In this episode, Mark W is joined by AC Oulu hitman, Ashley Coffey, who talks through his unconventional route to the top of the Veikkausliiga scoring charts – kickstarting his professional career, by EMAIL(!), then working as a teacher while playing in the Swedish league, turning pro at Eskilstuna before moving to AC Oulu in Finland, and developing an unusual love/hate relationship with fans of SJK Seinäjoki. It’s an intriguing story that, hopefully, still has a few chapters to run.

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Join Mark (@explorefinland),  Mark (@FCSuomi),  Keke (@kekemyllari), Rich (@EscapeToSuomi) and Ally (@Mano99) for regular episodes, where 5 old blokes sit and talk about football in Finland. In English.

The #FFS theme tune is “Loppuun asti” by Lemmenpyssyt. You can listen to the song on Spotify or on YouTube . Connect with Lemmenpyssyt on Facebook.

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SHOW NOTES & LINKS

Mark’s Questions (Listen or watch the show to hear Ash’s answers)

Playing Non-league then moving to Sweden

• Your career in the UK was in the non-league scene. Tell us about some of the clubs you played for.
• How did your move to Sweden come about? And you also worked as a teacher in an English school in Sweden?
• How did you settle into the Nordic lifestyle?
• Is there anything you miss from the UK? 

Moving to Finland and playing for AC Oulu in the Veikkausliiga

• You moved to Finland in 2023. Did Brexit have an impact on this? Was that a difficult decision? Did you have family ties to consider?
• Before moving, what did you know about Finland? Since arriving, what’s been the biggest culture shock, either in football or everyday life?
• How do Finnish people compare to Swedes?
• You’ve done well since joining AC Oulu. 2023 – 13 goals in 25 games (3rd), 2024 so far – 9 in 13 (2nd). How would you view the Veikkausliiga interms of quality or style of play?
• 2024 has been tough for AC Oulu. What’s changed? 

Finnish Fan Culture

• Talk to me about how you percceive fan culture in Finland.
• This is interesting to me, we make this podcast because we are FANS of Finnish football. The listener might not know that you have also managed to make a connection with the SJK fans. We try to put you off, you reply by scoring goals! Which seems fair enough. It’s an odd situation, have you seen this anywhere before?
• Question from Julian – Is it sweeter to score after opposition fans have been giving him grief? Why does he always score against SJK?

Future Plans

• What are your plans for the future?

2024 Nations League: England vs Finland

• We’re recording this just after England lost the Euro 2024 final and Gareth Southgate resigned. England’s next challenge will be against Finland in the Nations League. Do you have any thoughts about that?

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Find Ilmari Niskanen online

• Twitter / X: https://x.com/MrAshleyCoffey
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acoffey9/
• Transfermarkt: https://www.transfermarkt.com/ashley-coffey/profil/spieler/644769

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