A Norwegian Adventure

Omar (El Ghaouti) God, that was a good update Pål (Aamdot) ! ( sorry for the shitty puns, I tried my best to find a good one but failed )

Great update, firstly. Secondly, managing to keep Omar El Ghaouti at the club will, in my opinion, be the biggest piece of business conducted by the club and Olav this season. The impact he had last season was incredible and if he manages to maintain just a fraction of that this season, it would still be classed as a great campaign for him.

The finances need a lot of work going into the new season, but hopefully some success will eventually lead to those improving. When the repayments do stop, it'll be a real benefit. Good luck!

Very impressive and details update, keep up the great work

Congratulations on winning Longest Post of the Year!

A very good finish to the season in comparison to where you were when you first took over! That last update was fantastically detailed (reminded me of one of my own ). I believe you have the credentials to actually achieve promotion in what can be a very surprising division historically, and with the state of the finances it seems like promotion is very much needed...

30th April

Results

April saw the beginning of a new season, a season of high expectations I place on my self and the club. We began the month with two friendly wins against Brann 2 and Klepp, both wins giving us a high level of confidence going in to the new season.

Our first competitive game in over 6 months was finally upon us when we faced 3.divisijon side Lokomotiv Oslo at home in the NM SAS Braathens Cup. We were rightly favourites for the match and proved why.

Sean Artes half volley flew into the top right corner on the half an hour mark, giving us the lead. With a dominant performance Oslo held there own defending well keeping us to our one goal lead up until the 83rd minute when Petter Havsgård Martinsen gave us our second. Just 5 minuets later and loanee centre back Besim Serbecic added the 3rd giving us a deserved 3-0 victory.

Coming off the back of the win, we came up against a tough test in our first league game of the season, Egersunds. The club finished just outside of the playoff places last season, finishing 3rd in the table just 2 points behind 2nd and 3 behind eventual champions Brattvåg. Despite having beaten them 4-0 last season we weren’t going to be complacent going in to the game.

This proved necessary as Egersunds were clearly wanting their revenge dominating the early stages of the game piling on relentless pressure. Despite this pressure our defence held firm, a section of the team I identified before the season as a possible difference maker.

This resilience paid off as substitute, Ruben Onsager, who became Bryne Fk’s youngest player in its history in the game against Lokomotiv Oslo, cam on for last seasons top scorer Omar El Ghaouti, scoring the winner in the 73rd minute. Rubens goal was beautifully taken as a poor goal kick found its way to Pål Fjelde who headed it into the 16 year olds path. Ruben took the ball turned and curled the ball expertly past Egersunds keeper gifting us the 1-0 away win.

Off the back of the two results, we were drawn against Eliteserien challengers, Lillestrøm, a side who pays almost 5x as much on salaries than us per year. The game was always going to be a massive struggle and we knew it would be tough ask. It wasn’t made any easier when a very risky and poor throw in from left back Petter Havsgård Martinsen took a long throw in deep in our half towards our own box which was won by the Lillestrøm player. Thomas Lehne Olsen found himself in loads of space and easily made the score 1-0.
A slight tactical tweak saw us stem the flow of attacks coming from the first tier side, and allowed us to start hitting them on the counter. The tactical switch paid off when in the 62nd minute Omar El Ghaouti opened his seasons account from the spot giving us the equalizer.

From that point on it was backs against the walls and we managed to hold on. Taking one of the nations biggest sides all the way to penalties was a fantastic result and one we are very proud of. It shows how much talent we have here and despite eventually losing, it gives us belief going forward this season.

League Table

Having only played the one game this month in the league due to the cup competition, we are currently sat in 4th place. This early on it doesn’t mean much as we saw last season anyone can beat anyone. However, it is good to see we have started well and hopefully we can build on it. Skeid look like the early challengers this season having won their opening two games 3-0 and 5-1.

Player of the Month

Rógvi Baldvinnson, out captain wins our player of the month award for April 2019 having helped the team to two clean sheets and being a massive part of only conceding 1 against Lillestrøm. The Faroe Island’s captain is going to need to continue his form throughout the year to ensure we continue our good form.

Young Player of the Month

Despite playing in just two of the three matches this month coming of the bench in both, Ruben has to be this months Young Player of the Month. Having become the youngest player in the clubs history and grabbing an assist against Lokomotiv Oslo, he then came off the bench again and scored the winner against Egersunds in the league. The goal was wonderfully took and again we look forward to seeing how the youngster develops.

Injuries

In terms of injuries we have just the one out for us with summer signing Tasso Dwe being out of action with sprained knee ligaments. Having suffered the injury in his debut against Lokomotiv Oslo, Tasso has around 2 more weeks on the touchline.

Other News

In other news, we are coming towards the last of our monthly loan repayments with just one more payment left. This will come ahead of the elections surrounding the club coming up on May 14th.

Next Months Fixtures

Next month we will play 5 games, three away ties, against Brann 2, Florø SK and Vålerenga Fotball 2. Whilst we have 2 games at home against Molde Fk 2 and Skeid Fotball, who currently sit atop of the league. These games will see us challenged throughout and I will be looking for some positive performances from the boys.

Points Aim= 11/15

Replies

Jopa: I appreciate the attempt! Thank you mate glad you enjoyed!
Scott: Thank you! Yes Omar has been incredible for us last season, his impact up top will be needed again this season if we are to achieve our goals so I am hopeful of a similar result from him.
In terms of finances, the loan has ripped us to pieces and eventually bought us down to semi-professional status which is unfortunate. The loan should be finishing by August this season so hopefully I am able to start turning out a profit.
Griffo: Thanks for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed!
Justice: An award I am honoured to accept

A good start to the league campaign and hopefully the start of a strong season. The cup campaign has a lot of positives to take away, especially the latest game against Lillestrom. To take a side of their quality all the way shows real improvement on the pitch.

I'll be expecting you to keep this 100% record in the league.

May

Results

In only my second unbeaten month as a manager, I am beyond impressed with our performances and results this month. Having scored 9 and conceding just the one goal all month I think we can only see this month as a success.

In our first game of the month, we faced off against, title favourites, Brann 2, in an away game most had counted us out of. But once again, like many times across my tenure we showed our character, with Omar El Ghaouti opening the scoring in the 14th minute. It took a while longer for us to get the safety cushion we wanted but in the 54th minute, centre back Besim Serbecic buried a low flying shot into the Brann goal. The cushion was well deserved and was added to when 9 minuets later, Kristian Savland secured the win with our 3rd.

Besims scoring run then continued into our next two games against Molde 2 (Home) and Florø (away). The 21 year old loanee scored from two corners with two excellent headers giving us the 1-0 wins in both games. Despite the wins I was disappointed with the lack of goals coming from open play. We were creating the chances however we just couldn’t finish them off, having 9 shots with just 2 on target against Molde, and 12 shots with 5 on target against Florø.

This worry was not cured in our next game against high flyers Skeid. Once again we created a high amount of chances (17 shots with 7 on target) however we couldn’t find the net. Omar missed a 43rd minute penalty which would of given us a large amount of confidence going in to the second half.

Eventually we did take the lead through Guate Høberg Vetti 66th minute header, once again originating from a set piece. Having dominated the game, limiting the opponents to just 2 shots on target, a trouble we faced last season came back to bite us. Conceding in the 93rd minute our concertation levels saw us once again drop points.

A well worked move saw Hassan gather the ball on the edge of our area and with nobody closing him down, he had time to move the ball out of his feet and power a shot past Igor into the top right corner. Disappointing way to drop points, however a result we would of taken at the start of the game.

Our goalscoring woes came to an end in our final game of the month against 2nd place Vålerenga Fotball 2. We believed the away game would have been a tough one to play but believed we could manage a draw to achieve our 11 point goal set out at the end of last month. Yet we exceeded these expectations. A massive 3-0 win away from home with goals coming through Tor André Aasheim, Kristian Savland and a late penalty from Per Arne Gauseth ensured our victory. The performance capped a great month overall for us as we showed our class and ambition for the league.

League Table

A great month sees our uneaten record stretch to 9 (including last season) in the league whilst we are yet to be beaten in the 90 so far this season. This impressive run sees us currently sit 2nd a point behind leaders Skeid, who we have a game in hand on. We are the only teams in Norway yet to be beaten out of the top three leagues something we are very proud of and hope to continue.

Player of the Month

This months Player of the Month award goes to loanee centre back Besim Serbecic. Besim has been outstanding going forward and predominantly at the back so far this year. Having scored 4 in all competitions and being a big part in seeing us only concede twice in our 9 games, Besim is a player we are very grateful to have. Unfortunately I can’t see us getting him back next season and therefore we will be looking to make the most of him for the time being.

Young Player of the Month

Kristian Savland wins May Young Player of the Month after impressive performances of the bench has seen himself replace summer signing Tasso Dwe in the starting lineup. Scoring twice this month, Kristian earned himself a new contract tying him to the club for another 3 years. However It wont be a surprise if interest starts to grow around him and ‘bigger’ sides start sniffing around.

Injuries

Going in to June we have no injury worries with Tasso Dwe recovering nicely from his sprained ligaments coming out of last month. Hopefully we can keep a fully fit squad in the aim of achieving our promotion goals.

Other News

May was a very busy month off the field as well as on it, with board elections taking place and the contract renewals of two players.

Firstly our board elections took place on the 14th of May with current Chairmen, Nils Steinsland being re-elected for another 4 years. The election did see Alse Tjøtta leave his role as managing director, with his replacements on the board coming through William Pettersen and Kevin Birkeland. Disappointingly the board have announced they wont be looking to inject money into the finances despite our dire situation.
Upon the sale of Erik Rosland who leaves the club on a free, to Icelandic club Grindavik UMFG, freeing up £500 in wages, we have decided to award both Kristian Savland and Jonatan Braut Brunes new contracts. Both players are young talents we want to keep around for as long as possible and with both accepting £110 a week contracts we feel it is a very good deal for the club.

Next Months Fixtures

June is going to be a very packed month that sees us play a total of 6 games in the month. Thankfully we wont be travelling much throughout the month as we have 4 home games against Hødd, Lillestrøm 2 Vard and Flekkerøy. On our travels we will face tough challenges against 6th placed Levanger FK and Vidar who sit in 7th.

Points Target = 16/18

Replies

Scott: The result against Lillestrøm impressed me immensely. I think it shows we have the potential to be a promotion chasing side this year!
Justice: I will do my best to keep it up then!

Some great results there and still unbeaten. You can't complain at all.

Going strong, don't bottle it !

Dominant run of form, league title is yours if you can keep your form this elevated!

June

Results

After an unbeaten start to the year we went in to June full of confidence, hopeful of continuing our great early season form. In our first game we played a very boring and highly frustrating 0-0 draw at home to Hødd a team I started my managerial job against 11 months prior. Despite creating chances we couldn’t finish them off, a theme that seems to be creeping in and out of our performances so far this season.

Those goal scoring worries once again faded when we hosted Lillestrøm 2 at the Bryne Stadion. Revenge was on our mind after losing to their first team on penalties in the cup a few months prior, despite them being the reserves the win felt just as sweet.

After a 21st minute opener from Omar El Ghaouti, our pressure and continuous chance creation was there the entire game, never allowing the away side to get a foothold into the game. However, it took us a while to get the second but like the saying goes, “You wait for one bus to come and then two come along at once.” Scoring in the 84th and 89th minute through Guate Høberg Vetti and Tasso Dwe, who got his first for the club, we took home a comfortable 3 points.

The big win saw our joy turned back into disappointment very quickly, as in our next game against a struggling Vard, we were completely out played. With 60% possession Vard took a deserving 2 goal lead and a Ruben Onsager was our only consolation. A very poor performance, showing how important Besim Serbecic is to the side as he left for Under 21 European championship action.

With an inconsistent start to the month we needed a win to settle the nerves that were beginning to creep in. We got just that when we went away to Vard, winning the game comfortably 3-1. Goals from Pål Fjelde, who struck a sweetly timed volley on the edge of the area before a brace from Omar EL Ghaouti saw us take a 3-0 first half lead. An 82nd minute goal saw us concede for just the 4th time this season and we were happy to get back on winning ways.

Staying on our travels, we went away to freshly relegated Levanger, who finished bottom of the OBOS-Ligaen last season having been in the league for a few years. This was always going to be a test as they home side still had a lot of quality in it. Yet it didn’t show.

A 69th minute strike coming from right winger Tor André Aasheim gave us the 1-0 win in a positive performance from the side. Tor has had another incredible season and is being watched by a number of teams in the leagues above which is a worry considering our fragile finances. If a reasonable offer comes in we might well lose the youngster who has been key to our form so far this season.

Tor continued his good form into our final game of the month at home to Flekkerøy. Opening the scoring early through Omar and then a second in the 9th minute through Per Arne Gauseth, allowed us to take our foot off the pedal slightly. Having played so many games in the month the boys were tired, despite conceding one in the 30th minute, it didn’t affect the game to much. We were a lot more comfortable than what the score line said and once again I was very impressed with the win.

League Table

In a month that saw us lose our first game of the season, we have still manged to open a gap at the top of the table. Early challengers Skeid have dropped off having lost twice this month slipping 7 points back. Hødd, now sit in second but we are 5 points clear and sitting in a comfortable position. However, we can’t afford to become complacent and need to continue improving and increasing that lead whenever we can.

Player of the Month

As previously mentioned Tor André Aasheim has been phenomenal for us this season so far and showed his quality throughout the month. Scoring once and assisting on 3 occasions, Tor has shown quality consistently in June causing interest to peak around Scandinavia. The 23 year old is tied down until December 2020 so hopefully our improvement and development can continue in a bid to keep the youngster.

Young Player of the Month

Despite Tor still being young at 23 (which nobody is disputing *Cough* Raheem Sterling *cough*) we only consider under 21s for our Young Player of the Month award and therefore it goes to Guate Høberg Vetti this month. Guate has been a rock in the midfield breaking up attacks and creating our own. Scoring and assisting one a piece this month, his performances have been key to what we are doing at the club. With his contract running out at the end of the season, we will be looking to potentially take advantage of this and bring the 20 year old in on a free.

Injuries

On the injury front, we are unfortunately going to start July without Jonatan Braut Brunes who has suffered a twisted ankle in our loss to Vard. The injury keeps the 18 year old out for an initial 5-6 weeks. Having 2 weeks of recovery behind him it means he will likely miss both of our July fixtures.

Other News

Another busy month off the field, June has seen us part with another player, the UK finally leave EU and my name being linked to a job in the Eliteserien.

Starting off with the departures, we have finally moved on Robert Undheim, a man I identified as someone who wouldn’t be likely to feature this season. Having seen no game time Robert handed in his transfer request and we finally managed to move his £500 wages on.

Following that, the United Kingdom has left the European Union after years of talks. This will result in English sides having a 17 foreign player cap imposed on them, whilst current foreign nationals will be given work permits until their current contract runs out.

Personally my name is being linked to the vacant role at top division side Tromsø IL. Tromsø are currently sitting in 14th position in the Eliteserien, their lowest since entering the league in 2014. A move would see a lot larger budget and more secure finances however I don’t feel a move would be right, especially with how we are doing currently!

Next Months Fixtures

July is a lot quieter month, seeing us play just the two matches against Kjelsås away and then facing Egersunds at home. Both sides are struggling so far this year sitting 9th and 11th respectively and therefore I will be looking to continue our good form and taking maximum points from the fixtures.

Points Target= 6/6

Replies

Scott: Its been a great start! Hopefully we keep it up which would certainly guarantee promotion!
Jopa: I shall do my best to not do a Spursy!
Justice: Still early days! Hopefully we can keep it up and claim the title, would be a brilliant achievement for us!

You're in a great position at the moment and your form is strong, even with a loss coming this month. With just two games next month, it's a chance to ensure that players are up to the fitness levels you require in order to continue the strong start, as well as ensuring you aim to pick up maximum points, as you expect, from those games.

You’re doing brilliantly mate. Five points clear, i’m confident you can keep it going and win the title come the end of the season.