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“What are you on about darling?” I asked. “I’m just doing a bit of work.”
“Look,” she said, pointing at the screen. “You’ve got all this information about a girl called Sylvia up on the screen. Who is she, and why are you so interested in her?” she demanded.
“Oh, that.” It was as if a lightbulb had been switched on in my brain. “Sylvia, my dear, is the name of my new job. I’ve just accepted a job as the manager at a club called Sylvia and this is some info about the club that the chairman has sent me ahead of me taking up the job in early March.”
“That’s a very strange name for a football club. Who names their team after a girl?”
“I don’t know dear, but I can tell you that IF Sylvia, their full name, were founded in 1922 and play at the 3200-capacity Stadium Bollspelaren.”
“And where exactly is that? It doesn’t sound particularly English.”
“It’s not. It’s in a town called Norrköping, in Sweden. The club are in the Swedish second division, East Svealand region. And despite the division being called the second division, it’s actually the third tier of football there.”
“And how exactly did you get the job? It’s not as if you know anyone from Sweden. And also, how exactly do you intend to bring success to this club? You don’t know the first thing about management, especially football management.”
“Well, as a great commentator once said, “You can’t win anything with a bunch of kids.” Sir Alex Ferguson then went on to prove the opposite, and so I’m going to follow his lead. No players over 24 will ever play for me.”
“That’s a bit restrictive isn’t it?”
“Well, maybe, but a rule’s a rule. And I won’t be signing more than 3 players per season for a transfer fee. Freebies and loans are the way to go, especially for a cash-strapped club like Sylvia.”
“You seem to have it all worked out, but you’ve forgotten one incy wincy minor detail.”
The wife issues were eventually resolved. She got herself a job in a local hospital, and I was able to take up my new position.
With a stated policy of only under-24s in the first team squad, it was important to allow anyone above that threshold to leave the team for pastures new. As such, Lars Ström, Fredrik Berggren, Jonas Nilsson and Mikael Cupan were offloaded to Eskilstuna City, Lindsdal, Tandsbyn and Nybro respectively, bringing in a few thousand pounds. Limhamn took the duo of Henrik Häggdah and Niklas Andersson for a nominal fee, whilst I also allowed Johan Larsson, who was eligible to play for the club under the new rules, to join Hultsfred.
It was also imperative to get myself an assistant. The response to my advert got an average response, but I almost fell off my chair when Anders Limpar, the Arsenal legend, applied for the job. But, after much consideration, I decided to ask a guy called Dan Larsson to join me, and he was more than happy to leave his job at Forward to join the revolution.
I was quite surprised at how many decent-looking youngsters there were at the club when I joined. But that being said, there were still gaps in the squad, and so that meant that we had to bring in a few faces. Season-long loans were used to bring in Turkish goalkeeper Oguzan Yildiz and centre-back Eric Thoresson from Vallentuna and Falkenberg respectively. And Tidaholms GoIF allowed us to take left-back and defensive midfielder Marcus Westermark without a penny being spent.
It was also important to get some match-practice under our belts before the season got under way. A simple, but attacking, 4-4-2 formation will be employed, and it paid off spectacularly at home to Arameiska/Syrianska as goals from Johan Roxström, Andreas Friman, Georg Xantopoulos and Josef Kopkin added to a hattrick from Michael Kassyousef helped the team to a fantastic 7-0 win.
And if that was a good result, fellow second-division side Eskilstuna City were routed 8-1; Friman claiming six, and Kassyousef claiming the other two. And the goal conceded only came late on as well!
But the trip to non-league Edsbyn brought us back down to earth as we lost 1-0, but goals from Kassyousef and Adiel Jonson set up our season nicely with a 2-0 win at Gestrike/Hammarby.
And so, with a packet of sweets and a cheeky smile, we were ready to tackle the season in style.
The season kicked off with a cup tie, and we had been handed a tough draw, having to travel to another second division side, Skene. Most commentators didn’t expect anything other than a home win, but we acquitted ourselves well. The first half saw both sides have only a few chances on goal, but whilst our defence was equal to the Skene attack, Friman and Kassyousef showed their predatory skills to have us two goals up at half time. Friman added a second early in the second half, and suddenly we were in amazing form. Jonson came off the bench to grab a fourth, and Christoffer Jonsson made it 5-0 in injury time as we went through for a home tie with Premier League side Gefle.
The first league game of the season was also on the road, and we travelled to Topkapi knowing that people weren’t expecting much from us, both in this game and for the season in general. The opening exchanges saw few chances for either side, but with half an hour gone, 16-year-old full back Armando Ibrakovic, who had made his international debut for Bosnia before his debut in domestic competition, scored when his cross eluded everyone and dropped into the back of the net. Kassyousef made it 2-0 shortly afterward, and although the home side pulled a goal back late on, we held out for an opening day victory.
Andreas Friman was out injured for our trip to Syrianska, having picked up an injury in the previous game. We took a first half lead through winger Kristoffer Dyverfelt, but we couldn’t keep a clean sheet, and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
But with the other sides who had won on the opening day also dropping points, we found ourselves in third place at the end of April, only missing out on top spot on goal difference and goals scored.
The month began with the cup match against Gefle, currently leading the Swedish divisions. In the build up to the game, I told my boys to just play their normal game and ignore the status of the opposition. And that’s precisely what they did. Within ten minutes we found ourselves two goals to the good thanks to strikes from Jonas Björkholm and the returning skipper, Andreas Friman. It was then a backs-to-the-wall effort as Gefle showed their class. We conceded a goal just before the break to somewhat knock the stuffing out of us, but we kept on plugging away in the second half. It didn’t last long though, as by the hour mark Gefle had equalised, and surely it was only a matter of time before they put the game to the sword. But it wasn’t to be for the top-flight side, as their defender, Tomas Zvirgsdauskas saw Friman’s shot end up in the back of the net off his backside, and we held on to claim a memorable scalp and a third round tie against first-division side Örebro.
Three days later we were back in league action, and with Michael Kassyousef out injured, Björkholm was asked to play up front as we travelled to Visby. The first half was devoid of much action, but we led at the break thanks to a Johan Roxström free kick. After the break though, we started to play much more fluently, especially once centre-back Tony Hanna fired in after a corner. Björkholm showed his predatory instincts with two goals late on, and Adiel Jonson came off the bench to nab another as we ran out 5-0 winners and took top-spot.
Nyköping were the next side to visit our place, and we started poorly, conceding within just three minutes. But confidence is high at the club, and Kristoffer Dyverfelt scored twice before half time to send us into the break ahead. Friman added two more after the break, and although the visitors pulled once back, Jonson was again the super-sub, scoring two after coming off on as a substitute to complete an impressive 6-2 victory.
The trip to Enskede was never going to be easy, and so it proved as we fell behind midway through the first half. Two minutes later though Friman equalised, and captain fantastic added two more in the first ten minutes after half time to claim his first hattrick for the club. He added a fourth late on, but we also conceded one as well to run out 4-2 victors.
The last game of the month was a home tie with Sleipner. Five goals were scored inside the first 18 minutes, but unfortunately we only had two of them, both scored by Friman. The striker completed his hatrick after half time to level things up, and although we had enough chances, we couldn’t finish them off, and had to settle for a draw. The dropped points also saw us drop into third position, two points behind the league leaders at this early stage of the season.
June was to prove to be just one of those months. Anything that could go wrong did, and suddenly an air of realism settled into the club.
The month opened with the third round cup tie against Örebro. Sure we were expected to do nothing, and so it proved as we were comprehensively played off the park. Somehow though we only conceded twice, and Friman’s strike gave the score a somewhat respectable look come full time.
But the cup tie had come at a cost. Out goalkeeper, Peter Karlsson, who had been in fantastic form, picked up an injury, and so the untested Yildiz had to step into the breach against high-flying Spårgäven. We never looked like creating anything, and the defence looked wobbly as we crashed 2-0, our first league defeat of the season.
And a second quickly followed. Even Christoffer Jonsson’s goal early on wasn’t enough as we were trounced 4-1 against Vasalund/Essinge.
We were back to almost full-strength for the trip to lowly Hammarby TFF, but despite a brace from the returning Michael Kassyousef, our defensive display was shocking as we lost the game 4-2.
Our only good performance of the month was the trip to struggling Bollstanäs. Michael Kassyousef continued his comeback from injury by hitting a hattrick, and Friman added another as we ran out 4-2 victors.
The win seemed to lift spirits around the camp, and the performance at home to Frej was a lot better. But, despite dominating completely, we fell to an early goal and never found an equaliser.
But all in all, with eleven games gone, we sit in 4th place in the division. And with this being the mid-way point of the regular season, we couldn’t complain.
With finances at the club tight, the board asked me to sign a new contract. It did involve a pay cut, which the wife wasn’t too happy with, but it was a longer-term deal and gave the players more confidence that the rebuilding process would continue into the next few years.
The transfer window also re-opened with the advent of the new month. 16-year-old full back Patrik Ayala is a clear prospect, but was allowed to leave the club for Adolfsberg in a deal that will eventually net the club a whopping £100,000, having only ever featured on the bench. Also leaving the club during the month was Armando Ibrakovic. The 16-year-old Bosnian international full back had been playing superbly for us this season, and with him being unable to sign a contract until his 17th birthday, I decided to let him go to Elfsborg for a whopping (at this level anyway) £500,000.
That left a hole at left-back, and so in came Andreas Albo on loan from Lindome, and Merwan Arslan, a more promising prospect, was signed without fee from Eskilstuna City.
There were only three over-age players in the reserves at the start of July, and we managed to rid the squad of two of them. Jens Karlmark was offloaded to Hultsfred and Lucas Nilsson moved on to Limhamn. And with Jonas Bjorkhölm about to celebrate his 25th birthday, he was sold to Östersunds FK for a nominal fee. That meant that we had to strengthen the midfield department, and so in on loan for the rest of the season came Hector Svensson and Andreas Lidman from Floda and Korsnäs respectively. I also signed defender Marcus Johansson on a free transfer from Lindsdal to give that area of the squad more depth.
On the playing side, the second half of the season began with a home tie against high-flying Topkapi. The woes of June seemed to have disappeared as we ran riot in the opposition half. Kristoffer Dyverfelt hit two strikes early on, whilst Adiel Jonson came off the bench to add a third. Michael Kassyousef has also been in great goalscoring form, and he added two more in the last ten minutes as we ran out 5-1 winners.
The trip to league-leaders Syrianksa, and the gulf in class showed as we fell behind to two early strikes. But after a good win last week, we kept our heads high and just before half time Ibrakovic pulled a goal back. We were much the better side in the second half, and had plenty of chances to grab an equaliser. We couldn’t though and suffered yet another defeat.
The disappointment was soon put to bed as Visby, propping up the table, came to visit. There were braces for Friman, Johan Roxström and Haris Dozo – the left winger’s first goals for the club. Adiel Jonson and Michael Kassyousef both added to the score in the last five minutes to ease us to a thumping 8-0 win.
And we rounded the month off with a trip to struggling Nyköping. We showed them no mercy either, as goals from Dyverfelt, Kassyousef and Jonson earned us a 3-0 win.
Enskede were the first team to visit during August. We were dealt a severe blow when Peter Karlsson, the goalkeeper, was taken off with a serious-looking injury after just three minutes of play, and it seemed to disrupt our confidence. Friman put us ahead within two minutes of the injury, but we were then undone thanks to some sloppy defending as the visitors equalised. Johan Roxström restored the lead with a lovely free kick just before half time, and suddenly the win was behind our sails once more. Roxström scored his second of the night in the second half, and Kassyousef added two more to give us a comfortable 5-2 victory.
The injury to Karlsson left us with just Yildiz to keep goal, and thanks to a healthy bank balance, I was allowed to go out and sign a replacement. 16-year-old Simon Sundqvist looks a decent prospect for the future, and comes in for no fee from Hultsfred. I also signed promising midfielder Christoffer Carlsson, also for free, but he came in from Stafsinge.
The second game of the month was a trip to Vasalund/Essinge, and despite being on the back foot for most of the match, we battled away hard, and defended well. Yildiz was the hero as he saved a first-half penalty, but still the home side came at us. We never looked like nicking a win, but with five minutes to go it was still 0-0. But then the home side struck one, and then proceeded to add two more in injury time to give them an undeserved 3-0 scoreline.
We had a two week break before travelling to Sleipner. It seemed as if the break hadn’t changed much as we defended poorly to allow them to score an early goal, and we were then dealt a severe blow when Johan Jönsson, our superb right-back, was sent off for a pretty shocking foul. They didn’t score from the resultant freekick, and we somehow equalised with our only effort of the first half, Friman finding the target. Five minutes into the second half Kassyousef robbed the keeper of the ball and coolly slotted us into the lead, and from then on we were holding on for dear life. We did it, just, and in injury time Roxström wrapped up a highly unlikely 3-1 win for us.
Ah, the familiar names of the Swedish second division. I frequently play a few games in these leagues in each version of CM/FM. My favourite side is Skelleftea, but I have also played as Bollstanas on FM2006.
The final month of the season began with a home tie against high flying Spårgäven. It wasn’t a classic by any means, and a Johan Roxström goal gave us a 1-1 draw. The point was enough to secure at least a playoff place for us, which was nice.
Struggling Bollstanäs were next up at our place, and we showed them no mercy as goals from Friman and Jonson completed an efficient, if unspectacular, 2-0 win.
Our final away trip of the season was at Frej. They weren’t in danger of doing going down, or going up, which made the manner of our woeful performance even more annoying. Michael Kassyousef scored our goal as he went down 3-1.
The final game of the season was a cracker of a match as Hammarby TFF, Hammarby’s “B” side, game to visit. The visitors twice took the lead in the opening fifteen minutes, only for Andreas Friman to hit back almost immediately on both occasions to equalised. Friman added another soon after to have us into the lead, and he scored once more, as did Kassyousef to give us a 5-2 half time lead. The visitors made it interesting as they pulled a goal back early in the second half, but Friman hit two more to get a double hattrick for the game, and in the last few minutes debut goals from Merwan Arslan and Hector Svensson completed an amazing 9-3 rout as we rounded off the season in style.
After the celebrations, it was finally explained to me how the teams would line up next season. We hadn’t so much as won promotion, but avoided demotion. A new league, called the first division, will be split into North and South regions, and we had made it into that level. Vasalund/Essinge won their playoff to make it to the First Division Elite, whilst Syrianska won in a group playoff to join us in the new First Division. Hammarby TFF, being a second string side, weren’t permitted to be promoted under the current rules.
It had been a fantastic season for all involved at the club, and it was time to recognise the achievements of the past season before looking forward to the next campaign.
Top scorer: Andreas Friman, 25 Most assists: Kristoffer Dyverfelt, Haris Dozo, 10 Most man of the match awards: Peter Karlsson, 5 Highest average rating: Peter Karlsson, 8.00 Fan’s player of the year: Michael Kassyousef
Vegetables (Ages challenge) 
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