A Norwegian Adventure

Elsa banging in the goals for Arendel.

30th September 2018
In a month where one of our games was postponed due to players being away on international duty, we have once again impressed winning 3 of 4 games in September further climbing the league table going in to our last 4 games in October.

The Results

Going in to the month off the back of our 4-0 home win to top of the table Egersunds we felt confident of adding a few more points on to our tally. First up we faced bottom of the table Stjørdals-Blink. Another dominant start saw us take the lead with a 14th minute penalty from top scorer Omar El Ghaouti. Omar looked confident as he stepped up to the spot and duly slotted the ball past the Blink keeper.

Carrying on our dominance, the boys created some big chances but a mix of poor finishing and Thomas Lia, Blinks shot stopper, pulling off some incredible saves, meant we couldn’t add to our lead. Then in the 90th minute disaster struck. Key man Pål Fjelde our rock sat just in front of our defence, was sent off for a challenge that I believed to be perfectly fair. However, the referee, and on further review the FA, disagreed and Pål was sent on his way.

Going down to 10 men is a moment every manager hates to see, however, if there was a time to do it and see what the side was made of it was now. 1-0 up at bottom of the table I was keen to see how the boys would handle the pressure they were bound to face. Impressing me even more than the 4-0 win the match before, the boys held out, keeping yet another clean sheet and gaining us an important three points.
Next up we welcomed Vidar to the Bryne Stadion, a game we went in to with 3 injuries and a suspension, something no manager wants to deal with. But to my delight, youngster Jonatan Braut Brunes, who recently turned 18, opened the scoring in the 12th minute giving us a 1 goal lead.

We continued to pile on the pressure but once again couldn’t finish off our chances, this time however we couldn’t hold out. A 88th minute corner saw Vidar equalize as Andreas Westlye gave them their first. Heads dropped we felt we deserved to win the game and only taking one point was devastating. Yet it got worse.

With a freekick given to the 5th placed side, on the 94th minute, we weren’t focused, a low ball struck out to Georg Danielsen on the edge of the box found the left back with plenty of space to take a touch and strike the ball past Igor in goal. 2-1. A gutting end to a game we felt we deserved to win.

Once again we needed to bounce back. We went away to 13th placed Nardo in a game we knew we had to win. The previous result had seen us slip down to 11th, although we did have a game in hand. A nervy start was evident, our confidence which had seen us playing some beautiful football in the previous weeks and they made us pay. With 35 minuets on the clock, Mats van der Weel picked the ball up on the edge of our area and without taking a touch to set himself smashed the ball like an arrow past Igor. The ball flew into the top corner.

The boys came in at half time and I left them with no doubt how disappointed I was with the performance, something I thought let previous manager Ole down, he wanted to be best friends with the players at all times and couldn’t discipline them when it was needed.

With the message I had left ringing in their minds, it didn’t take us long to grab the equalizer. Just two minuets after the halftime break, Petter Havsgård Martinsen had positioned himself over a freekick a good 25 yards from goal. With the precise accuracy, the ball swerved in past the Nardo keeper, an excellent goal from our left back.

The fuse was lit. We began stroking the ball around the pitch beautifully. Winning every and all 50-50s. The performance was excellent and I was thoroughly impressed. Yet the go ahead goal wasn’t coming. Until the 81st minute when Tor André Aasheim played an excellent ball along the face of the goal for Jonatan to give us the lead. The same two gave us our third with Joantan once again scoring the eventual winner. Despite a red card, Nardo did get a consolation goal from a meant to be cross. The final whistle blew at 3-2 and again I was impressed with our comeback.

We once again travelled away for our final game of the month, going up against capital city sie, KFUM Oslo. Another two goal victory, with goals from Sheriff Sinyan and last months young player of the month Tor André Aasheim giving us the 2-0 victory. Another victory guiding us up the league once again.

The League Table

Once again we have risen up the table, now sitting in 8th place with a game in hand on the teams around us. We are also 6 points clear of the relegation zone a position we are very happy to find ourselves in. A win in our game in hand will also see us rise into the top half of the table into 6th place.

Next Months Fixtures

The final month of the season sees us come up against, Skied who are 11th in our game in hand away from home. Before we play Vard, Vålerenga Fotball 2 and finally Hødd a set of fixtures that could see us finishing in the top half of the table. With the aim to end the season unbeaten I am looking for the boys to put in some top performances.

Player of the Month

Septembers player of the month, is also our Young Player of the month is 18 year old Jonatan Braut Brunes. The central midfielder has excelled as a left winger due to a lack of options there has impressed immensely.

Jonatan has scored 3 goals this month with two coming in the 3-2 win against Nardo. With his ability to play 8 different positions, anywhere ahead of the DM, Jonatan could be a key player for us for years to come. I believe his development will continue nicely here as he has learnt to play the left wing role very fast. A player I have been highly impressed with so far.

Other News

As mentioned last month, our financial position is under a high level of scrutiny at the moment with the club currently sat in debt of £337,439. This has lead the board taking the decision to take 80% of whatever we make from player sales to help boost the finances in whatever way possible.

Replies

SOA: A much easier month on paper but if this league is showing me anything, nothing is won on paper!
Justice: Think that has to be the goal! This season was always going to be a struggle but if I can get off to a good start next year who knows where we could end up!
Scott: You and Jack are spending to much time together with these puns!

Unlucky with the defeat, but decent month overall. Best of luck in the future.

A great turnaround from the situation before, Bryne are very lucky to have you. Interesting to see how Brunes' attributes are taking a downturn at just 18 though.

28th October 2018

My first season is in the books. October saw the season come to a close and with that saw us play our final four fixtures. , Skeid.Vard, Vålerenga Fotball 2 and in the repeat of my first game, Hødd, this time in the final matchup of the season.

The Results

In a month we aimed to go unbeaten, our hopes were dashed in the very first game in an infuriating match against Skeid. After taking a 2 goal lead within 17 minuets through a 3rd minute goal from Omar El Ghaouti and a 17th minute strike from Tor André Aasheim our confidence was high. To high. Just 4 minutes later Skeid equalized.

With us seemingly regaining some awareness that there was still a game to play, the boys regained control forming some nice attacks and controlling the possession game well. Yet once again our concentration lacked and Skeid equalized and then in the 86th minute took the lead stealing three points from us.

This is an issue that needs addressing, to many games we have thrown away leads and points conceding silly goals in the last few minuets of the game.

Keen to make amends we welcomed strugglers Vard to our home, Bryne Stadion in a match I had demanded a win from. The boys didn’t disappoint, this time around. Another magical freekick from left back reminiscent of his effort against Nardo just weeks before, Petter Havsgård Martinsen gave us the lead with 4 minuets gone.
An unfortunate deflection of centre back Krister Wemberg gave them a 34th minute equalizer. Yet the result was never in doubt in my mind. That lack of doubt was proven right as Omar doubled his monthly tally just 6 minuets before the hour mark. A trademark goal of his with first half scorer Petter, playing a ball over the defender’s heads for, the 28 year old striker to run onto, before he placed the ball calmly into the corner of the goal. Another 3 points wrapped up.

A 0-0 away result at Vålerenga Fotball 2, led us to our final fixture of the season against Hødd. Going into the game I saw it as a way to assess just how far we had come since I took the reigns. Having drawn our first game 2-2 in a very entertaining encounter I was very hopeful of a home win.

Goals coming through, that man again, Omar El Ghaouti, with an early penalty and a 58th minute strike, gave us a 2 goal lead. A very pleasing result and shows just how much better we have become in the past few months. The squads confidence is certainly on the rise and we are going to have a nice break before hopefully improving further next season.

The League Table

The final league table for 2018 sees us finishing in 5th place, an impressive 8 places above the 13th we found ourselves at the start of June when I took over. I am very happy with how we have done in the past few months with performances being at a top level the majority of the time. Next season we will be hopeful in keeping those levels a lot more consistent.

Player of the Month

For a second month in my reign the player of the month award has been given to a fullback, with Petter Havsgård Martinsen this time taking the honour.

Petter, a 28 year old left back came in on a free from promoted side Nest-Sorta in the winter window. Another player unfavoured by Ole, I gave Petter his debut for the club in my first match and haven’t looked back since. This month Petter has shown consistency and added a goal and 2 assists to the side’s efforts. He is the type of player I will be looking to build this team around.

Young Player of the Month

Once again, our Young player of the month goes to right winger, Tor André Aasheim. Tor is another player I am hopeful of keeping around going in to next season. The youngster is highly creative and gets amongst the goals. This month coming up with a goal and assist putting in some key performances I am very happy with.

Other News

The only additional news of the month saw our board inject £80,000 into the club to try and boost our finances. However, the said injection hasn’t helped much with our debt currently at £346,850 in the red. This is something I need to decrease in the coming off season.

Replies

SOA: Yeah the defeat was certainly a hard one to take with it coming so so late!
Jack: I believe Brunes attributes are taking a dip is due to his position being new. He seems to be developing nicely into a winger though so hopefully we see the attributes follow sooner rather than later! Thank you mate, lets hope I can continue it!

Doing a good job mate!

A very productive month overall, it has to be said. The progression on the pitch is clear to see with those results. The financial position could be improved, but it seems the board know the best route in doing this and therefore I won't panic just yet. Hopefully you can report back next month with some better news on that front.

Not a bad end to the season. I firmly believe with a pre-season under your belt, that you'll be challenging for the title. Goodluck.

Had anybody offered you 5th place when you first took over I'd say you would have bitten their hand off! Promotion the target for next season?

Bryne Season Review Part 2

In part 2 of our season review on Bryne we will asses how the club reacted to the sacking of Head Coach Ole Hjelmhaug, with replacement, former player and coach Olav Berg stepping up in his new role.

The Appointment

Ole Hjelmhaug was sacked from his role as manager just a day after his sides lost to Vard on the 24th of June 2018. The manager who had been in charge for 2 years had started the season poorly seeing his side sat in 13th, enduring a potential relegation battle. This led to defence coach Olav Berg being given the opportunity to turn his hand to management.

July

July saw new manager Olav Berg start his role at Bryne with games against Hødd, Vålerenga Fotball 2 and Fløy. All three games had the opportunity to cause the new boss trouble however an unbeaten month saw Bryne take 5 points from a possible 9.

Olav Bergs Take on the month

“The first month of my tenure was very impressive in my book. I was very proud of how the boys came together finally ending our horrible run of 5 games without a win by beating Fløy in that final game of the month. I was particularly impressed with the work of Omar in July and he became an integral part of what we have achieved this season.”

August

In Berg’s second month in charge, Bryne had an incredibly hard set of fixtures seeing them face Kjelsås at home before going away to Brattvåg, then welcoming Arendal and Egersunds to the Bryne Stadion. The former three making up the top three positions.

Bryne got of to a 0-0 start gaining yet another point and maintaining Berg’s unbeaten run against Kjelsås, before coming up against a Brattvåg side in a game nobody expected anything but a home win.
Yet Bryne didn’t follow the script, helped by a 32nd minute red card to midfielder Simon Tomren, Bryne had a one man advantage. Equalizing in the 38th minute through youngster Jonatan Braut Brunes, saw Brattvåg’s early lead cancelled out.

With seconds left to play in the first half it was 2-1 to Bergs side, Andreas Jacobsen giving Bryne the lead. Bryne continued to challenge the Brattvåg goal but couldn’t give themselves a 2 goal cushion. It didn’t matter though as Bryne ran out victors with a highly impressive victory.

Spirits high, Bryne were immediately bought back down to earth with a 3-0 hammering by Arendal. The club based in the Sørlandet region, showed their class throughout the game, and despite Bryne’s multiple chances, ran away comfortable victors.

That lose led in to Brynes arguably toughest test under Olav Berg. A test passed with flying colours. Braces from Tor André Aasheim and Omar El Ghaouti saw Bryne run out deserved 4-0 winners in a game that nobody expected Bryne to get anything from everyone was shocked by the remarkable result!

August also saw 6 new players joining the club with Matihas Eriksen Ranmark, Gaute Høberg Vetti, Teodor Haltvik, Ole Sebastian Sundgot, Ismalia Coulibaly and Sheriff Sinyan all joining the club on loan. The signings gave Bryne an added layer of depth to a rather slim squad and allowed a lot more rotation to be available to Berg.

September

Following on from their impressive win against eventual champions Egersunds, Berg took his players into four more matches come September. With 3 wins coming in 4 games against Stjørdals-Blink, Nardo and KFUM Oslo, Berg saw September as a very positive month.

“I think we can look back on September with some pride. Another 3 wins gives us some all important points to end this season in that top half. The lose to Nardo was disappointing especially with the way we folded allowing them to score those very very late goals. But we learn from those mistakes, the best thing you can do from such losses is evaluate and ensure they don’t happen again, it all forms a vital cog in where we went to get to in the long run!”

Clearly impressed with the month Berg took positives from every aspect of it including there poor result against Nardo in which goals in the 88th and 94th minute saw them throw away a 1 goal lead, letting the lead slip.

October

The final month of the season saw Bryne sat in 8th with a game in hand and the aim of finishing the season in a top half position. The months matches saw Bryne come up against Skeid, Vard, Vålerenga Fotball 2 and Hødd, a repeat of the first game Berg had in charge.

A very inconsistent month saw Bryne beat both Vard and Hødd, whilst drawing to Vålerenga Fotball and losing to Skeid. However it was enough to see the club, who’s early season form saw them as low as 13th before Berg took over, finish in 5th place.

A 4 goal haul in the month meant Omar El Ghaouti took home the leagues top scorer award, winning the golden boot ahead of Erirkik Jacobsen. El Ghaouti’s 16 goals no doubt impressed Olave Berg “16 goals is a very impressive tally for Omar and we are highly impressed. Even more so before I took over he had just 5 in 11 games meaning his tally has turned into 11 goals in 15 games a much better ratio.”

The League Table

The final league table saw Brattvåg run out eventual champions with Nardo, Stjørdals-Blink and KFUM Oslo enduring the dreaded relegation. Arendal still have the chance of being promoted with a playoff still to come that will see them face of against Raufoss in group 1.

In terms of Bryne’s season they ultimately finished up 5th with a great late season form shooting them up the table. Their form under Olav Berg would of in fact seen them win the league had the league started after 11 games. Unfortunately for Berg and his team, it doesn’t and they will have to go again next season with the aim to surely improve further and win the title, gaining promotion.

The Managers Thoughts

Olav Berg: “Well, it has been a crazy season for the club, having been in an early relegation battle, losing our manager, seeing 6 players come in midway through the season and eventually finishing in the top 5 I am very happy with how we have done this year. Next year the aim will to do it with more consistency and not losing concentration to not drop points in the last few minuets like we have done this season”

Our Evaluation

Overall we see the year as a positive for Bryne. The obvious poor start to the year gave them no chance of challenging for the title but the appointment of Olav Berg has been an inspired choice and has seen Bryne impress many in the second half of the season. With a few improvements in the window, expect to see the club challenge for promotion next year.

Season Rating= 7/10

Replies

Jopa:Thank you!
Scott:Been a very productive few months indeed. Results are improving all the time and hopefully we can kick on in the next season. Finances are certainly a worry, but I am sure once the loan is paid off we will be making profit again.
SOA: The few months I had, we played very well and I think we can see it as a productive start to what I want to do here. Lets hope so!
Justice: Defintiley. 5th is a great position to end the year considering where we were. Think promotion has to be the target for next season, certainly my aim anyway!

Good solid season, now it is time to prepare for the next and shoot for the stars

Olav has done a tremendous job since taking the reigns and next season looks like it could be a season to remember, if he can continue the job he has done so far.

Window Slams Shut

The Norwegian transfer window has today closed with just 3 days before the Eliteserien kicks off another year of football.

Bryne FK, who’s league starts a few weeks later than those in the top flight on 20th April, were the countries busiest club, as Olav Berg prepared for his first season in charge of the club. With 13 new names joining the club Berg was positive on the window overall.

“ I am happy, very happy. I don’t think it was any secret that we needed some new faces around here to strengthen the side and build some squad depth. When I first became manager I loaned in 6 players in the summer window, with all but one of those returning to their parent club I needed to bring in some talent. We have obviously bought back Gaute (Høberg Vetti) on loan as he was highly impressive last year. Alongside him we have looked towards the youngsters in an attempt to develop a side capable of achieving our targets over the next few years.”

Bryne have focused, like Berg said, on bringing in younger players with the average age of the signings being just 20 years old. A majority of the signings that did come in were on free transfers with reports stating all but 1 of the free transfers being on non-contract payments.

Berg has also made the most of the loan system with three more loanees joining Guate Høberg Vetti with Håvar Kleppe, Besim Serbecic and Krisstoffer Gunnarshaug all joining the club. Centre backs, Kleppe and Serbecic joining from SK Brann and Rosenborg respectively, whilst Gunnarshaug joins the club from FK Haugesund.

After an impressive pre-season Bryne, will be looking towards all there signings to play a major role in the club this season with their first league game coming against Egersunds IK (20/04/19) played a few days after their first cup game that is yet to be announced (17/04/19).

Replies

Griffo: That’s the aim mate! Promotion is the goal for sure!
Scott: I am hopeful that he can continue to improve on what he has already done as it has been a great season. Hopefully promotion will be on the cards next season!

#OlavsStillAtTheWheel #OurShipStillHasn'tSunk !

16th April 2019

My first full season starts competitively tomorrow, my first game to really get this club going. After what felt like years from the end of last season to now has dragged on long enough.

Last season was tough, joining half way through the season in the relegation zone with a team struggling for confidence I was wary to change to much bring to many in and change the backroom staff to much. I felt we needed to keep a few things familiar and just have a tweak of the system and who fit in it and ensure that we made the top half of the table.

That ends now. No more excuses, this is my team and a team I am looking forward to developing. A pre-season where I am normally very bored due to just how long it lasts before friendlies even begin, was not like that this time. I took a week off from the end of the season, had a week off for Christmas and new year’s, but between and since those breaks, I have been doing everything and anything to get this team up to scratch. From backroom staff to the playing staff we have made several changes throughout the club and I can’t wait to see how they plan out.

The Squad

Goalkeepers

Igor Spiridonov

Igor impressed me last year as our number one, a position he will hold to this year. Keeping 10 clean sheets throughout the year, with 6 coming under my management, I believe the now 30 year old should be a big part of any success we have this year. Unlike last year he will have competition for that number one jersey this season.

Andreas Lunde

Andreas is the first out of 13 of our incoming players this season. Adding depth in the goalkeeping position was of massive importance to us after spending a majority of last season without a backup. Andreas comes in on a free from second tier club Nesta-Sorta after last playing in 2017 making 7 appearances.

Right Backs
Bjarne Langeland

Another key player from last years squad, Bjarne will be keeping his spot at Right back this year, hopefully showing the same level of performance that he did last year. Having joined 3 years ago now, the 25 year old has a year left on his contract and will be playing for a new contract this year.

Ola Elvedahl

Ola is a youngster who has a fair amount of potential we hope to develop some more this season with the potential for him being the long term replacement for Bjarne. Ola showed glimpses last season coming off the bench for my side in the second half of the season.

Centre Backs

Rógvi Baldvinnson
Captain of the side, Rógvi is a player of huge importance for us and his leadership and experience could be the difference between us winning games and dropping points. Having started all but two games (the two games Rógvi missed he was away captaining Faroe Islands national side). Not getting any older, Rógvi still shows the quality to be a key player for us.

Besim Serbecic

Besim comes in on loan from senior affiliate Rosenborg FK as another option at centre back to increase our depth in the position. Besim had played 24 games in Norway’s first flight for Rosenborg in 2017 before going out to Sweden’s second tier last year on loan. We believe the 20 year old can play a massive role for us this year and will be a significant piece in our defence.

Krister Wemberg

Krister is one of the higher earners on our books but at 27 and with two more years left on his contract we believe like the other two he can be an excellent player for us. Krister will start the season as a 3rd choice player as I believe Besims youth could be a key factor for us. However, Krister is evident of the depth we now possess here, and I believe we will be a lot stronger defensively this year.

Håvar Kleppe

Our second loanee centre back comes in from SK Brann. At 17 Håvar looks like a future top level defender and we will be looking to use him if we are in any sort of injury trouble. Like the rest of our loanees we won’t be paying any of his wages throughout his loan.

Left Backs

Petter Havsgård Martinsen

Another player we have managed to retain despite our financial constraints, Petter was a player who played at an elite level throughout the 15 games I managed last year. Creating 6 assists for us last year and scoring 2 remarkable freekicks, Petter is another experienced player showing the great balance we have in our backline.

Pål Aamdot

Pål has come through our youth system and has the unique ability of playing both left back and as a striker. The 24 year old is a natural striker however due to our lack of depth at left back, I will be using him as our back up left back this year.

Defensive Midfielder

Pål Fjelde

Our second Pål, Fjelde is going to be our starting defensive midfielder playing a very key role as Half Back this season. My belief is that Pål has the ability to sit just in front of our centre backs and break up the play stopping as many attacks as he can.

Tobias Henanger

Tobias comes in as our oldest signing at 26 years of age adding some experience to our midfield. Having come through the Sarpsborg academy, the midfielder has bounced back and forth between Norway’s top three leagues before settling in as a key player at this level for Arendal. I hope he will be able to provide a good level of cover for us this year as both a DM and a CM.

Central Midfielders
Guate Høberg Vetti

After impressing us in the 12 games he played during his loan last season we have decided to bring back Guate for another loan this season. Seemingly not in Sarpsborg, who are challenging for the Eliteserien, plans once again we will be taking full advantage of that. Guate will be a key player for us and we are looking forward to having him for a full season.

Krisstoffer Gunnarshaug

Krisstoffer comes in as our second loanee in central midfield coming in from FK Haugesund with the plan for him to come off our bench. The youngster played a few first team games in the first division last season and we will be looking at helping Kristoffer’s development in the return for some important performances throughout this season.

Sean Artes

Sean was one of the most important players I had last season performing well in his role in central midfield scoring once and assisting twice in his 10 games last season, all coming under me. This year Sean will be used as a rotation option with the team going in a more youthful path through Per Arne Gauseth.

Jonatan Braut Brunes

The highly versatile Jonatan Braut Brunes, is a youngster we have very high hopes for at this club. Able to play in 8 different positions Jonatan is wanted by second tier side, Aalesund’s, with just one year left on his contract we are going to need to do a lot to keep him here. Brunes will be important to us this season and we will be using him in a varied amount of positions throughout the year.

Per Arne Gauseth

Per Arne Gauseth is a talent we are very excited about, having come in on a trial originally, we were so impressed after one training session we offered him a deal straight away. Due to our financial situation, we could only offer Per a non-contract deal however, when we are able to, Per will be the first to be tied down to the longest contract possible.

Right Wing
Tor André Aasheim

After marking him out as a key player before my first game in charge, Tor proved me right last season scoring 4 and creating 4 in 15 games. Playing in every match I took charge in, I was beyond impressed with the 23 year old winger and believe he was one of the top 3 players of the season. Once again, he is going to be a vital part of my side coming in to the season.

Robert Undheim

The 26 year old is a player who has been with the club for a number of years now and featured in all 11 games before I took charge, however since then he hasn’t featured. With a very high wage I tried the upmost to sell or loan the winger out in the transfer window however nobody wanted him. Robert still has 2 years on his contract, so we will look to use him as backup this season, however, don’t expect to see him feature in many games.

Left Wingers

Tasso Dwe

Tasso joins the club on a non-contract basis as a fully capped international, playing for 134th ranked nation Myanmar. Coming in as a natural left winger, a position we had nobody to fill last year, we are excited to see what the 19 year old can produce. With a history at this level playing for Arendal, we hope Dwe can perform to a high level on that left flank.

Kristian Savland

Having come through our academy, Kristian looks to be a very intriguing prospect. The youngster comes in showing a decent level of ability for this level and at 16 he has a lot of time to live up to his potential. Due to his age, Kristian will be used as a backup to Tasso this season with the hope being one day he can make the spot his own.

Strikers

Omar El Ghaouti

Not just our top scorer last season but the leagues top scorer, Omar El Ghaouti is going to be one of, if not the most important player for our side this year. Having scored 16 goals in 25 league games last season, we are hopeful that with the increased level of talent around him this season, he can produce at a similar level. Now at 29 years of age and 2 years on his contract, Omar is a player who we may have to let go soon due to the financial difficulties we face, however, for the time being we will be making the most of having him.

Erik Rosland

Erik finds himself in a similar position to Robert. He didn’t feature at all last season and once again is on a large amount of money, however we weren’t able to move him on. Despite being just 23, the consensus is once his contract runs out at the end of the year, we won’t be renewing it.

Ruben Onsager

Ruben is one of the younger players in the side at 16 years of age, bought in to our first team after graduating from our academy setup. Another prospect, Ruben will be on the bench ahead of Erik after impressing in pre-season scoring twice and assisting a further two goals for us coming off the bench in 10 of our friendlies. We hope to further Reubens development by giving him as much game time as we can this season.

Tactics

Tactically we will be setting up in a very similar style to how we ended last year using a 4-1-2-2-1 system. Having seen the system work very well since I moved into the managerial role, it propelled us up the league with a high level of success. The only change to the system is having our one central midfielder playing as a Deep Lying Playmaker instead of a Ball winning Midfielder to increase our creativity. However, we may change this depending on who we are playing with the roles reversing if the opponent is of a higher quality.




In terms of instructions we have once again only tweaked them slightly, with the aim to keep the ball on the floor a little bit more playing less direct. We believe we are a better team than most this season, and with that we should be keeping the ball to show our qualities. I will be looking for the boys to put pressure on the opposition however we won’t be playing to high a line to ensure we aren’t caught out at the back. Hopefully the boys can win the ball back quickly and hit the opposition on the counter moving the ball forward quickly to Omar in the hope he finds his scoring boots once again.

Pre-season Results

Due to the extremely long nature of the Pre-season schedule here in Norway, we took full advantage of getting our match sharpness and fitness to an extremely high level. Playing in 16 games we lost just once, against Norway’s most successful club Rosenborg, winning 10. I was very impressed with what we achieved in the fixtures scoring 36 goals and conceding just 11. Having played a number of games against teams in the league above us, including two sides who were relegated from the Eliteserien last year, IK Start and Sandefjord Fotball, I believe we held our own in some tough fixtures. Standouts from the friendlies must go to Rógvi Baldvinnson, Tor André Aasheim and Petter Havsgård Martinsen who created an outstanding 8 assists.

The Finances

Our finances continue to take a massive drop due to the loan repayment we are currently making. Costing us £40,000 a month, we are currently £505,533 in the red causing a high level of concern, however, with just one month left of payments we believe it won’t be long until we are back making money something we desperately need to do.

Injuries

Our only player currently injured is youngster Jonatan Braut Brunes who suffered a sprained ankle ligament against FK Fyllingsdalen an injury that has kept him out for just over 3 weeks. Jonatan will miss our first round cup tie against Lokomotiv Oslo tomorrow however he should be in contention for the first league game on Saturday against Egersunds.

Upcoming fixtures

Our first few games will see us come up against Egersunds, who challenged for the title last season, Molde 2 but first Lokomotiv Oslo, a 3rd division side in the NM SAS Braathens Cup. The ties will be interesting and should be a good starting point for us to see where we are going to stand this season.

Aims for the season

My aims for this season are to gain promotion. I believe we have the talent and ability to make a real push at gaining promotion either through winning the league or a playoff spot this year. The bookies have us finishing 6th, yet after our much improved performances towards the later half of last year, I can only see us improving further.

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Jopa: Our ship hasn’t sunk….Yet….Long may it continue! Thanks for the support mate!