Mr.Cooger's journeyman save

[Mr.Cooger]

Hey, guys! After seeing SRL88's journeyman save I felt inspired to write a similar save report myself!

In advance, I'm sorry for any spelling error and/or gramatical error in this thread. I'm Norwegian, so be nice with me

This game was started a couple of weeks ago, and I'm in my fourth season as I'm writing this. In the first couple of season updates I will not include screenshot of players because the players skills have been changing and don't resemble what they were when I played the first seasons. Sorry for that.

Let's begin!

For starters I've chosen all the scandinavian leagues (except Iceland), all the lowest divisions and a medium database. I want to include new leagues when I feel like it, so changes will be made over the course of my career. Every time I start a new save, it's usually a journeyman save, so I've been most of the teams in Scandinavia which haven't got a manager. So this time I started with a random club from a random, lowest division in a country. Start date in 2011, and "Sunday footballer" reputation.

My challenges:

Win Promotion - Jippo 2012.

Win Manager of the year award - Jippo 2012.

Win a domestic cup -

Win the highest league in a nation -

Win an international cup -

Win the world cup -

Be appointed as manager for my favourite team (Liverpool FC) -

Win the league in 10 different countries -

MY CAREER

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  |  Team            | League                  |  Country   | League Position |  Notes                                   |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2011    |  Jippo           | 1.division              |  Finland   | 5th             | None                                    |
| 2012    |  Jippo           | 1.division              |  Finland   | 1st             | Promoted, Manager of the year            |
| 2013    |  Jippo           | Premier division        |  Finland   | 8th             | None                                     |
| 2014/15 |  Jippo           | Premier division        |  Finland   | 5th             | Resigned at the end of the season        |
| 2014/15 |  Senica          | Premier division        |  Slovakia  | 5th             | Appointed in November                    |

[Mr.Cooger]

In January 2011 a 27 year old Norwegian named Tommy Kristiansen gets appointed as manager for the finnish side Jippo FC. The finnish media was taken by surprise by the employment and immediatly started doing some research on this unknown, but strangely handsome fella. All they found out is that he is born close to the swedish border, has a golden retriever and his only accomplishment is 10 games as a defender in norwegian 5th division before he had to throw in the towel due to a depressing encounter with a tractor in 08. Now he had moved to Joensuu, a town located in eastern Finland with approximately 80 000 citizens, without knowing a word Finnish. Media speculated in a crisis for the finnish ykkonen side (finnish version of Championship) and a pre-apocalyptic tale was told about the fall of Jippo. Would he succeed, even though no-one believed in him?

When he got appointed, everyone was expecting a tough struggle to avoid relegation. Jippo, formed in a merger between JiiPee and Ratanat in the third division in 2001, had played in the Ykkonen since 2006 after winning their third division and promotion playoff with a goal by (now junior-coach) Arpad Mester in the 2-1 victory over Klubi 04.

The economics wasn't that bad. The team wasn't....that bad. It surely wasn't anything to brag about, but it was at least a mid-table team, and relegation should be avoided. Expecting a 10th place (out of 14) and relegation, Jippo were allready doomed before mr.Kristiansen got the job. And the board agreed with the prophetians in the media... I needed to avoid relegation.

So, my first day started out with the players. Who should play, where were my weakest links? (no screenshots)

Players

Goalkeepers:

Sanntu Korpelainen

Ville Mäkinen

Rating: 5 out of 10

Sanntu Korpelainen is a young goalkeeper. His strongest attributes is his reflexes (14), and his aerial ability (12). Compared to other goalkeepers he is the 7th or 8th best goalkeeper in the league. Mäkinen has to be the benchwarmer this season.

Defenders:

Tuomas Korpela © DC/DM

Sauli Kettunen DRC

Antti Åke DR/DM

Teemu Hallikainen D/AMRL

Joni Rissanen D/MR

Eetu Koistinen D/MR

Lauri Ikonen DLC

Rating: 3 out of 10.

This is certainly the troubled area of my team. Tuomas Korpela is decent, a captain, and got experience. Eetu Koistinen is decent, not a lot of pace, and surely better offensively (with 13 in crossing as main attribute) than defensively. Lauri Ikonen has some skills in the physical area, with 13 in pace, but not good enough to be a first team regular yet. The rest is just ****.

Midfielders:

Suad Gruda M/AMC/ST

Santeri Sjöblom M/AMC

Toni Tahvanainen AML/ST

Valtteri Nykänen MRLC/AMC

Guy - Daniel Feubia DC/DM

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Suad Gruda. One of the greatest players in the league, and he was only 18 when I started! A montenegrian (?) with 15 in technique and first touches, 12 in passing and 12 in creativity, he will be the creative force in this side. The season relies on him. Guy Daniel Feubia is a defender, but I think he will be better as a defensive midfielder.

Attackers:

Otto Kejonen ST

Markus Pippola AMR/ST

Petteri Rönkkö ST

Olli - Pekka Saarinen AML/ST

John Keister ST

Ariel Ngueukam ST

Rating: 8 out of 10

The strongest part of this team. Which is good, as I find it more easy getting good defenders rather than good attackers in the lower leagues. Decent pace, decent finishing and decent off the ball. The downside is that all of them are quite similar to each other. Ngueukam will score a lot of goals, which i need if I can't find any good defenders.

Transfers (pre-season):

My aim in this window was to get good defenders. I'm quite fond of defenders with a good ability in the air, besides good positioning and tackling. The defenders I started with doesn't have any of this. Actually, only three players had over 10 in jumping, and only Ikonen in the defence had this ability. Unfortunaly, he isn't good enough yet, so I had to get some cover (especially since my tactic is based on passing through the middle, making way for opposite wings to get some crosses, but more of that in the tactics session following the transfer session). My wage budget is quite tight, which only allows me to get 3 or 4 players in.

Pål Schjerve DC: A free transfer from Norway. He have played in the Adecco (norwegian version of Championship). A strong defender who will fit very well with Korpela, each of them complement each other. 14 in jumping, 13 in tackling and 10 in positioning. Top 6 defenders in the league.

Fredrik Vikström DRL: A good signing, also coming in on free transfer. He will be my first choice on the weakest part of the defence, the left back. Good tackling and positioning, decent pace and decent technique. The assistant manager only rates him 2,5 stars, but I can't see why. Top 5 backs in the league.

Djedje Arnauld Sèry DR/WBR/DM/MCR: Another player who have played in the Norwegian adecco. A really good bargain, and he is versatile, which is a benefit as I don't have the opportunity to improve the midfield. A top player for this league, considered top 3 backs, top 3 defensive midfielders and top 5 midfielders.

Tactics

When setting up the tactic I had to focus on my strengths rather than covering up my weaknesses.

Korpelainen

Koistinen, Schjerve, Korpela©, Vikström

Sery, Feubia

Gruda

Rönkkö, Keister, Ngueukam

I really had to think about the tactics. I couldn't have a standard 4-1-2-1-2 because I had to put one of my best players on the bench and put a weak one in the midfield. I also had to make cover in the defensive department since Gruda, who had to play, didn't prove himself as a two-way midfielder. He was of an attacking nature, and to get the best out of the team I had to play him on his strengths as an advanced playmaker. Then I realized Koistinen, my right back, would prove himself to be a better suit for an right back position than any of my midfielders as defensive players. I had to push Sery over to the midfield, and giving Koistinen the right back position back. Not my plan A, but what can you do? I could play with no backs, and three defenders, but then I had to put Vikström out of the team. Really annoying, and I should have made better plans for the transfers than I did. The attackers are very similar to each other, so I had to play Rönkkö and Ngueukam as advanced forwards and Keister as a trequartista. The backs were encouraged to get forward as often as they could, leaving both sides open for oppositions wings, and espescially on the counter - attacks.

A recap of my first season to be continued in a couple of minutes

[Mr.Cooger]

My first season as a Jippo manager was a treat!

League:

We avoided relegation easily, but we didn't have a chance to reach the promotion. That was to be expected though as FC Lahti was by far the best team in the league.

Finnish Cup:

4th.round: KajHA vs Jippo 1-2

5th.round: BK-46 vs Jippo e0-2

6th.round: Jippo vs Fc Lahti 0-2

We joined the finnish cup in the fourth round and had two matches against non-league teams which we won easily, even though BK-46 kept a clean sheet until the 94th minute. Fc Lahti was a real challenge for us. The season was to begin, the team didn't know the tactics very well, and a defeat was imminent. Really didn't have a chance, but again, to advance in the cup wasn't a goal for us this season. I'm happy for the victories, and the season to come.

Awards:

First division rookie of the year: Ariel Ngueukam

Manager of the year: Tommy Kristiansen runner up.

Team of the season: Ariel Ngueukam ST

Top goalscorers: Ariel Ngueukam 23 apps 13 goals.

Overacheiving: Jippo.

Top 3:

1. Ariel Ngueukam. The attacker had a great first season for us, scoring 13 and 7 assists in a mere 23 apps. Got 7,28 in average rating, which was more than we could ask for from the young cameroonian.

2. The offense. Every 5th game, our defence had a really bad day. First game we conceeded two goals against PK-35, without them even having a shot at target. Then it was good to see a wonderfull display of attacking football, giving us the upper hand in those matches. A 3 - 1 victory against Oulu (2.ranked team) and 2-1 home against Fc Lahti were the two highlights when we were strong in both boxes.

3. The board of directors. In a league with no income on TV revenue, low attendance and low income from sponsors, it was good to see the board injecting about 100 000£, making us one of the few clubs with an ok economy when the season ended.

Bottom 3:

1. The defence. I don't know what happened to our defence this season. When facing strong opponents, they were invincible. The next game against a lower ranked team, the were utter ****. Korpelainen in goal doesn't got what it takes yet. He is only 17, but with a ratio of about 0,5 mistakes who leads to goals every game, he is to be benched the forthcoming season.

2. Suad Gruda. I think I've played him wrong. Such a talentet player, with u-21 caps for Montenegro, got 6.98 in average rating, 5 goals and 4 assists in 24 games. Not that bad, but I expected more from him.

3. Petteri Rönkkö. Before the season I expected 8 to 10 goals from him. He ended up with 1 and 2 assist in 9 apps. He got injured in the first game, came back after two months, got injured again, came back a month after and then he got his third yellow in three apps. A terrible season, but fortunaly we had a somewhat decent backup for that position.

[Mr.Cooger]

2012

A new season to begin and the team is in a much better place now than they were this time last year. The expetations are higher, the players have improved and the manager have proved the critics wrong. Jippo is still in Ykkonen, and they are now considered a mid-table team.

The league have changed. Last year there was 13 teams, with 2 games against each. Now the number has decreased to 10, playing each team 3 times. So our chances for a good season doesn't only rely on our team performances, but also on the fixture list. Will we get Ac Oulu and Mypa (relegated) away for two matches, and will we be better away this season than the last?

Transfers:

This season I planned to change up things a bit. Suad Gruda will be tried as an trequartista on top, taking John Keisters place, who has been moved to the advanced forward position Petteri Rönkkö obtained last season, putting him on the bench. I also want to get some versatile players in, as a lot of my backup players won't see themselves on the team this season. We're aiming for higher things, and a player with no attribute above 10 won't be able to play. It has to be said though, that a lot of the players are under 20, and have a chance to prove themselves on the training field.

In:

Michael Thomas DC/MRC/AMC - Free transfer - A good player, who might manage to run around a bit with 19 in stamina and 16 in work rate. Last season Suad Gruda went down to 60% after 45 minutes and when we play with only one central midfielder, he's got to be able to hold 90 minutes. We lost initiative after 70 minutes or so almost every game last season because of fatigue, and I hope Thomas will be able to do something about that.

Noam Surrier AMC/ST - Free transfer - A decent backup who last season played for my farmer club Warkaus JK. He's quite pacey with 15 in pace and 12 in acceleration. Hopefully he will come in and give us some victories in the last minutes. Low waged.

Knut Dørum Lillebakk GK - Free transfer - Ah. Knut Dørum Lillebakk, mostly known for his many years as a backup goalkeeper for Molde FK in the norwegian premier, were playing for a non-league team in Norway (Mysen FK), when I decided to bring him to Finland. The best goalkeeper in the division with a lot of experience, low wage and good skills (8 in handling beeing the poorest goalkeeping attribute).

Nicolay Nielsen MC - Free transfer - This guy isn't set for first team football this season. The 15 year old dane came highly recommended from my scout, and I gave him a youth contract. Hopefully he will turn into a good player some day, allthough I'm not too much of a fan of fast midfielders with 1 in finishing.

Out:

Markus Pippola AMR/ST - The only guy who was at my youth squad when I took over. Not sooo bad, but he doesn't fit in, I have too many strikers and therefor it was best to let him go.

Very happy with the transfer window this year. I didn't have much too spend on wages, but I feel I got the players I wanted (except one DM). Hopefully they will work out with our way of playingm and contribute to a good season for us this year as well.

Tactics

This year I will try something slightly different than last year.

Lillebakk

Koistinen - Schjerve - Korpela - Vikström

Sery - Feubia

Thomas

Keister - Gruda - Ngueukam

Koistinen and Vikström will be attacking this year as well, as I didn't get punished by oppositions as much as I feared last year. The only let down is that they get tired too easily, and Ikonen/Rissanen will get more playtime than I want to. Sery will get the responsibility for the defending, while Feubia will play in support and get in the box when the backs are going for crosses. Only reason for this is that Feubia, despite the fact that he is naturally a defender, doesn't have the ability to support the defenders as much as Sery. And if it is one thing that I've learned from the last season, the defenders need their support if we're going to win anything this season. Thomas will be a ball winning midfielder and primarily give the ball to Gruda, who's going to be the architect in the offense. Ngueukam will play as he did so well last year, as an advanced forward, while Keister now how the opportunity to exploit his pace in the same way. Hopefully he will have the same goal tally as his colleague.

Goals this season

I want to challenge top 3. The fixtures have been kind to me, bringing both Oulu and Mypa to my homeground twice. The promoted team YPA aren't that good either, but I fear that if I won't get a promotion this year, the next seasons will be harder both with the relegated teams and the promoted teams. (In the non-leagues in Finland there are a lot of good teams who probably could play in the top tier and do well. Ilves and SJK are good examples). The cup are not of importance, and I actually hope we'll forfeit early so we may build moral playing poor opposition in friendlies before the season begins.

[Mr.Cooger]

End of season 2012 - Promotion

The league

Oh well....PROMOTION! What a wonderfull season it was! It started out with a terrible 4 - 1 defeat at home against Hämeenlinna, a team who barely managed to keep themselves in Ykkonen last season, but did an impressive season this year (thanks to 20 goals scored on corners, 7 of them against us). I didn't really think we would be able to get an promotion this year, but when my attackers scored goals, the physio was almost out of job the entire season and the midfielders controlled the...uhm, midfield every game, this is what happened!

The last game was dreadful though with 5 regular first team players out with suspensions and we played away against a team who hadn't conceeded in 7 games, winning them all by 2 goals and had only one player with injury. When Jukka Santala scored for PK-35 in the 93th minute, making the score 2-2, I was furious. I really thought we wouldn't be promoted as both Hämeenlinna and Oulu were only 1 and 2 points behind before the last match. But somehow did Hämeenlinna conceed a late goal against MYPA at home, making it 1-1 and still 1 point behind, and with Oulu winning 3-0 against Vikingiit, not able to promote due to lesser scored goals! The most exciting end to a season I've had in many years!

Finnish Cup

4th round: PiTu vs Jippo 0-2

5th round: P-lirot vs Jippo 0-2

6th round: SoVo vs Jippo 1-3

7th round: Jippo vs JJK 1-2

So we lost against JJK, a league who came 4th in the top tier last year. We were outplayed, although we had a lot of shots from a long range. The most negative thing about the loss was that it came 3 days before the season kicked off, forcing me to play some benchplayers in the league kick off were we lost against Hämeenlinna.

Awards

First division goal of the year: 1st. Santeri Sjöblom against Vikingiit. 2nd. Ariel Ngueukam against MYPA.

First division most assist: 2nd. Suad Gruda 12.

Manager of the year: 1st. Tommy Kristiansen

Most man of the match: 1st. Suad Gruda 7.

Player of the year: 1.st Suad Gruda average rating 7.41.

Team of the year: Suad Gruda ST

Top Goalscorer: 1st. Suad Gruda 15.

Over achieving: Jippo

Top 3

1. Suad Gruda. The main reason we got promoted. Most man of the matches, player of the year, top goalscorer and most assists. Nothing more to say.

2. The 6-0 victory against MYPA. MYPA was the best team in the league, and they were 5 game win streak when they visited Joensuu. We had recently lost 6-1 at home against Hämeenlinna two games earlier and we hadn't won in 4 games. So this game was a gamechanger and made our season what it was.

3. The board of directors. Again they're in my top 3. Not less than 500 000£ did they give the club, in an economicaly turbulent season.

Bottom 3

1. Fc Hämeenlinna. 4-1 loss. 6-1 loss. 4-0 victory. Strange team. 7 of the goals conceeded came from corners. Luis Vanderlei got 6 of the assists plus 2 goals. They are on my hatelist now.

2. Set pieces. We're terrible on set pieces. Only 2 goals scored from set pieces (plus 4 on penalties), and if the opponent scored, it was a high certainty it was from corners. A lot of work to be done in this area, espescially since we're meeting better players next season.

3. Aggression. We were by far the most aggressive team in this league, getting most yellow and red cards. Vikström and Rönkkö(surprise) were far beyond everybody else in the number of cards. Petteri Rönkko 12 games, 5 from start, 8 yellow, 1 red.

Misc

Got approached by five norwegian clubs in the first division. Some good, some bad. But I think I'll stay for at least a couple of years to see how it goes. Polands Ekstraklasa, Slovakian 1st. division and Croatian 1st. division added.

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2013 - First season in Veikkausliiga

So Jippo is in the finnish premier for the first time after a productive, somewhat lucky, season last year. We decided to arrange a lot of friendlies against poor opposition, hire new staff and setting up a new training regime. The wage budget is much lower than expected and with a lot of first team players on expiring contracts last autumn we had to sign new, improved contracts. Hopefully, this will be enough to avoid relegation.

Instead of doing a transfer column, let's analyze the whole team.

Players:

Goalkeepers:

Sanntu Korpelainen. In the first season he played every match, and then he showed himself as too weak to be a first team regular. And after the promotion he again have to find himself as a second choice. Still young though, and have made an appearence on the Finland u-19

Ville Mäkinen. Third choice, transferlisted and not good enough for the top tier.

Ville Iiskola. New face in. The last season he was a backup for MYPA in Ykkonen, this year our shotstopper. A decent keeper for a Premier team. Free transfer

Defenders:

Johannes Mononen DC/MC. After struggling with crosses and set-pieces last season, hopefully this guy will sort that problem. He played for the Stoke of finnish football last year, Hämeenlinna. Free transfer

Djedje Arnaud Sery DR/WBR/DM/MRC. Have been outstanding in midfield, now he have to play to the right in the defence.

Fredrik Vikström DRL. Decent at the left side at this level. Had an average season last year.

Pål Schjerve DC. Maybe the best defensive player we had last season, but struggled in the air. Getting a new partner who's going to take the battles in the air this season.

Eetu Koistinen DR/MR. Backup at the best. On expiring contract.

Lauri Ikonen. DLC. Not good enough, but will provide backup.

Midfielders:

Guy-Daniel Feubia DC/DM. Decent, played regularly last season, not good enough for the top tier.

Ugonna Anyora DC/DM/MS. The best player I've got in in the transfer window. Formerly played in Haugesund in norwegian premier and is a hard-tackling defensive midfielder with good passes. Versatile. Free transfer

Arto Kettunen DM/MC. An 18 year old who played regurarly for MYPA last season. Fits the style of play well with his hard tackles and good work ethics. Maybe too weak for playing week in and week out yet. Finland u-21. Free transfer.

Pehr Andersson DC/DM/MC. Played for Rops in the premier last season. Versatile, good in the air, good composure and creative. Will play both in defence and in midfield. Free transfer

Suad Gruda MC/AMC/ST. Was amazing and have to be as good this year. Will play against better defences and have got a new role in the new formation this year. Could be fantastic, could also be pretty anonymous. A player that is best when playing poor opposition.

Michael Thomas. DC/MC/AMC. Had a good season, was a good link between the defence and offence. This year he will get a partner on the midfield. Not expecting too much this season from him.

Attackers:

Aleksi Jalonen AMR/ST. A talent, could be "the next big thing", but lack some speed and finishing. Not exactly a "match made in heaven" yet, but with some progress he will adopt perfectly. 18 year old. Free transfer from Jaro.

John Keister ST. Not good enough to score goals, perhaps some assists, but this season he's benched.

Ariel Ngueukam ST. Good two seasons ago, decent last season. He's good enough for Ykkonen, but somewhat sceptical if he's good enough for Veikaussliga. Good against poor opposition.

Otto Kejonen ST. Not good enough. Transferlisted.

Jouko Nordström AMR/ST. Came from our youth system. Good pace. Will get some first team football, but not as a regular.

Tactics:

Iiskola

Sery - Schjerve - Mononen - Vikström

Anyora

Thomas - Andersson

Gruda

Ngueukam - Jalonen

4-1-2-1-2. The backs are told to hold back this time. We don't have good enough areal ability up front, so it's not worth sacrificing good wings to get in on our blindside. Thomas and Andersson ballwinning midfielders, Gruda again the architect of our offence. Ngueukam advanced forward, while Jalonen is alternating between defensive forward and advanced forward.

Goals this season:

Avoid relegation, basically. Everything else is a bonus.

[SRL88]

Nice to know that I inspired another . Cracking work so far dude .

[Mr.Cooger]

2013 - Avoided relegation

Before this season started I knew we needed a good start to avoid relegation, and for the first time in my JIPPO career, it wasn't the defence I was worried about. While Ngueukam and Keister were good, and sometimes oustanding, in Ykkonen, we knew that they would probably strike out in the top flight.

Luckily, the fixture was again kind to us. We got the relegation combatants twice at home, and then gave us the opportunity to get some momentum playing the bottom three right after eachother.

League

We got some wins, some unfair (mostly for the opposition) draws and a couple of certain losses. Proud of the teams performance who played the entire season without really battling to avoid getting relegated.

Finnish league cup

The finnish league cup is, as the finnish cup, played in the pre-season. Only teams from the premier plays in the league cup, giving us an excellent opportunity to check out our competition before the season got kicked off.

It started poorly. Outplayed, outscored and the morale down the drains. I wasn't exactly optimistic when the season finally started.

Finnish cup

5th. round: Fc Espoo vs Jippo 1 - 3

6th. round: Jippo vs Kups 0 - 3

Didn't stand a chance against fellow premier team, Kups. The cup wasn't anything we aimed for either, so it's not the end of the world.

Awards

None.

Top 3

1. Our player of the year, Ugonna Anyora. The defensive midfielder had only 6.78 in avg.rating, one assist and one MoM, but when no-one else shone - he was the most consistent player out there.

2. The defence. When the offence only scored more than 1 goal 3 times this season, it was good to see the defence make the scoresheet level by keeping a clean sheet 11 times in 33 matches.

3. The certainty of avoiding relegation. Our worst league position was a 9th, so we were never threatened.

Bottom 3

1. The offence. Our top goalscorer was Pål Schjerve, the defender. Our top scorer in the front lines, John Keister, scored 4 times in 16 matches. Ariel Ngueukam, 4 in 27 matches. Suad Gruda, 2 in 33.

2. The wage budget. We had only a fraction of what the other teams had. The team with the lowest wage budget besides from us, had over twice the amount we had.

3. Suad Gruda. What happened? He pulled of 6 assists from an attacking midfielder position, but with 6.68 in average rating and 1 MoM, I was really dissapointed.

Misc

Thinking of quitting after the next season. Don't think I can take this team any higher, unless the wage budget increases and we get some new forwards. Several norwegian teams in the Adecco (second highest division) have tried to steal me from Joensuu, but I want to play in a premier division.

Ac Oulu finally won promotion from the Ykkonen, after finnishing second twice the first two seasons.

Most yellow cards in the league...Again.

MY CAREER

Year Team Division Final standing Other notes

2011: JIPPO Ykkonen 5 Manager of the year runner up.

2012: JIPPO Ykkonen 1 Promoted, manager of the year

2013: JIPPO Veikausliiga 8 None

[Mr.Cooger]

Thank you, SRL88. If I get any of the same results you have, I would be delighted

[Mr.Cooger]

Off topic, how to put a table in the posts? The "MY CAREER" thing will look so much better when put in a table.

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015

A new season coming up for us in the finnish premier. I'm actually mid-season as we speak, so for the first time some screenshots of players as well as a regular monthly update will appear. Hurray!

I will try to maintain and secure our position in the top tier this season, and hopefully getting into a cup-final. This will probably be my last season as the weather in Finland doesn't suit me at all. And I'm sick of trees and lakes. So, unless I'm finishing top three, I will be looking for a new job.

The wage budget hasn't improved a bit. The finances are OK, but every month it gets worse and worse. And my salary is what to be expected for a Norwegian second division team, and to get the game more realistic, I have to go where the money is good.

Transfers:

In:

Markus Koljander GK (Free transfer from Fc Inter) - Didn't need to buy him actually, but when my first team regular got injured before an important cup game I had to.

Andreas Dahlèn DL/WBL (Free transfer from Viborg) - Finally I got a really good left back! Will be a first team regular. The 30yo swede shows good attibutes both in offence and defence.

Karlo Rantanen MRLC/AMC (Free transfer from Kalju) - I mentioned that some non-league teams have good enough players to survive the finnish premier earlier. Karlo is one of them, hailing from the non-league team Kalju. Will provide backup for Suad Gruda, who got heavily tired after about 15 games into the last season.

Roope Riski ST (Free transfer from Cesena) - A fast forward who hopefully will get more goals than my previous attackers, Ngueukam and Keister. Played for Cesena, but played for norwegian side Hønefoss (which actually is another name for female ejaculation. Høne meaning hen, an often used named for the lady bodypart, and foss meaning waterfall) in 2011 and 2012. Poor off the ball attributes tho.

Out

Eetu Kositinen, Guy Daniel Feubia, Ariel Ngueukam, John Keister, Lauri Ikonen, Sanntu Korpelainen and a whole lot of youngsters.

Players promoted from the youth team

Nicolaj Nielsen MC - The young dane came to the club in 2012 highly recommended from my scout. I didn't think he would ever make the cut, but he's improved greatly and deserves a shot at the first team.

Juha Haapala AMC/MC - Decent youngster who came through the youth intake in 2012. Not good enough yet, nor do I think he ever will be, but due to lack of players I had no choice.

Robin Gustavsson AMC - A youngster bought from Närpes Kraft in 2013. Decent.

Juoko Nordström AML/ST - He played 20 games last season (15 of them as a substitute), and allthough he wasn't considered the most talented in the youth intake of 2012 (a good year) he is the most talented right now. Resembles the strikers of the last seasons, quite fast, decent finishing and very limited in the other parts.

Not happy with the transferwindow. Good players in, and relieved the budget when getting rid of players who obviously didn't take the leap to the premier. But the wage budget is still extremely low, the squad is thinning and we need to use some regens as backups. Didn't want to get rid of Korpelainen either, as he proved himself to be a low-waged, decent backup, but I forgot to sign him a new contract. Damn.

Tactics

The same formation this year as the previous. My central midfielders obviously better on the defense than on the offence, so they will be focusing on winning the ball and give it to Gruda/Rantanen. With the arrival of Dahlèn, who is miles ahead of Vikström on the attack, gives us the opportunity to include the backs in the attacks. This is a benefit as Aleksi Jalonen, my striker, is a threat in the air.

Iiskola

Sery - Schjerve - Mononen - Dahlèn

Anyora

Andersson - Kettunen/Thomas

Gruda/Rantanen

Jalonen - Riski

Key players (with screenshots):

1. Suad Gruda. When in the "zone", he is one of the best players in the league. I hope he show the insane form he did in the season we got promoted. And if he does, well, then we may get a really good season.

2. Djedje Arnaud Sery. Is a good back, provides good cover in the midfield, and may be the most important player we've got when it's injuries and suspensions. Very consistent.

3. Aleksi Jalonen. Made massive progression last season, espescially in the physical area. Might be the one who will shine this year.

One to watch (with screenshots):

1. Arto Kettunen. While Jalonen takes the glory of beeing "the main talent" in this squad, the hard tackling and hard working midfielder might be a player to shine. Fits perfectly into a defensive minded midfield, and with being good at set-pieces, he might get some goal points as well.

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - February update

With the finnish league cup as our pre-season, we start in february. We aim to win the whole thing, or at least make the finals. The league are divided into two groups, four from each group gets to the next stage. Should be a piece of cake.

Fixtures:

[League cup] Jippo vs Ac Oulu: 4-0. An easy victory when taking on newly promoted Oulu at our homeground.

[League cup] VPS vs Jippo: 0-2. A boring game containing few shots from both sides. Brilliant defending from us.

[League cup] Jippo vs Kups: 0-2. Didn't stand a chance against a team who we normally struggle with. Fun fact: In every encounter with Kups, only one team have scored.

[Friendly] LPS vs Jippo: 0-2. Easy win when playing the non-league side.

[League cup] Jaro vs Jippo: 2-1. My personal nemesis in the league. Every time we get one up, then they turn everything around, making us lose points. In this case, all three.

Game of the month:

Jippo vs Oulu: 4-0.

Player of the month:

Djedje Arnaud Sery

Easily the best player this month. Excellent form, 3 assists and remained in total control against good opposition. Of the goals conceeded this month, not one came from their lefthand side.

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - March update

When march begins, we're heading towards the next leg in the league cup, but we still want to win the remaining game against JJK to keep up our good morale. Last month was an almost perfect start to the new campaign, so we need to stay focused to live up to the standard of february.

Fixtures:

[League cup] JJK vs Jippo: 1-4. A perfect game in many ways. Played good football, but JJK certainly put up a fight. Not as one-sided as imagined, but we were very effective.

[Friendly] Syrianska vs Jippo: 1-1. A friendly against the swedish side turned out to be a haven for violence. Syrianska got two injuries, we got one on a youth. Seven yellow cards and one red.

[Friendly] Ips vs Jippo: 1-3. Another friendly against a non-league team. Gave some youths a chance, and one in particular might have some potential. Henrik Niskanen.

Game of the month:

JJK vs Jippo: 1-4

Player of the month:

Suad Gruda.

In a month with only one official game, Suad Gruda gets the player of the month award. Was a real thorn in the JJKs defensive side, and also scored a goal against IPS in the last friendly this season.

Misc:

Next month is where it all starts. We've got a quarter final match against Jaro coming up, then it will proceed with hopefully a semi-final. If not, we aim to get two more friendlies before the league kicks off the 20th April against holding champion, HJK Helsinki. We've had a good start, ending second in our group of six in the league cup and only one injury so far (Johannes Mohonen out since October, came back i march, went down on training and out for another month.)

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - April update

Fixtures:

[League cup qtr.finals] Jippo vs Jaro: p2-2. Oh my god. I don't know what to say. For the second time this season we lose a lead in the last 15 minutes. Jaros Karamoko Traore (a beast of a player in this league. Might be the best player in Finland) scored in the 88th minute making the score 1-2, before he made the equalizer in the 94th minute with a tap in. Luckily we got the win after seven penalties, which was beyond deserved.

[League cup semi-finals] Jippo vs IFK Mariehamn: 0-1. Right before this game my goalkeeper got injured, forcing me to buy a replacement. Unfortunally the replacement didn't arrive before the day after this game. The goalkeeper for the occasion, Ville Mäkinen, who I've tried to sell since the day I arrived. We outplayed the opposition, giving them only one shot at goal. Mäkinen, in his debut, made an awful error who lead up to the only goal in the match.

[League] Jippo vs HJK Helsinki: 3-0. What an outstanding win against the holding champions! And it was deserved! Aleksi Jalonen got away with three goals and we got the same number of points. I don't think HJK knew what hit them.

[League] AC Oulu vs Jippo: 3-3. At least we've started to score goals in the league. A fair results to both teams, allthough we had the lead from the 5th minute to the 82nd.

[Cup] Pallohonka vs Jippo: 0-3. Easy win against poor opposition.

Game of the month:

Jippo vs HJK: 3-0

Player of the month:

Aleksi Jalonen.

The obvious choice for the player of the month award. Scored both goals in the 2-2 game against Jaro, all three in the win over Helsinki, two in the victory over Pallohonka and had one goal in addition to one assist on the draw against Oulu. Amazing player. If he was a real player I would sent him a loveletter by now.

Misc:

A good start in the new campaign, allthough we lost in the league cup despite dominating. A tough month coming up, first giving HJK a chance to counter their loss on their turf in the cup, titlechallengers Fc Inter at home and my nemesis Jaro, the underperforming VPS and the surprisingly good Kups away. Will be a awesome month of football, but we're lucky if we're getting anything out of these games.

And yeah, my goalkeeper made his return to the field by making two mistakes costing us the victory in Oulu.

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - May update

Fixtures:

[League] Jippo vs Inter: 2-0. We continue to over-perform against the (in theory) hardest opposition in the league. Secured the win with ten men in the second half, after Jokinen getting sent off with two yellow cards after 61 minutes. An unfair victory, to say the least.

[League] Jaro vs Jippo: 1-0. A poor perfomance results in a loss.

[League] Jippo vs IFK Mariehamn: 3-0. An excellent performance left IFK stunned and without any chance of getting back into the game after an early goal.

[League] VPS vs Jippo: 2-2. Annoying. Went two up in the 82nd. minute, but VPS came back with two late goals and secured one point for themselves. Undeserved.

[League] Kups vs Jippo: 1-0. When you have ten shots, but none at goal, you will loose.

[Cup] HJK Helsinki vs Jippo: 1-0. Got their revenge, didn't stand a chance this time.

Game of the month:

Jippo vs IFK Mariehamn: 3-0

Player of the month:

Michael Thomas.

A solid month for the american. Played with 7,3 in average, got himself an assist and a goal. Runs a lot, give a lot of tackles. A nightmare for the oppositions midfielders in the last couple of matches.

Misc

A decent month. We met some of the better teams in the league and came away with some good wins. With seven games coming up the coming month, we're aiming for at least 14 points and establish ourselves in the top three, which is our position as we're going into June.

Hjk Helsinki shows their interest in three of our youngsters, Gruda, Jalonen and Kettunen. With poor finances, it is likely we need to sell but only for a large amount.

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - June update

Fixtures:

[League] Tps vs Jippo: 1-1. A lucky draw against the strugglers Tps. Outstanding goal from Michael Thomas saved the day.

[League] Jippo vs Fc Lahti: 1-1. One shot, one kill from Fc Lahti. Unfortunate conceeding in the last ten minutes...Again.

[League] Jippo vs Honka: 1-0. Owned the match, but only one shot at goal. Deserved victory, and we're playing very well at home. Two injuries.

[League] JJK vs Jippo: 1-0. Outplayed by an effective JJK side. Our performance home and away is like night and day. Another injury.

[League] Hjk Helsinki vs Jippo: 4-2. HJK is the top of the league yet again, and they showed us why. Outstanding perfomance from Aleksi Jalonen, who got another MoM award.

[League] Jippo vs Oulu: 2-0. When at home, we're could beat anyone at any time. Oulu, on a defeat streak, was probably the easiest opposition we've played this season.

[League] Fc Inter vs Jippo: 1-0. Not much to say. Could have been a bigger loss, and we were lucky only conceeding one.

Game of the month:

Jippo vs Honka: 1-0

Player of the month:

Ugonna Anyora

Decent month for the defensive midfielder. Didn't play against JJK because of the injury he suffered the week before, but he was outstanding in our losses, although didn't leave much of a mark on the victories we had.

Misc:

Sometimes we forget we're not expected to be a top three team, and we have over-performed the last couple of months. In june we played as eveyone expected, but still we're in top five. A lot of injuries the last couple of weeks and several players are looking for a suspension. Could be a hard month coming.

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - July update

Fixtures:

[League] Jippo vs Jaro: 2-1. Another overtime goal. This time for us. Nothing feels better than beating Jaro. Celebrated with cake.

[League] IFK Mariehamn vs Jippo: 0-1. Took the lead early on, and had controll the whole game. Finally we're showing some progress away as well.

[League] Jippo vs VPS: 1-1. Even game, but we should have won it. VPS on a downward spiral came back on a set-piece late in the game, and we struggled scoring despite heavy pressure in the last ten minutes.

[League] Jippo vs Kups: 0-2. We had a lot of shots towards goal...Just a pity it was from 25 yards out. Had to play four youths (two as subs) because of injuries and suspensions.

[League] Fc Lahti vs Jippo: 3-2. Lahti went three up before we scored two in the last ten. A well deserved victory, espescially since we only had two on the bench. 8 players out with injuries and/or suspensions.

Game of the month:

IFK Mariehamn vs Jippo

Player of the month:

Djedje Arnaud Sery

Not one player played consistently on a high level this month...Only goalkeeper Iiskola managed to play all of them. Sery played ok, and showed his versatility when he played both in the defence and midfield.

Misc:

Bad month. A lot of injuries, a lot of suspensions and a lot of weak performances. Luckily, we're still placed 4th in the league, but only 9 points separates us from relegation. In the two first upcoming weeks a lot of the injured will make their return on the football field, and espescially Roope Riski will relieve me from the nightmare up front.

IFK Mariehamn tried to pull away Johannes Mononen on free transfer when his contract expires. He refused. I considering following his example when the season ends. It's fun in Finland, but I'm not sure. Should I resign at the end of the season or sign a new contract?

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - August update

Fixtures:

[League] Jipps vs Tps: 3-1. A solid win against the bottom team. Unnecessary conceeding tho.

[League] Honka vs Jippo: 3-1. Poor performance, although we had five clear-cut chances.

[League] Jippo vs JJK: 3-1. Yet another 3-1 victory. A tough match which could easily gone the other way.

[League] Jippo vs HJK: 1-1. A red card made it difficult to get anything out of this, and when we picked up an injury when made all the subs we were two men down. Yet we equalized late in the game. Very lucky draw.

[League] Ac Oulu vs Jippo: 0-1. Solid win away against 9 men most of the match.

[League] Jaro vs Jippo: 1-3. Last game of the month resulted in a well deserved 3-1 victory.

Game of the month:

Jippo vs JJK: 3-1

Player of the month:

Arto Kettunen

He had a couple of excellent performances the last couple of matches, even though he got the red card against HJK. Made the midfield his own turf, stopping the opposition countless times.

Misc:

Good month where we could use all of the first team regulars for the first time since the beginning of April. Michael Thomas is out with injury the rest of the season, which is a pity since he have been one of the best players this year. Luckily, we have good backup for his position.

League table:

[SRL88]

Off topic, how to put a table in the posts? The "MY CAREER" thing will look so much better when put in a table.

Like this?

its

 what ever your message is [ /code]

[Mr.Cooger]

Yupp, just like it Thanks!

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - September updates

Fixtures:

[League] Jippo vs Fc Lahti: 1-1. Owned the match and were unlucky we only got a draw.

[League] Jippo vs IFK Mariehamn: 0-1. Awful, just awful. Found ourselves defending for 90 minutes.

[League] VPS vs Jippo: 0-1. Good victory, and we should've won with bigger numbers.

[League] Kups vs Jippo: 2-2. The second draw this month came fairly, with us equalize two times.

[League] Jippo vs Fc Lahti: 3-0. Lahti came to Joensuu on a dry-streak of five games and had yet again to leave without any points.

Game of the month:

Jippo vs Lahti: 3-0

Player of the month:

Aleksi Jalonen

Good month for the attacker, scoring two goals and one assist.

League table:

Youth intake:

This year's youth intake is one of the most promising we've had (except for the 2012 season) giving us two quite promising players:

1. Kai Tervonen

- The most promising player of the two. A defensive midfielder who will play some of the remaining matches this season. Could be a prospect for the future, but he need to prove himself on the training field the next two years. Good work rate, which fits our midfielders style of play.

2. Markku Korhonen

- Lacks in the physical department, but have good tackles and work rate.

Misc:

Only a few games left, and we've secured an impressive top five position. If everything goes our way we may secure a 4th as well, making us eligible for play in the euro cup (if HJK wins the finnish cup final). If we do, I stay. If we don't, I resign.

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - A respectable ending

The rest of the season didn't matter as we secured the 5th place, one point from 4th and a place in the euro cup next season. However, we are proud of what we accomplished, and with the establshiment in the finnish premier - I resigned from the manager job at Jippo. It's a time for change, which hopefully will benefit both me and the team.

Fixtures:

[League] TPS vs Jippo: 1-1. Weak game against the team who got relegated.

[League] Jippo vs Honka: 0-1. Another weak game, which showed our lack of efficiency. 10 shots, 0 at goal.

[League] JJK vs Jippo: 1-2. Strong win against the team placed above us in the end. Bitter to realize we could have gone to the euro cup qualifications if we only manage to take one point more from the Honka game.

League table:

Cups:

Finnish cup: Qtr final

Finnish league cup: Semi-final.

Awards:

Manager of the year: Runner up.

Top goalscorer: Aleksi Jalonen 3rd.

Over-achieving: Jippo.

Top 3:

1. Our player of the year: Aleksi Jalonen. 26 apps, 14 goals, 9 assists, 3 Mom and 7.25 avg.rating. After a poor first season with only three goals he showed great progress throughout the season, and got rewarded with the player of the year award in the end. Rumour has it that both the holding danish champions FC Copenhagen and Everton are planning a bid on him.

2. Our efficiency at home. We over-achieved, without a doubt. The main reason: We refused to surrender at home. With only three losses we showed everyone we wouldn't surrender to anyone.

3. The atmosphere. Never have I seen so high morale during defeat-streaks as I've seen in Joensuu this season. Everyone responded well to my team-meetings and to my team-talks.

Bottom 3:

1. The injury list. The first seasons we were extremely lucky with avoiding serious injuries. This season the god of weak bonestructure got his revenge. Our most important defenders went to the doctor on shifts. When our form players had their peak, they got injuried for months. Not once this season could we manage to start a game with only seniors on the bench.

2. Suspensions. When a player wasn't injured, he was suspended. And if a record breaking 79 yellow in 33 matches wasn't enough, we also got 8 red through the campaign. The worst thing....three teams were got more cards than us....

3. Poor opposition. While we out-played better teams in one game, we could be out-played by a team with seven injuries and a loosing streak of ten games the next.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  |  Team            | League                  |  Country   | League Position |  Notes                                   |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2011    |  Jippo           | 1.division              |  Finland   | 5th             | None                                    |
| 2012    |  Jippo           | 1.division              |  Finland   | 1st             | Promoted, Manager of the year            |
| 2013    |  Jippo           | Premier division        |  Finland   | 8th             | None                                     |
| 2014/15 |  Jippo           | Premier division        |  Finland   | 5th             | Resigned at the end of the season        |

[Mr.Cooger]

If anyone actually reads this regularly or just as a one-time thing, give me feedback on what I could do better on the layout, my monthly updates and so on. I want people to enjoy reading about my adventures, and then I need YOUR help

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015

Didn't get much time for a holiday after the end of the season this year. About two weeks after I left my post at Jippo I got a new club: FK Senica (sounds like a car model). The club, hailing from a small town with around 20 000 inhabitants in western Slovakia, plays in the Slovakian premier, and is on a downward spiral after an impressive 4th place last season. the league table when I got hired.

Upon my arrival to Slovakia, I couldn't but notice one unique trait among the players: A lot of them are insanely fast, and have zero endurance. It does not apply only to my team, but in general. Another thing who I didn't check before I signed the contract (which doubled my salary from the Jippo job), was that the main reason they came so high in the league last season could be could be credited a couple of players...whom got sold in the summer window...to the number 1 team in the league, Slovan Bratislava. Bummer. Yet there is much potential, but also a lot of players with no future what so ever.

On the bright side:

- Got a decent budget, both in transfers and in wages.

- A couple of big talents.

- Some top players.

- Solid finances (£1,745,858)

Sh*tty things that makes me sad:

- 3 goalies, none of them good enough.

- Hard to attract good domestic players.

- Poor defence.

- A difficult fixture list.

When I got the job, it was only three matches to go before a winter break of three months. A good thing since there is a lot to do before I can see us as a top team. But first things first. Here are a couple of my best players:

1. Ladislav Luhovy. In my opinion, my best player. His defensive abilities will be a necessity if we're going to perform well, due to the lack of talent in the defence. Good speed, good technique and good defensive attributes.

2. Peter Stepanovsky. The technical winger is rumoured to join Slovan Bratislava and is somewhat tired of playing for an under-achieving side. I don't want to sell him tho, as he is likely to cause some serious damage to the oppositions backs (a lot of bad backs in this league). He also provides me a lot of options, since he can play on both sides. Cutting in from the right, or running down the left flank.

3. Petr Hosek. I have a lot of strikers, but he is easily the best of them. I like to play with a poacher up front, and he provides some of the qualities needed of a good poacher. Good dribbling-skills, fast and decent goalscoring attributes at this level.

4. Dusan Gajdosik. My greatest defender. Has a injury prowness like a hybrid of Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves, but he is already one of the greatest right backs in the league.

5. Peter Stojanovic. My creative force in the midfield. Good dribbler, but he is also unhappy and wanted by Slovan Bratislava. Decent player in general and a certain first team regular.

6 Igor Kovac. My biggest talent, and a future leader of this team. Aggressive and outstanding headers, even though he ain't a very good jumper.

So that was the team...The ones good enough to mention at least. We have a seriously big squad with about 30 players, few of them good enough. Have to get rid of at least one keeper, two defenders, two wings, two midfielder and three attackers to make place for some new faces. The question is, how to get rid of them?

What I did in my first two weeks:

Let's take a quantum leap about two weeks from my appointment. What's happened?

The first thing I had to do was to get new coaches, as the former ones had left with the former manager. I managed to get some new slovakian in, but in the goalkeeping coach department, there wasn't a lot to find. But since I had much influence over my former employees in Finland I managed to get my former goalkeeping coach, Tuomas Jaakola, with me from Jippo.

...Then I made a formation based on a 4-5-1 I won the champions league with (Stoke). Without going into details, I will play a direct style of play, with a holding midfielder and two creative wings. In front a poacher, in the back one stopper and one cover. I look to take advantage of every counter-attack we get, as my players are fast.

Then we played our matches, ending with two draws; 3-3 (Slovan Bratislava), 1-1 (Trencin) and one loss, 2-3 (Ruzomberok). Not the best start, but I've not been able to buy players yet. The window opens the 15th of January, and then there will be a lot of action on the market.

The transfer windom:

We leap again some time, as I've done the transfers allready and didn't bother making another post just for it.

In:

(Free transfer)Liban Abdi AML/ST. A former Ferencvaros player and a somalian national. Will play the opposite flank as Stepanovsky and give coverage to my strikers. Had an awesome last season scoring 11 goals, 8 assists and 7.52 avg.rating. I hope he perform just as well this year.

(£75k)Marek Hlinka DC/DM. Aah, I actually bought him the day I arrived as there was a lot of competition for him, but he didn't arrive before January. A really quick defender, who will play the cover-role in my defence. Somewhat bad in the air tho, but one cannot have everything. Recognized as a big talent whose progression have stagnated the last couple of years.

(£10k)Maciej Krakowiak GK. It's effin hard to find a decent, slovakian goalkeeper. Had to go to Poland and get the backup goalie for Widzew Lodz in Ekstraklasa for the purpose. Decent, but not extraordinary.

(£22k)Henry Banda MC. I actually thought this guy was named "Panda" for about two hours. A shame it was Banda. Anyways, he is a creative player who fits the role in the center midfield perfectly. I wondered about getting a player with better defensive attributes, but couldn't find one who was better than this guy. Zambian national.

(£70k)Thembinkosi Payne DL. Wasn't sure about buying another defender until the next window, but as my regular aren't good enough AND injured I had no other choice. Fast(written that a lot today...Damn slovakians, please stop taking your steroids with your coffee and slow down!) and good tackler as well as a steady passer.

Out:

Bolinha AML. Bad player with no future. A wonder anyone actually wanted him.

Also got some players on their way out in the summer window, but for this one it was - as feared - impossible to attract any interested clubs. Think the economy among the slovakian teams is somewhat terrible, as well as my players generally ain't worth a dime.

[BadManager]

This is the first time I've cheked this thread out. I like it. The layout is clean and simple.

I can understand why you left Jippo. Sometimes the finances just won;t allow you to take a side any further and its time to move on. You seem to have done pretty well there with limited resources.

I find stamina is incredibly important, especially in the midfield. Maybe its just the way I tend to play, but if stamina is low my sides falter badly (they do that anyway most of the time, but with poor stamina they do it every time). Are the guys you brought in significantly better on that front? (You did say the team had zero endurance.)

Its a shame everyone wants to go to Slovan Bratislava. Are they the biggest club by a very long way? Maybe you can keep a few of those wanting to leave if you get some good results after the break. Good luck with it.

[Mr.Cooger]

Thank you!

Yes, I was actually quite impressed with how things went. When I usually earn a promotion, the finances starts to go positive. It didn't happen, and the fact that we were miles away from HJK Helsinki in terms of finances AND in player material, lead to my depature. If I wasn't to play a journeyman I might considered staying for a few years. The finnish league is underrated, so if anyone thinks of playing it...Do it!

Indeed. The worst thing is having to use three subs in the midfield before it's gone 60 minutes. A major problem, however the stamina issue did also apply to every single position, making the problem even more...major! With a guessed estimate of 7 in stamina in general, the new guys clearly improve it, although they aren't marathon material.

Indeed it is. Slovan Bratislava is like...Hmmm..If you take Real Madrid out of the La liga and let Barcelona do whatever they want, you have Slovan Bratislava. The play in champions league, giving them more income (not to complain on my own) and better players want to join them. After two seasons in the Slovakian league (my internet connetion have been lost for nearly a week, so I've played without doing updates) I see two problems. 1. Few players want to come in, because of the low wages we offer compared to, let say, polish clubs for instance. 2. The lack of strong defenders really upsets me. I HATE conceeding in aerial battles for some reason.

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2014/2015 - As predicted

I didn't do the updates this season because my internet pulled a hamstring...Nevertheless, I'm back now.

My first season (half of a season anyway) went decent. Just as everyone expected. Miles away from Slovan Bratislava, but I'm relatively satisfied how the season went on. Because it didn't look good. 4 points in my first 5 games didn't look too promising. I found my new side struggling and in the bottom 3, with several players wanting to leave.

League table:

But it turned out ok. Annoyed by not getting a place in the european cup, by a defeat against Kosice 3-0 in the second last match. Looking forward to a new season with some seriously promising transfers.

Cups:

Slovakian Cup: Qtr-final

Awards:

None.

Top 3:

1. The talents! We got the three most promising slovakians(or slovaks?) in the game, Ladislav Luhovy, Dusan Gajdosik and Igor Kovacs. Not only are they talents, but they also played better than any other player we had! If you add T-Payne, the young south-african, we might be looking at three players soon ready for much bigger leagues.

2. Winning streak. When we win, we win a lot of games in a row.

3. The forthcoming transfer window. Some seriously promising players in. Really cheap, promising players. We all like a bargain, don't we?

Bottom 3:

1. Whining. Please stop whining. Yes, I see Slovan Bratislava want your services, but when you complain to me, get allowed to initiate contract negotiations, refusing their offers, and then you complai to the media about not getting sold...Yes, then I have a serious problem with you.

2. Luhovy. Perhaps a worse thing than the above (except, this didn't turn out negative for the remaining players morale). Yes...He got sold for £950k to Hjk Helsinki at the end of the season...Yes, he had he upportunity to ride a stallion (The danish club FC Copenhagen), but chose the donkey.

3. The finances. After looking at the finances, I couldn't figure how we could have such a good balance, when the monthly outcome was £100k more than the income...Then I remembered us selling all our good players at the end of every season. Sucks.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season  |  Team            | League                  |  Country   | League Position |  Notes                                   |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2011    |  Jippo           | 1.division              |  Finland   | 5th             | None                                     |
| 2012    |  Jippo           | 1.division              |  Finland   | 1st             | Promoted, Manager of the year            |
| 2013    |  Jippo           | Premier division        |  Finland   | 8th             | None                                     |
| 2014/15 |  Jippo           | Premier division        |  Finland   | 5th             | Resigned at the end of the season        |
| 2014/15 |  Senica          | Premier division        |  Slovakia  | 5th             | Appointed in November                    |

[Mr.Cooger]

Season 2015/2016

Because of the winter break of three months, the new season starts only a few weeks after the season ended.

The goals for this season is real simple: Winning the cup or reach a top three position in the league. To do that, I've made some alterations in the team....

Transfers

In

David Guba MC/AMC (Free transfer from Presov). Last year my midfielders had their strengths in the defensive department, so I had to bring in a new face with attackin qualities. This guy performed extremely well against us last season and are more of a teamplayer, which we've sorely missed.

Alexey Gubanov DC (Free transfer from Tavria). Came in highly recommended from all scouts. I don't see why, but I hope he'll develop into a good player eventually.

Kamil Karas AMC/ST (£10k from Kosice). Another player highly recommended. Played poorly for the relegated team Kosice last year. Has qualities I look for in a good poacher(except off-the ball), and will challenge Petr Hosek for the position as striker this season and perhaps prove som coverage for the attacking midfielder position.

Uros Matic AMR/C (£14k from Kosice). This is the greatest signing I've done for a price below 50£ that isn't a talent and/or playing for an african club. Excellent set-pieces, good technique and he will become a domestic player in a few weeks, thus free up space in the "non-eu player"-quota.

Igor Paldan DC (£2k from Lucenec). Only brought in to provide backup for both Pavlik and Hlinka in the central defense, as my other defenders were sh*t.

Michal Richter DM/MC (£45k from Slavia Prague). Won't be coming in until midseason. Decent player with defensive qualities, which might be needed, as I've got rid of most of midfielders from last year.

Total fee: £71k

Out

Stef Wijlars DM/MC (£9k to Wiener Neustadt)

Marian Postrk GK, Jan Ciric WBL/AML, Maurice Tapanguiguiè ST (Free transfer)

Michal Sulla GK (Free transfer to Nitra)

Karoly Czanik M/AMR (Free transfer to Liptovsky Mikulas)

Roman Mihalik DC (Free transfer to Petrzalka)

Robert Szegedi AMRLC (£10k to Petrzalka)

Lamine Diarrassouba ST (£4.5k to Petrzalka)

Mouhammadou Traore ST (£3.5 to Petrzalka)

Tomas Strnad DM/MC (£5k to Rim.Sobota)

Ladislac Luhovy DM/MC (£950k to HJK Helsinki)

Total income: £975k

I will survive bankrupcy for another year! Woohooooo! Finances(mid-season)

I also had one staff-member leaving, thus giving us the opportunity to get hire a former employee of mine. The finnish first team coach Teemu Haja.

Tactics:

Krakowiak

Gajdosik - Hlinka - Pavlik - Payne

Stojanovic - Banda

Stepanovsky - Matic - Abdi

Hosek

We got a lot of different possibilities in the front, with new players challenging our first team regulars from last season. After the departure of Luhovy, we decided to play an attacking midfielder instead of a defensive midfielder. The reason for that is simple: Last season we struggled to get the ball from the midfield to our attackers.

Still we play a style based on direct passes and counter-attacks. We've started to play with a playmaker tho.

Key players:

1. Dusan Gajdosik. The right back is the best in the league. We got a bid for about £1.5 million from an austrian club, but luckily - he refused their contract offer. A regular for Slovakia u-21, and is an essential part of this team.

2. T-Payne. The left back have made great progress since arriving last year. Fast, strong, good passes. As good in the attack as he is in defece. I have only one minor problem...He's got the Josè Enrique decease. That decease makes him do bad decisions in front of own goal, running about with no intent and gets runned down by opposition when he shouldn't be.

3. Henry Banda. My playmaker. Had a great first season, and need to do well now that he's got bigger defensive responsibilities. Not a teamplayer, but with his passes he should contribute to a few goals.

Ones to watch:

1. Tomas Petric. Highly regarded by my coaches. Too young and too poor to get much playing time yet, but he might be heading for some cup-matches if he makes good progress in the training field.

2. Miroslav Drobnak. I don't see why he is regarded as a big talent, but my coaches love him. Hopefully he will go on loan, and come back as a decent player.