Hey everyone, and welcome back to the story! Some good news, the new computer is up and running, whey :). So, this means faster and more frequent updates (well, for the most part anyway). Last time I left you then, we had just crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Arsenal while bringing in some talent that will hopefully move the club forward. Lets get started..
First up then, as ever, are the results of the league:
Perfect. You wont find a happier manager in Sweden right now and its all down the performance of my BOIS. An absolute sea of green for the league fixtures with huge wins and great performances everywhere you look. My personal highlights were the 7-0 hammering of Öster and the two 6-0 demolitions of Djurgården both home and away! Lecomte has been in great form as ever too, 29 goals in 22 games for the young Frenchman, along with a record 20 assists. An absolute legend of a player, just hope he continues this form. On for the first 100% season in Varbergs BOIS history? Well with 8 games left, I wouldn’t bet against us :D. The table as it stands:
Amassing 66 points from 22 games, with a goal difference of +65! Brilliant :)
Now onto the results of the cup run:
Now, you might think that it was a pretty straight forward run, and for the most part you would be right. Göteborg and Ljungskile were easily despatched 4-2 and 4-0 respectively with my youth/fringe team on fire! You wont be surprised to know though that it was Adam Lecomte with all but one of the goals (the other being an own goal).
Quarter final time came and I was pretty confident against Gröndal as you can imagine. They are in the premier league, but they have only just got promoted and lie near the bottom currently. But, I clicked on the ‘Team selection’ as usual and found this..
Umm.. Yep. Only 13 players of the squad left as they were all on international duty, and the main thing.. NO KEEPER! Couldn’t even get one of my U19’s to act as cover because the players had to be registered. Luckily, and I say that with great emphasis, Storgaard only had to stand there for the most part as they had two shots on target (both being goals), as we dominated possession throughout to clinch 4 goals with a very average squad. Degafors next, in the First Division. Should be though to the final again!
Phew! Now, onto all things Europe! It was Champions League qualifiers time and as ever, we were fighting to get into those group stages.. First up to play, was Northern Irish side Crusaders. First leg was away from home:
Lecomte and Olsson with the goals either side of the half to seal the win and a good advantage going into the home leg. Although, Bastos was injured to 4-5 weeks. He is getting injured all the time at the moment, and I rarely get to play him. Might have to offload him in the winter!
Easily done. 4-1 on the night, 6-1 on aggregate and we sailed through to the next round against Finnish side HJK. Four different scorers on the night and we outclassed them in many respects. Was a young team out that night too, and they didn’t disappoint either with my young partnership of Huarte and Belyakov on the score sheet that night.
So, HJK. Faced them before in these rounds so I was pretty confident going into the first leg away from home:
Haha, a double dose of penalties from Ravlo sealed another 2-0 away win. But would it continue at home?
Certainly did. A huge 6-0 win saw us smash through to the group stages of the Champions League for the 9th season running! No problem with these play-offs. (Ana, you should take a leaf out of our book ;)). A brace from both Lecomte and Svensson after an early Belyakov strike sent us on our way. The draw came though and this was our group for 2026:
Inter Milan
Varbergs BOIS
Fenerbahçe
Genk
Got to say, that certainly isn’t a bad draw. Shouldn’t have the problems of last year and maybe even challenge Inter for that top spot? Fingers crossed :D
You’ll also be glad to know that because of our coefficient.. We go into the group stages automatically next year! Happy days.
Next up, transfers. My favourite part, and I couldn’t resist dipping into the transfer market yet again! ;).
Did offload a couple of players so ill take you though those first:
Dudu
As you might remember, I took Dudu in for free in the winter. I was always looking to sell him on as he was never going to challenge for a spot in my midfield, was on ridiculously high wages and was always deteriorating. Did try him out for a bit in midfield, but he wasn’t performing too great so a nice £3m profit was a bonus when I offered him to clubs in July. Do have to pay £6k p/w of his salary though..
Viktor Selmer
Been at the club since 2017 and has been my first choice full back for many years. Contract was ending in December so when Betis came calling, he only had one thing in his mind. Sad to see him leave, but at the end of the day he isn’t good enough for the squad now.
Onto my new signing then, and there is only one that I obtained in this transfer window:
Louis Taylor
Freebie! He has great mental, physical and creative skills for a 23 year old. Couldnt resist when I found him, and will retrain him to play on the right wing. Although his pace isnt brilliant, his crossing ability is something we might just need in the side.
Lastly then, i’d like to reintrouce you to our signings from the previous transfer windows that came in July! Denis Belyakov and Paulo :)
Denis Belyakov — Aged 17
Denis Belyakov — Aged 18
My new star striker, obtained for a cool £3.2m under a year ago from Kyiv. Will be partnering Lecomte before too long. Over this period he has had some notable changes to his attributes. The 19 finishing and 15 composure really set him off as a brilliant wonderkid. Hopefully he can prove himself at the club and improve even further.
Paulo — Aged 16
Paulo — Aged 18
If you can remember that far back, I obtained Paulo for £1.7m from Brazilian side Cruzeiro. From the looks of it, he has improved a little. Especially in terms of his mental attributes. Hopefully he can improve further, and much faster when he is fully fit again!
Go to the next page for the world cup adventure with Uruguay…
Stromson
25 мая, 2011 at 01:39
I couldn’t help but laugh at that «half my squad is travelling!» image. Still, impressive that you managed to get through with a midfielder between the sticks! Great league results as always, and I hope you’ll be able to pull out that undefeated season (if you draw the last game, you can blame me). Damn shame about Uruguay, but Spain was never a realistic win.
Excessive
25 мая, 2011 at 08:53
Haha, your not the only one.. Luckily we managed to get passed that!
I will do mate, you always seem to add a dose of bad luck to things ;).
Only joking..
Yeah it was a shame, but Uruguay never had the quality in the first place unfortunately.. Wanted to get a better job but the big nations weren’t letting me in :(
David Wiggins
25 мая, 2011 at 03:05
I still think you should hold out for the Sweden job! Hopefully that will help you acquire home grown players.
Glad to see the unbeaten run still going! How many games is that now?
Excessive
25 мая, 2011 at 08:57
Alright Dave, where have you been hiding?;)
Sounds like a good idea, but the Sweden squad is awful I have to say.. But the home grown players should be a benefit! Note, all of the players aren’t Home Grown.. I know. The Swedish first team keeper was on a free but I decided against getting him as he wasn’t considered home grown for the rule..
Unbeaten run is close to 170 games now I think :D
Johnny Karp
25 мая, 2011 at 07:52
You definitely had a much better CL draw this time, you should be finishing second in that group easily and maybe even push Inter for that top spot. As for Uruguay, you did well to qualify from that group but Spain were a much too tough nut to crack. Good luck in the Champions League, I’m looking forward to the next update!
P.S.: Congrats on the new PC, you must be very happy! :)
Excessive
25 мая, 2011 at 09:01
Thanks Johnny!
Yeah it does look like a better draw.. With any look, our lads should sail through.
Unfortunately so, was gutted when I saw the draw for the second round as I knew Spain were favourites. Can’t complain, we lost to the eventual winners in the end.
You have no idea.. Runs so smooth! I’m chuffed to bits :D
Darren Smith
25 мая, 2011 at 12:01
Great form in the League Jake and those new signings look great. I wish my game would produce English regens like yours. Also looking at how much those regens have improved already, they could be world class inside of 5 years. Great work and unlucky with Uruguay, leaving was the best thing to do, but you did well until an unlucky draw in the Second Round.
Excessive
25 мая, 2011 at 12:41
Cheers Darren!
Your not the only one mate. My youth don’t even the potential to make decent Prem players! Hope your right though mate, have high hopes for Belyakov especially.
Yeah, it wasn’t too bad but your right in that I needed to leave. Their squad was aging and there were no real oustanding players coming through..
Sibo
25 мая, 2011 at 14:46
Well done Jake:
Brilliant work and well done in the league, I hope you will go far in the Champion’s League! Unlucky with Uruguay but hopefully you will get back into international management and get some succes with another team! :D
Excessive
25 мая, 2011 at 14:58
Thanks Sibo, I hope so too!
Been a long time coming but I think we have the squad to progress further than before. Fingers crossed :D
CsAtlantis
25 мая, 2011 at 15:04
Haha Jake you ran into the same problem as me, though luckily the Barclays Premier League, despite all those work permit issues, does not require U20 players to be registered to play so I still found a goalkeeper to play
Luckily you won the match (I won my match too), Denis looks really impressive, should be capable of banging in the goals (not bad in the air too :D)
That’s a pretty good Champions League draw you got, you should be able to press on to the next round, just might want to look out for Fenerbahce, they might have a very good team
What was your Uruguay team trying to do in the first match, that’s a lot of bookings :P considering your team won pretty easily
You were somewhat unlucky being drawn against the team that went on to win the World Cup, maybe you’ll have better luck with another team, try checking on Mexico, they produced some great regens in my save
Excessive
25 мая, 2011 at 15:31
Haha! Lucky you :).
Thanks CS, yeah absolutely. I think Denis is a fantastic talent and I hope he flourishes and reaches his potential. Might just see him turn into a regular striker in a couple of years time.
Fenerbahce don’t look too bad though, with couple of fantastic regens as you say, however I think we have the squad to do one over on them this time! They are 3rd seed and won’t be taken as mugs that’s for sure :)
I know?! Dirty. Might have overdone it with my aggressive tactic ;).
Was a little unlucky your right, but it’s always going to be tough whoever we got.. But I will be looking to get back on the bandwagon. Hopefully with more success too!
Sears
25 мая, 2011 at 15:41
You were unlucky to be knocked out so early in the WC, but Spain are amazing! I’m 100% sure you can finish the league campaign with maximum points, that would be an phenomenal achievement. Good luck!
Excessive
25 мая, 2011 at 16:01
Thanks Sears!
Mmhh, unfortuantely for me they are. Oh well, can always apply for another national job :). I hope so mate, my BOIS are on fire at the moment and it looks as though nothing can stop us!
Laxeyman
25 мая, 2011 at 16:20
Brilliant league form Excessive, your team completely dominate the Swedish league, and hopefully you can take that form into the Champions League. Unlucky with Uruguay, but you did well to get them that far. Good luck in the CL!
Excessive
25 мая, 2011 at 23:38
Thanks Laxey :)
Ana Garcia
25 мая, 2011 at 23:00
Hola Jake!
Can I have your secret to winning in playoff’s please!! :)
Good group and a great chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, domestically and its business as usual! Nice to see it all green!
You did really well with Uruguay, losing to the eventual winners and only by a goal. Am glad Spain won though! :)
As always good luck!
Excessive
25 мая, 2011 at 23:40
Hey Ana,
Haha well.. My obvious secret is playing my midfielder as a keeper. Only joking ;)
I hope so, we have a great chance this season to progress further