Dexter_Morgan Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 Background Hogaborgs is a side that play in the Swedish fourth tier that was formed in 1927 and have spent their whole existence in the lower divisions of Sweden and their only claim to fame is that Henrik Larsson started his career at the club and also had a spell as assistant manager in 2013 so you may think this is an odd choice of club but on FM09 I had a save with IK Halmia that lasted 30 odd seasons and was one of the best saves I ever had even though I never won a European trophy so I was looking for that type of save again. I've picked Hogaborgs because for this level the facilities are pretty decent and I want to make this a save where I only sign Nordic players so at least I am giving myself a bit of a head start because i'll be aiming to eventually have at least 3 home grown players in my starting XI. It's been a while since i've managed any Scandinavian side on FM but one of the things that appeals to me is that you can get through the seasons pretty quickly, I have loaded all playable divisions from the Nordic region and also the top flights in England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain to make sure that these nations keep strong as I progress through the game so there's about 60k players loaded included all players based in Sweden, that has my laptop running at 3 stars so I should get through the early seasons at least at a good speed. As I said i'll only be signing Nordic born players (so for example if someone is English but has Sweden as a 2nd nationality then I won't be allowed to sign them) but I am allowing myself to sign coaches from anywhere as I imagine there won't be a great deal of good ones based in this nation and it may also help with youth intakes where I will make the exception of having a non Nordic nationality first if any were to come through as I count these as my own players. Hogaborgs In FM Squad Manager I'll do a full update of any signings in a later post but as things stand it has been impossible to get any of my current squad to sign extensions let alone bring any new faces in so even with money being tight getting the board to agree to this will hopefully help matters a lot Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 24, 2016 Author Share Posted December 24, 2016 Reserved Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 I remember Krmpotic from my Limhamn Bunkeflo side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 24, 2016 Author Share Posted December 24, 2016 He's one of my best players by far Shame he won't sign a new contract though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 Welcome back, DM. Looking forward to this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 24, 2016 Author Share Posted December 24, 2016 Cheers mate, your thread had me wanting to do a Scandinavian save for ages but had my own 2 going on and never really felt like making a new save at the time as just didn't have the time to invest but with a week and half off now plus an expensive year ahead I need something to keep me out of the pub As I don't have cup games i've decided for the moment just to write updates at the end of the season unless something big happens, will probably change that approach as time goes on though as I have never been too keen on big reports as I either tend to forget stuff or get to end of a season and up not wanting to write everything out Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 24, 2016 Author Share Posted December 24, 2016 2014 Review I did manage a few transfers in the end although not too many as it was hard getting people to come in with our wage cap, the link we had with Helsingborg did help get someone in too but the majority from there refused to join. Fixtures Even though we seemed to fade away from August time I am happy with the season as a whole, I expected a bit more of a slog as we struggled to get as many players in as I wanted and the squad really isn't the strongest and we did seem to struggle if we were without a few players in a game. I expected more from Krmpotic and Dirawi in all honesty and though I wanted to keep Krmpotic for another year at least in terms of numbers for the squad I won't be losing any sleep that he didn't renew at the end of the season. Numhauser was always a big loss in games he didn't play, he was by far the best defender and if I can find him a better partner then I feel that we won't drop as many daft points from winning positions. Youth Intake We had a really good intake with 5 of them going straight in to the first team squad (Westerlund, Melander, Bengtsson, Andersson and Forsberg) and Westerland, Andersson and Bengtsson walking straight in to the starting XI so we had a bit of luck there at a time we really needed it and hopefully it is a sign of things to come especially since then i've improved our HOYD. I don't have an aim as such for next season, i'm hoping with the amount of players we lost over pre season that we just keep as far away from relegation as we did this year and hopefully give plenty of time to at least 2 of the other 3 kids to help them develop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 27, 2016 Author Share Posted December 27, 2016 2015 Season Review Again not an overly busy pre season in terms of transfers as most players just aren't interested in joining a semi pro club like us but I did at least make an improvement in goal and defence which did help us a lot this year as we were letting in some really stupid goals in 2015 Fixtures I don't know what it is about August but we seem to absolutely bottle it We were top of the league going in to the month and I genuinely thought we were going up at worst at that point but we had a few injuries and it fell apart until we got a few back because as you can see we improved again for the final 5 games, that said i'm pretty happy we haven't gone up just yet in a way as it gives the younger players an extra year to improve and with the finances being so poor we'd have struggled to attract the standard needed in the division above. Again Delija was one of the more consistent players but having Bengtsson and Westerlund do well in their first full seasons is very pleasing and having lads like that come through is vital to my ideas for not just the save but the club in general and having offers of £50k plus come in for both from top division sides shows how good they potentially can be, there's a few others from last years intake attracting attention too so it will get to a point these players will have to be sold but at the moment £50k does nothing for our balance as we lose not much less than that a month so i'd rather get 2 years out of them if they are contributing to the side than having to find replacements. Youth Intake All four were 5 star potential obviously at this level it isn't a great indication of how good they really are but Rosendale went straight in to the first team squad and hopefully we can get one or two more to feature at some point, Liljewall would have been promoted to be fair if it wasn't for Westerlund already nailing the right back spot so for the moment I feel he's better off in the U19's and keeping fit ready to step in if needed. Last season I didn't have a goal as such for the upcoming season but being so close to promotion this time I feel we have to make that our target, it will also give us the chance to play in the cup which would be handy for finances if the draws are kind to us to get us in the group stage of that. A link with IF Brommapojkarna means i've snapped up 3 CM's on loan from them which tended to be the main position we got injuries so that is a massive boost, a CB or two is my next aim as we are light there too. Finally as part of my contract extension I managed to persuade the board to improve our youth coaching, I know it's always something I try and do every possible chance anyway but in this type of save where i'm reliant on Nordic players having things like this improve is even more important than usual Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 Got some decent ones there, especially Westerlund. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 2016 Season Review We relied on loans to get us through the season in all honesty as signing players is still a big struggle i've been after a left back, a CB and a striker that can stay fit for 2 seasons and it really is getting frustrating now but when players of a standard needed aren't interested then there really is nothing I can do but plod along and laugh at it Results It was my aim to get promotion this year but I kind of wish we didn't get it now as I think next season will be a big slog for us, the squad isn't good enough past the first XI and the kids, the CM and left back positions are far too weak and this is something that really concerns me, that said even with some big injuries this year there was a togetherness and we still pulled off our aim even if i'm not convinced by some of the players so in that sense I have to look at it as a positive Seems to be the same players each year that get the accolades and this needs to change with the rise in level now, I can't be too critical of the 18/19 year olds as they are developing still but some of the older heads need to raise their game or they'll be out of the door. Youth Candidates Not as many signed this year as the quality of previous years didn't seem to be as high and it would help if we could get something other than AMC's or wingers as I have about 6 them Arvidsson is the only one promoted to the first team for the moment, i'm retraining him as a striker as we are light there at the best of times and with so many wide men I feel it'll help him get games by having time in another role too, i'm hoping a change in HOYD will help us with the next intake as the facilities are there in all honesty and we should be getting a few more in still that are good enough for this level at worst. The aim for the upcoming season is certainly survival only, we aren't good enough to aim for any more but hopefully we can manage that target and better players may start being interested in signing (or that's the plan anyway) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 2017 Season Review I am beginning to hate any transfer window as we never seem to overly improve and it's a struggle getting in anyone better at all So again it was just the three in with no loans even this time as we kept getting blown out by players. Results Consider our problems in signing players it was a big shock to see just how well we actually coped with the step up in level even with the really tough start to life we had, though I will say ignore the cup results as I hadn't realised when the group stage starts when the choice of pre season dates were announced so like a idiot I picked a 4 week pre season and all the players were on holiday and we were playing with grayed out players during those 3 games Not saying it would have made too big a difference but i'm convinced we'd not have had the 0-5's and we'd have probably done a bit better in the opening 5 league games or so if we had have had a few extra weeks so it's not a mistake i'll make again I guess! Again, we had our August blip and it cost us automatic promotion in the end but i'd have snapped your hand off for 10th at the start of the year let alone 2nd so I can't moan too much. I'll talk about the playoffs in a while once I get through our best performers... Apart from the first season when this lad stays fit he's got a half decent goal to games ratio in him but I just can't rely on him to do even 15 games a year, this is the first time in 4 seasons he's managed over 13 games and it's a shame as he does do well usually when fit. Again Delija is amongst the better performers, he doesn't score or assist a lot but he keeps us ticking over and a lot of what we do goes through him in some way. One of the original batch from the youth intake and still going strong, Westerlund performed slightly better but he's been on every end of season team so far so wanted to show that there are still others from that intake that are doing well, there's a total of seven in the first team squad from our youth intakes and 2/3 more pretty close so at least that aim in the save is paying off and just as well too as we'd be stuffed without them in all honesty. Youth Intake Only 3 good enough to sign this year, that's down to to a mixture of bump in level obviously but even when we've been getting five or six 5 star players the ones with less than a star C/A never make the move up if they aren't automatically promoted up so I was a lot stricter this year due to funds for one being tight but we also had a reduction on training and youth facilities and are only allowed a U19 manager, assistant and coach so even if there's a chance in the future for them it's unlikely to be at this club as it stands so need to keep the pick of the best to a minimum for better training, obviously a risk but unless we get another 2 coaches at each level I don't see much hope for most which is a shame as there could be potential to make a bit of money. Alnas was promoted straight to the first team squad from this lot and it shows how weak are at left back that he's been the starter there ever since. Back on to the playoffs now and for those that don't know the 2nd placed sides in the 1st division North and South play 13th and 14th from the Elite division for the right to either stay in the Elite (or Superettan if you go by it's official name) so this is how our games went As I said about the season in general earlier i'd have took 10th at the start of the season so 2nd was a shock, so to beat an albeit struggling side so convincingly is well beyond my expectations but IF Brommapojkarna also beat their higher division rivals in their playoff by the same aggregate score so maybe there isn't a massive difference to the top and bottom of both divisions (though they do have a much better squad than we do) but it does give me hope for the next season as 4 sides in the division are newly promoted and the board only expect to avoid automatic relegation and even the press expect 14th which is a place above that so we may be a little better than I give us credit for. I'd be happy with 12th and that is the aim though rather than 14th, there's some good kids at the club but we really need at least 1 CB, a CM and i'm not happy with LB as it stands (even though Alnas is an upgrade) a striker too is on my list as there's no way Dirawi will stay fit. One thing I haven't mentioned is how well the Allsvenskan has been doing in the rankings and it is currently 12th, the Superettan is 37th which considering the top flight in Serbia is only 2 places above and Serie B 4 above with Norway's top flight only 8 above our division so there's a good growth in the country with an automatic CL and Europa group place from the summer and an extra CL place for runners up and it certainly has an effect in our division as we get just over £500k from TV money over the season ourselves so hopefully it will help keep our finances in a better position. The new increase in junior coaching is another big thing for us, we are probably at the top level in the country now and we need to keep producing a few per year to survive, they don't have to be world beaters but just good enough for this level and above so I can start selling and improve facilities to make the intake even better, there's been moans so far apart from Westerlund who just signs no problem each year after I reject offers but even he is rated as a good top division player now so i'm going to be lucky to keep him more than a year at this rate even if he is here til 2019 as far as his contract says. I said at the start of the thread I wouldn't sign anything but Nordic players and i've stuck to that where it has only been Swedes so far (scouting limitations did restrict it to that anyway) but we've been allowed to scout all of Scandinavia now which might help get a bloody left back at last Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 @deltablue I am linked with the Sirius job, knowing your time there i've told the press i'm not interested even though the favourite Pretty much the same for any club though unless get the sack Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 2018 Superettan Halfway Review Not as much done as I wanted (still no CB or striker) but the midfield and left back positions have at least been improved and a deal in place for another midfielder from Helsingborg in the next window so at least we have made a bit of progress in terms of numbers. I am slightly worried about the clubs position at the moment as we are in a run of games against teams higher up in the league which we are clearly struggling with but from game 18 in we have a good run of about 6/7 games against sides around or below us too which is a period where we have to aim for at least 10 points to have any chance of avoiding automatic relegation. We have to be really grateful for Bengtsson and Dirawi's contributions so far as things would be a lot worse without them. Aaprt from the one confirmed signing i'll still be aiming for a few more faces but not too hopeful of many more coming in with the wage budget so low Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 2018 Superettan Review I was hoping to add more in the window but as always the majority that seem to be available either end up signing a new contract with their club or we just can't afford the wages, it is frustrating but I also know this is part of LLM on the game so we made do with what we had for the rest of the year. Results As I said in my last post I was a bit worried about our lack of form but so accepted we were in a big run of games against sides above us at the time and hoped that once those games were out of the way we could pick some points up, even so I didn't expect a run like that!!! We finished 9 places above the media prediction of 14th and 7 above my aim of 12th so even though it was a struggle I was delighted. What really helped was two players that came from the youth intake who slotted straight in to the side whom i'll post further on but also Dirawi having his best season yet and Bengtsson also chipping in with goals, it is the most obvious saying in football but having a goalscorer is invaluable so getting over 30 between the two certainly helped keep us out of trouble. On the bright side it was probably our best August to date Youth Candidates Bertilsson and Nils Georgson were godsends, straight in to the team and straight away didn't look out of place (Georgson even scored on his debut) the others are nowhere near ready for the first team but look like if I can get them game time at other clubs on loan and they do well then they may have a future too. I'll do a round up of the youth players still at the club at the end of next season as we currently have 9 in the first team squad even if some aren't regulars so i'm pretty happy that at least this part of my plan is going well even if transfers in have been frustrating. Aim for next season is pretty much the same as every other season has been so far, get another striker and CB and at least be around the same level as the previous season. One thing i'm not looking for is promotion yet, the only advantages would be going pro atm and the chance of improving facilities but on the pitch we need a bit more in terms of quality. An appearance in the group stage of the cup again would be nice but unless we are looking comfortable around the time of the game then there's no way i'm risking my best XI. Away from our division and it's been a superb season for Swedish clubs in Europe so far, AIK came out of their CL group in 2nd, Norrkoping finished 3rd in a tricky group (would have been 2nd if Genoa hadn't beat them 5-0 in the last group game), Malmo won their Europa group and Hammerby only failed to get out of their Europa group as Marseille beat them in the last game too so it is encouraging that the top flight is doing well (even though it will make things harder for me when I get there) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Bertilsson looks good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Thankfully I have him until 2020 at least, Georgson on the other hand refuses to extend but at least I do have quite a few wingers to soften that blow Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter_Morgan Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 2019 Supperatten Halfway Review It's been an impressive enough start to the season for us all in all, the big shame is we couldn't get a few more faces in to bolster the squad though. I am sure we could have been 4/5 points better off if we could have had another 2 faces come in because as soon as we have injuries and suspensions we really are down to the bare bones. In terms of bringing new faces in we're in a bit of a dilemma as we probably aren't strong enough to compete in a higher division as it stands but we probably need to go up in order to attract better players so I think we will have to aim for the promotion and hopefully go up but even then if we face a playoff Hacken look the likely side we would face at the moment so that wouldn't be an easy tie. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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