retired_firebear369

1st April 2005

Anders Lidström had just finished coming back from his scouting trip all around the country. It was April Fool's Day, and that meant it was time for the annual meeting with the board members. Several staff members had left the club deeming the club as well below them.

Three of the four eventually found work. Klas-Göran Emanuelsson took the vacant manager post at Third Division Kristianstad. Björn Ohlsson was now the assistant at Sandared. Anders Sköld took another assistant job at Second Division Väsby. The other man who left, Patrick Axelsson decided to call it a day and retired at age 60.

With the £150,000 that came with promotion to the Superettan, the club was now operating in the black. This still did not solve the major financial problem the club was having. The club was still hemorraging cash in every direction even though the wage total for the playing staff was a little over £100k per annum.

The board was expecting very little from Lidström, merely hoping that the club would avoid relegation this season.

retired_firebear369

Over the next few weeks, Lidström decided on his first team squad of 21 players:

Goalkeepers
Marcus Sahlman (20 y/o, SWE, GK) - Sahlman had a decent first season with the club last season after being released by Allsvenskan side Halmstad. He was in net for all but two matches last season for the club.

Harry Hyvärinen (24 y/o, SWE, GK) - Hyvärinen accepted his demotion to the bench for last season. With the knowledge that he is the definite backup for Sahlman, he extended his contract with the club for another two seasons.

Defenders
Mattias Henriksson (24 y/o, SWE, SW/D/F RC) - Henriksson is a pacy sweeper who doesn't make the headlines because he does his job well. Played in all but two matches last season and actually coaches the clubs Under-18 side.

Bo Nordh (18 y/o, SWE, SW/D C) - Nordh was signed on a free transfer in March from Allsvenskan champions IFK Gothenberg. Has the ability to play an active role in the club already.

Örjan Bäckstrand (24 y/o, SWE, D/DM RL) - Bäckstrand was acquired before last season in a player exchange from Sleipner. The committed fullback was able to shutdown nearly all attacks on the flanks last season, and can hopefully accomplish the same this year.

Richard Eriksson (18 y/o, SWE, D R) - Eriksson came through the youth ranks at Mellerud last season to make nineteen appearances for the senior side last season. His appearances will probably be limited to coming off of the bench.

Joel Karsson (19 y/o, SWE, D RL) - Karsson's future at Mellerud looked bleak until Lidström started him in his first match in charge. The defender has not looked back, and will play a major part in the club's season.

Kristoffer Lind (21 y/o, SWE, D RC) - Lind, unlike Eriksson, started much of last season in his first season in the senior squad. With the addition of Nordh, Lind looks limited to appearances off of the bench.

Magnus Börjesson (18 y/o, SWE, D L) - In Börjesson, Mellerud now has a natural left fullback in its squad for the first time. Discovered by new scout Rickard Lundh, the defender signed on a free transfer should be one for the future.

Henrik Olsson (31 y/o, SWE, D/DM C) - Olsson is by far the oldest member of the first team, but his experience will come in handy for an inexperienced squad at this level.

Midfielders
Daniel Barac (18 y/o, SWE, DM RLC) - Barac can play all over midfield and he showed that last season with four goals. He looks limited to occasional appearances this term, however.

Henrik Eriksson (23 y/o, SWE, M R) - Eriksson will be hoping to improve on his nine appearances last season. A return to health this campaign should see a healthy supply of starts.

Eskil Ohlsson (24 y/o, SWE, M/F RC) - Ohlsson played a utility role nearly all of last season making fourteen appearances. Will be looking to put in some good performances as his contract runs out after the season.

David Lundström (20 y/o, SWE, M C) - Coming to Mellerud as part of a player-exchange, the previously unheralded Lundström bagged an impressive haul of fifteen goals last season, including five in his debut in the Swedish Cup. His performances trailed off as the season went along, but should adapt to this level.

Peter Andersson (23 y/o, SWE, AM RLC) - Andersson had a disappointing season compared to those around him. He only scored one goal last season, and may be heading to the substitute's bench very quickly.

Jon Bergenholtz (19 y/o, SWE, AM/F L) - Mellerud's answer to Ryan Giggs, if only because he plays the same position. His influence has changed several matches since he was first given a chance under Lidström and will be important this season.

Ninos Thöre (25 y/o, SWE, AM L) - Thöre was brought in before last season as cover for Bergenholtz, and he does that job well. Scored three goals in fourteen appearances in all competitions last season.

Forwards
Fredrik Andersson (27 y/o, SWE, S C) - Andersson joined before last season from Perstorp and was joint leading scorer with 22 league goals. The pacy striker is also a threat in the air where he scored many goals last season.

Burim Avdijaj (24 y/o, SWE, S C) - Avdijaj had to adjust to a backup role last season, but he still scored seven goals last season. Hat-tricks in consecutive starts at the end of last season proved him to be a capable replacement.

Omar Fejzulovski (19 y/o, SWE, S C) - Fejzulovski was brought in as cover at the end of August 2004. He scored one goal in two starts last season.

Alex Mabäcker Johansson (19 y/o, SWE, S C) - Johansson was a mainstay on the scoresheet last season. Also scoring 22 league goals last season, he was usually good for a goal in every match. A bright future definitely awaits this yound starlet.

retired_firebear369

20th April 2005 - Swedish First Division
Assyriska v. Mellerud
Bårsta IP, Södertälje

Mellerud absolutely destroyed ten man Assyriska 6-0 in their First Division opener. Alex Mabäcker Johansson was unstoppable as he scored four goals in succession to put the match out of reach.

The opener cam on just 13 minutes when Assyriska goalkeeper Niklas Gill let an easy pass from Fredrik Andersson get past him for Johansson to simply tap in. Fourteen minutes later he got his second when he curled it beyond Gill's outstretched arms. Things went worse for the hosts when Zoran Manovic was sent off in the 34th minute for pushing Andersson.

Horrible defending was responsible for the third goal, as both Andersson and Johansson went in on goal unopposed. Johansson made it four on 67 minutes with a diving header. Substitute Omar Fejzulovski and Jon Bergenholtz added the final two goals in the last ten minutes to complete the rout.

Assyriska 6-0 Mellerud
Mel: Johansson (1,2,3,4) 12, 27, 45, 67; Fejzulovski (1) 81; Bergenholtz (1) 90
Attendance: 660

Other Results:
Brommapojkarna 1-2 Landskrona
Café Opera 1-0 Brage
Enköpings SK 2-1 Ängelholm
IFK Malmö 6-0 Friska Viljor
Trelleborg 3-0 Västerås SK
Âtvidaberg 2-1 Västra Frölunda
Õster 4-1 Gefle

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st IFK Malmö 1 1 0 0 6 0 +6 3 2nd Mellerud 1 1 0 0 6 0 +6 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Öster 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th Trelleborg 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 3 5th Enköpings SK 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 6th Landskrona 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 7th Åtvidaberg 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 8th Café Opera 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3 9th Brommapojkarna 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 10th Västra Frölunda 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 11th Ängelholm 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 12th Brage 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0 13th Gefle 1 0 0 1 1 4 -3 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14th Västerås SK 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0 15th Assyriska 1 0 0 1 0 6 -6 0 16th Friska Viljor 1 0 0 1 0 6 -6 0 </pre>

retired_firebear369

24th April 2004 - Swedish First Division
Café Opera v. Mellerud
Stockholms Olympiastadion

Mellerud got plenty of assistance from the referee in their 4-0 victory at the Olympiastadion. All four goals were scored from the spot on very questionable decisions. Fredrik Andersson buried the first penalty on 5 minutes after Jon Bergenholtz was pushed by Erik Sundin. After a minimal amount of contact on Joel Karlsson, Andersson scored the second penalty on 54 minutes.

Mellerud were awarded 2 penalties in injury time which were taken by Bergenholtz and Alex Mabäcker Johansson to finish the scoring.

Café Opera 0-4 Mellerud
Mel: Andersson (1,2) pen 5, pen 54; Bergenholtz (2) pen 90; Johansson (5) pen 90
Attendance: 1625

Other Results
Assyriska 4-0 Friska Viljor
Brommapojkarna 2-1 Västerås SK
Enköpings SK 0-0 Brage
Trelleborg 0-1 IFK Malmö
Västra Frölunda 1-0 Gefle
Âtvidaberg 3-1 Ängelholm
Öster 1-1 Landskrona

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 2 2 0 0 10 0 +10 6 2nd IFK Malmö 2 2 0 0 7 0 +7 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Åtvidaberg 2 2 0 0 5 2 +3 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th Öster 2 1 1 0 5 2 +3 4 5th Landskrona 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4 6th Enköpings SK 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4 7th Trelleborg 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2 3 8th Brommapojkarna 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3 9th Västra Frölunda 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3 10th Assyriska 2 1 0 1 4 6 -2 3 11th Café Opera 2 1 0 1 1 4 -3 3 12th Brage 2 0 1 1 0 1 -1 1 13th Ängelholm 2 0 0 2 2 5 -3 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14th Gefle 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0 15th Västerås SK 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0 16th Friska Viljor 2 0 0 2 0 10 -10 0 </pre>

retired_firebear369

[i]I thought I's try something a bit different here to take a short break from the story.[/b]

Elsewhere in the European Football

England

Arsenal are currently holding onto a three point advantage over Chelsea in the Premiership with just five matches remaining. The Gunners have scored an impressive 85 goals this term led by Thierry Henry's 18 goals. The real story is the 45 goal partnership at Manchester United. After making a £13.75 million move from Kaiserslautern, Miroslav Klose is scoring for fun with United, amassing 21 goals so far. His total has only been surpassed by Ruud van Nistelrooy's 24 goals.

France
Marseille recently clinched its second consecutive league title with four matches remaining. They have had a steady goalscoring partnership of their own with Didier Drogba and César Carignano contributing 39 goals combined.

Germany
It looks like nothing will stop Bayern München from claiming yet another Bundesliga title. Borussia Dortmund have kept up the pace, but they are quickly running out of matches to catch up. The surprising name at the top of the goalscoring chart is Naohiro Takahara. The Japanese international's 22 goals have kept Hamburg midtable at the very least.

Greece
Another season, another title for Olympiakos. The Piraeus side are a full 16 points clear of their nearest challengers AEK Athens going into their final match of the season. Costa Rican international Rónald Gómez and Dimitris Salpingidis are joint top scorers with 13 goals this campaign. The latter's form has led the PAOK striker being recognized by national team coach Angelos Anastasiadis with his first two appearances for Greece.

Holland
With four matches remaining, PSV look likely to wrestle the league title away from holders Ajax with a defence that has put the rest of the league to shame. They have conceded thirteen less goals than any other club in the league. Showing remarkable consistency is FC Groningen, as they lie 8th at the moment. Their record in their 30 matches: 10 wins, 10 draws, 10 losses and 48 goals for and 48 goals against.

Italy
Juventus currently lead Serie A by four points over Inter with six matches remaining. While the title contenders are the same, it is the teams that are challenging for Europe that may raise a few eyebrows. Led by Jay Bothroyd, Perugia lie four points out of Champions League qualification with two games in hand. Sampdoria are doing well to compete at the top as well with Fabio Bazzani's 20 goals leading the way.

Portugal
Sporting are looking to reclaim the title that they last won three seasons ago. They are going to have to fight off Porto and Benfica for it, however. The three sides have traded the top spot in the league for most of the season and it will likely go down to the last weekend for the title.

Russia
The new season has just started with Spartak Moscow leading the league early over bitter rivals Lokomotiv and Torpedo Moscow. The three have already created a gap at the top with Torpedo six points clear of fourth placed Tom after six matches. Vladimir Beschastnykh has been lighting it up with six goals of his own in the early stages of the campaign.

Scotland
Celtic have almost wrapped up the Scottish Premier League this season as they are eleven points clear of Rangers with six matches remaining and a game in hand on their Old Firm rivals. The gap to third is a mere seven points at the moment with Kilmarnock filling that spot.

Spain
Deportivo are holding on to a two point lead at the top of La Liga with seven matches remaining. Betis, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, and Celta Vigo are all in realistic contention for the title. Emile Mpenza has been a key player for Real Sociedad scoring nineteen goals for the Basque side after his £5 million move from Belgian side Standard Liège in late August.

UEFA Cup
Europe's second biggest competition is in the semi final stage. Auxerre defeated Benfica 4-3 on aggregate in the last round to make it this far. They take on Celtic, who edged out Sampdoria on the away goals rule to edge closer to another European final. The other semifinal sees Perugia, conquerors of FC Basel in the last round, take on Schalke 04, who defeated Parma.

Champions League
Like the UEFA Cup, the Champions League is in its semi final stage as well. Three Italian sides make up the last four. AC Milan, Juventus, and Lazio will all be looking to bring the European Cup back to Italian soil. The only remaining spoiler is Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. They advanced to this stage with a 3-1 aggregate win over holders Chelsea. They had no problem with the second leg of that tie as they won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.

retired_firebear369

:o I messed up the beginning of that post badly. If a mod could fix my lazy tag job, please

1st May 2005 - Swedish First Division
Mellerud v. Trelleborg
Rådavallen

Levin Blinder

Björn Levin was nearly unbeatable as Trelleborg escaped with a point from Rådavallen. The visitors went in front with their only real opportunity of the match on 22 minutes. Jonas Nilsson got on the other end of a cross, and his header took a deflection off of Henrik Eriksson and into the back of the Mellerud goal.

Mellerud came back on their first opportunity on net on 35 minutes. Alex Mabäcker Johansson was brought down in the penalty area by a vicious sliding tackle from [/b]Daniel Ung[/b]. Fredrik Andersson buried what was remarkably Mellerud's fifth consecutive goal from the penalty spot.

From that moment on, Mellerud did not relent in their assault of the Trelleborg net. The only thing that stopped them was Levin, who stopped ten shots in the pouring rain to leave the hosts with a frustrating 1-1 draw.

Mellerud 1-1 Trelleborg
Mel: Andersson (3) pen 35
Tre: Nilsson (1) 22
Attendance: 652

Other Results
Brage 0-0 Brommapojkarna
Friska Viljor 1-1 Västra Frölunda
Gefle 2-2 Âtvidaberg
IFK Malmö 1-2 Assyriska
Landskrona 2-2 Enköpings SK
Västerås SK 4-1 Café Opera
Ängelholm 7-2 Öster

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 3 2 1 0 11 1 +10 7 2nd Åtvidaberg 3 2 1 0 7 4 +3 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd IFK Malmö 3 2 0 1 8 2 +6 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th Assyriska 3 2 0 1 6 7 -1 6 5th Landskrona 3 1 2 0 5 4 +1 5 6th Enköpings SK 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5 7th Trelleborg 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 4 8th Brommapojkarna 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4 9th Västra Frölunda 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4 10th Öster 3 1 1 1 7 9 -2 4 11th Ängelholm 3 1 0 2 9 7 +2 3 12th Västerås SK 3 1 0 2 5 6 -1 3 13th Café Opera 3 1 0 2 2 8 -6 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14th Brage 3 0 2 1 0 1 -1 2 15th Gefle 3 0 1 2 3 7 -4 1 16th Friska Viljor 3 0 1 2 1 11 -10 1 </pre>

retired_firebear369

4th May 2005 - Swedish Cup 2nd Round
Vallentuna v. Mellerud
Vallentuna IP, Vallentuna

Mellerud traveled east to Vallentuna to take on the current leaders of the Second Division Östergötland section. They managed to come out of it 3-0 victors, but the injuries sustained will be felt for some time.

However, it was a bright start for Anders Lidström's side as Alex Mabäcker Johansson opened the scoring on 15 seconds with a well placed header. Ten minutes later, things soured for Mellerud as Jon Bergenholtz limped off with a calf injury. On the quarter hour mark, David Lundström made it 2-0 with a header from Peter Andersson's free kick.

Then, on the half hour mark, Bergenholtz's replacement, Ninos Thöre exited with a shoulder injury. Vallentuna continued to play a physical game to make up for their lack of talent, but never really posed a threat. Johansson scored again on 65 minutes when he worked a brilliant 1-2 with Fredrik Andersson and went in alone on the goalkeeper.

Vallentuna 0-3 Mellerud
Mel: Johansson 1, 65; Lundström 15
Attendance: 1471

retired_firebear369

8th May 2005 - Swedish First Division
Mellerud v. IFK Malmö
Rådavallen

Mellerud put any doubts to rest that they belong at this level with a 6-1 annihilation of IFK Malmö. The surprise league leaders were helped by a brace from Alex Mabäcker Johansson with Örjan Bäckstrand, David Lundström, plus Fredrik and Peter Andersson contributing the remainder of the goals.

Mellerud 6-1 IFK Malmö
Mel: F. Andersson (4) 36; Johansson (6,7) 55, 69; Bäckstrand (1) 58; P. Andersson (1) 77; Lundström (1) 84
IFK: Andersson (1) 75
Attendance: 722

Other Results
Brage 1-2 Trelleborg
Friska Viljor 0-1 Âtvidaberg
Gefle 2-0 Enköpings SK
Landskrona 2-1 Café Opera
Västerås SK 3-1 Assyriska
Västra Frölunda 2-2 Öster
Ängelholm 0-1 Brommapojkarna

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 4 3 1 0 17 2 +15 10 2nd Åtvidaberg 4 3 1 0 8 4 +4 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Landskrona 4 2 2 0 7 5 +2 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th Trelleborg 4 2 1 1 6 3 +3 7 5th Brommapojkarna 4 2 1 1 4 3 +1 7 6th IFK Malmö 4 2 0 2 9 8 +1 6 7th Västerås SK 4 2 0 2 8 7 +1 6 8th Assyriska 4 2 0 2 7 10 -3 6 9th Västra Frölunda 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 5 10th Enköpings SK 4 1 2 1 4 5 -1 5 11th Öster 4 1 2 1 9 11 -2 5 12th Gefle 4 1 1 2 5 7 -2 4 13th Ängelholm 4 1 0 3 9 8 +1 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14th Café Opera 4 1 0 3 3 10 -7 3 15th Brage 4 0 2 2 1 3 -2 2 16th Friska Viljor 4 0 1 3 1 12 -11 1 </pre>

retired_firebear369

11th May 2005 - Swedish Second Division
Mellerud v. Friska Viljor
Rådavallen

Anders Lidström named an unchanged side ahead of the match against bottom side Friska Viljor, and was rewarded with a 4-0 win.

Fredrik Andersson put the First Division pace setters in front on 28 minutes with a brilliant volley from the edge of the penalty area that Friska goalkeeper Glenn Schöön could only watch go in.

David Lundström double the advantage nine minutes after the break with a free kick from 25 yards that curled in just beyond the grasp of Schöön.

Six minutes later, Alex Mabacker Johansson bagged himself a quick brace with the goals coming just two minutes apart. The first was simple, as he simply curled it past Schöön. Two minutes later, he connected on Daniel Barac's pass on the half-volley to make it 4-0.

Mellerud 4-0 Friska Viljor
Mel: Andersson (5) 28; Lundström (2) 54; Johansson (8,9) 60,62
Attendance: 712

Other Results
Assyriska 1-1 Brage
Brommapojkarna 0-1 Gefle
Café Opera 3-2 Ängelholm
Enköpings SK 3-3 Västra Frölunda
IFK Malmö 5-2 Västerås SK
Trelleborg 0-1 Landskrona
Öster 1-0 Âtvidaberg

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 5 4 1 0 21 2 +19 13 2nd Landskrona 5 3 2 0 8 5 +3 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Åtvidaberg 5 3 1 1 8 5 +3 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th IFK Malmö 5 3 0 2 14 10 +4 9 5th Öster 5 2 2 1 10 11 -1 8 6th Trelleborg 5 2 1 2 6 4 +2 7 7th Brommapojkarna 5 2 1 2 4 4 0 7 8th Gefle 5 2 1 2 6 7 -1 7 9th Assyriska 5 2 1 2 8 11 -3 7 10th Västra Frölunda 5 1 3 1 8 8 0 6 11th Enköpings SK 5 1 3 1 7 8 -1 6 12th Västerås SK 5 2 0 3 10 12 -2 6 13th Café Opera 5 2 0 3 6 12 -6 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14th Ängelholm 5 1 0 4 11 11 0 3 15th Brage 5 0 3 2 2 4 -2 3 16th Friska Viljor 5 0 1 4 1 16 -15 1 </pre>

retired_firebear369

15th May 2005 - Swedish First Division
Västerås SK v. Mellerud
Arosvallen, Västerås

First Division leaders Mellerud were held by a determined Våsterås side. The dull 0-0 scoreline was reflective of the attacking quality on the pitch. Neither side ever really looked like breaking the deadlock.

Västeras SK 0-0 Mellerud
Attendance: 1683

Other Results
Brage 2-0 IFK Malmö
Friska Viljor 3-2 Öster
Gefle 3-2 Café Opera
Landskrona 3-0 Assyriska
Västra Frölunda 3-1 Brommapojkarna
Ängelholm 0-3 Trelleborg
Âtvidaberg 2-2 Enköpings SK

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts 1st Mellerud 6 4 2 0 21 2 +19 14 2nd Landskrona 6 4 2 0 11 5 +6 14 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Åtvidaberg 6 3 2 1 10 7 +3 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th Trelleborg 6 3 1 2 9 4 +5 10 5th Gefle 6 3 1 2 9 9 0 10 6th IFK Malmö 6 3 0 3 14 12 +2 9 7th Västra Frölunda 6 2 3 1 11 9 +2 9 8th Öster 6 2 2 2 12 14 -2 8 9th Enköpings SK 6 1 4 1 9 10 -1 7 10th Västerås SK 6 2 1 3 10 12 -2 7 11th Brommapojkarna 6 2 1 3 5 7 -2 7 12th Assyriska 6 2 1 3 8 14 -6 7 13th Brage 6 1 3 2 4 4 0 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14th Café Opera 6 2 0 4 8 15 -7 6 15th Friska Viljor 6 1 1 4 4 18 -14 4 16th Ängelholm 6 1 0 5 11 14 -3 3 </pre>