TheLFCFan - Cheers pal; the hard work starts now though for Björn!
Phew. That was close! Thankfully Bjorn has done just about enough to keep the club up. A fantastic achievement given where the club was when he arrived. I think it's only fair he was given the job on a permanent basis and good for him for acknowledging the job he has done - it certainly wasn't an easy one, by any stretch of the imagination.
ScottT - Having gone through that and survived, you'd be crazy not to want more wouldn't you!
Unsurprising that a lot of players are leaving for the upcoming season given that they have shown that they can barely compete at this level. However, it would be more catastrophic if you failed to secure new signings to replace these players as I know is a problem in the Swedish lower tiers. Looking forward to see how you go from here!
Jack - The squad needed to be taken apart and put back together again. A lot of them weren't good enough to be at this level. A lot of new additions to be made!
2019 Preseason
After narrowly avoiding the drop last season, Björn felt that it was imperative to shake up the squad. He had ambitions to do more than just survive this season, he wanted to start building towards having a team in place that could push for promotion sooner rather than later. He knew that the 2019 season would be to soon to aim so high, after all, they're one of the favorites for the drop again. Björn had already let 12 players leave the club in the build up to the new season, and they needed to be replaced by players who would not only be ready for another difficult season, but would also be able to develop and help progress the team towards promotion the following season. Many hours were spent with the clubs director of football Krister Taivalsaari, identifying targets and bringing them into the club. During these discussions, not only were transfer targets discussed, but new additions to the backroom staff were drafted in also. Yes they were still an amateur side, but the initial building blocks were being put into place to take this club places beyond their wildest dreams. An early start to preseason was also scheduled, so that the team could arrive in the best possible way for the season ahead. This also allowed for all the new faces within the club to integrate, and become familiar with working with one another. So without further ado, lets introduce the new signings at Gällivare Malmbergets FF.
Piero De Luca - 17 Year Old Ball Winning Midfielder
Jonathan Sköld - 17 Year Old Goalkeeper
Haris Mohlin - 17 Year Old Central Midfielder
Gustav Karlberg - 17 Year Old Right Winger
Tommy Jonsson - 17 Year Old Central Midfielder
Metin Karsli - 17 Year Old Central Midfielder
Martin Andersson - 17 Year Old Right Back
Joel Brolin - 17 Year Old Right Winger
Roland Ekström - 17 Year Old Left Winger
Adam Gustavsson - 17 Year Old Striker
Peter Nordin - 17 Year Old Central Midfielder
Martin Jönsson - 17 Year Old Left Back
After all these new players were added to the first team setup; preseason fixtures were scheduled every four or five days in order to prepare the squad for the physical demands that come with playing in the Swedish Second Division Norrland league. The results proved to be mostly positive as well; the team won 5 of the 9 games, drawing twice and losing twice.
Once again choosing youth to assemble your side I see. A fair few wins in your bulky preseason schedule as well! I’m sure feeling positive about this one!
Jack - The clubs still struggling to attract players that aren't regens. Hopefully they'll be enough to ensure a respectable finish this season. However, the club needs to turn semi-pro if its really going to progress.
A huge emphasis on bringing in young talent, but as you've explained, there's a simple reason behind it. Unfortunately, until there has been improvement on the pitch, it will be difficult to attract players to the club - alongside the fact you're in a lowly division, to begin with. Hopefully Bjorn and his squad of youth can pull up a few trees and get a few results on the board. That would certainly catch the eye of a few more senior players, which would be a welcome bonus.
Predicted Finish:
Gällivare Staff List 2019:
- Club Chairman - Gerd Siverhall
- Director of Football - Krister Taivalsaari
- Manager - Björn Johansso
- Assistant Manager - Andreas Fedel
- Head of Youth Development - Johan Nordström
- Goalkeeper Coach - Stefan Ryngmark
- First Team Coach - Jimmy Strinäs
- Head Physio - Andreas Olsson
- Physio - Johan Zingmark
- Chief Scout - Ola Ask
- Scout - Alfred Hörnberg
ScottT - Exactly; until we start making waves and becoming and attractive option for senior players, youth is going to be the go to for this team.
Saturday 13th April 2019
It's five days away from the opening fixture of the 2019 Swedish Second Division Norrland League; Björn and the rest of his coaching staff are running through some positional drills with the first team squad. They face Skellefteå FF away from home in their opening fixture; a tricky start to the new campaign. Skellefteå were relegated last season and will be looking to make a speedy recovery back to the Swedish First Division. Whilst the team are running through their drills; Björn is in conversation with club chairman Gerd Siverhall..
G.Siverhall "I just wanted to wish you look for the season ahead Björn. Many are predicting a difficult season ahead for us".
B.Johansson "Its going to be tough, but I feel as though the team is a lot stronger than it was previously. I know we're heavily reliant on youngsters, but I feel as though these have got enough about them for us to easily remain in the league this season".
G.Siverhall "That's good to hear. Listen; I and the other board members have decided to fund a coaching course for you. We're putting our trust into you, and we feel as though you can really take us places. I know its not what you initially wanted from us, but its a start. We'll consider turning the team semi-professional if we become stronger, so that we're not running a huge risk financially".
B.Johansson "Thank you; and I appreciate that, but we really need to consider stepping up the level at which we operate sooner rather than later. Its hard enough to bring players in as it is. If we could offer some sort of financial package, then we would be able to put a stronger squad together. Then many of the current first team could go towards developing our under nineteens squad. That would also allow them to develop better instead of just being thrust into the cauldron".
G.Siverhall "We'll review this at the end of season I promise. Right now I can't say make any promises financially because we're still trying to sort out the mess from the end of last season. He's wanting more compensation than we can afford to offer. Plus we're still trying to stay under the radar with this, so that costs as well to keep things quiet".
B.Johansson "Okay but at the end of the season I want to see progress towards us moving to a semi-pro basis".
G.Siverhall "Like I said; we'll speak then about it. I'll see you on Wednesday before the team coach sets off for the game. See you then".
Björn new that he was pushing to hard for the squad to progress to quickly. He also new that Gerd had only put forward to cover the coaching course fee to try and keep him sweet. Gerd knows that within Björn the club has a really promising manager, and that offering these small rewards could help to keep him at the club. However; Björn knows the value that he brings to the club, and if they don't offer him what he wants, he could easily move to a club more willing to match his ambition. The two have a mutual respect for one another through the many years that they have worked within the construction industry together. In football though; you evolve or you get left behind.
It's five days away from the opening fixture of the 2019 Swedish Second Division Norrland League; Björn and the rest of his coaching staff are running through some positional drills with the first team squad. They face Skellefteå FF away from home in their opening fixture; a tricky start to the new campaign. Skellefteå were relegated last season and will be looking to make a speedy recovery back to the Swedish First Division. Whilst the team are running through their drills; Björn is in conversation with club chairman Gerd Siverhall..
G.Siverhall "I just wanted to wish you look for the season ahead Björn. Many are predicting a difficult season ahead for us".
B.Johansson "Its going to be tough, but I feel as though the team is a lot stronger than it was previously. I know we're heavily reliant on youngsters, but I feel as though these have got enough about them for us to easily remain in the league this season".
G.Siverhall "That's good to hear. Listen; I and the other board members have decided to fund a coaching course for you. We're putting our trust into you, and we feel as though you can really take us places. I know its not what you initially wanted from us, but its a start. We'll consider turning the team semi-professional if we become stronger, so that we're not running a huge risk financially".
B.Johansson "Thank you; and I appreciate that, but we really need to consider stepping up the level at which we operate sooner rather than later. Its hard enough to bring players in as it is. If we could offer some sort of financial package, then we would be able to put a stronger squad together. Then many of the current first team could go towards developing our under nineteens squad. That would also allow them to develop better instead of just being thrust into the cauldron".
G.Siverhall "We'll review this at the end of season I promise. Right now I can't say make any promises financially because we're still trying to sort out the mess from the end of last season. He's wanting more compensation than we can afford to offer. Plus we're still trying to stay under the radar with this, so that costs as well to keep things quiet".
B.Johansson "Okay but at the end of the season I want to see progress towards us moving to a semi-pro basis".
G.Siverhall "Like I said; we'll speak then about it. I'll see you on Wednesday before the team coach sets off for the game. See you then".
Björn new that he was pushing to hard for the squad to progress to quickly. He also new that Gerd had only put forward to cover the coaching course fee to try and keep him sweet. Gerd knows that within Björn the club has a really promising manager, and that offering these small rewards could help to keep him at the club. However; Björn knows the value that he brings to the club, and if they don't offer him what he wants, he could easily move to a club more willing to match his ambition. The two have a mutual respect for one another through the many years that they have worked within the construction industry together. In football though; you evolve or you get left behind.
It’s nice to see the board investing in their manager this year with the training course ahead of what could be a troubling season. Like Johansson said though, moving to semi-pro will be a huge statement of intent but with that comes the financial obligations of such a move.
The board seem to be supporting Bjorn the best they can now, which is a massive plus for him and the club. I'm hopeful that this season can prove to be a positive one given their promise that a good season will merit a potential opportunity of exercising the option to become a semi-professional side. This would significantly aid the club in the future going forward. But for the time being, we'll have to trust youth and Bjorn's ability to get the most out of them.
It is certainly important for the club to turn Semi-Pro in the near future. The young signings are great but as soon as they show any sign of real development and quality teams will offer them payment. Very unsustainable way to run so hopefully it can be sorted in the near future.
You are reading "Gällivare Malmbergets FF - Swede Dreams Are Made Of This".
