How Far to Asgaard? (Take 2)

From Wikipedia

Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs (HK) is an Icelandic sports club from the town of Kópavogur, mainly known for its football and handball teams. The club has a football team playing at the second tier of Icelandic football after being relegated in 2008.

It looks alright until you realise the good players seem to cover several of the same positions. The Depth is pretty thin in quality but I've got nothing in the terms of wage budget to work with as we were already Au$ 100 over budget when I joined. The Media predict we'll finish 9th, the Chairman wants me to avoid religation but in order to get a little extra wage budget I said I'd get a mid table finish. I probably not pushing the envelope but I might get to the sticky part.

The name of your club does not look the easiest to pronounce. Anyhow, looking forward to updates.

Quite a few in Iceland aren't.

Before a ball was even kicked in anger, I got a message that a Consortium was looking to take over the club.

Considering how little time I'd actually been here at HK I really thought this leg of my Journey was going to be over before it had even begun. With a transfer embargo in place and already at my wage budget limit I was really strapped as far as making any modifications to the team was concerned. Though to be thankful it didn't take long to sort out Not that my future was any more secure yet.

But eventually my being an Australian helped the new Chairman with his decision to keep me at the Club. I just have to keep up the strong Steve Irwin Strayn accent anytime I'm around him and tell him stories of drop bears and vegemite.

I still haven't seen a recalculated transfer or wage budget though. :\

I will stick with HK .

Good luck with your career.

With all that excitement out of the way The Icelandic Upper League Cup got underway. I was told to learn from the experience and with in a group with three Icelandic Premier League Teams and 5 in the First Division I felt it would be a good chance to see what the squad could do in competitive matches against my fellow league teams without effecting my title\relegation chances.

Three wins, a disappointing draw, and three painful to watch losses saw us finish 5th in group C. After 5 games we sat second and if we could have snagged wins in our final two games we could have made a push for top spot or at least the best second place spot but it was not to be.

The last game against group winners was especially painful. going down 1-0 late into the first half then from the kick off we worked it into the opposition box and earned ourselves a penalty. We missed. FH took the ball back down field and scored on a counterattack so fast it was blinding. Instead of going into half time 1-1 we went in 2-0 and never recovered.

Next up, the League proper.

I will stick with HK .

Good luck with your career.

Thanks SRL, I'll need it. Hopefully I'll see some money from the new Chairman soon

Nice to see you start in Iceland If you need any help with the Icelandic words or something I can translate for you if you want.

Wow, an interesting read here!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Windfeld

Good luck with HK!

You have a bit of extra money anyway.

Nice to see you start in Iceland If you need any help with the Icelandic words or something I can translate for you if you want.

Probably more with the extra letters in your alphabet. I'm probably butchering the pronunciation of several of my players names... probably why they're not listening to me :o

Good luck with HK!

Thanks, I think the set up here is quite good and If I can get everyone to work to their potential then I might have the basis for a good side.

Wow, an interesting read here!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Windfeld

Good to see my New chairman has a little financial sence and some football knowledge

You have a bit of extra money anyway.

Still yet to see it materialise into anything but cash in the bank, hopefully something will materialise in the next transfer window, need a new goalkeeper and prrobably some wide midfielders.

Euro cup and Mid Season updates to come when I get home.

The league season started well for HK. It took 71 minutes into our fifth league game of the season before we conceded a goal (although we were knocked out of the Icelandic Cup by lower division side, KH, in the middle of that time) unfortunately for us after that goal was conceded the flood gates opened like the breaking of the golden seal when you've been drinking.

Next game, two goals in Fergie time condemned us to our first defeat in the league which was swiftly followed by three more consecutive defeats.

Back room staff organised a team meeting in which much soul searching was done. Heads were lifted and we scraped our next two game, 1-0

Season 2012 Review

Icelandic First Division: Thirteen wins, Three draws, Six Loses.

We were supposed to come ninth and battle against relegation instead we found ourselves towards the top of the table with a second place finish which was more than I ever expected. Best I had hoped for was a mid table.

After our early four game loss streak I changed formation to a 5-3-2 as our DM in the 4-1-3-2 formation wasn’t holding back the tide as well as I’d hoped.

We kicked our slump with some solid defence. Thirteen clean sheets was an impressive feat giving us the equal best defensive record for the league, but we were a little toothless in front of goal. 9 goals from our leading striker, Eyþór Birgisson, was good and third in the league only two goals less than the leagues leading goal scorer. Unfortunately support was not forth coming. 4 goals from his strike partner, Samuel Kjartansson, and 4 goals from midfielder, Hafsteinn Briem, were pretty much all else there was. The only team in the league to score fewer goals than us came stone motherless last so you can see why my surprise at promotion was evident.

Icelandic Cup: Crap, nothing else can be said about it. We lost 2-1 to lower division side KH. We were expected to make it to the 4th round, but tripped at the starting line.

Icelandic Upper League Cup: Finished 5th in Group C. Three Wins, One Draw, Three Losses. One bloody nose to a premier league team, two thumpings at the hands of Premier league sides as well. Fifth was probably not too disgracing considering the 4 teams above were three Premier League sides and the 1st division side that beat me to the title.

My views of the season: We defended well but were rather toothless in front of goal and truthfully we probably over achieved.

My aims for next season: Survival pure and simple. A new goalkeeper and a new striker is a definite purchase. According to my Assistant our top midfielders have the potential to be good premier league players, lets hope he knows what he’s talking about.

Career Summary

Season   Team    League              Position   Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------

2012     HK      Icelandic 1st Div     2nd        Promotion

Congratulations on promotion .

Thanks mate, it was a surprise. I even lost the last game of the season 3-0 and still scrapped in because other results went my way. I was rather lucky. Lets hope it holds or I'll be back in the First Division very soon.

Hope you can survive after a surprise promotion.

Another year, same result.

Unlike last year where we started strong and finished weak, this year we started weak yet finished strong.

We lost the first game due to a goal in stoppage time of the first half and then drew the second because of a late equaliser. The next two games were lost due to own goals before we finally found our feet and strung together three consecutive wins. They were especially pleasing since ÍVB and Stjarnan were my first opponents in the Icelandic Premier League for the season and gave me hope of a strong start to the season.

11 games, 2 wins, 8 draws, 1 loss, and 6 games where we were kept scoreless. Seriously, we couldn’t score in a brothel, even if we were dragged into the back room by our unmentionables. Fortunately we’ve also kept the other teams scoreless 6 times.

I hope the doctor that worked on my midfielders’ legs and implanted the cannons will implant a targeting system in their eyes next offseason so they can at least shoot straight.

I don’t know why the Icelandic betting agencies keep giving such generous odds for the draw. I’d be raking in the money if I could bet on it. My next 4 games the draw is paying $3.20, $3.00, $3.00, $3.25 and I’m willing to put good money on at least 2 of them being drawn.

I also got a parent club, AaB in the Danish Superliga, I’ll be hoping to take advantage of that and seeing if I can find a striker who knows where the back of the net is.

Season 2013 Review

Icelandic Premier Division: Eight wins, Eleven draws, Three Loses.

Once again we were supposed battle against relegation, finishing 12th, instead we found ourselves towards the top of the table with a fourth place finish, qualifying for the Europa Cup along the way. Strangely though we still scored 24 goals and conceded 18 one more than last year. Like last year the only teams to score less than us were relegated but we still had the best defensive record in the Premier Division. Worst part about conceding 18 goals were some of those goals were scored by us.

I kept the same 5-3-2 formation which is probably why we lack teeth in front of goal, but we seriously have no one who can play on the flanks any further up field than fullback. I should probably look to that during the transfer window.

American Goalkeeper, Joseph Bendik, kept 11 clean sheets behind our five man defence. Could have been more if we didn’t put several goals past him ourselves.

Icelandic Cup: After last year’s debacle, we improved some. Entered in at the third round and expected to reach the quarter finals we found ourselves with a rather plum draw right through to the final. Where we unfortunately lost 3-2 to Fram

Icelandic Upper League Cup: More of the same from last season.

My views of the season: We again over achieved, My defensive setup is starting to rankle a little with the fans as they say were not playing exciting enough. If we were losing then I’d probably have to change my ways but until we stop being successful it’ll just have to stay.

Captain Hafsteinn Briem bossed midfield, 11 goals and 11 assists across all competitions including two in our close Icelandic cup defeat where single handed, he dragged us back into the game… and my coaches say he doesn’t handle big occasions well. He really blossomed with the run home being instrumental in many of our final victories. That snatched us 4th spot.

My aims for next season: Build on what we’ve got, my defence is solid enough and I’m seeing some potential youth talent come through. Such as right back, Gauti Borgþórsson, who’s already been capped at U21 level 3 times and a striker that was called into the Icelandic U19’s squad almost days after he turned up in my squad. It’s probably premature to pin my hopes on them, but to me it is exciting.

Career Summary

Season   Team    League              Position   Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------

2012     HK      Icelandic 1st Div     2nd     Promotion
2013     HK      Icelandic Prem Div    4th     Icelandic Cup Runner Up, Europa League Qualification

Great first season up.

Thanks Delta

Just a few odds and ends before I get into the new season.

Unexpected but an over achieving manager probably should be in the running.

2nd and 3rd rated goals of the year.

Funnily enough in a wrap up of the final round where goal number two was scored, a different goal scored by My captain was called the highlight of the round

Transfers

Sven Vandenbroek: Free, 32 year old Belgian who I bought for his mental skills more than anything. Respectable performances when called upon, couldn’t agree on a new contract and retired once the season was over.

Nikolaj Hansen: Free, 25 Year old Danish defender with a good work ethic who can also slot in at DM. Was at the heart of our defence for a majority of the season. Chipped in with 2 goals in all competition.

Joseph Bendik: Free, 23 year old American Goalkeeper released from Sogndal, kept 16 clean sheets across all competitions. Although my coaches kept telling me to drop him due to poor form :/

Þórarinn Kristjánsson: $7k from Klepp, Icelandic Striker didn’t produce the goods for me this season then broke his leg towards the end of the season. On paper is supposed to be the best striker in the squad, but the game isn’t played on paper.

Rasmus Thelander: Free, 21 year old Danish defender formally from Danish 1st division club AB. One of the regulars in my defensive line along with Nikolaj Hansen 4 goals across all competition and rarely giving away fouls. Only real blemish was an own goal or two.

Milos Glogovic: Free from KF, 33 Serbian defender who wasn’t liked by the fans. Performed credibly when called upon as the third man in my central defensive trio. Was let go at the end of the season.

Christian Mouritsen: $10k from Valur, 24 year old Faroese Midfielder formally a youth product at Man City performed a solid but not spectacular role in midfield partnering Captain Breim and fellow Faroese international Tem Hansen as part of our 3 man midfield. 3 goals across all competitions was a little disappointing.

Morten Seifert: Free from Birkerød, 30 year old Danish striker who was once on the books at PSV. Seifert was supposed to lead from the front with Kristjánsson and last years leading striker Birgisson but only contributed 7 goals in all competitions.

Rene Hansen*: Free, 19 year old German left back\wingback\midfielder capped 10 times at U21 level. Released by Stuttgart and snapped up by me for a sizable chunk of wage during the August Transfer Window. Played 5 games and averaged 7.48 3 assists and a MOM performance leads me to think I might have a bit of a gem for this level.

Mateusz Duda*: Free, 18 year old German right back\central defender like Hansen was released by Stuttgart and has been capped at U21 level for Germany 17 times. Duda wants to wait before committing himself to a nation as he also holds Polish citizenship. Doesn’t have the workrate of Hansen and was a little less dependable also, but he had a high determination. If I could get his dribbling and crossing up a little more I might play him as a right midfielder.

* Newgen

Transfers out were just more dead wood than a lumber yard.

Just a couple of Youth Players to come through my squad I thought I'd share

Came into my side at the end of the first season and was rated as one of the best youth products to come though HK in years (doesn't say much though). Also has the potential to be one of the best players in my squad. Started with 1 star rating and third choice RB and finished the season with 2 1/2 star rating and if not for the purchase of Duda would have been the best RB in the squad. Has already been capped 3 times at U21's level for Iceland at only 17 Unfortunately his growth has stalled due to needing to train full time... Now I just need to find some money somewhere to become a professional team.

Was the pick of the youth products from the 2013 season Again was rated one of the best youth products to come through the HK in years and has the potential to be one of the best players in the squad. Already 1 1/2 stars He will see some game time off the bench and likely when my main strikers are failing to find the back of the net like usual. Walked straight into the u19's team so there could be something about him but again, his training will stall unless I can get him a professional contract.

Times like this I wish I could sent them on loan to my parent club.

Season 2014 Review

Icelandic Upper League Cup: Finally I can look myself in the mirror and say we did a good job in this competition. Topped Group A with 17 points, Five wins and two Draws. Boring football prevailed as we only scored 8 goals in the group stage but only conceded 2 also.

A semi-final against Group A runner up FH was next. FH were unlucky as 16 points would have gotten then first place in the other two groups but sometimes that’s the way of the world. A 2-1 win with a double coming from defender Rasmus Thelander first dragging us level then a second in Extra time to book our place in the final against Selfoss who also needed extra time to get past last years premier division relegated team Stjarnan.

Upper League Cup Final against Selfoss was a dogged affair settled in the 60th minute by a solitary goal from new recruit Halldor Kristinn Halldorsson

Icelandic Premier Division:

The bookies gave us odds of 9.00 to win suggesting that if we took our chances we would be there or there abouts. The Media suggested 5th place finish was where we’d end up while the board wanted a safe mid-table position.

I was looking to build on last years 4th place finish hoping to get a European spot once again so I said I’d get a top half finish. Wage budget was slashed by a grand and there was minimal transfer budget but being already under budget and letting go a lot of dead wood I still had some wriggle room to bring in players.

Eleven Wins, Eight Draws and Three losses

Unbelievable! We just limped over the line due to our good Europa League run that left many weary legs at the end of the season. Due to so many games being rescheduled we kept being pushed down the ladder but I didn’t notice that we were still in touch with the leading pack.

With one game left against already relegated Leiknir Raykjavik any position was still possible from first through to forth but retiring striker Heidar Helguson needing one more goal for a career tally of 125 league goals gave us an early lead and we never looked back. Two more goals and the Icelandic Premier division was ours.

Icelandic Cup: Revenge was had by Selfoss in a Upper Iclandic Cup final rematch. We eased past two lower division sides in our third and forth round encounters only to meet Selfoss in the Quarter final. We went down 2-0 in the first half hour and even with the injection of our new French Striker at half time we still couldn’t claw back the deficit eventually going down 2-1

Europa League: I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to European Football. We scored goals at the right time and when we went down we held our heads up and continue to fight. First round 3-0 Agg over Serbian side Rad Boegrad. Second round 2-1 Agg over Swedish side Östers IF after going down 1-0 in the first leg at home in Fergie time before our New French Striker dragged us single handed into the next round with some fabulous goals. Third round we faced AA Gent and got past them on away goals after a 2-1 loss in Belgium followed by a dogged 1-0 win in front of our home fans. Eventually fatigue and superior opponent Dynamo Kiev stopped our golden run 3-0 but even then we didn’t disgrace ourselves.

Along the way we also got the record of the youngest goal scorer in the Europa League \0/

My views of the season: Fan-freaking-tastic. A domestic double, a great Europa League run I couldn’t ask for more! (Except for maybe a few more goals.)

My aims for next season: Rinse and repeat. If I can keep my French striker fit then he should be able to bang in a few goals. In the 7 ½ games he played for me this year he scored 6 goals. Find him a partner and I look forward to what happens. I have a good young strong defensive line and a good goalkeeper to build from the back. Some older players retiring and freeing up more money for a couple more midfielders in case we go on another good cup run.

Season   Team   League  Position   Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------

2012     HK      ID1       2nd     Promotion
2013     HK      IPD       4th     Icelandic Cup Runner Up, Europa League Qualification
2014     HK      IPD       1st     Icelandic Premier League Winners, Icelandic Upper League Cup Winners

Great pair of trophies.

Good to see ÍA in the top division, they're definitely fallen giants of the Icelandic game. Nice title win and a respectable European run, here's onwards and upwards to bigger things!

ÍA were promoted the season after I was. I use to remember signing Grétar Steinsson from them many many years ago.

While my financial situation is pretty good, it's not good enough to turn professional which would really help my youth players better reach their full potential (not world beating but certainly good Icelandic Premier league players). A good champions League run and maybe sneaking into the Europa group stage might help that.

I just did some checking on wikipedia, looks like while I was getting HK promoted, In real life HK got relegated.

They could use you then.

Excellent work so far .

Just to point out how poor individual goal scoring has been for my team in previous seasons. This is a french striker I bought late ast season just before my Euro cup run.

In seven games across all competitions last year he scored six goals.

Below is what he's done in 13 games so far this season... and I haven't entered June yet.

Nice European ranking rise.

I don't know what the Armenians did because they weren't even in Europe.

This is going to be painful

Season 2015 Review

Icelandic Upper League Cup: Won Group B easily from Selfoss who were the only team we didn’t beat having to settle for a 0-0 draw. We played FH in the Semi Final like last year but this year we won more convincingly. 2-0 in regular time with Goals to Defender Halldór Kristinn Halldórson (45+1) and Jean-François Tison (73) set up a rematch of last years final with Selfoss.

Selfoss took revenge for last years defeat with a 0-1 win in extra time despite having a man sent off in the 90th minute

Champions Cup: 2-1 win over Selfoss. French striker Jean-Francois Tison scored a brace (15, 60) before Selfoss pegged one back late but the result was never in doubt.

Icelandic Cup: Apart from an extra time win over Selfoss in the third round we were never in danger of being knocked out of the cup. The only other goal we conceded was in the semi final but we were already up 2-0 before that happened. The final was a replay of the 2013 Icelandic Cup final where we lost to Fram. 2015 returned a different result as we defeated Fram 2-0 with goals to ever present Jean-François Tison (2) and Portuguese Midfielder Ivo Magalhães (75).

Icelandic Premier Division: A much better effort in front of goal saw us storm the league. Again due to fixture congestion I didn’t realise how well we were going at first glance but once the season finished we were 11 points in front of our nearest competitors.

A completely revamped strike force comprising of Jean-François Tison (9 goal, 5 assists), Niko Kekki (6 goals), and Majeed Waris (5 goals, 8 assists) and a whole host of support from midfield fired 41 goals in the league all the while still managing to keep things tight at our own end. I started switching things up tactically altering from my usual 5-3-2 to a 4-3-3 (flat back four, 3 CM, 3 ST) that took advantage of the three speed merchants up front.

Champions League: We had a spectacular run starting in the second qualifying round with great come from behind win against Lech Ponzan to take the tie 4-3 after being down 2-3 in Poland after the first leg.

Next was a trip to Estonia where we played Flora Tallinn winning 4-3 on thanks to a Niko Kekki hat trick. The return leg was a much more defensive effort culminating in a 0-0 draw meaning we went through 4-3 again.

Playoff round saw us take on Swedish champions Helsingborgs IF who were dispatched with minimal fuss. Leading 1-0 from the away leg we scored 3 more at home before the Swedes scored themselves but it was too late for them and HK Qualified for the Champions League Group stage and received a nice fat cheque for doing so.

It wasn’t Pretty.

First up was Real Madrid at the Bernabéu who welcomed us to the Champions League Group stage with a 0-5 thrashing. We couldn’t even kick them off the pitch. Later Mourinho criticised the quality of the pitch, this bemused me because if he thought that was bad, he hadn’t yet seen the pitch at our place.

In an effort to recover some respectability I reverted to our old 5-3-2 against Olympiakos at home and held the Greeks to a bore 0-0 draw.

Our second trip to the Iberian peninsular saw us take on Benfica, this was just as fruitful for our opposition who took the pleasure of thumping us 0-7. We conceded 2 goals in the first 5 minutes and a further goal inside the 10th and Benfica never looked back. This game was bizarre as we conceded 3 penalties but no one from my side got a card of any colour.

The return leg was much more respectable as we parked the bus and were quite happy to settle for another 0-0 draw.

When Real Madrid turned up at Kópavogsvöllur I was hoping for another performance like the Benfica one. Madrid scored early but we held them out for the next 40 minutes until they scored two quick goals just before the half. With nothing to lose and every thing to gain I told the guys to go all out and we snatched 2 goals unfortunately we also conceded 2 to lose 2-5 but we drew the second half 2-2 which was pleasing.

Our final game against Olympiakos, was a do or die game where we needed to win to qualify for the Europa League knock out stage. We went to Greece and threw everything but the kitchen sink against Thrylos but Greek Goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis was solid in goal stopping everything that came at him. In the 81st minute our own defences finally were breached and that’s the way the game stayed losing 0-1.

My views of the season: A great season on all fronts, League win, Icelandic Cup Win, Upper League Cup runner up, Icelandic Champions cup win, Champions League Group Stage goals galore. What more can I ask for? Three man strike force worked wonders and my defence handled the missing man admirably.

My aims for next season: More of the same. Another good Champions League run will hopefully help turn the club professional and maybe upgrade the facilities.

Season   Team   League  Position   Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------

2012     HK      ID1       2nd     Promotion
2013     HK      IPD       4th     Icelandic Cup Runner Up, Europa League Qualification
2014     HK      IPD       1st     Icelandic Premier League Winners, Icelandic Upper League Cup Winners
2015     HK      IPD       1st     Icelandic Premier League Winners, Icelandic Cup Winners, Champions cup winners, 
				    Champions League Group Stage

With the influx of money from the Champions league, selling out 5 home games while having an average capacity of 91% and sharing a stadium with our rivals the HK board have decided to buy us a brand spanking new stadium. HK-völlur would have been a more authentic sounding name.

This is probably why we didn't turn professional this year so I'm hoping for another good run this year to make that happen.

Not turning pro also probably hindered the keeping of my Star left back Rene Hansen to Dynamo Dresden for $750k + 20% sell on profit. I suppose the glamour of Bundesliga2 couldn't compare to the humdrum of Champions League football

New stadium, nice. I agree there could have been a better name to choose than simply "[Club name] Stadium". What's the capacity of your current ground, and do you know what it will be?

Thanks mate

The New Stadium, I believe, will hold 10992, and I'll asume it's an all seater. The current stadium we share with our cross town rivals holds 3500 with 1600 seats, so we can't even pack it for european fixtures. It'll be good to play on a freshly laid pitch for the first time in five seasons also.

Incidentally, in game the Icelandic national stadium, Laugardalsvöllur, only holds 9800. Makes me wonder if international matches might turn up at HK Stadium.

I have had a few job offers and what started out as an attempt to be a journeyman save looks like turning into a one club save for the foreseeable future. AIK, IFK Gothenburg, Swansea, Notts Forrest, Birmingham, Brondby, AaB (my current parent Club), Tromso and SK Brann have all come with offers to pry me away from Iceland. Unfortunately I've grown attached to my little Icelandic team and I don't want some other muppet to reap the rewards for my hard work and\or destroy what I've built.

'destroy' is probably the most likely option.

After 2 years of telling me they agreed with my request for increaced youth facilities but the funds just weren't there. After securing my second Chmapions league group stage spot I asked for a third time only for the board to tell me that they would perfer I buy players for the first team that waste money on youth that may or may not turn up. >_<

Fortunately I got them to think about turning professional.

After 2 years of telling me they agreed with my request for increaced youth facilities but the funds just weren't there. After securing my second Chmapions league group stage spot I asked for a third time only for the board to tell me that they would perfer I buy players for the first team that waste money on youth that may or may not turn up. >_<

Fortunately I got them to think about turning professional.

Unlucky having such a bad chairman I asked for professional status after getting to the Champions League group stages for the first time and he accepted.

It probably worked out ok in the end, as my traning facilities were down graded towards the end of the season due to 'developments in sports science'. So I asked him that to upgrade them to increase the quality of players I can attract to the club. He liked that idea. So for $1.4M I'll have new trainnig facilities next year to go with my new 10,922 all seater stadium so I shouldn't complain to much.

I'm also now an Icon at the club.

Season 2016 Review

Icelandic Upper League Cup: I’m not even trying any more. Going in with a new 4-2-3-1 Asymmetrical formation to try an accommodate some of the new signings we bought in over the winter we turned in some good performances. Including a 5-0 win against last year’s league runners up Fylkir. We topped the group easily winning 5 and drawing 2 and a +13 For and Against.

The semi final against group runner up Selfoss was taken to extra time before we could finally get the victory. We led 1-0 at the half thanks to a goal from Waris, but new Danish Midfielder Henrik Randrup suffered the misfortune of turning the ball into the back of our own net to level things up. Tison finally grabbed us the winner just after the restart for the second half of extra time.

The final against ÍA was fairly straightforward. Goals to Tison and hot youth striker Gun∂I Ólafsson wrapped up the fame by half time. ÍA scored in the dying seconds of Fergie time but by then we’d already grabbed the trophy for the second time in 3 years.

Although one thing I have noticed is we’re very wasteful in front of goal. Must work on that.

Champions Cup: We took on League runners up Fylkir and while It wasn’t the 5-0 thrashing that took place in the upper league cup. We sill put together a professional performance and won 2-0 thanks to a brace from Majeed Waris.

Icelandic Cup: This started with a bang! 6-3 win by my reserves KR with young Norwegian Striker, Are Slatta, scoring 15 seconds into his first team debut. Breaking club and the Icelandic cup records for the fastest goal. A second goal 5 minutes later and KR were firmly on the back foot. 3 minutes later he turned provider for Birgisson to slot home and the game was all over bar the shouting.

Taking away those first 10 minutes where KR turned up late. The match was relatively even. A penalty miss by Birgisson, denying him a hat trick, in the 89th minute was the only blemish on a thorough thrashing. Selfos, Lower division side Reynir, and Keflavik were also brushed aside by my second stringers on the way to meeting Stjarnan in the final.

Stjarnan didn’t know what hit them. We finished the cup the way we started, with an absolute thrashing, demolishing Stjarnan 5-0.

4-0 up at halftime we took our feet of their throats after the break but Stjarnan never recovered allowing us to successfully defend out title.

Icelandic Premier Division: We won easily. We still had several games left in the season when we wrapped up the Icelandic Premier Division and so I sent out my second stringers to try and keep my first team fresh for the Champions League group stage at the end there.

16 wins 3 draws and 3 losses. It was kind of bizarre are we would win about half a dozen games, have a draw, lose, then repeat the cycle. For the first time this season one of my players hit double digits for league goals, made even more special by being a home grown talent.

Champions League: Ugh, so many trips behind the iron curtain this year. Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Czech Republic, Ukraine. Why can’t I get a trip to Ireland or the Faroe Islands?

After disposing of Qarabag Agdam (5-1), Remora (6-0), and Sparta Prague (3-2) in the knock out rounds we were placed with PSG, Sevilla and Shakhtar Donetsk in the group stage.

I don’t know if it was because we were more experienced or just that we weren’t playing Real Madrid, but we weren’t massacred like we were last season. 3-0 and 3-2 losses to PSG, 2-0 and 1-0 losses against Sevilla and a pair of 2 all draws with Shakhtar, of which both times I led 2-1 with 10 minutes to go only to be undone by tired legs.

My views of the season: We played well for long patches. I still need to find an absolutely lethal striker but as long as the goals come from all fronts I’m not too concerned.

My aims for next season: The board didn’t give me a choice. I’m to win at all costs. A $9M war chest is on offer to buy the players they want, but some of that will be moved to the wage budget. Personal goals will be to have a striker hit 15 goals in the league, go undefeated through the domestic season and to win a group stage Champions league game.

Season   Team   League  Position   Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------

2012     HK      ID1       2nd     Promotion
2013     HK      IPD       4th     Icelandic Cup Runner Up, Europa League Qualification
2014     HK      IPD       1st     Icelandic Premier League Winners, Icelandic Upper League Cup Winners
2015     HK      IPD       1st     Icelandic Premier League Winners, Icelandic Cup Winners, Champions cup winners, 
				         Champions League Group Stage
2016     HK      IPD       1st     Icelandic Premier League Winners, Icelandic Upper League Cup Winners, Icelandic Cup Winners,
                                  Champions cup winners, Champions League Group Stage

Lovely progress so far with HK, hopefully you can snag third place in the UCL group stages next season, I'm sure you could have a good run at the Europa League if given the chance.

After five years I'd thought I've give you a run down of all the players who've helped me achieve all I've done so far So without further ado I'll introduce.

GK Jesse Joronen: Pinched from Finnish 3rd division side Salpausselan Reipas for $75compensation, the Finnish U21 keeper has been ever present between the sticks since his arrival in 2014. In 52 league games he has kept 30 clean sheets and 63 clean sheets in 124 games across all competitions. He currently has 2 Icelandic Upper League Cups, 2 Icelandic Champions Cups, 2 Icelandic Cups and 3 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals. Last year he started attracting the attention of several clubs including Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and Vittoria Setubal.

DR Mateusz Duda: After being released from Stuttgart late in 2013 I snapped him up on a free transfer. The German U21 international hasn’t quite made the right back position his own as HK youth product, Gauti Borgthorson, constantly pushes him for the spot. While he hasn’t scored any goals just yet, he is part of the wall that is the HK defence. He currently has 1 Icelandic Upper League Cups, 1 Icelandic Champions Cup, 1 Icelandic Cup and 3 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals. He was also runner up in the Icelandic Young Player of the Year award in 2015.

LB Rene Hansen: Like with Duda he was released by Stuttgart late in 2013 and signed on a free transfer. The German U21 Left Back made the position his own with little effort. At the end of the 2015 season Dynamo Dresden came in with a bid that met his release clause and off he went back to Germany for four times what I could pay him and a full time contract. Not even Champions league football could convince him to stay much to my disappointment. Still remains a favourite player for me. He had during his time at HK 1 Icelandic Champions Cup, 1 Icelandic Cup and 2 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals. He was also runner up in the Icelandic Young Player of the Year award in 2015.

CDR Halldor Kristinn Halldorsson: Bought from Valur in 2014 for $6k he has become one in the leadership group here at HK. A solid, no nonsense defender he formed part of the defensive wall that allowed us to win our first Icelandic Premier League. Compared to the rest of the squad he’s a bit of a dinosaur at 28 but I see at least another 2 years from him before having to be sold on or let go. He currently has 2 Icelandic Upper League Cups, 1 Icelandic Champions Cup, 2 Icelandic Cups and 3 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals.

CDL Iain Ryan: Brought in on a free transfer after being released by Liverpool, Ryan had a bit of a slow start to his career in Iceland, some scratchy performances early on and getting minimal game time behind a few other defenders meant I was almost about to release him until an extended of good form turned him from squad player to key defender. 2016 saw his best season so far contributing 7 goals across all competitions with 7.10 rating for the League, 7.74 rating for domestic cups and 7.20 rating in continental competitions. With the club turning professional, a bright future beckons for this English Centre back. He currently has 2 Icelandic Upper League Cups, 1 Icelandic Champions Cup, 1 Icelandic Cup and 3 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals. He was also named HK Supporters player of the year for 2016.

CD Rasmus Thelander: Signed for free from Danish club AB upon our promotion to the Icelandic Premier League, Rasmus was the core of our defence in our early jaunt to the top flight as well as contributing with 13 extremely valuable goals across all competitions. While still at the club for the 2017 season, I unfortunately see his place becoming less and less secure with the introduction of younger and potentially better defenders nipping at his heels. A valuable servant who’s contributions will not be forgotten when it comes times to say goodbye but nether the less there is no room for sentiment in football you can’t live on past glory forever and we’ll wish him well when the time comes. He currently has 1 Icelandic Upper League Cups, 2 Icelandic Champions Cups, 1 Icelandic Cup and 2 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals. He was also named HK Supporters player of the year for 2014.

MCR Hafsteinn Briem: What can I say about captain courageous? One of the best midfielders at the club when I joined, Hafsteinn has been out midfield general for five seasons now. Made captain upon our promotion to the Premier League he just went from strength to strength with his inspirational goals right when we needed them. All thought his time at the club is probably growing shorter with the influx of new talent. His influence around the club can never be forgotten. He currently has 1 Icelandic Upper League Cup, 1 Icelandic Champions Cup, and 3 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals.

MCL Christian Mouritsen: Another Midfield Stalwart. Joining the club from Valur for $10k, the Faroese international joined fellow Faroese International Tem Hansen in the HK midfield. While he wasn’t as prolific a goal scorer as I’d have liked, he certainly made up for that by providing many of them, including a club record 17 assists in 2015. Like a few other players mentioned here, his time is coming to an end with the club turning professional and younger, better talent chomping at the bit to get their chance to make a name for themselves. He currently has 1 Icelandic Upper League Cup, 2 Icelandic Champions Cups, and 2 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals.

MC Tem Hansen: Tem was the third signing I made after joining the club signing for a free transfer. A more defensive midfielder than Mouritsen and Briem Hansen rounded out the three-man midfield in the early days beautifully. At 32 he doesn’t have much of a future as a player but hopefully I’ll be able to convince him to stay on as backroom staff. . He currently has 1 Icelandic Upper League Cup, 1 Icelandic Champions Cup, 1 Icelandic Cup and 2 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals.

SC Jean-Francois Tison: Another free transfer, signed late in 2014 after being released by Stade Rennais FC Tison immediately set Kopavogsvollur on fire. 6 goals in his first 7 1\2 games, followed up next season with a club record breaking 21 goals across all competitions and the first player under my management to score a hat trick for the club. He’s starting to fell down the pecking order in strikers as a few more skilful but just as quick strikers challenge for spots, but he still has a few seasons before he’s completely replaced. He currently has 1 Icelandic Upper League Cup, 2 Icelandic Champions Cups, 1 Icelandic Cup and 2 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals. He was also the winner of the Icelandic Young Player of the Year award in 2015.

SC Majeed Waris: Released by Swedish first div elite club BK Hacken in 2014 Waris joined the club on trial and impressed in his first game scoring a double. Signed to a full contract quickly after that to partner Tison, the U23 capped Ghanaian striker immediately endeared himself to the HK faithful, scoring 10 and setting up 12 more across all competitions in his debut year. He currently has 1 Icelandic Upper League Cup, 2 Icelandic Champions Cups, 2 Icelandic Cups and 2 Icelandic Premier League winners’ medals. He was also named HK Supporters player of the year for 2015.

Reserves:

Joseph Bendik: American keeper signed on a free transfer in our first season in the premier league. Kept 19 clean sheets in 40 games across all competitions. Was replaced in goal by Jorenen and released on a free in 2014.

Atil Valsson: Left sided defender\midfielder who was the main stay in that position until the arrival of Rene Hansen. A solid if unspectacular performer he was released on a free in 2016 and recently signed for IA.

Ivo Magalhaes: U21 capped Portuguese midfielder released by FC Porto in 2014. Currently one of my best Midfielders, Will see more game time in coming seasons. Expecting him to step up in 2017.

Gu∂ni Ólafsson: Youth product of HK, had a storming season in 2016 with 16 goals and 12 assists, including the first double figure league goal tally. Currently holds the record for the youngest goal scorer in the Europa League.

Eyþór Birgisson: Crowd favourite and ever present striker in my first 3 seasons. With the purchases of Tison, Waris, Kekki, and Aleksic plus Ólafsson coming of age, he fell further and further down the pecking order. He signed for Grindavik on a free transfer at the end of 2016.

Bobby Prosser: Welsh U21 Defender released by Man City in 2014. Had early problems settling in Iceland. Seems to have over come these now and partners Iain Ryan in defence.

Morten Seifert: Danish Striker signed in 2013 to bolster my forward line, minimal impact in the league saw him depart at the end of the 2014 with the new blood coming in.

Lovely progress so far with HK, hopefully you can snag third place in the UCL group stages next season, I'm sure you could have a good run at the Europa League if given the chance.

Thanks mate

I really think were close to a win and we weren't playing as defensive this year as we were last year when trying to limit the damage. Hopefully a season of Professional training will add some steel to my defensive line in Europe and hone a finer cutting edge for my strikers.

Doing really well with HK, hopefully you can get a win in Europe soon. Keep up the good work!

Beating Sparta's good going.

Cracking season there. Good to see you win the Icelandic Cup as I can't seem to be able to do that . Guðni seems like an excellent prospect and we could be looking at the next big Icelandic thing. Good luck with the next season and keep us posted!

Yeah, I'm really excited about Guðni too. Also now that we've turned pro it should help him greatly.

Icelandic Upper league Cup 2017

HK 1-0 Þór: The beginnings of a new era, our first game in our new home and we instantly smash ‘our old ground’ record by 1020 people. 20 minutes in Australian striker John Aleksic scored the first goal at the ground and the only goal of the game giving us the first win at the stadium also.

Þróttur 0-5 HK: Easy second up win with goals to Iain Ryan, John Aleksic (3) and New Japanese striker\right winger Yoshikazu Ito

HK 3-0 FH: New left winger Mads Hansen scored the first goal in the 70th minute to break the tense deadlock. Dariusz Smolka and Hernan Espindola rounded off the victory with goals in the 79th and 90th minutes respectively to finally put FH out of their misery.

Leiknir R 1-3 HK: Brace to Aleksic and first ever goal to German Midfielder Hubert Hafner put Leiknir to bed. An 85th minute goal was the first put past Jorenen but by then we were never in danger of losing.

HK 2-0 Grindavik: An unhappy return for former HK striker Birgisson as his new team went home with a loss. Another crowd record saw an improvement of the first game by another 12 people taking our record to 4532. Iain Ryan got us off the mark but it wasn’t until Hafner scored in the 82nd minute that the result was put to bed.

Fram 1-4 HK: Hat trick to Majeed Waris and one to Espindola saw brush aside Fram. An 88th minute concede was the only blemish.

HK 2-0 Valur: A third broken attendance record now up to 4603. Hafner got us off to an early start and I thought a thrashing was on the cards but 70% possession and 20 shots on target could only give us one more goal from Aussie Striker Aleksic in the 58th minute.

KF 0-4 HK ULC Semi Final: Brace from Welsh defender Bobby Prosser and a goal a piece from Espindola and Waris brushed aside the first division side without breaking a sweat.

Fylkir 1-0 HK ULC Final: We dominated this game like we did all the others. We didn’t deserve to lose this game and a 90th minute penalty was the final kick in the teeth. Fylkir has become a bit of a bogey side for us of late and this was the third straight loss we’d suffered at their hands we must rectify this.

HK 4-0 KR Icelandic Champions Cup: Smarting from the loss in the Upper League Cup final, the boys came out with a point to prove. A brace from the spot for Prosser coupled with goals from Waris and Magalhaes crushed KR in the last game before the league start.

With my Champions league second round Qualifying tie announced, I went back and had a look at all the places I've been in the qualifying rounds. Serbia, Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Czech Republic and now Albania.

I must say "No one has benefited more from the fall of communism than we have.

Well except for maybe the people that lived in the communist countries."