Most of this year's pre season was again taken up by the Swedish Cup, of which we have reached the final for the second year running, to be played in May. I set up three friendlies which included a couple of losses but I'm not too bothered as I used these games to try some new stuff and give some youngsters a run out.
This year's expectation is to be around the top of the league again.
Last year the media predicted us to finish 3rd, this year they've gone slightly better and predicted us a 2nd place finish again, with Malmo expected to take the title ahead of us again.
With regards to the Swedish Cup, the board have deemed the competition as not important.
David Mitov Nilsson Has Captain's Armband Taken Away
David Mitov Nilsson has been causing quite a stir about leaving the club over the past couple of months, even to the point that he has started to really throw his dummy out the pram. Based on that, it's no way for a captain to be behaving and is not setting a good example to the other lads. So I've removed his duties and promoted vice captain Jon Gudni Fjolusen to captain.
The vice captaincy has been given to Fredrik Knudsen.
Season Tickets
The club have sold a total of 6887 season tickets. This is a rise of about 470 on last year.
Striker Exchange At IFK Norrkoping on Deadline Day
Rafael Santos Borre had his head turned over the Xmas period by a potential move to Hoffenheim in the German leagues. From that moment, he'd decided he wanted to leave the club and after numerous conversations the nicest way to put it would be to say that he and I fell out....The nastier way would be for me to say that he's an ungrateful little ***** to the manager that got his career back on track... Anyway, Hoffenheim never came in with an offer but the situation got worse and worse to the point that I just wanted the little **** out of the club. On deadline day, rivals Hammarby IF came in with an offer of £1.5 million. I bartered and we ended up agreeing on a fee of £2.5 million and he has now left the club.
As Borre's replacement, I brought in a young striker on loan from Spanish side Las Palmas. 20 year old Francisco Sevilla looks like a decent prospect with some good stats and I'm hoping he can come in and do a job for me alongside my other strikers this season.
First game of the season saw us go away to Ostersunds, which wouldn't be the easiest way to start the season as this was a team we played 3 times last year and only managed to beat once, drawing the other two. Early into the second half and we looked like we would be kicking off the season with 3 points as we took a 2-0 lead. Only for the boys to completely lose all motivation and allow Ostersunds to come back and get another draw....and if I'm being honest they had the best chances after to win the game too. Needless to say, the boys kicked off the season with a bollocking from me at full time.
Our first home game of the season would see the visit of our rivals AIK. On 22 minutes, I was up out of my seat cheering as Callum Gribbin fired in a free kick destined for the top corner....it looked in all the way only for their keeper to make an unbelievable save at the last minute. I couldn't believe it! The remained one of the only chances of the game up until the 66th minute when we actually did take the lead through striker Nikolic firing in from close range, after a cross came in from left back Kpozo. And on 89 minutes we sealed the win with a fantastic strike from 18 year old midfielder Niklas Johansson on his league debut for the club.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Goteborg 2 - 2 IFK Norrkoping
We'd beaten Goteborg only a month ago in the semi final of the Swedish Cup and they'd gone on to lose both their opening league games 1-0, so there was no reason not to expect another win here and within 3 minutes we were already in front. Callum Gribbin who'd missed majority of last season through injury after breaking his leg, got on the scoresheet with a powerful effort into the top corner from the corner of the 6 yard box, after Daniel Sundgren had crossed from the right side of the field. However Goteborg came back at us and by the 53rd minute, they were 2-1 in front. The lead only lasted 5 minutes though as Nikolic bagged his 3rd goal in 3 games to level it up! The score remained 2-2 and it was tough to take as we had by far been the better team.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 0 - 1 Halmstads BK
Halmstads had bounced straight back up to the Premier Division, getting promoted last year following relegation the season before, and they'd made a pretty decent start to the campaign with 2 wins from their opening 3 games. We found ourselves behind in the 13th minute, to an absolutely cracking strike from Randjelovic, who smashed home a powerful shot from about 25 yards out which left our keeper no chance. My lot were poor for the rest of the first half and I sent them out for the second half with firm instructions that I expected better. To be fair to the lads they did come out and bang on that door for the whole 45 minutes but just couldn't find the back of the net...hiting the post twice and their keeper pulling off an amazing save with only 5 minutes to go. Gutted to chalk up our first loss of the season this early on, now to try to bounce back quickly.
Swedish Premier Division Jonkopings Sodra IF 2 - 1 IFK Norrkoping
Jonkopings had a very good season last year, finishing 4th, their highest recorded finish in the Swedish leagues ever! They'd also made an unbeaten start to the season with a win and 3 draws. I gave dedline day loan signing Francisco Sevilla his first start of the season and he repaid my faith by giving us the lead in the 28th minute. It looked like Sevilla had doubled his tally two minutes into the 2nd half, only for the goal to be ruled offside. That decision from the referee looked to cost us as Jonkopings levelled up the scores on 67 minutes. And then on 86 minutes, we left ourselves way open at the back, conceeded again and went on to lose the game.....another one where we'd clearly been the better side over the 90 minutes.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 5 - 0 Hammarby IF
This game would see us coming up against Rafael Santos Borre since he left the club on deadline day and I didn't want this little ****** getting the better of me. The first half we completely annihilated our opponents (even with a player sent off in 31st minute), scoring 2 goals from the 9 chances created. We'd had 69% possession and limited our Hammarby to only 1 shot. 52 minutes in and the game should have been wrapped up as Sevilla scored his 2nd and our 3rd of the game. A minute later and the game was definitely put to bed as Kwame Bonsu scored our 4th. Another goal from Bonsu followed and we secured an emphatic 5-0 win....I wonder how Borre feels now about forcing his way out of the club....little mug! (Not that I'm bitter or anything)
Swedish Premier Division Helsingborgs IF 1 - 3 IFK Norrkoping
We finished off the month with an away trip to Helsingborgs, who had only won 1 of their opening 6 games of the season and labouring down in 14th position. Only 5 minutes in we found ourselves banging on the door, with 2 fantastic chances to score and their goalie pulling off an incredible double save to keep the scores 0-0. And he had set the tone for how he'd play for the whole half, making a number of amazing saves and I couldn't believe we were going in at half time level after having 68% posession and creating 15 chances on goal! I could only tell the lads at half time to keep doing what they were doing and the result would eventually come. In fact it only took 2 minutes of the second half to score through in form striker Sevilla, who latched on to an inch perfect through ball from Fritzson. Sevilla got his 2nd on 61 minutes and the game looked to be over, with our opponents offering nothing in attack. But then with their first meaningful attack only a minute later, they hit back and the deficit was back down to 1. But when Fritzson got himself on the scoresheet with 10 minutes to go, we knew we'd secured the 3 points.
Can't read too much into the table at the moment. Although comfortable in 4th position, things are very very tight all round and a couple of wins or losses could make all the difference.
Player of the Month
Francisco Sevilla
ST
Appearances: 4 (1 as sub)
Goals: 5
Assists: 1
Shots/Shots on Target: 15/8
Average Rating: 7.97
Since Sevilla was introduced into the team, he has been simply unstoppable going forward. He seems to have settled in very well at the club and for a young man, has shown excellent composure in front of goal.
Squad News
David Mitov Nilsson made his 225th appearance for the club.
Manager Views
Shame we have lost a couple of games this year, but it hasn't really put us on the back foot too much as the league still looks very tight. With the last couple of wins, hopefully we can string together some good performances and go on a bit of a run now. We also have the Swedish Cup final to look forward to next month.
53,000 fans would turn up to the Friends Arena to watch us play Malmo for the Swedish Cup. Malmo were favourites to win this one so the pressure was all on our opponents. Both sides had won our respective home games in last year's league campaign, so the fact this was on a neutral ground would make it interesting to say the least.
The game kicked off and we looked bright and alert from the first whistle and it showed when we took the lead only 9 minutes in through Alexandre Vincent, a lovely curling shot around the keeper from 25 yards out.
The game was then extremely quite until 32 minutes, when Vincent whipped in a corner which Oran Jackson got on the end of, it beat the keeper only to be cleared off the line by Malmo. Still 1-0.
On 36 minutes, Ludvig Fritzson found himself in acres of space in the box and with a left foot shot, he could only find the goalkeeper in his way who tipped behind for a corner. From the resulting corner, we played it short, exchanging 4 passes on the edge of the 18 yard box, before the ball was played into Eric Smith, who turned and shot hard into the top corner for our 2nd goal.
Half time came and not only did we have a 2 goal lead, we had also restricted Malmo to no shots in the first half!
It was 62 minutes before Malmo recorded their first shot on goal, a free kick which was wildly struck over the bar.
And 5 minutes later, we got our 3rd, a close range volley from young striker Sevilla.
This excellent performance was wrapped up perfectly in the final minute of the game as young inside forward Callum Gribbin came off the bench to smash in a cracking free kick and make it 4-0.
Elfsborg were up next who'd taken 7 points from their opening 7 games. A disastrous start saw us go 1-0 down within 5 minutes as Elfsborg played it through our defence nicely with some good football. It definitely seemed to rattle us as the team played with very little composure and struggled with their passing throughout the first half which was very unlike us. However, we did still manage to pinch an equalizer right at the end of the half through that man Sevilla again after Alexandre Vincent had played him in between two defenders. With Elfsborg down to 10 men, I full expected us to make our extra man count in the 2nd half and it was only 6 minutes before we were in front through a headed effort from Sevilla....this lad was quickly proving to be potentially my best signing as a manager yet (albeit only on loan). The score remained 2-1 and although not comfortable, it was still a good win.
Orebro were coming into this game off the back of an impressive win against Malmo, who we'd also just smashed in the Swedish Cup Final... Maybe I even had these guys to thank for denting their confidence just before the game! As we'd only had the cup final a few days before, I decided to rotate some players, Sevilla came out for Nikolic up front, Johansson came in for Vincent and Bonsu came in for Eric Smith. I think the changes disrupted the team's fluency as we looked pretty dull in the first half, with both teams only registering 2 shots each on goal. The second half offered a little more but on a whole the match was pretty dire and a 0-0 draw was probably a fair result for both teams as neither really turned up.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 3 - 0 Trelleborgs FF
Newly promoted Trelleborgs were up next. Sevilla was back in the team after a rest and marked his return with another 2 goals... Maybe this kid can go on to win the golden boot this year at this rate. We created more than 25 chances in the game, which we dominated from start to finish and it was good to get back to winning ways after the disappointing draw against Orebro.
Swedish Premier Division IK Sirius 0 - 0 IFK Norrkoping
A disappointing draw as we were dominant throughout, creating more than 20 chances but unable to take just 1. Sevilla had a bad day at the office and with him not firing on all cylinders we struggled to break the deadlock. On a positive note, that was our 4th clean sheet in a row!
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 1 - 0 Malmo FF
Malmo were up next and I was hoping we could repeat the triumph in the cup final only 4 games ago, where we literally tore them apart and recorded a stunning 4-0 victory. Young striker Sevilla could and probably should of had 2 goals in the 1st half, missing a penalty in the 26th minute and then an absolute sitter on the stroke of half time. But a few words of encouragement at half time from me when he was on a 6.1 rating seemed to rejuvenate the lad and he come out for the 2nd half with a point to prove, looking much more lively on and off the ball. And he bagged the goal which won us the game on the stoke of 70 minutes, as we broke from the edge of our own area and countered Malmo expertly! This was a much tighter affair than the cup final, but I'm still very happy to take away a big win against the reigning champions.
Up to 2nd and only Malmo in front of us. However, we can go level on points providing we win our game in hand. Best defence in the league and only Malmo have scored more goals than us.
Great month for Kpozo with an extremely high average rating. Hasn't missed a tackle in all 5 games, and contributed going forward with 2 assists as well. It's obvious to see why there are currently no less than 14 teams showing an interest in him and it looks like it might be a tough task to keep him at the club.
Alexandre Vincent has signed a new contract with the club. The deal is for 4 years and worth £4,800 per week. The deal has Vincent secured as a squad rotation player.
First International Call Up For Eric Smith
Delighted to report that Eric Smith made his debut for the Sweden national side this month. Personally, I can't believe it's taken this long for the lad to get a call up.
Gribbin Sets New Swedish Cup Record
Callum Gribbin set a new record in the Swedish Cup. He has record the highest average rating ever in the competition with 8.35 from 5 appearances. The previous record was 8.25, held by Kristinn Steindorsson whilst playing for GIF Sundsvall.
Player Conversations
Nemanja Nikolic has come to me saying that he isn't getting enough first team football. I explained to him that Sevilla is in such good form at the moment, I simply can't drop him from the side. Nemanja understood where I was coming from and has agreed to remain patient for his chance.
Centre back Fredrik Knudsen came to my office for a chat about wanting to join Maccabi Tel Aviv as he had heard rumours the club were interested in him. He said he'd be interested in joining for the opportunity to play Champions League football. I spoke with Fredrik and explained that no formal interest and certainly no bid has come in, and also that I was keen for him to stay with us and that I had ambitions to get Norrkoping to the Champions League. For now, he has agreed to stay and help the team fulfil those ambitions.
Full back Patrick Kpozo has come to me saying that he knows there is a lot of interest in him at the moment and he'd be keen to join West Brom should a bid come in. I tried to encourage him to stay but he seems pretty set on joining the English Premier Division side. I can appreciate any player wanting to player in the top flight of English football and I've agreed to let him go, should West Brom come in with a sensible offer that matches our valuation of him.
Hacken were sitting in 6th but had 20 points already this season, only 2 less than us sitting in 2nd in the table....So it shows how tight the league is so far this year and this was a bigger game than what 2nd vs 6th should be on paper. This turned out to be a very entertaining game for both sets of fans with both teams creating a number of chances in what was a very open game. On the day, we were more clinical in front of goal though and managed to secure a 3-1 win in what would be our only game in June. Sevilla managed to score another 2 goals, one of which was a penalty which I was pleased to see him put away after missing the one against Malmo.
IFK Norrkoping were listed as 174th in the European team rankings. This is a rise of 46 places on last year's rankings.
Youngsters Tied Up For a Couple More Years
Young midfielder Niklas Johansson has been rewarded for his succesful integration into the senior squad this year with a new contract. The new deal is for 2 years as a hot prospect for the future, worth £300 per week.
Young centre back Axel Andersson who was also promoted to the senior team this year, has signed a new deal as a hot prospect, worth £625 per week over 2 years.
Transfer Offers Coming Thick & Fast
Toulouse FC made an offer of £700k for right back Daniel Sundgren which was quickly rejected.
Sturm Graz made an offer of £215k for centre back Jon Guoni Fjolusen which was quickly rejected.
Besiktas and Basel both came in with £1.6 million offers for left back Patrick Kpozo. Both offers were rejected immediately.
Here's the update from around Europe as the major competitions have now come to a close for the 2020/2021 season...
English Premiership Winners: Manchester City
English Premiership Runners Up: Chelsea
English FA Cup Winners: Manchester City
English League Cup Winners: Arsenal
Spanish La Liga Winners: Real Madrid
Spanish La Liga Runners Up: Barcelona
Spanish Cup Winners: Barcelona
German Bundesliga Winners: Bayern Munich
German Bundesliga Runners Up: Borrusia Dortmund
German Cup Winners: Bayern Munich
French Ligue 1 Winners: Olympique Lyonnais
French Ligue 1 Runners Up: Paris Saint Germain
French Cup Winners: Paris Saint Germain
French Coupe de la Ligue Winners: Paris Saint Germain
Italian Serie A Winners: Juventus
Italian Serie A Runners Up: Inter Milan
Italian Cup Winners: Juventus
Holland Eredivisie Winners: Ajax
Holland Eredivisie Runners Up: PSV
Holland Dutch Cup Winners: Ajax
Portuguese Premier League Winners: Porto
Portuguese Premier League Runners Up: Benfica
Taca de Portugal Winners: Benfica
The boys had a bit of rustiness to shake off after a month without a game. We fell behind twice in this game, and although I felt beforehand that its a game we should win, I'm pleased the boys showed good character and spirit to come back twice and earn a draw in what was a very even game.
Swedish Premier Division Osters IF 3 - 1 IFK Norrkoping
Only thing I can say is a really **** result against a team struggling in 14th position. We dominated but the attacking players just didn't turn up and couldn't finish. Defensively there was no excuse for conceeding 3 goals to a team that had only scored 11 goals in 14 games before today's clash.
Swedish Premier Division Halmstads BK 2 - 3 IFK Norrkoping
Halmstads had beaten us at home earlier in the season and had made an impressive start to the campaign. However, since then they have dropped off the pace and now sit 9th which is probably a more realistic position for the team that were promoted to the top flight last year. I was keen for the team to get off to a fast start after our suprise loss in the previous game, and we did exactly that, with it only taking 50 seconds for Sevilla to score a fine effort from just inside the box to give us the lead. Neither team then created any real chances of note, until right on half time when Halmstads got the equalizer and we went down the tunnel at 1-1. We started the second half exactly as we started the first, with a very early goal. Less than 2 minutes in, Callum Gribbin stepped up for a free kick right on the edge of the 18 yard box and swiftly tucked it away into the top corner to restore our lead. Only 6 minutes later and Gribbin bagged his 2nd of the match, heading in from a Daniel Sundgren cross. Halmstads then reduced the deficit to only 1 goal again which made for a nervous final 20 minutes. We were on the back foot for most of that but managed to hold on for the 3 points.
Our rivals AIK were next, and I boasted a half decent record of 2 wins and 3 draws against them since I'd taken over the Norrkoping job two years ago. It only took 14 minutes to get our heads in front, Sevilla smashing a low left footed effort into the corner of the net from about 19 yards out. Only 7 minutes later and it was 2-0 to The Peking, with Fritzson getting himself on the scoresheet. 32 minutes in and AIK were sinking without a trace as Alexandre Vincent got in on the act, set up from a fabulous run from Sevilla who unselfishly passed across the box for Vincent to tap into an open net. AIK got one back at the end of the half to keep things interested for the second 45 minutes. Once Sevilla put a penalty away midway through the second half it was game over. And when he sealed his hat trick only a few minutes later, it was a case of humiliation for AIK and I wondered how many we'd actually finish on. Only one more goal did come and that was to AIK as the game finished in a resounding 5-2 victory for us!
Euro Cup 3rd Qualifying Round, 1st Leg IFK Norrkoping 0 - 0 KRC Genk
We'd drawn KRC Genk from the Belgian league in the third qualifying stage for the Europa League and the first leg would be at home, so I was keen to get a result to take to their ground in the 2nd leg. New signing Jacob Une-Larsson was making his debut for the club and it would be interesting to see how he got on against a decent side. We looked good in the first half creating a few half chances and controlling possession in the game, but were unable to open the scoring. The second half was a bit more even but neither side was able to take the lead and the game finished 0-0. Our opponents would definitely be the happier of the two teams with the second leg at their place. Une-Larsson had a decent debut scoring a rating of 7.4.
We have a bit of a crisis in goal with first choice Nilsson out for the next 4 weeks and on loan Djukic out for the rest of the season....I'll probably send him back to FC Kobenhavn for his rehabilitation as no point keeping him here.
The amount of money we are losing on a month to month basis is worrying.
Cash Injection From Olsson Sale
Tom Olsson has just been sold from Malmo FF to Roma for a fee of £3.7 million. Due to a 20% sell on clause in his contract, we have received £725k as part of the transfer. This is a much needed cash injection for the club!
New Contract for Jackson
Centre back Oran Jackson signed a new 2 year deal with the club. He received a pay rise from his £1,800 a week contract to £3,900 as he has become a more regular fixture in the starting lineup this season. The contract has tied Jackson up for another 2 years and set his status at squad rotation.
Fjolusen and Kpozo in High Demand
Sturm Graz returned with an increased offer o £275k for Jon Guoni Fjolusen which was again rejected. They then returned with a third bid for the centre back of £450k which has also been rejected. A fourth offer of £575k then followed - rejected again. Sturm Graz were relentless as they came back with a 5th bid of £700k....I had to think about it this time with Fjolusen being 32 years old but I just about rejected it.
AA Gent came in with an offer of £1.9 million for full back Patrick Kpozo, which was rejected.
Record Breaking Francisco Sevilla
Unbelievably, 20 year old on loan striker Francisco Sevilla hasbroken the club record for league goals scored in an entire season and we are only just past half way this year. The previous record was 14 set up Sebastian Andersson in 2016. Sevilla now already has 16 for the current campaign.
New Centre Back Joins IFK Norrkoping
27 year old Swedish centre back, Jacob Une-Larsson has joined the club this month from Djurgardens IF who are currently sitting just behind us in 3rd in the Swedish Premier Division. I have paid a transfer fee of £1.1 million to secure the player's signature, with £750k paid up front and the other £350k being paid over the coming 30 months. With it looking increasingly likely that Jon Guoni Fjolusen would be leaving the club, I was keen to sign a replacement before he leaves and Une-Larsson ticked all the boxes. He is a Swedish home grown player who has been superb for Djurgardens this year with an average rating of 7.17 from 15 appearances. He is a determined centre back who can play with both feet, with decent tackling, marking and heading ability. Une-Larsson also offers a decent amount of pace for a centre back too. Overall, I'm really pleased to have him on board and I'm confident I will soon be recouping some of the transfer fee paid for him with the potential sale of Fjolusen.
We kicked off August with a tough home game against Jonkopings who'd already beaten us this season. We were the better side during the game although we did not dominate, so a 1-0 scoreline is probably a fair reflection on the balance of play. The only goal of the match came from centre back Jon Guoni Fjulosen with a stunning free kick from about 20 yards.
Euro Cup 3rd Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg KRC Genk 4 - 1 IFK Norrkoping
We travelled to Belgium for the second leg of the Europa League qualifying round and to be honest we were very well beaten. From the very first minute when Genk took the lead we were up against it. Although the stats seem to suggest an even game, from watching it I can tell you it wasn't. We just weren't at the races today and Genk outclassed us. Disappointing to crash out of Europe before the group stages for the 2nd year in a row.
Swedish Premier Division Hammarby IF 1 - 0 IFK Norrkoping
Hammarby away next. We looked pretty average throughout to be honest and based on the way we played, probably deserved to lose. The bitter pill I had to swallow was that we gifted Rafael Santos Borre a goal through a terrible backpass that was never going to reach the keeper and he latched on to it to thunder home to give them the only goal of the game secure the win over us.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 2 - 1 IFK Goteborg
IFK Goteborg had recently given their manager the dreaded vote of confidence and we knew his whole team woud be playing primarily for him today as a defeat today could potentially be the nail in his coffin. So we had to be on our A game, especially coming into this off the back of two defeats. We did make hard work of it but got there in the end with a 2-1 win, young Sevilla scoring both of our goals.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 3 - 2 Helsingborgs IF
I was looking for us to make it back to back wins here and we got off to a decent start with a 10th minute goal from Eric Smith, who hadn't got on the scoresheet for a while. Sevilla passed into the box for Alexandre Vincent to run onto and shoot past the stranded Helsingborgs goalie for a 2-0 lead on 29 minutes. Calle Wede got them a goal back 4 minutes before the end of the half and then set up Marwan Hussein early in the 2nd half for the equalizer and we'd thrown away a 2-0 lead!! I wasn't happy and made sure the boys knew it from the touchline. It seemed to spark them back into action as Eric Smith almost immediately scored his 2nd of the game.
IK Frej were two leagues below us so I took the opportunity to give some fringe players a start and show me what they could do. Linner, Winsth, Hadenius, Diaware all came into the team and 17 year old Joel Karlsson was given a first ever start from the under 19s squad. By half time the game was as good as over as we took a 3-0 lead into the break. The score remained the same through the second half and we had once again progressed to next year's group stage in an attempt to retain the Swedish Cup.
Swedish Premier Division Orebro SK 2 - 3 IFK Norrkoping
After managing to rest a number of players for the previous game, I was hoping a refreshed team could come out and give a strong performance here against an Orebro side that were having a cracking season and sitting 4th in the table. We were definitely the busier of the two sides, but it took us until the 51st minute to take the lead, that man Sevilla scoring again, getting on the end of a Callum Gribbin through ball. Eric Smith doubled the lead just 8 minutes later with Sevilla this time turning provider. Gribbin and Sevilla then combined again for the 3rd goal and we were looking good for the 3 points. But then the team completely switched off, went into cruise mode and were caught out with 2 goals from Orebro who up until this point had now even had 1 shot. That set up a tense final few minutes, a position we should never have been in, but we managed to see it out for the win.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 1 - 0 Ostersunds FK
August had been a very busy month as we welcomed Ostersunds for our 8th game in the past 30 days. We managed to get the win here but it took an excellent free kick from Callum Gribbin to get it as we squandered a number of chances from open play throughout the entire match.
Malmo and us have completely pulled away and it looks like it will definitely be one of us that lifts the title. But the odds are firmly stacked against us, we may only be 2 points behind but Malmo have 2 games in hand and with only 7 games remaining I fear we may fall short again this season.
Player of the Month
Eric Smith
MC
Appearances: 7 (2 as sub)
Goals: 4
Assists: 0
Key Passes: 6
Average Rating: 7.54
The midfielder has been controlling games from the midfield all month. With his superb passing accuracy he is always reliable to keep us in possession of the ball. Also chipped in with 4 goals this month!
Fouad Bachirou fully deserved a new contract after being brilliant in the DM role again this year. He has signed a new 2 year deal as a key player worth £5,750 per week.
Sundgren Hits Landmark Game
Right back Daniel Sundgren made his 125th appearance for the club in the game against Ostersunds FK.
Kpozo Gets His Wish & Leaves The Club
Patrick Kpozo has joined Club Brugge for an initial transfer fee of £2.1 million. The player had become increasingly frustrated at the numerous bids I had rejected for him and had made it perfectly clear he wanted to leave the club. It is unfortunate as I'd have liked to keep him but there is no point having a disruptive unhappy player in the squad no matter how good they are. The transfer did include additional clauses - Brugge will pay us another £500k once Kpozo has made 20 league appearances. They will pay us £165k if they win the Belgian Cup. There is also a 30% profit of next sale clause in the terms of the sale.
That Left Us Needing Another Left Back...
With Patrick Kpozo leaving the club for Brugge, it left us very short of cover at left back. I wanted to bring in a full back who was good going forward as a lot of our goals seem to be coming from crosses at the moment and overlapping wing backs is a key part of my tactical setup. After having a good search around, I came across Paul Addo who was playing for Asane in the Norway First Division and having a pretty decent season. He'd racked up a goal, 3 assists and 2 man of the match performances from his 16 games so far this season, with an average rating of 7.06. And at 31 years old, he could add some decent experience to the side. Paul was valued at £22k so I matched that valuation with my first bid and it was immediately accepted. Addo has joined the club on a 2 year contract as a backup player earning £900 per week.
With the current goalkeeper injury crisis at IFK Norrkoping, I needed to get a keeper in and fast. I didn't feel the need to fork out any money for a permanent keeper, so searched the loan market and managed to pick up 20 year old Mikel Iribar from Atletico Pamplona in the Spanish Second Division. Iribar will stay with us to the end of the season and we are contributing half of his weekly wage (£650) for the duration.
Complete domination as we restricted Elfsborg to only 1 shot in the whole game. We only put one goal in ourselves but its always going to be enough when you prevent the opposition from creating any chances.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 3 - 0 IK Sirius
A really good performance from the lads against an IK Sirius team that were sitting in the relegation places and looking in trouble. We created more chances than in any other game all season and managed to put 3 in the back of the net for possibly the most comfortable win of the season.
Swedish Premier Division Trelleborgs FF 0 - 0 IFK Norrkoping
Unbelievable! 29 shots on goal to their 0! 63% possession! But no goals and the most disheartening draw of the whole season. Really not good enough to go here and drop points on the run in.
Very close at the top now with Malmo dropping points in September and we still have to play each other. We still need Malmo to drop more points but the title isn't as far away as it was last month.
Player of the Month
Dennis Olsson
DL
Appearances: 3
Goals: 0
Assists: 2
Tackles Won Ration: 100%
Average Rating: 7.63
Fair play to Dennis who has stepped up brilliantly this month after the departure of Patrick Kpozo last month.
This was probably going to be our biggest game of the whole season. We sit 1 point behind Malmo going into the game but they have a game in hand. So if we lose, we probably lose any chance of winning the title too. Both teams started well and it was clear to see both sides were up for this. It was Malmo though who had the better of the first half creating a number of good chances and we were only going in level thanks to some fantastic saves from Mitov Nilsson in goal. We switched to a more counter attacking mentality for the second half and it seemed to pay off when Sevilla latched onto a long ball from Vincent, rounded the keeper and put us in front. Malmo hit back though on 65 minutes with a goal line scramble goal and it was all to play for again. Malmo started to turn the screw again but wern't able to find another way through and we held on for a point. Not entirely the result we were after but at least we didn't lose, especially as we were outplayed for large parts of the game.
Swedish Premier Division Djurgardens IF 1 - 2 IFK Norrkoping
The first half of this game was an extremely tight one with both teams struggling to break each other down and only recording a couple of shots each on goal. But it was us that had managed to put the ball in the back of the net, through a long range effort from Eric Smith. Djurgardens came out strong in the second half and got the equalizer through their top goalscorer Stephen Appiah. I changed things up a little going to a formation with no striker, bringing on Mikael Andersson and playing 2 inside forwards and a shadow striker....and it worked...Andersson scoring just 1 minute after coming on and we were 2-1 up. And that's the way it stayed and we got a massive away win.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 1 - 1 BK Hacken
Unfortunately we went into this game with it meaning nothing as Malmo had secured the title in their previous game, leaving us nothing to play for with 2 games left as 2nd place in the league was already secured. The match finished in a 1-1 draw with Hacken turning up the pressure to get a late equalizer after we went down to 10 men.
Swedish Premier Division IFK Norrkoping 2 - 1 Osters IF
Daniel Sundgren Named Swedish Defender of the Year
Daniel Sundgren was named the Swedish Defender of the Year. Adin Bukva who was sold this season to Valerenga was named as the Swedish Forward of the Year.
Francisco Sevilla Marks Wonderful Season With 2 Awards
After his fantastic year on loan with us this season, young striker Francisco Sevilla has won himself two awards from his season's experience of Swedish top flight football. The player picked up the top goalscorer award, scoring 24 goals in 27 appearances. He has also been awarded the Swedish Premier Division Player of the Year award and very well deserved too. Fair play to the lad who dedicated his award to me, telling the press that I was a key reason behind his consistent form this year.
4 IFK Norrkoping Players Selected in
Swedish Premier Division Team of the Year
Four players were named in the Swedish Premier Division Team of the Year. Fredrik Knudsen, Callum Gribbin and Fracisco Sevilla all made the starting 11, with Daniel Sundgren making the bench.
Following qualification for the Swedish Cup last year, the groups have been drawn and we've been handed a tougher draw than the last two seasons. Orebro SK could be a potential banana skin on our road to winning 3 back to back Swedish Cups.
Swedish Cup Group Stage
Group 2
IFK Norrkoping - Swedish Premier Division Orebro SK- Swedish Premier Division Sandvikens IF- Swedish First Division Elite Gefle IF - Swedish First Division Elite
Fixtures
20/02 - Gefle IF - Away
27/02 - Orebro SK - Home
05/03 - Sandvikens IF - Home
Yea I think we did stall slightly last season but we're still miles ahead of majority of the competition. It's just that Malmo are far and away the strongest team in the country, not just their squad but financially too. They seem to spend in excess of £7-8 million every season on players, which we just can't compete with
