retired_yolander

9/9 -02: After evaluating my squad further I decide on transfer listing my out of favour forward Johan Pettersson. I almost immediately receive a £ 8,000 transfer bid from Vallentuna BK which I accept, despite it being quite below his estimated value. Meanwhile contract negotiations with Johan Claesson have stranded, but Sittichai Pongrugthai has put his name to a new contract that will see him stay until November 2005.

Internationally another transfer deal was confirmed. Blackburn Rovers sign the Argentinean international Juan Pablo SorÃ*n from Cruzeiro for a fee of £ 10,000,000.

10/9 -02: Receive a whopping bid of £ 24,000 from Norwegian side Bryne for the services of Johan Pettersson. Needlessly to say I accept it straight off and then phone up Vallentuna BK to say: “Sorry the deal’s off. Just received tripple the amount from another club, so…� Tough luck.

12/9 -02: The transfer of Johan Petterson, sold to Bryne for £ 24,000 was confirmed and sealed today. An unexpectedly good transfer fee that will do our strained economy well. Meanwhile we also saw the arrival of Scottish youngster Stuart Bryson - joining the team for a two week long trial.

13/9 -02: Martin Åberg returns to training after his prolonged injury treatment. He’s been sorely missed! Danish youngster Kenneth Nygaard joins on a one week trial at the club.

14/9 -02: A third trialist, Swedish youngster Kenneth Olsson joins on a one week trial. My scouts have been working hard and now we have the three trialists at the club to prove themselves. Of the many youngsters my scouts have been watching, these three seem like the most promising found so far. Will have to see how well they fair in training. Would need new signings to bolster my squad - even if it is unproven youngsters.
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retired_yolander

Sunday 15/9 -02:

Skiljebo is one of the teams at the bottom of the table, so despite away field disadvantage this is a game we should win. Have restructured my tactics to a 5-3-2 attacking style in the lines of: GK - DC, DC, DC - DML/AML, DMR/AMR - MC, MC - AMC/FC - SC, SC. With this new tactic Ahlström and Eroglu have both been placed on the bench. Andreas Fällström and Staffan Wiklund take place in the new starting XI. Have decided on making a generation change to the team, but will wait with major changes until after my youngsters get atleast another reserve game in their feet.

Skiljebo vs. Sirius

Attendance: 759 (Hanne IP, Västerås).
Weather: Drizzle 10°C.

Sirius (5-3-2): Ung (c) – Wiklund, Poskiparta, Karlsson – Fällström, M.Johansson - B.Eriksson, Claesson, – Pongrugthai - H.Eriksson, Thorsell.

Match Notes: We start with a roar! Henrik Eriksson, Thorsell and Pongrugthai all have good shots at goal deflected, before Thorsell scores by floating the ball over the onrushing Skiljebo keeper. Both teams exchange chances before Mats Johansson once again finds Thorsell in the area and it’s 2-0! We continue to push forward, with Henrik Eriksson missing most of the opportunities created. The last minute of the first half became disastrous however. First Karlsson lost the man he was to mark, Niklas Isaksson, who reduced our lead. Then Mats Johansson, with two assists in the game, had to be replaced by Hansson due to injury. With force we came out and pushed forward in the second half to try and puncture the game, but chance after chance would be missed. In the end our pressure relaxed and I instructed the team to not push forward as much. Almost immediately thereafter Skiljebo came up in their first attack in the second half and equalised - to my great surprise and horror. Pushed the team forward again and Thorsell had a couple of great chances to score his hat trick, but missed. Thorsell did however hand us back the lead, courtesy of a shot from his feet being steered in to own goal by Skiljebo defender Emil Andersson. This time around I decide to keep the team forward and not let Skiljebo get up in the field to create any chances of scoring. Man of the match Mattias Thorsell sets up Henrik Eriksson for a chance of scoring in the last minute, but once again the latter misses a great chance. The game ends in a thrilling 3-2 victory. Well deserved!

Subs: Hansson (On for M.Johansson, 46), Eroglu (On for Fällström, 77), Ahlström (On for Claesson, 77).

Having 12 shots on goal, compared to Skiljebo’s 3, there was really no need for this game to become the thriller it became. Especially Henrik Eriksson must score on the multitude of chances that were set up for him. Difficult to asses the impact of the new 5-3-2 tactic from just one game, but I think it did help us create more chances than we have in previous games. We played very well and all in all I’m very happy with the team performance. Unfortunately though Mats Johansson will be sidelined for the next 3 weeks due to strained knee ligaments.

End Result: Skiljebo - Sirius 2-3 (1-2).
Sirius Goal scorers: Thorsell (5, 18), Own Goal (88).
Man of Match: Mattias Thorsell (8).

East Svealand Results: Forssa vs. Valsta/Syrianska 0-2 (played Saturday), Essinge vs. Sandvikens IF 2-1, Skiljebo vs. Sirius 2-3, Spårvägen vs. Lidingö 1-3, Väsby vs. Slätta 3-0, Visby vs. Topkapi 3-3.
Current League Table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Lidingö 16 5 1 1 13 6 6 3 0 22 8 37 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Valsta/Syrianska 16 5 1 1 17 10 4 2 3 22 20 30 3rd *** Sirius *** 16 4 2 2 11 7 4 2 2 8 8 28 4th Topkapi 16 4 3 0 18 10 3 2 4 20 18 26 5th Väsby 16 6 2 1 25 12 0 4 3 11 16 24 6th Visby 16 5 3 0 18 11 1 1 6 9 15 22 7th Sandvikens IF 16 3 4 1 14 10 2 2 4 8 9 21 8th Essinge 16 5 0 4 14 13 1 3 3 10 13 21 9th Spårvägen 16 3 2 3 12 12 2 3 3 13 13 20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10th Slätta 16 3 2 3 12 14 1 1 6 6 19 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11th Skiljebo 16 1 4 4 10 16 1 1 5 3 15 11 12th Forssa 16 2 0 6 9 19 1 0 7 8 19 9 </pre>

retired_yolander

20/9 -02: Watched my Sirius Reserves play away against Väsby Reserves. We controlled the game and won 2-0. Man of the match was Danish trialist Kent Nygaard. His trial week ended with this performance and it was enough to persuade me in to handing him a contract offer. He returned the same evening to Denmark to think through his options. Of the other two trialists midfielder Kenneth Olsson had a good game, but I’ve still decided against handing him a contract offer. Feel he lacks a bit too much in certain critical areas such as tackling, passing and positioning to become a quality midfielder. Scottish trialist Stuart Bryson failed to have a positive impact on the game, but he has another week to prove himself and I do feel he has more potential than the other two, although he can perhaps give a slightly lazy impression at times. Right winger Karl Abbas scored one goal and impressed enough to get promoted to the A-team. Decide to try and re-train him to play in the middle of the field, due to his lack in crossing ability. Also try and re-train Jesper Ahlström to play in the centre of the field so I can make better use of his good passing ability. Sittichai Pongrugthai, who is also under going the same re-training program, came to me that same evening to complain. He’s not happy at being moved in to the centre of the pitch. God knows why he‘s finding that to be so terrible!? While on the subject of re-training I’m also trying to get Staffan Wiklund to function as a striker. His speed and aerial ability could come well in handy at that side of the pitch too.

21/9 -02: Kenneth Olsson trial with the club ends and he leaves without securing a contract.
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Sunday 22/9 -02:

Only make two changes for this game. The injured Mats Johansson is replaced by Per Hansson. Also Martin Åberg is fully recuperated from injury and reclaims a place in the central defence. Although on loan star Johan Karlsson has been one of my most consistent performers on field, he’s today - for the first time - confined to the bench. Feel I should use my own players as much as possible in order to give them first team experience, even if they're perhaps not of the same quality.

Sirius vs. Väsby

Attendance: 793 (Studenternas IP, Uppsala).
Weather: Drizzle 10°C.

Sirius (5-3-2): Ung (c) – Wiklund, Poskiparta, Åberg – Fällström, Hansson - B.Eriksson, Claesson, – Pongrugthai - H.Eriksson, Thorsell.

Match Notes: In the opening minute Henrik Eriksson squares the ball for his brother Bengt, who’s shot is tipped wide to a result less corner. Both teams create opportunities, but some good defensive play keeps the ball out of the net. After 20 minutes played Andreas Fällström gets into the box and falls easily when the Väsby opponent goes in for the tackle. More than likely a dive by Fällström, but it gives us a penalty. Henrik Eriksson steps up and sends the ball and keeper in opposite directions, 1-0! If the penalty was dubious this time it was more clear the next time. Once again it was Fällström in the centre of attention as he was brutally up-hended inside the box. Perhaps aware of his previous mistake the referee this time decides against the obvious penalty ruling. Knowing all to well that the last penalty ruling was incorrect, I failed to get indignant over the referee’s poor show of judgement, but rather saw it as two wrongs making one right. Thorsell got the opportunity in the next sequence to tuck the ball away, but missed. Pongrugthai almost succeeded in a good solo run minutes later, but the effort was tipped wide by the Väsby keeper, Hamza Brajanac. The latter makes a brilliant late save from a close range header by Hansson, in the last chance of the first half. Thorsell seemed bothered by a troubling knee so I exchanged him in half time for Arnesson. Also Bengt Eriksson and Andreas Fällström were feeling of potential injuries, so they were both subbed early on in the second half. Arnesson missed an easy chance to score, whilst in the other end it was Andreas Eriksson that created trouble for my defence and forced Ung to make a good save. Simon made another good save later on, but was forced to capitulate on a Jannis Pappas strike in the 75th minute. Väsby now defended in numbers to keep the score square, whilst we pushed forward. Both teams created a good opportunity each, but no more goals were scored. A slightly disappointing 1-all draw the result.

Subs: Arnesson (On for Thorsell, 46), Ahlström (On for B.Eriksson, 56), Eroglu (On for Fällström, 63).

Even if the result was slightly disappointing, it did reflect the game well. A typical 1-all game with two good defences and mis-striking forwards. Not much else to add really. Will in the last games try even harder to put in players for the future in the starting XI - even if it might impact our results negatively. As it’s two weeks until the next game, I can concentrate my efforts on trying to find promising youngsters the bolster the squad meanwhile.

End Result: Sirius - Väsby 1-1 (1-0).
Sirius Goal scorers: H.Eriksson (20 pen).
Man of Match: Felix Wickman, Väsby (8).

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

23/9 -02: Andreas Fällström‘s agent went out publicly today to suggest that his client was about to leave the club. I confirmed that Fällström would be leaving the club soon as his contract was to expire and several clubs have shown interest in his signature. Personally I don’t feel Fällström will ever be more than a fringe player at the club, so I’m happy to let him go. According to the Swedish transfer regulations any club interested in his signature, while he’s still under contract, will be forced to pay us a sum of money - in this case £ 50,000. In my eyes that’s a good deal, so I won‘t make any attempts to stop him from leaving.

Two more promising youngsters joined the club today for a one week trial. Jani Rouhikko is a decent young Finnish goalkeeper, whilst Jesper Bengtsson is a Danish 16-year old quick midfielder/striker. Both look decent enough and I’ll probably try and make them permanent acquisitions.

26/9 -02: In the UEFA Cup First Round two of four Swedish teams progressed to the next round. AIK did manage to beat Barcelona at home 3-2, but despite an early lead they finally crashed out after loosing 3-1 at Nou Camp. Djurgården progressed due to the away goal rule after a 2-all aggregate against Belgian club Charleroi [1-2, 1-0]. Hammarby lost against Yugoslavian team Sartid, 3-5 aggregate [1-4, 2-1], whilst IFK Göteborg beat Grasshopper of Switzerland 4-3 [2-0, 2-3]. The First Round was otherwise notably lacking any big upsets and all the favourites progressed to the next round.

Stuart Bryson‘s trial has come to an end and he leaves the club, but he leaves it with a fresh contract offer to decide upon.

28/9 -02: Leeds United sign Liverpool forward Vladimir Smicer for a fee of £ 10,500,000. Not long ago Leeds was a club in financial crisis, but the arrival of new investors and Chairman Bill Rowe has seen the club get a massive cash influx, with some of that money now being spent on this transfer of the Czech international.

We too make a new signing as 16-year old Danish trialist Jesper Bengtsson signs on for a three year deal - signed on a free transfer:

Jesper Bengtsson (16), M/S/C.
A speedy youngster with good passing ability. Lacks somewhat in physical attributes, as would be expected with a 16-year old, but also in technique.

Stuart Bryson however, rejects the initial contract offer. An improved offer has now been lodged to persuade the Scot to sign. Erik Johansson returns from his month long loan spell with Lomma, after starting in three games and impressing in those.

30/9 -02: Jani Rouhikko‘s trial finishes and he leaves the club. I would have been willing to sign him as a back-up keeper, but he let me know that he was not willing to play in the reserves. Mats Johansson returns to light training after his knee injury.

1/10 -02: Kelvin Kerali returns from his loan with Frändefors after appearing in four games. Andreas Fällström agrees a deal that will take him to GAIS for £ 50,000 after snubbing 9 other clubs interested in his services. The deal will go through on the 14th of January next year. The board are no longer delighted with my performance as manager, merely pleased. Financially our sales made us go £ 32,147 plus, but we are still almost £ 300,000 in the red. Sittichai Pongrugthai has once again vented his extreme unhappiness with his training schedule().

3/10 -02: Stuart Bryson rejects my renewed contract offer and doesn’t really seem interested in signing for the club. As a consequence I cancel all contract negotiations. Norwegian 17-year old goalkeeper Hans Andreassen joins the club on a one week trial.

Arsenal have meanwhile opened the big spending purse to purchase the services of Italian international Cristiano Doni from Atalanta. The fee is believed to have landed at around £ 11,250,000.

4/10 -02: Jesper Ahlström suffered a damaged shoulder in training today and will be out for about 2 weeks. That’s a shame as I had planned on trying him in a central midfield position for Sundays game.

5/10 -02: Sweden played out a goalless draw away against Greece in the European Championship Qualifiers. At Old Trafford England beat Iceland 2-0, courtesy of strikes from David Beckham and Alan Smith. Watched the game myself on TV and was rather impressed by the Icelandic’s performance. Realise that there might be some bargains to be made in that country. It’s close and culturally connected to Sweden, so I might be able to lure a couple of players over. Will certainly try and look in to the situation there and see if any bargains can be made at the end of the season.

Yet another Norwegian trialist, 16-year old defender/midfielder Morten Svendsen, joins for a weeks training with the squad. According to my scout Emil Norling he’s a magnificent dribbler and could therefore be of interest to us.
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retired_yolander

Sunday 6/10 -02:

Start my re-haul of the team for proper with this game. In the starting XI only two players are older than 22 (Simon Ung, 25, and Henrik Eriksson, 28, being the two). Changes for this game is Andreas Eroglu stepping in to take the left winger position, instead of the soon to be leaving Andreas Fällström. Henrik Andersson gets the chance to start in his first game for the season, replacing Bengt Eriksson who’s future at the club seems unsure. Originally I had intended to play Jesper Ahlström in this position, but injury robbed him of the opportunity. Thomas Arnesson takes a place as striker instead of on loan star Mattias Thorsell, despite the latter’s recent show of good form. I’m taking a huge gamble for this game and would be delighted with earning a point. Spårvägen is a good, although unevenly performing, side that cannot be underestimated.

Spårvägen vs. Sirius

Attendance: 813 (Kristinebergs IP, Stockholm).
Weather: Drizzle 10°C.

Sirius (5-3-2): Ung (c) – Wiklund, Poskiparta, Åberg – Eroglu, Hansson - Claesson, Andersson – Pongrugthai - Arnesson, H.Eriksson.

Match Notes: We start optimistically as Arnesson, Claesson and Eroglu all have shots skimming of the water drenched pitch and creating difficulties for the Spårvägen keeper Nicklas Lundblad. Our own goalkeeper Simon Ung, has a close shave as he brings down a Spårvägen player in the area, but fortunately the referee decides against the penalty ruling. Around the half hour mark Ung makes a brilliant save from a close range Patrick Manzilla strike. Moments later Hansson crosses the ball for Arnesson who’s furious strike is saved by Lundblad. An even first half that ends without any goals being scored. Playmaker Claesson starts a good attack, early in the second half, by hitting a 30 yard pass to Hansson who in turn crosses the ball for Eriksson - but his effort is unfortunately tipped to a result less corner. Eroglu has minutes later a shot grazing the bar. We are getting closer and closer, a goal is in the air. Henrik Andersson, having a very good game so far, runs down the right flank and serves a perfect cross that Henrik Eriksson can’t miss. Unfortunately Eriksson is ruled to have been offside. The goal is inevitable however and a bad goal kick from Lundblad finds the feet of Pongrugthai - who races forward, dribbles past the defenders and slots home a well deserved goal. We continue to play brilliantly and Henrik Eriksson comes very close to extending our lead in the following minute. The same minute as we took the lead, Spårvägen made a couple of substitutions. One of the players to come in is a 17-year old striker with the strange artist name of Nollan (meaning “The Zero�) making his debut. 10 minutes later he scores the equaliser, after Staffan Wiklund first had managed to clear the ball on the line, Nollan was in hand to score a very un-deserved goal. Make a few substitutions myself to try and mix things up. With only minutes to go Andersson crosses the ball for Thorsell. Thorsell’s shot is saved by Lundblad, but Abbas turns up to hit home the rebound - another debutant scoring in this game! Or so we thought at least… but incredibly the linesman is flagging for an offside on left winger Eroglu, who had no part in the situation. Our continuing bad luck grins us in the face once again as the referee rules out the goal for offside. In injury time Henrik Eriksson once again comes close with a shot skimming the bar, but - it was not to be.

Subs: Thorsell (On for Arnesson, 73), Karlsson (On for Claesson, 80), Abbas (On for Pongrugthai, 80).

I know I claimed I would be happy with a point before the game, but as the game progressed I can no longer stick with that statement. The entire team played admirably well and we came to dominate the game completely. Again it was a failure to score on the multitude of chances created, that robbed us of taking home all three points. That - and an amazingly stupid offside ruling on Abbas late goal by linesman and referee. Sure, Eroglu was offside, but he had nothing to do with the game situation that created the goal. Still, there’s no point in blaming the referee as these last games really don’t have that great a significance anyway, as we neither can achieve promotion nor are in danger of relegation...

End Result: Spårvägen - Sirius 1-1 (0-0).
Sirius Goal scorers: Pongrugthai (56).
Man of Match: Björn Rydberg, Spårvägen (9).

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

9/10 -02: In the European Championship Qualifiers Group 1, England went a top after hammering Moldova away 6-0. This at the same time as Iceland beat Russia at home in ReykjavÃ*k, 1-0. In Group 6 Sweden beat Northern Ireland at home 2-0, courtesy of goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrik Larsson. Holland meanwhile beat Luxembourg in Amsterdam to top the group. Holland failed to impress however, only managing two shots on goal the entire game. The goal came courtesy of a Jaap Stam header after a corner in the 42nd minute. Other notable results were that San Marino, Malta and The Faroe Islands all earned themselves a point each against Armenia, Estonia and Latvia respectively. France were meanwhile held to a 1-1 draw against Ukraine at Stade de France after an injury time equaliser by Vorobey.

10/10 -02: Hans Andreassen leaves the club after finishing his week long trial. I tried to secure his signature on a contract, but his demands were too high for only being intended as a back-up keeper. Andreas Fällström will meanwhile be out for a month after suffering a groin strain in training. Mats Johansson returns to full training after his injury spell.

12/10 -02: Morten Svendsen finishes his trial and leaves the club, he does so with a fresh contract offer, but he later decides to turn it down.

18/10 -02: Husqvarna make a £ 26,000 bid for Henrik Andersson. Although the player is transfer listed I found the offer to be too far away from our evaluation of the player which currently lies at £ 80,000. Jonas Bylund‘s contract will expire after this season and I have therefore offered him a new contract, but now I also have competition from several other clubs that wish to sign him.
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Sunday 20/10 -02:

As the team played so well in the last game I decide to use the exact same starting XI for this game. We meet Forssa that currently are fighting against relegation. “A game we should win comfortably“ I uttered confidently in a pre-game interview.

Sirius vs. Forssa

Attendance: 791 (Studenternas IP, Uppsala).
Weather: Dry 10°C.

Sirius (5-3-2): Ung (c) – Wiklund, Poskiparta, Åberg – Eroglu, Hansson - Claesson, Andersson – Pongrugthai - Arnesson, H.Eriksson.

Match Notes: �A game we should win comfortably� those were the words that I soon would have to swallow. Forssa striker Anders Löfling set up his partner Toledo for an early opener, with only three minutes on the clock. Fortunately we have a quick answer. After only six minutes played, Henrik Andersson takes the ball inside the box and scores his first ever goal and the equaliser in this game. Andersson seems on fire and soon sets up himself once again for a good shot at goal, this time saved by Stefan Lille in the Forssa goal. Minutes later it’s Andersson that’s the mastermind when setting up our second goal. He searches out Hansson on the right wing with a good pass and Hansson in turn crosses the ball for Arnesson to tuck away. In the next attack Arnesson again scores on a great cross - this time from Eroglu, and it’s 3-1 after only 15 minutes played! Arnesson is having a magnificent first half and comes very close to scoring his hat trick just before half time, but Lille makes a good save on the close range effort. The two men of the match so far, Henrik Andersson and Thomas Arnesson, combines in the seconds half’s opening minute to produce the latter’s hat trick and a safe 4-1 lead. Simon Ung makes a good save from a curling Bernhard Brcic free kick, and moments later Pongrugthai spins past the same Brcic in to the box and comes close to scoring. Ung also denies Toledo from scoring his second for the day after a brilliant save. We relax somewhat, which hands Forssa a couple of opportunities, but the score line ends in an impressive 4-1 victory.

Subs: Abbas (On for Pongrugthai, 63), Thorsell (On for Eroglu, 77), B.Eriksson (On for H.Eriksson, 87).

Maybe I’ve stumbled over something here!? The way the team performed today and in the last games gives me some hope for the future. Henrik Andersson has with his performances proved that I was wrong not use him in the starting XI before. Arnesson has on the other hand been handed the opportunity to prove himself at many occasions, but it was first today that everything fell in place for him. It’s obviously too early to judge our performances as we have, to be honest, met teams we normally should beat. The next three games will put us to more difficult tests I’m sure. For Forssa this loss means they can at best reach the play-offs.

End Result: Sirius - Forssa 4-1 (3-1).
Sirius Goal scorers: Andersson (6), Arnesson (13, 15, 47).
Man of Match: Thomas Arnesson (10).

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

Danish youngster Jesper Dogan joins on a one week trial at the club. He looks quite promising and I’m hoping to put his name to a contract.

Watched the sports broadcast on TV, while enjoying a post-match whiskey at the bar were I‘ve now started to become a regular. Djurgården’s unbeaten run of 16 games came to an end in Allsvenskan, after loosing to Halmstad 3-1, but Djurgården are still 4 points ahead of the chasing pack with only four rounds left to be played. Looks like Djurgården can retain the Premiership title after a 34 year long wait. They came close last year, but were eventually pipped on the finishing line by Stockholm rivals Hammarby. IFK Norrköping, on the other hand, have had a troubled season in Allsvenskan and are dangerously close to becoming relegated. As a consequence manager Håkan Ericksson was sacked today. Superettan (Division 1) side Västra Frölunda have also experienced a disappointing season and have now sacked their manager Lars-Olof Mattson. Internationally Fabio Cannavaro suffered a broken leg in Inter’s Serie A game against Triestina (Inter won 3-0) and will be out for about 5 months. After a few more shots of whiskey I would also find myself knocked out - at least for the night.

23/10 -02: Jonas Bylund decides to join IFK Luleå when his contract expires on the 15th of January next year. We will be given £ 5,000 according to Swedish transfer regulations.

Had a date for Wednesday evening. I had met a cute brown eyed-girl in her early twenties earlier that same day. I had been downtown shopping and had asked her for her opinion about a pair of jeans I was trying on. Did they fit well, look good? She concluded I had bad taste in clothes and proceeded to help me find a more suitable pair. We got to talking and I asked her out. Now we sat opposite each other in a restaurant talking about superficial things, as strangers do. As we ate and drank glass after glass of wine, the conversation relaxed. Came to talk about the subject of sports. Asked her innocently what she thought of football. As I sat drowning in her sparkling brown eyes, she mouthed words - then sentences and whole chapters of the utter stupid ness of football and football fans in general. How someone can become so engrossed by a meaningless game she could not understand: “I mean get a life!�. She continued to say that she thought football had a negative effect on the already endangered male brain capacity. “Fortunately you seem to be one of the exceptions� she said in a low voice as her eyes sparkled even brighter. “By the way. I don’t think you ever told me what you do� she continued… As I truthfully answered, I could see her eyes reflect her feelings; from playful to sheer horror. The waiter interrupted us to ask if we wanted dessert. “No… I don’t think so� I said. “Just the check will be fine thank you�…
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24/10 -02: Jesper Ahlström resumed full training today, but unfortunately Karl Abbas will be sidelined for the next couple of weeks after sustaining a damaged foot in training.

25/10 -02: Sirius Reserves entertained Visby Reserves in a thrilling 2-3 loss. Coach Andrey Ogolev was in particular good form and as a consequence I’ve now promoted him to the senior playing squad - although he’ll still be in charge of coaching the reserves.

26/10 -02: Bengt Eriksson today put his name to a new 2 year contract, ending speculation that he’d be leaving the club after this season.

Leaving is however Jan Jönsson of Landskrona BOIS. After a bad season the team now look like falling out of Allsvenskan and in a desperate attempt to change things around, manager Jan Jönsson was sacked.
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retired_yolander

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
and the winner is...


Sirius - Rising Star by McRob
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Would like to thank everyone for voting for my little story. Very proud to receive this award for Best Northern/Eastern European Story. I guess someone must reading after all…
Thanks a lot! Hope I can continue to produce a story that someone (else but me) wants to read

Now back to the story...
-----------------------------------

retired_yolander

Sunday 27/10 -02:

Taking the ferry over to the island of Gotland to meet Visby Gute is never an easy task. They are currently sixth in the league, only four points behind ourselves, so it’ll be a difficult game for sure. I will play the same team as in the last couple of games and now they’ll definitely be put to the test. Will be interesting to see the result…

Visby vs. Sirius

Attendance: 1492 (Gutavallen, Visby).
Weather: Wet 10°C.

Sirius (5-3-2): Ung (c) – Wiklund, Poskiparta, Åberg – Eroglu, Hansson - Claesson, Andersson – Pongrugthai - Arnesson, H.Eriksson.

Match Notes: In the opening minutes Hansson passes the ball into the area for Henrik Eriksson to hit on the volley. Despite Henrik volleying with his weaker left foot, it hit’s the bar. Henrik is first to the rebound and squares the ball for Claesson, who unfortunately can’t keep his effort down. Moments later Pongrugthai and Eriksson exchanges passes which leads to Henrik being given a good goal scoring opportunity, but his shot hit’s the cross bar. Visby now get their first chances at goal, but a couple of good interventions by Wiklund and a brave save down low by Simon Ung keeps a clean sheet for the time being. A dangerous tackle from Poskiparta results in a yellow card and a free kick just outside of the area minutes later. Visby’s Markus Björklund hit’s the shot that finds Ung rooted at the spot - it’s 1-up for Visby. Arnesson and Pongrugthai have both good chances of equalising around the half hour mark, but both of them squanders the opportunities. Just before half time Visby hit us on the counter attack, a move that is finished clinically by forward Dennis Olsson. To get back in to the game we need to quickly reduce Visby’s lead. We do also create some half chances, with most of our creative play coming from the feet of Andreas Eroglu - who also has the best opportunity of scoring, but doesn’t do better than putting his effort straight in to the arms of the Visby goalkeeper. Pongrugthai has a header from close range saved just after the hour mark. In the end we do finally score from our multitude of chances when Henrik Eriksson picks up a rebound, from a Claesson shot at goal, and easily puts it into the wide open goal. We push forward the remaining time on the clock, but never get that golden opportunity to equalise the game. Instead Visby stand as winners when the final whistle is blown.

Subs: Karlsson (On for Poskiparta, 58), Thorsell (On for Arnesson, 66), M.Johansson (On for Pongrugthai, 76).

Once again we’ll feel unlucky with the result. As usual we created the vast majority of chances but failed to convert them into goals. Rather telling was that Visby’s goalkeeper was named man of match. Still, no reason to be let down - most players performed quite well, the only notable exceptions being Ung, Poskiparta and Arnesson who all played below par today.

End Result: Visby - Sirius 2-1 (2-0).
Sirius Goal scorers: H.Eriksson (68).
Man of Match: Mikael Syring, Visby (8).

East Svealand Results: Forssa vs. Sandvikens IF 3-0 (played Saturday), Essinge vs. Väsby 4-1, Spårvägen vs. Skiljebo 2-1, Topkapi vs. Slätta 3-1, Valsta/Syrianska vs. Lidingö 2-2, Visby vs. Sirius 2-1.
Current League Table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Pl Lidingö 20 7 1 1 20 9 6 4 1 24 11 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Topkapi 20 7 3 0 27 13 3 2 5 22 21 35 3rd Valsta/Syrianska 20 6 3 1 24 16 4 2 4 22 23 35 4th *** Sirius *** 20 5 3 2 16 9 4 3 3 10 11 33 5th Visby 20 7 3 0 21 12 2 2 6 14 18 32 6th Väsby 20 7 2 1 26 12 0 6 4 14 22 29 7th Essinge 20 7 0 4 21 14 1 3 5 13 18 27 8th Spårvägen 20 4 3 3 15 14 3 3 4 15 15 27 9th Sandvikens IF 20 3 5 2 16 13 2 2 6 8 13 22 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10th Slätta 20 4 2 4 13 16 1 1 8 9 25 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11th Pl Forssa 20 4 0 6 15 21 1 0 9 10 27 15 12th Pl Skiljebo 20 1 5 4 11 17 1 2 7 5 21 13 </pre>
Lidingö make it to the promotional play-offs, as they are already crowned winners of the East Svealand group - with two rounds yet to be played, while Forssa and Skiljebo at the other end can at best fight for survival in the relegation play-offs.
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retired_aliciabh2000

Congratulations! Well deserved award for a great story.