McRob

6/4 –02 Tomorrow is the big kick off, so I must go through my squad list and decide which players have a future at the club and which don’t. On deciding which players to place my trust in, I must also decide on a tactic to use - so to make sure I have plenty of cover in all key positions. After quite a lot of thinking, I finally decide on using my offensive 3-4-3 tactic, employed in the last friendly game, and then pick the following first team squad:

First Team

Johan Bylund (21), Goalkeeper.
Johan has good reflexes, but apart from this he lacks much of needed skills, that I would whish to find in my No.1 keeper. However, until someone is brought in to take this position he will remain my first choice.

Magnus Fohlman (19), Goalkeeper.
Is only 19, but unless he evolves quickly - or Bylund finds himself injured – Magnus won’t be seeing much first team action.

Martin Ã…berg (21), Sweeper/Defender (Centre).
A brave, hardworking, team player. Although only 21 he has a good influence on the squad and is my No.1 choice team captain.

Jesper Ahlström (19), Defender/Defensive Midfielder (Right).
Being my only outside signing this youthful player holds several important skills; he is tall, aggressive and a good passer. Will be a key player this term.

Per Hansson (16), Defender/Defensive Midfielder (Right).
One of my newly promoted youth players and perhaps the most talented of the lot. Good balance and speed - he is also a brave player and very tall.

Mats Johansson (29), Defender/Defensive Midfielder (Right/Left).
Being a utility winger Mats will likely see a lot of action. Also a committed team player and hard working.

Staffan Wiklund (17), Defender/Defensive Midfielder (Right/Centre).
Staffan is another of my youth players and a quite decent one too. He is very tall, agile and surprisingly quick for his size. Will probably play quite a few games already this season.

Jonas Carls (27), Defender (Centre).
If I wasn’t low on natural central defenders, this guy would be one of the first out of the door.

Jonas Karlsson (27), Defensive Midfielder (Right/Centre).
My Elfsborg loan star is a determined team player that will play an important roll this coming season. The best with Jonas is his all-round abilities, no real weaknesses.

Henrik Andersson (22), Midfielder (Right/Centre).
A highly aggressive player with a decent tackle. Will be a useful back-up player.

Andreas Fällström (21), Midfielder (Right/Left).
A player who usually takes good decisions on the pith, but he doesn’t possess enough quality to hold down a place in the starting eleven, in my mind.

Johan Claesson (20), Midfielder (Centre).
A hard working team player with his greatest asset as a playmaker as he usually makes good decisions during the game. Will be instrumental in our drive for success.

Bengt Eriksson (29), Midfielder (Centre).
An important first team player with his solid footballing mentality and great determination.

Sittichai Pongrugthai (18), Attacking Midfielder/Forward (Right).
A very technical player and excellent penalty taker, he could have a good future ahead of him. Maybe not quite ready for first team football yet, will see I suppose…

Andreas Pettersson (21), Attacking Midfielder/Forward (Centre).
A lack of forwards means he’ll probably get his chances, but he lacks the important attributes needed.

Thomas Arnesson (20), Striker.
A determined player and decent dribbler. A lack of competition dictates me being forced to give him a first team place for the time being.

Henrik Eriksson (27), Striker.
An influential striker who takes an excellent penalty. My first choice at the moment.



Preliminary Starting XI:
Tactics: 3-4-3 Attacking
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> FC/L FC FC/R Arnesson H.Eriksson Pongrugthai ML/DML MC MC MR/DMR M.Johansson Claesson B.Eriksson Hansson DC DC DC Åberg(c) Ahlström Karlsson GK Bylund</pre>

Reserve Team

Kelvin Kerali (15), Defender/Defensive Midfielder (Right).
Is generally viewed as an exciting talent - although I personally can’t see what all the fuss is about.

Gustav Segerström (19), Defender (Right).
A decent prospect for the future, Gustav is a creative player and also a decent man marker. However, I currently have plenty of right wingers, so he’ll have to wait for his chance.

Rikard Olofsson (17), Defender (Left).
Not much going for him except his low age. A committed team player however - maybe a loan spell would sort him out.

Erik Johansson (19), Defender/Midfielder (Centre).
Needs some growing up to do. If we become purged with injuries he might play the odd game.

Magnus Svanfeldt (28), Defender (Centre).
Although low on defenders, this guy just doesn’t cut it. The first to go I hope.

Isac Löwhagen (19), Defensive Midfielder (Centre).
With a lot of hard work and good luck this tall youngster might ply his way into the team – anything’s possible.

Andreas Eroglu (20), Attacking Midfielder (Left).
Has good off the ball movement and natural aggression, but he is far from being ready for first team football in my mind.

Magnus Wikman (30), Attacking Midfielder (Centre).
Deadweight. Will be sold if anyone wants him.

Kjell Johansson (36), Striker.
Ageing striker who still has great stamina and work rate. Thought he might become a good coach, but he declined the offer. As he’ll soon be leaving the club I decided to give the younger players the chance from start and transfer listed Kjell as a consequence.

McRob

The 2002 Season Opener

Match day interview with local paper Uppsala Nya Tidning:

What are the teams expectations for the upcoming season? Are you going to push for honours?
Well of course, that would be our goal, but we have a young team that might yet need a season or two before it becomes a reality. Also, as you know, the second division is extremely difficult to get promoted from. Even if we were to win our group, we would still have to win the following play-off games too. When at that particular stage it’s not always the best team that wins - you also need a little luck.

So you mean you think you will win the East Svealand group?
No I wouldn’t say that. I mean we might just make it all the way, but it’s a long road for sure. We don’t really have that big a squad - so we are very vulnerable to injuries and suspensions. Anything can happen!

About today’s opening game. What are your expectations?
Well, it is an away game so, I suspect it will be a close fought encounter. However, I don’t really know enough about IFK Lidingö to be able to judge their abilities. I do hope that we can stand our own, and that I'll get some positive indications showing that we are moving in the right direction.

What is your guess on the final outcome of the game?
I have no idea. Obviously I hope that we will win, but even if we don’t - I don’t think that’s a catastrophe. There are plenty of games to improve our game in.

As you now have read there are some positive notes coming out from the new manager, Robert Young’s, mouth. Perhaps today’s game will shed further light on things to come? Can Sirius make a serious challange for promotion this year?

After the interview I looked at the task ahead and the group we‘ll be playing in. There are no outstanding favourites to win, but apart from ourselves I would guess that Valsta/Syrianska, Essinge and Väsby have the best players available. However, there are several other clubs that will be involved in the race for honours I’m sure. A tough task indeed, as it's not even enough to win the group to get promoted to the First Division - the winner will face one of the other group winners for two final, thrilling, qualifying games.

Swedish Second Division: East Svealand

Pos Team
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Essinge
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Forssa
3rd Lidingö
4th Sandvikens IF
5th Sirius
6th Skiljebo
7th Slätta
8th Spårvägen
9th Topkapi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10th Valsta/Syrianska
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11th Väsby
12th Visby


Sunday 7/4 –02:

So. First game of the year… I still don’t know what to expect from my players or from the other teams - so now it’s up to the test! I had beforehand made up my mind which players I would use and all eleven were available and fit for the fight. To start away against a strong defensive minded team, such as Lidingö, is not the best start possible, but it will certainly put us to the test straight away. Unfortunately I do believe we need time before being able to perform well, so I would settle for a point today...

IFK Lidingö vs. Sirius

Attendance: 1282 (Lidingövallen, Stockholm).
Weather: Dry, 10° C.

Sirius match line-up (3-4-3): Bylund – Åberg (c), Ahlström, Karlsson – M.Johansson, Claesson, B.Eriksson, Hansson – Arnesson, H.Eriksson, Pongrugthai.

Match notes: It started well, as we applied early pressure against Lidingö. Henrik Eriksson had three shots on goal within the first quarter of the game. Lidingö followed with a shot skimming the bar. Just before the first half hour Arnesson had a powerful shot saved by the Lidingö keeper - fortunately Eriksson came first on the rebound and put us one up. During the half time break I instructed the team to be more patient and to try and catch the opposition on the counter attack. Lidingö immediately applied pressure and had several good goal scoring opportunities. Bylund made a couple of good saves and we started to hit them repeatedly on the counters attack. With just a quarter of the match to go I made a couple of substitutions and went down on a 4-4-2 system playing a bit more defensively. With five minutes to go on the clock I put in a fifth defender hoping to close down their continuing attacks. The tactics worked and we held on for a opening three pointer. A result we should feel quite lucky with as the game progressed. 1-1 would probably reflected the game more accurately.


Subs: Fellström (on for Pongrugthai, 77 min), Pettersson (on for Arnesson, 77 min), Wiklund (on for Claesson, 87 min).

End result: IFK Lidingö - Sirius 0-1 (0-1).
Sirius Goal Scorer: H. Eriksson (28).
Man of Match: Sittichai Pongrugthai (Match Rating = 8).


East Svealand Results: Forssa vs. Spårvägen 3-2, Lidingö vs. Sirius 0-1, Slätta vs. Essinge 2-2, Topkapi vs. Skiljebo 2-1, Valsta/Syrianska vs. Sandvikens IF 1-0, Visby vs. Väsby 2-2.
Current League Position = 5th.

McRob

What a wonderful way to start the season! To win my first competitive game in charge of Sirius, away to Lidingö, was more than I could have hoped for. Although I feel Lidingö were unlucky not to snatch a point - it does feel extra good to win in the manner that we did. It was a hard fought game that we came out winners of. To win those games is extremely important and usually the difference between success or failure for a manager. All in all the team played well and I’ve got a feeling that we will be a difficult nut to crack for our future opponents…

9/4 –02: Thomas Arnesson suffers a strained neck and will be out for a week or two. This will unfortunately leave us short up-front. I’ll have to look in to the possibly of bringing in a forward on loan - as I simply lack players with good quality in this position.

10/4 –02: Växjö Norra and Timrå put in loan bids for Erik Johansson that I accept and Högabog made a £ 30 000 bid for Anders Wikman that I also accepted - with little hidden delight. The following day Wikman accepts the offer and the deal was confirmed. As a parting shot he claimed in the press that it was motivated by a clash with me. That’s partly true, but the major reason was that he simply didn’t cut it. The £ 30 000 will be a nice addition the club’s deleted treasury!

13/4 –02: Newcastle have had a bad season so far (11th in the Premier League) and as a consequence the popular manager Sir Bobby Robson must step down. A week later Alex Totten is appointed in his place.


Sunday 14/4 –02:

To this game I decide to play with the same team as against Lidingö. The only change is Pettersson taking the injured Arnesson’s place upfront.

Sirius vs. Slätta

Attendance: 841 (Studenternas IP, Uppsala)
Weather: Dry, 11° C.

Sirius (3-4-3): Bylund – Åberg (c), Ahlström, Karlsson – M.Johansson, Claesson, B.Eriksson, Hansson – Pettersson, H.Eriksson, Pongrugthai.

Match notes: We start the game by producing some great football - we have one chance after the other. Finally Pongrugthai makes a solo raid and finishes it distinctly. Considering the chances created, we were a bit disappointed with only leading by one goal at half time. I decided then that we should continue to attack in the second half, as we’re dominating the game completely and don't want to loose the advantage. Bylund starts the second half with a good free kick save, and just minutes later Pongrugthai scores his second for the day. The only interesting events after this is a penalty appeal from Slätta being turned down and Pongrugthai missing the chance of scoring a hat trick.

Subs: Wikman (on for Ã…berg, 87 min).

A good game that saw us produce some great football. Especially Pongrugthai was on fire and was close to scoring a hat trick. He was once again named man of match and he’s proving to be a key player in our squad. I honestly didn’t think he could produce such good football. I knew he was a great talent, but not that he was this good already...

End Result: 2-0 (1-0).
Sirius Goalscoarer: Pongrugthai (29, 55).
Man of Match (MoM): Sittichai Pongrugthai (Rating=9).

East Svealand Results: Essinge vs. Forssa 2-1, Sandvikens IF vs. Lidingö 1-1, Sirius vs. Slätta 2-0, Skiljebo vs. Valsta/Syrianska 3-3, Spårvägen vs. Visby 1-0, Väsby vs. Topkapi 3-2.
Current League Position = 1st.


Later in evening I watch on the TV protesting Internazionale fans in Italy - angry over Inters poor season so far (6th in Serie A) and especially angry over loosing to rivals Milan with 1-0. My sport program is interrupted by the phone. It turned out to be Erik Johansson, who said he had decided to accept the Växjö Norra loan offer. I wish him good luck and hope he’ll get to play some first team football, as he needs the experience. He’ll be back again in a months time.

McRob

Two straight wins and no goals conceded - that’s a great start to our campaign! Next weekend it’s a tricky game against Essinge, one of the teams capable of winning the league. I started my warm-up for the game by going out on Monday evening with a few friends. Uppsala is not big a city, so there’s always the chance of meeting people you don’t want to meet. Was hit by flashbacks of a horrid night as I met Christine. I tried my best to stay clear of her rest of the evening. Every time she came my way I quickly ran off to the bathroom as an escape route. I’m quite sure my friends think I’m ill… Still, it was worth it as I ducked from potential repeating of disaster, but it did ruin the evening. I suppose it was probably for the best though, as I was able to perform my manager duties on Tuesday.

15/4 –02: Valsta/Syrianska manage to sign the Swedish World Cup hero of ´94, Kenneth Andersson (84 caps and 31 goals!). I secretly curse this piece of news as it most certainly means a formidable opponent. Although 34 years of age Kenneth still has an eye for goal and always dominates the aerial space with his height and sheer strength.

17/4 –02 In the Champions League the Quarter Finals Second Leg was played today: Juventus beat Deportivo 1-0 [0-0, 1-0], Lille beat Barcelona on away goal rule [1-3, 2-0], Leverkusen beat Liverpool [2-0, 0-1] and Man U beat Roma 3-2 [1-2, 2-0]. Lille continues to surprise pundits. After eliminating Real Madrid from the group stage, they now do the same to Spanish rivals Barcelona. Apart from Lille though - no greater surprises.

18/4 –02 Good news today as Thomas Arnesson returns from his neck injury. Also Thomas Svanfeldt returns from undergoing physiotherapy. This news prompts Husqvarna to contact me during the afternoon with a £ 30 000 bid for Svanfeldt’s services. I happily agree! Holsljunga make a loan bid for Isac Löwhagen. I reply that they must take over his wages if a deal is to be struck. They later agree on this, but Isac declares he is not interested in joining them. He later also rejects an offer from Väckelsesångs IF.

The UEFA Cup Semi Final Second Legs were also played today. As expected after the first leg, Milan and Leeds cruised through to the final (Milan beat Feyenoord 6-2 [5-0, 1-2] and Leeds beat Rangers 5-1 [4-1, 1-0].

19/4 –02: Magnus Svanfeldt agrees a deal with Husqvarna and the next day the £ 30 000 transfer is completed.


Sunday 21/4 -02

Seeing as we have started so well I see no reason to change my line-up for this game. Arnesson is back from injury, but Pettersson did a great job in the last game so he’ll continue from start.

Sirius vs. Essinge

Attendance: 1041 (Studenternas IP, Uppsala)
Weather: Wet 10°C.

Sirius (3-4-3): Bylund – Åberg (c), Ahlström, Karlsson – M.Johansson, Claesson, B.Eriksson, Hansson – Pettersson, H.Eriksson, Pongrugthai.

Match Notes: The game starts off badly. Before even 10 minutes have gone by, Essinge have taken the lead. The goal came on a cheap penalty ruling, after a push by Åberg on an opponent. After the half our mark our game gradually improved and just before half time, midfielder Bengt Eriksson scores a nice goal from a nice move. On the hour mark Claesson hits the cross bar. Apart from these chances it’s Essinge that very much dominate the game. In the end we must be satisfied with the draw, although it was a miscalculation. The most positive thing to come out of the game was the attendance figure – just over 1000 is a good crowd at this level of the game in Sweden(!).

Subs: Arnesson (On for Pongrugthai, 64), Wikman (On for Ahlström, 75), Andersson (On for Claesson, 75).

I had hoped to win this game, as it was a home fixture, but Essinge played very well and we must in the end be happy with the result. One of the conclusions I draw from this game, was that the player didn’t seem as well trained as they should be. The players looked very worn at the end of the game and Essinge could dominate completely. I must improve the stamina among my players if we are to succeed. I therefore decide to prioritise the search for new coaches that can help in this respect. Apart from myself we only have one coach employed and Mattias Wallin is to be honest not the best of coaches. We need reinforcements and that quickly, before we loose out on more points - just because we don’t have the staff required to do a professional job.

End Result: 1-1 (1-1).
Sirius Goalscorer: B.Eriksson (45).
Man of Match (MoM): Martin Ã…berg (9).

East Svealand Results: Lidingö vs. Skiljebo 0-0, Sirius vs. Essinge 1-1, Slätta vs. Sandvikens IF 0-3, Topkapi vs. Spårvägen 2-2, Valsta/Syrianska vs. Väsby 2-2, Visby vs. Forssa 2-1.
Current League Position = 1st.


The same evening I receive news from GIF Sundsvall that my loan bid for their out of favour striker Jon Ericsson had been dismissed. That’s a shame - we would have needed a striker of his calibre.

displaced_seagull

Excellent

McRob

Thanks displaced_seagull
Nice to hear you think so!

------------------------------

26/4 –02: Today the local paper Uppsala Nya Tidning (UNT) ran the story that we signed a new first team keeper. They made a short interview with me to get the inside information, it read:

You have today unveiled the signing of a new goalkeeper, Simon Ung. What can you tell me about him?
Well, although he doesn’t have much experience in the game we believe him to be a quality player, that will claim the first team keeper slot as his. We have high hopes of him developing yet even more – 25 years of age is not much when talking about a goalkeeper. He still has his best years ahead of him.

From where does Simon come? Could you tell me more of his background?
To be honest I personally don’t know that much about him myself. We actually first got our eyes on him when searching for a coach. We are currently looking at signing a couple of coaches for the team and Simon was one of names we looked in to. However, as I assigned my scouts to check him out, they soon discovered that he was also a quality goalkeeper. This we discovered already in the pre-season and ever since then we’ve been keeping tabs on him, and now – finally - we got our man!

So are you saying Simon will be both playing and coaching?
No. We signed him as a goalkeeper solitarily, as this is what he wanted. However, we are still in talks about working out some kind of deal where he could work as both a player and as a coach. We believe he posses the right kind of mentality to become a great coach - he definitely has the leadership required.

So what’s the catch?
Well, he is only a part time footballer. He is still studying, currently reading to be able to become a licensed coach/manager. This is also the reason why he has a manager release clause written in to his contract. He has however assured me that he first wants to try a professional playing career before moving in to management, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Could you describe Simon as a player?
Yes of course. I haven’t yet seen that much of him, but my scouts has described his main strengths to me:

Simon Ung (25), Goalkeeper.
An influential keeper that’s a born leader. He’s also determined, has good balance and is a team player through and through. Should be able to take the role as first choice goalkeeper and team captain.

Will Simon be playing on Sunday against Sandviken?
No, he’s just joined the team and needs a little time to settle first. Also, Johan Bylund has played very well and deserves to play on Sunday. Simon will however be on the bench - that should give him a chance to acquaintance himself with the team and the style of play we deploy.

Ok. So what are your thoughts about the game?
Well, it’s never easy playing away and Sandvikens IF is a good team - so we’ll have to see. I hope that we can leave Sandviken with a win, but I won’t be too disappointed with a draw – as long as we play good that is…


Sunday 28/4 -02:

Arnesson takes back his place in the starting eleven after his return from his previous neck injury. This means Pettersson will start on the bench. Apart from this I make no changes for this game.

Sandvikens IF vs. Sirius

Attendance: 1915 (Jernvallen, Sandviken)
Weather: Breezy, Drizzle 21°C.

Sirius (3-4-3): Bylund – Åberg (c), Ahlström, Karlsson – M.Johansson, Claesson, B.Eriksson, Hansson – Arnesson, H.Eriksson, Pongrugthai.

Match Notes: The first half ends without any goals scored, although both teams had good chances of taking the lead. The second half is worse and it becomes quite apparent that neither team will score. A disappointing display with several players under performing. However, I am glad to see that our defence is as good as it is (only one goal conceded so far), and that we didn’t loose of course...

Subs: Pettersson (On for Pongrugthai, 73), Wiklund (On for Hansson, 80), Andersson (On for Arnesson, 80).

A disappointing performance from both teams, although we are probably both quite happy with the result. It was a typical match where it became more and more obvious, as the game proceeded, that there would be no goals scored. Neither team deserved to win and in the end both were quite happy just not to loose. The real looser was the crowd that showed up for the game - not a pretty sight. Still, we were the away team and it’s not our responsibility to put on a thrilling attacking type of game - that pressure lies solely on the hosts.

End Result: 0-0.
Man of Match: Johan Karlsson (8).

East Svealand Results: Forssa vs. Topkapi 0-4 (played Saturday), Essinge vs. Visby 2-0, Sandvikens IF vs. Sirius 0-0, Skiljebo vs. Slätta 2-2, Spårvägen vs. Valsta/Syrianska 4-3, Väsby vs. Lidingö 1-3.
Current League Position = 2nd.


Later, after the game, I contacted Premier side GIF Sundsvall and made a renewed loan bid for Jon Ericsson. Unfortunately they wouldn’t budge and immediately said no. However, they did offer me fellow forward Mattias Thorsell, saying that he was available for loan. I was glad to hear this, as I knew Thorsell to be a well established player (30 years of age) and he might just be what we need. So I agreed and then approached Mattias himself to see if he would be interested in joining us for the remainder of the season. He was relieved at the chance of playing some first team football again and said he was delighted in joining Sirius. He’d arrive tomorrow already. Great news!

Mattias Thorsell (30), Striker.
His greatest strength is his lack of any real weaknesses. A very even and well balanced player with good off the ball movement and finishing ability.

McRob

1/5 – 02: Today the board made their monthly statement about the current situation at the club. One piece of good news was the club’s economy. Thanks to the sales of Wikman & Svanfeldt, we made a £ 34218 profit last month. However, we are still in the red with a £ 266143 debt to repay. The board seems pleased and told me that they are hoping for a long and successful era under my helm. That sure sounds good! It’s nice to have the board behind one. They have after all taken a risk in appointing a local lad with no previous managerial experience at this level of the game. I owe them a lot and I hope I can repay their trust in me…

3/5 –02: The Sirius reserves played their first game of the season beating Skiljebo 3-0.
Kelvin Kerali put in a good performance and was the man of match.


Sunday 5/5 -02:

After two consecutive draws - this is a game that must be won. Skiljebo is in my view one of the weaker teams of the league and we can’t afford loosing points to them. New signing Thorsell has looked good in training and gets the chance to prove himself from start. This means someone must be sidelined. I decide on Henrik Eriksson - as I want Thorsell in the central striker position, Henriks previous position.

Sirius vs. Skiljebo

Attendance: 785 (Studenternas IP)
Weather: Dry 28°C.

Sirius (3-4-3): Bylund – Karlsson, Ahlström, Åberg (c) – M.Johansson, Claesson, B.Eriksson, Hansson – Arnesson, Thorsell, Pongrugthai.

Match Notes: The game started as well as I could have wished for. After two minutes gone, we hit Skiljebo on the counter attack - with Arnesson crossing in the ball for Pongrugthai to finish off a wonderful move. However, the match takes a possible turn as Mats Johansson receives his second yellow card and is sent off in the 35th minute. I quickly rearrange the tactics to a 3-4-2 tactic with Pongrugthai taking Johansson place in midfield. In the half time break I instruct the team to play more defensively and instead try to attack more on the counter attack. Despite being one man short we totally dominate the second half. In the 67th minute Arnesson crowns a good game by scoring a vicious strike in the top corner.

Subs: H.Eriksson (On for Arnesson, 82).

One concern from this game was that, despite playing very well, both youngsters Hansson and Ahlström under performed - just as they did the last game. Perhaps they are not yet ready for first team football. Another more positive concern was that Bylund once again kept a clean sheet. Even though I see new signing Simon Ung as a better player, he will find it difficult to take Bylund’s place if he keeps performing this well. Also Simon is new and he might need the time to settle in the area and in to the team. Bylund will keep his place for the time being.

End Result: 2-0 (1-0).
Sirius Goalscorers: Pongrugthai (2), Arnesson (67).
MoM: Sittichai Pongrugthai (8).
Red Card: M. Johansson (35 min).

East Svealand Results: Lidingö vs. Spårvägen 3-1, Sandvikens IF vs. Essinge 2-2, Sirius vs. Skiljebo 2-0, Slätta vs. Väsby 1-1, Topkapi vs. Visby 2-2, Valsta/Syrianska vs. Forssa 3-1.
Current League Position = 1st.

Ninjafish

This is great stuff! I will be following this very closely indeed.
Good luck and keep it up, your match reports are nicely orginised.

McRob

Thanks Ninjafish!
Nice to have a follower...

I thought long and hard before settling for the current type of match report. I wanted to make this story different from my other (Black Gold) and rather concentrate on the game, with only very little fiction. In doing so I wanted proper match reports instead, that could keep up interest. Hope I've succeeded!

McRob

6/5 – 02: During the last couple of weeks I’ve stepped up my search for some good coaches. As I presently can’t sign any well-established coaches, I have had to resort to try and sign older players - who want to function as player/coaches. However, it has proved a difficult task in finding these players - as I obviously want them to be good both as players and as coaches. A difficult combination to find it has turned out! To help me judge some of these ageing players abilities I’ve taken a couple of them on two week trials. Of these players (Stephen Young, Christophe Horlaville and Andrey Ogolev) only Ogolev seemed to have decent player attributes and was willing to sign on for a reasonable wage. So today Andrey Ogolev from Russia was signed as a player/coach.

Andrey Ogolev (28), Midfielder (Centre) and Coach.
Signed primarily as a coach, but Andrey is also a determined player, that may see some action if we become littered with injures. For now however, he’ll be sent to the reserve squad and will put his greatest efforts in to coaching the reserves.

7/5 –02: Rafa BenÃ*tez was sacked from his job as Valencia manager today. The season has been disappointing for Valencia, who are currently only 7th in “La Liga“. Fernando Castro Santos (of Braga, Portugal) later takes charge over the team.

8/5 –02: The Swedish Cup Semi Finals were played today with the following outcome: IFK Malmö vs. AIK 2-1 and Ytterby vs. Djurgården 1-2. Also the Champions League Semi Final Second Leg was played: Juventus beat Lille 5-1 [3-1, 2-0] and Man U beat Bayer Leverkusen 5-2 [2-2, 3-0]. So Juventus will meet Man United at Hampton Park - a dream for manager Sir Alex Ferguson - and all football lovers. Something to look forward too!

This evening Gustav Segerström tells me he has decided to join Slätta for the remainder of the season. Slätta will take over his wages for this period. As we and Slätta play in the same division, I made sure to write in to this loan contract, that he won’t be eligible in games against us.

10/5 –02: Erik Johansson returns from his month long loan at Växjö Norra after playing three games there. At the same time Andreas Eroglu joins Norra Vånga on a similar loan deal.

11/5 –02: The outcome of today’s game between Real Madrid and Alaves, probably means that Real - after the 2-0 win - also will win the league. Deportivo still has a slim chance, but Real only needs to take one point in the last round - or if Deportivo don’t win their final two games - Real Madrid will once again be crowned league champions of Spain. Meanwhile Alaves are, it seems, destined for Second Division football next season. As a consequence manager Mané was sacked (former Valencia coach Rafa Benitez later takes his place).

At The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Fulham won this evening a thrilling FA-Cup Final against Southampton. Fulham took a two nil lead and seemed to be cruising past Southampton (Steed Malbranque and Andrejs Stolcers the scorers). However, a late first half goal by Swede Anders Svensson gave Southampton a lifeline. Late in the second half Southampton managed to score the equaliser courtesy of Jo Tessem. Just before stoppage time Facundo Sava snapped up a Boa Morte rebound, saved by Niemi, and easily put it inside the net - to bring cup glory to Fulham!


Sunday 12/5 -02:

As I felt that youngsters Hansson and Ahlström had under performed lately, I felt it was time for a little shake-up of the team. Ahlström continues to play, but now as right winger. As central defender another youngster - Staffan Wiklund - will get the opportunity to play. As left winger I put Fällström as replacement of the suspended Johansson. We’ll be travelling down to Stockholm to meet a good club in Väsby - who have shown they are a difficult team to beat, with only one loss so far. Away games are always tricky, but I’m aiming for three points today…

Väsby vs. Sirius

Attendance: 949 (Vilundavallen, Stockholm)
Weather: Breezy 28°C.

Sirius (3-4-3): Bylund – Åberg (c), Wiklund, Karlsson – Fällström, Claesson, B.Eriksson, Ahlström – Arnesson, Thorsell, Pongrugthai .

Match Notes: After less than 10 minutes a Väsby player found himself unmarked and gives Väsby the lead. Slowly we start to get in to the game and create some good chances - but no goals before the sound of half time. Pongrugthai is feeling a shin injury so I exchange him for Henrik Eriksson in the interval. It turns out to be a good substitution as Henrik later scores our equaliser. Although creating some excellent chances we simply fail in scoring any more goals, so the game ends in a rather disappointing draw.

Subs: H.Eriksson (On for Pongrugthai, 46), Pettersson (On for Arnesson, 73), Andersson (On for Fällström, 83).

It took us a while to get into the game and by then we were already down by one goal. In the second half we played well and fully deserved our equaliser. Unfortunately we could not take advantage of our domination of the game - instead we had to settle for the draw. A bit disappointing perhaps, but looking at our performance - it did hold a lot of promise…

End Result: 1-1 (1-0).
Sirius Goalscorer: H.Eriksson (65).
MoM: Mattias Thorsell (8).

East Svealand Results: Forssa vs. Lidingö 1-3 (played Staurday), Essinge vs. Topkapi 1-3, Skiljebo vs. Sandvikens IF 0-0, Spårvägen vs. Slätta 1-2, Visby vs. Valsta/Syrianska 2-1, Väsby vs. Sirius 1-1.
Current League Position = 1st.


In the Spanish capital of Madrid celebrations exploded as Deportivo lost away against Espanyol (2-1). The result meant that Real Madrid where crowned Spanish Champions with one round left to play. The celebrations carried on throughout the night!