FC Inter Turku - European Giant


FC Inter Turku
2015 - Preview

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Transfers:

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Firstly we let a few unneeded players go on a free to free up a little but of the wage budget, and managed to ship Jody Morris' ?1,000 a week wages to FC Honka for ?950. Firstly, we brought in Conor Coady on a free transfer to add extra competition in the midfielder area, as well as Milan Lalkovic to play as the inside forward on the left hand side to replace Lehtonen. After that, we then brought in Paddy McCarthy and Tyrone Mears to slot straight into the back 4 after they were released from Crystal Palace and Bolton respectively.

Finnish League Cup:

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Not a bad run in the League Cup, winning 4 and drawing 1 of our 6 group games before dropping out in the semi finals against FC Lahti. Still awaiting our first trophy in charge of Inter Turku though!

First Team Squad:

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Feel we have a nice blend of youth and experience in the squad, however quite a few of the other teams have also strengthened and a title push could be even harder this season than it was last year.

Starting 11:

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The biggest decision to make is the starting left back, as El-Akchaoui was player of the season last year but is 34 and we have a very good young left back waiting in the wings in Marinkovic. Marinkovic will get the chance to start the season in the team but if he doesn't perform then he'll be dropped. Lalkovic was poor on the left in the League Cup but hopefully he can pick up for the start of the league season...

Next update will be an April and May review, can we get off to a good start this season?..

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FC Inter Turku
April and May 2015



Fixtures:

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On the face of things it's been a pretty good couple of months. We beat two lower league sides to reach the semi finals of the Finnish Cup and we sit just 2 points behind the leaders in 2nd in the league. However, I do feel as though things should be going a lot better. We seem to dominate possession every game without creating that many clear cut chances, and then the opposition will just ping one ball in behind our defence and score the one on one. Once/if we cut out the stupid errors, we could pull clear in what is a very tight and competitive league.

Player of the Update - Tamas Gruborovics

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4 goals, 3 assists and 2 MOM's so far this season for the Hungarian midfielder.

Player Stats:

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Lalkovic has really picked up since the league season has started and Coulthirst is in pretty good goalscoring form.

League Table:

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The league is very competitive and only 8 points separate 1st and 9th.

Not sure whether the next update will be a June and July update or a special Europa League qualifier update...

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FC Inter Turku
Transfer News

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In what is by far the biggest transfer deal in the club's history, we have sold midfielder Richard Dundas to Chelsea for ?5,000,000. However, not only that, as part of the deal we will get 50% of his next transfer fee, a friendly against Chelsea and (best of all) we get to keep him on loan for the rest of the current season and the whole of next season! It was a bit of a strange transfer saga as the first bid for Dundas was only ?100,000 from Manchester United so I countered it to ?500,000 with all the pre mentioned bonuses. They rejected it but after that I was getting bids from Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal, so I kept accepting one and then offering him out for ?1,000,000 extra than the last bid accepted, until we finally settled at ?5,000,000. My assistant now thinks he can become a world class midfielder, so it could be that a free transfer of a regen right at the start of the save could really have provided a basis from which the club can build.

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Other News:

1) A lot of big clubs are looking at young Finnish striker Jorma Viljanen. I would be far less willing to sell him though considering he is Finnish, but I don't know what I would do if I was to get a similar offer to the one I got for Dundas :/

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2) We've been drawn against Lithuanian side Zalgiris in the EL 1st qualifying round, with the winner progressing to take on AA Gent.

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3) Both Junior Coaching and youth facilities are to be upgraded. Junior coaching is now at an excellent level.

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4) Finnish league drops one place in the competition rankings and we rise a few places in European club coefficients, without even playing in Europe last year.

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Next up will probably be the Europa League update or a June/July review. Do you think I made the correct decision selling Dundas and what do you think I should do if I were to get a similar bid for Viljanen?​
 
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almost there with the league. I'm sure things will be better this season. And good luck in Europe.

I had a save with AC Oulu before the final patch. Got them promoted, won the Finnish Cup but never win the league. HJK is too good in my save. Although I beat them when I won the Cup. RoPS is my bogey team, Big Rivalry and I always fail to beat them.
Money will start coming once you are constantly in Europe.

I tend to look for releases from bigger leagues. Players deemed not good for those can be stars in this league.
 
Going well mate, its always sad to see your best players leave but if he will finance the clubs future success its well worth it
 

FC Inter Turku
June + July 2015
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Fixtures:

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5 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss from the 9 league games over the two months isn't too bad of a run considering we had Europa League fixtures sandwiched in between the league fixtures. The loss against Honka was the most disappointing result but the 4-1 win over MYPA was a very nice result, especially considering 17 year old Finnish striker Viljanen bagged all 4 goals!

Player of the Update - Shaquile Coulthirst

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Plenty of goals over the two months from the English striker, both in the league and Europa League...

Player Stats:

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3 of our Finnish players (Lehtonen, Lindstrom and Bahne) are all retiring at the end of the season, bit surprising considering two of them are only 34 and Bahne, the goalkeeper, is 36. Bahne and Lehtonen have both played a key role in the team this year and so will be missed...

League Table:

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We've fallen a little behind champions VPS in our title chase, as they now sit 4 points ahead of us. However,we do have a game in hand and then another 14 games to catch them!

Next update will be a special Europa League qualifying update...


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FC Inter Turku
Europa League Qualifying Rounds - 2015

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1st Round - FC Inter Turku 8 - 3 Zalgiris (On Aggregate)

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Zalgiris of Lithuania were easily dispatched in the first qualifying round. After winning the first leg 4-2, we played a young team in the return fixture and won 4-1, with Viljanen bagging himself a brace.

2nd Round - FC Inter Turku 3 - 1 AA Gent (On Aggregate)

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After losing the 1st leg away in Belgium 1-0, I wasn't too confident in turning the tie around, despite the fact we were dominant in possession. However, Shaquile Coulthirst came flying out of the blocks in the return leg in Finland and bagged himself a hatrick, sending us through 3-1 on aggregate.

3rd Round - FC Inter Turku 5 - 2 Debrecen (On Aggregate)

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So, Debrecen of Hungary awaited in the 3rd round and they followed a similar fate of Gent when they came to the Veritas Stadion, losing 3-0 to us in the 1st leg. I was feeling confident heading into the away leg and played a semi-rotated team, and the away tie ended 2-2 and we had made it through to the playoff round, where we would play FC Lorient of France. I was pretty happy with the draw, sure we would be underdogs but it wasn't the worst draw we could of got and we would be in with a chance.

Playoff Round 1st Leg - FC Lorient 1 - 0 FC Inter Turku

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We got off to the worst possible start in the playoff round against Lorient, falling 1-0 behind after just 2 minutes. After that we controlled the majority of the game, and missed 3 or 4 one on ones, with Coulthirst being the main culprit. I wasn't too confident heading into the home tie, as I felt we weren't going to be able to play as well for a 2nd time and thought we would live to rue the lack of an away goal!

Playoff Round 2nd Leg - FC Inter Turku 5 - 0 FC Lorient

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I really didn't see this one coming! Paddy McCarthy drew the tie level from a corner before Coulthirst put us ahead in the second half. Then all of a sudden it became the Gruborovics show, as he put Lorient to the sword with a hatrick, including 2 penalties. To the Europa League Group stages we head!

Europa League Group K:

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Ouch, a pretty tough group draw but it's pretty much as I expected. Don't have any chance of making it through the group, but hopefully we can pull off a couple of upsets along the way.

Next up will be an August and September review...

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FC Inter Turku
August + September 2015

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Finnish Cup Final

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****! Thought we had our first trophy in the bag when big Paddy McCarthy put us 1-0 up in the 52nd minute, however they quickly turned the game on it's head and went 2-1 up. A second McCarthy goal pulled us level but then the idiot decided to get himself sent off in extra time and MYPA took the Finnish Cup with a 3-2 win AET. Very disappointing and it's looking like another trophyless season for FC Inter Turku...

Fixtures:

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Unfortunately, our heroics in the Europa League seems to have had a real negative effect on our domestic form, not allowing us to get any form of consistency with games coming thick and fast. The 6-0 defeat to RoPS was a particular low, and despite the fact we were down to 10 men after 8 minutes it was still an awful result! Then the 2-1 defeat to VPS pretty much ended any form of title challenge, although it's still mathematically possible if VPS drop points and we win our last 5 games.

Player Stats:

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Gruborovics is still leading the way in the battle for the player of the season, whilst Coulthirst is heading towards 30 goals for the seasons. We've made two signings since the last update as well, bringing in Wes Foderingham in on a free to be first choice keeper, and 28 year old Finnish left winger Erfan Zeneli to offer competition for places on the left for ?50,000.

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League Table:

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The likelihood is that we would need to win our last 5 and both teams above us would have to drop points for us to win the league, not very likely however we just have to strive to keep up our end of the bargain...

Youth Intake:

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Pretty poor intake compared to last year, as the best player from this years intake has the same potential as the 4th best player from last years'. Nobody screenshot worthy, but hopefully one of these can surprise me and develop quickly.


Next update will be a September review, after which we'll have a Europa League Group stage update!
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FC Inter Turku
October 2015

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Fixtures:

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We needed to win all 5 games in October to have any chance of winning the league, however we could only manage 11 points and so we drop one place in the league to 3rd place this season.

Player Stats:

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32 goals and 17 assists from Coulthirst is a fantastic return for the lone striker, whilst Lehtonen and Lalkovic also provided great contributions from the wings. Young Finnish players Sarjovaara and Jaaskelainen both impressed in their performances in the last couple of games of the season and could have won themselves a space in next years squad.

League Table:

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We actually got one more point this season compared to last year, but dropped one place in the league. VPS won a second consecutive title and have done so with what I think is a distinctly average looking squad. If we hadn't had such a long Europa League run, I feel we would have been able to get the extra 6 points to win the league, however it wasn't to be!


Next up will be a Europa League Group Stage update...

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FC Inter Turku
Europa League Group Stage 2015

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Match Day 1 - FC Inter Turku 2 - 0 AS Roma

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Match Day 2 - Schalke 04 3 - 2 FC Inter Turku

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Match Day 3 - Granada 3 - 0 FC Inter Turku

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Match Day 4 - FC Inter Turku 3 - 1 Granada

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Match Day 5 - AS Roma 3 - 2 FC Inter Turku

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Match Day 6 - FC Inter Turku 1 - 2 Schalke 04

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Group Standings:

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A great run for the club in the Europa League comes to an end but we put in 5 fantastic performances in the group stages. We still had a very good chance of progressing heading into the last game, if we could beat Schalke at home on match day 6. Coulthirst equalized in the 86th minute and we chucked everybody forward to get a winner but they caught us with a sucker punch and we were very unlucky to finish in 4th place in the group!

Next up will be a season review...

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Some pretty strong results from the group stage Scotty, Europe knows not to take you lightly!
 
JonoMUFC said:
Some pretty strong results from the group stage Scotty, Europe knows not to take you lightly!
Click to expand...

Thanks Jono, the funny thing is if it wasn't for late goals in both Schalke games it could have been so much better! Need to get that first league title next year though, the real money is in the Champions League!
 
Safc-mad-scotty said:
Thanks Jono, the funny thing is if it wasn't for late goals in both Schalke games it could have been so much better! Need to get that first league title next year though, the real money is in the Champions League!
Click to expand...

Agreed, I have a long term Belarus save, words cannot describe how good that 7 million every season is getting to the group stage when you're starting out challenges like this, they're club builders!
 

FC Inter Turku
End of Season Review - 2015

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Finnish Premier League - 3rd

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Finnish Cup - Runners Up

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Finnish League Cup - Semi Final

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Europa League - 4th in Group Stage

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Fans Player of the Year - Shaquile Coulthirst

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Best 11:

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Overall Best 11:

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Next update will be a quick update on how the national team got on in 2015!​
 

Finland
2015

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Fixtures:

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Finland were so close to qualifying for their first major tournament, however could not overcome Switzerland in a playoff after finishing 3rd in their group.

European Championship 2016 Qualifying:

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If they had beaten Isreal in the last game they could have qualified in 2nd place, but the impressive performance has seen them rise to 53rd on the world rankings.

World Ranking Graph:

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Player of the Year - Roman Eremenko

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Young Player of the Year - Jere Uronen

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Best 11:

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Next up will be a 2016 preview, including how we got on in the Finnish League Cup. The players haven't actually had a holiday period with being in the group stages of the Europa League, so I'm hoping it doesn't lead to big fitness problems through the season...​
 
You've done really well so far, to get into the group stages of the Europa League at this early stage in your career is is amazing.
 

FC Inter Turku
Season Preview - 2016

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Transfers:

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The window started off with us giving RoPS 65k for Finnish centre back Erik Lundberg, he looks pretty decent and already knows the league so shouldn't need much time to settle in.

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After that we brought in a few players on free transfers, mainly as backup to the first team although Cypriot winger Aloneftis will go straight into the first 11 to replace the retired Lehtonen.

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Also,we brought 2 centre backs in on loan. Vanczak is an experienced Hungarian defender who will walk straight into the starting 11, whilst Zabala is a promising Argentine defender who I missed out on a bosman when he renewed his contract at Newell's.

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Finally, I've arranged to sign a young promising Argentine left winger on a bosman at the end of June. Think he could be a great signing when he fully develops.

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Finnish League Cup:

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Finally we win our first trophy! Ok, it's only the League Cup (which is effectively a pre-season tournament) but it's a start! We had a couple of poor results in the group stages against HJK but then we stormed through the knockout rounds to bring home the trophy!

Squad:

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First 11:

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Not too much changed from last season. It's Dundas' last season before he heads to Chelsea so I'm hoping we can get a big season out of him. Only major change is at centre back where I'm still not 100% sure that I know my best partnership yet.

Next update will be a April and May review, can we get off to a strong start to our league campaign?


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FC Inter Turku
April and May 2016

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Fixtures:

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A pretty solid start to the league, only 2 defeats and 1 draw and we've progressed into the Finnish Cup semi final.

Player of the Update - Erik Lundberg

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The Finnish centre back we brought in for 65k has slotted straight in at the back and even chipped in with a few goals.

Player Stats:

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Milan Lalkovic is quickly becoming our best player and becoming far more clinical. Also, Cypriot winger Aloneftis has really picked up where Lehtonen left off on that left wing and contributing to our cause...

League Table:

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One point behind HJK with a game in hand, we are very much in with a shout of winning the league this year. Hopefully, if we have another Europa League run, it won't cost us too many points in the league!

Other News:

1) Both centre backs I had on loan got injuries that would have kept them out for the majority of their respective loan spells, so I had to cancel the loans.

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2) To plug the gap in the squad, I've brought in American defender Clarence Goodson on a short term deal, and he will also manage our under 19's.

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Next update will be either a June and July review, or a Europa League qualifying update...

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FC Inter Turku
June and July 2016

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Fixtures:

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We were unbeaten domestically over June and July, with 6 league wins and 3 draws from 9 league games. The first couple of games in June were difficult as we had a few players away with Finland Under 21's at the under 21 European Championship, whilst first choice left back Marinkovic was at the same tournament with Serbia. Also, we had one player at Euro 2016, right Milan Lalkovic making the Slovakia squad, albeit he never made an appearance in the tournament.

Player Stats:

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Young Argentine left winger Arza has been a bit poor since joining, however I'll put that down to his age and having to settle in a new country. Luckily, Aloneftis is having a cracking season down that left wing so there's no pressure on Arza to make an immediate impact!

League Table:

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Looking good at the moment, we'll go 9 points clear of HJK if we win our game in hand.

Other News:

1) The Finnish league rises in the competition rankings and we rise in the club coefficients...

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2) We sign an 18 year old USA international centre back for just 200k as his contract was running out. This lad could lead our back line for the next 10+ years if we can keep him here.

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Next update will be a Europa League qualifying update...

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