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FM16: The Frozen Throne


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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Board Expectations:

Tippeligaen: Mid-table finish

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup: Semi Finals

My Expectations:

Tippeligaen: Hoping for a top half finish.

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup: The board definitely got carried away, I'm not overly fussed by this competition.

Budgets:

Transfer: £407,236

Wage: £55,556 (currently spending £22,647)

Balance: £423,360

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Only 11 points from the relegation playoffs, but also only 12 points from European qualification. Anything can happen next season!

Yeah, it's a ridiculously even league, we have to expect the unexpected.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Friendlies

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That's certainly very pleasant to look at.

Transfers

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We brought in over £1M from player sales which allowed us to bring in five new faces.

Koffi Konan - recommended to me by his agent, the young Ivorian was a low risk gamble. He certainly has bags of potential and I'll be looking to give him a chance in the league.

Sigurd Johannesen - we needed someone to cover either the left flank or the centre of defence and this guy will do both. As soon as he recovers from an abdominal muscle injury he's picked up, he'll become a starter.

Mohamed Seydi - you're looking at a guy who at 23 already has 204 league games and 120 goals under his belt. Needless to say I'm quite excited with this capture!

Djibril Traoré - after selling Mikkelsen we needed someone on the right wing. Traoré looked good... until he broke his leg in a friendly. I guess Skjelseth will have to step up.

Erik Dvergsdal - further strenghtening of the back line. He'll also help us with the foreign players limit.

Youth Intake

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Nothing spectacular, but we have a potentially good goalkeeper.

Øystein Fossland

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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That's like a three months' worth of goals.

Is there a better way to start the season than hosting the league champions? Molde have performed an amazing feat last season, winning the title straight after gaining promotion the season before. As I've already mentioned, we lined up with a 4-4-2 with Cadby and Seydi up front. The early signs weren't good. Alexander Brunst made an absolute howler in the 7th minute, deflecting a cross straight to the feet of Rogier Klomp who put the visitors in front with an easy tap-in. We needed some time to get into the match, but once we did, it turned into quite an exciting event for the fans. We scored our first league goal of 2027 in the 31st minute. Magnus Skjelseth put in a wonderful cross from the right and Greg Cadby had little trouble finding the net. Ten minutes later Molde were back in front though, Klomp doubling his goal tally. But we weren't going to back down. In the 68th minute a cross from youngster Frode Gjøsæther found Mohamed Seydi who scored his first ever goal for the club. After quite an interesting game we shared points with the champions, which is fair enough given the flow of the game.

Next up, Stabæk away. This turned out to be the classic "screw you, human" game of every Football Manager, ever. The interesting part started in the 25th minute. Skjelseth won us a penalty, which Seydi stepped up to... and got his shot saved by their goalkeeper. Thirty second passed and suddenly we were on the opposite side of the pitch with Pablo Garitano exploiting a gap between our central defenders to put the hosts in front. There were no reasons to panic yet and just seven minutes later we equalised through Magnus Skjelseth's precise effort. Stabæk recovered immediately though and in the 33th minute they were back in the driver seat, Ricardo Polo with the goal. Shortly after the break we lost Cadby to a pulled muscle. And finally in the 62nd minute Skjelseth commited a foul in his own penalty area and Garitano scored his second goal of the game from the spot. We had our chances as well, but the finishing let us down. That was a game which seriously could have gone either way.

Just four days later we played Aalesund at our place. I remembered them as a strong side last season, so I prepared myself for a tough game. Much tension was released in the 7th minute though when Seydi put us in front, rebounding his own shot after a nice passing move. Thanks to that goal we were in control, but the visitors looked very dangerous on the break and we needed to retain our concentration. In the 63rd minute Housem Ferchichi, replacing Cadby in the support striker spot, doubled our lead after a good cross from Bjørdal. Twenty minutes later we lost the Tunisian as well - a knee injury forces him out for a month. We may have more luck on the pitch than we did last season, but the injuries aren't being very kind to us.

A week later we faced Viking, a newly promoted side. Our fourth choice striker, youngster Anders Nikkinen was forced to start the game in the first XI. And he was very quick to thank me for giving him a chance - eight minutes in a wonderful cross from Vetle Nes rewarded him for an ambitious 40-yard off the ball run, presenting him with an open goal chance. Our second goal came from the right hand side as well, Bjørdal with the assist and Seydi with the finish. That's just one side of things though. Defensively, inside the first half an hour we were helped by the post twice. Over the course of the whole match we coped with danger relatively well, with Brunst performing a couple of nice saves. Our goalkeeper was completely helpless in the 83rd minute though when a nice passing move set up Ibrahim Kouassi for an absolute sitter. Despite that setback, we managed to take full points from this not-so-easy game.

And finally Fredrikstad, the ultimate rollercoaster ride. It started well for us - in the 15th minute a deep free kick from the right wing taken by Tomas Wright found Erik Dvergsdal unmarked in the box. The central defender smashed the ball into the net with a furious volley. Our lead only lasted for six minutes. A long ball hoofed upfield from Fredrikstad's own half wasn't picked up by any of our defenders and Elvind Raade Olsen made perfect use of their indecisiveness. The young striker put the hosts in front in the 37th minute after a cross from the right and poor marking by Dvergsdal. Five minutes later we were 3:1 down, Segun Owobowale with the goal. What's even worse, we looked completely helpless with our build-up play, most of Fredrikstad's highlights starting with our own misplaced passes. At half time I decided to replace Nikkinen with Cadby, who was making his return from injury. And what a return it was. In the 68th minute he gave us hope, putting the finish to a nice cross by Seydi. And with the final touch of the game, in the 93rd minute he gave us the equaliser after some chaos in their six yard box following a corner. Fists were pumped etc.

Cupen

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A comfortable win against lower league opposition.

We set the scene for a good result as early as in the 2nd minute. Tom Granheim put a deep free kick into the box and Henrik Bjørdal scored with a composed, well executed finish. Nine minutes later Anders Nikkinen made it 2:0, tapping the ball in from point blank range after a square ball from Seydi. In the 38th minute Daniel Farkas played a corner towards the near post, it landed on the head of Stijn Vanspauwen and finally in the net. For the next goal we had to wait until the 72nd minute, but it was well worth it. Stian Syvertsen picked up the ball 25 yards out after a poor clearance and placed it just inside the far post with an extremely precise effort. But it was Nikkinen who had the final say eight minutes later, Bjørdal with the assist. All in all it was a wonderful team performance, which is confirmed by a remarkable average rating of 8.51.

In the next round we travel to another 2. Divisjon side, Kjelsås.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - May 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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The league looks as tight as ever.

We set off with a tough trip to league leaders Lillestrøm. The opening minutes of the game were quite even and I was happy to see that we were a proper match for the strong looking side. Unfortunately it was them who found the net. In the 35th minute a failed clearance attempt by Issa Marega hit one of his teammates, resulting in the ball rolling towards Milosz Szczepanski who was completely unmarked on the edge of the six yard box. An easy finish for the Pole. We tried to reorganise ourselves and push for the equaliser, but the hosts defended very well and held us off successfully for 90 minutes. Luckily the match doesn't end at that point. Just as the stoppage time started, we launched an attacking move which ended with substitute Daniel Farkas assisting Mohamed Seydi for a close range effort.

Eight days later we hosted a struggling Sandnes Ulf side. Seydi needed exactly 33 seconds to put us in front after a wonderful cross from Vetle Nes. After that I thought we'd carry on and push for more goals... and we did, only were horribly incompetent with finishing. And, as I've already said before, if you don't take your chances, you get punished for that. I was already thinking about my half time teamtalk when Miomir Ivic exploited yet another case of pinball defending in our own box, putting the ball into the net from close range and with no pressure at all. We had optical advantage, but couldn't confirm that with goals. I'm disappointed to have dropped points there.

Next up, Start away. The first half was an absolute stormer. The hosts' defence barely managed to hold off the wave of attacks we launched. Finally we broke down the stronghold in the 38th minute. Greg Cadby's cross attempt was nodded on by one of their defenders, for some reason no one else attacked the ball and it landed at the feet of Bjøndal unmarked on the far post. Something wrong happened to us at the break though. The tables turned - now we had to defend against furious Start players. We lost the lead in the 63rd minute. A corner came in, the initial shot bounced off the post, but Martin Bjørnbek was there to bang it in. The hosts scored again six minutes later. This time they didn't need a rebound to convert a corner, Harald Holter on the scoresheet. But there was one more turnaround on the cards. In the 72nd minute Daniel Farkas squared the ball along the edge of the penalty box for Stian Syvertsen to score with a nice placed right-footed strike. It was a very entertaining match for the neutrals, with both teams recording a total of 33 shots.

Four days passed and we travelled to Sogndal. I won't elaborate on our finishing, I'll only tell you that we didn't have a single shot on target. That doesn't mean we didn't have any chances though - I'd say the hosts were lucky to get the result. In the 25th minute their first really dangerous attack arrived and that was enough to put them in front. A counter attack, a cross from the right, Sebastian Alsaker, 1:0. And in the 57th minute we got hit on the break for the second time, this time it was Théodule Zangon who found the net. Another disappointing result that made up for a five games without a win streak.

Everyone knows how strong Rosenborg is. Even though we were at home, I decided to go for a counter attacking approach. And it worked like a charm. The goalless first half was marked by a few potentially dangerous breakaways on our part and the visitors being forced to shoot from long range, which turned out completely ineffective. And in the second half we only needed two minutes to get in front. A corner came in, Bjøndal found Cadby with a conscious pass and the Englishman unleashed a powerful drilled effort towards the far post. Their goalkeeper stood no chance. We doubled our lead in the 63rd minute. Cadby picked up a pass 25 yards away from goal and sent Seydi one on one with the keeper with a wonderful through ball. The Senegalese didn't waste this great chance. It's always satisfying when you don't allow your opponent to have a shot on target as well.

The final game of May was a home clash with Bærum, who turned out to be a much tougher rival than I had expected. There were some early signs of trouble as Brunst had to perform a couple of saves in the opening minutes. We shut the visitors up in the 16th minute though with a Henrik Bjøndal goal, Cadby with the assist. Our English support striker doubled our lead just six minutes later, Syvertsen with a great through ball to assist him. Shadow of doubt was casted over the result in the 28th minute when Mohamad Darwish got one back for Bærum. Neither team looked particularly in control from that point, there were good opportunities on both ends of the pitch. I let out a huge sigh of relief in the 89th minute when Cadby doubled his goal tally, giving Syvertsen another assist, but just two minutes later the visitors fought back with a Sullay Kaikai goal. Luckily they didn't have time for anything more.

Cupen

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Just as expected.

I decided to field a few youngsters against Kjelsås, but there were also a couple of first team regulars in the starting XI. The most prominent of them, Mohamed Seydi, put us in front in the 29th minute, Henrik Bjørdal with the assist from the right wing. Eight minutes later the winger also assisted Anders Nikkinen in a very similar attacking move that put us 2:0 in front. And to round things off, in the 74th minute the young striker laid the ball out to Seydi who set the final scoreline with an easy finish. The whole match was pretty much a walk in the park, with our domination barely challenged by the hosts.

Non-league Harstad await us in the Third Round.

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You're proving to be a tough out though. :thup:

Thanks, it certainly hasn't been an easy journey so far, but I can say it's quite enjoyable. The feeling of finally winning the Icelandic league was beyond any description.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - June 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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Just one game this month and that didn't end up well.

The trip to Strømsgodset was obviously never going to be an easy one. The fact that only thanks to Alexander Brunst we didn't fall 2:0 down inside the first two minutes only proves that. After this initial strike we recovered and found our feet in the game, making it quite interesing and even. When there were good goalscoring opportunities on both ends, it was just the case of who would make the first mistake. Unfortunately it was us. In the 57th minute Zymer Bytyqi beautifully skinned past Sigurd Johannesen on the edge of the box and gave our goalkeeper no chance with a precise left-footed strike. We tried to pursue the equaliser, but Strømsgodset were in control of the situation and we failed to break them down.

Cupen

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Two good results and we're through to the Quarter Finals.

Having our two previous games in the cup in mind, I expected an easy and convincing win against Harstad. But the non-league side proved to be a much tougher nut to crack. Not only did they hold us off very well for a long time, but also they looked quite dangerous on the break and a couple of times I was actually afraid we could fall victim to a major upset. Luckily we finally broke through in the 67th minute, funnily enough it was a counter attack finished by Greg Cadby. That brought some much needed composure into the side and we finally grabbed full control of the game. Nine minutes later we doubled our lead through Mohamed Seydi, Cadby with the assist. We scraped past Harstad with much more trouble than I had expected and got drawn against Grorud in the next round.

You can all see the result, but I'll tell you it really doesn't tell the whole story. After just fifteen minutes we were 3:0 up. Five minutes into the game a nice passing move ended with Cadby setting up Seydi for a one on one with a nice through ball. The Senegalese had little trouble slotting it home. In the 14th minute a good cross by Gjøsæther landed at the feet of Bjørdal at the far post. Just a minute later the winger scored his second goal of the game, rebounding Seydi's shot. The 49th minute brought a repeat of the first goal - Cadby with the pass, Seydi on the scoresheet. And that's when we let our concentration slip. Grorud first took advantage of that in the 65th minute. A square ball from the right wing was slotted home by Andreas Hellum. Eleven minutes later Hassan Mohammed Bentsen got another one back for them after a deep free kick, but that was all we allowed. A good win at the end of the day, but it could have been much more convincing.

In the Quarter Final we'll travel to an OBOS-ligaen team, Jerv.

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Just read the whole thing - nice idea for a save :-)

So, Iceland and Finland in the bag, Norway in progress and Sweden, Denmark and Faroe Islands coming later, I presume?

I wish you the best of luck with this campaign.

Thanks. :thup: Just Sweden and Denmark, I haven't loaded Faroe Islands as there was no editor file enabling their lead at the time I started the save.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - July 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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Still yet to lose at home, I wish we could be as good away...

On July 2nd we travelled to Haugesund for the first league game after the mid-season break. Looking at the table I knew it wasn't going to be easy. But even then we managed to make it harder for ourselves. In the 13rd minute a cross came into our box from the left wing, it landed on the head of Nemanja Vukobratovic... who headed it straight into the corner of the goal. He wasn't even under too much pressure. We struggled to recover from that and six minutes later the second blow came, Kwame Addai on the scoresheet, Vetle Nes at fault for passive marking on the far post. It wasn't until the second half when we finally started to gain some control and begin our pursuit of at least a point. In the 55th minute Vukobratovic redeemed himself - at least partially - by assisting Greg Cadby for a goal that restored hope in our hearts. Haugesund weren't going to let their lead slip away though. Our horrendous away form continues.

The recovery was immediate. Even before Sandefjord got into the game properly, they were down and out. In the 3rd minute Greg Cadby found the net after a well-aimed cross from the right wing and six minutes later Stian Syvertsen scored a very similar goal. Henrik Bjørdal assisted them both, both times after beautifully skinning past the visitors' left back. After that quickfire double the game quickly turned into a case of us keeping the ball and holding the opponents as far away from our goal as possible, which we managed to do quite well. A very calm and confident win.

Only three days of rest preceeded a trip to Brann. That didn't stop us from putting in one of the best performances this season. The scoring started in the 11th minute and again it was Cadby who put us in front. He received a pass 40 yards away from goal, had no one to forward the ball to, so just decided to dribble into the area and finally finished the whole move with a fantastic precise effort. Great goal from the loanee. Exactly at the half hour mark we made it 2:0 - Frode Gjøsæther put in a deep cross from the left and Henrik Bjørdal banged it in from close range. Cadby doubled his goal tally just before the break, Gjøsæther with another assist. Brann got back into the game, scoring in the 53rd minute through Laurent Doucet. There was a brief period of nervousness on our part following as the hosts visibly felt their chance to pursue the equaliser. Luckily in the 69th minute a tight angle shot by Mohamed Seydi ended up as an own goal by their goalkeeper Ivan Lucic. The hosts scored another goal in the dying minutes, but that mattered little as we finally got our first win away from home this season.

Next up, league leaders Molde. At their place, which made things at least twice as bad. I was amused to see Miika Lindström, an old friend you may remember from IFK Mariehamn, in their starting line-up. But I was less amused in the 30th minute when Rogier Klomp came to haunt us again, this time smashing the ball into the net after a brilliant through ball that sliced right through the middle of our backline. All in all it was quite an entertaining game to watch with good chances on both sides, but at the end of the day it was the league champions who grabbed a deserved win.

After two away games I was more than happy to finally return to the Skagerak Arena to face Stabæk. And so was Mohamed Seydi, it appears. In the 8th minute Vetle Nes put in a brilliant cross from the right wing and the Senegalese had little trouble putting it in a half empty goal. Ten minutes later it was 2:0 and it was a very similar move - again Nes with the assist and Seydi with the goal. In the 21st minute the pair could have produced the third almost identical goal, but Seydi's header banged off the crossbar. Stabæk caused us very little trouble as we managed to control the game in pretty much all of its aspects. Another good, confident performance.

Transfers

Dan Smidt - coming for £65K from Aalesund, the Danish defender fills the massive gap we had on the left side.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - August 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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Ouch.

First up, Aalesund. They're always a difficult team to face and this clash was no different. The first half wasn't very entertaining with both teams struggling to break through each other's defence. It became a case of who'd make the first mistake and we fell victims to that. In the 42nd minute Tomas Wright commited a really silly foul in our penalty box, tripping a player from behind in not such a dangerous situation. Christian Bech stepped up and sent the ball down the right corner just out of reach for Brunst. Our attempts to equalise were cut short in the 62nd minute when Sigurd Johanessen was sent off for his second yellow card. And finally fifteen minutes later Fredrik Virtanen put an end to all doubt with a 2:0 goal, completely unmarked after a corner. It's not very encouraging that Aalesund only took two shots on target and scored from both of them.

In the next round we hosted one of the weaker teams in the league, Fredrikstad. I was hoping for a rather comfortable win there, but it was more of a scrape by. The day before the match we received disastrous news - Alexander Brunst picked up a hip injury in training, which forces him out for three months. Youngster Jacob Jansen replaced him between the sticks... and pulled off a sensational save just ten minutes into his debut. The only goal of the game came in the 42nd minute. Daniel Farkas played the ball in from the right wing, Henrik Bjørdal attempted a first time shot, it deflected off a defender's shins and came back to him for an easy tap-in. We kept creating chances, but at the same time we struggled to keep our defensive block intact, which allowed Jansen to earn a 7.3 rating with a few quality saves.

A week later we took on league leaders Lillestrøm in a game that turned out to be a real thriller. From the very first moments it shaped up to be very even, but we seemed to have the slightest of optical advantages. In the 21st minute we broke through in a way that would probably earn hundreds of thousands of Youtube views if it happened in real life. A nice passing move on the left set up Dan Smidt for a clear crossing position, he put the ball in and Greg Cadby went absolutely crazy, banging it straight into the upper 90 with an incredible overhead kick. What a ****ing goal. Unfortunately our celebrations were cut down just four minutes later. Andreas Helmersen equalised with a weak effort that Jansen really should have caught instead of deflecting it into his own net. Funnily enough, shortly before the final whistle our goalkeeper pulled off a close range double save that left everyone in the stadium holding their heads in disbelief, effectively preserving the point and our home unbeaten run.

Having noticed that our talented young goalkeeper Øystein Fossland had recovered from injury, I decided to stick him into the starting XI for the Viking game. Another notable recovery was Djibril Traoré. After suffering from a broken leg, the winger finally got his chance to shine for Odd. We started strongly and were dangerous in front of their goal from the beginning. In the 20th minute Traoré performed an individual run and won us a penalty... which was hit straight at the goalkeeper by Bjørdal. It's always a damn bad omen, but I forgot about that at least for a while when just two minutes later Greg Cadby found Traoré unmarked in the box with a fantastic pass and the Malian scored his first ever goal for the club. What a way to come back from such a dangerous injury. From the 37th minute until the 42nd things went crazy - first Christoffer Tefre Skage equalised for Viking, then Mohamed Seydi put us back in front and then Samuli Tuukkanen got the hosts their second goal. We looked considerably weaker after the break and our opponents looked to take advantage from that. And just as I thought we were going to hold on, in the 95th minute chaos erupted in our box after a corner and Håkon Rekdal somehow squeezed the ball into the net. Painful.

We ended the month with a trip to Sandnes Ulf which turned out to be our typical 2027 away game. We dominated in the first thirty minutes or so, creating a shedload of situations that were promptly wasted, most of them fell to the feet - or head - of Mohamed Seydi. Then a point came after which we started to gradually lose control of the events on the pitch. The fortress first fell in the 57th minute. After a free kick from the left the ball landed at the feet of George Shongwe just inside the box and the hosts' player put them in front with a nicely placed effort. And then in the 75th minute Miomir Ivic doubled their goal tally after a through ball and a near post finish. The linesman didn't seem to notice that he was a couple of yards offside.

Cupen

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At least we've done the job here.

There were no calculations - I fielded the strongest team available against Jerv, even though they play one level lower than we do. We opened the scoreline in the 17th minute. Cadby received the ball near the byline on the right wing, played it back towards the edge of the penalty area for Stian Syvertsen to find the back of the net with a beautiful placed shot. Just three minutes later Cadby got a goal for his own as well, making perfect use of a nice through ball by Mohamed Seydi. Our Senegalese striker dealt the knocking out blow in the 90th minute, tapping the ball in from point blank range after a perfectly aimed cross from the right delivered by Bjørdal. It was a very confident and convincing performance which allowed us to fulfill the board's expectations for the competition.

We'll finally get to play at home in the Semi Final, our opponent will be Strømsgodset.

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Good luck in the cup, seems like it's more realistic way to reach European place.
Cup win would definitely be nice.

It would certainly be nice to win something this season, in terms of European qualification... well, you can see how tight the league is. A good run can seriously fire us up the table.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - September 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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That's more like it!

We started the month with a home game against bottom of the table strugglers Start. And it couldn't have started better for us as Greg Cadby put us two in front inside the first ten minutes of the match. First he seized on a horrendous backpass by the opponents' right back and then he pounced on the rebound after Mohamed Seydi's shot was deflected by the goalkeeper. Shortly after the break we made it 3:0. A brilliant passing move ended with Dan Smidt drilling a cross in from the left wing and Djibril Traoré netting it from a tight angle. Start responded in the 68th minute when Harald Holter scored after a corner, but it was Stian Syvertsen who had the final say thirteen minutes later, adding an assist to Cadby's brace from point blank range. I wish we could play like this every week.

It was vitally important not to underestimate Rosenborg. They may be having a terrible season by their standards, but they can still prove to be very tough opposition. Not this time though - we wiped the floor with them in the first half and just controlled things after the break. The Lerkendal fortress fell after just six minutes of play. Traoré aimed a corner at the far post and a powerful header by Stijn Vanspauwen opened the scoreline. Our right winger contributed to another goal in the 41st minute as he was brought down in the box, allowing Seydi to extend our lead from the spot. The Senegalese striker assisted Cadby with a square ball alongside the edge of the penalty area just sixty seconds later. As I said, there weren't many interesting events on the pitch in the second half. There was no need for them.

And finally an extremely weird trip to Bærum. After just seven minutes of play we lost Greg Cadby to a pulled thigh muscle. The Englishman was replaced by Nemanja Vukobratovic, which pushed Bjørdal to the right wing and Traoré up front alongside Seydi. Inside the first twenty minutes of the game our shots were denied by the woodwork twice. Then we gradually started to lose control over the game, surprisingly allowing the hosts more and more in front of our own goal. But the turning point was the oncoming of Magnus Skjelseth at the break. In the 61st minute the young Norwegian received a pass from Traoré on the right wing, cut inside and unleashed a gorgeous placed effort towards the far post from a tight angle, leaving their goalkeeper with no chance. The hosts went on to push for the equaliser and only by God's help we held onto the slimmest of leads as they kept getting into one on one positions. In addition to Øystein Fossland playing a blinder between the sticks, they had serious trouble with hitting the target. And finally in the 82nd minute we caught them on the break with Skjelseth putting the ball in from the right and Mohamed Seydi getting his 11th league goal of the season with an easy finish. The final whistle was a huge relief.

Cupen

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Only one obstacle left now.

Strømsgodset were by far the toughest opponent we had to face so far on our road to the final. Both teams approached the game rather cautiously from the start, but luckily it was us who managed to break the deadlock first. In the 23rd minute Traoré aimed a cross at the far post from the right wing and the ultimate cup striker Mohamed Seydi put us in front with his 7th goal in the 6th Cupen game he's featured in. Twelve minutes passed and we let the lead slip. The visitors put together a passing move inside our penalty box with way too much ease and Vegard Abrahamsen took advantage of our indecisiveness with a placed effort from 12 yards out. Finally just before the break a corner came into their area and Erik Dvergsdal fell victim to a rather soft foul. The spot kick was calmly converted by the one who never disappoints - Greg Cadby. In the second half we held onto the lead with relative ease, booking a deserved place in the final.

The other finalist is Aalesund.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - October 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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We almost had it, but then we let it slip.

We were missing a few important first team players against Sogndal, including Vetle Nes, Djibril Traoré, and, most importantly, Greg Cadby. The match itself quickly turned into a duel between Mohamed Seydi and the visitors' goalkeeper, Dumisani Msibi. A duel our striker was constantly getting all but humiliated in, I should say. Free header from six yards out - straight into his hands. Cutting inside from the left for a one on one - same story again. Sogndal didn't look particularly dangerous on the break, but they had more of the ball and I was starting to fear that we might stupidly drop points in this match. Luckily we had a joker in our hands - Magnus Skjelseth came onto the pitch in the second half, replacing Nemanja Vukobratovic. And in the 89th minute the young Norwegian pulled away from his marker on the wing before delivering a perfect cross straight to the feet of Seydi on the far post. That was a chance he couldn't miss. Nothing like a late winner to extend our run of wins.

Next up, Haugesund. Nes and Cadby made their comebacks, but on the other hand we couldn't use Dan Smidt because of a suspension. To make things worse, our English striker picked up a groin injury just six minutes into the match and was forced off the pitch again. The first half was Haugesund controlling the game and getting into dangerous positions, but a fantastic performance from our defenders ensured their shots would get blocked. Alexander Brunst also did his part of the job after returning from his hip injury. Just before the break an individual run from Anders Nikkinen won us a penalty which was then converted by Henrik Bjørdal. In the second half we finally started to keep the ball a bit more and in the 56th minute a free kick cross by Vetle Nes was met by a good finish from Stijn Vanspauwen. After that goal Haugesund lost their will to fight and we strolled to the final whistle with little trouble.

The Strømsgodset game was far from a typical boring 0:0 we used to produce regularly last season. For the second time in a row our backline recorded match ratings over 7.0 for blocking numerous attempts on goal. Brunst played his part between the sticks as well. On the other side of the pitch, we had a couple of great chances towards the final whistle, but were horribly inaccurate with our shots. All in all, a draw wasn't all that bad, especially as it was our fifth league clean sheet in a row.

We fell just one game short of being unbeaten at home for the whole campaign. It's always painful to fall on the final hurdle and this time it was no different. I have to admit though, Brann were simply the better team. No matter what we tried, we couldn't seem to shake them off and hit them on the break. In the 14th minute a cross came in from the right wing and João Teixeira banged the ball home from ten yards out. It should have been cleared away by Bjørdal in the first place, but for some reason our midfielder decided to stand still and wait until the ball arrives to him. Well, it didn't. Then on the half hour mark Mads Pedersen let off a header which looked comfortably stoppable, but for some reason Brunst failed to reach the ball and it went past him. Mohamed Seydi's goal in the 52nd minute - Traoré with yet another assist after coming back from injury - restored some hope, but horrendous finishing from Nikkinen later on in the game denied our slim draw hopes. As a result of the loss, we slipped below Viking and into 4th place in the table which could cost us a European place. The final day is certainly going to be interesting.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - November 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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A five goal thriller leaves us exactly where I wanted us to be.

The first half of our trip to Sandefjord was one of the wildest rollercoaster rides of the season. First off, we conceded a rather silly goal in the 14th minute, not forming the offside trap quickly enough and as a result presenting Jean-Jacques Bamba with a sitter. Nine minutes later our never disappointing duo produced yet another moment of magic - a beautiful passing move set up Djibril Traoré for a crossing position, a drilled ball found Mohamed Seydi on the far post and the Senegalese got his 14th league goal of the season, reaching Cadby's number. In the 43rd minute a header by Vukobratovic was aimed towards goal, but just as the goalkeeper stepped sideways to catch the ball, Traoré emerged out of nowhere and put the ball in an empty net. Our celebrations were cut short in the first half's injury time when an interception attempt by Vanspauwen ended with him sliding the ball past our own goal line. Things eased off a little after the break, but it was the amazing Traoré who had the final say - in the 81st minute his magnificent through ball allowed Greg Cadby to overtake Seydi once more in the goalscoring table and put us back in front with a powerful strike. At the same time Haugesund lost at Strømsgodset, allowing us and Viking to climb above them in the table and clinch European qualification. Happy days at the Skagerak Arena.

Cupen

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We didn't show up. Simple as that.

The Cupen final was a major disappointment for anyone who might have expected an entertaining game. It was almost as dull and boring as it gets. In the first half all we could muster was a couple of not very hopeful counter attacking moves and Aalesund were no better. The first highlight after the break showed up in the 75th minute and it wasn't very exciting either. Finally in the second half of extra time we allowed our opposition a series of corners and fell victim to one of them in the 115th minute when massive chaos erupted in front of our goal and it was Fredrik Virtanen who ended up netting the winner. What a horrible day.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2027 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

Results

Competition Performance: 3rd

Massive improvement over the previous season. After some initial trouble we found form in the latter stage and that fired us all the way to European qualification, which could turn out to be a massive boost for the club. Here's hoping.

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup

Competition Performance: Runners-up

We looked unstoppable in the early stages, but the final was a horrible showing from both sides and we ended up on the wrong end of a very silly extra time goal. Maybe next season...

Squad

The base is strong, but a few players are leaving this winter and we'll need some strenghtening, especially as we'll be playing on three fronts next season.

Transfers - Finances

A decent transfer window, we turned a net profit of over £1M and brought in a few decent players with Mohamed Seydi being the particular highlight. Only Sigurd Johanessen turned out to be a disappointment.

Our good results in both competition have their reflection in finances. An already healthy balance is going to be further boosted by the European money, so I should be able to splash some cash in the transfer window.

Player of the Season

1st - Greg Cadby - hands down the best player at the club. He fell just short of becoming the Tippeligaen's top scorer and his 15 goals were massive help in our European places bid. Shame he's off to Norwich at the end of December, he's been immense for us this season.

2nd - Mohamed Seydi - the best capture of the transfer window. Coming in for free, the striker formed a fantastic partnership up front with Cadby and became the top scorer in the cup with seven goals from seven games. He certainly has much more in him, he only needs to start converting the chances where he has a goalkeeper in front of him.

3rd - Djibril Traoré - putting him here after just seven league appearances might seem a bit far fetched, but just look what he did in these mere seven games. If he carries on with this form in the next season, he could set the league on fire.

Next Season

After finally getting the tactic to work and identifying our strengths and weaknesses, it's hard not to aim for the title. I'll be satisfied with a top three finish though.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Board Expectations:

Tippeligaen: Mid-table finish

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup: Semi Finals

My Expectations:

Tippeligaen: I'd like to challenge for the title, top three is a must.

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup: A good run would certainly be nice. Silently hoping to win it.

Budgets:

Transfer: £1,069,231

Wage: £47,592 (currently spending £24,960)

Balance: £1,350,351

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Friendlies

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A good bunch of results, apart from those against the Belgian sides obviously.

Transfers

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This is a gamble, but a gamble I'm willing to take.

Elvin Karic - for a moment I wanted to kill my assistant. He was all so enthusiastic about this guy and I decided to splash out £250K on someone who's not as good as I thought. He'll be given a chance anyway, but still...

Stefan Radakovic - a direct replacement for Cadby. He definitely has potential to shine, but will require proper service from his teammates. The bar has certainly been set quite high.

Michael Viscosi - in my opinion he's definitely an improvement over Nes, exactly what we needed on the right side of defence. He'll start the season in the first XI.

Daniel Balaz - always nice to rack up young foreign talent, isn't it? Balaz arrives for a very good price and seems to be our third best central defender, with potential to break into the starting lineup.

Martin Aouragh - we did need another striker to provide cover, so when an agent came into my office and offered me a young Norwegian, I couldn't scoff at that. I'm quite happy with this capture.

Youth Intake

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Nothing spectacular, but a couple of players seem to be worth snapping up.

Lars Emil Strøm

Lars Peter Stensland

Morten Sausjord

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - April 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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We seem to start the season quite similarly each year.

A home game against newly promoted Vålerenga on matchday 1 looked like a good opportunity to get off to a decent start. Mohamed Seydi confirmed our ambitions just eight minutes into the new season, converting Traoré's cross from close range. We continued to push on for some time, but then the visitors launched a counter attack five minutes before the break and a horrendous save attempt from Alexander Brunst allowed José Fernandes to equalise with a rather scruffy effort from a tight angle. But the most ridiculous goal was yet to come. I struggle even attempting to describe the events chronologically, but I'll give it a shot. In the 51st minute a long ball was launched above the heads of our defenders towards Fernandes, it deflected off Erik Dvergsdal and rolled towards the byline to the right hand side of the goal. The Portuguese striker attempted to squeeze it in, it hit Brunst, bounced off the post, hit Brunst again, the goalkeeper attempted to kneel down and catch the ball, but was shoulder-bumped by Dvergsdal and somehow ended up carrying it over the line. Kind of. I'm not even sure. Fifteen minutes later I rage-subbed Stefan Radakovic and brought on Anders Nikkinen. Just two minutes later it paid off - he gave us the equaliser after a great cross by Dan Smidt. And in the 75th minute Nikkinen scored the winning goal, converting a fantastic delivery from our new right back Michael Viscosi. Talk about an impact sub!

Next up, Strømsgodset away, never an easy trip. The first half hour looked very even and at the same time entertaining for the fans with decent goalscoring opportunities on both sides of the pitch. This time it was us who dealt the first blow. In the 35th minute a marvellous passing move ended with Radakovic lauching a perfectly timed through ball to Koffi Konan who found the net with a sublime effort. Of course we went on to give away a silly penalty five minutes later and Tor Bjørkman equalised from the spot. Seconds before the break we should have got back in front. Radakovic received a beautiful floated cross from Seydi, standing a yard away from goal in acres of space. He could have literally walked the ball in. He hit the post... somehow. To his own luck he redeemed himself in the 70th minute. Seydi played another nice through ball to the Serbian who calmly rounded the goalkeeper and this time managed to place the ball in an empty net. It was by no means an easy game and I'm very happy with the points we've picked up.

Our hopes of not being beaten at home this season were crushed very quickly and again it was Brann who took three points from the Skagerak Arena. And again it was all down to finishing. In the 9th minute Brann launched a 2v5 counter attack. Yes, they managed to score from that. With a defender on his back, Unai Díez unleashed a rather soft strike, but Brunst made a complete mess out of it and managed to let it go between his legs. Another howler from our experienced goalkeeper, not good. Then we went on to waste loads of situations, Seydi and Radakovic constantly making me move in my chair nervously. Of course so many wasted opportunities had to come back and bite us in the arse. Díez played a one-two with our ex-played Aleksander Liland and found space at the near post to beat our goalkeeper for the second time. I just knew I had to change something.

So I went and stuck Øystein Fossland between the sticks for the Molde match. And Tom Egil Remen went on to beat him just fifteen minutes into the game, exploiting a massive gap in the middle of our defence. Our problems definitely reach beyond the goalkeeper position. The first half wasn't very entertaining, but the home fans were certainly pleased as just before the break Dario Bosnjak doubled the hosts' lead with an amazing effort from just inside that flew right into the top far corner. My half time decision was a no brainer - screw it, throw everything forward and hope for the best. And just ten minutes into the first half Djibril Traoré pulled away from a defender on the right wing, played the ball in and Stefan Radakovic somehow found space between four Molde defenders to squeeze the ball in. We didn't even finish our celebrations when just seconds later we won a corner, chaos erupted following the cross and Mohamed Seydi found the ball at his feet, knowing exactly what to do with it. We didn't let the foot off the gas and pushed for the winning goal, but our finishing was a massive letdown, the particular highlight being Magnus Skjelseth banging the ball at the near post in an open goal position. We had some nerve in the dying minutes as Stian Syvertsen was deservedly sent off for a stupid two-footer, but managed to hold onto a possibly valuable draw.

For those who might have already forgotten, Lillestrøm won the title by quite a comfortable margin last season. Interestingly enough, they had conceded ten goals in two league games prior to our clash. And this time the scene for the amazing show was set just seconds in. Djibril Traoré started his incredible performance by aiming a perfect cross at Henrik Bjørdal's head and the Norwegian put us in front with a gorgeous hit. Five minutes later our winger took a deep free kick and assisted Erik Dvergsdal for the 2:0 goal. In the 25th minute the Malian woke up Mohamed Seydi, again it was a marvellous ball from the right wing. Twenty minutes passed and the African duo repeated the same story. 4:0 at the break, four assists for Djibril Traoré. That has to be the best winger performance I've seen on the game. Ten minutes after the break Bjørdal doubled his goal tally, perfectly executing a free kick from 20 yards out. The party was kind of spoiled by Samuel Dramani's goal in the 67th minute, but that didn't change much. We wiped the floor with the Norwegian champions, that's what matters.

And finally an away game against bottom of the league Stabæk. I bloody hate playing the bottom teams, the finishing always seem to go downhill in these games. And this one was no different. The opposition defenders must have felt the shots they had taken to their shins and thighs for days after the match. Literally almost every shot we took that was shown in the highlights ended up blocked. And of course we had to concede a ridiculously sloppy goal from their first attacking highlight in the 58th minute, the ball came in from a free kick on the left wing, somehow wasn't intercepted by anyone and fell to the feet of Dani Calvo on the far post for an absolute sitter. Luckily there was this one situation we managed not to screw up. In the 71st minute the great Djibril Traoré put the ball in and Mohamed Seydi gave us the equaliser with an easy finish.

Cupen

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We scraped past lower league opposition with more trouble than I would have liked.

Last year's Cupen top scorer Mohamed Seydi only needed 25 seconds to open his goal tally, Magnus Skjelseth with the assist from the right wing. Six minutes later the Senegalese was assisted with another great cross, this time it was Frode Gjøsæther from the left wing. In order not to lose too much stamina, I decided to go for a defensive possession tactic from then on, effectively killing the game off. Or did we? Olav Nordhagen restored some hope for Førde straight after the break after none of our defenders picked up a through ball that looked a bit overhit to me. We punished the hosts three minutes later with a Stefan Radakovic goal though and controlled the game calmly right to the final whistle. Maybe it wasn't a great performance, but the result is there.

In the Second Round we travel to an opponent we've faced last year - Skeld.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - May & June 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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Not the best set of results, but our title bid is still present.

We started the month with a trip to Aalesund, the league leaders at the time. And that was the most ridiculous case of awful finishing I've seen this season. We should have been 3:0 up before the fifth minute mark. We barely let the hosts off their own half, causing constant danger in front of their goal. But then the 15th minute arrived, Aalesund broke away and Dan Smidt commited a foul from behind in the box. Christian Bech stepped up to the spot and put them in front with a confident shot. That didn't change the flow of the game too much, the first half was absolute domination from us. After wasting numerous opportunities we finally equalised in the 69th minute. Mohamed Seydi played a nice through ball to Stefan Radakovic and he finally proved his ability to hit the target. Two minutes passed and we were down again though. A goalmouth scramble and poor defensive decision making allowed Eero Kujala to put the ball in an empty net. Yet again we found ourselves on the wrong end of horrible football injustice.

Next up, Rosenborg, a team we've surprisingly beaten twice last season, scoring five goals and not conceding any. This time everything went balls up in our play though. In the 7th minute Gianluca Strano played a deep free kick into our penalty area, Erik Dvergsdal failed to intercept the ball and Marcus Kalliokoski put the hosts in front with an easy shot. The whole match turned out to be horribly dull, with both teams recording only six shots each. Finally in the dying minutes we gave away a penalty and Jon Lundblad doubled Rosenborg's lead from the spot, effectively sealing the final scoreline. Not good. Not good at all.

We had an opportunity to bounce back against Haugesund, but it wasn't going to be easy. Or so I thought. The scoreline opened up after just five minutes of play. Michael Viscosi took three defenders onto himself before letting off a calm pass to Anders Nikkinen unmarked just inside the area, assisting him for the first goal of the game. In the 14th minute a free kick arrived into our box, it was nodded on, for some reason Brunst stayed on his line instead of collecting it, Arnold Ehn got to the ball and scored an easy equaliser. The Haugesund striker scored his second goal of the match just three minutes later after a corner, only this time he beat his own goalkeeper with a sublime header. In the 33th minute Djibril Traoré finally woke up. He picked up the ball on the right wing and went for an amazing solo run which ended up with him smashing the ball into the net at the near post. In the 63th minute our winger received another pass near the touchline, but this time played it into the box and Stefan Radakovic made it 4:1 from close range. And finally Nikkinen settled the scoreline, doubling his goal tally five minutes before the final whistle after a nice through ball by Stian Syvertsen. A smashing performance no one really expected.

A week of rest preceeded our home clash with Viking. And I'll just tell you the result really speaks the whole story. It wasn't a very entertaining match for the fans in the stands, the visitors didn't even let off a shot on target. Our only goal of the game came in the 22nd minute. The ball came in from a corner kick, landed at the feet of Dvergsdal who initialized a beautiful passing move inside their penalty area which ended with Koffi Konan laying the ball out for Henrik Bjørdal who smashed hit into the upper 90 from the edge of the six yard box. The match might not have been very entertaining, but it's the points that matter.

The only league game of June was a trip to Sandefjord. Have I already mentioned our crap finishing? The first half was complete and utter domination on our part, but no matter how good the opportunity was, our strikers couldn't find the net. Unlike Marko Kolar, who only needed one half chance just before the break to put the hosts in front from the corner of the penalty area, helped by another poor save attempt from Brunst. Finally in the 59th minute we broke through - a great through ball from Nikkinen reached Radakovic who somehow managed to find the net with the goalkeeper in his way. When six minutes later Traoré got his ninth assist of the season and Koffi Konan put us in front with a nice effort from just outside the box, I thought we'd seal it. But it wasn't to be - seconds after being brought onto the pitch Sigurd Johannesen slid the ball over our own goal line after a cross from the right wing. Oh well, **** happens I guess.

Cupen

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Our campaign is progressing nicely.

First up we travelled to non-league Skeld, a team we've beaten 5:0 in the First Round last season. Not surprisingly I decided to field a half-reserve squad. And things went smooth... well, relatively smooth. In the 5th minute a corner arrived into their area, Stian Syvertsen headed the ball down and Tom Granheim smashed it home with a furious effort from ten yards out. We continued to push on, but lacked the strike force to extend our lead. Finally the 80th minute arrived. Magnus Skjelseth was set up for a one on one with a tight angle, his shot deflected off the goalkeeper's hand, then off a defender's knees and finally slid over the line.

In the Third Round we got matched with an OBOS-ligaen side Fram Larvik. And it turned out to cause us much more trouble than it should have. Everything started off rather well and in the 33rd minute we got in front. Radakovic intercepted a soft pass on the wing, his cross caught their defenders out of their positions and Anders Nikkinen was presented with an easy chance. That seemed to wake up the visitors though. Just before the break a horrendous clearance by Daniel Balaz allowed Roy Eintveit to equalise. Then in the 55th minute Per Magnus Steirling put Fram Larvik in front, finding the net after a deep free kick. Luckily our defence wasn't the only one that made ridiculous errors. Fifteen minutes later a horrible backpass fell to the feet of Radakovic in the middle of the box, the Serbian turned and unleashed a very precise shot with his left foot. And in the 76th minute Martin Aouragh scored his first ever goal for Odd, making perfect use of a cross from Traoré.

The Fourth Round brought a clash with a fellow Tippeligaen team, Tromsø. And it was the Djibril Traoré show... again. Really, I have no words for this guy. In the 22nd minute he received a nice through ball from Koffi Konan, stopped on the edge of the penalty box and let off a soft, but perfectly aimed shot that went in just inside the far post. What a sublime effort from the Malian. And just before the break he got away from his marker on the right wing, put the ball in and Radakovic was presented with an easy chance to double our lead, which he did. The second half mostly consisted of us keeping the ball and moving it around, not really pushing for more goals while Tromsø seemed to have settled for the loss.

In the Quarter Finals we'll play Molde at their place.

Europa League

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A comfortable first leg win against a Northern Irish side.

Judging by the gulf in quality between the two sides, we were pretty much supposed to dominate - and we did. Everything started off smoothly for us and in the 6th minute a great cross by Dan Smidt was met by a good finish from Radakovic. We went on to create loads of further opportunities, but the finishing was awful and we were only 1:0 up at half time. In order to preserve our first choice centre back's fitness, I decided to bring on Sigurd Johannesen. And that really was a lucky shot. In the 55th minute the ball landed on his head after a failed clearance attempt by one of the Crusaders' defenders and the Norwegian precisely squeezed it in just under the crossbar and above the goalkeeper's hand. And just before the final whistle Traoré aimed a corner at the near post and Johannesen was there to make it 3:0, giving us a very comfortable result before our trip to Northern Ireland.

Transfers

Bjørn Erik Blomseth - I am a simple man. I see a young, talented Norwegian on a free transfer, I snap him up.

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Nice bit of cash in the transfer market. Could help you find a sturdier goalkeeper. :D

Shame about the cup final, but at least you still got into Europe. :thup:

A goalkeeper isn't really my transfer priority right now and you'll see why shortly. The cash will surely come in handy though. :thup:

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - July 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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We started off great, but then the fixture congestion got to us.

Our first game of the month was away at the surprising high-flyers, Fredrikstad. Their good form didn't stop us though - we played very well from the start until the end and got the well deserved result. After a few wasted chances we got in front in the 44th minute. Djibril Traoré drilled a corner towards the near post where Elvin Karic got away from his marker to score his first ever goal for Odd. Our right winger didn't stop at one assist - in the 64th minute an indirect free kick taken by him landed on the head of Koffi Konan and the Ivorian had no trouble slotting the ball home from ten yards out. And finally four minutes before the final whistle the ball rolled to the feet of Michael Viscosi on the right wing, he flicked it into the box and Anders Nikkinen settled the scoreline with a nicely placed effort from a tight angle.

We hosted Sogndal having just come back from a trip to Northern Ireland. Maybe that's why the players wanted to have everything wrapped up by the half time whistle - which is exactly what we did. The scoring started in the 14th minute. Traoré played a deep free kick from the right into the box, Konan jumped the highest and buried the ball in the bottom corner. Our second goal came just after the half hour mark. Stefan Radakovic was presented with a good chance to score, his shot was stopped with a sensational save from Dumisani Msibi, but the Sogndal goalkeeper was helpless with Mohamed Seydi's rebound. It was also the Senegalese who scored the final goal of the game in the 42nd minute. Viscosi played the ball in from the right wing, there was a weird defensive mix-up between the visitors' central defence pairing and then Seydi came out of nowhere and smashed the ball into the back of the net. Sogndal did try to bite back a few times, but ratings starting from 7.0 upwards across our back line prove that we dealt with that well.

Sometimes you can just feel crisis in the air. It's especially easier to do so when you're in the middle of a mad fixture congestion because of the European qualifying games. Nevertheless, we had to face Kongsvinger in another league game. Our advantage in quality was undeniable and the visitors rarely found themselves close to our goal with the ball, but we simply lacked stamina to give them a proper beating. I wouldn't be surprised if we dropped points there, honestly. But we didn't - in the 69th minute Vetle Nes, who had just come off the bench a few minutes earlier, picked up the ball on the right side of the penalty area, squared it across the six yard box and Henrik Bjørdal squeezed it in from a tight angle. The experienced Norwegian may not be as important this season as he was last year, but he still has the ability to score these important ones. You just can't appreciate such a player enough.

Next up, Tromsø away. They may be struggling around the relegation zone, but I knew it wasn't going to be an easy game. And the hosts proved it - we were extremely lucky not to concede inside the first thirty minutes of the match. Given how the game went along, we simply had to slip up at some point and that happened exactly in the 38th minute. Interestingly enough, it was Auðunn Gunnarsson, a player I once worked with back at KR and sold him for a hefty profit to HJK, who put the ball in our net, exploiting a defensive misunderstanding on our part. Our situation became even worse when we conceded straight out of the dressing room, Gunnarsson with the assist and Niklas Jacobsen with the goal. That's when we showed immense character - despite exhaustion and the absence of a couple important players, namely Konan and Traoré, we managed to turn things around. In the 66th minute Vetle Nes received a pass from Bjørdal with a tight angle and his back turned to goal, but still managed to score with an exquisite, soft, placed effort that fell right into the far upper 90. What a hit from our right back - or improvised right winger in that case. And just two minutes later a beautiful triangle passing move ended with Seydi assisting Stefan Radakovic for the equaliser. That's also how Seydi bowed out of the club on his final appearance - three days later he was on his way to France.

And finally Vålerenga, a team that caused us lots of trouble on the opening day, as you may remember. That game marked the debut of our new loanee striker, Neil Love, who joins us from Norwich for the remainder of the season. And the Scottish forward introduced himself to the club in the best way possible. In the 27th minute Traoré got away from his marker, put the ball in and right onto the head of our new acquisition who got it in off the crossbar. The second half was a disastrous performance from us though, and I believe it was solely caused by our lack of stamina - the fixture congestion is really mad at this point. In the 57th minute José Fernandes received a square ball from the left and beat Brunst on the near post with a confident, strong, placed shot. And ten minutes before the final whistle the Portuguese doubled his goal tally, this time after a deep cross from the right. The loss knocked us off the top spot and allowed Strømsgodset to overtake us in the table.

Europa League

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Moving along nicely.

The Crusaders game wasn't much more than just a formality. I decided to field a mostly second-choice team, knowing I had to preserve the fitness of the players. Still, there were a couple of first choice players on the pitch and the two of them produced a goal in the 9th minute. It was the classic Odd move - Traoré from the right and Radakovic with the finish on the near post. Having built up a comfortable lead over two legs, we didn't do much more than just move the ball around, looking to exploit some holes in their defensive formation from time to time. Our final goal of the clash came in the 83rd minute. Mohamed Seydi played the ball in from the right and Martin Aouragh banged it in with a nice volley. 5:0 over two legs, job done.

I believed Újpest were going to be our first proper test in Europe. Judging by the looks, they possessed players of similar quality to ours. That didn't tie our legs though, as you can see - it's safe to say we absolutely dominated them and could have scored more than we did. The show started in the 6th minute. After a nice passing move Dan Smidt crossed from the left, Seydi got his shot saved by the Hungarians' goalkeeper, but the ball got to Djibril Traoré who got it in from quite a tight angle. Seydi got lucky himself fourteen minutes later. He set up Radakovic with a nice through ball and followed the action, so when the Serbian got dispossessed by a defender, the Senegalese was there to put the ball into an empty net. Shortly after the break we made it 3:0. Viscosi was in acres of space to cross and found Seydi in the box, who simply doesn't waste such chances. The final goal came in the 66th minute. Despite having very little space, Sebastian Vestmoen played a beautiful one-two with Seydi and won the duel with the Újpest goalkeeper to score his first ever goal in European competition.

Similarly to the Crusaders clash, there was simply no need for the first XI to be fatigued by taking part in the second leg of the Újpest rivalry. Still, the half-reserve team did quite well in their game and it was rather the Hungarians having to hold us off than the other way around. The spectators didn't witness a single goal at the end of the day, but it was mostly down to our inaccuracy rather than inability to produce a goalscoring opportunity. We did get a satisfying result at the end of the day though and after four European games were still yet to concede.

Young Boys are a whole different story. The Swiss side is clearly superior to ours, both in terms of quality and the players' and club's net worth. Despite that gulf, I decided to try and surprise them by going all out attack from the first whistle. That didn't work at all though - in the 8th minute we fell victim to this risky tactic as Mike Ipamy put the hosts in front with a powerful strike from close range. The first thirty minutes were complete and utter domination from Young Boys, but after some tactical tweaks on our part things finally started to level out. In the 41st minute Neil Love played the ball along the left wing to Stefan Radakovic. The Serbian stopped in the corner of the penalty area... and played one of the best passes I've ever seen on any Football Manager game. A very strong, drilled ball rolling on the ground exactly between the back line and the goalkeeper, just out of reach for any of them and right on time for Djibril Traoré to bang it in from a tight angle. The second half was a very entertaining show with good opportunities on both sides of the pitch, but it was us who took one of them. Traoré played a deep free kick into the box and Radakovic somehow found the smallest of spaces at the near post to squeeze the ball in with a perfectly placed header. And so we bring home a cracking result from Switzerland, hoping to defend it at our place.

Transfers

Lassana Diallo - the young, talented German was recommended to us by his agent back in May and that's when the deal was sealed. This guy has bags of potential, only needs to work on his passing a bit.

Neil Love - I told you I had a good replacement for Seydi. The Scottish striker joins us until the end of the year from Norwich and I have extremely high hopes for this guy.

Kenneth Wolan - the Norwegian left back joins for £35K from Brann to provide cover for Dan Smidt and extend our squad depth. He'll surely get his chance in the first team as well.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - August 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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An unbeaten month keeps us in the title race.

The Brann game was the ultimate frustration for us. 23 shots (12 on target) to 6 (2 on target), 57% possession, yet we couldn't grab a win against the rock bottom side. An FM classic, you could say. This time things started off well with us dominating the game from the beginning, but it took us just over forty minutes to grab the lead. The ball was cleared to the halfway line after our corner, Michael Viscosi hoofed it back up front, Elvin Karic nodded it on and Neil Love found the net with a classy finish from a not-so-easy position. After a very good first half I thought we'd extend our lead after the break, but it wasn't to be. After an hour of football Unai Díez picked up the ball on the left wing, cut inside and unleashed a very hopeful shot from 30 yards out... which somehow went in. Alex Brunst should have done much better with that. To make things even worse, seven minutes later a horrendous defensive mistake by Erik Dvergsdal allowed Thomas Andersen to put the hosts in front. All we managed to responde with was the second goal from Love in the 84th minute, Henrik Bjørdal with the assist. We really shouldn't have dropped points there.

We had to forget about that as quickly as possible though as a six point clash against Strømsgodset awaited us next. Luckily for me, the lads knew what they were playing for and they made that visible from the opening. In the 16th minute Djibril Traoré got yet another assist, putting the ball back into the box after it was cleared away after a corner and Elvin Karic headed it home. The celebrations didn't last long - just a minute later a deep free kick for the visitors ended with Kenneth Ågheim being left unmarked on the far post and presented with an easy finish. We had a couple more opportunites in the first half, but it ended 1:1. We came out of the dressing room with a loud bang though. Just seconds after the break Stefan Radakovic made a fantastic run off the ball and was served by a perfectly timed through ball from Neil Love. All the Serbian had to do was beat the goalkeeper, which he managed to accomplish. And just a minute later our Scottish loanee made it 3:1 from the penalty spot after being fouled in the box himself. We simply couldn't let that lead slip, controlling the game right until the final whistle. This could turn out to be a vital win at the end of the season.

Next up, Molde, or in other words, we finally got lucky for a change. We started the game very strongly and after just four minutes of play got in front - Kenneth Wolan put in a wonderful deep cross from the left, Radakovic was presented with an open goal, but instead of a first time shot, he brought the ball down, rounded an incoming defender and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper. Good for him he did bloody score! An early goal didn't set the scene for our domination though - inside the first half we were saved by the woodwork three times. Also, Alex Brunst put in a few wonderful saves, probably giving Rogier Klomp nightmares by constantly winning duels with him. Our defence may not have been at their best on that day, but most importantly we kept a clean sheet and got the points.

We ended August with a home game against a struggling Stabæk side. Similarly to the previous matches of the month, we got off to a great start. In the 7th minute chaos erupted in the visitors' penalty area following a corner and after a couple blocked shots the ball finally got to the feet of Kenneth Wolan who got presented with an open goal and didn't waste the chance to start scoring for his new club. We waited exactly twenty five minutes for another goal. First Neil Love got his shot saved in a one on one situation, Anders Nikkinen picked up the loose ball, laid it out to the right for Traoré to send it flying directly towards Love's head. The striker didn't waste his second chance, this time placing his shot perfectly and way out of reach for the goalkeeper. And in the 58th minute the loanee won a penalty, which he went on to take and score. Everyone will admit that Neil Love has started his life in Norway very strongly. Our celebrations were spoiled in the 85th minute when Mathias Nilsen scored quite a lucky goal after a corner. There was some slight nerve in the dying minutes, but Brunst performed well between the sticks and kept the damages to a minimum.

Cupen

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However weird it may sound, this wasn't supposed to happen.

Seeing as we were still in the middle of a fixture congestion, I decided to sacrifice the cup for the sake of challenging for the league title and fielded a second choice team away at Molde in the quarter final. As you can see though, things didn't really go along with the plan. The scoring began in the 19th minute. Dan Smidt received a good pass from Nemanja Vukobratovic on the left wing, crossed immediately and Anders Nikkinen headed the ball home from close range. Four minutes later a square ball from Magnus Skjelseth on the right was sent into the back of the net by Martin Aouragh. Nikkinen doubled his goal tally in the 56th minute, pouncing on the rebound after Aouragh's initial effort was blocked by a last ditch tackle. Şakir Deniz restored some hope for the hosts with a goal from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute, but just three minutes later the unexpected star of the evening Nikkinen got his hat-trick, Skjelseth with the assist again. Maybe I should give the reserves more chances to shine?

In the Semi Final we've been drawn away to Stabæk.

Europa League

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I guess we're not there yet.

The simplest thing to say would be that we lacked squad depth. The players I fielded were either tired or not good enough to participate at this level. And Young Boys are a classy team. The goals were just a matter of time. Mike Ipamy got the first one in the 17th minute, but that wasn't a disaster yet - a 1:0 loss would still give us qualification. But despite our best efforts and some great saves from Brunst, we couldn't hold onto that. After an hour of the game we had a wonderful opportunity to equalise when Stefan Radakovic played a great through ball to Vetle Nes cutting inside from the right, but the Norwegian's strike rolled just past the post on the wrong side. And in the 67th minute Ipamy punished us again. Denis Zakaria cut inside from the right, Dan Smidt did his best to try and dispossess him with a sliding tackle from behind, he even got the ball, but then it rolled to the feet of their striker who had a very easy chance to score. Just three minutes later the Ivorian got his hat-trick, converting a one-on-one chance after easily rounding Elvin Karic on the edge of the box. Oh well, maybe next time we'll get there.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - September 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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A home loss preceeding three away wins. Who would have thought?

We really shouldn't have slipped up against Aalesund. On the other hand, they've been my bogey team for quite some time now. That's why I wasn't all surprised in the 8th minute when Christian Bech found himself in a free position after a terrible defensive misunderstanding on our part following a free kick from the right wing. We didn't turn up for around thirty minutes of the match and were quite lucky to keep the damages to a minimum inside that period. Anders Nikkinen had a great chance to equalise shortly before the break, but his shot was miraculously saved by the visitors' goalkeeper. To make things worse, Neil Love pulled a thigh muscle just after I had used all three subs in the second half. That didn't stop him from putting his name up on the scoresheet though - in the 70th minute Koffi Konan set him free on goal with a fantastic long pass and the Scottish striker finished the move with a well placed effort. Following the goal we had a good period and I thought we'd go on to score again and get in front. But then Aalesund turned things around with just a few minutes to go, eventually burying us with an Eero Kujala goal in the 91st minute. Balls.

Next up, Lillestrøm. The simplest way to describe this game would be saying that both teams just went into gung-ho mode, but that's not exactly what happened. To start off, we fell victims to another free kick in the 6th minute, Henrik Bjørdal at fault for not intercepting the cross and Fredrik Grønstad with the opening goal. The hosts went on to push for another goal, but I made a few tactical tweaks and suddenly we scored four goals in the space of just ten minutes. In the 22nd minute a lucky deflection wrong-footed the visitors' goalkeeper after Bjørn Erik Blomseth attempted a shot from the penalty box line. Five minutes later a classic Traoré-Radakovic move put us in front and after just two more minutes the Serbian doubled his goal tally, this time after a nice pass from Blomseth and a great individual move to get past an opposition defender. In the 32nd minute Traoré's rebound from a tight angle hit the Lillestrøm goalkeeper, but still found its way into the net. The Norwegian champions weren't going to back down though. A quickfire double by Andreas Helmersen and Fredrik Grønstad just before the break ensured that the second half would keep the fans on the edge of their seats. And it did. In the 54th minute Radakovic let off a poor header after Traoré's cross, but somehow the ball bounced off João Teixeira and left their goalkeeper standing helplessly as it rolled past the line. Blomseth got his second goal of the game in the 62nd minute, rebounding a shot by Radakovic that got stopped by the Lillestrøm defence. After getting a three goal lead we let our foot off the gas once more and once more the visitors minimised our advantage. In the 79th minute Tim Schmidt made perfect use of Erik Dvergsdal's failed interception to squeeze the ball in from a tight angle and seven minutes later Fredrik Grønstad completed his hat-trick from a very similar position. There was obviously some nerve in the dying minutes, but we held onto the result with relative ease. My word, what a ride it was!

Remember when we tore Haugesund a new one back in May, beating them 5:1 at our place? They certainly did. The hosts simply played as if they were genuinely scared of us. And my players enjoyed every single minute of it. Anders Nikkinen was the first to score in the 8th minute, Traoré with a gorgeous rabona assist. Will this guy ever stop?! Twenty minutes later we doubled our lead. Our crazy right winger ran into the box with the ball, got dispossessed with a sliding tackle, but Stefan Radakovic was right there to find the ball at his feet and bury it home with an easy finish. The Serbian took only eight minutes to score again - Nikkinen proved he doesn't necessarily have to be worse at crossing than Traoré is, delivering a perfect ball to the edge of the six yard box. The final goal came from Bjørn Erik Blomseth in the 50th minute. The young Norwegian squeezed the ball in from a tight angle after some chaos in the Haugesund penalty box. We eased off in the second half, attempting to control the game and preserve our fitness before the Cupen semi final. Hadn't we done that, the result might have been even more humiliating for the hosts.

The Viking match could serve as a model 2:0 game. We took advantage early on and confirmed that in the 13th minute. Anders Nikkinen made a fantastic run down the right flank before delivering a well aimed cross to Stefan Radakovic, who headed it in from close range. We didn't create many chances or push too hard for another goal after that, but at the same time we restricted the hosts pretty much from anything, calmly controlling the flow of the game. Finally we extended our lead with three minutes to go. Nikkinen played a slightly overhit through ball into the box, but Radakovic got stuck in and slid it past the surprised goalkeeper. Pity Nikkinen wasn't awarded with an assist though. In the end it was a good win and a very confident, classy performance.

Cupen

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The wild ride doesn't stop in Lillestrøm!

I admit, I might have underestimated the opponent a bit. Seeing them struggling around the relegation zone, I expected a rather easy game. Stabæk really gave it their best though and in the 13th minute they punished us for our attitude with a Manolo Gil goal. As it's already happened a few times this season, we took a long time to wake up and could have got bitten in the arse more times in the process, but Alexander Brunst delivered a good performance in goal to keep the scoreline down to 1:0. The breakthrough came in the 37th minute and it was as lucky as it gets. After a nice passing move the ball fell to the feet of Nikkinen who got his shot blocked and then rolled towards Djibril Traoré. The winger unleashed a scruffy effort with his left foot, at first it wasn't going anywhere near the goal, but then it hit a defender, the goalkeeper and finally the back of the net. Honestly I think it should have gone down as an own goal. The luck didn't stop at that - in the 51st minute a poor first touch from Stefan Radakovic turned into another deflection and an undoubtedly own goal by Iván Romero. I thought we'd get in control after that, but no. In the 63rd minute Manolo Gil scored an absolutely stunning goal, getting past two defenders before unleashing a thunderbolt strike into the far top corner from just inside the box and just four minutes later the hosts got back in front thanks to Frode Grungstad, Gil with the assist. Luckily that wasn't all we had to say - we still had Anders Nikkinen. In the 71st minute he received a square ball from Traoré and knew exactly what to do with it. The Norwegian striker went on to score again in the 85th minute, killing all the hope for the hosts and sending us to the final.

In our second attempt to win the cup we'll face Viking.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - October 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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We only slipped up once, but it could prove to be extremely costly.

Rosenborg were never going to be an easy opponent, but no one said it would be easy either. And the match was as tight as it gets, with both teams looking rather restrained and reluctant to risk too much going forward. The game quickly turned into the case of who'd make the first mistake. And it was the visitors. It seems nothing will stop Djibril Traoré this season - in the 79th minute he did it again. Anders Nikkinen received a pinpoint cross from the right wing and all he had to do was tap the ball in. Rosenborg finally opened up a bit after that and we caught them on the break. With just a couple of minutes to go Nikkinen won us a penalty and Neil Love converted it having come on the pitch off the bench. Three points and a clean sheet after a very tough clash, at this stage of the season it's surely a great accomplishment.

It's never boring when we play Sandefjord. This time we got off to a flying start - after just three minutes Henrik Bjørdal picked up a loose ball in their penalty area and found the top far corner with a nicely placed effort. Our celebrations were short lived though as eight minutes later Adrian Økland got the hosts an equaliser having received a conscious square ball just a few yards away from goal. We got the lead back in the 37th minute and it was Bjørdal again with a goal extremely similar to the first one. It seemed we'd get in control, but after the break Dan Smidt went full... well, full Dan Smidt, receiving two yellow cards in the 51st and 60th minute. The initial period after going a man down wasn't all that bad, but time was passing and Sandefjord's pressure grew, up to the point where we barely left our penalty box. And then the glorious 85th minute came when two men took on the whole Sandefjord team and got out on top. Djibril Traoré received the ball on the right wing, had three opponents near him, but managed to launch a very hopeful through ball... which sliced right through the whole visitors' back line and to the feet of Neil Love running at full speed. The striker didn't hesitate - he unleashed a first time effort which wrong footed the goalkeeper and slotted right in the bottom corner. Sheer class. Five minutes later we executed them - Love's precise through ball reached Koffi Konan in the box and the Ivorian made it 4:1 with a calm finish. Incredible character show from the team, I must say.

Next up, Sogndal. Before this game we had quite a decent record against them, so despite their high league standing I wasn't all that scared. But I should have been - not of them though, but of our own... complacency? Or were we simply shut out? I don't know. The fact is that both sides' performance made up for a very dull show for anyone who decided to turn up at the stadium. And this time we simply had no luck. Pretty much the only situation worth showing a highlight was the Sogndal goal in the 44th minute. And what a goal it was - Sebastian Alsaker muscled off Elvin Karic to reach a through ball played to the corner of the penalty box and immediately released a shot which went past Alex Brunst and into the far top corner. Fantastic finish from the striker. It didn't even look like we pushed to equalise - we were toothless and deserved to lose.

A week later we hosted Fredrikstad and for a large part of the game I was afraid there were some visible symptoms of crisis in the team, something I really wouldn't like to happen to us at this stage. Instead of pushing the opponents, we had to hold them off and sometimes needed luck to avoid falling behind. After struggling massively in the first half we finally got some flow after the break, but we were still far away from our top form. Luckily we had Neil Love. In the 61st minute an attempted cross from the byline from the Scottish striker hit Kalilou Collin on its way, caught the goalkeeper off his line and somehow went in off the far post. And nine minutes later Love's cross from a free kick on the left reached Bjørn Erik Blomseth who was unmarked inside the six yard box and had no trouble finding the net. Despite some trouble we got exactly the result we needed.

And finally Tromsø. The perfect chance to build some confidence after a dip in performance, but on the other hand we did have some trouble against their 4-3-1-2 in our previous confrontation. This game was different though - we absolutely dominated from start to finish. In the 6th minute a gorgeous passing move ended with Anders Nikkinen playing a quick one-two with Neil Love on the edge of the box and finding the net at the near post. Five minutes later Henrik Bjørdal doubled our lead, Traoré with his 20th assist in the league. Yes, 20th. After quickly setting the scene we eased off and focused on keeping the ball, but kept creating chances and only thanks to a great performance by the visitors' goalkeeper we didn't completely humiliate them. The final goal came in the 89th minute - Kenneth Wolan played a deep cross from the left and Nikkinen was presented with a sitter. Remarkably, we had 12 shots in this match and all of them were on target. Could this be some sort of a record?

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - November 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

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We had it. We ****ing had it.

Kongsvinger were sitting dead last in the table and were already relegated. At the same time Strømsgodset travelled to in-form Vålerenga. We started our game well, but struggled to break through the hosts' defence. In the 25th minute fantastic news arrived from Oslo - Vålerenga were in front! That wasn't enough reason for us to celebrate, but when Anders Nikkinen scored his 10th league goal of the season after a fantastic cross by Kenneth Wolan just three minutes later, I nearly jumped out of my chair. To make things even better, before half time it was 2:0 in Oslo. Could Vålerenga hold on? More importantly, could we hold on? The 49th minute brought the answer to the latter. Håvard Skramstad let off a hopeful and rather scruffy shot from outside the box, but Alex Brunst made a complete mess of a save and pretty much knocked it into the net. Okay, that was bad, but we still had a lot of time and kept creating chances. We had two headers denied by the crossbar - first Henrik Bjørdal and then Erik Dvergsdal, both from Djibril Traoré's crosses. In the 77th minute it was all over though. The Kongsvinger right winger attempted a drilled cross, the ball bounced off Wolan, but Brunst didn't seem to notice that and came out of his line, allowing Anders Hoem to put the ball into an empty net. Strømsgodset got one back in the meantime, but that didn't matter anymore. We bottled it.

Had we held onto the 1:0, we'd have won the league on goals scored, moving above Strømsgodset on the final day.

Cupen

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At least there's that.

Similarly to last year, it wasn't a beautiful cup final. Seven yellow cards shown by the referee serve as a good description of the events on the pitch. And we got off to a horrible start. In the 8th minute a clearance attempt from Erik Dvergsdal turned into a square ball across the six yard box and Lawrence Ngidi found the back of the net with a close range header. For quite some time we looked stunned, but Viking didn't really push too hard for another goal. Finally the 33rd minute arrived. Djibril Traoré pulled away from his marker on the right side and put a cross in. It looked overhit from the start, but this time it was a good thing - it flew over the goalkeeper's head and into the net. This time we got lucky for a change. And that wasn't all - in the 59th minute Neil Love went on an amazing solo run starting from the halfway line and attempted to lay the ball out for Nikkinen, but ended up hitting Abdel Rewani. The ball bounced off the defender... and rolled in! After an hour of football we were in front and in control of the game. Finally in the 73rd minute a cross by Wolan was met by a finish by Nikkinen, who got his 7th goal in the competition and became the top scorer, sealing the final scoreline and pretty much handing us the cup.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2028 - Odds Ballklubb

Tippeligaen

Results

Competition Performance: 2nd

Mixed feelings. After a relatively bumpy start we switched on the fifth gear, played really well and maintained in contest for the championship, but when we got the dream chance on the final day, we blew it in the worst possible way. The side has definitely shown signs of improvement though and next year could really be our year.

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup

Competition Performance: Winners

It wasn't all that smooth, but we got what we wanted, the particular highlight being the 4:1 thrashing of Molde with a mostly reserve squad.

UEFA Europa League

Competition Performance: Third Qualifying Round

It was all going well until we stumbled upon Young Boys of Switzerland. Despite bringing home a great result we couldn't get past them.

Squad

Definitely stronger than last year, with a couple of additions we should be able to challenge for the title next season while maintaining good performances both in the cup and in Europe.

Transfers - Finances

Another good year in transfers. We brought in a total of nine players over the course of the season and each of them played a part in our performances. A net profit of £1,6M is a great result, the highlight being the record sale of Mohamed Seydi whom I had brought in on a free as you may remember.

We brought in so much money from transfers, gate receipts and performances that we could spend almost £3M on facilities development and still turn a profit. The finances are as healthy as ever.

Player of the Season

1st - Djibril Traoré - did anyone have any doubt? This guy is just crazy. He's a constant threat on the wing, racking up ridiculous numbers of assists and breaking records on his way to the top. I just hope there won't be too much interest in him in the transfer period!

2nd - Anders Nikkinen - by far the biggest shock of the season. A striker I had viewed as not much more than a fringe player was forced to step up on matchday 1 and played so well that I simply had to give him more and more chances to shine. He ended up scoring 17 goals in all competitions and winning the Young Player of the Year award. Hopefully he won't just be a one season wonder.

3rd - Koffi Konan - I brought this guy in on a free transfer two years ago and he's been constantly developing ever since. A vital part of the team, it's also worth pointing out that he went to the Olympics and got all the way to the final with the Ivory Coast U-23 side before losing to Italy.

Next Season

The only way is up, the only thing we could be aiming for is the title. With two incoming transfer deals already in place, I think we should be able to achieve that.

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2029 - Odds Ballklubb

Board Expectations:

Tippeligaen: Mid-table finish

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup: Semi Finals

My Expectations:

Tippeligaen: The board don't seem to notice we've become one of the top sides in Norway. I want to win the league.

Norgesmesterkap Frisk Forsikring Cup: Retaining it would certainly be a good achievement.

Budgets:

Transfer: £3,789,939

Wage: £52,347 (currently spending £27,729)

Balance: £1,682,217

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Elvar Björgvinsson's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2029 - Odds Ballklubb

Friendlies

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I know friendlies are nothing to go by, but... just look at that! Can you hear it? Can you hear Strømsgodset ******** bricks?

Transfers

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No revolution was needed here really.

Admir Civic - Neil Love was obviously going to leave us after the loan period, so we needed a replacement. Civic is a very interesting player because of his work rate and stamina, another thing that works in his favour is the homegrown status he got at Strømsgodset of all places before moving to Finland.

Boris Novak - champagne was definitely popping in the homes of all Alexander Brunst haters. The German leaves the club on a free transfer and Novak comes in as a replacement. He definitely seems to be an improvement over what we had between the sticks.

James Keen - quite a lot of money will go towards this one, but it's a fantastic option to have on the left flank and with Henrik Bjørdal approaching the decline age inevitably, the Englishman will definitely provide a breath of fresh air.

Youth Intake

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Yay, we actually got someone decent!

Sondre Bøhn

Mads Kolseth

Tore Horn Andersen

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