[FM21] Odd That They Have Never Won The Title

[SixPointer]

Odds Ballklubb from the city of Skien, it is the oldest football club in Norway and is a member in the club of pioneers. There club colours are black and white, and they play their home games at the Skagerak Arena, 12,400-seater stadium the rebuild of the stadium was completed 2007.

Interestingly despite being the oldest club and spending 40 seasons in the topflight Odd have never won a top division title in their proud history. They did finished runner up twice in the 50’s, 1951 and 1957 to be precise. On the flip side when it comes to the Norwegian cup, they are the joint record holders for most wins (12) albeit only one win has come since 1931 and that was in 2000. Astonishingly they have also been finalists 9 times.

European football wise the club has only played 5 times in the UEFA Cup/Europa League only qualifying twice to it proper in 2001 and 2004. The closest they have come in recent times was 2015/2016 when a Borussia Dortmund eliminated them in the play off in a scintillating tie that end 11-5 on aggregate. Odd in the first leg lead 3-0 at home before Dortmund rallied to win 4-3 and in the second leg Odd also lead 1-0 only for 6 minutes I must say.

The Idea

Well firstly due to my work in Norway I follow the football here closely and I feel as a nation there on the cusp of something special with Haaland and Odegaard leading the way of course. Having been and watched a lot of games the football is pretty technical which is impressive considering the weather conditions for a lot of the year. Bodo are showing that this year with their sublime attacking football who are based in the artic circle. For a while I toyed with going their rivals Tromso.

I managed my local side Aalesund in FM17 (when I discovered Haaland) I thought it would be better going for a different challenge. So, I looked for a team with good history that were sort of mid table with potential to win a title with a good back story not too far down the leagues that it would take ages to even come close to Rosenborg’s sheer dominance and miss this potential national golden generation.

Odd provided me with the club of pioneers, The lack of a top title, Potential to become league contenders, very limited European football, A long term manager leaving not so long ago to join Valerenga, A rounded squad with aging legends and a few potential superstars mostly local may I add. There facilities are average, Finances stable, All in all, a good middle ground.

So am looking to take Odd to the first Norwegian title then on to qualify for Europe then onto the champions league. Hopefully, the Norway job will come along the way. There will be no strict rules I strive for realism so don’t expect to see Brazilian wonderkids but you wont see me limit myself as in youth only.

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Looking forward to seeing how you do.

At some point I will be doing a save in Norway as well as being Norway national team manager so I can manage Haaland etc.

[Hootieleece]

Looking Forward to this....I enjoy rehabilitating underachieving clubs!

I also love finding real wonderkids not on any FM Players radar if possible....Matias Palacios and Nael Jaby from my FM20 Career update.

[Chrisofclubs]

Looking forward to this! Good luck!

[SixPointer]

4 hours ago, Ronaldo Beckham said:

Looking forward to seeing how you do.

At some point I will be doing a save in Norway as well as being Norway national team manager so I can manage Haaland etc.

thanks man.
Think there will be a lot of people with this thinking this year. 
 

3 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Looking Forward to this....I enjoy rehabilitating underachieving clubs!

I also love finding real wonderkids not on any FM Players radar if possible....Matias Palacios and Nael Jaby from my FM20 Career update.

thanks! Yeah I like finding a bargain as well and there’s always been plenty in the Nordic areas. 
 

 

2 hours ago, Chrisofclubs said:

Looking forward to this! Good luck!

Thanks. 

[SixPointer]

Odds BK Chasing Glory

The Manager

In my quest of realism, I always play as a real-life person. Either an ex pro or a current coach that fits the bill of my selected club. In this case I loaded a dummy game and resigned to see who was tipped for the job. Due to the fact I couldn't find a unemployed coach or recently retired player to tie in with my idea.

At a glance doesn’t look like much is to offer but once I clicked onto Ole Martin Nesselquist purely cause I thought that’s a cool name something came to life.

He became the youngest A-team coach in Norway in the autumn of 2012, when at the age of 19 he was hired as head coach of Trosvik IF, the centre club in Fredrikstad. In his first season, he took Trosvik IF back to the third division with promotion in 2013.

Ole Martin Nesselquist was hired as head of sports at Moss Fotballklubb in May 2015, a role he combined with the head coach job at Trosvik IF through the 2015 season. In November 2015 he became assistant coach at Moss FK under Ørjan Christiansen. In June 2016, Moss FK and Ørjan Christiansen agreed to end the employment after poor results, and Nesselquist temporarily took over the head coach' responsibilities. After good results, Nesselquist was hired as head coach. Nesselquist was extended despite relegation to the Norwegian Tipping League in the autumn.

The 2017 season was a record season for Moss FK; The club had never previously scored more points in a single season or scored as many goals in 26 games. Nesselquist extended his contract with Moss FK until the end of the 2018 season.

On 1 December 2017 Nesselquist was awarded the "Young Coach of the Year" in Norwegian football by the Norwegian Coaches Association in Norway. He is the youngest recipient of this award.

After the 2018 season, he resigned as head coach of Moss.

On 30 November 2018 it became clear that Nesselquist will be head coach of Strømmen IF, and with that he also became the youngest coach in Norway's two top divisions. He signed a contract until 2019 with an option of two more years.

June 24, 2020 (the day he turned 27) it was confirmed that Nesselquist is the world's youngest head coach at the professional level of football. This was confirmed by the CIES Football Observatory

So there we have it. Ticks all the boxes fantastic back story the young man has great attributes as well the fact he would be a genuine contender for the job as well. Throw in the fact he is a massive Notts Forest fan as well. I think you know what is coming. 

Attributes to match. I had to use Semi- Pro in order to get the match and severely drop a lot of player knowledge as well (comes back to bite me). Let’s hope this young man is the man to lead Odd to their first title and further glory. He has already made something of name for himself in Norway's lower leagues but now he is on the top domestic stage. On his arrival he wiped much of the previous regime out and set about bringing in his own team.

New Staff

A raft of new faces joins him. Many from the lower regions that he has crossed paths with others from the more experienced end of Norwegian football. We can delve into some of the key ones now. I wont drag on through them all I would be here for days.

Odd Berg - Assistant Manager

Odd joins Odd you couldn't write it! The 68-year-old brings invaluable experience to the backroom team. Fantastic attacking and tactical coach coupled with his style of play makes him a fantastic right-hand man.

Asle Andersen - Head Of Youth Development

Asle join from the lower regions of Norwegian football, His work clearly catching the eyes of Nesselquist down in the lower reaches of the game. Great attribute spread and personality. He has been tasked with getting more out of an already decent youth system.

Hallvar Thoresen - Chief Scout

Hallvar with 50 Norwegian caps and stellar career as an attacking midfielder mainly at PSV Eindhoven will now run the scouting side of the club. He however is fond of the club having been director of football back in 2006. He will be expected to unearth some of the hidden talents in the Scandinavian region. joining him is Torben Aakjær former off Hamburg, Man united and Zenit he will search Denmark for potential Odd sensations.

Torben Aakjær - Scout

Coaching Team

The coaching team that Nesselquist has assembled is best in every department in the Eliteserien. The young manager has stacked his backroom team with quality to help him prosper in his new role. Great balance of experience, youth, ex internationals and Unknowns from the lower regions of Norwegian football. Erik Hoftun legendary Rosenborg centre back again adds fast experience at this level.

The Squad

Goalkeepers

Sondre Rossbach gives the squad a real solid foundation. a bit of a football manager cult hero in recent years. Surprised he has not been capped by the national side considering he has been Odds number one since 2015. He is back up by Egil Selvik who himself has decent potential if he can sort out his handling.

Sondre Rossbach

Defenders

Espen Ruud, Steffen Hagen and Fredrik Semb Berge represent 3 highly experienced defenders at the club. Most of them having spent most of their careers at the club. Club captain Hagen has played with the club since 2006. Berge has played since 2005 although he had one season away 2014/2015. Ruud 2003 but did however play in Denmark from 2008/2009 - 2014/2015. These 3 are core to the defence right from the off.

If Hagen is the leader of the old heads, I would say that Odin Bjørtuft is the leader of the wave off youth coming through at the club, a modern day Hagen if you will, in the sense that he like many now is a Ball Playing centre half. He leads the likes of Egell-Johnsen a solid RB the heir to Ruud's throne along with a trio of potential young centre backs in Hallstensen, Maeland and Amshatat who are in the very early stages of breaking in but give the older heads something to think about.

John Kitolano is the sole left back at the club. He has returned on load to the club where he graduated the academy. He has the potential to be a real superstar and there is an option to buy for 375k, but with the wages he is on at wolves it will most likely prove a stumbling block.

Espen Ruud

Fredrik Semb Berge

Steffen Hagen

Odin Bjørtuft

John Kitolano

Midfielders

The most experienced midfielder is for sale and its really easy to understand why with the talent packed in here. 3 potential Superstars in Joshua Kitolano (yes brother of john and Eric who used to play here) Flip Rønningen Jørgensen and Syver Aas. Joshua has already made the breakthrough having played 36 league games over the last two seasons so he is ready to go. Rønningen Jørgensen is ready to burst onto the scene. Aas is not far behind but probably be limited.

Ahead of this unreal generation giving the centre of the park a real sense depth, there is Vebjørn Hoff formerly off Aalesund I remember him well and Markus Andre Kaasa who could still be considered a kid who broke into the first team around 2017 both players are considered leading Eliteserien players which all makes for a supreme middle of the park.

In the wide area the talismanic Elba Rashani provides the spark signed as a young boy he broke through at the club, and bar a 3 year spell away where he played for Brondby and Rosenborg he has been here the rest of his career. Having been pivotal in the last 3 years Nesselquist will sure look for him to carry on that way. 

elsewhere on the wings Bakenga and Kachi are probably back up options and severe as decent rotation options being able to play as central strikers as well. Both just arrived at the club so will likely see at least the first season. Rodic is on loan but is a waste of wages really but cant be terminated.

Joshua Kitolano

Flip Rønningen Jørgensen

Syver Aas

Vebjørn Hoff

Markus Andre Kaasa

Elba Rashani

Strikers

Tobias Lauritsen is really the only person to write home about. The big centre forward is a very rounded player and at the age of 22 very capable of being the player to lead the line for many years to come. He smashed home 32 goals in 26 games for our lower league rivals Pors (we once where affiliates as Grenland) the season before signing but in his first two season the goals haven't flowed yet for Odd. The fact that Simovic has just arrived at the club is the only reason he has not be transfer listed.

Tobias Lauritsen

Squad Summary

Overall its a good solid squad Nesselquist has to start from. Great number one between the sticks, a good solid defence in which to build a base from, A centre midfield bursting with talent, A tricky winger and great focal point to look to attack. Areas do need strengthening, a full time left back is top of the list another first choice wide man and a quick striker are all on the list. The first 11 certainly looks strong enough to surpass the mid table mediocracy but the squad depth may show some issues.

League In Focus 

Rosenborg Truly dominate Norwegian football. In the last 30 years the longest streak they went without the title was 4 years 2010-2015. Molde FK won it 3 of they 4 years Rosenborg never and won the 2019 title to take there tally to 4 in the last ten years so its safe to say there the closest rival.

Bodo/Glimt who have been somewhat of yoyo club for many years have sparked into life. With a golden generation and a great philosophy they are sticking there name in the hat and paying entertaining football along the way.

Brann from Bergen Norway's second largest city they are considered one of the biggest clubs in the country and have a superb fan base. The fact they only have 3 league titles to there name shows you how tough it really is. 

Valerenga from the Capital Oslo are probably one of the biggest underachievers in Norwegian football, they have the infrastructure of a massive club the stadium, facilities and fanbase (being from the biggest city) but again only 5 league titles to there name. Odds long term manager Dag-Eilev Fagermo has recently joined there to try turn this around and get them challenging regularly. 

Viking from Stavanger the oil and gas capital of Norway so as you can imagine a busy city with people bursting for a football club to be proud of. They do represent the closest league title haul in the top division with 8 titles due to the fact Fredrikstad on 9 titles play in the 3rd tier (good save idea). Viking were relegated recently but bounced back right away and won the cup.

All in all Norwegian football isn't heavily supported in terms of attendance. The highest average attendance being around 12,000 most fans prefer Liverpool and Manchester United. But with the chance of a golden generation the Norwegian game is starting to buzz again. Possibly someone to rival the dominance will truly help. Lets all hope its Odd.

[John Joe O'toole]

Interested to see your early season results

[SixPointer]

13 minutes ago, John Joe O'toole said:

Interested to see your early season results

Thanks man! Will be updated tonight should have half the season posted 👍🏻

[SixPointer]

Odds BK Chasing Glory

Transfer Business

Earlier I talked about key areas that needed strengthening, A left back, Wide Midfielder and some pace in attack. The scouts got to work mainly in the divisions lower than us to find a bargain or two.

Incoming

Four arrivals before the deadline passed. One major signing at left back and 3 younger players who can challenge for a first team slot. 3 absolute bargains as well.

Simen Kind Mikalsen

The big signing of the window for Nesselquist, attacking full back from recently relegated lillestrøm. Physically and technically great a few issues with some mental attributes but at the price and the fact he is coming into his prime am sure it will prove to be a very astute bit of business from Nesselquist and co.

Conrad Wallem

Young winger arrives from Arendal @Louisking1992 knows all about the kid and am led to believe he signed for Odd in real life so how about that. Great potential and at 10k insane value for money. Am stuck between loaning him out for guaranteed first team football or breaking him in. I think with the potential I would like him to go and be a star player somewhere for a season at least. But perhaps give him the early games to impress.

Vegard Erlien

Another little gem for peanuts. He will battle it out with Wallem early doors to see who goes on loan. Its close between the two. Vegard maybe slightly more matured. Only his decisions let him down but at 21 still has room to improve. A great bit of business again Nesselquist using his knowledge of the lower leagues.

Jon Tveit Rønning

Jon definitely was not a first choice option. Nesselquist had been trying to persuade Oscar Aga to join from the lower leagues but would leave due to a new contract. Jon then popped up and with his pace and price and some other raw attributes, Nesselquist decided to gamble on the young forward. Definitely a back up option to big Tobias but am sure he can have an effect through the season.

Outgoing

Birk Risa the flying left back had already left by the time Nesselquist was appointed shame as he is a terrific talent. Nordkvelle the veteran was moved on and found himself a nice final pay day in Saudi Arabia. Skogvoll was lingering in the reserve team and basically got moved on to accommodate Wallem. Three of the younger players found themselves out on loan to get some first team experience in particular both players joining sleeping giants Fredrikstad will be expected to perform well.

   Tactics

Anyone who has read any of my previous stuff will know I like to dig deep in to the tactical side of the game. Either in my career updates or in my debut tactical article that I done in FM20. Where I re created Gian Piero Gasperini Atalanta tactics. So again once I get odd up and running fully expect to see some real depth in this area. First season may be slow in that regard as I fine tune systems etc. 

I always use a real life idea as a starting point to help me achieve what I want to see on the pitch. This year I was so undecided what direction I wanted to go before I started Odd. after realising Nesselquist was a massive Notts Forest fan I thought about using Brian Clough as a starting point but for now that is being saved possibly for later as Nesselquist matures as a manager. I wanted a system to show his youth at innovative side. So its loosely based on Odds most famous European opponents Borussia Dortmund's 343 ideas.

Counter System

Here ive set about making highly compact counter attacking system. Where we will look to play intelligent counter football. With overloaded wide areas we will look to win the ball back then attack teams down the sides.

The press will not engage till much deeper but when it does it will be urgent, this backed with a higher D line than LOE will help keep the team compact and hard to play through. Add in the fact we will push our opponents into wide areas where we will look to win the ball back and instantly hit them down the sides.

To help create the wide overloads along with the roles and duties selected. we will focus play down the wings and play a little wider. Playing out of defence will insure we don't just waste the ball with hopeless passes. its more intricate play we are looking for rather than direct counter passing. We want to knock the ball about deep draw the opponent out and pick our time to strike wisely. This gives us great variation either turnover and go for the killer or build until it opens up for that killer chance. (if you have not read @Rashidi article about the focus play changes this year and are keen on overloads I highly suggest reading it)

Sweeper keeper on support will help launch counter attacks and with our pressing strategy if balls over the top do happen on occasion he should along with the cover duty mop it up.

A back three with two solid old school defenders who will be covered with Ball player who we will look to hit defensive splitting passes from deep after turnover or help bring the ball out of defence in early build up. Much like Matt Hummels at Dortmund.

In the middle there is a pivot in the DLP who will link defence and midfield and help protect the back 3. He will also be a asset when turnovers happen as he will also be expected to launch killer balls (PI Take More Risks Passing active). The Box to Box is the runner and is responsible for linking midfield to attack and will be expected to arrive late. Especially if we turnover I want to see him burst a gut to get to the edge of the box. The Box to box could well be tweaked to a Mezzala to give us even more players in the half space but leaves me worried we could be overrun if we are countered ourselves.

two attacking wide midfielders will be ready to cause havoc if the ball is won back. As they attack the half space the wing backs will stretch the width. This provides us with nice natural overlaps purely down to the roles rather than any duty or instruction. If we can get these areas working well it could prove to be lethal. If opponents don't recognise the overload they could easily find there full backs being pulled all over the place.

The Poacher is designed to pin the opponents centre backs, hanging on the shoulder waiting to break the offside trap and latch on to a killer pass. Having move into channels active am hoping his movement can help pin both centre backs as he moves to either channel as we switch play. That way it can help free up space for the attacking midfielders. It will also help us in the quest to overload the wide areas.

 Possession System

This setup provides us with a higher pressing more possession orientated system designed for teams that park the bus or simply aren't falling into our trap above. This time we are looking to overload the centre off the park by playing narrow and focusing play through the middle. Shorter passing should help with the narrow overload helping people keep it simple in the congested area. Work ball into box will encourage us to bide our time for the right chance. 

Counter press and Counter are ticked to still give us that sharp counter ability if we do turnover higher up but still want to see us to not waste it by rushing the chance.

We are set up for a higher press looking to suffocate the opponents into wasteful high balls. If they wont attack and fall into our trap of the counter this press is designed to go after them and hunt them down in there own third.

The roles are much the same, We have swapped the inside forward sides again variation from the first option as we look to release him after overloading on the left now. The Poacher is Swapped for a Deep lying forward as we look to use him to draw the opponents out and link play.

Duties wise we are now looking for more out of the left wing back expecting him to now attack the flank and allow the Inverted winger join in the central overload earlier. This gives us a nice out ball on the left from the central overload. The DLP now has a licence to support play more due to the fact we are looking to now dominate the ball. Due to this we could well see the cover BPD switched to a stopper depending on opponents shape as we could use him to press the space left in the middle if we were to loose the ball high up.

Pre Season

A successful pre season indeed up until a poor 3-2 loss in the last friendly too second tier Swedish side Trelleborg's FF. Goals flowed well 15 in 7 games averaging around 2 a game for pre season am pretty happy with that as we played some high class opponents especially the two big sides from Stockholm Djuragardens IF and Hammarby IF. Conceding 8 not ideal but we did however keep 4 clean sheets. All in all Nesselquist's preparations have went well.

First Half Of The Season

We kick off our league campaign by welcoming SK Brann to town. A tough one for a starter will be a very hard fought game and will have to be at our best. Travelling to Haugensund should provide a stern test as they have been top half in recent years, It does not get any easier as the team from the capital visit before two colossal challenges on the road as we tackle the giants Rosenborg the travel to the artic to face the new kids on the bloke Bodo/Glimt. A very very tough opening 5 games for Nesselquist's Odd side.

Well its safe to say things hit the ground running. One win in 5 would normally be concerning, But due to the opposition its a very reasonable start to the season. A lack of goals is a bit of a worry no doubt but major clean sheets against Brann, Valerenga and especially in the visit to Trondheim to take on the giants Rosenborg. Nesselquist is more than happy.

"yes we should be taking our chances more, We have dominated Brann, Valerenga and Rosenborg and came away with draws, but had you asked me before a ball was kicked I would have taking it, but yes finishing practice is on the cards"

Current club captain cements himself as a legend at the club after the Valerenga game makes him the record holder.

The ball started hitting the back of the net as we go ten unbeaten, Great point away at Molde rounded off a nice start to the season. Picking up 4 wins and 6 draws is a good start considering we have played the top 6 teams in the league.

Sarpsborg late equaliser was a blow

"After ten games I am delighted with our league position, The boys have worked hard to implement my new ways and my style and its worked on the pitch so the credit is due on them more than me I just give them a platform" 

Very modest from the 2017 young coach of the year.

The Perfect 5

The perfect 5 wins takes our unbeaten run to 15 games! Nesselquist's men are flying! There brand of football is catching many opponents unaware and there paying a heavy price.

  

 Record Breakers

Tobias Does The Damage

Very fitting that I beat my local side to go top of the league. We still have to take more of our chances. In order to help us I switched the Deep lying forward role to a target man and its sent big Lauritsen on the path as he now has 6 league goals after struggling to find the back of the net. 

Our set plays have been key and here is Tobias tucking away a Ruud corner 

Improvements

You would think after the start we had they would give us some good news?

Nesselquist talks the board round and we now are Excellent in youth recruitment which is key! The club is well known for pulling in the best local talent in the area now this should help us capture more of the scope in Norway as a whole. 

Another huge step in terms of the level of player arriving at youth level! The club as we have already seen boasts right now some legends that came through years ago. but also hosts 5/6 players if really high potential of more recent times so again this will help boost us in this sense and the quest to be the best!

Up Next

Next update will have the second half of the season, can Nesselquist and co carry this incredible start on? Are they genuine title contenders already?

Thanks for reading.

[Bissan]

This is amazing! Odd is my local team, and it's really fun to read this! Just one (small) thing, I don't think Odd would ever employ Hallvar Thoresen as a scout again. They used him once, and he provided Odd with the legend Zbynek Pospech. The most expensive signing in Odds history, and he was awful. Scored 4 goals in his only season for the club, and he was a striker. I remember him scoring against Start from the midfield, while I was celebrating my birthday with my friends. 

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, Bissan said:

This is amazing! Odd is my local team, and it's really fun to read this! Just one (small) thing, I don't think Odd would ever employ Hallvar Thoresen as a scout again. They used him once, and he provided Odd with the legend Zbynek Pospech. The most expensive signing in Odds history, and he was awful. Scored 4 goals in his only season for the club, and he was a striker. I remember him scoring against Start from the midfield, while I was celebrating my birthday with my friends. 

Brilliant glad that your enjoying!! Oh thanks for that. He will be replaced then at the first chance we have off someone good. I tried to do even more research on the club. But found it hard finding things in English! I’ve been using a Norwegian friend at work for advice and what I could find as my basis just now. 

[John Joe O'toole]

7 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Odds BK Chasing Glory

Transfer Business

Earlier I talked about key areas that needed strengthening, A left back, Wide Midfielder and some pace in attack. The scouts got to work mainly in the divisions lower than us to find a bargain or two.

Incoming

Four arrivals before the deadline passed. One major signing at left back and 3 younger players who can challenge for a first team slot. 3 absolute bargains as well.

Simen Kind Mikalsen

The big signing of the window for Nesselquist, attacking full back from recently relegated lillestrøm. Physically and technically great a few issues with some mental attributes but at the price and the fact he is coming into his prime am sure it will prove to be a very astute bit of business from Nesselquist and co.

Conrad Wallem

Young winger arrives from Arendal @Louisking1992 knows all about the kid and am led to believe he signed for Odd in real life so how about that. Great potential and at 10k insane value for money. Am stuck between loaning him out for guaranteed first team football or breaking him in. I think with the potential I would like him to go and be a star player somewhere for a season at least. But perhaps give him the early games to impress.

Vegard Erlien

Another little gem for peanuts. He will battle it out with Wallem early doors to see who goes on loan. Its close between the two. Vegard maybe slightly more matured. Only his decisions let him down but at 21 still has room to improve. A great bit of business again Nesselquist using his knowledge of the lower leagues.

Jon Tveit Rønning

Jon definitely was not a first choice option. Nesselquist had been trying to persuade Oscar Aga to join from the lower leagues but would leave due to a new contract. Jon then popped up and with his pace and price and some other raw attributes, Nesselquist decided to gamble on the young forward. Definitely a back up option to big Tobias but am sure he can have an effect through the season.

Outgoing

Birk Risa the flying left back had already left by the time Nesselquist was appointed shame as he is a terrific talent. Nordkvelle the veteran was moved on and found himself a nice final pay day in Saudi Arabia. Skogvoll was lingering in the reserve team and basically got moved on to accommodate Wallem. Three of the younger players found themselves out on loan to get some first team experience in particular both players joining sleeping giants Fredrikstad will be expected to perform well.

   Tactics

Anyone who has read any of my previous stuff will know I like to dig deep in to the tactical side of the game. Either in my career updates or in my debut tactical article that I done in FM20. Where I re created Gian Piero Gasperini Atalanta tactics. So again once I get odd up and running fully expect to see some real depth in this area. First season may be slow in that regard as I fine tune systems etc. 

I always use a real life idea as a starting point to help me achieve what I want to see on the pitch. This year I was so undecided what direction I wanted to go before I started Odd. after realising Nesselquist was a massive Notts Forest fan I thought about using Brian Clough as a starting point but for now that is being saved possibly for later as Nesselquist matures as a manager. I wanted a system to show his youth at innovative side. So its loosely based on Odds most famous European opponents Borussia Dortmund's 343 ideas.

Counter System

Here ive set about making highly compact counter attacking system. Where we will look to play intelligent counter football. With overloaded wide areas we will look to win the ball back then attack teams down the sides.

The press will not engage till much deeper but when it does it will be urgent, this backed with a higher D line than LOE will help keep the team compact and hard to play through. Add in the fact we will push our opponents into wide areas where we will look to win the ball back and instantly hit them down the sides.

To help create the wide overloads along with the roles and duties selected. we will focus play down the wings and play a little wider. Playing out of defence will insure we don't just waste the ball with hopeless passes. its more intricate play we are looking for rather than direct counter passing. We want to knock the ball about deep draw the opponent out and pick our time to strike wisely. This gives us great variation either turnover and go for the killer or build until it opens up for that killer chance. (if you have not read @Rashidi article about the focus play changes this year and are keen on overloads I highly suggest reading it)

Sweeper keeper on support will help launch counter attacks and with our pressing strategy if balls over the top do happen on occasion he should along with the cover duty mop it up.

A back three with two solid old school defenders who will be covered with Ball player who we will look to hit defensive splitting passes from deep after turnover or help bring the ball out of defence in early build up. Much like Matt Hummels at Dortmund.

In the middle there is a pivot in the DLP who will link defence and midfield and help protect the back 3. He will also be a asset when turnovers happen as he will also be expected to launch killer balls (PI Take More Risks Passing active). The Box to Box is the runner and is responsible for linking midfield to attack and will be expected to arrive late. Especially if we turnover I want to see him burst a gut to get to the edge of the box. The Box to box could well be tweaked to a Mezzala to give us even more players in the half space but leaves me worried we could be overrun if we are countered ourselves.

two attacking wide midfielders will be ready to cause havoc if the ball is won back. As they attack the half space the wing backs will stretch the width. This provides us with nice natural overlaps purely down to the roles rather than any duty or instruction. If we can get these areas working well it could prove to be lethal. If opponents don't recognise the overload they could easily find there full backs being pulled all over the place.

The Poacher is designed to pin the opponents centre backs, hanging on the shoulder waiting to break the offside trap and latch on to a killer pass. Having move into channels active am hoping his movement can help pin both centre backs as he moves to either channel as we switch play. That way it can help free up space for the attacking midfielders. It will also help us in the quest to overload the wide areas.

 Possession System

This setup provides us with a higher pressing more possession orientated system designed for teams that park the bus or simply aren't falling into our trap above. This time we are looking to overload the centre off the park by playing narrow and focusing play through the middle. Shorter passing should help with the narrow overload helping people keep it simple in the congested area. Work ball into box will encourage us to bide our time for the right chance. 

Counter press and Counter are ticked to still give us that sharp counter ability if we do turnover higher up but still want to see us to not waste it by rushing the chance.

We are set up for a higher press looking to suffocate the opponents into wasteful high balls. If they wont attack and fall into our trap of the counter this press is designed to go after them and hunt them down in there own third.

The roles are much the same, We have swapped the inside forward sides again variation from the first option as we look to release him after overloading on the left now. The Poacher is Swapped for a Deep lying forward as we look to use him to draw the opponents out and link play.

Duties wise we are now looking for more out of the left wing back expecting him to now attack the flank and allow the Inverted winger join in the central overload earlier. This gives us a nice out ball on the left from the central overload. The DLP now has a licence to support play more due to the fact we are looking to now dominate the ball. Due to this we could well see the cover BPD switched to a stopper depending on opponents shape as we could use him to press the space left in the middle if we were to loose the ball high up.

Pre Season

A successful pre season indeed up until a poor 3-2 loss in the last friendly too second tier Swedish side Trelleborg's FF. Goals flowed well 15 in 7 games averaging around 2 a game for pre season am pretty happy with that as we played some high class opponents especially the two big sides from Stockholm Djuragardens IF and Hammarby IF. Conceding 8 not ideal but we did however keep 4 clean sheets. All in all Nesselquist's preparations have went well.

First Half Of The Season

We kick off our league campaign by welcoming SK Brann to town. A tough one for a starter will be a very hard fought game and will have to be at our best. Travelling to Haugensund should provide a stern test as they have been top half in recent years, It does not get any easier as the team from the capital visit before two colossal challenges on the road as we tackle the giants Rosenborg the travel to the artic to face the new kids on the bloke Bodo/Glimt. A very very tough opening 5 games for Nesselquist's Odd side.

Well its safe to say things hit the ground running. One win in 5 would normally be concerning, But due to the opposition its a very reasonable start to the season. A lack of goals is a bit of a worry no doubt but major clean sheets against Brann, Valerenga and especially in the visit to Trondheim to take on the giants Rosenborg. Nesselquist is more than happy.

"yes we should be taking our chances more, We have dominated Brann, Valerenga and Rosenborg and came away with draws, but had you asked me before a ball was kicked I would have taking it, but yes finishing practice is on the cards"

Current club captain cements himself as a legend at the club after the Valerenga game makes him the record holder.

The ball started hitting the back of the net as we go ten unbeaten, Great point away at Molde rounded off a nice start to the season. Picking up 4 wins and 6 draws is a good start considering we have played the top 6 teams in the league.

Sarpsborg late equaliser was a blow

"After ten games I am delighted with our league position, The boys have worked hard to implement my new ways and my style and its worked on the pitch so the credit is due on them more than me I just give them a platform" 

Very modest from the 2017 young coach of the year.

The Perfect 5

The perfect 5 wins takes our unbeaten run to 15 games! Nesselquist's men are flying! There brand of football is catching many opponents unaware and there paying a heavy price.

  

 Record Breakers

Tobias Does The Damage

Very fitting that I beat my local side to go top of the league. We still have to take more of our chances. In order to help us I switched the Deep lying forward role to a target man and its sent big Lauritsen on the path as he now has 6 league goals after struggling to find the back of the net. 

Our set plays have been key and here is Tobias tucking away a Ruud corner 

Improvements

You would think after the start we had they would give us some good news?

Nesselquist talks the board round and we now are Excellent in youth recruitment which is key! The club is well known for pulling in the best local talent in the area now this should help us capture more of the scope in Norway as a whole. 

Another huge step in terms of the level of player arriving at youth level! The club as we have already seen boasts right now some legends that came through years ago. but also hosts 5/6 players if really high potential of more recent times so again this will help boost us in this sense and the quest to be the best!

Up Next

Next update will have the second half of the season, can Nesselquist and co carry this incredible start on? Are they genuine title contenders already?

Thanks for reading.

Cracking results, well done. Did you set your scouts to just loo for players in norway?

[SixPointer]

21 minutes ago, John Joe O'toole said:

Cracking results, well done. Did you set your scouts to just loo for players in norway?

Yeah just for the first window! After the deadline I’ve now upped it to Scandinavia As a whole!  

[Sheriff7]

Very good start! What us going on with Brann?

[SixPointer]

4 hours ago, Sheriff7 said:

Very good start! What us going on with Brann?

It’s very tight at the top let’s say that! Should finish the season tonight and start writing up! 

[SixPointer]

Odds BK Chasing Glory

Second Half Of The Season

Beginning the second round of fixtures Ole martin knew he would have his work cut out to keep this marvellous run going. At the start of the season, it was a tough start but now midway through with teams getting wise to his bullish style of play he expected I bigger challenge.

A trip to a packed out Brann Stadion is always a test (Norwegian away fans don't travel much due to the cost and problems getting there) but with the key cog in the back 3 Bjørtuft picking up and injury a day after Rønningen Jorgensen is ruled out told me right away the hard times were on the way.

"We never took our chances and in the end that has cost us dearly, Dominated the ball and created some good openings on another day we could have came away with the 3 points and in the end we pay the ultimate price as Brann break up the park and steal the winner, a very frustrating day indeed"

More frustration as the Injury list grows bigger

Bouncing back to winning ways at home to Haugesund was key as it keeps us in with a shout before going into a trio of extremely difficult games. Valerenga punished us again for not taking our chances on the road, before a very respectable point against Bodo/Glimt in very subdued affair. Rosenborg steam rolled us an early penalty sending them on there way. A tough start indeed to the second half of the season. Sees Odd slipping down to 4th place in the league.

Young Players Run Supreme To Lift The Mood

The only transfer business done in the window was a couple of sales, Simovic and Petersen are moved on for 40k not huge fees but both were on a decent wages and were unhappy so made sense. A few loans leave Wallem being the key one heading to Sweden for game time, he failed to make a early impact so think its best he goes and gets some experience at the level expected.

November started with great promise, as the goals flew in away at Sandefjord, but back to back defeats and 5 goals conceded and 0 scored it was worrying times for Nesselquist's Odd side. A good solid point against fellow title chasers Molde which in fact we really should have won but again failing to kick on and take it into the game against Sarpsborg and yet again not taking our chances really costing us vital points.

Nesselquist shows tactical flexibility and his pragmatic side

A very mixed month, the Stromsgodset result is a very poor one at home have to be better, Kristiansund have had a good season but again losing 3 goals is not acceptable our defence in the first half of the season was outstanding work needs to be done again in that department. After these two poor results things were shaken up as we seen Kitolano and Rønningen Jorgensen start to play a bigger part and it started to show promise. Along with moving too a back 4 with a half back for the Molde game to try shut them out.

Big performances from Kitolano and Jorgensen

"Both josh and Filip have shown me that they are now ready to run the game from the middle of the park for us together, Which now adds another dynamic until the end of the season for us"

Youth Academy

Although not famed as prolific club for producing talent it has however housed and brought through some great players. Rune Jarstein who has been Norway's number one for some time is probably the most high profile academy player. 

Two Fredrick's from the 90's age group, Semb Berge and Oldrup Jensen have been solid players in the Norwegian top division for best part of there careers and continue you to do so.

In more recent times have brought along players such as Thomas Grogaard (Brann), Rashani (Odd), Kaasa (Odd), Rafik Zekhnini (Lausanne), Rossbach (Odd) and our current stars Kitolano and Jorgensen.

And in years gone by Frode Johnsen the striker who earned 30 caps for Norway and Tommy Svindal Larsen the defensive midfielder made 24 appearances for Norway.

Looks a reasonable first intake from Asle Andresen. Defender, midfielder and striker showing promise I can definitely handle that now that our upgrades are only really kicking in. definitely something to look forward to.

      

With five games to go we still have an outside chance of sneaking the title but it would take something very special. I don't think it could get any tighter really with the sheer amount of teams in with a serious chance and the a duo with a half chance.

"Anything can happen in football ive already seen that in my first year in the top flight how things can change in spilt second so ill have the players ready to run through brick walls"

The final five games last time round this was a kind run of games for us as we won all five to top the league for albeit one round of games. Hopefully more of the same. Start are really battling relegation, Stabek are flying the from team in the league, Mjondalen are more or less relegated, Viking have struggled to find any consistency and Aalesund are playing well but have a very tough run of fixtures in the lead up to the game.

 

Odd 1-0 Start

"Yeah I spotted Antonio in the stand, I would imagine its the first time he has been to Skien in his Life I hope he brought his jacket"

The Stabek game lived up to its billing as entertaining match, Stabek dominated the game but it was two quick goals after the break that set the game a light!

A superb drive from young Kitolano brought the game to life, The a fantastic pass and run and sublime finish put Odd in the driving seat. Stabek had dominated but had be caught out twice now, especially the second goal guilty of trying to play too high a line.

Unbelievable pass from luc Kassi catches the Odd backline off guard, Then young Kitolano has a moment to forget as he plays the wrong square ball and gifts Stabek a point which in all honesty they deserved, but was a hard one to swallow.

Somehow don't think the Regista king will be very impressed with that poor pass he might like the goal. Either way young Joshua Kitolano has a few very big potential suitors. Inter, Juve, United, City and Chelsea all watching the kid.

Destruction of the now relegated Mjondalen knocks us up to 4th place in the league and gives us a real chance to get European football at the Skagerak Arena.

It was now Rønningen Jorgenson's turn for a screamer what a curled finish 

Club Captain doing his bit

The captain taking his rallying cry onto the pitch with him getting the winner and the man of the match not in a vintage performance, an Odd one where we wasted to many chances. But it sees us hold onto 4th possession going into the final game of the season and a real chance of a shot at Europe's new tournament.

   

Now going into the last game of the season in 4th place, But with Rosenborg on the same points and playing Mjondalen you would expect them to at least match our result and with us only one goal better off it would be tight with them. Valerenga sat just a point in front and have Brann visiting them who have fell apart in the second half of the season. (which is nice after ruining our unbeaten run) That game could well be a potential banana skin and give us a better chance of Europe. Needless to say it was going to the wire.

We done our bit coming from behind to beat Aalesund Jon Tveit Rønning proving to be the difference with two great finishes.

  In the end it wasn't enough. Valerenga won, and Rosenborg equalled the goal difference meaning they jumped us into 4th on the last day of the season.

"Its a very hard one too take sliding out the European slots on the last day, The players really rallied round to get some consistency, In the end it wasn't enough but we will bolster this already talented squad in the summer and come back even more hungry than this year am sure off it"

Final Tables

Bodo/Glimt finish as champion which am happy about due to the fact they sealed the title in real life, There first one so that fantastic and adds to more realism. We drop out of last seasons finish on the last day of the season is tough considering the start we had. But if you had offered me this at the start I would of taken it.

 Not scoring enough goals and too many draws was the route cause of problems. Defensively solid only Valerenga conceded less goals all season so that is a big positive to take.

OBOS-ligaen

Tromso return instantly back to the Eliteserien, making them the most northern top flight club in all of Europe again. Eirik Bakke guided his talented young Sogndal back to the top flight for the first time since 2017. Sievert Mannsverk there young club captain has been on Nesselquist's radar from the off. Strommen Nesselquist's former side struggled after he left and just managed to stay up.

  

Oscar Aga another man who has been on the radar from the offset finishes as top goalscorer playing for a relegated club, Am sure this will only enhance Nesselquist's opinion of the young striker.

Season review

In the end the season ended averagely after much promise, Records were still broken and there was positives. I think with a good summer to add depth and more quality we can mount a serious title challenge. Squad depth did prove to cost us in the middle part of the season. Already have a few signings confirmed for next year and a nice revenue for last season should help things in the summer, so its all to look forward to for young Nesselquist.

The finances have taking a real boost and we have a very nice budget to work with in the summer.

 

Thanks for reading, comments and upvotes people its well appreciated.

First season has been slightly rushed writing wise as I wasn't sure if I was going to write about it. I had planned another tactical thread but decided on a career update to start with. Next season will be more in depth and probably broken up into more instalments

SixPointer 

[False 9]

What’s your database setup? I’m looking to manage in Norway too.

[karanhsingh]

Just had a read through, great stuff so far. Will follow and I may also borrow your idea further down the line  Norway looks very interesting this year.

[Hootieleece]

Too bad you missed out on European places...time to kidnap Rosenborg's star player!

respectable finish otherwise....I'm hoping for the same in Hungary.

[SixPointer]

17 hours ago, False 9 said:

What’s your database setup? I’m looking to manage in Norway too.

What team you thinking of going?

[SixPointer]

15 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Just had a read through, great stuff so far. Will follow and I may also borrow your idea further down the line  Norway looks very interesting this year.

Thanks my man. Yeah definitely looking good this year, I really enjoyed it a few years back, and ive always liked the Nordic regions for a bargain  

[SixPointer]

15 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Too bad you missed out on European places...time to kidnap Rosenborg's star player!

respectable finish otherwise....I'm hoping for the same in Hungary.

Yeah was unfortunate, But maybe a blessing in disguise never had a lot of squad depth so addressing that this summer so gives us a year to build again before Europe. Think it maybe would have stretched the squad this year.  

[Rikulec]

Now that's a club I have a soft spot for! Will be following closely, best of luck mate.

[SimpleFM]

Good read! Norway is going to be my long term save after I finish my introduction to FM21 save with Schalke.

[SixPointer]

3 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Now that's a club I have a soft spot for! Will be following closely, best of luck mate.

Brilliant thanks mate. Why do you have a soft spot for them out of curiosity?

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, SimpleFM said:

Good read! Norway is going to be my long term save after I finish my introduction to FM21 save with Schalke.

Who you thinking off going?

[SimpleFM]

2 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Who you thinking off going?

Somebody in the division below, maybe Tromso. It looks like a cool place. Not sure, need to research a club and fall in love with it

[Rikulec]

6 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Brilliant thanks mate. Why do you have a soft spot for them out of curiosity?

I won the Norwegian league title with them on my FM16 Nordic save and really enjoyed my stay there. Built myself a really nice team, though it was already a few years into the save and it was mostly based on newgens.

[SixPointer]

12 hours ago, SimpleFM said:

Somebody in the division below, maybe Tromso. It looks like a cool place. Not sure, need to research a club and fall in love with it

I liked the idea of tromso. Most northern top team in Europe when they were in the Eliteserien. A league lower you have fredrickstad who have 9 top league titles for a fallen giant type. 
also take a lot at songdal some fantastic youth players. There young captain is brilliant and can build a team around him. 

[SixPointer]

8 hours ago, Rikulec said:

I won the Norwegian league title with them on my FM16 Nordic save and really enjoyed my stay there. Built myself a really nice team, though it was already a few years into the save and it was mostly based on newgens.

Love it hopefully I can do the same 

[Jogo Bonito]

Great thread, enjoyable story and excellent updates. I got quite interested in the league at the start of lockdown when Eurosport was showing stacks of games live each week. Unfortunately their broadcast deal just tailed off, I believe because some of the other European leagues returned and they must have felt there wouldn't be enough interest in it. 

[Hootieleece]

Great Save so far! I may be interested in a Scandinavian save one day....I have played as HK in Iceland, but does that "Hipster" team really count? LOL!

I do like smaller teams that have a chance...much like ODD!

[Sheriff7]

Very unlucky mate but you already made an excellent job there.

[SixPointer]

6 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Great thread, enjoyable story and excellent updates. I got quite interested in the league at the start of lockdown when Eurosport was showing stacks of games live each week. Unfortunately their broadcast deal just tailed off, I believe because some of the other European leagues returned and they must have felt there wouldn't be enough interest in it. 

Thanks Glad you enjoyed the first season. Yeah I like the football here. I think there’s a lot of immense talent to be found as well and always a great bargain. Just wish the fans in Norway would come out more rather than stay at home and watch liverpool and man united. 

[SixPointer]

5 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Great Save so far! I may be interested in a Scandinavian save one day....I have played as HK in Iceland, but does that "Hipster" team really count? LOL!

I do like smaller teams that have a chance...much like ODD!

There’s plenty great teams to choose from that’s the good part. It took me the whole of the beta to decided ahaha 

[SixPointer]

3 hours ago, Sheriff7 said:

Very unlucky mate but you already made an excellent job there.

Reasonable start. Add more depth and go again 

[John Joe O'toole]

20 hours ago, SixPointer said:

I liked the idea of tromso. Most northern top team in Europe when they were in the Eliteserien. A league lower you have fredrickstad who have 9 top league titles for a fallen giant type. 
also take a lot at songdal some fantastic youth players. There young captain is brilliant and can build a team around him. 

Their goalie on FM20 was class. Havard Hetle

[SixPointer]

3 hours ago, John Joe O'toole said:

Their goalie on FM20 was class. Havard Hetle

He is still. I signed him in the summer  if it wasn’t for Odd I definitely would have went songdal in terms of squad it’s brilliant for building. But I liked the back story of Odd more. Oldest club no title long term manager leaving. 

[SimpleFM]

On 09/12/2020 at 06:59, SixPointer said:

I liked the idea of tromso. Most northern top team in Europe when they were in the Eliteserien. A league lower you have fredrickstad who have 9 top league titles for a fallen giant type. 
also take a lot at songdal some fantastic youth players. There young captain is brilliant and can build a team around him. 

Started my researching, I think you nailed it with those options. Tromso, its nice looking city and sounds nice being the most northern team in Europe. Fredrickstad with all their history and Songdal with their young captain to build around.

Also was looking at Bryne, back where Haaland started his career.

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, SimpleFM said:

Started my researching, I think you nailed it with those options. Tromso, its nice looking city and sounds nice being the most northern team in Europe. Fredrickstad with all their history and Songdal with their young captain to build around.

Also was looking at Bryne, back where Haaland started his career.

yeah. there is a lot of good choices. someone else pointed out to me that skied from Oslo also well know for brining through talented youth players. Lillestrøm also abit of a fallen giant. 

Tromso to rival bodo/Glimt who are flying is a good story as well both the big clubs from the arctic.

sogndal really do have a great young core in place for you to build from a unreal keeper and captain are just the two big parts.

Fredirkstadt is the historic choice. 

am sure whoever you choose you'll find someone perfect for your thinking 

[SixPointer]

Odds Bk Chasing Glory

So the second season begins, This year Ole Martin Nesselquist will be looking to go at least one better and get a European slot. There is an added bonus this year as the Cup returns which Odd have a great history am sure Nesselquist wouldn't mind adding his name to the 13th successful win for Odd.

 

The fixtures are out! That Last day of the season!

The Transfer Window

Today we are reporting on the incomings at Odd this transfer window later we will hear from manager Ole Martin Nesselquist in his first exclusive interview since the window slammed shut.

  

There was no fewer than 7 arrivals the day the window opened up! In what would be the start of a very busy window at the Skagerak Arena. Ole Martin is not hanging around in bolstering his squad.

On a free transfer from Molde

 "Ive brought Stian to the club as he is good solid defender who can be relied on and at 25 he still has a big future in the game i feel we can get his best footballing years here at Odd" 

200k from Tromso

"Mikael joins off the back off a very good promotion campaign with Tromso, At one point before he left for Sweden he was one of the big talents in Norway I feel me and my coaching staff can unlock that potential again which seen him score 11 league goals in 2017"

13.5k from Grorud

"Its been no secret my to bring Oscar to the club, someone ive followed since his youth days at stabaek a natural goalscorer as we seen last year in the OBOS-ligaen. Last year I Felt Tobias carried us a lot so Oscar should shoulder some of the burden"

£325 from Grorud

"Christos is an exceptional young footballer the minute I knew he was interested in joining our ranks I jumped at the chance. Already at the age of 17 he is very all action and is idea type of player we want to attract to the club young and hungry with a point to prove after leaving the Valerenga academy"

 

On a free transfer from Tromso

"I doubt there isn't many people in Norway who don't know about the potential talent of Sigurd. I think in a season or two Sigurd could really play a massive part here at Odd he has all the right attributes to be a star"

205k From Stabaek

"Luc was a standout performer against us twice last year and ever since I have been chasing him. He gives us something completely different from wide or central attacking midfield areas, more of a playmaker rather than winger or forward"

155k from Brann

"Nico for some reason never made the breakthrough at Brann but for me there loss is our gain. for such a young player he has a fantastic brain much like our captain Steffen who of course will be helping bring Nico on"

Well a very busy first day down at The Skagerak Arena Ole Martin shared a few words with us about the opening window.

"So far so good, Last season I feel our squad depth let us down massively, a few key injuries and we were down to the bare bones. So this window me and the recruitment team are working together to resolve this issue. we already had a good basis of a team we just needed to add to the quality. we carry on to look for young hungry footballers. But if the right pro comes along we wont hesitate either its all about balance and as we can see from our early business we have installed that balance"

Youth Academy

Asle Andersen's first intake at the club, By no means a golden generation but at least two players who will definitely with the right guidance make it to the top team.

The one to watch according to our coaching staff, Has a lot of key attributes and very determined which is always good for development still very raw but can be worked on for sure. From near by Porsgrunn which helps with the clubs philosophy of dominating the talent pool in the Telemark district.

For me personally this is the true one to watch from the intake. Has more key attributes, very determined but also his personality being resilient can only aid his development. This time he is from a lorenskog just outside Oslo, so good to see we are looking at talent just along the road. 

The last notable mention is a local lad from Skien who is an Odd supporter, Has good mental attributes again the determination is there but the personality is poor so definitely take some work getting this supporter to his beloved first team but he has a chance.

"All in all I think Asle and his team have done a great job in there first year in a new academy, The players coming through are a determined bunch which is key for me personally speaking, and the board is striving to help Asle and his team so I think its just the start of a very prosperous combination"  Ole Martin told Odd supporters in the program for the Fredrikstad friendly

Pre-Season

This year pre season was absolutely key, with a bigger squad and more time it was key to make sure everyone got a chance to shine and get fit. I also had to make sure we tested ourselves. It would be a chance for many of the younger players to stake a claim to make the 25 man league squad. It also gives us a chance to tweak tactics for the league campaign with new players comes more options.

 

A nice scope of friendlies, a good blend of tough games and lower league teams. Couple stand out results being 5-1 win against Rijeka and a 1-0 win against Swedish giants AIK.

Regardless of the gap its always good to beat the local rival!

"I'm delighted for Sondre its been a long time coming and he now follows in Rune Jarstein footsteps becoming another famous Odd son to wear the Norway number one! am sure his dad Einar who also dawned the strip off Norway in goals is immensely proud of his son and rightly so" 

Deadline day is here so we have returned to interview Ole Martin Nesselquist to talk about his final business in this window.

Appears Jostein Grindhaug at Haugesund was closely watching Odds business, when sub goalkeeper Selvik, Bakenga and Kachi were all made available, Some fans questioned Nesselquist after letting Selvik leave he had potential.

"I know people have questioned the sale of Egil, He came to me asking if he would be first choice but its clear Sondre is first choice he was arguably our best player last year. So we all came to the agreement at 23 its maybe best for everyone if he moved on, he needed first team football we got a good fee the rest is history the world as they say"

675k from Sogndal

His replacement for an extra 175k who is 6 years younger and about the same level if not better.

"Sondre now has some stern competition in this young man I think they will both push each other onto higher levels" 

300k from Start

player I signed way back when I done my Aalesund save and he became a star, here he looks average will do the back up job.

With john returning to wolves we needed an addition at left wing back Kristoffer had a good season last year and was unlucky to be relegated so we have snapped him up"

"Ivar is a good solid pro and he has allowed us to let some of the young talented boys head out for first team football, You know what your getting with Ivar the simple things done right"

With players leaving on loan in search of first team football I added these two just purely as cover options. 

"I had been chasing Markus Solbakken but then Isaac was brought to my attention, He gave more steal than Markus did and ultimately its a better match, Still comfortable on the ball like the players we already have but a far more adept tackler than the rest" 

Youth Additions

Flying Left wing back who looks like he will go on to be a top top player, A youth goalkeeper from Finland who already has good basic attributes and looks also to be a astute bit of business, Emir Comor has something but is a bit rough around the edges at the minute, And Miran Kuci cost us 250k but is looking like the Heir to Steffen Hagen's throne even at the age of 17 some remarkable attributes.

 

Ole we are wondering your thinking about sending so many youth player out on loan? even with some fans suggesting players such as Wallem, Aas, Maeland, Gronli, Zafeiris and Kuci are ready to challenge senior players?

"The reason simply put is at these clubs they will play week in week out, Maeland, Gronli and Wallem have seen first team action last season so its to keep that up The younger player is to get them the invaluable experience. I spoke with Asle and he agreed that the under 19 league is not as competitive as most of the clubs the boys are away to join. Of course we will will be watching closely to make sure the moves are working out"

And Ole how do you fell the summer window has went

"We secured all the targets we wanted, Beefed up the squad with some real quality and we have brought in some fantastically talented younger players, Moved on some players that were not in the plans and we secured a few deals for next year which am sure the news will break soon all in all am very happy, Its been a good pre season the boys are now raring to get into the league and cup"

Thanks Ole for your time.  

[Hootieleece]

Great post! Really enjoy your "Interview" writing style!

Good Luck with the 2nd season! Avoid the Sophmore Slump!

 

[SixPointer]

4 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Great post! Really enjoy your "Interview" writing style!

Good Luck with the 2nd season! Avoid the Sophmore Slump!

 

Thanks it’s something I’ve done previously! Plus a big shout goes to @Bissan who has gave me lots of info on Odd related stuff which helped me add the depth. 

[karanhsingh]

Nice write-up for the transfers, KUTGW!

[SixPointer]

On 11/12/2020 at 10:32, karanhsingh said:

Nice write-up for the transfers, KUTGW!

Thanks man

[SixPointer]

Odds Bk Chasing Glory

Start Of The Season 2021

First five games of the season is started off with a tough trip Kristiansund my local team Aalesund provide the opposition for the first game at the Skagerak Arena. 2020 title winners on the own patch looks the pick of opening fixtures, before Tromso get there Eliteserien fix after a year out then we round off at Sarpsborg.

Aalesund felt the wrath after a bore 0-0 draw in Kristiansund, The result looked to ignite Odd's start and Nesselquist would be hoping to take this sort of performance into the Bodo/Glimt game. Two bad injuries side lined both players due to play on the right of the front 3.

  

The champions finally gave us a good going over, drawing twice last season were both teams probably deserved a win from each, well this time just before half time the pressure told and by the hour mark the game was dead and buried. The tactic until that point has served to keep the champions at distance  but eventually something gave way. 10 game unbeaten run ripped up in the process.

 

Bouncing back with a win against the other team from the north assured that the wheels hadn't came off. 2-2 at Sarpsborg confirmed work needed to be done on the road, A early missed penalty and a late equaliser costing us in otherwise a game we dominated.

 

The cup is back after it missing a year due to Covid 19, Odd has a great love affair with the trophy so its great to see it back for 2021

Talk about a classic cup tie!
In the end young Oscar Aga saved our blushes, The poacher getting us back level then winning it in extra time to save a big upset he did blow a chance at a hatrick! 39 shots on goal must be some sort of record there Keeper was unreal!

As they say the names in the draw!

Tricky tie away to Sandnes Ulf who have made a winning start in there first five games of the league!

The Oscar Aga show yet again! Now everyone is started to realise why Ole Martin Nesselquist was adamant to get him to the club! His early goal scoring form is so good its made Ole Martin tinker with his shape.

The first sample of a Nesselquist 2 man frontline, as he looks to form a partnership up top with his two lethal strikers.

Third round throws up a colossal tie!

Monthly Review April

Board are happy at this point, Fans are happy with transfer business mainly down to Oscar Aga hitting 6 goals in his first 5 games.

Certainly making good chances, Just need to start taking them more often. But still performing on the clinical end of the scope which can only be good, I know its early but its area that needed addressing after last season.

Defensively maybe not as solid as early last season was, But its natural process when starting to look for more goals until the perfect balance is found, Due to the fact there has been a slight tinkering with tactics that will be covered later.

Other News

The club went on a hunt for a affiliate club, The board done outstanding offering up three fantastic options. Two Icelandic clubs well know for having good youth systems and then Swedish club Bromma who not only have a huge name are well know for having a huge youth setup think it actually boasts the most youth teams in European football.

Excellent youth recruitment but other than that the side from the capital appeared the weakest.

A step up in level with good facilities, coaching and a excellent recruitment definitely the front runner at this point, and Iceland as a nation has been doing well of late it proposed a nice prospect. Having produced Bjorn Sigurdsson who has graced the Norwegian game who recently just left for UAE in the game he had good spells at Molde and Lillestrøm. Another recent high profile talent that came from the academy was Arnor Sigurdsson who plays his football at CSKA Moscow. 

 

The Swedish club know for its talent factory, doesn't really possess the facilities, But it smashes the ball out the park with its famed youth setup which has be responsible for producing the likes off the Albin Ekdal, John Guidetti, Ludwig Augustinsson and Dejan Kulusevski. Although my research through up some darker sides to the academy it nonetheless has proved to be successful.

The Curious Case of Brommapojkarna - Sweden's talent factory and the dark side of one of Europe's foremost academies : soccer (reddit.com)

Don't think it would have taken a rocket scientist to work out the choice here! They bounced back from relegation in the first season in the game. This is actually a team that I toyed with the idea of doing youth only this year after there relegation to the 3rd tier. There distinct lack of fans made me swerve it but a good idea for someone else perhaps.

May 2021

May brings a few interesting games no more so than Valerenga who blew us away last season at there place, Stromsgodset are flying as well they two games jump out as big tests, but Brann and Stabek will also give Nesselquist's men a lot to think about, Haugesund and Sogndal are teams that Odd should really now be beating if they are to mount an assault for European football. Throw in a cup tie with Molde and it makes for a telling month.

A second half collapse leaves Ole Martin scratching his head, A massive chance slips to make a real statement and with Molde up next in the Cup it doesn't leave much time to ponder things.

"I feel yet again we really have lost the battle in the middle of the park, and we have been ran over the top, I feel its more my set up than the boys leaving them out numbered so its something me and my coaching team need to look at" 

Whatever you done Ole Martin Nesselquist it worked!

Wow it really has clicked!

The Oscar Aga Show Yet Again!

Inspired performance away from home using the new look 352 shape. Totally outscoring the XG and the front two firing goals and a trio of assists from the young right wing back. I will cover the tactic after a short highlight reel!

Talk about route one, talk about little and large!

This goal is a real work of art from kick off from there goal (someone let me know how to share a bigger clip) I don't think there will be a better goal all season!

That ball to the back post causing all sorts of mayhem! Aga poaching of the highest order!

 

The big target man wasn't for letting the wee man get on the end of all the crosses, Lauritsen movement here is brilliant, running on the blind side of the CB to go unmarked and a tidy finish!

Another beautiful team move showing us work the ball nicely then capitalise on the space in behind for Aga to then do what Aga does! this leads me on nicely to the tactical change.

  

Having come to the conclusion that certain things just simply were not working in the 343 or the 442 I had to sit about a shift in plan.

Things I needed to address

• Getting that solid defence back into play
• Being over run in the middle of the park
• Making the most of a two man strike partnership

This lead to the realisation that in order to have all these 3 things, I had to adapt my shape.

3 at the back stayed in order to get that solid base working again I Have shifted the BPD to the RCB slot reasons why

• Main reason was to stop Hagen being destroyed for pace by wide men he came up against often.
• Hagen central presence as the all out defender, along with his immense ability to read the game shored up the issue with ST getting the better of us.
• Bjørtuft shifted wider has aided build as he now escapes the CF direct marking and pressing, It also helps him launch balls into the TM.

Shifting to a 3 man centre midfield will aid many things

• Mainly it will stop us being over run, in the 343 the CM's at times just had to much work to do, in particular against 3 man midfields.
• It allows us to field more players in our strongest area of the pitch, with a mix of Hoff, Kitolano, Kaasa, Jorgenson allows for 3 of our best players in.
• The central positional overload is designed to allow us to draw our opponent out and leave space to pass the ball wide to attack flank or play in behind.

Switching to little and large purely because both are fire early season

• Gives us two players that can give us a deadly partnership, Lauritsen gives us a target to build from, Aga gets in behind constantly.
• Both are brilliant at attacking our crosses into the into the box and equally can apply the finish. 
• They can also be used as a two man press allowing the rest of the team to get its defensive shape back.

In terms of the team instructions, this is designed to invite teams onto us before we pounce on them, but rather than only a pure direct ball its more methodical we knock the ball around well before exploiting the space. We have the option to go long but also the option to build and wait to create better chances we have the option to attack the flanks and our wing backs early crosses are deadly.

Defensively we are here sitting in a low block, We have fantastic defenders set for this with high mental stats and supreme tackling and heading, we are slow so we play to our strengths, but what is even more key our midfield although it looks attacking is full of good markers and tacklers which is key in making the low block work as they deal with a lot of the hard work as the opponent comes onto us.

feel free to ask questions about my tactics I also love that side of the game as well as updates.

I will cover my other tactics in later updates rather than congesting it.

Monthly Review May

Just going back to the results to round it off. All in all a supreme month, specially after a couple system changes. Stromsgodset and Valarenga beat us but both at this point are doing well in the league so cant be to disappointed, a run of 3 clean sheets has our defence looking more like its old self which is key to any successful team. Currently sitting in 2nd place in the table.

   

Outscoring our XG is very pleasing as like i said it goal scoring cost us last year Aga has played his part here, The defence is facing more shots due to the fact we are sitting deeper but we are limiting the conversion thanks to the best keeper in the league and a great block in front off him. We have also now became the most efficient attacking side in the league (Nesselquist sobs with joy)

The poacher is recognised sublime month from the young Norwegian

  

He in turn praises the man who gave him his chance in the top tier, 14 from 14 I think its justified

 

"Its nice to be noticed, but for me its my players that deserve the credit. We shifted tactically this month and the boys have really responded to it, I'm privileged to work with some of the best players in the league and that is also the other main reason I want to carry on this project and am delighted to have extended my stay"  

[Sheriff7]

Good start mate.

[SixPointer]

1 minute ago, Sheriff7 said:

Good start mate.

Thanks man in the middle of writing the next couple months up. 

[SixPointer]

Odds Bk Chasing Glory

June 2021

Big Tobias ends the speculation by signing a new long term deal at the club. A few of our Norwegian rivals had started to take a keen interest in our big target man. So it was key to get him tied down.

Cup duty early on in June so us take on the side that is from the same city I work in Aalesund!

Dumped out the cup! Espen Ruud had a rush of blood to the head and decided slam through the back of the winger, We managed to hold our own right up until the sudden death!

"Real kick in the teeth after knocking Molde out last round, I felt this was a real chance to add to the clubs wonderful record in the competition"

 

Only two league games this month both at home, Both should really have brought 6 points, A poor result against Sandefjord who have been propping up the table. Our strikers who have been so reliable failed to put away key chances. Only positive was it adds to our superb run of clean sheets.

June 2021

June brought along two huge fixtures that would round of the first half of the season, Molde no doubt will be looking for revenge after knocking them out the Cupen. Rosenborg at home it doesn't get any bigger than them in Norway, Both games are televised and Odd need to get the results if we really want to mount any sort of challenge this year!

The club is right up there in terms of developing players in the top league, A nice stat personally I am a bias to domestic players so to know the club has been producing is key!

Massive News!

After a host of big clubs scouting him finally a bid was made! PSG come in with what is a mega deal for the club, Which of course is accepted the fact its a unreal deal is easier but it also adds to my quest for realism there is no way Odd in real life would be able to stand in the way of this. Inter and Juve have now stepped up there interest and with this deal on the table the club can afford to work on a possible bigger deal from either of them.

It was not pretty, But job done in Molde! Keeping the league leaders in terms of goals scored quiet is always a challenge. Another clean sheet and man of the match performance from Sondre Rossbach sealed us a great point on the road.

The result of the season! That man Rossbach was at it again, This time with a world class performance, Massive penalty save earned us the 3 points.

Truly inspiring counter attacking performance, Limiting them too just one clear cut chance and one half chance is incredible stuff, Winning a massive 34 tackles and also 72% of our headers was key to the game plan. 

Rossbach the pick of the bunch but some fantastic performances, Larsen returning from loan to come in and replace Aga who had dropped to the bench after a few poor games grabs the winner. 

The build up from BPD who evades a press to play to the DLP, who then picks out the run with the poacher with the perfect pass, The poacher has timed his run perfectly to break the Rosenborg offside trap. Truly majestic.

Its been touted as a tactical masterclass Ole Martin would you agree?

"First and foremost credit goes to my players they do the job on the park, they followed my instructions and executed the game plan we worked on in training all week, Yes I noticed Rosenborg right back was attacking high and switched told Larsen to pull into the channel to exploit the space he was leaving. But without his perfect run and Ronny's perfect pass my instructions mean nothing, I give the guys the idea but they have the tools to deliver it" 

Ole do you realise that is the 7th clean sheet in a row which is a Eliteserien record?

"if am honest I didn't realise it was a record, But when you have someone like Sondre between the posts these things are going to happen, truly immense"

The teams shift from a pure possession based side last year to looking more of a clever counter attacking side how do you describe what changed?

" Last season I felt we lacked a cutting edge at times, But knew we were solid at the back so this year we have been working to our strengths and backing our solid defence and mixing it in with our desire to move the ball efficiently"

Thanks Ole for your time.

 

This is our main approach to most games. I hybrid of Vertical Tiki Taka and Counter football, Aiming to use the ball well still build from deep and keep it simple and draw the opponent out, But when the ball hits the wing its delivered early to the box, again the central overload is freeing up space on the flanks this, along with forcing our opponents wide is making the over commit full backs and leaving gaps.

The block is more standard than the other more direct option we can deploy but the same principles are followed when the opposition enters the block! offside trap is used with us going up to a standard DL to help with the compression and any balls over the top. Hagen the leader is supreme mentally and just directs the line with his great knowledge and reading off the game. There equally adept in the air to deal with the crosses we face due to forcing our opponents wide.

The league table at the half way point sees us sitting in second place, But by god its tight all the way down to 7th placed Rosenborg!

Two key stats defensively, Winning lots of tackles and headers is a must when deploying lower end of the blocks and conceding space on the flanks.

A major stat that points to our clever approach to ball usage, we are not just lumping it on the counter. 5521 pass completed and 87% ratio of completion sees us sit in the top 5 for both. but what is crucial is we aren't a possession based side with only 49% average compared to the others who all rank higher, even Rosenborg who sit lower in the other two stats have more average possession than us.

Our new style is creating the higher class of chances and we are hitting the target as well, at the start of this I wasn't sure who I wanted to play like, I did study Lucien Favre who is now who we are sort of getting, A clever block applied but not just countering for the sake off it, still waiting to create the better chance at this point tactically am very happy with what am seeing.

The analysts at this point summarise it all perfectly!

Joshua Hits The Big Time!

"Joshua is only going to get better and better i have seen that in only the short time i have worked with him, I'm privileged to have worked with such a wonderfully talented young player its no wonder he has smashed the clubs record fee he is going to the very top and i wish him all the best in his endeavours"   

Only downside is there is no sale on percentage but the deal was too good to turn down like previously explained.

The sale automatically kicks off investment back into the system he came from! Its a key circle that needs to be fulfilled if club is to become successful long term and finally capture that elusive first title.

 A bore draw keeps the run going, but a lack of goals in a recent dry spell is worrying, We have 14 days to get to work on the training pitch and a friendly in-between to try get the goals flowing before our next league game which is a big one!

Rosenborg sacking there manager rounds of the update. 

[karanhsingh]

Nice updates, seems like a very open league. Good to see Kitolano move to PSG - you could probably get him back on loan as well.