 5th round had me dreaming. My young Slovenian forward was scoring goals for fun as well.
On we went to the league and things didn’t quite go how I expected them to. A 1-1 draw in the first game, a 0-0 in the second lead to a 4-2 home drubbing by FC Haka.
I needn’t have worried though, as again we went on an unbeaten run, putting together 5 wins and 2 draws before another defeat, this time to HJK.
More wins followed including a 4-1 win over Tampere United, 4-0 v KuPS, 4-1 v KooTeePee and a 5-0 v Rakuunat. Suddenly we are in 2nd place chasing down Tampere United who lead by 1 point.
Things again don’t go according to plan though and a run of draws and defeat in our last game v Tampere consign us to 3rd place in the league. 5 points behind our last day opponents. Back in the Suomen Cup we again reach the QF, this time a 3-2 defeat to Lahti who stop us progressing
We have however qualified for the intertwobob cup and we can have a little holiday wherever the fixture computer sends us!!
My board are ecstatic, I’m ecstatic and so are the players. I have got part time VPS into Europe, My new signings are fitting in well and their values are shooting up. I’m also having to fend off the big boys who are determined to unsettle my young side. I turn down a £400’000 bid for my young Slovenian and put him on a full time contract. I also turn down more bids for other midfielders, so my plyers can’t have done a bad job!
My u20s also retain their league. So things are looking rosy so far.

Final Position 3rd, Pld 26 W15 D7 L4 F49 A22 Pts 52

Suomen Cup Qf lost 3-2 FC Lahti

Players in 9 Total £180’000

Players out 7 total Nothing.

Av attendance 943

retired_yolanda

KUTGW :thup:

retired_skinner3

Well done! Good luck in Suomi...and don't forget your parka.

:thup:

needsometlc

Isn't that somethings the eskimos use?
I would rather recommend him to remember the vodka.

retired_brendaokc

got me Parka and Vodka, also lots of scarves whiskey, Brandy and very thick gloves. all I need is for a hot Finnish woman to keep me warm at night as my Igloo is very cold!

retired_berrysale

According to the Swedes and Danes I have spoken to, there is only one type of Finn....a drunken Finn.

retired_brendaokc

VPS Finnish Veikkausliga Season 2008

VPS European adventure started this year with our entrance into the InterTwoBob Cup, and with that the squad needed strengthening. Given that the board only wanted a safe mid table position I was optimistic of a good season.
A wage budget of 9k per week and a transfer budgetof 220k meant the scouts went on their tour on Scandanavia , but this time they didn't do their job. Only 2 players came in, a bulgarian midfielder and a defender for a total of 44k, out went my top midfielder for 1.5mill and my keeper for 250k, plus 12 on frees.
Pre season started well, 9 matches,9 wins, if you include Suomen cup matches and then it was the start of the league season.
Oh dear, Things didnt start well. 1st game against Allianssi we are 2-0 up at half time and manage to lose 3-2, 2nd game v Turku we make it 3-0 up with 20 mins to go and lose 4-3. This was followed by a 1-0 reverse at home to KPV. Things pick up with 4 wins and a draw before our excursion into Europe and a trip to Moldova. Drawn against Chisinau they are despatched easily 6-0 on aggregate, and then comes a trip to Portugal and a pair up v Rio Ave. we manage to lose the 1st match 3-2, despite being 2-0 up, but kick their backsides 3-0 at home after they self destruct. a player sent off after 20 mins certainly helped our cause. 3rd round pits us against French giants. Auxerre and thats where our dream ends. a 3-0 defeat at home followed a 2-0 defeat away. some comfort was taken by the fact the home attendance of 5969 and takings of 70k are club records. Still we at least get to concentrate on the league. a good run of wins and draws keeps us near the top of the table, my slovenian 18 year old and Turkish striker making good impressions. Again despite our best intentions we never quite manage to make up ground on the leaders and finally finished 4th. The Suoman cup run went on though, and we struggled to the final beating most non league teams on the way until getting Turku in the Semis. We rush into a 2-0 lead before Turku come storming back to bring it back to level terms, but we manage to get an extra time winner to get us into the final for the 2nd time ever against MyPa. Again we storm into an early lead after 3 mins, and hold out for 75mins when they equalise. Extra time draws to a close, and they manage to get the winner. Still some consolation. My winger gets young player of the year, and my Turkish attacker is top scorer with 33 goals in all competitions.
I am looking forward to next season. my board has agreed to improve the training facilities, So unless a good job offer comes along, I'm here for the long haul!

As for drunken Finns, fantastic, I fit in well

retired_crazybonejr

I had some fun - and success - with VPS while playing CM4, nice to see the tradition live on!