Try tö take over the wörld! (RHC)

Blinking against the bright northern sun, Tommy shielded his eyes as he surveyed Göteborg airport. It was rather large, and his sources had told him there was a hotel nearby where he was to meet with the Stig.

He entered the nearby hotel, and asked the desk attendant for directions to the business lobby. The attendant, a rather unattractive woman with short red hair was nothing at all like his vision of Swedish models, flashed him what would be her idea of a charming smile and inquired if perhaps he would be Tom Mooney. He nodded, and she sent him on his way. He found the Stig already awaiting him in the small conference room that had been reserved for them, with some trays of local snacks and a bottle of the local vintage and two glasses.

"Good afternoon," the Stig said, much to Tommy's surprise, who had come to believe the Stig to be silent. He was also not wearing a helmet, and seemed rather too corpulent to make a good racecar driver. "I am Stig Lundström, chairman of IFK Göteborg. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Tommy nodded and shook the man's hand, wondering just what was in store for him. "Pleasure," he said with a polite smile, as he took his seat.

The Stig sat back down, lifting a couple of snacks off the tray and devouring them at an alarming rate, before pooring them both a glass (well, goblet) of wine and partaking lavishly.

"Let's get to it, friend. I understand that you've had quite a bit of footballing experience in the English Leagues, and have recently qualified for your coaching license, Ja?"

Tommy nodded, tentatively grabbing for the rapidly emptying plate. "That's right," he responded. "Mostly I've been known in Watford and Birmingham, but I've been around. Played for nearly twenty years in fact, at the professional level. They seem quite fond of me in Watford, still."

The Chairman laughed. "Such modesty, I hear they've inducted you into their Hall of Fame."

"So it would seem," Tommy nodded, sipping his wine. "And as you've said, I've learned a thing or two about coaching a side in the past couple of years."

"Well," the chairman said, pausing to drain the rest of his glass. "I am a busy man, and my sources tell me you are a capable one. The job is yours, should you want it. I will allow you three days to get settled in, and I will expect to see you at the club on Wednesday, which will be... the twenty-fourth of February, let's say nine o'clock."

Tommy nodded. "Thank you, sir, I'm looking forward to the chance."

After saying goodbye to Chairman Stig, Tommy returned to the lobby to gather his belongings, and rented a room for the night. He took his things up, and set out to scout himself out a place to live, as the new manager for IFK Göteborg. Late in the afternoon, he found himself a nice one-bedroom apartment in a flat in a suburb called Angered, and found he could move in the very next day.

On Wednesday morning he drove into the almost 19'000 seat Gamla Ullevi stadium in his newly Volvo S60, provided to him by the club, whom had told him that Volvo was actually a local company, out of Göteborg, which he politely pretended to care about. The first hour was spent with a lovely secretary, a six-foot blonde, blue-eyed stunner, giving him a tour of the facilities and leading him to his office. His name, Tommy found out was Olaf, and he was a Norwegian student at the Göteborg University. Tommy made a mental note to find someone less attractive, for in case any ladies were to visit him in the office, he wouldn't want to face the competition, quite frankly.

On his desk was a cookie tray, with a note attached welcoming him to the club, he had the full support of the board, etcetera and so forth. All good and well, of course, but he still had no idea whom he would be working with, staff or players, and it was time to change that. He asked Olaf to please bring in the assistant, and a cup of coffee.

The assistant turned out to be Jonas Olsson, a very competent man with several years in at the club. He walked Tommy through the playing staff, highlighting the squad's strengths and weaknesses as he and his fellow staff had found. It became obvious rather quickly that the team was in desperate need of strikers, as there was only two first-team strikers on the books, ageing Daniel Alexandersson, an experienced striker with a history of not being able to find the goal at Premier Division level, scoring only a ghastly sixteen goals in 114 appearances at Elfsborg before joining IFK in the previous season, and he is yet to score for the Blue and White in 12 first team appearances. A puzzling buy indeed, and perhaps the reason they needed new management. The other striker mentioned by name was youth international Robin Söder, who, at the tender age of eighteen he did have the potential to be a good player, but wasn't just there yet. Jonas indicated the kid was quick and clever, if a bit light on his feet, and very short.

Particular highlights of the side were 27-year old Tobias Hysén, a lightning-quick left winger who was also lethal in front of goal, Icelandic defender Ragnar Sigurdsson, one of the biggest and strongest players around, workhorse right-back Adam Johansson, a tough and smart player and the beating heart of midfield, veteran Thomas Olsson, a highly creative center midfielder with a velvet touch on the ball, although Jonas noted that with his age, the aches and pains of a battle-worn body were beginning to take it's hold. The squad as a whole was young and eager, and certainly something Tommy felt he could work with.

Later on in the day, Tommy called a meeting with coach Teddy Olausson and scout Mikael Nilsson, meeting them at a nearby restaurant. He nodded as they sat down at the table with him and the club's financial director and pulled out his wallet. He then extracted a couple of bills, took a sip of his water and put the money on the table. "Gentlemen, lunch is on me," he said, getting up. "This is Max, the director of finances. You will discuss with him your settlement, as I will not be needing your services."

And with that, he left back for the office, in search for a new coach and a couple of scouts.

2010: IFK Göteborg

Predicted finish: 2nd

Stadium: Gamla Ullevi, capacity 18937 (16900 seated), built in 2009

Transfer Budget: £600k

Wage Budget: £37.7k

Current wages: £22.5k

By the beginning of March, Tommy had settled into life at the club. The first friendly had been a great success as his attacking 4-3-3 formation had dismantled Danish First division side FC Fyn with four unanswered goals in the first half. The following Monday, the first of the month found Tommy seated in his office with his morning cup of coffee and the local newspaper showing a picture of right winger Stefan Selakovic slotting home the second goal of the game on the front page. Of course, having not yet learned any Swedish, he had asked Olaf the deskhand to translate.

"Blåvitt (Blue-white) off to good start," Olaf quoted. "IFK fans will be pleased as new manager Mooney's side open the pre-season with a dominant 4-0 win. Midfielder Eriksson starred in a goal bonanza, with accurate passing, he looked aware at all times, providing for his team two assists and a goal, earning him the Man of the Match."

Tommy nodded and smiled as Olaf went on, before the door opened and assistant manager Jonas walked in the door. "Morning Thomas," Jonas said with a smile. "We did well last night."

Tommy nodded in agreement. "What's going on today?" he asked.

"Well, I wanted to let you know about some of the things we have going on this month, there will be friendlies against Skied, IFK Mariehamn, FC Kuusankoski, Honka and Mjøndalen, the prelims for the Swedish Cup, as well as the drawing for the first round, the Super Cup and the first round of the FA Cup, and of course at the end of the month our transfer window will close."

Another nod from Tommy. "Well, the scouts I've hired have all arrived," he said. "I suppose we should get started on sending them out."

A couple of days later, the team traveled north-west to second-tier Norwegian side Skeid, whom they easily destroyed by four goals, although two players would leave the field with injuries. The next afternoon, outside the training pitch Tommy sat down with young striker Robin Söder.

"How's the leg feel, Robin?" he asked the eighteen year-old, who gave a sour look.

"It hurts," the youngster answered in broken English. "Doctor says I strain the top," he continued, rubbing his thigh. "He say, I play soon, one week or two."

Tommy nodded appreciatively. "Good, good. You did a good job yesterday, I'm pleased to tell you. Your passes looked accurate, but you need to improve on your shooting."

Robin simply nodded. "The defenders, they were too tall. I had hard time trying headballs."

"Sure," Tommy agreed. "Perhaps if you worked on your strength, you could get better position. Anyway, I am pleased to hear you will recover quick. Take care, mate."

After the first week of running the club, Tommy decided to start Swedish language courses. He found a private tutor, a middle-aged woman named Kirsten, who graduated from the nearby University in language studies. Monday the 8th, after a disappointing defeat at the hands of Finnish Premier league side Mariehamn he arrived at her office at five in the afternoon for his first lesson. He quickly noticed that while she was no Swedish bikini model, the 41-year old looked good for her age. She had a daring haircut, short and spiked, colored black. He shot her a smile and introduced himself.

"So, you are the new manager for IFK?" she asked him, smiling politely. He merely nodded. "I hear you had a game last night?"

"Yes," he answered. "We got back from Finland last night."

"Did you win?"

He shook his head. "Naw, I gave some of the youngsters a run out. We had our chances, but didn't take them. They ended up hitting us toward the end of the game."

She shrugged. "It's only pre-season. I do think it's a shame that there is not a single home fixture on the schedule, I have a season ticket, but I can't afford to travel abroad to go see a game. I sure would love the chance to see the side before next month."

Tommy chuckled. "Well, perhaps I can arrange something for you, if the lessons go well."

After the first lesson, Tommy fielded a quick call from the office, it was his assistant Jonas.

"What's new, Jonas?" he said, answering the phone.

"Well, Carlsson has rejected AIK's contract, so the transfer fell through. Lund is still talking to AaB and Esbjerg, and our bids for Nowak and Robak have both been accepted. I've layed out the weekend's scouting reports for you to go over tomorrow. We should probably sign some players before the close of the window, as all of our recent sales have really cut the depth out of our squad. We're down to seventeen first-team players, and two seniors in the reserves."

"I see," Tommy responded. "I will certainly keep that in mind, thank you."

Pre-season fixtures:

FC Fyn - Göteborg 0-4 (Söder, Selakovic, Sigurdsson, Eriksson)

Skeid - Göteborg 0-4 (Opuama o.g., Olsson, Selakovic 2)

Mariehamn - Göteborg 1-0

FC Kuusankoski - Göteborg 17.3.10

Honka - Göteborg 19.3.10

Mjøndalen - Göteborg 21.3.10

Transfers out:

Stenman to Motala AIF (Loan)

Sana to Syrianska Kerburan (£28K)

Alexandersson to Brommapojkama (£35K)

Etéus to FC Inter (£24K)

Selim to Karlslund (£24K)

Björlund to Karlslund (£30K)

Dahlin to Forward (£16K)

Andersson to Värnamo (£14K)

Hansson to Vasalund (£12K)

Lundgren to IK Sirius (£16K)

Good luck, Mark. Thanks for trying this challenge -- I had feared people might think it a bit much in terms of length. Will be following along!

It was a cold saturday, temperatures barely above freezing and a threat of rain looming from clouds drifting in over the Kattegatt. Tommy and Jonas were sitting in a small eatery on the banks of the Göta älv, the river that runs through Göteborg, enjoying coffee and a sandwich.

"So," Tommy said, returning his sandwich to his plate. "Seeing him in training, do you think he's going to be as good as you said he would be?"

Jonas nodded thoughtfully. "He's quite strong, and physically he's one of the better athletes I've seen. He can compete for jump balls, he's quick enough to chase them down and you'll have a heck of a time getting him off the ball. I still stand by my initial statement, that he will be one of the best strikers in our league."

Tommy smiled at this. They were discussing new signing Marcin Robak, a 27-year old Polish striker.

"How many goals did you say he scored for Widzew?"

"Fourty-three goals in fifty-eight league appearances. If he can stay that kind of busy here, we'll be in great shape."

"Well, hopefully he can teach Robin (Söder) some tricks along the way, because that boy has potential," Tommy added. "I almost felt bad getting someone over him, but if we are to be competitive, we need a finished product, we can work Robin in along the way, maybe even go to a two-striker setup when he's ready. The strong one and the quick one."

"They could be lethal together," Jonas concurred. "By the way, er... Has Olaf talked to you yet?"

Tommy shook his head. "About what?"

"Oh, nothing. Forget I asked."

Tommy shook his head, and looked for his wallet to settle the check.

"Oh, before I forget, look at this for me," Tommy said, pulling the newspaper out of his suitcase.

After rifling to the sports section, he pointed out an article which listed what he would imagine were odds of some sort.

"Ah. So we are predicted to finish second," Jonas nodded. "10 to 1 odds on the championship. Elfsborg ahead of us though."

"Marcin Robak scores first time out as Blue-whites draw unlucky," Olaf read aloud, perched on the corner of Tommy's desk with the paper. "It says that the entire game it looked like you would return home victorious, and it was sheer misfortune that the score was 1-1 against Kuusankoski, and not 4-0."

Tommy grunted his agreement as he filled up the coffee mug. He couldn't wait for the regular season to start, enough travelling abroad already.

"It also reads that when Selakovic, Hysén and Robak begin to form an understanding, it will be a sorry defence that has to go up against them," he continued. "Looks like they like the way the new boy looks. I know I do."

Tommy lifted an eyebrow. "Well, he sure does show potential."

Olaf responded with a nod. "Yes, indeed."

After a minute of silence, Olaf rose from the desk. "Well, I'd love to hang around and chat, but I must get back to work," he said with a stretch, and when Tommy merely nodded he turned about and left the office.

With a couple of days to go before the final match of pre-season, Tommy had a surprise in check for Kirsten, the Swedish language instructor, and he felt a sort of giddy excitement on his way in the door.

"God eftermiddag," he said, undoubtedly with a thick English accent. "How are you today?"

Kirsten smiled. "Mycket god, och du?"

"I am well," he replied politely. "I have a surprise for you."

She lifted her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you've brought chocolates," she said. "I am on a diet."

He chuckled. "No, not chocolates," he said. "Though you look fine as you are. I've convinced my chairman to let you accompany us to Mjøndalen for our final friendly of the season!"

She raised her eyebrow. "Well, the first thing you told me is that you wanted to see the team before next month, and since we have no chance to arrange a home game this month, I've arranged for you to accompany us to Norway. It is only a four hour drive, and you will find that our buses are quite comfortable. If you want to, of course."

She appeared dumbfounded for several seconds before a big smile appeared on her face. "I would love to!" she gushed. "I had not expected anything of the sort. Thank you!"

So it was agreed, and they set to their lessons.

So, on Sunday the 21st, at ten in the morning she arrived at the stadium and boarded one of the busses, and picked a seat across from Olaf, much to Tommy's dismay. He quickly occupied the seat next to her, and began conversation, while Olaf seemingly took the hint and picked up a book.

Throughout the drive, Olaf remained buried in his book, although he kept casting glances their way when he thought Tommy wasn't looking.

"So, do you have your line-up already picked out?" Kirsten asked him. He nodded his head. "Last-minute changes aside, I know what I plan to do.

I want to give some of the younger players, some of the back-ups a chance to impress, and some of the more senior players a chance to rest and observe."

She nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

The game itself was an even affair, with possession about even, and the number of chances the same. However once again IFK would go home with a loss, after an early penalty and a first-half goal put Mjøndalen up by two. It would take 85 minutes before IFK scored, when Mbamba pulled one back. They could not find the equaliser, however. On the way back, Kirsten ended up sitting with some of the players, as Tommy and his staff went over the game.

"So," she said, as the lights of Göteborg appeared in the distance. "You believe you are ready for the Super Cup?"

Tommy nodded tentatively. "We have our eye on another improvement, in defense, at the moment, but after that, yeah. We'll be ready for the new season, and we'll prove it in the Super Cup next Saturday."

She smiled hopefully. "I hope you're right. I will certainly be watching, I already have my tickets. Me and my brother, Kjell, we've been going to every home game since we were kids with our father. I remember dad telling us what luck we've had, growing up in the eighties. We saw two Euro cups, four Swedish Cups and ten league championships with him. After he died in 1997, we did not win the league for ten years. We buried him with his favorite Blåvitt tie on."

Tommy put his hand on the back of hers. "Well, I hope I can do you proud this year."

Good stuff so far, Mark. You've made me want to try this myself!

Good luck, Mark. Thanks for trying this challenge -- I had feared people might think it a bit much in terms of length. Will be following along!

Not a problem at all, it is interesting and different, and it will take me places i have never tried before (Sweden, Switzerland). I am anticipating every bit of it, honestly.

Good stuff so far, Mark. You've made me want to try this myself!

Thanks

Tommy stood on the sidelines of the training pitch with the Stig, chairman of the board as the club's new £250k investment took his first run out with his new teammates.

"So you're sure about him?" Stig asked. Tommy responded with a simple nod of his head.

"From what I understand, he's spent his entire career in the reserves."

"This is true, he's spent the last thirteen years with FC Bayern II, but just last year he earned himself two appearances in the Ghanaian national side, and my scout, my assistant and I have all watched him play, and he would have made a fine career at a slightly smaller club. Instead, he was never quite called up to the big boys, but he was the first name on the team sheet in the "B" team."

Tommy pondered that over. This man had better work out, the chairman clearly was not happy with spending a quarter of a million pounds on a 31-year old player who has never made a first-team appearance. Not altogether unreasonable.

The first important game of the season was then upon him, Saturday the 27th of March would be the Swedish Super Cup, the third year straight between Kalmar FF and IFK Göteborg. IFK had won in 2008, and Kalmar took it in 2009. This would be only the fourth edition of the Swedish Supercup, and Elfsborg was the first team to have ever won it in 2007.

Both new signings, Saba and Robak would have their first competitive game with Blåvitt as they were in the starting line-up. Before the game started, Tommy made his way down to the dressing room with Jonas and adressed the men.

"Alright lads," he started, trying to remember the many speeches he had heard over the years and picking something he remembered seemed to work. "There are a legion of devoted fans out there, who would love nothing more than to see you guys pull together and bring home the first silver of the season. They've payed money for those tickets, and without them you would not be here. Go out there and repay their faith and loyalty!"

Jonas duly translated for those whose English was not up to par, before Tommy made his last point, turning to striker Robak. "You," he said, slowly (the Polishman did speak basic English). "I expect you to show the fans and myself that you were worth the money we're investing. Go out there, and show us a performance!"

With that, he let the boys get out on the pitch to warm up and after customary introductions and handshakes he sat down with sweat in his palms, his first big match in charge. Not long into the game, Jonas tapped him on the hand. "We're not seeing enough of the ball. We're not passing well and we're not tackling well." Which was the truth, to be sure, Kalmar had the run of the pitch, with Mooney's men missing too many tackles and committing too many fouls, trying to get stuck in too often. Tom got up and shouted some instructions, getting his side to switch to a more counter-attacking style, with more cautious tackling. This had an immediate impact as Hylén sent Robak on his way, who then took the ball right past the defender and then placed a clever lob over the goalkeeper.

At half-time, he only spent a very short ammount of time in the dressing room, preferring to let the guys rest.

"Alright, heads up," he said as he came in. "You've already got one hand on the cup, just keep the door shut in the back, and try to break out for that second goal. Be careful in the tackle, and try to play the ball to feet, instead of through, we're missing too many passes right now."

They did as instructed, and at the end of the day, Göteborg came home with the cup.

Remaining friendlies:

FC Kuusankoski - Göteborg 1-1 (Robak)

Mjøndalen - Göteborg 1-2 (Mbamba)

Swedish Supercup:

Göteborg - Kalmar 1-0 (Robak)

Transfers in:

Robak from Widzew (£250K)

Saba from FC Bayern (£250K)

Transfer out:

Carlsson to Molde (£70K)

Olaf entered Tommy's office at six minutes to five on the following Monday evening, as his boss was shutting down his laptop. "Hakola's agent calling, he wants to sign with us," he said. Tommy nodded and fielded the call. Once the details had been confirmed and Juha Hakola was committed to signing for Göteborg, Tommy hung up the phone and did a private celebration.

Looking on with one eyebrow cocked, Olaf half-smirked and inquired: "Why the excitement?"

"Well," Tommy responded, a bit self-conscious. "I've just signed Selakovic's replacement."

Olaf looked dumbfounded. "Selakovic is one of our best players, why would you replace him?"

"Not immediately, of course," Mooney smiled. "Hakola, the kid I just signed is twenty-two. He is rapidly approaching his best years, and Selakovic is rapidly leaving his behind. Not right now, but he is thirty-three, and wing players generally don't last far beyond that, as it is reliant on speed, acceleration and agility, things that as you get further into your thirties remain harder and harder to maintain. Ask me how I know. So to have Selakovic here to guide young Juha and bring out his potential, which my sources tell me is even beyond Selakovic's ability, would be excellent."

Olaf continued a slow nod throughout the explanation. "I understand," he said. "That does sound exciting. Perhaps we should go celebrate? It is after all close to the end of our working day."

He shot his boss a hopefull look. Tommy considered this briefly, but shook his head. "I'll have to pass on that," he said. "Some other time, perhaps."

Tommy saw the disappointment on the kid's face, but he was tired and not in the mood to hit a bar. So, with a pleasing prospect joining the club during the summer when his contract expired, he put a positive end to a long working day.

The next day, he received a phonecall from Poland, as tireless anchor man Lukasz Surma, a veteran player and five-time Polish international comitted his future to the Blue-white. Later on, he explained the benefit of this signing to a member of the board. "He will join when his contract with Gdansk runs out, so there is no transfer fee involved. He's very experienced, he is known to be a consistent and dependable player and he is one of the hardest workers you'll see on a pitch. He'll be a very useful piece in our central midfield, which is in need of some depth, and I feel that he will certainly be able to play an involved role. My assistant tells me that he believes that at this point in time, he would be the best defensive midfielder on our team."

Then, finally on the last day of March, at the close of the transfer season, Tommy celebrated another signing. One he hoped would have a very immediate impact.

"Congratulations boss," Jonas said, smiling broadly. "Mister González should be exactly the player we need to complete our defense."

Tommy nodded, looking well pleased. "Well, you tell me it was our weakest area, so I listen and find the players we need to improve."

Jonas slapped his boss on the shoulder jovially. "Well, you have certainly outdone yourself, he is probably one of the best left-backs in the league. He's an outstanding tackler and man-marker, he has good stamina and a high work rate, and he is a potent threat in the attack as well, because he delivers inch-perfect crosses on a very regular basis."

"Excellent. Let's get him out onto the training field as soon as possible."

And so, 29-year old Costa Rican Leonardo González, a left back with 64 caps and one goal for his nation was snapped up quickly after being waived by MLS side Seattle on a hot tip from Swedish international Freddie Ljungberg, who played with him there.

Player in:

Leonardo González from Seattle (Free)

Players out:

Kamal Mustafa to Qviding (Loan)

Sebastian Stenqvist to Qviding (Loan)

Alexander Berntsson to Qviding (Loan)

Future transfers in:

Jan Mucha from Legia Warszawa (Free)

Juha Hakola from Heracles (Free)

Lukasz Surma from Lechia Gdanks (Free)

Future transfers out:

Erik Lund to Esbjerg fB (£170K)

Theódór Bjarnason to Padova (£600K)

On the evening after the first match day of the season, Jonas, Olaf and Tommy found themselves in a local watering house near the stadium, discussing the game. It was late, but spirits were high as IFK had succesfully won their first city derby of the season, against Häcken on the island of Hisingen in the northern part of the city. The bar had a television set mounted on the wall, which at the time was showing highlights from around the league. After showing a bore draw between GAIS and Orebro, and an exciting 3-2 clash between Gefle and Brommapojkarna they turned to the Häcken - Göteborg clash.

"Here it comes," Jonas said excitedly, as Olsson played a ball out to the right corner of the penalty area in the second minute of the game, finding Selakovic. "He had an amazing game."

Selakovic then cut the ball back, dribbling across and slightly towards his own half, before turning on it expertly and rushing through a gap between the three surrounding defenders before sliding the ball into the bottom right corner. Cheers erupted in the bar, which brought a smile to Tommy's face.

"That was a bit of magic, right there," Tommy said, as the highlight reel continued with chance after chance for the Blue and White. "We should have probably scored more with as many shots as we had."

Jonas nodded in agreement, just as Selakovic turned on the magic again, now in the 71st minute laying a beautiful through ball in the path of substitute Robin Söder, who placed his shot well to double the lead. "We probably should have scored at least one more, but their defense piled in and their goalkeeper made a good effort," Jonas said.

"Our passing looked good," Olaf added, as the TV moved on to Halmstad - AIK. "I really am impressed with the way you've started here Tom."

Mooney nodded and took a sip of his ale. "I'm pleased enough."

The next day came a phonecall from Leif Swärd, the team physio. "I regret to tell you sir," he started. "But Adam Johansson's going to be out for about a month and a half."

"That is unfortunate," Tommy replied. "What's the matter with him?"

"He's strained his knee ligaments," the physio replied. "Well treat him at the club."

"Very well, keep me posted."

One the eve of the fierce rivalry crash against AIK, Tommy was pleased to announce another new signing to the squad, free agent Vedran Jese. A 29-year old Croation centerback, a two-time international with a wealth of experience. A bulky defender, who is strong in the air, he is a good technical defender with great insight, who makes up for his slightly lacking quickness by being in the right place at the right time.

League match:

Häcken - Göteborg 0-2 (Selakovic, Söder)

Player in:

Vedran Jese (Free transfer)

After the first fierce rivalry game of the season, away at AIK, Tommy found himself somewhat nervous going into his language class, with IFK superfan Kirsten.

"Well done," she smiled as he came in, rather to his surprise. "Too bad you guys couldn't hold on to that lead, but a good performance nonetheless."

"Well thank you," Tommy said, relieved. "I tried to have the team preserve that lead by pulling them back, but they were just too much."

"I must say, I'm very impressed with how you are using Selakovic," she added. "Two goals in two games, plus those three out of five in pre-season. He hasn't scored that much since he was at Halmstad ten years ago. And that Robak you signed seems to be off to a good start, too. Those two and Hysén are lethal up front, and I think you're going to get a lot of production out of them."

Tommy nodded. "I was also impressed with González," he said. "Good passing, he got that assist and he was constantly picking off passes."

She smiled. "Well, it's time to get to our lesson, don't you think?"

The next week would bring cause for more celebrations after the home game against Halmstad. Before the match, Göteborg had been proclaimed slight favorites, with the match most likely to end in a draw, however midfielder Eriksson opened the score after only five minutes, sliding home the opener in the far corner after being set up by Hysén, who picked up a cross and played the ball backwards right in front of the midfielder. Hysén himself then doubled the lead on 30 minutes after Selakovic picked out his run across the field, layed out a perfect 50-yarder on the run and Hysén took it home with confidence. Selakovic then tripled it, when Göteborg won a penalty in the 36th minute, the experienced winger scoring his third in three games to send IFK into the break with a three-point lead. Despite continuing pressure, Halmstad would be next to score in the 71st but half-time substitute Roben Söder finalised the score at 4-1 on a brilliant counter-attack as Hysén picked him out with a deep pass, he took control of the bouncing ball right in front of Halmstad's Lundberg and left him outstretched on the field and barreled down on goal, making no mistake one-on-one to complete the rout.

To celebrate the victory, Mooney took the lads down to a nearby restaurant and treated them to dinner and drinks, toasting their hard work and determination and telling them that if they play like this every week there would be nothing to stand in their way.

IFK also secured the transfer of lanky Dutch striker Christian Gandu from Dortmund when the 17-year old's contract expires in the summer.

Swedish Premier Division:

AIK - Göteborg 2-2 (Selakovic, Robak)

Göteborg - Halmstad 4-1 (Eriksson, Hysén, Selakovic, Söder)

Future signing:

Christian Gandu from Dortmund (End of Contract)

Premier Division standing:

1st Göteborg 7 pts (+5 GD)

The wednesday after the dismantling of Halmstad, Kalmar FF came to Gamla Ullevi. Having already beaten them in the Super Cup, confidence of another home win was high, and Tommy knew this entering the dressing room.

"Well lads,' he said, scanning the faces. "I know we're on good form right now, and we've already shown once that we can beat these men, but don't forget that you have to play to win. We can't just go out there and expect to walk off with a victory. If you play the way you did last Sunday, you can win this game. Tobias (Hysén), Sebastian (Eriksson), keep up what you've been doing. It has certainly been working."

Nods all around the dressing room as the men got up to head out to the field. "Well, what do you think?" Tommy asked Jonas, his assistant.

"Well, hard telling," Jonas answered. "Robak sure looked like he took it to heart, though, but we should be getting out there."

On his way out onto the field, his cellphone vibrated, and he checked to see that it was a SMS from Kirsten. "God lycka!" It read, which made him smile. "Vi tackas. Where are you sitting?" he sent back. She informed him she was in the stands behind Kalmar's goal. "You should be seeing some fireworks then" he sent her back.

And fireworks she saw as Eriksson opened the lead on a rebound from Robak, and Selakovic doubled with yet another converted penalty kick. Midfielder Svensson completed the scoreline at 3-0 after halftime, and with Malmö's scoreless draw, Blåvitt were alone at the top, one point ahead of Hammarby and two ahead of Malmö.

"Well, sir, you've really done it now," the Stig said as he all but kicked in the door to Tommy's office, about giving the bald-headed manager a heart-attack. "What?"

"The fans are going to wet themselves when they find out Damien Plessis is joining the club!"

A smile tracked across Tommy's face. "It helps to have connections, I suppose," he answered modestly

"Indeed," the chairman added with a smile. "Come, let me treat you, tell Jonas to finish what you are working on, we need to celebrate!"

Sunday, April 18th, Tommy received a phonecall from an old friend, Nigel Gibbs, a former teammate and legend at Watford. "Oy, Nigel," Tommy said, looking at the number. "How are you?"

"Good, mate," Gibbs answered. "I've some bad news for you though."

"What's that?" Tommy asked.

"Watford's gone down," Nigel replied. "Their tie yesterday means they've no chance of staying up, and they still have to play us and Coventry."

"Us?"

"Well, I'm coaching at Reading now," Gibbs explained.

"Good," Tommy answered. "As long as it's not Queen's Park or Palace."

"Don't curse me," Nigel chuckled. "I'd rather work at McDonald's. But what are you doing these days?"

"Manager in Sweden," Thomas replied, trying not to be smug. "Little club called 'IFK Göteborg."

"No ****?"

"No **** at all," he answered with a laugh. "Off to a decent start, too. Got my first silver and everything."

"Sounds interesting."

"Would you like to come up here?" Tommy asked on the sly. "The apartment next to mine is for rent, you know. And I could use a good coach."

"You can't pay me enough," Nigel said in jest.

"How about if I told you to just work with the senior team?"

"Well..."

So negotiations began, all sparked by a quick call about the club they both loved.

Swedish Premier Division:

Göteborg - Kalmar FF 3-0 (Eriksson, Selakovic, Svensson)

Future signings:

Gardawski from FC Köln (End of contract)

Plessis from Liverpool (End of contract)

On a warm and wet spring afternoon, a Monday as the case would be, Tommy found himself once again at his language instructor's. Kirsten smiled at him as he entered the door and conveyed her congratulations. "Another win, Thomas," she said proudly.

"Yes ma'am," he replied in confident style. "Two points clear up front. It's not much yet, but we're showing results."

"True," she agreed. "Though some say your style is, er... Unconventional."

"How so?" he asked. "It's a high-tempo passing game, with a fairly simple 4-3-3 layout."

"Sure," she conceded. "But off the ball your men seem anywhere from disruptive to outright violent, as shown by Svensson's red in the last game."

"On the contrary," he countered. "Where I come from, toughness is important. We are putting pressure on the opposition's players in order to force them into errors and not allow them the chance to find their flow. Admittedly, we are atop the standings in cards received, but you can't contest that it is working. We have conceded the fewest goals in the league, and scored the most!"

To this, Kirsten had no reply. "Do the fans not enjoy seeing us win?" he asked her. "We are playing attractive football on the ball, and disallowing our opponents to do so while they have it."

"True," she answered. "It will just take some time to get accustomed to it. I just hope it won't cost us in the long run in suspensions and sendings off. When you gain a reputation for being violent, the refs will show much less leniency here, I suspect."

Right after the class, he got a phonecall to please attend the airport at seven thirty-three in the evening. He got in his Volvo and drove up there, with it only being another hour before he had to arrive. He arrived well in time, so he picked up some coffee at one of the little places inside the rather large airport and waited, checking the arrival board to see what plane he might be waiting on. Everything became apparent when the only flight scheduled to arrive at that particular time had departed from Heathrow, and his suspicions were confirmed as he spotted his old friend, team-mate and fellow Hall-of-Fame inductee at Watford, Nigel Gibbs.

"Hello old fellow," Tommy said, putting on the British gentleman aire. "Do consider yourself welcome here in Sweden."

"Why thank you sir," Nigel replied in kind. "That is most kind of you."

The two had a laugh and collected Nigel's luggage at the carrousel. "Come on," Tommy said. "I'll take you to your new apartment. You'll love the neighbors."

The next morning, in Tommy's office, Nigel came in to talk business. "So, you have any reccomendations for me?" Tommy asked, having already explained Nigel's duties at the club.

"Well, this kid, Ross Jenkins," Nigel said. "At Watford, he's a central mid, only nineteen years old I believe, and he ran their game this season."

"Yeah, I remember Jenkins," Tommy answered. "Little kid, right? I remember him being all over, winning balls, playing passes, finding space."

"That's the one, he's one of their best, and only getting better," Nigel agreed. "I remember one of the scouts at Reading briefing us on him, saying that he wouldn't be surprised to see this kid in the Prems if he kept up his development. And you know, with us going down a league, I bet we could get him for a good price."

"It seems almost dirty to scam the club out of a good player like that, but they'll be needing the wages off their hands," Tommy mused. "We'd be doing them a favor, perhaps."

Premier Division:

Trelleborg - Göteborg 0-1 (Robak)

Staff in:

Nigel Gibbs (1st Team Coach) from Reading (£40K)

Tommy and IFK then embarked on one of the easiest parts of their season, playing relegation candidates Gefle and fierce local rivals GAIS, who shared Gamla Ullevi with IFK and Örgryte IS, all three clubs being from Göteborg. Both matches would be played at home, and both matches were expected to be won by the Blåvitt faithful.

Sebastian Eriksson continued to show his good form, scoring his third goal in six league games, heading home a Selakovic cross early in the game. Despite continued pressure, IFK could not open the game up further, but Gefle never really threatened to tie it up, either.

The next day, Olaf perched himself on Tommy's desk with the papers. "Wasteful Blåvitt control Gefle," he read to his boss. "Sebastian Eriksson was the shining star for IFK as they confidently defeated Gefle by 1-0, though the victory should have been greater. Their passing looked confident, and only the heroics of Gefle goalie Hugosson kept them from scoring three or four."

Tommy nodded. "Sounds about right," he said. "I wish we could have scored more goals, but we played well and got the points."

Olaf nodded, flashing a toothy grin. "The fans seem to be happy with the result," he replied. "I was online last night and a lot of people were saying good things."

"Good," Tommy nodded. "That's always important."

"Perhaps we could celebrate with lunch?" Olaf added with hope in his voice.

"Sure," Tommy agreed, to Olaf's delight. "Let me finish up here and we'll go for lunch."

19-year old Belgian defender Dedryck Boyata agreed to join the side after his contract at Manchester City expired. A sturdy young man, physically strong and dominant in the air, he showed a lot of potential for the future.

The game against stadium-mates GAIS (Göteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap) would be up next, and it was a highly anticipated fixture for fans from both sides, selling out the big stadium called Ullevi, which is used only for large events and games with a 42 000 capacity (compared to Gamla Ullevi's 18 800) and every single seat in the place was full

For this game, Mooney decided to move Svensson back beside Saba in a defensive midfield role, leaving Eriksson as the lone true central midfielder in the 4-3-3 formation, while Robin Söder took over from Marcin Robak up front. Before the game, he messaged his friend and Swedish tutor Kirsten Allerbrand, and managed to get her and her brother Kjell field seats for this special game, much to their delight, and both of the Allerbrands insisted on telling him that they were looking forward to a victory over their rivals.

Immediately after the final whistle, Kirsten came running up and almost tackled Tommy to the pitch with a flying hug, as two headers from the short forward Söder had put the game away comfortably in a dominating performance that had seen IFK outshoot GAIS sixteen to four, with captain Kim Christensen being equal to GAIS's every shot, keeping his fourth clean sheet in a row.

"Well done," Kirsten gushed. "That was a great game!"

"Thanks," Tommy muttered, trying not to blush.

"Very good!" Kjell said, slapping him on the back, before Tommy excused himself for the post-game proceedings.

The end of April saw Tommy pick up Manager of the Month, with six league wins and a draw, outscoring opponents 15-3, much to his delight.

Swedish Premier League:

Göteborg - Gefle 1-0 (Eriksson)

Göteborg - GAIS 2-0 (Söder 2)

Future signing:

Dedryck Boyata from Manchester City (End of Contract)

Been having a read of this and it's a good read so far and I'm enjoying it.

By May, Tommy felt like he was really starting to settle in at the club, and in the city of Göteborg. He was not having near as much trouble finding his way around, he'd found himself a regular place to do his groceries, a pub he liked, and a couple of restaurants that he frequented. He'd become good friends with his assistant manager Jonas, his personal secretary Olaf, his language teacher Kirsten, and his neighbor and old friend Nigel.

After the narrow away victory over Hammarby, he had treated them all to dinner at the little Croatian restaurant on the other side of the Angered district to celebrate a new club record in consecutive wins.

A couple of days later, he'd finally decided to make a move on a player he'd had his eyes on for a while: Former Rangers and Lorient man Hamed Namouchi.

"He's very athletic," Jonas had told him. "A good passer of the ball, with good vision and instincts. He's also great at controlling the ball and making it do what he wants to. An excellent player on either wing, and definitely better than Stefan (Selakovic), and several years younger."

"Very well," Tommy had allowed. "We could use a bit more depth and variety on the wing, since our only alternative until the summer is Bjarnasson."

Then it was time for another rivalry match away at their own stadium, the larger one of the two: Nya Ullevi. Twenty-five thousand fans packed in to see Örgryte host their bigger brothers and fierce rivals of Göteborg. Robin Söder had maintained his starting position by scoring three goals in the past two games when given the chance to relieve tired Marcin Robak, but otherwise the starting line-up was quite familiar.

The first half was a difficult affair to watch for both sides, as hardly any chances were created on either side, with young striker Söder misplacing close to half his passes and being dominated in the air, which meant that by half-time, he had not even taken a single crack at goal.

"Robin," Tommy said. "I'm sorry bud, but this is not your game, I'm bringing Marcin in."

Robek nodded and took off his warm-ups, and Söder merely hung his head and started to untie his shoes, looking quite disappointed about the early sub, but accepting.

It quickly became apparent that it was the right decision, as Robak's passing was much more accurate, and he won every header he took, and finally capitalised in the 73rd minute to give Blåvitt the lead on a break down the right side, sliding the ball to the far side of the goal off the inside of the post. Defensive midfielder Saba then made way because he had picked up a yellow, replaced by Olsson, and a few minutes later the tired-looking Selakovic cleared the field to allow Hamed Namouchi his debut in the blue and white striped shirt with number 22 on the back. He misplaced his first three passes, and was looking far from dangerous in the first ten minutes of his debut, but after ten minutes he shook off his nerves it seemed, and in the dying seconds of the game as left back Gonzalez sent a free kick from the halfway line 50 yards across the box, Hamouchi ran onto it and slotted it home to secure the game, and the adulation of the fans.

Later in the week, First Division Elite side Falkenbergs FF was easily dispatched of in the third round of the Swedish Cup in front of nearly fifteen hundred fans, Göteborg having taken a two-goal lead in the first twenty-five minutes, courtesy of their two central midfielders, Eriksson and Svensson. Marcin Robak completed the scoreline after Saba stole away a loose ball at the end of the area and found Robak unmarked, and Göteborg would move on unhindered to the next round.

All in all, the month of May was shaping up to be a good month for Tommy and IFK Göteborg, as they secured their spot at the top of the table by eight points, ahead of AIK, Brommapojkarna and Kalmar FF.

Swedish Premier Division:

Hammarby - Göteborg 2-3 (Gerrbrand o.g., Svensson, Söder)

Örgryte - Göteborg 0-2 (Robak, Namouchi)

Swedish Cup 3rd Round:

Falkenberg - Göteborg 0-3 (Svensson, Eriksson, Robak)

Player in:

Hamed Namouchi, free transfer.

Been having a read of this and it's a good read so far and I'm enjoying it.

Thank you

With confidence sky-high in the locker room, the results were bound to keep coming. Örebro, placed twelfth in the league should not prove a challenge, so the papers and anyone who knew anything about the game were saying. In the meantime, early season leader Adam Johansson finally recovered from his strained knee, which had kept him out of action since the beginning of April, it now being halfway through May. Upon hearing that news, Tommy had him called into his office.

"Good morning, Adam," he said as his team's captain sat down. "I hear the physio department's cleared you to return to full training?"

"Yes," Johansson replied evenly. "I am looking forward to getting back on the field, that's for sure."

"Of course," Tommy agreed. "However, I am facing just a bit of a dilemma. Obviously, you're going to be out of shape having spent more than a month out. That's the first thing we will need to remedy, you will be going back to full training, of course, and I want you to play with the reserves team, until you are back in fitness. Then, secondly, despite being captain and in mine and many other's opinion the best right back we have, I will need you to win back your job in the first, because, quite frankly Tuomo has been doing an exceptional job, and I would hope that you can appreciate that I can't just take his place away from him when he's worked so hard to make his opportunity count."

Obviously a bit put out, Adam nodded quietly, his head facing down. "Look," Tommy said. "Don't take this the wrong way, I know you can and will win back a starting spot, you were the first name on my team sheet before your injury. But Tuomo is young and ambitious, and has worked really hard to earn a spot on the first team, and you know he's versatile, so perhaps I will have him rotate along the back line, to give people a chance to rest, but I will need you to prove to me, and everyone on that team, that you deserve that spot on the first team based on work, not merit."

"Alright," Johansson said, seeming to comprehend better what his manager wanted. "I promise you I will win my spot back before the month is done!"

Of course, he sat out the game against Örebro, in which Olsson and Jakob Johansson took over for the tired-looking Eriksson and Svensson in the center of the pitch, which prompted Tommy to experiment with his formation, upon finding out that Örebro were countering him with the exact same 4-3-3, with one anchor and two central midfielders. Instead, Saba was pushed up to the center of midfield in a ball-winning role, with Olsson beside him as the creative heart, and Jakob Johansson as an attacking midfielder between them and striker Robak.

It took the team a while to get used to this new system, but by the 40th minute, Croatian centerback Jese found the net for his first ever IFK goal, powering in a well-taken corner.

Saba then left the pitch with an injury that saw him go down several times during the first half, and though he walked it off every time, Mooney did not want to risk aggravating it any further and brought Svensson on the field.

In the second half, Robak, who had been having a very quiet game, perhaps even seen his replacement warming up suddenly found himself in acres of space in the 61st and blasted it in off the bottom of the bar, and then doubled his tally just before the end of the game, after Örebro had grabbed one back in the 64th. After Robak's second, the game was secure, and the IFK faithful left happy as ever with the ninth game won in a row.

After the match, Tommy found out that Robak would be missing the next game after collecting his third yellow, and Saba would be missing the next two games with a thigh strain.

The monday after the game against Örebro, Olaf and Tommy traveled down to Stockholm to attend the draw for the Swedish Cup, leaving Jonas in charge of affairs for the day. They found out that Örgryte, their fierce rivals would be their opponents in the Fourth round, and should they be victorious, Örebro or Ljungskile would be waiting in the Quarter Finals.

"Looks like an excellent draw," Olaf said a little bit later over tea at a charming little place on the outskirts of Stockholm. "Two teams that are at the bottom of the table in the Allsvenskan (Swedish Premier), and one in the bottom of the Superettan (First Div. Elite). We are all but guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals!"

"Well," Tommy replied, shaking his head. "It's no guarantee until you win the games."

"Of course," Olaf allowed. "But the way you've been running this team, I have every bit of confidence that you can pull it off."

"Why thank you," Tommy said, flattered.

It was then time for one of the hardest games of the league season, as IFK traveled south to Helsingborg to face one of the stronger title contenders, led by club and national legend Henrik Larsson of former Celtic fame. The media had Helsingborg down as the favorites for the game, something that Tommy had not yet encountered, and as it would turn out, correctly so as a single goal from a free kick would bring Di Röe (The Reds) an important victory over the league leaders, and with a loss from AIK and a draw by Kalmar FF, they maneuvered themselves into second position, six points behind Tommy's Göteborg. Worse yet, on a double yellow card, Svensson had got himself sent off and would be missing a game.

Rather dreading facing his tutor Kirsten, knowing that she would probably be disappointed to see her beloved Blåvitt lose, he dragged himself to his language course on Thursday afternoon.

"Sorry," he said as soon as he walked in the door.

"That's okay," Kirsten responded. "I suppose you can't win them all."

"Guess not," he answered sheepishly.

"Although I don't understand why Jónsson played instead of González," she continued. "I understand Robak was suspended, but I feel you weakened the defense by pulling three starters, and playing Lund, Svensson and Jónsson."

"Well," Tommy answered. "Fatigue is starting to set in, we have a very busy schedule, as you know, and certain players just needed a break."

"But against such a strong opponent?"

"Especially against such a strong opponent," he countered. "That's when injuries happen and mistakes slip in. You'll notice that they only conceded one goal?"

She could not argue with that, so they went on and began their language class.

Swedish Premier Division:

Göteborg - Örebro 3-1 (Jese, Robak 2)

Helsingborg - Göteborg 1-0

Standings after eleven games:

1. IFK Göteborg 28 pts (+16)

2. Helsingborgs IF 22 pts (+7)

3. Kalmar FF 21 pts (+3)

4. AIK 20 pts (+10)

5. IF Brommapojkarna 20 pts (+3)

Dam, has this story been stopped?

My apologies for the extended absence, I've had a lot going on in my personal life, I hope to slowly get this show back on the road!

Up next would be the surprise of the season so far, newly promoted Brommapojkarna, a clash for which IFK were surefire favorites.

"So," Tommy said, looking in the paper. "We're favorites to win against Bromma.. podge.. karna?"

"Yes," his assistant Jonas said. "Although they're often just called BP."

"I can deal with that," Tommy nodded. "They're a bit of a surprise outfit I gather?"

"Very much," Jonas concurred. "They were predicted to finish last, certainly not in the top five where they are now, and as little as nine years ago they were in the Second Division SS, and through consistent improvement they've made their way into the top flight, first three years ago, and again last year."

"So they are not to be underestimated, I see," Tommy nodded. "Very well, let's get on with the tactical preparations shall we?"

"Sure," Jonas allowed.

"Well, I was thinking of throwing Bromma for a loop," Tommy smiled. "We'll submit our usual 4-3-3 as the match teamsheet, but right before the game, I will instruct them to come out in a 4-4-2, with Söder and Robak up front. I think Robin could benefit from being in a match with his mentor, and this way it solves our defensive midfielder problem."

"Interesting," Jonas said, eyebrow cocked. "I'd like to see how this works out."

Well, as with any change, there's always some adjustment, and BP looked to take advantage early on, dominating posession to a rediculous degree in the first five minutes, capping it with a goal to take an early away lead. It was not long, however before Robin Söder evened things out with a terrific header in the 19th minute on a perfectly floated cross from Selakovic.

A duplicate scenario in the 43rd saw Hysén float one across from the left and Robak put his head on it by the far post to snag the lead right before half-time. After half-time, Tommy directed his players to take the game to the flanks, where Turunen, González, Selakovic and Hysén outplayed their opponents completely, and if not for Zvirgsdauskas' aerial domination in the center of Bromma's defense, the score would have been much higher.

As it stood, however Söder managed to secure the win with nine minutes left in the game when Jakob Johansson drifted a deep ball in from midfield over top of the BP defense, Söder broke through and picked it away in front of the goalkeeper, leaving him with only an empty net in front of him, and he made no mistake to put his tally in the game to two goals, celebrating his 25th league appearance for the club.

The next week they traveled fourty miles east to the picturesque city of Borås, home to the recently revived football club of Elsborg, whom had fallen from their golden days in the sixties and seventies, getting relegated and dissapearing from the Allsvenskan for ten years after finishing last in 1987. Their new stadium, Borås Arena was built in 2005, along with a large investment in bringing back star players, which payed off as they won their first title in 45 years in 2006, and they had been predicted to win the league this year, but as it turned out they were having a difficult time living up to the expectations, and were in 11th position after twelve games.

After securing a nice away win, the mood on the bus driving back to Göteborg was good, and Tommy found himself talking to his close friend Nigel.

"I must admit," Nigel said, closing his notebook. "The standard of play here is not too bad. That was a very enjoyable match."

"I would like to say so," Tommy agreed. "I thought we had it in the bag, going into the half with two goals, but I must admit they had me worried for a while, especially the way they clawed one back. After that, I never really felt safe until that last-minute penalty."

"You worry too much mate," Nigel laughed. "We had the better part of play, and even in the second half we had a hand in at all times."

"Easy for you to say," Tommy replied evenly. "I had Jonas in my ear, telling me 'we should play more directly, we're not creating enough chances, Marcin is missing the target, Tobias is looking tired out there,' and so on and so on."

"Hey!" Jonas replied from the next row over. "If you don't want my advice, I'll gladly bring a book to the next one."

"Not at all," Tommy said. "In all honesty, you are a lifesaver Jonas. And when all is said and done, we have three points and will be home within the hour."

"I must say," Nigel interjected. "I think that Svensson bloke stole the show today, he dominated in the middle of the pitch."

"Hear hear," Tommy smiled.

"You know," Jonas put in. "Someone else will have to do that next week."

Both men replied with undignified sounds of confusion.

"His yellow card, that's number three, he's on suspension for a game."

This elicited an unpleasant response from Tommy, and he motioned Jonas over to start planning ahead for the next week.

The following morning, Olaf was already in Tommy's office with the paper, beaming a smile bright enough to sell toothpaste. "Look at this Tomas," he uttered, seeming almost giddy.

Tommy looked down at the paper, trying to muster all his knowledge of the Swedish language, deciphered a headline reading something that he decided must be nice about him. He was sure it was about him, after all, it had his name and picture, and at his best guess, it said something along the lines of 'Mooney's good start at Blåvitt'.

"Do me a favor," he said. "Tell me what this says."

"Manager Tommy Mooney," Olaf started. "Has made a superb start to life at Gamla Ullevi since he arrived in February. He has taken his side to an amazing thirteen wins in fifteen games, and picked up some amazing bargains along the way, leaving money to spend if need be."

"Very flattering," Tommy allowed.

"Well," Olaf said with his toothy smile. "You are impressive, they should see that."

"You're too much," Tommy replied bashfully, wondering if the kid was trying for a raise.

So, with May behind him, after his first three months in Sweden, Tommy felt like he was on top of the world, and to top it all off, he received the Manager of the month award for May, having won 5 out of 6 league games.

Swedish Premier Division

Göteborg - Brommapojkarna 3-1 (Söder 2, Robak)

Elfsborg - Göteborg 1-3 (Svensson, Hysén, Robak)

Standings after 13 games:

1. IFK Göteborg 34 pts (+20)

2. Helsingborgs IF 26 pts (+9)

3. AIK 24 pts (+12)

4. Kalmar FF 24 pts (+3)

5. Malmö FF 22 pts (+5)

The month of June would bring the news that left back Gonzales would be traveling to South Africa for the World Cup, putting Tommy out one more player. That, however, did not seem to slow the team down in the least bit, as Turunen took over at left back, while young attacking midfielder Jakob Johansson took the spot in central midfield. Adam Johansson meanwhile made his second consecutive start since returning from injury, and the team came together convincingly to put aside rivals Djurgården, with new signing Namouchi opening the score in the 11th minute, poking it into the net from short distance. It would take well into the second half before they really put things beyond doubt when Hysén ran in a cross from Adam Johansson to double the lead. Marcin Robak and Ragnar Sigurdsson completed the rout in the last ten minutes.

The following day, Leif Swärd, the club physio entered Mooney's office.

"What's the news doctor?" Tommy asked.

"Well," Leif responded. "Hysén's injury is not too bad, it is but a bruised thigh."

Mooney let out a sigh of relief.

"You probably made the right call taking him out of the match," Leif continued. "But if he takes a rest for the next four or five days, he should be fine."

"That's good news doctor," Tommy responded with a smile. "We don't have another game scheduled until the end of the month, so that should be plenty of time."

In the mean time, the World Cup kicked off, with England drawing group F, which be survivable, facing Bahrain, France and Paraguay, while Sweden would be watching from home, as Denmark and Portugal advanced from their qualifying group.

Leonardo Gonzales and his Costa Rica team lost their first match in a heartbreaker against Tunisia, while Tommy and his Göteborg teammates watched, and on Monday afternoon Tommy and Nigel got appropriately hammered while they watched the England-Bahrain match-up, and it was well worth it. Peter Crouch opened the score in the 18th minute with a close ranged header, while Ashley Young doubled the lead with a beauty of a shot from distance. Crouch again made it three with another header from up close, sending them into the half in good spirits.

After the half, Bahrain gave away a penalty after Essa Mohamed held back Joe Cole, and Crouch converted it for his hattrick. A great solo effort by Crouch then saw him pick up the ball outside the penalty box after a deflection, run it inside and place a shot into the bottom corner to make it 5-0 after 75 minutes. He capped his performance with his fifth goal of the night with nine minutes to spare, sliding the ball into the bottom left corner from the edge of the area, and Steven Gerrard added insult to injury in injury time with an powerful blast from distance to set the final score at an impressive 7-0. However, not all news was good for England, as Crouch had twisted his ankle during that game, and would likely miss the rest of the tournament.

Leonardo Gonzales had a rough second game in the World Cup, as he was tormented by Cristiano Ronaldo for 90 minutes in a 3-0 defeat at Soccer City, Johannesburg. In the other game of that group, Tunisia surprised the world as they eliminated Holland with a 2-1 win through sheer opportunism, converting two out of their three total chances, while denying the Dutch, who had three clear cut chances, and a dozen more shots at goal, but goalkeeper Hamdi Kasraoui put in a man of the match performance to secure a second-round spot for his countrymen.

The next monday, Nigel and Tommy settled in for the match against Paraguay, and were sorely disappointed. A quickfire double from Benfica's Oscar Cardozo put the South-Americans up by two going into the half, and with ten minutes to spare, Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz twisted the dagger, scoring the 3-0. His team-mate Shaun Wright-Phillips would grab one back for England, but the game was lost.

Leonardo Gonzáles ended the tournament on a positive note, whipping in the corner that provided the second goal for his country as they tied the Dutch two goals each in their final group match.

England also failed out of the group stage of the tournament as France got the better of them, much to Tommy and Nigel's disappointment, they watched Ferdinand give up a penalty which Ribery confidently put away. Glen Johnson then put the nail in England's coffin with an own goal, and Gareth Barry made a bad day worse by getting himself sent off in the 80th minute after a second yellow for persistant fouling.

AC Milan's Flamini meanwhile stupidly rendered himself ineligible for the second round, the quarter final and the semi's with a vicious foul in the dying seconds of the game as he hacked Gerrard down with two feet.

Tomas Olsson and Marcin Robak ensured that Göteborg's cup dreams lived on in a simple elimination of Premier League low-flying Orgryte to cap the month of June, and with the first day of July would come the opening of the transfer season and the new signings Tommy tied down in earlier in the year.

Swedish Premier League:

Göteborg - Djurgården 4-0 (Namouchi, Hysén, Robak, Sigurdson)

Swedish Cup 4th Rnd:

Göteborg - Orgryte 2-0 (Olsson, Robak)

With the opening of the transfer window, many things would change at IFK. Tommy said goodbye to 21-year old right back Erik Lund, a former Aston Villa player who had returned to Sweden in 2008, but had failed to make an impact at Göteborg, and would now be trying his luck in Denmark at Esbjerg, whose fans appeared very excited to have him.

Talented young Icelandic midfielder Theódór Bjarnason, who had unsuccesfully tried to make it in Scotland at Celtic before returning to Scandinavia at Norwegian side Lyn, was allowed to leave Götenborg the same year he had been purchased as he had not figured into Mooney's first team plans, and Serie B side Padova had offered a sum equal to six hundred thousand British Pounds, which Tommy was more than willing to accept.

In the mean time, Tommy had some new players to meet and greet. He had instructed his staff to watch them during training and give him reports to tell him where they would fit into the team.

First there was Jan Mucha. Twenty-eight years old, had taken over as the starting goalkeeper at Legia Warszaw after Fabianski was sold to Arsenal. He has made eight appearances for Slovakia right now, and is part of the regular Slovak first team. "Mucha is a highly talented goalkeeper, playing at a level well above that of Kim Christensen. He is a dominant goalkeeper, very capable in one-on-one situations, a true lifesaver when we get broken on. Very mentally strong, a healthy type, seems good at making the right decisions. Should be considered for the starting role."

Up next was right winger Juha Hakola, a short and nimble player who had been playing in the highest Dutch league at Heracles and had recently earned his first call-up to the Finnish national side. "Fast as lightning and healthy as an ox. Relies on his speed to offset average technical ability and footballing intelligence, but as a speed threat down the wing, you'd be hard pressed to find better. Also a skilled free-kick taker. Should be competing for a spot on the right wing."

Then, tall French defensive midfielder Damien Plessis, whom in three years at Anfield had struggled to break into the senior team, making a total of seven appearances. "Intimidating presence in midfield, able to muscle players off the ball. Pretty quick for his size, and very intelligent both on and off the field. A bit clumsy with the feet, should not be running with the ball or trying to shoot it on a regular basis, but as a defensive anchor in midfield you rarely find better options. Should play in most matches."

Polish veteran Lukasz Surma was added to help guide Damien and provide experience and leadership from the base of midfield. A fourteen-year veteran at the highest club level in Eastern Europe and Israel. "A tireless and dedicated player, does just about everything well. Has plenty of experience and it helps him anticipate the flow of play, putting himself in the right place at the right time. Clever with the pass and accurate, he can win the ball and distribute it, and will do anything to help his team. Also a good choice to start in midfield."

Belgian youth Dedryck Boyata joined from Manchester City, where he had spent the past three years learning at one of the best facilities in England. His time with the youth team of City saw him win the FA Youth Cup in 2008 and his future with the Belgian national side looks bright enough, having just recently received his first U21 call-up. "Dedryck has all the physical makings of an excellent defender. He is big, he is very strong, can hold his own in the air and has a good basic understanding and ability footballwise. He is not ready yet to cement a spot on the first team, but certainly has the potential to be among the better defenders in the league. Let him train with the first team, but most of his games should be in the Reserves."

Up next was young Polish right winger Michael Gardawski. Just recently called up to his nation's U21 side, owing to his progress at FC Köln II, whom he had helped to a 7th place finish in the last season. "Quick and nimble, though not unusually so for a player in his position, has a velvet touch on the football and can put on some dazzling move. Decent at the very basics of his position, both the theory and the skill, and in definite need of tutelage. Would probably benefit most from a loan away to gain first team experience."

Last in would be tall Dutch striker Christian Gandu. He had been snapped up by Dortmund out of FC Utrecht's youth academy, but the management did not see him fitting into their future plans and Tommy's scouts had reccomended that he might be molded into a good player in the Allsvenskan. "His height makes him an inviting target for crosses and long passes, and he has the presence to play the role of a target man. Is surprisingly slick with the ball at his feet, turns quickly and can really pull off some impressive skill moves to get by an opponent. However, his overall game needs a lot of sharpening, and he is in no way ready to play in the first team this season. We would reccomend a spot in the U19s, the reserves or going out on loan. In the future, however, he could well be a good striker."

Transfers in:

Jan Mucha from Lechia Gdansk (Free)

Michael Gardawski from FC Köln (Free)

Damien Plessis from Liverpool (Free)

Dedryck Boyata from Manchester City (Free)

Christian Gandu from Borussia Dortmund (Free)

Transfers out:

Erik Lund to Esbjerg fB (£170K)

Theódór Bjarnason to Padova (£600K)

"I must be honest with you Jonas," Tommy said, leaning back in his seat. "I don't know how comfortable I am switching goalkeepers mid-season. Especially when Kim has kept eleven clean sheets, and conceded only fourteen goals in twenty-one games. I mean, he's kept clean sheets in over half of his games played, and performance wise, I'd say he's been the best goalkeeper in the Allsvenskan."

Jonas nodded thoughtfully. "I understand what you mean. He has been doing an exceptional job, and it would not seem fair to take his position away from him, but Jan is better overall."

"Perhaps they can compete for the starting spot. I'll leave Kim in for now, and then when he has a bad game, I will give Jan a shot. If he can snag that chance, he'll keep the job."

"Don't you worry that you'll just get them both out of rhythm? Ideally, you should have only one starting goalkeeper." Jonas countered.

"Well, the best possible scenario would be if someone would show interest in buying Kim," Tommy mused. "We could make some money, and get behind our new starting goalkeeper."

Jonas nodded. "Well, for the time being, we'll let them fight for it."

Pretty soon, the loan offers for Sandberg, Gardawski, Gandu, Boyata and Bärkroth started pouring in, and a pretty serious effort was made to ship off starting goalkeeper Kim Christensen, and before long other clubs started making offers to the tune of over a million British Pounds. Offers were quickly tabled from Hull, West Brom, QPR, AEK Athens, FC Groningen, Bologna, AlbinoLeffe, Reggina, Porto, and Las Palmas. Mooney decided it was time to call Christensen into his office.

"Well, Kim," Tommy said with an apologetic look on his face. "As you well know, we've brought in another top-class goalkeeper."

Kim simply nodded.

"I feel bad doing this to you, for all the wonderful service you've done us so far this season. You're a goalkeeper of great ability, and any club in this league would be lucky to have you.."

"You've decided to get rid of me then." Kim said evenly.

"Well," Tommy said. "Yes. But, this could turn into a tremendous opportunity for you."

Kim inclined his head, his face a mixture of disappointment and curiosity.

"We've offers for you from clubs all over Europe, some of the biggest leagues the world over. Serie A, English Premier League. Portugal, Holland, Greece. You have the opportunity for an adventure right now. I have played in the Premier League. It is an amazing experience, to play against the best of the best, to measure your skill against the players you watch on TV. And I had always dreamed of leaving my home country, to play in a foreign land, to experience all that, and I did, but only when I was too old to do so at a high level. I played a few games in Spain, but in the lower levels. This job, for me, is a dream opportunity for adventure. Yours could begin now. Do you understand?"

Kim nodded. "I suppose so. I will go if it is your wish. I have had a good time here, and I wish you the best."

On the fourth of July, new signing Christian Gandu accepted a loan bid from Swedish Superettan (1st div) frontrunners Ljungskile SK, and Tommy Mooney secured another new signing, 16-year old Andreas Evensen, a goalkeeper with great potential, who was absolutely delighted at the opportunity to join Blåvitt. Skeid will be given sixty thousand British Pounds as compensation, which may eventually rise to 160 000.

The next day, Michael Gardawski agreed to join Division 1 South (Third tier) promotion candidate Östers IF, and Tommy signed another young goalkeeper, 17-year old Danish Jannich Storch from FC Nordsjælland, whom at his parting had revealed his disappointment in being transferlisted by manager Morten Wieghorst, who had played such a large part in his development. Of course he was not ready to play a part in the first team, and as such was immediately moved to the U19s.

Young right winger Niklas Bärkroth then revealed he would be spending the next season at FC København, where he would have the opportunity to learn from Danish star Jesper Grønkjær, while Dedryck Boyata and 17-year old defender Jonathan Azulay had accepted loan bids from Superettan promotion candidates Jönköpings Södra, joining their already youthful back line, and 19 year old goalkeeper Markus Sandberg, who had spent the first half of the season on the bench with the first team, while covering reserves team duties announced he would finish out 2010 at IFK affiliate Qviding, who were in 14th place in the Superettan at the time, in danger of relegation. 17 year old midfielder Joel Allansson would also go on loan to Qviding. 18 year-old centerback Mikael Gonzales meanwhile joined First Division South relegation candidates Rozengård.

København also had a clause for a £375K option to buy Bärkroth at any point during the loan.

Marcin Robak went on record stating that he was very encouraged to see the youngsters at the club geting a chance to see some first team action.

On July seventh, Kim Christensen left south for Greece, having decided to join AEK Athens in a 1.1M deal, and with his departure the vice-captaincy opened up, which Tommy decided to award to Gustav Svensson. In the mean time, four young IFK players were called up to the Swedish U19 squad for the European championship.

On Sunday, July 11th, Tommy received a phonecall from Nigel.

"Why don't you come over this afternoon?" Nigel asked.

"Well, I am rather busy, why?" Tommy replied.

"I figured we could watch the World Cup final? Nigel suggested.

"Is that today? I hadn't realised, it's been so hectic."

"Well, I think you deserve the day off Tom. Come over, I've the beer ready in the fridge."

So he did, and they sat down to watch France play Argentina. France lined up in a narrow 4-2-3-1 formation, with Hugo Lloris in goal, Sagna, Squillaci, Gallas and Evra as the back four. Diarra and Flamini would form the core in midfield, while Ribéry, Gourcuff and Ben Arfa showed as the offensive front of midfield, behind Benzema. Argentina lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Leo Franco in goal, Zanetti, Samuel, Garay and Insúa in defence, Cambiasso between defence and midfield, Gago and Agüero in the center of the pitch, and Maxi Rodríguez, Tevez and Messi up front.

Argentina came out of the gate first, with Samuel narrowly missing a header from a corner by Messi, and Tevez tried a curling shot which bounced off the side of the post a minute later. Halfway into the half, France got some pressure on Argentina's defense as Samuel gave up back to back corner kicks, the second of which was removed by Agüero before being returned into the box by France, who kept piling it on and Argentina had to give up another corner, which Flamini almost headed into the goal. The game flowed back and forth, with chances on both sides, but arguably the biggest chance of the first half went to Tevez, who managed to seize a bouncing ball in the area and volley it at goal, only to watch Lloris gather it in spectacularly, to deny what should have been the opening goal.

Shortly afterwards, Sagna collected a yellow card after a trip on Maxi Rodriguez, and Gourcuff missed a chance to open the score for France, so the two sides went into the half scoreless.

During the break, Argentina pulled Tevez in favor of Bayern's defensive midfielder Demichelis, moving things around a bit, and it almost payed off as Cambiasso had a chance to open the score only two minutes into the second half, but his header went over the bar.

On the other side of the pitch, Gourcuff was narrowly denied the opener as his free kick was pushed over the bar, and on the resulting counter attack Messi watched Lloris go full-stretch to tip his curling effort on to the post. Messi continued to torment Patrice Evra on the wing, putting in a cross that got put behind for a corner, where Samuel once again asserted his aerial dominance, but the chance went to nothing.

The game continued to flow, with both sides having several chances, a real joy for the spectators. In the 68th minute, Javier Zanetti went down after a collision with Ribery, prompting the physio onto the field. France took the injury break as an opportunity to make a change as they brought Vieira on to replace Flamini. The pace was taken out of the game by this for a while, and in the 75th minute, both managers decided to shake things up, as France used it's remaining substitutions to send on Toulalan and Henry to replace Diarra and Benzema, while Argentina also used it's final subs to bring on Verón and Zárate for Gago and Maxi Rodriguez.

Zarate immediately made his impact, running foward with the ball and crossing it in dangerously, forcing Lloris to rush out and punch the ball clear. However, it would be a substitute on the other side, Thierry Henry who would open the score as Hatem Ben Arfa played a clever through ball, springing the pacey striker, and Henry made no mistake one-on-one with the goalkeeper, blasting a fierce shot into the net in the 85th minute, and Argentina could not find the equaliser, so France won their second World Cup victory after losing four years prior.

England did not go home empty handed, however. Peter Crouch won the Golden Boot with his five goals scored, tying him with Robinho and Carlos Teves, but by virtue of having only played in a single game, he won the tiebreaker.

Players in:

Andreas Evensen from Skeid (£60K)

Jannich Storch from FC Nordsjælland (£4K)

Players out:

Kim Christensen to AEK Athens (£1.1M)

Christian Gandu to Ljungskile (Loan)

Michael Gardawski to Öster (Loan)

Niklas Barkroth to FC København (Loan)

Dedryck Boyata to Jönköpings Södra (Loan)

Jonathan Azulay to Jönköpings Södra (Loan)

Markus Sandberg to Qviding (Loan)

Joel Allanson to Qviding (Loan)

Mikael Gonzales to Rosengård (Loan)

After almost three weeks without any action, it was finally time again to run the boys out for the away game against Malmö FF. Tommy had been hoping to be able to use his new signings, but Jonas informed him that they seemed to be lacking match practice, with the exception of goalkeeper Mucha, so Plessis and Hakola started on the bench, while Surma was left in Göteborg.

The first half got off to a slow start, and it wasn't until injury time in the first half when Eriksson split the offside trap with a clever pass, putting Robak one-on-one with Malmö's goalkeeper, and he made no mistake.

After the half, Robak continued in fine form, scoring a scorcher from the edge of the area just six minutes in. New goalkeeper Mucha was never really put to work, but he did what he had to do well. Plessis was allowed to run onto the field just before the end of the game after Robak completed his hat trick with a screamer from the edge of the area, almost identical to his second goal to seal the deal, and Plessis took the spot of the exhausted-looking Olsson, but never got a touch on the ball.

The next day, Tommy got a call from Leif Swärd, informing him that powerful defender Ragnar Sigurdsson would be out for the better part of two weeks with a twisted knee sustained during the match, which would cost him the away leg of our Euro qualifier (3rd round) against Sampdoria, which they had found out just prior to the Malmö game.

A few days later, still tired and sore from their return to action earlier, the team suited up to face fierce rivals AIK. The players were far from top fitness, and with Sigurdsson injured, Turunen took over in the center of defense, while young attacking midfielder Jakob Johansson made his fourth start of the season. Things were off to a flying start for Göteborg, and Tommy was feeling good on the bench as Eriksson put them up after only seven minutes with a close-range header. When Robak doubled the score twenty minutes in with a special goal from a free kick, things were looking like they would be settled easily. Jakob Johansson then put them up by three with a neat tap-in in the 35th, and the lead was extended to four by Hysén, who broke through and, after seeing his first effort parried by the goalkeeper did not give up and buried the rebound. However, AIK were to grab two back in the space of five minutes at the very end of the first half with their first and second chance respectively. Gonzales took the blame for the second goal, and the first one had simply been a converted corner kick.

During the half, Tommy assured Gonzales that he had every bit of faith in his ability, and things looked back to normal in the second half as Robak scored his second of the game to make it 5-2 in the 68th. Surma and Jónsson came onto the field to finish out the game, and AIK managed to grab one more back, but the game would finish at 5-3, a spectacular result which overjoyed the fans.

The very next day, Thursday afternoon, upon entering his language class he was jumped by Kirsten, his tutor. She flung her arms around his neck and cheered.

"That was an amazing game!" She squealed.

"Thank you," he replied bashfully.

"I just love how you've been doing with Blåvitt," she said, beaming. "This has to be our best season in a while, it just seems like everything is coming together so well."

Tommy nodded, "We've been fortunate, I'd say."

"Don't be so modest," she answered. "You've put together a good team, they're playing well. Clearly, you're responsible for the way things are going."

"Well now," Tommy started.

"You know it," she interrupted. "Losing coaches get the blame, winning ones the credit. Take it and enjoy."

"Well," he said. "Thank you. Perhaps... We could celebrate tonight?"

"We just might," she responded with a wink.

Swedish Premier Division

Malmö FF - Göteborg 0-3 (Robak 3)

Göteborg - AIK 5-3 (Robak 2 Eriksson, Johansson, Hysén)

Swedish Premier Standings:

1. Göteborg 16 - 43 (+29)

2. Kalmar FF 15 - 30 (+6)

3. Malmö FF 16 - 28 (+5)

4. Helsingborg 15-27 (+7)

5. Hammarby 16 - 26 (+1)

Up next had been the match against Kalmar, touted as a tough away fixture where IFK would have been lucky to get a draw by the media. However, it had been a rousing success for the Blue and white, and on a seasonably warm Sunday evening in the harbor district of Göteborg, Tommy, Nigel, Jonas and Kirsten found themselves on a terrace talking the game over with the help of a few beers.

"Some run of form we're on," Nigel said, after a good pull of his Stella. "We seem to be scoring at will in the last several games."

"Quite so," Jonas agreed. "Things are going well for us. The team seems to be clicking at the moment."

"True," Tommy said, enjoying a Pripps Blå, a Swedish light lager. "On the other hand, I am hoping that we get the goals on our end of the pitch under control."

"Mucha just needs to get used to the team," Jonas argued. "Once he gets used to play here in Sweden, I'm sure he will be fine. Also, we're without Ragnar, remember?"

"Of course," Tommy conceded. "Still, it worries me, with our toughest opposition coming up on Thursday, in Genova."

"You worry too much," Kirsten said. "You've just beaten three of the top teams in the country back to back to back, and quite handily so, things are going well."

"And outscored them," Nigel put in, pausing briefly to count. "Twelve to five. Now, I'm not saying that everything is in the bag, but you have to appreciate things as they come."

"Like tonights game," Jonas added. "I mean, we were up three goals before a half hour was over. Robak's really been on fire, that's the tenth straight game in which he has scored!"

"Really?" Tommy asked. "I know he's been consistent, but that's crazy. On the other hand, though, this is the second game where I felt like things were well in hand, and the guys seemed to let it slip a bit. I mean, it only took them fifteen minutes to pull two back, and again I never felt safe until that last minute penalty."

"You're lucky you're already bald," Nigel joked. "You'd be as gray as England's skies by now."

"Seriously," Kirsten put in. "Worrying like this, you'll have a heart-attack before you're fourty. And I'd hate to see all that progress in your Swedish go to waste."

"Oh good," Tommy replied (in rough Swedish, which prompted Nigel back to Stella Artois). "I am glad that is what you worry about."

Well, the game against Sampdoria rolled around, and as mentioned before, the away leg came first. All around, people made it very clear that this would be a great opportunity for Sampdoria to put themselves in a strong position for the return leg, and that Göteborg would have to focus on damage control.

Having been warned that the pitch at Luigi Ferraris was on the long side, Tommy instructed his boys to play a bit deeper on defense, and try to break with some direct passing. It wasn't the free-flowing, attacking football that people had come to expect in the league, but it was not a time for fancy, but a time to try to grind out a result that would put IFK in a good position to fight what everyone called "An uphill battle to win participation in the UEFA Cup."

As it was, Sampdoria certainly had their chances, but failed to show the dominance expected. Göteborg held their share of possession, and the chances were distributed evenly, with the Swedish side even being more accurate, and it would be a late hit by Eriksson that would determine the outcome of a surprisingly close-fought game as he nodded the ball in out of a corner kick in the 87th minute. Sampdoria could not find a goal in the dying minutes, and Blåvitt returned to Sweden with a result to delight their fans.

The day after, Jonas entered Tommy's office.

"You know, teams are looking at Eriksson," Jonas said. "And last night's performance will only make them more interested."

Tommy nodded. "He is an exciting player, and only 21."

"You should make sure people know he's not for sale."

"People will find out," Tommy said. "When they approach us, we'll tell them. For now, we do nothing to add fuel to the fire."

"Sebastian has told me the interest bothers him," Jonas said. "He feels pressured by it, the expectations of the fans and the worry of where he will be playing."

"Well, we should tell him," Tommy said simply. "As far as we're concerned, he's staying. He can have our word on that. Unless he wants to move, I won't keep players that are not committed to this club."

Little did he know that he would swallow those words the very next day as the board decided to sell Eriksson to AaB for 2.5 million pounds with a 10% cut of any future transfer, leaving a gaping hole in midfield.

On the last day of the transfer season, Tommy struck quickly to add another hopeful for the future, spending £300K on 18 year old Algerian striker Ishak Belfodil, who had fought his way into the first team at Olympique Lyonnais in the previous system. However, he would be starting his carreer at the Blue and White in the U19s.

And, as a last-minute replacement of Eriksson, Mooney managed to sign Belarussian utility man Artem Radzkov, a 24-year old with nine caps, able to play on the right and in the center of the defense, as well as midfield, although he prefers a role as a defensive midfielder. The fans' initial reaction was a positive one, with many believing Radzkov to be one of the best signings of the window.

Swedish Premier Division:

Kalmar FF - Göteborg 2-4 (Hysén, Robak, Namouchi, Jese)

UEFA Cup 3rd Qualifying round, Leg 1:

Sampdoria - Göteborg 0-1 (Eriksson)

Players in:

Ishak Belfodil from Olympique Lyonnais (£300K)

Artem Radzkov from BATE (£1.3M)

Player out:

Sebastian Eriksson to AaB (£2.5M)

The mood at Göteborg was high as the club's executives celebrated the unexpected elimination of Sampdoria in the 3rd Qualifying round of the UEFA cup. Stig, the chairman was sipping champagne and talking to Tommy.

"We must admit," he said. "We've been very impressed so far. The team is doing well in the league, and this was more than we could have expected from you."

"Well thank you sir," Tommy replied gratefully. "That means a lot to me. But credit where it is due, some of our key players have really stepped up for us in tough situations, Marcin scoring twice tonight really put us in a great situation. Mucha and the lads in the back held tight, only allowing the one goal today, and they've been doing this all year."

"Sure," Stig allowed. "But it still takes a strong manager to guide a team to the best of it's capabilities, and you've done so admirably. I don't wish to be too hasty, but I get a feeling that if these results keep up, the end of the season we could be in talks about a pay raise."

"By the way, how is Hysén?" Stig asked. "He looked in a fair bit of pain when he went out."

"Good," Tommy replied. "Tobias and Leonardo both will only miss a few days with minor injuries."

"Well altogether, a grand result, eliminating a club of Sampdoria's stature by winning both legs," Stig concluded. "And I am pleased to hear you've been working hard to learn our language and integrate into our community."

"Thank you, sir."

Two days later, they found out that they would be playing against Dutch giants AFC Ajax. Tommy had requested a preliminary scouting report, and was reading through it.

"Ajax finished third in the Eredivisie last season, for the second season in a row. They have not won their national championship since 2003, despite being a permanently dominant force in the Dutch league system. Last year, they made it to the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup, where they were eliminated by Arsenal. Current manager Martin Jol seems to employ a 4-4-2 formation, and they have a talented bunch of players, including goalkeeper Stekelenburg, forwards Suárez and Cvitanich and wingers Sulejmani and Aissati.

Over the summer, they released aging winger Dennis Rommedahl, and sold industrious midfielder Demy de Zeeuw to Bayern München for 10M and his midfield partner Gabri to Zaragoza. They brought in youthful attacker Rydell Poepon from Sparta, veteran left midfielder Jorge Wágner from Sao Paulo, sturdy left and centreback Looms from Heracles and pacy winger Andwélé Slory from rivals Feyenoord.

Pre-season expectations place them once again at or around the top of their league this season."

Swedish Premier Division:

Halmstad - Göteborg 0-1 (Söder)

UEFA Cup, 3rd Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg:

Göteborg - Sampdoria 2-1 (Robak 2)

The summer continued in a positive fashion for Tommy and his Blåvitt as they continued to string together a record streak of wins. The team also advanced to the semi-finals of the Swedish Cup, easily defeating Örebro, if only by a single goal. However, Tommy was feeling some degree of concern.

"We're overbooking ourselves," he told Jonas, watching the players on the practice field. "This kind of schedule is too much for a team with our squad depth."

Jonas shrugged. "The fans want to see us winning," he replied. "Why not oblige them?"

"I just worry that we will run the boys ragged," Tommy said. "I don't want to see the league slip through our hands because we exhausted our starters in an attempt to go for the moon."

"I see," Jonas replied. "Why not give some of the younger players, some of the fringe, if you will, a chance in the cup matches? We've already defied the odds in the UEFA just by surviving Sampdoria. There is no shame in losing to Ajax."

"Ah, but there is so much money to be made in Europe," Tommy mused. "I'd feel like I would be wasting a great opportunity to advance the reputation and wealth of this club by not pursuing that. Even if we fail, I want to know that I tried, that I didn't pass on the chance, you know?"

"Fair enough, still, we can rest our starters for the Swedish Cup," Jonas countered. "There's no real need to win it, other than for the glory of a possible 'double'. I'm not saying we don't show up, but we have some talented youth, and even the secondary players in the senior squad are good enough to start in many of the clubs in our league. Why not let them finish it out?"

"That sounds like a plan. I just don't want my worries to become an excuse to be complacent, if you get my drift. When I played, I worked hard to make the selection for every single game. I missed very few games in my prime, and if I could play, I would try my hardest to do so, and that is what I expect from these men. I just don't want them to get hurt in the process."

"On that note," Jonas said, nodding. "Svensson will be out for about two weeks, I'm sure Leif will inform you of the details shortly, but he's banged up his knee."

Tommy swore under his breath. "Well, as long as it's only a minor injury, those will happen from time to time. But, before I leave, I will tell you, I agree with your suggestion about the Swedish Cup, and we will implement that."

"You do realise what Gustav's injury means?" Jonas inquired. "He'll miss the Ajax game."

Tommy uttered a single word, which rhymes with duck. "Well, we will just have to plan around that."

In the meantime, Göteborg managed to offload a youngster who had been on the transferlist from the beginning of Mooney's tenure as 18 year old center midfielder Robin Alnäs was llowed to leave for seventy thousand British Pounds to newly promoted Danish Premier Division side AC Horsens. While some opined that the club should have gotten more for the young player, who had previously been valued at 160K, Tommy felt that it was one less burden on the wage budget, and a possible future source of income should he be sold on at a later date.

On a warm friday afternoon, after practice had wrapped up, the coaching staff all got together to discuss the progress of things at the club, as they did every week.

"Well," Jonas brought in. "There are definitely players that are improving noticably, and then some whom I think are on their way out."

Roger Gustafsson nodded. "Jakob Johansson is growing by leaps and bounds, he's getting faster, stronger, and his technical abilities are getting sharper."

Jonas agreed. "Absolutely. He seems to have developed his touch on the ball significantly. Sharper passes, more accurate shooting. I'd say his abilities have increased sharply over recent months. He's not quite starter material, but certainly a reliable back-up at this point in time."

"Good," Tommy said. "Who else?"

"Robin Söder and Mikael Dyrestam," Jonas answered. "Their progress is not quite as marked as Jakob's, but they are definitely getting better."

"Well," Roger said. "I agree about Robin, but I don't know that Mikael is making visual progress right now."

"Very well," Tommy answered. "How about the other side?"

"Stefan Selakovic," Jonas said. "His age is catching up to him. He doesn't turn as quickly as he used to, and I think he's not working quite as hard as he used to."

"And Christian Saba," Roger added. "He's getting better at keeping his composure, but with his advancing years, he is losing a step in the physical department."

"Indeed," Nigel put in. "Not as fast, not as agile, not as strong, tiring quicker, though even so his stamina is still phenomenal. Just not quite the marathon runner he was even half a year ago."

"Hm," Tommy said. "Should I reconsider his role in the squad?"

"Well," Jonas said. "He could still be one of the top three central defenders in the side, but I think at this point we have several better options at the anchor midfielder spot."

"What about Stefan?"

"Back-up at best. Same with Olsson."

"Very well, thank you gentlemen."

Swedish Premier League:

Göteborg - Häcken 2-0 (Namouchi, Frölund o.g.)

Göteborg - Trelleborgs 1-0 (Rodriguez o.g)

Swedish Cup:

Göteborg - Örebro 1-0 (Robak)

On the whole of things, it should not have been a surprise, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow, travelling back to Göteborg from Amsterdam with a 3-1 loss. Ajax cleanly outplayed and outscored the boys in blue and white, and it outlined to Tommy that they were the proverbial big fish in a small pond. Clearly superior in their own league, but far from being competitive on the big stage. Something he wanted to remedy during his tenure at the club. And, as it turned out, the board of directors shared his dream of greatness, as a couple of days after the loss to Ajax, news came out that Stig Lundström, the chairman, had agreed to step aside, so that someone more ambitious might be found to lead the team into the future.

The Ajax defeat must have had a poor effect on the team's rhythm, because three days later, they found themselves dismanteled by low-flyers Gefle, admittedly on an away game, but against a team they really should have beaten. Tommy was not impressed.

"I don't know what happened out there," he said upon entering the dressing room. "But I did not see the national champions on that field. I guess they must be playing somewhere else. What I saw was a pack of cows, led to the slaughter willingly. Boys, who never once showed the confidence of men. It was embarrassing. Go take a shower. Go home. Ask for a bedtime story. I will see you on the practice field tomorrow."

Noone answered, they just hung their heads. They knew the truth when they heard it, and Tommy hoped that just maybe, they would try to prove him wrong in four days, when Ajax came to town.

And, in a sense, they did. The team had been slated to lose, but they fought with all they had, even grabbing an early lead off of a penalty, which Radzkov converted, but Ajax immediately struck one back off the foot of Suárez, and showed why they had been touted as favorites by keeping a measure of control throughout the game. But, IFK fought hard, and by the end of the game, they held a draw, and had done enough to earn that draw against a vastly superior team.

In the dressing room afterwards, Tommy told them:

"Too bad guys, I guess our cup run is over. We were never expected to win this, but I am proud to say we walked away with a respectable result against a team that was a top ten seed for the competition. You did your best, and that is all I would expect of you. Thank you very much, and perhaps we'll have better luck next year. For now, let's focus on winning the Allsvenskan."

UEFA Cup 4th Qualifying Round:

Ajax - Göteborg 3-1 (Robak)

Göteborg - Ajax 1-1 (Radzkov)

Swedish Premier Division:

Gefle - Göteborg 3-0

September was starting off excellently for Mooney and the boys, as they dominated in league play, flattening ... 4-0 and Hammarby 4-1 in back-to-back games, and confidence was high.

After that, the "away" game against GAIS (who play at the same stadium as IFK) was up, and Mooney decided to go for some trickery, adapting his wide 4-3-3 to a more narrow fit, with three central midfielders and three central forwards, with Robak playing the target man role in support, while Söder lurked for goals, and Hysén played as a Trequartista. It took a while for the players to figure out how to make it work, but in the end, Blåvitt would come away with a comfortable 3-1 win, led by a two goal performance from young Robin Söder.

After the final whistle, Tommy stood up and applauded his players, and got ready to leave the field, when the announcer over the stadium's PA system came on and said: AIK have drawn their game against Örgryte, IFK Göteborg are national champions!

And the world exploded. A cacophony of noise, GAIS supporters booing and whistling, a tremendous roar from the IFK support, and twenty-some bodies piling on top of the manager that had brought them the Allsvenskan with six games left in the season.

In the mean time, Tommy continued to look to the future, adding several young hopefuls to the club, mainly to play in the Reserves and U19s:

D R Adam Smith (19, ENG) formerly of Tottenham - 2 youth caps, 0 goals.

M RL Anthony Edgar (19, ENG) formerly of West Ham - Uncapped.

D RC Manuel Gulde (19, GER) formerly of Hoffenheim - Uncapped.

ST Jose Pierre Vunguidica (20, ANG) formerly of Köln - 2 caps, 0 goals.

DM C Clarence Müller (15, GER) formerly of Gladbach - Uncapped.

GK Gary Inglis (18, SCO) formerly of Glasgow Rangers - 3 youth caps, 0 goals.

D C Albert Alex (19, NIG) formerly of Hoffenheim - 1 youth cap, 0 goals.

AM C Matti Lund Nielsen (22, DEN) formerly of Odense Boldklub - 3 youth caps, 0 goals.

The next game, an away match against Brommapojkarna ended in a 1-1 draw, which saw Robak miss a penalty, and two IFK players suffer injuries. Svensson would be out for a month and a half, while Jakob Johansson would be missing for two or three weeks.

Albert Alex, the young Nigerian centerback and Matti Lund Nielsen, the young midfielder were both given their first run out the following game, at Örebro and they both performed well during the first half, before being substituted. A goal from Sigurdsson in the second half won the game for IFK, though Örebro had several chances to make the game theirs.

With the league already in the bag, Jonas and Tommy agreed to field a full-strenght side against Malmö for the semi-finals of the Swedish Cup, and that turned out to be a good thing, as Malmö put up a strong fight, and it was only through a superb effort from Tobias Hysén that Blåvitt managed to steal a 1-0 win to advance to the finals versus Kalmar FF.

With the season drawing to a close, Tommy called up Kirsten and invited her out to dinner.

"I've been meaning to ask you," he told her, while they were waiting on their food to arrive at a little restaurant near his apartment. "I'm planning to go back to England over the break, you know, see the family, get rained on a bit, maybe see Watford play a couple of games. They're off to a decent start in League 1 so far I hear."

Kirsten nodded expectantly.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you would care to come with?"

Kirsten giggled. "Want to introduce me to the folks?" she asked jokingly.

"Well, maybe," Tommy allowed. "I enjoy your company, you know? I'd really like it if you could come along. It would most likely be in late November, maybe December."

"Well," Kirsten said. "If I can get the time off, I would love to."

Swedish Premier Division:

Göteborg - Örgryte 4-0 (Olsson, Svensson, Hysén 2)

Göteborg - Hammarby 4-1 (Robak 2, Johansson, Hysén)

GAIS - Göteborg 1-3 (Olsson, Söder 2)

Brommapojkarna - Göteborg 1-1 (Hysén)

Örebro - Göteborg 0-1 (Sigurdsson)

Swedish Cup Semi Final:

Malmö - Göteborg 0-1 (Hysén)

Swedish Premier Division Standings:

1. Göteborg 26 - 68 (+42) ©

2. Kalmar FF 25 - 47 (+7)

3. AIK 27 - 45 (+21)

4. Malmö FF 26 - 42 (+8)

5. Djurgårdens 27 - 42 (-3)

Since the regular season is already in the bag, I've decided to holiday through the remaining games in order to speed up my progress a bit, so my apologies about the hurried feel of this post.

News emerged that the club's bitter rivals GAIS had been relegated, and Tommy learned that upon the news, it tried to offer up it's best payed players in order to remain financially viable at the lower level. He dispatched his scouts to determine wether or not any of those players were worth having, regardless of his gut feeling that they would be unlikely to sign for their current team's biggest rivals.

In the beginning of October, before the watching eye of Sweden boss Lars Lagerbäck, Adam Johansson, Hysén and Svensson played their arses off to destroy Elfsborg 4-1, which should do wonders for their confidence. Especially Hysén impressed, with two assists and a goal. Recent acquisition Matti Lund Nielsen also scored his first goal for Göteborg.

The next game, Helsingborg came and went, thanks to goals from Radzkov and Söder, who has been impressing all year, and leaving many fans wondering why U21 manager Lennartsson has not been letting him have more playing time for the national youth team.

Söder cleared the way at half-time to allow Vunguidica his debut for IFK.

Then, Tommy found out that the other fierce city rival, which shared the use of Gamla Ullevi with IFK, Örgryte, had also been relegated, leading to the firing of their manager Hareide, leaving IFK as the only one of the three in the Allsvenskan. Tommy felt like the club had rather been robbed, a sentiment that some shared with him, and some did not. After all, the bitter rivalries add something to the game. The drive to beat these teams raises the passion more than any other situation, and Tommy always enjoyed that.

The penultimate game at Djurgården would turn out to be a 2-2 draw, with Sigurdson and Robak providing the goals for Tommy's side, and with the final game against Malmö only a short week away, Tommy was looking forward to the rest period, letting his assistant Olsson take over certain duties that he had not relinquished during the season, but for the first time in his life, Tommy truly appreciated the rigors of running a club on a daily basis, and he was pleased to find that Jonas was as capable as ever in taking over the press conferences and taking a more active role on match days.

"So," Kirsten said, dropping down on Tommy's couch, while he undid his tie. "Any news on the board takeover?"

"Work, work, work," Tommy mock-complained. "Do you just date me to get the inside scoop into the club?"

"You've found me out," Kirsten answered. "And the prestige of dating the most succesful manager in the country."

"Oh good," Tommy said. "I was worried it wouldn't be about me at all."

She threw a pillow at him. "Well?"

"Things are on and off," Tommy replied. "Vaihela is still the frontrunner for the take-over, and they go back and forth haggling, wheeling and dealing. I wish they would just get it over with, it's a bit distracting."

"I can imagine," Kirsten said. "I think you need a different kind of distraction."

"You're right," Tommy said, snuggling in beside her. "What's on the telly?"

That earned him another pillow to the face. All in all, he reflected, life was going very well, he had a convenient apartment, a job that was going well and was mostly enjoyable, and he had found a woman whose company he more than enjoyed.

The regular season ended with yet another 2-2 draw, as Malmö turned up the heat on Mooney's men, forcing them into errors, and an own goal by Radzkov. Robak and Hysén would provide the goals for IFK.

At the end of October, Tommy was being linked with the newly vancant manager's position at Las Palmas, in the Spanish Liga Adelante, which he simply denied, as he was quite happy in Göteborg.

Having lost the relegation playoff, Hammarby Fotball also faced the drop to the Superettan, with surprise package Mjällby AIF knocking them out with a staggering 4-2 away win, after Hammarby had thought to be safe having snagged a 3-1 win in the first leg at Mjällby.

Brommapojkarna's Pablo Pinones-Arce snagged the top goalscorer award, scoring 20 goals in 29 appearances, two goals ahead of Marcin Robak, who had managed 18 in 24, an excellent return for perhaps Tommy's best purchase of the season. Tommy himself managed to grab the Manager's Manager of the Year award, to noone's surprise, while Sigurdson, Jese, Hysén and Robak all grabbed spots on the Allsvenskan Team of the Year.

Then, the final of the Swedish Cup. It was a hotly contested match, in which both sides had a chance to win, but it was Hamouchi that would open the score early with a close-range header, and despite all their efforts, Kalmar could not even the score, giving Tommy his second trophy of his managerial carreer, and Göteborg back-to-back cup championships. On the back of which, jubilant Blåvitt supporters declared that Mooney had all the makings of a manager in the mold of club favorite Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Swedish Premier Division:

Göteborg - Elfsborg 4-1 (Hysén, Sigurdsson, Nielsen, Söder)

Göteborg - Helsingborg 2-1 (Radzkov, Söder)

Djurgården - Göteborg 2-2 (Sigurdsson, Robak)

Göteborg - Malmö FF 2-2 (Hysén, Robak)

Swedish Cup Final:

Kalmar FF - Göteborg 0-1 (Hamouchi)

Swedish Premier Division Final Standings:

1. Göteborg 30 - 76 (+46)

2. Kalmar FF 30 - 57 (+13)

3. Helsingborgs 30 - 53 (+8)

4. AIK 30 - 51 (+23)

5. Malmö FF 30 - 50 (+14)

The squad went on break on Monday, November 8th and would not return until the 3rd of January, and Tommy planned to take the month of December to travel back to England with Kirsten, who had managed to get the time off. But first, there was the matter of evaluating the players who returned from their respective loan spells.

When the transfer window opened, two more young players joined IFK: Angelholm's 16 year old attacking midfielder Mattias Lindholm for £75K, and Admira Wacker's striker Ken Noel (19, AUT), both prospects for the future, of course.

One player was also sold, with the only fee being 50% of his sell-on price: 22 year old goalkeeper David Stenman, who had spent the previous season at Motala AIF in the First Division South. He joined First Division South runners up Västra Frölunda, much to the delight of their fans.

A week later, 19 year old centerback Mikael Gonzales was allowed to leave the club as well, after having spent the season on loan at Rosengård, his return evaluation had shown that he was not good enough to remain at IFK, newly promoted Allsvenskan side GIF Sundvall for £12K, much to his delight.

17 year old goalkeeper Jannich Storch decided to spend a season on loan at Skövde AIK in the First Division South, a move supported by Jan Mucha, who said he saw the potential in Storch and believes it will do wonders for the youthful goalkeeper's confidence and fitness.

During this part of the off-season, Jonas had decided to take his vacation, and so while Tommy dealt with the cold of the approaching winter, his assistant Jonas gleefully messaged him from some Greek island. "Love this weather" Tommy read on his phone. "Real men brave the cold" he sent back. "Jealous?" the next message read. "Absolutely not. I shall be in tropical, sunny England by this time next week." Tommy replied, before getting back to business.

In the mean time, reports of job openings that Tommy was supposedly in line for kept coming in, including clubs such as Murcia, Ascoli and Numancia. To counter this, the board sent him a message. "Tommy, you've done well with us so far, and we would like to extend your contract for three more years." Of course, this did not include a pay raise, as had been implied by the previous chairman, so Tommy decided to negotiate the offer. In stead of making £3600 per week until 2013, he suggested £4000 per week until 2012.

While he awaited, Worldsoccer.com published their end-of-season review for the Swedish leagues, which revealed that it believed Tobias Hysén to have been the best overall performer in the Allsvenskan, giving him an average 7.37 over his 28 league appearances. They named Brommapojkarna, surprise 6th place finishers, to be the overachieving team of the season, and deservedly so, while Hammarby, surprise relegationists, were dubbed the underachievers. Meanwhile, IFK's £250K signing of Marcin Robak was ruled to be the second-best signing of the season, behind Kalmar FF's Nigerian striker Michael Eneramo, who they had picked up on a free and had gone on to score 22 goals and provide 5 assists in 27 games, compared to Marcin's 25 goals and 3 assists in 34 games.

The board responded that at the present time, they could not offer a pay raise, but did agree to offer a two-year contract, instead of three years, and so Mooney signed a new deal.

On the day that Mooney departed to England with his girlfriend Kirsten and his old buddy Nigel, the supporter's club revealed that Marcin Robak had been voted as the fan's Player of the Year, and the next season's fixture list was published. Göteborg also received £571,000 for TV rights over the upcoming season.

Before his departure, the board called him in, and informed Tommy that they expected the team to challenge for the title, and would make 1.4 million pounds of transfer funds available, as well as a 65K per week wage budget, with the possibility of an increase if Tommy thought that he could do better. Tommy confidently told them that he would bring home the league title, and as such, the budget was set at £1,600,000 for transfers, and £68,000 a week for wages.

Five youth players were released from the club, as the staff agreed that they were not good enough to offer professional contracts to.

And with that all behind them, Nigel, Kirsten and Tommy boarded their plane to England, back to Watford.

Transfers in:

Mattias Lindholm from Angelholm (£75K)

Ken Noel from FC Admira (£100K)

Christopher-Massamba Mandiangu from Gladbach (Free)

Andreas Akbari from Köln (Free)

Transfers out:

David Stenman to Västra Frölunda (50% of next sale)

Mikael Gonzales to GIF Sundsvall (£12K)

Jannich Storch to Skövde AIK (Loan)

Future transfers in:

Arnar Pétursson from Lyn (Free)

Future transfers out:

William Atkashakade to Hønefoss (£16K)

Hjálmar Jónsson to Jaén (£230K)

Congratulations on romping to the league title. KUTGW! Best of luck for claiming that second title!

Watford, who had been projected to finish in the top five of League 1 were struggling to live up to those expectations. They were in tenth place, yet manager Malky Mackay, who had gotten them relegated the season before was surprisingly still in a job. Although rumor had it that would not last if the results did not start improving drastically. As it was, the first home game in December would see them host Gillingham, and Tommy and Nigel made a quick visit to chairman Jimmy Russo, ensuring there'd be some tickets available to them at Vicarage Road for that game, being as that they were both inducted at the Watford Hall of Fame.

Watford dominated early in the game, creating several chances in the first ten minutes, though it would be Gillingham who opened the score on a quick move, with Oli sliding the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the area after a clever pass in.

Watford kept the pressure up, creating chance after chance, only to be denied by Gillingham's goalie, who was having an excellent game, untill finally Will Hoskins evened things up with a nicely placed shot into the top corner in the dying minutes of the first half. After that, Gillingham crumbled under the pressure. Centerback Richards attempted a headed backpass to his own goalkeeper, and to his embarrasment it ended up in his own net, putting Watford ahead at the half.

Watford kept the pressure up, and were looking very good value for their lead, forcing Gillingham to park the bus in front of goal, but that did not stop Cowie from striking the ball into the back of the net from 25 yards out. Gillingham never recovered, and Tommy and Nigel left satisfied with a nice win for their beloved Hornets.

Of course, there was still work to be done, even on vacation. Assistant manager Jonas Olsson sent him daily e-mails and reports, and one of those reports highly reccomended Manchester United's attacking midfielder Davide Petrucci as an excellent prospect, within their budget. He seemed to fit in well with the new tactical structure that they had discussed, a deep 4-2-3-1 formation. So, Tommy traveled to Manchester to talk business, and in record time, a deal was agreed upon. £950K and a lucrative contract later, and the 19-year old attacking midfielder would be putting the moves on at IFK, having never made a first-team appearance at Old Trafford in the three years since his 200K move from AS Roma.

A week later, another, more experienced attacking midfielder was added to the squad, 31 year old Brazilian Lincoln, who had previously played for Atlético Mineiro, Kaiserslautern, Schalke and Galatasaray. His transfer was a steal, only £180K for a player with the quality to be a top player in the league. His arrival worried Matti Lund Nielsen, as the 22 year old feared it would cost him his chance at first team football. Tommy released a short press statement saying that everyone would have a chance to prove themselves and earn the starting position, and that Lincoln was brought in to both strengthen the squad on the short term, and help teach the younger players capable of playing his position.

After a wonderful Christmas with his family, Tommy and Kirsten, and of course Nigel, all set about packing their stuff back up and heading back up to Sweden before the new year. Soon after returning to Göteborg, Tommy managed to sign another bright prospect, 20 year old striker Ciro Immobile of Juventus, signed for a nifty £350K. Despite his average build, a very dominant player. Strong, fast, intelligent and a powerful aerial threat.

The pre-season would last all the way through March, with the Super Cup concluding it at the end of the month. Assistant Jonas Olsson had put together a light game schedule, facing Finnish and Norwegian lower league sides, and of course IFK satellite club Qviding. It would be a chance to run out the new signings, and get everyone back to match fitness, with the results being a lesser priority. And, at the end of the month, Tommy was ready to set his focus on the new season.

Pre-season results:

FC Kuusankoski - Göteborg 0-2 (Jese, Robak)

Ull/Kisa - Göteborg 0-4 (Namouchi 2, Selakovic, Andersen o.g.)

Skarbøvik - Göteborg 0-3 (Johansson, Immobile, Svensson)

Qviding - Göteborg 0-3 (Saba, Söder, Lincoln)

FC Hämeenlinna - Göteborg 1-1 (Johansson)

Players in:

Davide Petrucci from Manchester United (£950K)

Lincoln from Galatasaray (£180K)

Arnar Pétursson from Lyn (Free)

Ciro Immobile from Juventus (£350K)

Players out:

Mattias Holmström released on a free

Niklas Martinsson released on a free

Korab Bakraqi released on a free

Philip Fransson released on a free

Sebastian Andersson released on a free

Alexander Berntsson to Skövde AIK (Loan)

Ishak Belfodil to Angelholm (Loan)

William Atashakade to Hønefoss (£16K)

David Johansson to Torslanda (Loan)

Hjálmar Jónsson to Jaén (£230K)

Mathias Wichmann Andersen to Örgryte (Loan)

Kamal Mustafa to Jönköpings Södra (Loan)

Mattias Lindholm to FC Trollhättan (Loan)

Arnar Pétursson to Örebro (Loan)

Christian Gandu to Brescia (Loan)

Mikael Dyrestam to Angelholm (Loan)

Albert Alex to Qviding (Loan)

Jonatan Azulay to Brage (Loan)

Future transfer in:

Rhys Murphy from Arsenal (End of contract)

Congratulations on romping to the league title. KUTGW! Best of luck for claiming that second title!

Thank you very much. With a bit of luck I can snag back-to-back titles. I really feel the squad has significantly improved over the summer.

The day of the Super Cup approached fast, and with great dread, Tommy learned that many of his players would not be available due to international obligations. First- and second choice goalkeepers Mucha and Inglis, utility defender and midfielder Radzkov, centerback and defensive leader Ragnar Sigurdsson, winger Hakola, midfielder Johansson and strikers Immobile and Söder were all going to be away to represent their respective home countries. Thus, a weakened side had to be fielded, and Tommy's biggest worry was transfer-listed goalkeeper Markus Sandberg, having been deemed not good enough for the team, was now his best option in goal. Otherwise, the starting line-up still had many strong players in it, and would certainly match up to any Swedish team around.

Tuomo Turunen, playing at centerback, would be the one to open the score at the end of an otherwise terribly boring first half, getting first to a half-cleared corner inside the box and rocketing the ball in just under the crossbar. Göteborg seemed in control for most of the second half, until Marcus Lindberg pulled one back out of a corner with only fifteen minutes to go, sending the game into extra time. Sandberg had tried to pounce on the inbound corner but missed, leaving an easy finish for the strong defender.

Only mere minutes into the extra time, Lindberg struck again, from another corner, and despite their best efforts, the Blue-White could not draw level again, and so IFK failed to defend their Super-cup title.

A spectacular individual performance from Marcin Robak would bring victory in the first game of the new season against Brommapojkarna, and the team seemed to really be clicking well in the new 4-2-3-1 setup. However, it would see new signing Lincoln out for three weeks with a twisted ankle, and Tommy was pleased to see that his gamble to pull him off early in the first half was a good decision.

"Let's try something different, Thomas," Jonas said, the morning before the game.

"What do you have in mind?" Tommy replied, curious.

"Well, I think we should try to play a control-based game today, a lot slower, less urgent. Just keep the ball, keep Sundsvall out of it. We can dominate this team, and it will disrupt what they usually try. For once, we should play to their weaknesses, in stead of our strengths."

"Sure," Tommy said. "We'll give it a try. And, I think we should change our formation to suit that more. A 4-4-2 look, I think, would be a better fit."

Jonas nodded his assent, and as such, the game started with Söder and Immobile up front, with the powerful Italian playing the 'strong striker' role, using his physical presence to make space, while Robin would be poised to strike, ready to burst into a gap and apply the finish. And it worked, with two goals from Robin Söder, who missed a golden chance for a hat trick when he missed a penalty just before being subbed off near the end of the match, Göteborg dominated the entire game, controlling the ball, passing well and creating chances, while GIF hardly ever got any shots off at all.

Swedish Super Cup:

Kalmar FF - Göteborg 2-1 (Turunen)

Swedish Premier Division:

Brommapojkarna - Göteborg 0-2 (Robak 2)

GIF Sundsvall - Göteborg 0-2 (Söder 2)

Enjoying this, good work. Belfodil looks promising in 5m1w, hope he does well for you here.

Enjoying this, good work. Belfodil looks promising in 5m1w, hope he does well for you here.

Thank you I hope he pans out. I always buy a ton of youngsters with potential, in hopes of striking gold. Pleased to see people still reading this

The third game of the regular season was a chance to take revenge on the team that beat them in the Super Cup, as Kalmar FF came to Gamla Ullevi. 19 year old attacking midfielder Davide Petrucci would be making his debut in stead of the injured Lincoln, and Tommy was looking forward to seeing what the gifted Italian could produce.

It would be a good run down the wing by Hakola, who whipped in a cross into the box, and Marcin Robak got his head to the ball, and buried it in the net to give IFK the lead after 12 minutes. Newbie David Petrucci doubled the lead after 22 minutes, slotting away a gorgeous shot into the bottom corner from outside of the box.

Kalmar would grab one back before half-time, but Blåvitt always kept a measure of control during the match, and Tobias Hysén would finally put things beyond doubt pouncing on a rebound and slotting it away.

As such, revenge was taken, and the reigning league champions started their league campaign with three victories and no defeats. That, however, would change soon, as stubborn Helsingborg came to Gamla Ullevi and fought to a scoreless draw, despite a spirited effort from both teams, but the finishing on both sides was horrible, as between the two teams a pitiful four out of twenty-one shots was properly aimed at the target. A further four were blocked, and the thirteen remaining shots sailed impotently into the crowd.

For the away game against Mjällby, a bit more trickery was pulled by Mooney, as he brought out a narrow 4-3-3, with three central midfielders and three center forwards: Robak as the target man, Söder as the poacher and Hysén as the free-floating attacker, allowed to make the plays as he saw them, and he did so with marvelous effectiveness, setting up both of Göteborg's goals and coming very close to scoring one of his own on several occasions with an array of different attempts on goal. Göteborg won the match 2-1, but should have scored more goals.

Not long after the match against Mjällby, the board takeover finally wrapped up with former director Seppo Vaihela stepping up as the new chairman, ready to look to the future.

And the future seemed to be with Robin Söder, who turned in another dominant performance for the Blue and white, leading them to a 3-0 victory over 10-man arch-rivals AIK with two goals, both of them excellently taken, and with five league goals in four appearances, 20 year old Robin Söder was making a heck of a case for a first-team spot, and showing true signs of development.

Swedish Premier Division:

Göteborg - Kalmar FF 3-1 (Robak, Petrucci, Hysén)

Göteborg - Helsingborg 0-0

Mjällby - Göteborg 1-2 (Svensson, Söder)

Göteborg - AIK 3-0 (Sigurdsson, Söder 2)

Swedish Premier Division Standings:

1. Göteborg 6-16 (+10)

2. Häcken 6-13 (+5)

3. Kalmar FF 6-13 (+5)

4. Malmö FF 6-12 (+5)

5. Helsingborg 6-10 (+2)

I'm enjoying reading this, Mark I would congratulate you on your title and wish you luck in winning your second, but I became quite attached to AIK during my aborted attempt (when I realised I hadn't loaded the Swiss leagues ) so I just can't bring myself to offer good wishes to Göteborg

I'm enjoying reading this, Mark I would congratulate you on your title and wish you luck in winning your second, but I became quite attached to AIK during my aborted attempt (when I realised I hadn't loaded the Swiss leagues ) so I just can't bring myself to offer good wishes to Göteborg

Understandable, I wouldn't want AIK to do well either. In fact, as you can see, I just flushed them down the toilet a little bit ago

I am going to have a difficult time figuring out how to return to Sweden to a different club. I feel like I've a dynasty in the making here, and it will be devastating to try to tear that apart with a different team. I will avoid any listed rivals, unfortunately that takes out a good number of top teams (AIK, Malmo, Djurgarden, Elfsborg), and I don't think I could go to Kalmar FF, either, since I've played them more than any other team in the league, Twice in the super cup, once in the Swedish Cup final, and they've been the biggest threat in the league, and quite frankly, a team that's suffered what they've suffered to at my hands (1 win 5 losses, 5 scored 18 conceded from Kalmar's point of view) will probably not have too much love for me

The early season form continued with an easy 3-1 victory at Gefle, spurred on by Hysén, who scored a goal and made an assist, while young Davide Petrucci scored his second ever league goal.

News from the Home Islands came through, and it was disappointing. Watford had finished well below their predicted top-5, in tenth place. He walked next door to Nigel's and rapped on the door.

"Well, Nigel," he said, as the door opened. "Malky's still going."

"I see," Nigel said, headshaking. "He's clearly not cut out for the job."

"Clearly. What is it going to take before they do something about it? League 2? Blue Square? West Hertfordshire pub league?" Tommy replied.

Nigel laughed, "I think they'll do something before we're reduced to five-a-side."

"I don't know," Tommy countered. "Imagine the fierce rivalries we could have with Croxley Green and Rickmansworth."

"Now, now," Nigel replied. "It's bad enough we're only a couple of leagues above Stevenage."

"Well, perhaps one of us should do something about it," Tommy said.

"I could call Elton John," Nigel suggested. "He is a good friend of mine, after all."

"Oh aye?" Tommy replied.

"Yes, in fact, I've sung back-up vocals for him on his China tour," Nigel replied, matter-of-factly.

"You're joking," Tommy said, grinning. "You're not joking? That's crazy."

The next game would pit them against Malmö FF, at Gamla Ullevi, and with the abundance of strikers at the club that were in great form, Tommy opted to line up in a 4-4-2, with Söder and Immobile up front, and it payed off right away as Immobile opened the score only 3 minutes in with a well-taken shot. Robin Söder then doubled the lead, after initially being denied, he worked the rebound into the bottom corner, and then Immobile put the final score at three to nothing with a magnificent diving header on a Hysén cross. This game was very special for the 21 year old former Juve man, as the two goals he scored were his first and second ever league goals.

Next, hated rivals GAIS would play IFK in the third round of the cup, and as always, they fought for every inch of the pitch, forcing the game in to overtime, but it would be a goal from Söder that would decide the match in the 99th minute, sending Blåvitt to the next round of the cup.

On the morning after the cup victory, Klaus Fischer, a scout with the club came to Tommy's office.

"Good morning boss," the 61-year old German former international said. "I'm here to tell you my decision in person, since you have been very good to me."

Tommy nodded. "You've been a great asset to us, Klaus, and I'd hate to see you leave."

"I know," Klaus answered. "But I miss coming home to my family after a scouting trip. My children all have jobs and families back in Germany, I've just become a grandfather for the second time, and moving to Bielefeld is a great opportunity to spend more time with the family. Also, Trudy seems to tire of Sweden. She says the winters are murder, and the sense of adventure is rather gone."

"Very well," Tommy said. "It's been a pleasure working with you,

Klaus chuckled. "

"I know," Tommy said with a smile. "I see you, Erich Beer, Herbert Wimmer and Bernard Dietz kicking it about like it's 1979 out there when you think noone is watching. You old German wardogs still do pretty good, I might offer you a first-team contract if it'll keep you here."

"Well, me and Bernard played together at Schalke, and of course all of us played together in Die Mannschaft in the seventies and eighties."

"I envy that," Tommy said. "Representing your country must have been a great experience. I am afraid I was never quite good enough to play for England."

"It was a special thing," Klaus agreed.

To replace the departed Klaus Fischer, another 61-year old German was brought in as a scout: Hermann Ohlicher, a former Stuttgart player.

A curling shot from young attacking midfielder Davide Petrucci would prove to be the one thing to decide the game between IFK and Trelleborg, as the defense held strong to bring home an important away victory, solidifying Blåvitt's position at the top of the league, having a seven point gap with Malmö and Örebro.

Swedish Premier Division:

Gefle - Göteborg 1-3 (Hysén, Plessis, Petrucci)

Göteborg - Malmö FF 3-0 (Immobile 2, Söder)

Trelleborg - Göteborg 0-1 (Petrucci)

Swedish Cup 3rd Round:

GAIS - Göteborg 0-1 (Söder)

After a disappointing season for Wigan, which saw them finish 18th in the Permier League, they sacked Roberto Martínez, and Tommy's name got thrown into the mix for those looking to replace him at DW Stadium, along with Steve Coppell and David Platt, but it seemed most likely that Paul Jewell would get the job. Tommy refused to respond to the speculations, wether he was tempted or not.

Erich Beer walked into Tommy's office on the day after a good win over Häcken.

"You leaving us too?" Tommy asked the 64-year old former midfielder. Erich simply nodded.

"Can't resist the call to go back home, sir."

"Could do worse than Hannover I suppose," Tommy allowed. "And it looks like they could do with a few key signings, so your talents won't go to waste there."

Beer chuckled. "Thank you," he said. "I've enjoyed working with you here, and I would certainly like to work with you again one day."

Next, scout Tore Rismo got an offer from Helsingborg to sign on as an Assistant Manager, while Tommy levied a new offer for him to stay on as a scout, while veteran manager Manolo Villanova, formerly manager of Zaragoza, Huesca, Recreativo, Hércules, Mallorca and Salamanca, now 68 years old and ready to take it a little easier, using his ability to spot talent in a role that doesn't carry as much responsibility in his old age. Rismo decided to go for the more glamorous (and better paid) assistant's role at Helsingborg, leaving Tommy to find a replacement scout for the third time this season, and he would pick experienced English scout Simon Hunt, most recently of Ipswich.

Next, another exciting signing was announced as Tommy and his men had secured the signature of Chelsea's Austrian prodigy Phillip Prosenik, an 18 year old, relatively tall striker, who relies more on his quickness and flair than his size. Certainly a good prospect two or three years down the road.

An article came out in Offside that revealed the author believed that one of the true signs that Göteborg is being built into a great team is the sheer ammount of internationally active players it has, leading the league in senior internationals (7), U21 internationals (7) and U19 internationals (4), and the team is one of the younger teams in the league. The writer suggested that things were looking bright for the future of Göteborg, with so many young talents coming through the ranks, and they were looking forward to see how the club develops over the next ten seasons.

Blåvitt were on an excellent run in the league, defeating Elfsborg and Häcken 2-0 each, and grabbing a scoreless away draw at Jönköpings Södra, but the real excitement came in a home fixture against Djurgården. Lincoln opened the score with a beauty from the edge of the area, dinging it in off the side of the post. IFK kept up the pressure, creating chance after chance, but Jönköpings held firmly at the back until halftime. After the half, the game went on much the same as it started, with IFK piling up the pressure, and it payed off as Hysén doubled the lead with a tap-in off of a rebound. Robak then broke his dry spell, putting the score up to three from up close, and Radzkov scored from a corner to make it 4-0, so Tommy and his men left happy, and so did the fans. It would also set a record, as Göteborg went six games without conceding, a new Allsvenskan high.

Swedish Premier Division:

Göteborg - Elfsborg 2-0 (Lincoln, Hakola)

Göteborg - Häcken 2-0 (Namouchi, Sigurdsson)

Jönköpings Södra - Göteborg 0-0

Göteborg - Djurgården 4-0 (Lincoln, Hysén, Robak, Radzkov)

League Standings:

1. Göteborg 13-35 (+24)

2. Malmö FF 13-28 (+11)

3. Elfsborg 13-24 (+8)

4. Kalmar FF 13-23 (+7)

5. Örebro 13-20 (+/-0)

When Rangers manager Walter Smith decided to retired in June of 2011, Tommy was offered the chance to take over as the manager at Ibrox Stadium. Will he take it, or not?

If you think Tommy will move to Scotland to take on a lucrative and prestigious job, follow this link.

If you think Tommy wants to stay in Göteborg to try and win a second league title, continue reading below.

It was a hard decision, to turn down the lucrative offer to manage the Rangers, a glamorous opportunity to be sure, but Tommy felt that he still had unfinished business at Gamla Ullevi and ultimately decided to stay on as the manager at IFK in pursuit of a second consecutive league title.

Out of favor defensive midfielder Lukasz Surma agreed to move to Norwegian Prem club Molde FK in a £50K deal. The Norwegian side has been looking to strengthen their squad, having found themselves on the low end of the table in mid-season, after a breakout year in which they finished as runners up. Having only won a single league game in fourteen, and with a miserable goaldifference, being outscored 23-10 in the league so far, having a stronger holding midfielder, capable of building play up from the back seemed like a solid move. The experienced Polish midfielder had been snapped up on a free transfer in 2010 with a view to guiding new signing Damien Plessis into a starting role, but never really competed for a starting role in his sole season at Göteborg, featuring in only twelve matches for Blåvitt.

Defender and defensive midfielder Christian Saba would be returning to familiar territory, having agreed to move to German Second Division side St Pauli in a £500K deal after having been bought by IFK from FC Bayern for £250K and proving to be a valuable asset in their championship winning side last year. However, he had been pushed out of the squad by a younger generation and was no longer considered as a contender for the starting position, and so after a little over a year at Göteborg and 30 first-team appearances, he would be departing on July 1st of 2011.

Also on his way out was discontented centerback Karl Svensson. The 27 year old Swedish international had returned to Göteborg after a four-year absence, while spending a season in Scotland at Rangers and two unsuccesful years in France with Caen before returning to IFK, but had not found himself in Mooney's plans, playing only ten first-team games during his second stay at Gamla Ullevi, and was now on his way out to England, where he would join Championship relegation candidates Doncaster for £375K over the summer.

A brilliant showing by Robak would bring a home victory for Göteborg, as Marcin scored twice and Mucha kept a clean sheet, and Blåvitt rolled on in the league, going twenty-four games unbeaten, now ten points ahead of pursuing Malmö FF. Both Damien Plessis and Vedran Jese picked up suspensions in that game, reaching their yellow card limits, while attacking midfielder Lincoln would be ruled out for roughly a month, having twisted his ankle.

Up next was a cup fixture, the fourth round against Häcken, and things were off to a good start as Petrucci played a brilliant ball to launch Robak, who did not fail in his one on one encounter with the goalkeeper and opened the score by slotting it in low. Petrucci continued to show great vision to launch Namouchi down the wing, whose low cross enabled Robak to blast the ball into the net for the second time in the 16th minute. Häcken then decided to park the proverbial bus in front of goal, in hopes of limiting the damage and perhaps sneak their way level on the break. Early indications did not look good, however, as Göteborg continued to hound their goal, however, they did not concede another goal in the first half. The second half, however, continued much as the first had, and when Svensson picked up a loos ball outside the area and drove in a powerful low effort, it struck a defender, and the ball ended up in the net. It was somewhat unfair to Svensson, but the goal was labeled an own goal, despite the fact that it was clearly Svensson's effort that brought it about. Defender Vedran Jese then applied the finish to the game for Göteborg, rising to meet a free kick drifted in by Hamouchi and heading it skillfully over the goalkeeper into the far end of the net.

Swedish Premier Division:

Göteborg - Halmstad 2-0 (Robak 2)

Swedish Cup Fourth Round

Häcken - Göteborg 0-4 (Robak 2, Söderberg o.g., Jese)

Future transfers out:

Lukasz Surma to Molde (£50K)

Christian Saba to St.Pauli (£500K)

Karl Svensson to Doncaster (£375K)

Glad to see this challenge continue as a second title seems on the cards.

Now to plot your first move to England, Watford seem like candidates.

Unfortunately, it seems going to Sweden may be harder second time around to knock Göteborg off their perch and the squad you've assembled with them.

KUTGW!

Glad to see this challenge continue as a second title seems on the cards.

Now to plot your first move to England, Watford seem like candidates.

Unfortunately, it seems going to Sweden may be harder second time around to knock Göteborg off their perch and the squad you've assembled with them.

KUTGW!

Thanks

I am hoping for the opportunity to take over Watford, as I've become quite fond of the team over the past decade of playing them in various games (FIFA, CM and FM). I think I first used them in CM 01/02 for a challenge of sorts, and have grown attached to the team, despite having no other relationship with them, I've never even seen them play. I've developed a similar affinity for Hereford and now, Goteborg.

And I do worry about my return trip to Sweden, as this team is seemingly more or less head and shoulders above the competition, speaking as objectively as possible. I will have to cross that bridge when I get to it though, and hopefully by that time I'll feel up to the challenge, because right now, IFK are the only Swedish team I'm interested in

Meanwhile, in England, Sir Alex Ferguson finally retired from Manchester United and will be replaced by Italian legend Roberto Mancini.

Scout John Sivebaek, on whom Tommy had relied to scout Sweden and his next opponents was snatched away by Siena, who would pay £55K in compensation, and yet another sixty-something German was added to the staff to fill that gap, former Hertha BSC player Uwe Kliemann, who came with high reccomendations from several of the other German scouts at the club.

Michael Gardawski would make his debut in a home game against Sundsvall, which was a poor affair to watch, and the only goal would come from a Gardawski corner which Svensson headed in. The goalscorer would later pick up an injury that would see him miss the next two to three weeks.

Veteran midfielder Thomas Olsson announced his retirement at the end of the season, prompting manager Tommy Mooney to offer him a position on the backroom staff as a coach to reward him for his five years of dedicated service to the club, having put in seventy-seven league appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals in the process. Tommy believed that, given the veteran's understanding of the game, he would be an excellent choice to teach players about the tactical aspects of the game, and both men have expressed their happiness to work together in this capacity.

In the mean time, Sweden was kicked out of the U20s World Cup by Scotland in the second round, which was a disappointment for Blåvitt players Dyrestam, Bärkroth, Mustafa, Azulay and Allanson, who had all been part of the team that qualified from the group stage by beating Mexico, China and Ecuador.

Chelsea then came knocking for breakout star Davide Petrucci, who had just signed for Göteborg during the winter transfer window from Manchester United for £950K, and Chelsea offered 1.8 million, along with a future incentive should the player be sold on, but Tommy felt that he would need to see more money in order to part with the player, who was having a great season and was fast becoming an indispensable part of the first team, so he decided to negotiate for 3 million plus a sell-on clause. The London club decided that was more than they were willing to pay, and decided to withdraw their interest. Aston Villa, Ajax, CSKA Moscow and Hoffenheim were still sniffing around the young Italian, however.

England manager Fabio Capello retired from football during the summer of 2011 as well, and Tommy was briefly tempted to throw his name into the hat, but decided he would rather focus on his club management at this early stage of his career.

Up next would be a trip to Helsingborg, and 20 year old Andreas Akbari was allowed to make his first run-out in the big league, while Gardawski had earned himself another try on the back of his performance against Sundsvall. Akbari certainly played acceptably, in what started out as a disappointing game, a terrible first half with no goals on either side, until Mooney talked to the boys at halftime, knowing that if they could only get the opening goal, the rest would come easy, and he turned out to be right as Immobile, who had been all but invisible in the first half, started the second with a goal just two minutes after the game had been resumed and remained dangerous throughout the game, eventually scoring the only other goal of the match.

Swedish Premier Division:

Göteborg - GIF Sundsvall 1-0 (Svensson)

Helsingborg - Göteborg 0-2 (Immobile 2)

Standings:

1. Göteborg 17-47 (+31)

2. Malmö FF 17-34 (+9)

3. Elfsborg 17-33 (+15)

4. Kalmar FF 17-29 (+9)

5. Brommapojkarna 17-25 (+1)

The team readied up for their first European game of the season as they traveled far south to Andorra to face Principat, a match which they were dead favorites to win. They clearly dominated the game in the first half, but despite a plethora of chances, they only managed to score a single goal off the head of striker Immobile, as the Andorran goalkeeper heroically tried to keep his team in the game. The pressure stayed on in the second half, and it would be Immobile again on a clever through ball from Petrucci to double the lead. However, despite 20 shots at goal over the course of the game, the tally would not rise above 2-0, and despite conceding twice, Principat goalkeeper Dorta could walk away with his head held high.

Tommy was pleased to present a new addition to his squad as he snagged up defensive midfielder Youssuf Mulumbu on a free after his contract at West Brom expired. The eleven time Congo international had played a role in West Brom's promotion to the Premier Division, but after the promotion he had found himself on the sidelines, and the 24 year old workhorse was pleased for the opportunity to join Göteborg.

On the way out was 23 year old attacking midfielder Matti Lund Nielsen, who had joined IFK in the summer of 2010 as a prospect for the future, but with the addition of Petrucci and Lincoln to the squad, his opportunities had diminished, and he was very pleased to have the opportunity to move to Danish Premiership side Esbjerg fB, who shelled out £100K to get the former Danish U21 player.

Tommy once again was faced with devising a way to defeat his personal nemesis, Kalmar FF manager Nanne Bergstrand. Things started off brilliantly as Robak scored his tenth goal on the season, breaking through the defensive line on a brilliant pass from Petrucci.

Right back Adam Johansson then doubled the score with a piece of brilliance, curving a banana shot into the top corner from almost 20 yards out. Kalmar would grab one back before the half, and they looked to tie the game. Tommy decided to drop his men back a bit from their attacking mentality and it payed off as the attacking threat was diminished, and Vedran Jese managed to put another goal on the scoreboard with a header. Kalmar responded by pushing up even further, but they did not manage to break down the defense, so the game ended at 3-1 in favor of Blåvitt, and Jan Mucha finally conceded a goal, after 1279 minutes and 13 clean sheets.

Then, the home leg against Principat, a game that everyone would expect IFK to win, and things go fairly smoothly, as Petrucci pounced on a rebound off the post to open the score. Principat's goalkeeper continued to work hard to keep his team in it, but could not keep Blåvitt from getting to rebounds first, and Robak doubled the score, while Sigurdsson headed in a corner to make it three. Petrucci doubled his tally from way out to make it four, and that is where it would stay, although given the chances that IFK had throughout the game, it could and perhaps should have been seven or more. One way or another, though, IFK were through to the next round of the Champions League, where they would face Croatian side NK Dinamo.

Göteborg would then host Brommapojkarna in the Allsvenskan, and despite the fact that IFK only scored once, and Brommapojkarna three times, Göteborg would run out 3-1 winners at Gamla Ullevi. Last season's league Top Goalscorer Pablo Piñones-Arce opened the score for Bromma after only three minutes. It would take until the 20th for Immobile to level things out, and then eight minutes later a botched clearance from Bp's Albornoz put IFK up by one. In injury time of the first half, Johansson lined up a free kick, and it deflected off Bassombeng of Brommapojkarna, who was credited with an own goal. Hence, three goals from Bromma players, but still a 3-1 loss.

Swedish Premier Division:

Kalmar FF - Göteborg 1-3 (Robak, Johansson, Jese)

Göteborg - Brommapojkarna 1-3 (Immobile, Albornoz o.g., Bassombeng o.g.)

Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round:

Principat - Göteborg 0-2 (Immobile 2)

Göteborg - Principat 4-0 (Petrucci 2, Robak, Sigurdsson)

Player in:

Youssuf Mulumbu (Free transfer)

Player out:

Matti Lund Nielsen to Esbjerg fB (£100K)

Most of the people who know their business had decided that Dinamo NK and Göteborg were too evenly matched to provide a good football game, and that the odds were that somewhere along the line, one of the teams might poke in a goal to determine the overall outcome of their Champions League match-up, but it would be close one way or another. Göteborg, however, had not been informed as they unleashed on their opponents during the home leg. Thanks to Hysén and Petrucci, they went into the half up by one. At 54 minutes, Namouchi made it three, and Hysén would double his tally six minutes later to put the final score at four to nil in favor of the Swedish side.

IFK kept rolling in the league, easily disposing of Mjällby at home, 5-2, as they kept rolling through the league.

Certainty was that Dinamo would defeat Göteborg in Zagreb. The odds were in Dinamo's favor. They might not be able to score the four goals needed to draw level in the cup tie, but they were odds on favorites to win the home leg. However, it would not turn out to be a walk in the park. The first half, Göteborg seemed content to hold on to their aggregate lead, their players looked complacent and Dinamo held the upper hand. Tommy was not pleased.

"This is how things go to hell," he said calmly as he entered the dressing room at halftime. "You think the battle is won, and you drop your guard. You don't chase that ball, it'll get picked up, everything is in hand. So they nabbed one back, we're still three up. They score one, their spirits are up, their drive is up, their hearts are in it again. They score again, then will you wake up? They score three times, how about then? One more and it's tie game and momentum belongs to them."

Tommy looked around the room. "Do not," he said slowly. "Forget to keep playing this game."

This seemed to wake the boys up, and twenty minutes into the second half Robin Söder opened the score on behalf of Blåvitt. Ragnar Sigurdsson doubled that lead not three minutes later, knocking in a corner with his head, and then it was back to defense as Dinamo brought all they had, finally wearing down the wall in the 83rd minute, but that would prove far too little, far too late and so, with two wins the Swedish Champions were through to the next round.

Swedish Premier Division

Göteborg - Mjällby 5-2 (Immobile, Johansson, Sigurdsson 2, Petrucci)

Champions League 3rd Round Qualifier

Göteborg - Dinamo 4-0 (Hysén 2, Petrucci, Namouchi)

Dinamo - Göteborg 1-2 (Söder, Sigurdsson)

I will say one thing though, I will be damned pleased to get out of Sweden so I can get away from my ALT+ codes. é ä ö á å ø ü. Especially Jöngköpings Södra. It is an utter distraction to have to stop and enter in a symbol or three whenever you need to put in a name.