Building a champion -Managing career of Tyler Zupan - (FIFA 15)

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The Coaching Career of Tyler Zupan

Manager of Luton Town (0-0-0) July 2014 - Present

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Luton Town stuns all

While it is a far stretch to call a League 2 coaching job as a top job, it is also odd to pluck a coach from minor jobs abroad to become the head man, but that's exactly what Luton Town has done.

The team has announced the signing of Tyler Zupan to a one year deal subject to performance review to be extended.

Zupan who is of Slovakian descent has a history of American football experience while also branching out to the other CONCACAF nations for some knowledge, he doesn't typically sport a single formation that he has deemed his own and will likely try to develop a system to stick with in Luton Town.

Given the head man is only the young age of 34, it's unlikely that many will quantify this as a great hiring but the season has yet to be played and Luton Town has a lot of football to play.

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Preseason Wrap-up

The preseason screeches to an abrupt halt with Luton Town finishing with 1 victory and a pair of defeats in what was largely a spectacle for the youngsters of the squad. In his first game as manager, Tyler Zupan conceded a 1-2 decision to Alfaisaly FC and rebuffed the lineups, moving players about in a hope to bring forth some synergy from the youngsters as it appeared to work, as four days later, they defeated Brann 1-0 in a friendly away from their home field.

Returning to home however, the team fell apart, with almost all youngsters playing, Tigre ran roughshod through the overmatched lads and produced a 1-3 result. It was hard to consider it too much of a defeat as several top players took a seat and allowed the younger ones an opportunity to play in front of a crowd.

The team has made no moves to date in the transfer window but has definitely been active, especially in looking for a replacement for Mark Tyler who at the age of 37 is very likely calling it quits after the season, especially with an expiring contract. The veteran goal tender will likely be phased out as the season progresses if a replacement is found.

There was an injury in practice when center back, Luke Wilkinson collided with Ross Lafayette in the box and collapsed to the ground holding his knee, he would walk off the pitch on his own will and while it was ruled out that there was a break or fracture, the area is wounded badly and he will miss at least a week of league play. With the injury, the starting XI looks as follows.

The team will want to address an average at best mid field, the striker position needs an upgrade and depth across the back end is an issue, naturally League 2 teams aren't typically very talented but this is a team devoid of a "top talent" and will need a joint effort to live up to expectations of fighting for a playoff spot come the end of the season.

Friendly Results

Spoiler

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Game 1

@ Exeter City FC 1-1 D

In his first game as head man, Tyler Zupan saw his team get routinely around the pitch before a boneheaded play by goaltender Mark Tyler would see his pass intercepted, turning into the first goal of the young season as Exeter jumped out to an early lead, and it would appear that Exeter was poised for their full points.

Attacks were stopped in the attacking third with a few good saves breaking up good defensive play, but in the 90th minute, a defensive lapse allowed substitute Jonathan Smith to break through the line and score the tying goal to allow Luton Town to get some points in this fixture. It was an excellent counter attack that shows why all 90 are played, and coming from a reserve makes it all the more sweet for Luton Town, who will turn their attentions to the Capital One cup.

The Hatters also announced they have signed free agent midfielder, Ovidu Hoban, Hoban was released unexpectedly by Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C.and using a good amount of their money to reel him in should hopefully pay it's dividends. Hoban figures to be among the starting group come the Hatters match up against Tranmere.

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Game 2
Capital One Cup

vs Tranmere W 1-0

The Luton Town Hatters can breath a sigh of relief after this one. The crack of a net and the whistle of the referee's effectively in time with eachother spelled a tough fought victory for the Hatters and a very difficult loss for Tranmere to stomach. Luton Town jumped out to a 1-0 victory and proceeded to do little else for most of the match, conceding possession repeatedly and never truly looking in control of the matchup.

That doesn't bode well for this team, which ended up allowing a late run to the opposing side which resulted in a goal being blasted past Martin Tyler, luckily enough however the referee's whistle rang loud and clear through the evening air and the sideline lit up with a flag, and the Luton faithful roared. The goal would be offset by an offsides infraction and turn the ball over as the Hatters were able to very carefully close out the game following the play.

"You know, we got beat badly on that play and if not for a lapse of judgement, we're going into extra time. There was more options open on that break and our defense wasn't prepared. We made a few substitutions to try and clear things up and it bit us, we weren't cohesive in the final third and that almost cost us." Spoke Tyler Zupan following the victory which pushes the Hatters onward, albeit slowly.

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Hatters drop two of three in league play

It's been a rough start to the season as of four fixtures, only one victory stands amongst the trouble and an added draw provides the Hatters only sources of points into this young season. Goal scoring has been at a premium and the team has shown very little signs of improving in that specific category. "It hasn't been easy for us, not at all and scoring is an obvious need" Spoke Tyler Zupan following a tough 1-2 defeat to Wycombe.

The Hatters started off with a home drubbing from Northampton which saw the Hatters fade throughout the game and ultimately concede with a 2-1 decision in favor of Northampton in what could simply be described as an offensive deficient match.

Against Accrington-Stanley, it appeared that the Hatters wanted to quell some of the storm against them that contended towards their poor offensive showings with a two goal shutout over the Accrington-Stanley side to give the squad their first league victory.

Twisting into their matchup against Wycombe, things started ugly and ended uglier. Two quick goals by Wycombe had this game appearing out of reach in the first half, it wouldn't improve much, despite a goal in the second half and several opportunities to knot up the score late in the game. Errant shots, bad passes, mis-communications and the ball harmlessly missing the post were all symptoms in this one and this team needs to rectify those fast.

The Hatters will tangle with Hartlepool United in their upcoming matchup for the first round of the J.Paint trophy before returning to league play against Stevenage. Luton Town sits at number 18 in the table on the young season with a record of 1-1-2 and a grand total of 4 points to their total. This team can climb the table quickly but will need to turn things around to do so.

Game Summaries

Spoiler

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Game 4
Johnstone Paint Trophy: First Round
W vs Hartlepool United 2-0

Talk about a collapse. This was a 0-0 gridlock through two-thirds of the game but it went down hill from there once the lock was broken. Another brilliant save pushed the ball loose but it would be scrambled up and ultimately knocked in, in a mad dash of several players that would result in several twisted up bodies laying inside of the net and a 1-0 lighting up the scoreboard.

From there, two big opportunities would turn up for Luton Town and they would convert one of the two, one coming on a breakaway late in the game and ended with Guttridge knotting home a soft shot past the goalie to put them up 2-0 and put the game away for good. In the 87th minute, a free kick would be awarded to Luton Town just beyond the box but Rooney would overshoot and the ball would sail above the goal post.

The Hatters advance with their key play and will continue onwards in their hopes for this season.

Back into league action prior to the transfer deadline, the Hatters suffered yet another loss, this time at the hands of Stevenage that causes some reason for concern, given they fall to 1-1-2 on the young season and haven't had points in two weeks. The Hatters next fixture will be featuring Sheffield Wednesday FC in the Capital One Cup, while their next League 2 feature will be against Daganham and Red.

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Transfer News from Luton Town

Luton Town were big buyers come the transfer wire and were able to do that thanks to an infusion of cash from the board of directors. The team has picked up a tandem of Ecuadorian backs in Mario Pineida and Luis Canga from free agency to shore up the defensive end of the ball which should inevitably help keep the scores low to account for a quiet offense.

Working from the front to back, the team has brought in a new striker. Samuel Saiz was purchased for just $200,000 from Atletico Madrid, in large due to an expiring contract and Madrid opting towards their present rather than their future. Saiz was willing to take a small pay cut, but it wasn't much. He will figure in to the starting position at the lone striker slot.

The mid field has been completely redesigned, the team had already brought in Ovidiu Hoban from free agency and while Hoban has largely struggled this far, he is now getting some offensive help. Daniel Bessa came from Bologna for $400,000 and this was a huge steal. It was reported other teams offered as much as $1,400,000, but Bessa had reached an agreement with the brass in Luton Town before the other clubs and as such came for a steal of a price and a cheap salary. The 21 year old provides pace and offensive expertise in the middle of the field and was a big acquisition in one of the best deals.

The team also has brought in Clemens Fandrich for $300,000 from RB Leipzig on another good deal, Fandrich was drawing prices close to $1,300,000 and signed cheaply with Luton Town instead. Much to the ire of the staff. Fandrich is presently slated to be a key reserve but could figure into the starting lineup should someones form take a dive. Fandrich at 23 still has room to grow.

Finally, the team has addressed the issue of Goaltender by bringing in Marcus Bettinelli for $200,000 from Fulham. While Bettinelli will be an offday selection when Tyler is out or the team wants to give him a few looks, he will be the future between the pipes and he should expect some decent playing time this season and see that only grow as time goes on.

The team sold two players, Alex Wall (ST) (Wycombe) and Elliot Justham (GK) (Sligo) for a total of $330,000. While also loaning out several players. The team had hoped to loan out Luke Rooney but were unable to find a partner for the talented youngster. Mark Onyemah (LB) will play the rest of the season at Newport County of League 2, while Matt Robinson (CM) will play the rest of the season at Sheffield United of the League 1.

"Our budget is pretty much tapped, we have time until January to evaluate our boys and see where we go from there. The moves help us out in a big way as we identified our two biggest problems in our Attack and a replacement for our goaltender. We did both in one transfer window and I call that a big success." Spoke Tyler Zupan.

Across the world, one of the biggest moves was Joao Moutinho being transferred from AS Monaco to Manchester United for a tidy sum of $36,500,000. Real Madrid would sell Karim Benzema to Manchester City for the sum of $61,000,000. Further boosting their coffers in a big way. Tottenham Hotspur jumped out and sent a check for $30,500,000 out to Fiorentina for Mario Gomez.

The chaos has subsided and we get three months of football before the windows open again, time to see how the moves across the board influence the world of football.

The New Starters


Next months games