Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Friday 3rd October 2031 No Bids For Austbø -- Spoiler -- The Austbø Saga So Far... 19 hours ago, Stuniverse said: Tuesday 2nd September 2031 Unhappy Players -- Jan Rune Hansen Reveal hidden contents I would like to give Jan Rune Hansen more playing time but it hasn't been possible so far this season. -- Edvin Austbø Reveal hidden contents -- -- -- I'm not sure how this one with Edvin Austbø is going to play out. This all started with Edvin wanting to start more games but with the stunning form of Lasse Nordås and Anders Hartveit Ryste, plus Edvin's lack of form, I wasn't able to do that and now he wants to leave. I agreed to let Edvin go, we agreed a valuation of £8M, but I haven't been pushing for a sale because I don't really want to lose him. I did offer him out for £8M once, towards the end of the transfer window after we'd signed Henrik Skogvold, but there were no offers. I see Edvin as my third striker right now (well, third or fourth now we've signed Henrik Skogvold) and I don't really want to lose him but, now we've got Henrik, I'd be more willing to listen to offers below £8M. -- Dynamics -- 57 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: Sunday 28th September 2031 Austbø's Unhappiness About to Escalate? -- Reveal hidden contents Even Edvin's agent doesn't think there's much chance of a transfer bid being made any time soon. Maybe, Kristian Gudmundstrud, you should tell your client that. I have offered Edvin out via TransferRoom again but I'm not hopeful. -- That's not, exactly, what I said though, is it Mr. Pedersen? I didn't guarantee him more playing time. Edited May 6 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Friday 3rd October 2031 Austbø Saga Continues... -- I'm surprised by my vice-captain Isak Amundsen and Lasse Berg Johnsen sticking up for Edvin Austbø but, like Edvin, they've both been here at Viking a long time so, perhaps, it's understandable. Isak and Lasse are both good players who I'd like to keep around the place but, as they're both approaching the end of their playing careers, it's not the end of the world if I end up having to move them on. Spoiler -- -- -- -- -- 18 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: Friday 3rd October 2031 No Bids For Austbø -- Reveal hidden contents -- The Austbø Saga So Far... -- Edited May 6 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Saturday 11th October 2031 Eliteserien Result -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Saturday 11th October 2031 Is Austbø Saga Drawing to a Close? -- We've dropped Edvin Austbø's valuation from £8M to £7M and offered him out for transfer again. Spoiler -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Preview -- -- To be fair, I don't really know the new Chairperson, Kjell Fjæreide, very well yet. We're going to try and win every game remaining and see where that puts us in the Eliteserien league table after the last match. Starting away to Sogndal at their Fosshaugane Campus. It won't be easy, Sogndal will want to beat us, but we believe in ourselves and will do everything we can to try and win the match. I said I'd play Edvin Austbø if he did well in training and my assistant manager, Egil Ulfstein, has been very pleased with Edvin in training. So, yes, Edvin Austbø is very much in my plans for the Sogndal game and I'm sure he'll play some part in proceedings. We've picked up a few injuries during training and quite a few players have fitness concerns. But I'm delighted to have Otto Rosengren back available after recovering from pulled knee ligaments. -- Expected Line-up Edited May 6 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Sunday 12th October 2031 Oh, Edvin... give me a break... -- Spoiler -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Sunday 12th October 2031 Sogndal (11th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- We were good value for the win today. I thought we played better than Sogndal in every area and it was a delight to witness that performance. Things did get a bit hairy for a while when Sogndal pulled it back to 2-1 through a good goal from Ola Johannes Kleppa Christensen, but once we got the third goal I didn't think the result was ever in doubt. Edvin Austbø came off the bench and bagged himself a brace. I'm delighted for Edvin and that will do him the world of good. Look, I wouldn't normally talk about this, but as Edvin has already gone public himself, it's clear he has some issues at the moment that we're working with him to resolve. Edvin no longer wants to leave the football club, which is a positive in itself, but he wants more playing time which I can understand. Up until recently, his form hasn't warranted that with Lasse Nordås and Anders Hartveit Ryste playing so well. What's not in doubt is that Edvin is a very good player on his day and today he was on it and quite rightly named Player of the Match. If Edvin wants more playing time, which he does, then proving it on the pitch is the way to go about it, not by whinging to his teammates and complaining in media interviews. -- -- Evening Result Edited May 6 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Friday 17th October 2031 Eliteserien Title Race - the Run-in -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Preview -- -- Thank you, Dego. I really appreciate you taking the time to say that. -- We're under no illusions how difficult an opponent Rosenborg will be and they have Ísak Snær Þorvaldsson who always seems to score against us. Spoiler But we're at home and, with our brilliant supporters backing us in the SR-Bank Arena, we're confident of going out there and getting a good result. David Møller Wolfe is suspended and, whilst my medical team tell me Jasper Torkildsen can play, we're not going to risk him aggravating his hand injury when we have a back-up goalkeeper of the quality of Daniel Gjerde Sætren. We also have quite a few fitness issues we're managing right now. -- Expected Line-up Edvin Austbø scored two goals coming on as a sub last time out against Sogndal so he probably deserves to start. Edited May 6 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Saturday 18th October 2031 Viking (1st) v Rosenborg (4th) Eliteserien -- -- -- I'm still shaking my head as to how we didn't win this game. We had 26 attempts on goal, 12 on target, whereas Rosenborg only had four attempts on target and they all went in. It was a game where we didn't get any luck and everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Rosenborg took the lead through a mistake from a corner. Daniel Gjerde Sætren bravely went to catch the cross in a crowded penalty area, dropped the ball, and Rosenborg stabbed it home. Their second goal is an unfortunate own goal off our captain, David Brekalo, in closing down their winger and looking to block the low cross, the ball deflected off him into the net. Rosenborg's third goal was a good goal, to be fair to them, but their fourth came when Aleksander Liland dwelled on the ball in his own penalty area and got caught in possession. Yeah, I couldn't believe it. 11 minutes at 0-0, Jesper Robertsen put over a great cross and Lasse Nordås's header clipped the outside of the post. 16 minutes at 0-1, a minute after Rosenborg had taken the lead, Jakob Napoleon Romsaas hit the bar with a direct free-kick. Still at 0-0, on 22 minutes, Oscar Bobb whipped in a great cross and Niklas Ødegård's header hit the post. And on 77 minutes at 1-4, Anders Hartveit Ryste's shot hit the bar. We made changes during the half time break to try and get back into the game. And further changes on 63 minutes, but it just wasn't our day today. -- Edited May 6 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Sunday 19th October 2031 Eliteserien Results -- 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Preview -- -- We may be at home at the SR-Bank Arena but we're expecting an incredibly difficult game against Manchester City. My medical team tell me Jasper Torkildsen is good to play but we're not going to risk him with the important Eliteserien away game against Vålerenga coming up at the weekend. After the disappointing defeat to Rosenborg last time out in Eliteserien, even though I still can't believe we lost that match, we'll be rotating quite a lot for the Manchester City game with the Vålerenga match in mind. As a former Manchester City player, Oscar Bobb is desperate to play in this one. -- Expected Line-up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Tuesday 21st October 2031 Viking (Norway) v Manchester City (England) UEFA Champions League -- -- -- I don't think VAR had any impact on the outcome of this match. Manchester City were on a different level to us and taught us a footballing lesson today. We see Erling Haaland playing for Norway and we know how good he is. Unfortunately for us, Erling is so good we couldn't get near him. He scored four goals and could've scored even more. Rightly or wrongly I opted for a young, relatively inexperienced team tonight so that we could keep the experienced players fresh for the Eliteserien match against Vålerenga at the weekend. What pleased me was that they never gave up, created some chances, and whilst they were nothing but late consolation goals it was great to see Henrik Skogvold and Edvin Austbø get on the scoresheet. -- -- Eliteserien News Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Saturday 25th October 2031 Team Meeting -- -- -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Preview -- -- We have a five point lead over Brann with just four matches left to play so we know that it's in our hands, or at our feet if you prefer, and we'll be doing everything we can to make sure we bring the Eliteserien title back to Stavanger. Of course, there's no guarantees, this is football after all, but I can assure our supporters that we'll be giving it our best shot. Vålerenga are a very good team and Ole Gunnar Solskjær is a very good manager. It won't be easy at the Intility Arena, Vålerenga will have their supporters behind them, but we believe in our own abilities and we're confident we can get a positive result. We lost David Møller Wolfe with a damaged foot in midweek but, otherwise, everybody is available for selection. We're going to rely on experience against Vålerenga. -- Expected Line-up -- Edited May 6 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Sunday 26th October 2031 Eliteserien Results -- Yesterday's Result -- Today's Results Edited May 6 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Sunday 26th October 2031 Vålerenga (5th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- -- I congratulated Ole Gunnar Solskjær after the game because Vålerenga were better than us and deserved to win. Brann had won at Strømsgodset earlier and we needed to reply with a win against Vålerenga but we never got going. I'm disappointed because we rested the experienced players in midweek so that they'd be fresh for this match and it was like the occasion got to them. We started slowly, looked nervous and passive - which wasn'y the game plan at all - and we were 0-2 down after half an hour. At 0-2 down we made changes, changed our shape, went to an Attacking mentality, and we did start to get a foothold in the match. On 44 minutes Ratko Musulin cleared Lasse Nordås's header off the line and then, on 45+1 minutes Anders Hartveit Ryste slotted the ball into the net, in off the post, but the officials ruled it offside. Shortly after the restart, El Hadji Malick Diouf picked up an injury and, with David Møller Wolfe unavailable, we tried to nurse him through but we conceded a third goal on 49 minutes. We went for it then, changing the shape and going even more Attacking. We huffed and puffed, and worked hard to try and get back into the match, but with a three-goal lead Vålerenga played sensibly, defended well, and saw the game out. Fair play to them. -- Edited May 6 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Episode 116 - Making Hard Work Of It | 1st November 2031 "Future Transfer In" -- Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Episode 116 - Making Hard Work Of It | 1st November 2031 "Viking - First Team Squad" -- New Contracts -- Appearances -- Reports -- Players Out On Loan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 Episode 116 - Making Hard Work Of It | 1st November 2031 "Monthly Review" -- Results -- Board Confidence -- Supporter Confidence -- Finances -- Dynamics Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) Sunday 2nd November 2031 Until Next Time... ... when we will find out whether... ... Viking continue to bottle it under the pressure, or... ... find a way to get over the line as Eliteserien Champions? — Why do we always make hard work of it? -- November's Fixtures -- Thoughts, comments, general feedback appreciated. Any questions, just ask and I'll answer them if I can. Thank you for reading and following... and I greatly appreciate the comments as that's what genuinely keeps me motivated to continue updating about this save. Until next time... Edited May 6 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 The Title Chase is getting tight..... How many matches remaining in the season? (I am sorry I haven't been really paying attention to the Norwegian League rules) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: The Title Chase is getting tight..... Too tight, @Hootieleece and we’re doing our best to throw it away while Brann keep winning. 6 minutes ago, Hootieleece said: How many matches remaining in the season? (I am sorry I haven't been really paying attention to the Norwegian League rules) Three matches left. 16 teams, play each other twice, 30 matches in total. We’ve just lost to Valerenga and Brann beat Stromsgodset.. 10 hours ago, Stuniverse said: Friday 17th October 2031 Eliteserien Title Race - the Run-in -- Edited May 6 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 28 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: we’re doing our best to throw it away The distraction of the Champions League? Hard to battle on two fronts. If you haven't already, I'd be having a stern conversation with Odegard. I'd also be playing my strongest 11 in the next league game - a draw would at least stop the rot; another defeat could be disastrous. Good luck 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 (edited) 7 hours ago, warlock said: The distraction of the Champions League? Hard to battle on two fronts. I don't know if it's the distraction of the UEFA Champions League, @warlock or if I'm just over-thinking it. Brann are playing in the UEFA Europa League so it should be the same for both of us. The same happened last season when we drew with Strømsgodset and lost to Åsane and Brann when I continued doing what I'd been doing before. This season, I've been rotating more and we've lost to Rosenborg (and I still don't know how we lost that match) and then lost to Vålerenga when I rotated the squad, playing the stronger team in the Eliteserien matches each time. The Rosenborg game still haunts me... We had 26 shots (to their 8) 12 on target (to their 4) and we hit the woodwork an incredible four times. They only had four on target and scored four goals, a goalkeeper clanger for the first, a deflected own goal for the second, and a defender losing possession in our penalty area for the fourth. For the Vålerenga match, we had a very positive, motivational team meeting, went for a strong, experienced side... and we just didn't show up. Brann had won earlier in the day, we didn't turn up for our match... so I have no complaints about that one, Vålerenga were much better on the day and deserved it. And just like that our eight point gap at the top had been whittled away to a mere two points. 7 hours ago, warlock said: I'd also be playing my strongest 11 in the next league game - a draw would at least stop the rot; another defeat could be disastrous. I agree, I need to pick my strongest team possible in the Eliteserien matches... at least until it's all decided, but I fear it could go to the last match of the season again. In the last three matches, we play our fixture first on the 9th and the 22nd and we both kick-off at the same time on the last day of the season. On paper, we have the easier run-in as Brann still have to go to Rosenborg and host Vålerenga whereas we play two teams (Sandefjord and Stabæk) who are in the bottom three. But we can't rely on Brann dropping points and need to do it ourselves which, essentially, means three wins. Two wins and a draw could do it but the goal difference gap is now only two goals so seven points may not be enough. 7 hours ago, warlock said: If you haven't already, I'd be having a stern conversation with Odegard. I haven't. No. I know I joke about my assistant manager, Egil Ulfstein being bad cop to my good cop but I'm not very good at criticising players and don't like doing it. I will have a look at this though as the form of quite a few players has dropped off. Not so many green Ave Ratings on my Team Selection screen any more. 7 hours ago, warlock said: Good luck Thank you. I'm not confident at all and will need all the luck I can get. Edited May 7 by Stuniverse 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 1 hour ago, Stuniverse said: I'm not very good at criticising players You can get better at it if you practise . It's something I do half-a-dozen times a season based on that 'last 5 games' average rating - anyone putting up a 6.6 or worse has the conversation. You don't have to go full-on mental drill sergeant, you have options including telling them to try to improve or you can tell them their first-team place is under threat. I think it helps. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 4 hours ago, warlock said: You can get better at it if you practise . It's something I do half-a-dozen times a season based on that 'last 5 games' average rating - anyone putting up a 6.6 or worse has the conversation. You don't have to go full-on mental drill sergeant, you have options including telling them to try to improve or you can tell them their first-team place is under threat. I think it helps. Thanks @warlock. I shall try and become more bad cop. 14 hours ago, warlock said: If you haven't already, I'd be having a stern conversation with Odegard What was it drew your attention to Odegard for a stern conversation? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 (edited) 57 minutes ago, Stuniverse said: What was it drew your attention to Odegard for a stern conversation? His average rating in his last 5 appearances - a red flag for me, particularly for a player of his apparent quality. It also marks a significant drop-off from his season average rating. There's always a chicken-and-egg element to it... is he rating badly because the team is struggling, or is the team struggling because certain players are underperforming? Have a close look at his recent form and see what you think. Edit to add: You don't have to be a bad cop; one of the options is something like 'you haven't been playing well lately, try to pick yourself up in the next few matches'. Always worth starting with that one before escalating things if there's no improvement. Edited May 7 by warlock 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 (edited) Sunday 2nd November 2031 Recent Form - Ødegård and others... -- 56 minutes ago, warlock said: His average rating in his last 5 appearances - a red flag for me, particularly for a player of his apparent quality. It also marks a significant drop-off from his season average rating. Thanks, let's take a look at Niklas Ødegård, @warlock One of our better players when he came on against Vålerenga after 30 minutes... ... but ... -- Rest of the First Team Squad A lot of under-performing players based on Last 5 Games compared to Average Rating. Edited May 7 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Some further thoughts... He's only really rating highly when he scores or assists, and he's not doing either consistently. So, is the shadow striker role getting the best out of him? What are you hoping for from the SS role - goals or assists? Would he play better as an AM, which should give him more room to be a creative force? You seem to have two attacking roles ahead of him every game, so do you need him to be a third striker? Just some things to ponder 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 (edited) Sunday 2nd November 2031 I try to be bad-cop -- After some coaching from @warlock, I've decided to criticise some players (something I don't like doing and don't do very often). Thank you, warlock. -- Niklas Ødegård -- Well that seemed to go ok so let's criticise some other players. David Brekalo -- Isak Amundsen -- Jasper Torkildsen -- Lasse Nordås -- Well, @warlock that all went better than I expected without upsetting any of the players. Thank you. Edited May 7 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
warlock Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 Hope it bears fruit! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 (edited) 25 minutes ago, warlock said: Some further thoughts... Wow, above and beyond the call of duty, thank you, @warlock 25 minutes ago, warlock said: He's only really rating highly when he scores or assists, and he's not doing either consistently. So, is the shadow striker role getting the best out of him? Probably not. 25 minutes ago, warlock said: What are you hoping for from the SS role - goals or assists? Would he play better as an AM, which should give him more room to be a creative force? You seem to have two attacking roles ahead of him every game, so do you need him to be a third striker? I hadn't really thought that much about it but I'd say Assists as the two strikers ahead of him are the expected goal scorers. SS - At seemed to work well in this 4-4-2 diamond for Gaetano Oristanio (no longer at the club) and then... Oscar Bobb Jakob Napoleon Romsaas with Runar Norheim sometimes playing there So Niklas Ødegård kind of took the role at the top of the diamond without me thinking too much about it because, up until recently, it was working. 25 minutes ago, warlock said: Just some things to ponder Thank you. I will do some pondering... Edited May 7 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 10 minutes ago, warlock said: Hope it bears fruit! We'll see, @warlock although I may have criticised them a game too soon as most, if not all of the five players I criticised will be rested for Benfica (away) so that they are fresh for Sandefjord (home) in Eliteserien. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 Wednesday 5th November 2031 Sandefjord Appoint Hansson -- -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 Preview -- -- Hopefully David Møller Wolfe will be back in training soon but, for now, he's our only player unavailable for selection. We've made use of the extra time to give the players some extended rest, then work hard and prepare for Benfica, and we've also had some one-to-ones to discuss the recent downturn in form. -- Expected Line-up I'll be making quite a few changes today because, rightly or wrongly, I want the players who start against Sandefjord on Sunday to be well rested as we continue our pursuit of the Eliteserien title. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 Wednesday 5th November 2031 Benfica (Portugal) v Viking (Norway) UEFA Champions League -- -- -- I'm delighted with the players today. They gave absolutely everything today... and then some. To have a win snatched away from us in 90+6 minutes was a real kick in the teeth but, having not got a kick for the first 15-20 minutes, it shows how well the players did to wrestle control of the game and then come oh so close to winning it. Benfica were all over us for the first quarter of an hour and we struggled to mount any attacks of note. At the back, we defended bravely, resolutely, cleared two Benfica efforts off the line. And then, with our first meaningful attack of the match, Niklas Ødegård gave us the lead, a goal which owed a lot to Runar Norheim's brilliant through ball. We asked Niklas to play a slightly different role today, AM - Su (thanks, @warlock) and it seemed to suit him. We took confidence from that, settled into the game, and started to get a measure of control. Unfortunately they equalised when Jeper Robertsen gave the ball away in a dangerous position. In the second half I thought we were the better team. We lost Edvin Austbø with an ankle injury but Oscar Aga came on and ended his goal drought when he brilliantly volleyed home. Oscar nearly made it 3-1 as well but his excellent finish was ruled out for offside. I'm not sure where the officials got all that added-on time from... it's just a shame we couldn't hold out for the win. Fair play to Benfica but, based on our second half performance, I'm not sure a draw was a fair result. This hurts. We'd probably have taken a draw before kick-off but right now it feels like a loss. -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 Saturday 8th November 2031 Team Meeting -- -- -- -- -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 Saturday 8th November 2031 Eliteserien Result -- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 Preview -- -- This will be Patrik Hansson's first match as manager of Sandefjord and we have no idea what to expect. It's about 11 players and subs against another 11 players and subs so it's not Stuni Stuniverse versus Patrik Hansson at all but, if it was, our previous meetings were when Patrik was manager of Skeid, meaning there's no relevance on today's match at all. The Viking de mørkeblå supporters help make the SR-Bank Arena a fortress and we'll need them to get behind the players today. And, depending on how the game plays, out we may need them to be patient and stick with us. We're in this together, the supporters, the players, and my coaching staff, and hopefully we can deliver the result our fans deserve. It's been a tough week but we gave the players some time off and we've prepared as best we could in the time we had available. Yes. We rotated for the game in Benfica with this Eliteserien match against Sandefjord in mind. Our captain David Brekalo is suspended today so, with hindsight, and maybe should have selected David for he Benfica match. Everybody else is available for selection although David Moller Wolfe might not be able to play a full 90 minutes yet. -- Expected Line-up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 Sunday 9th November 2031 Viking (1st) v Sandefjord (14th) Eliteserien -- -- -- We'd missed David Moller Wolfe so it was great to see him back on the pitch after his foot injury. We didn't think we'd get 90 minutes out of him but, in the end, we needed him to play the full 90 minutes as we lost Otto Rosengren with a groin issue and Anders Hartveit Ryste had to come off as a precaution as well. Lasse Nordås is a very important player for us and we saw his value today. He'd hit the post on 55 minutes, and had several headers go just over the bar onto the roof of the net but, when it mattered, he was calmness personified when he scored the only goal of the game after 82 minutes. It was a funny game. Sandefjord started very well and we feared a new manager bounce for them under Patrik Hansson but we weathered the first 10 minutes and then took control of the game. We were aggrieved after 12 minutes because Otto Rosengren was tripped in the penalty area, the referee awarded the penalty, only for VAR to overrule his decision. On 55 minutes Lasse Nordås hit the post, and on 78 minutes their goalkeeper made a fabulous point blank save from Edvin Austbø. You do begin to wonder if it's not going to be your day but we were always confident as we had almost total control of the match. The noise in the SR-Bank Arena when Lasse Nordås scored our late winner was incredible. We had to be patient but I thought we were good value for the win. -- 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 (edited) Sunday 9th November 2031 Eliteserien - Evening Result -- -- Edited May 8 by Stuniverse 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 (edited) Sunday 9th November 2031 International Break -- Our next match isn't for 13 days because of the International Break. We have seven players away on International duty. We're giving all the other players a week off and then we'll get back together and prepare for our next Eliteserien match away to Stabæk. Edited May 8 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 (edited) Sunday 9th November 2031 Board Set Initial Viking Budgets -- Following our qualification for next season's (2031/32) UEFA Champions League, the Board have set the initial budgets. And there's some big surprises here as the proposed: transfer budget increased to £35.94M (from £19.38M), and wage budget increased to £375K per week (from £194K). Based on our Finances which look like this: I've not had a proper meeting yet with the new Chairperson Kjell Fjæreide. Although I did make two requests after Kjell won the election, both of which he declined. So we haven't yet discussed or agreed the Club Vision for Viking. Edited May 8 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 Friday 21st November 2031 Team Meeting -- -- -- -- Individual Player Chat I also took the opportunity to have a chat with Jesper Robertsen. I haven't decided who I'm starting at right-back against Stabæk yet. Isak Amundsen gives me more defensive stability whereas Jesper Robertsen is the more attacking option. Whether I start Jasper, or have him on the bench in case I need him, he needs to improve his level of performance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 (edited) Preview -- -- Stabæk won't be easy opposition, they may not have won in their last five matches but they only lost once in that time, drawing the other four. We beat Stabæk 5-1 in our SR-Bank Arena earlier in the season but Michal Gasparik hadn't been appointed then. Stabæk are currently 15th, in an automatic relegation place, but they are only two points behind Sandefjord and can still claim the relegation playoff spot if they can catch Sandefjord. There's a lot for Stabæk to play for and we will have to be on top of our game to get a result. We have to assume that Brann will win both their remaining matches which, effectively, means we have to beat Stabæk today and then Lillestrøm on the last day. Brann won't find it easy against Rosenborg tomorrow, or Vålerenga next week (both teams beat us recently), but we can't rely on Brann dropping points because Emre Belözoğlu's team are more than capable of winning both matches. We did have some issues in midweek when Jasper Torkildsen (thigh) and Lasse Berg Johnsen (pectoral muscle) picked up injuries in training, but both passed fitness tests and my medical team were delighted to inform me that the entire first team squad is available for selection. -- Expected Line-up -- Edited May 8 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 (edited) Saturday 22nd November 2031 Stabæk (15th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- We didn't get the result today, although not for the want of trying, but at least we didn't lose which is something. Brann have a tough away game at Rosenborg tomorrow so, whilst we're expecting Brann to go there and win, if Rosenborg could do us a favour that would be perfect, but we can't rely on that. We started the game against Stabæk brightly, Anders Hartveit Ryste had two good chances in the opening 10 minutes but then we got the jitters, lost our way a bit, and Stabæk grew in confidence. 25 minutes in and young Eivind Helland dwelled on possession in his own penalty area, got caught in possession, and Jesper Robertsen needed to make a last minute block to remove the danger. But we didn't learn from that and around the half hour mark, a cross caught us out at the far post and Stabæk took the lead with a header. We struggled after that so at half time we made a substitution and changed our shape. On 55 minutes Edvin Austbø hit the post. We were still struggling to create enough chances so we made more changes on 62 minutes. Lasse Nordås equalised with a close range header with about 20 minutes to go. I can't fault the effort of the players, but we were unable to get the winning goal. -- Edited May 8 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 (edited) Sunday 23rd November 2031 Eliteserien Results -- Edited May 8 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 (edited) Preview -- -- There's no way of getting around this, whilst the UEFA Champions League is very important to us, winning Eliteserien, or at least trying to, is even more important to us. The team I pick to play Wolfsburg tonight will be selected with the intent of getting a result against Lillestrøm on Saturday at the forefront of our mind. Wolfsburg are top of Bundesliga and we're under no illusions how difficult this match will be. We have no injury concerns and everybody has been passed fit to play by our medical staff. -- Expected Line-up Edited May 8 by Stuniverse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuniverse Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 (edited) Tuesday 25th November 2031 Viking (Norway) v Wolfsburg (Germany) UEFA Champions League -- -- -- Oscar Aga had a great game but so did every Viking player. I'm so proud of the players today. Wolfsburg may see it differently, since they created more chances than us, but I thought we deserved the win. We matched Wolfsburg for possession, we had as many shots on target as them, but we scored more goals and, ultimately, that's what it comes down to. Who scores the most goals. To go a goal down after only four minutes, equalise six minutes later, and then go on to win against such a good team takes a lot of character and spirit. I made a lot of changes for this match and the players who came in responded magnificently. Now the players who we rested so they'd be fresh for Saturday's Eliteserien match at home to Lillestrøm need to prove we were right to rest them by getting the result we need to clinch the Eliteserien title. Yes, we rode our luck a bit tonight, no more so than when Wolfsburg hit the bar on 73 minutes, but I think we deserved the win for our work rate and determination. -- Edited May 8 by Stuniverse 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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