FM16: The Frozen Throne

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2049 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Pepsi-deildin

Results

Competition Performance: 2nd

I really can't complain about the performance we delivered this season. 46 points would have won us the league in most cases, but this time ÍBV were just too strong for that. Fair play to them, I'll be the first person to admit that they fully deserved to be crowned champions after such a season they had.

Deildabikar

Competition Performance: Semi Final

We scraped through the group stage before two penalty shoot-outs, the latter of which didn't turn out too well for us.

Borgunarbikar

Competition Performance: Semi Final

For the second year in a row we crashed out to HK in the semis. We need to finally get things right next year.

Squad

It's okay for now, but with some of our important players aging quicker and quicker, we will need a slow and well-planned rebuild. No jumping the gun.

Transfers - Finances

I'm happy as usual. Each and every of the new players managed to do their job. Especially Ásmundsson was spectacular at times. It's a shame we had to sell Pálmason so cheaply, but I didn't want to force an unhappy player to stay at the club.

Not very good on the financial side of things, but I don't think there's much I can do about this. It's just the way it goes in Iceland I guess.

Player of the Season

1st - Kristján Guðjónsson - no surprises here. He got the most goals, the most assists, and the highest average rating in the whole side. Without him, I can't even imagine where we would be. He had a couple of off days, but when he's at his best, he's absolutely unstoppable up top.

2nd - Ólafur Ásmundsson - he could probably walk into any other team in the league and become their best player straight away. His extraordinary experience all but set the division on fire, he just bossed the midfield in most games he started. I'm really happy this transfer turned out so good.

3rd - Steve Rotmeyer - the biggest surprise of the season. He was given his chance against Þróttur Reykjavík when we pretty much ran out of strikers, and all of a sudden he ended his goal drought, grabbing a brace and effectively becoming a key player for us. Shame he lost a huge chunk of the year to an injury, otherwise he really could have achieved big things.

Next Season

I want to win everything.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Board Expectations:

Pepsideildin: Win it

Borgunarbikar: Final

Deildabikar: Not important

My Expectations:

Pepsideildin: Win it.

Borgunarbikar: Win it.

Deildabikar: Win it.

Budgets:

Transfer: £0

Wage: £13,401 (currently spending £12,834)

Balance: -£161,328

[Rikulec]

Hands up if you remember Magni!

[Adonalsium]

That's a pretty Magnificent average rating, mayne.

[Rikulec]

That's a pretty Magnificent average rating, mayne.

Damn right it is!

[Rikulec]

Any help will be much welcome.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Friendlies



We went through them in style.

Transfers



This was more about gaining depth than strenghtening the already strong starting XI.

Igor Visic - our new backup goalkeeper, I doubt he will ever play if he doesn't have to.

Gunnar Geir Ingason - a left back to replace William Edman on the bench. Not a very good one, I admit.

Garðar Viktorsson - a central defender, who will probably be fourth choice in his position for us.

Prebren Sletvold - finally someone who might get a chance to shine. I sense bags of potential in this Norwegian striker.

Viktor Georgijev - a replacement for Mabalane. He's a different type of player, but he will definitely give us some new interesting options.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - February 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Deildabikar





Some promising results, but our old problems are still present.

Our first victim happened to be KA, so it was quite a sentimental trip for me. Despite some personal fond memories, we didn't show them mercy on the pitch. The scoring started in the 7th minute with Viktor Georgijev scoring his first ever goal for us, beautifully lobbing the goalkeeper from a tight angle after Preben Sletvold's pass. Alright, the Serbian was in fact attempting to cross, but it looked fantastic at first glance. We doubled our lead eleven minutes later, Ólafur Ásmundsson heading the ball home from the edge of the six yard box from a wonderful cross by Lasse Christjansen. In the 32nd minute one of our biggest hopes for the upcoming season, Steve Rotmeyer, made it 3:0, Sletvold recording his second assist of the day, this time with a soft cross from the left wing. Shortly after the break a corner from the right side was nodded on by Andri Halldórsson and hammered in by Ólafur Haukur Ingason. Finally in the 67th minute Rotmeyer doubled his goal tally, Gunnar Geir Ingason with the assist. Quite a good way to kick off a campaign, isn't it?

Selfoss were extremely, and I mean extremely lucky to get away with a point. We were just as dominant as in the previous game. Even more so perhaps. We created numerous opportunities, ending the match with 67% possession and 26 shots, 10 on target. And yet we failed to beat the opposition playing one level below us in the Icelandic pyramid. There were no early signs of trouble - after wasting some chances we finally got in front in the 20th minute, Georgijev rebounding a shot from Christjansen saved by the goalkeeper. Then we could - and should - have got a few more in, just like we did against KA. Instead, we decided to smash everything straight at the goalkeeper or into the stands. We felt like nothing bad could possibly happen to us. And that thinking sometimes likes to get punished - in the 86th minute a quick counter attack ended with Sigurður Egill Þorsteinsson netting the unlikely equaliser. Mad isn't the word really.

Luckily we managed to get back to our ways against Breiðablik. No mercy this time round. Lasse Christjansen was the one to kick the show off, rebounding Georgijev's shot successfully in the 16th minute. For the next goal the fans had to wait until the 43rd minute, but it was well worth it - a wonderful short passing move ended with Ásmundsson supplying Rotmeyer with exactly the through ball he needed. The next name to appear on the scoresheet was Preben Sletvold. The Norwegian scored twice in quick succession, first in the 58th and then in the 60th minute. Rotmeyer also grabbed his second just four minutes later, and in the 73rd minute the Norwegian striker completed his hat-trick, heading Gunnar Geir Ingason's cross into the net. Alberto Diana wiped some of the opposition's tears with a consolation goal in the 84th minute, but that mattered very little.

Transfers

Sime Kepcija - Theódórsson was offloaded to Djurgårdens for £50K, so we loaned in this Croatian from Ciballa until the end of the season.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - March 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Deildabikar





Three more wins to our name, and we should be able to top the group.

The Njarðvík game was quite a wild ride before we were finally able to get in control. We got off to the best start possible - in the very first minute a cross from Nedim Beganovic landed on the head of Viktor Georgijev, who got his shot in off the crossbar. But then two defensive mistakes proved very costly for us, as Simon Ingólfsson and Danijel Ozobic put the opposition in front with their goals in the 4th and 18th minute respectively. We managed to respond before the half time mark though, and it was a really convincing response - Preben Sletvold equalised with 30 minutes on the clock (Ólafur Ásmundsson with a wonderful assist), and just a minute later a deflected shot went in, counting as an own goal from Dan Opatkiewicz. And after the break we just went out and had a party - in the 48th minute Andri Halldórsson made it 4:2 from Georgijev's corner. Then in the 66th minute Steve Rotmeyer finally grabbed one for himself, rebounding his own shot after Sime Kepcija's cross. Finally the 74th minute saw Lasse Christjansen take a very conscious shot into the open net from the corner of the box after a poorly aimed clearance. We look simply unstoppable when our front men are on their top form.

The ÍBV clash brought further proof to the claim that we are the two top sides in Iceland. It was the type of game where you can see that both teams have a lot of respect towards each other and are careful not to commit too much going forward, but it still keeps you on the edge of your seat. Both sides had one good chance each before the break, and in the second half it was us who had more initiative and looked more likely to break the deadlock. And when it finally happened, I was bloody ecstatic. In the 86th minute Snorri Valdimarsson played a through ball into the area and Preben Sletvold buried it in the back of the net. Oh boy, how satisfying.

Our reserves were given their chance to shine in a supposedly prestigious derby game against ÍA. Thanks to that, I was able to conclude that they are not quite at the level of the first team regulars. Our overall quality rose with each substitution I made, right up to a point where we were able to tip the game our way. In the 72nd minute Steve Rotmeyer sent his trademark through ball to the feet of Sletvold, who went around the goalkeeper and finished off the move with a simple tap-in. Second 1:0 in a row? I'll take that.

[Rikulec]

And hopefully we won't stop at that.

[Rikulec]

Just so you know, it did happen.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - April 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Deildabikar





We finished them off in style.

We really enjoy ourselves playing Þróttur Reykjavík recently, and this time it was no different. A quickfire double from our strike partnership put us in front quite early on. In the 19th minute a surprising cross from Viktor Georgijev sliced through the box and was finished off by Preben Sletvold on the far post, and just two minutes later Steve Rotmeyer pounced on the rebound after the Norwegian was dispossessed right in front of him. For the next goal we had to wait until the second half, and it was Sletvold doubling his goal tally - in the 54th minute he almost repeated his previous effort, finding himself at the end of Georgijev's cross. And finally our Serbian winger grabbed one for himself in the 70th minute, converting Rotmeyer's through ball. That was a walk in the park.



Bummer.

Grindavík just refuse to make it easy for us, once again they've put up a damn good fight, but one that we came out of on top. We were visibly the better team in the first half, but struggled to break through their well organised defence. That lasted until the 39th minute, when a cross from Lasse Christjansen was headed into the back of the net by Sletvold. Eight goals in eight games for the Norwegian, the lad was simply on fire. The opposition responded to this particular goal straight away though, with Édson scoring a header as well just a minute later. As you've probably guessed, we went on to push and try to win the game before extra time. And we did... just. It took us right until the 88th minute to have Viktor Georgijev stick his leg out to Gunnar Geir Ingason's cross and place it in the back of the net, taking advantage of a poor save attempt from the Grindavík's goalkeeper. Ooft, that was too close for my liking.

Luckily the Keflavík game was our typical 2:0 performance, one that I didn't have to get stressed about too much. We made a very strong start, having Rotmeyer denied by the post right in the first minute of the clash. That didn't stop him though - in the 10th minute he found himself at the end of a seemingly aimless hoofball from Andri Freyr Sigurðsson and applied a clinical finish to this rather lucky assist. From then on we pretty much passed the ball around their penalty area, looking to find and exploit gaps in their defensive block. And just as I was starting to be pleased by the 1:0 win, in the 91st minute a quick counter-attacking move ended with Jari Hurme tapping the ball into an empty net from point blank range, Sletvold with the assist from the left wing. So, who could we face in the final?

Of course. The battle of the giants, another take on the biggest game in Iceland at the moment. Only this time it was ÍBV who caught us purely by surprise. I fully expected them to take a cautious approach, just like they did the last few times, but no - they were all over us right from the start, and we weren't quite prepared for that. And the 9th minute brought them exactly what they were hoping for - a cross arrived from the right hand side and Domagoj Suskovic jumped the highest at the near post before unleashing a precise header into the back of the net. We tried. We finally got into the game after a while and created a couple of chances, most notably the one that fell to Rotmeyer and - again! - rattled the post and didn't go in. Well, I guess I can't expect to be beating them every time. Obviously I can't.

[tyler16]

Haven't posted much but I've been keeping up. Your writing style and persistence to quality content is admirable.

This thread is one of the greatest I've ever read, hope you can finish the last chapter to get the ending you deserve.

[Rikulec]

Haven't posted much but I've been keeping up. Your writing style and persistence to quality content is admirable.

This thread is one of the greatest I've ever read, hope you can finish the last chapter to get the ending you deserve.

Thank you very much for this very kind post.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - May 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Pepsideildin





We hit the ground running.

Our first victim was a newly promoted Grótta side. We had things under control early on - in the 5th minute of the game a rather dodgy penalty given for a supposed foul on Lasse Christjansen was calmly converted by Nedim Beganovic. In the 30th minute we doubled our lead. Jari Hurme received a pass on the right wing and managed to get a cross past his nearest marker and straight to the feet of Preben Sletvold on the far post. The Deildabikar's top scorer didn't keep us waiting for a league goal too long. Ten minutes later we made it 3:0 - a cross from Beganovic was tapped into an empty net by Steve Rotmeyer. After the break we didn't look so eager to score anymore, and a defensive mistake cost us a goal in the 48th minute, Steindór Njálsson with the execution. Still, the game was all about starting with three points, and so we did.

Similarly to the season opener, we also got in front thanks to a penalty against Fram, albeit this time it was a blatant handball that led to the decision. This time it was Ólafur Ásmundsson who stepped up to the spot, and he also managed to fulfill his duty in the 13th minute of the match to set its pace nicely for us. Eleven minutes later a nice one-two between Christjansen and Sletvold left the former in acres of space in front of goal, which allowed the Danish winger to find the back of the net with a precise left-footer. The third and final goal came straight out of the dressing room - a nice long pass from Ásmundsson fell to the feet of Sletvold, who knew exactly what to do with it. Another day, another professional job from the lads.

Next up, Grindavík. Oh boy, how thankful they should be to us for only playing at full intensity for the first 40 minutes. Had we maintained it, we could have reached double digits. We were all over them straight from the opening whistle, and they were so lost that they simply gave the ball away to us and waited for us to slice through their defence. We first did so in the 11th minute, Jari Hurme scoring from Sletvold's cross, which looked rather poor and could have been intercepted by two or three defenders on its way. Steve Rotmeyer doubled our lead ten minutes later, rebounding his own shot that was denied by the post after a nice through ball from Ásmundsson. Then in the 27th minute Hurme delivered an inch-perfect cross for Christjansen to tap it into an empty net. In the 41st minute we had the visitors at their knees begging for mercy, scoring the 4:0 goal - Rotmeyer's clever delivery was finished with clinical precision by Sletvold. Unfortunately we let our concentration slip and allowed Grindavík to score straight from the kick-off, Pétur Garðarsson making it to the scoresheet. The second half was nowhere near as eventful, and we happily held onto the result until the final whistle.

Against Njarðvík we got off to the best start possible - Rúnar Gunnarsson's cross was smashed into the net by Sletvold with exactly 48 seconds on the clock. The Norwegian had something much better to show us that evening though. In the 14th minute he received a short pass from Snorri Valdimarsson and then went on an individual run, slicing through the middle before unleashing an effort from just inside the area that landed exactly in the far upper 90. That made it five in four in the league for him, and possibly an early Goal of the Season candidate. We looked a bit complacent after going 2:0 up, and the hosts were able to create some danger in front of our goal from time to time. Finally in the 57th minute a goal from Danijel Ozobic brought the game back on the edge, but luckily that was all they had in store. A win is a win, that's all that matters at this stage.

Borgunarbikar



Another confident performance.

To be brutally honest, Fjölnir are no match for us, and we set out with the intention of showing that. In the 5th minute we got round to it, Preben Sletvold putting us in front after Jari Hurme's cross. We managed to double our lead before the half time whistle - in the 40th minute Kristján Guðjónsson finally scored his first goal of the season after spending half of the Deildabikar out injured and the rest of our games mostly on the bench. For the next goal we had to wait until the 72nd minute, and it was Sletvold again, calmly beating the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation after Guðjónsson's pass. The Icelandic striker matched his partner's goal tally in the 89th minute, Ásmundsson with a breathtaking pass right between Fjölnir's central defenders. He's still going strong at 34, hopefully the fans will grow to like him as much as I do.

[ashton321]

Not commented on this for a while mate. I am glad your back in Scandinavia (albeit under a different guise). Good luck with your new job.

[Rikulec]

Not commented on this for a while mate. I am glad your back in Scandinavia (albeit under a different guise). Good luck with your new job.

Cheers mate, good to see you here again.

[Rikulec]

This could be huge if we can get some good loans in.

[Adonalsium]

How do you get these senior affiliates, I never manage to find any when I request the board for some.

[Rikulec]

How do you get these senior affiliates, I never manage to find any when I request the board for some.

I didn't get anything when I actually requested one last season, this just popped up in my inbox out of the blue.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - June 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Pepsideildin





Win the game in hand and we should be fine.

I'm starting to wish we could play Þróttur every week. These poor guys really don't have it easy with us. This time we took a rather unusual approach to give them a proper beating. The first shots were fired in the 20th minute - Indriði Ríkharðsson put in a cross from a free kick and Preben Sletvold headed the ball into the net. Ten minutes later the exact same duo produced another goal from a free kick, only this time the ball landed at the Norwegian's feet. Just a minute after that we made it 3:0, Kristján Guðjónsson scoring with a powerful strike after a good delivery from Rúnar Gunnarsson on the right wing. Shortly after the break Ríkharðsson completed his hat-trick of free kick assists - this time his cross was converted by Snorri Valdimarsson after the visitors' goalkeeper made a very bad decision of coming off his line. The final goal was scored by Guðjónsson in the 49th minute, Valdimarsson with the assist. Easy.

We carried this trend on in the HK game, which we tipped our way by two set piece goals as well. In the 34th minute a free kick cross from our centre back Andri Halldórsson of all people landed on the head of Gunnarsson and then in the back of the net. In the second half, exactly at the hour mark, Snorri Valdimarsson scored in his second game in a row, Ríkharðsson with the assist once again, only this time from a corner. HK managed to put together a response in the 85th minute with a Milos Stojicic goal, but that was all they could muster. It was by no means a dominant performance from us, and with better luck the hosts could have got something out of this game, but in the end we drove home with three valuable points.

The ÍBV game was played four days after the Borgunarbikar fourth round, and I'm convinced this affected our performance strongly (you'll see why once you scroll down). First there was exactly 22 minutes of nothing, and once we were done with that, the visitors scored with the first proper highlight displayed by the game, Alper Uçar with a powerful tight angle strike straight down the far corner. We tried to shake it off and carry on playing our usual football, but once I figured out this wasn't going to work, we went all-out attack from the 60th minute onwards. This opened the game up and chances began to surface on both ends of the pitch. It also backfired though - in the 70th minute Ólafur Haukur Ingason was sent off for his second yellow card. We had two wonderful opportunities to equalise in stoppage time, but first Steve Rotmeyer and then Ólafur Ásmundsson decided to blast their shots straight at the goalkeeper instead. Here goes our unbeaten season then.

Injuries, suspensions, fatigue. Yes, we were forced to field a weakened squad away at Valur. Still, I would fully expect us to at least not lose there. On the other hand, after what some of these players produced in the cup... oh, alright, no spoilers. We got off to a seemingly good start - in the 7th minute a quick counter attack produced a goal from Kristján Guðjónsson, his strike partner Sletvold with the assist from the left wing. We couldn't hold onto that for too long though - in the 22nd minute Guðjón Guðmundsson produced a moment of sheer brilliance, skinning past two of our defenders before unleashing a thunderbolt into the top corner from the edge of the box. The hosts sniffed their chance, and they came at us with determination, effectively taking over control over things. And finally in the 49th minute a penalty given away by Helgi Valur Sigurjónsson was converted by Milan Majstorovic. Two defeats in a row, that wasn't good.

In these circumstances, the Keflavík game emerged as an absolute must-win. We simply had to get back on track in order not to spiral down the table. And, luckily, we finally delivered a good and confident performance like we used to before this - hopefully - short-lived slump. It was Sletvold who landed the first punch, battling it out with two defenders inside the box before finally being able to take a shot and find the net. We were in control, but needed further confirmation to be able to play our game without having to worry too much, and shortly after the break we got it - a through ball from Lasse Christjansen was converted by a classy first-time effort from Ásmundsson. The visitors weren't going to opt out of the fight though, and in the 71st minute they reduced our lead through Josko Andjelkovic. Luckily we didn't allow the lead to slip, and finally in the 92nd minute a cross from Viktor Georgijev making his return from a knee ligament injury was met with a simple finish from Gunnarsson. What a relieving result.

Borgunarbikar



So... yeah, this happened.

Yes, reserves, weakened squad, all that. Still, Breiðablik are a side struggling in the relegation zone of the 1. Deild karla, and a side that we beat 6:1 earlier this year. This time round though... well, I guess you could say they got their revenge. I didn't panic when they grabbed the lead in the 5th minute of the game, Alberto Diana converting a cross from the right wing. I started to panic when the time was flying by and we couldn't put together any sensible attacking moves to possibly respond to that. And finally... disaster. In the 63rd minute Hilmar Magnússon found the ball at his feet in chaos following a corner and tapped it into an empty net, and five minutes later Gunnar Héðinn Guðjónsson lobbed Zeljko Sopcic with a cheeky header following a series of defensive mistakes on our past. 3:0 down, 20 minutes to go. Disastrous. And I think it was my fault.

Europa League



Luck of the draw, eh?

All I could realistically expect from the Genk confrontation was not to get hammered too badly. Interestingly, we faced a certain José Antônio of Hobro fame. I wonder whether he knew whose son he met. Anyway, the game went underway, and I was shocked - we had two wonderful opportunities to go in front inside the opening fifteen minutes. And, well, we blew it. And then the month came full circle when we got undone by three free kick goals. First, a poor clearance that allowed Lowie Bosmans to score from a tight angle in the 22nd minute. Then an absolute thunderbolt from Laurent Fleury just outside the box right after the break. And finally a simple tap-in from Davy Martens in the 62nd minute. Still, we put up a really decent fight, and actually ended up taking more shots than the Belgians. I'd say it was quite a respectable showing.

[Rikulec]

I wonder what's wrong with Gylfi's cheeks.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - July 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Pepsideildin





Njarðvík don't look like they're going to give up.

The Fram game was quite a weird one. We were all over them right from the beginning, and our shot count went into double digits before half time. Yet we couldn't find the way into the net - our finishing quality was atrocious. It was a pity to see us create chances with such ease and then fluff them like there was no tomorrow. Luckily this atrocity had its limits - in the 63rd minute a penalty was given for a foul on Steve Rotmeyer, and Ólafur Ásmundsson made no mistake from the spot. That certainly lifted some pressure, and turned out to be the impulse we needed. In the 77th minute we doubled our lead, Rotmeyer finishing off a nice passing move ended by Kristján Guðjónsson's through ball. And finally nine minutes later our striker doubled his goal tally, Indriði Ríkharðsson with the assist from a corner. Second Fram game this season and the second 3:0 win. Nice.

Sindri is a perfect example of a game that simply went wrong at one point and then snowballed right up to the final whistle. We looked fairly decent from the start, albeit struggling to break through the hosts' tight defensive lines. And then the 26th minute came up, we got surprised by a quickly taken free kick and Petar Dobras managed to beat Zeljko Sopcic from a tight angle. Our keeper should have done slightly better there. I was hoping this would wake us up, but in all fairness, it didn't. The game wasn't a particularly entertaining one and we didn't unleash a wave of attacks. Instead, we got bit up the arse again in the 60th minute - João doubled the hosts' lead, again squeezing it in from a tight angle. Rúnar Gunnarsson decided to fight back in the 67th minute, but ten minutes later a brace from Dobras pretty much ended our hopes. A goal from Rotmeyer in the 86th minute didn't change much.

We were back in a slump, and the Grótta game served as further confirmation to it. We came uncomfortably close to losing to the worst team in the league. We started the game with the intention of grabbing an early lead, but were caught on a break after missing a couple of chances, and Steindór Njálsson put the hosts in front in the 16th minute with an admittedly beautiful header. We managed to respond to that fairly quickly - eight minutes after conceding we equalised, Rotmeyer somehow scoring with a scruffy 25-yarder that looked more than stoppable. One would think we came at them hard after scoring, but it didn't really happen. Instead, we conceded again - a quick passing move through the centre allowed Einar Valur Sveinsson to make it 2:1 shortly after the break. Disaster wasn't the word. We were on a straight path to humiliation. Luckily, we had Viktor Georgijev to save the day. I was already pumping my fists when he scored a magnificent left-footer in the 78th minute, but I literally jumped out of my chair four minutes later when he gave us the win with a sensational 25-yard volley following a corner clearance. For the love of FM gods, we did it.

I was slightly afraid of the Fjölnir game, and that's probably not a very good sign. Yes, that's how poor we were midway through the month. But we got through it, and that's everything that matters for now. Despite reaching 20 shots attempted and 60% possession, we weren't particularly spectacular in that match. Our only goal was scored in the 44th minute - Rotmeyer reminded everyone of his last season's efforts when he played a magnificent long through ball to Kristján Guðjónsson, who finished off the one-on-one situation with assuring composure. We could have added more, but... well, we simply didn't. We chose not to.

If there was a perfect opponent for us to regain our touch against, it was probably Grindavík. We looked really pumped from the moment the referee blew his whistle, and after wasting a couple of fantastic chances we went in front in the 17th minute, Georgijev assisting Guðjónsson with a nice cross from the right wing. Three minutes later we doubled our lead - Rotmeyer laid the ball out for Valdimarsson lurking outside the area, and the midfielder scored with a calm, placed effort after setting the ball in the right spot with his first touch. In the 27th minute we pretty much wrapped the game up, making it 3:0 through Guðjónsson scoring with a powerful effort after receiving a short pass from Christjansen. From then on we didn't look as driven going forward, but we still found enough spark in ourselves to allow Guðjónsson to complete his hat-trick in the 77th minute, Sime Kepcija with a nice delivery from the right wing.

Europa League



No miracles here.

Genk decided to get the business done quickly. In the 3rd minute yet another free kick led to Samir Bourahli putting the visitors in front, rebounding his own shot that was a rebound of a direct free kick strike from exactly the same spot we conceded from back in Belgium. If there was any will to fight left in any of our players, it was probably gone right at this point. Finally in the 39th minute Davy Martens put us out of our misery with a shot that took a deflection on its way and left Sopcic sitting on his butt, absolutely helpless. Well, looking at the gulf in quality between us and the opposition, I'm just happy that we didn't embarass ourselves and that we produced a few moments of nice footbal throughout the tie.

Transfers

Ivan Kovacic - Christjansen was sold to a Polish side Siarka Tarnobrzeg for £100K, so Beganovic will be pushed higher up and replaced by Kovacic. His physicals could make a real difference here.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - August 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Pepsideildin





This is not ideal.

First up, we got a chance to get revenge on Valur for the defeat at their place. And so we did, and we could have done it much more spectacularly, but we looked like we just didn't want to. Everything started wonderfully for us when we managed to win a penalty almost right at the beginning of the match, and Nedim Beganovic calmly buried it in the back of the net. I just can't think of a better way of estabilishing domination in a game, and so we did. We looked like we could score at any time if we wanted, yet we kept the fans waiting until the 87th minute - Indriði Ríkharðsson picked up another set piece assist for himself, delivering a corner right to the head of Andri Halldórsson for a nice effort. So far, so good.

Making things hard for ourselves in the first minute of a match, part one. A late tackle by Sime Kepcija got Þróttur Reykjavík a free kick just outside the area, a cross came in almost immediately and after Alfreð Guðmundsson's goal we found ourselves trailing. And I was hoping for another smooth victory over one of our favourite opponents... yeah. We went about trying to pursue the equaliser quite early on, but the conceded goal had visibly taken confidence away from us. Luckily we had Steve Rotmeyer. In the 24th minute the miracle man received a short pass from Ríkharðsson and released a gorgeous, placed effort right into the far upper 90. I won't even dare to think where we would be without this guy this season. Unfortunately, his spark wasn't enough to give us full points that evening, despite a few opportunities to do so. I guess we couldn't go a full league season without drawing a game. Fair enough.

Before the start of the season, I would have never thought that the Njarðvík game would emerge as the big one. Not after destroying them 6:2 in the Deildabikar. Not even after beating them away, even though it was a tight game back then. But there it was, a real six-pointer at a late stage of the campaign. And we made an absolute mess out of it. Everything looked good as we started to create chances from the start, but a short slip of concentration turned out about as deadly as it gets - a quickfire double from Danijel Ozobic and Pétur Sigurðsson suddenly saw us go 2:0 down after 25 minutes of play. We fought back and managed to get one just before the break, Beganovic scoring from Ólafur Ásmundsson's assist. But then again we started the second half in the worst possible manner, Sigurðsson making it 3:1 straight out of the dressing room as a result of horrible miscommunication in our defensive ranks. In the 55th minute Kristján Guðjónsson put us back in the fight, Viktor Georgijev with a good cross from the right wing. We came at them really hard and had the opportunities to equalise, but instead we got buried by Ozobic's goal in the 82nd minute. That was one proper thriller, unfortunately it didn't have a happy ending for us.

Making things hard for ourselves in the first minute of a match, part two. Indriði Ríkharðsson took exactly 34 seconds of the HK game to scythe an opponent down with a two-footer and pick up a red card. I believe this could actually be some sort of a record. We had to tighten up and start playing a much more disciplined brand of football, which we - surprisingly for me - succeeded in. After long minutes of some rather ugly kickabout, in the 34th minute Guðjónsson broke the deadlock, heading the ball in after a nice cross from Kepcija. The 50th minute saw Preben Sletvold finally score after coming back from injury, Ásmundsson with a nice through ball to assist him. We had a brief scare when Milomir Stojkovic made it 2:1 in the 61st minute, but just three minutes later a header from Guðjónsson bounced off the crossbar between hitting the goalkeeper's back and rolling past the goal line, counting as the poor lad's own goal. Then Sletvold bagged a brace in the 69th minute - Kepcija with his second wonderful cross of the day - and we calmly cruised home with a good morale-building victory.

Youth Intake



Well, at least it went better than the previous ones.

Gauti Jónsson

Torfi Karl Hjaltason

[Rikulec]

He's a massive player for us.

[Adonalsium]

I keep catching myself thinking the guy's name is Zletvold. I guess Zlatan got to me too much.

[Rikulec]

I keep catching myself thinking the guy's name is Zletvold. I guess Zlatan got to me too much.

Unfortunately he's not quite at that level.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - September 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Pepsideildin





Dear, oh dear.

The ÍBV game was a crucial one. We desperately needed a win to stay in the title fight, and on paper this was as tight a clash as it gets. As per usual, things started out in a rather dire fashion, and that didn't change much at any point during the 90 minutes. The 27th minute had all the potential to turn things around though - we gave away a penalty, and Srecko Simovic stepped up. He couldn't beat Zeljko Sopcic - our goalkeeper did brilliantly to keep the shot out. And in the 75th minute all our efforts were rewarded. Rúnar Gunnarsson played a short pass to Steve Rotmeyer, and the striker let off a strike from the edge of the box that caught their goalkeeper wrong-footed and found its way into the back of the net. Oh, the scenes in the away lot. The scenes in the dugout. At the same time Njarðvík their game, meaning we moved above them on goal difference.

To be honest, I don't like it when the opposition get a man sent off. Usually this means they become a tougher nut to crack, and that was exactly the case with Sindri. Birgir Hrafn Aðalsteinsson picked up his second yellow card in the 16th minute of the game, theoretically giving us more space to work with. In reality though, we struggled immensely to get our shots past their defence and - even more significantly - the goalkeeper. Granted, had we been finishing more clinically, we could have grabbed a few goals there and make it a really confident win. I was still happy with what we got though - in the 70th minute the deadlock was finally broken with Kristján Guðjónsson converting Indriði Ríkharðsson's cross. Even after that we had a few chances to extend our lead, but whatever. Another Njarðvík draw gave us a two point advantage at this point.

But then the Fjölnir game came up, and things went South. Everything started so brilliantly for us, with Preben Sletvold hammering Viktor Georgijev's cross into the net with a powerful volley in the 8th minute putting us in the driver's seat. But the first half also contained what I believe to be the real turning point of the season - Zeljko Sopcic broke his arm, and at half time he was replaced by Igor Visic, our unhappy reserve goalkeeper. It didn't even take long - in the 52nd minute a corner for the visitors resulted in a goal from Sævar Aðalsteinsson. Even worse off, in the 65th minute Ríkharðsson called it a season, getting sent off for the second yellow card. Five minutes later the stadium exploded - a brilliant header from Sletvold put us back in front, Ryan Kassel with the assist. The celebrations didn't last long though, as just three minutes after that Tinni Kári Júlíusson denied us a victory in a counter-attacking move that really could have been stopped on a couple of occasions. A win would have won us the title, it turned out...

Keflavík... you can all see the scoreline. Was it the nerves getting to the players? Was it the presence of Visic and not Sopcic between the sticks? I don't know. I don't give a **** anymore. All I know is that things could have gone the opposite way if Georgijev had scored a bloody one-on-one in the 2nd minute. But he didn't, and that put us up for a hammering. In the 19th minute a penalty saved by Visic was successfully rebounded from a tight angle by Josko Andjelkovic. In the 35th minute our goalkeeper made an absolute howler, failing to keep out a soft header from Andri Ólafsson. Just three minutes later Andjelkovic doubled his goal tally, and finally shortly before the break Ólafur Haukur Ingason failed to clear the ball away under heavy pressure and ended up heading it into our own net. 4:0 down at half time, Njarðvík 1:0 up at Sindri. And that's how it stayed. End of story, I guess. For ****'s sake.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2050 - Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur

Pepsi-deildin

Results

Competition Performance: 2nd

Let's not talk about it. You know what happened.

Deildabikar

Competition Performance: Runners-up

Everything was going beautifully right up to the final.

Borgunarbikar

Competition Performance: Fourth Round

Guess what, we messed this up as well.

UEFA Europa League

Competition Performance: First Qualifying Round

As soon as the pairs were drawn, I knew we were going out at the first hurdle.

Squad

Good, I guess. Although the overall quality is probably a bit lower than it was at the same point last year.

Transfers - Finances

I can't really complain about how the transfers went. We made a decent sum of money for this level, and the incoming players - Sletvold in particular - did reasonably well for us.

The brief European appearance combined with the players leaving the club have done quite a favour to our finances. Shame this is going to be ruined in a year's time most likely.

Player of the Season

1st - Preben Sletvold - after a record-breaking season in terms of scoring goals, there could only be one choice here. He was the top scorer in the Deildabikar, and had he not picked up an injury midway through the league campaign, he would have certainly run for top scorer there as well. One of the few players I can't blame for our misfortunes.

2nd - Snorri Valdimarsson - the one that held our midfield together. His strength and hard tackling was absolutely decisive for us in many games. I bet many of our opponents were afraid to even come close to this guy on the pitch, let alone trying to take the ball away from him. What a beast.

3rd - Steve Rotmeyer - he was good. Very good at times. He had a period when Sletvold was out injured and he almost carried the whole team on his back up front. Still, he wasn't as good as last season during his sensational, spectacular outburst of form, that's why he's not higher on this list.

Next Season

See below.

[Rikulec]

You know what? I'm not having that.



The King may have heroically won the five jewels of the crown, but hard times have fallen onto the family now, and the Prince has just been exiled from the capital of the kingdom. Where next for him? Some people say he might have travelled to another island...

[Rikulec]

So, this popped up on the 20th of October...



...and four days later, I was on my way across the sea.



Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - New Club - Dagenham & Redbridge



Of course, I had to negotiate my wage up to £800 per week. The contract length stays the same though - I only have a few months to prove my worth here and not get the boot.

Club Name: Dagenham & Redbridge

Nickname: The Daggers

Year Founded: 1992

Status: Professional

Stadium: Victoria Road (6,070 capacity, 2,200 seated)



Nothing spectacular here. They won the National League in 2049 and have been bravely fighting off relegation ever since.



The expectations are to avoid relegation. And here's the table. Still plenty of time to turn things around, right?

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - October 2050 - Dagenham & Redbridge





Well, that was not a terribly exciting first game in charge.

Having assessed the potential of the squad at my disposal - which is, to put it diplomatically, not very impressive - I went for exactly the same 4-4-2 I've been using at KR. Talk about tactical consequence, eh? For a large chunk of the Middlesbrough game, it looked like it was going to produce the most dull and boring 0:0. We wasted a good chance early on, then the hosts went on to blow a couple a bit later. Things finally got heated up in the dying minutes of the match, where we went at them with a little bit more courage, possibly sniffing our chance. The opportunities we managed to create didn't turn into goals though, and in the 87th minute we got caught on the break, Priestly Nash giving Boro the win after a quick counter attack. Not a very encouraging start then, but that was expected given the quality of the two sides.

[Adonalsium]

Well, goodbye KR, you stank anyway.

Better luck in the Daggers.

Obligatory cringy pun time.

Your managerial career seems pretty hit-and-miss. You really do like walking on a path of daggers!

etc. etc. etc.

[Rikulec]

Well, goodbye KR, you stank anyway.

Better luck in the Daggers.

Obligatory cringy pun time.

Your managerial career seems pretty hit-and-miss. You really do like walking on a path of daggers!

etc. etc. etc.

I guess I will have to live with it.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - November 2050 - Dagenham & Redbridge





Just one point off safety now, but we've slipped quite some way from 21st.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Wigan. They had players superior to ours, but they clearly aren't reaching their potential so far. And we got off to the worst start I could imagine - in the 3rd minute a goal from Adam Ohemeng put the visitors in front. I started to fear a proper beating, but instead the tables turn and we took control over the events on the pitch. In the 16th minute we brought things back level - a nice passing move ended with striker David Goodall delivering a perfect drilled cross to left winger Daryl Humphries for an easy tap-in. We kept creating chances, and in the 68th minute got in front - another cross, this time from Nicky Gummery, landed on the head of a substitute left winger Drago Lucic before finding its way into the back of the net. But the best was still yet to come. In the 92nd minute Gummery scored an absolutely spectacular overhead kick from Goodall's assist, clinching the victory for us. Maybe this stint won't be terribly bad then.

Did I complain about the start we made against Wigan? Well, it was much, much worse against Forest Green. They came close to our goal twice inside the first quarter an hour, and that was enough for them to go 2:0 up - two headers from Stephen Smith and Robbie Moss respectively did the job for the hosts. But, guess what, we didn't back down. Instead, we took the fight to them. In the 18th minute we cut their lead in half - a short pass into the box from Lucic was finished off by Goodall. We kept pursuing the equaliser, but the hosts looked quite dangerous on the break. In the 58th minute we got exactly what we wanted though - a foul in the box on Goodall led to a penalty call, and our other striker Lee Morgan scored with a very confident spot kick. From then on the game could have gone either way really, and the draw is probably the most justified outcome.

The Fleetwood game was a complete and utter disaster though. Granted, they are amongst the promotion challengers this season, and we couldn't really expect to walk over them, but a 0:4 defeat at home shows very little promise for the future. Everything went wrong in the 18th minute, when our centre back Dannie Cadmore lost the ball in a very stupid way following our own free kick, which led to a quick counter attack finished off by Brendon Marcelle. Eight minutes later the same bloody Cadmore gave away a penalty, Karl Burke, 2:0. Shortly after the break Marcelle doubled his goal tally from a deep cross, and finally in the 59th minute a foul from our left back Ricardo Silva resulted in the second opportunity for Burke to score from the spot, converted even more confidently than the first one. Shame really, a point would have seen us escape from the relegation zone.

FA Cup



That was expected.

First off though, Indriði Ríkharðsson's record for the fastest red card didn't last long. 28 seconds in, and our supposed star central midfielder Josh Brown was heading for an early bath. Not that he desperately needed one, I guess. Luckily the sixth tier opposition Margate didn't take advantage of it, and we managed to grab a rather confident victory regardless. In the 24th minute Ashley Crosby calmly converted a one-on-one situation to put us in front, and six minutes later we doubled the lead through Lee Morgan's close range effort following a good cross from the left by Ricardo Silva. Finally in the 80th minute Nicky Gummery settled the eventual scoreline, scoring from Callum Callaghan's corner with a powerful half-volley. So far, so good.

In the next round we're facing Carlisle at their place.

[Adonalsium]

A performance that truly broke all the records.

[Rikulec]

A performance that truly broke all the records.

I wonder what was the thinking behind trying to end someone's career just a few seconds after the game started.

[ManUtd1]

A performance that truly broke all the records.

Gerrard-esque!

As an aside, I love the username, Adonalsium. You should run a save with 16 individual managers scattered across the globe

[oriole01]

Rikulec, I don't believe I've commented on this thread before, but I've been following along for a few weeks now, ever since the final days of your first manager's career. I'd just like to say that the content has been great, and the way you update and format your posts has been reliable and easy to navigate. Your writing style is probably the best part, since you always seem pessimistic but in reality you care a lot about the clubs you manage!

I've really been enjoying the start of Gylfi Elvarsson's career, and it's unfortunate that you couldn't find success in Iceland like you hoped. Nice to see you've moved to England, which might not be extremely pertinent to the "Frozen Throne" idea, but that'll be fun to follow as well. I've been managing at a similar level with Kidderminster Harriers, so it'll be nice to relate to that throughout my career to see how challenging League football is.

Keep up the great work and progress, and eventually you'll get the success you deserve. Cheers!

[Rikulec]

Rikulec, I don't believe I've commented on this thread before, but I've been following along for a few weeks now, ever since the final days of your first manager's career. I'd just like to say that the content has been great, and the way you update and format your posts has been reliable and easy to navigate. Your writing style is probably the best part, since you always seem pessimistic but in reality you care a lot about the clubs you manage!

I've really been enjoying the start of Gylfi Elvarsson's career, and it's unfortunate that you couldn't find success in Iceland like you hoped. Nice to see you've moved to England, which might not be extremely pertinent to the "Frozen Throne" idea, but that'll be fun to follow as well. I've been managing at a similar level with Kidderminster Harriers, so it'll be nice to relate to that throughout my career to see how challenging League football is.

Keep up the great work and progress, and eventually you'll get the success you deserve. Cheers!

Thanks for the comment, mate. As for the England move, the idea behind Gylfi's career was to move to one of the biggest leagues at some point anyway, but of course I was hoping for some domestic success before doing that. I decided to stray from the path a bit because I feel the "Frozen Throne" direction has already been fully explored in this thread by Elvar, and a different way of building a manager's reputation should be a breath of fresh air. The other reason for choosing England is that this is where the current best Icelandic manager, Rúnar Kristinsson, had enjoyed the most success, most importantly winning the Champions League and the Club World Cup with Liverpool. Nothing like challenging your rival at his own ground, eh? And as for the League football, oh yeah, it is challenging, and it surely has a very special feeling to it, especially at a small club like Dag & Red.

[Adonalsium]

Gerrard-esque!

As an aside, I love the username, Adonalsium. You should run a save with 16 individual managers scattered across the globe

And I, of course, would play as the manager whose only goal is to destroy the other managers. Damn the achievements, damn the glory, damn good sportsmanship - honor is dead anyway. Prepare yourselves for the Manager Apocalypse!!!

Just wait for his first wage Rayse...

[ManUtd1]

Rust and ruin...

Definitely time to knock Runar off his ******* perch, Rikulec!

[Rikulec]

Definitely time to knock Runar off his ******* perch, Rikulec!

Yeah, though it's still a looong way to go...

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - December 2050 - Dagenham & Redbridge





One step forward, three steps backwards. January could be crucial.

A quick look at the table would tell you that beating Halifax was an absolute must for us. And we played about as well as it gets when you're a League 2 side bravely fighting against relegation. We scored the first goal in the 22nd minute - David Goodall seems to be a player we can really rely on. This time he opened the scoreline with a beautiful technical strike after a drilled cross from Daryl Humphries on the left wing. Five minutes later he got hacked down from behind in the box, allowing Lee Morgan to double our lead from the spot. Halifax attempted to come at us with the final whistle approaching, but all they got was another goal from Morgan in the 85th minute - he took a one-on-one chance after a long, aimless hoof from our central midfielder Chris Smith. A pinball goal from Terry Milner in stoppage time could only wipe some of their tears off. It's a good thing that we didn't make a mess out of this.

Carlisle were a well known opponent to us thanks to the FA Cup confrontation. The opening minutes were terribly boring, but once we actually managed to put together an attacking move, we immediately made it count - a through ball from Goodall was calmly slotted home by Morgan. It seems we've got a strike partnership to work, which is nice. The visitors managed to equalise before the break though, and it was just about the most frustrating goal to concede - first we wasted three or four perfect chances to take the ball away from them, and then a hopeless overhit cross from Jake McDonagh ended up going in. That wasn't enough to see us back down, and in the 58th minute we got in front once again, right back Solomon Ezeh with a powerful drilled cross and Ashley Crosby with the finish at the near post. We seriously lacked quality in player coming off the bench though, and Carlisle took full advantage - goals from Richard Eaton and David Buchanan in the 77th and 88th minute turned the game around for them. Balls.

Next up, Exeter. A winnable game on paper, and, as it turned out, in reality as well. The sole reason for us failing to score was the quality of our finishing, which was way below the level I got used to in the previous games. With 0:0 on the board, we wasted three wonderful opportunities to get in front, and that simply had to be punished. This came at the least expected moment - in the 69th minute Colin Harrington fired an absolute rocket of a free kick right into the top corner to give his team the hardly deserved lead. In these circumstances we simply had to commit more going forward, and in the 89th minute we got caught on the break as Leon Lorkin finished off a nicely constructed passing move. This, combined with a Cambridge win, sent us back down to the relegation zone after we had climbed out thanks to the Halifax win.

While I thought we could be beating Walsall, their performance at our place brought be back to earth with a loud bang. I haven't seen anyone dominate us so much before. They set the scene nicely for themselves quite early on - Craig Radford first broke through our defence in the 14th minute and just three minutes later John Jones doubled their lead to present us with a nearly impossible task. This got even worse in the 38th minute when Jones calmly converted a penalty given away by Dannie Cadmore. All we could respond with was a Lee Morgan goal seconds before the half time whistle, Goodall with the assist, obviously. We tried going all out attack in the second half, but Walsall were in full control, and we barely created anything. What a disappointing showing.

FA Cup



One thing less to worry about.

The away game at Carlisle was one proper thriller. Everything started well for us, and in the 22nd minute we got in front thanks to a flash of flair from Josh Brown, who surprised everyone by a left-footed effort from outside the area that went in off the far post. The hosts equalised in the 38th minute through Sam Scott, the assist coming from the right wing. Then in the 53th minute Lee Morgan put us back in front after a beautiful one-two with David Goodall, but the very next minute Ryan Cunningham made it 2:2 after yet another cross. The next goal went to the hosts' account as well, Charlie Clark putting them in front for the first time in the 71st minute. We didn't feel like backing out of this fight though, and in the 84th minute a perfect cross from Morgan was finished off by Goodall's header. Replay it was then.

Carlisle took no prisoners at our place though. They looked a bit vulnerable in the previous game that was very winnable for us, but this time they came onto the pitch with a very clear intention of knocking us out in a convincing manner. In the 7th minute Patrick Abadaki opened the scoreline after receiving a wonderful through ball that sliced right through the middle of our defensive block, and thirteen minutes later he doubled his goal tally, heading the ball home from close range after a cross from the left wing. The striker also had a wonderful opportunity to take the match ball home with himself, but in the 47th minute he had his penalty saved by Liam Whitehurst. Not that it changed much anyway. We're out.

[Adonalsium]

At least you've still got a chance to avoid relegation.

I'm now, randomly, wondering if you could just make a 0-5-5 Overload tactic that you could employ in the first 20 minutes and then switch to parking the bus after you attained that one goal. I mean damn, at least that'd be surprising

[Rikulec]

At least you've still got a chance to avoid relegation.

I'm now, randomly, wondering if you could just make a 0-5-5 Overload tactic that you could employ in the first 20 minutes and then switch to parking the bus after you attained that one goal. I mean damn, at least that'd be surprising

I'm not that desperate. Yet.

[Adonalsium]

Oh, you've got to try that out now.

I mean, if your team gets guaranteed relegation... what's there to lose?

[Rikulec]

Oh, you've got to try that out now.

I mean, if your team gets guaranteed relegation... what's there to lose?

That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid, in case you've forgotten.

[Adonalsium]

I think you're trying to avoid my genius 0-5-5 Apocalypse Overload Strategy!

But probably also relegation. That sounds reasonable too.

[Rikulec]

I think you're trying to avoid my genius 0-5-5 Apocalypse Overload Strategy!

But probably also relegation. That sounds reasonable too.

Alright, I may use your strategy at some point.