FM16: The Frozen Throne

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2017 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Deildabikar





Despite only finishing 3rd we qualified for the Quarter Finals as one of the two best 3rd placed teams in the Group Stage.

We found the Selfoss net as soon as thirty seconds into the game, but Aðalsteinsson was miles offside before laying the ball out for Vignisson and the goal was disallowed. After that the game turned out to be fairly even, maybe with a slight advantage on our side. Both teams had their chances to score, but no one broke the deadlock before the break. The second half had the worst possible start for us - Selfoss replicated what we did at the very beginning of the game, but this time the flag stayed down and Svavar Jóhansson wheeled off to celebrate. The fans didn't have to wait too long for our response though as Aðalsteinsson scored the equalising goal ten minutes later. After that the game evened out again. We had more shots and more of them were on target, on the other hand Selfoss had 54% possession. Both keepers played very well and the game saw no more goals, which turned out to satisfy us eventually.



Thanks to a ridiculous draw we faced Selfoss for the second time just four days later. And boy, what a game it was for the neutrals. The Pepsideildin side started the game very strongly, almost constantly sitting on our own half. Finally in the 19th minute a cross found Svavar Jóhansson in the box and he had no trouble knocking the ball past Hafsteinsson. Selfoss continued to push on, but we caught them on the break five minutes before half time. Vignisson made perfect use of our first decent goalscoring opportunity in the game. The second half started in a very similar way to the first and Jóhansson punished us for poor marking again in the 50th minute. Fair play to Selfoss though, their passing move for this goal was fantastic. We found ourselves completely unable to deal with Jóhansson yet again in the 73rd minute, the striker completed his hat-trick and that was also his fourth goal against my side including the previous match. Game over? No, the third Selfoss goal was the exact moment when we finally woke up. 79th minute, Juraj Grizejl finds himself in the box with a great chance to score, but fails to hit the target with his weaker left foot. 83rd minute, Halldór Hermann Jónsson smashes a sensational 25-yard half-volley into the crossbar and Aðalsteinsson is denied a rebound by a last-ditch challenge. 86th minute, a cross from the right finds Vignisson at the far post, he heads it towards the goal, the ball hits the bar again, literally bounces on the goal line and is caught by the goalkeeper. 89th minute, Vignisson wastes a one-on-one, but the flag is up anyway. 90th minute, another one-on-one, Aðalsteinsson is onside this time, but misses the target completely. 93rd minute, the final whistle is blown. We're out.

Friendlies



My assistant took care of two friendlies which were arranged in order to preserve our match fitness. The bad news is our goalkeeper Hafsteinsson picked up a shoulder injury against Dalvik/Reynir and will be out for a month.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - May 2017 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

1. Deild karla





Not exactly the strongest start, but hey, we're unbeaten!

I'm seriously starting to wonder what the **** is wrong with my team. We always seem to start the games well, establish control and then everything goes balls up. We really should have opened the scoreline against Fjölnir, but instead we fell behind in the 28th minute when Þórir Guðjónsson ran into the box on the left hand side and smashed the ball straight at our 17-year-old goalkeeper Aron Dagur Birnuson who somehow managed to let it in. Usually after conceding a goal we tend to wake up and play better and that was the case again. Before half time our local star Vignisson put us in front with two well-executed shots. Fjölnir were looking to exploit the fact that we're playing a kid in goal from around 70th minute onwards and eventually a weak 30-yarder by Ægir Jarl Jónasson found its way past him and into the net. Despite a few attempts we failed to score for the third time and had to settle for a draw. Next up, Fram away. First up, some statistics. They had 5 shots (3 on target) compared to our 23 (8 on target). Possession? 40-60. So it was the typical game where FM just shows the player how much it hates you? Well, not exactly. Despite absolutely dominating the game from the very beginning we fell behind in the 27th minute. Helgi Guðjónsson ran into our box with the ball on his weaker left foot, a tight angle and our defender Archie Nkumu pressing him hard. Yet he somehow managed to squeeze the ball in at the near post from 20 yards out. Jesus Christ. To make things worse, for the second time this season Marinó Þor Jakobsson didn't use enough strength when passing to the goalkeeper. Guðjónsson, 2:0. To make them dreadful, for some reason Archie Nkumu thought he could perform a headed backpass from the halfway line. Guðjónsson, 3:0. Here's when the fun part starts. Straight after the kick-off we won a free kick from around 40 yards out. Ball crossed in, Halldór Hermann Jónsson chests it down and calmfully knocks it past their keeper. 3:1. Then our usual football came into play again. Numerous opportunities, no goals. My usual panic sub Marko Blagojevic came on in the 73rd minute. Eleven minutes later right winger Juraj Grizelj rebounded his own shot to make it 3:2. And finally 89th minute came. Grizelj played a square ball in the box for Blagojevic to smash it in. 3:3! I simply couldn't resist praising my players after such effort, even though we really should have won that game. For the Breiðablik game Hafsteinsson came back between the sticks and I'd say it was the sole reason why it ended goalless. Our first-choice keeper performed some miraculous saves to keep us in the game. As usual we were dangerous on the break, but this time it was us who should be happy with the draw. And we rounded off the month with a home game against Grindavik, league leaders at the time. Again we found ourselves on the back foot, the visitors pressed really hard and hardly even left our half for the first fifteen or twenty minutes. From then on the game slowly evened out, but it was still Grindavik who looked more dangerous. Hafsteinsson is again to be praised for some great work on the line. Finally we caught them in the 38th minute. Vignisson got his third league goal with a nicely placed effort from just outside the six yard box. Aðalsteinsson with the assist for the sixth time this season already, four of them being in the Deildabikar though. Grindavik wanted the equaliser badly in the second half, but we did very well to hold them off. Finally in the 91st minute Archie Nkumu found himself on the edge of the penalty box after a set piece, received a pass from the right wing and made it 2:0 with a powerful shot.

Borgunarbikar



We played better football, they scored the goal. We fell at the first hurdle in the Icelandic Cup because of our abysmal strike rate. Their only goal came through Gylfi Vilhjálmsson's rebound after our 17-year-old goalkeeper Aron Dagur Birnuson did well to deflect the initial shot, but the striker was left completely unmarked. Despite a couple of clear cut chances we failed to grab a goal and consequently didn't meet the board's expectations.

[Rikulec]

This took longer than expected.

[Gizmo7]

Nice one Rikulec

Really enjoying your updates, but it would make it soooo much easier to read it you had paragraphs rather than a wall of text, hope you don't mind my feedback

[Rikulec]

Nice one Rikulec

Really enjoying your updates, but it would make it soooo much easier to read it you had paragraphs rather than a wall of text, hope you don't mind my feedback

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

[Rikulec]

More good news, this means more stability and a nice £50 p/w wage rise.

[Rikulec]

Uh... okay I guess?

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - June 2017 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

1. Deild karla





A very good month leaves us with a chance to grab the top spot if we win our game in hand.

We got off to a very poor start in a local derby against Þor and found ourselves trailing after just eight minutes. Our back line didn't react in time to a through ball and Kolbeinn Kárason buried it home. As it usually happens with us, the conceded goal made us play visibly better. This paid off in the 27th minute. Juraj Grizelj was brought down in the penalty box, Vignisson stepped up to the spot and made it 1:1. Despite a couple of chances we failed to add another goal before half time. Our top scorer grabbed his second in the 64th minute with a simple tap-in, Elfar Árni Aðalsteinsson with the assist. The support striker extended our lead eighteen minutes later from Vignisson's pass. He also got his second assist just before stoppage time with a through ball to Grizelj who perfectly executed a nice passing move.

Four days passed and we got given a chance to get revenge on Selfoss from knocking us out from Deildabikar (and eventually winning the whole thing). To be honest, I was disappointed with the opposition's quality. What I expected to be a very tough game turned out to be not much more than a stroll. Grizelj put us in front 22 minutes in, making perfect use of a nice cross by Vignisson. Our number 6, Halldór Hermann Jónsson made it 2:0 shortly after the break, Vignisson with the assist again. Five minutes after the goal the midfielder picked up his second yellow card which pretty much killed the game off. We weren't anywhere near as dangerous as before, but Selfoss didn't really look to exploit the space that opened up.

Our next opponent was Afturelding, another side we've already faced in the cup this season. Not much can really be said about this game which turned out to be quite dire. We hit them with a quickfire double in the 40th and 41st minute, Benjamíin Gunnlaurgarson and Elfar Árni Aðalsteinsson with the goals respectively, and that was enough to grab another important win.

The KV game was going to be especially interesting. After a disastrous start they made a good recovery, winning three games and drawing one. The opening minutes... no, actually, the opening seconds were a complete disaster. We conceded a free kick from just outside the box, the ball was crossed, their striker hit the post with a header, our defender Archie Nkumu tried to clear the ball away, but was pressured and ended up putting it in the net. To make things even worse, after fifteen minutes we were already 2:0 down. Again we failed to deal with a cross and Brynjar Orri Bjarnason was left alone with an open goal. After a very strong start KV dropped a bit deeper and the game evened out with both teams having their chances to score. Aðalsteinsson restored some hope with a goal in the 78th minute, but later we opened up and got caught on the break. Bjarnason made it 3:1 with just seconds to go.

Having lost our first league game in the season, we had to recover at home against a struggling Haukar side. And this was simply a one man show. Elvar Ingi Vignisson hadn't scored in three consecutive games before, but he returned with full strength and fully made up for it by scoring three goals in a single match. 13th minute, Aðalsteinsson plays it square for a simple tap-in which lands in the back of the net. 29th minute, Aðalsteinsson again, a through ball, a first time shot. 2:0. 34th minute, Aðalsteinsson, Vignisson, it's over. We set our foot off the gas in the second half and simply made sure Haukar don't threaten our goalkeeper. A fairly easy win in the end.

[Gizmo7]

Going well at KA - Vignisson is bossing it!

Love the paragraphs too, much easier to read

[Rikulec]

Going well at KA - Vignisson is bossing it!

Love the paragraphs too, much easier to read

Yeah, it really does look better. Thanks for that.

Vignisson is great, but he's just a part of a great strike partnership. Aðalsteinsson's racking up a ridiculous number of assists for this level and the number of games played.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - July 2017 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

1. Deild karla





Another great month and we're in a very good position for a promotion challenge.

We went into the Leiknir Reykjavik game very strongly and grabbed the lead 17 minutes after the kick-off. Vignisson proved his ability again, this time it was a header after a nice cross by Jakobsson. Ten minutes later our left midfielder Hrannar Björn Steingrímsson scored his first goal of the season, somehow finding space in a massive goalmouth scramble. It only took us two minutes to extend our lead to 3:0 and again Vignisson was the scorer. He simply found himself at the end of a good free kick cross by Gunnlaurgarson. Similar to the Haukar game, we failed to score in the second half, actually we allowed Leiknir to create some opportunities, but Aron Dagur Birnuson, who stepped in between the sticks in the 21st minute due to Hafsteinsson's injury, managed to keep a clean sheet with a few decent saves. It turned out Hafsteinsson had broken his finger and he'll be out for two months. Balls.

The game against my former employers Þrottur Reykjavik was the final game of the first half of the season. Obviously I was strongly motivated to get a result there. Again we were off to a good start and in the 19th minute our Canadian central defender Jordain Farahani put us in front, rebounding Aðalsteinsson's header which hit the crossbar. Our support striker had more luck eleven minutes later when he found the net after Vignisson's assist. It only took the duo three minutes to swap roles and make it 3:0. Yet for the third time in a row we were relatively poor after the break. This time we even let in a goal, Tomasz Luba was completely unmarked in our penalty area after a deep free kick. Luckily we were never in real threat of losing the lead and carried it to the end.

The Breiðablik game was just the definition of frustration. Abysmal defensive positioning led us to conceding after just thirty seconds of the game. Luckily we had Vignisson. In the 18th minute Juraj Grizelj put in a cross from the right wing and the league's top scorer did exactly what everyone expected. We continued to play well and create chances, but then the 39th minute came, Archie Nkumu had some weird brainfart moment in our box and brought an opponent down. Guðjón Pétur Lyðsson stepped up to the spot and fooled Birnuson with a good shot. 1:2. Despite our best efforts we couldn't find their net until the 76th minute. Our left back Hilmar Trausti Arnarson had just recovered from injury and I brought him on fifteen minutes earlier. But when he took that free kick from 30 yards out, there were no signs of any injury from him. A perfect effort and, at last, an equaliser. When Jordain Farahani put us in front seven minutes later, I let out a massive sigh of relief. Too early. Another defensive mix-up and in the 89th minute Breiðablik equalised. We had too little time to respond to that.

Against Fjölnir we started very poorly again. The home team pushed us against the wall from the first minutes and after a few good saves by Birnuson our young goalkeeper eventually let one in in the 11th minute. Poor marking on the near post resulted in Kennie Chopart scoring one of the easiest goals of his career. We seemed to have woken up after that blow, but we were still far from our usual level. Remember the Deildabikar and my constant mentions of our bad finishing? Well, it came back against Fjölnir. Neither of our strikers managed to score in this game. We got away with a point thanks to Juraj Grizelj who found himself unmarked in the box after a good cross by Jakobsson. Out of 14 shots we took, this was the only one on target. It speaks for itself, doesn't it?

As you can see, we got a good result in the final game of the month, but it wasn't as easy as you would think. Everything started very well - as soon as four minutes in we were up. Fram's goalkeeper managed to save Vignisson's initial shot, but he deflected the ball straight to Aðalsteisson who easily knocked it into an empty net. We kept playing well, but didn't really create chances in the first half. Oh, and we conceded another silly goal. 40th minute of the game, no one picks up Moncho attacking the penalty box, the ball falls to his feet and it's 1:1. We really stepped up in the second half though. Only seconds passed before we were in front again. A nice passing move set Steingrimsson up for a cross and Grizelj's header gave us the goal. Eight minutes later we won a corner, a scramble so bad I had no idea where the ball was occured and I just saw the flashing commentary bar. Archie Nkumu put his name on the scoresheet... somehow. Whatever. The final goal came in the 75th minute. Steingrimsson grabbed his second assist of the game - a very conscious pass into the area found Aðalsteinsson who made it 4:1 with a composed finish.

If anyone needs a definition of a six-pointer, we're travelling to Grindavik for the first game of August and hosting KV at the end of the month.

Youth Intake



Nothing very spectacular, but I'll snap up a few decent players from this bunch.

Sigurbjörn Árnason

Ingvar Már Hinriksson

Haukur Kristjánsson

Þorsteinn Bignisson

Birgir Hákon Halldórsson

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - August 2017 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

1. Deild karla





We lost both the important games and only got 7 points out of 18 possible, yet we're within touching distance of winning the league and gaining promotions. Football, eh?

We went into the Grindavik game knowing it was going to be a very tight clash. Both teams seemed well motivated from the start of what would seem to be a fairly even first half. But as time passed we were gradually gaining more and more advantage on the pitch. What we lacked was... you guessed it, finishing. Especially Aðalsteinsson was frustrating with his inability to hit the target. Finally in the 44th minute we won a penalty. Vignisson stepped up to the spot. He attempted to humiliate the goalkeeper with a Panenka, but it backfired as he waited until the end and easily caught the ball. In the dressing room I told the players they were just unlucky, but that caused the worst possible reaction. As a result, the whole second half was a horror showing on our behalf and we should be thanking Birnuson for only letting one goal in. Our stronghold broke down in the 80th minute and the players just couldn't bring themselves up to fight at least for a draw.

There's not much to write about the Selfoss game really. It was as dire a match as it gets, both teams were really poor. We could have got the goal, but our strikers seemed to have lost their touch. Neither Vignisson nor Aðalsteinsson could hit a barn door on that day.

We only had three days worth of rest before a derby against Þór. Our poor form was proven very quickly as we conceded in the 10th minute when Hilmar Árni Halldórsson found the top corner with a magnificent shot from 25 yards out. He should have been marked much better though. As opposed to many other games which went along that scenario, we couldn't pick ourselves up and in the 23th minute we found ourselves 2:0 down. A horrible miskick by Nkumu allowed Chukwudi Chijindu to get into our area with the ball. He was running at full speed and had a tight angle, but Birnuson dealt with the shot very poorly and basically threw the ball into his own net. After the game I was surprised to see we had 53% possession and more shots because trust me, the game looked nothing like that. We were awful.

There was one important information before the Afturelding game - Hafsteinsson had recovered from his broken finger fully and was coming back between the sticks. For the second time this season (remember the Deildabikar) he proved to be a vital part of the team. Birnuson is actually a decent keeper, but the whole team somehow looks much better with Hafsteinsson in goal. Against Afturelding we seemed to have picked up some form again and went in front just nine minutes into the game thanks to Steingrímsson. Even though they had more of the ball, we simply didn't allow them to create any goalscoring opportunities. Juraj Grizelj and Marko Blagojevic scored in the second half and we strolled to a very comfortable win. A sigh of relief was let out.

Next Thursday we faced another relegation-threatened side, namely Haukar. Even though we were visibly a better team, we struggled hugely to break them down and the first half ended without a single goal. But five minutes after the break Aðalsteinsson found himself completely isolated with the ball about 30 yards away from goal. Seeing no other options, he took a very hopeful shot with his weaker left foot. The ball flew past the outstretched goalkeeper and straight into the far top corner. A sensational strike, really. This seemed to fill the other players with confidence and we started to create more and more chances. Blagojevic extended our lead in the 62nd minute and Steingrímsson made it 3:0 just before the final whistle. That made it two comfortable wins in a row before a crucial game at home against KV.

They were the only side that managed to beat us in the first round of games. The toughest opponent in the league, if you asked me. And pretty much like in our first clash, our confidence and motivation was blown very quickly. With three minutes on the clock Guðmundur Sigurðsson put his name on the scoresheet, finding himself unmarked on the edge of the six yard box after a drilled cross. There were a few attempts to equalise on our behalf before the break, but the visitors seemed to have full control over them. To make things worse, we conceded straight after the kick off in the second half and it was Sigurðsson again. This time we managed to reply immediately though, a deep cross from Steingrímsson found Juraj Grizelj on the far post and in the 47th minute the scoreline read 1:2. This seemed to put some hope into the players, but the draw just wasn't meant to be. With ten minutes to go Sigurðsson picked up a pass 25 yards away from our goal, turned to face it and placed his shot in the bottom corner. Hafsteinsson should have done better, but well, he didn't and it was all gone. This time it was our opponents who easily carried the win until the final whistle.

In the last two games we face the two struggling Reykjavik sides - first Leiknir at their place and in the final match my former employers, Þróttur, at the Akureyrarvöllur. Can we put the finishing touches on this campaign? Or are we up for the ultimate bottlejob?

[Rikulec]

And, with a game to spare, we've done it! A dip in form in August wasn't enough to prevent us from winning the league.







I have no idea who Þorvaldur Örlygsson is, but it's always nice to get these messages.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - September 2017 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

1. Deild karla





Nothing spectacular in terms of results, but we did exactly what was expected. We are the champions!

We travelled to Reykjavik to face Leiknir knowing that a win would guarantee the title for us. The players seemed eager to make the best possible use of that opportunity and you could see fury on their faces when they were storming the hosts' goal. The stronghold broke down for the first time in the 18th minute. Steingrímsson sent a cross to the far post, aiming for Juraj Grizelj who sent the away lot celebrating with a fantastically executed header. Nine minutes passed and we got awarded a penalty for a foul on Archie Nkumu. Marko Blagojevic, who started the game in Vignisson's place, took the shot. The keeper guessed the direction, but the hit was too precise and just out of his reach. Leiknir, who still had faint hope of avoiding relegation, got one back in the 52th minute through Elvar Páli Sigurðsson and kept attacking, hoping for the equaliser. That wasn't to be though - we caught them on the break with fifteen minutes to go and it was Aðalsteinsson who put his name on the scoresheet. That was it. That one particular bus driving to Reykjavik that night was probably very, very loud.

Exactly 1,212 people showed up at Akureyrarvöllur to celebrate winning 1. Deild karla and promotion to the Pepsideildin. The hero of the first half of the season and still the league's top scorer, Elvar Ingi Vignisson, was given a chance to redeem himself and end his dreadful goal drought. And, well, he failed. Both him and Aöalsteinsson were the exact opposite of clinical in front of goal. It was Ólafur Hrafn Kjartansson, who had to replace injured Steingrímsson on the left wing, who stole the show that afternoon, bagging both goals for us in the 60th and 69th minute. Even though Þrottur got their consolation goal in stoppage time, they didn't stop us celebrating.

[Gizmo7]

Congratulations - great season, well deserved champions

[Rikulec]

Congratulations - great season, well deserved champions

Cheers mate.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2017 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

1. Deild karla

Results

Competition Performance: 1st (Promoted as Champions)

Before the season started, the board only expected a top half finish. We had a bit of a slow start, failing to win any of our three opening league games, but then we kicked off and eventually racked up the most wins, the most goals scored and, most importantly, the most points. A fantastic season by the lads.

Deildabikar

Competition Performance: Quarter Finals

Again we exceeded the board expectations here. They only wanted us not to get humiliated, yet we went on to qualify from the group stage, but then suffered a defeat to Selfoss who eventually won the trophy.

Borgunarbikar

Competition Performance: Second Round

The less said about this, the better. A very bad day at the office.

Squad

A well rounded bunch of players with a few obvious standouts. As you would expect after looking at the screenshot, it was more than enough to run away with the league title. Most of them will be given a chance to shine at a higher level.

Transfers - Finances

I made only three moves on the transfer market, but I'm happy with how they turned out. Vignisson was simply a steal, Jakobsson became an important part of the team and Gunnlaugurson also played his part in our success.

We made a profit of £35,5K, but bear in mind we sold Serdarusic for £40K and took a £63K bank loan. The truth is we're leaking money pretty badly and I hope the promotion will help with that.

Player of the Season

1st - Elfar Arni Aðalsteinsson - by far our best player and most consistent performer. Apart from directly contributing to a total of 21 goals, he also made exactly 100 key passes in the league, 13 more than the runner-up of this classification. Far too good for this level.

2nd - Fannar Hafsteinsson - when he was missing out due to injury, we were a much weaker team than with him between the sticks. When he was able to play, he made some incredible stops and probably saved us a lot of points. A vital part of the squad.

3rd - Elvar Ingi Vignisson - 12 goals in his first 13 games in the league was an amazing record and he was unstoppable during that period. But then something went wrong and he just stopped scoring. 12 goals is actually his final result, it was still enough to become the league's top scorer though.

Next Season

We have a few months to prepare for life in the Pepsideildin. There are a few areas which I'd like to strenghten in the transfer window, particularly the centre and the right side of the defensive block and the supporting midfielder position. I've also already signed a pre-contract with a right winger. I think with some good additions to the squad we could be hoping for a top half finish.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Board Expectations:

Pepsideildin: Fight bravely against relegation

Borgunarbikar: Fourth Round

Deildabikar: Don't get outclassed

My Expectations:

Pepsideildin: I think the board might be a bit harsh here. I'll be satisfied with 10th which would mean avoiding relegation, but I believe we could pull off a top half finish.

Borgunarbikar: After the humiliation we suffered last season we really should improve this season. Fourth Round is a minimum.

Deildabikar: Not important at all.

Budgets:

Transfer: £0

Wage: £6,360 (currently spending £2,496)

Balance: -£13,168

[Rikulec]

Another year, another election...



...another new chairman...



...and another bank loan. We better start making some money soon.

[Gizmo7]

What sort of capacity does your stadium currently hold? Could do with getting some more money in somehow!

[Rikulec]

What sort of capacity does your stadium currently hold? Could do with getting some more money in somehow!

It's only 1,645 with 715 seats, so not much room really. We could still improve our average attendance which was just short of 600 last season though.

[Gizmo7]

Ah so there's still room for some more fans to come through which = more £££

[Rikulec]

First the goal drought, now this. Awful, awful story for our top scorer who's likely not to play a single game next season.

[Rikulec]

Ah so there's still room for some more fans to come through which = more £££

Yeah, I wouldn't expect anything spectacular though.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Friendlies



My new assistant did quite well, winning all three friendlies and giving Höttur a good beating.

Transfers



I like to do my transfer business as quickly as possible and I was happy to be able to do so. A total number of six players were brought into the club. Also some deadwood was shifted, thankfully no important player left us this time.

Mirza Hasecic - a decent youngster with some room for development. He'll provide cover for Juraj Grizelj on the right wing.

Anton Ársælsson - an interesting player with very good mental stats for this level of football. I brought him in mostly because of that and his relatively young age. Not meant to be a starter, but he'll certainly be given a chance... and who knows.

Sindri Scheving - after an unsuccessful period at Reading the left back returns to Iceland. Some very good stats in the right areas, should have his place in the starting XI.

Alan Lowing - the experienced Scot comes on loan to cover the right back position. Definitely a starter.

Kjartan Kristjánsson - an exciting prospect. He has all the attributes to tear the league apart, but he'll require a certain type of support and that will be a challenge for me. He was meant to be a squad rotation player, but Vignisson's injury leaves a first team place open for him.

Hafþór Þrastarson - a very risky transfer and our record fee paid, but we needed a central defender and this is the best guy we could get. I have very high expectations for him.

[dllu]

With a boss named Odinn you´d better beware. I´ve heard he can be quite scheming and vengeful...

[deltablue]

Good luck surviving.

[Rikulec]

With a boss named Odinn you´d better beware. I´ve heard he can be quite scheming and vengeful...

On the other hand, we won't have to worry about any ice giants getting in our way!

Good luck surviving.

Thanks, we'll do our best.

[DodgeeD]

From super fast sacking to top flight football in one job switch. KUTGW, nice idea for a career

[Rikulec]

From super fast sacking to top flight football in one job switch. KUTGW, nice idea for a career

It's all about choosing the right job at the right time I guess. Thank you.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - February 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Deildabikar





It was going to be a tough start to the Deildabikar as we were to face two fellow Pepsideildin sides, but everything went surprisingly well.

I made a mistake of scheduling the final friendly just three days before the Vikingur Reykjavik clash, so I had to field a half-reserve, half-exhausted team. To my surprise we got in front just five minutes in. Arnarson put in a hopeful cross, which fell exactly between the goalkeeper and the defenders and Mirza Hasecic was there to slot it home. After 19 minutes it was already 2:0. During the pre-season I came up with an idea of converting Benjamin Gunnlaugarson to a support striker to provide cover for Aðalsteinsson. The improvised forward got his name on the scoresheet, converting a great cross by Steingrímsson. When our loanee striker Kjartan Kristjánsson made it 3:0 with 35 minutes on the clock, I sat back and simply watched the game. Vikingur got one back just before the break, maybe trying to snatch the impossible draw. But that wasn't to be - we tightened up and barely allowed them near our penalty box. Finally Gunnlaugarson scored his second goal in the 88th minute and we comfortably carried the win until the end.

After a week we faced one of the strongest Icelandic sides, Vikingur Ólafsvik. The result doesn't tell the story of the game, actually it does the opposite. We dominated in the first half and really should have scored, but their goalkeeper pulled off a few miracles, including a sensational triple save. After the break the match it levelled out, but still we could have got in front. I'm not complaining about the draw though as we were facing a stronger side and showed we should be able to compete in the top flight.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - March 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Deildabikar





A mixed bag and at this point we're simply not good enough. Still early days of the season though.

There were really no early signs of trouble against Fjarðabyggð, a side that has just been relegated to 1. Deild karla. Our main man Aðalsteinsson put us in front in the 9th minute, heading home after a cross from a deep free kick by Sindri Scheving. We created a couple of decent chances within a few minutes, but it was the opposition who found the net, and they did so with their first shot of the game. 20th minute, 1:1. From then on Fjarðabyggð sniffed their chance to get three points as we looked more and more lost and not really in the game. We held off quite long, but five minutes before the final whistle the blow came. Árni Björn Guðlaugsson got his name on the scoresheet with a header that went in off the post. Our right back Alan Lowing should have done much better to prevent the cross in the first place.

After a week's rest we faced our fierce rivals Þór in the Akureyri derby. It was a sellout game, but for some reason it was placed at a stadium called Boginn that only boasts 400 seats. Even though the statistics turned out very even - 50-50 possession, their 16 shots to our 15 - it was the 1. Deild karla side who looked better throughout. Aðalsteinsson was simply having a nightmare, missing even the easiest of chances. Þór eventually broke through in the 68th minute and Kolbeinn Kárason put the final mark on the match. It was more than visible that we're simply not prepared yet - we were quite competent before the break, but the second half was just their domination.

For the third time in a row we played against a team from one division below, this time it was freshly promoted ÍR. I'll just skip the first half in my description as it was remarkably boring with not a single highlight to show. This time we woke up in the second 45 minutes for a change with Juraj Grizelj scoring his first goal of the season ten minutes after the break. We continued to push on, but again failed to execute the chances. ÍR punished us for that in the 77th minute, getting an equaliser from a well-aimed cross and a good finish as well. Luckily the improvised support striker Gunnlaugurson was there to put us in front again just two minutes later. This time we were able to carry the result until the final whistle.

On the last day of March we faced BÍ/Bolungarvik who were relegated from the Pepsideildin last season. It was another case of an incredibly slow start, but this time things really kicked off after half an hour. For some weird reason the referee decided to give our opponents a penalty. There was clearly no foul by Þóraninsson, the apparent man at fault - maybe the ref just wanted to give them a chance to take a shot, because we didn't up until then. Darri Sigþórsson presumed Hafsteinsson would dive to either of his sides, so just smashed it down the middle. Our goalkeeper stood still though and managed to deflect the ball. The referee's call must have angered my players because from that point on we attacked BÍ/Bolungarvik with fury. Aðalsteinsson broke the deadlock with 35 minutes on the clock. Despite pushing on we didn't add another goal before the break. In the second half the fans had to wait fifteen minutes for Kjartan Kristjánsson to grab his second goal of the season. Then it was just Aðalsteinsson who stole the show, completing his hat-trick with goals scored in the 67th and 84th minute. A very comfortable win in the end.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Deildabikar





Just like last year, we draw our final game with the already-qualified group leaders to secure 3rd place which turns out to be good enough to send us through to the Quarter Finals.

Despite a rather poor season in the 1. Deild karla, Breiðablik started their 2018 campaign very well, not losing in the first six Deildabikar games. Mind you, last season we failed to beat them even once. It only took our opponents seven minutes to prove their strength. We looked clueless at the back while they just passed the ball around, finally setting up Andri Þorvaldsson who beat Hafsteinsson in a one-on-one. The equaliser came very quickly though - 10 minutes into the game it was already 1:1. A cross by Schieving found Kristjánsson in the box, his initial shot bounced off the post, but he got a chance for a rebound from point blank range, possibly the easiest goal of his career so far. Despite such a start neither team managed to find the net once more in a fairly even game. The draw was probably the most deserved result for both sides.



The wildest rollercoaster ride I've experienced so far on this game. It was so heartbreaking to see it end in their favour.

The first half story can be told pretty short. We were utterly and absolutely battered. Their striker Guðjón Baldvinsson was just unstoppable for our defence and managed to grab a hat-trick before the break. Half time, 3:0. Honestly, I didn't believe any kind of turnaround was possible. I brought on Gunnlaugarson and Hasecic in an attempt to simply get more of the ball and reduce the damages. The first five minutes of the second half were rather unremarkable with neither team producing any decent opportunity, but then the match went wild, and I mean it. In the 51st minute Gunnlaugarson played a low ball across the penalty area to find Halldór Hermann Jónsson. The experienced midfielder got lucky as his shot deflected off their defender, fooled the goalkeeper and rolled over the line. Two more minutes passed and suddenly we were just a goal down - Aðalsteinsson's cross found Hasecic on the far post who squeezed it in from a tight angle. Up until the 65th minute we barely left their penalty area and had multiple opportunities - Aðalsteinsson, Hasecic, Steingrímsson, they all had good chances to make it all square. But then we received another massive blow - Aðalsteinsson was forced off the pitch by a foot injury. At this point the insane wave of attacks stopped and Stjarnan regained some control of the game. Kári Pétursson made it 4:2 in the 74th minute, but it wasn't over yet. This goal reignited the spark in our team, but yet again our finishing let us down. Finally they hit us on the break in stoppage time. Baldvinsson reminded us of the first half, scoring his fourth goal of the game. We finally bit their arse for the third time straight from the kick off, Ólafur Hrafn Kjartansson on the scoresheet. That was it though. We were really close to making up for the abysmal first half performance, but the gulf in quality proved to be too big at this point. We really did give them a game though.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - May 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Pepsi-deildin





A surprisingly good start leaves us sitting in a great position after the first three games. We have 19 still left to play though.

In the Grindavik game I could already see that Pepsideildin would be nothing like 1. Deild karla. The pace of the match was noticeably slower, with relatively few highlights being shown. As it usually happens with the Grindavik clashes, it was a very tough and even match from the beginning. Hafsteinsson made one very good save in the first half, denying their striker in a one on one situation. Finally the tiredness seemingly got the better of them in the final fifteen minutes while we switched to fifth gear. First Aðalsteinsson wasted a good opportunity, but in the 81st minute a cross by Jónsson reached Kristjánsson in the box and the striker scored his - and our - first league goal of the season. What's worth mentioning is that Jónsson went on to win Player of the Match thanks to the assist, but he also made seven key passes and finished the game with a 9.0 rating.

One would think the Grindavik match was dire, but then Valur came to Akureyrarvöllur. They grabbed the lead just four minutes into the game when we failed to deal with a corner aimed at the near post and... well, that was pretty much it. Oh, there was also a red card shown to Mirza Hasecic in the 26th minute for a two-footed challenge. From then on, nothing. They controlled the game (60% possession in the end), but weren't really interested in extending their lead. We were outnumbered and unable to launch a dangerous counter attack. Awful, awful match for the neutrals and a bad result for us, too.

Our final league game of the month was a trip to fellow relegation candidates Fylkir. This time it was finally a good performance on our behalf and qute a straightforward win. Elfar Árni Aðalsteinsson gave us the lead in the 3rd minute after a nice one-two with Juraj Grizelj. We weren't really threatened with an equaliser throughout the first half and shortly after the break we made it 2:0. After a throw-in on the left wing the ball came back to Sindri Scheving. He launched a cross towards the far post, it floated over everyone's heads and landed on the boot of our loanee Scottish right back Alan Lowing. A beautiful half-volley landed in the top corner, giving their goalkeeper no chance. A nice goal and after that a calm stroll to the final whistle. More of the same in the next games please.

Borgunarbikar



For the second year in a row we made a complete mess out of this and fell at the first hurdle.

The early signs were as good as it gets - not half a minute of the game had passed when Aðalsteinsson put us in front with an easy tap-in, Hasecic with the assist. For the first fifteen minutes or so we played well and looked like extending the lead and killing the game off quickly. But the time passed and HK gradually grew more and more dangerous. Archie Nkumu again proved that while he's a good defender, he's quite prone to mistakes. This time the Englishman failed to deal with a drilled cross and ended up putting the ball in our net. We were lucky not to fall behind before the break, luckily we held them off. The second half was a similar story to the first. Aðalsteinsson could have scored another early goal, but his header narrowly missed the target. And then again, some minutes passed and we completely lost control of the game. Daníel Gylfason executed us in the 68th minute and we were simply unable to respond.

[bestbrother]

I have no idea who Þorvaldur Örlygsson is, but it's always nice to get these messages.

Toddy Orlygsson - played in England for a few teams iirc, Forest and Stoke ring a bell.

Good luck with your career.

[Rikulec]

Toddy Orlygsson - played in England for a few teams iirc, Forest and Stoke ring a bell.

Good luck with your career.

Thanks for the info, good to know.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - June 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Pepsi-deildin





Complete and utter disaster. We're lucky to still have a relatively comfortable advantage over the relegation zone.

First up there was the KR game at home. I had viewed them as quite a strong side, but certainly a beatable one. And that kind of proved to be true over the course of the match - we gave them a good game and might have even been the better side overall, but yet again our finishing let us down. Especially Juraj Grizelj had a few great opportunities cutting inside from the right, but failed to get any of his shots on target. We didn't start the second half concentrated enough and conceded just seconds after the kick off. Obstructed by one of the central defenders, Hafsteinsson made a failed attempt at diving and catching a cross, leaving Gabríel Ingi Agnarsson with an open net. Despite pushing on we didn't manage to grab the equaliser and lost our second home game.

Only three days later we had to face Keflavik, one of the best teams in the league. The result describes the game quite well, but it doesn't tell the full story as both teams had their chances to score, only they weren't so straightforward. On one hand, we had Aðalsteinsson failing to make use of the crosses he was provided with. On the other hand, our defenders did a great job blocking Keflavik's shots, and even when they didn't, we had Hafsteinsson doing his job on the line. A draw was probably deserved there. What worried me was that we failed to score at home for the third match straight.

So maybe things would go better away? After all, we had already won twice on our rivals' grounds prior to the ÍBV clash. And honestly, we should have done it for the third time in a row. We started very well and created a couple of decent positions, but then it only took the hosts one attacking move to get in front in the 12th minute. Yet again we failed to deal with a cross. That didn't kill our faith though as we continued to push on. Gunnlaugarson played a few fantastic through balls, but neither Aðalsteinsson nor Grizelj could find their shooting boots. When we were awarded a penalty in the 48th minute, I thought the curse would finally get broken. It wasn't to be though, Hafþor Þrastarson made a complete mess of the spot kick, hitting it straight at the goalkeeper. Towards the final whistle ÍBV produced a couple of chances, but Hafsteinsson did well to keep the score down to 1:0.

Maybe a week's worth of rest was what we needed? Vikingur Ólafsvik came to Akureyrarvöllur to test that. I thought they would be a slightly weaker side and in the first half we dominated them. And finally we managed to score in front of our crowd. A cross from the left wing found Grizelj unmarked on the far post, somehow he managed to hit the keeper with almost an empty net, but luckily Aðalsteinsson was there to pounce on the rebound. We could - and should - have extended our lead before half time, but a brilliant counter attack that Real Madrid would be proud of fell to pieces as Grizelj pretty much repeated his previous effort, blasting his shot from six yards out straight at the goalkeeper. And again we lacked concentration just after the break - 46th minute, 1:1. I was fuming when Hrvoje Tokic put the ball in our net, making use of Alan Lowing's poor marking. From then on Vikingur took over control of the game and we pretty much stopped playing. Finally it led us to conceding again in the 86th minute. Another cross, another case of bad marking, another silly goal to concede. Oh dear.

FH battered us. You would look at the result and think "oh, it must have been a tight game", but it wasn't. If you looked at the goals we conceded though... well, we could have done better. In the 17th minute a pass was played to their winger in the corner of the box. For some reason three of our players attempted to attack him, exposing a huge gap in the middle. A short pass, a first time shot, Hafsteinsson tried to guess the corner and moved there just before the shot was taken, but he guessed wrong. He made exactly the same mistake just before half time as their Spanish striker Juanma made it 2:0. I decided there was nothing to lose and we should try to give them a good run for their points. When our academy product Gunnar Þóraninsson scored his first ever goal for the club, unleashing a thunderbolt into the top corner from 20 yards out in the 55th minute, for a moment I actually thought it was possible. FH didn't lose control though, they finished the game with a staggering 65% possession and a well deserved win.

In other news, we don't have a fit striker on our books and won't have one for a while. You already know about Vignisson. At the end of May Kjartan Kristjánsson tore his calf muscle and may not feature for us again this season. And to make things even worse, in the FH game we lost Aðalsteinsson to an ankle injury, he'll be out for a month and a half. Oh, and we're facing Stjarnan at home in our next game. Isn't life beautiful?

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - July 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Pepsi-deildin





A decent month in the end, but I won't even dare to think what it would be like without some reinforcements.

Last time I said we were going to go hard at Stjarnan, and we kind of did... until they replied. First off, in the light of our strike force problems I decided to drop the 4-4-2 I've been using with KA before and line up with a 4-1-4-1. We started the match relatively well, not allowing any chances from them and creating the odd one, but then once they actually got near our goal, it was all done. The old demons came back to haunt us as Guðjón Baldvinsson managed to grab yet another goal in the short history of our confrontations. It turned our enough to pretty much kill the game off. We managed a few shots, but none of them were from actually promising positions. Stjarnan were in full control and proved it in the 62nd minute with Steinþór Þorsteinsson ending any hope we could have had. An expected and deserved loss, yet still a bitter pill to swallow.

No words can describe how poor we were in Reykjavik against Vikingur. It seemed Vikingur scored only two goals just because they didn't feel like banging any more in. After the game I was actually surprised to see that we had taken six shots - I thought it would be less. To put things in chronological order - we managed to hold them off until the 31st minute when Rolf Toft opened the scoreline. Then fifteen minutes after the break our Canadian centre back Jordian Farahani decided he couldn't be arsed with playing on and trying to help the team and scythed their player down with a two-footed lunge. Red card, fully deserved. Ten minutes after getting reduced to 10 men we conceded for the second time, Hafsteinsson failing to save a rather weak header from near the penalty spot. Poor effort from our goalkeeper, not for the first time this season as well. He just can't seem to find his last season's form.

I don't think I need to explain why the ÍA game was crucial for us, the league table speaks for itself. Bearing in mind we still hadn't won a home game at that point, I switched to a possession style defensive option. The game started perfectly for us - Kjartansson was brought down just inside their penalty box and Sindri Scheving managed to beat their goalkeeper with a weak shot from the spot. To be honest, we should have completely smashed them in the first half. Juraj Grizelj, whom I decided to play up front, proved he couldn't hit the barn door with his feet though. When he does actually score, it's usually a header. When he gets set up for three or four fantastic opportunities where he has to use his foot... well, it was only 1:0 at half time, even though ÍA barely left their own half. But of course everything had to go balls up. In the 53rd minute their first (okay, maybe second) actual attack move ended with terrible marking by our defence and Arsenij Bujnickij netting an equaliser, beating Hafsteinsson at his near post. We pushed on for the winning goal, but the finishing kept letting us down until the final whistle. We really should have done better there, but at least we got that one point. Looking at our previous results, it's something!

In the opening I mentioned reinforcements, didn't I? On 15th of July a two-week transfer window opened. We had already arranged a pre-contract with a Serbian right back, Bozidar Stanimirovic. There was no time to waste, he made his debut on his first day at the club and did really well. This addition to the squad seemed to have reignited the spark in the team... well, kind of. Remember the absolutely dire and boring Valur game at the start of the season? Well, this time both teams managed a total of 12 shots. Out of Valur's four, none was on target. Good defensive performance on our behalf, you would say, and that's true. Offensively, not so good though. This time we had this tiny piece of luck we were missing so badly this season. Towards the end of the game Mirza Hasecic's cross from the right found the head of Anton Ársælsson who gave us the lead with his first ever goal for the club. What's worth mentioning is that both these players came on from the bench. As said before, Valur never really threatened us and we carried the lead until the final whistle, bagging our first win in nine games. Huge, huge relief.

Serbian reinforcements, part two. Striker Stefan Rakicevic joined us shortly before the Grindavík game, but he was more than ready to play in the first team. Why did I say "more than ready"? Because he grabbed a brace on his debut, oh yeah. Not much was happening in the first half, until Sindri Scheving finally pulled away from his marker on the left wing in the 36th minute. His low cross found Rakicevic who gave great joy to the home fans. Half time, 1:0. Not two minutes after the break Juraj Grizelj extended our league, obviously it had to be a header. Gunnlaugarson with the assist from an indirect free kick. We had a brief scare when Grindavík got one back in the 70th minute, but just four minutes later we scored with yet another cross. Rakicevic proved he's also good with his head, slotting the ball in the bottom corner. A very comfortable win with 63% possession.

Had we found our form already? Fylkir came to Akureyrarvöllur to give us a test. I have to admit, I did underestimate them and expect an easy win. And honestly, we were very lucky not to lose. They created a few must-score opportunities, but luckily for us their striker must have been suffering from the famous lack of confidence syndrome. Although we took 10 shots throughout the game, none of them was on target. Our best chance fell at the feet of Rakicevic in the second half, but he didn't realise a drilled cross was coming at him and the ball just deflected off his shins, still causing major difficulty for their goalkeeper who coped with that well though. On one hand, it hurts to drop points against a fellow relegation candidate, on the other hand this draw means we're now four games unbeaten. How about that for a change?

Transfers

Bozidar Stanimirovic - the first of our new Serbian players. His physical attributes combined with some decent technical and mental ones will probably place him amongst the best right backs in this division. He should be a key player for us.

Stefan Rakicevic - this guy is seriously going to challenge Aðalsteinsson for his first team spot once the Icelander is fit again, especially as we've now switched to a lone striker formation. And I think our former key player might seriously struggle to regain his status there.

Danilo Pilica - and the hat-trick of Serbian transfers was completed before the Fylkir game. A class defender who should easily have a place in my block, there's one worry with him though as the news item said he could have difficulty learning the language. Hopefully his fellows will help him out there.

[Rikulec]

Another year added to my contract and a nice wage rise. Always positive to see news like this.

[glennuk]

Interesting challenge for sure. I like a Journeyman challenge with an end goal in mind:)

[Rikulec]

Interesting challenge for sure. I like a Journeyman challenge with an end goal in mind:)

Thanks for the comment, it's really interesting to play this indeed.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - August 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Pepsi-deildin





After a decent period the struggle continues. We're still hanging on, mind, and with just four games left we actually have at least some breathing space.

The KR game I had certainly viewed as winnable before submitting the team and the opening minutes looked like I had been correct about that. We're KA though, and during our Pepsideildin period we seem to have developed this element of style that is conceding as soon as the opposition create their first half decent opportunity. This time it took us half an hour to eventually fall behind, Þrastarson at fault for not marking properly in the box. Again it was a cross that proved to be our undoing. That and the inability to finish, featuring the mysterious case of a footballer who can't play with his feet. Yes, Juraj, I'm looking at you. Despite some actual efforts this time we lost again. Loads of frustration and no points - why can't it be the other way around?

I was surprised to see that the ÍBV match was going to be televised as there was really no reason to choose this particular game over any other one. Well, it's not me who makes these decisions. Again, we started off relatively well. This time we even managed to take seven - bloody SEVEN! - shots on target. But as you can see, we still failed to score even once. After a long period of fairly even game and our strikers constantly smashing the ball at their goalkeeper (and vice versa, to be fair) the 67th minute came and Emil Atlason broke the deadlock, obviously it had to be a cross. Twenty minutes later the striker had a brace to his name, surprisingly this time it was a through ball that sliced through our shaky-as-ever defence. Another case of us not actually playing that bad, but getting absolutely nothing from it. Balls.

There was no time to cry after these losses as we were about to face a seemingly hopeless trip to league leaders Keflavík. Any possible sources of hope? Well, we did manage to hold them off at home and maintain a clean sheet last time we met. To my surprise, we started very strongly, pretty much pushing them against a wall and eventually grabbing the lead twelve minutes in through a perfectly placed shot from 20 yards out, Halldór Hermann Jónsson the KA hero. After that - wow! - we managed to control the game and hold Keflavík off with relative ease. All they could threaten us with was the odd long range effort. But obviously this idyllic state couldn't stay as such for the whole 90 minutes. 73rd minute on the clock, a through ball comes to our box and Farid Zato is there to finish, even though Hafsteinsson saved his initial shot. The reaction times of our defenders must be the worst in the league, really. The equalised couldn't stop us on that evening though. A nice passing move set up Steingrímsson on the left wing, who then drilled a cross towards the far post and even someone as inept as Juraj Grizelj couldn't screw that up. Fist pumping etc., we've beaten the leader! At their place!

Last game of the month, Vikingur Ólafsvik. Possession? 57-43 for KA. Shots? 13-2 for Vikingur. That says it all really. Even though we seemingly controlled the game, we couldn't find any gaps in their extremely solid and well cooperating back line. On the other side of the pitch, our relatively short centre backs couldn't hope with a man as massive as Hrvoje Tokic. The Croatian put the hosts in front just before the half time whistle and then in the 52nd minute he set up Arnar Sveinn Geirsson for the second goal. From then on they set their foot off the gas, simply letting us pass the ball around, waiting for a mistake and then launching counter attacks. This time we were just not good enough.

Youth Intake



Nothing spectacular here, only a couple of potentially decent players worth snapping up.

Helgi Pálsson

Mark Adams

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - September 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Pepsi-deildin





It's done. It's finally over.

There's not much to write about the FH game, it was as dire and boring as it gets. We conceded very early on, not eight minutes had passed before Kristján Flógi Finnbogason slotted the ball past Hafsteinsson and into the net. Obviously it was their first dangerous offensive move of the match. But not the last - again we struggled massively to create anything, ended up only taking four shots over the course of the game. A bad performance and a deserved loss. The only notable event was the comeback of the man who got us here in the first place. Elvar Ingi Vignisson made his first appearance in the Pepsideildin, replacing Aðalsteinsson in the second half. He has now recovered from his knee injury and returned to the world of the living.

Stjarnan. The memory of Deildabikar is still quite vivid in me. This time I thought - **** it, let's just start Vignisson and see what happens. To my surprise we played well from the beginning, not getting battered like you would expect, it was a very even and lively game with good chances on both sides. But this time it was us who made the first move. And guess who put his bloody name on the scoresheet. That's right, Vignisson was starting to fight back for his legendary status he had in the first half of last season. Juraj Grizejl played a low cross between their back line and the goalkeeper for the striker to smash it into the net. Sensationally we were in front. Moreover, we should have made it 2:0 shortly after, but somehow Jónsson missed an absolute sitter. And then our arch nemesis Guðjón Baldvinsson woke up. Before the referee blew his whistle for half time, we were already trailing. No matter what we do, this guy is just unstoppable. Despite our best efforts and actually creating some chances it was Stjarnan who grabbed another goal - in the 76th minute Brynjar Gauti Guðjónsson crushed our hope. Again we faced them with dignity, again we lost.

Another gameweek, another battering. This particular game made me realise the mistake of actually spending money on a CB with Strength of 7, namely Hafþór Þrastarson as you may remember. This guy just couldn't cope with their striker Rolf Toft. To cut the long story short, the guy finished the game with a hat-trick and again we created something, but that simply wasn't good enough. Seven minutes in we were already a goal down. Þrastarson tried to intercept a pass to Toft, but was brutally muscled off and the Danish striker calmly found the back of the net. Then he struck again in the dying minutes, completing his hat-trick in the 82nd and 86th minute. I was starting to thank Fylkir, Grindavik and ÍA for being almost as bad as we were throughout the season.

Things could have gone many ways on the final day. Fylkir sat 9th with 18 points but a better goal difference than us, the 10th team in the league. Then there was Grindavík on 17 and ÍA whose fate was already sealed as they only had 13 points. There was no real final day tension though - Grindavík were 3:0 down after 15 minutes of their match against KR, who went on to win the whole thing on goal difference thanks to a 7:0 win. But what happened in our game? Actually it was quite and interesting one for the neutrals with many good chances on both sides. After 27 minutes of play Aðalsteinsson scored his third league goal of the season thanks to a perfectly timed cross from the left by Kjartansson. And similarly to the Stjarnan game, we had a marvelous chance to extend our lead, but this time it was Aðalsteinsson who failed miserably. This time Kjartansson's cross was even better and the chance was even easier, but well. In the second half however we went into complete meltdown. Maybe the lads somehow found out that they were in pretty much no danger of relegation as Grindavík were 4:0 down at that point? Well, regardless of that we conceded a penalty in the 55th minute. Danilo Pilica handled the ball in the box and Arnar Már Guðjónsson punished us for that. And then in the 86th minute came the second blow. We lost against the rock bottom side in the league. Yes, we were that bad.

[DodgeeD]

You stayed up, next season will be better, and you have two potentially cracking YPs Good season in my book

[Rikulec]

You stayed up, next season will be better, and you have two potentially cracking YPs Good season in my book

Certainly could have been worse, but to be fair we got quite lucky in the end. We'll seriously need to improve next year, some moves have already been made in that direction... hopefully.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2018 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Pepsi-deildin

Results

Competition Performance: 10th

We've achieved the bare minimum expectation of surviving the season in Pepsideildin, but for me it's not good enough. We've racked up 14 (!) losses, more than any other team in the league, including the relegated ones. To be honest, we were lucky to actually stay up. We'll certainly need to improve on that, doing any worse would be a disaster.

Deildabikar

Competition Performance: Quarter Finals

Exactly like last season, we qualified from the group stage from the 3rd place and then dropped out in the Quarter Finals, this time after a nerve-wrecking game against Stjarnan. Certainly not bad for a pre-season competition, I'm rather satisfied with that.

Borgunarbikar

Competition Performance: Third Round

And exactly like last season we fell at the first hurdle here, which is especially embarassing because the hurdle was ankle-high. Third time lucky perhaps...?

Squad

On paper this looks like not a bad bunch of players at all. Towards the end of the season I was starting to think that maybe we're doing so poor because my tactics were crap, that's where I'll be looking for improvements next season in the first place.

Transfers - Finances

Quite a lot of incomings this year, and as per usual - a few decent ones and a couple of disappointments. The striker position seemed to have been especially cursed, as we lost both Kristjánsson and then Rakicevic to long-term injuries. Also the centre back Þrastarson wasn't anywhere near as good as I thought he would be.

Finances wise we're still bleeding money, the promotion didn't help much in that department. I'm sensing another bank loan come election day. Not much I can do about it really.

Player of the Season

1st - Gunnar Þóraninsson - this guy came through the ranks in 2016 and has been improving rapidly ever since, to the point of reaching key player status in the second half of this season. Bright future lies before this young man, I'll tell you. In a well-balanced midfield I'm hoping to build next year he could be the rock.

2nd - Halldór Hermann Jónsson - the experienced Icelander has pretty much kept us in the league on his own. In all the games where we actually managed to grab some points he was amongst the most important figures. Hopefully he has at least one more good season left in him.

3rd - Sindri Scheving - awarded for his potential rather than actual performance, but still. A few decent showings in the league prove he could be an important player in my plans.

Next Season

Improvements, improvements, improvements. I've already pre-arranged two free transfers that will bring some quality and experience into the team. Also going to switch formation and find two or three more new players.

[glennuk]

Thanks for the comment, it's really interesting to play this indeed.

Yeh I once did a four nations challenge, where you started at Rangers or Celtic, had to win that league then move on to England,Spain and Italy and win the league in each (Before the rise of the Bundesliga) - Was one of my favourite FM/gaming saves ever. Good luck, interesting as well to see new leagues and names that I am not familiar with

Hope things improve in the next season.Those free transfers will hopefully add some much needed class and depth.

[Rikulec]

Yeh I once did a four nations challenge, where you started at Rangers or Celtic, had to win that league then move on to England,Spain and Italy and win the league in each (Before the rise of the Bundesliga) - Was one of my favourite FM/gaming saves ever. Good luck, interesting as well to see new leagues and names that I am not familiar with

Hope things improve in the next season.Those free transfers will hopefully add some much needed class and depth.

That sounds like a fun save. Yeah, I hope these new players will turn out as good as they seem to be.

[Rikulec]

Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2019 - Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar

Board Expectations:

Pepsideildin: Fight bravely against relegation

Borgunarbikar: Quarter Finals

Deildabikar: Not important

My Expectations:

Pepsideildin: We certainly need to improve, although I'd be reasonably happy with a mid-table finish.

Borgunarbikar: This time it would really be nice to get past our first opponent.

Deildabikar: I agree with the board.

Budgets:

Transfer: £0

Wage: £9,795 (currently spending £4,739)

Balance: -£121,306

[Rikulec]

Nothing exciting here, business as usual. I'm not overly bothered anymore.



Spend the money while we have it!