Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 (edited) Sunday 1st August 2032 Sogndal (9th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- -- Jasper Torkildsen is a great goalkeeper and, more than ably assisted by our back-four, and our captain Patrick Berg at the base of our midfield diamond, we have the best defensive record in Eliteserien. Something we're very proud of. I just wish Jasper could get the Norwegian gloves off PSG's Kim Christian Høyenhall. Maybe now Kjetil Knutsen is managing Norway, he may see things differently to Antonio Conte. Henrik Skogvold was brilliant today. He scored after 12 minutes although, we thought we weren't going to get the rub of the green yet again as the officials disallowed his goal straight away for offside. We thought Henrik was onside and, fortunately, VAR agreed with us and overruled the on field decision. As it turned out, that was the only goal of the game which made for a very nervous second half. I'll be honest, when we signed Henrik Skogvold from Lillestrøm around this time last season, it was a contingency move as we were worried we might lose Edvin Austbø with all the transfer interest in him at the time. Fast forward almost twelve months and Henrik is our top goalscorer and has the best average rating in the squad. We did make a substitution and a slight change to our shape at the break, to give us more impetus as we looked for the second goal. Tommy Setford made some fine saves to keep it at 1-0 and, fortunately, that one goal proved to be enough for the away win. -- -- Evening Result Edited May 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 (edited) Monday 2nd August 2032 Transfer Window Opens -- There's two players that we did deals to sign a month or so ago and we look forward to welcoming them to Viking later today. There's a lot of interest and speculation around quite a few of our players, including Aleksander Liland, but I have no interest in selling any of our key players. My aim for this transfer window is to keep this Viking squad here at the SR-Bank Arena. Spoiler -- Lonning and Berg Nundal Join Viking Spoiler Edited May 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 Thursday 5th August 2032 Åsane Appoint Jakobsen -- -- Eliteserien - Job Security Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 Saturday 7th August 2032 Strømsgodset Hire Berg -- -- Eliteserien - Job Security Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 (edited) Preview -- -- Yes. That's exactly it. For now, Sander Lønning will be our #3 goalkeeper behind Jasper Torkildsen and Daniel Gjerde Sætren. Jasper is our #1 and Daniel did very well in the six Eliteserien matches he played when Jasper was away with Norway in the UEFA European Championships. I intend for Jasper to still be a Viking player when the transfer window closes at the end of the month, but I haven't got a crystal ball, and there is a lot of transfer interest in Jasper, so the signing of Sander Lønning means we're well covered in the goalkeeping department whatever happens. Joakim Berg Nundal is a very good player. He was available and we made moves to sign him. Although mainly a winger, a position we don't really use in our 4-4-2 diamond system, I believe Joakim can help us out up front and at the tip of the diamond. Having Joakim here, improves our strength in depth and adds quality to the squad. Edvin Austbø is working his way back to fitness from a back problem but, unfortunately, he bruised his ankle in training so we'll continue to manage Edvin's injuries and not rush him back. Otto Rosengren is very, very close to full match fitness but we won't be rushing him back. Anders Hartveit Ryste will most likely be on the bench again. I had a chat with Anders in midweek as he hasn't been in the best of form lately. We drew 0-0 with Sarpsborg earlier in the season in their Sarpsborg Stadion so we know this is going to be a very difficult match for us in our own SR-Bank Arena. -- Expected Line-up Edited May 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 (edited) Saturday 7th August 2032 Viking (1st) v Sarpsborg (11th) Eliteserien -- -- -- -- Oscar Bobb has been superb since he signed for us way back in 2028. He's always created goals, but this season Oscar has started scoring goals as well and he scored two superb goals today at critical times in the match. His first goal gave us a 2-1 lead after we'd gone behind very early. Oscar's second goal made it 5-2 after we'd gifted them a second goal to give them some belief at 4-2. I'm delighted with the win, yes, but we were sloppy defensively at times. We started sluggishly, I thought, and Sarpsborg scored after only three minutes with the very first shot of the game. Then, with things looking comfortable at 4-1 with less than 20 minutes to go, Rafael Mota makes a casual pass, gives the ball away, and Sarpsborg go on to score their second goal. Going forward we were very impressive and scored six. A brace for Oscar Bobb, and one a piece for Henrik Skogvold, Lasse Nordås, Niklas Ødegård and Anders Hartveit Ryste. Defensively we were sloppy at times, and could've done better, but maybe that's me being over critical after we won 6-2. But we have high standards here at Viking, high standards the players have set themselves through their performances this season, and I wouldn't be doing my job if I let them get away with sloppy defending. -- Edited May 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 Sunday 8th August 2032 Eliteserien Results -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 Saturday 14th August 2032 Results -- UEFA Champions League Playoffs -- Eliteserien Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 Saturday 14th August 2032 Eliteserien Results -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 Preview -- -- -- I'm not sure there's anything to these mind games, to be honest. We played very well that day at the SR-Bank Arena and deserved our comprehensive victory. But this reverse fixture, in their Brann Stadion, will be a completely different game and I'm sure Emre Belözoğlu will have his Brann team fired up for this Best i vest derby. We've trained well, prepared thoroughly, and will do our best to win this Best i vest derby for our amazing de mørkeblå supporters. Edvin Austbø is getting closer and closer to being ready but we won't risk him today with a vital match at home to Molde in four days time. With the Molde match in mind, we'll be resting Stefan Leković and Jesper Robertsen as they are both one yellow card away from a suspension. -- Expected Line-up 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 Wednesday 18th August 2032 Brann (Position) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- -- Going unbeaten for a full season was always a big ask but, now that we've lost for the first time, I'm bitterly disappointed that it was in the Best i vest derby against Brann. Fair play to Brann, but I don't think we deserved to lose this match. A draw would've been a fairer result. The result of the match has nothing to do with the managers. It's two teams of 11 players and today, sadly, we came up short. There was very little in it, an even match between two teams who didn't create many chances. It was a game of fine margins. Unfortunately for us, Brann were awarded a penalty when David Møller Wolfe was adjudged to have been pushing in the penalty area. Brann converted the penalty and that was the only goal of the game. At the other end, we didn't have our shooting boots on and didn't work their goalkeeper enough. We made some changes to our shape when we went a goal down, went with an Attacking mentality, but we were unable to equalise. -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 (edited) Saturday 21st August 2032 Eliteserien Results -- Edited May 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 (edited) Preview -- -- Kim Bergstrand has Molde flying at the moment and they've won four on the spin since their 0-2 defeat to Strømsgodset. And, as a consequence of our loss to Brann last time out, Molde have the added incentive of knowing a win will take them two points above us with a game-in-hand. Clearly, we don't want that to happen and we need to win ourselves if we want to keep things in our hands (or feet). We drew 2-2 at Molde's Aker Stadion earlier in the season so it's likely to be another tough, close encounter. The defeat against Brann hurt a lot. Not so much the loss, as the manner of the defeat. We lost to a penalty goal and didn't help ourselves because we failed to test Brann's goalkeeper enough. We've worked hard in training and the players know they need to do better against Molde. I know. If we're not careful Molde will become our bogey team. Given how close it is at the top of the Eliteserien league table, today would be the perfect time to set the record straight. Stefan Leković and Jesper Robertsen will return to the starting-11 after being rested against Brann to avoid picking up suspensions for the Molde game. Edvin Austbø is back after back and ankle issues. Edvin's passed a fitness test but he'll be on the bench and we'll only use him if we need him. Sander Lønning will continue as the back-up goalkeeper on the bench. We rejected a £1.4M (£1.8M) bid from Newcastle for Daniel Gjerde Sætren and he wasn't happy about it, even though the bid was nowhere near our valuation. We've discussed it with Daniel and his agent and we've agreed we'll accept bids of £4.5M for him. Unfortunately, Daniel's head has been turned and if we need to make a goalkeeper change during the match, I don't think Daniel's focussed enough. -- Expected Line-up Edited May 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 (edited) Sunday 22nd August 2032 Viking (1st) v Molde (2nd) Eliteserien -- It's all to play for as first take on second in our SR-Bank Arena. -- -- -- A nil-nil draw was, probably, a fair result as I'm not sure either team did enough to deserve to win it. I thought we had more possession but, in all other areas, it was very even. Neither Molde, nor ourselves, created many chances and both teams struggled to get attempts on target. Defences were definitely in the ascendency. Having said all that, it was a game of two halves. Molde had the better of the first half and we were our own worst enemies as we kept giving the ball away in our own half. On 24 minutes, we had a real let-off when Filip Rejczyk hit the bar from long-range. At that point, we asked Pontus Dahbo to play more as a DLP-Su than a RPM-Su. At half time we made a couple of substitutions and were much better after the break. On 73 minutes, Edvin Austbø scored what we thought was a good goal but VAR ruled it out for offside. We went more attacking in the last 10 minutes but were unable to break the deadlock. A nil-nil draw was, probably, a fair result but it also feels like a missed opportunity. -- Edited May 29 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 Quite the tight title race and you dropping points to Molde might come back and haunt you. Since they have a game in hand.... like Man City and Arsenal this season. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 9 hours ago, Hootieleece said: Quite the tight title race It certainly is, @Hootieleece 9 hours ago, Hootieleece said: and you dropping points to Molde might come back and haunt you. Since they have a game in hand.... like Man City and Arsenal this season. Indeed, and Molde are the form team right now. I'm never confident with FM, I think it's gone to the wire every season I've been at Viking, or close to the wire at least, and I wasn't confident in any of the last three seasons when we ended up winning Eliteserien... but this season, I'm not sure why, I'm even less confident. I think part of it is that the top three teams aren't losing, Molde and us have only lost one each, and Vålerenga have only lost two. We've also had four 0-0 draws and that's not something Viking are known for under my tenure. Wish Viking and me good luck everybody, I think this season, more so than any other, we're going to need it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Wednesday 25th August 2032 Liland Unhappy -- I knew it was only a matter of time before Aleksander Liland became unhappy and I've been putting it off because the team has been playing so well. With Stefan Leković and Rafael Mota forming a very good centre-back partnership, and our captain Patrick Berg playing at the base of our midfield diamond, I've struggled to find a regular place for Aleksander in the team. Spoiler Aleksander now has 15 caps for Norway, was a regular starter at centre-back for Norway during the recent UEFA European Championship, so I don't want to lose him - particularly since Stefan is Serbian and Rafael is Portuguese so don't count as HGN. And there is interest in him. -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Wednesday 25th August 2032 Fjørtoft Løvik Unhappy -- Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik came to see me about a month or so ago because he was unhappy with his playing time and I was able to persuade him to think of himself more as a squad player. I have tried to give Mathias more playing time, and I thought I had, but with David Møller Wolfe playing so well at left-back, I clearly haven't given Mathias enough because now he wants a loan move to earn himself a permanent move away. Spoiler I don't want to lose Mathias. Mathias is 28, David is two-years older, and I saw Mathias as being the natural successor to David whilst I wait for a young left-back to come through. There's no interest in Mathias currently but, clearly, I need to give him more playing time if I want to get Mathias back on side. -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Wednesday 25th August 2032 Gjerde Sætren Unhappy -- We rejected a £1.4M (£1.8M) bid from Newcastle United for Daniel Gjerde Sætren and he wasn't happy about it, even though the bid was nowhere near our valuation. Spoiler I still see Daniel as my #2 goalkeeper but, for the last two matches, new signing from Sandnes Ulf, Sander Lønning has been the back-up goalkeeper on the bench. Newcastle United have dropped their interest in Daniel and no other clubs seem interested right now. -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Wednesday 25th August 2032 Other Unhappy Players -- We have three other unhappy players who I've said we'll try and find loans for. I've been offering them out via TransferRoom all month with no offers so it doesn't look like any of them will get their loan moves away. At least they all seem happy with the attempts we're making. -- Lasse Berg Johnsen is 33 and very much a fringe player for Viking. All things being equal, I'd be looking to move Lasse on any way but he counts as a HGC player after spending the first five and a bit (2015-2020) years of his career at Viking. For the rest of this season, at least, I could do with keeping him here because of the HGC restriction. Spoiler -- I feel a bit sorry for Jan Rune Hansen because I have a lot of time for him and think he's a good player who has the potential to become a very good player. Unfortunately, in my attempts to transition to a younger back-four and improve the defence, I've created a lot of competition at centre-back and left-back which, effectively, has blocked Jan's pathway into the starting 11 and matchday squad. Spoiler -- Benjamin Fabian Vold is an U19 player in his first season at Viking. Normally when I offer young players a professional contract I exclude the find loan move clause but I must've forgotten to do that this time. Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Wednesday 25th August 2032 UEFA Champions League -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Saturday 28th August 2032 Eliteserien Results -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 (edited) Preview -- -- -- Yes, Sandefjord are bottom of Eliteserien but they still have a good shot at staying up. Yes, the safety of 13th place is eight points away but Sandefjord are only two points off 14th place and the relegation playoff. Sandefjord have a good chance of avoiding relegation if they can put a run of results together and I'm sure Eivind Kampen will have them fired up for this game in their Jotun Arena. Earlier in the season we beat Sandefjord 3-1 at our SR-Bank Arena, but that was before Eivind Kampen took up the Sandefjord reigns so we're expecting a much tougher encounter today. We play Brann in the Cupen Semi Final on Thursday and, whilst we're fully focussed on today's Eliteserien match away to Sandefjord, we don't want to be losing two Best i vest derbys on the spin. With that in mind, we may well rest a few players. Jesper Robertsen, Stefan Leković, David Møller Wolfe and Joakim Berg Nundal are all one yellow card away from a suspension so they'll all, probably, be on the bench and will only come on if we need them. I don't want to say too much on this but, no doubt, Bodø/Glimt will be disappointed that they're 6th, outside of the European qualification places, but Tite is a very experienced manager and I believe he'll turn it around for them if they stick by him. My medical team inform me we have no injury or fitness issues and I don't get to say that very often. In particular, it's great to welcome back Edvin Austbø (back and ankle) and Otto Rosengren (thigh and calf) after both have suffered a few niggly injuries of late. I've also had a word with Niklas Ødegård as his form hasn't been up to his usual standards recently. -- Expected Line-up Edited May 30 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Sunday 29th August 2032 Sandefjord (16th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- -- To be fair, that's something we've been doing for over a season now, making sure the players get some rest between matches so, yes, the players will get a day-off, but it's just business as usual as far as we're concerned. It was an impressive win though, wasn't it? I didn't think Sandefjord were that bad, they certainly didn't deserve a 4-0 drubbing and it wasn't that kind of a match. We were just very clinical with goals from Henrik Skogvold and Oscar Bobb plus a couple of penalty goals shared between Niklas Ødegård and Anders Hartveit Ryste. Oscar Bobb is a special player. He's always had the ability to dribble at speed, take on and beat defenders, and create goals but now he's going on mazy runs, cutting into the penalty area, and scoring outrageous goals by hitting curling, well-placed shots whilst running at speed. Oscar's goal today was right up there as one of his best. -- -- Evening Result 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Tuesday 31st August 2032 Transfer Deadline Day -- -- To be fair, I'm not planning on doing any transfer business as I'm very happy with my squad... but you never know what might crop up or what opportunities may present themselves. -- -- We've already rejected plenty of bids so far this transfer window. Spoiler But rumours still persist. -- We did receive and accept a loan offer for Lasse Berg Johnsen but, as I suspected, it was blocked as we already have eight players on professional contracts out on loan. Hopefully, Lasse won't be too upset by this. -- Benjamin Fabian Vold's proposed loan deal also got blocked because we've reached our eight loan limit. -- Spoiler Honestly, recalling Per Joar Hægstad Johnsen from his loan spell was nothing to do with Vålerenga being 2nd in Eliteserien as we approach the title run-in. Honestly, it wasn't. Stefan Leković has twisted his ankle in training and could be out for a month or so. It made sense to recall current Norwegian international Per Joar Hægstad Johnsen to provide cover during his absence. Unfortunately, that will push Jan Rune Hansen further down the pecking order. -- Speaking of Jan Rune Hansen, when we recalled Per Joar Hægstad Johnsen we didn't know we were about to receive a bid for Jan Rune Hansen. Spoiler It would have been better if the bid hadn't come from Eliteserien title rivals Molde but, nevertheless, it made sense to sell Jan Rune Hansen as he was way down the pecking order list of centre-backs. That's if we got an acceptable transfer fee for him. We decided to negotiate for a higher transfer fee. -- Spoiler We don't think Morgan Rayner has a future at Viking and he's out-of-contract at the end of the season. Jerv 2 can have him for free then if they want. In the meantime, if they want him now, we'd like a percentage of his next sale please. Oh well. -- -- I'm very happy with this transfer window as the main objective was to keep all our best players at the club and we've managed to achieve that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Episode 126 - We Kept Our Best Players | 1st September 2032 "Viking First Team Squad" -- New Contract -- News -- Appearances -- Reports -- Players Out on Loan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Episode 126 - We Kept Our Best Players | 1st September 2032 "Månedens Awards" -- Månedens Spiller -- Månedens Trener Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Episode 126 - We Kept Our Best Players | 1st September 2032 "Monthly Review" -- Results -- Board Confidence -- Supporter Confidence -- Finances -- Dynamics Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Wednesday 1st September 2032 Until Next Time... ... when we only have two Eliteserien fixtures... ... because our 2032/33 UEFA Champions League campaign gets underway, and... ... we host Brann where the latest Best i vest derby is also the Cupen Semi Final. -- 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... and I greatly appreciate the comments as that's what genuinely keeps me motivated to continue updating about this save. Until next time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 (edited) Wednesday 1st September 2032 Eliteserien Title Run-in -- -- 1st - Viking -- 2nd - Vålerenga -- 3rd - Molde -- Edited May 30 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 Tight season at the top. Good luck in the run home. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 @Stuniverse Still in the driving seat - just! - but little margin for error. Good luck 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 4 hours ago, Punch said: Tight season at the top. Good luck in the run home. 4 hours ago, warlock said: Still in the driving seat - just! - but little margin for error. Yes, @Punch and @warlock it's very tight with little margin for error. That's what I like about Eliteserien, that even though my Viking team are doing very well, we're not running away with it (which would be great but boring). I think that's partly due to my aspiration to build a squad of (primarily) Norwegian players and not pay silly wages... ... even though my Board keep encouraging me to spend the wage budget. 4 hours ago, Punch said: Good luck in the run home. 4 hours ago, warlock said: Good luck Thank you both. I think I'd rather have our run-in than Vålerenga or Molde's but I still think it will go down to the wire. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Wednesday 1st September 2032 Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Semi Final -- -- -- It was good to catch-up with Jan Rune Hansen, who made his debut for Molde today, after moving from Viking in the August transfer window. 6 hours ago, Stuniverse said: Speaking of Jan Rune Hansen, when we recalled Per Joar Hægstad Johnsen we didn't know we were about to receive a bid for Jan Rune Hansen. Reveal hidden contents It would have been better if the bid hadn't come from Eliteserien title rivals Molde but, nevertheless, it made sense to sell Jan Rune Hansen as he was way down the pecking order list of centre-backs. That's if we got an acceptable transfer fee for him. We decided to negotiate for a higher transfer fee. -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Preview -- -- -- The draw is always out of our hands in Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen). All we can do is try and beat the team we're drawn against and, in the Semi Final, it's a Best i vest derby against Brann. Brann inflicted our first and, so far, only Eliteserien defeat of the season a few weeks ago when they won 1-0 in Brann Stadion so we know it won't be easy at all. But with our supporters fully behind us in the SR-Bank Arena, we're confident we can get the job done and reach the final. I know it's a Best i vest derby and we want to win that for our wonderful de mørkeblå supporters but, honestly, we've worked so hard to reach the Semi Final and that's all for nothing if we don't make the Cupen Final. They are very excited but they know they have to be professional, work hard, keep calm, and approach the match like they would any other. Stefan Leković has been outstanding for us this season so it's a big blow that he's out for the best part of a month, but it's an opportunity for someone else to step up and show what they can do. Apart from Stefan Leković, everybody else is fit and raring to go. -- Expected Line-up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 (edited) Thursday 2nd September 2032 Viking (Tier 1) v Brann (Tier 1) Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Semi Final -- -- -- -- It was a tough match, it really was, Brann made it very difficult for us but I'm delighted to win the Best i vest derby in the Cupen Semi Final. This really was a game of two halves. First half, Brann had the better of it and we were a goal behind at the break. We made some changes at half-time, three substitutions, a change of shape, a change to a more Attacking mentality and, yes, there were some harsh words as well. But it worked. We started the second half on the front foot and really took the game to Brann. By the 55th minute, we had a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Niklas Ødegård and Lasse Nordås. And it was nearly three after an hour when Jesper Robertsen delivered a pin-point cross into the penalty area and Lasse Nordås's header rattled the bar. Anders Hartveit Ryste did make it 3-1 on 79 minutes. Yeah, it was disappointing for Jakob Napoleon Romsaas to injure his knee, not long after we'd gone 3-1 up, and we had to ask him to soldier on as we'd already made five substitutions. That probably made his injury worse to be honest. Brann play the way they play and it is brash and combative but I can't believe Emre Belözoğlu would send his players out to intentionally injure the opposition. With Jakob struggling, we changed our shape and went to a Balanced mentality and I thought we saw the game out well. This is my fifth season at Viking and we're now in our third Cupen Final against Molde. We've experienced the highs of beating Bodø/Glimt in the 2028 Final, and the lows of losing to Fredrikstad on penalties in the 2029 Final, so we want to experience the highs again, not the lows, against Molde in the Final. But the Norgesmesterskapet i fotball Cupen Final isn't until December, we have 12 matches to play before then. We'll worry about Molde and the Final when December comes. -- Edited May 30 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 (edited) I Wonder... ... Should We Attack More? -- The Cupen Semi Final against Brann really was a game of two halves. We started the match with our usual 4-4-2 diamond system and a Positive mentality and were second best, trailing 0-1 at the break. At the break we changed to an Attacking mentality, asked the full-backs to play WB-At (instead of FB-Su), asked the central midfielder on the right of the diamond to play AP-Su (instead of BBM-Su). We blew Brann away after the break, equalising on 47, taking the lead on 54, and wrapping it up with a third goal on 79. Brann, who had been the better team in the first half, didn't get a look in after the break as we completely controlled the second half. So I'm wondering... ... as we're top of Eliteserien, only lost once (0-1 away to Brann), have scored more goals than anybody else, have conceded less goals than anybody else, should we be more brash, have more faith in our own abilities, and start matches with an Attacking mentality from the off? Maybe not against Real Madrid (who are next up in the UEFA Champions League) but in Eliteserien I'm wondering if we should Attack more from the first whistle? — Now, putting the Brann Cupen Semi Final to one side for a moment, we’ve had four 0-0 draws this season, which isn’t like us and also isn’t what I’d expect from the team who’s scored the most goals, we’ve also conceded the first goal too many times for my liking and I’ve had to go more attacking to chase the game and (usually) recover enough to rescue a draw or, sometimes, a win. So I’m wondering… … should we Attack from the very start and not wait until we go behind. Are Viking at their best when they are Attacking teams? -- Tagged: @Blarney, @BML, @Carambau, @cerud, @Dean Gripton, @Hootieleece, @I have nothing to say, @JaytheGreat, @Jogo Bonito, @phnompenhandy, @Paggioram, @Punch, @samboing, @warlock, @XaW Note: If you no longer wish to be tagged in posts like this, please let me know by Direct Message and I'll remove you from my tag list for future posts. Likewise if you would like to be tagged, please send me a Direct Message and I'll add you. Thank you. Edited May 30 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Saturday 4th September 2032 Eliteserien Result -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 Sunday 5th September 2032 Eliteserien Result -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 41 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: Should We Attack More "The best form of defence, is attack" 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carambau Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 You got the players for that, so yes, more attacking please 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 2 hours ago, Stuniverse said: should we Attack from the very start Lots of people do, and they seem to enjoy quite a bit of success. But there are alternatives. Ever since you began using the diamond system I've often thought you probably want more from your fullbacks so you could switch them to an attacking duty, or wingbacks on support, either of which would give you more threat down the flanks. Or you could switch to an attacking duty - either from the start or at some point before you go behind - and then drop back if you have the lead. Or you could implement some aspects of the attacking mentality (such as upping the tempo, increasing the width) while staying on positive. I've had tremendous success in FM24 playing almost entirely on 'balanced' mentality, so there's always more than one way to skin the cat. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 7 hours ago, warlock said: Lots of people do, and they seem to enjoy quite a bit of success. But there are alternatives. Ever since you began using the diamond system I've often thought you probably want more from your fullbacks so you could switch them to an attacking duty, or wingbacks on support, either of which would give you more threat down the flanks. Or you could switch to an attacking duty - either from the start or at some point before you go behind - and then drop back if you have the lead. Or you could implement some aspects of the attacking mentality (such as upping the tempo, increasing the width) while staying on positive. I've had tremendous success in FM24 playing almost entirely on 'balanced' mentality, so there's always more than one way to skin the cat. I agree with this. Pushing up attacking fullbacks or wingbacks in the attack can be lethal, especially if they can cross and pass. And because your diamond is narrow, there shouldn't be any issues with congestion on the flanks with your own players. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BML Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 Agree with the above, although as you're already outscoring every one else domestically you shouldn't go too mad. As your squad is built with your diamond in mind, utilising WB(A) on each side should bear some fruit, assuming you have the players for it, as well as moving your Mentality up a notch. Like @warlock, I've also had decent success using Balanced mentality, but with a far more aggressive formation should you want to totally shake things up. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 I think in the middle of the season you should keep the mentality Positive and adjust the roles a bit. I think that like others have said more attacking roles for your Fullbacks: Attack Mentality for a Fullback Role or try a Wingback on Support. Make the AM at the top of the diamond a Trequarista. Also think about making your DM a Regista. As all of these roles will make you more attacking within the framework that is already set up. You can try upping the mentality and more radical changes over the offseason. Also you might want to make a more attacking tactic for League play and keep the more pragmatic Tactic for Champion's League play. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 (edited) On 30/05/2024 at 21:57, Stuniverse said: I Wonder... ... Should We Attack More? Thanks @Punch and @Carambau - good to know that you're in favour of Viking going more attacking. So this is the 4-4-2 Diamond system we have been playing. And sometimes I go with a slight change on the right of the diamond. Up front, the roles depend very much on the combination of the strikers. Anders Hartveit Ryste, Edvin Austbø and Henrik Skogvold are all AF-At unless two of them are on the pitch together in which case I'll change one of the roles, and Lasse Nordås is a TF-At. Spoiler -- On 31/05/2024 at 00:10, warlock said: Ever since you began using the diamond system I've often thought you probably want more from your fullbacks so you could switch them to an attacking duty, or wingbacks on support, either of which would give you more threat down the flanks. 23 hours ago, cerud said: I agree with this. Pushing up attacking fullbacks or wingbacks in the attack can be lethal, especially if they can cross and pass. And because your diamond is narrow, there shouldn't be any issues with congestion on the flanks with your own players. 20 hours ago, BML said: Agree with the above, although as you're already outscoring every one else domestically you shouldn't go too mad. As your squad is built with your diamond in mind, utilising WB(A) on each side should bear some fruit, assuming you have the players for it, as well as moving your Mentality up a notch. 19 hours ago, Hootieleece said: I think in the middle of the season you should keep the mentality Positive and adjust the roles a bit. I think that like others have said more attacking roles for your Fullbacks: Attack Mentality for a Fullback Role or try a Wingback on Support. Some wise words there @warlock, @cerud, @BML and @Hootieleece but I don't think I'm going to go too crazy to start with, maybe something like this: With the option to have the wing-backs attack (WB-AT) if necessary. But, maybe not in our next match against Real Madrid. -- A few of you asked if I have the players to play right and left wing-back? I think so... On the right, Jesper Robertsen is my main right-back with Sindre Grønvold developing nicely as his back-up. Spoiler And on the left, David Møller Wolfe and Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik are battling it out. Spoiler And we also have Filip Hornburg Møller-Hansen who can play anywhere across the back-four. Spoiler -- You've also given me insights to ponder on for the rest of this season and into pre-season. On 31/05/2024 at 00:10, warlock said: But there are alternatives. Or you could switch to an attacking duty - either from the start or at some point before you go behind - and then drop back if you have the lead. Or you could implement some aspects of the attacking mentality (such as upping the tempo, increasing the width) while staying on positive. I've had tremendous success in FM24 playing almost entirely on 'balanced' mentality, so there's always more than one way to skin the cat. 20 hours ago, BML said: as well as moving your Mentality up a notch. Like @warlock, I've also had decent success using Balanced mentality, but with a far more aggressive formation should you want to totally shake things up. 19 hours ago, Hootieleece said: Make the AM at the top of the diamond a Trequarista. Also think about making your DM a Regista. As all of these roles will make you more attacking within the framework that is already set up. You can try upping the mentality and more radical changes over the offseason. Also you might want to make a more attacking tactic for League play and keep the more pragmatic Tactic for Champion's League play. But I am thinking of having a Balanced alternative, maybe something like this. Edited June 1 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 1 Author Share Posted June 1 Preview -- -- -- Yes, we're all looking forward to taking on Real Madrid today in what, I'm sure, will be a packed-to-the-rafters SR-Bank Arena. Two seasons ago we went to Camp Nou and got well-beaten by Barcelona and this season we have to go there again in January so, how's that for luck, we play both Spanish Giants this EUEFA Champions League campaign. I'm sure Roberto De Zerbi's Real Madrid won't go easy on us and it's up to us to prove we deserve to be on the same pitch as Real Madrid. Lasse Nordås is suspended for this one so, at least, he'll be well-rested for the weekend when we host Åsane in Eliteserien. We have no real fitness issues, but Jakob Napoleon Romsaas and Stefan Leković are ruled out through injury. -- Expected Line-up After all the recent talk about tactics (thank you very much for your contributions), we're going with something completely different against Real Madrid today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 1 Author Share Posted June 1 Wednesday 8th September 2032 Viking (Norway) v Real Madrid (Spain) UEFA Champions League -- -- -- I don't like losing, nobody likes losing, but I'm very proud of the players tonight. They worked incredibly hard, they played a way we don't normally ask them to play and they put so much effort in, particularly when Real Madrid had the ball which, lets be honest, was quite a lot of the time. We had a game plan. It almost worked, but it didn't quite work out. We did what we thought we had to do. We knew if we tried to outplay Real Madrid they would just blow us away, and that's not being disrespectful to my players, who are very good players by the way, it's just the way it is. So we set our stall out to frustrate Real Madrid, contain them, and keep ourselves in the match. I thought we did that very well for the most part. Then we'd see where we were with about 20 minutes left and go from there. It's a shame we lost concentration for Real Madrid's goal on 21 minutes. If it had still been 0-0 in the last 20 we would probably have stuck with it but, needing a goal, we made changes, we had a chance or two, but we ended up losing. Only 0-1 but a defeat is still a defeat. Real Madrid know they've been in a difficult game though. We can hold our heads up with pride. After 70 minutes we made changes to something closer to our normal 4-4-2 diamond but with WB-Su instead of FB-Su. And then in the closing stages we went a bit more direct. Unfortunately, we weren't able to score a goal but Roberto De Zerbi and his Real Madrid team were relieved to have won at the end. They know we gave them a good run for their money. -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 1 Author Share Posted June 1 (edited) Preview -- -- Åsane's results have picked up under Douglas Jakobsen that's for sure. Mind you, they were on a terrible run before his appointment. Under Douglas, Åsane lost his first game in charge but have since gone unbeaten, winning two and drawing one, with a very good 2-0 victory over Rosenborg last time out. I don't think it matters who plays first to be honest with you. You still have to play the match and try and get the result. But, after playing Real Madrid on Wednesday night, it's disappointing to have the early Saturday kick-off. Øystein Bekkeheien is one of two players we've loaned out to Åsane this season. Øystein has been doing well for Åsane which is exactly what we hoped for as we knew he'd get more playing time there this season than he would for us. Øystein has scored a few time against us, I guess he's fired up and wants to prove what he can do. Spoiler Our other player on loan with Åsane, Steinar Braathen, is suspended today. We'll take a look at Øystein and Steinar when they report back to us in pre-season and make decisions about next season then. Spoiler If we want to retain our Eliteserien title, winning it for the fourth season on the spin, then (and I mean no disrespect here) we should be beating Åsane at home in the SR-Bank Arena. We did make the Real Madrid team selection with this game in mind but fitness levels will be an element we take into consideration when selecting the starting 11 and matchday squad. Roger Vestgøte joined the injury list in midweek and Stefan Leković is still a few weeks away from a return. Jakob Napoleon Romsaas is working his way back to fitness but the Åsane match is too soon for him. -- For those of you who suggested WB-Su in the recent tactics discussion, thank you very much for your input @warlock @cerud @BML @Hootieleece, let's see how that works out for us today against Åsane. -- Expected Line-up Edited June 1 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 1 Author Share Posted June 1 Saturday 11th September 2032 Viking (1st) v Åsane (14th) Eliteserien -- -- -- We can't control what Molde, or anybody e;se for that matter, do. The only thing we can control, up to a point as there's always another team trying to beat us, is to try and control how we play and perform. I'm so pleased that players were able to put on a show for our wonderful de mørkeblå supporters inside a packed SR-Bank Arena today. We'd barely had 48 hours to recover from the Real Madrid match so it's credit to the players that they were able to perform as well as they did today. Yes, the early red card that reduced Åsane to 10-men made things easier, although sometimes it can be more difficult to play against 10-men, but I thought we were in total control of the game before the 22nd minute sending off. To score four, and restrict Åsane to only one attempt all match, is about as good as it gets. Our fans were still outraged, quite rightly in my opinion, by the horrendous foul on Niklas Ødegård (we were very fortunate Niklas wasn't injured) when Aleksander Liland stepped up, curled the free-kick around the wall, and it flew in off the underside of the bar to give us the lead. The SR-Bank Arena erupted at that point. It was a special moment. Going forward we were excellent today. Anders Hartveit Ryste made it 2-0 although it took VAR to overrule the officials who had originally disallowed it for offside. Lasse Nordås made it 3-0 heading in Jesper Robertsen's cross. Henrik Skogvold had a goal chalked off for offside before he did get on the scoresheet with our fourth. It's great to have scored more goals in Eliteserien than anybody else because goals win matches but, if I'm honest, I've felt for a while that we haven't had the courage of our convictions and were, perhaps, playing within ourselves. We invited some consultants into training this week to have a look at what we did and how we did it so I'd like to thank @Punch @Carambau @warlock @cerud @BML and @Hootieleece for their time and input. 23 hours ago, Hootieleece said: Make the AM at the top of the diamond a Trequarista Oh, and @Hootieleece I did send Joakim Berg Nundal on as a Trequarista for the last 21+ minutes. Probably not long enough to reach any conclusions, but we did score our fourth goal playing that way. We did our job today. We won. Over to Molde tomorrow now. -- I have no intention of selling Jesper Robertsen or any of our best players. That's all they are. Rumours. And, as is the case with all of our best players, I don't want to sell Aleksander Liland. -- 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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