The Preview that is now a Tom Nordlie-free zone.

Saturday

Brann (4th) - Molde (11th)

It's been a remarkably quiet week for Brann, a team that usually takes up a considerable chunk of the domestic football-coverage in the Norwegian medias. The only thing of note have been speculation on whether or not their fragile captain Eirik Bakke will be fit enough to take part here, and whether or not Scottish striker Robbie Winters is over the hill. "Fit enough to play and injure himself in some new and fascinating way" and "Probably" are the answers you're looking for.

In Molde, news that Molde are going to invest time and money in developing a football-academy in Tanzania have been greeted with predictable scepticism: "MFK should look for new talents on Kyrksæterøra and on Averøya, not in Tanzania", writes a local hack in Romsdals Budstikke.

Home win.

Sunday

Rosenborg (9th) - Viking (7th)

Will the Great Rosenborg Revival roll on against the rather good put slightly narcoleptic Viking? There is plenty of optimism at fortress Lerkendal these days, as the popular but a bit rubbish caretaker manager Trond Henriksen has finally been replaced by Swedish super-manager Erik Hamrén. Then man who broke Fc København's stranglehold on the Danish League title has now been tasked with regaining Rosenborg's on the Norwegian League, which is no small task considering they are trailing league leaders Stabæk with 10 points.

As for Viking, it appears that Allan Gaarde will be benched for an important game for the first time in his Viking-career. The lanky Danish midfielder has been underperforming badly so far this season, and has blatantly not been justifying his continued selection by delivering on the pitch. 

Home win.

Hamrén: To bring the glory-days back to RBK?

Fredrikstad (2th) - Stabæk (1th)

Undoubtedly the pick of the bunch this week is the top of the table-clash between Fredrikstad and Stabæk, who in addition to being the two top teams so far in terms of points have also been arguably the two most entertaining teams this season. Stabæk have started the season masterfully, but with important first team members about to depart (Somen Tchoyi is off to Red Bull Saltzburg while Anthony Annan is off to.. somwhere) the question is: Can they keep it up?

In Fredrikstad they are trying to handle Tarik Mania as best they can (the mania didn't abate with Tarik's successful international debut this week). The starlet has played four games in the last twelve days (for Fredrikstad, Norway U21 and Norway) and his club has decided to give him a bit of a rest, when he needs it. "We have to look after him, but he had a positive experience with the national team. After that he has just been happy, and our training has been of the light variety the last week," said manager Anders Grönhagen. There's no chance in hell he'll be benched for this game though.

Draw.

Elyounoussi: Hot property

Aalesund (12th) - Strømsgodset (6th)

After two vicious away-games against Fredrikstad and Stabæk (and a predictable return of zero points) Aalesund are back on home astro-turf, and against plucky-but-not-very-good Strømsgodset they really need to turn things around. There's a problem though; according to local paper Sunnmøresposten as many as 12 players, all from the first team, are injured or doubtful for the game. No squad in the country can deal with that sort of absentee-list, and the good city of Aalesund will collectively be praying for the ones who are doubtful to get fit for this absolutely crucial game.

It's been a shockingly slow couple of news-cycles for Strømsgodset, even by their standards, and there really isn't much to write about them right now.

Home win.

Lyn (10th) - Vålerenga (8th)

Plenty of bragging-rights at stake here as Oslo-rivals Lyn and Vålerenga battle for the footballing supremacy of the capital. This local derby is a strange one though: Even though Vålerenga has usually had the better team on paper, they haven't beaten Lyn home or away in 27 years. A staggering statistic. Will Mad Martin be the one to break the curse for Vålerenga?

Bigwigs are a'sweating and directors' hands are a'shaking at Lyn these days: Their manager Henning Berg is apparently in the mix to fill the Tom Nodlie-sized hole at Lillestrøm. In spite of being a whinger who has apparently evolved into a dullard (progress, one has to say), Berg is a pretty damned competent manager and fjordball reckons he is exactly the cool head needed to steady the sinking ship that is Circus Åråsen.

Draw.

Berg: Likely to leave Lyn?

Monday

Bodø/Glimt (3rd) - Lillestrøm (13th)

Enough is enough, fjordball has had it. After two days of Tom "Keiko" Nordlie's whale-like frame on every front-page and in every news-show on TV, fjordball cannot take anymore. The final straw was probably Ivar Hoff, former Lillestrøm-man and worst pundit in the history of the universe, describing Tom Nordlie as a "premature ejaculation: it's good for a couple of seconds and then it's all over", causing people all over Norway to spontaneously barf on their computers (fjordball for one will be billing Hoff for the repairs needed on his beloved iBook). 

So this is it: Fjordball will from now on be a total Tom Nordlie-free zone. For the next month there will be no mention of the fat one here, no matter what happens. If he wins the democratic nomination for president in the US in a dramatic late swoop, if he invades a small African country using nothing but ex-Start players carrying vacuum-cleaners and feather dusters, if he chops down the tallest tree in the forest using only a herring, Fjordball doesn't care: You won't read about it here.

Home win.

Nordlie-Free Zone: It would make a lot of sense to have a picture of Tom Nordlie here, but since the blog is now a Tom Nordlie-free zone, here's Dean Windass.

Mixed bag for Hareide while Keiko abandons circus Åråsen

Norway still rubbish, but things might be on the up..

Norway 2 (Elyounoussi, Riise) - Uruguay 2 (Suarez, Eguren)

Just another meaningless international friendly many might claim, but after pathetic displays against Wales and Montenegro it was vital for the Norwegian national team to give people SOMETHING to be optimistic about, especially with the qualifying-campaign for the 2010 World Cup just one more friendly away. This certainly wasn't a great performance, not even a good one to be honest, but there were signs in the second half that there might be good things to come from Norway's finest.

Firstly there was Tarik Elyounoussi, who Hareide inexplicably left on the bench in favor of playing Jan Gunnar Solli out of position in a wide attacking-role. Thankfully Hareide came to his senses at half time, and Tarik took his chance and scored five minutes into his international debut. Aside from the goal he showed signs of a good understanding with John Carew, and surely Hareide must now consider scrapping the 4-5-1 system in order to accommodate these two up front. In addition to Tarik, there was also Fredrik Strømstad who showed in the second half that he can bring some much needed creativity to the Norwegian midfield, Vadim Demidov showed glimpses of class when he came on deep into the second half and Rune Almenning Jarstein looked confident in goal, commanding his backline with authority and making a couple of good saves.

In short: We're still rubbish, but there are signs that things just might be about to improve.

Carew and Elyounoussi: Linking up well

Keiko free of Lillestrøm-misery

It's hard not to feel sorry for the big man, Lillestrøm is after all his boyhood club and anyone could see how desperate he was to succeed there. In the end though it just wasn't working, and after weeks of getting hammered by the press, rumors of a player-revolt, a public row with sporting director Jan Åge Fjørtoft, and most importantly unacceptable results, Tom Nordlie decided to step down.

"The main reason for me resigning, effective immediately, is that there are two bosses at Lillestrøm, Jan Åge [Fjørtoft] and me, who fundamentally disagree", a teary-eyed Nordlie told the press on Thursday. Looking at it from the outside, it's a bit strange that in a conflict between the two it's Nordlie who has to step down, considering he's the one with a proven track-record as a coach at the highest level in Norway while Fjørtoft's competance as a sporting director is, well, more debatable. But then again that is the age-old industry rule, in an argument between the guy upstairs and the guy downstairs the guy upstairs will always win.

Nordlie: First Tippeliga-manager to get the sack this season

Adecco-update

You thought I'd forgotten didn't you? 

Odd Grenland's remarkable winning-streak was finally snapped, and it took the only other half-decent team in the league (by the looks of it) Start to do so. A last-minute winner from Geir Ludvig Fevang was enough to give Start a precious 1-0 win, and the league is now very much a two-horse race.

Another team on the up is Bryne who won their fourth game in a row, and look to have shrugged off their nightmareish start to the season. They overcame plucky Hødd 1-0 at Hødd, which isn't the easiest of places to go and get three points.

Sandefjord had another disappointing result, drawing 0-0 against Hønefoss. After 8 games Sandefjord are a shocking 14 points off league leaders Odd Grenland and it looks highly unlikely that they can get themselves back into the Tippeliga at the first time of asking. 

In other results of the weekend Haugesund and Kongsvinger played out a 2-2 draw at Kongsvinger, Løv-Ham lost 1-2 at home to Sandnes Ulf while Alta rather disappointingly lost 0-2 at home against Sogndal. 

Moss reaffirmed their intentions of hanging around close to the promotion-spots by beating local rivals Sarpsborg Sparta 1-2 away from home, while last and possibly least interesting The Football Club Formerly Known As Nybergsund (or NIL Trysil as boring people call them) lost 0-1 at home against Notodden. 

In the news this week, Sandefjord have hired a man to replace ex-manager Tor Thodesen. Like Stabæk, Aalesund, Molde and Fredrikstad before them their solution has been to hire some bloke who has done well in Sweden but who no one in Norway knows anything about. His name is Patrick Walker, and according to Wikipedia he's Irish and used to play for Gillingham before moving to Sweden, so if nothing else he's definitely the first Irish ex-Gillingham player to manage a Norwegian team. Good luck to him.

Aalesund in surprising show of resilience

Stabæk 2 (Pall Gunnarson, Alanzinho) - Aalesund 1 (Parr)

In the least surprising result of the year (and the way you know that is that even fjordball predicted it) Stabæk overcame Aalesund on a fine monday evening at Nadderud. What was surprising was that the win wasn't along the lines of the expected 16-0 drubbing: Aalesund actually showed a bit of backbone here, and could with a bit of luck have sneaked a point.

However, the goal that ended up winning the game for Stabæk, Alanzinho's 2-0 goal, was well worth three points on it's own. In fact, it was the kind of goal that makes you wish the league could give out extra style-points in some way. Click here for a video-interview with Alanzinho and the goal, it's well worth it. For all his brilliance on the ball though Alanzinho is starting to get on fjordball's nerves a bit: Is there anyone in the Tippeliga who dives as much as he does? Anyone?

Alanzinho: Really rather good.

Stabæk now face Fredrikstad next round before the Tippeliga goes on vacation for a few weeks, and if they win they will have a significant gap between themselves and the rest of the league. Can they go all the way?

Round 8: The Great Rosenborg Revival continues

Damn you, damn all of you! Why? Because you convinced fjordball to start making these silly predictions. Now, with 6 out of 7 games played this round, all of the predictions made in the preview have been wrong and fjordball looks like an idiot. However, fjordball did win a 10-foot dinghy in a local fishing-competition this Sunday, so in spite of the weekend's prediction-fiasco spirits are high at fjordball-towers..

The Rosenborg Revival limps on

Molde 1 (Gjerde) - Rosenborg 2 (Iversen, Strand)

It was far from convincing stuff, but Rosenborg return to Lerkendal with all three points. They are still quite a few points off league leaders Stabæk, but like last week the win means they are still in contact with the teams higher up the table. 

Molde did themselves few favors here, after having taken the lead through a cracking overhead kick from Øyvind Gjerde they went down to 10 men at the stroke of half time when young defender Vegard Forren fouled Yssouf Kone as the last man. 45 minutes with a numerical disadvantage proved too much, even against a Rosenborg-side that isn't exactly firing on all cylinders. In the aftermath of the game the media were rather unimpressed with Rosenborg, while Rosenborg's caretaker-manager Trond Henriksen was rather unimpressed with the media. Fjordball isn't impressed with any of them, to be honest.

Forren: Took an early bath

Narcoleptic Viking give away more points for no apparent reason

Viking 1 (Ødegaard) - Brann 2 (Jaiteh, Helstad)

What is it with Viking anyway? For the fourth game in a row the Viking defense have collectively fallen asleep and gifted goals to the opposing team, and unlike Molde last round Brann weren't charitable enough to return the favor.

Full credit to Brann though, they took full advantage of Viking's defensive blips and defended valiantly for the rest of the game. After starting the season disastrously they can now look back on an impressive run of recent results, and they are well within touching distance of the top of the table. The team still doesn't quite work and there are questions to be answered, but as long as they keep racking up points the good people of Bergen won't care about that.

Lillestrøm and HamKam equally awful

Lillestrøm 0 - HamKam 0

The less said about this the better. In the space of one week HamKam have taken part in both the early front runners for "Worst game of the season" (if not the millennium), while Lillestrøm gave what has been billed as their most inept performance of the season, which is really saying something.

"Today we looked like a football-team again" said HamKam-manager Arne Erlandsen after the game, trying desperately to put a positive spin on the game. Both teams are now in deep doodoo, and while most people expect Lillestrøm to snap out of it at some point, alarm bells are really starting to ring for HamKam.

Nordlie: Time to start packing?

FFK downed in Drammen

Strømsgodset 1 (Ohr) - Fredrikstad 0

Another three points on the board for plucky Strømsgodset, who at the same time denied Fredrikstad a day on top of the table. They have to count themselves a bit fortunate though as it was the away-team who had the better chances, especially in the first half, but they just couldn't find the back of the net.

The great big paradox of Fredrikstad so far this season is that they are the top-scoring team in the league (at least they will be until Stabæk put an estimated 16 goals past Aalesund tonight), yet they don't have a typical goal-getter up front, and this shortcoming was particularly evident here.

Ohr: Did what Fredrikstad couldn't

Tromsø triumph over lackluster Lyn

Tromsø 2 (Sigurdsson OG, Rushfeldt) - Lyn 0

Two goalless games at home in unacceptable for a team with ambitions of qualifying for continental competitions, but an own goal from Ingridi Sigurdsson and a header from Old Man Rushfeldt put Tromsø back on track. They still look nearly impossible to break down, so it's just a matter of getting the goals for Tromsø and they did that here.

"They were more aggressive, quicker on the ball, had a higher tempo and showed greater precision" admitted Henning Berg, who was understandably disappointed after having seen his team create about half a chance in 90 minutes of football. 

More of the same from Vålerenga

Vålerenga 0 - Bodø/Glimt 0

After the initial optimism of Vålerenga's brave new world they are looking more and more like the Vålerenga of old: A pretty good but rather inconsistent team that doesn't score enough goals. Bodø/Glimt on the other hand keep on impressing, and in fairness they were unlucky not to get all three points here.

Bodø/Glimt-manager Kåre Ingebrigtsen was annoyed after the game about the fact that Mad Martin can run around and swear at everyone for 90 minutes unpunished, while his own players are booked as soon as they say anything at all. "It seems to me that the bar is set a lot higher for Martin to get a card than for other players on the pitch" he said after the game, making himself an early favorite for fjordball's "No kidding"-award for 2008. "What can I say, just look at the tv-footage. It's Glimt who got five yellow cards, so it might be best for them to look at themselves" commented Mad Martin, completely missing the point. 

Andresen: A bit of a brute

The rather delayed Preview. Sorry about that.

Saturday

Molde (11th) - Rosenborg (10th)

Some ten years ago this would have been one of the games of the season, Rosenborg would have been the all-powerful and all-conquering side running away with the league while Molde would have been pretty much the only team close to being able to give them a run for their money. How things change, eh? "It's a shame that encounters between us don't have the same importance as they used to", sniveled Molde's captain marvelous Daniel Berg Hestad.

Meanwhile at Lerkendal, Rosenborg-striker Yssouf Koné looks like he might bugger off to Transylvania this summer, which tells you a thing or two about life in Trondheim. Romanian club CFR Cluj, who have previously relived Rosenborg of both Michael Dorsin and Lars Hirschfelt, are according to Dagbladet prepared to make a bid of 12 million NOK for Koné. 

Draw.

Koné: Off to Transylvania?

Sunday

Lillestrøm (13th) - HamKam (14th)

A clash of the titans if there ever was one: The predictably rubbish HamKam versus the rather surprisingly rubbish Lillestrøm. If long-balls, nasty tackles, big thuggish players and players leading with their elbows in every aerial challenge is your thing then Åråsen is the place to be this Sunday.

Current HamKam and former Lillestrøm-manager Arne Erlandsen has had a bit of a pop at Lillestrøm's beleaguered boss Tom Nordlie this week in the press, saying that "if you can't take the pressure you should find yourself a different job". Erlandsen, a man who utterly embodies Lillestrøm's footballing heritage of big thuggish players, a well organized defense and "hoof it to the big man"-tactics, would certainly be among the candidates to take over should Nordlie be kicked out of Circus Åråsen and if you think that he was just having a dig at "Keiko" because of their upcoming encounter, well, then you're just not paying attention.

Home win.

Tromsø (9th) - Lyn (6th)

Hold the press! Something vaguely interesting has happened at Lyn! Sadly it's interesting for all the wrong reasons; while playing for Lyn 2 against Kristiansund, fullback Lars Kristian Eriksen allegedly called Kristiansund's Mamadou Diagne Latyr a "fucking monkey", and told him to "go back to the jungle". Tastless stuff if true, but according to Eriksen there was a bit more to it than that. According to the Lyn-man, what he actually said was "fuck off Momo", and he also claimed Latyr headbutted him and threatened to kill him. Near the end of the second half, Eriksen felt so threatened he ran to the bench and asked to be substituted. Right.

Tromsø started the season well, but have faded a bit since and after 7 games they've only scored 4 goals, a quite shocking tally and lowest in the Tippeliga. "The Northern Capello", Steinar Nilsen is living up to his nickname (which doesn't seem to be catching on..) as a manager obsessed with having a solid defensive unit, and as they line up against Lyn at home the neutral observer has to ask: Will anything at all happen in this game?

Draw.

Eriksen: In a spot of bother

Stømsgodset (8th) - Fredrikstad (2th)

The people of Fredrikstad are a bit miffed. Not because they're 2nd in the league, they're ecstatic about that, but they don't feel they're getting enough credit for it. "Where are the national medias?" asked a recent editorial in local newspaper Fredrikstad Blad. "They only write about the teams who have been bad. I don't understand it" said local legend Per "Snæbbus" Kristoffersen. Perhaps the fact that 3 of the 7 teams Fredrikstad have faced so far have been newly promoted teams and 1 have been Aalesund at home means people are a bit wary, and want to see what Fredrikstad can do against proper teams before they get carried away.

Strømsgodset have probably spend most of the week in therapy after having taken part in that awful, mind-numbing bore-fest against HamKam this Monday. They'll have to do much better here if they are going to get anything out of this encounter with red-hot Fredrikstad. 

Away win.

Vålerenga (7th) - Bodø/Glimt (3rd)

How about that? Bodø/Glimt, predicted to be doomed and then some before the season began, are in 3rd. The cheeky northerners have caught a lot of teams by surprise, boasting a surprisingly solid defense, a hardworking midfield, pacy wingers and a rugged Brazilian up front. Will Mad Martin's Vålerenga be able to cope?

They might have to make do without Bengt Sæternes, the former Bodø/Glimt-man has been struggling with an injury to his, well, his ass. Also struggling to get fit is Kjetil Wæhler, who seems to injure himself every time he gets called up to international duty. "It's hopeless", a rather demoralized Wæhler told the press.

Home win.

Sæternes: Having ass-issues

Viking (4th) - Brann (5th)

It's the Big Western Derby! The capital of Oil versus the capital of Rain, Blue versus Red, A mad German versus a pretty dull character from Osterøy. Actually, the mad German won't be taking part, having gone a bit overboard and run on to the pitch last round the Teutonic Terrier will be watching from the stands this time around. Unlike quite a few other managers though, Herr Uwe claims he won't try to communicate with his bench during the game: "I will respect the penalty I have received from the federation, and I won't be on my mobile during the game."

Brann for their part are having trouble getting their star-players to sign new contracts. Both the Torstein Helstand and Erlend Hanstveit are demanding new and improved deals, and unfortunately for Brann both players are good enough to be of interest to bigger clubs abroad, so if they want to keep them there's little to do but pay up. On a brighter note, lanky winger Erik Huseklepp might be fit enough to take his place on the Brann-bench against Viking.

Home win.

Rösler: Will miss out on big derby

Monday

Stabæk (1st) - Aalesund (12th)

Oh dear. It's the all-conquering league-leaders at home against Aalesund, who are on a quite shocking 9-game losing streak away from home. The most potent attacking force in the league versus a team who have conceded 12 in their last 3 games. This could get ugly.

Ordinarily, Aalesund would be looking to their slightly mad American goalkeeper Adin Brown to keep them into this sort of game, but not so much this week. The strange stopper will miss out on quite a few games with a pesky achilles-problem.

Home win.

Exit The Dragon and Tarik To Tottenham?

Well that was quick wasn't it? The whole dragon-thing was met with outrage from everyone who cared, and NFF have made a spectacular U-turn. According president of the NFF, Sondre Kåfjord, "when a majority of the people are unhappy with the new badge and want the flag back, that's something we need to take seriously". The flag is back, for now.

Admirable stuff from NFF, they look a bit stupid but at least they acknowledged that the people weren't keen on the dragon and took action. 

..now on to more juicy bits: Fjordball understands that English also-rans Tottenham Hotspur have been in contact with Fredrikstad regarding one of their players. Specifically what player White Hart Lane-outfit want is not known, but it's a safe bet the player in question is one of their U21-stars Tarik Elyounoussi and Lasse Staw.

The inevitable bidding-war for Elyounoussi, who has looked unstoppable so far this season, has already started with Heerenveen reportedly having a bid of around 20 million NOK turned down.  Fredrikstad are however rumored to be prepared to let Elyounoussi go should they receive a bid of 40 million NOK, a quite staggering price by Tippeliga-standards but definitely not a prohibitive price for a rich Premier League club like Tottenham.

Elyounoussi: Off to join the Ramos-revolution?

Enter the Dragon

It has long been a common colloquial term in Norway to say "playing with the flag on your chest" when referring to playing for the national side. That may be on its way out though, as the Norwegian Football Federation recently announced that the national emblem will be changed from a simple flag to something a bit more fancy. Involving a dragon, of all things.

Mad Martin: No longer flying the flag

The decision has caused a fair bit of outrage (there would probably have been more if people in general weren't so apathetic towards the national team as they are). Us Norwegians are a nationalistic bunch and we rather like our flag, and crucially we're not Welsh, so there's no need for a dragon at all. A Dagbladet-poll shows 81% of people who could be bothered to vote prefers a flag rather than a dragon.

Minister of Culture Trond Giske, who is no stranger to chasing dragons, was outraged. "To remove the flag is as nonsensical as when Braathens SAFE [airline that has since been bought by SAS] removed the Norwegian flag from their logo", he told VG. National team manager Åge Hareide wasn't too pleased either. "I had an emotional reaction internally when I heard about this...I would have kept the flag, and I've told NFF that I will make my opinion public." said citizen Hareide.

No, it bloody well isn't.

HamKam 1 (Pasoja) - Strømsgodset 1 (Andersson)

Fans at Briskeby were making their protest against the corporate bastards who screwed them out of their 16th of may party by sitting on their hands and doing bugger all for the entire first half. Sadly for them, all 22 players on the pitch followed suit and did the same. The second half was slightly less awful, but only slightly. Both teams went with long-ball tactics, and both proved rather bad at it. The fact that HamKam's goal came from a fluke free-kick from 45 yards and Strømsgodset's goal came from a wrongly adjudged penalty rather sums this early contender for "worst game of the season".

Dagbladet however were giddy as schoolgirls, asking their readers "Is this the goal of the year?". They were referring to Juha Pasoja's speculative 45-yard punt which Espen Johnsen comically failed to keep out. The answer to that question is of course, as fjordball's very own headline states, "No it bloody well isn't".

Johnsen: Excites Dagbladet and amuses everyone else

Fan make noise by not making noise, while Hareide in interesting squad-shocker

Has Hareide Grown A Pair?

As the more reputable footballing-nations of the world (plus Austria and Switzerland) announce their squads for this summer's little get-together in the Alps, Norway have announced their squad for the upcoming friendly against Uruguay. Not quite as exciting, I know, but after a string of uninspired performances from the national side Norwegians will be pleased to see that manager Åge Hareide, who so often in the past has overlooked young form-players in favor of more established names, has gone with a rather exciting squad this time around..

Most notable are the inclusions of Tarik Elyounoussi and Vadim Demidov. Tarik has gotten a lot of attention in this blog, and rightly so, his form this season is one of the main reasons why Fredrikstad are currently in a rather surprising 2nd place in the league. The youngster has on many occasions displayed skill and vision on a level rarely seen in this league, and crucially he also seems to have matured a bit as well. Demidov for his part has been one of very few Rosenborg players to come out of their start to the season with any credit. His dominant performances both at the heart of RBK's defense and in their midfield has made him a hot candidate to replace Mad Martin as Norway's midfield-general.

Other rather interesting names on Hareide's squad-sheet are: Erik Nevland, who has done his part in keeping Fulham in the Premier League. Fredrik Strømstad, who in spite of playing for Start in the Adeccoliga has done enough to catch Hareide's eye. And also Azar Karadas, that big lump of muscles currently employed by Brann. Established yet underperforming names like Steffen Iversen and Erik Hagen have been left out.

The full squad list looks something like this..

Keepers:

Rune Almenning Jarstein - Rosenborg
Håkon Opdal - Brann

Defenders:

Brede Hangeland - Fulham

Jon Inge Høiland - Stabæk

Tore Reginiussen - Tromsø

John Arne Riise - Liverpool

Jarl-Andre Storbæk - Vålerenga

Kjetil Wæhler - Vålerenga

Midfielders:

Martin Andresen - Vålerenga

Eirik Bakke - Brann

Vadim Demidov - Rosenborg

Christian Grindheim - Heereveen

Morten Gamst Pedersen - Blackburn

Jan Gunnar Solli - Brann

Per Ciljan Skjelbred - Rosenborg

Fredrik Strømstad - Start

Forwards:

John Carew - Aston Villa

Tarik Elyounoussi - Fredrikstad

Torstein Helstad - Brann

Daniel Fredheim Holm - Vålerenga

Erik Nevland - Fulham

Thugs:

Azar Karadas - Brann

A brave new world for the Norwegian national team or just an experimental squad for a meaningless friendly? Only time will tell.

Elyounoussi: Tarik-time for Norway?

HamKam and Strømsgodset set for silent showdown

Consider this for a moment: TV2, in their infinite wisdom, decided to move HamKam's 16th of May home-game against Strømsgodset to Monday the 19th of May so they could have a TV-game this Monday like all the others.

Now, this is a lose-lose-lose scenario:

- Fans of both clubs get screwed out of their 16th of May party

- No neutral in their right mind would want to watch this, so TV2 lose because they could probably air re-runs of Grey's Anatomy and get better ratings.

- The TV-viewing audience lose out, as they risk watching the game by accident and will have to pay for therapy and painkillers to deal with the effects of this.

Well done TV2.

So fans have decided to show their disgust at the whole business by.. staying silent. Presumably, they'll all be crossing their fingers and hoping someone actually notices, as Briskey isn't usually the noisiest of grounds..

Adecco-update

The big 16th of May football-party wasn't just constricted to the Tippeliga, there was plenty of action down below in the Adeccoliga as well..

Odd kept their astonishing winning-streak alive with a 3-1 win at home against Løv-Ham. Fagermo's men have won all their seven games so far this season and looks a certain bet for promotion at this stage. Start also look pretty hand; they had no trouble beating Kongsvinger 2-0 at home.

Bryne look like they've stopped messing around and decided to play some football, and they beat Sparta Sarpsborg 1-0 to make it three wins in a row, while the now Tor Thodesen-less Sandefjord celebrated their former manager's departure with a 2-1 win over Alta.

The football club formerly known as Nybergsund, who I've recently discovered are now called NIL-Trysil (because "T.F.C.F.K.A.N" just isn't very catchy) lost out 2-1 against Moss, who are so far living up to their pre-season billing as a decent side who might sneak a playoff-place. Haugesund for their part overcame minnows Hødd with ease, winning 3-1 at home.

Hønefoss continued their remarkable start to the season by beating Sandnes Ulf 2-1 away, and the otherwise spectacularly dull and uninteresting team are now sitting pretty in 3rd in the league. Lastly, Sogndal drew 1-1 at home against Notodden. Not much to say about that.

In the news this week, Odd's promising right-back Espen Ruud has told the press that he doesn't much fancy the idea of signing a new a contract. Last winter he was very close to a transfer to Viking, but in the end Odd refused to sell, much to the player's frustration. Now his contract is running out in December and he is looking to get back at the club. "I want new challenges and to develop further as a footballer, but I'm prepared to stay with the club until my contract runs out", he told Nettavisen. In laymen's terms: "You screwed my big transfer last time around you bastards, so now I'm going to sit out my contract and bugger off so you won't get a dime". Ruud indeed.

Espen Ruud: Aptly named

Round 7: Stabæk and Fredrikstad roll on while Molde finally score at home

My apologies for the rather delayed nature of this roundup, but like most Norwegians fjordball spent 17th of May celebrating while simultaneously nursing an epic hangover from the night before, a challenging combination if ever there was one. It all proved too much for fjordball, who woke up today with a rather nasty cold. Here it is though, the somewhat complete and comprehensive roundup of the biggest football-party of the year..

Stabæk batter Berg's bunch of bores

Lyn 0 - Stabæk 2 (Nannskog, Andersson) 

Can anyone do anything about Stabæk this season? Only an inspired performance from Lyn-goalkeeper Eddie Gustavson kept the score respectable here, as Stabæk were all over Lyn from start to finish. Stabæk's Swedish manager Jan Jönsson, who is usually a modest and softly spoken character, admitted to the media after that game that their first half display was "The best football I've seen in my time in Norway", and no one are disagreeing. 

It's a funny thing, because Lyn's demolition of Aalesund last round suggested at the time that maybe they were a team that thrived against slightly lightweight sides who like to pass the ball around, but the way Stabæk picked them apart here will certainly have been the end of that theory. As for Stabæk, they really do look unstoppable at the moment and unless Messrs Nannskog and Pall Gunnarson both break their legs it's very hard to see anyone else winning the title this year.

Stabæk: Unstoppable?

Rampant Fredrikstad thrash Aalesund

Fredrikstad 5 (Wallace, Johansson 2x, Elyounoussi, Barsom) - Aalesund 0

The crowd at Fredrikstad Stadion wanted a party, and the home-team duly delivered against an Aalesund team who continue to look lost and confused away from home. In fairness, Fredrikstad were ruthlessly efficient in the first half, producing only three real chances and scoring on all three. Once this comfortable lead had been established Fredrikstad were coasting, at at times really turned on the style in the second half.

That's three defeats on the bounce now for Aalesund, and a goal-difference of 0-9 in their last two games. The footballing qualities of their team is undeniable, but they need to start taking points again or they could find themselves in real trouble. Their best chance of the game was symptomatic of Aalesund these days: Striker Razak Pimpong raced clear of the Fredrikstad-defense, rounded the keeper but when faced with an open goal he managed to hit the post. 

Rosenborg reborn?

Rosenborg 4 (Sapara, Skjelbred, Iversen, Kone) - Lillestrøm 0

Things were also pretty one-sided at Lerkendal, where Rosenborg had no problems brushing Lillestrøm aside. It was one of those games were it was difficult to say if Rosenborg were brilliant or if Lillestrøm just didn't turn up, but in any event Rosenborg controlled the game from start to finish. According to Lillestrøm-captain Vidar Riseth, it was "miserable stuff".

Rosenborg are still in an awful shape if you look at the table, but the win means they are not totally cut adrift from the top teams and the convincing nature of the win must give players and fans alike the belief that they can still salvage something from this season. Lillestrøm, well, you're almost starting to feel sorry for them. Almost.

Riseth and Lillestrøm: A bit rubbish really

Viking grab vital away-win as goals are finally scored at Aker Stadion

Molde 2 (Mota 2x) - Viking 3 (Fillo 2x, Velicka)

After 70 minutes it looked like another rather dull 0-0 game at Aker Stadion in Molde, but then all hell broke loose. First Viking-manager Uwe Rösler was sent off for running onto the pitch and getting involved in a scuffle between players, then the home crowd who had sat through almost four scoreless games so far this season experienced a five-goal blitz in the last fifteen minutes of the game.

It was Viking who went home with all three points though, and for them the win was absolutely priceless. Having lost two games in a row they desperately needed the three points to get their title-challenge back on track, and they'll also be delighted with the fact that it was their two big winter-signings who won them the game. 

Rösler: Lost his cool but won the game

Bodø/Glimt win battle of the north

Bodø/Glimt 2 (Martins, Olsen) - Tromsø 0

The supposedly doomed Bodø/Glimt keep impressing and notched up another three points here against northern rivals Tromsø. The game was an even affair, with Tromsø having a lot of possession but failing to put it to good use. 

Tromsø have now played 270 minutes of Tippeliga-football since they last managed to score, but manager Steinar Nilsen isn't worried: "I rarely worry about things that happen in football" he told the press after the game. The victory takes Bodø/Glimt to an unlikely 3rd spot in the league, and while one could argue the fixture-list has been kind to them so far they deserve a lot of credit for the way they've started the season.

Late Helstad-strike seals big win for Brann

Brann 1 (Helstad) - Vålerenga 0

Mad Martin returned to Bergen hoping to poop his former club's party, but a late strike from Torstein Helstad meant he left empty-handed. The game itself was tight affair that for the first hour looked like it could go either way, but when Vålerenga's Dan Thomassen was sent off after 65. minutes Brann took over and the winning goal had an air of inevitability over it.

The win means Brann overtake Vålerenga in the table and are now 5th, so in spite of their poor start to the season they are still very much in the hunt for medals.

Brann: Getting better (unlike fjordball)

The Preview that doesn't even have a flag

Thank heavens. After the staggeringly uneventful 1st round of the cup and some dreadfully slow news-cycles after it, the Tippeliga rolls on with the traditional 16th of May round. The 17th of May is Norway's constitutional day, which the Norwegians make a really rather big thing out of  (everyone gets out their fancy clothes and Norwegian flags), but the day before is one of the most important dates in the nation's party (or rather binge drinking) calendar and the football-round is the biggest vorspiel of the year. Virtually every home game is a sellout, and there is much ado indeed. There is much prestige at stake, and looking at the matches there are a couple of potential crackers here.

Rosenborg (13th) - Lillestrøm (12th)

We start up with a real battle of the underachievers. Both teams expected to be in the hunt for medals this season but have so far had a miserable start to the season and are lagging pretty far behind. So far behind in fact, that the general consensus is that whoever loses this game can pretty much be written off this season in terms of winning things.

News emerged today from Circus Åråsen that Lillstrøm-striker Tore Andreas Gundersen (who?) doesn't like his manager. The 22-year old joined from Kongsvinger in the Adeccoliga (ah..) before this season and at that point cited Tom "Keiko" Nordlie as one of the reasons he wanted to join them. Now, having actually been managed by Keiko for a while, Gundersen has had a change of heart. "My lack of playing-time is a result of the relationship between me and Tom" he said, a statement that can be interpreted in a number of amusing ways.

Draw.

Nordlie: Still not the most popular guy at Lillestrøm

Lyn (3rd) - Stabæk (1st)

From the battle of the underachievers to the battle of the posh people. Lyn, who are solidly based in the fancy western part of Oslo, versus Stabæk, who are so posh they're not even from the western part of Oslo but actually a small place just outside and to the west of Oslo. If this had been any other year fjordball, with his typically Norwegian inferiority-complex against anyone with money, would have wanted everyone involved in this match to come down with some sort of bizarre fever and the whole thing to be called off. However, Stabæk have been the league's chief provider of entertainment and goodness this season while Henning Berg's bunch of bores have been chalking up far too many points for fjordball's liking, so this could well be an exciting encounter.

The big news today is that Brazilian midfielder Alanzinho looks set to sign a new deal with Stabæk, which will come as a shock to a lot of people (fjordball included). Widely expected to leave the club on a free this season, Alanzinho seems to have had a change of heart and this is a major coup for Stabæk.

Away win.

Fredrikstad (2nd) - Aalesund (10th)

What oh what are we supposed to make of Aalesund this season? 4 defeats in 6, but a goal-difference of 0 (11-11) certainly tells a story: When they've been good they've been rampant, but when they've been bad they've been awful. They'll need to raise their game here, as getting buggered 4-0 by Lyn at home is unacceptable by anyone's standards and facing Fredrikstad away isn't exactly a walk in the park. And then there's that pesky away-record to consider: 8 defeats in their last 8 away games in the Tippeliga. Oh dear.

Long-serving Fredrikstad right-back Pål Andre Czwartek, who has been at the club since they were in 2. Divisjon (the tier below the Adeccoliga), claims the club has to keep hold of chunky winger Raymond Kvisvik. According to Czwartek, Kvisvik is "one of the last rebels" in Norwegian football. He is of course right in away, if you consider it rebellious for a footballer to be on a diet consisting entirely of pies. Possibly. It's also emerged that Che Kvisvik and his teammates have produced more chances than any other team this season.

Home win.

Che Kvisvik: A rebel on the sauce?

Molde (10th) - Viking (7th)

Molde-manager Kjell "fucking cock" Jonevret has hit out this week at the national sporting press, claiming their coverage of his little spat with Martin Andresen was "pathetic". Indeed, there was something rather unsavory about how the press handled the affair: First they refused to ask him about anything else than the incident, then they wrote a gazillion columns about the matter, then finally they decided that it was all Jonevret's fault for telling the press about what was really only a bit of in-game banter. Now THAT's what fjordball calls reporting.

Injury-woes for Viking these days, as both their strikers Peter Ijeh and Andrius Velicka looks like missing out of this one.  That means either playing someone out of position (Martin Fillo or Joakim Austnes looks the most likely to be moved up front) or using the talented yet inexperienced Tommy Høiland. The biggest concern for Viking though will probably be their defense and their tendency to inexplicably switch off during games. What herr Uwe has done to rectify any of these things is anyone's guess, as the teutonic titan closed today's practice-session to the public..

Home win.

Bodø/Glimt (5th) - Tromsø (6th)

So we've had the battle of the underachievers and the battle of the posh people, now here's another one: The battle of the Northerners. Not really that much of a local-derby as Northern geography means most things are far away from each other, but a derby none the less as there are plenty of bragging-rights at stake here.

Bodø/Glimt, who according to most experts and a monkey were supposed to be doomed, have done remarkably well so far this season, but will they be given the space they need to play their counterattacking brand of football at home against Steinar "Northern Capello" Nilsen's rather cautious Tromsø?

Draw

Brann (9th) - Vålerenga (4th)

Mad Martin and his merry men go to Bergen for this years 16th of May game, and it's very hard indeed to predict how they'll fare; in their last two games they've given Viking a spanking in their own backyard, but then rolled over against Molde at home. They will have been given a boost however by today's news that they've been given a juicy piece of land by the Oslo city council on which to build a stadium. The land, which is been said to be worth roughly 500 million NOK, has been sold to Vålerenga for 1 NOK, which has rather upset the capital's other Tippeliga-club, Lyn. In a statement on their web-site, Lyn bigwig Erik Langerud claims "A decision in the city council to donate a lot to VIF [Vålerenga] must mean that Lyn will get the same". Fat chance, Erik.

Brann have suffered an indifferent start to the season, but have surprisingly chosen not to blame it all on their manager. Instead they've given Mons Ivar Mjelde, who last season guided them to their first trophy in living memory (well, almost) a new contract as a sign of their faith in his ability to turn this season around. Other Tippeliga clubs should be taking notes.

Away win.

Mjelde: Two more years.. maybe.

1st Round of the cup yields plenty of goals, but precious little magic

Having been to White Hart Lane this Sunday to watch the mighty Spurs roll over against Liverpool, fjordball returned to familiar shores to find the 1st round of the cup had been as boring and uneventful as ever. Every team from the top two divisions went through. Apart from Strømsgodset who needed extra time to settle the matter against Øvrevoll/Hosle, none of the big boys ever looked in trouble of crashing out. And Trauma had their asses handed to them by Vindbjart. As ever, the 1st round of the cup was a bit rubbish.

If anyone are at all interested, here are the full results:

Øvrevoll/Hosle – Strømsgodset 2-7 (after extra time)
1-0 Fredrik Omland
1-1 Alexander Aas
2-1 Atle Haug
2-2 Glenn Andersen
2-3 Fredrik Winsnes
2-4 Christer George
2-5 Steffen Nystrøm
2-6 Mohammed Keita
2-7 Fredrik Winsnes

Skjervøy – Tromsø 0-2
0-1 Ruben Yttergård Jensen
0-2 Kevin Larsen

Sandar – Lillestrøm 1-3
0-1 Steinar Pedersen
0-2 Olivier Occean
1-2 Tom Roger Ellefsen
1-3 Olivier Occean

Tynset – Rosenborg 0-11
0-1 Per Ciljan Skjelbred
0-2 Alexander Tettey
0-3 Marek Sapara
0-4 John Pelu
0-5 Steffen Iversen
0-6 Steffen Iversen
0-7 Marek Sapara
0-8 Steffen Iversen
0-9 Steffen Iversen
0-10 John Pelu
0-11 Steffen Iversen

Vidar – Viking 0-3
0-1 Tommy Høiland
0-2 Andrius Velicka
0-3 Allan Gaarde

Mysen – Fredrikstad 1-6
0-1 Raijo Piiroja
1-1 Morten Fladberg
1-2 Raymond Kvisvik
1-3 Andreas Tegström
1-4 Gardar Johansson
1-5 Gardar Johansson
1-6 Tarek Elyounoussi

Sander – HamKam 0-2
0-1 Markus Ringberg
0-2 Roman Kienast

Vestfossen – Stabæk 0-14
0-1 Pontus Segerström
0-2 Alanzinho
0-3 Johan Andersson
0-4 Johan Andersson
0-5 Veigar Pall Gunnarsson
0-6 Johan Andersson
0-7 Pontus Segerström
0-8 Mike Kjølø
0-9 Jon Inge Høiland
0-10 Jon Inge Høiland
0-11 Jan Tømmernes
0-12 Jon Inge Høiland
0-13 Daniel Nannskog
0-14 Daniel Nannskog

Loddefjord – Brann 1-4
0-1 Robbie Winters
0-2 Robbie Winters
0-3 Gylfi Einarsson
0-4 Njogu Demba-Nyren
1-4 Kristian Pilskog

Førde – Aalesund 1-3
0-1 Diego Silva
0-2 Tor Hogne Aarøy
0-3 Lasse Olsen
1-3 Steinar Tenden

Harstad - Lyn 1-6
1-0 Jostein Kajander
1-1 Paul Obiefule
1-2 Mads Dahm
1-3 Espen Hoff
1-4 Kim Holmen
1-5 Jo Inge Berget
1-6 Espen Hoff

Mjølner - Bodø/Glimt 0-3
0-1 Trond Olsen
0-2 Randall Brenes
0-3 Trond Olsen

Kvik Halden – Moss 0-2
0-1 Kenneth Kvalheim
0-2 Daniel Reinoso

Borgar - Sarpsborg Sparta 0-3
0-1 El Hadji Makhtar Thioune
0-2 Michael Røn
0-3 Kristoffer Weckstrøm

KFUM Oslo – Kjelsås 2-0
1-0 Sindre Ek
2-0 Jon Sæter

Bøler - Sprint Jeløy 1-3
0-1 Andreas Johansen
0-2 Martin Kuvene
1-2 Fredrik Skare
1-3 Andreas Johansen

Grorud – Follo 0-3
0-1 Anders Haslie
0-2 Boneventure Maruti
0-3 Kjetil Nilsen

Frigg – Notodden 2-3
0-1 Håvard Kleven
1-1 Bjørn Pickhardt
1-2 Trond Viggo Toresen
1-3 Cheikh Tidiane Lo
2-3 Kenneth Torvik Tønne

Ullern – Hønefoss 1-4
1-0 Sindre Wam
1-1 Kjetil Byfuglien
1-2 Frode Lafton
1-3 Frode Lafton
1-4 Umaru Bangura

Vollen – Skeid 2-6
0-1 Tom Erik Breive
0-2 Kim Nysted
0-3 Kim Nysted
0-4 Jon Braaten
0-5 Kim Nysted
0-6 Jon Braaten
1-6 Are Steigum
2-6 Øyvind Gundersen

Brumunddal - Eidsvold Turn 2-4
0-1 Bjørn Inge Rødfoss
0-2 Petter Aspebakken Linstad
1-2 Jim Johansen
1-3 Hermann Odden
2-3 Jim Johansen
2-4 Thomas Frigård

FF Lillehammer - Nybergsund Trysil 1-2 (after extra time)
1-1 Vebjørn Svensson
1-2 Mirza Durakovic

Gjøvik Lyn – Kongsvinger 0-3
0-1 Kai Olav Ryen
0-2 Peter Samuelsson
0-3 Andreas Moen

Toten - Valdres FK 0-2
0-1 Terje Sanne
0-2 Steffen Rabben

Solberg – Raufoss 0-3
0-1 Oskar Frejd
0-2 Oskar Frejd
0-3 Daniel Haug

Kongsberg – Sandefjord 1-4
0-1 Kjartan Finbogasson
0-2 Kari Arkivuo
0-3 Fredrik Thorsen
0-4 Espen Nystuen
1-4 Alexander Johansen

Fram Larvik – Bærum 2-0
1-0 Shafaq Mirshahi
2-0 Arne Sagaas

Skarphedin - Odd Grenland 1-5
0-1 Tarjei Dale
0-2 Stefan Bärlin
0-3 Kenneth Dokken
0-4 Tarjei Dale
0-5 Steffen Hagen
1-5 Torstein Fennefoss

Trauma – Vindbjart 0-6
0-1 Avni Pepa
0-2 Avni Pepa
0-3 Rønningen (selvmål)
0-4 Øyvind Gausdal
0-5 Øyvind Gausdal
0-6 Raymond Hofstætdter

FK Arendal – Fløy 1-6
1-0 Steinar Berås
1-1 Jostein Kvernes Salvesen
1-2 Magnus Ask Mikkelsen
1-3 Lars Kristian Pedersen
1-4 Kjetil Bøe
1-5 Kjetil Bøe
1-6 Kjetil Bøe

Søgne – Start 0-2
0-1 Espen Olsen
0-2 Jesper Mathisen

Nord – Bryne 0-4
0-1 Carlos Johnson
0-2 Jaakko Nyberg
0-3 Allan Borgvardt
0-4 Baldur Sigurdsson

Åkra - Sandnes Ulf 0-4
0-1 Paul Oyuoga
0-2 Paul Oyuoga
0-3 Christian Thorbjørnsen
0-4 Morten Eriksen

Kopervik – Ålgård 2-4
0-1 Tommy Bergersen
1-1 Kjetil Simonsen
2-1 Kjetil Simonsen
2-2 Håvard Urstad
2-3 Jonas Vølstad Fjeldsbø
2-4 Geir Andre Herrem

Stord - FK Haugesund 1-3
1-0 Jan Morten Haukefær
1-1 Per Morten Kristiansen
1-2 Lebri Harman
1-3 Lebri Harman

Austevoll - Nest Sotra 1-1 Austevoll (won on penalties)
1-0 Brede Storebø
1-1 Kim Rune Hellesund

Sandviken – Os 0-3
0-1 Geir Andre Bøyum
0-2 Bjarte Haugsdal
0-3 Bjarte Haugsdal

Voss - Løv Ham 0-3
0-1 Samir Saric
0-2 Sindre Marøy
0-3 Erlend Storesund

Tornado Måløy – Sogndal 0-3
0-1 Lennox Kanu
0-2 Per Egil Flo
0-3 Kai Risholt

Langevåg – Skarbøvik 0-6
0-1 Terje Ottersen
0-2 Terje Ottersen
0-3 Aksel Gjøsund
0-4 Terje Ottersen
0-5 Sondre Omenås
0-6 Terje Ottersen

Valder – Hødd 2-4
0-1 Eivind Myklebust
1-1 Adrian Blindheim
1-2 Finn Erik Stavseng
1-3 Joachim Magnussen
1-4 Finn Erik Stavseng
2-4 Tom Gøran Jønsson

Averøykam. - Kristiansund 1-2
0-1 Muhammed Diagne Latyr
0-2 Tor Erik Torske
1-2 Jøran Sandøy

Nardo - KIL/Hemne 2-0
1-0 Thomas Klausen
2-0 Einsr Arnesen

NTNUI – Byåsen 2-1
1-0 Martin Skagseth
2-0 Eivind Aasen
2-1

Charlottenlund – Ranheim 2-3 (after extra-time)
0-1 Robert Stene
1-1 Ørjan Dahl
1-2 Nicholas Lyngmo
2-2 Andre M. Larsen
2-3 Martin Lund

Stålkameratene - Mo IL 0-3
0-1 Remi Jacobsen
0-2 Robert Bjørknes
0-3 Joakim Rudolfsen

FK Senja – Skarp 3-4
1-0 Kjetil Adolfsen
1-1 Selvmål
1-2 Ole Christian Simonsen
1-3 Aslak Sokki
1-4 Ole Christian Simonsen
2-4 Alexander Hansen
3-4 Glenn Martin Andreassen

Bossekop – Alta 0-2
0-1 Jan Tommy Haugli
0-2 Diomande Allesande

Ørn Horten - Vålerenga 0-5

0-1 Bojan Zajic

0-2 Bengt Sæternes

0-3 Bengt Sæternes

0-4 Mohammed Abdellaoue

0-5 Bojan Zajic

The Preview that can't really be bothered.

It's the time of the year again; the first round of the Norwegian Cup is upon us. Make no mistake about it, the Cup matters in Norway, much more so than in many other countries, but the first round is usually staggeringly uninteresting. 

The reason for this is that the big teams are invariably pitted against minnows, often from the third or fourth tier, and there are very slim hopes of any sort of upsets.

Fixtures that include Tippeliga-sides this time around are..:

Mysen - Fredrikstad

Øvrevoll/Hosle - Strømsgodset

Sander - HamKam

Vestfossen - Stabæk

Ørn Horten - Vålerenga

Sandar - Lillestrøm

Vidar - Viking

Loddefjord - Brann

Førde - Aalesund

Elnesvågen/O - Molde

Tynset - Rosenborg

Harstad - Fc Lyn Oslo

Mjølner - Bodø/Glimt

Skjervøy - Tromsø

Exciting eh? Thought so. To be honest, the most interesting thing about this whole round is that there is actually a team named "Trauma" in it. Here's hoping they don't get knocked out, as they'd make for some great headlines if they can get a decent run..

Fjordball Exclusive: Interview with Jay Needham

How on earth does a promising American defender end up at a small club in Norway? The answer to that question and several others can be found right here, as fjordball has been lucky enough to score an interview with Jay Needham, the 2007 USL-1 Rookie Of The Year who is currently plying his trade with the Adeccoliga's northern minnows Alta If.

Q:

Your career started in the same way as many other American professionals, through excelling at College-level. It seemed a very logical continuation of that career when you were drafted by D.C. United.. But then you turned D.C. United down and ended up signing for USL-1 side Puerto Rico Islanders, could you tell us what happened there?

A:

The only reason I turned down DC for PR was because DC offered me a developmental deal, and I couldn't accept it. It was tough for me to turn down because my whole life I've wanted to be a pro player and I turned down my first ever offer. Luckily for me I had an option in PR and the economics of the deal were much more beneficial for me. So I decided to sign with them.

Q:

With the Puerto Rico Islanders you had a very successful season, being named USL-1 Rookie of the year for 2007 and helping the Islanders reach the USL Semi-finals. Yet, you chose to move to Alta after that one good season there.. why was that?

A:

My first year with PR was a great success. And I got to grow a lot as a player and a person. After the season I talked with my agent and we decided that I should probably move to a new team. In February I was invited to have a trial with the LA Galaxy, but nothing came of it. The week I got home the Alta opportunity popped up and I decided to check it out. I liked the set up and I thought it was a great opportunity for me and my family.

USL-1 Success: Jay had good season with the Puerto Rico Islanders

Q:

Now, it must be an incredible transition for a Texan to move to Norway through Puerto Rico. And not just any place in Norway, you moved to a pretty small town way WAY up North.. how are you dealing with what must be a pretty major change of lifestyle?

A:
Haha. Yeah its a bit of a change up here, but its nice and stress free. I can walk everywhere I need to go. My wife and I have been welcomed with open arms by the community, so we feel right at home in Alta.

Q:

The weather up there in Alta can be pretty horrible as well.. having grown up in sunnier climates, does this bother you?

A:

The weather isn't so bad right now really. Obviously its colder than what I'm used to, but its not as bad as I thought it would be. Most of the snow has melted, and we're getting closer to 24hr sun. Which is going to be interesting, but I'm excited to see what its like. Luckily for me I'll be home on vacation during November and December when its 24hr darkness.

Q:
As you know Alta are a pretty small club and a club with limited resources, but what do you think of the club's chances of making an impact in the Adeccoliga this season?

A:

Alta isn't a big club with a big budget. We have a very young team that will surprise teams. I honestly believe we will finish mid table somewhere.

Q:
Alta have had a tricky start to the season, facing several teams that are expected to fight for promotion this season (Start, Odd and Bryne) and also teams who are usually solid top-half teams in this league (Kongsvinger and Haugesund). I know you haven't featured in all of these games, but which of these teams impressed you the most?

A:
The first two games I played in were against Odd and Start. And you can clearly see why they are the favorites in the league. In my opinion Odd is the best. They are a tough organized team that finishes very well.

Q:

I know it's still early days for you in Norwegian football, but what are your impressions of the level of quality and the style of football here compared to football in America? Are there any specific differences that stand out to you?

A:

Norwegian football is much more direct and physical than the US. It's very similar to some EPL and English Championship teams style of play. I think that the league has some good quality players and that the overall level is good.

Jay Needham: An American in Alta

Q:
There are quite a few teams in the Adeccoliga who have to travel very long distances (and not exactly in private jets) and then play a game the same day. For example, when Alta travelled to Kristiansand to play Start you travelled almost 1000 miles, that's further than the distance between Kristiansand and Switzerland. Do you think these long treks can have an adverse effect on a team's performance, or is that just a myth?

A:
It is difficult. I'm used to it because of the type of travel that the US teams go through in a season. So me personally I don't mind it, but I know it is a problem for some guys.

Q:

There has been quite an influx of Americans in the Adeccoliga this season, with players like Cameron Weaver, Joe Lapira, Clarence Goodson, Chris Rodd, Jack Stewart and Kyle Veris joining various clubs, have you had any sort of contact with your compatriots in the league?

A:

I got to mark Weaver in the Haugesund game. It was a good battle. And I talked to him a bit afterwards. I also knew Chris Gbandi, when he played with FC Dallas I was in college and would train with them in the summer, and he and I talked some too. I also talked with Clarance Goodson after the Start game. He's playing very well for Start. I sat out the Bryne game as a precaution after I picked up a knock in the Haugesund game, so I didn't get to talk to any of the Americans there.

Q:
And finally; your journey in football has been a pretty unconventional one so far, do you have any thoughts about what the future will bring for you and what are your ambitions in the game?

A:

Yeah I've taken a different path so to say. But I have really enjoyed it and I believe that God has put me in the right place for now. I hope to continue growing as a player here in Norway, and I want to continue moving up to the bigger clubs and bigger challenges that football can provide. I just want to get the most out of my pro career because it only happens once.

The interview was conducted via email, as issues with fjordball's operating budget (specifically the fact that there isn't one) meant traveling to Alta to do it the right way was impossible. 

Big, huge, gargantuan, Tor Hogne Aarøy-sized thank you to Jay Needham for taking the plunge and becoming the first in what is sure to become an exclusive club of fjordball-interviewees. Fjordball wishes him and his family all the best for the future.

Sack-race extra: Thodesen goes a'hop hop hopping and some other people are in trouble as well

Sandefjord gives Thodesen the boot

How things can change eh? In 2005 Tor Thodesen leads Sandefjord to promotion to the Tippeliga. In 2006 Sandefjord have a terrific first season and stays up comfortably, Thodesen is crowned "manager of the year" in the Tippeliga. In 2007 Sandefjord are relegated. In 2008 Sandefjord has a horrid start to their season in the Addeccoliga, and Thodesen is sacked, just four games into their season.

It might seem harsh, but the word on the street is the Sandefjord-players had collectively lost confidence in Thodesen and as always in football: It's easier to replace a manager than the entire playing-staff. Names mentioned as possible replacements are Kjetil Rekdal (former national team hero and a very good manager) and Stig Inge Bjørnebye (former national team hero and a somewhat rubbish manager). 

Kongsvinger follow suit

The other team that has an absolutely awful start to their Addeccoliga season are Kongsvinger, and they've also relived their manager, Thomas Berntsen, of his duties. No wins in 6 games was unacceptable to the Kongsvinger board, and the Kongsvinger players didn't fancy Thomas Berntsen was the man to turn it around. No names have been mentioned as possible replacements, presumably because no one really cares.

Nordlie staying but Fjørtoft is in trouble (and possibly going mad)

The early favorite to win the Tippeliga sack-race was Tom Nordlie, but it would now appear as if his position is safe for now. Things are much less rosy for sporting director Jan Åge Fjørtoft however: It has been widely speculated that Lillestrøm isn't big enough for the both of them, and while Nordlie has been told he is guaranteed to keep his job Fjørtoft has not received a similar message. When asked by Dagbladet whether or not he had asked to receive a similar vote of confidence Fjørtoft gave a rather bizarre answer: "No, I'm thinking that I'm employed here until I'm no longer employed here. It's an either or thing. Either your pregnant or you're not - you're never somewhat pregnant". Right. 

So, while Jan Åge Fjørtoft may be pregnant for now, there's every chance he'll suffer an abortion really rather soon.

Fjørtoft: One lamb chop short of a mixed grill

Tata to Tarik?

Fredrikstad-fans have for the last year or so had a bit of a strange relationship with their young starlet Tarik Elyounoussi: While they do think he is the best thing since sliced bread, they'd rather he didn't play THAT well. Because if he really started to perform, the big bad clubs would come and take him away from them. This is what seems to be happening now.

After that initial blitz of goals right at the start of the season Tarik hasn't been quite so prolific, but he has playing very well all the same. He constantly displays the sort of skill and confidence on the ball one very rarely sees in young, or indeed any Norwegian players. Since last season he has improved his movement off the ball and his decision-making a lot, and he really is starting to look ready for bigger tasks than leading the line for Fredrikstad.

Tarik: On to bigger and better things?

According to Dagbladet, Fredrikstad have now received the first bid for Tarik. According to the player's representative Tore Pedersen (yes yes, fjordball did write earlier that he was represented by that old codger Rune Hauge, but you see Tore Pedersen is working FOR Rune Hauge as part of his organization.. get it?) the bid came in from one of the several Dutch clubs who have been following Tarik recently. Exactly what club it was has not been confirmed, but both Groningen and Heereveen have certainly been keeping a keen eye on him, as well as German Champions League quarter finalists Schalke 04. 

It would make a lot of sense for Tarik to go to a Dutch club at this time. First of all, for his development as a player Holland is a sensible destination as he is good enough right now to make an impact in that league (whereas if we goes to a German, Italian, Spanish or English club he's likely to spend a lot of time in the reserves and on the bench initially). The Dutch are also well known for quality coaching and being good at developing young talents. Secondly, his contract expires after the 2009 Tippeliga-season. For a number of reasons it is highly advisable for players to move abroad in the summer rather than the winter transfer-window, which means that either Tarik moves this summer or he moves next summer when the fact that he only has six months left on his contract will severely influence the transfer-fee. 

In short: When the inevitable bidding-war for Tarik breaks out this summer, the best thing for both player and club would be for him to move, as much as it will hurt for the FFK-faithful. 

Adecco-update

Did the rampant weirdness of the Tippeliga this weekend also filter down to the Adeccoliga? Read on to find out..

Certainly one result stands out as a bit balmy: Notodden pooped all over promotion hopefuls Sandefjord and won 5-0. Sandefjord really, REALLY need to sort themselves out if they are going to have any say in the promotion-chase this season.

There was nothing weird about Odd however, as they won 1-2 away at Hødd. Minnows or not, Hødd are a difficult team to face away so well done to Odd for maintaining their 100% start to the season. Start on the other hand had another mishap, as they were held to a 0-0 draw by this season's surprise-package so far, Løv-Ham.

Bryne notched up an absolutely vital away-win against Kongsvinger, 0-1 the score there. The win means Bryne have some momentum on their side, and in spite of their horrible start to the season they may still be a force in the promotion-fight.

Both Moss and Haugesund are doing their very best to undo the good work they did early on in the season, Moss lost 1-0 to Hønefoss and Haugesund went down 2-1 against Sparta Sarpsborg.

Finally, in this weeks battle of the minnows (there seem to be at least one every round) Sandnes Ulf took a very surprising 1-0 win up north against Alta.

In the news this week, the Sandefjord bigwigs will be holding an emergency-meeting this week. No prizes for guessing what they'll be discussing. "Our target is to be one of the top sides in the league, and it's not pleasant to be humiliated and ridiculed by Notodden" said club executive Øystein Ulsnæs. Soon to be ex-manager Tor Thodesen is taking it in his stride though, commenting that "We haven't had the start we were hoping for, but as a football manager I have to deal with noise and speculation".  Presumably you also have to win the occasional game too Tor, if you want to stay employed.

Tor Thodesen: On his way out?

Mad Martin in his first Managerial Row

Bless him. You just knew it had to happen at some stage didn't you? Martin Andresen has always been a bit of a Dr.Jekyll/Mr. Hyde-type character, as he is usually eloquent and softly spoken off the pitch but a raging, swearing, referee-harassing, nipple-pincher (I'm not kidding) on it. One would assume that Martin was aware that as a playing manager of a team he'd have to moderate himself somewhat, and by all accounts he has, but it would appear that after 5 rounds of good behavior his mask of composure finally slipped.

It was near the end of Vålerenga's game against Molde. A very very disappointed Ullevål-crowd had seen Vålerenga concede two goals in the first half and fail to create a whole lot of chances to get back in the game, apart from Fredheim Holm's free-kick to make it 2-1. Vålerenga are feeling the pressure, losing at home to Molde won't do but they are struggling to get back into the game. Andresen in particular is struggling, as he had been man-marked the entire game by an inspired Daniel Berg Hestad. Not only is his team being beaten at home by an inferior side, but he, the midfield general and focal point of both his team and his country, is being completely upstaged by the Molde-captain. One could forgive Andresen for losing his cool. One could forgive Andresen for perhaps having a go at the ref, for lashing out at Berg Hestad, for something like that. But calling the Molde-manager Kjell Jonevret a "fucking cock", well, that probably wasn't very clever.

Mad Martin: Upstaged by Berg Hestad

"He called me a fucking cock. I would have chosen a different word and I thought it was uncalled for" said the Molde-manager after the game. Mad Martin himself was rather unapologetic about the incident: "I think it's unusual that he tells everyone what went on on the pitch. I think that's something that should remain between those of us who were involved. It was in the 80th minute of the game and we were fighting for an equalizer, he stops the ball and then he kicks it away when I try to take it" he told Nettavisen.

Jonevret was rather unimpressed with that story though. "Andresen makes it out like I did something unsportsmanlike. I didn't kick the ball away, those who know me know that don't do stuff like that. It would have been pathetic. But I can understand why Andresen would say so, because it would be embarrassing if he said what he said for no reason". According to Jonevret, "There was a player down injured, the ball was coming towards me and I stopped it. I could have easily let it roll past me...If I had kicked the ball away what he said would have been ok." He also revealed that getting to Andresen had been part of their game-plan for the match: "I talked to Daniel [Berg Hestad] before the game yesterday about how we were going to play them. He said a lot of would be done if we could get Martin [Andresen] a bit sulky". A tactic that worked like a charm, as it turns out.

Mad Martin's Vålerenga has had a good start to the season, surprisingly good actually, but if all a team has to do to get the better of them is to annoy Mad Martin then they need to rethink a few things. And Mad Martin needs to learn that he can't say whatever he wants anymore.

Round 6: It's all gone a bit strange..

Weird results this weekend costs fjordball dear at the bookies, and leaves experts scratching their heads..

Wasteful Tromsø miss out on two points

Tromsø 0 - Brann 0

It's a sad indictment of Brann's start to the season that being outplayed by Tromsø is regarded as a huge step in the right direction, but then again this was the first away-game so far in which they didn't concede 4 goals or more.

In spite of enjoying a terrific amount of possession and producing most of the chances Tromsø never managed to find a way past Håkon Opdal in the Brann-goal. Old Man Rushfeldt was particularly at fault, something the aging attacker admitted after the game: "Sometimes you've just to go hold your hand's up and apologize" he told Dagbladet.

Old Man Rushfeldt: Bad day at the office

Bodø/Glimt end away-hoodoo

Strømsgodset 1 (Nielsen) - Bodø/Glimt 2 (Sørensen, Bjarnason)

It's been three years since Bodø/Glimt last won an away-game in the Tippeliga. Not quite as shocking as it sounds, as they did spend the last two seasons in the Adeccoliga, but still a hoodoo of some magnitude. You wouldn't have been able to tell from this performance though; Bodø kept attacking with width and pace, a simple but effective formula Strømsgodset never found an answer to. Danish striker David Nielsen said as much after the game, admitting that "We were played off the park by Bodø/Glimt". 

Berg Hestad 2 - Vålerenga 1

Vålerenga 1 (Fredheim Holm) - Molde 2 (Berg Hestad 2x)

Before this game Molde had scored a grand total of 2 goals and taken 3 points this season, but a cracking display from captain Daniel Berg Hestad doubled both those tallies. Berg Hestad had been given the task of marking Vålerenga's supreme overlord Martin Andresen out of the game , but he still managed to find time to score two brilliant goals to give his team a much needed win. "Berg Hestad marked me throughout the game, and I suppose it worked well for them" said Mad Martin after the game.

The win will have been a great confidence-boost to Molde, who will go into their next home-game thinking they have a genuine chance of keeping their supporters awake. For Vålerenga it's back to the drawing-board, because if all it takes to stop them is to put a man on Mad Martin then they'll struggle to maintain any sort of title-challenge..

Berg Hestad: Captain marvelous

Fredrikstad ease past hapless HamKam

Fredrikstad 2 (Gashi 2x) - HamKam 1 (Ringberg)

Fredrikstad had few problems overcoming HamKam in a game that was far more one-sided than the scoreline would suggest. The home-side created plenty of chances, but they were wasteful in front of goal and it was in fact HamKam who took an unlikely lead, through the former Fredrikstad-hero Markus Ringberg (who showed his respect for the fans by not celebrating). The lead didn't last though as Fredrikstad hit back, and two goals from Ardian Gashi-long shots was enough to secure them the three points.

The win means Fredrikstad are still very close to the top of the table, while HamKam have now lost 5 of their first 6 games and are starting to look like early favorites for the drop (assuming Lillestrøm get their act together at some stage).

Awful Aalesund humped by Lyn

Aalesund 0 - Lyn 4 (Hoff 3x, Holmen)

In the most surprising and bizarre result since the Virgin Mary's pregnancy test, Lyn ran riot against an abject Aalesund-side. Aalesund started the game brightly producing several good chances, but gave away two stupid penalties, both of which Espen Hoff coolly converted. In the second half Lyn increased their margin to four after some rather comical defending from AaFK. 

"We were good. We scored 4 goals and played good football" said Henning Berg after the game. For once, he was right.

Adin Brown: Unable to do anything about Espen Hoff

Rubbish Rosenborg beaten again

Stabæk 1 (Nannskog) - Rosenborg 0

The boys in blue stay top of the league after beating Rosenborg on a bad day. "We want to entertain and deliver a better product to the crowd than what we did today" said match-winner Daniel Nannskog after the game, a game where both teams struggled to really get their game going.

Rosenborg had reverted to their traditional 4-3-3 formation, but the change of formation did little if anything to rectify their problems. They still try to play an overly complicated passing-game when perhaps a bit of simplicity and directness would do just fine. Stabæk weren't firing on all cylinders either, but they still came away with the win which is obviously a sign of strength. 

Nannskog: Not too pleased in spite of win

The Preview that has hasn't been mauled by Olivier Occean. Ever.

The weekly preview is here, and by popular request it will now include a tentative prediction for how the games will turn out. Mind you, fjordball is generally piss poor at predicting things, so this bit shouldn't be taken at all seriously..

Saturday

Tromsø (5th) - Brann (9th)

These trips up north are a bit of an enduring nightmare for Brann. In the last ten years they've only won there twice, and worse they've only scored a total of five goals. And it doesn't help them at all that the Tromsø-team they'll be facing tomorrow is probably, on paper, the strongest they've faced in all of those ten years. Manager Mons Ivar Mjelde has already started playing down expectations for their inevitable defeat by telling the press that "Tromsø have a real chance to competing for medals this season".

It's not all rosy up north though, Tromsø will be worried that their manager Steinar Nilsen might be heading abroad: "I have a good job in Tromsø, but my next stop might be abroad or some other place in Norway", the northern Capello (a nickname he's been given by, well, fjordball, for his emphasis on physical fitness and defensive organization) told the press this week.

Home win.

Nilsen: The Northern Capello ready for bigger things?

Sunday

Vålerenga (2nd) - Molde (11th)

While papers this week have mostly been writing about how brilliant Stabæk are or the continuing disaster that is Lillestrøm, Vålerenga have been sitting quietly in 2nd place wondering just what they have to do to get some good press. Indeed, Mad Martin and his Merry Men have started the season with an impressive points-haul of 10 in 5, and they have looked a solid outfit in all of those games.

Molde have.. have.. *yawn*.. a goal-difference of 2-3 in 5 games and.. *yawn*.. ZZzzzz..

Home win.

Aalesund (10th) - Lyn (7th)

The entertainers of the lower half of the table versus the undisputed kings of averageness. Aalesund have been good value for money at home so far this season, beating Brann 4-2 and HamKam 5-1, and there is very little to suggest they won't turn on the style again here. The bad news for neutrals this week is that cult-hero and comedy-genius Gus Bahoken won't be offered a new contract when his current deal runs out this summer.

Lyn announced this week that they've sold a record number of season-tickets, for the 8th year in a row. A total of 4712 people decided they had nothing better to do every other Sunday, which really makes you question the recreational activities available to the good people of Oslo.

And now for this week's competition: How many season-tickets did Fc Lyn Oslo sell in 2001? Your answers in the comments-thingy..

(The winner will receive.. bugger all really. A mention in the blog, possibly)

Home win.

Bahoken: Taking his antics elsewhere?

Strømsgodset (6th) - Bodø/Glimt (8th)

Ronny Deila's brave battlers will be looking to continue their impressive start to the season here. Strømsgodset, who many thought would struggle, has picked up a healthy 8 points in 5 and are sitting comfortably in the top half of the table.

Bodø/Glimt have been far from the disaster most experts predicted, but they've yet to take a point away from home. "We've played two away-games, and I feel both have been pretty even" said their manager Kåre Ingebrigtsen. 

Draw.

Fredrikstad (3rd) - HamKam (13th)

Former Fredrikstad captain and top-scorer Markus Ringberg will make an emotional return to Fredrikstad this weekend, the only problem is he is now playing for HamKam. The sympathetic Swede joined "FFK" in 2002, when they were in the 2. division, and went on to score an incredible 71 league goals in three and a half season (making him, if memory serves, the third top scorer in the club's history), and led the team as captain to two promotions in two seasons. In addition to being perhaps one of Fredrikstad's most important players in the last two decades, Ringberg also had a special connection with the club's fans, more so than perhaps any other player in the club's recent history. When the news broke that the club was selling him to HamKam it sparked demonstrations in the city, with most fans wanting the people running the club to go rather than Ringberg and whenever he's been back at Fredrikstad stadium playing for HamKam he has received a standing ovation by the home crowd.

Draw.

Ringberg: Returning hero

Stabæk (1st) - Rosenborg (12th)

Rosenborg desperately need a win, having started their season awfully with only 4 points in the first 5 games. Sadly for them, they are facing what has so far this season looked like the most daunting prospect of all: Stabæk away. 

The boys in blue have looked fantastic on home turf so far this season, and the fact that Daniel Nannskog looks to have found his shooting-boots doesn't make the prospect of facing them any less scary.

Rosenborg will have to make due without striker Yssouf Kone who lost his appeal against the 2 match-ban imposed on him by the NFF, which is rather bizarre considering the fact that TV-replays clearly show it should never have been a red card in the first place.

Home win.

Monday

Lillestrøm (14th) - Viking (4th)

Ah, Lillestrøm. The latest from circus Åråsen is that sporting director Jan Åge Fjørtoft gave Olivier Occean a good telling off on the training-ground. The Canadian power forward kicked one of his teammates in the groin during a practice-session (which incidentally was being filmed by TV2), which sparked a furious reaction from Fjørtoft. "No! We have two cameras here!" the beleaguered bigwig shouted. Presumably, if Occean had waited for the cameras to leave before he started assaulting his teammates, it would have been perfectly acceptable.

It's been a bad week for Fjørtoft all round, as a local paper is also demanding his resignation because he has allegedly been plotting against manager Tom Nordlie.

Viking on the other hand will be eager get back to winning ways after they screwed up at home against Vålerenga. Showing the sort of originality one expects from a football-supporter, some clever bunny has put the entire Viking-defense up for sale on the Norwegian equivalent of Ebay. Well done there, that gag has never been done before.

Draw.

Nordlie and Fjørtoft: Not on each other's Christmas card-list

Adecco-update

Two in one week? No, you're not dreaming, it's another Adecco-update!

Finally, as people were starting to lose hope entirely, Bryne has miraculously won a game. They saw off Alta 3-1 at home with Allan Borgvardt scoring a hat-trick. 

As one team's season finally gets off the ground, another team's promising start has come to a definitive end as Haugesund get spanked 0-4 at home against Hønefoss. No disrespect to Hønefoss, but for a team with ambitions of being in the mix for promotion this sort of result is nothing short of pathetic.

Another team that screwed up this Wednesday was Start who could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against the minnows of Hødd. The dropped points mean Odd now have four point lead at the top of the table, as they beat Sparta Sarprsborg 3-2. Five wins in five for Odd now and they already look like they are running away with this league.

Løv-Ham continued their remarkable start to the season with at 3-1 win over Kongsvinger, who are.. yes, you guessed it: Terribly disappointing. Continuing with the "disappointing" theme, Moss were unable to overcome Notodden at home in a game that ended 1-1.

Yet another slow news-cycle in the Adeccoliga (is there any other kind?), but it is worth noting that one of Starts club doctors have resigned. Lars Meyer-Myklestad felt that he couldn't work there as long as he didn't enjoy the full confidence of the coaching-staff, so he packed his bags and buggered off. Newspapers and, well, anyone with a brain really, are speculating that his resignation might possibly have something to do with the Start medical team's continuing inability to get Ole Martin Årst fit.