Stuniverse Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 3 minutes ago, XaW said: If you go into the rules for the round you are playing in you can see both what the winner and the loser will qualify for. I think the losers in the qualification round often qualify for the lower rated tournament. Thanks, @XaW I didn't think to look there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 (edited) Episode 87 - Not Out of Europe after all | 31st August 2029 "August Transfer Window - Deadline Day" -- -- This was a good bid for David Moller Wolfe who is a good player, but behind El Hadji Malick Diouf for the left-back shirt. I might have been tempted to accept this offer, but not from Eliteserien title rivals Bodø/Glimt. We've been trying all window to sell Herman Stengel and to loan out Harald Tangen but there were no takers. -- -- With interest in Patrik Sigurður Gunnarsson, Isak Amundsen, Yorbe Vertessen and Edvin Austbø I'm delighted that they are all still Viking players and will be with us for the rest of the season. We rejected bids for all of them earlier in the window, fortunately without any of the players kicking up a fuss. We were prepared for deadline day bids but, in the end, none materialised. Edited March 19 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Episode 87 - Not Out of Europe after all | 1st September 2029 "New Contracts - Five Players Extend Viking Stay" -- Valeriy Bondar Spoiler -- Tobias Børkeeiet Spoiler -- Marius Hoibraten I made a small mistake with this one as, if I'd spotted that Marius wanted me to promise to play him in his preferred position / role I would have excluded it from negotiations, but I was rushing and missed it. Spoiler -- Abel Stensrud Spoiler -- Brice Wembangomo Spoiler -- Out-of-Contract Players We only have two first team players out-of-contract at the end of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Episode 87 - Not Out of Europe after all | 1st September 2029 "Future Transfer In" -- Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Episode 87 - Not Out of Europe after all | 1st September 2029 "Viking First Team Squad" -- Appearances -- Reports Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Nice to still be in European competition after all that. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Episode 87 - Not Out of Europe after all | 1st September 2029 "Finances" -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Just now, cerud said: Nice to still be in European competition after all that. Yes, a very pleasant surprise @cerud I was aware that losers in the UEFA Champions League League Path Playoff dropped down into the UEFA Europa League Path but I thought we'd missed out by losing in the Third Qualifying Round. Given the money we've already generated from playing in the Second and Third Qualifying Rounds, the prospect of eight UEFA Europa League Path matches has our bank manager rubbing his hands together in glee. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Episode 87 - Not Out of Europe after all | 1st September 2029 "Monthly Review" -- Results -- Board Confidence -- Supporter Confidence -- Dynamics Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Saturday 1st September 2029 Until Next Time... ... when our UEFA Europa League League Path adventure starts... ... and we'll know whether we've made it to the Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Final or not. -- September'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...
BML Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 It's already been answered, but dropping down the UEFA competitions still exists in the qualifying rounds even though they removed it from the new League Phase - it's why qualifying for the Champions League qualifiers is so important as a 'lesser' team as it gives you three chances at the money/rep European football brings. Losing in the third qualification round should have dropped you to the Europa Playoff Round however (it happened to me in my save this season). The fact you jumped straight to the Europa League Phase is probably some quirk of the new format I'm not aware of. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 2 hours ago, BML said: It's already been answered, but dropping down the UEFA competitions still exists in the qualifying rounds even though they removed it from the new League Phase - it's why qualifying for the Champions League qualifiers is so important as a 'lesser' team as it gives you three chances at the money/rep European football brings. Losing in the third qualification round should have dropped you to the Europa Playoff Round however (it happened to me in my save this season). The fact you jumped straight to the Europa League Phase is probably some quirk of the new format I'm not aware of. Thank you, @BML I don't really follow the European Club Competitions so have absolutely no idea on the new (Swiss Model) European Club Competition structure. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Preview Tromsø (12th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- I will definitely have more than half-an-eye on Wednesday's Cupen semi final against Bodø/Glimt when I pick the team to play Tromsø. -- -- Expected Line-up I gave our captain David Brekalo three days off training as he was looking jaded but, even so, he's on the bench today as I need him fit for midweek. I've made a few changes more changes as well so that our main players are fit and raring to go in Wednesday's Cupen semi final against Bodø/Glimt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Saturday 1st September 2029 Tromsø (12th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- We were very comfortable in the first half and led 2-0 at the break, having restricted Tromsø to only one, off-target attempt on goal. The second half followed the same pattern until a mix up between Runar Norheim and Marius Hoibraten gifted Tromsø a goal and a way back into the game. Tromsø grew in confidence, we got nervy, but we did make it 3-1. Tromsø pulled a goal back on 86 minutes which led to a tense closing few minutes. We held on to win but, unfortunately, we lost El Hadji Malick Diouf to an ankle injury. -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Sunday 2nd September 2029 Eliteserien -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Preview Viking (Tier 1) v Bodø/Glimt (Tier 1) Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Semi Final -- -- Although we are top of Eliteserien and Bodø/Glimt are 3rd, they have done the double over us this season. That makes Bodø/Glimt the favourites for this semi final, even though we are at home in the SR-Bank Arena. -- -- Expected Line-up All the players we rested against Tromsø last time out are match fit and will start the semi final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Wednesday 5th September 2029 Viking (Tier 1) v Bodø/Glimt (Tier 1) Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Semi Final -- -- -- I'm so proud of the Viking players today. We were twice behind, twice we equalised through great team goals both finished by substitute Oscar Aga. And then we won the penalty shootout, scoring all four of our penalties whilst Patrik Sigurður Gunnarsson saved two of Bodø/Glimt's five. 0-1 down at half time, we made a couple of substitutions and changed our shape. 1-2 down after the first period of extra-time, we changed our shape and went even more attacking. I want to thank the 15,500 or so Viking fans in a SR-Bank Arena sell-out crowd of 15,822. They were so loud, they really lifted the players and pulled them through this. -- 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Thursday 6th September 2029 Stabæk (Tier 1) v Fredrikstad (Tier 2) Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Semi Final -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 (edited) Preview Viking (1st) v Sandnes Ulf (13th) Eliteserien -- We drew 1-1 with Sandnes Ulf when we played away at Øster Hus Arena earlier in the season. -- -- -- Expected Line-up Edited March 20 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Saturday 8th September 2029 Eliteserien -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 (edited) Sunday 9th September 2029 Viking (1st) v Sandnes Ulf (13th) Eliteserien -- -- -- Sandnes Ulf have been a bit of a bogey team for us over the last couple of seasons so I was delighted we were able to win... and win comfortably. I even had the luxury of substituting some players early to keep them fresh, as fresh as we can anyway, ahead of our trip to Malmö on Thursday. -- -- Evening Result Edited March 20 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 (edited) Preview Malmö (Sweden) v Viking (Norway) UEFA Europa League -- -- -- Our captain and vice-captain are somewhat jaded, but we'll risk them against Malmö and see if we can give them a break for our next Eliteserien match. -- Expected Line-up Edited March 20 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Thursday 13th September 2029 Malmö (Sweden) v Viking (Norway) UEFA Europa League -- -- -- -- -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 (edited) Preview Stabæk (14th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- -- Expected Line-up Edited March 20 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Saturday 15th September 2029 Eliteserien -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 (edited) Sunday 16th September 2029 Stabæk (15th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- Earlier Today -- -- -- This one's on me and I want to apologise to the players and the Viking supporters. I got the team selection wrong and I made too many changes. We made changes before the break, at 0-2 down, to try and rescue the situation. We were better, but Stabæk had something to hang onto and their goalkeeper, Isak Pettersson, was inspired. -- Edited March 20 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 That last result was a bit disappointing, but maybe it will serve as a reminder not to make too many changes unless absolutely necessary. No shame in the defeat, and you are still very well-placed - but it makes the title race more interesting! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 (edited) 1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said: That last result was a bit disappointing Yes it was, @Jogo Bonito in fact it was more than just a bit disappointing. 1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said: but maybe it will serve as a reminder not to make too many changes unless absolutely necessary. Indeed, that ‘s what I was so annoyed with myself about. I had a player out injured (Lasse Berg Johnson) who got upset because I left him out. I had three players jaded (Valeriy Bondar, David Brekalo and Oscar Bobb) and I had players I was resting for the next UEFA Europa League match. That’s the thing, and I’m probably over-thinking it (I’m sure @I have nothing to say will say I’m over-thinking it) but I’m now trying to manage the squad across three competitions in Eliteserien, Cupen and now the money-spinning UEFA Europa League. 1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said: No shame in the defeat Are you sure? I’m still beating myself up over it. But I also think the team I selected should have been good enough to win against struggling Stabaek so, maybe, the squad isn’t as strong overall as I thought it was. 1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said: and you are still very well-placed We are still top. 1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said: but it makes the title race more interesting! Yes. Instead of the four point lead we had over Valerenga it’s now down to one point and we still have to play them one more time. At their place, I think. Instead of them needing two games to overtake us, it now needs one which makes the game against them of even more significance. Edited March 20 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 34 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: I’m now trying to manage the squad across three competitions It's a tough gig, and I have no clue about all the forumites who claim you can gegenpress all season without consequence - the only way I could manage with Southampton was to give everyone who played a match two days off from training, even if that meant that most weeks the first-choice 11 were barely doing any training at all. As for results, my gran used to say you can't enjoy the highs without suffering the lows. She knew nothing about football, though 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jogo Bonito Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 I can see you are mad at yourself @Stuniverse but it was just one of those days. Re-focus and look forward. I'm sure you will maintain that advantage at the top. @warlock One of the greatest and smartest manager/non-manager grans right there! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 1 hour ago, warlock said: It's a tough gig, and I have no clue about all the forumites who claim you can gegenpress all season without consequence - the only way I could manage with Southampton was to give everyone who played a match two days off from training, even if that meant that most weeks the first-choice 11 were barely doing any training at all. As for results, my gran used to say you can't enjoy the highs without suffering the lows. She knew nothing about football, though I rotated much like @Stuniverse did and it eventually catches up with you. It allows teams to overachieve when they have only the league to think about. When you are in multiple competitions and playing a match every three days it is hard to keep up the pace needed to win a title. Gegen Pressing Tactics are OP though because you can do it with a semi-pro team in the VNS, and get results like Liverpool while playing the same players every match! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 10 hours ago, warlock said: It's a tough gig, and I have no clue about all the forumites who claim you can gegenpress all season without consequence - the only way I could manage with Southampton was to give everyone who played a match two days off from training, even if that meant that most weeks the first-choice 11 were barely doing any training at all. Thanks, @warlock. So do you think the gegenpress system has a lot to do with it? I'll start giving them rest days although I must admit I'm not very good at giving players days off, not because I'm a work-them-hard tyrant but because I just forget. 10 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: I can see you are mad at yourself @Stuniverse but it was just one of those days. Re-focus and look forward. I'm sure you will maintain that advantage at the top. I was mad at myself and, if I'm honest @Jogo Bonito, I still am even though I'd slept on it. I'd been texting @I have nothing to say about it and he'd told me I was over-thinking it and just go one match at a time but I was like a chess-player thinking ahead. But I was also disappointed in my squad because the back-ups I thought were strong back-ups to the starters proved to be not good enough on the day against Stabæk. 8 hours ago, Hootieleece said: I rotated much like @Stuniverse did and it eventually catches up with you. It allows teams to overachieve when they have only the league to think about. When you are in multiple competitions and playing a match every three days it is hard to keep up the pace needed to win a title. Yeah, that's what I'm experiencing at the moment, @Hootieleece. How do you deal with it? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 10 hours ago, warlock said: As for results, my gran used to say you can't enjoy the highs without suffering the lows. She knew nothing about football, though 10 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said: @warlock One of the greatest and smartest manager/non-manager grans right there! Does your gran want to join my Backroom Staff, @warlock? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Preview Hapoel Be'er-Sheva (Israel) v Viking (Norway) UEFA Europa League -- -- -- -- Expected Line-up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Thursday 20th September 2029 Hapoel Be'er-Sheva (Israel) v Viking (Norway) UEFA Europa League -- -- -- After the disappointment of losing to Stabæk at the weekend, I'm thrilled with how the players responded against Hapoel Be'er-Sheva tonight. That's two difficult away games to start our Europa League campaign and two wins. I'm very happy with that. -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Preview Viking (1st) v Lillestrøm (15th) Eliteserien -- -- We gave the players who played against Hapoel Be'er-Sheva a couple of days rest when we got back from Israel so the full first team squad haven't trained together ahead of the Lillestrøm match. -- -- -- Expected Line-up We do have some tired players but, with an international break after this match, I've decided not to rest anybody against Lillestrøm today. Our next match, is the top of the table clash at Vålerenga in three weeks time so, with the exception of the lads on International Duty, we'll give the players a week off and then start to focus on the Vålerenga match. Right now though, all we're thinking about is Lillestrøm today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 1 hour ago, Stuniverse said: Yeah, that's what I'm experiencing at the moment, @Hootieleece. How do you deal with it? I just got lucky if I won a title. Most of the time I fall short because I generally work with teams that overachieve and don't have the financial resources to have the depth. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 (edited) Sunday 23rd September 2029 Viking (1st) v Lillestrøm (15th) Eliteserien -- Yesterday's Result -- -- -- Wow! This is why football is so special. I love this group of players, I really do, but I was disappointed in them, and for them, at half-time because they were awful, deserved to be 1-3 down, and our fans were well within their rights to boo them off at half-time. Our job at half-time was to lift the players. I usually let my assistant Egil Ulfstein play the bad-cop but, today, I was the bad-cop and I may have lost it a bit but it worked. The way the players responded in the second half was magnificent and shows the character and spirit and togetherness they have. I also have to thank the fans. Yes, they booed the team off at half-time, but once they saw this Viking team was going for it after the break they really got behind the players. Our captain, David Brekalo, was out on his feet so I replaced him and made another substitution. We also changed the shape and mentality to go more Attacking. The second half performance has to be right up there as the best 45 minutes of football since I've been Viking manager. The substitutes all played their part and it was a sensational response. At 4-3 up, we made changes to protect the lead and even managed to add a fifth goal. If I had any subs left, we'd have taken Isak Amundsen off because he was really struggling with his ankle but we had to ask him to soldier on. We now have 20 days until the top of the table clash at Vålerenga so we'll give the players a week off and then report back for training and go again. David Brekalo (Slovenia) and Patrik Sigurður Gunnarsson (Iceland) are away on international duty so we'll wish them well, keep our fingers crossed they stay healthy, and assess them when they rejoin us -- Edited March 21 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 54 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: I just got lucky if I won a title. Most of the time I fall short because I generally work with teams that overachieve and don't have the financial resources to have the depth. Thanks, @Hootieleece Yeah, the Eliteserien game immediately after a UEFA Europa League match is looking problematic. After the Malmö game I rotated the squad and we were poor against Stabæk, who were 15th at the time, and lost. After the Hapoel Be'er-Sheva game, I didn't rotate the squad and we were awful first half against Lillestrøm, deservedly 1-3 down at the break, and I still can't quite believe we managed to win that game. Both of those Europa League games were away matches. I don't know if it'll be any different for home matches. I really want to win Eliteserien so I think I need to prioritise the league matches, rotate for the Europa League, take the money from the Europa League matches, and then see where we are at the end of the eight Europa League fixtures, by which time the 2029 Eliteserien season will be over and we'll be into 2020 pre-season. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 2 hours ago, Stuniverse said: So do you think the gegenpress system has a lot to do with it? I don't know, to be honest. On the one hand, the consensus on the forums is that you can gegenpress all game, every game, all season, and there are no consequences. On the other hand, my own experience is that you can't - if you push players too hard they're dead on their feet by halftime and performances suffer. With tired players I see passes going astray, defensive headers missed, players don't make attacking or covering sprints. As for remembering to rest them, it gets easier if you make it a habit. As soon as the post-match press conference note appears in my inbox, I select the players for rest. The alternative I've seen suggested is to micro-manage training sessions and intensity, but that's too much fiddling for my taste 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 (edited) 3 minutes ago, warlock said: I don't know, to be honest. On the one hand, the consensus on the forums is that you can gegenpress all game, every game, all season, and there are no consequences. On the other hand, my own experience is that you can't - if you push players too hard they're dead on their feet by halftime and performances suffer. With tired players I see passes going astray, defensive headers missed, players don't make attacking or covering sprints. As for remembering to rest them, it gets easier if you make it a habit. As soon as the post-match press conference note appears in my inbox, I select the players for rest. Thanks, @warlock I will make the effort to try and make resting players a habit. The squad are currently being rested for the first week of the international break. 3 minutes ago, warlock said: The alternative I've seen suggested is to micro-manage training sessions and intensity, but that's too much fiddling for my taste I agree, that's too fiddly for my tastes and I don't enjoy the training side of FM. I've delegated training responsibility to my assistant manager Egil Ulfstein. Edited March 21 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Episode 88 - Europa League Adventure | 2nd October 2029 "Viking Elections" -- -- -- This is fantastic news as I work well with Jarle Bech-Eriksen and he is very supportive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Episode 88 - Europa League Adventure | 2nd October 2029 "Snubbed" -- Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Episode 88 - Europa League Adventure | 2nd October 2029 "Happy Players" -- Edvin Austbø Spoiler -- Herman Stengel Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Episode 88 - Europa League Adventure | 2nd October 2029 "A Not So Happy Player" -- We rejected some bids that came in after the transfer window closed for our goalkeeper Patrik Sigurður Gunnarsson. Spoiler -- I don't really want to lose my #1 goalkeeper Patrik Sigurður Gunnarsson but, as he's 28 years old now and is his ninth season at Viking, I don't want to stand in his way if we can reach an agreement that works for him and the club. -- -- -- -- -- I was delighted with this £8M outcome as I would have been happy to have agreed £5M. As we have lots of European Club Competition money coming in I thought I'd ask the Board if they could increase the percentage of transfer revenue reinvested from 25%. Oh well, it was worth a try. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Episode 88 - Europa League Adventure | 2nd October 2029 "Viking First Team Squad" -- Player Appearances -- Player Reports Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Episode 88 - Europa League Adventure | 2nd October 2029 "Finances" -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Episode 88 - Europa League Adventure | 2nd October 2029 "Monthly Review" -- Results -- Manedens Trener 2nd again. -- Board Confidence -- Supporter Confidence -- Dynamics Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 (edited) Tuesday 2nd October 2029 Until Next Time... ... when Patrik Sigurður Gunnarsson and David Brekalo return from international duty, hopefully in one piece, and... ... we visit Vålerenga for the top of Eliteserien clash in their Intility Arena, and... ... our Europa League campaign continues with our first home match at the SR-Bank Arena, and... ... we have another two Eliteserien fixtures. -- October'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... Edited March 21 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Saturday 13th October 2029 Eliteserien -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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