Malmö FF – Not exactly to plan..

Hey everyone, welcome back to Malmö!

Last update I took over the sorry looking side from the south of Sweden and managed with what limited resources I had, to pull them out of the clutches of relegation into mid-table safety. Thankfully, it was a new year where I could start to build up the club with the players I wanted, as well as getting some well needed ‘Home Grown Players’ so I could have a bench. However, for whatever reason it really didn’t go to plan. I don’t know what it was but the players were just not pulling their weight..?

As you can see from the screenshot above, the first 7 games were not pretty. It just felt like we had no presence upfront, no-one that could finish a team off?! The only one who was scoring for us was my (pretty average..) right attacking midfielder Simon Backbom who managed to grab three in the space of seven games.

This left us fighting a gruelling battle with the teams around us to avoid the relegation places. Not exactly what I had imagined when I started the adventure but I guess it makes it all the more difficult. Anyway at this point I introduced my wonderkid striker Viktor Eriksson (because lets face it, we needed some talent upfront), and I changed the tactic. In all fairness I knew the impact a new tactic could have on the squad but at this stage I really was clutching at straws. I went more attacking and hoped for a change in fortune..

Our first two wins! Finally some major points on the board.. Gonzalez and Rios stole the show against both sides, bagging all but one of the goals over the two matches. I was so happy that it paid off, I mean it could have gone either way. Next up was Varberg BOIS and I really hoped that we could take this momentum into the game and show my old side what we were made of..!

Ehh..? Well that was a huge disappointment. Not only were we completely bossed out of the game on the night, but I got to see the squad that I had built up completely humiliate me. Excellent. With any luck, we should have the last laugh but I guess only time will tell ;)

Anyway, here are the rest of the scores until the opening of the summer transfer window:

Starting and ending with wins, but a couple of narrow losses really hurt either side of the game against GAIS. Star player over this period of games has to be Viktor Eriksson. I couldn’t believe that at his tender age, he could be leading a premier league front-line! He scored three in the period, one of which was a ‘Goal of the Season’ contender for me.. (Click here to view the Goal), it really is worth watching. Oddly, he wasn’t our topscorer either! That went to our centre back Soren Daucke who managed to bag 4, all from corners.

A little look at the league table showed us that we were right in the thick of things at the bottom of the league:

Luckily there was some good that came out of the near-disastrous start to the campaign, and that was the league cup! We had a sketchy start against IK Sirius where the game went to penalties after a thrilling 2-2 draw at the end of extra time. I was a little worried when Gunnar Leo missed the second spot kick, but two shots over the bar for the away side made sure we went through to the 4th round against Kalmar FF. Zero to Hero in this one as it was Gunnar Leo who managed to grab a brace in a 2-1 win to see us fly into the Quarter Finals against Norrköping.

I have to admit though, that I went a little crazy in the transfer market and pulled in talent that I neither needed and in some cases, couldn’t really afford..

Gabin Duhamel

Ok, he looks good right? But he should do really, at a massive cost of £6M! In all fairness, I was very desperate for a decent striker but this was probably a move that I wouldn’t have even tried if we hadn’t had such a poor start. You never know, he could become the next Lecomte but I’m questioning whether this was a good eye or very bad money management. I’m thinking the latter…

I did need more strength in depth, and I brought in three frees that took my fancy:

All areas get another player! I thought I needed some experience due to the lack of leadership on the team, so hopefully these three will provide that for me. Also in the midst there is another ‘Homegrowner’ so I have got back-up for my bench at the very least ;)

Anyway that’s your lot for Malmö for today, come back next update when ill be taking you through the end of the season in which I hope that the lads can pull together and get a respectable place in the Allsvenskan.

Till next time then, Hej då :D