DazRTaylor Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I am always tempted by Crystal Palace - they tend to produce some quality youngsters, plus they can be taken quite far IMO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 If you feel like completing a full season then stay, I'm pretty sure there will be some good offers from clubs in similar or better positions in the future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 It's a very good offer from Palace, and would be a good opportunity at a bigger club. That said, similar offers are likely to come up in the future if you do decide to carry on in Sweden. I'm not sure if that helps or not! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Eagles announce offer made to managerial target Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has revealed that his club have begun talks with a potential new manager, but would not be drawn on who they were targeting. The League One club have been without a manager since Dougie Freedman ended his tenure last month to take charge at Middlesbrough. Speaking to BBC London late yesterday, Parish said: "We received permission to speak to someone who we think has all the ingredients to be a successful manager with Crystal Palace. An offer has been made, which we think is a very attractive offer. We won't be commenting on who we're talking to as the ball is now in their court and it would not be right. Fans should rest assured everything we do is in this club's best interests." Parish has since taken to Twitter this morning and reiterated his silence regarding the club's target: "Wont say more on manager position yet. Got to respect other clubs." Despite this stance, reports emerged in Sweden two weeks ago linking former Accrington Stanley, Carlisle United and Rushden & Diamonds player and current Hammarby manager the Englishman Michael Kobylko with the vacant position at Selhurst Park. Kobylko initially worked for free as a coach at Southport before heading for a role in Sweden. His work in that country has received rave reviews, but some sources have reacted with surprise at suggestions he might be Crystal Palace's number one target. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Thanks to everyone who offered their thoughts. I was seriously considering taking the job, but as others have said, there's no need to take it now. Other jobs just as good could come along later - and possibly even better ones. I don't feel I've finished what I'm doing with Hammarby and we're chasing European football. For now, I'll carry on in Sweden. But I'm turning down what I think was a fantastic offer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Good choice, if you left it'd be a long time until you got to challenge for European football. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Not surprised this lad's in demand. He's a superb player: I don't know what's convinced Zilina he's a realistic target for them. No disrespect to them but do they really offer anything much better than Hammarby? Bearing in mind our league position. They've been offering big money for him, but still not as big as it would take to part with the player. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 SEASON 2014 - AUGUST This Month's Fixtures BREAKING NEWS: Hammarby will face a trip to First Division North side Karlstad in the 2nd Round of the Swedish Cup. Karlstad were the opposition for manager Michael Kobylko's first game in charge of Hammarby. The two clubs have gone in different directions since that day 13 months ago. This could be a tough month. We face two big under-performing sides in Helsingborg and AIK. As a newly-promoted side, anything you get against sides like that is a bonus. In Assyriska, we come up against the league's form side, who look to be putting some distance between themselves and the relegation zone. If we can come through with enough points, we'll have nine games left to try and make sure we maintain our top half place. In the cup, we go to a side that now plays two divisions below us. I'll be resting players, but I expect to win. This Month's Results Sunday August 3rd, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 1-1 Helsingborgs IF We needed all of our reserves of grit and determination to get something out of this one. Although we weren't very good, I wasn't disappointed. Regardless of Helsingborg's struggles this season, they're a big club and we're only just finding our feet back at this level. Sometimes you're not at your best and, if you can't win, don't lose. A point gained. att: 9,883 --------------- Sunday August 10th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 2-1 BK Häcken This is the first time in my career we've won a game like this. Did we deserve to? Possibly just. I remember complaining about a penalty being awarded against us for what looked like nothing not so long ago. Well, this time fate was smiling on us because I could not tell you what the injury time penalty we were awarded was for. Funny how little you care when it goes for you! Castro-Tello drilled it home and I punched the air in delight. We're not at our best, but we're getting results. att: 9,706 --------------- Saturday August 16th, 2014 Swedish Cup: 2nd Round Tingvalla IP, Karlstad Karlstad BK 0-2 Hammarby Fotboll There was no way I was doing anything other than resting players today. I gave a teenage right-back his debut and Stephen Appiah made his first start of the season, and only his second appearance. There was also a rare start for 20 year-old forward Christoffer Hansebjer. Thankfully, my much changed line-up did a professional job. But Karlstad contributed and deserve praise for a strong performance. Things might have been different if they could finish. As it is, we now enter next season's group stage. att: 558 --------------- Wednesday August 20th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Södertälje Fotbollsarena, Södertälje Assyriska Föreningen 0-0 Hammarby Fotboll Assyriska came up with us last season, but made a poor start. I thought they'd end up relegated, but they've rallied since then and are the division's form team. I thought we might come unstuck, but instead we put in our best display for a while. We were without the suspended Sinan Ayranci up front, and I suppose it showed as we just couldn't turn our superiority into goals. I'm getting worried about Eddie Johnson. His goals have dried up. If he's not scoring, he's not justifying his rather large paycheck. I won't sniff at a point away to an in-form side, though. att: 5,278 ---------------- Sunday August 24th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 2-0 Åtvidabergs FF A straightforward win against a poor side. There really isn't much to say about this game. It would be nice if my strikers hadn't forgotten how to score, though. If Johnson and Ayranci were in form, Åtvidaberg would have been looking at a real hiding here today. But I'll take it. Each win edges us closer to an impressive top half finish. att: 9,734 --------------- Sunday August 31st, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 0-2 AIK A local derby brought out the fans in good number, but it didn't bring out the best in us. Far from it. I couldn't believe the difference in class on the day, and nor could I figure out how to address it. I tried a number of things, but AIK were just in scintillating form. They passed rings around us. It's a shame we finish off the month in this fashion, but it would have been an injustice if AIK hadn't won. They're the champions, but miles off the pace this season. If this is what they're capable of, they should be doing much better. We were dreadful. att: 18,899 League Table We're still third with nine games left to play. Even if we now go on a poor run of form, we should finish in a respectable position. It's been a cracking first season back in the top flight and we've handled it so well. August was a mixed month, but if we replicated that form over the whole season, we'd probably still finish in a decent position. The defeat was disappointing and I'm not happy at Eddie Johnson's marked drop in form, but I can't really fault this group of players. They've been great since I walked in the door last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 New Career Aims At the very start of the thread, I said I had no aims or ideas for what I wanted to do. I was just going to let the career take me where it takes me. Well, that's still the overall policy, but I have decided that I will jump at the chance to manage any of Deportivo La Coruña, Dinamo Moscow or Olympiakos. I like all three clubs and have never had a proper bash with them. Would be good to finally do so. I'll definitely apply for those jobs if they ever come up. Might need to build up my reputation further, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Great work so far, in with a chance of 2nd place for sure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 New Career AimsAt the very start of the thread, I said I had no aims or ideas for what I wanted to do. I was just going to let the career take me where it takes me. Well, that's still the overall policy, but I have decided that I will jump at the chance to manage any of Deportivo La Coruña, Dinamo Moscow or Olympiakos. I like all three clubs and have never had a proper bash with them. Would be good to finally do so. I'll definitely apply for those jobs if they ever come up. Might need to build up my reputation further, though. I'd love to see you manage Deportivo. It's been a great first season in the Premier Division, good luck with the rest of the matches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 SEASON 2014 - SEPTEMBER This Month's Fixtures Technically, all three matches for this month are away from home. But of course our fixture away to Djurgården will take place in our own stadium, due to the groundshare. All three teams we face are at the wrong end of the table. I would never predict us putting three away wins together in a row, but we'll never have a better chance to do so. None of these teams are anything special and we have plenty of goals in us. This Month's Results Wednesday September 17th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Behrn Arena, Örebro Örebro SK 0-2 Hammarby Fotboll A great result, but arguably the most hard fought win I've had in my career. And I mostly blame myself for that. The first half was fine. We outplayed them and should have been about three goals up. I don't blame myself for that, I blame my misfiring strikers. But then I passionately told my players they were playing well, and every single one of them to a man completely switched off. We spent the second half giving the ball away and backing off, allowing Örebro all the space they wanted. Then, in the last four minutes, we grabbed two goals. It was a relief both to come away with three points and to see Johnson and Ayranci on the scoresheet again. att: 6,361 --------------- Wednesday September 24th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Strömvallen, Gävle Gefle IF FF 2-5 Hammarby Fotboll We're scoring goals again! Gefle are really struggling, but they won at our place earlier in the season. Thankfully we had our revenge today, and how! I thought we were staring at another defeat against them when they took the lead, but the combination of a brace each for Johnson and Ayranci made sure we took the points. Gefle, to be fair, contributed with a good few shots and obviously also nabbed a couple of goals. But we were playing so well going forward that it didn't matter. Brilliant. att: 3,146 --------------- Saturday September 27th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Djurgårdens FF 2-4 Hammarby Fotboll Another sensational game in the derby with our bitterest of rivals. We've played them three times in all competitions this season and won three times. But there was a huge downside to today's game. The brilliant Sinan Ayranci limped off after just four minutes and will miss the rest of the season. As it happened his replacement Fredrik Jensen, something of a forgotten man, managed to score a brace. I've been considering selling Jensen as I don't think it's fair for him to sit on the bench all the time, but after this, maybe I should keep him around. Don't be fooled by Djurgården scoring twice - they were mostly rubbish. We just gave them a bit too much space. But going forward we looked immense and fully deserve the win. Surprisingly, this was Abdelhakim Omrani's first goal of the season. att: 22,960 League Table Six games left to go now and it's looking like we've consolidated our place in the top five. I've given up on catching the top two - they just keep winning. But this was a perfect month with three brilliant away performances (or two, if you don't count the last one). And to add to my delight, I've been given the first Manager of the Month award of my career. I can sit back and enjoy the run in now, knowing we're almost certain to finish well into the top half. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeeD Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Good stuff - looks like European football beckons Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Good stuff - looks like European football beckons Six games is awkward. On the one hand, looking at our points total, three wins will probably be enough from the six games. But six games is till long enough to have a poor run and end up missing out. Someone always seems to have a good run right at the end, while someone suddenly falls away. Could be tricky. First time I've read your thread after your handy heads up- don't know how I've missed it but very steady progress indeed! I think turning down Palace was the right move as well. The Palace offer is already a distant memory. I might have taken it had I been here longer, but I've only been here five minutes and we're chasing a place in Europe. Palace can't offer that yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 You're on a bit of a roll now, so I'd be amazed if you don't finish in the top three! What's your run-in like? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Top 3 looks almost certain now providing you don't crumble at the end! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 SEASON 2014 - OCTOBER This Month's Fixtures By the end of this month, we'll have only two matches left to play, and I should be closer to knowing where we'll finish. Our place in the top half has been pretty safe for a while, but after being third for so long, it would be a disaster to blow it now. Third place would mean qualification for the Europa League. I really want my first taste of continental competition. The first two games are at home to struggling sides, which gives us a great chance to add more points. We then face a trip to mid-table Mjällby, which should be a tough game, followed by runaway leaders Malmö. This Month's Results Wednesday October 1st, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 4-2 GAIS It's a good job we can score goals, because we're not keeping clean sheets! This was our second 4-2 win in a row, and our third win in a row in which we've needed to score more than two to take the three points. Bottom-of-the-table GAIS beat us earlier in the season, although that result owed something to sending-off. With Sinan Ayranci sidelined through injury, in came Fredrik Jensen, who duly grabbed a brace. The highlight, though, was a superb driven finish from Canadian international midfielder Nikolas Ledgerwood - a reliable if unspectacular player. att: 9,762 --------------- Monday October 6th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 3-1 Östers IF Another nice win, this time owing plenty to a brace from Eddie Johnson. I thought he'd probably score more than he has done this season, but he has still proven a good bit of business on my part. We got ourselves 3-0 up and certainly looked the more dangerous side, but credit should go to Öster who had plenty of possession and gave it a good go here. At the moment we're not paying for the loss of Ayranci. att: 9,250 --------------- Saturday October 18th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Strandvallen, Hällevik Mjällby AIF 1-1 Hammarby Fotboll There is no disgrace in drawing at Mjällby. They've spent most of the season around the top six and are a solid top flight side. You can't win every game and sometimes you have to take what you can get. That being said, they were somewhat lucky here. We dominated, certainly in terms of chances created. We just had a bit of an off-day going forward. But a point is fine and it looks almost certain we're going to qualify for Europe now. att: 4,835 --------------- Sunday October 26th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 0-2 Malmö FF MALMÖ ARE CHAMPIONS HAMMARBY HAVE QUALIFIED FOR THE EUROPA LEAGUE This was so one-sided it was frightening. Congratulations to Malmö, who have been top for so long and played us off the park here. We just couldn't get anywhere near them and 2-0 does not flatter them as they showed no signs of nerves and made sure of the title with this win. We had actually sneaked into second place after the win over Öster, but slip back to third. Nevertheless, we have guaranteed ourselves a top three position and a place in Europe. Hopefully the lads will put this one behind them quickly. att: 10,420 League Table With just two games to go, we've confirmed third place. What a first season back in the top flight it's been for Hammarby! But the season doesn't end yet. Second place is achievable, and we actually face Elfsborg in our final game. That match could well be a shoot-out for second place. The month itself was satisfactory, with two great wins, even if they were a little edgier than I'd have liked, plus one decent away point. The defeat to the champions with a blow but not the end of the world. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 You're on a bit of a roll now, so I'd be amazed if you don't finish in the top three!What's your run-in like? A lot shorter now I've played through the second-to-last month! We're away to Sundsvall who are newly-promoted like us and have had a good season and lie sixth. If we can get something from that, we're then home to Elfsborg in a match that will probably decide 2nd place. Top 3 looks almost certain now providing you don't crumble at the end! No crumble so far and we're going to finish in the top three. It's all about 2nd place now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 SEASON 2014 - NOVEMBER This Month's Fixtures The final two games of a wonderful season. If you'd have told me that, with two games to go, we'd be in with a shout of second place, I never would have believed it. Our path into second is blocked by two tough fixtures against Sundsvall and Elfsborg. We've beaten both already this season, so we know we can do it. One last push... This Month's Results Sunday November 2nd, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Norrporten Arena, Sundsvall GIF Sundsvall 0-0 Hammarby Fotboll And so November begins with a great big anticlimax. Elfsborg's earlier win followed by our draw at Sundsvall means we are three points behind with a large goal difference deficit. Second place is mathematically possible, but we'd need a huge win against them to finish above them. I don't know why our goals have suddenly dried up, but 0-0 was a fair reflection of a game which could have gone either way. att: 4,207 --------------- Sunday November 9th, 2014 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 0-1 IF Elfsborg Thank god our season's been over for a while because we've clearly gone right off the boil. Elfsborg had the freedom of the Tele2 Arena here and deserved their win. We had spells in the first ten minutes and the last ten minutes when we probably should have scored, but we've suddenly forgotten how to do that and Elfsborg confirm a comfortable second-placed finish. Hope we can get over this come the start of next season. att: 10,928 League Table A rubbish and totally forgettable month. I wonder if the Malmö defeat planted a bit of doubt in my players' heads because they weren't at the races this month. We didn't do too badly at Sundsvall but couldn't score, and the less said about the Elfsborg game the better. Cracking season, though. Could be worse, we could be Helsingborg, facing a playoff to stay up. It would be a big shock if they went down. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Shame about th finish but its a solid 3rd place and European football which is all good. Malmo really ran away with it this year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Unfortunate finish but European football. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 SEASON 2014 - END OF SEASON REVIEW SWEDISH PREMIER DIVISION - RESULTS (Pt.1) SWEDISH PREMIER DIVISION - RESULTS (Pt.2) SWEDISH PREMIER DIVISION - FINAL STANDINGS In our first season back in the top flight we have qualified for the Europa League, which I think is a really impressive achievement. In a sign of our progress, it's worth noting that only one side did the double over us this season, and that was Malmö, who won the league at a canter. For most of the season we were always threatening going forward and had little problem scoring goals. We probably could have defended a little better, but you have to remember that that's in comparison to the team's around us at the top. I always expected to be comparing us at this point to sides around us in mid-table, or possibly lower than that. Perhaps I underestimated the squad. It isn't massively different from the one I inherited last season in the bottom half of the division below, and yet look what they've done. The talent was always there. I guess it just needed me to drag it out of them. SWEDISH CUP - RESULTS Our run to the final gave me great pleasure. I don't value this competition too highly and the added fixtures didn't help our early season fitness, but it's always fun to get to a final and especially when you knock a couple of bitter rivals out in the process. We began the competition in the second tier - who'd have thought we would end up in the final? On the day, we were easily brushed aside by Elfsborg, but I fancy another tilt at this competition. Things have already begun in comfortable fashion with a straightforward win over third-tier Karlstad. --------------- END OF SEASON FINANCES As you can see, playing in the top flight has had a massive impact on our finances, and a positive one. We have plenty of money in the bank and our high finish means we've made a healthy profit. Hard to believe European football won't add to this next season. And just look at the budgets I've been given for next season! Finally the board has woken up to what we need. Over £1m to spend on transfers! And the wage budget has had a healthy boost, too. All looking good in this department. --------------- Key Players 11. Sinan Ayranci (Striker; Sweden) Apps: 24 -- Gls: 17 -- Avg Rating: 7.60 I never saw this guy having a season like this. And if it wasn't for a couple of niggling injuries, he'd have probably scored more. He was devastating at times, and and at just 24, has plenty of potential to improve further. I really thought Eddie Johnson would be our big goal threat, but Ayranci outshone him and also ousted last season's top scorer Fredrik Jensen from the side.I almost let him go out on loan right at the start of the season after figuring he might not be ready for the step up - he certainly proved me wrong. 14. Eddie Johnson (Striker; United States) Apps: 26 -- Gls: 14 -- Avg Rating: 7.11 The above stats don't tell the whole story - just look at his performance in the cup! Overall, I was a little disappointed with what looked like a marquee signing last summer. Malmö had a striker who scored 24 league goals, ten more than the more experienced international Johnson. But he still played well throughout the season, developing a good partnership with Ayranci and you can't sniff at 14 important goals. We'd have been a worse side without him. 26. Thomas Christensen (DC; Denmark) Apps: 23 -- Gls: 4 -- Avg Rating: 7.26 The Danish centre-back is our captain and although we conceded quite a lot of goals, I still believe Christensen had a superb season. He is every bit the top tier centre-back in Sweden. Not only that, he managed to score four goals, the most in his career, and more than almost all of my midfielders. A really vital contribution, that. He's a leader and it's always good to have one. --------------- Plans for the Future I've only been linked with one job since arriving at Hammarby, and that was at League One Crystal Palace. The offer was good, but not right at the time. So I turned it down. Once the season ended, I was offered a new three-year contract with Hammarby, which I duly accepted. Whether I see it out or not depends on what comes my way, but for now I'm happy. It would be nice to win a trophy for this club, but I can't pretend I don't cast my eyes elsewhere at times. I suppose anything could happen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Timeline ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Season | Team | League | Country | Pos. | Cup | Notes | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 2012 | IK Frej | First Division Nth. | Sweden | 11th | 2nd Rd | Took over mid-season; saved from relegation| | 2013 | IK Frej | First Division Nth. | Sweden | n/a | n/a | Left in July with club in 3rd | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 2013 | Hammarby | First Division Elite| Sweden | 3rd | n/a | Promoted via playoff | | 2014 | Hammarby | Premier Division | Sweden | 3rd | Rnrs-Up | Qualified for Europa League | My Managerial Record ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Clubs Managed | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | [b]Pts[/b] | GD | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | M. Kobylko | 2 | 83 | 47 | 14 | 22 | 151 | 96 | [b]155[/b] | 55 | Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 FORMER CLUB WATCH IK Frej ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Season | Division | Country | Pos. | Notes | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 2013 | First Division North | Sweden | 6th | none | | 2014 | First Division North | Sweden | 7th | none | Another top-half finish for Frej, well clear of the relegation zone. They started a little slowly but have enjoyed another solid season, extending their first ever stay in the third tier of Swedish football. I really hope they can push on and one day get promoted, but for now they're doing fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Shame about th finish but its a solid 3rd place and European football which is all good. Malmo really ran away with it this year. Unfortunate finish but European football. Malmö were brilliant and in typical FM fashion, we have to play them on the opening day next season! Shame about our end of season form but Europe will do for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 At least you're getting them out of the way in both halves of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 SEASON 2015 - PRE-SEASON Board Expectation Swedish Premier Division: "Compete among the top teams in the division." Swedish Cup: "Reach the Quarter-Final." My Expectations Swedish Premier Division: The board are insisting on qualifying for the Europa League. That essentially will mean a top three finish. Whilst I feel I'm going into the season with a stronger squad than last season, it's a big ask to hit those heights again. But at least I've had the kind of budget you need to do it this time. Personally, I can't afford not to aim for the top three, so that's what I want and what I expect from this group of players. Swedish Cup: The board want the same as last season - a quarter-final place. Last season we went two better, reaching the final, before losing to Elfsborg. I believe we can make the final again, but the quarter-finals will be my minimum expectation. If we go out before that, I won't be too bothered. NB - The Europa League campaign for which we qualified last season does not begin until later in our season. In the highly unlikely event we reach the latter stages, that won't be until 2016. But there are no expectations set as yet by the board or myself for this competition. --------------- Transfers As always, there are some departures to mention for those interested in the shape of my squad. Stephen Appiah made only two appearances last season, one of which was off the bench. His well-documented injury problems mean he is effectively finished. He leaves at the end of his contract and has retired. He awaits an assistant manager position. Another aging player to move on is Abel Lobatón, the now 36 year-old Peruvian striker who would have played a bigger part last season were it not for injuries. He's a cracking player but his fitness levels were never there. He hasn't retired, but nobody's interested in him and I expect he will. Billy Berntsson had a really good season at right-back last season, but he only gets two stars from my scouts and I have a young right-back returning from a season out on loan who I want to give game time to, so I decided not to renew Berntsson's contract. He's still unattached, but attracting interest from Assyriska. Fadi Malke is a left-back who never truly convinced me and lost out to young Luxembourg international Mica in the battle for that berth last season. Another player not to win a new contract, I expect Malke to disappear from the game. One of the hardest decisions was over Christophe Lallet, a 28 year-old winger of French descent who was always a reliable back up and never let me down. Unfortunately for him, I wanted a bit more quality so I've brought players in and Lallet is offloaded to Norwegian side Odd. Players in: Thomas Bäckström (DC; Sweden) - £50k (Brommapojkarna) At just 18 Bäckström is one for the future. All we can talk about right now is potential. If he has it, he'll have a long career in the game. Having brought him in from second tier side Brommapojkarna, he has immediately headed out on loan to Dalkurd, who begin their second straight season in the second tier. James Keene (Striker; England) - FREE (Elfsborg) I tied this deal up a while ago as Elfsborg showed no signs of offering a new deeal. Keene is an English striker who has spent most of his career in Scandinavia. There's nothing special about him, but he'll be useful to have now that Lobatón has moved on. At 29, he should consider this move as possibly his final opportunity to establish himself somewhere. Fredrik Holster (AMC/MRC/AMR/Striker; Sweden) - £250k (Sundsvall) I'm quite excited about this guy. He's so versatile and is a big reason why Lallet had to go. Holster will be expected to go into the starting line-up and make a difference. He actually doesn't have that much top-flight experience, but he played well for Sundsvall in a good season in the Premier Division last season following promotion and I like the look of him. At 26, he'll be hitting his peak soon. Mohammed Abubakari (DM/MC; Ghana) - £275k (Åtvidaberg) Another cracking signing, Abubakari has plenty of experience and is a really good midfielder at this level. I needed a bit more competition for the more defensive-minded midfield slot as I'm not totally convinced by those that usually play there. Abubakari will probably go straight in. Filip Stenström (DR/DC/WBR; Sweden) - £45k (Malmö) I was in two minds about signing Stenström. On the one hand, I feel my defensive positions are settled, but on the other, I also felt we lacked numbers to cover for any injuries, and he can play a few positions across that back four. He's also young and will hopefully improve. He doesn't look like he'll ever be a world-beater, but he should provide useful back up. --------------- Pre-Season Results It looks more spectacular than it is. We faced a bunch of minnows and made short work of them all. Even the 1-0 win over IK Mariehamn, a Finnish side from the Swedish-speaking Åland Islands, was never in doubt. The only side with any hints of quality that we played were Brommapojkarna from the second tier who actually beat us the last time we were in that division, but we saw them off in emphatic style. Still, I hope the confidence boost from plenty of big wins will carry over into the serious stuff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 SEASON 2015 - MARCH This Month's Fixtures It's all cup action this month. We face Mjällby from our division, and two sides from the division below. It's pain that only the top side goes through - if you drop points anywhere you put your place in the next round at serious risk. Still, I don't see why we can't take three wins from the games we face. I won't be playing absolute full-strength sides in these games, but I do want to take a look at my new signings where possible and I also want to give some game time to my 21 year-old back-up 'keeper, who has bags of potential. This Month's Results Saturday March 7th, 2015 Swedish Cup: Group 7 Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 1-1 Mjällby AIF This was just so frustrating. We created so many chances, so many really good chances, but we could only put one away. When Mjällby got a late corner, we failed to defend it and they equalised. We deserved to win this but instead we will probably need two wins now. Nothing else will be good enough. The only positives were that we played so well and that new signing Fredrik Holster had a really good game. att: 7,369 --------------- Saturday March 14th, 2015 Swedish Cup: Group 7 Finnvedsvallen, Värnamo IFK Värnamo 0-1 Hammarby Fotboll Well, we won, but it wasn't a good performance - nowhere near as good as the one against Mjällby - and we had to rely on a late goal from Holster. The problem is that Mjällby won 3-0, so we now have a goal difference deficit in the race for top spot and are facing the real prospect of elimination from the cup. We also lost new signing Mohammed Abubakari to a two-month injury, which is a real blow. It's a long time since we scored more than once in a match and it's getting annoying. att: 1,163 --------------- Saturday March 28th, 2015 Swedish Cup: Group 7 Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 3-0 Jönköpings Södra IF HAMMARBY ARE OUT OF THE SWEDISH CUP Despite the dubious impact it can potentially have on results, Mjällby and Värnamo met days before this, with Mjällby winning 4-1. This left us needing to win by six goals today to go through. Whilst we play well and got half-way there, it was never really going to happen, and we exit the cup on goal difference. Overall I think we played okay in the group games but that draw against Mjällby when we should have won by two or three goals has cost us. The fans won't like it and the board won't like it, but at least we can focus on other things now. att: 6,933 Swedish Cup: Group 7 So, we crash out, but it's always a possibility when there's only one spot available for progression and two top-flight teams chasing it. We aren't scoring as freely as I'd like at the moment. If we were, perhaps we'd be through. I mostly see the cup as an irritating distraction, but the board wanted a quarter-final place so I was aiming for that. A disappointing way to start the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 New Arrival For the first time, I got involved in transfer deadline day and snapped this young lad up just in the nick of time from recently-relegated GAIS. All my scouts have been on at me for ages to go and get him but I wasn't sure I was as impressed at them. I thought he'd be better left at GAIS getting games. But with others sniffing round and his potential very real, I decided I had to make it happen now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Those homegrown-in-Sweden players sure come in handy though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 SEASON 2015 - APRIL This Month's Fixtures After the disappointment of the cup, it would be nice to hit the ground running at the start of the new season. However, that's easier said than done when you face three sides in your first three games who will almost certainly be up there come the end of the season. I'm slightly peeved that we have to face three big sides right away, but I suppose at least it's good to get them out of the way. On the plus side, we end the month with two very winnable-looking fixtures. This Month's Results Wednesday April 1st, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 0-1 Malmö FF I'm sick to death of Malmö. I know they're good, and I know they're the champions, but I'm sick of not being able to get anywhere near them. I don't think they're that good. We were outclassed today and this could go down as a 1-0 hammering. I was really disappointed with our limp, lifeless display. If you can't match them for quality, you at least have to make life difficult fo teams like this, but we just gave them the freedom of our pitch. Not acceptable. att: 10,745 --------------- Wednesday April 8th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Gamla Ullevi, Göteborg IFK Göteborg 1-1 Hammarby Fotboll For the first time in almost a year, I went for my 4-1-4-1 system I occasionally employ on tricky away trips in the hope we might get a decent point at least, with Sinan Ayranci playing in an unfamiliar midfield role. We took the lead on 31 seconds thanks to Ayranci and suddenly everything felt good. Sadly, we didn't hold that lead for very long, and our illustrious opponents controlled much of the rest of the match. But my system once again made it difficult to hurt us and we managed to claim a point that I would have taken before kick-off. att: 12,746 --------------- Saturday April 11th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 1-0 AIK The final match in our triple-header against the big guns ends in a narrow victory over local rivals AIK, who underperformed woefully last season but who I think will do much better this time round. We're not scoring enough goals for my liking, and we had to grind this win out against a side that looked far more comfortable on the ball than ourselves. Still, it's nice to have our first win on the board. I don't think four points is too bad a return from these opening three matches. att: 16,849 --------------- Saturday April 18th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 3-1 Assyriska Föreningen At last, we come up against opposition I fancied us to beat. But when they took the lead after just four minutes as we once again gifted a side all the space they needed, I was worried. I'm still frustrated now that we rely so heavily on set pieces for our goals at the moment. It was a header from a free-kick that beat AIK last week, and Eddie Johnson's brace that swung this game in our favour came from two headers, one from a corner and one from a free-kick. It's good to be threatening from dead balls, but we need to be a lot more creative from open play. In truth, this game could have gone either way and we definitely don't have our mojo from last season at the moment. A first goal for the club from James Keene coming off the bench was pleasing. att: 10,174 --------------- Wednesday April 22nd, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Guldfågeln Arena, Kalmar Kalmar FF 1-1 Hammarby Fotboll Our first newly-promoted opposition, and they haven't made a good start. I expected a comfortable win, but we're just not playing well. Defenders are nullifying our attacks with ease and teams are finding it too easy to pass around us. It's just not working at the moment. We should have dominated but we just didn't. We don't look settled at all. Still, having gone behind, at least we replied quickly and if you can't win, you have to make sure you grab at least a point. I'll have to take it, I guess. att: 4,937 League Table Five games in and we're firmly ensconced in the middle of a rather bunched-up table. Having faced the three sides we had to face at the start of the month, I don't think that's too bad. We're not too far behind the leading pack at this point. But that's not the whole story. Our football has been dire, both in possession and without it. We're not really getting the goals I expect of a strikeforce like what we have, but I don't blame the strikers too much. The midfield isn't doing enough to create chances. We need to pick up quickly because May won't be an easy month, either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Quite a tough start there, Mike, so eight points is a pretty good return considering the opposition you faced Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Yeah, tough start so you can't be too disappointed with that. Looking forward to joining you (maybe) in Sweden! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 The nice thing about Sweden is there doesn't seem to be a dominant club or group of them. Get the feeling anyone can win it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Hopefully now you've got those 3 tougher games out of the way you can go on a bit of a run. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Not the greatest start but not too bad either, hopefully you can string a few wins together. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 SEASON 2015 - MAY This Month's Fixtures The game against Elfsborg at the end of the month has been moved to July due to international call-ups, but I suspect we might lose players for the game before that, which doesn't look like it will be moved. We face a mixture of opposition this month, from sides I think look good to sides I'd usually fancy us to beat. I think a ten-point haul is entirely possible and should keep us on the tails of the leading pack. This Month's Results Saturday May 2nd, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Olympia, Helsingborg Helsingborgs IF 0-1 Hammarby Fotboll We lost 4-0 here last season, but there was no danger of that this time round. Helsingborg didn't play too badly and could have made a case for deserving a point. But we have looked good at the back this season and held firm to claim a really good three points. We're scoring early goals at the moment and if we can keep defending well, we should be in for a good season. I won't pretend we played brilliantly, but we worked hard for this win. att: 11,559 --------------- Sunday May 10th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 3-1 Östers IF I was surprised to see that Öster actually had more possession than us, because they did little else. We had more shots, more on target, and created more clear-cut chances. In other words, regardless of the possession statistic, we cruised to victory. It was a little nervy when they got back to 2-1, but we were soon 3-1 ahead and this was mostly pretty comfortable. Eddie Johnson's brace means he is starting to find some form, which is good. att: 8,236 --------------- Wednesday May 13th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Djurgårdens IF 1-3 Hammarby Fotboll Derby day once more yielded a favourable result for us as we just about did enough against our biggest rivals. In truth, I thought we were second best for long periods, and that the main difference between the two sides was Eddie Johnson. He followed up his double strike in the previous match with a hat-trick here and it's nice to have him scoring goals again. We could have lost this on another day as Djurgården looked the more assured side in possession, but the fans can go home happy having beaten their bitterest rivals. att: 24,679 ------------ Monday May 18th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Behrn Arena, Örebro Örebro SK 0-2 Hammarby Fotboll Don't be fooled, this was no straightforward 2-0 win. Indeed, I would suggest the better side probably lost. Örebro have made a poor start and lie bottom of the table, but they had gotten their first win of the season prior to this match and perhaps it gave them a boost of confidence, because they played very well here. It's no surprise that Man of the Match went to one of my centre-backs - we had to defend for our lives at times. Another clean sheet is great, but I would have preferred a more convincing performance. att: 6,589 --------------- Sunday May 24th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 0-1 BK Häcken As I had feared, we lost Eddie Johnson to the USA's Gold Cup squad for this one, and in his absence, I got an insipid, gutless, spineless display that left me genuinely angry. I would say it's the worst performance I've seen by a side under my management in my career so far. It really was that bad. Häcken have made a good start to the season and I knew it would be tough without Johnson, but we just rolled over for them and allowed them to dominate us. We barely created a chance. Such a galling way to finish the month. You can't win every game, but you expect a certain level of performance and we were nowhere near that today. Not only did we miss a penalty, but when they had a man sent off, we did nothing to ask questions of the ten men. Totally unacceptable. att: 10,695 League Table I'm happy with where we are in the league, but it's so tight right now that if we were to go on a poor run, we could easily drop away. It's imperative we move on quickly from the Häcken debacle and put another run together. On the whole, it was a good month with plenty of wins and a decent number of goals scored. We also don't appear to be easy to score against. But that defeat was a bit of a sting in the tail. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 SEASON 2015 - JUNE This Month's Fixtures This could be a difficult one. Three games all stuffed in together at the end of the month, and a whole host of injuries, suspensions and international call-ups. Eddie Johnson won't play this month. He is still at the Gold Cup with the USA, while Nikolas Ledgerwood is away at the same tournament with Canada. Various players are also injured or suspended and I'm sure others will join them during the month. With a full-strength squad I'd back us to take maximum points, but without, it could well be a different story. This Month's Results Sunday June 21st, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Kopparvallen, Åtvidaberg Åtvidabergs FF 0-3 Hammarby Fotboll We look a better side on the road than we do at home, it has to be said. This wasn't an easy match but we were clinical going forward and solid at the back. It's nice to see that we can score goals without Eddie Johnson in the side. But just as big a miss is Thomas Christensen at the back, currently out injured. Fortunately we were able to defend well without him on this occasion. A very satisfying win. att: 3,036 --------------- BREAKING NEWS: Hammarby will face Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia in the Europa League Second Qualifying Round next month. Bajen will be at home in the first leg of what looks like being a tough tie. --------------- Wednesday June 24th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 4-2 Mjällby AIF This was a fantastic game in which we looked out of sight at 3-0 but were briefly looking wobbly as they got back to 3-2. It was Mjällby that knocked us out of the Swedish Cup earlier in the season, having drawn at our place before winning the group on goal difference, so this was a measure of revenge, I guess. We've scored another hatful of goals in Eddie Johnson's absence, but the game came with a huge downside as we lost talented winger Christoffer Carlsson to a six month-long lay-off with a broken foot. No injury helps us right now. att: 10,723 --------------- Sunday June 28th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 2-2 IK Brage Just bloody typical! Newly-promoted Brage have not made a great start and I fully expected us to take three points. We took the lead twice but failed to see it out. This was a really disappointing result and I ripped into the players afterwards. It's not acceptable to fail to win a game like this. We're still scoring goals but it does look like we've let it slip a bit defensively. Maybe the return of Christensen will help. att: 10,151 League Table I still have no complaints about where we are in the league. We're right where I want us to be. Malmö look like they're starting to pull away at the top so a title challenge looks unlikely but at least we're in the mix for the European qualification places. Some of the game we haven't won have been very frustrating, but we still look a solid upper-end-of-the-table side, and that's not a bad achievement when you consider the club's position when I took over. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 SEASON 2015 - JULY This Month's Fixtures This will be the busiest month of my career so far. With injuries and a general struggle for fitness in the camp, I worry about our ability to come through eight matches unscathed. July will see me take my first ever steps in continental competition as we face Slovan Bratislava in the Europa League Second Qualifying Round. That will certainly not be easy. They have a stronger pedigree at this level than we do. In the league, tough games against Elfsborg, Malmö and AIK could have a big bearing on how close to a title challenge we can get. It's make-or-break month. The first match of the month against Elfsborg, also marks a milestone in my career as I take charge of the 100th game of my career. I would post a screenshot but it has been somewhat ruined by claiming that we're struggling in the league, when we're really not. This Month's Results Wednesday July 1st, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 0-1 IF Elfsborg I don't have a good record against Elfsborg, who retained their Swedish Cup title earlier this season. They're a good side and rarely seem to have an off day against us, although we did win 4-3 at their place last season. It was a lacklustre performance from us but I have to give the opposition credit for being just too good on the day. It puts a bit of a dent in any title hopes we may have, but I'm not too disappointed. We'll play better than this and I know we'll have good days. Sometimes you just have to put it behind you and move on. att: 10,841 --------------- Sunday July 5th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 3-1 IFK Göteborg Our inconsistent friends from the southwest coast found Eddie Johnson in unstoppable mood today as we made amends for our poor showing against Elfsborg. I have to admit that, not for the first time, I'm surprised about the penalty we were awarded. It just didn't look like one. It was certainly a silly challenge to make if it was a penalty, as there was no real danger. This was a straightforward win in the end against a side that seem doomed to underperform once again. att: 10,931 --------------- Wednesday July 8th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Norrporten Arena, Sundsvall GIF Sundsvall 3-4 Hammarby Fotboll We seem to have one of these every season. Last season it was at Elfsborg. Thomas Christensen's injury played a big role in how this game went. He actually scored the goal that put us 3-1 up, but then picked up an injury that would keep him out for weeks. His replacement, Daniel Theorin, is every bit as experienced, but his bizarre decision to tackle a team-mate allowed Sundsvall to equalise. Just as I cursed Theorin and two dropped points, he popped up at the other end to drive home an injury-time winner. Fair play to him for that. The match itself looked to be heading in our favour at half-time, with us 3-1. Sometimes you're comfortablewith a two-goal lead, and sometimes you know it's not over. Today was a case of the latter even before they made it 3-2. I knew they weren't finished. But a win is a win. att: 3,339 --------------- Saturday July 11th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Swedbank Stadion, Malmö Malmö FF 3-0 Hammarby Fotboll The league leaders were remorseless in punishing our mistakes here as my poor record against them continues on a miserable day. They're a good side and I don't know how to stop them, but at half-time I was happy. I'd set up a tactic to contain them and they were only having long-range efforts. 0-0 was good enough for me. But then my usually reliable 'keeper went nuts in the second half, gifting them two goals. It was embarrassing to watch and it felt like we had lost 3-0 when a good solid point was a possibility. I don't begrudge Malmö their win because they were better, but we worked so hard just to get a drubbing. att: 15,558 --------------- Thursday July 16th, 2015 Europa League: 2nd Qualifying Round - 1st Leg Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 1-0 Slovan Bratislava A big day for the club as it returns to European football, and for me as I enter Europe for the first time. Despite my desire to progress in this competition, my players were shattered, so I had no choice to rotate. I was rewarded with a winning goal from James Keene, making a rare start up-front. The Englishman doesn't play often and recently told me of his unhappiness about this - maybe I ought to take notice. It's not a big win but we avoided conceding an away goal and have given ourselves something to try and protect against our more illustrious opponents. att: 20,540 --------------- Sunday July 19th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Friends Arena, Stockholm AIK 2-2 Hammarby Fotboll My exhausted players put in a hell of a shift in the derby here. It was hard work, but to be fair to AIK, they'd been in Europa League action too. It meant the match wasn't the most pleasing on the eye, but both sets of players worked hard and a draw is definitely a fair result. I didn't think we were going to be getting one until Mohammed Abubakari turned up with a screamer for his first ever Hammarby goal. Superb. att: 32,364 --------------- Thursday July 23rd, 2015 Europa League: 2nd Qualifying Round - 2nd Leg Pasiensky, Bratislava Slovan Bratislava 2-1 Hammarby Fotboll - agg: 2-2 - Hammarby win on the away goals rule I've never been so tense! Once we made it 1-1, I always fancied us to go through, but their second made it very edgy. They put pressure on us towards the ende without looking too threatening, but they did create one gilt-edged opportunity which skidded past the post. I got my tactics just about right and made sure we squeezed through. The players are finding all this football quite hard going, but they're not letting me down and they did well here against a side with a number of internationals among their ranks, including striker Robert Vittek, who we managed to keep quiet. att: 4,839 --------------- BREAKING NEWS: Having despatched Slovan Bratislava in the previous round, Hammarby are through to the Europa League Third Qualifying Round, where they will face FC Basel of Switzerland. The first leg will take place in Stockholm on the 30th July. Hammarby's Swedish Premier Division match with Kalmar has been postponed as a result. --------------- Thursday July 30th, 2015 Europa League: 3rd Qualifying Round - 1st Leg Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 1-0 FC Basel Whatever happens in the second leg, the players can be proud of this result against a side that is far more accustomed to the rigours of European football. The attendance won't have hurt the club coffers, either. In the end, we are in the same situation as against Slovan Bratislava. I believe we can score away and I believe we will, so it'll just be a matter of how many they score. We've given ourselves a chance against a very good side. We owe this win in no small part to the industriousness and craft of Eddie Johnson, we stole a ball he had no right to get to, ran off down the right wing and then produced a peach of a cross for Abdelhakim Omrani to head home. Basel had more of the ball but rarely threatened. att: 23,386 League Table We're well placed in the league. It looks like we don't quite have the quality or consistence to keep pace with the likes of Malmö, but we still have a great chance of another top-three finish, which would be great. We've come such a long way from when I took over and we're now playing in Europe, where we've made what I would call a pretty positive start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Very good win over Basel, looking forward to seeing how you get on in the second leg. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Very good win over Basel, looking forward to seeing how you get on in the second leg. I'll know the answer tonight! Will definitely be playing that one. They'll probably steamroller us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Getting some excellent attendances from the European ties. Is that going to make much difference to the finances? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Getting some excellent attendances from the European ties. Is that going to make much difference to the finances? Finances are sound anyway. The club always makes an end-of-season profit. Promotion has had an impact and I don't see the European attendances doing any harm whatsoever. I got a message after the Basel game saying we'd broken our gate receipts record. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Good luck holding out in Switzerland. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iHeadHunta x Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Going well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 I normally shoehorn screenies of any mid-season signings into the August update, in the correct chronological order with the match reports. With a higher than usual number of matches and a slightly higher than usual number of August signings, I decided to a do a separate post introducing my new recruits. I've noticed that, since the latest updates, I'm getting more injuries, so I needed a bigger squad, really. Especially with European football tiring all my players out. Despite the daft name, Menga looks the business. Midfield is the area in need of the most attention, and Menga's versatility will also be useful. The ideal player when you've got a few injuries, and I see him establishing himself in the first team. --------------- My goalkeeper situation is very healthy. But the problem was that I have a 21-year-old who sits on the bench every week, but clearly has a massive future in Swedish football. He was hankering for a loan and I wanted him to have one, so I went looking for someone I could loan to sit on the bench. There were only two 'keepers available worth having and neither would sign on loan, Sjanic being one of them. So I made a bid and he signs permanently. I'm sure he'll soon want to leave when he never plays. --------------- Khalili signs from fellow Premier Division side Häcken, fulfilling two purposes. Firstly, he's Swedish, and I need to make sure I have plenty because of matchday squad regulations. Secondly, he provides more cover for those pesky injuries and suspensions. The squad looks really strong now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 Good luck holding out in Switzerland. Thanks. I know how the ssecond leg went now, but you'll have to wait! Going well! Agreed. Think we could be doing a bit better too, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Just caught up on this, great progress. Glad you turned down Palace too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 A decent run in Sweden so far. I'm really liking how you format your monthly posts. I may borrow some of the organization if that's alright Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 Just caught up on this, great progress. Glad you turned down Palace too. That seems ages ago already. In-game I think it's a year ago. Haven't been so much as linked with another job since. A decent run in Sweden so far. I'm really liking how you format your monthly posts. I may borrow some of the organization if that's alright Borrow away. This isn't all my own work. My layout owes a lot to the threads of someone who used to post here quite a lot when the forum was created but no longer does. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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