Damallsvenskan's Silly Season 2011-12

After the performance she put on during LdB's hideous (hiiiideous) gold medal celebrations at the weekend, I wonder if the Hand Cream will really mind losing Nilla Fischer to Linköping? The much-rumoured signing is now official. Melis is expected to be the next of the Creamers to go, though she's announced her intention to wait until after the next round of the Champions League before making her new destination official.

Oh, and Ms. Frisky has signed up for another 2 years with Tyresö. As part of their package, they've arranged for her to have sales training. Not quite as glitzy as the fashion-and-media package they pulled out for Seger, but still... If they do make a bid for Marta, dare we speculate as to what career opportunities they might see ahead for her?

Not really 'silly season' but definitely Damallsvenskan and definitely silly.
Thought you might be mildly diverted by KB's video : [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1VXcggmvuc&NR=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1VXcggmvuc&NR=1[/ame]

Yes, fun indeed. Good to see that 'a typical day in Linköping' is a typical day anywhere else, more or less, except maybe with more gratuitous street art than one gets in the sticks, and lots of fun goalie practice. Also nice to see that she quickly learned the most important word in the Swedish language.

One question, though, Jenson: why did they carry away the bicycles? In my neck of the woods, the only reason to carry away a bicycle is because you're very happy and you're going to throw it in the river. But then they brought to bicycles back, so clearly they didn't do that. Are the cultural differences between Uppland and Östergötland really so profound?

Piteå are on a roll: damfotboll.com reports that they've already contracted the following 11 players for next season, including their latest re-signing, Jennifer Nobis, and two new signings from Umeå:-

Faith Ikidi
June Pedersen
Emelie Lövgren
Josefin Johansson
Victoria Forsmark
Camilla Johansson
Sara Eliasson
Lena Blomkvist
Hanna Pettersson (from Umeå IK)
Anna Westerlund (from Umeå IK)
Jennifer Nobis.

Hammarby's captain, Mathilda Agné, has decided to abandon ship. She's now signed a two-year deal with Linköping. Given Hammarby's low level of ambition ("back to Damallsvenskan within 5 years"), more of the same can be expected.

And not that they're in Damallsvenskan anymore, but Dalsjöfors has parted with Alex Singer, basically because she's too American, whatever that means.

Good heavens, is that legal? Isn't she the daughter of Mr. Bajen himself? She likes Lars Winnerbäck and she dreams about playing in Söderstadion... Oh well, if the club has given up on women's football then there's not much choice. Grrr and harrumph and dagnabbit, I liked Kanalplan.

Ooooooooooo, Bachmann is leaving Umeå - but where is she going?

After Potsdam have signed Vidarsdottir, Frankfurt might be in the market for a forward from Sweden. (We even have one to offer in return. ) She could still practise her Swedish with Thunis, and she could practise scoring together with her Swiss national teammate (who could do with a couple of lessons in putting balls into nets too).

ETA: Hmm... ffschweden tweets that he expects her to announce a two-year deal with Malmö tomorrow.

Yes, a Swedish TV sports' journalist has hinted in a similar direction.

And yes, Bachmann's a new Hand Creamer. If I remember rightly, LdB mentioned two signings when they called their press conference, but it seems only Bachmann has been announced .

ffschweden says that LdB's Forsberg and Smajic end their careers due to injuries?

Lisa "Lill-Dala" Dalqvist goes from K/Göteborg to Tyresö FF. She is singed up for two years.

Karen Bardsley's coming back to Linköping next season as back-up goalie for Sofia Lundgren . Curiouser and curiouser.

EDIT: She says in the blurb on Linköping's home page that she wants to be close to England for the Euro qualifiers and the Olympics.

Er. That makes sense but why wouldn't she go to a team where she'll be first string GK and get more playing time?

I can already tell that the 2012 season is going to be confusing for me. I always had trouble telling Ramona Bachmann and Manon Melis apart, and now one of them has replaced the other.

Persistent rumor has it that Tyresö's Elin Ekblom Bak is hanging her shoes up this year, but I can't (quickly) find a source. Too bad for us to lose our Patron Saint of Football-Playing Nerds, but better for her degree, I suppose, and maybe she will be able to devote a little more time to broadcasting. I haven't yet ever managed to hear her do analysis, but her skill at it has been noted by several denizens of these parts.

It was on Tyresö's homepage, among other places.

And while I'm here, LdB have picked themselves up a bargain from Tyresö's leftover bin: Katrin Schmidt, who I thought was pretty solid for Tyresö last year. Now who's going to take poor unwanted Sofie Persson?

Oh, pfft, that old thing. For heaven's sake, who in their right mind would look at a team's homepage for news like this? How much longer can I use the 'No speak-y Swedska' excuse for not seeing it?

The news about Schmidt surprised me too, not that it's a step down, exactly. Maybe they figured they didn't need her, with Dahlkvist? Maybe they're thinking they might acquire yet one more high-powered offensive player?

And for some reason, I also had a oddly protective reaction about Persson, I have no idea why.

Well, you're from the US, so... forever? It's sort of expected of you, really.

Because she looks like a gambolling puppy when she's finally let on the field?

Is S.B. Gunnarsdottir going back there?

Are they getting rid of those crazy kits?

Well, the contract she signed in the Spring was said to be for 3 years, so I don't see why not.

As for the kit, there's no telling what horrors they'll spring upon us next season, but they're definitely likely to change it. "Same old, same old" just wouldn't do for the fashion-conscious LdB!

Ah, OK, I missed the duration of that. Makes more sense than a 1-yr.

True. Gotta be setting trends! Get with it, Creamers! How about high heel cleats?

Sjögran will be staying with the Creamers next year. She says that Champions' League play influenced her decision. (WPS league "issues" too, perhaps?)

She waited until the draw, saw that they got Frankfurt, and knew that they could make it at least to the semis?

Plucked gently from its Mother's arms and deposited safely here...

What's amazing to me is that the bit about Sembrant was on the radio news this morning, and then, when I went to look at the SverigeRadio's website it was on the front page. Not just the sports front page, but the front front page; you know, the one with news about triple murders in Finland and Switzerland buying fighter jets from Ikea and various financial crises involving unthinkably huge amounts of money. That was hours ago so the story of course no longer holds the top spot, but here's the news story anyway.

Here's a story from the same site about how the acquisition of Sembrant is another warning to the World that Tyresö FF is laying out its Evil Master Plan for Total Domination. It's not the money that's luring players to us, in fact, many players are earning less, says bossman Hans Löfgren; it's the work environment and the whole package, including 'real' jobs for players and their hangers-on, that makes us attractive.

(Can you spot the Fatal Flaw in their Cunning Scheme? Hint: it has to do with Sembrant.)

I mostly chuckled at the "jobs for the players and their boyfriends or girlfriends" quote. What's the "trick question" relating to Sembrant? That her boyfriend already has a job?