It's all a load of balls.... The Rise Through Europe

We're In The Cup Draw??

I Didn't Even Know We Was In The Cup

Well that was a little bit awkward. I was invited to attend the draw for the First Round of the Swedish Cup and I didn't even know we were in it. Well surely I can be forgiven as we hadn't been entered for the past couple of seasons, so I'm guessing you only get entered for a high league position from the previous season in the lower leagues.

Either way, I was happy that we'd have the opportunity to showcase ourselves in the competition although we would have next to no chance of reaching the latter stages.
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Swedish Cup Draw

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Cup Draw

We drew Gefle IF FF from the Swedish First Division North, the league above, at home.

VS

Now a couple of days after the draw I received an email from the Swedish FA to say that Gefle had offered to buy the home draw from me for £3,500 and that the extra capacity in the stadium would allow an extra £14,000 to be made on gate receipts, which would be split evenly between the two teams.

I had to think long and hard about this initially. But my decision was made - we had bigger things to focus on this year with us being in the running for the league title, and our finances were looking pretty dire so a £10,000 boost would be most welcome. I accepted the offer and our tie will now be played away.
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World Cup 2018




World Cup 2018

Quick update on the World Cup 2018 that has finished this month...

Semi Finals...

Spain 3 - 1 Argentina
France 2 - 0 England

Final...

Spain 0 - 0 France
(Spain win 3-1 on penalties)






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Arvidsson Joins



Arvidsson Joins Ange IF On Loan

I got a call from the manager of one of our senior affiliate clubs, Halmstads BK, asking me why I'd not taken advantage of the link between our clubs and had any of his players on loan this season.

I was honest and said I didn't feel what we was offered at the start of the season was any better than the players I already had in my squad.

So he mentions this kid, Alexander Arvidsson, and says he really rates him. Reckons he's been showing him some good commitment in training but he just can't get him in the team yet. But he's desperate to get him some first team football.

I have my scouts look at Arvidsson and they come back with some great feedback, so I go back and agree I'll take him to the end of the season. Alexander Arvidsson will now wear an Ange IF shirt until the end of the year.


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August 2018 Review




August 2018 Review

Results

Swedish Second Division North
Harnosands FF 1 - 1 Ange IF

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Harnosands were rock bottom of the table with only 1 win and only 6 points to their name. So I'm not going to lie, I didn't expect much of a challenge here at all and thought I had a good opportunity to rest a couple of first teamers for the upcoming cup game. But in the end, the only positive taken from this game was that Aday Kaplan scored on his first appearance of the season. All the changes I'd made had clearly backfired as we only managed a 1-1 draw with the bottom side.



Swedish Cup 1st Round
Gefle IF 1 - 2 Ange IF

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This was going to be my first taste of cup football since entering the world of football management and to say that I was excited would be an understatement. We were massive outsiders for the game against our upper league opponents, but I felt confident we could give a decent account of ourselves. We started brightly creating a couple of good chances in the opening 15 minutes. But a Gefle penalty put us 1 down halfway through the first half and we were gonna be up against it now. We continued to give them a really good game and were the better team for large parts, so when our 82nd minute equalizer went in it was fully deserved. And when our 86th minute winner went in, there was pandamonium on our bench which pretty much lasted the final 4 minutes until the ref blew his whistle.


We went on to draw a team called Osters IF in the 2nd round. They play their football in the Swedish First Division Elite, so two leagues above us. We were drawn as the home team again, but as we did for this game we sold our home advantage but this time for £7.5k, as the money is very much needed by the club.



Swedish Second Division North
Ange IF 4 - 0 Pitea IF

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Taking on Pitea just 3 days after the cup game was a bit of a worry. But as it turned out, I had nothing to worry about at all as my team romped to a 4-0 victory. Beqiri was the star player, turning in an amazing performance with two goals and an assist.



Swedish Second Division North
Friska Viljor FC 1 - 4 Ange IF

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Wow! The team literally picked up where we left off against Pitea. 4-0 up at half time and on course to record my biggest victory to date. We didn't quite go on to complete that feat in the 2nd half but I'll take 4-1 any day of the week!



Swedish Cup 2nd Round
Osters IF 0 - 1 Ange IF

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2nd round of the cup was up next and as in the 1st round, we'd given up our home advantage that we were drawn in favour of the much needed cash injection to the club. And this time our opponents were from 2 leagues above so we were even more outsiders for this one than in the 1st round. I couldn't believe it as Aday Kaplan ran through clean on goal within 2 minutes, thinking this is it we're going 1-0 up....until he slotted wide of the post :-( However, and almost to my suprise, we continued to create chances as we were clearly the better side in the first half, but we just hadn't slotted one away yet as we went to half time 0-0. I sent the boys back out, telling them I was proud of their efforts and to keep doing what they were doing. And then it came, the goal on 64 minutes from super sub and top goalscorer Felix Moller to put us in front. From then on, we sat a bit deeper and invited our opponents onto us, challenging them to break us down, but to my delight they couldn't and we'd done it again, another shock upset and we were through to the 3rd round of the Swedish Cup!


Swedish Second Division North
Ange IF 1 - 1 Soderhamns FF

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Back to league action and we took on Soderhamns FF who were sitting 11th and being drawn into a relegation battle as the season comes to a close, so we knew they were gonna be up for it. And it was a shame not to win this one as they only had a couple of shots on goal, but I think fatigue set in a little as we've had a busy schedule this month with the cup run, so we'll take a draw.


League Table

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We're top of the table with 5 games left to go. And we've built ourselves a 5 point cushion at the top too. It's completely in our hands and the title is ours to lose.


Player of the Month

Alexander Arvidsson
CM/CB

Appearances: 5
Goals: 2
Assists: 2
Man of the Match: 2
Average Rating: 7.68


Well this kid has been top notch since joining the club and was the clear winner for my player of the month. Involved in 4 goals, ultra consistent and looks cracking in the centre of the park, controlling the game beautifully.


Squad News


The team is closing in a record points haul. The current record for Ange IF in any season stands at 51 points.


Manager Views


Delighted to have led the team to such a strong position. We already have more points this year than we finished on last season and this many points would have been enough to win the league last season too. And there's still 5 games to go!! Barring a complete meltdown, the title should be ours!

An amazing run in the cup has been great and has brought some money to the club to help balance the books a little. We'll take it one step at a time but we're enjoying the ride.









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September 2018 Review




September 2018 Review

Results

Swedish Second Division North
Ange IF 2 - 1 Bodens BK

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Bodens were up next. We've always had tight games against this lot and shared wins a piece and draws too. I geared up for a tough match knowing that this would be a huge 3 points towards the title if we could manage a win. And win we did....a tight game as always but we edged it and took another step towards the title.


Swedish Second Division North
IFK Sundsvall 0 - 0 Ange IF

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We completely dominated this game but our opponents defended stoutly and I have to give them credit for that! Bore draw!


Swedish Second Division North
Ange IF 4 - 1 Moron BK

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A point here would at least guarantee us 2nd place and playoffs, so there was a lot on the line. I told the boys I expected a win and they duly delivered with an emphatic display and a convincing 4-1 victory. Robin Arestav was the stand out player with two goals after I stuck him back in the starting lineup. The team secured at least 2nd place and a position in the playoffs with this victory.


Swedish Second Division North
Solleftea GIF 1 - 3 Ange IF

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We went into this game knowing that if we won and title rivals Skelleftea FF failed to win, we would be champions! We started nervously as Solleftea hit the post in the opening two minutes and we were so close to going 1 down. The team settled down better as the half went on and we scored right on the stroke of half time to go in front through Tevin Shakespeare. At half time, we were winning and Skelleftea were drawing 0-0 - if it stayed like these the title was ours!! Jonatan Rehnstrom banged in a free kick during the 2nd half to put us 2-0 up. Number 3 soon followed through Beqiri, getting on the end of a cross from right back Eriksson who bagged his 4th assist of the season. Solleftea got one back but the win was already in the bag.


The game finished and I checked the results. Skelleftea had been held to a draw and that left us 5 points clear with 1 game to go. WE WERE CHAMPIONS!!!



Swedish Second Division North
Ange IF 1 - 0 Karlslunds IF

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A bumper crowd of 242, against our season average of 96, turned up for our last game of the season and to see us handed the league trophy! With the game of no importance, I just told the boys to go out and enjoy themselves. And it was nice to sign off the season with another win and a clean sheet.


Final League Table

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One word......CHAMPIONS!!!

We finished with the best attack and the best defence in the league.



Player of the Month


Jonatan Rehnstrom
MC

Appearances: 5
Goals: 2
Assists: 1
Key Passes: 7
Average Rating: 7.80


Jonatan Rehnstrom has been absolutely fantastic this month. He has controlled games from the centre of midfield, scored goals and generally been at the centre of everything the team has done.


Squad News


Club Record: The team broke the record for the most points earned in a season by Ange IF! The previous record was 51 points.


League Record: The team equalled the league record for the most wins in a season at 16. The team then went on to break that record with a 17th win in the league!


Adrian Pettersson signed a new 1 year contract (key player) worth £190 per week.


Sebastian Sandberg signed a new 1 year contract (key player) worth £150 per week.


Manager Views


What a season! I'm absolutely delighted to have won the league and secured this club their first every piece of silverware. This will always go down in history no matter what happens throughout my career as I'll always remember the first trophy I ever won! To break league records, finish with the best attack and the tightest defence is awesome and shows just how far this club has come since I took over 2 1/2 years ago.

I also came 2nd in the September Manager of the Month.





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End of Season Awards



League Awards For Ange IF Players

Three of my players won awards at the end of season awards ceremony...

Marcus Gerd won the League Goalkeeper of the Year
Sebastian Sandberg won the League Defender of the Year
Tevin Shakespeare won the League Midfielder of the Year


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End of Season Player Stats



End Of Season Player Stats

Top Average Rating (in relation to appearances):


1st: Sebastian Sandberg - 26 appearances (2 sub) - 7.45
2nd: Jonatan Rehnstrom - 22 appearances (2 sub) - 7.16
3rd: Emil Eriksson - 17 appearances (1 sub) - 7.19


Top Goalscorers:

1st: Felix Moller - 11
2nd: Tevin Shakespeare - 6
3rd: Agon Beqiri - 6


Top Assists:

1st: Tevin Shakespeare - 9
2nd: Samuel Haglund - 7
3rd: Emil Eriksson & Agon Beqiri - 4


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Sir Ciprian Amza said:
Congratulations! What happened in the cup?
Click to expand...


It's really weird...it carries over into next season. So now I'm through the 2nd round, it goes to a group stage with all the remaining teams. The group games are played during pre-season in February/March 2019 before the new season starts....very strange setup I think. I have an update coming with my draw
 
Interesting. So if you go to the groups, you got at least the chance of facing some First League teams.
 
November 2018 - February 2019 Update

November 2018 - February 2019 Update

Here's the update on what's gone on over the 4 months between the end of last season and pre season for 2019.

Profit/Loss

The club announced losses of £22k which meant there was no tax bill to pay.


Affiliations

We kept our current affiliations in place. Currently I have two senior affiliates, both from higher up the Swedish leagues, GIF Sundsvall and Halmstads BK.

Halmstads BK paid us £12k as part of our partnership.


Sponsorship

The club announced a new 1 year sponsorship deal worth £31.5k per year


TV Rights

The Swedish FA have informed us that the club will receive £129,000 over the course of the season for TV rights.


Budgets

The board have informed me of next year's budgets...

The transfer budget will be £0. This year's budget was £0.
The wage budget will be £6070. This year's budget was £4010.

I have adjusted the budgets to allow a transfer budget of £13,000. This reduced the wage budget to £5800.


New Coaching Course For Me

The board have agreed to fund a new coaching course for me. Over the next 4 months, I will complete a course to gain a National C License. The cost to the club is £600.


Backroom Staff

Every member of my backroom staff agreed new 1 year contracts.

The board also accepted my request to add another coach to the team. I hired Goalkeeping Coach, Samuel Dirscher. Jan Hansson also joined the club in the role of Physio from IFK Timra.


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Contract Updates

Signed new 1 year deals:

Emil Sjostedt (CM) - More backup last season, but does a good job when he comes in
Emil Eriksson (RB) - First choice right back last year
Ludvig Axelsson (AML/ST) - Decent rotation player last year
Jordan Binns (DL/R/C) - Solid again last year
Oskar Andersson (DL/ML) - Did a good job at left back last season rotating with Binns


Signed New 2 Year Deals:

Agon Beqiri (CM/AML/R/C) - Got better as last season went on, finished strongly
Tevin Shakespeare (AMR/ST) - Last season's league midfielder of the year
Marcus Gerd (GK) - Last season's league goalkeeper of the year


Signed new 'pay as you play' deals:

Samuel Haglund (AMRL/ST) - Blew hot and cold last year, think he has more to offer
Felix Moller (ST) - Tried to keep him on a proper contract but wanted pay as you play


Released from club:

Nicklas Bergh (GK) - Retired
Chammoun Georges (DM/MC) - Contract expired, let leave as didn't think he'd get enough football this season
Marco Kotilainen (MC/AMRLC) - Not good enough
Robin Arestav (ST) - Felt we could get better players for his position


Incoming Transfers


A pretty busy transfer window for us as I was keen to seek out better players now that we have been promoted to First Division North. I adjusted the transfer budget to give me a little bit to spend and this was who we got in...


Dusan Kenic - ST/AMLC - Free Transfer from Nassjo FF
A decent striker who can play as an inside forward from the left too

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Ludvig Johansson - DC - Free Transfer
Centre back was on loan with us last season and did well

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Alexander Arvidsson - MC/DC/DM - Season Long Loan From Halmstads BK
Joined us last year on loan and was fantastic second half of the season

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Gustav Granath - DR/WBR/MR - Signed for £5,250 from Skovde AIK
(£1k up front, £4.25k over 2 years)
Looks like a good solid right back who will probably be first choice

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Hannes Fritzson - DC - Signed for £15,000 from Skovde AIK
(£2k up front, £13k over 2 years)
Statistically, the best CB we now have at the club

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Calle Appelquist - DL/DC- Signed for £2,500 from BK Forward
(£500 up front, £2k over 2 years)
A good utility defender who can play in the centre or down the left

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Stefan Zarkovic - DC - Free Transfer
Backup centre back

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Kenny Amcoff - GK - Free Transfer from Vinbergs IF
Backup goalkeeper with lots of potential


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Swedish Cup Group Draw

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Really Tough Group Draw For The Swedish Cup

So the Swedish Cup works in a rather odd way in the fact it seems to be spread over two seasons. We played and got through the first 2 knockout rounds last season, but the group stage that you are then placed into is played throughout pre season (Feb/March) the following year.

So the groups have been drawn and we have been given a very tough one to say the least. However, we are going to continue to enjoy the ride and will definitely enjoy playing the biggest club in the country, Malmo FF. Hopefully, the cup games will bring some nice cash into the club too...


Swedish Cup Group Stage
Group 4

Malmo FF - Swedish Premier Division
AIK - Swedish Premier Division
IF Brommapojkarna - Swedish First Division Elite
Ange IF - Swedish First Division North


Fixtures

23/02 - IF Brommapojkarna - Away
02/03 - AIK - Home
10/03 - Malmo FF - Away

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Pre Season 2019



Pre Season & Expectations

On the schedule pre season doesn't look all that great with quite a few losses but its worth baring in mind that majority of the teams that we lost to were in higher leagues than us, so a loss was expected. We gave a pretty good account of ourselves in most of the games and wasn't completely walked all over in any of them (apart from the two cup games to AIK and Malmo).


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Swedish Cup

I can't stress enough how proud I am of the team for our performance in the Swedish Cup group stage. We played two of the best teams in the country in our group and managed to grab a win against one of them. We were massively outplayed in the games but that was expected! To grab 6 points from an available 9 and finish 2nd in the group was unbelievable as nobody gave us a chance of even securing a point from the 3 games! Unfortunately, only the top team from each group goes through to the quarter finals, so we went out....But with our heads held very very high!


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Board Expectations

As expected, the board only require one thing from me this year.... To avoid automatic relegation.

The media predict us for a 11th place finish from 14 teams, so we'll certainly be up against it.



Sandberg Retains Captain's Armband


I decide to keep Sebastien Sandberg as captain for the 4th season in a row. Vice captain duties will be handed over from Adrian Pettersson to goalkeeper Marcus Gerd.


Season Tickets

The club have sold a total of 42 season tickets, a rise of 10 on last season's 32.
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April 2019 Review




April 2019 Review

Results

Swedish First Division North
Ange IF 0 - 2 Umea FC

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So our first opponents of the new season would be Umea FC who were predicted to finish mid table so I guessed this would give a good reflection of how we might fare this season. Unfortunately, it wasn't good and we struggled to create any good chances throughout the game where as our opponents were clinical with the few chances they had. A 2-0 loss to kick the season off and I'd be expecting better performances than that moving forward.


Swedish First Division North
Nordvarmlands FF 0 - 3 Ange IF

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Todays opponents were predicted to finish rock bottom of the league so we knew these were the sort of games we must be winning if we're going to stay up this year. And we got off to a flying start, when Tevin Shakespeare was put through on goal from an Arvidsson pass and coolly slotted past their goalkeeper into the bottom corner. When they had a player sent off in the 13th minute, I thought it should be pretty plain sailing from then on out. But it was pretty slow to half time with us registering only the 1 shot on goal. I told the team I wanted them to show me a bit more in the 2nd half and again we went out and scored an early goal. Only 5 minutes into the half, we utilised our long throw and centre back Fritzson was in the box to hammer home our 2nd goal. New signing Dusan Kenic scored his first goal for the club to give us a 3-0 lead and secure all 3 points.


League Table

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Only a couple of games in so can't really judge on this. But happy to get our first win on the board nice and early.


Player of the Month

I didn't do a player of the month as there had only been 2 competitive games.


Squad News

The win in the second game of the season definitely boosted morale going into next month.


Manager Views


So we've had our first ever taste of first division football and it's been OK. We haven't been outclassed, we haven't struggled in the 2 games we've played. And we already have a win which will be a massive confidence boost for the boys. We could do with kicking on and getting another couple of wins under our belt, I'm aiming at 2 from the next 5 games and that should keep us away from the bottom of the league which is the main aim for the season.
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May 2019 Review




May 2019 Review

Results

Swedish First Division North
Dalkurd FF 0 - 2 Ange IF

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Dalkurd were the media's pre season favourites to win the league and we came into this game at odds of 10-1 to get the win, so to say we were up against it was an understatement. Despite that, we managed to take a 1-0 lead on 12 minutes through Agon Beqiri who slipped his defender before beating the keeper at the far post. And it got better as we went 2 in front on 25 minutes, utilising that long throw again for centre back Hannes Fritzson to score his 2nd goal in 3 games. The frustration in the Dalkurd players was clear to see as heavy tackles were going in all over the pitch and they were eventually punished for it when Mate Bajic was sent off 5 minutes before half time. Surely they should now be 10-1 to win this game ;-) A second sending off came for Dalkurd late in the game and we stayed solid to inflict their first defeat of the season on them and take a massive 3 points.


Swedish First Division North
Ange IF 3 - 1 IFK Lulea

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The starting lineup saw no changes from the team that had comfortably beaten the league favourites the week before and I told them in their team talk to pick up where they left off! And we dominated the game from start to finish restricting our opponents to only 2 shots all game, whilst we created 19 chances of our own. However, we did still find ourselves 1-0 down for quite a lot of the match after falling behind on 17 minutes, but our quality shone through in the end with 3 late goals to produce a scoreline that truly reflected the difference between the two teams today.


Swedish First Division North
Gefle IF 0 - 0 Ange IF

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Gefle were up next, who we'd beaten last season in the Swedish Cup when playing at a lower level, so I really felt like we had a chance in this one. It turned out to be a very even game, and a very boring one at that with neither side creating any chances of note. Only positive to take is that we kept a clean sheet.


Swedish First Division North
Ange IF 0 - 2 Carlstad United

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Carlstad were sitting top of the league after 5 games undefeated and 4 wins to their name, so this wasn't going to be easy. And it wasn't...in what was a fairly even game, our opponents quality shone through on the day and we suffered a 2-0 defeat. Their second goal came late, catching us on the break as we were pushing forward for an equalizer.


League Table

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Happy to be sitting in the top half at the moment but there is only 2 points separating 4th to 11th so we need to keep our wits about us as a couple of bad results can see you drop right down into the relegation battle.


Player of the Month


Gustav Granath
DR

Appearances: 4
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Tackle Won Percentage: 100%
Average Rating: 7.20


Granath has been solid defensively this month and won every single tackle he has attempted across all 4 games. We've kept two clean sheets this month and I think Granath consistently stopping the attacks down the left wing has been a major factor to that.


Squad News


Felix Moller is struggling for goals and has now failed to score in 10 appearances for the club. I've had a chat with the player and told him to keep working hard and I'm confident he will be getting back on the scoresheet soon enough.



Manager Views


I'm pleased with the performances this month as we picked up another two wins and leave ourselves sitting in a respectable 5th position after 6 games.

I asked the board to leave our semi pro status behind and turn the club professional. I was suprised that they rejected the request and their reason....that they don't have enough confidence in me at the moment!! I just brought these cheeky bastards their first silverware in their history and they don't have the confidence in me....As you can imagine, I'm not impressed!
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Malmo FF Win 2019 Swedish Cup

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Malmo FF Retain Swedish Cup


So the team that put us out of the Swedish Cup eventually went on to win it, beating Dalkurd FF 4-0 in the final. Nice to see that we were rated as the biggest overachievers in the competition!


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June 2019 Review




May 2019 Review

Results

Swedish First Division North
Hudiksvalls FF 2 - 1 Ange IF

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So we would definitely be looking for revenge here. If you remember 2 seasons ago, it came down to the last game of the season to win the league and today's opponents gave us a pretty solid thrashing, and off the back of it we missed out on even a playoff place. We obviously went on to win the league last year and now come up against Hudiksvalls for the first time since that fateful day!


We started superbly, Tevin Shakespeare rifling into the top of the net from 7 yards to give us a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute. However, on 27 minutes, our opponents 3 man attack found plenty of space going forward as we were left wide open at the back and equalized with a thunderous shot from Hafizovic. We'd been by far the better side so it was disappointing to go in at half time level. But I told the boys to keep doing what they were doing and it would come. After we'd missed 2 golden opportunities to go back in front, our lucky opponents again found themselves wide open in our half of the pitch and went 2-1 up!! 2 shots and 2 goals for them and this was looking like a disaster! We couldn't find an equalizer and this is by far our worst result of the season - 3 points dropped and I'm utterly ****** off as we were by far the better side!


Swedish First Division North
Degerfors IF 3 - 0 Ange IF

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Degerfors were sitting in 2nd position going into this game and I knew our finishing would need to be considerably better than the previous game if we were going to get anything out of this game. Now to score goals we'd need to create chances and in the first half both teams only had 2 shots on goal each so it wasnt looking very likely. But a draw away from home against this lot would be considered a good result so I told the boys to keep it up for the 2nd half. Unfortunately, that gameplan went out the window when we went 1 down on 57 minutes and had to go to a more attacking formation. But that just left us more open at the back and our opponents capitalised by scoring a 2nd goal with only 17 minutes to go. Goal number 3 followed 4 minutes later and we were sinking without a trace. Tactically I'd got it all wrong today and would take the blame for a shortcomings.


Swedish First Division North
Ange IF 1 - 2 Vasalunds IF

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This had become a must win game really as a loss would potentially see us drop down into the relegation places. We took the lead in the 21st minute, only to be pegged back 2 minutes later. Half time came and we'd had 66% posession and 11 shots to their 2, so I was again ****** off not to be in front. This was becoming a familiar feeling this year and the quality of our strikers was proving clearly not good enough for this league. Again we were punished for not taking our own chances when Vasalunds went 2-1 up early in the 2nd half! And it stayed that way...I proper spat my dummy out the pram after the game, giving the team the biggest bollocking of my managerial career. How can we create 23 chances to their 3 and lose the game?!


Swedish First Division North
Ange IF 1 - 0 IK Brage

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On the back of 5 straight defeats and a really poor showing from our strikers in all those games, I decided to shake things up a little. 18 year old Calle Modin was promoted up from the U19's squad and given his debut. This kid had scored a few goals this year and last for the U21s and U19s sides, and with morale at an all time low for our senior squad strikers, I thought I had nothing to lose by giving the youngster a shot. It didn't turn out to be the inspired decision I was hoping as Modin struggled to have any impact on the game. But it might have been the shake up required to show my first teamers they were not irreplacable as Moller came off the bench to replace Modin and scored his first goal in 14 games in the final minute of the game to ****** a most welcome 3 points.


Swedish First Division North
Sollentuna FK 2 - 1 Ange IF

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This was a tough result to take as I thought this was definitely a winnable game going into it. Sollentuna only had 6 points thus far and only 1 win to their name. However, they were probably just the better team throughout the game and probably deserved this win. But disappointing to drop points in a game I felt we needed to be winning to stay up this season.



League Table

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4 defeats this month saw us drop to the bottom half of the table but things are still very tight from 5th down to 11th.


Player of the Month


Sebastian Sandberg
CB

Appearances: 5
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Tackles Won: 11
Key Tackles: 4
Average Rating: 7.18


Best of a bad bunch really this month. Hard to pick a stand out player when you lost 4 of 5 games. But based on his player ratings from each match, it seems we could have certainly conceded a lot more goals than we did if it wasn't for captain Sandberg!


Squad News

Felix Moller finally scored after 14 games without a goal.

18 year old striker Calle Modin was promoted from the U19s to make his debut for the club.


I had a chat with the team following the Vasalunds match to tell them that I knew things hadnt been going well lately but that we still had the quality to turn things around. It gave us a temporary but much needed boost in morale.


Manager Views

Safe to say that on a personal note I'm still really ****** off with my board for saying they didn't have the confidence in me as a manager to take the club to professional status. This was a real kick in the teeth after nearly 3 years in charge and winning the club their first ever league trophy.

So I got myself out there and had a look at available jobs on the market - my thought process was to show these bastards on our board that if they don't appreciate me then they'll lose me. It's a shame as I've grown to love this small football team from Sweden, but maybe it is time to move on.

I looked around at the available positions and 3 caught my eye so my applications went in for all 3. The clubs applied to were FC Lahti (Finnish Premier League), First Vienna FC 1894 (Austrian First Division) and Gefle IF who were in the same league as us.

FC Lahti came back and offered me an interview, but I was never considered the leading candidate for the job and they opted to go elsewhere for a new manager. I'm still awaiting response from the other two sides, but one thing's for certain and that is that my days at Ange IF are probably numbered.



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Job Offers

Job Offers Come Flooding In

It's no secret that I have been checking the job market on an almost daily basis to see what's coming up, after feeling bitterly let down by my board of directors at Ange IF. I have stayed in my role and not abandoned the club who gave me my first shot in football management, when I could have just resigned.

The roles that have come up over the past few weeks which I applied for are as follows:

Gefle IF - Swedish First Division North - 2 Star Reputation
First Vienna FC 1894 - Austrian First Division - 2 Star Reputation
FC Lahti - Finnish Premier League - 2 Star Reputation
AFC Eskilstuna - Swedish First Division Elite - 2 Star Reputation

All 4 clubs offered me interviews.

Gefle IF and First Vienna 1894 offered me jobs.

But then there was a spanner in the works....as I was considering job offers from both Gefle and Vienna, I was touted in the media as the favourite to take over at Swedish Premier League side IFK Norrkoping FK, which would be a significant jump up the leagues for me.

I investigated this and liked the look of the club, so I declared my interested. Within 24 hours, they'd offered me an interview to which I attended. Within 24 hours, they'd offered me the job! Now this was the kind of commitment I'd been looking for...

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