warlock Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 I was a bit taken aback by that lack of managerial support. Forgot you'd only been there 10 minutes Berg Johnsen looks like a player, and renewing Vertesen is good news. Good luck 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 29 minutes ago, warlock said: I was a bit taken aback by that lack of managerial support. Forgot you'd only been there 10 minutes Hehehehehe That's these long Norwegian pre-seasons for you, @warlock. 30 minutes ago, warlock said: Berg Johnsen looks like a player Indeed. I've been impressed by him. I hadn't realised he'd previously played for Viking so he counts as Homegrown Club [HGC]. Welcome home, Lasse. 34 minutes ago, warlock said: and renewing Vertesen is good news. I hope so. He was the main striker for Viking last season. 34 minutes ago, warlock said: Good luck Thank you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Sunday 6th February 2028 Sandnes Ulf (Tier 2) v Viking (Tier 1) Friendly -- We managed to sign Johan Bakke from my former club Hødd. They wanted to loan him back for the season but, given it was (i) an expensive signing for us and (ii) we've already lost Patrick Yazbek to a broken leg, I declined. Spoiler -- The Viking medical staff remain very busy this pre-season. -- This game didn't go as well as I'd have liked but it is early days yet. Overall we played well, I thought, but we could've defended better and needed a late equaliser to salvage a draw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Sunday 13th February 2028 Kristiansund (Tier 2) v Viking (Tier 1) Friendly -- We had mixed outcomes with our transfer business. We had the Kitolano brothers (two of the three any way) on trial with us and verbally agreed deals, but Eric opted for Tromsø and John joined Hødd. -- We did sign two players though. El Hadji Malick Diouf had a very successful loan with me at Hødd last season and I'm delighted to have signed him for Viking. Tromsø did want to loan him back for the season but, as all my other left-backs are actually right-footed right-backs, I declined. Spoiler Although, typically, El Hadji came in and got injured in his first training session. -- We also signed Lucas Forsberg from Jerv. I'm delighted to be working with Lucas again who was brilliant for me at Hødd in 2026 before he moved to Jerv for a £250K fee that was to good to turn down. Spoiler -- We're still plagued by injuries and I'm hoping our medical team can get the walking wounded fit in time for the start of Eliteserien. -- We should have won this game really. We scored early and then couldn't add a second goal. We had chances, but didn't work the goalkeeper enough. Kristiansund equalised late on when the referee awarded a penalty for a foul by Gonçalo Paiva which was harsh in my opinion. So far this pre-season we've gone with my preferred 4-2-3-1 system but, I'm thinking, we may need to take a look at the 4-4-2 Diamond system that Viking used so effectively in the final eight matches of last season's Eliteserien. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Injuries seem random even with the best Physios it doesn't prevent them, but it does cut down on the recovery time. I always try to have the best physios and sport scientists my team can afford and usually improve those departments when I take over a team. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 2 hours ago, Hootieleece said: Injuries seem random even with the best Physios it doesn't prevent them, but it does cut down on the recovery time. I always seem to pick up more injuries in pre-season than I do during the season itself. 2 hours ago, Hootieleece said: I always try to have the best physios and sport scientists my team can afford and usually improve those departments when I take over a team. Agreed, @Hootieleece. The Medical Staff I brought in from Hodd were better than the ones I let go from Viking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Sunday 20th February 2028 Viking v Austria Wien Friendly -- -- Today's game at home to Austria Wien is about seeing if we can get the starting 11 through a full 90 minutes. We'll then give a different 11 players 90 minutes in the next friendly. I've decided to give the 4-4-2 Diamond a go today. -- I thought we competed very well and there was nothing much in it. Apart from the two wonder goals Austria Wien scored that is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 (edited) Wednesday 23rd February 2028 Fredrikstad (Tier 2) v Viking (Tier 1) Friendly -- We still have a long injury list. We're going with the 4-4-2 Diamond again. -- It was a game of few chances and, arguably, we were second best but we did take the lead just before half-time and looked good value to see the game out. We could've done with a second goal but couldn't get it. I have no idea what Herman Stengel was thinking. 1-0 up in a friendly, going into second-half added-on time, I have no idea what went through his head as he slid in, two-footed, to take out one of their players. I've never seen a more deserving red card. And our injury list continues to grow. Edited February 16 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Sunday 27th February 2028 Viking v FC Red Bull Salzburg Friendly -- Our friendly against Ajax got cancelled so we had to quickly organise another fixture. -- Our injury list, so close to the start of Eliteserien, is cause for serious concdern. -- We'll go with the 4-4-2 Diamond again. -- For 37 minutes we played very well today. We won an early penalty, only for Harald Tangen's spot-kick to be saved. The second penalty we've had saved this pre-season. Gaetano Oristanio gave us the lead on 13 minutes and we were good value for it. Then Tobias Borkeeiet saw red on 37 minutes and fully deserved his marching orders. After that, Salzburg stepped up, made good use of their one-man advantage, and it was a real struggle for us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Episode 68 - 1st March 2028 | Pre-Season Ends "First Team Squad" -- Squad Numbers -- Captains -- Coach Assessments 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Episode 68 - 1st March 2028 | Pre-Season Ends "Monthly Review" -- Results -- Board Confidence -- Supporter Confidence -- Finances -- Dynamics Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Wednesday 1st March 2028 Until Next Time... ... when our Eliteserien campaign gets underway. -- March's Fixtures -- Thoughts, comments, general feedback appreciated. Any questions, just ask and I'll answer them if I can. Thank you for reading and following. Until next time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Are you going to go back to the 4-2-3-1 Wide? Just to get results. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 5 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: Are you going to go back to the 4-2-3-1 Wide? Just to get results. That's a very good question, @Hootieleece and I haven't decided yet. I can't decide between my preferred 4-2-3-1 which didn't go well for Viking's manager Henrik Rydström last season or the 4-4-2 Diamond that interim manager Mats Ullereng used very successfully over the last eight matches. Pre-season was a mixed bag with only two wins. If it hadn't been for ridiculous straight red cards in the last two matches I think we would've won against Fredrikstad and Salzburg and the results in favour of the 4-4-2 Diamond would've looked much better. A lot may depend on how many of the walking wounded are available to start Eliteserien. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 56 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: That's a very good question I like a diamond myself but for me, you need excellent fullbacks - good in defence and offence - otherwise you have no width at all. If your players aren't good enough to give you that, the 4231 might be a wise choice. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 21 minutes ago, warlock said: I like a diamond myself but for me, you need excellent fullbacks - good in defence and offence - otherwise you have no width at all. If your players aren't good enough to give you that, the 4231 might be a wise choice. Thanks, @warlock. I still have the full-backs that the interim manager used in the last eight matches of last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Preview Rosenborg v Viking Eliteserien -- -- -- -- Expected Lineup Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Monday 6th March 2028 Rosenborg v Viking Eliteserien -- -- -- I'm very pleased with how we played today. It was a very tight game, not much in it, but I thought we shaded things. Our captain, David Brekalo, hit the bar with a header and that was the closest either team came to a goal. I'd have taken a draw before we kicked-off and it's credit to the Viking squad that they're disappointed that we didn't win it. -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Preview Viking (9th) v Hødd (7th) Eliteserien -- -- We should have most of our injured players back in training next week but today's game against Hødd is too soon for them. -- Expected Lineup Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 (edited) Sunday 12th March 2028 Viking (9th) v Hødd (7th) Eliteserien -- -- -- I thought we were very good value for the win today. We limited Hødd to only one shot on target. Although we only scored one goal ourselves, a stunning strike from Lasse Berg Johnsen, on another day we could have netted three or four. Edvin Austbo twice put the ball in the back of the net, only for VAR to disallow both for offside. We also hit the bar twice and Oscar Aga's penalty was well saved. -- Edited February 17 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Preview Bodø/Glimt (2nd) v Viking (7th) Eliteserien -- -- We're starting to look a lot healthier with players coming back from injury. -- Expected Lineup 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 (edited) Sunday 19th March 2028 Bodø/Glimt (2nd) v Viking (7th) Eliteserien -- One change for Viking - Stengel for Oristanio. -- -- -- We knew Bodø/Glimt were going to be very tough opposition so to come to Aspmyra, outplay them at times, and to leave with the win and three points is something very special. We felt their goal, when it came, was against the run of play and the wicked deflection it took was particularly harsh. But we made a couple of changes at half-time, and a couple more partway through the second-half, and all 15 players involved today played their part. Our heads never dropped. We equalised with an own goal and then won it late on. I'm proud of the players and delighted for the fans. We can go into the first International break now with our heads held high. -- Edited February 17 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Episode 69 - 2nd April2028 |Eliteserien Underway "International Break" -- We had several players away on International Duty. -- Norway -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Episode 69 - 2nd April2028 |Eliteserien Underway "Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea... who knew?" -- Amazing what you find out by accident... We have an affiliation with Chelsea... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Episode 69 - 2nd April2028 |Eliteserien Underway "Cupen and Manedens Trener" -- Cupen 1st Round Draw -- March Manedens Trener Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Episode 69 - 2nd April2028 |Eliteserien Underway "Transfer Window" -- -- -- Spoiler -- But the loan got cancelled... apparently there's a limit on loans out. Who knew? -- Overall. I'm very happy with the transfer business we've done this window. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Episode 69 - 2nd April2028 |Eliteserien Underway "Viking First Team Squad" -- Appearances -- Backroom Staff - Assessments Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 (edited) Episode 69 - 2nd April2028 |Eliteserien Underway "Monthly Review" -- Results -- Board Confidence -- Supporter Confidence -- Finances -- Dynamics Edited February 17 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Sunday 2nd April 2028 Until Next Time... ... when our Eliteserien campaign resumes after the International Break. -- April's Fixtures -- Thoughts, comments, general feedback appreciated. Any questions, just ask and I'll answer them if I can. Thank you for reading and following. Until next time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Preview Viking (3rd) v Strømsgodset (14th) Eliteserien -- -- Our injury situation is improving significantly. -- Expected Lineup Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Sunday 2nd April 2028 Viking (3rd) v Strømsgodset (14th) Eliteserien -- -- -- We had to be patient today and finally got the win over Strømsgodset we were looking for. For 20 odd minutes we struggled to create many chances so we went Work Ball Into Box. 0-0 at half-time I brought Oscar Aga on for Edvin Austbø. I'd love to say it was a masterstroke but Edvin was struggling with a foot injury. He wanted to play on, but I wasn't willing to risk it. We also changed to Positive and, within a minute of the restart, Oscar had given us the lead. We couldn't hold onto it and Strømsgodset equalised after an hour. We went Attacking and Oscar restored our lead on 89 minutes. We changed back to Balanced and added a third goal through Gaetano Oristanio. -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 (edited) Preview Tromsø (15th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- Let's not read too much into the fact that we're top of Eliteserien. It's great, but we've only played four matches. -- Just the one injury concern. -- Expected Lineup Edited February 19 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Sunday 9th April 2028 Tromsø (15th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- This was quite an incredible game. I thought we played very well, and always had the upper-hand, but I never felt comfortable because Tromsø scored with their first three attempts at 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2. At 3-2 we changed to Attacking. It was a relief, I can tell you, when we got our noses in front for the first time at 3-4. We changed to Balanced then and managed to see the game out for three points. -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Preview Viking (1st) v Stabæk (12th) Eliteserien -- Of course, we want to win every game. We know we won't win every game, but we always go out believing we can win if we play to our best. With a sell-out expected at the SR-Bank Arena we'll be doing everything we can to try and beat our rivals Stabæk, in front of our supporters. -- -- Expected Lineup Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Sunday 16th April 2028 Viking (1st) v Stabæk (12th) Eliteserien -- -- -- This was a disappointing game all-round and I'm sorry we couldn't get the win for our supporters. The first-half saw both goalkeepers produce fine saves to keep it 0-0. I'm not sure why, but we didn't start the second-half very well and soon found ourselves 0-2 down. We went Attacking and got back into it. Oscar Bobb pulled one back and we thought we'd equalised through Felix Taraldset but VAR disallowed it for offside. We got desperate in the closing minutes but that doesn't excuse Tobias Borkeeiet's reckless challenge that earnt him a deserved straight red card. I thought we edged it on chances but Stabæk got far more on target than we did and that proved the difference. -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Are you playing "Good Cop and Bad Cop" with your post match comments to your team? You compliment them when they win and let the Assman be the bad guy when they lose. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 24 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: Are you playing "Good Cop and Bad Cop" with your post match comments to your team? You compliment them when they win and let the Assman be the bad guy when they lose. Guilty as charged, @Hootieleece Egil Ulfstein and I started our good-cop (me), bad-cop (Egil) at Hødd and now we're continuing the dynamic at Viking. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 (edited) Preview Grorud (16th) v Viking (3rd) Eliteserien -- -- -- Expected Lineup I'm a bit concerned by the three straight red cards we've received from the BWM role at the base of the diamond, two in pre-season and one in the last Eliteserien match, so I'm changing it to more of a HB role today. Edited February 19 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Sunday 23rd April 2028 Grorud (16th) v Viking (3rd) Eliteserien -- -- After our defeat last week, that was much more like it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Preview Viking (3rd) v Sogndal (6th) Eliteserien -- -- -- Expected Lineup Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Sunday 30th April 2028 Viking (3rd) v Sogndal (6th) Eliteserien -- -- This match against Sogndal went pretty much the way we expected it to. We knew Sogndal would sit back and defend, we knew we would have the lion's share of possession, and we knew we would need to be very patient as they'd be very difficult to breakdown. After about 20 minutes of getting nowhere we changed to Work Ball Into Box. Things improved, but we still couldn't get a breakthrough. We went Attacking. Finally, Oscar Aga broke the deadlock from close range after great work by Edvin Austbo down the right channel. We went back to Positive and saw the match out without Sogndal ever looking like scoring. -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 You have to be careful with a player you have in the BWM role. You want one with high bravery but mid to low aggressiveness. High tackling helps as well. My BWM rarely gets yellow cards at Athletic even with me having hard tackling on many opposition players he may tackle. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Episode 70 - 1st May 2028 | Exceeding Expectations "Player Performance Ratings and Reports" -- Player Performance Ratings -- Player Reports Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Episode 70 - 1st May 2028 | Exceeding Expectations "April Manedens Trener" -- Second again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Episode 70 - 1st May 2028 | Exceeding Expectations "Monthly Review" -- Results -- Board Confidence -- Supporter Confidence -- Finances -- Dynamics 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Monday 1st May 2028 Until Next Time... ... May's Fixtures -- Thoughts, comments, general feedback appreciated. Any questions, just ask and I'll answer them if I can. Thank you for reading and following. Until next time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 (edited) 27 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: You have to be careful with a player you have in the BWM role. You want one with high bravery but mid to low aggressiveness. High tackling helps as well. My BWM rarely gets yellow cards at Athletic even with me having hard tackling on many opposition players he may tackle. Thanks for the advice, @Hootieleece. Here are my BWM choices, any you would play as a BWM at the base of the diamond? Edited February 19 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 I might pick Yazbeck if you want to keep using the DM-BWM-De role. The others are better being used as CM's in whatever roles you use. I would use Borkeeit in the HalfBack role unless you use him as BPD. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 2 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: I might pick Yazbeck if you want to keep using the DM-BWM-De role. The others are better being used as CM's in whatever roles you use. I would use Borkeeit in the HalfBack role unless you use him as BPD. Thank you, @Hootieleece. Unfortunately Yazbeck is currently out with a broken leg. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 6 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: Thank you, @Hootieleece. Unfortunately Yazbeck is currently out with a broken leg. Too bad but after looking at my DM-BWM-DE's. I'm not sure about my theorycrafting about the role and cards. My #1 is a bit of a hothead by attributes but doesn't get many cards..... My Backup hates playing there but he is a utility player. My cover for the position DOES get cards playing there: (He is backup Right Back) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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