[FM14] Morons? You Bet!

[Reinoud]

Nice progress with Morön. Good luck with the last games, make sure that you survive!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

September Update 2023

Media Prediction 2023: 16th

The next batch of games were frankly a disaster. The worst month in my tenure.

The highlight was the game against Norrkoping, where the late equaliser was a kick in the teeth.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Hampus Lejon, who played his first three games for the club. Really impressed with him and I'm looking forward to the partnership he can form with Fajers. Next season, we will play 3-4-3 because we're short of full backs and have an embarrassment of riches up front.

The squad as a whole is not playing as well as they should be. The defence is a real worry.

League Table - relegation looms, but we can stave off the threat with just one more win, I think.

Saving the game....!!!

[GreyedOutMan]

Bit of a setback here.

[GreyedOutMan]

It's cost us, and I might regret it, but I've got it back....

[Golden1807]

Great read. This is some challenge you're setting yourself. Good luck

[GreyedOutMan]

Yeah - I've made fairly quick progress so far, with very few setbacks - but once I hit the AllSvenskan, I expect that to change. Then cracking Europe will be a very long term project. I hope to be in the AllSvenskan later this month, in real time, but it could easily take me the rest of the season to win the Champions' League, I reckon. Then improving Guatemala starts - and that might never be completed.

[elbilly]

That's a cracking youth intake you've got there, surely the board has to have the sense to continue with it's upgrading. Looks like you've got enough breathing room to be safe from relegation

[GreyedOutMan]

Yeah - but as you'll see shortly, the upgrade has ended up costing me massively financially, but the trends otherwise are upwards so should be back in the black within a few years.

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

End of Season Update 2023

Media Prediction 2023: 16th

The last month's four games started with that one win I thought I needed to guarantee survival. The second win made it mathematically certain. With no chance of moving up a place, it meant that the last two games were all but dead rubbers. Having said that, I wanted to put everything into it so that I could set myself a benchmark of points to aim for next season. I played strong teams, but with my new 4-3-3 formation as a trial for next season. It started off well, with a 5-1 win over GAIS, the goals shared between the three strikers. We then beat Syrianska 3-1 to end the season with four straight wins. I feel the new formation might just work, particularly with the wealth of strikers we have.

League Table - we'll be in the group phase at the start of next season for the first time.

Swedish Cup - we've qualified for the group stages, which we'll play at the start of next season.

Squad

Ronni Backman was the player of the season for me and my fans. One of a small group of players doing really well - but we need further reinforcements.

Best XI

Historical XI - Nils-Ake Andersson inducted. 2008 appearances and 420 goals in total. Fajers still in midfield - this is a bug. Annoying.

Significant Departures including Youth released ...Note that the incoming transfers are only players who had JUST left the club and who reconsidered when they couldn't find other clubs - they are the only players I am allowed to sign, and only ever as free agents

A very significant moment here as Tom Ekelund's departure means we no longer have any players who are not products of my youth academy. He was the last of them.

Cornelis Olsson, the very first youth player to play for the first team, has left for the second time. He was good in the 1st North promotion year but this level was a step too far.

Nils-Ake Andersson was probably the first youth player to be a consistent first team presence and I didn't want to lose him as he's still my best defensive midfielder, but I couldn't even get him to discuss terms. Just a small chance I'll still get a chance to get him back, who knows.

Youth Intake

Wow! Really great stuff here. Legends in the making. Hampus Lejon is already creating a great partnership with Fajers.

My youth facilities were completed in February, although we've ended up paying about ten times more for them than I was expecting. Hopefully that means these types of intakes will become a regular occurence.

Finances - and therefore we're in the red big time. But we're making significant profits year on year so it shouldn't be too long before we're back in the black, especially as we might be able to start selling players soon.

Because each league has a different number of teams, I'm presenting this as a list of percentages along with points record for ease of comparison.

[size=3][b][u]Season    League                  Won%   Drawn%   Lost%   Points/Game  GD/Game  Position   Achievements[/u][/b] 
2013      2nd Division North       36      23      41        1.32        0.00     7th
2014      2nd Division North       41      23      36        1.45       +0.14     4th 
2015      2nd Division North       68       5      27        2.09       +1.09     2nd
2016      2nd Division North       55       9      36        1.73       +0.41     4th
2017      2nd Division North       59      18      23        1.95       +0.91     3rd
2018      2nd Division North       45      23      32        1.59       +0.73     4th
2019      2nd Division North       59      14      27        1.91       +0.77     1st      PROMOTION
2020      1st Division North       46      19      35        1.58       -0.19     3rd
2021      1st Division North       35      42      27        1.46       +0.50     5th
2022      1st Division North       58      19      23        1.92       +0.85     1st      PROMOTION
2023      1st Division Elite       37      23      40        1.33       +0.20    11th

[b]OVERALL                            49      20      31        1.55       +0.43     4th[/b][/size]

Season expectations for next year? Mid-table obscurity will do nicely. But with Lejon and Fajers up front, who knows?

[GreyedOutMan]

Never had so many youth graduates go straight into the first team! Wahoo!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

Pre-Season Update 2023

Media Prediction 2023: 15th

It seems slightly bizarre to have a group stage of the national cup competition played in pre-season, but there you go.

The group games in the cup were an education in what to expect when we get promoted. We have a long way to go! It was nice to get one over on division rivals Assyriska, though.

The highlight was the game against Djurgarden, simply because it netted me a tidy £50k!

The Manager's Player of Pre-Season is Hampus Lejon, who has a great season ahead of him, I believe.

The squad as a whole struggled in the two games against Premiership opposition. The youth upgrade, perhaps, is necessary to help us take the next step.

Saving the game....!!!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

March/April Update 2023

Media Prediction 2023: 15th

The start of the league season was far from perfect. The game against Trelleborgs, who had not won yet, was particularly bad.

The highlight was the Falkenberg win, where we demonstrated the wealth of attacking combinations we have now that I've switched formations. With too many strikers and no decent full backs, it was a no brainer really.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Leif Grundstrom, who has had a good start to his first team career.

The squad as a whole is struggling a bit, the tactic still needs tweaking especially defensively.

League Table - need to start turning draws into wins because we must climb the table quickly.

Saving the game....!!!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

April/May Update 2023

Media Prediction 2023: 15th

The next month was really tough. We've come back down to earth this year and it might be the first major setback in my career. I just hope I can avoid relegation. Anything more is a bonus.

The highlight was the Assyriska game, where we raced to a two goal lead and then, having let them come from behind to lead 3-2 at half-time, showed character to grab a point.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Benjamin Dahlberg, who has stepped up quicker than expected to the first team. The thing is that these new lads, even if they're great, take a while to bed in, which is why it's so bad when I lose so many first teamers. I will be doing everything I can to keep this team together this season, so that I can blood 2024's regens a little more gradually.

The squad as a whole is really struggling. The top group, which is always there, is not those over 7.5 but those over 7. That worries me.

League Table - currently really are in trouble.

Saving the game....!!!

[deltablue]

Hope you can hang in there.

[Golden1807]

Keep it up, we all love a fight against struggle!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

May/June Update 2023

Media Prediction 2023: 15th

The next month has brought more doom and gloom, with just one point from the three games.

The highlight was the point we picked up, away at Varbergs BoIS.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Nils Lundh, who was the best of a bad bunch.

The squad as a whole is simply not good enough, although Fajers missing all but five games of the season is not helping.

League Table - we have finally hit a proper snag, this is the first time I have felt like there's not much I can do to improve. If we do get relegated, I need to try to see the positives, it might give the team a chance to grow together without losing all of the star players because they demand too much in wages. If we get relegated, the wage bill can only go down, and then once we get promoted back into the Elite league, the current squad should have developed enough to do better.

Saving the game....!!!

[GreyedOutMan]

Hope you can hang in there.

Keep it up, we all love a fight against struggle!

Cheers for the support, keep reading, keep commenting :-)

[duffy89]

Tough couple of games coming up but after that I'm sure you can grind out a couple of smash and grab wins!

[GreyedOutMan]

Cheers, I'm now planning for a period of gradual building. I expect relegation, it then becomes a question of trying to keep the squad together and develop the squad enough to have a better crack at the 1E next time.

[GreyedOutMan]

My assistant has a JA of 18 - which is very good for this level because it's his most vital role for me, but I don't think this counts as 18 JA....the ones he rates the best are doing really badly and the ones he rates the worst doing better. Could this even be a bug? It's really frustrating.

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

June/July Update 2023

Media Prediction 2023: 15th

The next month was not good. I even went two games on because I couldn't bear to report just one point won.

The highlight was the first win in fifteen games, against Lunds BK.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Hampus Lejon, who is starting to knock the goals in. Not bad for a rookie.

The squad as a whole is massively struggling, even the two players who have 10 goals haven't done enough generally and still average under 7.

League Table - the truth is we're probably already down but we have twelve games to make up an 8 point deficit.

Saving the game....!!!

[Golden1807]

That's a shame. Success would be nothing without the struggles endured on the way though!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

July/August Update 2023

Media Prediction 2023: 15th

Suddenly we've put some form together with an unbeaten period. It's frustrating because I fear it's too little, too late. But we'll see.

The highlight was the win against Assyriska, Nils Dahlberg finally getting on the scoresheet for the first time since April.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Hampus Lejon, who I really really like. Hacken are sniffing around. Must get him tied down, but currently he won't discuss terms.

The squad as a whole is in danger of containing no players averaging over seven. This is worrying.

League Table - a little closer to safety now, but I'm gonna have to keep winning to stay up.

Saving the game....!!!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

Youth Graduates Update 2024

Media Prediction 2023: 15th

The three games since the last update saw us qualify for the group stage of the cup once more, but no league points.

The cup game was obviously the highlight. But it was against a team from the league below.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Hampus Lejon, who has had the best rookie season I can remember.

The squad has improved slightly but as usual we have a really poor defence. I am going to have to review the training systems because tactics don't seem to have any effect for this team.

League Table - it ain't looking good.

My academy graduates are a decent bunch. No outstanding defenders, although with our current predicament, the defence might well get a run out, but the defensive midfield position is one we could do with. Might involve tinkering with the tactics, but with someone as good as Pelle Holm, that is worthwhile. He will be my skipper soon, I imagine. The name doesn't exactly hurt either...

That said, I don't totally trust my assistant manager's 18JA/JP at the moment because of my current squad's clear problems - i.e. the ones he rates are the worst of the lot!

[GreyedOutMan]

Incidentally, if anyone speaks or knows anyone who speaks Swedish, please tell me. I want to be able to pronounce these names properly in my head. Hampus Lejon is particularly hard. I keep pronouncing it "le-hon" as if hhe was Spanish but I'm sure that's not right...

[elbilly]

Tough season. Not sure about the problem with the ass man as I haven't played FM14 yet.

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

September Update 2023

Media Prediction 2023: 15th

Only two points from four games this month - which means we are effectively down. We led at some point in every single game, too. Really annoying.

The highlight was the 4-4 game, despite the ridiculous way we threw it away from three goals up.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Jonathan Blomqvist, who has made amazing strides this season.

The squad as a whole is looking better and my hopes are high for an immediate return and an improved performance in this league in two years' time.

League Table - effectively relegated.

Saving the game....!!!

[Saltire]

Regarding the qualification to the Swedish Cup - I looked this up since I have started a save unemployed and have ended up with Savedalen who were not entered - and it is probably best to look at this link on Wikipedia.

Basically you have to be of a high enough rated team (I assume based on the previous season's league position) from your own district to qualify if your are not in the top 2 divisions. But it depends on something, probably the population of each district, as to how many teams from that area qualify.

Anyway I have enjoyed reading the thread, hopefully you can bounce back up to the Elite division next year and I am also glad to see having just come off a 5-5 draw myself that lower league football in Sweden is often full of goals and not just in my game!

[GreyedOutMan]

Cheers for that Saltire, let me know where to find your career and I'll happily read your posts. Hope you're enjoying my moronic adventures. I will be back!

[Saltire]

Sorry GOM but I have not posted anything about my save. My progress is painful slow since this feels like a totally different game to FM12 and I fear that people would lose interest before I complete one season. (It has taken me about a week to play 6 games - you seem to manage about 6 years in that timeframe!!)

[GreyedOutMan]

It helps that there are only 22-30 games in each season, and not much cup football early on....

[GreyedOutMan]

Wow! There are currently 11 users browsing this thread. Seems I'm starting to build up a bit of a cult following. You are all Morons. I mean that in the nicest possible way ;-)

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division Elite

End of Season Update 2024

Media Prediction 2024: 15th

The last month's two games saw some rotation as some of the younger players were given a try in anticipation of next season, and it yielded one great performance and one pathetic one. But it was the winless run from mid-April to mid-July that did for us - our form in the rest of the season was enough for mid-table at least.

League Table - we conceded the most goals ever conceded in this league. The strikers made up for that and our goal difference was not the worst in the league, but the defence really needs sorting before we get back into this league. As you'll see below, this was our worst season by some distance - gaining over half a point less per game than ever before.

Swedish Cup - got taught a footballing lesson in the group stages, apart from a decent win away at Assyriska, but we're into the group phases again which starts to make up for the loss of income from going down. The Djurgarden game was massive for the finances.

Squad

Jonathan Blomqvist was the player of the season, coming from nowhere to be the best of the three strikers, who were all impressive.

Best XI

Historical XI - Dahlberg and Pavlovic inducted, probably both temporarily. Although with 135 goal Fajers still in midfield, I don't really have a clue how this will evolve.

Significant Departures including ...Note that the incoming transfers are only players who had JUST left the club and who reconsidered when they couldn't find other clubs - they are the only players I am allowed to sign, and only ever as free agents

David Hardell is probably the player most overrated by my assistants. Simply never lived up to his ability. Over 150 appearances, but was always around 6.7 - however due to the below, I've decided to try to get him back - who knows, he might still fulfil his potential. All my staff rate him....

Robin Larsson was the perennial backup to Hardell and I would have made him my first choice keeper but he didnt want to stay. 45 league appearances.

Joakim Pavlovic was the most experienced defender I had left but wasn't good enough. 71 league appearances, mostly in the last three years.

Youth Intake

Loads came into the side during the run-in to test the waters a bit, with relegation inevitable. Only Liljemark really excelled, but Holm does look good despite a poor start.

Finances - we've already made the money for the youth upgrade back. In one year. Next year won't be so lucrative for obvious reasons (£400k of our £575k profit was TV revenue) but we're still in the cup.

Because each league has a different number of teams, I'm presenting this as a list of percentages along with points record for ease of comparison.

[size=3][b][u]Season    League                  Won%   Drawn%   Lost%   Points/Game  GD/Game  Position   Achievements[/u][/b] 
2013      2nd Division North       36      23      41        1.32        0.00     7th
2014      2nd Division North       41      23      36        1.45       +0.14     4th 
2015      2nd Division North       68       5      27        2.09       +1.09     2nd
2016      2nd Division North       55       9      36        1.73       +0.41     4th
2017      2nd Division North       59      18      23        1.95       +0.91     3rd
2018      2nd Division North       45      23      32        1.59       +0.73     4th
2019      2nd Division North       59      14      27        1.91       +0.77     1st      PROMOTION
2020      1st Division North       46      19      35        1.58       -0.19     3rd
2021      1st Division North       35      42      27        1.46       +0.50     5th
2022      1st Division North       58      19      23        1.92       +0.85     1st      PROMOTION
2023      1st Division Elite       37      23      40        1.33       +0.20    11th
2024      1st Division Elite       17      30      53        0.80       -0.87    16th      Relegation :-(

[b]OVERALL                            45      21      34        1.57       +0.30     5th[/b][/size]

Season expectations for next year? Only one word. Promotion. This was a really poor season - our worst by miles. I can't explain it, to be honest. But we must bounce straight back.

[deltablue]

Wow! There are currently 11 users browsing this thread. Seems I'm starting to build up a bit of a cult following. You are all Morons. I mean that in the nicest possible way ;-)

Haha, we understand. Good luck managing to get yourself back up.

[duffy89]

Time to test your bouncebackability!

[GreyedOutMan]

Time to test your bouncebackability!

Indeed, my good Moron!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division North

Pre-Season Update 2025

Media Prediction 2025: 5th

The group games in the cup were interesting. Against Halmstad (Premiership), we were at 0-0 until the last few minutes before conceding a very late goal, whereas against Sleipner (D1E), the game was more open and despite conceding the first goal we raced to a 3-1 lead. We also led 4-2 and 5-3 but managed to only get a draw. We got beaten more convincingly by AIK but did at least get on the scoresheet - overall it's a big improvement on last year and a step closer to the eventual goal of getting through this group phase.

The highlight was in fact the 1-0 defeat to Halmstad, Sleipner are a team we should be beating, and to run Halmstad that close was impressive.

The Manager's Player of Pre-Season is Ben Dahlberg, whose ratings in the cup games were equal to Lejon's despite Hampus grabbing three goals. Impressive.

The squad as a whole did not disgrace themselves in the cup - well apart from the defence. That is something I'm concerned about. Their lack of pace has led me to change to defending with a very deep line. We'll see if that helps.

Saving the game....!!!

[Thrar_XX]

Good luck going right back up!

Very impressive season by Elfsborg there. 3 goals and 2.5 points per game? Also, looks like Assyriska's defense is almost as bad as your Morons...

[Golden1807]

Good luck bouncing back. I'll be there with bells on at your promotion parade

[GreyedOutMan]

Good luck going right back up!

Very impressive season by Elfsborg there. 3 goals and 2.5 points per game? Also, looks like Assyriska's defense is almost as bad as your Morons...

I don't really tend to notice other teams' performances, but you're right, Elfsborg were a cut above the rest.

There are a lot of goals in these leagues - and combined with an ME that lends itself to more goals and the 4-3-3 formation I've been playing, goals galore are inevitable.

[GreyedOutMan]

Good luck bouncing back. I'll be there with bells on at your promotion parade

Here's hoping - see you at Skogsvallen ;-)

[GreyedOutMan]

Once again, I've bullied my board into making that most crucial of upgrades. It's fantastic news - and because we made back the money from the first upgrade in one season, I'm not too worried about the money which looks like a lot. It does mean we MUST get promoted first time around.

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division North

April/May Update 2025

Media Prediction 2025: 5th

A one hundred percent record this month - focussing on building the team up for next year and trying to get a mid-table place in the Elite league - so I will need to really refine my tactics and work out who could cope with the step up next season.

The highlight was the victory over Forward, who are more fancied for promotion than we are.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Ben Dahlberg, who is Moron's Mesut, having created five goals already.

The squad as a whole is still worryingly striker-centric. If anyone can suggest what I might be able to do to solve my defensive issues, I'd appreciate it!

League Table - early days but looking good.

Saving the game....!!!

[laBOMBA]

It goes really quick in your save. Hope you get promoted again soon.

I remember playing against Moron as I just finished a season with newly promoted IF Haga in the 2nd Div in Sweden (2015). I think they actually won the league that year in my save.

[duffy89]

Fantastic start!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division North

May/June Update 2025

Media Prediction 2025: 5th

We did drop our first points of the season this month but only two of them.

The highlight was the win against Vasalund, probably the best opposition this month.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Jesper Fajers, who has been given a new lease of life this season. It's like the relegation gave him a wake-up call. The screenshot there is taken after one game of the next month - carelessly forgot to take the screenshot at the right time!

The squad as a whole is improving. I have finally found at least one defender who is not totally useless in Eriksson. The bad news is that Lejon, who is already probably my best player, is refusing to negotiate a new contract so I might lose him at the end of next season.

League Table - we should get promoted nice and early this year, ready to blood the youngsters risk-free at the end of the season.

Saving the game....!!!

[deltablue]

Cracking start!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division North

June/July Update 2025

Media Prediction 2025: 5th

Our unbeaten run ended this month, but we won every other game.

The highlight was a 4-1 win over Sylvia, Lejon proving just how good he can be.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Hampus Lejon, but I need him to sign a contract or I'm at risk of losing him.

The squad as a whole is dominating this league, although with an eye on next year, I'm still worried about my defence.

League Table - taken one match after the monthly report, I'm getting a bit lax about this - will try to pick it up I promise! I'm sure you can work out the next result but try not to!

Saving the game....!!!

[GreyedOutMan]

MORON BK

1st Division North

July/August Update 2025

Media Prediction 2025: 5th

Unbeaten this month, dropping just two points, and the team is playing well. I've made a few tweaks to my defence and started to watch games on 'comprehensive' highlights to do some detailed work on the defensive play. Seems to be working well - only two goals conceded in five games this month.

The highlight was the 2-0 win against Boden, just because they've become my big rivals. Not officially, but for me.

The Manager's Player of the Month is Robert Eriksson, the embodiment of our defensive improvement.

The squad as a whole is doing well. It says a lot that we have five ever presents and have only used eighteen players all year.

League Table - 9 games left, nine points ahead! By the time my youth graduates arrive we should be all but up.

Saving the game....!!!

[GreyedOutMan]

I have sold a player for the first time. It's a free transfer but it's not an end of contract thing. Nils Lundh had been going downhill for a while and with the emergence of Pelle Holm, it was time to move him on - by selling him now I've saved myself a few months of his wages - he was one of the very highest earners at the club. But he's been a great servant, peaking in our promotion year from the North to the Elite. Will be missed, but it was time to move him on.