attjen

Thanks Bob, I really liked the challenge idea and it's actually given me a new lease on 01/02 after being burnt out for a while.

attjen

Mr. Ariel Carranza, we would like to thank you for the incredible year, now… GET OUT!

The home fans of Skjold remained in Osterbro stadium for a long time after the 1-1 draw with Dalum. The visiting fans sat there as well, both coming to terms with the shock. How strange the last few weeks of the season had been.

With ‘also-sure-to-be-relegated’ NFA in town for the 26th game of the season, Hemming, Anderson, and Nielson figured that this was a must win game against outmatched opponents.

Luckily, they were right. Rasmus Schmidt and Carranza scored by 20 minutes, and the two goal lead softened the blow of Christian Boje being sent off in 28th. The clicking offense of Skjold hardly noticed, as Carranza was removed and replaced by new signing defender Airton dos Santos Vieira (the other defender Korup had been targeting from South America). Lohse scored on a header from a corner before halftime and Schmidt got his second at the final whistle. The easy 4-0 win kept Skjold solidly in 2nd place.

Sjold’s next game was at Naestved, a team also pushing for promotion and difficult match-up. Anderson and Nielson penciled this one is as ‘likely loss.’

The actual game turned into one of the oddest of the Danish 2nd division this year. Rasmus Schmidt had the first real chance of the game in the 6th minute, but it was well saved by Christian Bay. For roughly the next 30 minutes, the game was an intense back-and-forth exhibition of attacking football… with very, very little shown from either defense. Neither side could find the net though, despite all the chances. Dennis Schmidt, now generally starting due to Jensen’s loan finishing, got injured in the 33rd and Wieghorst replaced him. Moments later, and Hemming and Anderson were readying another early sub. Politi had dragged down Naestved’s Borup and gotten a straight red. Visibly cursing, Hemming brought of Ramsus Schmidt for their back-up keeper, but Pesce was helpless to stop the penalty.

Despite being down a goal and a man, the chances kept coming for Skjold before halftime, Rasmussen and Carranza having good opportunities that were saved or off target. In the 2nd half, Naestved should have been able to put the game in the bag, but a second chance came back to Skjold as Theil nudged a ball into the area and Carranza found enough room to redirect it into the corner for a tying goal.

Now trying to steal a point, Hemming brought off the struggling Lohse for dos Santos Vieira, their third substitution of the day. Within seconds of the restart, Kim Michaelson was on the pitch in agony, and Skjold was facing the final 30 minutes with only 9 players. Suddenly, away from the ball, Lind took exception to something that Carranza had said (the striker claims he was asking if there were any good restaurants in the area for dinner, Lind claims that Carranza insulted his mother, sister, aunt, niece, and dog) and shoved him over. Lind got a straight red, and now the game was 10 men vs. 9. Having picked up a yellow in the incident, Carranza was now playing with furious abandon, so when he managed to get to Rasmussen cross, he hit the ball so hard that his 15th goal of the season was never in doubt. From then on the game petered out as Naetsved seemed to concede defeat, and Vestergaard made sure that any further opportunities were stifled.

The win actually gave Skjold some breathing room for promotion, and now they looked to get something out of the game against AC Horsens. Much to the league’s surprise they did better than could be expected and thumped the visiting side 4-0. Again, it was Carranza who was on vicious form trying to impress the scouts (nobody had the heart to tell him otherwise) and he scored once and set up 2 others. Combined with Naestved’s and Korup’s draws, Skjold walked up the pitch with the knowledge that they had secured a spot in Division 1.

Into the last two games of the season, Hemming started eyeing the changes needed for next year. A few players were getting close to 25, and a few hangers-on in the reserves really deserved to be cut loose. Free signings and loans would be a must to survive more than a season in Division 1.

Away at Brande, a club struggling to stay above relegation, Carranza again got the opener, and although Brande equalized, it wasn’t to last long. Skjold was on excellent attacking form once again, and got goals in the 2nd half from Weighorst and Theil. Both of those goals were particularly unexpected, but also were highlight quality. The defender’s in particular was excellent as he (although not generally known for his shooting ability) half-volleyed his side’s third into the upper left corner. With Naesby losing their game to Olstykke FC, this meant Skjold leapfrogged into first place.

“Surely not!� said Anderson upon Nielson giving him the news the next morning.

The last game of the season was in front of the home fans against 3rd place Dalum. Dalum needed a win to ensure promotion. As both sides came out in attacking formations determined to get a goal… it was a bit surprising to see the turgid and dull affair that followed. Neither side could create any chances that amounted to much, and when Dalum’s Overgaard scored with a 20-yard freekick just before the halftime whistle it was hardly noticed by the spectators, many of whom had begun to line up in the queues for the toilets. (In fact, Politi was noticeably uncomfortable himself, which might have accounted for his inability to move towards the shot.) It appeared that the game was destined to end as a 1-0 win for the visitors, as the 2nd half dragged on. Dalum must have felt comfortable with their lead, because even they looked shocked to see Carranza appear out of nowhere in the 80th minute to get on the end of a Lohse through-ball, and the Argentine poked the ball home for a 1-1 scoreline. When the game ended, neither side really knew how to react. And then the announcer read off the other results, Korup had beaten Brande 5-1 and moved into 3rd place, hopping Dalum by 1 point. Naesby had beaten Norresundby 2-1 (which relegated the latter side). Naesby and Skjold had finished even on points for 1st place.

The Dalum fans knew how to react then, and gave Carranza the internationally recognized hand symbol of… well, let’s just say… ‘affection and longing.’

The Skjold fans still didn’t know what to make of it. Until finally the announcer read off the goal differences:

“Naesby…. 58 for…. 35 against….. Skjold…. 60 for…. 36 against…. Skjold WINS DIVISION 2�

Later that week, Hemming submitted a report to the board. (He himself having again left for a summer vacation in New York, this time determined to stay there for the entire break.) The entirety of the report reads as follows:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Item:This MonthLast MonthThis YearLast YearIncome$192,789$188,428$1,115,472$972,076Expend iture$29,445$74,997$873,542$658,973Profit$163,342$ 113,430$241,929$313,102Wages$19,281$37,102$*448,50 1$434,370Players Sold$0$0$*440,565$494,765Balance: $555,031Transfer Funds: $210,000*Please note the starred items. We will do better. As of tomorrow all remaining dead weight will be cut loose. This will impact our profit of this year.Anders HemmingP.S. We finished 1st in our Division and will be playing in Division 2 next year. The profits can only increase!</pre>

attjen

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ********************************************** Boldklubben Skjold - Wednesday 18th June 2003********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== Squad============================================= ================================================== =No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bøje, Christian D LC DEN 17.11.80 22 - - $275 20.6.04 $14K - Djioev, Vyacheslav M C RUS 5.8.82 20 - - $75 4.6.05 Free - Fischer, Florian SW/D/DM C GER 31.12.82 20 - - $75 26.6.04 $8K - GarcÃ*a, Oswaldo F C VEN 4.9.82 20 - - $70 23.6.04 $12K - Guillou, François S C FRA 8.11.83 19 - - $140 12.6.06 $45K - Henriksen, Jacob SW/D C DEN 19.8.85 17 - - $180 9.6.04 $10K - Hughes, Andy S C WAL 12.8.85 17 - - $75 13.6.04 $24K - Lohse, Henrik D RC DEN 24.3.79 24 - - $0 28.6.03 $650K - Lourens, Pascal M R HOL 26.11.82 20 - - $425 12.6.05 $55K - Michaelsen, Kim D R DEN 10.4.79 24 - - $400 9.6.05 $50K - Pesce, Davide GK ITA 23.11.82 20 - - $110 20.6.05 $9K - Politi, Domenico GK ITA 16.9.83 19 - - $425 2.6.05 $14K - Rasmussen, Stig F RLC DEN 24.6.80 22 - - $475 27.6.04 $160K - Rosa da Silva, Charles D C BRA 15.6.84 19 - - $80 1.6.06 $22K - Schmidt, Dennis M RLC DEN 15.9.83 19 - - $70 5.6.04 $18K - Schmidt, Rasmus S C DEN 23.7.81 21 - - $325 28.6.05 $110K - Silva dos Santos, Alexand DM C BRA 15.7.84 18 - - $70 15.6.06 $35K - Skov, Mikkel D/DM L DEN 28.9.82 20 - - $375 21.6.06 $26K - Sverrison, Arnar SW/D/DM C ISL 12.12.82 20 - - $120 28.6.04 $14K - Theil, Kenneth SW/D C DEN 23.9.80 22 - - $375 22.6.05 $30K - Valero, Jordi D C ESP 10.6.80 23 - - $75 15.6.04 $16K - Vaz, Marco SW/D C POR 21.10.83 19 - - $425 2.6.05 $12K - Vestergaard, Morten DM C DEN 11.8.80 22 - - $475 10.6.05 $230K - Wieghorst, Mikkel M RLC DEN 27.2.79 24 - - $475 21.6.05 $275K - dos Santos Vieira, AÃ*rton D C BRA 21.12.84 18 - - $85 12.6.06 $28K ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Senior Club Stats============================================= ================================================== =No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bøje, Christian 23 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 6.57 - Djioev, Vyacheslav 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.00 - Fischer, Florian 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - GarcÃ*a, Oswaldo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Guillou, François 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 - Henriksen, Jacob 7 (5) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Hughes, Andy 1 (10) 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.91 - Lohse, Henrik 23 1 0 0 2 3 0 2 7.26 - Lourens, Pascal 18 0 0 0 7 1 0 1 7.22 - Michaelsen, Kim 24 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 6.71 - Pesce, Davide 5 (2) 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 6.71 - Politi, Domenico 14 0 12 0 0 0 1 0 7.14 - Rasmussen, Stig 28 9 0 0 5 0 0 4 7.46 - Rosa da Silva, Charles - - - - - - - - ---- - Schmidt, Dennis 12 (2) 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.71 - Schmidt, Rasmus 28 (2) 18 0 0 5 2 0 6 7.33 - Silva dos Santos, Alexand 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 - Skov, Mikkel 7 (2) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6.78 - Sverrison, Arnar 9 (1) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.70 - Theil, Kenneth 29 2 0 0 4 1 1 1 7.07 - Valero, Jordi 6 (2) 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 6.88 - Vaz, Marco 0 (5) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 - Vestergaard, Morten 29 4 0 3 (2) 4 5 0 1 7.45 - Wieghorst, Mikkel 13 (4) 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.59 - dos Santos Vieira, AÃ*rton 3 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.43 ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Transfers========================================= ================================================== =====Date Player In From Fee-----------------------------------------------------------------------11.6.02 Mark Nielsen Free Transfer Free 11.6.02 Kim Michaelsen FC Aarhus Exch 21.6.02 Kim Jensen Vejle Loan 23.6.02 Ariel Carranza Racing Cba. $14K 10.7.02 Morten Vestergaard Esbjerg fB $110K 12.8.02 Lars From Farum Loan 25.8.02 Mikkel Wieghorst Free Transfer Free 27.8.02 Mikkel Skov Free Transfer Free 1.9.02 Henrik Lohse FC Midtjylland Loan 6.10.02 Marco Vaz Free Transfer Free 8.10.02 Domenico Politi Free Transfer Free 17.10.02 Pascal Lourens Free Transfer Free 20.11.02 Alexandre Silva dos Santo Free Transfer Free 6.4.03 Charles Rosa da Silva Free Transfer Free 17.4.03 AÃ*rton dos Santos Vieira Free Transfer Free 17.4.03 François Guillou Free Transfer Free Date Player Out To Fee-----------------------------------------------------------------------11.6.02 Jimmy Skjold-Hansen FC Aarhus $100K p/ 16.6.02 Thomas Ipsen Released Free 18.6.02 Claus Kristensen Released Free 19.6.02 Mogens Toft Kalmar FF $40K 30.6.02 Ove Strøh Køge $30K 8.7.02 Telmo Rocha Fremad Amager $150K 15.8.02 Heine Vestergaard Brande Free 22.10.02 Luis Checa Hjørring Free 4.12.02 Jonas Mortensen B 36 Free 31.12.02 Bo Knudsen AB $220K 1.4.03 Simon McGregor ÖIS $20K 5.6.03 Thomas Kristiansen Vedbæk Free 10.6.03 Benny Olesen Released Free 15.6.03 Ariel Carranza Released Free 15.6.03 Michael Knudsen Released Free 15.6.03 Tommy Mølby Released Free 15.6.03 Karsten Petersen Released Free 15.6.03 Benny Balslev Released Free ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Fixtures========================================== ================================================== ====Date Opposition Ven Competition Res Attend Scorers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7.7.02 B 1913 H Friendly 1:1 307 R.Schmidt12.7.02 FC Aarhus H Friendly 3:0 277 Carranza, Vestergaard, Checa16.7.02 B 93 H Friendly 0:1 965 4.8.02 Næsby H Second Division 2:2 2519 R.Schmidt 211.8.02 Nørresundby A Second Division 1:0 1620 R.Schmidt14.8.02 Dalum A Danish Cup 1st Rnd 1:2 890 Sverrison18.8.02 Ølstykke FC H Second Division 2:3 2508 Vestergaard, D.Schmidt25.8.02 Hjørring A Second Division 2:3 1558 Sverrison, R.Schmidt1.9.02 Holstebro A Second Division 4:2 1593 R.Schmidt 3, Rasmussen7.9.02 Skive H Second Division 2:1 1567 Rasmussen, Jensen15.9.02 Vejen A Second Division 1:0 1561 Carranza22.9.02 Korup H Second Division 2:2 1605 R.Schmidt 229.9.02 Vedbæk A Second Division 3:2 1939 Rasmussen, Carranza, Wieghorst6.10.02 B 1909 H Second Division 1:0 1540 S.Rasmussen13.10.02 AC Horsens A Second Division 1:1 1578 Carranza20.10.02 Brande H Second Division 1:1 1489 Carranza27.10.02 NFA A Second Division 0:3 1535 3.11.02 Næstved H Second Division 0:1 1649 9.11.02 Dalum A Second Division 0:2 2090 30.3.03 Næsby A Second Division 1:2 1865 Carranza1.4.03 Nørresundby H Second Division 3:0 1562 Carranza, R.Schmidt 26.4.03 Ølstykke FC A Second Division 1:0 2077 Carranza13.4.03 Hjørring H Second Division 2:0 1648 Carranza, Rasmussen16.4.03 Vejen H Second Division 3:1 1478 Theil, Carranza 220.4.03 Korup A Second Division 4:0 1615 S.Rasmussen, R.Schmidt, Hughes, Vestergaard pen27.4.03 Holstebro H Second Division 4:1 1578 Jensen, Carranza, Rasmussen, Hughes4.5.03 Skive A Second Division 4:3 1553 R.Schmidt 2, Rasmussen 211.5.03 Vedbæk H Second Division 2:0 2508 R.Schmidt, Carranza14.5.03 B 1909 A Second Division 0:3 1536 17.5.03 NFA H Second Division 4:0 1722 R.Schmidt 2, Carranza, Lohse25.5.03 Næstved A Second Division 2:1 1649 Carranza 231.5.03 AC Horsens H Second Division 4:0 1557 R.Schmidt, Vestergaard 2 (1 pen), Carranza8.6.03 Brande A Second Division 3:1 1560 Carranza, Wieghorst, Theil15.6.03 Dalum H Second Division 1:1 2537 Carranza </pre>

attjen

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * Danish Second Division - Wednesday 18th June 2003********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Skjold 30 9 4 2 33 13 9 1 5 27 23 59 2nd P Næsby 30 11 2 2 36 18 7 3 5 22 17 59 3rd P Korup 30 6 6 3 36 29 8 5 2 27 22 53 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Dalum 30 9 4 2 32 21 5 6 4 25 27 52 5th Skive 30 10 2 3 25 18 6 1 8 24 25 51 6th Ølstykke FC 30 8 4 3 25 17 7 2 6 25 29 51 7th Næstved 30 9 3 3 29 15 5 4 6 22 26 49 8th B 1909 30 9 4 2 26 12 5 2 8 20 24 48 9th Holstebro 30 8 3 4 29 19 6 3 6 27 32 48 10th AC Horsens 30 9 3 3 33 17 5 1 9 18 28 46 11th Hjørring 30 6 2 7 17 20 3 4 8 20 26 33 12th Brande 30 7 2 6 30 29 2 4 9 16 30 33 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13th R Nørresundby 30 5 4 6 22 21 3 4 8 26 33 32 14th R Vejen 30 5 3 7 18 21 1 3 11 7 23 24 15th R NFA 30 4 1 10 22 28 2 3 10 15 34 22 16th R Vedbæk 30 3 0 12 12 27 1 1 13 4 26 13 ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Goals============================================= ================================================== =Pos Player Club Apps Gls-------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Rasmus Holm Næsby 30 19 2nd Ariel Carranza 19 (10) 18 3rd Rasmus Schmidt Skjold 28 (2) 18 4th Morten Lauridsen Korup 30 17 5th Martin Christensen Vejle 22 16 6th Jens Lindgren Herfølge 15 16 7th Kasper Mikkelsen Holstebro 27 16 8th Jimmy Frandsen Nørresundby 30 13 9th Martin Henriksen Ølstykke FC 30 12 10th Jesper Rasmussen Næstved 30 12 20th Stig Rasmussen Skjold 28 9 ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Assists=========================================== ================================================== ===Pos Player Club Apps Asts-------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Henrik Nordstrøm Ølstykke FC 30 11 2nd Erik Kristiansen B 1909 30 10 3rd Lasse Lund Næsby 25 10 4th Kim Jensen HFK Sønderjylland 25 9 5th Per Holm Silkeborg IF 15 9 6th Kenneth Schrøder Dalum 17 (1) 9 7th Mads Ottesen Fremad Amager 21 (1) 8 8th Jannick Kjærsgaard Vejle 21 8 9th Lars Hemmingsen Korup 30 8 10th Steinar Marken Holstebro 30 8 14th Pascal Lourens Skjold 18 7 ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Average Rating============================================ ================================================== ==Pos Player Club Apps Av R-------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Jens Lindgren Herfølge 15 8.47 2nd Kasper Mikkelsen Holstebro 27 7.81 3rd Martin Christensen Vejle 22 7.77 4th Per Holm Silkeborg IF 15 7.67 5th Mikkel Müller B 1909 20 (1) 7.62 6th Rasmus Holm Næsby 30 7.60 7th Glenn Villadsen Frem 15 7.60 8th Brian Frederiksen Silkeborg IF 20 7.55 9th Kim Jensen HFK Sønderjylland 25 7.48 10th Ronni Svendsen Næstved 28 7.46 11th Stig Rasmussen Skjold 28 7.46 14th Morten Vestergaard Skjold 29 7.45 25th Ariel Carranza 19 (10) 7.34 28th Rasmus Schmidt Skjold 28 (2) 7.33 ================================================== ============================================== 2002/3 Man of Match============================================= ================================================== =Pos Player Club Apps MoM-------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Kasper Mikkelsen Holstebro 27 7 2nd Jens Lindgren Herfølge 15 6 3rd Jesper Rasmussen Næstved 30 6 4th Rasmus Holm Næsby 30 6 5th Rasmus Schmidt Skjold 28 (2) 6 6th Ariel Carranza 19 (10) 5 7th Ronni Svendsen Næstved 28 4 8th Stig Rasmussen Skjold 28 4 9th Jimmy Østergaard Holstebro 22 (4) 4 10th Glenn Villadsen Frem 15 4 </pre>

attjen

Again apologies to anybody reading with a small screen. :o

attjen

A little light summer reading

Nielson enjoyed the summer days of Denmark, kicking back in the deserted clubhouse reading the local paper.

Nielson skips ahead a few pages. Just that moment Anderson walked in and said, “Just getting a few things before I head south for vacation. Thanks for covering office duties for a while. Anything interesting?� pointing at the paper.

“Not really… and it’s no problem covering, somebody has to do it, and it gives me a chance to sign any players that pop up.� He flips a page over. “Now this is odd:

“Oh, yeah,� said Anderson. “Hemming told me something about that before he left. Apparently it was just a reorganization for tax purposes.�

“Hmm. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…�

attjen

So, who are you then?

"English?"

"Welsh, actually," said Mark Cook, recently appointed as a coach for Skjold. "Is this it then?" he added, looking around the meager offices, "not much room."

"Even less now. The scouts really aren't here much," Anderson said, pointing at Kostrup and Johansen sitting on two folding chairs in the corner. "We have a third scout now, Andreasen, but he's been sent out already, like those two will be soon."

"Physios?" said Cook.

"Two now. Jorgensen is still here, and Jochumsen came in this summer too. Hemming - have you met him?" Cook nodded, "-decided to have two to help take care of injuries to our youngsters."

"So 3 coaches, 3 scouts, 2 physios, but no assistant manager?"

"No, not yet," Anderson said.

"And all players are under 25?"

"Yes. That's one of Hemming's little 'theories'. We have about 25 players on contract right now, with a few more expected to come in on loans or frees this season."

(Later that day, the non-playing staff had a meeting on the practice pitch, to discuss the season to come. They discussed the new division, and the teams in it, also mentioning that only 2 teams were promoted, as opposed to the 3 promoted from Division 2. Hemming attended, and Anderson and Nielson made a point of saying '1st Division' as much as possible to drive home the point that that was the correct name of their new league. It was also agreed at this meeting that the club would stick to a 4-4-2 diamond tactic, until players could be found to suit a 4-5-1.)

Shortly thereafter, Hemming announced that the club had purchased a left midfielder named Juan Torres from Koge for 70k to fill the void the club had at that position. Torres appeared to be a solid dribbler and crosser, but a lingering injury would keep him out for several weeks at the beginning of the season. The supposed additional transfer funds never appeared, or at least never appeared to the coaches.

In late June, Ulrik Kvist joined the club on loan, and would probably be starting as the 2nd striker and partnering Rasmus Schmidt.

The three scouts were out scouring for any youth prospects (in South America, Central Europe, and locally) but Anderson wasn't expecting much to show up anytime soon. He explained to Cook, "I think for the time being we will be running pretty much the same line-up as last year. If we can stay up this season, that might help our recruitment though."

After a dreary 2-game tour of Sweden, Skjold was ready to open the season against fellow promotee Naesby. If there was any remaining doubt over which was more deserving of the title last season, Skjold made it a joke after 15 minuts. Lourens scored his first ever goal for the club, and goals from Rasmussen, Rasmus Schmidt (twice), and Kvist had the home side run out 5-2.

Against Vejle, Skjold made a game of it, but were outclassed by Vejle's two stars (Niels Nicolaisen and Jimmy Jorgensen) and were beaten 3-2. The club got goals from Kvist and Skov

Outplayed in the next match by Farum, Skjold had an own goal and Politi to thank for a 1-1 draw.

Skjold got goals from Lourens and Kvist in the next game to surprise then undefeated Hvidovre 2-1, in a game where Marco Vaz shone in defense.

Hemming then insisted on not playing any regulars for the cup match against HFK Sonderjylland, and although the squad was able to hold the visitors 0-0 through extra time, Skjold went out on penalties.

This brought Koge to town for the 5th game of the season, and after Politi was removed after letting in three goals in 30 minuts, Skjold did well to come back and score 3 behind the strong play of Vestergaard, to steal a point.

Anderson, Nielson, and Cook were tasked by Hemming to give a report on the top players and prospects on the club, and after deciding not to report on the three newest free transfers (German forward Olaf Kuhn, Italian midfielder Giovanni Furlan, and 21 year old Spanish midfielder Alejandro Luna) due to lack of time at the club, the three agreed with each other on the following names:

Morten Vestergaard central defensive midfielder. As far as the three could tell, still by far the club's best player.

Airton dos Santos Vieira Brazilian center-back. Although he wasn't rated as highly by the scouts as Charles Rosa da Silva, Airton was probably the club's best defender thanks to his height and good positioning sense.

Pascal Lourens Dutch right midfielder. A strong start to the season supported the club's commitment to the player as a first-teamer.

After those three though, the opinions became far more divergent. Anderson rated no-one else on the club, Nielson said only utility midfielder Dennis Schmidt would really amount to anything, and Cook only rated his fellow country-man Andy Hughes and to a lesser degree Portuguese defender Marco Vaz.

When Hemming received the report the next day, he spent the day in his office muttering to no-one in particular about how 'no profit can be made without better investments,' and he spent the better portion of his time for the next few weeks berating the 3 scouts each time they called in to the club with their 'unacceptable' results.

Flying_Fin

Enjoyed the read! Keep up the good work! :thup:

attjen

Thanks, FF. I'll try.

---

Bouncy, bouncy

"Well, that was odd," said Cook.

"Yeah," said Anderson, "No doubt. I don't know what the heck Vestergaard was thinking with that ball, but he certainly caught the keeper by suprise."

The two sat, along with Nielson, in the clubhouse office, just a few hours after Skjold had finished the first half of the season by beating Randers Freja with a 4-1 scoreline. The game had gone Skjold's way right from the start, as Rasmus Schmidt knocked one home in the 2nd minute of play. The game had been pretty tense after that with the visitor's coming close on several chances, but Skjold scored 3 times in the last 20 minutes to seal the 3 points: Vestergaard's completely unintended goal, Rasmussen getting one shortly after that, and Michaelsen scoring the 4th after Randers Freja had scored through Lindstrom.

"Where does that put us in the table?" asked Cook.

"By my calculations, we're only in 7th," said Nielson.

"Do you mean that in a good way or a bad way?" said Cook.

"Good," said Anderson and Nielson together.

It was true. In fact, had someone asked either of them or Hemming where the club should be by the winter break, mid-table would have been pleasing. After the opening 5 games of the season, Skjold hadn't strung together 2 wins until today.

After tying Koje 3-3, Skjold had gotten hammered by Korup in an exciting but ultimately demoralizing 3-0 loss.

At home for the next game, Skjold rode a Rasmussen goal in the 20th to a narrow 1-0 win over HFK Sonderjylland. B 93 scored early in the next game, and killed off the game in a dull 1-0 loss for Skjold.

Back at home for Birkerod, by all accounts Skjold should have lost again, but Juan Torres had a blistering 2nd half, and Michaelsen and Hughes scored their first goals of the season in the 73rd and 87th to make the loyal home fans happy with a 2-1 win. Then a nice 3-1 loss to Frem followed.

Hemming must have been getting sick of the up and down lifestyle because he decided it was time to shake up the club again with some transfers out. Within 2 weeks, Theil - who had been so solid in the previous season, Garcia, Sverisson, Fischer, and Valero were all out the door for an income of 190k. On some of the deals Hemming had tacked on a appearance clause which might add funds later in the season.

Hemming had also taken up his scouts recommendations and signed Geraldo dos Santos Oliviera a relatively quick Brazilian forward, who also had relatively little skill, and Christian Quintana an Argentine left winger who was touted as a hot prospect.

The big move, though, was the loaning in of 24-year old Peter Karolyi, a top notch Hungarian defensive midfielder. Even the coaches had to agree that with Karolyi at the club, there was no reason not to try and play the 4-5-1 formation. (Especially since none of the forwards at the club had shown much ability in partnering Rasmus Schmidt.)

Much to the staff's surprise, the formation change seemed to improve the team's form. It even worked well against Bronshoj, a home game where Skjold inexplicably only registered goalkeeper Pesce as a valid substitute. Skjold was very lucky to escape that one with a 0-0 draw. They got the result despite 1) Pesce having to come on for an injured Rasmussen and playing as an attacking midfielder, 2) Politi giving away a penalty and being sent off, and 3) Skjold having to play most of the game with 10-men. Pesce saved the penalty, and Vestergaard controlled the rest of the game to shut down Bronshoj's offense. 0-0 was generous to say the least.

A 2-0 win away at Fremad Amager followed, and then another keeper debacle (Pesce this time) forced Skjold to fight back with 10-men to earn a 1-1 draw at home with B 1913. Skjold then had one of their best overall games of the season in a 2-0 win over Fredericia. Torres playing very well and earning MOM.

And then came the win over Randers Freja, giving Skjold their first winning streat of the season... 2 games.

attjen

Funny, I thought it was your job to check on contract expirations...

The month of December was busier than Anderson could remember in any season before. Not the least reason was the scrambling effort to resign Andy Hughes, Dennis Schmidt, and Jacob Henriksen. The staff at Skjold had missed that their contracts were ending after the season, but the rest of the Danish league hadn't. Each of the three players had competing offers on the table before Skjold had their renewals, and each of the three agreed to leave on Bosman's after the season. Anderson wasn't really all that upset, though Nielson and Cook were disappointed that their favorite youngsters were skipping town.

Hemming and Anderson did manage to agree to terms to bring in two more youths, this time from a UK scouting trip. Tom Simpson was a barely promising English defensive midfielder, and Simon Newman was a towering defender who would probably get games immediately.

At the end of the month, the staff had a long conference to decide how much attacking midfielder Jannick Kjaersgaard would help the club, and finally Anderson was able to convince Hemming that, "He's got world class pace, and decent skills. He's only 21, and he's going to be better than anyone we'll be able to find at that position for a while." Negotiations with the player were difficult, though, despite his relegation clause being activated at Vejle. Hemming finally had to offer the player a huge signing bonus to offset the player's desired weekly wages.

With the club going to intensive practices for the months of January and February, Anderson, Nielson, and Cook were trying to get something out of these so-called prospect in terms of development, but they just weren't seeing any results.

When the season finally re-started in March, the trio were fairly disillusioned with the team's quality. "All these 'prospects', and not a one of them is getting any better!" declared Cook one evening as the trio drowned their sorrows at the local pub.

The club started the spring half with a 2-2 draw with Farum. Skjold took the lead twice only to give it away moments later. Juan Torres took injured in the first half, and would miss several weeks.

Against Vejle in the next game, Anderson was hoping for some stellar play from Kjaersgaard against his former club, but it was Rasmus Schmidt who was unstoppable, scoring twice, and Stig Rasmussen now coming off the bench, scored a third as Skjold won 3-1.

Anderson was especially pleased to see a new loaner arrive after the game, right-back Rune Skov from Dalum, a player Hemming had been targeting without success for a transfer, but an excellent defender at only 19. With a loan contract through the end of the season, the club had found cover for the soon to be 25 Kim Michaelsen.

Now out of the playoff zone by just 4 points, the club was hopeful of the next match versus Naesby, but the earlier blow-out win was revenged, as Naesby scored twice and got a great day from the keeper to defeat Skjold 2-0.

Home against Hvidovre, just above Skjold (6th) at 4th in the table, Hemming was very pleased to see Juan Torres return from injury to spark the team to a 2-1 win. The game had been one of the best of the season from his side as they created 17 chances, but Hvidovre had hung tough thanks to a penalty and a fine goalkeeping day from Christian Bay. The win put Skjold at 32 points for the season, the mark Nielson and Cook had calculated that would guarantee them staying away from relegation. The staff was pretty excited that the club had reached the mark at only 19 games.

It they were excited before, the midweek 3-0 win away at Birkerod made them positively giddy. An all around astonishing team performance that saw Rasmussen, starting for the unfit Kjaersgaard, score in the 8th, Vestergaard, back on form after a poor stretch, head home a 2nd in the 45th, and 2nd half sub Silva dos Santos get a suprising third with a header a few minutes before the whistle. Although in 5th place, Skjold was only 3 points behind 2nd place Frem.