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No, I'm not talking about here in the Great White North, this Canuck is off to glacier covered, geothermally heated Iceland!
2004: Breiðablik - First Division
After forgetting to change my start date, I find myself thrown in the deep end, a third of the season completed, negative bank account, no transfer funds, and a team whose board expects great things were languishing midtable.
Try as I may, with a couple of free transfers in, the 6th placed position is where we end up finishing: GP 18; W 7, D 3, L 8; GD +2.
Two rounds of the Icelandic Cup was all we could accomplish, losing 2-0 to Premier side IA.
An aging striker who scored 8 goals in all competitions to lead scorers was voted Fan's Player of the Year. A fitting send off, as he was unable to be persuaded to stay on another season.
The board expect promotion, UKbetting.com agreed, however the AssMan figured the current squad needed additions up front in order to compete, an assessment I agreed with.
After a few friendlies, up comes the Icelandic Upper League Cup, which by way of our 6th placed finish in the 1st Div, we qualify for, as the top 6 along with the Premier sides compete. I didn't go in expecting much, and rightly so. A 5th placed finish in our group, 8 points back of advancing to the quarters, seemed to show the apparent gap between the top Premier sides and the 1st Division.
Unfortunately, the board's expectations weren't met, and an identical record, but with an even GD, gave us a 5th placed finish, the lack of goal scoring being the downfall as we allowed just over a goal a game.
A first round exit in the cup, on penalties, was our fate in that competition, with all 5 players missing their attempts.
This time, another, aging forward who scored 10 goals in all competitions was the lucky recipient of Fan's Player of the Year. During the close season, he, too, would announce his retirement, but after the following season.
Again, the board expects promotion. This season, though, six sides, including us, were considered to be promotion candidates after a newly relegated side. And, again, the AssMan figures the side isn't good enough to be promoted. I think, well, with a bit more finish...
And the national media came to ask whether or not I felt we had the chance to be promoted. I said sure, I think it's possible.
First up, though, is the Upper League Cup. And, again, we end up nowhere near qualifying. Not really a surprise to me, though.
The league sees us struggle, bouncing up and down in and out of relegation spots, which sees the board tire of my handling of the club. Twice, I receive the dreaded vote of confidence, and thus I know this will be my final season at Breiðablik. The board decide they can't wait.
With one match remaining in the season, they hand me my walking papers. Just what I need on my CV, failure at a small Icelandic club. So, on holiday I go.
But then...
The same morning, struggling Premier Division side FH sack their manager. After qualifying for the UEFA Cup, a relegation battle isn't good enough, it seems. I'm assuming my "assistant" sent my application for this position, and low and behold, that afternoon I was walking into a new position.
2006: FH - Premier Division
One match left in their season as well. I need a win, and I need some help in order to stay up. I got neither, so back to the familiar 1st Division.
Unsurprisingly, the board expects to be promoted straight back to the Premier Division. Odds say we should be in the promotion hunt. AssMan says the squad is more than deep enough to gain promotion. Without a whole lot of knowledge yet about my side, I am cautiously optimistic.
The close season saw three players follow me from Breiðablik, as well as three others joining. Two players, one who was grossly overpaid, went on their way, to Denmark and Scotland, bringing in 200K Euro.
The Upper League Cup sees us qualify in 4th in our group. A three way tie for second included us, but we had a horrible match early in the tournament, and got hit for four goals, which condemned us to 4th. A loss in the quarter finals to eventual champions Grindavik followed.
That performance left me feeling fairly positive about our chances in the league. Four matches without conceding a goal, when it finally happened to my former club, ironically. Eleven straight wins before the run was ended after a 1-0 loss after playing close to an hour down to 10 men. Allowing just 9 goals on the way to top spot in the division: GP 18; W 15, D 1, L 2; GD +32.
League success carried on into the Icelandic Cup. A 1-0 loss to, again, Grindavik on a questionable penalty call in the final left us just short of the crown.
Leading scorer with 19 in all competitions is also Fan's Player of the Year.
Originally posted by Guinness79:
League success carried on into the Icelandic Cup. A 1-0 loss to, again, Grindavik on a questionable penalty call in the final left us just short of the crown.
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