Stuniverse Posted June 26 Author Share Posted June 26 Friday 1st July 2033 Episode 137 - Climbing the League Table "Eliteserien - Job Security" -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 26 Author Share Posted June 26 (edited) Friday 1st July 2033 Until Next Time... ... when we play Sandnes Ulf in Cupen Quarter Final, and... ... play five Eliteserien fixtures, including... ... the Best i vest derby at home to Brann, and... ... the Viking-Haugesund derby at home to Haugesund. -- July'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... Edited June 26 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 4231 is a bit boring but it is extremely effective . Hope you can keep the momentum going! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 26 Author Share Posted June 26 33 minutes ago, warlock said: 4231 is a bit boring but it is extremely effective . The way this season is going I just need Viking to win games in an attempt to get back on track. 34 minutes ago, warlock said: Hope you can keep the momentum going! Thank you, @warlock. The away wins against Valerenga (in Cupen but 2nd in Eliteserien) and Odd (6th) are steps in the right direction but there’s a long way yet to go this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 Sorry, had stepped away for a bit, but I'm back now! I saw your note about whether you needed a tactical change during a period of rough form. That's always a tough question... To give you some background, I work in sports media, writing about MLS, the Canadian men's and women's teams, and a specific MLS team (no need to name names ). Also write a bit on the Canadian Premier League as well. I was chatting with the head coach of the team I follow about his tactical background and how he came up with what he believes and how to go about creating formations/tactics around his understanding of how the game should be played and his general philosophy. He said there is always a few immutable truths to every coach, the things they will NEVER compromise on. Much of these depends on the personal background of the coach, if they played, where they played, who taught them, clubs they follow, etc. So, I ask you, @Stuniverse - what are your immutable truths? What cannot be changed, no matter what? For this MLS coach, there's only three things, so it doesn't need to be much. But it will help you know yourself and what you believe makes this game so beautiful. Just a bit of food for thought. Happy to chat more if you like. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) 2 hours ago, cerud said: Sorry, had stepped away for a bit, but I'm back now! No problem. Welcome back, @cerud 2 hours ago, cerud said: I saw your note about whether you needed a tactical change during a period of rough form. That's always a tough question... Well, as you may have seen, I've moved away from the 4-4-2 diamond. It's not a system I would normally have gone with, as I'm not keen on narrow through-the-middle football, but my predecessor was playing 4231 with Viking (same as I'd played at Loddefjord and Hødd) and it got him sacked. The interim manager had had more success over 8 games with a 442 diamond so I gave that a go and I was surprised how well we played using it... and continued to over five seasons... until a few games into this season when our form took a nose-dive. 2 hours ago, cerud said: To give you some background, I work in sports media, writing about MLS, the Canadian men's and women's teams, and a specific MLS team (no need to name names ). Also write a bit on the Canadian Premier League as well. I was chatting with the head coach of the team I follow about his tactical background and how he came up with what he believes and how to go about creating formations/tactics around his understanding of how the game should be played and his general philosophy. He said there is always a few immutable truths to every coach, the things they will NEVER compromise on. Much of these depends on the personal background of the coach, if they played, where they played, who taught them, clubs they follow, etc. So, I ask you, @Stuniverse - what are your immutable truths? What cannot be changed, no matter what? Interesting background. Thanks for sharing. That's not a question I've been asked before or really thought about to be honest. In real-life I'm a lifelong Derby County supporter, been a season ticket holder since I was 10, so I tend to be influenced by whatever the current Derby County manager is playing, particularly if the team is doing well. That said, I like teams to play on the front-foot and take the game to the opposition. I like attacking football, yes I like entertaining football but I'd rather watch an attacking team that wins than an entertaining team that doesn't. I like width (maybe because I was a winger and then a full-back when I used to play), I like to see football where the ball goes forward, goes out wide, gets crossed into the penalty area. I like teams who press to win the ball back. Possession is important, but I'm not a fan of this short passing, tippy-tappy stuff, that doesn't get anywhere... which is ironic, given that the media and other managers seem to think that's how my Viking team play with the diamond system. I'm not keen on route one football. Hoofing the ball up to the big man on top from anywhere on the pitch, usually completely by-passing the midfield, is not a style of football I like. Also, I'm not keen on counter-attacking football, defensive football, or going defensive to protect a lead. I can understand it if the opposition throw on extra attacking players, or some tall players for set-pieces, you have to react to that, but if you're in the lead, because you are outplaying the opposition, then I don't see a need to change that and invite the opposition to attack. This Euros, England are doing my head-in, as soon as they score, they drop deeper and think they can defend the one goal lead. They got away with against Serbia (1-0), didn't against Switzerland (1-1) and didn't even score against Slovenia. I must admit, when looking at jobs on FM, I always check out how the Board wants the team to play and (although sometimes beggars can't be choosers) I'll avoid the defensive football, counter-attacking football, route one football. 2 hours ago, cerud said: So, I ask you, @Stuniverse - what are your immutable truths? What cannot be changed, no matter what? Does that answer your question, @cerud ? Edited June 27 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Preview - Brann (home) Best i vest derby -- The Best i vest derby v Brann is first up this weekend on Saturday. -- -- -- In my time here at Viking the Best i vest derby is a fixture we've tended to do well in against Brann - winning seven, drawing one and losing three. But this season both Brann in 10th and us in 8th are under-performing so this is going to be a different Best i vest derby with different pressures neither of us are used to. We're at home though and, hopefully, that will give us the edge to get the win for our supporters. It certainly does. These local rivalries are so important to the supporters and the wider community. The Best i vest derby against Brann is the one our amazing de mørkeblå supporters want to win and we'll be doing everything we can to get that win for them in our own SR-Bank Arena. We've signed very good players and I have faith in all of them. Quite a few of them are on the younger side, relatively inexperienced, and it's taking them longer to settle than we'd have liked and, I guess, the added pressure of being made Eliteserien Title favourites didn't help. We believe in this squad of players and our form will improve. I think Otto Rosengren (hip) is out for the season. Joakim Berg Nundal (hamstring) has passed a medical and will start against Brann. Julian Gonstad (ankle) and Anders Hartveit Ryste (ankle) are getting closer but we won't rush them back. -- Expected Line-up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Saturday 2nd July 2033 Viking (8th) v Brann (10th) Eliteserien - Best i vest derby -- -- -- -- Look, referees and assistant referees are human beings, and human beings make mistakes. Football is a fast game, there are 22 players on the pitch, and the officials can't see everything. That's why we have VAR. I can understand officials making a mistake in the moment, they only get to see it once, and they may not have a good view of it... so, yes, I empathise. It's when VAR gets it wrong, that it annoys me. We were the better team throughout the entire match. 58% possession. 17 attempts on goal to three, and one of those we gifted to them on a plate. 10 shots on target to three. I think Emre Belözoğlu is annoyed with the way Brann played. It was great for Lasse Nordås to get on the scoresheet as he works so hard for the team. I have to credit Jesper Robertsen though, the cross was perfect, allowing Lasse to rise above the ball at the far post and head it powerfully down into the bottom corner. Henrik Skogvold scored two before half-time and we were comfortably 3-0 up at the break and deservedly so. We made two substitutions during the break, as Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik and Joakim Berg Nundal were on yellow cards. With Mathias already on a suspension, just after an hour we made a couple more substitutions we probably wouldn't normally make as Ove Benjamin Modell and Tinius Sundell are both one yellow card away from a suspension. Things got a bit sticky then as Brann, who hardly threatened our goal all game, pulled two goals back to make it 3-2. The first, on 63 minutes took a heavy deflection that left Jasper Torkildsen with no chance of saving it. 12 minutes later, substitute Per Joar Hægstad Johnsen made a right mess of his headed clearance, gifting Brann a goal with a close range header. But for us, the best came a minute into added-on time when 17 year old Øyvind Bjørkeng scored his first ever senior goal for Viking although, to be fair, his shot from outside the penalty area took a wicked deflection as well. I'm told that makes Øyvind Bjørkeng the youngest ever Viking goal scorer and I'm so pleased for him and his family. -- Edited June 27 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Sunday 3rd July 2033 Eliteserien Results -- -- I took advantage of the fact that we played Brann on Saturday to go to the Sandnes Ulf v Odd match for a number of different reasons: Firstly, and probably most importantly, we play Sandnes Ulf next, twice in five days in fact, at home in Cupen and then away in Eliteserien. Secondly, and this was pure coincidence, as a lifelong Odds Ballklubb supporter, I don't get chance very often these days to watch the Oddrane play. And thirdly, of course, for scouting purposes. -- Edited June 27 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Preview - Sandnes Ulf (home) Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Quarter Final -- -- I'll be honest with you, it's not something that happens very often and it is a bit strange but, I think, it'll have more of an impact on Sunday's game in Eliteserien than it will the Cupen Quarter Final today. If our position in the Eliteserien league table was better I may have made some rotational changes today but I'm going strong against Sandnes Ulf in Cupen Quarter Final and we'll worry about Sunday afterwards. With all of the top five in Eliteserien knocked out, Cupen suddenly becomes a very winnable competition for whoever gets through to the Semi Final, not that it wasn't winnable before but with the top five all out, there's a great opportunity now to get to the Semi Final and then you're just two wins away from lifting the Norgesmesterskapet i fotball trophy. We won't be underestimating Sandnes Ulf though. Sandnes Ulf knocked Eliteserien leaders Rosenborg out on penalties in the First Round and we knocked 2nd placed Vålerenga out in the Third Round. Anders Hartveit Ryste and Julian Gonstad still aren't ready after their respective ankle issues so I think I'm going to speak to my 2nd Team Manager, Arvid Moen Hansen, about giving them some playing time there to help get them match fit. I've also had a chat with my goalkeeper Jasper Torkildsen about his below-par form recently. -- Expected Line-up 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 23 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: I've also had a chat with my goalkeeper Jasper Torkildsen about his below-par form I've created a disciplinarian monster 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Wednesday 6th July 2033 Viking (6th-Eliteserien) v Sandnes Ulf (11th-Eliteserien) Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Quarter Final -- -- -- We're in the Semi Finals and anything is possible. Two more wins in Cupen and we can lift the Norgesmesterskapet i fotball trophy. Of course, everybody else in the Semi Finals will be thinking the same thing. Seriously, we had to do a lot of soul searching during the last International break. We went back to the drawing board and we completely changed the way we play. I'm so pleased for the players. To a man, they completely bought into what we were doing, worked tremendously hard on the training ground, and we're getting the rewards for all that hard work right now. It was an incredible goal, edge of the D, back to goal, Henrik Skogvold received the ball from Tinius Sundell, Henrik took one touch, swivelled, and with his second touch he fired a low shot into the bottom corner. 1-0 after three minutes. Lasse Nordås has been a revelation as wide target man down the left and he made it 2-0 after 18 minutes and 3-0 just after the half-hour mark. It's been breath-taking to watch at times. This system gives the attacking four so much more freedom and flexibility to be creative and when they are on song and in-sync with each other it's incredible to watch. Pontus Dahbo made it 4-0 on 39 minutes and, at that point, three of the four attacking players had scored and the fourth, Joakim Berg Nundal, had two assists. At the break I made four substitutions. Not because we were playing badly, for from it, Henrik Skogvold and Pontus Dahbo came off with Sunday's Eliteserien match in mind and Lasse Nordås only stayed on because he was on a hat-trick. Both full-backs were on yellow cards which is why they came off. Unfortunately we lost Rafael Mota to a knee problem but we don't think it's too serious. We were still adjusting at the back when Sandnes Ulf scored a consolation goal. Edvin Austbø made it 5-1 late on. -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) 30 minutes ago, warlock said: I've created a disciplinarian monster What have you done @warlock? My Assistant, Egil Ulfstein, doesn't know what to do now I'm bad-cop Edited June 27 by Stuniverse 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Thursday 7th July 2033 Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Quarter Finals -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Friday 8th July 2033 Norgesmesterskapet i fotball (Cupen) Semi Final Draw -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Preview - Sandnes Ulf (away) Eliteserien -- -- -- Thomas Holm and I will have to agree to disagree on that which is fine as he's entitled to his own opinion. Yes, I've made a commitment to building a squad here at Viking of, primarily, Norwegian players and, to be fair, that's what the Eliteserien wants which is why there's a limit, a generous limit in my opinion, of nine non-homegrown players. I'm giving Norwegian players an opportunity to play top flight football in Norway. I don't see anything wrong with that. We thoroughly deserved to win Cupen Semi Final but this will be a completely different match. Sandnes Ulf are at home and their supporters inside the Øster Hus Arena will be fully behind their team. If we can quieten the Sandnes Ulf crowd then we'll be doing well. And, perhaps, more importantly both teams played each other on Wednesday so both sets of staff and players have had the opportunity to watch the opposition at close quarters. It's not often you get that. So, yes, this will be a completely different match... hopefully with the same outcome though. We've changed the way we play and, since going away from the 442 diamond, we've won five competitive matches back-to-back. This isn't really the time or the place for that discussion but, as I keep saying, I'm under no pressure to sell and I want to keep my best players here. We have a couple of injuries and Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik is suspended. The walking wounded have all passed fitness tests. -- Anders Hartveit Ryste and Julian Gonstad stepped up their fitness earlier today in our 2nd Team's fixture against Arendal so they won't be involved. -- Expected Line-up Edited June 27 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Saturday 9th July 2033 Eliteserien Result -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Sunday 10th July 2033 Eliteserien Results -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Sunday 10th July 2033 Sandnes Ulf (12th) v Viking (9th) Eliteserien -- -- -- -- That's exactly why we have VAR. When the officials make an on-field mistake, and they will because they are only human, then VAR is there to correct that mistake. VAR did it's job today so I have no complaints. I don't feel vindicated as such, no, but my players showed today just how talented Norwegian players are and they deserve to be given every opportunity to showcase that in their Nation's top flight. It was a great hat-trick, wasn't it? And Henrik Skogvold has a knack of scoring at just the right time. In the second half, after Sandnes Ulf had clawed their way back to 3-2, Henrik Skogvold completed his hat-trick for 4-2 and we could almost relax then. Sandnes Ulf made four changes from our Cupen-tie and started brightly, creating three early chances before we'd even got going. But Jesper Robertsen broke the deadlock with a brilliant individual goal and then Henrik Skogvold scored the first two goals of his hat-trick so we had a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break. His second came on 45+2, when Hugo Vetlesen's free-kick rattled the bar, then the inside of the post, bounced back across the goal, and Henrik Skogvold reacted quicker than anyone else to score his second and our third goal of the game. We also thought we should have had a penalty when Henrik Skogvold was bundled over in the penalty area on 20 minutes. Thomas Holm really fired Sandnes Ulf up during the break and they made things much more difficult for us second half. Their first goal took a wicked deflection on 65 minutes and six minutes later they pulled back to 3-2. We were getting nervous then, but Henrik Skogvold stepped up to complete his hat-trick for 4-2 two minutes later and on 82 minutes Edvin Austbø made it 5-2. Sandnes Ulf's third goal was an 88th minute scramble. Jasper Torkildsen saved low down to his left, the follow-up shot was cleared off the line, but Sandnes Ulf's third effort saw the ball toe-poked over the line. The second half was a lot more frantic, and open than I'd have liked, and Sandnes Ulf deserve a lot of credit for keeping on going, but we got the win in the end. We signed Hugo Vetlesen from Molde in January but a hip injury Hugo picked up in early March kept him out for a couple of months and he missed the start of the season. Since Hugo's been back though, and got himself fully match fit, he's been a revelation and an inspiration and he's perfect for the Deep Lying Playmaker role in our new system. -- Edited June 27 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 8 hours ago, Stuniverse said: No problem. Welcome back, @cerud Well, as you may have seen, I've moved away from the 4-4-2 diamond. It's not a system I would normally have gone with, as I'm not keen on narrow through-the-middle football, but my predecessor was playing 4231 with Viking (same as I'd played at Loddefjord and Hødd) and it got him sacked. The interim manager had had more success over 8 games with a 442 diamond so I gave that a go and I was surprised how well we played using it... and continued to over five seasons... until a few games into this season when our form took a nose-dive. Interesting background. Thanks for sharing. That's not a question I've been asked before or really thought about to be honest. In real-life I'm a lifelong Derby County supporter, been a season ticket holder since I was 10, so I tend to be influenced by whatever the current Derby County manager is playing, particularly if the team is doing well. That said, I like teams to play on the front-foot and take the game to the opposition. I like attacking football, yes I like entertaining football but I'd rather watch an attacking team that wins than an entertaining team that doesn't. I like width (maybe because I was a winger and then a full-back when I used to play), I like to see football where the ball goes forward, goes out wide, gets crossed into the penalty area. I like teams who press to win the ball back. Possession is important, but I'm not a fan of this short passing, tippy-tappy stuff, that doesn't get anywhere... which is ironic, given that the media and other managers seem to think that's how my Viking team play with the diamond system. I'm not keen on route one football. Hoofing the ball up to the big man on top from anywhere on the pitch, usually completely by-passing the midfield, is not a style of football I like. Also, I'm not keen on counter-attacking football, defensive football, or going defensive to protect a lead. I can understand it if the opposition throw on extra attacking players, or some tall players for set-pieces, you have to react to that, but if you're in the lead, because you are outplaying the opposition, then I don't see a need to change that and invite the opposition to attack. This Euros, England are doing my head-in, as soon as they score, they drop deeper and think they can defend the one goal lead. They got away with against Serbia (1-0), didn't against Switzerland (1-1) and didn't even score against Slovenia. I must admit, when looking at jobs on FM, I always check out how the Board wants the team to play and (although sometimes beggars can't be choosers) I'll avoid the defensive football, counter-attacking football, route one football. Does that answer your question, @cerud ? Yeah! And thanks for taking the time. You've already done a shift away from the 4-4-2 diamond, so much of what I wrote was food for thought for next time. The main thing is that I hope answering those questions, or even thinking about them explicitly for the first time, helped you. Really enjoying the career you've had so far. Feels real, especially with the story pieces you add in (conversations with your agent, etc.). Keep it up! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 50 minutes ago, cerud said: Yeah! And thanks for taking the time. You're welcome... but thank you. Honestly, without you and others commenting on this thread from time to time I wouldn't still be updating it as I know I could progress my FM24 career a lot quicker without these updates. But I do enjoy it. 51 minutes ago, cerud said: You've already done a shift away from the 4-4-2 diamond, so much of what I wrote was food for thought for next time. The main thing is that I hope answering those questions, or even thinking about them explicitly for the first time, helped you. Yeah, it did get me thinking. 52 minutes ago, cerud said: Really enjoying the career you've had so far. Feels real, especially with the story pieces you add in (conversations with your agent, etc.). That's very kind of you, @cerud. Thank you very much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Preview - Haugesund (home) Eliteserien Viking-Haugesund Derby -- -- -- From the moment I arrived at the SR-Bank Arena, the fans have always mentioned the Best i vest derby v Brann and the Viking-Haugesund derby v Haugesund. Personally, this will be the first Viking-Haugesund derby I've experienced but, if it's anything like the Best i vest derby then it's going to be intense. Haugesund have lost all six of their away matches in Eliteserien this season. I know they'll be fired up to take something from our SR-Bank Arena and it's up to us to make sure they don't. As I said, we haven't played Haugesund during my time at the SR-Bank Arena but, from 2023-2027 Viking had an excellent record in the Viking-Haugesund derby and we will be doing everything we can to keep that run of five consecutive victories going. Spoiler We won't be risking Anders Hartveit Ryste (ankle) or Rafael Mota (knee) today. Unfortunately though, I can't find room for Julian Gonstad who's now back and fully match fit after his ankle ligament damage. -- Expected Line-up Just one change today with Hans Jørgen Solberg taking the gloves. Edited June 27 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Saturday 16th July 2033 Viking (4th) v Haugesund (15th) Eliteserien Viking-Haugesund derby -- -- -- -- I've got to congratulate Morten Røssland and his Haugesund team. They worked so hard for each other today, they closed us down, didn't give us much time on the ball, and when they counter-attacked they did so with pace and creativity. But, having said that, we should have won. We gifted them their early opening goal when Lasse Nordås gave the ball away and that gave them belief and something to believe in and you could see them grow in confidence. Lucas Lund was magnificent today and that's the best goalkeeping performance I've seen in a long, long time. Player of the Match with 13 outstanding saves (8.6). Henrik Skogvold equalised for us on 25 minutes. Hugo Vetelsen's shot beat Lucas Lund on 45+1 minutes but bounced back off the post.. We took Lasse Nordås and Tinius Sundell off at half-time as they weren't having the best of games. Edvin Austbø came on at half-time and was tripped in the penalty area three minutes into the second half. The referee awarded a penalty, only for VAR to overrule him. We couldn't believe it, Edvin was tripped from behind and it was a stonewall penalty. We lost Joakim Berg Nundal with a hamstring problem. Just before the hour mark, we changed to an Attacking mentality and took the game to Haugesund. Then, to add salt to the wounds, on a rare Haugesund counter-attack, Ove Benjamin Modell turned a low cross into his own goal. We changed our shape after that to go even more attacking. We pinned Haugesund in their own half for long periods after that, peppered their goal, but Lucas Lund was equal to everything we threw at him. Honestly, I don't know how we didn't win this game. Well, I do, well played Lucas Lund. -- Edited June 27 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Sunday 17th July 2033 Eliteserien Results -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Monday 18th July 2033 UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round Draw -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Preview - Stabæk (home) Eliteserien -- -- We're at home to the team rock bottom of Eliteserien so yes, on paper, we should beat Stabæk. But you never know, last weekend, on paper, we should have beat 15th placed Haugesund and, to be fair, we created more than enough chances to win two or three games but we ran into Lucas Lund who played the game of his life in Haugesund's goal to deny us. We're confident and, hopefully, today we will get the win. It was a disappointing result, I agree, but in all other respects I thought we played very, very well. As I said earlier, we just ran into a Haugesund goalkeeper playing the game of his life. Tinius Sundell went down with blisters in training this week and he'll miss out. It's too soon for Rafael Mota (knee) to start but Anders Hartveit Ryste (ankle) is back on the bench. I had a word with Jonas Therkelsen as he was unhappy with his playing time but, after we'd talked about it, Jonas was content to be a squad player. -- Expected Line-up Jasper Torkildsen returns in goal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Sunday 24th July 2033 Eliteserien Results / Latest Scores -- -- Edited June 27 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Sunday 24th July 2033 Viking (7th) v Stabæk (16th) Eliteserien -- -- -- I'm just relieved we got the win to be honest with you. Yeah, for a good while it looked like it might not be our day. Henrik Skogvold scored after 24 minutes but the goal was disallowed for offside. Hugo Vetlesen then hit the bar with a direct free-kick on 39 minutes. Three minutes later, Aleksander Liland hit the post with a direct free-kick. And late on, Aleksander Liland hit the bar on 89 minutes, Edvin Austbø put the rebound in the net but VAR ruled it offside. 0-0 at half-time I made three substitutions, Jonas Therkelsen was on a yellow card and I didn't think Lasse Nordås or Henrik Skogvold had quite done enough. Three minutes into the second-half, Stabæk had Lars Remmem sent off for a second yellow card - the first may have been a bit harsh, but the second was well deserved. On 55 minutes we changed to an Attacking mentality and asked the wing-backs to Attack rather than Support. Five minutes later, Rafael Mota gave us the lead with a rasping shot from just outside the penalty area. We then reverted back to a Positive mentality with the wing-backs supporting again. Joakim Berg Nundal and Edvin Austbø added to the scoresheet to give us a 3-0 win which sounds more comfortable than it felt. Rafael Mota picked up a yellow card and, since the referee had already sent off a Stabæk player with two yellow cards, I didn't want to take any risks. Michal Gasparik managed Stabæk to promotion from OBOS-ligaen last season so it's a shame Stabæk didn't at least give him the season to show what he could do. But, I guess, there's a lot of pressure when you're bottom of Eliteserien and the Stabæk Board must've thought they needed to act now. -- Edited June 27 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Monday 25th July 2033 Eliteserien Result -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Wednesday 27th July 2033 UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round Draw -- -- Second Qualifying Round Edited June 27 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 (edited) Preview - Bodø/Glimt Eliteserien -- -- -- Absolutely, we got a good 3-0 win over Stabæk last time out and it would be great to go to Aspmyra and win again. But it won't be easy as Bodø/Glimt are third, and we're a point behind in fourth. It's been a crazy season. Last year, Molde, Vålerenga and ourselves hardly lost a game but there were a lot of draws between the top teams. This season everybody's beating each other and, already, the top two Rosenborg and Vålerenga have lost more than Molde and us lost all season last campaign. And we're only halfway through. We've already beaten Bodø/Glimt twice this season, 4-0 at our SR-Bank Arena and 1-0 here at Aspmyra if you count Patrick Berg's testimonial. But we know it won't be easy, Bodø/Glimt's season has followed a similar trajectory to ours, like us they were right down there one place above the relegation playoff spot and now they're back up again in third, having won their last four, including an impressive 2-1 away victory against Vålerenga. Yeah, it's going to be a tough schedule now that UEFA Champions League Qualifying is upon us. Given our inconsistency in Eliteserien this season, it's difficult to know which to prioritise as we want to finish higher in the Eliteserien table than we currently are but we also want to reach the European Champions League League Path if we possibly can. Fortunately, three of our next four matches are at home so we'll continue to give the players a day or two off between matches and see how we get on. I had a quick chat with Niklas Ødegård about his recent performances which haven't been good enough. Øyvind Bekkevold (ankle) is still working his way back but, otherwise, apart from Otto Rosengren (hip), everybody is good to go which causes me a problem because I can't squeeze everybody I'd like into the matchday squad. Julian Gonstad will, again, miss out and that's harsh on him really. -- Expected Line-up Edited June 28 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 (edited) Saturday 30th July 2033 Bodø/Glimt (3rd) v Viking (4th) Eliteserien -- -- -- When Lasse Nordås plays like that, the way he plays, we have nobody else at the club who can do some of the things he does and the left-sided wide target man role really suits him. But it's a team game, not just the Lasse Nordås show, and... ... I couldn't have asked any more from the three behind the striker. Lasse Nordås, Pontus Dahbo and Edvin Austbø were outstanding against Bodø/Glimt today. In a battle of two teams who love possession of the ball, I'm delighted that we had 61% possession and Bodø/Glimt only 39%. Away from home, in Aspmyra, that's very impressive. Goals win matches so an early goal is always important. Edvin Austbø scored it after eight minutes with a delightful shot across the goalkeeper into the far corner and, a minute later, Hugo Vetlesen, added a second. What impressed me most about both those goals is that we pressed Bodø/Glimt high, won the ball in their half, went on and scored. It's never easy against Bodø/Glimt and on 16 minutes they pulled it back to 2-1 with a wonder strike from Frank Müller on the volley. Five minutes later, Edvin Austbø scored his second goal for 3-1. But it was 3-2 at the break after Bodø/Glimt scored with a close range header on 36 minutes. At half-time I was happy with our attacking play but less so with our defensive play. We decided to drop back from a higher defensive line to a standard defensive line. The change of defensive line worked as Bodø/Glimt hardly troubled our goalkeeper Jesper Torkildsen in the second half. Edvin Austbø was tripped in the penalty area shortly after the break and Lasse Nordås calmly converted the penalty for 4-2. After that, whilst you can never relax against Bodø/Glimt, we managed the game out quite comfortably. As I keep saying, I'm under no pressure to sell and I definitely have no intention of selling my best players. -- Edited June 28 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 (edited) Sunday 31st July 2033 Eliteserien Results -- -- -- Edited June 28 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 Monday 1st August 2033 UEFA Champions League League Path Playoff Draw -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 Monday 1st August 2033 Episode 138 - Up to Third "Viking Election Fever" -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 (edited) Monday 1st August 2033 Episode 138 - Up to Third "Transfer Window Opens" -- Spoiler -- I'm very happy with the squad right now. We are top of the Eliteserien form table and the players have worked so hard in recent weeks to recover from 13th, albeit with a game-in-hand, to climb back to 3rd. Obviously we need to be prepared, with contingencies, in case we need to react but, as things stand, I have no plans to bring in any new players. Spoiler -- There's plenty of interest in our players, and we have rejected quite a lot of bids already, and that's my stance on this. There's no pressure from the Board to sell and I want to keep my best players here at the SR-Bank Arena. Edited June 28 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 (edited) Monday 1st August 2033 Episode 138 - Up to Third "Bids Received for Viking Players" -- Patrick Berg (Captain) Patrick Berg is in his second season with us after signing from Bodø/Glimt. Patrick was excellent for us last season and I made him captain ahead of this season. But with the signings of Hugo Vetlesen, Tinius Sundell and Jonas Therkelsen I haven't been able to find room for Patrick in the starting 11 and, recently, he hasn't even made the matchday squad. Patrick has been very professional but, as we won't be offering him a new contract, he's free to talk to other clubs and has had offers from KRC Genk and Basel. Spoiler -- Per Andreas Haugerud Hagen We think Per Andreas Haugerud Hagen has the potential to be a good first team player for Viking but with the competition at left-back, it makes sense to send him out on loan for the rest of the season. Spoiler -- Per Joar Hægstad Johnsen I like Per Joar Hægstad Johnsen a lot but I haven't been able to give him as much playing time as I'd hoped, mainly because of the competition at centre-back, but partly because his mistakes have cost us a couple of goals this season. He asked to go out on loan so he could prove himself good enough to play for Viking. I agreed. Three offers came in. I rejected the Rosenborg and Bodø/Glimt loan offers but accepted the one from Sandnes Ulf. Hopefully the deal will go through. Spoiler -- We've also rejected multiple bids for a number of players: Pontus Dahbo Spoiler -- Aleksander Liland Spoiler -- Jesper Robertsen Spoiler -- Anders Hartveit Ryste Spoiler Edited June 28 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 Monday 1st August 2033 Episode 138 - Up to Third "Viking First Team Squad" -- International Duty -- New Contracts -- Appearances -- Reports -- News -- Players Out on Loan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 (edited) Monday 1st August 2033 Episode 138 - Up to Third New Sports Scientists" -- Completely out-of-the-blue, my Chairperson said we could hire two more Sports Scientists if we wanted. So we did... Spoiler -- Spoiler Edited June 28 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 Monday 1st August 2033 Episode 138 - Up to Third Månedens Awards" -- Månedens Trener -- Månedens Spiller Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 (edited) Tuesday 2nd August 2033 Episode 138 - Up to Third Monthly Review" -- Results -- Board Confidence -- Supporter Confidence -- Finances -- Dynamics Edited June 28 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 Tuesday 2nd August 2033 Until Next Time... ... when we have four more Eliteserien fixtures, including... ... home matches against Rosenborg (1st) and Molde (4th), plus... ... our two-legged Champions League Third Qualifying Round tie against KRC Genk, as well as... ... our Cupen Semi Final against Bodø/Glimt. -- August'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 June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 (edited) Preview - KRC Genk (Belgium) - home UEFA Champions League League Path Third Qualifying Round First leg -- -- We'll be doing everything we can to get a positive result at home but we can't guarantee it, much as I'd like too. Everything suggests we're two very evenly matched teams but, having not played Genk before, we just don't know. We do have a packed schedule, with very important home Eliteserien matches coming up, but I'm not sure to what extent we will rotate. With both the Rosenborg and Åsane league matches being at home, we may just take them one game at a time and see who's fit enough to play, and not too jaded, as we go. Aleksander Liland is suspended so definitely misses the first leg against Genk. With the exception of the two injured players, everybody else is good to go so at least we have the players available to rotate should we decide to. -- Expected Line-up With Per Joar Hægstad Johnsen on the verge of a loan move to Sandnes Ulf, we've called Martin Warholm up to the first team squad and Martin will be on the bench. Spoiler Edited June 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 (edited) Tuesday 2nd August 2033 Viking (Norway) v KRC Genk (Belgium) UEFA Champions League League Path Third Qualifying Round First Leg -- -- -- I'm delighted with the first leg win, obviously I am. We were superb in the first half - a 23 minute hat-trick from Lasse Nordås, Lasse then scored a fourth five minutes later; Pontus Dahbo scored two; Anders Hartveit Ryste also got on the scoresheet and we were 7-1 up by half-time. I hadn't seen that coming, not when Genk equalised for 1-1 13 minutes after we'd taken a third minute lead. But I didn't like the second half. Not. One. Bit. Jesper Robertsen was having trouble with his knee so we replaced him at half-time. We also made a couple more substitutions during the break, admittedly with the home Eliteserien match against Rosenborg in mind, but also to give the youngsters Tor Helge Vatten and Øyvind Bjørkeng some Champions League experience. After the unbelievable first half, the second half was awful from our perspective. Genk had obviously received a right ear bashing during the interval because they were a different team second half and scored their second, for 7-2, four minutes after the restart. Later, Rafael Mota got his clearance all wrong on 64 minutes and ended up scoring a ridiculous own goal. 7-3. We then lost Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik to a knee injury. Late on Pontus Dahbo conceded a penalty, with a needless trip on the edge of the area. Genk scored from the spot for 7-4 which makes it awkward for us now because, whilst difficult for Genk, having only a three-goal deficit after being 7-1 down is something that they will take heart from and believe they can overturn in the second leg back in Belgium at their KRC Genk Arena. We'll give the players a day or two off and then prepare for the visit of run-away Eliteserien leaders Rosenborg. -- Edited June 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 (edited) Tuesday 2nd August 2033 Hægstad Johnsen Completes Loan Move -- Spoiler -- Edited June 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 (edited) Tuesday 2nd August 2033 Tilincă Transfer Story Leaked -- Spoiler -- Edited June 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 (edited) Thursday 4th August 2033 Brann Hire Petev -- -- -- Edited June 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 Saturday 6th August 2033 Berg Joins Basel -- With Patrick Berg not being able to make our matchday squad, and with a move to Basel already agreed for when his contract with us expires at the end of the season, we gave Basel the option to sign Patrick now. Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 (edited) Preview - Rosenborg (home) Eliteserien -- -- This is a massive game for us today at home to Rosenborg. Rosenborg are running away with Eliteserien at the moment, holding a seven point lead over second-placed Vålerenga and a 10 point lead over us, Molde and Sogndal. Being realistic, with 14 matches remaining, anything other than a win for us today will make it highly unlikely we can catch Rosenborg and, even if we do win, a seven point gap will be difficult to claw back over 13 matches. It's going to be a very difficult match but, with our supporters packing out the SR-Bank Arena, hopefully we can all pull together to beat Rosenborg. We played Rosenborg on the opening day of the season and went down 0-2 in Lerkendal. Since then, a lot has changed. We are on a good run of form, play a different way to we did then, and have much more of a settled team and are playing with a lot more confidence. Rosenborg will want to win, but we want to win too. Hopefully, we want it more than they do. Otto Rosengren (hip) remains sidelined and we have quite a few fitness issues to manage. Given the importance of this match against Rosenborg, we may take risks with some players that we wouldn't normally do. Due to recent departures - Per Joar Hægstad Johnsen on loan and Patrick Berg permanently - we've registered Brede Norbye and Martin Warholm, although neither of them will feature against Rosenborg today. Spoiler -- Expected Line-up Edited June 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 (edited) Saturday 6th August 2033 Viking (3rd) v Rosenborg (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- Yes, Luca Oyen had a very good game but I thought we handled him pretty well to be honest. Apart from the loose pass back to our centre-back, which gifted Luca Oyen possession to run in on our goalkeeper and score the only goal of the game that is. Sometimes in football, over 90 minutes, you don't get what you deserve and this, unfortunately for us, was one of those days. I thought we controlled the game, dominated possession against a very good side, created far more chances than Rosenborg but, unfortunately, we couldn't finish them off. Hugo Vetlesen had been brilliant up until that point. He won the ball with a great tackle in our own penalty area and dribbled the ball forward, then Hugo turned and passed back to Rafael Mota, but the pass was underhit, Luca Oyen seized on it, ran into our box, and smashed the ball past Jasper Torkildsen. It was the only shot on target Rosenborg had all game. At half-time we substituted Jesper Robertsen because he was showing signs of fatigue so we played the second half with, effectively, two left-backs but I thought Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik did well down the right. On 56 minutes we made two substitutions to freshen up our attack. From a 59th minute corner we were unlucky not to take the lead, Edvin Tagseth cleared Rafael Mota's header off the line. And on such fine margins do games change, two minutes later Hugo Vetlesen makes his mistake and gifts Luca Oyen the only goal of the game. On 61 minutes we changed to an Attacking mentality. On 73 minutes we changed our shape. On 87 minutes we really went for it. We came close, we came very close, I lost count of how many of our headers went just over the bar and rustled the roof of the net. But it wasn't to be. You can't argue with the Eliteserien league table. Rosenborg got lucky today, very lucky indeed, but the Eliteserien title now is their's to lose. I don't think anybody catches Rosenborg now unless Jakob Michelsen's team completely bottle it. We have had a bid accepted for one player, yes, but he hasn't signed yet even though we've verbally agreed personal terms. -- Edited June 29 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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