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The recent comings and goings at IFK has seen the quality of the squad increase and the competition for a place in Mikael Stahre’s starting line-up increase. At the end of last season, iFKtaktik said it would like to see the following starting eleven if the personnel stayed the same as 2011:

Dahlin

Salomonsson Dyrestam Jonsson Logi(or new)

Haglund Allansson

Barkroth Sobralense Soder

Hysen

Of that starting line-up only Niklas Barkroth has left the club but it is the players that have been bought in which adds to the selection dilemma facing Mikael Stahre. Assuming no more players are bought in and going on what we have seen in the pre-season training and matches so far, we think it is fair to say that the defence will begin as follows; partly due to a lack of defensive numbers.

Alvbåge

Salomonsson Waehler Jonsson Dyrestam

Alvbåge beating off Dahlin’s fight for the gk spot, Salomonsson taking over from Adam Johansson at right back with Dyrestam getting the nod over Logi at left back. The experienced duo of new signing Waehler and Jonsson in the centre. The defence looks solid with an experience middle 2 and gk and youthful, dynamic energy on the flanks. The only worries could be the lack of pace at centre-half and the lack of a left-footer at left back.

The defence looks fairly easy to predict; predicting a midfield and forward line however could be much more difficult with a number of players vying for each spot. Much will depend on the formation Stahre intends to use and how he intends to use the new signings. Are any player dead certs in the midfield or forward line? At this point, I would say only 2: the captain and goalgetter, Tobias Hysen will play up front and Philip Haglund will anchor our midfield. How will the others spots around these 2 be filled? I expect Stahre to go for experience, knowledge and know how and start with Selakovic on the right hand side(with the hope that he forges a similar partnership with Salomonsson as he did with Adam Johansson). I would love to say that Joel Allansson will continue to get the chance in his favoured central midfield position but again i think Stahre will plump for know how and go with new signing Farnerud to sit alongside Haglund. Most thought Stahre would play with a front 2 but I can’t see either of Soder or Stiller starting the season alongside Hysen. This means he will either go with a second striker in the shape of Sobralense or Gerzic or a 3rd midfielder. I think he will go with Gerzic in a half/half role, floating somewhere between midfield and the forward line depending on the game. Lastly, the left hand side. Will Stahre fit Allansson in here? Or will he go with one of the mercurial but unpredictable talents of Sobralense or Sana. I think(as with the 2nd striker/3rd defender position) this will depend on the game but Sobralense will more often than not get the nod to start there with license to drift in field. So here is how I think IFK will start the season:

Alvbåge

Salomonsson Waehler Jonsson Dyrestam

Haglund Farnerud

Selakovic Gerzic Sobralense

Hysen

I am trying to get inside Stahre’s head and go on what we have seen so far in pre-season. However, if I was to take out the team I would like to see, i would go slightly different. Firstly, due to being a believer in giving youth a chance and believing that IFK are a club that always give talented young players a chance and secondly, because I am a big believer in playing football the right way-exciting, attacking football. I have discounted the young duo of Azulay, Sam Larsson and DMK-although I would like to see them given a chance I think it will be a little while before they are given that proper chance, with Stahre needing time to find his feet at the club. So iFKtaktik’s starting eleven for 2012 using the current squad would be:

Dahlin

Salomonsson Waehler Jonsson Dyrestam

Allanson Farnerud

Sana(Sobralense) Gerzic Soder

Hysen

A few comments:

Dahlin gets my pick in goal; after his impressive 2011 season he should be given the chance to continue his growth. I would like to put Dyrestam at centre half but a lack of options at left back forces my hand. Haglund has been omitted in favour of the more technical Farnerud who would play alongside Allansson-another youngster given the chance to continue his growth. Sana or Sobralense would play alongside Gerzic and Soder in a fluid attacking trident looking to create and feed Hysen up top. I have stuck by Soder as I believe in his talent and hope he finds his best form given a run of games. The front 6 would be a very technical and creative bunch allowing the team to play progressive passing football.

That is my opinion, what is yours? Leave a comment with your opinions on the first 11 and how you would have the team line up if you were the manager.

 

 

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IFK were the big talking point throughout the Swedish ‘Silly Season’ with fans, media and opposition alike discussing possible transfer targets for the new look Blåvitt management team led by Mikael Stahre. A number of high-profile names were dicussed, debated and discussed some more with everyone having an opinion on which players were needed to make IFK a force to be reckoned with in the Allsvenskan again.

After a quiet start to the transfer period, Håkan Mild and Mikael Stahre surprised, shocked and delighted in equal measures with their transfer activity. Some of the departures were expected as Mikael Stahre looked to trimline his squad and cut down the club’s wage bill. Stahre was honest abouth the areas he wanted to strengthen but few imagined the names he would sign and few imagined that the club would invest so much. The majority of IFK fans are delighted by the club’s transfer activity whilst the media has done it’s usual job of ramping up the pressure on the club, labelling IFK ‘Real Göteborg’, comparing IFK’s spending to that of the mighty Real Madrid. Time will tell as to whether the transfers will be a success and make IFK a title-challenger but no-one can doubt that Håkan Mild, Mikalel Stahre and IFK Göteborg are ‘all in’ for the 2012 Allsvenskan.

ARRIVALS

John Alvbåge – agreed his Bosman transfer from Örebro before the end of last season. The experienced Swedish international goalkeeper arrives for his second spell at the club to compete with the young Erik Dahlin for the number 1 spot in 2012.

Kjetil Waehler – a signing that came somewhat out of the blue, the veteran centre-half arrives at IFK to stabilise the defence and offer determination, experience and above all, organisational skills. Players, staff and fans are already excited and convinced by the Norwegian international.

Nordin Gerzic – the talented, ball-playing midfielder arrives from Örebro looking to push his career onto the next level. Can be used across the midfield or behind the striker(s), Gerzic will add touch and ability to an already talented midfield.

Pontus Farnerud – many thought IFK’s transfer dealings were finished when Gerzic joined but Mild had one last ‘transfer bomb’. Midfielder Farnerud arrives at the club after spells at Monaco and Sporting Lisbon. Arguably one of the most talented Swedish midfielders of his generation.

Daniel Sobralense – another Bosman signing confirmed before the season, the enigmatic Brazilian offers guile, cunning and silky skills and can be a match winner on his day.

DEPARTURES

Niklas Bärkroth – arguably the biggest surprise was the late departure of the flying youngster. he will join UD Leiria in Portugal on loan with Benfica(!) having the option to sign the speedster after the loan concludes. All at IFK hope the move turns out positively for Niklas.

Elmar Bjarnason – Stahre made it clear that the Icelandic international was not in his plans for 2012. Rumours of a move to Ipswich and Brighton came and went before Bjarnason finally moved to 2nd division Randers in Denmark.

Markus Sandberg – after a disappointing start to 2011, Sandberg lost the number 1 spot to Dahlin. A loan move to Ljungskile will hopefully see the youngster get some first team action and refind his form.

Karl Svensson – the centre half rejoined IFK after spells abroad with Rangers and Caen. he has struggled with form, playing time, illness, injury and personal problems and a move was best for both the player and club. He has rejoined his homeclub Jonköpings Södra.

Pär Ericsson – the forward will spend the season on loan at Mjällby after 2 season of struggles with the blue and whites.

Andres Drugge – Drugge had a poor first season at the club in 2011 and the club decided to cut it’s losses and sold him to local rivals Häcken.

Adam Johansson – the consistent captain decided it was time for a new adventure and found a new club address in the USA with Seattle Sounders. A steady right-back who always gave his best for the club.

Alex Faltsetas & Kamal Mustafa – both were released by the club after failing to get regular first team playing time. Faltsetas has been snapped up by Gefle whilst Mustafa’s new club is still unknown.

Thomas Olsson – fan favourite Olsson retired from football and is now working full time as the assistant youth team manager.

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iFKtaktik took in it’s first sighting of the new Blåvitt regime as we braved the morning cold of Valhalla to check out the team’s last training session of the first week of 2012. Around 50+ supporters took the chance to check out the leadership of Mikael Stahre, armed with thick jackets, gloves, scarves and coffee to battle against the minus temperatures. iFKtaktik opted for a mug of tea and a KitKat whilst taking some notes on what was an interesting training session and interesting peak into the IFK setup for the new season.

Mikael Stahre and the team trained during the month of December before a rest at Christmas was followed by a return to training during week 1 of 2012. The team have been put through their paces with a number of fitness-based sessions during the weeks as well as football-based sessions. After their move into the newly refurbished training complex of Kamratgården during the first few days of January, the team finished off the week with a 90 minute football session and a chance for Stahre and the management team to continue working through the nitty and gritty of how they want the team to play and work. iFKtaktik watched on intrigueinly hoping to get an idea of what Stahre is implementing in the sessions as well as trying to implement in the future.

Let’s start with the practical side of things before we get on to giving our own opinions of the training session, the new regime and 2012. Erik Lund, August Stromberg and Daniel Sobralense were missing from training whilst Jakob johansson and Robin Söder took part in the warm up before continuing their rehab away from the group. Sam Larsson, Jonathan Azulay and David Moberg-Karlsson from the youth team all continued their training with the first team. Karl Svensson has left the club along with Andres Drugge, Marcus Sandberg is now out on loan and youngster Niclas Anderssen is on trial at Ljungskile with IFK still not sure about his future at the club.

The players warmed up with football specific movements and exercises on the move in the penalty box before 5/6 footballs were introduced for the players to get a feel of. The players were to constantly be on the move and then take the ball on the move with their first touch before passing to another player. After 10 minutes warming up without and then with the ball, the players went over to the first football drill. The drill focused on combination play with extra emphasis on taking the ball in movement and quality of passing. 3 lines of players faced another 3 lines of players with the adjacent lines working together. The players were to create an angle to receive a pass before taking 2 touches and passing across to the adjacent line. After a while, a middle player was introduced to add another step onto the combination play with the players free to choose how they combined with each other. The players then merged into 4 lines(2 lines at one side, 2 at the other) with one player in the middle. The players worked in pairs to transport the ball from their side to the other side combining together as well as with the middle man. The final step of the drill was having 2 middle men meaning even more combination play was incorparated. It was instantly recognisable which players were comfortable with Stahre’s instructions of taking the ball on the move and which players struggled. The quality was a bit hit and miss with some good passages of crisp passing followed by a number of poor passes. It marks that a number of players struggled when the emphasis was put on them by Stahre to have more conviction with their passing and take care with each pass.

The training session then went into an attack vs defence drill with the 2 goals and 2 goalkeepers involved. There was an overload of players on the attacking side(ie; 6 attackers vs 4 defenders) with the emphasis being on how the defence solved this problem. The defence was setup with a 3/4 player bacline and 1/2 central midfielder players shielding them. Stahre stopped the exercise regularly to work on the defensive shape with the emphasis being on when to press the ball holder and when not to. The attackers started the exercise on top before the defence got to grips with the challenge and became harder to beat. The players then went into a small sided game in a small area. 4v4 or 5 v5 was played with the emphasis on quick play, hard scrapping and plenty of shots. The tight area made it difficult for any player to really show any quality although there was some good defensive play and the odd flash of attacking quality. The player’s finished with a warm down before exiting the bitter cold of Valhalla for a weekend of rest.

So what of the training? The first thing I will say is that compared to the last training session I saw under Olsson/Rehn, this felt more like a proper football session for proper grown-up professional football players. There was no grey areas in the session, there was nowhere for the players to hide if they didn’t feel 100% and there was no doubt as to what was craved of the players during each exercise and the session as a whole. The quality of the play from the players during the session was mixed and as said earlier, it was obvious that some players struggled to carry out certain instructions and that some players have been in the comfort zone for the last few seasons and struggled when asked to really extend themselves. Other players(most) looked genuinely happy and excited to be challenged during the training and looked eager to listen and learn.

What about individual players? I’ll start on a positive. The two players that stood out for me are 2 players that have come through the academy and seem to be growing with every passing month. Joel Allansson and Mikael Dyrestam were head and shoulders above everyone else with their calmness, clear thinking, technique and most of all, their quality. We should really be excited by these 2 players as they are potentially(and already are) two very fine football players. Haglund and Bjarnasson also impressed and Hysen showed the odd flash of attacking quality. The three young players from the youth team all did well without overly impressing or disappointing. Azulay was the pick of the three with his tenaciousness and crisp passing. He reminds me of a young Matthias Bjärsmyr in that he isn’t the quickest and needs to improve his defensive work but has a calmness and quality about him that makes me think he will be a good player if given the chance. Sam Larsson showed the odd moment of brilliance but looked either shy or slightly tired after a tough training week and didn’t really over-extend himself; he certainly has attacking qualities but is he ready for Allsvenskan football? DMK, as he has become known, showed his best and worst sides. The young Hysen-copy is quick, direct and has a good left foot but lacks an end product and needs to improve his all-round play; he is always a threat though. I don’t want to pick on any players who i thought were under-par or off the boil but I will say that there were a few who looked lethargic and need to show more if they want a starting shirt at the beginning of the season. My last point on individual players is about Tobias Sana. He produced the best piece of training when he dribbled past 2 or 3 players before beautifully chipping the goalkeeper. But that was it from him. He was happy with that piece of quality and seemed to spend the rest of the training happy that he’d scored such a good goal. I want more. I want him to do something productive with the ball more than once every training session as he has unbeleivable qualities as a football player. I hope 2012 is the year he shows his quality on a more regular basis.

Finally, I guess I better get onto my thoughts on the new manager after my first glimpse of him at work. Firstly, it is easy to see that he is fully engaged in the training, full of passion, enthusiasm and energy and knows exactly what he wants from his players and from the session. The first obvious difference between Stahre and the previous regime is that Sthare can be heard throughout the training session barking out orders and giving tips and instructions. He gathered the players toghether as a whole or in small groups or individually to talk to them and get across his message/ideas. The second and biggest obvious difference from the previous regime is that he is not afraid to have a go at the players/a player when he isn’t happy with something. One perfect example of this came in the passing drill. Pär Ericsson hit two consecutive poor passes when Stahre was watching and straight away Stahre shouted “two in a row now Pär”. Simple but effective peice of communication. This leads me onto my next point and another plus point for Stahre; the players are responding to him and his methods. What happened with Pär’s next pass? It was a good one. The player’s seem to genuinely be working hard as a group and listening to what the new manager has to say. Player’s such as Bärkroth, Salomonsson an Haglund weren’t afraid to ask questions about their positioning or what was craved of them and I think that shows that the players are on board. Now, is Mikael Stahre the saviour? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Will the player’s still respond to him if things go pear-shaped? Difficult to say. Will we now in the league because he is our manager? Who knows. But at least for now we can say that the players are responding and judging from the training, the team is going in the right direction. Let’s hope it lasts.

An interesting training session and a good insight into the new regime and the state of the team. As with all pre-season training sessions and matches, it gives more questions than answers. The big question though is are the players and fans are responding to the new manager and optimistic about 2012? Going on this training session, the answer is a definite yes. Let’s hope it continues throughout 2012 and we enjoy a good season.

HEJA IFK!

 

 

 

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

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A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,900 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

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Your votes have been cast, counted and checked and the results are now in of iFKtaktik’s Player Polls 2012.

We asked our readers to select a starting player for each position in the team for 2012 and to then pick a formation. We had hundreds of votes and can now reveal how our readers would like to see IFK line-up in 2012.

FORMATION: 4-4-2

4-4-2 was as expected the overwhelming winner in the formation poll with 4-diamond4-2 and 4-5-1 the only other formations to gather a significant amount of votes. It can be presumed that our readers and IFK’s fans want a return to the club’s traditional formation after a few seasons of differing formations.

LINE-UP(right to left):      Dahlin/Alvbage

Salomonsson     Dyrestam     Jonsson     Valgardsson

Sana       Haglund     Allansson     Sobralense

Soder     Hysen

DEFENCE: You voted recent-signing Emil Sal0monsson to be 2012′s right-back and to succeed the departing Adam Johansson. Johansson received plenty of votes but most expect the captain to leave. A certain Brazilian by the name of Cafu also go 1 vote!

A slight surprise at left-back with Logi Valgardsson being chosen despite a difficult first season. He is still young and it would seem that you feel he has the potential to fill that role. Dyrestam came in second place but he is now seen as more of a left-back. There has been talk of a new left-back coming in and Emil Johansson topped the list of new left-backs you voted for.

Mikael Dyrestam and Hjalmar Jonsson ended the season as the first choice centre-back pairing and you voted them in as next years pairing with Karl Svensson just behind in 3rd place. Hakan Mild has stated publicly that the club is looking for a new, experienced centre-back, so it will be interesting to see who comes in and which player makes way from the starting line-up. Peter Larsson of Copenhagen topped your list of new-signings voted for in that position.

MIDFIELD: The two S’s of Sana and Sobralense won the race to be your wingers next season. Despite an up and down season, fan’s favourite Tobias Sana has shown enough potential to be given more time to develop. The exciting Brazilian can play anywhere across midfield or attack and it will be interesting to see which position he takes up. Interestingly, last seasons top-scorer Tobias Hysen also gathered alot of votes as a winger despite his success up top.

As expected, Philip Haglund and Joel Allansson took your central midfield spots. Haglund has impressed since joining in the summer and Allansson has increasingly impressed since his promotion from the youth-team. The much-maligned Jakob Johansson surprisingly took a large chunk of the votes whilst Elmar Bjarnasson received very little support. As with the centre-back position, Hakan Mild has publicly said the club are looking for a central midfielder-the rumour mill has begun!

ATTACK: Unsurprisingly, you voted for Tobias Hysen and Robin Soder as your front pairing. Hysen is one of the league’s best attackers and Soder is incredibly talented despite his struggles with playing time, form, injuries and confidence. Every IFK fan is hoping next season is the return of Soder. Par Ericsson came in third place but will he stay at the club? Youngster Sam Larsson also received a fair few votes after his impressive performances in the youth team.

Thank you for voting!

iFKtaktik’s 2012 line-up

So we have the reader’s line-up for 2012 clarified; now for our opinion!

FORMATION: 4-2-3-1

As we have continually written on this blog, the formation should fit the players at the team’s disposal and we believe this formation can bring the best out of our midfield and attacking players as well as giving us a strong base at the back; we hope this formatin gives the team a nice balance. The formation is modelled on Mourinho’s Real Madrid with a practical and effective style of football(if not quite of the same level!). A solid gk(Dahlin should be given the chance to continue his impressive form) along with 2 solid centre-backs would allow our full-backs to join in with attacks. We would have a double pivot in midfield with Allansson providing calm and passing ability and Haglund providing hustle, bustle and powerful running. The idea of a double pivot is that in defence they stay close together and provide a screen for the defence; in attack, one gets forward and one stays more defensively(the 2 can alternate).  Our two wingers would be the youthful duo of Soder and Barkroth. They will give the team pace and youthful energy. Barkroth would take on a Theo Walcott role by keeping the width and using his pace to run in behind/run at his defender. We shouldn’t try and make him anything he is not and instead see his fantastic pace as a briliant attacking weapon. Soder would start from the left but would be given license to roam inside and drive inwards with the ball and link up with the forward and attacking midifelder. Their youthful energy would also mean they would give our full-backs defensive cover. New-sining Daniel Sobralense would be the attacking midielder with license to roam and the task of setting the tempo of our attacking play. Not the most disciplined of players, this role would see his defensive tasks be minimal but use his feel for the ball and creative skills to help the team. Tobias Hysen would be the frontman with the task of occupying their defence and of course, scoring goals. We believe Hysen plays better when he is a lone frontman.

LINE UP:                            Dahlin

Salomonsson     Dyrestam     Jonsson/New     New/Valgardsson

Haglund     Alansson

Barkroth                      Sobralense                        Soder

Hysen

What do you think of our line-up?

HEJA IFK!

 

 

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The season’s final competitive game took place on Saturday at a busy Heden where the youth team took on arch-rivals GAIS in the junior DM final. Eijlert Bjorkman’s young charges finished off a fine season in style with a 3-0 win after a fine strike by Chris Mbamba was followed by two cool finished from Efe Yildrim. A successful season for the young team has seen them win their league, get to the semi finals of the Junior SM and now win the Junior DM cup; as well as the involvement in first team squads by the likes of David Moberg-Karlsson, Jonathan Azulay, Niclas Andersen and Mohamed Didzar.

As with the first team, next season will see a change in management at youth team level. Current youth-team assistant, Jens Walemark will take over as head coach and be assisted by ex-player Thomas Olsson. Current head coach, Eijlert Bjorkman has been offered a different role in the club’s youth setup but has not yet made a decision. We can also expect to see some new faces in the youth team next year as some of the older players leave the club with their contracts expiring and no chance of first team football for them at IFK. Hopefully, the club will continue to put it’s trust in the younger players and we will see one or two more of this talented bunch being given an opportunity with the bigger boys!

A great way to end a successful youth team season. Congratulations to Eijlert Bjorkman and his team! The future of the club looks bright!

HEJA IFK!

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IFK took on Norrkoping at the Gamla Ullevi in the season’s final match, hoping to give the fans a glimpse of the team’s potential and end a disappointing 2011 on a high to breathe fresh optimism into the club ahead of a new season and new management.

A typical end of season game was played out by two teams with nothing left to play for and IFK took a comfortable 3-0 victory over a Norrkoping team going through the motions and already thinking about their winter break. A flat first half was enlivened by a wicked free-kick from Emil Salomonsson to give IFK a 1-0 half-time lead. The second half was more eventful and IFK played some decent attacking football. Hannes Stiller set up Tobias Hysen for the second goal and Hysen’s 16th of the season. Emil Salomonsson was impressive dwon the right and his run and cross gave Stiller a simple tap-in to make it 3-0. IFK even had the luxury of a missed Stiller penalty after Hysen was fouled. Salomonsson was IFK’s most impressive performer closely followed by Stiller and Joel Allanson.

The game also marked the end of a management era and the end of a right back era. The management trio of Jonas Olsson, Stefan Rehn and Teddy Oloausson took charge of a game for the final time of their 5 year reign. Their 5 years started brilliantly with the league victory and cup successes but the last couple of seasons have been a disappointment and they make way for the new manager Mikael Stahre. A warm thank you to the management trio from iFKtaktik for all they have done at the club and for bringing the Allsvenskan back to Gothenburg in 2007! The game was the last of Adam Johansson’s time at IFK. The popular and consistent right-back and club captain, has chosen not to renew his expiring contract and will instead seek pastures new with a well-deserved foreign adventure. iFKtaktik would like to wish Adam good luck and thank him for his fantastic service to the club(one of our favourite IFK players!). We hope to see him back in an IFK shirt at some point again in the future.

The match was a bit of a non-entity but it still offered a few clues or next season. So what did we learn from 2011′s final match ahead of the new season?

1. Dahlin deserves to start as the number 1 next season.

Erik Dahlin started the season as second choice goalkeeper but replaced Marcus Sandberg midway through the season and has gone from strength to strength. He has taken his chance with both hands and shown a maturity and level of performance to suggest he can become one of the league’s best goalkeepers. His solidity and commanding displays has given the back four security, he has made very few(if any) major mistakes and pulled off a number of fantastic saves(Malmo at home comes to mind). The signing of the experienced John Alvbage means Dahlin will have a fight on his hands next season to retain the number 1 jersey but after his performances this season he deserves to start the season in possession of the jersey with Alvbage keeping him on his toes and pushing him all the time.

2. Emil Salomonsson will be a real asset next season.

Emil Salomonsson was signed halfway through the season from lowly Halmstad. A quick, hard-working, versatile right-sided player, Salomonsson hasn’t figured that much but has been used in a number of different positions already and shown enough potential to suggest he will be a major force next season. It is thought that he will be Adam Johansson’s replacement next season at right-back and his performance against Norrkoping suggests he could be a good replacement. Although he played as a right-midfielder, Salomonsson showed an appetite to help defensively as well as showing his pace and drive when running from deep down the flank. Arguably quicker and better attacking-wise than the departing Johansson, can he be as consistent and defensively sound and continue where Adam has left off?

3. Joel Allansson, Mikael Dyrestam and Tobias Sana deserve the time and chance to grow.

Young Joel Allansson has slowly become more prominent in the first team picture this season and has grown with every game played. His passing, technical ability and courage to always ask for the ball has added an extra option to the team’s midfield. Mikael Dyrestam recovered from his injury to originally take the left-back position before finally getting his chance in the centre of defence. His form has slowly recovered and despite one or two mistakes, he has been a consistent figure over the last 10 games. Tobias Sana started the season as a first choice player but his ineffectual performances has seen him flit in and out of the team; a player easy on the eye but lacking that killer pass/cross/finish. All three players are young, technically brilliant, potentially future national team players but far from the finished article. Their performances have, and will be, up and down but they are the future of the football club and need to be given time to grow and fulfil their potential.

4. Hannes Stiller can once again be a useful asset next season.

Hannes Stiller spent the first half of 2011 sat on the substitutes bench and the second half of the season playing alongside Tobias Hysen up front and scoring goals. The match against Norrkoping showed once again that “Killer” Stiller can still be an asset to the club. A goal and an assist to add to his season’s tally, Stiller is a typical poacher and the type of player every team needs in the squad. You know what you will get with Stiller; hard-work, honesty, will put his head where it hurts, not the best technically but will score important goals. Stiller’s lack of quality and involvement in build-up play should mean he is mainly restricted to the bench but against smaller teams or when the team needs a goal, he can still be of use to the team. If he can score 5 important goals per season and win the team 9 or 10 points, as well as be a model professional for they younger players to look up to, he is worth having around.

5. The team is more comfortable with plain old 4-4-2.

Cup match against Kalmar: 4-diamond4-2=match lost. Match against GAIS: 4-diamond4-2=match lost. Two of the season’s most important matches and both times the team played a diamond midfield formation. The team looked uncomfortable and turned in poor performances resulting in two disappointing losses. The season’s final game saw the team return to a traditional 4-4-2 formation and the team looked much more comfortable and played with much more attacking freedom as well as showing more solidity as a team. As we have said before, as long as the formation suits the players and the team, it doesn’t matter whether we play 3-1-3-3 or 4-4-2 but sometimes it is best not too over complicate things and play a formation that the players know and enjoy playing.

So that’s what we learnt from the match; or have learnt over the course of the season and was confirmed to us during the match. The match also left a few unanswered questions ahead of the new season.

1. Are we strong enough in central defence?

The last part of the season has seen young Mikael Dyrestam alongside the experienced Hjalmar Jonsson in the centre of IFK’s defence. It has to be said that the 2 have been fairly solid apart from a couple of mistakes, but is that pairing god enough if we want to win the league? It is difficult to answer as the games that they have played together have been fairly low key without much pressure(nothing to play for) so difficult to judge how they would do if we were playing for the title. The only 2 ‘pressure’ games they have played together were the cup semi against Kalmar and the derby against GAIS; these 2 games were the pairing’s worst games of their run together and they made crucial mistakes. Are the 2 good enough to get us the Allsvenska back or do we need a more dominant centre-back?

2. The left-back question.

(Sigh!) The left back conundrum. Who is going to be our left-back in 2012? Valgardsson hasn’t impressed, Lund is a right back and Dyrestam prefers to play centre-back; all points would suggest that we need to buy a new left-back for next season if we want to challenge for the league. But is there a quality, affordable option available to the club? Maybe, one of the names above currently at the club will get a boost from the new management and make that position their own. Let’s hope we see one player make that position his own next season instead of constant chopping and changing.

3. Will Tobias Sana always be good to watch but ineffective?

As mentioned earlier in this post, Sana needs to be given chance to fulfil his potential and fully show what he can do in an IFK shirt. On paper, the winger has everything you would want in an attacking player: speed, quick feet, balance, good shot, two good feet, good cross, vision and ability to beat his man. On the pitch, he hasn’t quite turned his ability into decisiveness. He hasn’t contributed in terms of goals and assists and his habit of holding onto the ball too long can slow down attacks. Will he ever fulfil his obvious potential or is he destined to just be an easy on the eye but ineffective footballer? I hope he is given the chance to show his ability on the pitch as well as given the right advice on the training pitch to iron out his game.

4. Who else, apart from Tobias Hysen, is going to score a significant amount of goals?

Tobias Hysen-once again the team’s top scorer and once again one of the best forwards and players in the league. 16 goals in a poor(sorry!) team is a valiant effort from the quick frontman. But we rely too much on Hysen and if he gets injured or suffers a lack of form, who is going to step up to the plate and take over the goalscoring responsibility? Stiller has scored a fair few goals in 2010 but should be seen as more of squad player in 2011; supremely talented Soder has spent 2011 looking for form and confidence-can he rediscover both in 2012 and show his talent; big signings Drugge and Ericsson have been out of form and in Ericsson’s case, sent out on loan-both have scored goals at lower clubs but can they do it at IFK; youngster Moberg-Karlsson has broken into the first team squad and is a young carbon-copy of Hysen with his speed, direct running and left foot but is he ready to score regularly in the Allsvenskan? Somebody needs to help take Hysen with the goalscoring burden and the midfield players also need to chip in with more goals. Haglund should be getting 5 or 6 goals a season and the wingers should be chipping in with 10 between them at least. Hopefully next season will see the goals spread around the team as well as Hysen scoring another 16 goals!

5. How do we get the balance right between getting the best out of Tobias Hysen and getting the best out of the team as a whole?

It can be argued that Hysen has been the main scorer because the team is setup to take advantage of the player’s strengths and not setup to the team’s strengths. True or not, the new manager needs to find a way of playing that gets the best out of Hysen, as he is one of the best forwards in the league, and also gets the best out of the other players in the squad. The pool of players at his disposal have more quality than this season’s 7th place finish suggest-getting 110% out of each player is important and getting 110% out of the team as a whole is imperative.

NEXT UP

The team ended their final week’s training with a tenpin bowling competition and a team night out. The management trio said their goodbyes and moved onto pastures new. The team will report back on December 1st for 3/4 weeks of training before Christmas under the guidance of new manager Mikael Stahre. After Christmas and New Year, the season’s preparations will step up whilst us supporters are treated to the hilarity and drama of “Silly Season”. The 2012 pre-season and 2012 season are only about one thing-bringing the Allsvenskan trophy home to celebrate with Poseidon and pytti panna!

HEJA IFK!

 

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A couple of bits of news regarding the youth team.

-Veteran midfielder Thomas Olsson will return to the club next season after his successful loan spell at home club Atvidaberg. However, he will not be returning as a player but as assistant coach in the youth team. After getting his beloved Atvidaberg promoted back to Sweden’s top division, Olsson has decided to finish his playing career on a high and begin his new career as a coach. A player renowned for his passing ability and ability on the ball, Olsson won 2 Swedish league titles including one with IFK in 2007. He completed the Advanced level coaching course at Gothenburg University and will take on the assistants role in the youth team with current youth team assistant, Jens Walemark taking over as Head coach. Now word from the club as yet on the role of Eijlert Bjorkman for next year. The club have said that the pairing of Walemark and Olsson will work closely with the new first team management pairing of Stahre and Edlund to continue getting the younger players into the first team.

-The youth team’s final game of the season will be played on Saturday 27th October-and it’s a big one! The talented youngsters will take on local rivals GAIS in the Junior DM final(a cup competition for teams in and around the Gothenburg area). The game will be played at Heden with kick-off at 12:00. Good luck to all involved!

HEJA IFK

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IFK’s Under 21 team were knocked out of the U21 SM at the semi final stage last night.

A hard thought game against Elfsborg was fought out between the two teams at the Boras Arena. The scores were level after 90 minutes meaning the game went into extra time. The extended period was as even as the first 90 minutes before a mistake by IFK goalkeeper Marcus Sandberg gifted Elfsborg the lead with only 3 minutes remaining. The yellow of Elfsborg added to their lead in the last minute to secure a 2-0 win and knock IFK out of the tournament. A disappointing end to a decent performance with some of the younger players such as Sam Larsson and Jonathan Azulay showing more than some of the more experienced players in the team.

Only one game remains for the older teams at the club with the youth team taking on GAIS this coming Saturday in the Junior DM final. Let’s hope the kids put in a good performance and can end the season on  high note by bringing home the cup.

HEJA IFK!

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Eijlert Bjorkman’s talented youth team were knocked out of the Junior SM on Saturday after a penalty shoot-out defeat away at Kalmar.

A tough match ended 1-1, with centre-back Tobias Bratt scoring the IFK goal. Kalamar made no mistakes with their penalties and a miss in the second round of penalties by IFK proved to be crucial.

A disappointing way for the team to end a successful season and a bitter way to lose a semi-final. The team can take heart from their season and numerous brilliant performances and look to the fact that a number of players have been used in the first team this season as a source of encouragement. There is still a chance of gold as the younger members of the team meet GAIS in the Junior DM final.

We would like to congratulate Eijlert and his staff and the talented bunch of players on a successful season!

HEJA IFK!