KuPS - The Rocky Road To Glory

Transfers pre-2012

So it is time to preper for the new season and with us winning the domestic treble last term, it us up to us to keep it. Steve Heighway knew that the European football really tested the squad's depth so he brought in no less than seven players to strengthen the squad. Only one player, Jussi Kolari, left the club due to his contract expiring.

Tillmann Grove (DL)
Free Transfer


The former HSV youth will fill the gap in the left-back position straight away and being only 22, will become a key player in the future.


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Aleksi Vayrynen (GK)
Free Transfer


The young goalkeeper is a great prospect for the future and might even become KuPS' future No.1.


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Emerik Gronroos (MC)
Free Transfer


The 17 midfielder ran out of contract with rivals HJK after last season and I was fast to sign him up. He has a great future ahead of him.


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Fredrik Svanback (MC)
Free - Landskrona BolS


The experienced centre midfielder will add class to the league champions. He has experience in the Swedish Premier League and has made two appearances for the Finnish national team.


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Pekka Sihvola (ST)
Free - Haka


The quick, composed striker will battle for a spot on the bench with "super-sub" Abdoulaye Sylla". If I'm to be honest, he plays exactly like Fernando Torres. He even looks like him.


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Juha Tuomi (GK)
£35k - FC Lahti


The 22 year old shot-stopper will look to be a permanent fixture between the sticks for KuPS in the years to come. He possesses great reflexes and has a steady catch.


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Stefan Strandberg (DC)
Loan - Rosenberg (Parent Club)


The young Norwegian was sent on loan to us for first-team experience and he is a quality player. He will be rotated with Pieteri Holopainen and Etchu Tabe throughout the season.


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Transfer Overview



Due to a promotion, despite my injury, I will be working longer hours starting Monday. This means that updates will only be posted every two days. I hope that you will all be patient with me.

I am also going to tweak my post style from what it is now to a more complete but just as organised style. I hope that you will all stick by me during my second season at the helm of Kuopion Palloseura.

January and February Fixtures

Senior Team Report for this Season

Injury Worry for KuPS Strikers

18.01.2012.
Ilja Venalainen is out for five to six weeks with a sports hernia.

Pekka Sihvola will be out for eight to ten days with a bruised rib.

With Venalainen and Sihvola out injured, KuPS may have to rely on "Super-Sub" Abdoulaye Sylla for their opening game in the Finnish League Cup against JJK on 4th February.

Nineteen year-old Canadian striker Abdoulaye Sylla scored seven goals in fifteen starts last season for KuPS (twenty games in total). Sylla is one of the hottest prospects in the Veikkausliiga and former Ajax star Jari Litmanen had this to say about him, "Abdoulaye, he is a very good striker. His reactions are brilliant and if the defenders leave him even a yard of space, he will exploit it. I think that he has the potential to be as good as any in this league. He is a player that the KuPS fans can be proud of."

-YLE Sport

Great story.

#64734 TheRevivor : Great story.

Thanks

I'm sensing you are a little unhappy about the lack of comments this story is getting, and to be honest, I am too. The work you have with KuPS is fascinating and I surely wish to see you continue this.

Stefan Strandberg looks like a very good loan signing for you. You should try getting him on a permanent basis next season, if his value drops (wishful thinking).
Abdoulaye Sylla should do the job, but I would suggest getting one more backup (who doesn't have the stars, but good finishing, composure and work rate) so you have someone to fall back on even when Sihvola returns. This is, of course, only if you have money left.

Great story

#64751 akash.vidyasagar : I'm sensing you are a little unhappy about the lack of comments this story is getting, and to be honest, I am too. The work you have with KuPS is fascinating and I surely wish to see you continue this.

Stefan Strandberg looks like a very good loan signing for you. You should try getting him on a permanent basis next season, if his value drops (wishful thinking).
Abdoulaye Sylla should do the job, but I would suggest getting one more backup (who doesn't have the stars, but good finishing, composure and work rate) so you have someone to fall back on even when Sihvola returns. This is, of course, only if you have money left.

Great story

I understand if people aren't interested in my story because of a)not knowing anything about Finnish football or b)not enjoying my style of writing. I will be improving my story writing and if anybody has any questions about Finnish football, I would be glad to answer.

In terms of money, the chairman Ari Lahti is giving me enough for him to not look like the bad guy, but only just. My squad is stronger than most in Finland now, thanks to that very successful transfer window but can we win the league this year? I really don't know. Aleksander Ring (who is on loan at Borussia Moenchengladbach) will return to HJK in July which will only make them stronger. I can only hope that we continue on from last season and this season we have Champions League Qualifiers to look forward to.

KuPS Loan Rosenberg Star

"I am happy to anounce that we have completed the loane deal of Ole Kristian Salnaes from our parent team, Rosenberg Ballklub. Despite him only being seventeen years old, Ole will play a back-up role for Paul Obiefule in the defensive midfield role. Everybody at the club is excited by this player as he, at the tender age of seventeen, is already one of the best midfielders in the league. Aswell as being a great defensive player, Ole possesses great technique and he can pass a ball forty yards as if it was just ten. He will join the first team squad and will make his first appearance when I believe him to be ready. Thank you." - Steve Heighway to YLE reporter

Ole Kristian Salnaes (DM/MC)

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The seventeen will play back up DM until such a time as I feel he is ready to fit into the Starting XI.


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Two More Players Move to Magnum Areena

I am pleased to announce the signings of Anssi Rimali and Fredrik Karlsson. Fees were paid for both players but I believe that it would be inappropriate to release the exact details. Anssi is a signing very much for the future. It is not often that you find a seventeen year old centre back with his potential. He is a hard working, tough tackling defender. I bought Fredrik Karlsson to bolster our strike force. At twenty-five, Fredrik has enough experience to help guide the team to success. He is a similar player to captain Ilja (Venalainen) and he is lookig forward to working alongside the KuPS squad."
-Heighway to YLE and MTV3 reporters



Anssi Rimali (DC)


This kid has a bright future ahead of him. He is a similar type of player to John Terry.


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Fredrik Karlsson (ST)


The powerhouse striker will challenge for a first-team role with Venalainen, Sylla and Sihvola.


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KuPS Friendly Results


I rotated the squad alot but you have to remember the amount of players I brought in for the yoth squad. Sylla and Obiefule were my two top performers.

Great Start for Champions

5-2 Win vs JJK - League Cup Grp B
Patrick Poutiainen 19'
Abdoulaye Sylla 25'
Miika Ilo 32'
Antti Hynynen 49'
Abdoulaye Sylla 58'
Fredrik Svanback 71'
Lasse Linjala 80'
Fredrik Svanback
Pieteri Holopainen



A great result to start the season.

Formation


Player Ratings



"It is always tough to win after going behind but we showed great desire to win and by a great margin. We will look forward to our upcoming fixtures."
-Heighway after the match


Can KuPS continue on with their new-look side? Stay tuned and find out in the February update.

A small note.
With FM13 coming soon, I WILL continue this story. I will also do a story alongside this one. I want to complete this story with the World Championship AND topping the Hall of Fame. Thank you readers.

Enjoying it without having commented, don't think we're not here reading! I've never gotten around to doing a Finnish club side, though I've managed the national side in two different games. Like many "lesser" footballing nations that leads to picking few if any players from the domestic league, and that helps indicate the magnitude of the challenge you're setting yourself.

Since you have much higher aspirations than "top the Finnish league", let me warn you that the stars your assistant is giving your players are scaled by the level of expectation. Your three stars, and your four-star potential kids, will be rated lower if you're seriously competing for UCL honors, say. As you might expect if you stop and think about it, really. So don't tie up too many players to long contracts if you anticipate in future you'll be trying to lure "better" players to the club as its reputation rises.

#65352 mwichmann : Enjoying it without having commented, don't think we're not here reading! I've never gotten around to doing a Finnish club side, though I've managed the national side in two different games. Like many "lesser" footballing nations that leads to picking few if any players from the domestic league, and that helps indicate the magnitude of the challenge you're setting yourself.

Since you have much higher aspirations than "top the Finnish league", let me warn you that the stars your assistant is giving your players are scaled by the level of expectation. Your three stars, and your four-star potential kids, will be rated lower if you're seriously competing for UCL honors, say. As you might expect if you stop and think about it, really. So don't tie up too many players to long contracts if you anticipate in future you'll be trying to lure "better" players to the club as its reputation rises.

I understand your concern of my transfers but when I became manager of KuPS, I inherited a very small squad with a few holes in positions such as DL and MC. I bought these players to make a squad. I not only looked at their attributes and their star ratings but also their personalities. I wanted a determined, professional and loyal squad. Do not underestimate these players. In a completely unrelated topic, Ilja Venalainen (who is just starting for me) has a rating of 64 in FIFA 12.

I guess I need a little more reputation before I can get this job...

#65474 The FM Rookie : I understand your concern of my transfers but when I became manager of KuPS, I inherited a very small squad with a few holes in positions such as DL and MC. I bought these players to make a squad. I not only looked at their attributes and their star ratings but also their personalities. I wanted a determined, professional and loyal squad. Do not underestimate these players. In a completely unrelated topic, Ilja Venalainen (who is just starting for me) has a rating of 64 in FIFA 12.

Concern, not so much. It was just a heads up... I know you need a full squad, I'm just suggesting care in not signing too many long deals for players who may not make it at "the next level". The characteristics you mention are excellent, and ones I always recruit for as well (the minor downside is I've had several players who've been with the club a while and getting older don't want to leave - they say they can't imagine playing for any other club or for anyone other than me. Which is lovely, but finishing off with a few years somewhere a bit less challenging means we'd free up a spot and they'd get to have a bit more fun than mainly bench-warming).

I've been someplace equivalent - indeed the story I'm doing now started with two years at Hibernian and if I hadn't left for another offer, I'd have been in some trouble with players who weren't really good enough any more because the club's standard had been raised.

#65487 mwichmann : #65474 The FM Rookie :
I understand your concern of my transfers but when I became manager of KuPS, I inherited a very small squad with a few holes in positions such as DL and MC. I bought these players to make a squad. I not only looked at their attributes and their star ratings but also their personalities. I wanted a determined, professional and loyal squad. Do not underestimate these players. In a completely unrelated topic, Ilja Venalainen (who is just starting for me) has a rating of 64 in FIFA 12.


Concern, not so much. It was just a heads up... I know you need a full squad, I'm just suggesting care in not signing too many long deals for players who may not make it at "the next level". The characteristics you mention are excellent, and ones I always recruit for as well (the minor downside is I've had several players who've been with the club a while and getting older don't want to leave - they say they can't imagine playing for any other club or for anyone other than me. Which is lovely, but finishing off with a few years somewhere a bit less challenging means we'd free up a spot and they'd get to have a bit more fun than mainly bench-warming).

I've been someplace equivalent - indeed the story I'm doing now started with two years at Hibernian and if I hadn't left for another offer, I'd have been in some trouble with players who weren't really good enough any more because the club's standard had been raised.

Understood. Thanks for the advice and I will definately be careful with transfers