I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed

I know it's a cliche, and I know I shouldn't be that disappointed considering season expectations but I am.

3rd and 43 points. Only 2 (plus some goals) off the playoff place, and 3 off the title. So close. So far. That in itself isn't disappointing. After all if you try your hardest and don't succeed then you can't really complain. What makes it difficult is just how bad we were in our final 5 games.

We collapsed. 2 points from 4 games. It left us in a horribly position for the final game of the season. We were 5th but could get 2nd if we won and certain games went our way.

If we won and Vasalund drew or lost then we could do it. Alternatively if Forward lost we could do it. Though it would be on goal difference in certain situations.

At various points during the final game we were 5th, 4th, 3rd and a tantalising 2nd. Until Forward came from 2 goals down to win 3-2.

What a sad looking graph. It comes down to over reliance. Bergh was out and in the Degerfors game Felic ended up out for 6 weeks. Key players at either end.

That said we played well almost all the way through the season, and way beyond what was expected. We'll have done our rep no end of good. The team is increasingly settled and now we might be able to add a few key players to make another push.

We were rewarded at the end of the season too. I got manager of the year, and Bergh was named as the keeper in the team of the season. I would have probably added Felic to the team of the year but as that would have meant paying him a £4k bonus I didn't mind too much.

Also got another job offer. Stockport in the BSP. Nah, I think I'll skip that. Looking forward to at least another season with the mighty 'Tuna City.

End of Season Analysis

I'll squeeze this here if I may:

Injuries meant we kept rotating and rarely settled. I think over half the season was played without an actual AML in the AML position. Passing completion was okay and told the same story as ever. I think it was reflected in the match engine too. We played great possession football and when we had the right people at the end of the move we were deadly.

The goals weren't as spread around but I think that is due to the combination of the step up and the injury forced rotation in the midfield. We definitely relied too much on Felic.

Attack

Broken record I know but an extra striker would be nice! Muqdisi to be frank wasn't great. He wasn't as clinical or creative as Felic, and he didn't have the pace of Berner. He just sort of trundled along.

Berner didn't get a great deal of starts, especially up front. Mainly because I was running him ragged by using him as cover on the wings.

Abohwo didn't start up front as he was doing too well from AMR. Frankly the way he drifts inside from the AMR was productive enough. I didn't want to tamper with that.

Midfield

Again...broken record. I'd like a nice out and out AML please. Easier said than done though if no one really wants to join. Other than that I think we're okay. What I need to do is ease Gustafsson into more games so he can take over from Wikstrom - he's getting on.

Defence

I feel okay with it as it stands. My first choice back four all played well. I have two back up/promising DC's and a back up DR (Ekholm) who had a howler of a debut, but might be alright. If I recruit here it has to be a quality plater.

Keeper

I've got Wachtmeister now. I might get a loanee in (if I can) for extra cover but they'll do for now.
 

Above expectations [2015]

We're still playing well above expectations. Which could mean a couple of things I guess.

1) We're awesome and this is going to be a fantastic season.

2) When we crash and burn it's going to hurt even more because of this false dawn.

Who's knows. With 5 games to go we're a healthy 2nd place with 38 points. I don't think we have to fear relegation at this point. Promotion is what we're looking at. The title isn't out of reach and there's always the play off place.

A few blips here and there but our recent form is okay (ish). The worrying thing is in the past 3 games we only have  4 out of 9 points. If that continues then who knows what will happen. It's still quite tight at the top.

Of the 5 games left I would consider Degerfors, Karlstad BK and Vasteras SK to be tricky games.

What makes it more difficult is that Bergh is out injured for 8 weeks. I've managed to track a replacement but I don't know yet whether he'll be any good.

The attributes are promising for this level (at a glance he might be considered better than Bergh) but keepers are always tricky. They are the position I hate recruiting for the most because it is so easy to get it wrong. It's very hard to judge as well (I find) whether a keeper is playing poorly or has been let down by the defence. It's a bad point in the season to be recruiting for such a key position but none of the pre-season options gave us a 2nd look.

There's another recruit as well whilst I remember, from the youth intake. Ludvig...

Again for this level, a club with these facilities he looks like a good youth prospect. With some targeted training and a good tutor I think he'll excel. Maybe not top flight quality but perhaps 2nd tier.

This is where I struggle to understand the complaints people have on forums sometimes about youth prospects. Even though the two players I've put up from my last two youth intakes aren't superstars I have to admit they are fantastic prospects for this level. I think sometimes FM players need to adjust their expectations; how many world beaters come through every year at a top flight academy?

Additionally I think every youth signing has to be looked at realistically. They are a youth player - they need work and training. They need to be nurtured. They shouldn't even be close to the finished article at 15-18.

Anyway back to the final five...

Half Full [2015]

At the half way point in the season the glass is very much half full for 'Tuna. We're riding relatively high, far beyond what was predicted by the media/board at the start of the season. Promotion doesn't look impossible at this point. I think the top 4 could shift around quite a bit between now and the end of the season but I think we've got a good chance of keeping pace.

1st place is perhaps a little misleading. Not wanting to be all negative but survival is key still. That's goal number one and with 25 points we're not that far away from the 30 point target.

The have been playing pretty well despite being unsettled by injuries. We're definitely over reliant on Felic at the moment and that shows a bit in the matches we've lost. When he's not played well (i.e. had a game where he somehow doesn't know where the goal is) we've struggled and dropped points.

We've also had a few decisions go against us. Or I've thought they've gone against us. I've served a one match ban for complaining. We had a run of three games with three penalties and I moaned about them all.

So how are they shaping up?

 Generally speaking the pass completion is where I want it to be. DC's Manns and Sundberg aren't great but I think this is where a trade off comes in. Manns in particular runs with the ball out of defence really well and when he loses it it tends to be further up the pitch. As such it's a little less dangerous. Quite often though his runs actually produce quite a bit of danger - he links up with Molder and Abohwo, and they swap places and overlap really well. So long as that keeps happening I'm willing to put up with 69% for completion.

Celsing isn't doing too well pass completion wise and that's hitting his assists. If he ever gets a good run without an injury then that might change.

Goal wise after Felic they are spread amongst the midfield a bit. We're not as prolific as last season, not even close. I'm really torn about what to do. If I could get another striker in then I would but I'm not convinced about the quality of the ones I can actually recruit. Magnusson is still on free and still won't discuss terms with me. Everyone else looks like they might be okay but at the end of the season, when our rep increases a bit, we might have much better choice.

At the moment I'm leaning towards letter Berner and Muqdisi be my back ups for the Treq position and see if I can muddle along.

Defence wise we're not leaking too many. Largely down to Bergh...

Well actually we are shipping quite a few but it could be worse.

Also, in other new I got my first job offer.

Not really tempted by Eastleigh or the Blue Square South  The budget is twice ours but they're over it and...I'm having fun here. Doesn't really make sense to move from a....promotion chasing...team to a middle of the road team (sorry Eastleigh). Career wise it doesn't make sense.

I could be wrong... [2015]

I could be wrong and I don't mind.

5 games in and we have three wins, a draw and a very narrow loss. I also appear to be wrong on the Sunday Abohwo front as well. He's managed to get 3 goals and assist in those games.

The season is slightly longer at this level at 26 games. Around 30 points in the past few seasons has been enough for survival so with 5 games gone we're about a third of the way with our 10 points. Based on how we've been playing I think it's possible. I think we need to try and get as close as possible to the target by the half way mark - I really don't want a slump in the second half of the season.

A lot of the team are quite determined or fairly professional (12 if we include resolute) so I think they can keep the standard up.

I'm not entertaining thoughts of promotion...yet. We've played well but the team is pretty fragile. A few specific injuries and the whole thing will come tumbling down.

We'll see though. Maybe by the time the second half of the season comes round some of those players on my shortlist will have become desperate enough to join.

Not exactly filled with optimism [2015]

Well I did say I thought the team was strong. I just needed to add some depth, blah blah blah.

With the title and promotion I thought I might be able to tempt a few more players to the team. I have scouted and had a list full of great looking players (for this level) that I though might be swayed with a bit of cash (plus a lengthy spell without a job). That didn't really happen though. No one seems convinced that we'll be here to stay and so my recruiting has been a bit...odd.

I almost got this guy but of course I was beaten to him.

Instead I brought these players in.

Spending more than I ever really wanted too.

Gregorcik

Long term investment at the back perhaps. Scouts and coaches thought he'd be a great investment, Swedish 1st Division Elite supposedly. I'm not as convinced but he should at least be good cover.

Claesson

Scouts didn't think as much of him but I thought the physical and mental stats would mean he'd also be good cover.

Ekholm

And yet more cover. I don't see him challenging Molder or Manns directly but with injuries having someone who can slot into that wingback role (sort of) would allow me to juggle the rest of the back line.

Muqisi

Spent far more than I should for a player of his years or attribute but he could cover the AP role and maybe the Treq in a similar style to Felic (again sort of).

Abohwo

I'm in two minds over him which is worrying considering the wage I had to offer to get him. He's not an AML but it means I can shift Cirak over to AML at a pinch. I think he'll be okay on the wing with a tendency to cut inside. I can always play him upfront as well.

I've not mentioned Redzic as he is just a youth player to act as cover. At least he, at £6 a week, isn't going to break the bank.

Despite the above players though (or in part because of) I'm not feeling very confident. Adding to that is the fact that Celsing, Berner, and Cirak have all gotten injured in the pre-season. The shortest time out is 6 weeks, the longest 3 months. They'll all be back at various points but that means at some point they'll be missing, and when they are back they'll have to get back to match fitness. Also means the team will start of pretty - very little cover. So I'll be calling up a couple of youth players to fill some gaps.

Fingers crossed.