The Scandinavian Shankly's final chapter: From paupers to kings v2

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March

Safely into the cup quarter final, and the Super Cup in the bag. I'll take that. 

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April

Apologies for the slowdown on this save, but I'm back on with it. A decent April sees us top of the table, although we have a bit of a shortage in midfield thanks to a few injuries. Michael Dickey is the biggest loss, he's been out for a month already and will probably miss another six weeks. 

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Struggling with FM at the moment. Hoping I can get back into this, even if it means a change of direction. 

My eyes IRL are firmly cast towards the Bundesliga, so maybe Germany is an option. 

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May & June

A solid month sees us building a steady lead at the top of the table, and with Kalmar to come in our next league game, we may find ourselves 9 points clear at the midway point of the season. Pretty solid, even if my head has been turned by future possibilities. I've expressed interest in a couple of jobs in Germany (Fortuna Dusseldorf and Hoffenheim) but both have stuck with their current manager for now. 

We've drawn Molde in an all-Scandinavian Champions League tie, which will be a good test for the club. I've also made a new signing for July, on a free from Tavria in Ukraine:

That allows me to sell Prince Oriangue in the coming transfer window, once he recovers from injury. He's wanted to leave since the end of last season, and we now have enough depth to let such a good player go.

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Looks like I won't be letting Oniangue leave, after all. Instead, he'll be needed as one of my centre backs, after an offer of €2.2m + 50% was accepted for Mikael Dyrestam. It wasn't quite a record fee, but considering we picked him up for just €200,000, it's a great deal for a player in an area we're really strong in. He's off to Al-Gharrafa in Qatar, who are paying five times the wages we were. 

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UEFA Champions League
Second qualifying round

1st Leg: Örebro SK 2-1 Molde
Not a great first leg in the all Scandinavian tie, but we have the lead and that's the main thing. Erik Johannson had a mixed night, first he curled home the opener after 28 minutes, and on the stroke of half time he conceded the penalty that brought the leveller. In the second half, he bent in a great free kick from out wide and onto the forehead of Pär Ericsson,  who powered home a winner. 

2nd Leg: Molde 0-2 Örebro SK
A perfect second leg sees us safely into the third round, thanks to two more from Ericsson. He's up to 15 for the season now. 

We'll have another Scandinavian battle next, as we meet AGF, the champions of Denmark. 

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UEFA Champions League
Third qualifying round

1st Leg: Örebro SK 3-2 AGF
The first leg was a bit more open than I intended, but we at least take a lead to Denmark next week. Dzmitry Rekish put us in front with a rocket from distance after 17 minutes, although they cut us open straight after to level. Pär Ericsson slotted home from a corner on the half hour, and powered home a header with 25 to play to give us a good lead, but we fell asleep late on and were punished for it. 

2nd Leg: AGF 1-1 Örebro SK
An outstanding performance in Aarhus ensures we'll be playing some form of European football this season. Emil Jonassen's 19th minute goal put us in charge, and although AGF levelled on the night in the 80th minute, in truth we never looked in any real danger. 

We'll meet RB Salzburg in the play off round. Very much second favourites, but who knows...

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UEFA Champions League
Play off

1st Leg: Örebro SK 4-0 RB Salzburg
A dream first leg, which leaves us with almost both feet in the group stage. Dzmitry Rekish sent a (reduced) capacity crowd of 11,000 wild with a free kick after just four minutes, and Markus Astvald doubled our lead from close range on 22 minutes. A Pär Ericsson header on 77 minutes really crushed the spirit out of our wealthy visitors, and Kalle Holmberg sealed it late on. 

2nd Leg: RB Salzburg 2-0 Örebro SK
I expected them to respond, and they were worthy of their two goal victory, but they never looked like getting the five goals they required. 

Safely through, where we'll meet Bayern, Sporting CP and Juventus 

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€8.6m in the bank then, and the board agreed my request to spend a chunk on infrastructure. €4.6m will be spent on the youth facilities in the winter, while we also spent €100,000 on a new left winger. 

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July & August

Things are going swimmingly, to be honest. Unbeaten in the league and well placed to retain the title, although it will be interesting to see how the squad copes with the pressure of European football. I don't anticipate even getting a solitary point in that group, but we won't worry too much about that right now. 

In terms of squad strengthening, I did add a couple more in the last window. Both are back up players, and both are teenagers, but I'm happy with both deals. 

Right back Enst Belmont arrives for €400,000 from Young Boys, while Herve Combe had been released by Ligue 2 side Nimes. Mentalists. 

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Youth intake 2015

Not a great vintage. Hopefully improvements are ahead, we're certainly spending the money on the facilities. 

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September

The league title in the bag with five games to go, and a creditable performance in our first CL game. No complaints at all. 

We've also secured a couple of deals for next season, costing us a total of €550,000. Pretty decent business for two homegrown players.

[kidthekid]

Congrats on the title and decent performance against Bayern.

Martin Ibrahim looks like a future world class CB.

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4 hours ago, kidthekid said:

Congrats on the title and decent performance against Bayern.

Martin Ibrahim looks like a future world class CB.

Cheers.

There's definitely potential there, he'll be our third or fourth choice CB next year. Hopefully he can really kick on. Not bad for €250,000 though. 

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October

There we go, then. As far as the league is concerned, it's been an absolutely marvellous campaign. Dropping just 10 points all season, and avoiding defeat to boot is not to be sniffed at. Defensively we've been terrific, just 10 league goals conceded, but I do think we should score a few more and the board seem to agree. One to consider in the winter. 

Delighted with that point against Sporting in Europe too, and the two goals in the loss to Juve both came in the last 10 minutes or we could have had another point. Just three more European games to play and then I'll round up the season. 

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From what I remember, Sweden's league reset date is before the end of the Champions League group stage. That means I'll probably do my summary tomorrow before I've played the final two group games. That might look a little bit weird, but I'll do my best to remember to edit it to add in the results later on. We're already busy in the transfer market, which is a little distracting while group games are still taking place, but I'll live with it. 

I've also been linked to a couple of Bundesliga jobs...which is nice. I'm not going anywhere, but still. 

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Örebro SK - Season summary - 2015

League (Allsvenskan)
Media prediction: 2nd
Finished: 1st (champions)

Cups
Svenska Cupen: quarter finals (won by BK Häcken)
Svenska Supercupen: winners

Europe
3rd in our Champions League Group, drop into the Europa League (2014/15 CL won by Inter)
2014/15 Europa League won by Dortmund

Top scorers
Pär Ericsson: 40 appearances (33 starts): 25 goals -12 in the league
Denni Avdic: 29 appearances (13 starts): 11 goals - all in the league

Top assists
Dzmitry Rekish: 16 in 38 games
Marcus Astvald: 15 in 39 games

Positives
A very solid season domestically, it's great to pick up another league title and we did so in a thoroughly dominant fashion. Very surprised to go unbeaten, but there's a tidy squad developing here. Qualifying for the Champions League means we're in a very strong position financially, and the board have agreed to my requests to pump those funds into training and youth facility upgrades. Things are looking very good then, considering I'm only three seasons into this. 

Concerns & disappointments
My biggest concern is that a few of our important players are beginning to have their heads turned, and are looking for a way out the club. Prince Oniangue will almost certainly leave this winter, but hopefully I can convince the rest of the squad that this is the place to be. We also have a slight issue over players developed at the club as the youth intake hasn't yet produced anything, but that's fairly minor, and five players within the first team squad are on the way to becoming homegrown. 

Manager's player of the season
Emil Bergström has done enough to show me that Oniangue can leave for the right fee. The 22 year old centre back has been outstanding

Attendances: capacity of 14,400 (11,000 in all-seater competitions)
Lowest attendance: 6,889
Highest attendance: 13,915 
Average attendance: 9,131 (up from 6,907 last season)

Finances
€11,100,000 in credit

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Definitely got high hopes for this kid. He might just be our second choice striker next season.

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Amazing. The European adventure will live on in the Europa League thanks to the ineptitude of Sporting. I expected to get six hidings in this group, yet the only side who gave us a proper tw@tting was Bayern on our trip to Germany. Delighted. 

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Didn't think I'd be spending huge sums on transfers at this stage, but I've just mashed our transfer record of €400,000 into tiny little pieces. 

This lad has cost us €1.5m from Botafogo,but just look at him! Had he been 19 instead of 18 I probably wouldn't have been prepared to spend so much money, but he can become homegrown, so is worth every penny.  It's useful he can play in two positions, but he'll see most action as a central midfielder. 

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Örebro SK season preview 2016 (Allsvenskan)

Media expectation: 2nd (of 16)
Board expectation: challenge for the title

Transfer budget (remaining): €6.3m
Wage budget: €120,000p/w (€45,000p/w under budget)

Just about ready to go then on a new campaign, and a season in which competitive football begins in February when we meet Olympiacos in the Europa League knock outs. That means that instead of our players getting the best part of three months off, they've had six weeks. The first day back in training is just 31 days before the European tie, which hopefully is enough time to get everybody fit, although there is no pressure at all in terms of getting a result. 

The board have been good this winter, both in terms of actions and expectations. Both the youth and training facilities are being upgraded, our scouting network improved and more scouts added, while there has also been plenty of money provided for new transfers. A title challenge is perfectly reasonable, and they have no interest at all in either the cup or super cup, so I'm not going to be pressured into selecting my strongest team for those matches. I am however hopeful that our back-up XI is now strong enough that we can compete on all fronts this season, and while I have no expectations for the upcoming European game, I hope we are in a group stage of either competition come the autumn. 

In terms of transfers, it's been relatively quiet. The biggest outgoing deal was Prince Oniangue to BATE for a near-record €2.4m. Not bad at all for a player who joined on a free, and made 51 appearances over his two year spell with us. Also leaving was full back Marcel Halstenberg, who joined Elfsborg for €500,000, while Erik Johansson joined Helsingborg for €475,000. A couple of other fringe players were allowed to leave on frees or for nominal fees, but I'm happy enough with my outgoing business this winter. 

As mentioned above, our €400,000 record fee was shattered by the addition of midfielder Renato Augusto for €1.5m, while deals for Miiko Albornoz (€300,000) and Martin Ibrahim (€250,000) were agreed before the end of the season. I had agreed a fee with Malmö for young striker Robin Andersson, who scored 18 goals last season, but he point-blank refused to negotiate. Probably a good thing though, as I already have a selection problem with the three strikers I have! 

Of the 9 non-Swedish players in our 24 man squad, only three of them are not either on the pathway to becoming homegrown, or have already got there. That's very handy in a league where restrictions are as tight as they are in Sweden. It also means the squad is very young - we're likely to start the Europa League tie with four teenagers in the match day squad, while we only have one 30 year old in the squad at all. 

[kidthekid]

I like the look of Augusto. What a coup!!!

[Deisler26]

Great deal for Augusto!

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10 hours ago, kidthekid said:

I like the look of Augusto. What a coup!!!

 

7 hours ago, Deisler26 said:

Great deal for Augusto!

He is a bit special. I did think he was outside our price range initially, but I'm glad I talked myself into signing him. 

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Just thought I'd show who Augusto will be playing alongside in midfield when everybody is fit:

Dickey is a monster at 18, and Svensson is arguably the best player in the league. 

These back ups are pretty decent too:

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UEFA Europa League
Round of 32

1st Leg: Örebro SK 3-1 Olympiacos
A really solid first leg performance, although I had to let the players have it at half time. Renato Augusto marked his debut with a goal after 24 minutes, slotting home from about 10 yards. We conceded a sloppy equaliser a few minutes later and it stayed 1-1 until the break, but we took complete control in the second half. Pär Ericsson scored 8 times in Europe last season, and he scored two more here to leave us in a very decent position to progress. The only downside was a pair of yellow cards for defender Emil Bergström. 

2nd Leg: Olympiacos 0-2 Örebro SK
An outstanding second leg, even better than I could have hoped for, and we're through to meet Athletic Bilboa in the last 16. Pär Ericsson helped himself to two more goals here as we dominated from the outset. 

[deltablue]

I see you are like me in how strictly you use a young players age to determine whether he's worth it

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8 minutes ago, deltablue said:

I see you are like me in how strictly you use a young players age to determine whether he's worth it

It often depends where I am. In Scotland, for example, I may buy him at 19 as you need a certain number of players under the age of 21, but I'd definitely sell him on a couple of years later. If I got him at 18, I'd be looking to keep him for as long as I possibly can. 

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A very mixed bag to start the new season. We are already out of the Svenska Cupen with a game still to play after a pair of horrific results in the group against lower league opposition, but we did manage to beat last year's Cup winners BK Häcken to secure another Svenska Supercupen:

Also:

UEFA Europa League
Round of 16

1st Leg: Örebro SK 1-0 Athletic Club
A really disciplined performance in the first leg, and we somehow have a lead to defend in the visit to the Basque region of Spain next week. Michael Dickey ran the show from midfield, and it was his goal in the 38th minute that sent the fans home happy. 

2nd Leg: Athletic Club 2-4 Örebro SK
Speechless. They levelled the tie after just 8 minutes from the penalty spot, at which point I thought we were in for a long night. Just two minutes later though and we were back in front, Rekish smashing home a rocket from distance. Sixty seconds later we led on the night thanks to Pär Ericsson#s 49th goal for the club, and he had his 50th before half time. The second half was much tighter, but an own goal on 70 minutes ended the tie, and although they responded with a goal in a late rally, we are more than worthy winners. 

We'll meet Marseille in the quarter final. 

 

[kidthekid]

fantastic results against Bilbao.

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UEFA Europa League
Quarter final

1st Leg: Örebro SK 1-1 Marseille
We played so well in this first leg, but a late error cost us the crucial away goal and makes things look tricky for the second leg. Herolind Shala's 35 yard drive just after an hour had put us in front. 

2nd Leg: Marseille 3-0 Örebro SK
Sadly we couldn't live with the French side in the second leg, and it was a horror night for Emil Jonassen, who was at fault for all three goals (and finished with a rating of 3.6!)

Still, it's been a great run in Europe. I'd have ripped your arm off for a spot in the Europa League group stage, let alone the Champions League groups and then a run in the Europa. Lovely stuff. 

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Early weeks of the season

Sorry, fallen behind a little with my updates. Still, things look decent for us as far as the table is concerned, although our performances haven't exactly been convincing. The defeat in the league ended a 37 games unbeaten run (more than a whole league season) so I can't complain too much, but we did lead 2-0 at one stage in that game! Renato Augusto has made a confident start to life in Europe too - he has 5 goals in 7 league games from his CM role. 

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May & June

As we hit the four week summer break, we've opened up a tidy little gap at the top of the league. We still haven't been great this season, but I've got no doubts at all that this team will improve. We've also picked up €6m in TV money from our European adventure, so we have about €14m in the bank. I'm hoping we can funnel that into another upgrade of our facilities, but we shall see. 

All in all, I'm happy enough with how things are going. 

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Hmm. I'd planned on sticking around for my entire career, but I'm sorely tempted by this offer which came out the blue:

They won their 10th Ligue 1 title in 1981, and haven't won it since. A stadium with a capacity of over 40,000, and a chance to take on PSG. 

One to think about. 

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23 hours ago, withnail316 said:

Hmm. I'd planned on sticking around for my entire career, but I'm sorely tempted by this offer which came out the blue:

They won their 10th Ligue 1 title in 1981, and haven't won it since. A stadium with a capacity of over 40,000, and a chance to take on PSG. 

One to think about. 

Nah. On we go. 

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Tidy.

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Amazing how often the summer break tempts me to splash the cash. I could be spending the best part of €1.7m on three new arrivals, while I have also signed a 24 year old winger on a free. Details to follow. 

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Transfer activity

With almost four weeks between games thanks to the 2016 European Championships, I sent the lads away for a couple of weeks to unwind (rest all players is very handy) while I perused a few scout reports to try and find a way to make us stronger. As happy as I am with the balance of the squad, it's always good to freshen things up. Plus, we have a shedload of money in the bank, and it was burning a hole in my pocket! 

My first signing though was inexplicably out of contract and searching for a club. New Zealand international Marco Rojas is outstanding in all three AM positions, so his versatility is immensely useful, but I expect he'll see most action on the left. Next up was centre back Mirza Mujcic, who had been desperate to get out of second tier Halmstad. A bargain for €100,000, and he should improve with regular football. The next deal was substantially more expensive at €1.3m, but Brazilian defender Tinguinha looks a great addition even at that price. Finally, young Swiss winger Samy Harel was available for a snip at €275,000, although I expect I'll try get him out on loan within Sweden as soon as he arrives. 

I'm planning on getting a few players out the club when the window opens in August. The first out is winger Herolind Shala, the recently capped Albanian international is off to Braunschweig in Germany for €325,000. Defenders Walid Atta and Emil Jonassen are the other players I hope to move on. 

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UEFA Champions League
Second qualifying round

1st Leg: Valletta 0-6 Örebro SK 
A trip to Malta in our first qualifier, and we came home with a convincing win against the part-timers. Hervé Combe certainly enjoyed himself, the 17 year old French striker bagged a hat-trick, and he made another for Boris Lumbana. Club captain Patrick Haginge got the other two.

2nd Leg: Örebro SK 6-0 Valletta
Another convincing display sees us safely through. Two for Rekish, two for Ericsson and one each for Combe and Astvald see us safely through. We'll meet Skonto of Latvia in the next round. 
 

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UEFA Champions League
Third qualifying round

1st Leg: Örebro SK 5-0 Skonto 
First legs don't get much better than this. It was only 1-0 at half time, but we tore them to shreds in the second. Hervé Combe's performance meant we had an offer of €3m from Red Star Belgrade immediately after this game, which was instantly rejected. Combe, Dickey, Rekish, Bergström and Astvald with the goals. 

2nd Leg: Skonto 0-4 Örebro SK
With the hard work done, I'd planned to just close them out in the second leg, but the lads had other ideas. We ripped them to pieces. Two more for Combe, one for Bergström and a Lumbana rocket see us through to meet Sparta Prague in the play off. That could go either way, and frankly I don't care too much which competition we end up in. 

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July & August

Things are looking vey good domestically, we're 12 points clear with games running out, so very well placed to secure another league title. We're not as water-tight as we were at the back last season, but we're certainly getting the job done. 

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UEFA Champions League
Play offs

1st Leg: Örebro SK 3-1 Sparta Prague
A very good performance for 85 minutes, but the late away goal could yet be costly for us. Michael Dickey's rocket right on half time put us in front, and Rojas doubled our lead in the early moments of the second half. Combe helped himself to another just after the hour, but we look well placed for the return leg against the Czech Republic's finest. 

2nd Leg: Sparta Prague 0-4 Örebro SK
Pär Ericsson took advantage of a suspension to Combe and bagged himself two more goals here, while Renato Augusto also scored twice. 

Into another group stage then, and once again we're the 4th seed. The result is ties against FC Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen & RB Salzburg. 

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Youth intake 2016

Hoping for another youth upgrade soon, as we don't seem to be producing much from our current academy. 

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A little more transfer news to confirm now the window has closed. Emil Jonassen, the Norwegian full back I signed for free in the first few weeks I was at the club, has been pestering me for a move away for a few months now. He was magnificent, and ideally I wanted to keep him (or get a huge fee) but in the end I relented and let him leave. He's off to Danish champions OB for €1.5m, while centre back Walid Atta was being tracked by Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. I let him leave for €1m, considering he was almost 30 and only had 18 months left on his contract. 

In just under four years at the club, we've brought in over €18m in sales (not including sell on fees) which is enormous money in Sweden. We've spent a little under €6m of that ourselves. 

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WTF!!! I know I don't have La Liga loaded, but that's ridiculous!

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September

Two goalless draws in the league followed by a win over Barcelona. Utterly ridiculous. We've secured another league title, and with 6 points in the CL, we should have some form of European football after Christmas. Really can't grumble at that. 

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October

Two more European games to go and the season is over, and I have no complaints at all. 

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A quick transfer update before the season comes to an end. We've brought in three youngsters for just under €1.6m and one of them at least will give me a selection headache next year. 

Geetsen joins us for €350,000 from AaB and Hassan costs just €220,000. Both players will go into our reserves next season, and hopefully both will kick on. 

Julio David meanwhile will go straight into the first team squad. Looks a good deal for €1m.