dllu Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 April recap Unfortunately our form picked up in the spring where we left off in the fall – rock bottom or as close to it as makes no difference. A change of pace and a change of tactics halfway through the month seems to have worked miracles against Skovbakken and Søllerød-Vedbæk – let’s hope it sticks. All things considered, we are lucky not to have fallen further behind. Aarhus Fremad still the team to beat, though. Player of the month A close run this time between Bechmann and Gavranovic, but I am going to give it to ever-present Peter Bechmann with three goals and two assists. Despite the team’s rocky start his performances have been great all-round and his backroom presence helped get us going again as well. Flop of the month Emil Antonsen’s poor form has been sort of representative of that of the whole team, so he will have to accept this less flattering title for the second month in a row. An interesting and arguably very decisive month awaits us in May... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 5, 2015 Author Share Posted November 5, 2015 May recap The month opened with a good piece of news, as our two wins convinced the board to offer me a one-year extension – and I even managed to get them to agree to two years. They may have regretted putting so much faith in me as we threw away a two-goal lead against Otterup, followed by an ignominious home defeat against Svendborg. For some reason we just seem to struggle against teams from Funen. An early red card to Skanderborg then helped us back on track, and we were able to make it a regular winning streak when Gavranovic scored a late winner against Ringkøbing. I couldn’t help but be disappointed that we didn’t get the three points against top team Aarhus Fremad, conceding in injury time. We did end on a high note with a nice and hard-fought win against FC Sydvest, though, to make it a most acceptable month overall. Still everything to play for – except promotion, which would require us to win all of our final four games, Fremad to lose all of theirs, and a number of other results to go our way. Player of the month Bechmann and Gavranovic may have scored four goals each, but I am going to give it to a third player who really impressed me this month. Granted, it didn’t take that much for Emil Antonsen to impress after two atrocious months on his part. Flop of the month No one really fell below expectations this month, but the least remarkable of the bunch was Allan Høvenhoff. With the table set the way it is, there is obviously not much left to play for in June, so you will have to make do with a short summary of the remainder of the season as well – coming up... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 June recap A bit of an anti-climactic month since we had nothing much left to play for – but at least we finished the season in style, as we managed to go undefeated for the last eight games. And what a goal-fest against our hated rivals Blokhus! Everything came together for us, nothing came together for them and the game was over after the first half hour. Game of the year for sure! So we finish in fourth place, thus living up to pre-season expectations. No more, no less. Our strong finish means we are only eight points behind Aarhus Fremad, who occupied the top spot almost all season and well and truly deserve their promotion. Good luck to them in the First Division, where I predict they are going to be struggling for survival. Truth be told, we are probably better off spending another year in the Second Division, building the squad. Player of the month Centre-back Mojo had a very solid month and played a big part in us only conceding a single goal in four games. Flop of the month Martin Nielsen did score a goal in our demolition of Blokhus, but other than that his performances were rather average. Once again, though, it was really a question of picking the least good of the bunch. Next up: Season summary and summer holiday – for the players, at least… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nie jem frytek Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 You've just made me want to visit Thisted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 You've just made me want to visit Thisted. Let me know if you're ever in town and I'll give you a tour. As for the picture (which is the real movie theatre in Thisted): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olsen_Gang Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nie jem frytek Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Let me know if you're ever in town and I'll give you a tour. Thanks, (I guess I should say Skide Godt) I'll definitely let you know if I'm coming to Denmark. Oh, and I know about Olsen-banden. It's very popular in Poland and one of the tv stations had shown all of the movies this year's summer. I have even considered starting an FM save with BK Frem which are, I believe, the closest club to Kjeld's home. It has to wait though, since I enjoy my current save. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 I had a feeling you did (they are also very popular in East Germany), so it was more for everyone else's benefit. FYI: The third movie where they go to Jutland - "Gang Olsena jedzie do Jutlandii" according to Polish Wikipedia - was actually filmed in Thy. The bunker scenes were done in and around the town of Hanstholm, where the aforementioned museum is now situated. So they get regular visits from the East German fan club. Yes, Frem is a traditional working class club and would definitely be Kjeld's team. In fact you just gave me a great idea for a save if you don't end up using it yourself... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Season roundup – Thisted ”Content” is a bit harsh, I think. Granted, with a bit more consistency mid-season we could have challenged for the top spot but as mentioned I think we are actually better off not getting promoted just yet. Anyway, the job is secure, my contract has been extended – and I even got them to agree to a “develop own youth” clause which should grant me a bit of leeway. On that note, we were invited to join the Reserves league next season – as some of you might remember we weren’t in it this season. It should give our fringe players a chance to get some valuable match experience. Player of the year No contest, really. Our captain started 28 out of 31 games, scored 16 goals and made 10 assists, so Peter Bechmann aka Mr. Thisted was a shoe-in for the title. It is hardly surprising that our fan club agrees wholeheartedly: Flop of the year Kasper Dam has been generally underperforming for most of the season. He hasn’t really delivered when he started nor when he was brought on during the game. I’m not sure we should be keeping him around long-term. The entire Thisted team of the year looks like this. No surprises – and this being our first season, they are of course also our overall best XI: Next up: The Second Division West 12/13 and beyond... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Season roundup – Denmark Second Division West Ironically for the most scoring team in the Second Division, left back Emil Antonsen was our only player in the D2W Team of the Year. Even more ironic, as Emil was our worst player for two consecutive months. Quite the day-and-night season for him. Player of the year Peter Bechmann only finished third on the topscorer list, so our many goals were scored by quite a few different players – which in my book is a good thing: Superliga and Europe Business as usual at the top where FC København ran away with it early. At the other end, Lars Søndergaard will have every reason to regret his decision to "go home". He was unable to save AaB from relegation, while his old club – and our new affiliates – SønderjyskE stayed up. Can’t say that I feel sorry for the man. Danish teams fared so poorly in Europe that our seedings dropped as a result. Small comfort that the Superliga is weirdly more reputable than before. It is somewhat more comforting that Danish teams played fair enough to give us an extra place in Europe next season. Ironically, the most fair-playing team in the Superliga that gets the spot is – AaB... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 We had the same thing happen when we got relegated in 2002. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Summer break After long negotiation, our (relatively) new man Mads Westh finally accepted our offer of an extension. Mikkel Taiki Pedersen, on the other hand, rejected two offers and ended up leaving when his contract expired. I think the lad showed some potential and would have liked to keep him around, but not at any price. Morten Nystrup was another of our own young talents that I wanted to keep, but he was on an amateur contract and was poached by our (almost) neighbouring club Holstebro, newly promoted to our division. Not what I had hoped for! And this just after Holstebro was taken over by a new chairman – who will be very well-known by Danish football fans for his 45 year (that’s right, forty-five) stint at Brøndby... The best piece of news this summer on the contract front, however, came from Mr. Thisted himself who we were able to convince to stay on for another year. Immediately afterwards, he started on his first coaching course – of his own accord. Peter is clearly beginning to think about life after the playing career and his attributes are actually half-decent for this level, so I will definitely be looking to keep him on as backroom staff when the time comes. For now, though, I am sure he has plenty of games and goals left in him. Our friendlies went according to plan: Two creditable draws against the reserves teams of our two parent clubs - I would haved liked to play the first teams, but the Superliga kicked off just a few days after my players came back from holidays. Then three morale-boosting clean-sheet wins against local minnows Lemvig, our feeder club logo-less Lindholm, and our arch-nemesis Nykøbing. We open the season against Nordvest FC from Zealand who were moved over from the East to re-align the divisions. We also get the first traditional rivals clash against Blokhus early in the season. Finally, the cup draw has been much kinder to us this season as we go to Aarhus to face minnows Viby. I will be disappointed if we don’t progress to the second round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeeD Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Great first season and an interesting approach to telling the story But to be honest, just the fact that there is a team in your division called Middelfart is enough to keep me coming back Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 (Once again apologies for the delay, but I have been away on holiday for the past week) August 2013 Couldn’t have asked for a much better start than that! We took a while to get going in the season opener, but after that it was green all the way through August. As mentioned, Nordvest FC are kind of a fish out of water in the Second Division West. The unlucky club from the town of Holbæk on the northern coast of Zealand were moved over from Div 2 East to make up the numbers this season, so they will have a lot of long away trips. They did get the best start, though, and can feel a bit disappointed not to get more out of the game. Truth be told, we were lucky to salvage the one point from a penalty. At first, our rocky start looked to continue as we travelled from North West to South West Jutland to visit Varde. Kasper Dam’s early blunder was soon forgotten, though, as Sead Gavranovic scored a hattrick and pretty much won the game for us singlehandedly. As expected, the minnows from the southern Aarhus suburb of Viby were no match for us, even though I chose to rest a couple of regulars and give a couple of reserves some match experience. Like last season, our two strikers seem to be taking turns at dominating games. Captain Bechmann was on fire and set a new club record with his four goals in one match. Reaching the second round of the cup also means we have met the board expectations – and as you will see below, the draw gave us a fair chance to exceed them. The Viby game gave us a morale boost that we took into the following rivals clash against Blokhus. We demolished them in our last encounter, and we seem to have found the formula to beat them. Once again, we did not start well, but after defender Larsen equalized for us with an own goal, we never looked back. A goal bonanza and surely our best individual result in my time as manager. The occasion also marked centre-back Tommy Markussen’s 200th league appearance for Thisted – what an anniversary! The journalist who wrote that headline after the Næsby game clearly wasn't present at the stadium. We were in control – for about an hour. After the equalizer, we struggled to create chances and Næsby looked closer to winning than we did. To be honest, they have every right to feel robbed of at least a point after Mickey Berg came on late as a substitute and scored a very lucky winning goal in 3½ minutes of injury time. On a side note, a piece of encouraging news from the world of international youth football. The U20 World Cup in Turkey just finished, and Denmark not only qualified – we actually finished third! Here’s hoping this heralds a bright future for Danish football. Our winning streak sees us sitting pretty at the top of the table at the end of August. I would like nothing better than to make that spot our own, but there is still a long way to go. There can be only one choice for Player of the Month. With 6 goals (and 4 assists) in 5 matches, Sead Gavranovic has been instrumental in getting us off to such a great start. Choosing a Flop of the Month was much more difficult after those performances, but the “prize” goes to reserve striker Kasper Østervemb. He was given the chance as a substitute four times, but didn’t take it. Maybe I’m being a bit unfair here, as he only played a total of 99 minutes, but he has also been unhappy about the lack of first team football. Since there is no way he will be a threat to either Gavranovic or Bechmann up front, DOF Steven and I had a chat with him and we all agreed that he would be better off trying to find another club, so he was released from his (amateur) contract. Instead, we will look to our own youth for backups to our two starting forwards. Not the easiest schedule ahead, as we look to continue our winning streak into September. Four away games in a row in the league! Whoever planned this at the FA deserves to join Østervemb at the unemployment office. The cup draw, on the other hand, was neither too kind to us nor the opposite, as we got Birkerød from Div 2 East. A mediocre mid-table side, they give us a decent chance of progressing, although I would of course have preferred a home game over a mid-week trip to suburban Copenhagen with my semi-pro squad. Will we make it to the third round? And will our great form in the league continue? You’ll just have to wait for the next update to find out... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Great start! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Player news The Danish Immigration Service delivered a positive message this month (not something they are usually known for), when Mojo finally got his citizenship this month. Not that it matters much in a football context, as he was our only non-EU player to begin with, but good for him! And we finally got a new player! 19 year old Arnar joins us from Haukar in his native Iceland. He has a little bit of experience with Danish football, having previously been on trial at AGF twice (without securing a contract). He is primarily a right winger, but can play on the left as well. Not an immediate reinforcement, but a long-term replacement for Mads Westh who I will ask to tutor him. International interlude Arnar wasn’t able to join us right away, though, as he had some business to take care of with the Iceland U21 squad first – which he did with various degrees of success. Nice to once again have an international player in the squad! At the A level, Denmark once again disappointed against the (supposedly) weakest team of their World Cup qualifying group. Only one point in two games against Malta(!!) is just not good enough, and they only have themselves to blame if they miss the ticket to Brazil. At least they were able to redeem themselves in a difficult away game in Prague, with Lord Bendtner saving their bacon on both occasions... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 September 2013 Except for one glitch, our smooth sailing continued throughout September – at least on paper. As you can see, the wins were somewhat narrower, but hey, three points are three points, right? I was very happy with our display in a difficult away cup tie on Zealand against Birkerød. The board are also very pleased that we have exceeded their expectations by making it to the third round – where a very interesting encounter awaits us, as you will see below. We didn’t quite dominate against Djursland the way I had hoped for. The newly promoted team are rock bottom in the division and have lost all their games so far. It was clear from the start that they would be more than happy to get their first point of the season, and their park-the-bus strategy worked very well for them for almost an hour: Plenty of possession but no real chances for us. Luckily we finally managed to take the lead, and after that the victory was in effect ours. Still, a bit too close for comfort. There was much less squirming on the bench as we returned to form against Skovbakken in a fairly eventless game that really should have ended in a bigger win. Not much to say, really. Our second trip to Zealand this month was a complete disaster, as we were well and truly hammered by Næstved. Thus ended our undefeated run of 14 games – 16 if you include the cup. A collective off-day with no positives whatsoever. I guess all teams are allowed one of those per season, but I made it very clear to the lads afterwards that this was the only such capitulation I was going to accept. At least their reaction the following week was the right one. Once again we struggled to break down a tight defence, while Marienlyst had nothing to offer at the other end, but we didn’t give up and got another well-deserved albeit narrow win. Our slip-up against Næstved means that we have fallen behind Hjørring, although only on goal difference. Overall, things are looking good, although a big group of teams are still extremely close. The division seems to be breaking two, with the bottom 5 falling behind the rest of us. Our player of the month has to be an old favourite: Captain Peter Bechmann delivered the goods as usual with 2 goals, 2 assists, and just generally a commanding presence in every game (except against Næstved). Right back Jeppe Kirk takes the less coveted flop of the month award. He was generally average and suffered a complete meltdown against Næstved. Luckily our first choice in that position, Jesper Overgaard, has finally returned from the knee injury that has kept him out since pre-season. He was substituted in a couple of times this month and will be starting now that he is match fit again. As promised, our schedule for the immediate future – including what is sure to be a memorable cup clash with our neighbours and rivals to the south-east. Skive are one level above us in the First Division, but flirting with the relegation zone at the moment, so anything can happen... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 October 2013 We started perfectly in the much-anticipated cup clash, although the attendance wasn’t as impressive as the result. Unfortunately this was followed by a dip in form, before we got back on track towards the end. Could be that the cup run is proving a little too much for my amateurs and semi-pros. A great result for us and the fans as we ended the cup dreams of our rivals Skive in a game that highlighted why we are top of the Second Division while they are struggling at the bottom of the First. And there is every reason to be hopeful, should we get promoted – maybe the gap between the two levels isn’t so big after all? Our confidence at this point was bordering on over-confidence, but Svendborg brought us down a notch. Our defence was particularly poor, and only our opponent’s equally poor back four saved us from a bigger defeat. You may recall our most talented regen from last season, Hans Henrik Johansen. Left back is our weakest position, so he has been given the chance to start in the last few games and delivered the goods. Not today. He will be going back to the bench and the U19s for a while. October looked like starting much better than September ended – for about 94 minutes. After a strong start from Skanderborg, we controlled the game but get score that third goal that would have sealed it. Kamper’s goal in injury time was a real kick in the teeth and we deserved better. The referee literally blew his whistle the second after we had kicked off again. Our visit to the infamously poor pitch in Brabrand didn’t make things better. This time we were the ones on our heels for most of the game, so we were lucky that Mojo was able to secure a draw for us. Especially since we finished with only ten players on the pitch – a second yellow for captain Bechmann is not something you see every day. Or every season, for that matter. Now we’re talking! Finally our attack and our defence manged to put together a good performance – in the same match. Playmaker Daniel Kristensen was the leading figure in our demolition of Ringkøbing with two goals, one of them an example of his trademark free kick abilities. I must admit I had dreaded the match against our newly promoted southern neighbours Holstebro a bit, as they had recently poached a couple of our amateurs. I could just picture the headlines in Thisted Dagblad on Monday morning if we lost that game! When we gifted them an early penalty, my worst fears looked like they might come true, but I am proud to say that my lads pulled together and fought their way back into the match. When we equalised and then went ahead a couple of minutes later, just before half time, it seemed to break their spirits, and we had no trouble in one of the most boring second halves I’ve ever seen. Apparently we weren’t the only ones to suffer from erratic form this month, as we are still only two points from the top – which of course only makes the two points we threw away against Skanderborg all the more frustrating. Despite being sent off for the first time in living memory, captain Peter Bechmann also scored five goals in five games and once again gets Player of the Month. His hattrick against Skive will live on in club history long after he hangs up his boots. I simply couldn’t find a decent picture of Jesper Overgaard in a Thisted jersey, so you will have to make do with his civilian attire – he works as an account manager at the local bank. Which means our experienced right back should have the math skills to know that the number of chances he has gifted our opponents recently is just not acceptable. Granted, he just came back from a long-term injury, so maybe Flop of the Month is a little harsh. And to make things worse, he got injured again in the Brabrand game and will be out for the rest of the fall season. Our fourth round cup tie against Fredericia sees us welcome another team from the bottom half of the First Division to Lerpytter, so a quarter final at the end of November is certainly within the realm of the possible. Otherwise, we finish off the fall season at home against division leaders Hjørring and away against gloriously named Middelfart – which means we have it in our own hands. We could actually end up spending the winter break in first place. Not the worst position to be in... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Turning into an exciting promotion race... fingers crossed for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 International news and miscellany October also saw the last two rounds of the World Cup Qualifiers. But first a piece of news that came in juts before the “international week”: You may have noticed that our hated rivals Blokhus were only in 12th place at the end of the month. They have had a terrible season so far, and the board ended up losing patience with manager Zinck. Apparently his staff weren’t too happy about him either. The interesting bit, though, is one of the names on the list of potential replacements: Yes, the Jari Litmanen, legendary Finnish international of Ajax, Liverpool, and Barcelona fame. Seriously, Danish pundits? Anyway, Arnar Aðalgeirsson was off again to represent Iceland U21 in the EURO Quals, where he succeeded in not making a complete fool of himself. Now what about Denmark? Well, one thing is certain: They are as unpredictable on FM as they are IRL. A very strong performance in a close match against an Italian side that has been almost invincible in this group, followed by an equally close match against a distinctly average Bulgarian team: Which leaves us with this table: Somehow Denmark managed to drop four out of six points(!) against puny Malta and still finish comfortably in second place, which was the best they could have hoped for beforehand. What a weird group! So who do we face in the playoffs? Should give us a decent chance of going to Brazil – right? And who did Blokhus end up hiring? You guessed it - surprise appointment indeed... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 The pundits were right after all Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 The pundits were right after all I'm not ashamed to admit I look forward to shaking his hand after the match after we have thrashed Blokhus again... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 November 2013 No reason to beat around the bush: We had a perfect month to end the fall season! For the second round in a row, we faced a cup game at home against a First Division team. A struggling First Division team, mind you. And for the second round in a row, we showed a willingness to fight for every ball that makes me very hopeful for the future. Fredericia went ahead early on, but the lads never stopped believing we could win this one. A penalty was just what we needed to get back in the game, and Kasper Dam’s last-minute winner was a thing of beauty. What a run we’re having this year! And the team reacted a whole lot better this time by carrying over their great form to the league. The highly anticipated top clash against division leaders Hjørring was just as exciting as anyone could have hoped for. Neither team wanted to risk losing this important tie, so few chances (but two goals nonetheless) meant the scores were even after a closely fought first half. The second half was a different story. I told the lads how important it was to get a good start, so we regrouped and came blazing out of the gate. Sead Gavranovic led the charge with two goals, and both sides lost some steam after that. It was only in the last ten minutes, after Hjørring managed to claw one back, that things got a bit too close for comfort again. But we held on for dear life and move into the top spot for the first time since the beginning of September. And we’re going to stay there at least until early April! Middelfart proved no match for us as we cruised to a comfortable win that could have been considerably bigger. Emil Antonsen returned to our Achilles heel, the left back position, when youngster Johansen couldn’t quite cut the mustard – and he delivered, playing a big part in our two narrow but oh so important wins. A no-brainer for Player of the Month. As for Flop of the Month – this was simply such a good period that no one deserves that title. We can’t quite go on winter break yet, though. There is still the small matter of a cup quarter final. With us and seven Superliga teams in the bowl, I could not have asked for a better draw... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nie jem frytek Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Anything possible in Top 8. KUTG! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 It is indeed very close. My guess (and it is only a guess, I haven't played further ahead than the winter break) is that it will be between us and Næstved, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 Nov/Dec 2013 – International news etc. Arnar Aðalgeirsson was off on international duty again, although he didn’t show the same level of play as last month: Denmark fought valiantly, but in the end they just didn’t have what it took to beat England over two legs, losing narrowly at home and then getting a creditable but ultimately useless draw at Wembley. Crouch and Andreas Cornelius both scored in both games, while Oxlade-Chamberlain made all the difference for the Three Lions. And for some reason the home leg was moved from Copenhagen to OB’s 14k stadium in Odense. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a Robbie Williams concert or something similar at Parken. And as it turns out, we have to wait until the spring for the biggest game of my Thisted career... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 Ins and outs – and youth Martin Søndergaard was let go just before the holidays. He has only played very little and doesn’t look to break into the first team. He also wants to move to Aarhus and go to university to study sports science – being an AU alumnus myself, I can only recommend that. There comes a time after football, after all. Just after New Year, he landed a deal with FC Djursland from the bottom of our division. Their hometown Grenaa is fairly close to Aarhus, so he will be able to pursue his academic career while continuing to play football at a semi-professional level. He’s a good lad and I wish him all the best. We also released another couple of youngsters who just weren’t developing the way we had hoped. Instead we picked up a reject from the FC Midtjylland academy. Nicolai Andersen is a talented full back who may not be Superliga material, but I certainly think he can develop into a more than decent First Division player in the not too distant future. And what makes him even more attractive for a club with our weak finances and small squad are his positional abilities: The kid is nothing if not versatile – he can play literally any position except keeper! Our captain Peter Bechmann just turned 33 and is beginning to feel the wear and tear on his old bones – I am allowed to call him old, as he is two months my senior. So naturally he, like our young friend Martin, is also beginning to think of the future. Being the club icon that he is, I was therefore very pleased when he agreed to join the backroom staff while he is still very much a key player on the pitch. And his attributes are actually really good for this level! Just before we kicked off again for the spring season, the new batch of regens came along. Like last year, not at all a bad bunch, although some of them need to work a bit on their attitude. The ones that are staying will be assigned tutors to help them improve on this. Notice how unimaginative the parents around here were 15-16 years ago. Four Vinther/Winthers, two of them named Troels – and they even play partly in the same position. No relation, though. To make things even more confusing, our second GK is also called Rasmus – Winther...(!) The best prospect. Unfortunately Thomas Blohm plays in a position that I don’t really utilize. He should be able to be retrained into a regular midfielder, though. And if we get promoted, maybe a DM might still come in handy in the First Division after all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Andersen looks like he'll be a good creative midfielder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 27, 2015 Author Share Posted November 27, 2015 And he's actually just on the werge of breaking into the first team, so I was very happy to get him for free. He will be a substitute this spring and then probably challenge for the starting lineup already next season... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 27, 2015 Author Share Posted November 27, 2015 International news and coaching Another year and another international season. Arnor Aðalgeirsson went home to Reykjavík to endure an expected and heavy loss at the hands of Spain U21. While the qualified nations prepare for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil, Denmark have already begun looking towards EURO 2016. With opponents like this and at least two teams qualifying from the group that kicks off in the fall, anything but a ticket to France will be hugely disappointing. Having signed a new contract with a promise to focus on youth development, I managed to convince the board to improve on our junior coaching as well as increase our staff to a whopping three coaches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Cup quarter final and pres-season Our much-anticipated cup clash with SønderjyskE had already been moved from December – and believe it or not, it was actually postponed twice more. First because the pitch was still in too horrible a condition and then due to international call-ups which included a couple of our opponent’s players. Probably didn’t make much of a difference in the end, though. Once we finally got to play, SønderjyskE turned out to be just as impossible a challenge as we had feared. They completely steamrolled us right from the kick-off, and the game was effectively over after just 12 minutes. After that they took their foot off the gas pedal and we actually managed to deliver a decent performance for the rest of the game. Still, there is no way we would have won that game even if our opponents had a bad day. The difference in quality was just too huge. All in all, we can very proud of our cup run this year – and the extra cash is much appreciated as well, although I am a bit disappointed that a quarter final against a Superliga side only drew slightly more spectators in than our regular league games. Perhaps more worrying are our friendly results. Not exactly an encouraging pre/mid-season. Hopefully the players just had their minds elsewhere before the SønderjyskE game and suffered from the usual post-cup depression afterwards. We had better get our act together before April comes around, or we could be in for another short but disappointing spring... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Just a short note: Yesterday I threw caution overboard and decided to update to Windows 10 - after which FM13 kept crashing every time I tried to start the game. Today I un- and reinstalled FM13, and it seems to work now, so fingers crossed! I would hate to give up this save already... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 April 2014 Night and day. Two humiliating defeats and a hard-fought draw away against mid-table sides, two big wins at home against the bottom two of the division. I won’t bother going into too much detail about the first two spring rounds. Our attack was awful, our defence was awful, our passing was awful – everything was awful. Including the weather. Suffice to say that shaking Jari Litmanen’s hand after the Blokhus match was not the experience I had hoped it would be. That’s more like it! Squad morale was obviously abysmal after the previous games, but we were a bit lucky that Varde got a red card after just 13 minutes and dominated completely after that. Our return to form continued against Djursland who have the leakiest defence in the division. Only negative: our wobbly starts in both games and the fact that we slacked off towards the end and conceded unnecessary goals. We were on our heels again at Næsby, where we went behind twice but managed to snatch a draw. The kind of point that might prove very valuable in two months’ time. Our erratic form this month sees us drop to second place, but we are still in the running. At the bottom, the three teams that were promoted last year look like they will only last one season. Apparently the difference in quality between the third and fourth tier is substantial. Business as usual when it comes to our Player of the Month: With 5 goals in 5 games Captain Bechmann once again proves why he is still our key player at 33. He has now found the goal 19 times in 24 games this season. And for the second month in a row, right-back Jesper Overgaard takes Flop of the Month. He was just as horrible in the first two games as Peter was great in the last three. His injuries have really gotten the better of him this season. What a pity. May looks no easier than April. The top clash against Næstved on the 11th will be crucial for the promotion race. Towards the end of the month, Roskilde sacked their manager and for some reason the media mentioned me as a favourite for the job, so I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised to receive this offer from director Kim Milton (yes, as in the former top referee): A slightly bigger budget than Thisted, yet they offer me less than I’m making now. And they’re only 10th in the Second Division East, so this wasn’t even the least bit tempting. Why then ask for delay rather than just reject them flat out, you ask? Well, maybe the fact that I’m beginning to attract interest from other clubs can be used to persuade my own board to offer me an extension... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 May 2014 My “look how wanted I am” gambit paid off. The board offered me a new contract with the same length as the current one and a moderate raise. I persuaded them to give me a one-year extension and a smaller raise (there are much better uses for that money) while also keeping the “develop own youth” clause. They wouldn’t even consider removing the “play attacking football” clause, though, which I fear may be difficult to live up to if/when we get to the First Division. But most importantly: Thisted and I are now committed to each other for the next two seasons and I can get on with the task at hand! Another month of results ranging from abysmal to brilliant. We crushed two mid-table sides, drew against two of the other top sides and lost to a third one. For the third home game in a row, we won 5-2, this time against Skovbakken. Obviously our attack is on fire – we are by far the most scoring team in the division – but once again our defence was less than convincing. It is clear where we need to improve the squad next season, promotion or not. For a long time, the clash between the top two teams looked to be a stalemate, hard-fought but fair, as neither team wanted to risk too much. Næstved went ahead just after the hour, but Mojo manged to get us the equaliser fairly quickly. Maybe our opponents could be the happier side with an away result like that, but for now status quo was maintained at the top. Another collective off-day (too many of those lately!) against Svendborg, who have been coming really strongly from behind after the winter break. Truth be told, they should have been ahead 2-0 by halftime and we were lucky not to suffer a heavier loss. Only 99 people showed up at Skanderborg Stadium and the majority that supported the home team probably ended up wishing they had stayed home. We dominated from start to finish and went home with a tennis score, including a wonderful hattrick from left winger Martin Nielsen who may just have played the best game of his career. The only blemish was not being able to keep a clean sheet (as usual!). Meanwhile, Marienlyst beat Næstved and conquered the top spot, so we got no less than two “1st versus 2nd” clashes at Lerpytter this month – and the second one also ended in a draw. Sead Gavranovic put us ahead early on and equalised towards the end. In between, we were on our heels for much of the match, so this time we should probably be more than satisfied with the one point. Which leaves us with this incredibly close table as we enter the home stretch. I will bet good money that relegation is all but decided, but with five teams within two points of each other, the promotion race is still wide open – and we probably have the “easiest” (everything is relative!) June schedule as we have Hjørring (5th) plus four bottom half teams left: Sead Gavranovic saved our bacon on more than one occasion and scored 3 goals himself in addition to 3 assists. A well-deserved Player of the Month: Meanwhile, it’s a “hattrick” of sorts for Jesper Overgaard, albeit one he could definitely do without. Three Flops of the Month in a row! This really hasn’t been Jesper’s season due to his two semi-serious injuries. But what to do? Should I keep him on and hope his experience can help him – and the team – through the final games? Or should I give the chance at right-back to one of our eager youngsters, at the risk of them crumbling under the pressure of expectation...? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Good luck in those key clashes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Cup review So how did SønderjyskE fare after they beat us in the quarter final? Very well, as it turns out: An impressive feat by a team that has been struggling near the relegation zone of the Superliga all season. Kudos Kent & Co.! And a tiny little bit of cup glory for Thisted as well. There is no official award for the top goalscorer, but if anyone was responsible for our great run, Mr. Thisted was, with 8 goals in 5 matches... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Thank you! Stay tuned for the season finale, hopefully coming up tomorrow... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 June 2014 – well, most of it, anyway Things almost went according to plan up to and including the penultimate game. Three solid performances and three wins against the bottom half sides – I would have liked to bag a couple more goals against Holstebro, but at this point I’ll happily take the three points. We didn’t look to good against Hjørring, but overall definitely acceptable. Brabrand never looked like getting anything from a match that was effectively over after less than twenty minutes. An early (and correct) penalty got us going and we controlled the rest of the game, catapulting us back into the yellow jersey. “Brushed aside” is maybe stretching it a bit. We kept Holstebro from creating anything much, but as mentioned had trouble converting our own chances. Never mind, we got the late goal and the win in the end. A mid-week trip to Hjørring was not what we needed at this late stage of the season. Some of the lads are beginning to look a bit fatigued – no wonder! – and we just didn’t have it in us on the day. Hjørring were relegated last season, and their First Division experience is beginning to show as they are putting together a strong finish. Another confident win over Ringkøbing in a match we dominated. Peter Bechmann (he may be the oldest player in the squad, but he's also the fittest) even scored a penalty, as our set piece specialist Daniel Kristensen was rested. Which leaves us with this table and these fixtures in the final round: It’s very simple, really: If we defeat Middelfart (which we should) and Næstved don't defeat Hjørring (a definite possibility) we are promoted. On the other hand, a draw could be enough for us if Hjørring don’t win by more than two. Unless Marienlyst win by at least two, in which case we still need to win as well. Oh, the drama... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 While we wait for the ‘Fart... With the most important game of my career a week away, there is time to have a look at other recent developments at and around Thisted. We got this message on Friday the 13th(!). I hope that’s not a bad omen: The Superliga came to a close and our parent club SønderjyskE survived – by a whisker. They used their cup success to kick-start a good run towards the end that saw them beat Randers on goal difference. At the other end of the table, FC København sucked all tension out of the title race early on and retained their title: Our North Atlantic talent Arnar added another U21 cap for Iceland to his name: In other encouraging news, our youth team won their Under 19s division very convincingly, as they went through the season undefeated. The future seems to be looking bright! Two days before the Middelfart match, the rumoured takeover became a reality. I have only spoken to the new boss briefly at our latest training session, but remain cautiously optimistic. He ensured me that I have the full backing of the new board. There will be no major investments right now, although they are looking at ways to improve our finances. And I don’t really mind them cutting our link with FC Midtjylland, which we weren’t getting anything out of anyway. And finally: My trusted right hand for the past two seasons announced his well-deserved retirement at 68: Henning was the ass man to my predecessor as well and has really helped me settle in at the club. He has been at Thisted in various functions ever since the club was founded in 1989 - including groundskeeper, apparently! A club legend, , but a man I am proud to call my friend and mentor. Henning will of course be paid a proper tribute at the final game. If it were up to me, we would name a stand at Lerpytter after him.Next up: Crunch time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeeD Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Good luck with the final match! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBeckham Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 So how did it go? Good luck!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Sorry, work has been crazy this week, so haven't had any time/energy to play at all! Hopefully I'll get to it before the weekend... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 We really want to know what happened! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 The Grand Finale The big day finally arrived: My usual trusted formation. I knew it wasn’t going to to be easy. Middelfart are just above the relegation spots in 13th place, but only on goal difference – and Varde (14th) face Djursland (15th), so the ‘Fart (notice the colour of their away jerseys – almost too good to be true) have everything to play for. As do we. We probably need to win to stand a chance – and even then we depend on Hjørring helping us by taking points from Næstved. I don’t know about the players, but I don’t think I have ever been so nervous walking on to the pitch. I specifically asked the stadium speaker not to announce anything from the other games, as I wanted the lads to focus on the task at hand. But of course my retiring ass man Henning secretly kept up with the scores for me... 6 min: In Næstved, Hjørring are awarded a penalty and Olsen converts it expertly to bring them ahead 1-0. Right this moment we’re first on goal difference! In Thisted, we can’t seem to get the ball into the box, while Middelfart have a couple of half-decent chances. The stakes are obviously high. No more goals in the first half, for us or any of the others. Clearly all the top matches are very tense, with no one willing to risk too much. As far as I’m concerned, they could just end the season right now. The virtual table at half time: Thisted 58 pts, GD +27 Hjørring 58 +25 Næstved 58 +17 Svendborg 57 +18 Marienlyst 56 +26 Henning told me afterwards that I gave the pep-talk of my life. I honestly can’t remember a word of it. I was about to soil myself with excitement. We walk back out knowing that the division title and promotion is within our grasp. Second half: 64 min: Nielsen makes it 2-0 for Hjørring. Good for us – but take a breather now, please. Any more and their GD is better than ours! 73 min: A cross from Mickey Berg finds Peter Bechmann (who else?) who takes his time before trying to outsmart the keeper. It grazes the post – and crosses the line. Get in! 1-0! So close now. 78 min: Penalty! A clumsy tackle from Valentin brings down Sead Gavranovic and Daniel Kristensen confidently steps up to the spot... 2-0! What could possibly go wrong now? 80 min: Nothing, it seems! A second goal from Nielsen eliminates any last vestige of doubt. 3-0 Hjørring. Meanwhile, Middelfart look consigned to a season in the fourth tier. There is no way I can see them scoring two goals in the last ten minutes. 90+3 min: And they don’t! That final whistle has to be the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. Looks like we made it... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 We did it! [video=youtube;SBCw4_XgouA] Such a close finish at both ends of the table! I feel a little bad for Middelfart who got relegated after all, as Varde sneaked past them on the final day: The board are as delighted as I am: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Incredible final day! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Well done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 Incredible final day! I think I aged at least 5 years in a couple of hours. Well done. Thank you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 A season comes to an end... I guess I can’t complain about having three players in the all-star team, although I am a bit surprised that our front duo was completely snubbed. Who else but Mr. Thisted? It doesn’t take that much to get into the All-time Best XI at this point. Being a first team regular for two season will more or less do it. Just a quick overview of the domestic season. Last season’s D2W winners Aarhus Fremad finished a strong fourth in D1, so we get to go to Riisvangen again next year. AaB won D1 comfortably and make an immediate return to the top tier. HIK from Copenhagen follow us up from D2E. Our feeder club Lindholm will play league football next season – great news for our possible loanees. And SønderjyskE venture into Europe for the first time ever after their cup win. Here's hoping they make the group stage so their success can rub off on us. As announced, my trusted ass man Henning retired at the end of June after many years of loyal service to the club, the last 2½ as second in command. Of course I needed to find a replacement – and to my absolute delight I didn’t have to look far... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nie jem frytek Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 It's sad to see Middelfart relegated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dllu Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 It's sad to see Middelfart relegated. I know, they went down the drain quickly... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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