I'm livid. Yes I missed out on promotion but I was building a team. A most unfair sacking.
I want revenge.
Showing posts with label 2023. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2023. Show all posts
Friday, 24 May 2013
Surprise... [2023]
Surprise Sacking that is.
I'm livid. Yes I missed out on promotion but I was building a team. A most unfair sacking.
I want revenge.
I'm livid. Yes I missed out on promotion but I was building a team. A most unfair sacking.
I want revenge.
Nothing quite like a last game collapse [2023]
A teeth gnashing, hair rending, end to the season. We dropped some points. Look at that. A streak of draws, a loss to Akropolis and then the final game defeat.
All culminating in 3rd place. No title, no promotion, no playoff.
Before the final game we were in 3rd and all we had to do was win. A draw would probably have done it provided Akropolis didn't go on a goal frenzy. We lost. And why? Well my keeper being in international duty didn't help. All of the goals we conceded in that final game were rubbish ones. A scramble, a poor clearance and a weak dive to stop a routine shot.
In actuality we lost it earlier but we just didn't realise it. Those 3 draws cost us 6 points. Converting one to a win would have meant 2nd place. Converting all 3 would have meant challenging for the title.
That lost against Akroplis? A draw against them would have actually meant we would have got 2nd place over them.
The board are a little disappointed. They wanted promotion, the media thought 3rd place was fair. So my job is a little insecure. I'm fairly confident that they'll keep me on though. We're in a good position for next year.
Ah well...
End of Season Review
How'd the team do?
Well they pulled together pretty well. Almost all the signings played their part. Apart from maybe Citaku who will be put on the unwanted list.
Stahl was the stand out player. My player of the year. Look at him. He's a beast.
He scored, provided and ran at the defense time and time again.
Wallinder and Engstrom did really well too. And even the two AMC's I got as youth gambles and cover, Goransson and Kallgren, did really well.
There are some problems though.
1) Depth - We still had a pretty small squad. Injuries, bans and international call ups cost us at times. Our 3-0 loss to Akropolis came after we had to go to extra time in the cup against Qviding. They were knackered.
Whenever I had to rest key players like Fredriksson or Bajric there was a knock on effect.
Up front although Pode bagged a tidy 14 goals when he was playing badly, tired or was on his mid season dry spell we just didn't have the options on the bench to maintain the goal threat. Citaku wasn't up to it and playing Stahl there meant changing the midfield.
So we need more players. I've got two coming in, a DM and a AMC. I think I need a striker and then a few youth players as back up in midfield and up front. Then I can rotate them in.
2) Age? - I'm a bit doubtful but the squad average age is pretty young, 22 years old. The youngest team in the league has an average of 21. Did this mean we were more likely to crack under pressure? I'm not convinced but it's documented to have an effect. I think in part with another seasons experience this will improve and there'll be less of an impact. I'm just worried though that if we lose say Fredriksson, the old man of the team, the core of midfield, that'll we'll suffer.
I don't want to bring in older players for the sake of it though. I want to keep the faith with the younger players. I just need to talk to them more using the player interaction options, and keep an eye on my team talks. They'll need more hand holding.
Right, time to recruit during the long cold Swedish off season.
All culminating in 3rd place. No title, no promotion, no playoff.
Before the final game we were in 3rd and all we had to do was win. A draw would probably have done it provided Akropolis didn't go on a goal frenzy. We lost. And why? Well my keeper being in international duty didn't help. All of the goals we conceded in that final game were rubbish ones. A scramble, a poor clearance and a weak dive to stop a routine shot.
In actuality we lost it earlier but we just didn't realise it. Those 3 draws cost us 6 points. Converting one to a win would have meant 2nd place. Converting all 3 would have meant challenging for the title.
That lost against Akroplis? A draw against them would have actually meant we would have got 2nd place over them.
The board are a little disappointed. They wanted promotion, the media thought 3rd place was fair. So my job is a little insecure. I'm fairly confident that they'll keep me on though. We're in a good position for next year.
Ah well...
End of Season Review
How'd the team do?
Well they pulled together pretty well. Almost all the signings played their part. Apart from maybe Citaku who will be put on the unwanted list.
Stahl was the stand out player. My player of the year. Look at him. He's a beast.
He scored, provided and ran at the defense time and time again.
Wallinder and Engstrom did really well too. And even the two AMC's I got as youth gambles and cover, Goransson and Kallgren, did really well.
There are some problems though.
1) Depth - We still had a pretty small squad. Injuries, bans and international call ups cost us at times. Our 3-0 loss to Akropolis came after we had to go to extra time in the cup against Qviding. They were knackered.
Whenever I had to rest key players like Fredriksson or Bajric there was a knock on effect.
Up front although Pode bagged a tidy 14 goals when he was playing badly, tired or was on his mid season dry spell we just didn't have the options on the bench to maintain the goal threat. Citaku wasn't up to it and playing Stahl there meant changing the midfield.
So we need more players. I've got two coming in, a DM and a AMC. I think I need a striker and then a few youth players as back up in midfield and up front. Then I can rotate them in.
2) Age? - I'm a bit doubtful but the squad average age is pretty young, 22 years old. The youngest team in the league has an average of 21. Did this mean we were more likely to crack under pressure? I'm not convinced but it's documented to have an effect. I think in part with another seasons experience this will improve and there'll be less of an impact. I'm just worried though that if we lose say Fredriksson, the old man of the team, the core of midfield, that'll we'll suffer.
I don't want to bring in older players for the sake of it though. I want to keep the faith with the younger players. I just need to talk to them more using the player interaction options, and keep an eye on my team talks. They'll need more hand holding.
Right, time to recruit during the long cold Swedish off season.
Halfway in and time to think [2023]
Not time to panic yet but we've not been as ruthless as we'd like.
Consider we have a very young squad I'm okay with 2nd, especially seeing as 1st place hasn't gotten away from us. The tactic seems to be working quite nicely as well but as you can tell from the squad details we don't have many goal outlets.
I had started to notice in the match engine that we were taking quite a few long shots. We were putting together some amazing passing moves but quite often we would then pull the trigger outside the area. I had a look at various post match analyses and confirmed my gut feeling. We liked to shoot outside the box.
You could also see the problem in the passing to an extent. Plenty of passing everywhere but in the box. The ball was coming to the attackers outside the area and the shot was coming from there. I looked at the heat map and things started to click. I needed to move the defensive line. I needed to push up so that when we started a move we started it on the halfway line, not in our half, so that more breaks would be made into the box rather than just outside.
So I changed it. Another thing I'm considering changing, although not yet is long shots. I might tone it down. The problem is whilst we are wasteful Stahl and Bajric actually get a few and as they develop and get better they're getting closer and closer. So I'm leaving that change till later.
Overall I'm happy with things. I like the club, I like the league, I like the country.
Consider we have a very young squad I'm okay with 2nd, especially seeing as 1st place hasn't gotten away from us. The tactic seems to be working quite nicely as well but as you can tell from the squad details we don't have many goal outlets.
I had started to notice in the match engine that we were taking quite a few long shots. We were putting together some amazing passing moves but quite often we would then pull the trigger outside the area. I had a look at various post match analyses and confirmed my gut feeling. We liked to shoot outside the box.
You could also see the problem in the passing to an extent. Plenty of passing everywhere but in the box. The ball was coming to the attackers outside the area and the shot was coming from there. I looked at the heat map and things started to click. I needed to move the defensive line. I needed to push up so that when we started a move we started it on the halfway line, not in our half, so that more breaks would be made into the box rather than just outside.
So I changed it. Another thing I'm considering changing, although not yet is long shots. I might tone it down. The problem is whilst we are wasteful Stahl and Bajric actually get a few and as they develop and get better they're getting closer and closer. So I'm leaving that change till later.
Overall I'm happy with things. I like the club, I like the league, I like the country.
Sweden for Definite...Degefors I mean. [2023]
And back to where things started really. I was holidaying and waiting for offers. I wasn't getting great ones. Rotheram....Walsall. It wasn't the teams that put me off them it was just I couldn't see myself staying and taking them to the top. I didn't want to take a job that I was bound to tire of.
So I held on and got an offer from Degerfors. A team in the Swedish First Division Elite...for one more game. They had already been relegated and would be playing next season in the First Division North.
It didn't take me long to decide. I liked playing in Sweden before, I had been successful, I still had things to win, I had a connection there, and the club had money spare and there was potential to become a big fish and in a small to medium pond.
So I took it.
I had one game to play which gave me a brief chance to look at the team. I wanted to try something different tactically and I needed to be flexible. From looking at the original team I had a lot of central defenders that were decent, some good attacking midfielders, and not much else bar a singe decent striker. After having read this article on possession football I decided that I would build a new tactic (for me) based on similar principles.
I was going to play 3 central defenders, two wingbacks, two central midfielders, two attacking midfielders and one striker. A bit narrow but the wingbacks would add depth and the roles of the AMC's would change the shape a little.
Here it is:
I'll go through the players in a bit. The first thing that might strike you is that some of the players are not in the right position. Basically they are good enough for those positions and are being trained in them. The stats, training and match experience will see them through.
The three central defenders should keep things solid at the back. One DC is a limited defender and his job is just to clear the danger, he's the last gasp no nonsense player.
The wing backs provide some defensive cover but also the width and supply.
The ball winning MC provides some stopping power and defensive cover, hopefully increasing our chances of winning back possession. The deep lying midfield should partner them and start moves, all without running into the space of the AMC's ahead. The DLP and BWM can also work with the wing backs, almost giving us a bank of 3 and then 4 defensively.
In AMC I have an inside forward and a Treq. The IF should carry a direct goal threat, working off the shoulder of the striker and attacking from slightly deeper. I'm expecting a fair few goals to come from there. The Treq is there to be creative and create space as well as chances. In theory the IF and Treq could push up when attacking to give me 3 up front. Again in theory my team shape could under certain conditions be closer to a 433.
The striker at the moment is playing as complete forward but this I might tweak to a Defensive Forward or Targetman. They should be a threat on their own, the point of the attack, but also they should be able to bring in other players, ideally the IF and Treq behind them. This role I think will change depending on who is playing it.
So there we go. There's also room to evolve the tactic. As well as changing the striker role and I can see the limited defender role changing to a libero as we move up the leagues and get the players for it. The AMC roles could change too.
I played it in my first game and the teams final game of the season and we held a title pushing side to a creditable away draw. We created chances and frankly only drew because we gave away a goal in a bit of a scramble. All this without most of the players you see above, they were recruited afterwards.
Players
I needed to bring in a few but I had the core of the defense, and midfield present. Luckily the team had a lot of money for this level and I was able to get quite a few good youth players in. I favoured youth but also brought in a few older, more seasoned, players too.
Defense
Wingback was the key bit to strengthen here. I had a few players I could train into the positions already at the club but I needed a couple more.
Axel played for me at 'Tuna and I remember him being great at pushing forwards. I got him for the WBL position but also for cover on the right.
Engstrom is a U19's starlet, cost about 18k, and isn't a natural WBR. But I think he'll grow into it.
Sandberg provides cover across the back and in defensive midfield. He also had a season of experience in the Elite Division. He was a another U19 team mate of Engstrom.
Midfield
I recruited quite a lot here just to make sure I had cover and flexibiliy.
Nordin was another U19 star and cost quite a bit. I see great potential there and I think he'll slot into either MC role, though DLP more.
Stahl was bought to be the ultimate utility man but I think he's going to go straight into the IF role. He doesn't have AMC as one of his positions but if he can play MC and play ST then IF isn't beyond him.
Svahn was brought in as cover, ideally in the AMC position. Getting on a bit but it doesn't hurt to have a bit of experience. Also for the first division he should be fine.
Goransson and Kallgren were on the young side but again they were there as AMC cover. I think at least one of them should grow into the role well enough.
Attack
I brought in Citaku to rotate with Pode. Both should be good enough for the Elite division.
I also brought in Ohlsson on loan. Hopefully he'll just be attacking as cover. With the players I have and only one out and out striker role I can afford to be light up front.
So far
I've played lots of friendlies and the group stage of the Swedish Cup. We lost unfairly 5-0 to Premier side Hammarby (we outplayed them for most of the match but just couldn't break through), lost 2-1 to Premier side Elfsborg (lucky goal from them), and then beat Elite side Qviding 3-1.
The tactic seemed to be working very nicely. We held onto a lot of possession against the big sides and created chances. They were a little further out than I would have liked, very few against the top sides were in the area but I think initially that can be put down to the quality of their defence. First Division North sides should suffer.
Against Qviding Stahl got a brace from the IF position and the attacking moves were beautiful. I don't want to jinx the season by saying I have a good feeling about things but....I have a good feeling about things.
I'm going to make use of the analysis tab this season as well so hopefully I can be better tactically.
So I held on and got an offer from Degerfors. A team in the Swedish First Division Elite...for one more game. They had already been relegated and would be playing next season in the First Division North.
It didn't take me long to decide. I liked playing in Sweden before, I had been successful, I still had things to win, I had a connection there, and the club had money spare and there was potential to become a big fish and in a small to medium pond.
So I took it.
I had one game to play which gave me a brief chance to look at the team. I wanted to try something different tactically and I needed to be flexible. From looking at the original team I had a lot of central defenders that were decent, some good attacking midfielders, and not much else bar a singe decent striker. After having read this article on possession football I decided that I would build a new tactic (for me) based on similar principles.
I was going to play 3 central defenders, two wingbacks, two central midfielders, two attacking midfielders and one striker. A bit narrow but the wingbacks would add depth and the roles of the AMC's would change the shape a little.
Here it is:
I'll go through the players in a bit. The first thing that might strike you is that some of the players are not in the right position. Basically they are good enough for those positions and are being trained in them. The stats, training and match experience will see them through.
The three central defenders should keep things solid at the back. One DC is a limited defender and his job is just to clear the danger, he's the last gasp no nonsense player.
The wing backs provide some defensive cover but also the width and supply.
The ball winning MC provides some stopping power and defensive cover, hopefully increasing our chances of winning back possession. The deep lying midfield should partner them and start moves, all without running into the space of the AMC's ahead. The DLP and BWM can also work with the wing backs, almost giving us a bank of 3 and then 4 defensively.
In AMC I have an inside forward and a Treq. The IF should carry a direct goal threat, working off the shoulder of the striker and attacking from slightly deeper. I'm expecting a fair few goals to come from there. The Treq is there to be creative and create space as well as chances. In theory the IF and Treq could push up when attacking to give me 3 up front. Again in theory my team shape could under certain conditions be closer to a 433.
The striker at the moment is playing as complete forward but this I might tweak to a Defensive Forward or Targetman. They should be a threat on their own, the point of the attack, but also they should be able to bring in other players, ideally the IF and Treq behind them. This role I think will change depending on who is playing it.
So there we go. There's also room to evolve the tactic. As well as changing the striker role and I can see the limited defender role changing to a libero as we move up the leagues and get the players for it. The AMC roles could change too.
I played it in my first game and the teams final game of the season and we held a title pushing side to a creditable away draw. We created chances and frankly only drew because we gave away a goal in a bit of a scramble. All this without most of the players you see above, they were recruited afterwards.
Players
I needed to bring in a few but I had the core of the defense, and midfield present. Luckily the team had a lot of money for this level and I was able to get quite a few good youth players in. I favoured youth but also brought in a few older, more seasoned, players too.
Defense
Wingback was the key bit to strengthen here. I had a few players I could train into the positions already at the club but I needed a couple more.
Axel played for me at 'Tuna and I remember him being great at pushing forwards. I got him for the WBL position but also for cover on the right.
Engstrom is a U19's starlet, cost about 18k, and isn't a natural WBR. But I think he'll grow into it.
Sandberg provides cover across the back and in defensive midfield. He also had a season of experience in the Elite Division. He was a another U19 team mate of Engstrom.
Midfield
I recruited quite a lot here just to make sure I had cover and flexibiliy.
Nordin was another U19 star and cost quite a bit. I see great potential there and I think he'll slot into either MC role, though DLP more.
Stahl was bought to be the ultimate utility man but I think he's going to go straight into the IF role. He doesn't have AMC as one of his positions but if he can play MC and play ST then IF isn't beyond him.
Svahn was brought in as cover, ideally in the AMC position. Getting on a bit but it doesn't hurt to have a bit of experience. Also for the first division he should be fine.
Goransson and Kallgren were on the young side but again they were there as AMC cover. I think at least one of them should grow into the role well enough.
Attack
I brought in Citaku to rotate with Pode. Both should be good enough for the Elite division.
I also brought in Ohlsson on loan. Hopefully he'll just be attacking as cover. With the players I have and only one out and out striker role I can afford to be light up front.
So far
I've played lots of friendlies and the group stage of the Swedish Cup. We lost unfairly 5-0 to Premier side Hammarby (we outplayed them for most of the match but just couldn't break through), lost 2-1 to Premier side Elfsborg (lucky goal from them), and then beat Elite side Qviding 3-1.
The tactic seemed to be working very nicely. We held onto a lot of possession against the big sides and created chances. They were a little further out than I would have liked, very few against the top sides were in the area but I think initially that can be put down to the quality of their defence. First Division North sides should suffer.
Against Qviding Stahl got a brace from the IF position and the attacking moves were beautiful. I don't want to jinx the season by saying I have a good feeling about things but....I have a good feeling about things.
I'm going to make use of the analysis tab this season as well so hopefully I can be better tactically.
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