Osbaston Tigers
The Finnish(ed?) Adventure?
Written 10 November 2022, 20:27
Previously in Dynamo Groby Press Releases...
No, I'm not going to go through with that. But as promised, I am going to write a little bit about the adventure of playing VM with a one-nation only approach. You can follow some of this by reading previous press releases too, of course.
As I write this, I am still undecided as to what will come next. I'm still contemplating whether to continue my Finnish project or whether to take a different approach. I do still have some quality Finnish youths on the way through the youth team at the moment and I'm quite probably going to build my next project around them regardless of what approach I take going forward.
Back when I started the Finnish Project, I had no idea I'd still be at it a decade later. There have been some tough times along the road, but my overall evaluation and conclusion would be that it has been a very successful approach for me. I am, and always will be, very proud of the achievements I have had and the commitment and dedication to the one nation approach. I've seen other teams take this approach and do well. I've seen other teams take this approach and quit when the going got tough, and I've seen other teams take this approach and enjoy the challenge without really progressing in either direction.
Tough Times
There have been tough times. It is incredibly limiting to take the one nation approach. The toughest times I would say are the occasions when players of sufficient quality from my chosen nation are thin on the ground. Often, I've found myself paying more for less. Or, when I have managed to find players I'd love to have, being far outbid by other teams who are buying to flip rather than the develop and promote into the team method I've mostly been using. As a partial side note, all my trainers are Finns too, and it has been somewhat of a chore trawling through the lists to find semi-decent staff. Though every club has that issue.
Progress
There is no doubt, my club has progressed through this project. The Finnish project has caused me to very carefully manage my club through infrastructure upgrades. We've advanced the stadium, physio facilities and training facilities. All of this has been possible with slow sustainable building, and it has given me the platform to enjoy other successes and high points.
Trophies
The real reason we're here, right? Whilst we've not exactly been prolific trophy winners, I am proud of the trophies I have won with my Finns. We competed in a forum organised competition with other like minded managers taking the One Nationality approach. We won the first edition of that tournament, and competed in further finals. One of my early high points was a Semi-Final tie in that competition, against a team representing Spain. The Norwegians had stated at the time of the Semi-Final draw they believed it'd be an Afghanistan/Spain final. Being able to shout them down and proclaim my Finns as Finalists was an awesome moment, especially given the manner of how we go through. We were 3-0 down at half time in the first leg at home. We somehow got that back to be going to the second leg at 3-3, won away from home to get through and reach the final.
There was a big gap between trophies whilst we continued to upgrade our facilities and slowly build the quality and resources we had. We've reached a few cup finals in that time but no trophies to show for it. Until, in January 2021, we won a U23 FA Cup. This was a big moment, it proved to me my slow development was beginning to bear fruit. It gave me the confidence to go for it at the senior level, and trophies followed.
I took my Finns on tour to some other leagues in this time. We won a Greek Cup in March '21 and had a few close runs at the Greek top division title. A move to the Danish league followed in June '21, and in our first season in VM homeland, we managed to steal the Danish Cup, beating much fancied sides on our way. A move to the USA came soon after, and a US Open cup made it's way into our trophy cabinet in July '21.
Spurred on by this success, we rebuilt again and this year claimed an awesome cup double, winning both the VM World Cup and Copa del Rey in July '22. A further Copa del Rey title followed in August '22.
League Title
The ones that got away. The top division titles have remained elusive. We've had a few close calls, including one in Sweden very recently which I would regard as the best chance we've ever had. We've achieved third place finishes in the top divisions in Greece, Turkey, USA, Spain and Sweden.
No, I'm not going to go through with that. But as promised, I am going to write a little bit about the adventure of playing VM with a one-nation only approach. You can follow some of this by reading previous press releases too, of course.
As I write this, I am still undecided as to what will come next. I'm still contemplating whether to continue my Finnish project or whether to take a different approach. I do still have some quality Finnish youths on the way through the youth team at the moment and I'm quite probably going to build my next project around them regardless of what approach I take going forward.
Back when I started the Finnish Project, I had no idea I'd still be at it a decade later. There have been some tough times along the road, but my overall evaluation and conclusion would be that it has been a very successful approach for me. I am, and always will be, very proud of the achievements I have had and the commitment and dedication to the one nation approach. I've seen other teams take this approach and do well. I've seen other teams take this approach and quit when the going got tough, and I've seen other teams take this approach and enjoy the challenge without really progressing in either direction.
Tough Times
There have been tough times. It is incredibly limiting to take the one nation approach. The toughest times I would say are the occasions when players of sufficient quality from my chosen nation are thin on the ground. Often, I've found myself paying more for less. Or, when I have managed to find players I'd love to have, being far outbid by other teams who are buying to flip rather than the develop and promote into the team method I've mostly been using. As a partial side note, all my trainers are Finns too, and it has been somewhat of a chore trawling through the lists to find semi-decent staff. Though every club has that issue.
Progress
There is no doubt, my club has progressed through this project. The Finnish project has caused me to very carefully manage my club through infrastructure upgrades. We've advanced the stadium, physio facilities and training facilities. All of this has been possible with slow sustainable building, and it has given me the platform to enjoy other successes and high points.
Trophies
The real reason we're here, right? Whilst we've not exactly been prolific trophy winners, I am proud of the trophies I have won with my Finns. We competed in a forum organised competition with other like minded managers taking the One Nationality approach. We won the first edition of that tournament, and competed in further finals. One of my early high points was a Semi-Final tie in that competition, against a team representing Spain. The Norwegians had stated at the time of the Semi-Final draw they believed it'd be an Afghanistan/Spain final. Being able to shout them down and proclaim my Finns as Finalists was an awesome moment, especially given the manner of how we go through. We were 3-0 down at half time in the first leg at home. We somehow got that back to be going to the second leg at 3-3, won away from home to get through and reach the final.
There was a big gap between trophies whilst we continued to upgrade our facilities and slowly build the quality and resources we had. We've reached a few cup finals in that time but no trophies to show for it. Until, in January 2021, we won a U23 FA Cup. This was a big moment, it proved to me my slow development was beginning to bear fruit. It gave me the confidence to go for it at the senior level, and trophies followed.
I took my Finns on tour to some other leagues in this time. We won a Greek Cup in March '21 and had a few close runs at the Greek top division title. A move to the Danish league followed in June '21, and in our first season in VM homeland, we managed to steal the Danish Cup, beating much fancied sides on our way. A move to the USA came soon after, and a US Open cup made it's way into our trophy cabinet in July '21.
Spurred on by this success, we rebuilt again and this year claimed an awesome cup double, winning both the VM World Cup and Copa del Rey in July '22. A further Copa del Rey title followed in August '22.
League Title
The ones that got away. The top division titles have remained elusive. We've had a few close calls, including one in Sweden very recently which I would regard as the best chance we've ever had. We've achieved third place finishes in the top divisions in Greece, Turkey, USA, Spain and Sweden.
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