The journals of hampus widgren

Hey all, you join me in the year 2075 and so far this has been the career of Hampus Widgren, I will be posting regular updates, I hope you enjoy it

Fpr updates so far, I made some PDF's

http://www.mediafire.com/download/8c2i702x99gdf5r/2074-75-Season_2-Part_1.pdf

http://www.mediafire.com/download/yeb8l4llmyge6ah/2074-75-Season_2-Part_2.pdf

enjoy

So as we look to plan for next season I will do my usual trick of highlighting on my squad sheet who will be leaving, as you can see Rea & Miantoudilla are still there as I haven’t yet been able to budge them.

Other players leaving based in performances are going to be Trollvik & Filizola , this obviously is a big loss due to how many positions he can play for us but at £1300 a week in wages he is not earning his keep and I’m sorry but a club like ours cannot afford to carry people so it’s best if he goes.

I also tried one more time to tie down my keeper Martin & Opegaard and fair play to them they both signed new deals on lower wages, I really appreciate this and goes to show that not all players are greedy, I do want to blood Ksivsik in goals as I said before but his attributes are not ready so he will continue to be an understudy to Martin for at least a season.

With this in mind my targets are going to be as follows:

1 x DC

1 x RIGHT WING BACK

2 x AMC

Say hello to two new signings! Both come in on a free!

Aleksander Skar – AMC

He has had experience at a much higher level than our division and I think he will be a good fit here for us, I am looking forward to working with him, he needs a but work but he looks to be very good

Fredrik Ridder-Nilsen – DC

He managed to help Ull/Kisa stay up last season and some his performances caught my attention

After we released several players some of which were on big wages the finances are looking much better, we have over 4k available in wages so it gives me a bit of scope to try and find some decent players now to cover my other two targets, we need another right wing back & AMC

At right wing back I decided a loan deal would be fine so we snapped up this lad for 5 months to act as cover for Brekke, we’ll see how he does but he looks decent and we’re only paying him £150 per week.

To complete the jigsaw we needed another AMC and we also had 1 place left on our roster for a foreigner, I spoke to a lad called Aly Barry who last year was playing in Mali where he had scored 22 goals in 39 games. Initially he said no but after I took him for lunch and explained my ambition he signed that afternoon on a two year deal worth £725 per week, now this lad is going to something special, the thought of him playing with Henry is scary!

Even though our business had been done I am always on the lookout for young Norwegian talent and indeed Daniel Huaklan looks promising, his physicals need work as does a lot of other areas but I felt he was worth the gamble, he may also need some tutoring

Financially, we are looking in much better health, we’ve had two years of struggle here and it’s nice now to have that sorted out and indeed my board have given me permission for 1 more coach to make the total to 5 now, we are in desperate need of a Goalkeeper coach so that’s my next priority.

In pre-season training I like to focus on three things, fitness, morale & cohesion so we will play a number of easy games but to keep us on our toes we will also schedule 1 or 2 tough games just to test us. With that in mind, this is what we have scheduled:

The challenging games comes against Lillestrom, Odd2 & Honefoss who are one of the favourites to win our division.

In terms of pre-season training we will just be focusing on fitness & games, here’s how the games played out:

At this point of the season on the eve of the first game, I like to do a few things; I like to look at our odds and give my own appraisal as well as sort all my training out.

Firstly, as you can see below the media predict I will finish 8th, after last season I have much higher aspirations but given we have Molde, Honefoss, Brann in our league I will be to take a playoff spot like we managed last season however there are some very good teams in this league but if I can get Henry & Barry firing on all cylinders we’ll beat anyone on our day I am sure of that.

In terms of our squad, this will be my squad sheet and what I like to do is to have PPM’s per role to suit my tactic and as you notice I assign every player a role so I know which PPM’s they should observe, this simplifies things for me from day 1 as I look to impress my style. I have also introduced a club DNA so this is what I expect from all of my players.

This is how our training looks, as a team we will alternate between tactics / ball control / attacking I will change this as I see fit each week. This will be combined with heavy individual training/ PPM’s, please see below:

From here on in, I will do a monthly round up of the games and post the league table, wish me luck for the new season!

Good luck with the story.

As a Dane living in Norway I will follow this with interest.

Good luck with the story.

As a Dane living in Norway I will follow this with interest.

Hey mate, that's very kind of you and thank you very much, where in Norway do you live? Or should I say who is your nearest club? What team do you support?

APRIL 2075

The fixture generator has been kind to us and our first four games of the season sees us face teams which we would expect to beat, here’s how it went:

Strommen – What a debut for Aly Barry, 1 goal & 2 assists, we were also able to give chances to some younger players as outclassed them. 4-1 CCC’s to us.

Raufoss – Always a tough team to play, predicted to finish above us so it was a nice suprise to see us walk away with a magnificent 2-0 win, we had man sent off as well on 55 minutes so it was a superb return. We won on CCC’s 4-1.

Alta – After going down 0-2 after 15 minutes we were shocked into action and we eventually found our rhythm, we also hit the woodwork 3 times and we won the CCC battle 8-2 so it was hardly undeserved.

Follo – I brought in Ridder-Nelsen for his first start and he did well with a rating of 7.0. It was nice to see Skar make his first game as well after coming from injury, he only played ten minutes but wanted to ease him in gradually, this was fairly even, in terms of CCC’s it was 4-4.

This how the league looks after 4 games:

MAY 2075

May looks like it is going to be a much tougher month for me, we play both Molde & Elverum at home who are both good teams and as well as that we have a trip to Ranheim who will give us a tough challenge. We play 6 games this month so some rotation will be needed.

Here’s how it went:

Valdres (A) – A superb win albeit against one of the poorest sides in the league, at half time it was 0-0 and thought it would be one of those games but we sprung to life in the second half, even Stampe got in on the act and he’s our centre back. We won the clear cut’s 7-0.

Vigor (A) – For the trip to Vigor, I made 5 changes as I looked to keep my squad as fresh as possible. In what I thought would be a easy tie I was wrong, we were 0-2 down with 5 mins left and somehow we forced 2-2 with 89th min equaliser. In extra time they scored again but we scored two in the last two minutes, we made a mess out of the game and I was not impressed at all. We on the CCC battle 5-3.

Molde (H) – Now these were an altogether different proposition and being 0-2 down after 52 minutes I couldn’t see how we’d get back into the game but I was proactive and made early changes and thankfully we were able to share the spoils in a fantastic comeback! Clear cuts was 2-2. It was nice to see 580 people turn up too almost double our usual home crowd!

Asker (A) – The board expects a minimum 3rd round appearance so I named a fairly strong team with Barry back in as he returns from injury. Embarrassed is not the word as we were dumped out 6-5 on penalties! We didn’t do well enough in the game creating zero clear cut chances compared to their two. Roussis our right wing back on loan has torn his hamstring and is out for 4 months, I think it’s fair we send him back home to Greece to be near his family, I will now need to find a right wing back pronto

Sandess Ulf (H) – I was looking for a reaction and my word I got one, we murdered them even with a changed team due to fitness we managed to win on CCC’s 6-1.

Elverum (H) – before this match they were top having won all of their games and not conceded a goal however we soon taught them a lesson and Barry goes from strength to strength. We won ccc’s 2-0.

Ranheim (A) – This month feels like it’s gone on forever, we tied up an excellent month with a 5-1 win here we gave a start to Diallo and played some fringe players to stay fresh. CCC’s were 8-2 to us and Skar was amazing as he celebrated a rare start with a superb hat trick!

This is the league table:

In other news, say hello to our new wing back Paul Diallo an Ivorian U21 international, he’s way better than Brekke so he will be 1st choice! Let me know what you think. I lovoe how fast he is, perfect for a wing back!

His pace alone should work wonders for you at this level!

His pace alone should work wonders for you at this level!

- yeah he looks class, been injured twice already so he has only played 1 game so far but I hope he can get a good run under his belt as on paper he looks the real deal.

JUNE 2075

June looks a much easier month for us and infact we only play two games this month and I expect to win both games but let’s see, it’s a good month to rest a little but I may also arrange a competitive friendly as well.

Ull/Kisa (A) – Despite our domination (5-0 on CCC’s) they made it hard for us and it was sub Dammen who came on for the injured Skar who got the all important goal. Molde could only draw at home to Follo as well so it’s a critical win!

Baerum (H) – Diallo came back in contention as he got 60 minutes under our belt but despite us winning on the ccc’s 5-2, we didn’t play too well, in fairness I felt a point would have been fair but it wasn’t to be as we suffer our first loss.

Lillestrom (H) – we lost last time to these 3-2 in pre-season and I like to use this kind of game as a test to check our improvement, as my Assman took over for this we looked in very good shape and gives us hope for next season should we get promoted.

This is now the league now looks at the end of June, also see below player stats so far:

JULY 2075

This could be a tricky month for us, we only play three games but Lyn (A) and Honefoss (H) should be very tricky affairs indeed.

Nybergsund (A) for long periods it looked like we would struggle to break them down but subs Miladin & Opegaard combined perfectly to finish them off with that all important second goal 5-1 on ccc’s

Lyn (A) They just got hammered at home by Honefoss 4-2 so I was expecting a reaction from them but we were able to march towards our 11th win of the season with a comfortable win, Barry with 1 goal & 1 assist, 3-0 to us on ccc’s. It’s sad times for Lyn, I expected them to do well this season.

Honefoss (H) Our 1st choice keeper Martin was back in the time playing his 1st game and he was kept busy in a fantastic game of football. Bolivar our wing back was awesome with two assists but from been 2-0 up at half time to drawing 3-3 we were disappointed but they are a strong side at this level so I suppose I should be thankful for small mercies.

This now concludes July, just the three games but given the level of opposition I am happy with 7 points if truth be told.

Here’s the league:

August looks to be a very busy month so again squad selection/rotation will be key as we play 6 games, the only worrying one is Brann away which won’t be easy but the other games I am confident about,

Hey mate, that's very kind of you and thank you very much, where in Norway do you live? Or should I say who is your nearest club? What team do you support?

That would be Ull/Kisa.

Would love to get some tidbits about how the world of football have been evolving the last 50-60 years. Who has been the dominant team the the CL. Is Brazil still a world power.

Keep it up

That would be Ull/Kisa.

Would love to get some tidbits about how the world of football have been evolving the last 50-60 years. Who has been the dominant team the the CL. Is Brazil still a world power.

Keep it up

What do you want to see or know? Happy to oblige if you can more specific mate

AUGUST 2075

Brann (A) - They had just off the back of a fantasic away win at Honefoss so we knew we had to be at our best and they deserved their win, their goal though came from us giving a silly penalty away then Oppegard had a goal chalked off, 2-1 to them on clear cuts, all this in front of almost 10,000 people, if only we could have those sorts of crowds!

Strommen (A) – We went behind on six minutes but did not play well, Oppegard rescued a point for us but this was a poor result, clear cuts 2-1 to us.

Raufoss (H) – We didn’t play all that well in fairness but we scraped the three points in the end, 3-0 to us on clear cuts, that man Opegaard again!

Alta (A) the last time we met was such a tough game and they just beaten Honefoss away which is a huge result but we managed to get the points with a very scrappy win as we only managed one clear cut chance. 3 points though is 3 points!

Follo (H) We were made to work hard for the win but thankfully we managed it in the end with a brace from Henry, ccc’s were only 2-1 to us, Molde drew & Brann lost so this was a very good day for us and our promotion hopes.

Valdres (H) A very easy win in the end, they rallied towards the end but the damage had been done, 3-2 to us on clear cuts.

SEPTEMBER 2075

September was not a good month for us at all as we lose ground now on our promotion hopes, Molde & Elverum I can accept but against Sandness & Ranheim we were so poor as I tried to give some young players a chance, a chance they failed to take. I was relieved to win that last game against Ull/Kilsa, our keeper had to make a dramatic save in the 92nd minute to ensure we took all the points.

This is how the league now looks:

I have identified a few players who I will be expecting to leave us at the end of this season, the board are constantly on at me about reducing the wage bill via player sales etc but I have tried to offload my better players and no one has come in for them, however with that in mind I have decided that the guys in red won't be offered new deals. I usually base this decision on average rating to give me an idea on who's performing but this is based purely on finances.

As you can see this leaves us short in midfield but it's something I need to do, the board have two loans out which are crippling us each month so as we progress we may find next season tougher due to the financial conditions I have to work within.

Look at those loans! I think next year a particular strategy could be to raid the loan market on cheap deals as best we can to plug any gaps but we'll see.

I will see you again for October which sees us play both Honefoss & Brann, I have privately accepted a playoff place but I'll be telling my players we can get automatic promotion.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBR

At the start of October it was time for our youth intake and it was decent with two players I felt could add something down the line, these were these two, a new keeper and a centre back.

The keeper I wanted to sign was too cocky in negotiations so I sent him on his way but we did pick up this young defender who looks decent, needs a lot of attention but could be decent in 3-4 years perhaps.

This is how our season ended, we were so unlucky against Honefoss in the playoff game losing 3-2 but creating 7 clear cut chances.

This is the final league table:

We have some important decisions to make in preparation for next season, we either renew deals and risk our finances worsening or try to be as proactive as possible. Both have advantages & disadvantages and it’s certainly something I am not rushing into as it needs careful planning.

Thanks for reading and I will be back soon more towards pre-season where I will discuss who’s leaving and who is staying and what areas I feel we need to improve upon.

Here is my initial assessment on the last day of the season,

Here are main headlines arising out of my assessment:

• Paulus wants £1200 a week and as much as I rate him it’s a bridge too far for us financially, hopefully we can re-invest this and find a decent centre back. Elsewhere at centre back I am going to attempt to get rid of Fritz, he hasn’t played well all season but to be honest if no one comes in for him I will have no option but to give him a second chance.

• At right wing back we’ll need an understudy to Diallo as I am letting Brekke leave, he hasn’t performed at all well and he’s often injured.

• Central midfield is a little bit of a concern, first I managed sign up Miladin who has been our best performer in the DLP roles but Practico is being let go and Mundal has agreed to sign for another team so we are short here and I think I will need two re-enforcements here which is easier said than done, it’s likely that I will be asking Hauklan to step up but he’s nowhere near good enough

• In the AMC role, the massive news for us is Henry won’t sign a new deal, I had tried to list him but no one came in for him so now we lose him on a free, it’s a huge loss as he is a proven scorer at this level. I don’t like too much change so I will be giving 20 year old Skar a second chance after a faily inconsistent season, otherwise we have young Salvesen who can play here but he is still learning the position.

With all that in mind, my focus will be the following:

2 x DC (1 1st team) , 1 (youth)

Back up right wing back

MC x2

Depending on how we do with these I may make late moves for a new AMC but these will be where my attention will lie.

In all cases, I think I am going to have to consider loan deals as there is no way we can afford full time wages of above £700 per week so we have to limit this but for the right player you never know.

Hey all, sorry for the huge delay but I went nuts on a huge scouting mission, so as you know from my last post our finances are crippling me but given a few players who have left we had some money for once but I still kept to my initial idea of trying to get in players as cheap as possible. I even rebuffed offers from Brazil for my main AMC Ally Barry, there is no way in this world we can afford to lose both Henry & Barry and thankfully the board didn’t mind me saying no, anyway this is the business we’ve done:

Let me start with my 2 central defenders, first up we have Fode Sampli who joins us on loan from USJA Carquefou only on a 5 month deal so we’ll see how he does but he looks, his bravery and pace are what caught my eye when I was on the hunt. In addition to this I have also snapped up Ronny Jalland, I have been an admirer of his now for three years so when his name popped up on my free transfer search I was quick to act because I know clubs would sniffing around, he joins on a one year deal for £450 per week. I think he’s solid, good in the air, great tackler, strong if little slow but other players should contrast with him nicely.

At right wing back I was just looking for a cheap back up really as Diallo is a great player and I asked Lillestrom about Ronny Eftedal and when they said we could have him for the season for no wage contributions it was hard to keep a straight face, it felt like I had got away with daylight robbery, he’s not a bad player and of course he will feature but Diallo will be my main man there is no question of that.

This left me needing two midfieldes for my DLP roles, the first guy I signed was a bit of a gamble, Trygve Dahle Hoyland didn’t have the best of seasons last season for Ranheim and only played 17 times but he was free and with wages of £575 per week I think the one year deal represents a decent deal for us. He is by no means amazing but if we can work in certain attributes such as positioning, tackling & technique he may well develop into a decent option. The other player I signed was Joel Jesus who we snapped up on a 1 year loan deal drom Portuguese outfit Camacho, we’re paying him £300 per week so not too bad at all, his composure worries me a little but as a DLP defend he’ll be ideal for what we need and he doesn’t break the bank.

As you can see below, the finances are looking much better but this money is needed as we continue to pay off these crippling loans.

I will be back in touch again after our pre-season friendlies to discuss my objectives and with my squad sheet for the season

Here are my pre-season results below:

At this stage of the season I like to complete my squad sheet, sort my training out and like to look at the media prediction and give my prediction:

I have split the league into five sections based on media prediction, as you can see we are predicted to finish 7th but as usual our aims will need to be a playoff place, we have a significant lesser squad than we did last year and Haugesund/ Kristiansund will be tough nuts to crack!

Decent pre-season and a good young squad you have there. Good luck for the season ahead mate!

Decent pre-season and a good young squad you have there. Good luck for the season ahead mate!

Hey mate, thank you for reading so far and hope you're enjoying it, if there is any questions or anything you want to see just let me know and I'll be happy to oblige and indeed if you have a blog or a save I can read about please send me a link.

Many thanks

APRIL 2076

Overall, it's been a good start but we only really beat the teams we were expected to, I felt we were good for a point at Viking personally. As you can see below, the match stats were fairly even.

May 2076

I'm fairly happy with the month in which we played some tough games, Lyn away was the poorest I have seen us, they hit the woodwork 5 times so trust me, it could have been far worse. The 3rd round game against Sarpsborg also served to remind us about the quality of the division above, they are a lower mid-team and they breezed past us. You also have to consider we have done all without two key players Bilaver our left wing back and of course that man Ally Barry, however, as the month ends these two are returning to full fitness. Unfortunately though Diallo is out for two months so our on loan wing back Effedal will be tested.

In other news, Jesus returns to Camacho and we are currently in talks with a new midfielder Renato Duarte, we have agreed personal terms and he should be signing in the next few days, he looks real quality and at 26 gives us a little more experience.

The two Ronnys!

The two Ronnys!

HAHA dam why did I not make that link!

"The perfect crime was committed last night, when thieves broke into Scotland Yard and stole all the toilets. Police say they have absolutely nothing to go on"

JUNE / JULY 2076

This has been such a tough period for us, we've suffered with injuries & suspensions and when you combine that with playing the top teams Haugesund & Kristiansund it was a recipe for disaster, still, I was not happy with how we performed at all but thankfully we don't have to play these teams for a while who by the way, both remain unbeaten!

I was happy with our convincing win at Notodden but overall it has been tough for us. It seems the playoff spots is about our level at the moment which is no bad thing for a team predicted 7th.

AUGUST 2076

August wasn't too bad and we seem to have got better as the month progressed, the worst game was against Follo, we were absolute dog sh*t defensively, they cut us open at will and I was not pleased one bit, however the month ended with two crucial away wins as we look to consolidate our playoff place.

As you can see Skender, scored two, he is a name you won't know, I signed him on deadline day on a 5 month loan deal from Croatian outfit Hrvace, he is so much better than Bilaver & Nordnes, indeed Nordnes is a player I have identified as leaving the club, I'm getting tired of his **** poor performances.

This is Skender:

Also, as I look to think about new contracts and those leaving I have identified (so far) 4 players who will be leaving, these players are just not good enough, I did like Fritz but he is falling behind now, in midfield though I have given new deals to both Haukland & Dahle Hoyland.

SEPTEMBER 2076

September was just ok to be honest, we started with a really important victory over Lyn but dropping points at home to Baerum & Raufoss is simply not acceptable, our playoff place is no way guaranteed so we can ill afford to take our foot of the gas now with five games of the season left.

Looking ahead I am considering selling Diallo, he has done well but I don't trust anyone with a specific weakness of inconsistency, fundamentally, it's one of my pet peeves when an excellent player on paper just doesn't do it on the pitch.

I have so many ideas, I don't even know yet if I will be here next season, to some extent you could argue I have taken the club as far as I can but I made this decision at my past clubs and regretted it so we will see.

OCTOBER 2076

October wasn't a great month but it's hardly surprising given who we played, although saying that for the trips to Haugesund & Kristiansund we were much more competitive than the last time we met them both as we changed to a 451 specifically for those games which seemed to have a shock effect on them, however, with one game left that left us needing nothing other than a win against Notodden, thankfully nerves didn't get the better of us as we clung to 6th place to qualify for the playoffs again where we will face Viking away; a team we are yet to beat! It's all beginning to feel like groundhog day in that we grab a playoff place, fall at the first hurdle & repeat, I really hope we can at least go one step further but we will see, our game against Viking will be tough there's no two ways about it.

10 days later, it was half time at Viking and we were 2-0 down, I went bezerk in the dressing room as we'd played so sh*t and I wasn't having this acceptance of 'this is as far as we can go' mentality, it was the first time a lot of the lads had seen me like this. I told them to show me something different or I'll be resigning after the game , to my utter amazement we took them to extra time and then won it in the 99th minute, I was astonished!

Good stuff.

Who is dominating the top division in 2076?

Good stuff.

Who is dominating the top division in 2076?

Hi mate,

As you can see Odd have just won the league (how odd), but Rosenborg have been dominant in recent years!

NOVEMBER 2076

OH MY FUC*ING GOD!!!

After beating Lyn with a wave of the hand we were then tasked with playing a two legged game against Honefoss who were superb last season against us, whatever happened here on in was just dreamland stuff for us. The first leg was a nervy 1-1 draw which we played well in and I assumed our journey ended there (no idea why only 421 people came to see us)!

However, the wind was behind our backs and we were riding the wave of good fortune, Ronny Jalland scored from a corner on 34 minutes and we somehow held on as they hit the woodwork twice. This is a fantastic achievement, I can't tell how what a small club we are, us playing away next season at the stadiums of Rosenberg, Valerenga & Stromsgodset seems faintly ridiculous but we have to remember we're here on merit and have every right to be here.

My plans have now shifted completely, I had compiled a list of 4-5 players I had my eye on but suddenly I am not even sure if they'll be good enough now, we'll need to sit down as a team, myself, my assistant & the board and devise a strategy because if we can somehow survive our 1st year I believe with the right backing I can go on to achieve great things but I need to be backed in order to do that as we'll need to drastically alter our wage budget over time.

When I look back it seems that 15 minutes at half time at Viking may well be the most important fifteen minutes of this clubs lifespan.

I have so many plans in terms of infrastructure, networking etc but I think if the board let me sign 3-4 top quality players we can do the impossible and stay up, only time will tell but one thing is for sure this cannot be rushed and needs careful planning.

So much work ahead, as the players are all away now on holiday I am sat here pondering over hundreds and hundreds of players trying to create a shortlist of what players I need and which areas need most attention.

As well as that, after renewing contracts and letting some go we have a tiny squad size of 17, now needs to be 22-25 at the very minimum so we have much work ahead but if I can bring in the right players I don't see any reason why we can't survive, the only thing which worries me is our finances as the board keep taking out bank loans, look below, we really are up against it. Now on paper this looks nice but it isn't, this is where people get confused, just because your wage budget/transfer budget is decent this is a false economy and is your board essentially massaging the figures, however I know best and there is no way I am putting the club into more debt by going off and spending every penny. That is not conducive to a well run club. I am yet to fully assess the squad (that will be in my next post).

Ideally, we want some experienced players this season but my wage cap has to be £800pw, anything more than that would be silly because if we do go down then we're going to be in a huge mess.

Our finances & squad size below:

Also, someone on FB asked me if I can talk about how I spot gaps in my squad and who do I look to sign. The way I go about this is to have a simple Excel sheet which I call my squad depth chart (see posts above for how it looks), it's nothing special but it's there for me to easily spot gaps so I can focus my main 3-4 signings in those areas, I then look to pad out the squad as best I can with loans etc.It's nothing more complicated than this as I keep it very simple. Tactics wise as well, I tend to change things up fairly regularly usually stick to the same 2-3 shapes/ideas. My main enjoyment from the game comes from developing players and buying/selling. At this level, it's hard to get a decent fee for some players but if we can establish ourselves in this division that will be one of my long term goals to try and make us as rich as the big boys but for now my only remit is to keep us in this division in this coming season.

Thanks for reading and experiencing this journey with me.

Apologies for the lack of update, real life things got in the way, anyway we're now on the brink of starting the new season and our finances even though on paper look appealing they are still a mess, this is why you never use the budgets given to you, otherwise you will find yourself in a complete mess.

As you know my target was to set a wag cap of £800 a week but after extensive searching I had to break this a few times to get the kinds of players I felt we needed.

Below is my squad list as well as my transfer summary

In terms of training, I previously set out a list of PPM's per role but I felt this was too restrictive due to wanting to change shape and because I need to re-train people I have a new strategy for PPM's whereby these will be used sparingly and only for those who have a clearly defined role so some time will be spent unlearning PPPM's.

Below is the media predictions and as you can see we are not fancied at all, with two teams going down and a third in a playoff it'll be a miracle if we finish anywhere outside those places and I am under no illusions as to the magnitude of our plight

In terms of pre-season, as everyone got to know one another it didn't really go too well as we kept changing tactics, even going into the first game I am still not sure but what's certain is we have to be defensive against the better teams and limit the damage one, I know that seems negative but the gap in quality between us and the top clubs is huge. Anyway, enough talk, these are my new players:

Thanks

Good luck with the new season in the top division.

Will be an impressive achievement if you manage to keep this group of players in the top division.

MARCH 2077

I've been disappointed with our start to the season, even against Fredrikstad we completely undeserved it but we started with injuries so it's been tough! Still 3 from 9 is decent enough.

APRIL 2077

The month started with a bang with back to back victories and a very good point at Odd but since then we've fallen apart!

MAY 2077

It became apparent to me fairly early on in the month that our usual tactic had been found out and with morale rock bottom I needed to address it so I moved a few roles around and changed a few instructions and now we are using defensive wingers out wide instead of Complete Wing Backs and we're looking so much more solid.

As you can see, we are keeping our head above water in the league but more than that look at some of the results, we beat Rosenberg 2-0 with a very brave performance and then just now we went to Aalesund and got the 3 points with Barry scoring both. A quick note on Barry, as you know finances are important to me and Barry leaves the club in three weeks, we're clearly going to miss him but the deal is £50k initially with £120k over 12 months and we will receive 40% of his next sale so it represents a fantastic deal for the club

June 2077

Only two games this period, the first was a superb win and even the cup game wasn't so bad, we played well but some sloppy passing gifted them their goals, something I need to work on and as part of our new club DNA which I'll be introducing next season we will be focusing on certain attributes which I'd like to see from all our players where possible.

Before I start July, I want to show you a player i just signed on a free transfer, one of Henry's countrymen in comes Simon Abubakar, he has everything I want from a player in the AMC role, I set up my filters for Passing, Composure, Acceleration, Passing, Off the Ball, Work Rate, Determination and this lad stood out like a sore thumb, what a player, I am so excited to see how he does for us.

I am paying him £1.1k a week but he is well worth it I feel

July/August 2077

I got so engrossed I lost track of time so see below results for both months:

There's no two ways about it, we are in really bad form at the moment, that defeat at Haugesund was a huge dent in our armoury but I am hoping we can rally because Valerenga & Molde have started picking up points, it's so tight but we're in freefall at the moment and it's very concerning, next up we host Molde, we have to win, a draw would do no one any good so we have to go for it full pelt.

Here is the league:

SEPTEMBER 2077

It's been a decent month but the Molde game really pissed me off, we were 2-0 up with 30 mins left and cruising and we threw it away, thankfully though we were able to squeeze past Tromso for a critical three points as we fight the best we can!

October sees us play all our remaining games, we have to play Rosenberg & Kristiansund, even if we finish 14th I will be happy because I would be confident about beating any team finishing 3rd-6th in the division below but who knows if we can get maybe a point out of one of those games things will look better. Other than those, Aelseund away but then on the last day of the season we go to Valerenga in what is looking increasingly like a 6 pointer!!

Interesting finish in both ends of the table.

That Vålenger game will be huge.

OCTOBER 2077

As you can see from the below we were not good enough, we got hammered by Kristiansund & the Aalesund game was so disappointing but with 10 men we clawed back from 0-2 down on the last day as I went overload but we couldn't force the goal, had we scored we would have been safe, still it's been a good season for us, we were in no way outperformed, however I feel I have done all I can for the club and I feel it might be best for both parties if I was to move on and manage elsewhere to further my own career.

I will now have a family holiday for two weeks as I contemplate where my future lies, in terms of available or insecure jobs this is what is available at the moment:

On first glance, the Young Boys job would appeal to me but I'm not even sure if it's worth updating my CV as I am yet to really achieve anything, I may apply anyway to see what happens.

Interesting finish in both ends of the table.

That Vålenger game will be huge.

Thanks for still following mate, it was huge indeed, just a shame, had we got another goal it would have been an amazing escape but unfortunately no fairytale on this occasion!

So it's two weeks later, I applied for the Young Boys job and my interest was laughed off, I have decided not to run away but to aim to get us back to winning back promotion. I think this time will be even tougher though.

I am being reminded about my finances again for the upcoming season, and we are also working on a new shape, this season I am going to be using a 4123 system with 2 BWM's & DLP and will be focusing on playing a counter strategy.

In terms of players needed etc, again, I will need to see who's contract I can renew and then go from there because in terms of wage structures it's very much back to square one, as some of you know I pre-planned this scenario by being relatively frugal at the start of last season, thankfully that has helped us, can you imagine me in Division 1 with players getting £3k+, we'd be in turmoil, things are bad but things could be worse.

In terms of our chances, I am confident but it won't be easy, I can even see us getting to the playoffs again but we'll have to see what the media think to give me some clues as to who will be our strongest competition.

As we near December, there are sadly some faces leaving us but some you'll know of agreed new deals which is pleasing.

First we're going to be losing my best player in midfield maestro Duarte, I don't blame him, he's too good for this level and despite our best efforts he won't sign a new deal so that's a huge loss for us and will be key we try to get someone in near to his quality as possible. Secondly, Miladin also leaves us, he has been with us five seasons making 142 appearances for the club so it's another significant loss as we look to re-build for next year.

In other news though, Bilaver, Skar & forgotten man keeper Ksivsik all sign new deals.

After a quick assessment of my squad these are the areas I will be looking to improve on:

Left back / Midfield Centre / Attacking Midfield / Striker

I have also introduced a club DNA, I expect all my outfield players to be proficient in these areas:

As the players are still on holiday I have now concluded my business, I made some rather bold moves in the market as we look to bounce back at the 1st time of asking, this is the business we did:

It might come as a surprise with me selling Jalland but I felt we needed to in order to balance the books, below are the players I have brought in, I am especially looking forward to Vestgard, he scored 11 in 28 games last season this division and I hope he can step up, all of them pretty much meet our DNA so it'll be exciting to see how it all pans out.

I will now arrange 7 or 8 friendlies for us as we get used to our tactic.