Mike7077 Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 SEASON 2015 - AUGUST This Month's Fixtures If we can somehow grind out a result at Basel, that will add two more games to the month and I can only imagine more disruption to our domestic schedule. The above will certainly change one way or another because there will be a cup game to include too. All I know is that the players can't seem to recover in time and they struggle to handle two games a week, so it could be a tough month. But has the potential to be a rewarding one as well. This Month's Results Sunday August 2nd, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 3-2 Helsingborgs IF With the squad in general struggling for full fitness, it a miracle we held out against a much fresher Helsingborg. Somehow we raced into a 2-0 lead, but I knew we'd throw it away, and we did. I couldn't really be too annoyed at a group of players that were just struggling physically to compete with a side that has had far more rest. In truth, we were dominated here, and yet it was us who found a winner. This three points really is a bonus. Hard earned but perhaps not entirely deserved. att: 10,831 --------------- BREAKING NEWS: Hammarby will begin their Swedish Cup campaign this month with a Second Round tie away to Utsikten of the First Division South, two tiers below themselves. It is likely that Bajen will use the opportunity to rest key players, but they will still expect to progress. --------------- Thursday August 6th, 2015 Europa League: 3rd Qualifying Round - 2nd Leg St. Jakob-Park, Basel FC Basel 1-2 Hammarby Fotboll - Hammarby win 3-1 on aggregate What a wonderful result this really is. I know Basel aren't Barcelona, but they play in the Champions League and Europa League most seasons. We don't. We were in the second tier of Swedish football two years ago. When Basel got their early goal to level the tie, I suspected I knew which way it was going. I was playing a deep-lying defensive formation, with the instruction to counter-attack via the flanks - my go-to approach to getting results in tough games. It's amazing how often it works, but their early goal left me with a dilemma: leave things the same and hope to squeeze through, or open up a bit and try and take them on. In the end I left things as they were, and I was rewarded. Basel had plenty of possession, but we broke away on numerous occasions, and I was in dreamland as we scored two goals to take us through to the Playoff. We managed to see it out pretty easily in the end. A result to be truly proud of. I'd kiss every single one of my players if I could. att: 30,174 --------------- BREAKING NEWS: Hammarby face arguably the biggest two matches of their history in the Europa League Playoff Round following today's draw. Bajen will face a double-header with the mighty Liverpool, with the first leg taking place at Tele2 Arena. --------------- Sunday August 9th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Södertälje Fotbollsarena, Södertälje Assyriska Föreningen 1-0 Hammarby Fotboll Back down to Earth in front of less than 5,000 fans at Assyriska after 30,000 saw us win at Basel. Fitness continued to be an issue. Assyriska eased to their victory here by virtue of being much fresher. Disappointed as I was in our performance, you just can't be too harsh on a group of players being asked to play a busier sequence of games than most of them have played before in their careers. This was a fair result on the day. Staying in Europe is harming our prospects of qualifying again for next season. att: 4,755 --------------- Saturday August 15th, 2015 Swedish Cup: 2nd Round Ruddalens IP, Göteborg Utsiktens BK 1-4 Hammarby Fotboll Rotation was the name of the game here, which resulted in a 17 year-old striker with half a star for potential from my scout coming off the bench for his debut and scoring a goal. Even with a number of key players rested, we always looked much too strong for our lowly opposition, who lie in midtable of the southern section of the third tier. A nice, straightforward comfortable win, and into the Group Stage we go next March. att: 368 --------------- Thursday August 20th, 2015 Europa League: Playoff Round - 1st Leg Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 0-1 Liverpool I know you never want to lose, but given the gulf in class between the two sides, I'm proud of this result. Liverpool have world class players in their squad, a squad that abounds with internationals. I really do think my tactic for these kinds games has something to be said for it - it never seems to let us down. Okay, we lost, but we competed and can hardly be said to have disgraced ourselves. In any case the £800k+ in the bank from gate receipts won't do us any harm at all. att: 30,000 --------------- Sunday August 23rd, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Myresjöhus Arena, Växjö Östers IF 3-3 Hammarby Fotboll Without European football, we'd probably win this. I would certainly expect us to. Öster are nothing special. We led them twice here but ended up needing a late equaliser to salvage something. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, fitness once again played a part in us not being able to get the required result. I suppose you can't win them all and away draws are never to be sniffed at. But it once again means we fall behind in our pursuit of European football for next season. att: 3,262 --------------- Thursday August 27th, 2015 Europa League: Playoff Round - 2nd Leg Anfield, Liverpool Liverpool 3-1 Hammarby Fotboll - Liverpool win 4-1 on aggregate HAMMARBY ARE OUT OF THE EUROPA LEAGUE No surprises here, but again, I really can't fault my players. Over the two legs, Liverpool were comfortably the better side. But in neither leg did we disgrace ourselves. We even managed to score here, in what will surely be the biggest moment by far of Abdelhakim Omrani's career up to this point. The Algerian midfielder never looked out of place in this company and I can't understand why his national side has never called him up. So we bow out, but everyone is pleased with how far we got, and it's been really good for the club's financial health. att: 34,284 --------------- Sunday August 30th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 5-3 Djurgårdens IF What a game of football. My defenders are coming away with good ratings, but they're not doing the business in the league at the moment, although Daniel Theorin is good for a crucial goal. I was thrilled to be 4-1 up at half-time, but it was frustrating, having gone 5-1 up, that we actually lost the second half. I had a go at the players for slacking off, which they didn't like, so we'll see if that has any repercussions. I'll always be grateful for three points, but we need to start making life more difficult for our opponents, in the league at least. This result means my excellent record in derbies continues. att: 18,263 League Table Despite dropping points all month and falling down to fifth, a win in our game in hand would thrust us right into the mix in the title race. The sides above us haven't exactly been consistent either. We're having another good season and are still in with a great shout of achieving our aims. We did a great job in the Swedish Cup and an even better one in the Europa League. The final three months are going to be interesting as we re-focus solely on our league campaign. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Where Are They Now? As a brief break from the unrelenting pressure of managing Hammarby, I thought I'd look back at the very first matchday squad I named for IK Frej, over three years ago now, and see what has become of those players. The match itself was a 2-0 defeat away to IFK Luleå. 1. Marco Atanackovic Atanackovic remains Frej's first choice goalkeeper three years later. He regularly achieves ratings of around 7.00 and I believe owes it to himself to look for a move to a higher level. I rated him very highly and he continues to do the business. 4. Daniel Blomgren The defender is now 33 and captains Frej, where he plays most matches. His contract is up at the end of the season and I suspect he will end up retiring. 5. David Higgs The right-back (who was Swedish despite the very English-sounding name) was sold by me to Valsta Syrianska, in the same division. He still plays for them, but they have been relegated since then. 8. Trimi Makolli The midfielder was on loan to Frej when I arrived, but wouldn't come back for another loan the following season. His parent club Djurgården released him in 2013. Since then he has played for Sirius and has just signed for second tier leaders Trelleborg. 12. Dragomir Draganov The Bulgarian striker scored the goals to fire us to safety, but quickly fell out of favour after I left. He retired at the age of 32 after leaving Frej and bizarrely is now an unemployed Director of Football. 14. Mikael Erstadius The winger joined Akropolis after leaving Frej, but played only 12 games. He retired in his mid-20s and is no longer active. 15. Pierre Gallo Gallo was 37 when I arrived at Frej but still played regularly. He continued to play fairly regularly for Frej until the end of the 2014 season before retiring. He is now manager of Öster's under-18 side. 19. Daniel Capecci The American centre-back left Frej in 2013, briefly playing for Degerfors in the second tier before retiring at 30. He is now a scout, but is without a club. 20. Niklas Thor Central midfielder Thor is still at Frej and starts most of their games. He struggled to get games last season but has otherwise been a regular and has played a big part in their consolidation at their level. 24. Ivan Tedengren The striker impressed me during my brief time at Vikingavallen, but his rise since then has nevertheless surprised me. He remained at Frej until last winter, before being snapped up by Premier Division side Häcken, currently third in the league. He has even played against my Hammarby side, but hasn't scored against us. 25. Matías Ledezma Stayed at Frej until the end of the 2014 season. Retired young, at just 26 and is no longer active. Subs: 13. David Jespersson Goalkeeper who vanished from the game a while ago. 2. Sebastian Silva Contract expired after the 2014 season. Aged 27, he retired and is no longer active. 7. Sebastian Jurell Another good player whose rise has taken me by surprise. The midfielder joined second tier side Brage in 2013, and now plays for them in the top flight following their promotion at the end of that year. He has played against us, but hasn't hurt us in any way. 11. Gustaf Segerström The defender was a new signing when he sat on the bench against Luleå - the first signing I made in my career. Only played a bit part under me but went on to establish himself at the club and is still there, playing regularly. 18. Mikei Söderström The striker played just four times across the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He was then released and now plays at the same level for Akropolis. He has made a good start to his career there, scoring seven goals in nineteen games. 21. Daniel Fernberg Now 26, the centre-back spent two seasons after I left drifting in our of the Frej side. Despite this, he has found his way to the top flight for 2015 with Brage. 22. Rami Dawod I terminated his contract on realising he simply wasn't good enough. He retired and is no longer active. It's interesting how most of the players I had at Frej have moved on. Very few are left. A good number have retired at very early ages, which is a shame for them. The club has done well so it would appear they know what they're doing. I did rate one or two of those I managed at Frej, but I'm still quite surprised to see a few have actually made it to the top flight. I never thought they would be good enough for that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Few decent purchases there, doing well to keep up with the top pack tooo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Few decent purchases there, doing well to keep up with the top pack tooo. The two new outfield players have made really good starts. Credit goes to my scouts for finding one of them and to me for acting on and agent offer with the other. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 That's a pretty tight top of the table in your league. Still a lot of possibilities! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 SEASON 2015 - SEPTEMBER This Month's Fixtures Finally, a break! My squad really needed a couple of weeks off. Sadly, as we approach our upcoming fixtures, one or two players have picked up training injuries, which won't help, but at least the available players are now fully fit. With matches against Häcken and Elfsborg, this short month could be our most crucial. Wins would propel us right back into the mix near the top. Two defeats would be unthinkable, really. Sandwiched in the middle, our home game against lowly Örebro is one we really should be winning. Seven points is the target here. This Month's Results Monday September 14th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Nya Rambergsvallen, Göteborg BK Häcken 3-3 Hammarby Fotboll A draw away at high-flying Häcken looks like a decent result, but we shouldn't have let it end up this way. We raced into a 2-0 lead, but we've conceded too many goals this season and our defensive problems haunted us again. Häcken's goals were laughable from our point of view. When they made it 3-2 I was tearing my hair out, but we managed to sneak a draw, chiefly because Thomas Christensen, finally back fit and playing at centre-back, thumped home two headers from corners. att: 4,458 --------------- Wednesday September 23rd, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 2-0 Örebro SK A comfortable home win. I would have liked us to be a bit more ruthless in the second half, when I felt we slacked off a bit, but it's nice to win a match without needing to get out of second gear. Abdelhakim Omrani is playing brilliantly at the moment and deserved his goal. I hope his injury isn't too serious. Meanwhile, 21 year-old centre-back Mirza Mujcic bagged his first ever Hammarby goal in this one. A good, safe win. att: 8, 821 --------------- Sunday September 27th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Borås Arena, Borås IF Elfsborg 1-2 Hammarby Fotboll I almost never give injured players injections and then ask them to play, but I felt this game was so important that we needed Abdelhakim Omrani too much, and he rewarded me with a goal and a Man of the Match performance. The injections didn't worsen the injury, but he will miss the next two weeks after this game, which is a huge blow, especially as Fredrik Holster adds his name to the injury list as well. So many injuries! As for the game itself, this was another example of my defensive counterattacking tactic paying off. Elfsborg's late goal made things interesting, but they never really looked like were going to win this, despite dominating possession. A fantastic win that puts us right back in the battle for a Europa League place - or even a Champions League place. att: 11,519 League Table A good month. We should have won that first game, but at least we avoided defeat. Two really good wins followed and we're back in the leading pack, which is getting really bunched up. If we win our game in hand, we could potentially get into second place. I've had my eye on that game in hand for a while as I've always felt if we're close enough when it comes round, it could push us right up the table. The only major downside to the month just passed is that we picked up several injuries and a suspension. Naming a strong side in my next game could be tricky. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 That's a pretty tight top of the table in your league. Still a lot of possibilities! Another month down and... just as many possibilities! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrithral Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Just took the time to read through page two and it's making me wish that I had the urge to play FM again and the time to do one of these threads. For now i'll have to make do with this thread. Kudos for the European campaign, I imagine you were sat worrying prior to the second legs of the Bratislava and Basle ties. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 You're right in the mixer! Good luck with the run-in! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 SEASON 2015 - OCTOBER This Month's Fixtures On paper, this month offers us an easier ride than most. None of the sides we face are among the frontrunners and with three home games, you'd expect plenty of points. The only complicating factor is that the final three matches of the month are all in close proximity to one another, which means yet more demands on my players' fitness. The game against Kalmar is our game in hand - if we can get at least four points from the first two games and then beat Kalmar, just imagine where we could be. By the end of the month, we'll have one match left to play. A huge four games to come... This Month's Results Sunday October 4th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 3-1 GIF Sundsvall There's no stopping Eddie Johnson at the moment. The American's hat-trick here means he has now well passed his total last season, and in fewer games. He moves top of the division's scoring charts, which is where he should be. You've always got a chance with a striker of his quality in your side. Sundsvall just couldn't live with him, but to be fair, the whole side deserves praise. We were missing one or two key players through injury and suspension (again) but we had little trouble overcoming Sundsvall here. att: 10,679 --------------- Not sure how I feel about this news. Overall, my chairman has been good to me.... --------------- Sunday October 18th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Strandvallen, Hällevik Mjällby AIF 1-2 Hammarby Fotboll I would have taken a point from this! The win is a huge bonus and we're now flying. A late, late title challenge is coming into view. Mjällby played okay, but we contained them and were clinical enough to claim all three points. I suppose it's a measure of revenge for them knocking us out of the cup all those months ago. The sides above us will be looking over their shoulders nervously because we're really motoring now. att: 4,536 --------------- Wednesday October 21st, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 3-0 Kalmar FF This was the big one - our game in hand. And, boy did we take our chance! It's not often we ease to a comfortable victory like this. Kalmar had a decent second half and looked like they might eventually get one, but they didn't and we managed to see it through. This game was notable especially for Sinan Ayranci's 50th Hammarby goal and a first ever Hammarby goal for Dolly Menga. I always knew this game could be big. If you have a game in hand, you want to be against a more mediocre side and we've made sure to take full advantage. We're getting closer... att: 10,699 --------------- Saturday October 24th, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Tele2 Arena, Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll 1-0 Åtvidabergs FF The fixture pile-up meant we went into this clash against bottom-of-the-table Åtvidaberg struggling for fitness. Their players were all pretty much fully fit. It showed in our performance as we were pretty much dominated on our own patch. Åtvidaberg needed the win every bit as much as we did and I would say they deserved to win. But for once my defence had a really good game and we managed to keep our second clean sheet in a row. Fredrik Holster's beautiful second half strike was enough for a win that sends us top of the league, at least until Malmö play later... att: 10,531 League Table As you can see, it's come down to a three-way shoot-out on the final day next month for the title. We're in amazing form at the moment and October is probably the best month of my career so far. We played some great football and scored goals. We also defended better than usual. All this in the face of yet another difficult period for fitness. This run of results means we've guaranteed ourselves another season of European football. There's just one small matter left to attend to... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Just took the time to read through page two and it's making me wish that I had the urge to play FM again and the time to do one of these threads. For now i'll have to make do with this thread.Kudos for the European campaign, I imagine you were sat worrying prior to the second legs of the Bratislava and Basle ties. It's a shame you can't find the time or desire to get back on board the career thread train. Nobody has inspired this thread more than your effort all those years ago. You'd be surprised about those European games. I was a bit worried about Bratislava because it was so tight and I really wanted to get through. But we weren't expecting to get anything against Basel so I just went for it. You're right in the mixer! Good luck with the run-in! Thanks, man. Even more in the mixer now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Richly deserved, I would say... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Wow, down to the wire! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 SEASON 2014 - NOVEMBER This Month's Fixtures All the ingredients are there for a dramatic final day. We face an away trip to Brage, who themselves are fighting desperately to stay up. Häcken, in third, have a very winnable home game. Meanwhile, top-of-the-table Malmö face a tough away trip to our arch-rivals Djurgården. Will the Blåränderna do us a favour? All we can do is take care of our own business, and in our current form, you'd have to fancy us to beat Brage. What a day it could be. This Month's Results Sunday November 1st, 2015 Swedish Premier Division Domnarvsvallen, Borlänge IK Brage 2-2 Hammarby Fotboll Heartbraking. Malmö could only draw 0-0, which meant we were heading for the title. 2-0 up with half an our to go, we were much the better side. Perhaps Brage suddenly realised the importance of getting a result for themselves because they then woke up and in a tragic four minute spell for us, they drew level. With Häcken winning easily, we finish third. But we were half an hour away from Hammarby's first Swedish title since 2001. The word crestfallen doesn't even begin to cover it. How could we let it slip? How could I let this happen? Gutted... att: 5,244 League Table A crying shame for us in the end. In isolation 2-2 draws away from home are tolerable, but with Malmö dropping points, we were in pole position, and we blew it. I'll reflect on the season as a whole later on, but the final day brings only crushing disappointment. Perhaps if Omrani hadn't been suspended we'd have done it. I don't know. But all I can do is go into next season with even greater determination. --------------- BREAKING NEWS: With takeover talks rumbling on, Hammarby have been placed under a self-imposed transfer embargo, which will no doubt frustrate manager Michael Kobylko. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 SEASON 2015 - END OF SEASON REVIEW SWEDISH PREMIER DIVISION - RESULTS (Pt.1) SWEDISH PREMIER DIVISION - RESULTS (Pt.2) SWEDISH PREMIER DIVISION - FINAL STANDINGS It would be harsh to focus too much on how that final half-hour impacted our season. We've finished third for the second season in a row, which is not bad for our first two seasons back at this level. We were the joint-second highest scorers and I think played some entertaining football. We're a good side who just couldn't quite get over the line. But we've only finished a point off the top, which means we've made progress. We're back in Europe next season, which is great. The board are happy, but who knows who'll be on the board next season? It's worrying that the takeover process seems to be dragging on and on. But on the whole, we've had a good league season and are now well-established back among the leading Swedish clubs. SWEDISH CUP - RESULTS The cup was a disappointment for us this season as Mjällby edged us out for a place in the quarter-finals. Nobody places too much importance on it, but it's still disappointing not to go further. We get another shot at it next season, though, having cruised past Utsikten for a place in next season's group stage. EUROPA LEAGUE - RESULTS I was really proud of what we did in this competition. We came up against sides with vastly more experience in Europe and we made it all the way to the Playoff, one win away from the Group Stage. Obviously we stood little chance against Liverpool, but we didn't disgrace ourselves and we certainly made it further than I expected. Abdelhakim Omrani's cheeky back-headed goal at Anfield made things interesting for 20 minutes or so, and overall I can look back on a satisfactory effort in continental competition this season. --------------- END OF SEASON FINANCES Finances are good but essentially irrelevant until the takeover is completed. There's a transfer embargo in place so all I can is be patient. I will post financial details once it goes through, or collapses. I like my chairman and will miss him. Hopefully the new guy, if he comes in, will be just as supportive and offer good financial backing to me. --------------- Key Players 14. Eddie Johnson (Striker; United States) Apps: 26 -- Gls: 21 -- Avg Rating: 7.55 What a season from Johnson! This was what I expected of him last season. He did do well then, but he was much better this time round and ends the season as the top scorer in the league. If anything, he's too good for this league. But with two more seasons left on his contract, hopefully he'll be banging them in for a little while yet. A magnificent performance - worth every penny of his sizable pay packet. 18. Abdelhakim Omrani (M/AM C; Algeria) Apps: 26 -- Gls: 5 -- Avg Rating: 7.26 This was the season when Omrani, now 24, came of age. And as if to demonstrate it, he shone in the game at Anfield, even scoring a goal. He'd been quite frustrating before this season and even to some extent earlier on this time round, but he went on to have his best season in a Hammarby shirt and still has time to develop further. Easily my favourite player in my squad, but will his Algeria call-up ever come? 11. Sinan Ayranci (Striker; Sweden) Apps: 29 -- Gls: 11 -- Avg Rating: 7.44 The two-and-a-half star rating is an insult to a superb player. Ayranci scored fewer goals this season as Eddie Johnson took on that responsibility, but Ayranci managed plenty of assists and was arguably my most consistent performer. He's been at the club since I arrived and really flourished under my management. His main role is to use his height and aerial ability to nod the ball down to Johnson, and his bloody good at it. --------------- Plans for the Future Oh, you'll see... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 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 | | 2015 | Hammarby | Premier Division | Sweden | 3rd | Grp Stg | Reached Europa League Playoff Round | My Managerial Record ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Clubs Managed | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | [b]Pts[/b] | GD | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | M. Kobylko | 2 | 123 | 71 | 22 | 30 | 228 | 143 | [b]235[/b] | 85 | Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 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 | | 2015 | First Division North | Sweden | 11th | none | It should have been a good season for Frej. They were in mid-table all the way through until right at the end when a horrible run saw them drop towards the relegation zone. It went to the final day, and Frej stayed up on goal difference. They were one goal better off. It really couldn't have been tighter. I hope they do better next season. It would be a shame to see them relegated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Unlucky in the end, hopefully with the right signings you can challenge again next season and maybe even win it. Pity we can't get Elrithral enjoying FM enough to start a career thread. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 I'm on the move... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 A Big Step Up I wasn't itching to leave Hammarby, but at the same time I was wondering if I could go much further with them and if it was time to look for a bigger club. The takeover ructions were starting to bother me as I was unable to plan for next season. In truth, the squad didn't need much work, but everything was just starting to feel a little unstable. The whole takeover thing just seemed like a natural stepping off point. I applied for the Fenerbahçe and Lokomotiv Moscow jobs, but was turned down. Lokomotiv preferred Gordon Strachan(!) while the Turks went with Dan Petrescu. But Olympiakos, who haven't won the league since 2012, saw my potential and, following my application for the job, made me an offer. It feels like the right move at the right time. Welcome to Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens. Welcome to Olympiakos SF Piraeus. Olympiakos are quite comfortably Greece's most successful team. League titles are simply the standard expectation at this club. They have a large and passionate fanbase and a rich tradition. It's a big job for me. The club is in a lean spell at the moment, having gone without a league title since 2012. PAOK have been the dominant force in recent years. Rather like when I arrived at Hammarby, it's my job to get the club back to where it feels it rightly belongs. Olympiakos are based in the port city of Piraeus, which has been swallowed up by the sprawl of the Athenian metropolis. The club's core support is drawn from the working class Piraeus city and surrounding areas. Their bitterest rivalries are with the establishment clubs of Athens, Panathinaikos and AEK. The fans are fiercely passionate and very demanding, and they will expect success. Home is the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, named after the country's independence hero. It currently holds 32,130 fans. A squad introduction and a look at the situation in the league will follow shortly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Unlucky in the end, hopefully with the right signings you can challenge again next season and maybe even win it.Pity we can't get Elrithral enjoying FM enough to start a career thread. Signings would have been a problem under the transfer embargo, but assuming it had ended up being lifted and the takeover had gone through, it would only have needed one or two. I think we were really getting close. As it happens, it doesn't matter now... It would be great to have another Elrithral thread but even if he was playing, I think he'd struggle to find the time to keep a thread going these days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I agree about Elrithral finding time would be hard. Good move, you've managed in Greece before on FM haven't you? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 SEASON 2015/16 Finances Although there's some red in there, the bottom line is healthy enough and there are no outstanding loans. By Greek standards, the club is in rude financial health! My transfer budget is reasonable and may well have been higher had I come in at the start of the season. The board have just agreed to an increase in the wage budget, but I could still do with a little more room for manoeuvre there. Squad There are no reserve leagues in Greece, which means squads can tend to look very big. By no means will all the above players be considered first team. I may need to ship one or two out during the January transfer window, but for now I need to focus on getting to know the players. I'm not familiar with many of them so it will take some looking at. I'm reasonably happy with what's there, though. Expectations To win the title. The board and fans expect nothing less. If it looks like we might miss out, I'll be sacked before we even get to the end of the season. But as you can see from the snapshot below, we're not far off top. The club was 4th when they sacked their previous manager, but have won twice since then under the caretaker to move into second. A title challenge looks very realistic. Dominant force PAOK have made a poor start and are off the pace. Surely surprise package Levadeiakos can't keep this up? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 I agree about Elrithral finding time would be hard.Good move, you've managed in Greece before on FM haven't you? Yeah. I really like Panathinaikos in real life (not that it's stopped me taking the Olympiakos job) and have managed them a couple of times. I managed them on FM12 for three seasons before taking the Anzhi job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 SEASON 2015/16 - NOVEMBER This Month's Fixtures Leaving Hammarby is a wrench as I was loving managing that club. But there's no time to dwell on it as it's straight into the Greek league season with my new club. The caretaker manager guided us to two wins before my arrival, which have helped get us closer to the top. It's up to me to push on and keep us in good form. Apollon are newly-promoted and have made a good start, while Atromitos are down near the bottom. Six points, please. This Month's Results Sunday November 22nd, 2015 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 2-0 GS Apollon Smyrnis I'm expected to play attacking possession football at Olympiakos, so without tinkering with the formation the players are used to, I set us up to get the ball forward quickly and to play on the front foot. I could already see the difference in quality because my Hammarby side never played football like this. It was a joy to behold at times and the only surprise is that we didn't win by far more. I really impressive display from my new charges. att: 31,429 --------------- Saturday November 28th, 2015 Greek Superleague Municipal Stadium of Peristeri, Peristeri, Athens APS Atromitos Athens 0-1 Olympiakos SF Piraeus More of the same really. It's a bit frustrating that we're not putting sides to the sword. Atromitos are struggling but could well have gotten something from this as we refused to make the most of all the chances we created. It's hard when sides focus on defending against you, but I have no complaints about our football, which was once again scintillating. I just wish we were being a bit more clinical. But we're in good form and firmly in the title race now. att: 7,760 League Table What a start Levadeiakos have made. They can't keep that up, can they? We're pushing them hard and have gotten ourselves into the right position. It's just a case of keeping winning matches and waiting for them to slip up. We're ten points clear of PAOK, who've been dominating Greek football of late, so perhaps it's already too late for them. We're playing good exciting football and will batter someone soon, I'm sure of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Yeah. I really like Panathinaikos in real life (not that it's stopped me taking the Olympiakos job) and have managed them a couple of times. I managed them on FM12 for three seasons before taking the Anzhi job. I remember you managing them on FM12. I think you'll be able to win the league in your first season I can't see Levadeiakos keeping up that form. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Great move for your career and decent start to Greece already. Better watch out of they'll garnsh your earnings to pay for austerity measures! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 Great move for your career and decent start to Greece already. Better watch out of they'll garnsh your earnings to pay for austerity measures! They're paying me peanuts anyway! Cheapskates. 'Tis a good move for me, though. The difference in quality between Olympiakos and Hammarby is obvious every time I watch a match. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 SEASON 2015/16 - DECEMBER This Month's Fixtures This month sees us face a two-legged Third Round tie in the Greek Cup. Our opponents, Aris, are struggling in the league, which means we have a great chance of getting to the next round. We also face two league matches that we really should be winning. The game against AEK sees us face one of our biggest rivals, and they're not the force they once were. Relegation is a bigger possibility for them than qualifying for Europe these days. This Month's Results Saturday December 5th, 2015 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 1-0 GS Niki Volou Once again, our dominance and the quality of our performance was not reflected in the result. I'm not too worried because we're still winning and I know bigger wins will be just around the corner. But we have to make sure that happens. It took a late winner from Algerian striker Rafik Djebbour to get us the three points here, and Niki Volou could claim that he committed a foul in getting at the ball to prod it home. But I don't care. We fully deserved the win. att: 30,717 --------------- Wednesday December 9th, 2015 Greek Cup: 3rd Round - 1st Leg Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 3-2 AS Aris Thessaloniki I rotated a little for this cup tie first leg and at last we managed to score some goals. But I was left annoyed with my players as we surrendered the chance to take a comfortable lead into the away leg by conceding two late goals to let Aris back into the tie. It was another case of us playing really good football and dominating the match, but we won't be able to relax when we travel up north having allowed them to get those late goals. It's criminal, really. att: 22,178 --------------- Saturday December 12th, 2015 Greek Superleague OAKA Spyros Louis, Athens AEK Athens 1-4 Olympiakos SF Piraeus At last, I get the result I have been waiting for. And to get it in a derby is a really good feeling. No doubt the fans are thrilled. We were on top from start to finish, carving open a lacklustre AEK side all day long. AEK are not the force they once were and are well down the table, and the gulf in class looked huge, although the did win at our place earlier in the season. But our football is proving hard for teams to live with at the moment and it was only a matter of time before somebody got a hiding from us. att: 28,824 --------------- Saturday December 19th, 2015 Greek Cup: 3rd Round - 2nd Leg Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, Thessaloniki AS Aris Thessaloniki 0-3 Olympiakos SF Piraeus - Olympiakos win 6-2 on aggregate I named a stronger side than in the first leg, as we have a few weeks' break after this match. The side I sent out went in did the business. Aris didn't have a chance worthy of the name until we were already 3-0 up and the aggregate winning margin is pretty emphatic in the end. This never looked in doubt and I can be hugely satisfied with the football we played today. --------------- BREAKING NEWS: Olympiakos will face second tier side Veroia in the next round of the Greek Cup, which gives them a strong chance of reaching the next round. League Table Levadeiakos have just about kept their noses in front but they can't go on too much longer, surely. We still have a 100% record under me and are playing well. I fancy us to make top spot our own if we can keep playing well and keep winning. It's been a very enjoyable start to life in Greece for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Great move there, Mike, plenty of opportunities to rack up some success now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeeD Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Good move - plenty of potential at a club with Olympiakos' support Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 Reunited, and it feels so gooood... Couldn't resist. I can't believe he only gets two-and-a-half stars. His attributes tell me everything I need to know. Good first touch, creative, decent passer and still only 24. My first signing at Olympiakos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 Great move there, Mike, plenty of opportunities to rack up some success now Good move - plenty of potential at a club with Olympiakos' support Cheers boys. Really optimistic about this move. Unless you count the playoff that got Hammarby promoted, I've not won any trophies yet. Olympiakos should give me a chance to do so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 What's the foreign player rules like in Greece? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 You can have as many foreign players as you like in the matchday squad. But you are required to register players for the league and you're only allowed five non-EU players to be registered. So quite liberal, really. I should point out that Omrani doesn't count as non-EU as he was born in France. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Good start in Greece. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 You can have as many foreign players as you like in the matchday squad. But you are required to register players for the league and you're only allowed five non-EU players to be registered.So quite liberal, really. I should point out that Omrani doesn't count as non-EU as he was born in France. Cool, I might have to get to Greece at some point in my save. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Nice push for that top spot. And good first signing Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Trying to catch up on everyones save is a nightmare if you leave it a day or 2 Great move there to Olympiakos, a decent standard league to build your name up and looking at your start a real possibility of a title challenge straight away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 SEASON 2015/16 - JANUARY This Month's Fixtures What a busy month! I'm fortunate to have a big squad here with plenty of talent on the periphery, which means the option to rotate is there. I think rotation will be the name of the game for January because it's such a packed month. On the plus side, I'll have a good idea of where we're heading by the end of it. I'll be looking to move one or two players on completely and maybe bring another in - I need to stamp my own authority on the squad and make sure we have the right balance. An interesting January lies ahead. This Month's Results Saturday January 2nd, 2016 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 3-1 AS PAOK Thessaloniki This was a really good way to begin the month. PAOK have won two of the last three titles, but it looks as if they won't be defending their crown this season. I would have settled for a point beforehand given their success in recent years, and it did look like that's what we were heading for, but we managed to seal a win with two late goals. There's no question we were the better side and Levadeiakos must be really feeling the heat now. att: 32,130 --------------- New Signing We're well endowed with decent 'keepers, but I'm letting one leave and I just thought, with this guy available and experienced, it would be wise to get him in and make sure we have good competition for the no.1 jersey. --------------- Thursday January 7th, 2016 Greek Cup: 4th Round - 1st Leg Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 6-1 AS Veroia A much-changed line-up ripped apart our second tier opposition here and makes sure the return leg should be a formality, largely thanks to a four-goal blitz by young Dutch striker Jürgen Locadia, on loan from PSV Eindhoven. I wasn't sure it would be so comfortable when Veroia equalised and was cursing my players' complacency, but we got it sorted and it's hard to believe we won't be heading for the quarter-finals now. It was nice to see Abdelhakim Omrani bag a goal on his first start for the club. att: 22,053 --------------- Sunday January 10th, 2016 Greek Superleague Asteras Stadium, Tripoli AGS Asteras Tripolis 5-1 Olympiakos SF Piraeus My 100% record comes to an end in horrifying, embarrassing fashion here. Both sides began the game trying to pass the ball about and making a few mistakes, so I suppose it was inevitable that the side that got themselves sorted first would take a hold of the game, and that was Asteras. For us, everything just seemed to go wrong. I named what I thought was my strongest side, but most of them just didn't turn up. Our usual passing game, so effective previously, just fell apart, and to make matters worse, Asteras didn't even have to try that hard to carve us open. I'll take it on the chin and prepare for the next game, but a few players might find themselves on the bench or out of the side altogether after this debacle. The only ray of light on a dark day was another draw for Levadeiakos, meaning me still sit top of the league. I guess it was a real "I was there" day if you're an Asteras Tripolis fan. att: 4,097 --------------- Wednesday January 13th, 2016 Greek Superleague Skoda Xanthi Arena, Xanthi AO Skoda Xanthi 0-0 Olympiakos SF Piraeus I re-shuffled the pack following the humiliation of our last game, and I was rewarded with a much better display, including a clean sheet. To put things in perpsective, we had 60%+ of possession, 23 shots and 10 on target. On another day, we'd have won comfortably. Unfortunately, we just couldn't put the ball away, but I'll take the improved performance and the positives that came with it. We looked like our old selves again. att: 3,423 --------------- Saturday January 16th, 2016 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos 3-1 AO Platanias Bottom side Platanias were brushed aside with minimum fuss here, but it should have been a bigger win than it was. As you'd expect for the top-of-the-table side, we dominated this game from start to finish and I actually couldn't believe it when they equalised from what turned out to be their only shot on target. Thankfully we got straight back in front, but we should have given the scoreline a bit more gloss in the second half. But we did enough and we needed a win to get back up and running. att: 30,568 --------------- Thursday January 21st, 2016 Greek Cup: 4th Round - 2nd Leg Municipal Stadium of Veroia, Veroia AS Veroia 1-1 Olympiakos SF Piraeus - Olympiakos win 7-2 on aggregate Naturally, I rotated things for this one, with us already looking well and truly through. The players that came in did a reasonably professional job, making sure there was no reason for any unlikely jitters. Veroia played well, with little pressure on them, and could have won the match on the day, but a draw was a fair result. Some players are perhaps coasting a little at times, which gives me something to think about. att: 1,321 --------------- BREAKING NEWS: Olympiakos were drawn to face fellow title-chasers Levadeiakos in the Greek Cup Quarter-Finals. Surprise package Levadeiakos will be at home in the first leg. Both legs will be played next month. --------------- Saturday January 24th, 2016 Greek Superleague Municipal Stadium of Katerini, Katerini SFK Pierikos 0-2 Olympiakos SF Piraeus I suppose you can't be at your best all the time, and if you're not, you still need to try and get the job done. Our passing wasn't at its most fluent today, which is a shame, because we're a joy to behold when it is. I'm generally really happy with the brand of football I've got us playing. Pierikos were never out of this because we weren't making the most of the chances that came our way, but the win was the right result and our lead at the top grows again. It's looking ominous for the chasing pack at the moment. att: 4,956 --------------- Wednesday January 27th, 2016 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 5-1 PAS Giannina This was a fantastic day. From start to finish, we just looked in fine fettle. Things got off to a great start when, Avraam Papadopoulos, my centre-back, decided to take a penalty. Not known for his record from the spot, he nevertheless put it away with aplomb and from that point on, we were away. Giannina's goal gave me something to think about at half-time, and I asked the players to raise their game. Some of them didn't like it, and to be fair they'd already been playing well, but it had the desired effect as we ran riot after the break. att: 30,599 --------------- Saturday January 30th, 2016 Greek Superleague Panthessaliko, Volos APS Panthrakikos Komotinis 0-1 Olympiakos SF Piraeus This game was more crucial than it looks. Three days later we face the Derby of the Eternal Enemies, our clash with Panathinaikos. To take a little of the sting out of that game, we needed three points from this one, against struggling Panthrakikos. With the upcoming fixture in mind, I had to rest some players, but we got the job done and our lead at the top continues to grow. It wasn't easy and we needed a really good display by the centre-backs to repel Panthrakikos's sporadic attacks, but the better side won and we can go up against Panathinaikos knowing a draw wouldn't do us any harm. att: 2,133 League Table Despite the lead we've managed to establish, I don't feel home and dry. Levadeiakos are dropping away and it's hard to imagine they'll have too much say now, but Panathinaikos are in form and have that game in hand. If they were to beat us and also their extra game, it would make things a little tighter again, especially if we dropped points elsewhere. But overall I think we've just had a really good month, one dreadful hammering apart. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 You'll be in a very strong position as long as you get something when you play against Panathinaikos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 Tuesday February 2nd, 2016 Thrylos manager anticipates goals in "unique encounter". by Olympiakos reporter Andrew Ioannou-Holt in Piraeus When Olympiakos opted to replace manager Dan Petrescu with the relatively unknown Michael Kobylko in November, more than a few eyebrows were raised. The Englishman had certainly done stellar work with Sweden's Hammarby, but many - and not least the Thrylos fans - wondered if he possessed the necessary experience to handle the intense pressure of managing a club the size of Olympiakos. In the build up to tomorrow's clash with Panathinaikos, Kobylko revealed his excitement at the prospect of his "biggest match" in football so far, and predicted we would see goals. "It's certainly true that I've not faced a game this big in my career before, as player or manager", he told reporters at the club's training ground. "As a player, I was never lucky enough to experience the kind atmosphere we're expecting. Olympiakos-Panathinaikos is a unique encounter in football, a clash of cultures and of history. It's huge. It's the biggest match I've ever been involved in. Back at Hammarby you certainly knew about it when a Stockholm derby rolled around, but this will be something else. It's new to me, but I feel ready and I'm excited. It's a privilege to be involved, really." With both sides playing well, Kobylko stressed the need for focus at both ends of he pitch. "I think we'll see goals. I don't think it will be as cagey as games like this can sometimes be. We want to keep things tight at the back and play our usual game going forward, but they will believe they can get something, so it's going to take strong heads and the side that wins will probably be the one that handles the pressure best." Panathinaikos lie third in the table, twelve points behind Thrylos with a game in hand. But Manager Mario Galinovic takes heart from the encounter at Spyros Louis earlier in the season, when Tryfili won 2-1. "We were good that day. We probably need to be better still on Wednesday, but we know we can beat them. If we want to win the title, we probably have to." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 SEASON 2015/16 - FEBRUARY This Month's Fixtures Naturally, the chief focus of the month is one the first game, my first ever Athens derby against Panathinaikos. Defeat would not be catastrophic, but it would give Panathinaikos and others hope of catching us. And in any case, I doubt either the board or the fans ever react well to defeat in this fixture. Elsewhere, I expect plenty of wins, but we'll have to make sure we're at our best. This Month's Results Wednesday February 3rd, 2016 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 3-1 Panathinaikos AO If Panathinaikos play like this much more this season, they can forget any hopes of catching us. They were terrible. To be fair, I think this result is probably the final nail in the coffin of their title hopes. I was wholly satisfied with our efficient display. We took full advantage of our opponent's poor showing. I doubt I'll ever have an easier win in a derby game. There was some doubt about the validity of the penalty we were awarded, but it was hard to be in any doubt about which way this game was going. I can go home feeling loved. att: 32,130 --------------- Saturday February 6th, 2016 Greek Superleague Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, Thessaloniki AS Aris Thessaloniki 1-4 Olympiakos SF Piraeus We won 3-0 here in the cup not so long ago, and now we can add a comprehensive league win too. We were just too good for them and there isn't really much else I can say about this match. We passed well, dominated possession, created chances and scored plenty of goals. Everything you could want, really. Algerian striker Rafik Djebbour, 31, is having arguably the best season of his career and is now the league's top scorer. att: 15,814 --------------- Saturday February 13th, 2016 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 4-1 Olympiakos Volou 1937 Another comfortable win, this time owing largely to the performance of Abdelhakim Omrani, who ran the show. He's made a good start to life in an Olympiakos shirt and doesn't look out of place. If I was being picky I would complain that we're not getting as many clean sheets as I'd like, which was a hallmark of my Hammarby side, but why worry when you're winning? Olympiakos Volou never really stood a chance here. att: 30,664 --------------- Saturday February 20th, 2016 Greek Superleague Municipal Stadium of Levadeia, Levadeia APO Levadeiakos 1-1 Olympiakos SF Piraeus We'll see plenty of Levadeiakos over the next few weeks, what with this game in the league, and then two cup games to come. They were top of the league for quite a while but have now slipped off the pace. However, they don't lose very often, so I suppose a draw isn't too bad a result here. What's disappointing is that we were only one minute-plus-injury time away from a good win. We switched off at the back and ended up getting punished in the 89th minute. It's a shame, but at least we still have a healthy lead at the top. att: 4,960 --------------- Thursday February 25th, 2016 Greek Cup: Quarter-Final - Leg 1 Municipal Stadium of Levadeia, Levadeia APO Levadeiakos 0-0 Olympiakos SF Piraeus We played okay here, but no away goal. I wonder what it takes to beat them. We were the better side and played our usual passing game, but we never really looked like we were going to break through. Despite playing quite well, I left here feeling quite disappointed because I really want to win the cup and not scoring an away goal makes it a little tougher to get through now. att: 5,322 --------------- Sunday February 28th, 2016 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 2-2 MGS Panserraikos We played our normal game here, passed it nicely, looked lively - and somehow found ourselves 2-0 down. It was bordering on daylight robbery, or at least it would have been had we not salvaged something. Even at 2-0 down I fancied us to win this, and I'm really quite disappointed we couldn't get that third goal. We had plenty of chances after we'd equalised. Panserraikos scored with their only two shots on target. Sometimes it goes like that, and we just have to move on and try and get back to winning ways. att: 30,639 League Table No defeats, but a month that came with its fair share of frustration nonetheless. I suppose you can't expect to win every game. Things began well with that comfortable win over Panathinaikos, but those draws at Levadeiakos and the one at home to Panserraikos are irritating because we probably deserved to win them all. Asteras Tripolis have now moved into second and are in blistering form. If they keep that up, we'll need to make sure we keep winning our games and we could soon have the league won. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Good start in Greece. Thanks! Cruising, really. Cool, I might have to get to Greece at some point in my save. It can be a fun league to manage in. Possible to dominate with either of the big two. Hard to do much with anyone else, though. And not much money knocking about. Nice push for that top spot. And good first signing He's been great so far. I rate him much higher than my assistant does (or whoever gives you those star ratings). Trying to catch up on everyones save is a nightmare if you leave it a day or 2 Great move there to Olympiakos, a decent standard league to build your name up and looking at your start a real possibility of a title challenge straight away. Yeah, you miss a few days and then forget where you were up to. I end up wondering if people whose threads I follow think I've stopped doing so. Think it looks like we'll probably win the title now, if I'm honest. It would take a bit of a collapse not to, now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason the Yank Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 It's like our careers are going in parallel You: Hammarby --> Olympiakos Me: Helsingborg --> Panathinaikos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Great move, and great progress too. KUTGW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazbowski Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Just came into the thread today and read the entire lot with breaking. What a cracking read, will be following from now on. Good work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Going great. That's one hand on the trophy! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 It's like our careers are going in parallelYou: Hammarby --> Olympiakos Me: Helsingborg --> Panathinaikos Let me know where you go next so I can try and get a job there too. Great move, and great progress too. KUTGW Thanks as always. Just came into the thread today and read the entire lot with breaking. What a cracking read, will be following from now on. Good work. Glad you enjoyed! Plenty more to come if you want to stick around. Going great. That's one hand on the trophy! Is it complacent to say I'm certain we will win the league? Having had a few days out of the country and then ploughed back into work, I haven't had the chance to play for a while but I'll be back at it soon. Wouldn't want anyone to think the career was done. It's only just beginning... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike7077 Posted March 10, 2013 Author Share Posted March 10, 2013 SEASON 2015/16 - MARCH This Month's Fixtures This could be a huge month. A good run of form could see us through to the semi-finals of the cup, and also take a big leap towards the title. It is possible for us to win the title this month if results go the right way. All the league games are hugely winnable, while home advantage in the second leg of the cup against Levadeiakos should gives us a great chance to get through. This Month's Results Wednesday March 2nd, 2016 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 4-0 AE Larisa 1964 A comfortable home win against a side I would expect us to beat to kick off the month. This game was lit up by Juan Iturbe, our livewire Argentinian winger, who bagged a brace and ran Larisa ragged. He's not the best passer and gets excited in front of goal, but boy can he dribble! When he's on it, he's unstoppable in this league. Larisa had no answer to anything we did today and 4-0 does not flatter us. att: 30,593 --------------- Sunday March 6th, 2016 Greek Superleague Georgios Kamaras Stadium, Athens GS Apollon Smyrnis 0-2 Olympiakos SF Piraeus With surprise package Asteras Tripolis on a winning streak, we had to win this game, and we did a professional job here. The referee was the centre of attention, sending off a player on each side. Indeed, Apollon lost Santiago Arias after he was given a second yellow card for diving in the box. We played more of the match with ten men, but once the numbers were evened up, we always looked more likely to see it out, and so it proved. At eleven-versus-ten it was in the balance to some degree, but we're defending well lately and made sure they couldn't hurt us. att: 12,374 --------------- Thursday March 10th, 2016 Greek Cup: Quarter-Final - 2nd Leg Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 3-2 APO Levadeiakos - Olympiakos win 3-2 on aggregate We dominated this game the way we've dominated all of our recent games, but we switched off at the back, allowing Levadeiakos to come within a couple of minutes of an away goals victory. It took a late late own goal - the second own goal in our favour in the match - to secure a win for us and a place in the semi-finals. We played well and I had no complaints about what we did with the ball. But clearly not being taxed at the back recently caused us to switch off because we allowed Levadeiakos to score from their only two shots. att: 30,579 --------------- BREAKING NEWS: Olympiakos have been handed a straightforward looking tie in the Greek Cup Semi-Finals. They will face struggling Olympiakos Volou in a double header next month. --------------- Sunday March 13th, 2016 Greek Superleague Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens Olympiakos SF Piraeus 1-0 APS Atromitos Athens 1923 A red card after just seven minutes left us with an uphill task, and it was a case of trying to make sure we kept a clean sheet. Anything beyond that would be a bonus. Atromitos had more of the game than they might normal expect thanks to the early red, but we still managed to take the three points through Rafik Djebbour's diving header - our only shot on target. Despite playing most of the match with ten men, we controlled possession, but I was playing three at the back (having lost my left-back) and there was always a chance Atromitos might get something. This win means we're a hair's breadth away from being crowned champions. att: 30,789 --------------- BREAKING NEWS: Following Asteras Tripolis's 2-1 defeat at Giannina in their game in hand, OLYMPIAKOS HAVE WON THE TITLE. With three games to go, Thrylos now cannot be caught at the summit of the Greek Superleague. For the first time since 2012, OLYMPIAKOS ARE THE CHAMPIONS! --------------- Saturday March 19th, 2016 Greek Superleague Panthessaliko Stadium, Volou GS Niki Volou 0-2 Olympiakos SF Piraeus It was a party atmosphere in the away end at Niki Volou's little ground as the Olympiakos fans celebrated winning the title for the first time in four seasons - which is an age for them. Rotation was the name of the game here with the title in the bag, but the players that came in didn't let me down. This was a solid performance and a pleasing result. I don't want our form to dip just because we've won the title and it was nice to see the players remain focused. att: 3,633 League Table This was my best month as a manager. Four wins and just two goals conceded, both in the cup. We're through to the semis, where we face a superb chance of getting through, while our good form allowed us to take advantage of our nearest rival's slip ups and seal a title win with three games to spare. We played good football, scored a few goals and eased our way over the line. Brilliant. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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