Stuniverse

Wednesday 17th September 2031 RB Leipzig (Germany) v Viking (Norway) UEFA Champions League -- -- -- To be fair, we thought RB Leipzig were going to win when Christoph Hein hit a screamer past Daniel Gjerde Sætren. The officials gave the goal, and we had no complaints because it looked a fair goal to us, but after the VAR review it was disallowed because Hein had gone too early and was narrowly offside when the pass was made to him. Leipzig must be wondering how they didn't win this match. They were camped in our half for long periods and we couldn't get much going from an attacking perspective at all. But we defended well, resolutely, bravely and that, plus some below par finishing from Leipzig, kept us in it. With 20 minutes to go we sent on some of our big guns to see if we could do a smash and grab but the game ended with us only having two attempts on goal and none on target. We were fortunate. We'll take the point and move on. --

Preview -- -- After the disappointing, though undeserved defeat against Odds Ballklubb, we're going to rotate quite heavily for our visit to RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League. I'll admit, it'll be a team selection very much with our next Eliteserien match at home to Strømsgodset in mind. Only Otto Rosengren (knee) is unavailable for selection, he's back in training but we don't want to risk aggravating his injury before he's fully fit. -- Expected Line-up

Monday 15th September 2031 Eliteserien Result --

Sunday 13th September 2031 Odds Ballklubb (11th) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- Lasse Nordås has scored 17 Eliteserien goals, more than anybody else, he's been named Player of the Match nine times, more than anybody else, and he leads Eliteserien with a 7.65 average rating. I can't think of anybody more deserving. Unfortunately for us, Kerim Alhas put in the best goalkeeping performance I've witnessed in a long, long time. We had 29 attempts on goal, 13 of them on target, and Alhas saved everything we threw at him. Odds Ballklubb set their stall out to sit back in numbers, make it difficult for us, and see if they could knick a goal on the break. As it was, they knicked two goals and we only managed to score the one. We started the game well, created three or four good chances, and then with their first attack, Julian Gonstad nipped in at the near post to break the deadlock. Odds Ballklubb showed no attacking intent after that. I'd like to give them credit and say we couldn't break them down, but we created lots of chances, but Kerim Alhas denied us. During the break, we made three substitutions and changed our shape. Straight from the kick-off we attacked, Henrik Skogvold's shot grazed the bar and went over. Kerim Alhas then took a long goal kick, Taichi Hara flicked it on, and Filippo Ranocchia out ran our central defenders to double Odd's lead. On 53 minutes, we finally found a way past their goalkeeper when Niklas Ødegård scored As we went into the last 20 minutes, we went even more Attacking. Runar Norheim's header was cleared off the line on 79 minutes and, though we had other chances, we couldn't get the equaliser. The players have been magnificent to stay unbeaten for 19 matches and, to be fair, they didn't deserve to lose today. Now, we need to go on another run. -- --

Saturday 13th September 2031 Eliteserien Result --

Preview -- -- Niklas Ødegård was rightly named Player of the Match against Real Betis in midweek and he's looking forward to returning to the Skagerak Arena, this time as a Viking player. I think Magnus Powell has done a brilliant job at Odds Ballklubb since taking the reigns in early July. When Magnus was appointed, the Oddrane were third bottom and facing a relegation battle. Now, Magnus has Odd sitting 11th, nine points clear of the relegation playoff place. We're expecting a difficult game at the Skagerak Arena but we're confident we can get a positive result against Odds Ballklubb. Edvin Austbø (knee) and Aleksander Liland (shin) picked up injuries in training and we won't be risking either of them. Otto Rosengren (knee) is back training with the squad but tomorrow's match against Odd will come too soon for him. -- Expected Line-up

Tuesday 9th September 2031 Real Betis (Spain) v Viking (Norway) UEFA Champions League -- -- -- I don't like singling out individuals but Niklas Ødegård was brilliant today. We were 2-0 down and the game was slipping away from us when Niklas pulled one back after 79 minutes. Two minutes later, Niklas equalised. The first half was very even, not much to pick between us, but Real Betis were more ruthless in front of goal than us. It didn't help that Anders Hartveit Ryste took a knock and we had to replace him after just over half an hour. Edvin Austbø came on and did very well. Recently we've been playing to Focus Play Through The Middle and put over Low Crosses but after Real Betis scored their second on 65 minutes, we decided to go back to how we used to play with Mixed Crosses and no specific focus and we took control of the match. It's a sign of where we are as a team that, after being 0-2 down to Real Betis after 65, we're disappointed that we didn't win the match. --

Preview -- -- -- We've been managing the squad's fitness a lot more closely than we did last season. After each match, we're making sure they get one or two days off training to assist their recovery. For this difficult match in the Estadio Benito Villamarín, Sevilla against Real Betis, everybody except Otto Rosengren (knee) is fit and available for selection. -- Expected Line-up

Sunday 7th September 2031 Eliteserien Results --

Saturday 6th September 2031 Viking (1st) v Brann (2nd) Eliteserien Best i vest derby -- -- -- -- I caught up with Emre Belözoğlu after the game and shared a glass of wine with him in my office. I thanked him for his kind words and Emre congratulated me and my team on the win. Wow! What a fantastic game that was. I think the occasion got to both teams as there was hardly an attempt on goal in the first half. Brann had a shot wide, Lasse Nordås headed over the bar for us, and that's all I can remember until that late corner when Stelios Andreou headed in to give Brann a half time lead. We knew we had to make changes at the break because, whilst there was very little between the teams, we'd hardly created anything in the first 45 minutes. I made a substitution, we changed our shape, we set-up to take the game to Brann with an Attacking mentality. It worked. We won possession shortly after their kick-off, attacked down the right wing, forced a corner... and then Lasse Nordås hit the bar with his header. We really did take the game to Brann. We created a lot of chances. On 79 minutes, we got the equaliser our second half performance deserved when Jesper Robertsen hit a low cross into the near post and Lasse Nordås's shot deflected past their goalkeeper. Having got back level, with time running out, we debated on the bench whether to stay as we were or go more solid and less Attacking. To be fair, Brann hadn't threatened much in the second half so we stuck. They say fortune favours the brave and Runar Norheim gave us a 2-1 lead with the scrambliest of scrambled goals with 84 minutes on the clock. Jesper Robertsen released Anders Hartveit Ryste down the right, Anders's cross deflected off a defender towards the near post, Lasse Nordås's glancing header was parried by the goalkeeper, Henrik Skogvold, with his back to goal, tried to find a teammate but the ball hit the goalkeeper's back, Henrik then knocked the ball back to the edge of the six yard box at the second attempt, and Runar Norheim won the race, hit the ball as hard as he could, and it flew through a crowd of players into the back of the net. I apologised to Emre Belözoğlu if I was over-the-top but we were off the bench, jumping around like crazy people, and the noise inside the SR-Bank Arena was incredible. We did shut up shop then. I knew I'd only used four substitutes and wanted to make a defensive substitution but the fourth official told me I couldn't as we'd already had three substitute breaks. So we did the best we could, with the players we had out there, to just defend, keep Brann away from our goal, and we did it. This is a massive, MASSIVE, MASSIVE victory for us. --

Preview -- -- -- It was very kind of Emre Belözoğlu to say that. I appreciate it and will have a bottle of wine ready in my office after the game to share with him, irrespective of the result. But the match comes first and I'm not going to let other things, like the Månedens Trener award, distract us from our preparations for this Best i vest derby. There's clearly a lot more riding on this Best i vest derby given our respective league positions and that it's a two-horse race between Brann and us for the Eliteserien title. We go into the match with a five point advantage over Brann but, by the final whistle, that gap could've stretched to eight, been reduced to just two, or it could still be five. Brann will be determined to win the Best i vest derby for their fans just as we want to win it for our de mørkeblå supporters. It's going to be a cracking game, I'm expecting an electric atmosphere in the SR-Bank Arena and, hopefully, we can come out on top. Otto Rosengren remains out injured but, after our brilliant win in Aspmyra against Bodø/Glimt, I don't see any reason to change anything for the Brann match. -- Expected Line-up

Tuesday 2nd September 2031 Unhappy Players -- Jan Rune Hansen I would like to give Jan Rune Hansen more playing time but it hasn't been possible so far this season. -- Edvin Austbø -- -- -- 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

Thanks, @Hootieleece Yes, I've already decided that I need to prioritise Eliteserien matches over the UEFA Champions League ones because winning the Eliteserien title guarantees UEFA Champions League the following season whereas 2nd place only guarantees participation in the Qualifying Round(s). So I see winning Eliteserien and the big pay day as a bigger prize than actually progressing in the UEFA Champions League. Rightly or wrongly, that's how I'm seeing it. A lot depends on the result of our next match, at home to Brann. Win and we will be eight points clear of Brann with eight matches to play. Lose and the gap is down to just two points. It's looking very much like a two-horse race now so Viking v Brann is a massive game for both football clubs.

What a season, @warlock Sensational.

Monday 1st September 2031 Until Next Time... ... when next up is Brann, at home, in a top of Eliteserien, first versus second clash, plus... ... after the Brann match, we play two more Eliteserien fixtures, and... ... we play our first two matches in this season's UEFA Champions League. -- September'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...

Episode 114 - Deadline Day | 1st September 2031 "Monthly Review" -- Results -- Board Confidence -- Supporter Confidence -- Finances -- Dynamics

Episode 114 - Deadline Day | 1st September 2031 "Månedens Trener" --

Episode 114 - Deadline Day | 1st September 2031 "Viking First Team Squad" -- Media News -- Appearances -- Reports -- Players Out on Loan

Episode 114 - Deadline Day | 31st August 2031 "Quiet Deadline Day Expected" -- -- Transfer Business Already Done To be honest, I wasn't expecting much to happen on transfer deadline day as we'd already done our business. Transfers In As well as a future transfer Transfers Out -- Strong Interest We knew there was strong interest in our Norwegian international goalkeeper, Jasper Torkildsen, as we'd already rejected bids from Benfica and Al-Wahda. Japer has been very professional about it and hasn't complained or moaned about the bids being rejected and, to be honest, I'm not sure if he was even interested. We're just hoping that no more bids come in for him on deadline day. Fingers crossed. -- Transfer Window Slams Shut And, as we were hoping, it was an uneventful deadline day.

Sunday 31st August 2031 Bodø/Glimt (3rd) v Viking (1st) Eliteserien -- -- -- -- Patrick Berg is a very good player and he was a handful for us today. The goal he scored just after half an hour, to break the deadlock and give Bodø/Glimt the lead, was world class, a superb curling shot that flew into the top corner. Jasper Torkildsen stood no chance of saving it. It's never easy winning away from home so it shows the hard work and effort this group of players put in game after game, not to mention their ability. This was a very tight game with very little between Bodø/Glimt and us. The difference today was the quality of the finishing, Bodø/Glimt created as many chances as us but we tested their goalkeeper with every single one, whereas Bodø/Glimt weren't as clinical, which is testimony to our resolute defending. Oscar Bobb is a great player and he usually creates rather than scores the goals. Today, after Anders Hartveit Ryste had equalised (37 minutes), Oscar Bobb produced the best moment of the match to win the game for us on 78 minutes. Oscar won the ball in the centre circle, dribbled the ball through the middle, evading two or three challenges, took the ball into the penalty area, and placed his shot hard and low into the bottom left corner. 2-1 up against a very good Bodø/Glimt, we changed our shape, went more Defensive and saw the game out for a vital 2-1 away win. With nine games remaining, we're 15 points ahead of Bodø/Glimt, 14 points ahead of Rosenborg, and five points clear of Brann. Never say never, but it looks like a two-horse race for the Elitserien title. -- -- Evening Results

Preview -- -- Thank you, Tite. I appreciate you saying that, it means a lot. -- We play our football in Norway, Viking are a Norwegian Fotballklubb, it just feels right to me to try and build a squad of Norwegian players. That does make it harder to improve the squad, particularly within our wage structure, but I think it's the right way to go about doing business. It's also down to a lot of hard work on the training ground and the character and determination of the squad. Jasper Torkildsen played for Bodø/Glimt for eight seasons. He was a great servant to them and I hope the Bodø/Glimt supporters give him the reception he deserves. But Jasper is a Viking player now and we're focussed on going to Aspmyra and doing our best to get a positive result against Bodø/Glimt. We're confident, we just need to get the job done... if we can. Otto Rosengren (knee) is ruled out and we probably won't risk Per Andreas Haugerud Hagen (groin). -- Expected Line-up -- Yesterday's Result

Wednesday 27th August 2031 UEFA Champions League League Phase draw --

Tuesday 26th August 2031 Stabæk Appoint Gasparik --

That makes sense, @Hootieleece. At least Viking have a manager who won't gamble the long-term future of the club with unsustainable wages

Sunday 24th August 2031 Eliteserien Results --