From deep within Sweden, to the top of the World!

sek729

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Starting a new save in the bottom of the Swedish Leagues. The only other two leagues I've loaded are Italy and England. It seems unrealistic to jump to another country without making a name for myself. FM increases world reputation too quickly IMO. My key rule is, I do not leave Sweden until I have had reasonable success there. Success would include working my way up from the Swedish Second Division (4th tier of Swedish football) all the way up until the Swedish Premier League, and winning either atleast 1 trophy or qualifying for European competition before I am eligible to move to greener pastures in England or Italy.


I received offers from various teams, the best one was from Tegs SK in the Swedish Second Division North

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$550/week, 1 year contract. $3,600 p/w budget.
 
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I had already played most of my season when I decided to share it with you guys. Expectations were to avoid relegation. We have succeeded in that regard.

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We were threatning promotion after a scorching 5-match winning streak but things turned upside down quickly as the injury bug came out and our lack of depth was exposed.

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Technically we're still alive, but it would be nothing short of a miracle to be promoted now with 4 weeks to go in the season. All in all, I consider this season a good success for my first crack at FM 13.
 
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We finished with a flurry. It was an ugly late equalizer given up against Solleftea GIF or else it would have been perfect finish. But even a perfect finish wouldn't have seen us up. No miracle, but I like how this team is set-up coming back for next season. We have quite a few younger guys who should keep developing into solid footballers at this level.

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Tegs SK President Jorgen Astrom has offered me a new one-year contract for $550/wk. Although a raise was probably in order, I will not squabble this time. The board is delighted with the way I am leading the team although I will need to get our finances into a little better shape.

 
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Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


2013 Preseason

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I let some dead weight go, although Gunnarsson and Hardell are decent players at this level, they did not serve much of a purpose with my desired tactics and formations so I decided to let them go. The board gave me some transfer funds and I squeezed even a little more out of them by promising another Top-Half finish.


  • Yosif Ayuba is the key pickup and will be the engine of our midfield. His play will determine our success this year.
  • Emil Pettersson is a very promising young defender, who can play all 3 backline positions. He's good enough to start now and his high ceiling made him a must-have
  • Aday Sleyman is a promising goalkeeping prospect who is already very close to pushing my current starter, Patrick Sjogren, for action. They will probably split duties so Sleyman can get much needed PT for development.
  • Simon Molander is an attacking midfielder who can also play both wings. He'll provide much needed depth to the first team as I utiliize all three positions (AML, AMC, AMR) in my 4-2-3-1 formation.
  • David Stevic is another depth play. The 4-2-3-1 also requires two DMC's and we were very thin there last year and Stevic will give us that extra option if/when injuries accumulate.


Overall, I am quite pleased with the change in our squad dynamics from last year to this year and I think we can make a serious push for promotion with some luck.

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We did not have a lucky preseason as we took up some dings to key players. Most were minor dings but the most serious was to my best returning player from last season, Johan Ornfjall. The 25 year old striker scored 12 goals, 6 assists (7.24) in 22 matches last year, and a 3-month injury will likely see him miss 12-14 matches this season. When you only have 22 on the schedule, this is a pretty devastating blow.​
 
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Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North

April/May 2013

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I'm very encouraged by the early results. The home loss to Junsele and away draw to Umedalen were absolutely brutal and we deserved the full 6 points from both matches. The midfield engine I built this offseason is firing on all cylinders but we're clearly missing the finishing ability of our star striker Johan Ornfjall. It's the performance of my key offseason acquisition, Yosif Ayuba, that has made us serious promotion contenders. In 6 matches he has scored 1 goal, 3 assists and 7.27 average rating from a support role in defensive midfield. If his form continues, I really like our chances. I also received good news in that Ornfjall may be only 2-weeks from getting back on the field. Things are looking up for Tegs SK right now.

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Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


June-September 2013


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There was no drama this season. Despite a scorching 10-match unbeaten streak to finish the season we were never a threat to Ostersund late in the year, who went 11-3-1 over their final 15 matches to bury the league. Despite leading the league in goal differential, we come up 7 points short for promotion. We deserved better luck to be honest. Many points were given away in matches that were completely controlled, but that's neither here nor there. The fact remains, we'll be in the Second Division North for atleast one more season. I'm still very encouraged about the future of this club. We do have some tough decisions in the offseason regarding expiring contracts but we're right there on the cusp of promotion. It's difficult to see areas where we could improve but I'll have to do whatever I can to keep this squad together.

Tegs SK President Jorgen Astrom once again offered me a $550/wk extension. I refused and demanded a raise to $600/wk for my work the past two seasons. We settled at $575/wk so at least I'm keeping up with inflation for a year.
 
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Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


Preseason


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This was not my greatest offseason ever. I decided not to re-sign a number of backups, expecting to replace them with new players. I was able to land a top quality central defender who should become an anchor in my backline, but I struggled finding replacements for the others. I managed to re-sign most of my key players but they required raises that tightened my budget. After I signed Arvidsson, there wasn't much left for others. I do have a couple kids that were promoted through the youth ranks that may be able to contribute this year, so it may not be too bad.

Another crappy part of this offseason involved my star midfielder from last year, Yosif Ayuba. He finished last season with 7.41 rating and I couldn't imagine trying to get promoted without him, but in January he requested to be transfer listed so he could move to a bigger club. I may not have handled it as sharply as I could have and he will be starting the season disgruntled.

A potential starlet came through the youth system in the form of a Turkish 17-year old Hurriyet Durkal Atikate The central defender may be able to make an immediate impact in the first team this year and I'm excited about his growth prospects.

Anyway, we got most of the first team back from last year that finished 2nd in the league, plus the new defenders, and the boys easily rolled through their preseason schedule with ease and thankfully, virtually no injuries to key players.

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This could be our year!​
 
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Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


April-June 2014

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We're halfway through the season and we've been rolling along. We also recently picked up good news from star midfielder Yosif Ayuba, who a few weeks ago dropped his transfer demand and requested to be removed from the transfer list. His improved morale going forward will be key if we're going to get this done. Despite the fantastic start, we're not quite on top yet as Solleftea GIF clings to a slim lead in the table. We already had our home match against them so we'll be needing a good result away in late July.

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Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


July-August 2014

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This may be it folks! With 3 matches remaining (and favorable matchups), we are on top of the table. Anything short of being promoted now would be a massive disappointment. We missed an opportunity in our last match to give us some breathing room but we still hold all the cards. Two great upsets in the Swedish Cup will give this club 3 matches in group play next year. The draw was not particular favorable as we'll have to deal with Premier powers AIK and Helsingborg, but just to reach that stage of the competition from our lowly club is an achievement

The only sour news I have in this update is that Yosif Ayuba once again requested to be transfered to a bigger club. Instead of butting heads at a key part of the season, I agreed to look to move him at the end of the season and that seemed to please him for the time being.​
 
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Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


September 2014

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Whew! We made it far more interesting than it had to be, but we're GOING UP!

 
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cool story... might start a save like this soon.... maybe norway...
 
Doing well make the monaing Ayuba rot in the reserves! I hate it when players get like this, in my Dnipro save i have a CM who is 33 from iran and has decided to leave for the npower league 1 as i would not give hime 20k a week!
 
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Tegs SK

Swedish First Division North


Preseason 2015

We are now in the third-tier of Swedish football. Unlike the Second Division where there were SIX regional leagues within the tier, there is just one parallel league here called the Swedish First Division South. The top team in both leagues will be promoted to the Swedish First Division Elite. The runner-ups will play in playoff for the third promotion spot. Instead of 12 teams (22 league matches), there are now 14 teams (26 league matches). The bottom 3 teams in each division will be relegated.

My contract was up after an extraordinary season but my club president was stubbornly in no giving manner. Despite pleading for it, I was unable to negotiate a multi-year contract from the club. Although feeling slighted, I accepted another one-year deal with the goal of avoiding relegation.

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Yosif Ayuba is history. He only had 1 year left on his deal with us and instead of fighting with him all year long I decided it was time to part ways. I shopped him around and negotiated the best deal I could. Coincidentally, the team that ended up signing him, Umea, was also my parent club for the previous 3 seasons. Our promotion put us in the same division and we had to break our affiliation.

Needless to say, the $140K i got for Ayuba was immediately put to use to improve the squad. Contract extensions were given to key players from last year and fresh faces were brought in to improve the squad. I sent my chief scout Marko Hogberg out and told him to get busy and he brought back a pile of names for me to sort though. Here's who we added:


  • Marcus Gerd, GK - I was left thin at the goalkeeper position after my 2014 preseason purge. This 19 year old is filled with potential and will battle my previous GK Adey Sleyman for playing time
  • Sami Nador-Tabaczyinski, AML (AMR/ST) - 23 year old winger doesn't stand out in any particular skill but is all-around solid and will push for playing time on both wings.
  • Christian Gregorcik, DC - 19 year old Serb is a future prospect/depth play for the time. He's not fleet of foot but is already showing excellent marking and tackling ability for his age and could develop into a very solid player.
  • William Edvardsson, AMC (ST) - 16 year old potential starlet that Hogberg insisted that we invest in. Already very pacey for this level with a sublime first touch and advanced mental attributes for his age. Got a good feeling that in a couple years this kid will be making a name for himself. Would not be shocked if he becomes a contributor this season.
  • Linus Marklund, DR (DLC) - 20 year old who will push our regulars for playing time and add more depth to our backline.
  • Boban Velkovski, DMC (MC) - The key signing of this offseason, he will fill in for Yosif Ayuba in the very key defensive midfielder support role in my formation. The 24 year old from Macedonia has the technical skill and leadership qualities I was looking for in this role and I'm confident he'll fill in very well for Ayuba
  • Henrik Palmersjo, DR (MR/AMR) - The ideal experienced presence I wanted to add to our first-team lineup. We lacked players who played at a high level on this squad and Palmersjo comes in from Swedish Premier League club Halmstad where he played 17 matches the last season. He will immediately thrust himself in the right fullback role and I believe he'll be a dangerous overlapping threat to the rest of First Division North.
Two key starters and lots of youth potential was brought in at the expense of Ayuba. I'm very pleased with how this offseason has gone.



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The Swedish Cup group play begins early in the year. The first thing I did was immediately reschedule half our friendlies ahead of these matches. It proved a good decision as we were much more prepared and fit than First Division Elite side Sirius as we controlled them throughout. However, we had to travel to Premier Division monsters AIK and they mopped the floor with our squad. The gate receipts boost was much appreciated and although we shocked Helsingsborg in the final match, it wasn't enough to topple AIK who ran away with the group and moved onto the quarterfinals. We finished our preseason friendly fixtures with solid play and I'm cautiously optimistic we can avoid relegation. Only time will tell.​
 
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Tegs SK

Swedish First Division North


April-June 2015

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Our season kicked off with a bang with a pair of wins to get us off to a great start. The good vibes quickly disappeared as we learned about the hardships that follow promotions. 2 points in our next 6 matches left in the relegation zone. Particularly devastating was the 3-3 draw home to Enkoping after we blew a 3-1 lead very late in the game. Thankfully, we met league whipping boys Oostersund when morale was suffering at the club. We had too much talent for them and the blowout win revived spirits in the clubhouse. The momentum continued with another blowout win over Forward. A solid away draw against Frej has put us back into the middle of the table with 15 matches to go

Boban Velkovski,
my key replacement for Yosif Ayuba, has struggled to settle into the club for most of the season, failing to make the impact I had hoped for. However a huge breakout, man of the match performance against Forward (1 assist, 8.7) may get things rolling for him.

Sami Nador-Tabaczyinski, has probably made the best impact of the new-signees scoring 4 goals and 2 assists, 7.19 rating in 11 league matches on the left-wing. He's quickly becoming a fan favorite.

Hernrik Palmersjo,
the Premier experienced right back from Halmstad, has struggled for most of the year. He does have 3 assists from crosses on his overlapping runs, but I expected more than 6.86 rating from him. Hopefully he can turn it on the second half.

Hurriyet Durkal Atiku,
my 18-year old Turkish wunderkid central defender continues to blossom and has easily become one of the best players at the club and deservedly (and annoyingly) is getting repeated call-ups to the Turkish under-21 squad.

Simon Molander,
a 2013 offseason free transfer pickup, has developed into my most important attacking weapon on this club in the Attacking Central Midfielder role. He was absolutely key for promotion last year and he's strung together some fabulous performances this year with 6 goals, 6 assists, 3 PoMs and 7.75 average rating. Inking him thru 2017 in the offseason was a very wise move.

Johan Ornfjall, my veteran striker whose been at this club longer than I have, is having another solid year as he's bagged 5 goals in 9 matches.

William Edvardsson,
the youngster my scout was gushing about in the offseason, has yet to make his first team debut but is progressing wonderfully in training and reserve matches so far. My assistant manager concurs with my scout and believes Edvardsson is going to be a special one. I'm itching to give him minutes, but I didn't want to stunt his development by giving him matches when everybody else on the team was carrying poor morale and defeat seemed certain. His time will come soon enough and I'll find favorable situations to get him good, positive experience.


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Tegs SK

Swedish First Division North


July-August 2015

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Inconsistancy describe the past two months but a landmark 3-2 away win over league leaders Eskilstuna City might just be the key to our survival this year. In Cup action we won an extra time match against Umedalen where young starlet William Edvarsson scored his first professional goal. In fantastic irony, Umedalen was the club we purchased Edvarsson from! We were tremendously unlucky with the 2nd round draw as we pulled Premier League side Goteborg who flattened us. Once again, the Eskilstuna City 3 points were huge and we finished the month with an important win over the relegated-bound Dalkurd.

I received disappointed news from my 18-year old star defender Hurriyet Durkal Atik, who demanded to be transfer listed. Foreseeing this possibility in the past offseason, inking him to a deal through 2009 ensures he's going nowhere as long as I hold the cards and unless I get the right price. Hopefully he cools off during this next offseason.

My new signings Boban Velkovski and Henrik Palmersjo continue to under-perform my preseason expectations although Velkovski did find the net against Syrianska IF and followed it up with another against Dalkurd. It was the two best performances from him since that PoM performance against Forward back in June. Sometimes new players take a while to gel with their teammates and I'm hoping that is the case here and maybe these two can contribute much more next season.

Simon Molander
has cooled off from scorching start to the season but is still putting in solid performances.

Marcus Gerd
, my preseason goalkeeping acquistion, was unable to win the starting job from last year's regular, Aday Sleyman. Sleyman went down with an injury in July and forced Gerd into action but I've been disappointed with his performance over the 9 matches he got the nod. Sleyman is returning from injury and will retain the job for the time being. Gerd has shown improvement on the training ground but it hasn't translated to matches just yet. The staff is still high on his future however.

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With 6 matches to go, we are in decent shape for survival. The schedule is favorable with a pair of home matches against Forward and Frej, as well as an away tilt to Ostersund. But we can't take it for granted. Dropping points to these other relegation battlers will make things that much more difficult.

 
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Tegs SK

Swedish First Division North


September-October 2015

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It wasn't a banner finish to the season but the boys got the job done and I'm proud of them. Now we can move forward with the groundwork laid from the new corp of players. I finally got a raise from the board! Club President offered $675 and I hardballed him up to $750/wk. I couldn't get the 2-year deal I wanted but I'm glad to be getting "paid" for my efforts the past 4 seasons!

Simon Molander made Swedish First Division North's Team of the Year. He finished with 11 goals, 6 assists, 5 PoM in 24(2) league appearances with a 7.33 rating. He's under contract thru 2017.

Hurriyet Durkal Atik,
7.02 in 22 league matches and William Edvardsson, 7.25 in 8(5) league matches both made the Swedish First Division North u20 Team of the Year.

Honestly I expect this upcoming offseason to be a relatively quiet one for us. I like the young players I got and I will not be making many acquisitions. Building chemistry with our current squad will be key going forward. Instead of adding quantity and depth like last winter, I will be looking for a single impact player who can put this team on his shoulders and take it to another level. All of the pieces are there if I can bring in one superstar who can completely dominate this level. That'll be my goal this off-season.



 
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Tegs SK

Swedish First Division North


Preseason 2016

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Well, there's one bit of stunning piece of news this offseason and that was the sale of Henrik Palmersjo. An offer came in that I just couldn't refuse. At $925/wk, he was not given us performances worthy of his salary and although I thought there was a good chance he would greatly improve in his 2nd year in the club, $50K and some budget room was too much to pass up and I sent him packing.

I struck out in my goal to bring in an elite player. I threw everything but the kitchen sink at a pacy 24-year old Jamaican striker named Craig Foster. He was interested and would have set this league on fire with his speed and finishing ability but Premier League side GIF Sundsvall had more bullets in their checkbook and we were blown out of the water in the end. I was very disappointed. I also pushed for a big-time central defender but we were out of his price range as well. We took in two free agent options in Rickard Sten and Emil Bellander.

The 17-year old winger Sten is a future project but he might be able to contribute off the bench this year. He can play both wings and gives us flexibility for injuries to the first team.

Bellander is a 22-year old striker who was previously employed by Premier League club Gefle. He only saw 1 league match at the top level and was loaned out repeatedly to First Division North sides the past 3 seasons. He played for FC Vasby United last season and he scored a goal in each match against us. His aerial and heading ability up front is something I've never had here. He should be able to push my experienced veteran Johan Ornfjall for playing time and gives us a unique threat against smaller back lines. Bellander finished last season with 11 goals, 4 assists, 1 PoM, 7.08 rating in 24 matches.

I didn't make the huge splash I was looking for, but I think with the development of our younger players we have a decent chance of finishing mid-table or higher this season.

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We rolled through our preseason fixtures and the boys are fit and ready to go!​
 
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Tegs SK

Swedish First Division North


April-June 2016


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It started well enough with an away win to Vasalund but a nasty stretch after that left us in a precariouss spot early in the year. The boys rebounded and we began to get our stuff together. Our home form has been spectacular but we need we are giving away too many points on the road.

One area of frustration has been at goalkeeper. I've been patiently waiting for Marcus Gerd to take over the top spot from Aday Sleyman but it hasn't quite happened yet. Sleyman is still the more talented keeper but his boneheaded plays have cost us more than a few points this year. In that last match vs Syrianska, a ridiculous giveaway by Sleyman in the 89th minute has got me furious at the situation. Gerd may get a little run out as my staff feels better about his future, but GK could be a weak spot for the rest of this season. Maybe when the transfer window opens I'll explore potential loan options.

Turkish youngster Hurriyet Durkal Atik remains on the transfer list by request but it hasn't affected his play much with very strong performances in the 5 league matches he's appeared in this season. It's only 5 because of a couple nagging injuries and repeated Turkey u-21 callups. He's now appeared 21 times for his countries youth team and it's really become irritating for us.

Pontus Lundstrom is a player I haven't talked about much. He has been with this club since the very beginning, coming through the youth system in 2009. The 24-year old left back is having a fantastic season with 7.16 rating and 2 PoM awards in 12 league matches. We've recently had some managers from larger clubs popping up to look at him. We'll try to hang onto him, but if he wanted to go I don't think I'd get in his way. He's been a very loyal player for me.

Boban Velkovski
is who is he is: Not as advertised by my chief scout. It's not his fault I put huge expectations on his shoulders but my scout missed the mark and he simply doesn't have the talent to fill the shoes of my departed star defensive midfielder Yosif Ayuba. He's performing decent enough this year with a 7.06 rating in 10 matches, but I'd really like more from that position in my tactical setup. I believe a lack of strength is really holding him back at this level as he's getting pushed off the ball by stronger players. We'll get him in the weight room and see if we can't get some improvements there, but a longer-term replacement will be needed sometime in the future if this club is going to achieve its goals.

Young phenom William Edvardsson is already achieving great things for us at 17 years old. He's firmly planted himself in the starting lineup as our attacking central midfielder. He's managed himself 1 goal, 4 assists, 6.94 rating in 10 starts this year. We rebuffed one ridiculous offer for him already, prompting me to slap a $350,000 price tag on his head to scare away the vultures.

Offseason striker pickup Emil Bellander is fitting into the club quickly. He's notched 4 goals, 1 assist in 8(3) appearances and has forced my veteran Johan Ornfjall to a squad rotation/bench role

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There was other news as local businessman Daniel Bergman took over the club. No investment was given however and a $400K loan was taken out to pay off our debts.

 
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