Uralica

Today's Scores: Ykkönen Promotion Playoff ÖPK 3 Fortuna 2 UJK 0 Spartak YO 2 Final: 11 December 2010, Syktyvkar Stadion - Spartak YO @ ÖPK Kakkonen West Promotion Playoff Sever 2 MLK 1 Stolitsa YO 0 Mennonites 4 Final: 11 December 2010, Muurmanskin Areena - Sever vs. Mennonites Kakkonen East Promotion Playoff Energiya Chaykovsky 2 Progress Inta 2 (Energiya wins 5-4 on penalties) Rossia 3 Octane 1 Final: 11 December 2010, TvinkiZavod Stadion, Chaykovsky - Energiya vs. Rossia Kolmonen Championship ViPS 0 TvinkiZavod 5 Gazovik 2 Sokol 4 PSV 3 Zenit 1 Votka 2 Rapid 2 (Rapid wins 3-1 on penalties) Semis: 8 December 2010 TvinkiZavod vs. Sokol - TvinkiZavod Stadion, Chaykovsky Rapid vs. PSV - Salmianstadion, Konosha (Will do Nelonen playoffs later.)

RED's Wiki hasn't been updated in anything but stats since May (OOC: and the last three or four edits have all been by Wiki-mods). There have been rumblings that NPO is tied to RED, but from NPO's [i]way[/i] the hell better-upkept Wiki, I'm going to take an educated guess and say that these rumblings are nothing but tinfoil-flavoured baloney.

A lot of DAAN members are ex-CCC anyway. Can't say I'm that surprised, to be honest, but hey, at least they tried. And at least they don't have to see this Taelon's ugly mug any more after this thread: [img]http://www.kiraajournals.com/daaninkaarpaajA.jpg[/img] o/ DAAN o/ CCC EDIT: Woah, and I just noticed the merger put CCC over 3M NS for the first time. Congrats!

Regular Season Wrap-Up Marko Mäkelä The largest and most exciting regular season of Uralican football has finally come to a close, with SiPS doing the expected and claiming their third consecutive Shield of Honour as they won the Bolakliiga by five points. The big difference this season is who their number-one rivals were, considering that Dinamo Kirov finished a surprisingly low fourth. Instead, it was the Komi-Menno Derby between SiPS and Telekom Pazhga that turned out to be the big story this season, as the 'Kom went from finishing a disappointing tenth last season to finishing second this season thanks to career years from several players, not the least of which was Diedrik Siemens, who finished only two back of SiPS wunderkind Hessu Öörni for the league's assist lead. Here's a look at the league-by-league story, though. The Bolakliiga Award Winners: Petteri Vahalahti, SiPS (Golden Ball/MVP, Sami Hyypiä Trophy/Best Defensive Player), Joni Rasimus, SiPS (Golden Shoe/Top Scorer - he had 43 goals this season), Trevor Renzenbrink, Telekom Pazhga (Golden Gloves/Best Goalkeeper), Diedrik Siemens, Telekom Pazhga (Fair Play Award/Most Sportsmanlike Player), Csaba Száláy, Amkar Perm' (Best Youth Player). Biggest surprises: Telekom Pazhga finishing second, FK Inta not getting relegated, FK Vorkuta finishing mid-table in spite of a horrendous start. Biggest disappointments: Amkar Perm' finishing below .500 after losing the aforementioned Száláy to injury mere days after acquiring him, Udmurtiya Izhevsk, Mashinostroitel Kirov, and Dinamo Vologda having sub-par years, Spartak Ukhta almost getting relegated only a year after finishing 10th. Relegated: FK Kotlas, FK Syktyvkar, FK Kirov. The Bolakliiga was indeed interesting this season. Several teams were bitten by the injury bug, most notably Metafraks Gubakha, who at one point had all but four of their starters in the stands. Mashinostroitel Kirov was another one of these, although even when at full health they had so much trouble scoring that star goalkeeper Yevgeny Kudymov left for Mordovia Saransk in the Ykkönen, where he ended up guiding the Clarets to a mind-blowing perfect record of 38-0-0. Expect a major shakeup there in the offseason. The three teams that were relegated were three of the four lowest-rated teams coming into the season, although the lowest-rated team at that point, FK Inta, managed to fight tooth and nail to stay out of relegation, although I don't think they'll be able to stave that off for another year, as much as they've improved. Both Mordovia Saransk and their runners-up, Ural Yekaterinburg, look like staying up after the 2011 season. As for the playoff winners, that remains to be seen. Last year's 1-nen playoff winners, CSKVC Kirov, actually finished in the last non-red zone position, 15 points clear of FK Kotlas. I have a feeling they'll be going down after next season, but who knows? I have to hand it to Milan Sorokin, though. He took a limited budget and a horrible team that was expected to finish the season in single-digit points, and pulled them out of the gutter enough that they finished ahead of even Spartak Ukhta, getting double-digit wins. Easily the manager of the year. Not that Spartak didn't help them out somewhat by absolutely sucking, of course. There's another team I'm expecting a shakeup from in the off-season, before the 3rd annual Kanslerinkilpi starts in late February. I expect no fewer than five managers to lose their jobs in the B-liiga alone. Ykkönen 2010 was the year of the Old Guard. Two teams from the old Russian system finished 1-2, with Mordovia Saransk utterly obliterating all competition and leaving even Ural Yekaterinburg eating their dust. It's not like Ural didn't have a fight in the late stages for second place, either. I would heavily favour Öskölömen PK to win the Ykkönen playoffs - they got unlucky last year, running into a then-hot goalkeeper who spent most of this B-Liiga season injured. It's not like they'll rampage over the other three playoff teams - their archrivals Usovuoren JK, much-improved Spartak Yoshkar-Ola, and Old-Guarders Fortuna Nizhny Tagil - but I think they have enough of an edge in talent that betting on them would be pretty safe. The biggest disappointment this season has to be that Pechorski SK didn't make the playoffs after doing so last year - they finished seven clear of Fortuna with 73 points, and finished ahead of Turan Ukhta on goal differential. Not far behind them, though, was this season's biggest surprise, and most-improved team by far. Isoustiukin Pallokerho finished just one point ahead of being relegated last season, but they did a major 180 this season, finishing ninth - seven behind Pechorski and Turan, and 12 ahead of Spartak Kirov and FK Ukhta (who also improved a fair bit). Two teams that haven't seemed to improve at all, though, are FK Kudymkar and Lokomotiv Kotlas - the latter saw themselves relegated for the second season in a row. FK Berezniki will be joining them, as will Khimik Koryazhma, whose luck ran out this season. Had they allowed but five fewer goals this season, they would be forced to a playoff against Olimpia Kirovo-Chepetsk. Playoff rotation (starts Saturday, 4 December 2010): (2) Öskölömen Palloklubi vs. (5) Fortuna Nizhny Tagil (3) Usovuoren JK vs. (4) Spartak Yoshkar-Ola The Kakkonen Three entire tiers, comprising 26 divisions, debuted this season. The highest of these was the Kakkonen, which is split into two geographically-oriented divisions. The Kakkonen West started as a three-way battle between Severstal Cherepovets, Sever Murmansk, and Stolitsa Yoshkar-Ola, but quickly went two-way once Csaba Száláy was shipped to Amkar during the summer transfer window. Severstal eventually won the lone auto-promotion spot. Playoff Rotation West: (2) Sever Murmansk vs. (5) Magyar LK (3) Stolitsa Yoshkar-Ola vs. (4) Mennonites FC Goin' down down down down: Karjala JK, Sapmi FK to Kolmonen A, Arsenal Syktyvkar, SSP Syktyvkar to Kolmonen D. As for the Kakkonen East, the big story this season was the continuation of the feel-good story of this year's Kanslerinkilpi. Khalmer-Yu Town is based in a town with roughly five thousand inhabitants, and yet the level of football they play there makes you think the sleepy Northeast Uralican junction town is twenty times that size or more. They refused to sell during the transfer window, and it paid off as they dropped just six points all season (one loss and two draws). Who knows how far they'll go? The real battle this season, then, was for the four playoff spots, and let's be honest here, one can't help feeling horrible for Nenets FK, who were in playoff position until the very last match - injuries took their toll down the stretch and they ended up on the outside looking in. Playoff rotation: (2) Energiya Chaykovsky vs. (5) Progress Inta (3) Rossia Krasnokamsk vs. (4) Octane Perm' Goin' down down down down: FK Kungur, Pshenitsa Kudymkar to Kolmonen F, Traktor Berezniki, CSKVC Ukhta to Kolmonen H. The Kolmonen So they tried 24 teams per division this season in the Kolmonen and Nelonen, and it failed from the get-go because of awkward scheduling, so they immediately set about downsizing it, making promotion and relegation rather screwy in both divisions. To be honest, though, the upper ranks weren't affected. One team goes up regardless of how many come down. Instead of a playoff tournament, they have a three-round Kolmonen Championship tournament played with the roofs closed (retractable roofs are mandatory in Uralica) between the eight teams that won their respective zones. Kolmonen A - Karelia/Sapmi: Viipurin Palloseura Kolmonen B - Western Uralica: Rapid Konosha (hoo boy was this ever close between them and Sheksna Cherepovets! Classic stuff!) Kolmonen C - Southwestern Uralica: Sokol Sernur Kolmonen D - Kirov-Syktyvkar: Peltinischer Sport Verein Kolmonen E - Udmurtiya: FK Votka Kolmonen F - Permski Rayon: TvinkiZavod Chaykovsky (the only other team in Uralica that had a perfect season domestically) Kolmonen G - Southeast Uralica: Zenit Nevyansk Kolmonen H - Northeastern Uralica: Gazovik Urengoy Draw: A vs. F, H vs. C, D vs. G, E vs. B So that will keep the Kolmonen fans interested for another couple of weeks. Relegation varied depending on which zones got teams from relegation and which didn't. It is normally like this, but making things even more interesting was the whole downsizing. For a complete list of all relegated teams, check this site's Tables section. The Nelonen This season's bottom tier also dumped teams down, but in their case it was to help create a brand new division. The minimum relegation mandated for each was six teams, although some had more - a couple had as many as nine teams go down to help form the 32-division Vitonen, which debuts next March. In the same way, those zones that didn't receive many from relegation will have brand new teams debut next season. A clerical error at the season's beginning resulted in several teams that should've been in Sub-Zone D2 playing in Sub-Zone D1. Some of these were relegated, while others will play in the D2 next season. This shift actually meant extra relegation for the D1. The sixteen sub-zonal champions will play against each other for the Nelonen Championship, while there are playoffs in most sub-zones to determine sixteen more teams to be promoted. Nelonen Sub-Zone Champs Sub-Zone A1 (Karelia): Transit Vojatsu Sub-Zone A2 (Sapmi): Rapid Kuálõk Sub-Zone B1 (West Uralica): FK Vytegra Sub-Zone B2 (Northwestern Uralica): Neftekhimik Onega Sub-Zone C1 (Southern Uralica): Chŏvash Ulatŏr Sub-Zone C2 (Mari El): Volga Yulser-Ola Sub-Zone D1 (Kirovski Rayon): Transit Omuntninsk Sub-Zone D2 (Komi-Menno): Peltinischer FC Sub-Zone E1 (Udmurtiya North): Transit Votka Sub-Zone E2 (Udmurtiya South + Izhevsk): Neftçi Ägerce Sub-Zone F1 (Permski Rayon North): Tsementnik Berezniki Sub-Zone F2 (Permski Rayon South): Dinamo Osa Sub-Zone G1 (Southeast Uralica South/East): Zenit Yekaterinburg Sub-Zone G2 (Southeast Uralica North/West): Rapid Nizhny Tagil Sub-Zone H1 (Ural West Slope): Progress Vorkuta Sub-Zone H2 (Yamalia-Yugra): YugraMash Kogalym Draw: A1 vs. D2, H2 vs. F1, B1 vs. G1, C2 vs. E1, F2 vs. A2, E2 vs. H1, G2 vs. B2, C1 vs. D1. Playoff draws are available in the site's Fixture Section.

Best of luck to all Nemesis members as they find new homes, especially to daggarz and Bob Ilyani. I will echo the statements of my former alliance-mates Mia and Dakotans in saying it is never good to lose an alliance, and you guys fought pretty well in BiPolar.

Uralicans love them some Jews. (Currently, 10% of Uralica's population is Jewish.) Happy Chanukkah, Shalom, and The LORD bless and keep you.

O\ Hali? Oh, and hai thur, Croc.

[quote name='rapmanej' timestamp='1291142724' post='2526622'] Well Tool... Please for the love of God do not turn this into another GGA situation. If the old dog looks too old, please do not drag it out. [/quote]That's what I said on TOOL's forums. If a GGA situation happens, I will have to headdesk many times. Don't let me give myself a concussion, guys.

[quote name='Feanor Noldorin' timestamp='1290975688' post='2525411'] If someone can field a team full of Spaniards they can. [/quote] ICWUTUDIDTHUR I don't think, though, that any alliance participating has that option.

Somehow this seems strangely familiar, but I can't put a finger on [url="http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=52592"]why[/url]... Congratulations on providing us with some temporary amusement, Dubya. Somehow I doubt anyone with nukes will actually back you up.

[quote name='kriekfreak' timestamp='1290813794' post='2524150'] FOK has 16. Can anyone beat that? I don't think so. [/quote] 16 Dutchies, eh? That's gonna be tough to beat.

TOOL's team (albeit not made up entirely of TOOLies anymore ) has a Dutchman. Not to mention a player that's already played pro on Bob. (That would be yours truly. SiPS ftew. )

Whoever this person was, reminds me of when someone did that to TOOL and a couple legit members ended up hitting FARK. Also, that was during the Karma War. iCarly2 (She later acted like a jerk to Dark Templar and was sanctioned by Graham for it.) TJ, Tulak, my hat's off to you both. I'll be sending you a list of Uralican goodies you can choose one from, and I'll buy each of you said item and send it first-class.

[img]http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v338/38/48/24696272074/n24696272074_952584_5568.jpg[/img] In any case, congrats to two ex-PLTers

[quote name='potato' timestamp='1290623348' post='2522226'] Alliance Seniority: 11/23/2010 11:47:12 PM (1 Day) So, sometime around that vote, I guess. [/quote]A fair bit later, actually. It did make for some interesting IRC conversation though. Had about five alliances try to change my mind.

[quote name='Style #386' timestamp='1290407597' post='2520097'] [i]Indeed.[/i] Seriously, should be fun. [/quote] Ya think? Indeed I saw what you did there. Also Jaffa.

DT = Well played, SoA. Well played indeed. Also hailz and stuffz. o/

Being how we aren't in the same group, we'll be fortunate if that happens. Also, perhaps Derby di Roberto would be more appropriate. MK Dons vs. Juve TOOLino will be epic.

Group B will be the Group of Death.

Congrats guys. That is indeed a good average strength, and I wish you guys naught but success in the future.

LoSS County... ICWUTUDIDTHUR LoSSton United would work too. As for TOP, maybe IFK Paradox to keep with the fact that Paradox originated in Sweden. (IFK = Idrottsförening Kamraterna = roughly "Social Sport Club," more literally "Comrades' Sport Club, plus it's the tag for one of Sweden's more famous clubs, IFK Göteborg. ) I get the feeling our Juve may surprise a few people. And you might wanna have your right flankers beef up a little before the tournament kicks off. Or else a certain 6'7, 293-lb., muscular Finn would send them flying even if he only touched the ball and nothing else.

Hail the Dark Lord Heft! o/ (Just don't try and call anyone's bluff again, m'kay? )

[quote name='Greywall' timestamp='1290279320' post='2518285'] Has anyone joined this yet? [/quote]No. Type "The South" into alliance search, and you get 21 nations - the 20-nation AA "The Southern Union," and Rob sitting all alone in peace mode.

Was just about to say. I think it'll be a cold day in Hell before KeyStroke becomes gov in MK Also, given how his most influential time was in CCC, I find his inclusion... curious. I've never seen CCC as much of a powerhouse, even within PLT, even though I them to death.

IRON's in. Look out! They have a good football tradition there. (Mainly because of Botha )