Bodens BK

[VyKing]

Information

Bodens BK is a Swedish football club located in Boden in Norrbotten. The club was formed on 2 November 1916^[1] and began playing soccer in 1918.^[2] It is currently playing in the fourth tier of Swedish football, Division 2.

Bit of History

 

During the three seasons of 2003 to 2005, Boden played in the second highest division, Superettan, which made them the northernmost team in Swedish professional football by a margin of 400 km or more, depending on season.

After successfully staying up with some margin in 2003, the ensuing season saw Boden barely scrape through to avoid relegation on the last day of the season. The 2005 Superettan campaign appeared to be the most successful thus far, and included memorable victories against teams such as the previous year's top-flight residents Örebro SK (1–0) and AIK (5–1). With 24 games played and stunning form Boden seemed safe at mid-table, but failure to win or even draw any of their last six games, together with the Phoenix-like resurrection of near-discarded Mjällby AIF, saw the latter team secure a new contract while relegating Boden to the newly recreated Division 1.

For the 2006 season, the club which had managed to keep hold of several key players, entertained an outspoken ambition of instantly returning to Superettan. However, injuries to important staff such as the two main new signings, New Zealand striker Brent Fisher and American midfielder Ryan Caugherty, as well as poor results away from home, meant the team finished at a mediocre 8th place. The following season resulted in another mid-table finish. In 2008, Boden were relegated from Division 1 after finishing last, failing to record a single win in their last nine games.

Unlike what had been the case after their Superettan relegation in 2005, Boden did manage to immediately bounce back from Division 2 in 2009. In their first season back at Sweden's fourth tier level since 1998, the club produced a strong season finish, winning eight out of their last nine games and eventually the league, five points clear of local rivals IFK Luleå. Once back in Division 1, the objective for 2010 was survival, which was ensured only in the last game of the season, when Boden defeated Carlstad United away from home, leapfrogging that team into 10th place and a renewed contract. Unable to repeat the accomplishment, Boden were again relegated to Division 2 in 2011, finishing nine points from safety and winning only four league games.

In the two years that followed, Boden were unable to regain promotion, finishing fifth in Division 2 on both occasions. In 2014, the club produced an eighth-place finish, after uninspiring results.

Full name	Bodens Bollklubb
Nickname(s)	BBK
Founded	2 November 1916; 106 years ago
Ground	Boden Arena, Boden, Sweden
Capacity	5,300 seats, FIFA 2-star qualification
Chairman	Olle Lindström
Manager	Jamie Hallam
League	Division 2 Norrland
2019	Division 1 Norra, 14th

[Derek]

Loving this already!

The wiki feel is brilliant

[VyKing]

Personal information
Full name	Jamie Hallam[1]
Date of birth	15 Feb 1984 (age 41)[1]
Place of birth	Sheffield, England
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.95 m)[2]
Position(s)	Centre-Midfield[1]
Club information
Current team	Bristol Rovers (head coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2008	Sheffield Wednesday	256	(19)
2008-2009	FC Groningen	19	(3)
2009–2015	Bolton Wanderers	150	(9)
2015-2019	IFK Göteborg	89	(6)
Total		514	(37)
National team
2005-2008	England	27	(1)
Teams managed
2022-24  Bodens BK	2024-25 Charlton Athletic 2025 -      Bristol Rovers
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

 

Jamie Hallam (born 15 Feb 1984) is an English professional football manager and former player who has managed Swedish Second Division Norrland club Bodens BK and English Football League, League One team Charlton Athletic. Jamie now manages Bristol Rovers who play in the English Football League, League one.^[3]

In a 18-year playing career, Hallam, who played as a Centre-Mid, made 406 appearances in the Football League. He also played in the Eredivise for FC Groningen and the Allsvansken for IFK Göteborg. At international level, he was capped for England 27 times scoring 1 goal.

Hallam started his professional managerial career in March 2022 with Swedish club Bodens BK.

[VyKing]

The first day

Tuesday 1st March 2022

06:00 - Arrive at the training ground to meet the chairman, Olle has a good grasp of English but I don't think my Yorkshire accent is helping things. Small training ground but expected nothing less for a Semi Pro club in the northern reaches of Sweden. Have I made the right decision? Got to start somewhere right?

07:00 - Have a look around the facilities introduce myself to the staff, no tea lady? No Yorkshire tea? Baby steps Jamie Baby steps. Sit in the small box room that is now my office at least they have a white board to draw my tactics. Meet the players soon.

09:00 - The first of the players onto the training ground is the club captain, Emil Johansson. Again, I'm taken aback by the good grasp and understanding of English up here. Emil is a level-headed character, he introduces me to the rest of the team.

12:00 - The morning training is over, sent the lads off to get lunch (can't call it Dinner it confuses the locals) asked Emil to see if he can pick me up some Yorkshire Tea. Press Conference soon then a inter squad friendly this afternoon put the lads through their paces. 

15:15 - Press Conference time, after impressing the local journalists with a cup of the finest tea in the world we press on with the questions. The journalists in Sweden seem a lot more laid back and less judgemental than those in England.

18:45 - A nice run out in the inter squad friendly First XI vs Second XI, a lot to think about in the upcoming days but I now have some idea of where the team is at. 

20:00 - Sent the lads and the staff home after a tough first day, one last brew before I return to my apartment by the sea to get some rest. the boys only train 2 days a week but we will get this club up and running the locals deserve a story for the ages. 

[Derek]

 Love it mate.

Yorkshire's finest tea  Stick the kettle on Emil 

[VyKing]

Wednesday 2nd March 2022

 

10:00 - After a relaxing evening taking in the local cuisines and searching for a pub to call my local, it's time to get down to some admin work while the lads are off spending time with their families. First order of business WE HAVE NO SCOUTING NETWORK FFS. ok ok calm down drink your tea Jamie let's see what else we don't have.

11:00 - After 3 cups of Yorkshires finest, I've managed to have all the Job listings typed up. Chief Scout, check. Scouts, check.

12:00 - Email sent to the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen). Let's hope for some decent applications, talk about starting with nothing.

12:50 - Half a day's work for me today, I need to go to the local supermarket and persuade the manager to stock Yorkshire Tea, best introduce myself first and offer some free tickets for staff to the games to sweeten the deal. Boden doesn't know what's hit them.

 

Thursday 3rd March 2022

 

09:00 - Emil is already here, I know this because there's a brew waiting for me on my desk. Milk 2 sugars just how I like it, might need to teach him how to make a proper brew though. Needs to leave the tea bag brewing for atleast 2 minutes before removing it then adding milk. This looks like one of those animals has made it you know the ones, milk first... Disgusting creatures.

10:00 - While the lads are put through their paces, I've been drawing up the plans for the upcoming friendly against IFK Kalix. A nice hour journey across the Swedish coast. 

12:00 - The morning session is done, the lads are all on lunch now, local fish and chips for lunch prepared by the local chef. It's the best Plaice to be.... Basil Brush would be proud

13:00 - afternoon cardio session before winding down to prepare for the game on Saturday with notes for the game to take home and read. I hope they can read my handwriting I really need to invest in a printer for the office. I already have a signed poster of Sean Bean.

 

 

[VyKing]

Kalix

Kalix
Kalix Church
Kalix   Show map of NorrbottenShow map of SwedenShow all
Coordinates: 65°51′N 23°10′ECoordinates: 65°51′N 23°10′E
Country	Sweden
Province	Norrbotten
County	Norrbotten County
Municipality	Kalix Municipality
Area [1]
• Total	7.57 km2 (2.92 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2010)[1]
• Total	7,299
• Density	964/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Website	http://www.kalix.se/

Kalix (Swedish: Kalix; Kalix dialect: Kôlis, pronounced [ˈcʰ(j)ɞɽɪs], phonemically /kɞɽis/; Finnish: Kainuu; Meänkieli: Kainus) is a locality and the seat of the Kalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The name Kalix is believed to originate from the Sami word Gáláseatnu, or "Kalasätno", meaning "The cold river" the ancient name of the Kalix River.^[2] It had 7,299 inhabitants in 2005,^[1] out of 17,300 inhabitants in the municipality of Kalix.

 

[VyKing]

IFK Kalix

Full name	Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Kalix
Ground	Furuvallen Kalix Sweden
Chairman	Henrietta Snoddgrass
Head Coach	Jouko Liakka
League	Division 3 Norra Norrland

IFK Kalix is a Swedish football club located in Kalix in Norrbotten County.^[1]

Background[edit]

IFK Kalix currently plays in Division 3 Norra Norrland which is the fifth tier of Swedish football.^[2] They play their home matches at the Furuvallen in Kalix.^[3]

The club is affiliated to Norrbottens Fotbollförbund.^[4] IFK Kalix won the Midnattsolscupen (Midnight Sun Cup) in 1998.

The club used to have a bandy department, but this was untied from the club in 1990, combined with Nyborgs SK to form Kalix BF. Kalix BF is now (2014) playing in Elitserien, the top-tier of Swedish bandy.

[VyKing]

Saturday 5th March 2022

09:00 - Wake up to a nice fresh cup of the Yorkshire stuff. I've promised the guys that if we win in good fashion today, I'll treat them to a night out around Kalix tonight, but they pay their own way home in the morning. Not sure what to expect with that except from good Team bonding exercise.

10:00 - The coach is at ground early. The driver looks excited to get going he tells me Boden needed a change in management and is looking forward to the English style of football I'll bring. I corrected him, the Yorkshire brand of football, hardworking, strong as stainless steel and able to cut straight through butter.

10:30 - Everyone is on board, Emil sitting at the front with myself to throw ideas at each other and go through what I expect from my captain on and off the field. Alot of good points from both sides. Emil is impressed with how nice the Yorkshire Tea is. I may have told him it was a recipe passed down through the ages of the Viking invasion. I can't tell if he's impressed or is just looking forward to crunching people in the game.

11:55 - We arrive at Kalix. The stadium is only small the changing rooms no bigger than a school's changing room. Everyone is cramped in before we do a few laps of the ground to warm up and practise. Our midfield general Raymond is in a deep discussion with Emil.

15:00 - Kick off time, we've brought a decent following of 5 maybe 10 people, out of an attendance of 46. I don't think they count the animals grazing in the fields or the farmers in the tractors.

 

17:00 - A great performance from the boys, especially for a pre-season game. I think the sheep and the cows enjoyed it too, they've not stopped watching from the fields. Looks like a night out for the guys that took me up on the offer. Kalix watch out the Boden boys are about.

[VyKing]

Wednesday, 9th March 2022.

09:00 - After a couple of days un-winding the lads are back to work, many of these guys have a part time job to make ends meet, as is the case in the Lower Leagues in England. As this is my first managerial role, which is also a part time contract, I also need to find something part time to make ends meet. The end goal? to become successful first with this group of guys. I applied to become a sales rep for Yorkshire Tea, I'm still waiting to hear from the Head Office in Harrogate.

12:00 - Lunch time with the guys, watched a video of the last game on VHS.... VHS.... these still exist? First payment I'm splashing out on a DVD player for the club. One of the plus sides to the players having other jobs is we have a couple of landscape gardeners so that helps with keeping the grass green, I guess. We just need an electrician, a plumber and a carpenter and we can get cracking with keeping the stadium running without extra costs.

15:00 - I've received a report from the U19's who have started their season with 1 win and a loss. Some promising faces I may need to turn too. It's good knowing the players play with a smile on their faces even at that age, long may that continue.

17:00 - Sent the team home and the staff, cracked open a bottle of Jim Beam in the office as I look out into the stadium. How did I get this lucky? Such a beautiful country, no-one knows me as yet. A club of my own to develop and a fan base that is only going to grow, then it dawned on me. This club needs a social media presence, but we have no social media team.

[VyKing]

Saturday, 10th March, 2022

Piteå IF

 

Piteå IF

Full name	Piteå Idrottsförening
Founded	1985; 37 years ago
Ground	LF Arena Piteå Sweden
Capacity	3,950
Chairman	Berndt Siljemark
Coach	Stellan Carlsson
League	Damallsvenskan
2021	11th
Website	Club website

 

 

Piteå Idrottsförening, commonly known as Piteå IF, is a Swedish football club located in Piteå that currently competes in Sweden's top-division women's league, Damallsvenskan.

In 2018, they won the Swedish national Championship for the first time.^[1]

 

History[edit]

The sports club was formed on 24 May 1918 but did not take up men's football until 1920 when they united with their local rival club IFK Piteå, which then was dissolved. The women's team was founded in 1985. Piteå IF's female section is currently playing in the highest league, Damallsvenskan, which it reached for the first time in 2009.^[2]

The club has one of the largest football youth academies in the county of Norrbotten and is one of two clubs who arrange the large international youth soccer cup, the Piteå Summer Games.^[3]

 

[VyKing]

Piteå

 

Piteå
One of the two town squares
Piteå   Show map of NorrbottenShow map of SwedenShow all
Coordinates: 65°20′N 21°30′ECoordinates: 65°20′N 21°30′E
Country	Sweden
Province	Norrbotten
County	Norrbotten County
Municipality	Piteå Municipality
Area [1]
• Total	24.74 km2 (9.55 sq mi)
Population  (2018)[1]
• Total	23,350
• Density	926/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Website	https://www.pitea.se/

Piteå (Finnish: Piitime) is a locality and the seat of Piteå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. Piteå is Sweden's 58th largest city, with a population of 23,326.

Geography[edit]

Piteå is located at the mouth of the Pite River (Swedish: Piteälven), at the shore of the Bay of Bothnia. The central part is located on an islet called Häggholmen, which due to post-glacial rebound almost has become a part of the mainland; the land in northern Sweden rises at a rate of up to 9 mm (0.35 in) per year.

Piteå's coastal location, with numerous islands and inlets, is one of the reasons it is a popular place for tourism both in summer and winter. It features a beach resort area called Pite Havsbad, around which there is a spa, a long sandy beach, a restaurant and a golf course. The area is also suitable for fishing and outdoor activities. In the winter, snow activities such as skiing and winter bathing are common. The water temperatures reportedly being Sweden's warmest during three consecutive summers in the 1950s, the beach then became known as "Norrbotten's Riviera".^[2]

[VyKing]

Saturday 12th March 2022.

13:30 - The team has arrived at the stadium, pre-season home game. The boys are looking forward to welcoming the home fans and putting on a show for them. Pitea IF may have other ideas. A team comfortable on the ball this will test the team.

17:00 - The boys put in a fighting performance. I couldn't fault any of them, both teams struggled to defend each other's attacks. The lads are going to be winding down to a hot cup of Yorkshire.

18:00 - After an hour of reviewing the recent friendly I've sent the lads home to unwind with their families with our eyes firmly on our next friendly vs Infjardens SK next week.

[Johno]

Loving the written content you are currently doing!  Good luck in Sweden!

[Johno]

Loving the written content you are currently doing!  Good luck in Sweden!

[VyKing]

Mid Season Update

19th June 2022

23:00 - Time to take a sip of rum and look back on what has been a pretty good start to life in the league.

After a successful weeklong tour in Iceland were we picked up two strong results against Iceland opposition.

We started the season strong with a 9-game win streak which included 8 clean sheets in the process.

The start of June was our first loss against Friska Filjor FC a narrow 2-1 away from home but that lads picked themselves up and haven't looked back since.

The table looks healthy with a 2 point gap and sitting nicely at the top.

My assistant tells me we have one of the best intakes we've seen in years at the club, I knew that Yorkshire Tea energy would get the Staff working hard.

Nordell and Faustini are putting the ball in the onion bag sharing the limelight those guys, again that Yorkshire Tea energy shining through.

Onto the second half of the season we go. The team is growing together and the community is getting behind the boys. We march on together. Until next time.

 

 

[VyKing]

Allez Allez Allez

8th October 2022

Post Season reflection - I'm going to just come out and say it, if Sean Bean was from Bodens he'd have told the boys "Do it fer Bodens" and they did just that.

We had a little blip towards the end which saw us 4 points behind our closest rivals, IFK Lulea, who were in all sense of the words, worthy opponents.

Thank fully we topped the league 4 points clear.

We managed to tie down a couple of players that were influential this season starting with the league top scorer Renan Faustini.

Our number 9, William Nordell.

And youngster Talibeh Jallow all staying for another season.

It's also a sad day that we have to say good by to a great leader and a great friend who, I did buy a pack of Yorkshire tea just for him as he announces his retirement.

Looking back, it was a great season only 3 losses and a GD of +55 to take the league. I couldn't be prouder of this group and the togetherness to see it through. 

[Johno]

Decent season and congrats on winning the league!  Such a shame to see Emil, retiring! 

[VyKing]

Pre-Season

4th April 2023

Pre season started what feels like a life time ago. But I guess 6 months is a long time for anyone to go through pre-season.

We said good bye to dead wood while keeping the core and bringing in some youth in to freshen up the squad for our first go in the new league.

The innies

The outties

 

During Pre-Season we have 16 friendlies...... 16 just to keep fitness levels.... That's half a seasons worth of friendlies in a pre season....

I have also pssed up the opportunity of a move back to England to manage Wealdstone, who offered me an interview but I didn't fancy it.

And we come to today. With one friendly before the league starts, and an opportunity to manage in the Dutch Kueken Kampioen Divisie, with De Graafschap. The interview has been offered and I sit here Yorkshire tea in one hand, beard in the other. It's a tempting very tempting proposition.

 

To be continued.......

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by VyKing

[Derek]

You’ve had a great season mate and absolutely love the content. Haven’t had a chance to go through your season until now and it’s a great read. Ever hear back from Yorkshire Tea?

It’s like you’re taking the Graham Potter route to the top so I’m interested to see where this goes. Brilliant stuff mate

[VyKing]

I'm still awaiting Yorkshire Tea endorsment, feel free to push them for me hahaha

[VyKing]

The mid year review

Brought to you by our partner Yorkshire Tea

14th July 2023

 

Firstly, a thank you to Yorkshire Tea for providing me with a satisfying cuppa each morning in Sweden. Luvleh.

 

Lets get down too it, Yes I did accept the job interview with De Graafschap, did I get it? No!. Reason being? Well they obviously don't like the idea of Yorkshire Tea being branded around the stadium. Their loss.

We've had a pretty strong first half of the year, sitting nicely in mid table. Far enough away from a relegation scrap and not too far off the pace of the top 2 for a first season.

 

Star players this year are the same two from last year who seem to have stepped up another gear.

Nordell 

Faustini

2 more interviews attended during the first half of the season VVV-Venlo, again not their cup of tea.

And Danish 3F Superliga team Aalborg. Who despite once again headhunting me didn't actually fancy taking that chance.

The aim for the second half of the season is consolidate the league position and push on. The futures Bright the future at the minute is Bodens.

[Johno]

De Graafschap are pretty stupid to not to take you as their new manager! 

[VyKing]

2023 part 2

16th March 2024

Another year another supply of Yorkshire Tea. An 8th place finish in the first season with some cracking results. Sharpe would be proud of the spirit and fight.

The finances are taking a hit which may just cripple the club with players on non-contracts meaning no value going forward but we'll fight on.

We need to push for a higher division as I've already had an argument with Nordell about his wage, he wants £50 a week I can only afford £5 and a weeks supply of Yorkshire Tea, obviously this isn't enough for Nordie so he's looking at other clubs.

I need to power my inner Bean and get this team pushing above and beyond, some youngsters may be trained in the making of this blog.

[Johno]

Looks like you'll have to offload players to get the club in black than red