FM16: The Frozen Throne

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - August 2037 - GIF Sundsvall

Allsvenskan





It's nice to go unbeaten for a full month, but we're dropping points while our title rivals aren't.

What happened in the Åtvidaberg game will surely be long remembered by the fans. First off, we started the match relatively well, seemingly in control, but then a counter attack in the 16th minute allowed the visitors to score - Ahmed Yilmaz got to a header on the edge of the six yard box, the ball bounced off the crossbar and landed in the net. In our extremely frustrating pursuit of the equaliser we were denied by the woodwork twice - first Torben Christensen's powerful strike following a clever pass from Lars Jacobsson rattled the post and then Jacobsson himself headed the ball right into the bar. That was nothing though. The proper madness started in the 90th minute. First an underhit pass from André Zachrisson was intercepted by Thomas Linnerud, but our former striker was stopped by a supernatural point blank range save from Thomas Bertrand. Right after that we launched a counter attack, Nicolás Battaglia played a hopeful cross and Marcus Gustafsson equalised with a wonderful header. That wasn't all we had to offer - we intercepted the ball almost right after the kick off. It landed at the feet of Eric Gustavsson, who just launched it upfield. Torben Christensen received the pass, pulled away from the defender and then put us in front with a perfectly executed finish. Åtvidaberg still had time to equalise and a chance to do so, but Sigi Perry did a great job pushing the attacker right to the byline, resulting in the shot hitting the side netting. I just feel sorry for the fans who left the stadium early!

We never have it easy against Halmstad. In fact, I've never beaten them before. This time round we looked dominant right from the start. Finally in the 39th minute our advantage was proven - a cross from Battaglia was met by a classy finish from Fonseca. We doubled our lead shortly after the break, Torben Christensen with a lucky goal after a clearance attempt hit him in the legs and rolled past the line. And then we switched off just for a brief moment, which was just enough for the visitors to bring things back level with goals from Albin Ekström and Juan Luis González in the 55th and 57th minute respectively. What followed was a wild pursuit of the winning goal. We managed to snatch it in the 68th minute - Christensen passed the ball to Richard Alvarez on the edge of the box and the American put us back in front with a rather scruffy left-footer. Luckily we held onto this one.

What a horrible showing it was against Djurgården. Just eight shots between both teams, only two coming from us. The scoreline reflects the events on the pitch perfectly. When you're in the middle of mad fixture congestion, you're simply bound to have games like this, but still I can't be satisfied with dropping points against a side seriously threatened with relegation.

Against Qviding you could just see how heavy the players' legs were, and that's despite most of them having a chance to rest in the cup game played on the 16th. Luckily we came up against much weaker opposition, so we managed to scrape a win somehow. We broke the deadlock in the 63th minute of the game. Christopher Boman floated a corner towards the far post, Ove Andreasen headed it down and Sigi Perry finished off what's slowly starting to become our signature move. The hosts threw most of their forces forward in the dying minutes, trying to snatch an equaliser, but it backfired in our favour. In the 91st minute Boman led a quick counter attack on the right wing before laying the ball out to Jan-Philipp Faltermeier for a simple tap-in. That's the kind of game where you can recognise a classy team, right?

The penultimate game of the month was away at ever dangerous Östersunds. In the opening minutes we looked really good and even had our chances to get in front quickly, but we wasted them and shortly after the advantage tipped to the side of the hosts. In the 37th minute that was proven by a goal. The ball arrived from the left wing, Vítor Ferreira was somehow left unmarked in the six yard box and found it easy to knock the ball past Bertrand. That gave Östersunds a further boost of confidence, which only meant one thing - we had to resort to counter attacking. And we got lucky - in the 63rd minute Lars Jacobsson got hacked from behind in the penalty area, winning us a spot kick. André Zachrisson stepped up... and hit it straight at the goalkeeper. Luckily though, he deflected it back to the feet of our right back who had no trouble slotting the rebound in. The hosts kept pushing on, but in the end we held onto a rather valuable draw.

And finally Örebro. Judging by their position in the table and the way our last meeting went, a side nowhere near as good as the one that won the title last season. And everything seemed like we were going to batter them once again - after wasting a couple of really good chances we finally got in front in the 36th minute. A cross from Raad Ismail landed on the head of Christopher Boman, who promptly smashed the ball right at the crossbar, but Torben Christensen was in his place to pounce on the rebound and make it 1:0. We let that slip right after the break though - a drilled cross from a ridiculous distance was somehow not intercepted by either of our centre backs - communication issue? - and Fabrice Delmas got his shot into an empty net. That set the pace for the second half, which was all about us smashing a brick wall with our heads. Ten shots on target were not enough to beat the goalkeeper more than once. What a stupid way to drop points at home.

Europa League



That was a massacre.

We didn't even know what hit us. We just found ourselves 3:0 down after just eleven minutes of play. First José Márcio cut inside from the left wing to beat Bertrand at the near post. Then the Brazilian doubled his goal tally, outjumping our goalkeeper and scoring with a header that hit the crossbar and the post before eventually rolling to a stop just behind the goal line. And finally Ruud Robbemond ended the execution with a calm finish following a deep free kick. After the initial period, Willem II had exactly what they came for and retreated to control the game in midfield, allowing us to create the ood chance to at least grab a consolation goal. You could even say it turned into quite an even game, but that start was just a demonstration of strength from the Dutch side. I believe they could have scored more if they had to.

Svenska Cupen



We just love to give the minnows their chance.

This time round we got off to a very smooth start against a Division 2 side. Viktor Gustavsson took a free kick from 25 yards out in the 2nd minute of the game and got it in off the crossbar with a powerful effort. From then on we went on to control the game relatively easy, but, as it usually happens in our case in these cup games, we let our concentration slip. In the 26th minute poor ball control from Johan Johansson allowed the IFK Luleå players to steal it from him and equalise through Magnus Norberg. What followed was just a horribly stretched out period of frustration. We dominated, created chances, but couldn't find the net no matter what. Finally we broke through in the 88th minute. A chaotic move inside the hosts' six yard box ended with Marcus Gustafsson tapping the ball into an empty net from like a yard out. Huge, huge sigh of relief.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - September 2037 - GIF Sundsvall

Allsvenskan





Three teams limping towards the finish line. This league never gets boring.

We started the month by hosting an in-form AIK side. It's never easy to predict what's going to happen when we come up against this lot. The first half was goalless and not very eventful either, with neither team managing to build an optical advantage. And in the 53rd minute we lost it - Nicolás Battaglia earned himself an early bath with a mindless two-footed challenge. From then on there was just one team on the pitch really. They scored eight minutes after we went man down - Nikola Pepic found the net after a good delivery from the right wing. One can only guess how the game could have gone had our left back not been sent off.

Bottom team at home. We've been there already, haven't we? And it wasn't smooth sailing this time either, oh no. It was a hard-fought and somewhat lucky win. We were the better team in the first half, but failed to convert our domination into goals. And that's when the visitors suddenly came into action, putting together a couple of attacking moves we were lucky not to concede from. In the 67th minute we broke through though - Jan-Philipp Faltermeier put in a cross from the left wing and Lars Jacobsson headed the ball home from close range. And we doubled our lead shortly after - in the 73rd minute Christopher Boman successfully rebounded his shot after hitting the crossbar, having received a good ball from Raad Ismail. Three points in the bag, move along.

It really slips beyond me how we managed not to beat Malmö. Well, you could say it was a typical Football Manager situation. For the first half an hour we absolutely battered them, barely allowing them to leave their own half. But when they did, they won a free kick from just outside the area and got in front through Florent Rey's effort in the 35th minute. Needless to say, I wasn't particularly pleased about that. The equaliser brought nothing more than relief and it came seven minutes after we went down. Boman recovered the ball after a deep free kick cross into our area and went on a crazy 80-yard run right to the byline. Then he attempted to lay the ball out for our players waiting in front of goal, but ended up hitting Roger Gjerde and making him score an own goal. After the break we weren't as dominant as before, but still we had our chances and really should have converted at least one of them. Of course that means two more points slipping between our fingers.

I'll admit I'm slightly disappointed with the signing of Boman, but when he's on his day, he can perform miracles. Inside the first fifteen minutes of the Häcken game he repeated his incredible effort of sprinting the whole length of the pitch not once, but twice, laying the ball out for Jan-Philipp Faltermeier for an easy tap-in on both occasions. From then on we could control the pace of the game just like we prefer to do it. Still, it was by no means a smooth win. Just before the break we allowed the hosts to get one back through Viktor Åström. To make it even more nervous for us, Fonseca decided to get himself off for a reckless challenge in the 50th minute. Luckily though, we managed to respond to that perfectly and just kept circulating the ball pretty much right until the final whistle. We could have won it much more comfortably, but at this stage I'll just take the points.

The Degerfors game was probably one of the least productive attacking displays from this side I've ever seen. Hosting a relegation-battling team, we couldn't come up with any sensible idea to get through their defensive lines for the full 90 minutes. Not that they were particularly interested in coming at us either. For the final fifteen minutes I decided we simply have to go all out attacking, and it backfired - we got caught on the break in the 81st minute and after a quickly executed counter attack Stanislav Nedilko scored an absolute belter of a goal from the corner of the penalty area, not obstructed by any of our defenders. Seconds before the final whistle we finally had two excellent opportunities to score, but first Ove Andreasen somehow managed to smash the ball straight at the goalkeeper from like three yards out, and after a following corner kick Sigi Perry did a very similar thing after receiving a perfect cross at the near post. Balls.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - October 2037 - GIF Sundsvall

Allsvenskan





A bit of form exactly when we needed it!

When two struggling sides meet, anything can happen. But in the Helsingborg game we didn't look like a struggling side. We looked like a side that finally recharged their batteries right before the final period of the season. A couple of slight tactical tweaks brought a radical change in our performance. This was our best game since June. There was an early penalty appeal from the hosts, but from then on we absolutely battered them. In the 14th minute a beautiful passing move ended with Christopher Boman delivering an inch-perfect cross to Torben Christensen, who put us in front with a calm finish from the edge of the six yard box. Helsingborg only created one chance and that was a lucky deflection, but Thomas Bertrand showed great reflexes to keep the danger away. And in the 50th minute it was all pretty much sealed. Jan-Philipp Faltermeier attempted to cross the ball towards the far post, but ended up slightly mishitting it... so that it fell right behind the goalkeeper and into the net! Okay, perhaps it wasn't the most glorious way to score, but I'll take it. And I'll take a clean sheet.

Against Kalmar I was hoping for us to build some momentum before the crucial stage of the season. And at the start we looked like we set out to do exactly that - in the 7th minute a good cross from Boman was converted by a tap-in from Faltermeier. But then the relegation candidates woke up. Probably they wanted to make that last-ditch push for the play-off spot, which would require quite some heroic deeds from their players and tons of luck. That didn't stop them from trying - after a while we were surprised to found ourselves almost pressed against the wall on our own half. We managed to hold off their attacking moves with relative ease though... right until the 90th minute. They really couldn't have played that better. Our defence was left standing as the ball was laid out to their striker just a few yards away from goal. I was certain we were going to blow it. But then Bertrand did something incredible - moving towards one of the post and having nearly reached it, he somehow leapt the other way and deflected a powerful and precise shot for a corner. What a save. What an absolutely massive win for us.

We knew the stake. We knew that beating Hammarby on the penultimate day would seal it. It was all about getting the players' mindset right. And I guess I did - they were ready to die for the club as soon as the whistle was blown. Pure determination from each and every of them. 63% possession. Our defensive performance was simply a joy to watch. And we weren't much worse up front. We kept creating chance after chance and finally in the 22nd minute the sold-out Norrporten Arena exploded with celebration - a cheeky pass from Diego Alejandro Soto reached Christensen, who was completely abandoned by the defenders and scored with a precise close range effort. And in the 39th minute we doubled our lead with the most classic GIF Sundsvall goal you could think of - Boman's cross from the right fell to the feet of Faltermeier at the far post. Simple tap-in, 2:0. The second half was us simply moving the ball around, preserving the result, easily holding off any attack attempts from the visitors. Is there a better way to seal the title than such a dominant win against the biggest and richest team in the country? Against the team that denied us the title last season with a 90th minute goal? I can't think of any.

[Rikulec]

A proud moment for the club - GIF Sundsvall have become the champions of Sweden for the first time in history!

[Koetzer]

Congratulations with the title! Denmark next now?

[Rikulec]

Congratulations with the title! Denmark next now?

Thanks! Yes, after finishing our business in the league and the Supercup I'll be heading there.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - November 2037 - GIF Sundsvall

Allsvenskan





Four wins in a row. Finally a good end to the season.

You couldn't have come up with a better scenario. It all started at Göteborg. And that's also where it finished. We got off to a wonderful start - in the 8th minute Christopher Boman played the ball in from a free kick on the left wing, Ove Andreasen nodded it on and Erik Gustavsson put us in front with a drilled shot. As the time was passing, the visitors were seeing more and more of the ball, looking more dangerous with every minute. But in the 44th minute they made a mistake of trying to dispossess Faltermeier with a sliding challenge inside their penalty area. Martin Lindström stepped up to the spot and doubled our lead with a confident strike down the middle. The second half... I guess the players were already somewhere else. Can't really blame them for that. We were pushed to deep defence and Thomas Bertrand saved us a couple of times with wonderful stops, but in the 79th minute he was helpless as Patricio Cardoso smashed the ball in from close range. That was all we allowed in the end though. We end the campaign with a win and thus maintain a seven point advantage over Hammarby. Good times.

Supercupen



Bow out in style!

It was a rather weird game of football. We had absolutely no trouble with retaining possession, but it was Hammarby who had more dangerous chances to score. We grabbed a goal early on though - in the 9th minute a beautifully constructed passing move set Torben Christensen free on goal and our Danish striker didn't waste that opportunity. The visitors equalised in the 31st minute. Armin Durakovic kept a cool head in massive chaos that erupted in front of our goal following an outswinging corner. With the help of some good defending and another fantastic performance from Bertrand we took the game to extra time. And that's where we finished them off - in the 99th minute Martin Lindström received the ball 25 yards away from goal and took a shot without much hesitation. The goalkeeper got his hand to it, but couldn't keep it away. Our captain effectively handed us the first Supercupen victory in club's history.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2037 - GIF Sundsvall

Allsvenskan

Results

Competition Performance: Winners

To be honest, I didn't think we could do it. When Hammarby missed out on top three finish last season, I thought they would walk the league because of no Europe. When they managed to qualify via the cup, I was still convinced that the fixture congestion would kill us. But it killed our rivals instead. It was the amazing form in October and November that got us where we are. This is definitely my proudest achievement so far.

Svenska Cupen

Competition Performance: Group Stage

I'll leave that with no additional comment. You can see what happened.

UEFA Europa League

Competition Performance: Third Qualifying Round

We were doing better than expected until we faced Willem II, a side far superior to ours. We simply had no arguments in that debate.

Supercupen

Competition Performance: Winners

We delivered a wonderful end to the season by beating Hammarby after 120 minutes of football.

Squad

The power of collective. The quality is beautifully spread across all formations and these players simply work together. Which is a great reward for three years of squad building.

Transfers - Finances

I'm really pleased with our transfer dealings. Each of the new players turned out to be added value to the team. Bertrand could turn into a great keeper in the future, Andreasen was a real monster at the back and both Christensen and Boman won us a good chunk of points with their numbers up front.

The European appearance has certainly helped the club financially. Still not enough to bail them out, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

Player of the Season

1st - Fonseca - the heart, the brain and the lungs of the team. The amount of work this guy put into each and every game he featured in was simply amazing. Without him, we'd probably find it really hard to put our midfield together.

2nd - André Zachrisson - our right back made a massive step up this season, becoming a vital part of the starting lineup. His numbers may not look spectacular, but he's indirectly contributed to a lot of our goals and put in his share of work at the back.

3rd - Thomas Bertrand - I will insist on stating that this guy is still long before his prime. That said, if he keeps developing the way he was, he could outgrow this league really soon. He simply grew with every game he played, you could literally see him get better week after week.

Next Season

Only one place for me to go now!

[Jason the Yank]

Told you.

[Bobsled]

Sweet. Congratulations!

[Rikulec]

Told you.

And you've done the same with Iceland if I remember correctly.

Sweet. Congratulations!

Cheers mate.

[Rikulec]

Let's see what comes up next.

[Rikulec]

Surprise surprise. Why would they even want me after that last spell? Rejected.

[Rikulec]

After almost two years of unemployment, an opportunity finally came up...



...only for them to choose someone else, but...



...it opened another door for me.

[Bitner]

YAY!

Good Luck at Denmark now!

Cheers,

Bitner

[Rikulec]

YAY!

Good Luck at Denmark now!

Cheers,

Bitner

Thanks a lot.

[Jason the Yank]

Jesus, 2 years of unemployment. Bunch of idiots running these Scandinavian clubs.

[Rikulec]

Jesus, 2 years of unemployment. Bunch of idiots running these Scandinavian clubs.

The only jobs that opened were at sides that got relegated. It's tough to break into this league!

[Rikulec]

Jesus Christ...

[Rikulec]

It's October 5th and they've just fired their manager for poor performances in the league. Third time lucky?

[Rikulec]

After nearly two full years of unemployment, at last!



Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - New Club - Hobro Idræts Klub



I signed a two-year deal instead of the initially proposed three-year one just because I don't believe this is going to be the last club I manage in Denmark. More like a foot in the door.

Club Name: Hobro Idræts Klub

Nickname: Yellow Blue Vikings

Year Founded: 1913

Status: Professional

Stadium: Spar Nord Arena (10,340 all-seater)



Once again, a club with not too much history.



Alright, let's get to it!

[sherwinriga]

Awesome! Now that you're ready to manage a Danish team, you're one step away to return to the national team coaching soon. Good luck in Hobro!

[Rikulec]

Awesome! Now that you're ready to manage a Danish team, you're one step away to return to the national team coaching soon. Good luck in Hobro!

Not sure if I want to return to international management on this save. Thanks though.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Well done finally cracking Sweden that was a hard slog Good luck in Denmark

[Rikulec]

Well done finally cracking Sweden that was a hard slog Good luck in Denmark

Denmark doesn't look any easier, I've walked right into a proper mess of a football club.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - October 2039 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





This is going to be a proper challenge.

No left back. No left winger. One right back and one right winger, both only good enough for the lower divisions. That's what I came to find upon signing the contract. We needed reinforcements from the U-19 team, which meant fielding 1,5 and 2 silver star players on the left side of the pitch. And a 4-4-****ing-2. I imagine FC Fredericia weren't going to sympathize with us. And they didn't. The scoreline - spoiler alert, just like the following ones - really flatters us as we were absolutely battered. Rodolfo Martins scored the first goal for the visitors in the 20th minute, finding the ball at his feet after some deflection in the penalty area after a corner. The same player doubled their lead just before the break, this time with a header from like 15 yards out. Not exactly good goalkeeping from David Murcia, who actually happens to have some decent attributes. In the 63rd minute we actually managed to score - our right back Kasper Zacho put a cross in and Rasmus Osmundsen, a natural central midfielder who came off the bench to serve as a left winger, scored just seconds after coming on the pitch. After that we even had like five minutes of looking like we were actually able to pursue an equalizer, but that was cut short quickly. Finally in the 91st minute a wonderful individual run was perfectly finished off by Alex Sandro. My God, there really is a shedload of work to do here.

The Randers game was a very similar story. This time we only managed to hold on for nine minutes - after that, Dan Svarrer opened the scoreline with an easy tap-in from close range. The hosts' domination was proven once again fifteen minutes later when Christian Søndergaard made it 2:0. Despite not being able to hold onto the ball and constantly giving it away - really extreme confidence issues combined with literally almost no off the ball movement, I'd say - we managed to fight back in the 30th minute. Zacho got another assist for himself and Per Ziegler slotted the ball home with a close range header. That was just a minor setback for the hosts though, they continued to dominate. Søndergaard doubled his goal tally in the 64th minute. And there could have been more. Much more.

Surprise surprise, there's one team in the table that's even deeper in the **** than we are. That's FC Vestjælland. I silently fancied our chances there, but in the end I really have to be happy with the draw. 26 shots. Awful finishing. Two short phrases to describe what the hosts did. Us? Five shots. None on target. We were more than lucky to escape with a 0:0.

We rounded the month off with a trip to Odense to face OB. And - I can't believe I'm saying that - for the first time we actually looked like a football team. We created more than just the odd break once or twice. For large chunks of the game we were an even opponent for the hosts. But they still had much more quality than we did, and it showed - they simply waited for us to believe we were going to escape with the draw, and then dealt two quick blows. Mael Chevalier opened the scoreline in the 84th minute and Jakob Rasmussen ended our hope just two minutes later. Still, after what I had to watch in the previous league games, I'll say we made progress.

DBU Pokalen



We were lucky to take it into extra time really.

You probably won't be surprised to read that we were battered by Silkeborg. We were able to field Loïc Fischer at left back for once (see below), but that only helped us slightly. Luckily for us though, the quality of their finishing was awful. Less luckily, in the 70th minute we lost our goalkeeper David Murcia to a broken arm. It was Ole Sørensen who jumped in between the sticks. And all of a sudden... the game evened out. As if the goalkeeper change injected a whole new dose of confidence into the side. From that point it wasn't all that difficult for us to hold onto the draw until the whistle. Extra time then, and we maintained the level of our play. Silkeborg were still slightly better, but it wasn't domination anymore. But our luck ran out. The visitors attacked us when Fischer was receiving treatment on the touchline and our central defender Mirko Rebasti gave away a silly penalty. Jon Bergara stepped up to the spot and fired the visitors to the quarter final.

Transfers

Loïc Fischer - it turns out I jumped the gun and won't be able to register him until January. Great.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - November 2039 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





I guess you can call that a definition of a mixed bag.

First up, AC Horsens. Having noticed their league standing and poor form, I really believed this could be the day when we finally win. And we did... somehow. Once again we found ourselves on the back foot, but, similarly to the OB game, it wasn't opposition's domination anymore, but rather a slight, yet visible advantage. Their finishing let them down though and Ole Sørensen played his part between the sticks as well, saving four shots and looking quite confident while doing it. And it was the 50th minute when the fans were sent jubilant. A perfectly constructed passing move, started by a short goal kick, ended up with Kim Michelsen knocking the ball past a defender, reaching it first and slotting it home with a classy finish down the far corner. Not without trouble, but we held onto the lead to get our first victory under my helm. Wonderful.

Looking through FC København's squad, I was sure we were in for a proper beating. Some of their players really look like they could cut it at the top level. Still, there was no avoiding them - we had to do our best to stop them. And, believe it or not, we fell just a couple of minutes short of doing it. In the first half they dominated us, just as expected, but we managed to hold them off, mostly thanks to a wonderful performance from Sørensen. So, 0:0 at half time, but just after the break our fortress finally fell. The ball arrived from the left wing and Antonio Walsonei scored from close range. But the show was still yet to start. In the 72nd minute we caught them on the break for the first time. Lars Poulsen was sent running through on goal. København's defender managed to block him with a last-ditch tackle from behind, but the ball fell to the feet of Rasmus Osmundsen on the edge of the box and the youngster equalised with a wonderfully placed strike. And six minutes later we shocked them. A gorgeous passing move ended with Kim Michelsen making a brilliant decision not to try to force his way through two defenders and the goalkeeper, but rather square the ball to Christian Kristensen who made it 2:1. Our celebrations were cut short just a minute later though by Casper Lerche. Still, a draw at their place would be a fantastic result... if it wasn't for Walsonei. The Brazilian striker converted a deep cross from the right in the 90th minute of the game to deny us a point. We were so close, I'm genuinely proud of the lads. We almost had them.

To be honest, I have no idea what happened against AGF. They had more shots and more possession than us, yet you all can see the final scoreline. It certainly took more than just a bit of luck. We opened the scoreline in the 4th minute of the game. Admir Çela drilled a cross in from the left and Kim Michelsen headed the ball in from just outside the six yard box. Four minutes later we doubled our lead. Rasmus Osmundsen received the ball with his back to goal, more than 20 yards away from it, but immediately turned around and unleashed a perfectly placed, curling effort that went in off the crossbar. Wonderful hit from the guy who was forced to play on the left wing. We made it 3:0 in the 31st minute and the scorer was Çela this time, Michelsen with the assist. Our strike partnership swapped their roles in the 66th minute, and finally twenty minutes later Osmundssen somehow found his way through a huge crowd in the middle of the box to score with another placed shot and settle the scoreline. And really these were pretty much the only chances we created. AGF seemed more dangerous than us for some portions of the game, but they simply couldn't score while we were just deadly efficient.

And finally AaB. You could say we went back to our old ways in this game - there was only one team attempting to play football. And it wasn't Hobro. Once again the poor Sørensen was doing his best in goal, but in the 30th minute he finally had to give in when Jan Gydesen beat him from a drilled cross from the right wing. The AaB striker doubled his goal tally shortly after the break in an almost identical situation, only this time our goalkeeper managed to get his hand to the shot, yet he was unable to keep it out. Sasa Arsenljevic made it 3:0 in the 59th minute to pretty much crush any hope remaining in us. Pulling one back four minutes later didn't help much - for whatever reason one of the visitors' defenders rounded the out-rushing goalkeeper with the ball and stopped running, allowing Lars Rønnow to knock the ball into an empty net. It was AaB who still had the final say - in the 86th minute Gydesen decided to pretty much mock our defence by running around them with the ball before beating Sørensen with a powerful effort and thus completing his hat-trick. Once again we were simply outclassed.

Transfers

Robbie Waters - this time I made a conscious decision to sign him earlier, just because I didn't want anyone to snap him up before the registration window opens

[tastaiwan]

This is your final country, right?

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - December 2039 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





We didn't lose, so it's fine.

While Silkeborg players concentrated mostly on kicking the ball, our players concentrated mostly on kicking the Silkeborg players. 21 fouls to their 2 speak for their own. Our aim was simply to disrupt their play and then hopefully launch a successful counter attack. That didn't work too well in the first half - we were actually quite lucky to held onto a draw until the 45th minute, but just before the break Brian Hansen gave the visitors exactly what they deserved, finding the top far corner from a tight angle. With time passing though, they looked more and more tired as we seemed to be gaining advantage, up until a point where we actually were the better team on the pitch. And we got what we wanted - in the 83rd minute a deep cross from Kasper Zacho was well finished off by Admir Çela. Our situation during the winter break will still be rather bad, but at least our play is improving, which is always a good sign.

[Rikulec]

This is your final country, right?

Yes, it is. After I win the title, I'll be pretty much free to do whatever I want.

[Rikulec]

Check this out, you're going to love it. Another boring election, right?

[Rikulec]

No. Not at all.

You need a bit of perspective on this. Prior to that injection, we had something around £600K in the bank and an outstanding debt of £550K, being paid off in rather small installments. After the injection, the debt did not change, but our bank balance shot up all the way to £4.3M, taking our finances from Insecure to Secure.

And you know what's even better? £2.5M of that went into our transfer budget.

We're going shopping, baby.

[Rikulec]

The spending starts here though.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - January 2040 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Friendlies



One trip to the Czech Republic handled by my assistant, but we all know this wasn't the most important thing this month...

Transfers



The wind of change is blowing from the North!

Senad Shtrepi - the only transfer made before the injection. Originally he was supposed to be our first choice right back... well, that changed.

Tor Gjertsen - in a big man-fast man central defence partnership, he will be the fast man. And he also happens to be quite big at the same time.

Ove Andreasen - well hello there. My old friend in his footballing prime joins us to contribute to patching up our rather leaky defence.

Jon Arne Prestegård - with such a classy playmaker, we might finally stop giving the ball away all the time. Really excited with this capture, he could still have plenty of room for development.

Martin Adamek - one thing the Slovacko game was good for - it allowed us to spot this guy available for loan. Hopefully we can make that move permanent in the future.

Sverre Andre Øveraas - a rumour linking us with this guy came up on transfer deadline day. Well, as you may have guessed, I couldn't resist.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - February 2040 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Friendlies



Not very encouraging, but we pretty much have a whole new team that needs to gel. The second half of the season is going to be a transition period anyway. Oh, and we've also switched from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3.

Superligaen





The jump in quality was immediate.

There may have only been two goals in the Brøndby game, but trust me, it was a proper thriller. It's impossible to judge who was the better team - both sides kept exchanging blows throughout the whole 90 minutes. It was us who managed to land the first punch though - in the 28th minute a gorgeous passing move through the middle ended with Rasmus Osmundsen launching a perfect through ball for Kim Michelsen to surprise the goalkeeper with a first time effort aimed at the near post. Brøndby responded eleven minutes later with a Rubén Rios goal, communication issues clearly visible in the poor marking at a cross from the left. The second half was pretty much just more of the same, with us probably having the better chances, but Lars Poulsen and Steffen Astrup wasted one great opportunity each. A draw probably did both teams justice at the end of the day.

While the previous game was very entertaining for the neutrals, the Midtjylland one was the exact opposite. 90 minutes of almost nothing. The only highlights worth mentioning were two good chances that fell to the feet of Astrup, but our striker failed to convert either of them, humiliating himself with launching the ball to the sky on one occasion with the final whistle approaching. What a dull and uninspiring draw it was.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - March 2040 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superligaen





At least one result is not a draw.

Lyngby are probably the biggest surprise of this season, battling it out for the title with the dominant FC København side. And we did give them a bloody good run for their money, just about matching their level of quality on the pitch. They had much more possession, but we looked extremely dangerous on the break. The first half ended with no goals, but it was by no means a boring game. We couldn't hold on long enough - in the 62nd minute Stefan Hauge got past Tor Gjertsen with some superhuman acceleration and beat Ole Sørensen with a shot that went in off the near post. That didn't really stop us from playing our game, from time to time we managed to create some danger in front of their goal. And we waited for a perfect moment to strike - in the 91st minute a classic deep cross from Sverre Andre Øveraas was converted by Lars Rønnow making a late run into the box. Better late than never, and thanks to that result we're still unbeaten in 2040.

36 fouls between us and FC Roskilde. Five yellow cards for us, none for them. And nothing to talk about in terms of good goalscoring opportunities. Midtjylland was bad last month, but this one was even worse. Simply a game to forget.

I've still yet to figure out how the league system in Denmark works. I know that the bottom eight teams were divided into two groups and there are six games to play, after which there will be some play-off. We entered the Silkeborg game knowing that, in order to maintain the slimmest hope of breaking into the top two and avoiding a relegation battle, a win was a must. And it all started really well - in the 11th minute Lars Poulsen played a conscious square ball to Kim Michelsen, who gave us the lead with a rather lucky shot from a tight angle. Our striker returned the favour a couple of minutes later, but Poulsen's close range effort was somehow stopped by the hosts' goalkeeper. Generally we did a brilliant job winning the midfield battle and nearly dominated the game, but we slipped once and that was very costly. In the 63rd minute a free kick arrived into the box from the left wing, Ove Andreasen missed the ball in the air and Jesper Nielsen knocked it past Sørensen to make it 1:1. We still had plenty of time to grabbed a deserved winning goal, but that just didn't happen. We're finally starting to gel as a team, now we're at the point where dropping points like this becomes really frustrating.

I have no idea how we managed not to score against AC Horsens. Out of 15 shots we took, only one was on target. The particular highlight? Steffen Astrup smashing the post from like six yards out and then finding the ball back at his feet, only to smash it right into the exact same spot once again. If it was real life, the video would have surely gone viral. Another two points stupidly dropped then.

And finally Midtjylland, or the great breakthrough where we finally managed not to draw. The first half hour was marked by our undisputed advantage and we really could have scored, but once again our finishing wasn't of the highest standard. Then the tables turned and it was the hosts who created a couple of good opportunites before half time. After the break we were the better team again and in the 65th minute we confirmed that - Martin Adamek put in a cross from a free kick from the left and Ove Andreasen scored his first ever goal for the club with a fantastic header. Nobody jumps higher than this guy, that's for sure. The final fifteen minutes were very nervous for us with the opposition really pushing us against the wall, but with some slight help from the crossbar we managed to hold onto the lead and turn our seven draws in a row run to an eight games unbeaten run.

Youth Intake



Let's just not talk about this, shall we?

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2040 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superligaen





Slow burner.

It seems the defensive improvements made over the winter are really doing the job. Now we only need to improve our strength up front so that the boring shows like the Silkeborg game don't happen again. We're good at keeping other teams out, but nowhere near as good at breaking them down. I hope to address this issue in the next transfer window.

Against AC Horsens, on the other hand, we had brief moments of some absolutely fantastic football. Two moments, to be precise. Luckily with some good finishing we managed to convert both of them into goals. In the 21st minute a nice passing move through the middle ended with Christian Kristensen launching a beautiful through ball to Martin Adamek, who applied a clinical finish. We made it 2:0 in the 64th minute. Once again Adamek was the receipent of a through pass, but this one was much more powerful and forced the Czech all the way to the byline. I was sure he was going to take a hopeless shot from this ridiculously tight angle, but he showed great consciousness by squaring the ball to Robbie Waters for a much easier shot. The hosts responded four minutes later - a nice individual run by Patrik Lärkhammar was rounded off by an absolute thunderbolt from the penalty box line, unstoppable for Sørensen, right into the top far corner. With some nerve we managed to carry the lead up to the final whistle.

[tastaiwan]

If you look at the first or second episode of SecondYellowCard's Midtjylland save he does a summary of how the Danish league works, if you want to check it out. (Sorry not advertising, it just came to mind when you said you haven't figured out how the league works)

[Rikulec]

If you look at the first or second episode of SecondYellowCard's Midtjylland save he does a summary of how the Danish league works, if you want to check it out. (Sorry not advertising, it just came to mind when you said you haven't figured out how the league works)

Will do, cheers.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - May 2040 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superligaen





A good, but absolutely meaningless result.

The game was just a decent performance from the first to the last minute. As usual, we struggled to dominate the possession stat, but at the same time we kept the opposition away from the danger zones, restricting them to hopeless long shots and as a result they didn't even manage to get a single one on target. And we did just slightly better up front. In the 60th minute Rasmus Osmundsen attempted to find Kim Michelsen with a through ball, but the overhit pass ended up at the feet of Martin Adamek, who squeezed his shot into the net from a tight angle, albeit with some help of the Midtjylland goalkeeper making a poor save attempt. As I've said, we were barely ever threatened by the opposition and we ended the relegation group stage with a well-earned victory.



I guess that means we're staying up.

Finally a proper shootout! Vestsjælland are turning out to be the weakest team of all in the league this season and we took full advantage of that. The scoring began in the 4th minute - Robbie Waters drilled a cross in from the right wing and Kim Michelsen found himself at the near post to convert the chance. Six minutes later a mistimed header from Ove Andreasen - it's not his first this season, is it? - allowed Christian Møller to equalise after a corner from the right. Our lead was restored after five minutes when Waters grabbed a goal for himself, Michelsen returning the favour with a perfectly timed through ball. We made it 3:1 in the 18th minute with Martin Adamek putting in a cross from a corner and Tor Gjertsen scoring his first ever goal for Hobro. After that showing we finally calmed things down and the fans had to wait until the 69th minute for another goal. And it was a goal for the hosts - Jens Henriksen received a pass inside our penalty box and unleashed a perfect strike from ten yards out. The response came seven minutes later. Christian Kristensen scored the final goal of the day, Adamek with his second assist that took a lucky deflection on its way to the midfielder waiting just inside the area. After such a result in the first leg, the home game was likely going to be just a formality.

We should have made a perfect start to this. A foul on Kristensen in the 15th minute won us a penalty, but Jon Arne Prestegård wasted the opportunity of getting his first ever goal for Hobro by smashing it straight at the goalkeeper. Eleven minutes the visitors' midfielder Nick Skov allowed frustration to get the better of him and scythed down Michelsen with a horrendous two-footer, earning a thoroughly deserved red card. Finally with the half time whistle approaching, Martin Adamek let off a headed shot so bad that it rolled to the feet of Waters standing in front of an empty goal, allowing him to score an easy one. The second half? Full control, no real attempts to extend our lead. With the play-off final just around the corner, there was no need for pushing ourselves to the edge.

The trip to AC Horsens was a fantastic opportunity to get things done and dusted even before the return leg. And we blew it. We blew it with horrendous finishing, to be precise. It was either the inability to hit the target in the simplest of chances or Philipp Grassers' heroics in the home goal that kept us from putting a couple of goals past them. I guess we just wanted to make things more dramatic.

And we did. Oh boy, we did. Only after 90 minutes of the return leg did I learn that the away goals rule doesn't apply here. Thank God for that. There were no early signs of trouble - we started the game in our usual manner, ensuring that nothing bad happens at the back while casually trying to break the opposition down. And in the 29th minute we did - a corner arrived from the right, Tim Díaz nodded the ball on and Robbie Rogers lobbed the visitors' goalkeeper with a header while standing with his back to goal. And I guess that made us complacent. All of a sudden, Horsens started to pose bigger and bigger danger in front of our goal. Finally in the 77th minute what I believed to be a complete disaster happened - the ball was played across our goal and Bafana Mohlala placed it in an empty net. When the final whistle was blown, I was immensely relieved to see that extra time was about to begin. And it couldn't have started better for us - in the 92nd minute Henrik Jensen placed the ball 25 yards out to take a free kick and curled it above the wall and just out of the goalkeeper's reach into the bottom corner. That wonderful goal seemed to have lifted all the pressure from the lads and for the remaining half an hour our domination was undisputed. In the 114th minute one of the numerous chances we created got converted - Waters played a low cross in from the right and Steffen Astrup ended his goal drought, tapping it in from close range. Yes, we're staying up!

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2039/40 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga

Results (before my arrival) - Results (after my arrival)

Competition Performance: 9th (I have no idea why, the team history says so)

To be honest, I didn't think we could do it. When Hammarby missed out on top three finish last season, I thought they would walk the league because of no Europe. When they managed to qualify via the cup, I was still convinced that the fixture congestion would kill us. But it killed our rivals instead. It was the amazing form in October and November that got us where we are. This is definitely my proudest achievement so far.

DBU Pokalen

Competition Performance: Group Stage

From my current perspective I'd say drawing Silkeborg was a great opportunity for us, but that was before the winter overhaul, so we simply didn't have the quality to get past them.

UEFA Europa League

Competition Performance: Second Qualifying Round

The previous boss didn't do particularly well here.

Squad

I wish I could show you what it looked like when I first came here! This still isn't what I would like to have, but we've come a long way already.

Transfers (red lines mark my arrival) - Finances

Eight new players brought in, each of them pushing the overall quality of the squad forward. I'm really pleased to have done this without spending too much, hopefully we can continue with the same policy in the future.

All hail Jesper Mogensen. The newly elected chairman pumped £3.8M into the club coffins, pushing us to a whole new level where we can be really competitive. We don't need to worry about the finances with such a great man behind us.

Player of the Season

1st - Robbie Waters - he took a while to get going, but once he did, he was unstoppable. It was mostly his goals that contributed to our success in the play-offs.

2nd - Jon Arne Prestegård - the young Norwegian playmaker is proving to possess that bit of class I expected him to show. He brings balance to the Fo... I mean, to our midfield and dictates tempo really well. He really has what it takes to be the Xavi of our system.

3rd - Tor Gjertsen - out of the two fierce beasts we have in central defence, he is the one that never disappoints. He's always first to the ball and the opponents just bounce off him as if he was a brick wall. Safe to say he's meeting my expectations so far.

Next Season

With a few more additions to the squad, who knows? Top six is probably not an unrealistic aim.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2040/41 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Board Expectations:

Superliga: Don't get outclassed too often

DBU Pokalen: Fourth Round

My Expectations:

Superliga: Top six is the aim. Once we get there, we'll just see what happens.

DBU Pokalen: I don't care about this one too much. Let's just meet the board's expectations.

Budgets:

Transfer: £954,159

Wage: £93,702 (currently spending £76,572)

Balance: £4,101,499

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2040/41 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Friendlies



A short but intensive preparation.

Transfers



Our policy of finding cheap quality players continues.

Brinquedo - his wage makes him our marquee player, but if he settles in well and finds himself comfortable in the central midfielder position, he could accomplish great things for himself and the club.

Claus Jensen - I can never resist an opportunity to sign a quality striker for free, especially when we need one. His height will surely be problematic for all the defences in the world!

Davi - Sørensen is good, but if we really want to push for the European spots, he's not good enough. Davi comes to solve that problem.

[Bobsled]

Damn 2,05 and jumping reach of 19.

[Rikulec]

Damn 2,05 and jumping reach of 19.

Quite a beast, isn't he?

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - July 2040 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





A horrendous opening day followed by two decent wins.

The simplest way to describe the Midtjylland game would be to say that we simply didn't show up. Our stadium was nearly sold out, but we put in a terribly underwhelming performance to disappoint a crowd of just over 10,000 fans. The only goal of the game came in the 35th minute and it was a header from Dennis Sørensen following a corner. To be honest, I was surprised to concede from that, given how tall many of our players are. For some reason we simply lacked the spark to pursue the equaliser and try to turn the game around. Maybe it was simply down to the early stage of the season?

It also took us some time to get going properly against Silkeborg. And by the time we did it, we had already gone down. In the 11th minute Tor Gjertsen was presented with a seemingly simple task of clearing away a drilled cross with no pressure whatsoever, but he made a complete mess out of it and ended up scoring an own goal. It only took us one fantastic attack to completely change things. In the 32nd minute Jon Arne Prestegård played an absolutely wonderful, soft, lobbed through ball to Christian Kristensen and the midfielder applied a very classy finish to bring the match back level. It was also our Norwegian playmaker who put us in front in the 65th minute, scoring after some pinball in the box following a corner. A deflection came to aid him, too. From then on we finally seemed to properly grab the control of the game. And in the 91st minute we dealt them the final blow - a nice passing move set up Brinquedo - making his debut off the bench - and the Brazilian made it 3:1 with a strike so powerful that I could barely see the ball hurling towards the far corner. Something about that shot tells me that this guy could be a really valuable asset to us.

Let's be straight with this one. It was simply our duty to beat Vestsjælland. From the very beginning we sat on them and never really let go, concentrating play in the final third of the pitch. Yet in the first half we were simply unable to find the net. Our finishing was below any standard. The particular highlight was a triple save from the visitors' goalkeeper Mads Mikkelsen, each of the shots going straight at him. But after the break it took us less than two minutes to break the deadlock. Lars Rønnow put a cross in from the left wing and Steffen Astrup put us in front with a nice, precise header. And that wasn't all the Danish striker had to offer - in the 80th minute he finished off a nice through ball from Robbie Waters to take any hope away from the opponents. It took us some time, but in the end we grabbed a very confident victory.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - August 2040 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





A rather poor month, but the schedule was quite tough.

To kick off August, we came up against a strong Randers FC side at their place. And it was a damn tight one. Both teams had their chances, yet there weren't too many shots overall in the game - 16 between us and the opponents. Things got slightly complicated when we lost Brinquedo to a pulled thigh muscle in the 49th minute. And just three minutes later we conceded. A stupidly misplaced pass in the final third allowed Randers to construct a lightning-quick counter attack finished off by Ünai Orhan's tight angle header. A slight tactical change presented us with a couple of chances to equalise, but they weren't the sitters I had hoped for. This game could have gone either way, this time we found ourselves on the flip side.

Lyngby had possession, we had the chances. Perfect for a draw, eh? Especially our wingers' performance was poor, they struggled to create anything up front, and when presented with opportunities themselves - simply fluffed them into stands. Oh, and let's not forget about the 63rd minute when a foul on Ove Andreasen won us a penalty, promptly wasted by Jon Arne Prestegård. One thing's for sure, after missing his second penalty in a row, I'm not letting the kid anywhere near the spot anymore.

Next up, AGF, and what a terrible game to watch it must have been. Our shot count was only bigger than the yellow card count by one. And it was that one shot that pushed the game our way in its final moments. In the 92nd minute Martin Adamek launched a hopeful long ball alongside the left wing, Claus Hansen received it, fooled three defenders with what could probably be a faked shot if the match engine was capable of displaying one, and beat the goalkeeper with a calm and precise shot placed just inside the far post. Quite a nice way to score your first league goal for the club, especially when it's a stoppage time winner. Maybe this transfer won't turn out to be a flop.

And finally the big one. Away from home, which didn't exactly boost our chances. I was really surprised to see us start the game really well and the first couple of highlights went our way. I was even more surprised when we went in front in the 17th minute. A failed clearance following a corner landed on the head of Tor Gjertsen, who squared it out for Ove Andreasen completely unmarked a couple of yards away from goal. It turned out København simply needed this kind of a wake-up call though. Our celebrations only lasted nine minutes - then we got hit on the break. Davi managed to save the initial shot after a nicely constructed counter attack, but despite his best efforts he was helpless against Mads Søgård's rebound. From then on the only attacks we managed were a couple of lucky counters - the opposition grabbed full control of the game. And in the 66th minute they dealt us the second blow. Antonio Walsonei got away from Gjertsen right before receiving a through ball and beating Davi with a well placed first time shot. That killed the game off - København simply beat us with their quality and experience. They're still a few levels above us in those terms.

DBU Pokalen



That's how it should be done.

We came up against a lower league side Aabenraa and showed them how it's done in the Superliga. The scoring began in the 7th minute when a through ball from Christian Kristensen met the finish of Claus Hansen. Our Danish striker doubled the lead seven minutes later, this time from Senad Shtrepi's cross. We made it 3:0 in the 34th minute and we did it with a rather unlikely debut goal from our new central defender, Franco Maspero, who tapped the ball in from point blank range after it was nodded on to him after an indirect free kick. In the 58th minute Hansen won himself a chance to complete his hat-trick by getting tripped from behind in the penalty area - a chance he went on to convert. After that things went quiet for a while, but when we struck again, it was two fierce blows inside the 87th minute. First a placed effort from Jon Arne Prestegård and immediately after a first time attempt from Steffen Astrup, who had come on off the bench. Job done, move on.

We travel to another minnow side Stenløse in the next round.

Transfers

Franco Maspero - when an agent offers you a young, promising player on a free transfer and cheap wages, you just don't reject the opportunity, especially given that we only had three central defenders in our squad.

[Parsypuss]

Excellent thread - keep up the good work! You inspired me to start on these forums and start my own!

[Rikulec]

Excellent thread - keep up the good work! You inspired me to start on these forums and start my own!

Thank you, that's a great thing to hear. I'll make sure to check out your thread!

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - September 2040 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





Not good. Not good at all.

We started the month with a tough trip to Brøndby. And it was just what it was - tough. We had the advantage in terms of statistics, but on the pitch it was a very even game that could have gone either way. It turned out not every player could cope with the tension though - in the 57th minute Brøndby's Tobias Holm got himself sent off for two yellow cards, putting us in a favourable position. We didn't wait long to exploit the gap - three minutes later Christian Kristensen found Martin Adamek with a through ball and the Czech winger let off an extremely lucky shot that went in off the crossbar from a very tight angle, bouncing off the ground just behind the goal line. We went on to keep possession for most of the time and create the odd chance, but we mostly focused on preserving the result, which we managed to do.

Next up, AC Horsens, who - interestingly enough - have been taken over by a tycoon in the summer. And it was visible that their side is at an early stage of the building process - they seemed to have the quality, but their players haven't gelled together just yet. In the 30th minute a poor clearance by one of their defenders fell to the feet of Robbie Waters, who took the ball all the way to the byline before crossing it right where Steffen Astrup was waiting to smash it in from just outside the six yard box. Our celebrations didn't last long - in the 36th minute Jean-François Sueur attempted to clear a cross away, but ended up hitting Ove Andreasen, who scored an own goal in the process. We got back in front just before the break thanks to Kristensen rebounding Jon Arne Prestegård's shot that was denied by the post. In the second half Horsens went on to storm our goal, but we did a great job holding them off... right until the 89th minute. A cross arrived from the left wing and Loïc Fischer missed the ball mid-air, allowing Berat Olpak to score from an easy position. Rage sub was made, but that didn't help much. Even more points stupidly dropped.

Having made a very strong, undefeated start to the season, OB were very likely to be our most difficult game of the month. What could serve as a perfect description of the events on the pitch would be the fact that it was their central defender Raul who won the Player of the Match award. We kept trying, but were denied by a good defensive performance of the visitors. And in the 50th minute they hit us - a corner from the left wing arrived at the near post and Jakob Rasmussen found some space between our player and the post to squeeze the ball into and put his side in front. They showed a great deal of quality to control the game after that goal, we probably deserved to lose.

The FC Fredericia game reminded me of some of the borefests the fans had to witness in the second half of last season. More fouls than shots, looking at the clock running quickly rather than some actual highlights for most of the time, generally not really much to talk about. Disappointing really, as we should have got much more from that game looking simply at the quality of both teams.

We were terrible against Nordsjælland. And I mean terrible. We simply didn't seem interested in playing football, which would be confirmed by a total of 29 fouls we commited. It's not even like we kept the opposition away with good defending, but as soon as a possibily for attacking us arose, the player would get scythed down. And, to put the icing on the cake, we conceded an incredibly stupid goal in the 88th minute - a clearance attempt from Tor Gjertsen hit their striker Casper Clausen right in his arse and in a second he wheeled away to celebrate as the ball rolled past the line. After such a month, things will simply have to change. Tactical tweaks incoming...

DBU Pokalen



This one went a bit better.

We delivered a strong and dominant performance against Stenløse, yet we had to wait much longer than I'd have liked to to finally score. After wasting numerous opportunities that made me a little bit nervous, in the 41st minute we finally broke the deadlock. Brinquedo played a fantastic diagonal ball to Lars Poulsen and the winger found enough space at the near post to put the ball in the back of the net with a first time shot. We doubled our lead in the 63rd minute. Senad Shtrepi put a drilled cross in from the right, the initial shot from Steffen Astrup was denied by the crossbar, but the rebound was flawless. It was also Astrup who made it 3:0 in the 86th minute, Poulsen with the assist with a good, conscious square pass from the right.

In the next round we got drawn against a Bet25 Liga side Viborg, one that I couldn't afford to field a second choice team against. And it was probably the best performance our first choice squad has delivered this month. The scoring began in the 13rd minute and it was Jon Arne Prestegård who gave us the lead from the penalty spot (yes, I know). We were in full control of the game pretty much from the very beginning and shortly after the break we made it 2:0 - a cross from Sverre Andre Øveraas found Martin Adamek on the far post and the Czech had no trouble slotting the ball in. The final goal came in the 81st minute. Adamek crossed the ball in from an indirect free kick on the left wing and Kasper Zacho confidently applied the finishing touch, placing the ball under the diving goalkeeper.

In the next round we'll play AaB at home.