Taxing Times For Norway

Today the Norwegian newspapers were dominated by one particularly distasteful Norwegian ritual: The publishing of people's earnings. That's right, once a year what people earn and what they pay in taxes is made public by the government, and there is much rejoicing.

As always there are stories about how Mad Martin Andresen, heir to the Skeidar furniture-empire, is the wealthiest player in the national team (guys like Riise and Gamst Pedersen don't show up on the lists as they pay their taxes abroad), and as always there are chuckles at the massive gulf between the earnings of some members of the national squad and someone like Big John Carew. 

At fjordball-towers the news that Erik Huseklepp made five times as much as Tarik Elyounoussi last year was greeted by hysterical laughter and an overwhelming sense of pity for Brann's accountants, while the more cruel members of the editorial staff had to be restrained from looking up Bengt Eriksen's income and making undignified remarks comparing his abilities as a pundit to those of a deranged hedgehog. 

Huseklepp: Why?

For those who are able to tear their attentions away from these fascinating financial facts, there's a game on tonight and it's really rather important. 

"Mini" Jakobsen, a pundit who has taken the noble art of being wrong to a whole new level, has revealed what tonight's lineup certainly won't be by giving us his two-cents: "Holland obviously have some star players, and nobody expects us to win. I still think we have a good chance to take three points if we play similar to the way we did against Scotland," he told VG before going on to suggest a very different formation and lineup to the one that faced Scotland. It takes a special kind of stupidity to suggest taking on Holland with both a holding midfielder and an attacking midfielder who has hardly ever played that position before.

Mini's Norway: What you're not likely to see tonight

What looks altogether more likely to happen is a flat midfield four with Christian Grindheim partnered by Henning Hauger in the middle, with Morten Gamst Pedersen on the right and Fredrik Winsnes on the left. The general idea being that the hard-working duo of Hauger and Grindheim will try to close down the Dutch and deny them space while Winsnes and Gamst Pedersen will provide accurate delivery from the flanks.

A good plan theoretically, but then again a good plan isn't always enough. Especially if you're playing a vastly superior team.