‘Tis the fifteenth season of my Football Manager 2024 series. It might also be the last.
I was feeling pretty low at the end of the 2037 season, as Nacka FC’s title hopes fell apart and I was left wondering why such a talented team was underachieving. Was it my tactics? Had I broken Ahmed Fouad by giving him the wrong trait? Did I need to sign another goalkeeper?
But after thinking things over, I’ve decided to give myself one last shot at winning the Allsvenskan. With that in mind, it’s time to bring out my wallet and get spending…
ENDGAME
Gröna Dalen is basically a permanent construction site these days. Just as soon as the first expansion of our 2-year-old stadium had been completed, it was already time to expand again!
Demand for Nacka home tickets was still outstripping supply. The board agreed to expand the ground by a further 2,340 seats – taking it to a capacity of 8,241.
Fortunately, there was no need for the builders to move us out. We would continue to play at Gröna Dalen (albeit with a slightly reduced capacity) until construction work was completed in May.
As it is impossible to expand this ground any further, I have no idea what will happen when we next need more ground capacity. Maybe AIK will let us rent the Friends Arena… or perhaps Football Manager will randomly relocate us to Malmö? But that’s a discussion for another time, and perhaps another manager.
In the meantime, we’ve gradually expanded our facilities year-on-year since the European money started rolling in. Although our youth facilities are still a long way off, we now have a training ground worthy of professional footballers. Our youth programme is also one of the best in Sweden – not that we should always expect 5* youth intakes forever more.
We have certainly come a long way since 2024, when Nacka were playing fourth-tier football in front of approximately 82 people and three dogs – and our players were training on cabbage patches.
The transformation of this football club is almost complete. All we need now is to win our first Allsvenskan title… and with a few quality additions, I believe that we can make it happen in 2038.
MAJOR TRANSFERS OUT
| PLAYER | POSITIONS | NEW CLUB | FEE |
| Dianka Sanou | D (R) | PSV | £2.5m (£3.5m) |
| Jean-Claude Ateba | D (L), DM | Como | £2m (£2.5m) |
| Max Pettersson | D (RC) | Coventry | £2m |
| Leonel Grine | AM (C), ST (C) | Concarneau | £250k |
| Daniel Ulvestaf | M/AM (C) | Gjelleråsen | £200k |
| Hazem Reda | DM, M (RC) | Zamalek | £72k (£105k) |
| Yaw Boateng | M (R), AM (RL) | GAIS | £25k |
| Vimoj Muntu Wa Mungu | D/WB (L) | AS Vita Club | Free |
| Jonathan Jildefalk | AM (RLC), ST (C) | Degerfors | Loan |
| Simonas Ralys | D (C) | Trelleborg | Loan |
| Kristo Tamm | GK | IF Karlstad | Loan |
| Karlo Tomić | D (C) | Landskrona | Loan |
| Steve Turner | GK | Landskrona | Loan |
| Sigge Jansson | D (C), DM, M (C) | Retired |
Before freshening up the squad, it was time for a clearout. We said goodbye to several players who either were not good enough for a championship team, did not fit into my system, or simply did not want to be here anymore.
Former captain Daniel Ulvestaf was in the first category, along with left-back Vimoj Muntu Wa Mungu and playmaker Hazem Reda, who went back to their homelands. In the second category were teenagers Jean-Claude Ateba and Dianka Sanou, whom we sold for a combined £4.5million plus some juicy sell-on fees.
Experienced centre-back Max Pettersson was too slow and too argumentative, so I sent him to Coventry. Goalkeeper Steve Turner also wanted out after a difficult first full season at Nacka, and he will spend this year on loan at Landskrona while we decide on his long-term future.
MAJOR TRANSFERS IN
| PLAYER | POSITIONS | PREVIOUS CLUB | FREE |
| Miroslav Veljković | D (C) | Vojvodina | £1.5m (£3m) |
| Joel Pérez | M (C) | Defensor Sporting | £1.2m (£3m) |
| Massien Ghaddari | D (R) | TPS | £300k |
| Richard Kumwenda | M/AM (C) | Green Eagles | £250k (£450k) |
| Jean Mujene | GK | Sandviken | £240k |
| Anderson Koffi | AM (C), ST (C) | Bouaké FC | £75k |
| Filip Aleksovski | M/AM (C) | Vardar | Free |
| Fran Roko Franceković | D (C), DM | Karlovac 1919 | Free |
| Goran Matijasevic | AM (R), ST (C) | Belišće | Free |
| João Pereira | D/WB (L) | Benfica | Loan |
When it comes to incomings, this was our biggest transfer window yet. I had well over £20million available in the transfer kitty, but I ‘only’ spent £3.7million. Then again, that’s still double what anyone else in the Allsvenskan has spent…
Let’s start with the big two. Anyone who’s played Football Manager will know that tall, strong Serbian centre-backs are the stuff of dreams – and I’ve got high hopes for Miroslav Veljković. Miro is only 18, so he will need some time to develop his mental attributes, but he certainly has the determination to become a fearsome stopper.
I am even more excited about 19-year-old Joel Pérez – a silky smooth Uruguayan playmaker, and a bona-fide ‘Wonderkid’. He ranked 28th on this year’s NxGN list and was once wanted by Real Madrid, so you can perhaps understand why I’ve decided to bet the farm on him. This guy is a potential game-changer for us.
Dynamic left-back João Pereira also joins us with high expectations after arriving on loan from Benfica. Despite having never played a top-flight league match, he broke into the Portugal squad just before his 20th birthday and already looks like a potential superstar. I’m not sure how realistic it would be to sign João permanently, but I’d love it if we could.
Of course, we also needed a couple of older defensive heads to replace all the experience we lost this winter. Rwanda international and ‘Les Misérables’ star Jean Mujene will be our new backup goalkeeper, playing mainly in cup matches. Meanwhile, I like the consistency and winning mentality that right-back Massien Ghaddari brings to us from Finland, where he won five consecutive Veikkausliiga titles with TPS.
Lastly, even though this is set to be my final season at Nacka, I’ve still planned ahead by importing a few more exciting talents for the youth team. Perhaps the best of them is the skilful Zambian playmaker Richard Kumwenda, whose surname I’m sure you’ll agree is not even slightly amusing.
SQUAD REPORT
After a winter of upheaval, our team is now almost entirely dominated by ‘newgens’. New right-back Ghaddari and third-choice goalkeeper Elton Fischerström Opančar are the only real players left in a Nacka squad whose average age is just 22-and-a-half. Alan Hansen is livid.
With Ulvestaf’s departure, we needed a new captain… but I decided not to promote vice-captain Ahmed Fouad. I was more impressed by the leadership qualities and Resolute personality of Dragan Ljubenović, who was a very solid addition in defensive midfield last year.
Fouad will continue as vice-skipper, even though Gustavo Venditti‘s arrival last summer means that our record goalscorer is not necessarily a guaranteed starter anymore. The impressive young shotstopper Vladimir Lazarevski is next in line to lead the team if Dragan and Ahmed are both unavailable.
Nacka youth graduate Hamdi Aslan returns to the side as Ljubenović’s new defensive midfield understudy. The energetic 19-year-old developed quite well during a season-long loan at Start, which ended with his team WINNING the Norwegian Cupen – as a second-tier side!
And let me introduce you to Saeid Ranjbar – a Norwegian-bred attacking midfielder who joined us four years ago as a 17-year-old. He’s had a few first-team outings but is now ready to feature more prominently after a couple of loan spells back in Norway. Despite his tender years, Saeid is a Model Citizen and an established member of Iran’s national team, alongside centre-half Mohammad Alipour.
The bookies have really cranked up the pressure – pricing Nacka FC as 12-5 favourites to win the 2038 Allsvenskan. Our ‘official’ media prediction is only 6th, though this was generated at the season changeover in late December, before any of our major signings had arrived.
You can see why we’re now being tipped to do so well. Pérez is already rated as THE best player in the Allsvenskan according to the press, who have also named FIVE Nacka stars in their dream XI. It would have been six, but our big centre-forward Mamadou Diop dropped out after fracturing his toe late in pre-season. He would miss our first two league matches.
As with last year, the best two teams in the league will enter the Champions League qualifiers for 2038/2039. The prospect of another crack at top-tier European football is perhaps the only thing that could convince me to stay at Nacka for just one more season.
EUROPA LEAGUE
After taking five points from our first six Europa League games, Nacka sat outside the playoff places heading into the new year. That meant we realistically needed to win both our final league fixtures to sneak into the knockout phase.
And, well… we pulled it off! Firstly, Fouad banished his penalty demons by converting TWO late spot-kicks to defeat Beşiktaş. We followed that up a fortnight later with a fantastic result in the decisive match at Nantes – winger Rudy Priego clinching a 2-1 victory in the dying moments!
Those victories were enough to lift us into the top 16, meaning that we would be seeded for the Playoff draw. And who would we face in the first knockout round?
Why, it was our Allsvenskan rivals Elfsborg, who beat us home and away in the league last year. We had a point to prove to those little yellow elves…
…and so we proceeded to beat THEM home and away. Admittedly, our defence rode their luck a few times, but we did just enough to sneak a victory in Borås before Diop’s double finished the job at home. Our reward was a reunion with Fulham, who outclassed us in last year’s Conference League Semi Finals before going on to defeat Internazionale in the Final.
I’m afraid vengeance was never really on the cards. Our defence made far too many uncharacteristic mistakes – and Vlad hardly covered himself in glory either – as the Cottagers reeled off a couple of 3-1 wins. We had been dumped out of the Europa League at the last 16.
CUPEN
The Cupen was our last route back into Europe for next season. If we could successfully defend the trophy, we would earn a place in the 2038/2039 Europa League qualifiers. If not, there would be no continental adventures for us this summer.
The Group Stage was a doddle. Västerås, Brommapojkarna and Noel Sergel’s GAIS were all swept aside by an aggregate score of 10-1 – with Ronnie Paulsson leading the way on four goals.
The Quarter Final was more of a struggle, but we eventually broke Kalmar down with an injury-time rally. That set up a thrilling Semi Final at Halmstad, which went all the way to extra-time. We were then awarded a penalty in the 123rd minute, giving Fouad the chance to send us into the Final… and, of course, he fluffed it.
But Ahmed would soon get a shot at redemption. With the shoot-out level at 4-4, Halmstad’s fifth penalty hit the post. Could our Egyptian prince now seal the deal at the second time of asking?
You bet he bloody could!
A year after beating Djurgården on home soil to lift our second Cupen, we now had the opportunity to not only defend our trophy, but also get ourselves back into the Europa League. All we had to do was beat Djurgården on home soil… again.
Are you reading, Mikaelinho? Your Iron Stoves took one hell of a beating!
What a performance, and what an achievement – three Svenska Cupen wins in five seasons! But, of course, there was still one trophy that we really wanted…
ALLSVENSKAN
…and our latest pursuit didn’t get off to a promising start. For the first half-dozen games, we were serving up a load of tripe on the attack and wasting chances like they were going out of fashion. The less said about our defending, the better.
After a couple of unconvincing wins over Brommapojkarna and newcomers Oskarshamn, we hit a real rough patch that began on my birthday – a 1-1 draw at home to Kalmar. My presents were THREE injuries in the first half, and then a red card from Ljubenović in the second.
How thoughtful, Dragan. Thank you.
Having taken just two points from four matches, we were flailing in 9th place and already losing ground on the early frontrunners. I made some tactical tweaks to try and improve our creativity and productivity…
…and boy, did they make a huge difference. We won FIVE matches in a row – including back-to-back home demolitions of defending champions Malmö and league leaders Djurgården.
I’m so sorry, Mika. (I’m not sorry at all.)
Unfortunately, the winning streak ended in our last league match before the World Cup break. Lazarevski had the worst performance of his Nacka career as a ruthless Elfsborg team beat us 2-1 – and they also had two more goals disallowed for offside.
That meant we missed the chance to finish this chapter top of the Allsvenskan, though we are only one point behind our Stockholm city rivals Hammarby and Djurgården. Given how devastating we have been going forward in recent games, I’m really starting to fancy our chances of winning the title.
So… what’s changed? Why have we suddenly been playing like potential champions again?
LET’S TALK TACTICS (AGAIN)
This is going to be a long one, but hear me out. After last year’s disastrous attempts to alter a winning formula, I switched back to a version of the 4-3-3 tactic that took us to within one point of the league title in 2036.
In terms of specific changes, I wanted to focus on the player on the left side of our central midfield. I was satisfied with the stability that a basic Defensive Midfielder brought to the tactic, while the Central Midfielder/Mezzala on the right side could provide plenty of danger and endeavour.
Late last season, I tried a Box-To-Box Midfielder, which roams from their position. A Mezzala naturally roams as well, and I also instructed my Deep Lying Forward to roam, so that they could find space more easily and be more involved in build-up play. Having THREE different players roaming from their position is a recipe for chaos and disaster.
Trying out other roles didn’t work either. A Carrilero provides good wide defensive cover for a marauding Wing Back but offers little penetration, while a Ball-Winning Midfielder collects yellow cards like I used to collect Panini stickers. One thing I definitely wanted in this tactic was a dedicated playmaker.
Back in 2036, we had Denis Fleckner playing as a Deep Lying Playmaker – a role that I felt would suit both him and Pérez to the ground. As you will have already gathered, early results were far from encouraging. The DLP was drifting too deep and not linking well with the Inside Forward, who would often be isolated.
Neither of the other central midfield playmaker roles worked for me. The Roaming Playmaker – as the name suggests – roams across the pitch, and the Advanced Playmaker doesn’t provide much in the way of defensive cover. And as Pérez has the ‘Comes Deep To Get Ball’ trait, he would not be well-suited to either role anyway.
So, after once again consulting with the tactical experts on the Sports Interactive forums, I decided to create my own playmaker role. It’s a basic Central Midfielder on Support, just with some custom personal instructions.
Specifically, I want my ‘playmaker’ to take more risks and attempt more direct passes. Using Pérez as an example, he has the excellent passing ability, technique and decision-making that you need to penetrate a tough defence. Joel will still naturally drop deep, but his movement will at least be a bit more fluid than if he was just a static DLP.
Changing this one role has already made a huge difference. In our last six league matches, we’ve been creating more high-quality chances AND we’ve been hitting the target with them more regularly. Those heavy defeats we inflicted on Malmö and Djurgården showed just how devastating we could be if we just get everything right.
Of course, I’m not naive enough to assume that this tactic will steamroller everyone else in the second half of the season now. After all, we did lose 2-1 to Elfsborg.
I still feel that I could get the Inside Forward more involved, and that perhaps changing them from Attack to Support would help with that. It could also encourage our left-back to bomb further forward and provide more of a threat.
But after years and years of constantly tinkering my 4-3-3, it finally feels like we’ve hit upon a winning formula. We have the 2nd-highest xG and the 2nd-lowest xGA in the league, we’re hitting the target with around 47% of our shots, and we’re also starting to boss possession in most of our matches.
This is a team that believes it can win the title. If we can continue this impressive form over the summer and autumn, who would bet against us?
After a promising start, can Nacka kick on after the summer break – and bring the Allsvenskan title to Gröna Dalen? Join me again next week!
Fuller FM 