FM16: The Frozen Throne

[Rikulec]

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

Superliga





Much better.

Remembering the first game of the season and our form in September, I wasn't optimistic when we travelled to FC Midtjylland. As I said, I changed our tactics somewhat, going back to an attacking approach that brought me success back at Odd, only this time with a 4-3-3 and not 4-4-2. And it worked wonders - we killed the opposition with high pressing, recovering possession way into their own half and being capable both of launching quick attacks and more patient ones. And in the 35th minute we found a way through their defence. Brinquedo found Adamek on the left wing with a precise diagonal pass, the winger played the ball back into the box and Robbie Waters finished off the whole move with a precise effort from a tight angle. The Englishman doubled his goal tally after exactly an hour of football, this time it was Sverre Andre Øveraas who provided the assist with a deflected cross. So far, so good.

I have no idea how we only managed to score once against Vestsjælland. It was exactly the kind of game you'd expect when we faced one of the weakest teams in the league. Especially the first half saw us absolutely dominate the game, yet we failed to get the ball into the net. That finally happened in the 49th minute. Christian Kristensen played a through ball into the area and Steffen Astrup put us in front with a classy finish despite being challenged by a defender. We've actually looked much better as a team since I benched Hansen. Maybe this is the way to go?

It's always frustrating to concede in the first proper highlight of the match. It's even more frustrating when it's a set piece, especially if you have the tallest and strongest players in the league. Slikeborg's Toni Krijan didn't seem to care about that too much in the 7th minute when he put his team in front after an indirect free kick. Luckily that wasn't as big a blow for us as I thought it would be. The equaliser came in the 24th minute. Loïc Fischer's overhit cross bounced off the far post and landed at the feet of Steffen Astrup, who got presented with a very easy task of tapping the ball into an empty net. We got in front seconds before the break thanks to Adamek's header after a wonderful, Iniesta-esque pass from Jon Arne Prestegård. We also scored almost straight out of the dressing room and it was Astrup again, this time with a header after Brinquedo's cross. A slip of concentration in our back line allowed Silkeborg to get one back through José David Ramirez in the 54th minute, but that was all we allowed. We carried the result until the end with surprising ease.

And finally the toughest league game of the month, top of the league Randers. In the first half it was the visitors who were the better team, but we did a good enough job of holding them off. Davi between the sticks also contributed to that with a couple of good saves. Our opponents started the second half with furious attacks and things started to look really dangerous, but then instructing the side to play narrower worked wonders - suddenly we shut them off completely, pretty much putting an end to their offensive attempts. And we dealt them the final blow in the 69th minute when a gorgeous through ball from Rasmus Osmundsen reached Robbie Waters and the Englishman finished the move with a calm first time effort down the left corner. That was quite a classy win.

DBU Pokalen



Of course we couldn't have had the perfect month.

The cup game against AaB was simply a display of frustration. Both teams had their chances in the first half, with us probably looking slightly more likely to tip things our way, but the quality of finishing was simply atrocious. Everything changed in the 59th minute. The visitors' midfielder Troels Daucke unleashed what seemed to be a terribly scruffed cross from a free kick 40 yards away from goal, but somehow it sliced right between pretty much everyone standing in the penalty area before finally reaching Jan Gydesen, who had no problems with the finish. That seemed to have killed the spark in us. No matter what I tried in terms of tactics, I just couldn't get the players to pick themselves up and attack. That was quite a disappointing performance from us.

[Rikulec]

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

Superliga





We prove to be horribly inconsistent.

Lyngby seem to have become our most inexplicable bogey team. Last season they were the biggest surprise in the league and us struggling against them was perfectly normal, but this time they're having a nightmare and yet they looked like a team completely out of this world when we faced them. They simply kept the ball for the most of the game, not allowing us to create anything up front, and when the opportunity came up, they came at us. And of course with our luck one of these attacks had to turn out successful. In the 79th minute Jan Østergaard was set up one on one with Davi with a good through ball, his initial shot was denied by the post, but there was only one possible outcome to the rebound, especially with the awfully slow reaction of our defenders. A game to forget.

Shortly after getting knocked out of the cup by AaB, we faced a double header against them in the league. And the first of these games... well, you can all see the result and you can guess what happened. We just didn't show up. And the goals kept coming despite my best efforts to stop that. 16th minute, Troels Korsgaard, 1:0. 43rd minute, Jan Gydesen, 2:0. 84th minute, Franck Keita, 3:0. 87th minute, Troels Daucke, 4:0. Honestly I've never seen us play so bad before. To make things worse, pretty much all the hosts' attempts on goal ended up in the back of the net, sadly with some help of our goalkeeper.

The home game suddenly turned out to be a whole different story. Honestly, I barely changed anything. For some reason we came out of the dressing room with the intention to rip the opposition apart. And we all but did it - the AaB players seemed to have no idea what's going on a couple of times. In the 33rd minute a cross from Adamek was converted by Waters on his second attempt, the first bouncing off the post. We doubled our lead just two minutes later - after hitting a defender in the heels, the ball almost stopped 15 yards away from goal and Brinquedo got to it first, immediately launching an absolute thunderbolt that hit the roof of the net. The Brazilian doubled his goal tally in the 68th minute - Claus Hansen put a cross in, Waters headed it down and Brinquedo applied the calm finish to the move. Of course, what would a Hobro - AaB game be without a Jan Gydesen goal? The inevitable happened in the 89th minute, but it didn't matter much. We tore them to pieces.

The AGF clash was a classic tale of two halves. Before the break I was ready to give out travel refunds to our fans that decided to travel to the game - it was a horrendous show from both sides, almost nothing happened. Everything changed after the break when I decided that we should play narrower. Suddenly we started to create chance after chance and after wasting some good ones we finally got in front in the 67th minute. Martin Adamek played a powerful, drilled corner to the edge of the box and Jon Arne Prestegård scored with a beautiful first time effort. We continued to dominate the game, but in the 81st minute something absolutely inexplicable happened. I've conceded many dumb goals in this career, but this was something new - first we were attacking and everything was going well. Waters dragged a defender into the box, making space for an overlapping run from Øveraas, who received a good pass in acres of space... and went down injured. Without any contact with anyone. AGF's defender stopped the ball before it went out of play and launched a quick counter attack down the exposed flank. Eventually it was Morten Pedersen who stopped us from getting a deserved victory. Balls.

[Rikulec]

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

Superliga





Thanks to a solid month we build a good advantage over the 7th place going into the winter break.

We were absolutely unstoppable against FC København. We were even more dominant than in the home game against AaB last month. And if it wasn't for our incosistency in front of goal, the scoreline could have been absolutely humiliating for the visitors. We had already wasted a couple of good chances before Steffen Astrup put us in front in the 15th minute, converting a drilled cross from Kasper Zacho. We made it 2:0 just two minutes later. Martin Adamek played the ball to the right side of the box and Robbie Waters took not one, not two, but three attempts to finally get it past the goalkeeper and into the net. After only three minutes our celebrations were spoiled - Iliyan Angelov finished off a quick counter attack by getting past two defenders in the penalty area and unleashing a real thunderbolt right into the top corner. To make us look even more stupid, København equalised seconds before half time. A free kick arrived into the box, Fabián Sierra let off a scruffy shot, it took a deflection and made it past Davi. We were kicking ourselves at the break, we really should have held onto the lead. Luckily we had Waters. In the 63rd minute the Englishman received a diagonal pass from Brinquedo and scored with a powerful strike from just outside the area. And fifteen minutes later he completed his hat-trick - once again it was Adamek with the cross, only this time the right winger scored on his first try. And as I said, we could have scored more. It should have been ten.

Next up, Brøndby. God, how I hate it when the opposition are awared a free kick in the near proximity of our penalty area. It really seems to end up in the net more often than not. In the 30th minute Nik Marinov placed the ball 25 yards away from goal and unleashed what turned out to be their only shot on target in the whole game. But that was enough. Perfect upper 90, and huge amounts of frustration poured into our side. No matter what we tried, we simply couldn't find our way to equalise. Even though we were the better team, we lost a very important battle in our quest for the top six.

To finish the year, we travelled to top of the league OB. And it wasn't the best showing for the neutrals - 12 shots between both teams wouldn't really serve as an encouragement to watch it. For us, the most important part of this was horrible finishing from Martin Adamek - he could have easily won us the game single-handedly, but his shot attempts in seemingly easy situations were abysmal. And just as I thought we would leave the TRE-FOR Park with no goals, in the 92nd minute Zacho put in a deep cross from the right wing and Adamek applied just enough pressure on Mikkel Jørgensen to force him to score an own goal. Even though it was a late goal, OB launched a quick attack to try and equalise, luckily their attempt was denied by the post. Quite an optimistic way to round the year off.

[Rikulec]

I'd be a fool if I didn't go for it...

[Rikulec]

Let's see what comes out of this.

[Rikulec]

Oh **** off.

[Rikulec]

I'm not interested in sidestepping.

[Rikulec]

That probably puts an end to the saga. Two year extension and a nice wage rise from £2,2K to £3K per week.

[tyler16]

Haven't been posting much but following as always. Love how consistent and organized this thread is. A real treat to follow.

[Rikulec]

Haven't been posting much but following as always. Love how consistent and organized this thread is. A real treat to follow.

Thanks, that's a nice thing to hear. If only my players could be consistent as well...

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - January 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Transfers



Two in, two out. Nice profit made on Hansen.

Márcio - don't get me wrong, Robbie Waters is a decent player, but he simply lacks the quality needed to push the team to the next level. Márcio, on the other hand, looks like someone who could do exactly that.

Carlos Bergamin - for some reason I just believe he's much, much better than Hansen. Well, he certainly can't be much worse!

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - February 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Friendlies



Whatever, I'll take it.

Superliga





Mission accomplished with two games to go. The battle for Europe starts now.

In the AC Horsens game I was quite curious how the two now Brazilian stars were going to perform. Of course, Carlos Bergamin promptly went on and twisted his knee in the 25th minute, forcing me to replace him with Steffen Astrup. As for the match itself, it looked like it was going to be really tight from the beginning, but we went on to create advantage as the time passed. And in the 41st minute it was finally proven - Loïc Fischer put a cross in, aiming for Márcio on the near post, but the ball ended up hitting the visitors' defender Marco Grimaldi before rolling into the net. We didn't manage to hold onto the lead until the break though - we fell victim to an indirect free kick and a headed goal from Kasper Antonsen in injury time. In the second half we didn't keep the fans waiting too long - in the 51st minute Astrup played the ball out wide to Sverre Andre Øveraas and immediately ran into the box to receive a pinpoint cross from the Norwegian and knock the ball into the back of the net from just a few yards out. It wasn't without nerve, but we managed to carry the result to the final whistle.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - March 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





Things are certainly getting interesting.

Before we got to the championship group, we still needed to get two games out of our way. First up, FC Fredericia. And that was a horrible game of football - barely any highlights shown and both teams struggled massively to break through each other. And as it often happens in such cases, everything was settled by a set piece goal. In the 76th minute a corner arrived from the right and Nicolai Schmidt jumped the highest in the six yard box, heading the ball in off the crossbar. For the second time in a row we failed to score against Fredericia.

The early signs in the Nordsjælland game were really as good as it gets. In the 4th minute a gorgeous passing move ended with Márcio squaring the ball out to Steffen Astrup for a simple tap-in from close range. Just two minutes later we got two goals up - Jon Arne Prestegård played a wonderful through ball into the box and Brinquedo applied a powerful finish past the helpless goalkeeper. For quite some time things looked like we were going to give the opposition a proper beating, but despite our domination the goals didn't come. Finally a slip in concentration in the 79th minute allowed Nordsjælland back into the game when Juddy Kawaya received a pinpoint cross to score one of the easiest goals in his career. Suddenly we got nervous. And we fell victim to a counter attack in the 90th minute - Casper Bjerregaard received a pass in the corner of the box and unleashed a one-in-a-thousand shot, just out of reach for Davi and just inside the far post. No words can express how mad I was after letting that lead slip.

Honestly I didn't know what to expect from the championship group games. The OB clash was going to provide me with the first answer. And well, if it's anything to go by, things should go really well from now on. The players got on the pitch with true passion right from the beginning and the visitors simply had no means of responding to that. After some wasted opportunities we finally got in front in the 33rd minute when Lars Rønnow took a rather hopeful shot from just outside the box and ended up placing it perfectly at the near post. The left winger made it 2:0 just before the break, Sverre Andre Øveraas with his first assist of the afternoon. And not the last one - in the 66th minute he cleared the ball away and ended up setting Steffen Astrup running free on goal from the halfway line. The striker managed to fight off a defender attacking him from behind before applying a calm finish. Three minutes later it was all done and dusted - a hat-trick of assists for Øveraas complimented a hat-trick of goals for Rønnow. I wish we could play like this every week!

Next up, Midtjylland. On paper they seem to be the weakest team in the championship group. The way the match went pretty much confirmed that - it was a very confident performance from us, yet the first half ended goalless thanks to the poor quality of our finishing. The deadlock was finally broken in the 55th minute. Henrik Jensen played a nice chipped through ball into the area and Márcio got his first ever goal for the club, taking advantage of bad positioning from the goalkeeper. Eleven minutes later we dealt them the second blow. Øveraas added another assist to his tally, serving Martin Adamek with a fantastic cross that landed right on his head, and the Czech winger doubled our lead with some help from the crossbar. Two games, six goals scored, zero conceded. Could I have asked for more?

There is one thing I love about the side I've built - they always fight until the end. AaB are a really tough opponent for us and once again it showed. The intensity of the midfield battle in the first half was outrageous. The few highlights that were displayed showed teams giving away possession back and forth. And it was our defence that cracked - Øveraas commited a foul in the penalty box in the 66th minute, allowing Marcin Preizner to score from the spot. And from then on we fought even harder, something I couldn't even have imagined. We got the equaliser in the 75th minute - Loïc Fischer drilled a cross in from the left and Márcio smashed the ball in from point blank range. I knew there was still plenty of time for us to grab the winning goal, which we did - in the 92nd minute Brinquedo sent the fans mental by converting a fantastic square ball from Martin Adamek. If that run continues, who knows where we can get this season?

Youth Intake



Yup, there was an intake.

[Rikulec]

It would certainly be nice to celebrate that with a win.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





A lot of things can happen in the final three games.

The trip to Randers FC wasn't a very entertaining one for the neutrals. It was yet another case of a midfield battle that didn't really elect a winner. We started the game really well and got in front after just six minutes - Øveraas played a low ball into the box and Márcio squared it out to Astrup for an easy finish. We failed to establish domination after that start though and in the 43rd minute Kevin Totland grabbed an equaliser for the hosts, a counter attack and poor defensive positioning being our undoing. As I said, the second half wasn't a very eventful one and a draw is probably the most deserved result for both sides.

We had a wonderful chance of closing the gap between us and the leader to just one point. Condition? We had to beat them at their place. Remembering how our previous clashes with FC København went, I was carefully optimistic. We certainly stood a chance there. The first half seemed to prove that - after a good start from the hosts things quickly evened out, turning into an interesting two-way battle. Unfortunately it was them who managed to land a punch. Once again we fell victim to a counter attack and in the 65th minute Igor Pekic placed the ball in an empty net to finish off a quick attacking move from the defending champions. It wasn't over though - bringing on Rasmus Osmundsen and Carlos Bergamin really reignited the spark in our play. Finally we got presented with a wonderful opportunity to equalise - in the 78th minute Osmundsen got tripped from behind in the box... and Bergamin smashed the spot kick straight at the goalkeeper. Possibly ending our slim hopes for the most unlikely title.

The OB game was really a strange one. The first half was fairly even, with the hosts seeing more of the ball and looking slightly more dangerous up front. There was nothing that would really make our defence sweat though. And what happened just after the break probably shook the whole stadium in its foundation. Thirty seconds into the first half Carlos Bergamin finally scored his first goal for the club with a wonderful first time effort after a short pass from Brinquedo. Two minutes passed, and we got awarded a corner. Martin Adamek put the ball in, Ove Andreasen unleashed a wonderful header, but the defender standing on the line cleared it away... or did he? It turned out the ball had already crossed the line! 2:0 up, and suddenly we could grab control over things... but we didn't. In the 56th minute a goal from Jakob Rasmussen pushed me to the edge of my seat. The dying minutes of the game were a proper thunderstorm of attacks from OB, but somehow we managed to hold on. How important that win is, I can't stress it enough.

I was hoping for an easier one for a change when we hosted FC Midtjylland in what turned out to be my 700th game in management. Time flies by, eh? Thankfully that anniversary didn't seem to affect our performance. We simply went out and did the job. In the 29th minute Martin Adamek pretty much replicated Bergamin's goal from the previous game, only he did that even more beautifully. It was also the Czech winger who assisted Jon Arne Prestegård for the 2:0 goal in the 61st minute, finding the Norwegian in the box with a precisely taken corner. Second in the table, three games to go. Any wild guesses what's going to happen next? Because I won't hazard one.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - May 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





I just... I refuse to believe that it actually happened. Someone please wake me up.

We got off to a wonderful start away at AaB. In the 12th minute Sverre Andre Øveraas played a good cross to the far post and Martin Adamek headed it in from close range. In the 36th minute we doubled our lead - Márcio played yet another conscious square ball - that's slowly becoming his trademark - to Adamek, he got his shot saved by the goalkeeper, but the loose ball landed at the feet of Brinquedo, who knew exactly what to do with it. In our case though, going 2:0 up doesn't mean we're going to win. Remember my old friend from GIF Sundsvall, Lars Jacobsson? Well, guess who reduced our lead just three minutes after Brinquedo's goal. And guess who provided the assist for Marcin Preizner's equaliser in the 89th minute. As you will see, choking on two goal leads is going to become a recurring theme of the month...

But let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. First we had to get Randers FC out of our way. As it was the case a few times already in the championship group, this wasn't a beautiful game. We fell behind early on - in the 8th minute a good cross from the right wing landed at the feet of Danny Marques, who simply couldn't waste such an easy chance. And we looked... I don't know. Exhausted could be the word I'm looking for here. We simply lacked that creative spark when going forward. Still, we did manage to prevent the visitors from leaving our territory with full points. In the 58th minute a beautiful triangle move by Osmundsen, Adamek and Brinquedo was precisely finished off by the Brazilian. Not really much happened from then on. I guess we will have to take what we got.

FC København had a three point advantage over us going into the final day. We both had a goal difference of +14, which meant that a win would put us above them. To win the title, we also needed AaB to drop points away at Randers. 35 games of a solid, but not really spectacular season, and in the ultimate game I was presented with the opportunity to prove their board that choosing Lasse ****ing Mortensen over me was a huge mistake. And we couldn't have asked for a better start - in the 9th minute a wonderful through ball from Steffen Astrup reached Martin Adamek in the box and the winger placed it just inside the near post. I just knew this wasn't going to be your typical Sunday afternoon. The rest of the first half was just a game of set pieces - some uncomfortably near misses from København players, on the other hand of the pitch two headers from Ove Andreasen and Tor Gjertsen were denied by the crossbar and a goal-line clearance respectively. Half time, 1:0. We all but laid our hands on the trophy.

I can only imagine the scenes in the stands when Adamek doubled our lead in the 60th minute. Once again it was Márcio who delivered an absolutely wonderful ball, making the finish as easy as it gets. Could I have completed the challenge already? Could København's 22-year uninterrupted domination finally come to an end? With thirty minutes to go, it was looking more and more likely to happen, especially as Randers were comfortably 3:1 up against AaB, denying them their slim chance of throwing their name into the hat. But the wake-up call was brutal - a wonderfully taken corner and a powerful header from Iliyan Angelov in the 63rd minute reminded us who exactly we were trying to overthrow. And ten minutes later the crowd's roaring turned into terrifying silence. A cross from the right wing nodded on. Sindre Ørstavik. 2:2. The visitors were back on top. And we had nothing to lose - we simply threw everything forward. With Randers in front in their game, we weren't going to get into 2nd anyway, so that didn't matter. And the goal came in the 93rd minute. But it wasn't a goal for us. Casper Lerche's header following Ørstavik's cross was the final blow. The final kick to the nuts after we got so, so close to defying all odds. Unbelievable.

[Parsypuss]

So close. Next year is your year (spoken like a true Liverpool fan)

[Rikulec]

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

Superliga

Results (preliminary phase) - Results (championship group)

Competition Performance: 3rd

If you had told me before the season that we'd finish 3rd, I'd take that. But with the way the final day went, I just can't be happy. I can't shake the thought that the main reason why we did so well was the huge number of points dropped by the other teams. Still, we're in Europe, so all in all this probably was a good campaign.

DBU Pokalen

Competition Performance: Fourth Round

We comfortably got past three lower league sides before crashing out to AaB in a rather unlucky fashion. I'd fancy us to do better than that.

Squad

Constantly developing. I'm happy with the way we're improving without dishing out crazy amounts of money. That's definitely the route I'm going to follow.

Transfers - Finances

The transfers we made were nowhere near as good as those of the previous season, but still I think we managed to increase the overall quality of the squad. The quest for a striker still continues though - the two I brought in only scored one goal each. We did make a nice profit on Hansen though, which is good.

We need Europe and we need it quite desperately. We're just too small a club to sustain such a wage bill, which is still rather low compared to those of our league rivals. Some long term development plan is needed here.

Player of the Season

1st - Brinquedo - this guy just doesn't disappoint. He had some injury problems in his first few months, but when he got that sorted out, he made all the difference, becoming an absolutely key player for the side. His powerful left-footers are simply a joy to watch.

2nd - Ove Andreasen - as soon as I brought him to GIF Sundsvall, I knew he was going to be great. And when I took him with me back to his home country, he's become one of the best central defenders in the league. His attributes speak for themselves - there's just no beating him in the air.

3rd - Márcio - let's just pray to God I can make his move permanent in the summer. In less than half a year he improved the quality of our attack by a mile. We're looking at another potential star here.

Next Season

After what I believe to be a season of overachievement, we should concentrate on consolidating in the top six. I'd also like us to get into the Europa League group stage.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2041/42 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Board Expectations:

Superliga: Reach Championship Group

DBU Pokalen: Fourth Round

UEFA Europa League: Third Qualifying Roumd

My Expectations:

Superliga: Consolidate in the top six, get Europe.

DBU Pokalen: Not important.

UEFA Europa League: We could do with the money from qualifying for the group stage.

Budgets:

Transfer: £184,181

Wage: £105,821 (currently spending £84,499)

Balance: £1,924,519

[Rikulec]

So close. Next year is your year (spoken like a true Liverpool fan)

Here's hoping!

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2041/42 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Friendlies



Happy with the Bournemouth result.

Transfers



I might have got a bit carried away... and it turns out we still need a right back.

Danny Munganga - I might have overpaid a bit for this one, but we have a potentially decent central defender with good personality.

Roar Norbye - with this one, on the other hand, I'm really happy. For a bargain price we got a quality winger, who can also cover the striker spot if necessary.

Casper Dahlsen - replacing Prestegård, a typical playmaker, with Dahlsen, a ball winner, is probably the best description of the way I want to change our midfield this season.

Torben Fischer - a holding midfielder to play in the DM slot. Quite a good player to snap up on a free transfer.

Niall Keogh - and an even better one here. Massive, massive improvement on Loic Fischer, and despite his age I didn't hesitate for a moment before signing him. Pure quality.

Murilo - yet another attempt at finding a striker... that quickly turned into an attempt to replace Márcio, whom we didn't manage to hold onto.

Blessing Tlolane - the reason why Murilo is going to become a winger. I couldn't resist such an opportunity.

Kenneth Nhlapo - with the fixture congestion we're likely to be dealing with, we simply need numbers in midfield. Great ability and heaps of potential come as a bonus.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - July 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superligaen





Really should have been six points.

We couldn't have got off to a better start, playing away at newly promoted FC Roskilde. And Roar Norbye couldn't have started his adventure at Hobro with a better performance. He started the show in the 3rd minute, getting himself fouled in the penalty box before converting the spot kick himself. We doubled our lead fifteen minutes later. Senad Shtrepi floated a cross towards the far post and Brinquedo ran at his top speed to reach the ball before the byline and score from a tight angle. In the 27th minute Norbye got his second - Robbie Waters had his shot saved by the goalkeeper, but the Norwegian's rebound was unstoppable. 3:0 and cruising at half time - I can't say I was expecting that! The second 45 minutes were simply the confirmation of our domination. In the 56th minute Waters managed to grab a goal for himself, converting Norbye's square ball that somehow went through a defender's legs. That defender was Mzwandile Zhane and that wasn't the worst thing he did on that afternoon - thirteen minutes later another cross by Norbye bounced off his legs and landed in the net. Poor guy. I can't say I'm unhappy about the result though!

In our first home league game of the season we hosted AaB, a team I don't really enjoy playing against. The first half wasn't very enjoyable for the fans either - apart from one visitors' attempt stopped by Davi and one shot from Blessing Tlolane denied by the post, pretty much nothing interesting happened. Things got going after the break. In the 48th minute a cross from Murilo reached Tlolane, he got past a defender before launching a shot that was saved by the goalkeeper, but our new striker managed to pounce on the rebound and put us in front. That seemed to have calmed us down and put us in control... right until the 72nd minute. What looked like a defensive communication error allowed Branislav Isailovic to score from close range after a drilled cross from the right. To make everything much worse, nine minutes later Tlolane got stretchered off and we had no subs left. Post-match diagnosis? Torn hamstring, 2-3 months out. Balls.

[Dexter_Morgan]

For a club you claim are in a mess I think you're doing a good job so far I'm glad you didn't get the Kobenhavn job as winning the title with Hobro will be fantastic achievement if you manage it

[Rikulec]

For a club you claim are in a mess I think you're doing a good job so far I'm glad you didn't get the Kobenhavn job as winning the title with Hobro will be fantastic achievement if you manage it

Thanks. I wouldn't say we're in a mess anymore, the cash injection we received from the new chairman really was a turning point. We'd struggle to stay up without that, we got pushed to a whole new level in terms of finances and the quality of players we were able to bring in. We're already making good profit on the bargains I've managed to find and sign, which is something I always aim for. And yeah, moving to Kobenhavn would probably be taking the easy route. I'm starting to get attached to what I've built here.

[Rikulec]

København were really getting frustrated...

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - August 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





I don't even...

First off, we came up against OB and completely blew them off the pitch. More specifically, it was Brinquedo who did it almost single-handedly. He opened the scoreline in the 12th minute, smashing the ball just under the crossbar from a tight angle after a blocked header by Niall Keogh. Our Brazilian midfielder doubled our lead six minutes later, finishing off a gorgeous passing move by placing the ball right in the upper 90 after receiving a through pass from Murilo. We made it 3:0 in less than sixty seconds after that - Brinquedo provided the assist this time, squaring the ball out to Robbie Waters for an easy tap-in. Then we let the foot off the gas, slowly moving the ball around, pretty much waiting for the final whistle. Still, we found just enough will to score once again - and again it was the Brinquedo-Waters duo that found the way past the goalkeeper, again it was a classy pass from the Brazilian and a good finish from the Englishman. That was a wonderful performance from all our players.

A week later we were hosting Lyngby, a team I've had some difficulty with in the past. This time though it was smooth sailing from the beginning right until the end. We got off to a flying start, getting in front in the 9th minute - Brinquedo played a sensational 40-yard, Iniesta-esque pass to Waters, his shot was saved by the goalkeeper, but Murilo was exactly where he needed to be in order to pounce on the rebound. The fans didn't have to wait too long for another goal as we doubled our lead after five minutes, this time it was Kenneth Nhlapo with a fantastic finish after a rather lucky case of a clearance attempt hitting one of our players in the head before falling to the South African's feet. Surprisingly enough, Nhlapo - a defensive-minded midfielder, mind - made it 3:0 in the 46th minute, somehow squeezing the ball into the net from a tight angle, Torben Fischer with the assist. Another easy win for us, we were off to a really good start in the league.

Speaking of wonderful starts, we managed to score against FC Midtjylland in the 15th second of the game - Roar Norbye found just enough space on the left wing to put in a cross and Steffen Astrup headed the ball past the helpless goalkeeper. Even if the hosts had started the match motivated, that hit certainly discouraged them. As a result, we had very little trouble with maintaining control over things for the remainder of the 90 minutes of football. Our second goal came in the 45th minute. We created advantage in the final third with a quick attack and made use of that as Casper Dahlsen squared the ball out for Brinquedo to score at the near post. Done and dusted.

AC Horsens with their tycoon owner could have been a bit tougher. And that's exactly what they turned out to be - just a bit more difficult than our previous opponents. For the great majority of the first half they did very well, holding us off and turning the whole match into a tough midfield battle. Only they forgot about the quality of our midfielders. We finally took advantage of that in the 43rd minute - Brinquedo brilliantly found the tiniest pathway between their defensive lines to play a pass to Roar Norbye, who put us in front with a powerful finish. The second half was mostly about not allowing the opposition anywhere near our goal, which we succeeded in. And in the 82nd minute we hit them on the break, Christian Kristensen with a clever long pass and Murilo with a good strike in a one-on-one situation. So far, so good.

FC København. The game we've all been waiting for. Prior to that clash they had won all six of their league games, while we slipped up once against AaB. They were going to be the real test of our quality and team cohesion. And we did bloody pass that test. The opening minutes were rather nervy with both sides, neither of them managing to take real advantage. But it turned out that we really have some decisive players in our ranks. The 17th minute was a true masterpiece from the incredible Brinquedo - 25 yards out, the ball on his left foot, a strike without any hesitation - and he scored an absolute thunderbolt that went in off the crossbar, think Tony Yeboah. And just six minutes later we were 2:0 up - Murilo played a through ball alongside the left flank, Norbye drilled a cross towards the far post and Waters was there to apply the finish. Ten minutes later he got stretchered off with a broken leg, which was quite a blow for us as it made our team relatively unbalanced. And we failed to maintain concentration after the break - in the 46th minute København got back into the game thanks to Mads Søgård's goal. The old demons were awoken. Yet despite their storm of attacks, we somehow managed to hold onto the incredibly valuable lead. This could turn out to be a massive result at the end of the season.

Unsurprisingly, the Vestsjælland game played the following weak was nowhere near as intense. Still, their resistance was much more difficult to break down than I had expected. We had more shots and more possession, but the quality of our finishing wasn't as good as before and we struggled to create real clear cut chances. Luckily we managed to tip the scales our way. In the 46th minute a cross from Brinquedo was cleared away... well, almost. The ball bounced off Astrup and landed at the feet of Norbye, who knew exactly what to do with it. Well, they say that's how you know a classy team - by their ability to scrape wins in games like this.

Europa League



A classic tale of two legs.

We really should have got a much better result from the home game. There's no point in me listing all the chances we wasted - the 9.3 rating for their goalkeeper Rishendes Craane really says it all. Even worse, in the 35th minute we allowed PSV to hit us on the break and Ralph van Nuland gave tham a rather undeserved lead. Luckily that didn't last very long, in the 43rd minute Steffen Astrup took advantage of a lucky deflection following an indirect free kick and placed the ball in an empty net. Still, a 1:1 draw wasn't the best result to take to the Netherlands.

And that got proven really quickly as we found ourselves 2:0 down after just 15 minutes of the return leg. First Thomas de Koning opened the scoreline with a gorgeous top corner effort following some chaos in the penalty area after a corner, and then Levi Schilder went on a mazy run, pretty much going around our defenders before slotting the ball past Davi, finding the tiniest bit of space at the near post. We got back into the game in the 33rd minute - Waters found Murilo in the box with a good pass and the Brazilian knew exactly how to approach the finish. Still, PSV dominated us, probably even more than we dominated them in the first leg. Two goals from Michael Clement in the 36th and 50th minute served as proof for that. Kenneth Nhlapo making it 4:2 in the 72nd minute from Roar Norbye's pass was the only bright moment remaining for us that evening. What a letdown it was.

Transfers

Matty Sumpter - a direct, short-term replacement for Øveraas comes in for a year-long loan.

[Rikulec]

A well deserved Player of the Month award for one of our Brazilian stars.

[Bobsled]

Ah too bad about that result in Europe. On the bright side, with Europe out of the way and this start to the league, who knows what is possible this year.

[Rikulec]

Ah too bad about that result in Europe. On the bright side, with Europe out of the way and this start to the league, who knows what is possible this year.

Our lack of final product really came back to bite us in the arse in the return leg. As for the league, I can't really complain about the start we made!

[glennuk]

Sheer class - KUTGW - hoping you can be the minnows to take the league - ala Leicester (I hope)

[Rikulec]

Sheer class - KUTGW - hoping you can be the minnows to take the league - ala Leicester (I hope)

Thanks, let's all hope so!

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - September 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





Not unbeaten anymore.

Don't let the Nordsjælland result mislead you. All they managed during the whole game was just one shot. Our domination was undisputed, yet for some time we were unsure about the potential outcome of the match. Once again we got off to a wonderful start - in the 1st minute a beautiful counter attack was finished off by a classy strike from Murilo, Kenneth Mhlapo with the assist. The lead only lasted for ten minutes - it was Tarik Yağci who took advantage of our poor defensive positioning and a good through ball. Luckily one of our numerous attacking move finally turned out successful in the 63rd minute. Steffen Astrup received a short pass from Christian Kristensen, turned around and unleashed a wonderfully placed strike from just inside the penalty box. It took more uncertainity than it should have, but we got the result we wanted.

Something horribly wrong seems to have happened to our defending. Against FC Fredericia we fell behind as soon as in the 5th minute - Martin Nielsen let off a shot from 20 yards out and beat Davi with some help from a lucky deflection. The equaliser came in the 21st minute. A cross from Niall Keogh reached Murilo on the far post and the Brazilian had no trouble slotting the ball home. In the 35th minute we grabbed the lead - Murilo went on a wonderful run, getting past two defenders before reaching the byline and laying the ball out for Astrup to smash it in with a nice half-volley. That didn't last long though - in the 44th minute a near post corner was finished off by Alex Sandro to bring things back level. We still managed to get back into the lead before half time and it was Murilo with the goal again, taking advantage of not one, but two miserably failed clearance attempts from Fredericia defence. Don't even ask. The second half was nowhere near as eventful, but as we were starting to think we would carry the lead until the final whistle, in the 85th minute Pinga denied us that. Ugh.

The AGF game was smooth sailing for a change. We had to wait until the 36th minute for the opening goal. Lars Rønnow somehow found the tiniest gap between the visitors' defenders to let off a wonderful pass to Astrup, who calmly slotted the ball in the far bottom corner. Rønnow also grabbed a goal for himself just after the break, somehow beating the goalkeeper with a rather scruffy shot after cutting inside, Nhlapo with the assist with a nice through ball. The AGF goalkeeper clearly wasn't at his best on that day - in the 70th minute he failed to hold onto an outrageous 20-yard header from Torben Fischer, allowing Astrup to double his goal tally in a very easy situation.

We were so horribly helpless against Brøndby, I can't stress that enough. We fell behind to a rather hopeful strike from Igor Nikitovic in the very first minute of the confrontation. 20 yards out, cutting inside, perfect upper 90 - I bet he wouldn't be able to replicate that. That goal really set the pace for the remainder of the game. In the 19th minute their second attacking attempt turned into the second goal, this time it was Per Ellegaard on the scoresheet, rebounding his own strike after a deep free kick. We got back into the game thanks to a blistering counter attack in the 35th minute and a calm finish from Brinquedo, but the 3:1 goal came before the break, Lance Ntombela finishing off a nice passing move. In the second half Brøndby shut up shop and we couldn't break through them no matter what, resulting in almost no highlights at all. Well, maybe if it hadn't been for that early goal...

DBU Pokalen



Any other result would have been a huge disappointment.

Things went really smooth against a Bet25 Liga side SønderjyskE. We got the lead in the 10th minute of the game. Murilo's cross from the right wing was deflected by the goalkeeper exactly where Steffen Astrup was making a hopeful late run. That was a very easy goal for the Dane. We doubled that just two minutes later - a shot from Lars Rønnow was denied by a wonderful save from the hosts' goalkeeper, but the rebound from Christian Kristensen was way out of anyone's reach and finally went in off the crossbar. The only real setback was a goal from Vitaly Kovalev in the 40th minute, Franco Maspero at fault for failing to intercept a cross. After the break we added two more goals to prove our domination. In the 55th minute a drilled cross from Roar Norbye was finished off by Murilo. And eleven minutes later Norbye got a goal for himself, getting past two defenders and unleashing an absolutely unstoppable effort when one on one with the goalkeeper.

In the next round we're facing a 2. Division side B 93.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - October 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





We seem to have slowed down, but the points are still coming.

I was full of doubt entering the Randers game, not only because of our defeat to Brøndby, but also because they are simply a strong opponent, especially at their place. And the scoreline can be really misleading. The hosts had the advantage in the first half and we were lucky not to fall behind. It took us really long to get into the game properly. Luckily once we did, we were ruthless. In the 57th minute a quick counter attack - that's slowly becoming our trademark, think Mourinho's Real Madrid - resulted in Roar Norbye delivering a perfect drilled cross to the feet of Steffen Astrup waiting on the edge of the six yard box. Astrup left the pitch ten minutes later, getting replaced by Lars Rønnow. And the new player on the pitch only needed sixty seconds to mark his presence, playing a beautiful one-two with Brinquedo before slotting the ball home with a powerful effort. And of course Brinquedo also had to score himself - in the 81st minute he scored with a powerful effort from just inside the box, Norbye with his second assist of the day. Huge, huge sigh of relief.

Next up, AaB. The opening twenty minutes were simply disastrous for us. We found ourselves on the back foot right from the first kick of the game and in the 11th minute a goal from Troels Korsgaard put the hosts in front, shortly followed by another goal from Branislav Isailovic. Five minutes and some tactical changes later we finally got back into the fight. Roar Norbye played a wonderful drilled cross into the area, aiming for the far post, and Murilo was there to tap the ball into the net from close range. This visibly boosted our confidence and we didn't have to wait long for the equaliser. In the 36th minute a cross from Niall Keogh landed on the head of Steffen Astrup, who had no trouble slotting it home with a gorgeous header. You'd think that we would be able to follow up on that after the break, but despite being the better team and creating chances, we couldn't tip the scales our way. Damn AaB stopping us once again!

Having beaten FC Roskilde 5:0 at their place in the first game of the season, I was approaching the home match with justified confidence. And the players just about went out and did the job. Everything was finished after the first 45 minutes really. The opening goal came in the 13th minute, Brinquedo powerfully heading the ball in after a cross from Murilo. And the latter of the Brazilians was just starting his show, it turned out. In the 23rd minute he found himself on the end of Keogh's cross to double our lead. Thirteen minutes later he struck again, Astrup with a nice through ball to assist him this time. The visitors responded with a goal from Levent Özdemir in the 39th minute, but still before the break Murilo's hat-trick was completed, once again it was Keogh who provided the final pass. The second half was much more calm and not really much happened on the pitch. Most importantly, we did the job.

We rounded off the month in the league with a home game against a struggling OB side. Once again we set the pace rather quickly - in the 6th minute a truly perfect cross from Norbye found Murilo unmarked at the far post. Sixteen minutes later the Norwegian got his second assist of the day, this time the ball landed on the head of Kenneth Nhlapo. In the 48th minute Astrup added another goal, taking advantage of a lucky deflection following Norbye's loss of possession in the penalty area. Of course things couldn't have gone so smoothly. In the 70th minute a slip of concentration turned out very costly for us, Alves the happy scorer. Or maybe not so happy. I don't know.

DBU Pokalen



Another obstacle is out of our way.

We took surprisingly long to properly get into that game. It wasn't exactly the walk in the park I had expected, but in the end we got the scoreline we wanted. The opening goal came in the 25th minute. Christian Kristensen carried the ball all the way to the left wing before finally passing it to Murilo, who knew exactly what to do. And once this guy gets started, there's no stopping him. Two more goals from our Brazilian wonder in the 39th and 46th minute served as perfect proof to this. Even more importantly for me personally, Blessing Tlolane finally made his return from the hamstring injury and marked his return with a goal in the 69th minute, of course it couldn't have been anyone else than Murilo with the assist. In the end we disposed of the lower league side easily enough.

In the Quarter Final we travel to a Bet25 Liga team Avarta.

[Rikulec]

These guys are just something else.



Norbye may not be the most spectacular of our players, but he does a shedload of work on the pitch and I'm happy to see that it has been appreciated.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - November 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





The task of qualifying for the championship group has been fulfilled.

First up, FC Midtjylland. The scoreline would suggest a proper shootout, but in reality we were easily the better team on the pitch, it was lack of concentration and some luck on the visitors' part that allowed them to get these goals. But, let's not preceed facts. The scoring began in the 28th minute. A cross came in from the right, Casper Dahlsen got his head to it, the goalkeeper made a dive, but Steffen Astrup cleverly deflected the ball past him to snatch a goal for himself. Ten minutes later the Danish striker doubled his goal tally, calmly converting a square ball from Brinquedo. We made it 3:0 still before the break, this time thanks to Murilo rebounding Brinquedo's strike saved by the goalkeeper. Our domination was undisputed, but in the 54th minute Sergio Vlijter got away from his marker before unleashing a hopeful shot from outside the box that made its way past Davi and into the net. We responded with a third goal from Astrup in the 75th minute - a powerful strike that went in off the crossbar - but it was Vlijter who had the final say, giving Midtjylland a small moment of cheer in stoppage time.

Lyngby... I have no idea what happened there. I can only guess that we simply didn't turn up. It was a Belgian striker Jelle De Vos who did us all the harm, scoring in the 3rd and 18th minute, exploiting gaps in our defensive ranks on both occasions. Murilo restored some hope in our hearts four minutes after their second goal, consciously rebounding a blocked shot by Norbye, but that was it. We were simply helpless in our attempts to get through their tight defence, and six yellow cards shown to our players are probably the best proof of their frustration. We just didn't work.

Vestsjælland, on the other hand, was a game that reminded me of August. It was by far our best performance since that wonderful run of form. 21 shots to their 3, 12 on target to their 1. We just wiped them off the pitch. The first goal came in the 22nd minute. Roar Norbye surprised anyone by aiming his corner for the edge of the box, exactly where Murilo was waiting to put us in front with an absolute thunderbolt of a shot that went in just under the crossbar. The Norwegian also grabbed a goal for himself six minutes later, placing the ball in an empty net after one of their defenders' sliding tackle on Astrup. For the third goal we had to wait until the 60th minute, and it was quite a funny one. A quick counter attack ended with Brinquedo facing the goalkeeper, he took a shot, it got saved... but three deflections later the ball rolled back to his feet, and this time he was ruthless. Finally, just as stoppage time was about to start, in the 90th minute Blessing Tlolane made it 4:0, also rebounding his own shot after a perfect cross from Murilo.

We ended the month with a tough trip to AC Horsens. The first half was exactly what I expected it to be - a midfield battle with no real winner. Neither team managed to build real advantage before the break. But in the dressing room I made a wonderful decision of replacing Torben Fischer with Kenneth Nhlapo. Seven minutes after entering the pitch, the South African rebounded a shot from Dahlsen from a tight angle to put us in front. And in the 74th minute he led a wonderful counter attack, carrying the ball for some 70 yards before laying it out to Astrup for a simple finish. I'm really happy with the result, it wasn't an easy game.

[Rikulec]

No surprises here.

[lewis999]

Just spent the last couple of hours reading from the start. Quite new to the updates part of the forum. Hoping to start my own journeyman career this evening. Not sure if I just want to start anywhere and progress as and when or a specific challenge. I can't think of any.

[Rikulec]

Just spent the last couple of hours reading from the start. Quite new to the updates part of the forum. Hoping to start my own journeyman career this evening. Not sure if I just want to start anywhere and progress as and when or a specific challenge. I can't think of any.

If you're looking for an idea, you can always pop into the Challenges, Sign-Ups & Experiments forum.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - December 2041 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





Ooft. The winter break couldn't have come at a better moment.

The København game... well, it wasn't a thriller, to say the least. And yet we managed to edge it past them. The only highlight shown in the first half was the most glorious one I could have hoped for - in the 8th minute Kenneth Nhlapo found Murilo in some space on the right wing with a long pass, the Brazilian put in a cross and Roar Norbye gave us the lead with a close range shot. And then... nothing. Almost for the whole game, nothing. Seconds before the final whistle København got the chance to equalise, but Tor Gjertsen blocked their striker with a wonderful last ditch challenge. What a massive result for us.

Nordsjælland... I don't know what happened. The simplest explanation would be the fact that I had to rest a few players after the previous game, including Andreasen, Dahlsen and Norbye. And it didn't work too well for us. In the 10th minute Richard Otoo put the hosts in front and fourteen minutes later Tarik Yağci doubled their lead, both goals coming from silly defensive mistakes from Kasper Zacho and Tor Gjertsen respectively. I made a triple substitution at half time, bringing on the players I've mentioned at the start. In the 55th minute we got back into the game - Norbye aimed a cross for the far post and Murilo managed to put the ball into the back of the net. Unfortunately, just five minutes later Juddy Kawaya made it 3:1, some horrendous marking from Zacho again. We managed to score in the 67th minute, and it was one of the funniest goals I've scored on this game - Gjertsen received the ball with his back to goal and three defenders near him after a corner and decided to turn and shoot. It would have gone wide of the target, but instead a really powerful strike hit Richard Otoo right in the face, which sent it into the net. We didn't manage to equalise though. Trouble up ahead?

We had the advantage. Fredericia had Alex Sandro. While our players, especially Murilo, struggled - and eventually failed - to get their shots on target, the visitors' striker did it three times in the 45th, 52nd and 64th minute. Our defending was simply miserable. I don't want to talk about that game. Bring on the winter break.

[Rikulec]

Manager of the Year.

[Rikulec]

And even more awards.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - January 2042 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Transfers



Three out, two in, profit made.

Christopher Usman - the right back we needed so desperately. Some fantastic mental and physical attributes on this guy, I'm happy to have bought him so cheaply.

Kevin Arnesen - for this one, on the other hand, I might have slightly overpaid. I still believe he's an improvement on Gjertsen though.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - February 2042 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Friendlies



We had some fun in Spain.

Superliga





Good enough for a start.

It took us a while to get into the game properly. There was a large amount of time with no highlights shown at all, but in the 33rd minute we finally managed to break through AGF's tight defence. Blessing Tlolane received a pass with his back turned to goal, played it on to Murilo, and the Brazilian scored the first goal of the year with a precise finish in a one on one situation. The second goal came in the 55th minute. Roar Norbye flicked a corner into the box, Ove Andreasen nodded it on and Kevin Arnesen smashed the ball into the net from close range, marking his debut nicely. AGF were simply too weak to fight back, though six yellow cards shown to our players probably indicate how we were stopping them at times.

[Rikulec]

This could be a problem.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - March 2042 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





Let's just not get carried away yet.

The Randers game was simply a horror showing. If we could hand out ticket rewards, we probably would. The match turned out to be the most horrible case of nothing happening on the pitch at all. And yet we still managed to scrape an extremely important victory there. In the 70th minute a conscious square pass from Roar Norbye was perfectly finished off by Steffen Astrup, and seven minutes later the Norwegian winger received a powerful drilled cross from Christopher Usman on the right wing and sent it flying into the back of the net with an even more powerful strike. We can struggle in the midfield battles at times, but when we turn up our play, we're simply a joy to watch. So much class in our front line, that's unbelievable.

Of course we had to somehow compensate for that horrible borefest. And we took the first chance to do this against Brøndby. As it usually happens when we come up against them, we fell behind early on - in the 5th minute Lance Ntombela put the hosts in front after a corner. This time though we managed to equalise just four minutes later. Usman brilliantly picked out a late run from Brinquedo by a fantastic cross and the Brazilian knew exactly where that ball should go. From then on we looked like following up on that and in the 24th minute we finally did. Roar Norbye played a soft, floated cross and Murilo outjumped his marker to head it in. Still, it wasn't us who were in the lead at the half hour mark - goals from Matías Bottoni and Nik Marinov meant that we were trailing once again, and this carried on to the break. And we needed only 40 seconds of the second half to equalise again - Murilo returned the favour by serving Norbye with a wonderful cross that was converted with a well aimed header. Five minutes later we got back in front, our central defence pairing at work - Ove Andreasen nodded a cross on and Kevin Arnesen got his second goal for the club. The final goal of the game came in the 66th minute and it was Norbye for the second time, this time slide-tackling the ball past the line after a good cross from Usman. Usman, who promptly got himself sent off right after the kick-off. We tightened up and ensured that nothing would get past our defensive ranks.

Ove Andreasen doesn't just stop at assists. In the 18th minute of the Vestsjælland game he received another perfect cross from a corner taken by Brinquedo, but this time he decided to take matters into his own hands and headed the ball past the helpless goalkeeper. That goal established our advantage on the pitch, an advantage we simply weren't going to give away. In the 69th minute Brinquedo grabbed a goal for himself, finishing off a quick counter attack with a calm and precise effort in a one on one situation, Murilo with the assist. And of course the winger didn't stop there - in the 81st minute he also managed to find the back of the net, converting a nice through ball from Kenneth Nhlapo. I wish all our games would be as easy as this one! The only problem was that we lost Niall Keogh to a broken collarbone.

Just ten days after our previous confrontation we faced Brøndby once again. And, as you've probably guessed after looking at the scoreline, it was a whole different game of football. The only goal was scored in the 25th minute. Blessing Tlolane took all the defenders' attention on himself before laying out a pass to Nhlapo, who gave us the lead with a precise effort from 20 yards out. It was us who were generally the better team, we had our chances to extend the lead, but a good performance from the hosts' goalkeeper Andreas Wrangel reduced their damages to a minimum. It doesn't matter really. I'll happily take the 1:0.

A win against Randers would have extended our advantage over them to fifteen points. Fifteen. Points. Just let that sink in for a moment, and then find out that we failed to record a single shot on target. In fact, we've only recorded two shots at all. I have no idea whether that could have been caused by Davi's injury mentioned in the post above, but we looked extremely shaky as a team. We weren't a unit on the pitch. Randers did their job in the 43rd minute. Casper Dahlsen gave away a really unnecessary foul in the box and Sladjan Bubanj performed the execution from the spot. Well, I guess that means we're not walking the league that easily.

DBU Pokalen



It took us longer than it should have.

With the cup game thrown in the middle of a fixture cluster, it should be no surprise to you that I decided to rest our most important players. And it turned out that Avarta were really looking to take advantage of that. They came at us right from the beginning, hitting us with everything they got, and in the 10th minute Armin Sakic gave them the lead after receiving a low cross from the left wing. Luckily we managed to hit them on the break not long after - in the 21st minute Steffen Astrup received a wonderful pass from Brinquedo and equalised with a classy near post finish. That finally balanced things out, yet we still struggled to build the advantage in the way we usually do. And so, the hosts managed to take the game into extra time. And that was when we finally got at them properly. In the 95th minute Robbie Waters celebrated his return from injury in the most glorious way, converting an inch perfect cross from Roar Norbye. It was also the Englishman who made it 3:1 eight minutes later, rebounding the ball after Astrup's cross bounced off the crossbar. The final goal was scored by Kenneth Nhlapo in the 114th minute, Astrup with his second assist of the day.

In the two-legged Semi Final we'll come up against AC Horsens.

[Rikulec]

This really couldn't have fallen on a better game.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2042 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





Why do we always have to make it so hard for ourselves?!

The trip to FC Fredericia was always going to be an extremely tough and even game. And of course, what would a Fredericia game be for us if we didn't allow Alex Sandro to score? At least we got that out of the way in the 15th minute, which meant we could finally get down to business. Five minutes later Murilo got dispossessed in the box following a cross from Roar Norbye, which resulted in the ball rolling to the feet of Steffen Astrup, who knew exactly what to do with it. In the 40th minute we grabbed the lead - Brinquedo played in a clever, quick cross from a free kick and Ove Andreasen outjumped everyone around him to get a header just out of goalkeepers' reach. And three minutes later we landed another punch. Once again it was Brinquedo with the assist, this time a very conscious square ball to Norbye, who found himself in the simplest of situations just a couple of yards away from goal. After the break we slowed down significantly, thinking that would be enough to control the game. A goal from Oliveira in the 86th minute seemed to deny that, but luckily we managed to hold onto an extremely valuable result.

These FC København games aren't nearly as intense now, given that they're not even our main title rival this season. Still, every match in the Championship Group is important. Once again though, this one wasn't the most entertaining for the neutral fans... at least until the 60th minute. Things really got going when Brinquedo received a square pass from Astrup and scored from the middle of the box. The hosts equalised just six minutes later through Casper Lerche, and further ten minutes after that Igor Pekic got them in front, Ole Sørensen at fault for a rather sloppy save attempt. Luckily that wasn't all the game had to offer. In the 85th minute Robbie Waters pulled away from a defender on the right wing with the ball and put in a deep cross towards Roar Norbye. The Norwegian unleashed a pretty hopeful shot from a tight angle... and somehow got it in! I'm really happy not to have lost my 100th game in charge of Hobro.

Vestsjælland was a rather weird game. The statistics describe it as quite even, with both teams having their opportunities, but in fact ours were much better and with better finishing we really should have won that much more convincingly. Instead, we kept wasting even the simplest of chances, Murilo blasting the ball into row Z from like five yards out being the particular highlight. We got away with that this time though - in the 89th minute the hosts' midfielder David Bures decided to do our job for us and placed the ball in his own net after a cheeky cross from Brinquedo, with some pressure from Kenneth Nhlapo. At this point I don't care about style at all. I'll just take the points and go home.

Brøndby. There it was. Our first chance to mathematically clinch the title. The condition was simple - win, and it's ours. Of course, we could also hope that Randers would drop points in their game, which eventually didn't happen. As for our performance... well, we simply lacked the final product. We managed to break through the visitors' defenders a couple of times, yet nobody managed to tip the scales our way by placing the ball in the net. The best actor of the performance was Brinquedo, spraying key passes like a machine, which shot his rating all the way up to 8.9. And it was Brinquedo who gave away a silly penalty in the very final seconds of stoppage time. Igor Nikitovic placed the ball on the spot and ruthlessly performed the execution. No big deal though, we still had a seven point advantage with just three games to go.

The home Fredericia game... happened. And not much more can be said about it. Yup, it was that kind of 0:0. Nothing to see here, move on. Oh, and Randers won their fourth game in a row. Five points. Two games.

DBU Pokalen



We brought it on ourselves.

When you keep fielding a second choice squad in the cup games, where is the limit? Well, AC Horsens showed us that it was going to be the Semi Final. Putting much more emphasis on the league, I rested almost all of our most important players and hoped that the reserves would do the job. They didn't. In the 7th minute Batuhan Zengin put the visitors in front, converting a nice cross from the left wing. Horsens went on to build some optical advantage on the pitch, but in the 35th minute we caught them on the break. We won the ball close to their danger zone, Brinquedo put in a cross and Robbie Waters tapped the ball in from point blank range. It was the opposition who had the final say though, and it was Zengin again who scored the final goal of the game in the 43rd minute. We did pursue the equaliser, which was made slightly easier when Elvis Hlatshwayo picked up his second yellow card in the 61st minute, but once again the quality of our finishing was simply not good enough.

It was all or nothing in the return leg. The strongest squad we were able to put together. Hit them with everything we got right from the beginning. In the 17th minute things started to look like it was going to work - a cross from Matty Sumpter sliced through Horsens' defence and landed at the feet of Kenneth Nhlapo, who knew exactly what to do with that. We kept pushing, knowing that we need another goal... and it backfired. Mario Dose brought things back level in the 68th minute. We didn't stop attacking, but our final product was simply horrendous. I had never thought I would see Brinquedo smashing the crossbar from five yards out with an open net in front of him. And right when I was already starting to pack up, in the 93rd minute Brinquedo found himself in an identical situation once again and sent the game into extra time. As it's often the case, not much really happened in these thirty minutes. Everyone was just waiting for penalties. And it was our central defence pairing that failed us - both Kevin Arnesen and Ove Andreasen missed their spot kicks. 4:3 to Horsens. Balls.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2042 - Hobro Idræts Klub

Superliga





And thus, the challenge has been completed.

We only needed a point from either of our final two games. Not that much to ask for, right? Well, given that we were going to play the other two strongest teams in the league and we had some extreme confidence issues, we couldn't take this for granted. And Randers proved it to us in quite a violent way. We went into self-destruct mode in the 12th minute. Ove Andreasen attempted to pass the ball to the goalkeeper, but he underhit that and Christian Søndergaard took full advantage of this horrendous mistake. And that was pretty much it. We were done, and we got put in an even worse situation when Brinquedo decided to call it a season by getting himself sent off with a straight red for a two-footed challenge. Honestly, I didn't see that coming. We never really looked like putting up a fight. Finally in the 75th minute Kevin Totland doubled Randers' lead and thirteen minutes later Tshepo Mabalane dealt us the final blow. We didn't even record a shot on target. The league suddenly got interesting before the final day. And I wasn't happy with that.

Randers hosted Brøndby. We hosted FC København. Last season's demons suddenly went vocal. Of course, we could hope that our title rivals were going to drop points in their game, but I'd rather take manners in our own hands. Davi jumped back between the sticks. Niall Keogh recovered from his injury to fill the left back position. The only important players missing for us was obviously Brinquedo. And luckily the players seemed to have acknowledged the importance of the game. Although we almost conceded a really stupid goal shortly after the start - the crossbar came to aid us - generally it was us who created more danger up front. And in the 41st minute the crowd went wild. Christopher Usman put in a cross, Steffen Astrup got his shot blocked, but Kenneth Nhlapo pounced on the rebound to send us in front. What a huge relief it was. Even more importantly, we created some momentum and could have extended the lead. Whether it was fatigue or lack of confidence, I don't know, but our finishing was simply atrocious. Seeing that really created a strange atmosphere. Only after Brøndby went 2:0 up against Randers did I finally relax. A goal from Mads Søgård in the 81st minute didn't harm us in any way. After a 23 years' reign, FC København handed the crown over to us.

[Rikulec]

The first time ever the club has done it... and all I get is this.

[Bobsled]

Congratulations! How will you continue from here?