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

[sek729]

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


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



$550/week, 1 year contract. $3,600 p/w budget.

[sek729]

I had already played most of my season when I decided to share it with you guys. Expectations were to avoid relegation. We have succeeded in that regard.




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



Technically we're still alive, but it would be nothing short of a miracle to be promoted now with 4 weeks to go in the season. All in all, I consider this season a good success for my first crack at FM 13.

[sek729]

We finished with a flurry. It was an ugly late equalizer given up against Solleftea GIF or else it would have been perfect finish. But even a perfect finish wouldn't have seen us up. No miracle, but I like how this team is set-up coming back for next season. We have quite a few younger guys who should keep developing into solid footballers at this level.




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

[sek729]

Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


2013 Preseason

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

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

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




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

[sek729]

Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North

April/May 2013



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

[mekitozito]

Following. Gl

[sek729]

Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


June-September 2013






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

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

[sek729]

Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


Preseason





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

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

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

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



This could be our year!

[sek729]

Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


April-June 2014

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

[sek729]

Tegs SK

Swedish Second Division North


July-August 2014






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

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