shannon2007

Amazingly enough, you're still at Tord and they're back in Division Two. \o/

Sadly, they're bottom again atm. /o\

shannon2007

The judge looked sternly at Clemente, placed a black cloth on his head and said 'Clemente Marito, you have been found guilty of assualting a Postman, and trying to steal from him the mail. You will be taken from this place, and at dawn tomorrow you will be hung by the neck until you are dead. We have to make an example here'

Clemente felt himself near fainting in the dock. Surely that could not be right? He hadn't even touched that Postman, not really. And he was being sentenced to death? But this was Sweden, land of the looney liberals and freedom! Yet as he stood, shaking, on the verge of collapse, the police were leading him away to the doors at the back of the courtyard.

Just as was about the leave the room, the Judge banged his gavel, then started roaring with raucous laughter. 'I got you there Clemente didn't I!'

And it was only when the Judge removed his wig that Clemente realised it was actually his old friend Iain Bartholomew. 'That'll teach you to have your team beat mine. Plus you owe me a pint , lets go. Case dismissed.'

After the pint, and with all his players signed for the season, Clemente was in his office - well ok, the toilet - when the club President came rushing in.

'You won't believe this' Larson exclaimed, 'I've got excellent news for you. I've managed to find funding for you to take the team on tour!'

Clemente was so excited. Would they be going to Brazil, Jamaica, Australia even!?!? But no. The destination would be - the Faroe Islands. Still, at least it was a holiday.

'Just remember' Olaf Larsen told the players as they climbed aboard the plane, 'this isn't a holiday!'

The preseason began with a home match against Third Division Akropolis. A first outing for the new players, and it showed as the team struggled to find any rythym and could only manage a 1-1 draw thanks to an OG from Akroplis defender Jimmy Strom. Before embarking on their momentous trip to the Faroes, the sidew went off to First Division side IFK Hassleholm. This proved a tough match, and despite Rashid Elmahi bagging his first goal as a Saxemara player, they went down 2-1 and it seemed that not a lot had really changed since last season.

The trip to the Faroes though was much anticipated, and an opening game 3-1 triumph over GÃ* was gained thanks to goals from Elmahi, and his replacement Magnus Eriksson as well another OG. B36 were swept aside four nil, and there were signs the players were starting to gel. A virtual secomnd eleven was sent out in the penultimate match with Royn, running out 3-0 winners and in the final match Elias Elio was the hero with a brace in a tight 2-1 win over TB. All in the tour had been successful, and it now remained to be seen as to whether this side could manage to take Saxemara to the First Division....

retired_yolanda

Good story so far! KUTGW :thup:

shannon2007

Thanks gil

shannon2007

The tour of the Faroes had gone decently enough, and it had certainly helped bond a team that had been, once again, totally rebuilt. Certainly, the high turnover of players was not helping the Saxemara cause, but Clemente had reason to believe that the current squad of players was much better than last seasons, and should be capable of challenging at the other end of the table. There was cause for concern though, as at times the players had seemed almost too confident, thinking that a goal would come eventually and there was no need to be overly urgent. It was an attitude Clemente knew they would need to stamp out, or it would come back to bite them very hard on the bum.

Before the season finally got underway, First Division Elite side Orgryte made a bid for Asgeir Fridjonnson of £100,000 plus three very good players. Players indeed that would surely secure promotion for the club, but players that were simply too good to come here at the moment, and whom the club certainly couldn't afford wage wise, given that they were on around £1000 per week compared to the current squads £50-£100 or so. Clemente had no choice but to turn the bid down, and when Orgryte came back with another player exchange that Clemente simply knew would no come off, he told them to either stump up £1M or bugger off. On the eve of the transfer deadline, Orgryte came back with an offer of £250,000 up front and £750,000 over two years but Clemente was having none of that and demanded the whole million up front. Unfortunately, the transfer deadline beat the negotiations and so Fridjonsson remains with Saxemara for now. Not that that's a bad thing!

The opening match of the season would be at home to Floda BoIF, who had come across from the West Gotaland region of the division, where they had ended 2nd last season and 3rd the season before. This would be a good test of the new side, and it took 36 minutes before Rashid Elmahi opening the scoring. Once again though, the Saxemara players had problems killing off a match they were dominating, and it took until six minutes from the end before Fridjonsson finally got the goal that wrapped up all three points. A 1-1 draw at Limhamn was far from impressive, and back home against Karlskrona, the match was still goalless at the half time interval. Clemente was not amused at this lacklusterness, and politely told the players to pull their socks up, which they did as just five minutes after the restart Elias Elio bagged his first competitive goal for the club. On the hour Ouladib slotted home a penalty before substitute Magnus Eriksson proved that he still has what it takes and in the end a comfortable three nil win. But perhaps it was just a bit too comfortable, and the players really needed to show a bit more grit.

The worries surfaced again, as Saxemara, now proudly top of the table, travelled to Robertsfors, went 2-0 up after fifty six minutes only to allow complacency to creep in and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Elio and a Fridjonsson brace were enough to see of Laholm after another sluggish performance, before the side finally paid the price for their careless attitude as they went down 2-0 in Lund. Yet they were still flying high, and although it wasn't pretty the football they were playing was at least getting points on the board. A rejig of the forward line saw Jacob Johansson come in for the match with Tenhult, and after just three minutes he sent the home side into the lead. Once more though they seemed to lose their way, and before the break Tenhult were level. It took the introduction of the ageing Eriksson to win the points as the 34 year old showed the younger players how to finish.

Johansson bagged a brace in a much better 3-1 away win against Ystads, and perhaps this match could best show the improvement in the side as this was of course a fixture that had been lost 5-0 last season. Johansson was the hero again in a 2-0 away to Hemmingsmark, before a fine three nil triumph over MABI was gained in the penultimate match of the first half of the season. A dissapointing end though to that half, as only a nil all draw could be gained at home to Bollstanas. Nevertheless, with half the season gone Saxemara sit top of the table, four points clear of Floda. Perhaps the most significant thing to note is that the defence has only conceded eight goals and is the second best in the division. A long way to go - well eleven more games - but Clemente's side now look in a good position to reach the step of the ladder.

shiloh23

Great story :thup:. Death to the postmen!!!

shannon2007

Come July, and the new transfer window saw Orgryte calling again for Asgeir Fridjonsson. They must really like that guy. In the end, Clemente was able to wangle a deal that was £250,000 up front and up to a possible other £1M or more depending on various clauses. Orgryte also decided they wanted defender Eril Skordaker, and Clemente was happy to let him go for £100,000, and Jacob Johansson was also on the move, this time to IFK Goteborg who paid £250,000 for the youngster. Marcus Jonsson, Jimmy Nunez and Fredrik Sjostedt, none of who had made any impact with the team at all, were all release from their contracts to stop them from their constant whining.

And so for the first time in his managerial career, Clemente Marito had money to spend. And spend it he did. Trelleborgs 21 year old midfielder Filip Marras was Clemente's first ever fee payed signing, as he arrived for a club record £35,000. Although Marras lacks on the physical side, he is a decently talented player and should bring a bit of steel to a midfield that was sadly lacking. A second midfielder in 25 year old Viktor Ronneklev was brought in from Norrkoping for £7,000. Ronneklev is a reasonably good player who should be fine at this level. Eleven other players were brought to the club: 25 year old left winger Freddy Borg from Oster for £1,000; the highly recommended forward from GIF Sundsvall, 28 year old Marcus Ekenberg for a fee of £24,000; promising 19 year old central defender Joel Ekstrand from Helsingborg for £1000; another teenager in the shape of 19 year old right back Anes Mrvac from Malmo FF for £1000; 27 year old central defender Johan Carlsson from Hacken for £1000; 27 year old left back Patrick Karlsson from GAIS for £10,000 and 25 year old keeper FredriK Persson from Halmstad for £1000.

These looked like decent additions to the squad, but the one huge question mark hanging over them was the fact that virtually everyone of them was transfer listed by their former clubs. Yet Clemente really did believe that he had invested the money wisely and that these players would not just see the club promoted, but would help cement their position at the higher level. Time, as always, would tell if the Portuguese was right or wrong.

Before the departures of Fridjonsson and co though, as contracts and deals were being thrashed out, there were still matches to be played. A visit to second placed Floda gave Saxemara a real chance to open up a bit of breathing space at the top of the table, and they took in style. Simon Pahlander opened the scoring on 24 minutes, Fridjonsson added a second before the interval and Jacob Johansson added a brace in the second half to secure a comfortable four one win, and the First Division was beckoning for sure.

The match at home to Limhamn would mark the end of Asgeir Fridjonssons near three year stay with Saxemara, and marked the occassion with a 68th minute goal that finally broke a deadlocked match. Johan Bengtsson wrapped up the points five minutes from time and the crowd waved goodbye to their hero, and to Jacob Johanssen. The fans though were not best pleased at the sale of Fridjonsson, even after Clemente had explained that a club like Saxemara simply could not afford to turn down such deals.

Four new signings made their debuts in the visit to Karlskrona, and one of them - Viktor Ronnekov - marked his debut with the only goal of the game as Saxemara secured yet another, albeit narrow, win. A 2-0 win away to Laholm was secured, and Markus Ekenberg finally got off the mark for his new club. And then Astrit Ajdarevic started drawing attention to himself as hammered in a hattrick against Lund, with Ekenberg and an own goal giving Clemente's side a thrilling five one triumph to bring promotion that bit nearer.

It was so tempting to say that promotion was merely a formality, but the points still had to be gained. Wins over Robertsfors (3-0) and Tenhult (1-0) left Saxemara needing just two points from their final four matches to go up. One player who would not be part of any title celebrations though was Astrit Ajdarevic. Norwegian side Staebaek had decided that wanted the winger, but their first bid consisted of a small fee and two players that Clemente really didn't want. The Norwegians were determined though and came back with a straight £23,000 cash bid. Clemente really did not want to sell and rejected that offer too.

'Tell you what' he told the Staebaek manager on the phone, 'If you give me £1M plus that 40% sell on fee, the player is yours'

Two days later, the phone went. It was the Staebaek manager. 'Ok' He said, 'you have a deal'.

'You what?!' Clemente exclaimed, 'I'm serious, I want £1m!'

'Thats fine' Staebaek manager Jan Jonsson declared, 'We're willing to pay'

And the deal was done.

Before the match that could clinch promotion, Clemente brought in 21 year right winger Daniel Larsson from IFK Malmo for £9,000. Witht he club financially secure for a while at least, the players didn't have to worry about being paid and were able to concentrate on their football. Ystads IF were the visitors, and goals from Filip Marras, Freddy Borg and Elias Elio were enough to secure the win and the promotion that came with it.

Title secured, the team then went out and lost 1-0 to MABI and could only draw 1-1 with Bollstanas. A final day 1-0 win over Hemmingsmark at home was a festive occassion and when it was all over everyone was happy, and Clemente could not believe how much his fortunes had changed. The gods of fate were now smiling on him for sure.

As he left the dressing room to go home, the cleaner stopped him, 'Oh Mr Marito' She said in tears, 'I'm so, so sorry about Angus'

Angus was a cute little puppy that his new friend Iain Bartholomew had given to Clemente a few months ago.

'What about Angus?' Clemente asked.

'I'm afraid he's been killed sir' The cleaner was almost afraid to say it.

'Good grief' Clemente exclaimed, 'I simply don't believe this. How did he die?'

'Well sir, he was in your house when it burnt down.'

shannon2007

Swedish Second Division - South Gotaland
Final League Positions 2008

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Saxemara | | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 44 | 12 | +32 | 52 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Limhamn | | 22 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 43 | 24 | +19 | 41 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Lund | | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 35 | 20 | +15 | 41 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Floda | | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 40 | 23 | +17 | 40 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Karlskrona | | 22 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 36 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | MABI | | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 30 | 31 | -1 | 33 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Ystads IF | | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 25 | 31 | -6 | 30 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Laholm | | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 29 | 34 | -5 | 29 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Hemmingsmark | | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 24 | 41 | -17 | 26 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | Pl | Robertsfors | | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 26 | 40 | -14 | 20 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | R | Tenhult | | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 40 | -26 | 15 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | R | Bollstanäs | | 22 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 17 | 47 | -30 | 12 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_yolanda

Ouch, that's tragic. Let's see how Clemente works his way out of this

shannon2007

Although poor little Angus was dead, and his house was burnt to the ground, Clemente was not too upset. He could always get another dog, and Mr Larsen had promised him that once the insurance money for the house came through, everything would be fine and until then Clemente was welcome to live in the Club Presidents garden shed. It was, at least, a roof over his head and it would only be for a very short time.

There was more activity on the transfer front as goalkeeper Fredrik Persson's stay with the club proved to be short indeed and he only made one appearance. A £6,000 move to Norrkoping was at least a six fold profit and that can't be bad. Defender Robert Badang had failed to make any appearances in his year at the club, and he goes off to Tandsbyn for £1000 and keeper Klas Christensson was released on a free. Another eleven new players came in, and Clemente now felt he had enough cover for all areas of the team for a season that was sure to be the toughest yet.

Saxemara Squad 2009

Goalkeepers

Jon Rytterbo (26) A £1000 signing from Norkopping, Rytterbo is largely untested. Will be looking to be first choice keeper but it may well be a huge risk to start him.

Robert Beach (22) Despite not being the greatest keeper in the world, Beach has nonetheless played not too badly for Saxemara. Made 21 appearances last season , conceding only 12 goals and keeping eleven clean sheets and surely deserves to at least start the season as the number one choice.

Pontus Hagstrom (19) Signed from Atvidaberg for £10,000, Hagstrom seems to be a keeper with much promise. For now will start in the reserve side, but should certainly be someone to watch for the future.

Defence

William von Schrowe (21) £26,000 signing from Premier Division side AIK, Von Schrowe made 10 appearances for them last season and performed adequately. Was originally available for loan, but a great coop to bring the right back to the club in a permanent deal and he is sure to be a hit.

Andre Birgersson (23) Made 14 appearances for the club last season, and performed fairly well. Certainly seems to be a confident and reliable right back.

Anes Mrvac (19) Capped at U-19 level PLayed seven times for the first team last season at right back, but was generally unimpressive. Did manage to make the Swedish U-19 side though so he must have done something right. May develop into a decent player for the future but will be used sparingly for now.

Patrik Karlsson (28) In his eight matches last season, Karlsson played not too badly. A decent enough player who can be relied on having already played at the top level of the Swedish game.

Jesper Holmqvist (21) Arrives from Lindome for £85,000 where he did not have the best of seasons. Nevertheless seems to be an accomplished left back who will be looking to depose Karlsson as first choice.

Peter Larsson (30) Has played eighteen times for Saxemara over two years, but not getting enough regular games to keep him happy and looks likely to be allowed to leave should a decent offer come along.

M'Barek Ouladib (24) Twenty two appearances last season, and even managed 2 goals and 2 assists. Played very well and will be looking to fend off the challenge from the newcomers to retain his place and the captaincy of the side.

Eric Tengroth (21) The first six figure player to arrive at Saxemara as Clemente splashed out £100,000 to secure the central defenders signature from Djurgarden. May be a pig in a poke though, as despite a good season in 2007 he was fairly poor last term.

Joel Ekstrand (19) The teenager only managed two appearances last season, but certainly looks a player who could develop into something decent if given time.

Hekko Sahara (19) Another teenager, signed from Elfsborg for £2000 but has yet to make his senior debut.

Ulf Carlsson (16) Joint first local boy to sign up for the club since Clemente's arrival, the left back may simply not be good enough to make his mark on the game at any level.

Midfielders

Elias Elio (22) An excellent first season on the left hand side of the midfield, Elio has established himself as a favourite of the fans. Played 22 times last season scoring four goals and being man of the match five times.

Filip Marras (21) Fairly average contribution in his nine matches last season, and his lack of any real pace or strenght may well be too much of a hinderance for a player who certainly seems to have some talent.

Viktor Ronneklev (26) Reasonably decent nine games last season, but will surely need to step it up a bit at the higher level.

Joakim Persson (20) £30,000 signing from IK Sirius, there is a good chance he could become a regular starter in the season ahead.

Elmin Kurbegovic (21) capped at U-19 level A £2000 signing from Jonkoping Sodra, Kurbegovic flatters deceive and it's a mystery why Clemente had bothered with a player who does not seem to have any pedigree at all.

Simon Pahlander (23) Managed 10 games last season and played very well. Two goals, and three assists but may struggle to hold down his place in the coming season.

Mattias Pihl (16) The other joint first local boy, Pihl is possibly the better prospect but is also unlikely to have much chance of making a career within the game.


Forwards

Daniel Larsson (22) Only arrived in time to play the last four matches of the season, but was utterly unimpressive on the right wing and may well be moved on if he doesn't improve drastically.

Oskar Smedstad (21) Will probably displace Larsson on the right wing, as he is a much faster and far more skilful player. Cost £35,000 from Enkopings.

Freddy Borg (25) Decent enough nine games on the left wing as the direct replacement for Fridjonsson. Managed three goals and three assists and generally played not too badly.

Behrang Safari (24) £35,000 signing from Malmo FF where he generally failed to make the grade.

Marcus Ekenberg (28) Despite coming with a decent reputation, Ekenberg managed only four goals in nine matches which is really not good enough for a striker.

Fredrik Sorensson (21) A new club record signing at a massive £190,000 there is much excitement amongst the Saxemara support at capturing the kid from Orebro. Has scored 40 career goals from 36 starts and 40 sub appearances with Limhamn, Hammarby and Orebro and should set the heather on fire here.

Rashid Elmahi (24) Made a decent start to his career with Saxemara before injury hit. Made only three starts and managed one goal, played not too badly and may have a chance of recovering himself with the club.

Magnus Eriksson (35) In his fourth season with the club now, managed only eight appearances last term but still bagged four goals. Only sentimental value surely keeps him at the club as he is quite simply no longer good enough.