TFT Issue 19!
FreeToday’s featured game is the Finnish Liiga Cup encounter in Vaasa between VPS Vaasa and Tampere United. Tampere are the bigger of the two clubs but have been crippled financially over the past few years so there’s not been much between them, which is still the case for today’s game.
However, varying news leads me to side with Tampere United here. You see, VPS Vaasa had a big clear-out of players over the break but a lot of them were important players. For example, they lost the club’s leading goalscorer last season in the Veikkausliiga as he (Aalto) moved to Jaro Pietarsaari and also lost the pacey Jussi-Pekka Savolainen, which are two hefty blows for the hosts. Even back-up Nigerian striker Eboigbe has moved on, leaving VPS with just Laaskonen and Kainu as decent attacking players but it’s really not much, especially for a side who aren’t known for their goalscoring ability to begin with, even at Botniahalli. VPS also waved goodbye to important defenders Aijala and Salmi, which is crazy as the sole reason that VPS Vaasa avoided the drop last season was because of their well-organised side, which stemmed from a fairly solid backline, which they have just half of now. They signed Koskimaa from FC Honka Espoo to lessen their issues but he’s injured and won’t feature in this game. The signature of Henriksson (also from FC Honka Espoo) is a decent goalkeeper to add to their squad and ex-MyPa Anjalankoski defender Uimaniemi will assist VPS Vaasa on their way back to a solid defence but is it really enough for the hosts, considering their losses? Not in my eyes. VPS have taken a couple of chances by signing Corr from PoPa Pori and Heini from FC Lahti, both of which are midfielders with potential, but neither of which are outstanding so again, I have my doubts over VPS Vaasa here.
VPS welcome back Bernhardt in midfield after he was left out as a precaution against Jaro Pietarsaari to give them some kind of boost but ultimately, I’m just not convinced by them here.
Tampere United also lost players during the window, losing experienced duo Kaven (goalkeeper) and Pohja (attacking midfielder) although the most severe loss has to be ex-Finland U21 international Tomi Petrescu, who joined Greek Super League outfit Panthrakikos. I was a big fan of Petrescu, who was one of the leading players in one of Finland’s best U21 sides in years a couple of years ago, and he’s been instrumental in all of Tampere’s displays over the past couple of years so this is a hefty loss. However, they have brought in Lahtinen from JJK Jyvaskyla to provide competition for Myntti and Kangaskolkka so I think it’s a good move overall. Myntti is such a beast in the air that if Tampere get the right service to him then they’ll do well this season, let alone in this game. Don’t fool yourselves – Tampere aren’t a Honka or HJK anymore – but a good run of form can do anything for a side, as KuPS Kuopio demonstrated last season so I wouldn’t write the visitors off here.
Ex-Tampere Uniited player Jarko Wiss takes charge for the first time following the departure of Ari Hjelm so it’ll be interesting to see his tactical approach in this game. The players realistically should be keen to play for him although his tactics are rumoured to be defensive so I don’t know how well that’ll sit with a side that used to be notorious for its attacking ability. However, whether he’s an attacking coach or not, Tampere United have the perfect opportunity to demonstrate their ability in front of goal today with their hosts having sold two key defenders during the break. Two replacements were brought in, as I mentioned earlier, but one of them misses this game through injury and you all know that it takes time to embed defenders into a team so I don’t think that we’ll see the atypical well-marshalled VPS Vaasa display today.
Finally, VPS Vaasa also have problems in midfield with key midfielders Koskela and Hietaharju both missing this game through injury, which stretches VPS Vaasa’s tight squad even moreso. For me, there have been too many changes at VPS Vaasa pre-season and there are too many absences today for them to gloss over the cracks that should inevitably be there as a result, especially as VPS are a side of continuity and consistency, two things that I don’t expect to see in Vaasa for some time. Tampere United still have some issues themselves, especially with Petrescu’s departure, but they’ve got a good enough attack to win this game today so I think the away win with draw no bet cover at 6/4 looks very tempting indeed.
Team news – VPS miss Koskimaa, Bjork, Hietaharju, Corr, and Koskela.
Verdict: Tampere United to win with draw no bet at 6/4.