Congrats on the title mate, interested to see how you spend all that loot!
 
Well done mate! 10m will go a long way to helping you be competitive in the Champions League next season also!

Yep hopefully it can help us strengthen enough so we can challenge consistently each year
 
Swedish Premier Division - Game 28 - Brommapojkarna (Away)

We travel to Brommapojkarna in the reverse fixture from a couple of weeks back, this time as league champions! Youngster Anton Kralj makes the bench due to a couple of injuries in midfield - he has some potential but not many current youth players are likely to be stars in the team I plan on building.

We won a free kick centimetres outside the area in the first minute, but Ricardinho fired over.

In the 21st minute, Eriksson’s brilliant through ball found Molins, but he was denied by the keeper from point blank range.

In the 33rd, a brilliant through ball down the right from Thern found Mater, who crossed almost over the goal to Forsberg, whose header back across goal somehow kept the ball alive, and rolled straight to Molins on the corner of the 6 yard box. Somehow, his goal bound shot was cleared off the line.

Forsberg took a shot from the resulting corner but it was well held by the keeper.

In the 50th minute a very bizarre looking incident took place. Eriksson found Molins behind the defence, who shot across the goal and found the far bottom corner, although it was ruled as an own goal, so the defender next to him must have got a pice of it a split second after he did. And then it was ruled that Molins had been offside anyway.

He had picked up a knock anyway, so Lepiller replaced Guillermo shortly afterwards.

2 minutes after coming on, Lepiller swung in a corner which was cleared. Simon Thern regathered and threaded a glorious through ball straight into his path, and Lepiller first timed it past the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Sadly, a defender came up behind Lepiller and kicked him after he took the shot, and he had to be replaced too! I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a red card!! So he comes on, scores the opening goal and goes back off again, all inside two minutes. Lord Bendtner anyone? :p Gianluca Neri was his replacement.

In the 73rd, Magnus Eriksson became the latest player to pick up a knock, and so on came Rosenberg.

We managed to avoid any further injuries, and both teams avoided further goals, so that was that.

A reasonable win, although with 36 shots, I would have liked to have scored a few more. Ricardinho and Thern were the two stand out players (8.0 and 8.1 respectively), whilst the rest of the players, besides Lepiller in his little 3 minute cameo, were average. My main concern is the three knocks that were picked up - hopefully none of them prove serious! Forsberg’s disappointing recent form is also a slight headache - hopefully he can turn it around soon.


POM: Simon Thern (8.1, 0G, 1A)



Lepiller is the only player of the three who is ruled out, for about a week.

Blomqvist signs a new 5 year contract with the club - excellent news, as he has made himself my preferred partner for Helander this season with some great performances.

 
Swedish Premier Division - Game 29 - Kalmar FF (Home)

Another league game against Kalmar FF, hopefully we can keep up the momentum. Agon Mehmeti starts up front, in what I’ve just found out will be his 100th league appearance for us!

Not much was happening, and it took until the 25th minute for our first real chance, when Forsberg had an excellent chance, but his shot was well blocked.

Poor Guillermo Molins went down in the 31st minute - the guy seems to get injured almost every game! Cibicki replaced him.

Forsberg’s 39th minute cross found the head of Mehmeti, but he struck the bar.

In the 53rd, Mater’s cross for Mehmeti was blocked, but fell to Forsberg, whose shot was saved behind for a corner.

Neri came on for Mehmeti in the 57th, with Cibicki moving up top.

Rosenberg replaced Moussi in the 67th.

Mater’s cross for Rosenberg in the 75th minute rolled loose, and Forsberg opted to shoot the rebound from on the baseline - of course, he hit the post.

Another disappointing display drew to a close. You can reasonably expect to win any match in which you have 57% possession, and outshoot your opponents 35-6, so to not even score once is pretty shocking. I am hoping for a better performance to close out the league season in 3 days, before we travel to Switzerland for a vital match against Basel.


POM: Kevin Walker (Kalmar FF - 7.9, 0G, 0A).


Best Malmö players: Simon Thern and Rudy Mater (7.4, 0G, 0A)
 
Swedish Premier Division - Game 30 - Helsingborg (Home)

Arch rivals Helsingborg come to town in the final league fixture. They beat us 1-0 earlier in the season, and with the league sewn up, this result doesn’t matter to me as much as the Basel match in a couple of days time. Regardless, a strong lineup still takes the field. Simon Gustafson makes the bench in his return from injury.

In just the third minute, we opened the scoring through Eriksson. He laid the ball off at the top of the box to Thern, who took a low shot which was well saved by the sprawling keeper, but Eriksson was first to the rebound and slid it home.

And in the 5th minute, he doubled his tally! Thern played a glorious little chip forward which he ran onto, controlled with his chest, then half volleyed past the advancing keeper.

In the 14th minute it was three, as Thern played it forward to Eriksson, who one touched a pass to Molins on top of the box, and Guillermo did the rest.

22 minutes, and it was four, as Helander scored just his second of the season with a near post header from Ricardinho’s corner. We were running riot!

Eriksson almost sealed his hat trick with a long distance effort in the 25th minute, but it flew just over the top left corner.

It really should have been 5 in the 29th minute, following some excellent buildup play from Thern, Forsberg and Eriksson, Forsberg tried to lob the keeper, but it landed on top of the goal - a simpler shot would have been better, in my opinion.

And in the 37th, Thern was hacked down in the box, giving Eriksson the chance to complete his hat trick from the penalty spot. He did so with style, finishing in the top right corner.

We should have had a 6th just 3 minutes later, when Molins’ cross found Eriksson, whose shot was blocked. The rebound fell to Forsberg, whose shot hit a defender and then the post, before bouncing clear.

We almost got that 6th goal in the second half, when a 59th minute corner resulted in a scramble in the box, involving a couple of blocked shots, most notably from Helander.

Eriksson, Thern and Molins departed in the 68th minute to a richly deserved standing ovation, replaced by Rosenberg, Gustafson and Neri.

Just a minute later, Helsingborg scored following a cleared long throw that was lobbed back in, but it was correctly ruled offside. I told the team to sit back and contain from there, conserving energy for the match against Basel.

In the first minute of stoppage time, Helsingborg did score, and it was a spectacular effort. Another long throw was cleared high and long, almost to half way by Possebon. The man back there, Andersson, volleyed it all the way back into the box, where from between two of my players, a bloke called Danielson, their centre back, leapt and helped it on it’s way with a perfectly executed horizontal volley, which crashed off the underside of the bar and into the back of the net. It was the guy’s first goal of the season, in the last minute of the season, and what a sensational effort it was. My players appealed for offside, but I didn’t care, it was a special goal.

I am absolutely delighted with today’s performance - arguably our best all season, and against our arch rivals, no less! Eriksson was man of the match for his hat trick and assist, but Simon Thern, with three assists, was the heartbeat of the side - everything went through him today, he had a hand in almost every chance we fashioned. Forsberg once again put in an average performance, and a few weeks ago, he was my vote for player of the season, but on the back of his last few performances, he no longer has my undisputed backing. Overall, a brilliant performance to finish the league season, and hopefully we can carry this form into Europe, with our next match against Basel in a few days time. I’ve got the player ratings here, because we were simply spectacular!


POM: Magnus Eriksson (9.7, 3G, 1A)
 
Well mate, just caught up with most of this and that has been an enjoyable read :). Congrats on the title, you've done some serious business with Malmo already.

Shame to see Kalmar FF finish 7th, as I had a stint with them as FM'15 just came out, but can't have it all, now can ya :p
 
Well mate, just caught up with most of this and that has been an enjoyable read :). Congrats on the title, you've done some serious business with Malmo already.

Shame to see Kalmar FF finish 7th, as I had a stint with them as FM'15 just came out, but can't have it all, now can ya :p

Very pleased to hear you're enjoying it, and I'm delighted with my progress so far, honestly could not have imagined it, especially given my start!

Kalmar did pretty well, hopefully they can push for Europe next season! :)
 
League Season Review...

View attachment 268002

So the league season draws to a close, and it’s been a resounding success. After a shaky start, we have successfully managed to juggle a whole lot of European fixtures and finish 12 points clear of second placed Elfsborg, who along with IFK Göteborg, sealed their places in the Euro Cup next season - IFK only on goal difference ahead of the unfortunate Häcken, who dealt remarkably well with the mid season loss of their star player Gustafson. At the other end of the table, two teams that beat us, Falkenberg, and AIK both went down, with Gefle also still at risk with a playoff fixture to come. It’s a shame to see AIK, who should have been challenging at the top end of the table, go down. I might still try to use that to my advantage and ‘liberate’ a few of their star players - Milosevic looks like a quality player, as does Ezequiel. Hopefully they will be back up after next season.



A new fixture has come up - the Swedish Super Cup final will be four days after the Basel match, and it will be a chance for us to extract revenge on Hammarby Fotboll after they upset us in the semi finals of the Swedish Cup, before going on to win it.

 
Champions League Group Stage - Game 4 - Basel (Away)

So the exact same starting lineup takes the field here against Basel. The Swiss side defended well to keep us out in our place, and now with home advantage, will no doubt be looking to take all three points here. But so are we!

The home side had the first chance in the 21st minute, and Reisinger put it away with a classy finish - fortunately, the linesman correctly ruled him offside.

A cross from the left in the 31st minute lead to a header striking the bar, as the Swiss champions continued to look the more dangerous. Blomqvist picked up a knock and had to be replaced by Johansson immediately after that play.

Guillermo Molins had other ideas though, and a play that started with him deep in our own half lead to Thern finding Tinnerholm overlapping down the right. Anton put in a cross, and Molins met it at the near post with a brilliant volley which found the top right corner and nearly burst the netting!

We went into half time with a 12-3 lead in shots, though most had been speculative and off target.

In the 58th minute, Forsberg’s cross for Molins was headed to Thern just outside the box. Thern dribbled to the right and into the box, before squaring for Molins to his left, who then did the same for Eriksson, and Magnus drilled a low shot past the keeper! He had plenty of space as there were 5 or 6 Basel players clustered around Thern and Molins!

And just over a minute later, it was 3! We won the ball from the kickoff, and found Eriksson on half way. Magnus played a lovely through ball to Thern, who raced onto it. A desperate tackle dispossessed him, but the ball continued on it’s way and Molins raced onto it, skipped past the keeper, and finished from the tightest of angles!

In the 62nd minute, Thern won the ball in midfield, and passed to Eriksson who had plenty of time and space to pick out Forsberg. Emil then drew his defender and laid off to Possebon, who had overlapped, and suddenly had just the keeper to beat from about 9 yards. He didn’t even hit the target!

In the 72nd minute, he atoned for his shocking miss however, when a similar counterattack led to Eriksson finding his overlapping run after Molins’ lovely through ball, and this time, he made no mistake, as Forsberg, who was in an offside position, had the awareness to leave the ball for Rodrigo to run on to.

Gustafson replaced Thern shortly afterwards, and Molins once again played a gorgeous killer ball for Eriksson to have a one on one with the keeper. His effort was saved, and Forsberg’s followup was also beaten away by the keeper.

Forsberg made way for Neri in the 81st.

A sensational and comprehensive victory over the Swiss champions, and it’s a result which means that realistically means that unless Galatasaray beat both ourselves and Basel, we will qualify for the second round. This was beyond my wildest dreams when I began the season, but the players have truly stepped up this season, particularly in Europe, and I’m delighted with how we’re looking!


POM: Guillermo Molins (9.5, 2G, 1A)
 
Simon Thern has been nothing short of top class in the last few weeks, and duly returns to the Sweden squad. Unfortunately, this seems to be at the expense of Gustafson, who has only just returned from an injury sustained in his last match for Sweden.


Swedish Super Cup Final - Hammarby Fotboll



The Swedish Super Cup doesn’t mean a great deal, but it’s another chance at silverware, and offers a chance to avenge our appalling defeat to Hammarby in the Swedish Cup many months ago.


We were on the front foot right from the off, and it took just 5 minutes for Emil Forsberg to break his recent drought with a well taken header from Ricardinho’s cross.

Some interplay between Eriksson and Forsberg led to the latter finding Molins with a brilliant scything pass, but Molins’ effort was spectacularly diverted onto the post and out for a corner by the Hammarby keeper.

We went into half time still holding our narrow lead.

Forsberg embarked on a run in the 51st minute which took him from the left side in our own half to the top right corner of the box, but his eventual effort was held by the keeper diving low to his left.

Adu and Rosenberg for Moussi and Eriksson were my 60th minute changes.

Tinnerholm picked up a knock and was replaced by Mater in the 81st minute.

Ricardinho’s free kick in the 93rd minute was well saved, and Blomqvist’s followup was straight at the keeper when he really should have sealed it then and there. It didn’t matter in the end.

So we take home the Swedish Super Cup, which is pleasing. The performance from the boys was not quite as good as the last two, but that can be forgiven I suppose, and a win is a win. We have just two matches left this season, both Champions League, and should only need to draw against Galatasaray to seal our passage to the knockout stages.


POM: Emil Forsberg (7.6, 1G, 0A)
 
Transfer News...

Transfer bid of 5.5 million accepted for Lorenzo Crisetig.



* * * * *


So excited about my South Korean sensation Kim Byung-Hyun! He made his debut for South Korea and it couldn’t have gone any better - a hat trick and assist, and a match rating of 10! Not only that, but his first strike was 29 seconds into the match - a new South Korean record! Can’t wait for him to link up with us!!

 
Couldn't ask for a better international debut could you? Hatrick, MoM and Breaking records!! Should be great for you next season!
 
Transfer News...

Crisetig agrees terms, but won’t join until July next year, as he is on loan at Cagliari for the season. Very much looking forward to his arrival! Not shown in the picture are two clauses - a 15 million release clause, and after 30 league games, his wages will rise to 10k. Expensive signing maybe, but I hope he will prove to be worth the money!


Mehmeti wants first team football. The poor guy was my player of the pre season, but has fallen down the pecking order. My preferred formation still only uses 1 striker, and so with Eriksson and Rosenberg ahead of him, as well as Jovic and Kim Byung-Hyun arriving soon, I sadly think his time at Swedbank Stadium is up. I promised to sell him as soon as I can. I’ve transfer listed him and offered him to clubs for 1 million.


Eriksson wins Swedish Forward of the Year, which is well deserved in my opinion. Rasmus Lindgren won the overall Player of the Year award.
 
Exactly a day after asking for first team football and being promised a move, Mehmeti has apparently decided he’s happy to stay - quite inexplicable. I’ve already accepted offers from NEC and Blackburn, so chances are he’ll be leaving anyway.



The Swedish transfer window opens today, and young Drasko Petkovic joins the team. He can’t play in our Champions League matches, but here he is! Not too special for now, but he certainly has the potential to be a star! Once a few of those 8’s, 9’s and 10’s go up, he will look much more impressive I am sure! :p



Hammarby Fotboll will be joining us in the Premier Division next season after ousting Gefle on away goals over the two legs.


The Premier Division awards were given out, and you can see down the left who the winners were. I won manager of the year, and 7 of my players made team of the year, 4 as substitutes.



Transfer News...

1.3 million offer for Milosevic accepted, and we’ve settled terms. I’ve also submitted a bid for Linus Wahlqvist.
 
Transfer News...

Mehmeti agrees terms with Blackburn and will join in January. I’ve accepted an offer of 500k for Erdal Rakip.

Wahlqvist’s agent turned out to be a pr*ck who exited negotiations after just my second offer. I was reconsidering at the time anyway - by the time he’s first team ready, I hope my team will be too strong for him anyway!

Milosevic, on the other hand, is more than first team ready, and finalises his transfer!



Rakip rejects his transfer to Turkish side Eskişehirspor - not happy, as 500k was an excellent deal for a player who is no chance of a long term future here.

Matias Concha departs the club after agreeing to terminate his contract a week early (it says a few months, but it’s a week!)



Trabzonspor come in with a bid for Rakip, but sadly it’s only 250k, half of what I could have received. Regardless, I accept it.
 
Champions League Group Stage - Game 5 - Galatasaray (Away)


The media has us as underdogs here against Galatasaray, but I am definitely looking to win. They have the star power, but we beat them at home, and I am hopeful that we can do so again on the road. A draw would suit me just fine too.


Eriksson played Forsberg through in the 4th minute, but a defender produced a critical block with an excellent slide.

In the 8th minute, Ricardinho swung a dangerous free kick in, and Helander rose highest to head it home!

A 13th minute Ricardinho free kick found Forsberg on the short side, who took a touch before shooting, but an excellent save from Muslera at his near post denied the winger.

After the resulting corner was cleared, the ball was worked back in, and Muslera made another brilliant stop to divert Eriksson’s effort behind too.

A swift counterattack from the hosts in the 35th minute led to Pandev finding Sneijder, and Olsen was helpless to do anything about the Dutchman’s effort.

We went into half time all square, despite having dominated.

Moussi replaced the shaky Adu just before the hour mark. Gustafson came on for Possebon shortly afterwards.

Ricardinho’s 70th minute free kick struck the wall, and from the rebound, the ball was quickly worked to Forsberg who was in the clear inside the box. Muslera held his disappointing effort - he should have scored. Lepiller replaced him in the 74th.

4 minutes later, Lepiller swung in a free kick, which Helander controlled with his chest, turned, and rifled into the bottom corner at the near post! A brilliant double from our inspirational centre back!

It wasn’t over yet though, as in the first minute of injury time, Molins raced up the right flank before passing inside to Simon Thern. Our star playmaker had oceans of space and picked out the run of Eriksson, who lofted it over the advancing Muslera into the top right corner!

A fantastic performance, where my key players Ricardinho (7.7), Eriksson (8.4), Thern (9.0) and particularly Helander (9.2) really stood up. We have sealed passage to the knockout rounds, and in theory, we could finish ahead of Madrid, although we all know that won’t happen! Ronaldo scored another double in a 5-0 win for Madrid, as he increased his tally to 10 goals in 5 CL games, at an average rating of 8.92. Messi is still recovering from a two or three month injury, and is therefore unlikely to catch him.



POM: Filip Helander (9.2, 2G, 0A)



Confirmation of our qualification!

 
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