retired_samiam

After the match, we received a bid from Brann - £300,000 for our transfer listed goalkeeper Oyvind Andre Bolthof. I was about to accept their bid, until I spotted two promising youngsters in their reserves. Both the 20 year old right back Nils Morten Leknes and the 19 year old centre half Oystein Solheim were excellent defenders and were being wasted in the Brann reserves. Both were valued at around £15,000, so we negotiated a deal involving those two players and £240,000 for Bolthof. Brann's manager said he would consider it and get back to me.


After securing the two coaches who excelled in developing youth a couple of weeks ago, I was now determined in building a competent reserve side, and the two young defenders would fit in well. I already had two good developing goalkeepers in Magnus Hjulstad and Erkend Johansen. Rune Fossum was an adequately talented right back, and our left backs of Stian Skille Berger and Eirik Huseby Saeter were OK for the time being. Our other left back Kenneth Gundersen Hoff was hopeless. Solheim and Leknes would go straight in as centre backs, alongside Dobriza Sokanovic and Stefan Larsen.


Our reserve midfield was quite poor. I wanted our reserves to play the same formation as our first team, but several positions were lacking. Daniel Cuello was our only DM LC and his performances had been shocking. I was happy with Ragnar Klavan and Christian Grindheim as DM RC's for now, but we also had Stian Skaug in that position. We had four MC players, with Thomas Huseby Saeter, Steve Kawandami, Amir Sharif and Oyvind Risjord, and I wasn't impressed with any of them. We only had Faizal Sharif at AM LC and Julien Madsen at AM RC and I wasn't a fan of either. Jonas Hansen Krogstad was a good striker that I had hopes for, but Tommy Edvardsen was hopeless.


Rebuilding the reserves would be a hugely difficult job, but ultimately, a rewarding one, as it should feed our first team with quality in the years to come. With this in mind, I decided to transfer list several players who were above 22 years old, and had no hope of making the cut.


By the time I was finished, 10 players had been transfer listed, and I hoped to offload them soon. The list was players was:[LIST]<LI>Dobriza Sokanovic<LI>Stefan Larsen<LI>Kenneth Gundersen Hoff<LI>Daniel Cuello<LI>Stian Skaug<LI>Steve Kawandami<LI>Amir Sharif<LI>Faizal Sharif<LI>Julien Madsen<LI>Tommy Edvardsen

None of the players attracted any responses once we made their availability known to other clubs, so it seems to may be difficult getting rid of them. Once most of them have gone, I would look to bring in young players aged below 21, and see if we could develop any stars. I wasn't expecting to receive much money for any of them, although Amir Sharif was valued at around £150,000. It would be terrific to receive this much combined for all 10 players.


14th March 2002
After our comprehensive victory over Fredrikstad, I felt comfortable and was looking forward to the rest of the season. My mood was dampened a little bit when I heard that Rosenborg had beaten Aaleslund 2-0, and even more so when Start beat Molde 4-1. Start and ourselves were the only two sides with a 100% record at the top of the table, and they looked to be in great form.


15th March 2002
Ardian Gashi responded to my improved contract offer today, and he rejected it. He said that although the £1,000 a week increase was nice, he didn't like the fact that I had removed his Minimum Fee Release clause. I spoke to him at length at my hopes for the club, and made him a new offer - still with the clause removed, but an increase of £2,200 a week and hoped he would buy into my vision for the future.


Another contractual problem arose today, one much more serious than Gashi's negotiations. Our goalkeeper Arason had requested a meeting with me, and explained how he wanted to move to a bigger club, possibly outside of Norway. I tried to explain my vision for the future again, but he didn't seem convinced. After he had left, I decided not to place him on the transfer list, and hoped our form would convince him to stay.


16th March 2002
Brann responded to my negotiated transfer dealings and had accepted the cash plus players deal for Bolthof. Solheim and Leknes came in to see me, and quickly accepted my terms, and Bolthof phoned to say he was happy with Brann's offer. The deal was put through and the players joined our reserves. The £240,000 will come in handy as well.


17th March 2002
Bolthof's departure means that his shirt with the number 1 on the back was available, and I decided to give it to Stensrud. Arason will probably be unhappy with that, but I can see him leaving before too long and it would give Stensrud confidence.


We travelled away today to play our third game in 7 days, this time against Odd Grenland. They had started the season poorly by their stanards, losing 2 out of their first 3 games, and I was hopeful of continuing our unbeaten run.

We had a few injury problems, with the biggest being to our in-form DM LC Hovi. He should be fit in a few days, but his place would be taken by Gabrielsen, playing his first game of the season. Elsewhere in midfield, Guigou regained his place from Ishizaki after his goal against Fredrikstad, and Bertheussen had recovered sufficiently to replace Gashi. Berre had impressed enough to start ahead of Fredheim Holm.


Odd Grenland 1-1 Valerenga
This was a tricky game, and I knew it would be from the very start. They played a flat 5-man midfield to counter our tactics, and we struggled to break them down. It was a scrappy game, which didn't suit the creativity of Berre and Guigou, and the service to Iversen was poor. The first half had no real shots on goal, until the 44th minute, when the Odd Grenland striker Morten Knutsen rose higher than Ronny Johnsen to head home, only to have it disallowed for a push. A lucky escape for us, and the team knew it.

What could have been a horrible way to end the first half ended up being a great way, as straight from the free kick, Berre brought the ball down, controlled it, laid it off to Bertheussen, and the in-form midfielder placed his 4th goal in 3 games in the far right hand corner of the goal.

1-0 up at half time was nice, if a little undeserved, and I decided to make no changes at half time. Gabrielsen was struggling a little but with no Hovi on the bench, we had to stick with him.

The second half's pattern followed the first half, with almost no shots on goal, and I replaced the tiring Berre with Fredheim Holm with 10 minutes to go.

We looked like holding on for all 3 points, but in the 89th minute, a fumble by Arason from a Knutsen cross gave the easiest chance in the world to Kristian Bye Andersen, and Odd Grenland had the equalizer.

Man of the Match - (Odd Grenland player) Kristian Bye Andersen


It was a hard fought game, and the first points of the season dropped for us, and I thought we were unlucky to concede in the last minute. We could take a bit of comfort from the other results - Rosenborg had lost 1-0 to Brann at home, and our closest rivals Start had been hammered 3-0 by Viking.

retired_samiam

18th March 2002
Some good news today. Gashi accepted his new contract, which keeps him at the club until 2007. It boosts his wage from £1,100 a week to a massive £3,300 a week. Hopefully his performances will start to merit that money. He will do well to dislodge Bertheussen in central midfield though.


19th March 2002
I had been impressed with the performances of our DM RC Eddy Kjaer since joining the club, but behind him, I still had doubts about Dos Santos' ability to perform to as high a level. I started looking into replacements, and found Christer Persson playing for First Division side FK Tonsberg. He was a 25 year old Swede, and looked a real talent. His value was £120,000 and I placed a bid of £95,000.


Unfortunately, other teams had been alerted to the excellent recent performances, and Rosenborg placed a £95,000 bid and Danish side Aalborg Boldskilklub placed a £100,000 bid.


20th March 2002
We welcomed Aaleslund to the Ulleval Stadion today, for our 4th game in 10 days. Most of my players were exhausted, and wholesale changes were forced upon me.

Arason remained in goal, with me keeping an eye on his temperament, while in defence, three of our normal back four were out. Grotta Grav, Mabizela and Aliga were all suffering, and they were replaced by Brathen, Forsell and Skrbic. Our captain Johnsen mercifully retains his place.

In midfield, things were not much better, although we could welcome back Hovi in place of Gabrielsen. Kjaer was less than 100% so Dos Santos replaced him. It would be a good test of Dos Santos for me to see him in a game. The biggest loss was Bertheussen, although Gashi was a good replacement and may be motivated by his recent contract signing. Guigou and Berre were out as well, giving starts to Fredheim Holm and Ishizaki. Iversen was also out, with Magallanes making his return to the starting 11.

There were first substitute places for Haugland and Kindervag.


Valerenga 1-1 Aaleslund Att. 8,750
A quick fire start by my team, with Magallanes and Skrbic having shots on target within the first 3 minutes. We were encouraged by the start, and with just 5 minutes on the clock, a long shot by Dos Santos beat the goalkeeper, struck the post, and fell nicely to Hovi, who notched his first goal of the season. A terrific start.

After the goal, we seemed to switch off. Aaleslund replaced their midfielder Jaokim Austnes for a forward Eirik Hoseth, and the change seemed to turn the game in their favour. Hoseth fed Rune Johansen who was fouled by Brathen, although the referee chose to ignore it and not award a penalty. 2 minutes later, Hoseth crossed for Morten Moldskred to shoot just over, and in the 21st minute, Moldskred turned provider for Frode Fagermo to head home the equalizer from close range.

1-1 at half time wasn't anything to panic over, and I left the side as it was. We were playing well, and passing was nice and crisp, but the final ball was just missing. The second half followed that trend, with us dominating, but unable to find the killer ball. I had confidence in my side, but waited too long to make a change. I did finally make a triple substitution in the 88th minute, bringing on Iversen, Berre and Haugland for Magallanes, Ishizaki and Forsell, but it was too little too late, and we failed to win for a second successive game.

Man of the Match - (Aaleslund player) Aidin Brown (GK)

I was also a little disappointed with the attendance. The week before, it had been just under 12,500, whereas this week, it had dropped to 8,750. Quite disappointing.


21st March 2002
I gave my players the day off to rest up after the tough last 10 days, but I could take a little comfort in the fact that we had picked up 11 points out of a possible 15, which represented a good start.

I watched the other league games taking place today, and was surprised to see Rosenborg lose for the second game running, going down 3-2 against Hamarkameratene (or Ham Kam, as they were better known), and our early rivals Start drew 2-2 against Lyn. The new league leaders were Tromso, who had taken advantage of our two draws with a 2-1 victory over Lyn last week, and a 3-0 victory over Brann today.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * Norwegian Premier Division - Monday 22nd April 2002********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2002 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Tromsø 5 2 0 1 7 4 2 0 0 5 2 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Ham Kam 5 2 0 1 9 7 2 0 0 4 1 12 3rd Vålerenga 5 2 1 0 8 2 1 1 0 4 3 11 4th Start 5 2 1 0 9 5 1 0 1 3 5 10 5th Brann 5 2 0 0 3 0 1 0 2 4 8 9 6th Viking 5 1 1 0 4 1 1 0 2 4 5 7 7th Rosenborg 5 2 0 0 4 1 0 1 2 3 5 7 8th Odd Grenland 5 0 1 1 3 4 2 0 1 5 4 7 9th Molde 5 2 0 0 7 4 0 1 2 3 8 7 10th Lillestrøm 5 2 0 1 7 4 0 0 2 4 8 6 11th Lyn 5 1 0 1 4 3 0 1 2 5 8 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12th Aalesund 5 1 0 1 5 5 0 1 2 3 6 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13th Bodø/Glimt 5 0 1 2 4 7 0 1 1 2 6 2 14th Fredrikstad 5 0 1 2 2 4 0 0 2 2 7 1 </pre>

zipman

So now the table looks good

1st Tromsø
13th Bodø/Glimt

No offense please, but I loathe the team you manage (personal experiences during my stay in Norway)

retired_samiam

Also, just a quick note, I noticed you used the special o characters at the end of Tromso's name, and in Bodo/Glimt's name.

I don't really know how to do them, and it makes things much easier if I just use normal characters instead of the accentated o's or a's.

I hope it doesn't cause offence to anyone reading - I don't know if these characters have special meanings or anything, but hopefully people will appreciate that I'm not Norwegian, and mean no offence.

retired_samiam

23rd March 2002
My attempts to convince Arason to sign a longer term deal suffered a setback today. He maintains that he should move to a bigger club, and he doesn't believe we have the squad depth or quality to win the title. He rejects my offer of an improved contract.


28th March 2002
After 4 games in 10 days, we enjoy a long break. After our last game against Aaleslund on the 20th, we now have until the 30th to prepare for the trip to Brann. The break had come at a great time - we had struggled to break the opposition down in the last 2 games, and although unlucky at times, a break should get us back on track, and hopefully back to winning ways.


After transfer listing 10 players a couple of weeks ago, none of them had attracted much interest, and several of my coaches were worried about them continuing to collect paychecks. I decided to release all 10, paying just over £50,000 combined to buy out all of their contracts. It would make room for more youngsters which I hoped I could soon bring to the club.


Yet more clubs lodged £95,000 or £100,000 bids for Christer Persson, but the Swede came into my office today to discuss terms. He was honest and said he would consider all offers from all teams before making a decision, but he seemed impressed with my vision for the future and the setback at our club.


29th March 2002
My desire to bring more young players into the club started today, as I made a £12,000 bid for the 16-year old central midfielder Ola Nordahl. He was a Norwegian teenager, playing for non league Roros, and seemed to possess good qualities, which I hoped we could develop. After the recent mass release of players, we needed young players in almost every area for our reserves, and Nordahl was a good start. He said he would consider our offer and get back to us tomorrow.


Another huge problem arose today - our right back Mabizela reported he was unhappy with his contract (which was £1,400 a week) and felt he could find a better one elsewhere. He was vital to my plans, and I decided to pay out to keep him here. He was asking for a massive £8,500, but I offered our club's maximum wage of £6,500, making him the joint highest earner with Guigou and Magallanes. He was also asking for a signing on fee of £150,000, which was a huge financial outlay for us. I decided to offer him it, on the thought that it could probably cost us triple that to sign a right back of equal ability to replace him.


30th March 2002
We travelled to Brann today, hoping to recapture my early season form. I had received news that Nordahl had signed for us, which was excellent, and another talent for our coaches to work with.


Team selection was tricky. Arason had still not decided what to do with his future, and after two shaky performances, I decided to replace him with Stensrud, giving him his first start of the season. Mabizela hadn't signed his contract so he was left out. Daniel Forsell replaced him at right back.

In central defence, Johnsen kept his place of course, and Skrbic dropped to the bench, replaced by the returning Aliga. Hovi retained his DM LC position, and Kjaer was fit to return in place of Dos Santos. Bertheussen was fit as well, and replaced Gashi in central midfield. Fredheim Holm retained his position ahead of Berre, although Ishizaki made way for the returning Guigou. Up front, Iversen was fit again and replaced Magallanes.


Brann 1-5 Valerenga
An excellent return to form for us today, although the start was a bit shaky. We managed to take a 2nd minute lead, after Aliga struck from 30 yards with a shot out of absolutely nothing, which flew into the top corner. A stunning strike.

After the goal, we struggled like we had in the two previous matches. Brann started winning more balls in midfield, and started getting more and more crosses in, testing Stensrud. I was pleased with the saves he was making, and it looked like he had made another one, after a stunning Kristian Ystaas header was blocked in acrobatic style, but unfortunately, the ball came back out in the penalty area, and Martin Andresen had a tap in to make it 1-1.

The equalizer prompted our team to act. Bertheussen started playing well again, and he started making more and more incisive passes. Forsell at right back and Grotta Grav at left back started controlling and stopping the Brann crosses, and Forsell started supplying Iversen with crosses of his own. It was one of these crosses that found the head of Bertheussen in the 24th minute to put us 2-1 up, with his 5th goal of the season.

We were winning nearly every header, and took advantage of it again in the 35th minute, after a free kick in a dangerous position was taken by Aliga, and headed in by Iversen. We went in at half time 3-1 up, feeling confident and pleased with our performance.

I stressed the importance of taking advantage of our aerial dominance, and my team listened. Just 3 minutes after the restart, a Hovi cross found Iversen's head, and although his header was blocked by the goalkeeper, the rebound found Bertheussen, and we were 4-1 up.

After the goal, we took our foot off the gas, and were in danger of becoming complacent, so I made a triple substitution in the 69th minute, bringing on Berre, Gashi and Dos Santos for Fredheim Holm, Guigou and Forsell. The response was immediate, with Hovi feeding a through ball for Berre, who rounded the goalkeeper and added our fifth.


Man of the Match - Eirik Bertheussen - 2 goals, 1 assist

A notable performance from our goalkeeper Stensrud on his first appearance, and Hovi had created a lot as well. A terrific team performance.


On the same day, Rosenborg beat Lillestrom 3-0, while the league leaders Tromso strolled to a 4-1 victory at home against Start. Ham Kam stayed in second with a comfortable 3-1 away win at Odd Grenland.

zipman

Well those letters are common in some Nordic languages. You can create them by using special ALT + numbers combination. But in general its no big deal if you write without using them.

Your team is written Vålerenga in Norwegian.

retired_milla0225

Ahh Loeffle, give the guy a break. I mean I'll give even a Wrexham story the thumbs up if it's written well.

Point is that this is pretty good stuff so far. Keep it up.

retired_samiam

We arrived back in Oslo after the terrific performance away at Brann, and our midfield dynamo Bertheussen received a further boost - he had been voted April's Norwegian Player of the Month. A great achievement.


1st May 2002
I continued my search for youth talents today, and offered contracts to no less than 12 players. Cato Bjerke was a 18 year old goalkeeper, and he responded immediately. He had been offered a contract by the Brazilian side Clube de Regatas Brasil yesterday, but was keen to stay in Norway, and after talking terms with us, he agreed to sign to a 3-year deal.

I was keen to recruit goalkeepers who could possibly come in as Stensrud's backup should Arason leave the club, and it was this fear that prompted me to offer a contract to Eirik Nilsen as well. He was another 18 year old Norwegian goalkeeper, and he said he would reply tomorrow.

I received no word back from anyone else, but hoped to sign as many of them as possible tomorrow.


2nd May 2002
A very busy day today. All of the 12 players replied, and all agreed to my terms.
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>Hans Eirik Vikdal was a very capable 18 year old striker.<LI>Bjorn Myhre was a very young 15 year old central defender.<LI>Petter Brenden was a 19 year old right back.<LI>Jan Eirik Heggem was a 19 year old left sided defensive midfielder.<LI>Eirik Nilsen was another quality goalkeeper.<LI>Kjetil Brevik was a 18 year old creative right sided defensive midfielder.<LI>Eivind Moen was a young 15 year old right back.<LI>Johan Ulsand was a 18 year old central midfielder.<LI>Thomas Halkjelskiv was a 16 year old right sided defensive midfielder.<LI>Havard Lien Pattersen was a 18 year old attacking midfielder was had two excellent feet.<LI>Oyvind Rekdal was a 18 year old left back.</UL>

It was a large group of players, and they could go under the guidance of Domashevich and Karalus, our two excellent youth coaches.

Since we had signed two new goalkeepers, and already had the Norwegian Under 21 international goalkeeper Hjulstad in our reserves, we decided to release Erlend Johansen on a free transfer. I had a plan in my mind to make Hjulstad the first team backup to Stensrud if Arason leaves, and the two new goalkeepers of Nilsen and Bjerke could compete in the reserves.


The signings gave us players in every position, and while our reserves had lost every game this season, without scoring a goal, I was confident they could pick up performances and grow in confidence themselves.


3rd May 2002
We received a bid from Greek side Olympiakos today of £2.7m for our midfielder Thomas Holm. Holm had not yet featured under my management, and I felt our central midfielders of Bertheussen and Gashi were too good, and Holm would struggle to find a place. £2.7m was also a huge sum of money to us, the biggest transfer fee the club would ever receive. I accepted the bid, and the deal was agreed - it will be concluded once the Greek transfer window opens on May 20th.


More good news today as Mabizela signs a new contract worth £6,500 a week for a further 3 years. It was an important deal for us, and it means he can come back into the first team for the upcoming game against Lyn. Forsell would drop to the bench.


5th March 2002
Stensrud retained his place in goal ahead of Arason, since I was still doubtful over Arason's concentration levels. After his goal in the last match, Berre came in for Fredheim Holm, who I was having doubts about filling the left hand side of attacking midfield. Apart from those two changes, the team remained the same.


Valerenga 2-3 Lyn Att. 18,438
Our biggest attendance to date witnessed a poor showing by my team in my first Oslo derby. The game started promisingly enough, with two Guigou crosses within the first 10 minutes both meeting the head of Kjaer, but both struck the crossbar and went over. The Guigou-Kjaer combination finally got it right in the 16th minute, and a Kjaer header found the top corner for 1-0.

After that, a defensive change by Lyn made it more difficult to break them down, and the game swung in their favour. With 36 minutes on the clock, their in-form Finnish striker Keijo Suusko, who had scored 6 in 8 games before today picked the ball up at the half way line, beat Johnsen and Grotta Grav and placed the ball past Stensrud for 1-1.

Suusko was instrumental in their second as well, just 5 minutes later. His 30-yard shot was blocked by Aliga, fell to their midfielder Eldar Hadzimehmedovic, his shot was saved terrifically by Stensrud, but Tomasz Sokolowski buried the rebound.

2-1 down at half time, I decided to give it 15 minutes before making any changes. It was a poor decision. Huusko caused countless problems after the restart, and made it 3-1 on 55 minutes, with a cute volley from a Sokolowski long ball.

I made my favoured triple substitution a minute later, bringing on Fredheim Holm and Gashi for Berre and Bertheussen, who was having a rare quiet game. I also brought off Mabizela who had looked off the pace, and brought on Forsell.

The change sparked an immediate comeback. Within a minute of the changes, Fredheim Holm picked up a Hovi pass just outside the area and drilled it home.

After our goal, Lyn switched to a back 4, and dropped players back to create a 5 man midfielder, and we struggled to create chances. The game slipped away, and we had lost our first game this season.

Man of the Match - (Lyn player) Stian Straume (GK)


In other results today, Ham Kam beat Tromso 2-1 in a first against second match. Rosenborg were held 1-1 away at Start.


7th March 2002
More contract information today, as I realise our midfielder Dos Santos has just 6 months remaining. I decided to wait to hear back from our transfer target Christer Persson, who plays in the DM RC currently filled by Dos Santos before making a decision about renewing the contract.


8th March 2002
We welcomed non league Bangsund to the Ulleval Stadion for the First Round in the Norwegian Cup today. It was a nice welcome break from the league, and I was able to field a much changed team.

Arason came back in to replace Stensrud - the cup game would be a good test of Arason's concentration levels. Haugland made his first start of the season at right back at the expense of Mabizela. Forsell, our normal replacement right back, made his first start in central defence, taking the place of our captain Johnsen. Skrbic partnered Forsell, replacing Aliga. At left back, Grotta Grav was out with Brathen coming in.

In midfield, Hovi and Kjaer were both out, with Gabrielsen and Dos Santos coming in. Gashi replaced Bertheussen in central midfield, and although Berre retained his place, Guigou was replaced by Ishizaki. Magallanes replaced Iversen up front.

On the substitutes bench were some new faces - Hansen Krogstad and Grindheim took their places from the reserves.


Valerenga 3-0 Bangsund Att. 8,364 Norwegian Cup First Round
A routine game for our players, and a nice run out for some unfamiliar faces. We took the lead through a Berre penalty in the 18th minute, after he was fouled by Jan Husby, who received a red card. That made our task even easier, and it was this complacency that saw us go into half time only 1-0 up.

A sharp team talk seemed to motivate the players and they looked sharper in the second half, but still couldn't get the important second goal. I changed things in the 65th minute, bringing on Hansen Krogstad and Grindheim for Ishizaki, who had still not yet completed 90 minutes for us, and Dos Santos. The team took a while to settle after the changes, but a Hansen Krogstad corner in the 79th minute found Skrbic's head, and we had our 2-goal cushion.

We ended the game on a high, with Magallanes notching his first of the season in the 90th minute, a free header from 6 yards out from a Gashi cross. A good way to end a comfortable match.

Man of the Match - Morten Berre

I was pleased with the individual performance of Gabrielsen in left midfield, because although it was easy opposition, he looked assured and comfortable.

We strolled through to the Second Round with the draw being made tomorrow.



9th May 2002
I watched the Norwegian Cup Second Round draw live today, and we drew amateur side Ullensaker-Kisa. A nice draw for us, although it was a tricky travel to a small stadium.


12th May 2002
Great news today from our reserves - after a sixth straight defeat last week to Lyn Reserves, they showed definite improvement this week - beating the mighty Rosenborg Reserves 1-0. It seems that our coaches have been having an effect on the youngsters.

I had spent the last few days preparing for the visit of Rosenborg's first team tomorrow, in what would be a huge test of my new-look team. A record crowd of over 20,000 was expected, and I hoped we could give them something to shout about.

retired_samiam

13th May 2002
We made wholesale changes from our cup victory over Bangslund for the visit of Rosenborg. Arason retained his place in goal. Our defensive foursome of Brathen, Skrbic, Forsell and Haugland was completely replaced by our first choice defence of Grotta Grav, Aliga, Johnsen and Mabizela.

In midfield, Gabrielsen and Dos Santos were replaced by Hovi and Kjaer. Gashi was replaced by Bertheussen. Berre kept his place, but Ishizaki was replaced by Fredheim Holm. I had been having doubts about Fredheim Holm's ability to play on the left hand side of the attacking midfield, and with Berre having a terrific run, I decided to try Fredheim Holm out on the right. Iversen replaced Magallanes up front.


Valerenga 4-1 Rosenborg Att. 22, 025.
A tremendous performance by the team in front of an excellent crowd. We started so brightly, and created several good chances in the first 10 minutes. Fredheim Holm was looking inspired on the right hand side, and it was his 12th minute cross that found Mabizela on th edge of the area, and the defender's curled shot put us 1-0 up.

We were completely dominating the game, playing it at our pace, and making Rosenborg look very ordinary. We added to our lead in the 35th minute, from another Fredheim Holm cross. This time, it picked out the head of Iversen, and although his header was blocked, Bertheussen collected the rebound and smashed it home.

I was thinking 2-0 would be a terrific half time score, but it got even better. In the last minute of the first half, a Kjaer corner from the right missed everyone in the middle but found Berre wide on the left, and his low first time shot found the bottom corner. A great strike, and we went in at half time 3-0 up.

The second half was a professional performance by the team, keeping hold of the ball, and not letting Rosenborg get a foothold anywhere. Frustrations began to enter Rosenborg's game, and a tackle on Berre in the 65th minute resulted in a free kick, which Berre himself curled into the top corner for 4-0.

With the game comfortably won, I took off Iversen and Kjaer, and brought on Magallanes and Gashi. A consolation free kick converted by Rosenborg's Ole Christer Basma in the 87th minute could not dampen my mood of a job very well done.

Man of the Match - Morten Berre - 2 goals

Notable performances on the day from Fredheim Holm who excelled in the right hand position and Eirik Bertheussen, continuing his impressive run.


16th May 200
After the victory over Rosenborg, we travelled to Lillestrom, full of confidence. Lillestrom were down in 9th position, so I expected our good run to continue.

We had to make a few enforced changes. Mabizela, Bertheussen and Hovi were all under the weather, so in came Forsell, Gashi and Gabrielsen.


Lillestrom 1-3 Valerenga
We got off to the worst possible start, after a Rune Wiken shot in the very first minute produced an outstanding finger tip save by Arason, but Wiken followed it up to score.

We quickly slipped into gear however, and were back on equal terms in the 16th minute, a Gashi cross finding Berre, who turned smartly and hammered home from close range.

The half time score of 1-1 was good following our poor start, but we needed more creativity in the second half. I moved Kjaer to a more forward position so he could support Fredheim Holm better, and it took just 7 minutes before Kjaer fed Fredheim Holm the ball just outside the area, and Fredheim Holm struck a fierce shot which found the bottom corner.

We looked comfortable holding on to our 2-1 lead, until the 77th minute when our central defender Aliga received a straight red card for a bad tackle from behind on Wiken. I replaced Iversen for Skrbic to ensure we remained tight at the back, and it was Skrbic himself that headed in a Berre corner just 4 minutes from time to give us a 3-1 victory that we deserved.

Man of the Match - Morten Berre - 1 goal, 1 assist


It was a good victory, and helped us remain 1 point behind Tromso at the top. In other games today, the league leaders Tromso beat Bodo/Glimt 3-1, while Rosenborg responded after their defeat to us by beating Molde 4-1. The other title hopefuls Ham Kam suffered a setback after losing 4-2 at Viking.


After their defeat to Tromso, Bodo/Glimt dropped a place to find themselves bottom of the table, and they sacked their manager Oystein Gare. I had expected Bodo/Glimt to be in the top 4 at the start of the season, and they certainly gave us a tough game earlier in the season. Their new manager would find it tough - Bodo/Glimt have Rosenborg and Start in their next two games.


Speaking of Start, they would be our next opponents at the Ulleval Stadion in a week's time.


18th May 2002
Two transfer coups for us today. We had received word that two players that I had been watching for some time had contracts that were due to expire in the next 6 months, and as such, could sign for another club free of charge.

I instantly contacted these players and offered terms, and to my delight, both accepted.

Audun Holt was a 26 year old Norwegian striker from Sandefjord, recommended to us by our goalkeeper and former Sandefjord player Stensrud. The other was a terrific left sided defensive midfielder Jarl Andre Storbaek from league rivals Ham Kam. Both players would join on the 12th November later this year.


22nd May 2002
We welcomed Start to the Ulleval Stadion today, and were able to welcome back Mabizela, Hovi and Bertheussen who sat out the victory over Lillestrom. Aliga was serving his 1-match suspension for the red card in the last match, so Skrbic replaced him. Apart from that, it was the same team, and I expected a similar performance.


Valerenga 0-1 Start Att. 11,340
Our first league defeat of the season, and it was a dimsal game. It was also the first game where we had failed to score and credit must go to their goalkeeper Kenneth Bardseng.

The first half was a dull affair, with only one shot on goal each - ours a long range effort by Kjaer which curled wide. The second half started slowly, with the midfield of both sides cancelling each other out. I thought the game would dwindle out into a 0-0, but in the 69th minute, a rare burst forward from their playmaker Stefan Barlin caused confusion in our defence, and Bala Ahmed Garba struck a snap shot from outside the area which found the corner, and put them 1-0 up.

Three minutes later, I made a triple substitution, bringing on Magallanes, Guigou and Gashi for Hovi, Iversen and Berre, but the new players couldn't inject life into the team. The game slipped away from us, and we had suffered our first defeat in our first 11 games of the season.

Man of the Match - (Start player) Kenneth Bardseng (GK)


We had feared we would lose track with the league leaders, but fortunately for us, most of the teams around us had equally poor days. Tromso lost their first of the season to the 2nd from bottom side Fredrikstad 4-3, Rosenborg drew with bottom side Bodo/Glimt 2-2, and Ham Kam lost 1-0 to Lillestrom.


We had to go and prepare for the travel to league leaders Tromso in just 3 days time - a very tough prospect.

retired_samiam

23rd May 2002
Our reserves showed the first team how to do it today, beating Tromso Reserves 5-3. Another good performance from our improving youngsters.


Thoms Holm finally made his move to Greek side Olympiakos today - for a huge sum of £2.7m.


25th May 2002
We made the trip to Tromso, knowing that we would be without a lot of first team players. Since the Start game was just 3 days ago, almost all 11 players were feeling the strains. Arason in goal was the fittest of the lot so we retained his place, but ahead of him, it was a huge reshuffle.

Grotta Grav went out and was replaced by Brathen. Johnsen and Skrbic were out, replaced by the returning Aliga and a first start of the season for Kindervag. Forsell came in for Mabizela at right back.

In midfield, Hovi and Kjaer were out - Gabrielsen and Dos Santos came in. Gashi played in place of Bertheussen, and even though the always-fit Berre did play, Fredheim Holm was out - Guigou came in. Iversen managed to keep his place after passing a late fitness test.


Tromso 4-2 Valerenga
My hopes weren't high coming into this match, after having to make so many changes. Tromso's hugely experienced 34 year old midfielder Bjorn Johansen was running rings around the inexperience of Gashi, Gabrielsen and Dos Santos, and it was Johansen himself that dribbled 20 yards past Gabrielsen before firing home from just inside the penalty area to give Tromso a 9th minute lead.

5 minutes later, it was 2-0. Johansen again looked dangerous and his audacious chip hit the crossbar and fell kindly to Karim Essidiri who had a simple task of scoring. We seemed all over the place and needed an immediate reply.

We got it. Three minutes later, Iversen dropped back into midfield and tackled Johansen, before running past two defenders and slotting home neatly. 2-1.

However, the first half belonged to Johansen. In the 39th minute, another surging run past Brathen and shot past Arason saw us going in at half time 3-1 down.

We needed another immediate reply after the interval, so I took off several players. Kindervag and Gabrielsen were struggling so in came Hovi and Johnsen, even though they weren't at 100%. Guigou also came off to be replaced by Ishizaki.

However, the changes caused the team to start slowly, and the opportunity for a quick reply was gone. Tromso started to control the game, and notched a 4th in the 61st minute - a terrific volley from Benjamin Kibebe. The game was over by this stage, and even though Iversen scored his second of the half in the last minute, we were well beaten.

Man of the Match - (Tromso player) Bjorn Johansen

In other games, Rosenborg got back to winning ways with a 3-2 victory over Fredrikstad, and Ham Kam continued to struggle, and after two straight defeats, could only manage a 1-1 draw with Aaleslund.


27th May 2002
After our two defeats in a row, I decided to use some of the £2.7m we had received for Holm in recruiting more quality. I had not been happy with Ishizaki's contributions, and Guigou had been inconsistent. Also, Dos Santos was not a good enough player at DM RC, and needed replacing.

With this in mind, we finally completed the signing of Christer Persson for £95,000 from First Division side FK Tonsberg, and also completed the huge signing of attacking midfielder Jonas Johansen for £800,000 from league leaders Tromso.


29th May 2002
We had a welcome break from league duties today, as we travelled to amateur side Ullensaker-Kisa in the Second Round of the Norwegian Cup. Hopefully our form after the Cup game would be similar to last time, when we beat Rosenborg 4-1.

As is usual, we made several changes to the side, although most of the players who played against Tromso were the sort of players we would normally play in cup games. Arason came out for Stensrud in goal. In defence, Forsell and Brathen kept their places. In central defence, Kindervag retained his place and was partnered by Haugland. Gabrielsen and Dos Santos kept their places, and Bertheussen came back in for Gashi.

Up front, we used the cup game to experiment. Ishizaki started on the left for the first time, and Magallanes dropped into midfield instead of the lone striker. Fredheim Holm was chosen to be that striker for the first time, and it would be interesting to see how Magallanes could contribute from a midfield role.


Ullensaker-Kisa 0-3 Valerenga - Norwegian Cup Second Round
A very comfortable game, but it wasn't without some misfortune. The game started brightly, with Magallanes playing well from midfield, and his run from deep found him link onto a Gabrielsen pass, and he was able to fire home in the 5th minute.

We then suffered two unfortunate injuries, to Haugland and Bertheussen in the same incident. Both were stretched off, and I replaced them with Skrbic and Johnsen, deploying Johnsen in a central midfield role for the first time.

Two minutes after the enforced changes, nice link up play between Ishizaki and Fredheim Holm resulted in a cool finish from Fredheim Holm and we were 2-0 up, and the game looked safe. There was just time for us to add a 3rd before half time, and Fredheim Holm did just that, flicking a Brathen cross into the far right hand corner.

The second half was a quiet affair, with both teams looking tired. I replaced Fredheim Holm in the 69th minute for Gugiou, and gave the Uruguayan the chance to play up front, but he was unable to add to our three goals.

Man of the Match - Daniel Fredheim Holm - 2 goals


We found out after the match that both Haugland and Bertheussen had suffered thigh strains and will be out for 2-3 weeks each.

No real surprises in the Second Round of the Cup, all major sides winning comfortably. Rosenborg beat Langevag 5-0 and Tromso beat Klepp 6-0 away from home. Start sneaked through 1-0 against Tromsdalen. Ham Kam were easy 5-1 winners at Verdal. I hope the wins for our rivals doesn't inspire their league form.


1st June 2002
As agreed several months ago, our defender Brocken moved to Belgian side Beveren today for £220,000.


I was pleased to see most of our first team players getting back to full fitness. We would need them all playing well if we were to beat Ham Kam tomorrow, and we needed to stop the poor run of league form recently.