Round 19: That's More Like It

After the absolutely rubbish round 18, the Tippeliga is back and stranger than ever.

Aalesund 0 - 0 Fredrikstad

Bodø/Glimt 3 (Runar Berg, Trond Olsen 2x) - Brann 1 (Erik Huseklepp)

Lyn 3 (Kim Holmen 2x, Tomaz Sokolowski) - Tromsø 3 (Douglas Sequeria, Helge Haugen, Morten Moldskred)

Strømsgodset 1 (Mattias Andersson) - HamKam 2 (Olivier Karekezi, Ante Vitaic)

Viking 3 (Mame Niang, Nicolai Stokholm, Allan Gaarde) - Molde 3 (Mame Niang OG, Mattias Moström, Mame Biram Diouf)

Rosenborg 2 (Mikael Dorsin, Mikael Lustig) - Vålerenga 1 (Sæternes)

It started with a whimper though, as Fredrikstad produced an overly cautious performance in Aalesund, the visitors were unwilling to commit bodies forward and Aalesund struggled to find openings. There was nothing cautious about Brann's approach in Bodø, and they were subsequently punished by Bodø/Glimt's deadly counterattacks. Lyn managed to throw away a 3-1 lead against 10-men Tromsø, who had defender Miika Koppinen wrongly sent off after just five minutes. 

After stealing a fortunate 2-1 win against Vålerenga last weekend Strømsgodset tasted some of their own medicine as HamKam recorded an unlikely and wholly undeserved 2-1 win at Marienlyst, while Viking and Molde drew 3-3 in an utterly bonkers game at Viking Stadion. 

Lastly Rosenborg cruised to a 2-1 victory over Vålerenga at Lerkendal. The home-side held a 2-0 lead and were thoroughly outplaying their opponents, before Bengt Sæternes scored a pointless consolation-goal which cost fjordball big time at the bookies. Damn him.

Sæternes: Prat

Bad Craziness At Viking Stadion

People unfortunate enough to find themselves at Viking Stadion last weekend witnessed one of worst games in modern history, a real contender for "worst game of the season" (possibly even more awful than this classic horrow-show). Those faithful (or possibly masochistic) enough to return this weekend where treated to a kind of polar opposite: Viking - Molde was without a doubt one of the most mental games of the season, involving bloopers, diving, a wonderful free kick and some random acts of violence.

Viking's giant Senegalese bloke Mame Niang opened the scoring, unfortunately for him he did so in the wrong end of the pitch. He then made amends by scoring in the right end, just one minute later. Then, Viking-defender Ragnvald Soma gave the ball away for no apparent reason, as he's been prone to do this season, and Molde were back in the lead. 

A minute after the second half got underway Viking's Martin Fillo rammed a Molde-defender in the area (not a euphemism, mind you) and fell down as if he'd been shot, and the referee gave a somewhat perplexing penalty. Nicolai Stokholm had learned his lesson from last week: While hitting the keeper in the face is dead funny it doesn't really help your team, and this time the Viking-captain found the net from the spot. 15 minutes later Viking took the lead through a cracking free kick from Allan Gaarde.

All Viking had to do now was shut up shop, but then it all got a bit weird. First Viking's Maurice Ross was sent off for randomly kicking a Molde-player, which didn't really help the cause. Neither did their error-prone keeper Thomas Myhre when he, under no pressure whatsoever, dropped a simple ball into the path of Molde's Mame Briam Diouf who put the ball into the open net. Then after 93, to top it all off, Molde's Pape Pate Diouf elbowed Nicolai Stokholm in the face and was sent off.

The Premier League might be the richest league in the world, La Liga might be the most skillful and Serie A might have the most impeccable hairdos, but nothing beats the Tippeliga for sheer madness. 

Myhre: Oops, he did it again

Trigger-Happy AaFK Sack Åkeby

Søren Åkeby's reign as manager of Aalesund is at an end. "The reason for this is the table-situation and poor results", according to Aalesund's official web-site. From an outside-perspective the decision seems poorly timed and slightly unfair on the man, considering it comes on the back of a creditable draw against one of the best teams in the country this season. "It's a bit strange that I'm sacked now," a disappointed Åkeby told Dagbladet. "It must be said that there was no dissatisfaction with Søren amongst the players," added team-captain Johan Arneng. It's hard to argue with Aalesund's poor results, but they have spent large parts of the season crippled by injuries. However, with just seven games left, five games since AaFK's last win and with the team occupying the playoff-spot, fjordball has some sympathy for the AaFK-board's decision. At least, since the club acted now, whomever takes over will have enough time to make an impact on the team.

Åkeby: Sacked for the first time in his career

The Return Of The Great Rosenborg Revival

After going through a bit of a sticky patch Rosenborg look back in business. Their midweek mauling of Djurdgården was followed by a dominant home-win over a disappointing Vålerenga-side. Mikael was the name at Lerkendal this evening, as the returning left-back Mikael Dorsin (who looked well pleased to be out of Transylvania) and the right-back Mikael Lustig scored Rosenborg's two goals. "There could be medals," an upbeat Rosenborg-manager Erik Hamrén told the press after the game. And with just seven points between themselves and third-placed Fredrikstad and seven more games to go, why not?

Hamrén: Optimistic fellow

The Preview That Demands A Three Year-Contract

Saturday

Aalesund (13th) - Fredrikstad (2nd)

The most protracted transfer-saga of the summer has finally come to and end, as Raymond Kvisvik finally signed a new contract with Fredrikstad. The contract runs until the end of next season, which is what Fredrikstad was offering him all along. "I'm happy with the deal and the fact that we've reached an agreement," lied the portly rebel, who earlier in the summer said he'd accept nothing less than a three year-deal and if Fredrikstand didn't offer him such a contract he'd sign for someone else.

Just a few seasons ago these teams were very similar: Attack-minded teams with terrifically enthusiastic support who tended to end up fighting relegation because of consistently rubbish defending. How times have changed, for Fredrikstad that is. 

Away win.

Sunday

Bodø/Glimt (5th) - Brann (9th)

Fjordball wasn't alone in being annoyed with the Bergen-press for being fickle, knee-jerk imbeciles, the man himself Mons Ivar Mjelde is a bit annoyed. "It's almost like a which-hunt," he told Dagbladet.

In a bid to lighten the mood, Brann have signed a Jamaican fellow. Randolph Austin, capped seven times for his country, has joined the club on a one year-loan from Portmore United. Premier League newcomers Stoke City have tried to sign Austin for a long time, but haven't been able to get a work permit for him and so the midfielder has ended up in Bergen. According to his agent his is good enough for the Premier League, but then again agents do say some funny things.

Draw.

Lyn (4th) - Tromsø (2nd)

It will be very interesting to see how Lyn will hold up now that it's been confirmed that both their manager and their top-scorer will be working for someone else next season. Will they continue to show the same gusto and energy as they have so far or will the club's desperate situation start to affect performances on the pitch? Tromsø should be a stern test and give people a good indication to what the answer to that question is.

Draw.

Strømsgodset (7th) - HamKam (14th)

Yet another bizarre decision from the Norwegian Football Federation this week, as HamKam's Brazilian forward Leonardo has been suspended for two games. Following a review of video-footage from last week's encounter between HamKam and Fredrikstad, Leonardo was adjudged to have willfully headbutted Fredrikstad's Abgar Barsom from behind as Fredrikstad were taking a corner. Video-footage showed that Leonardo was pushed in Barsom's direction, but it also showed that he lowered his head as he crashed into Barsom in what could only have been an attempt to hit him. 

The decision is bizarre because if Leonardo was found to be guilty the punishment surely should be more than two games, while if there is reasonable doubt then he should be let off completely. What NFF has done here is a sort of middle-way solution which is wrong no matter how you look at it.

Yet again, well done NFF.

Home win.

Viking (8th) - Molde (11th)

Viking's giant Senegalese striker Mame Niang is a very disappointed man. One of the reasons he chose to come to Viking, on loan from German club Wolfsburg, was the promise of UEFA-Cup football. Sadly for Niang, he arrived to be registered for the game against Honka and now it's all over. "I really wanted to play in the UEFA-cup and it was one of my big goals when I came here," he told Stavanger Aftenblad. Oh dear.

Draw.

Rosenborg (6th) - Vålerenga (10th)

Inns and outs at Rosenborg these days, they've brought back Mikke Dorsin who they sold off to Transylvania less than a year ago and winger Øyvind Storflor has confirmed that he will be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the season. In spite of playing 121 games for Rosenborg Storflor never really convinced anyone he was good enough for a title-chasing team and his proposed move to Strømsgodset should be a good thing for all parties. 

After a poor run of results Vålerenga find themselves in a disappointing 10th in the league, and should they fail to get a result here fjordball suspects Mad Martin will start to come under a bit of pressure.

Home win.

Monday

Lillestrøm (12th) - Stabæk (1st)

Crucial game for the league-leaders this, as they look to bounce back from Thursday's UEFA-Cup disappointment. Lillestrøm will also have a similar point to prove, the crucial difference being that they had very little business being in the UEFA-Cup anyway, and they know it.

Away win.

Football Mirroring Politics In Norway

How, I hear you ask, is football mirroring politics? Well, it appears Norwegian clubs are doing their utmost to stay out of Europe.

Boom, and indeed boom.

Viking Raided By Honka

Viking 1 (Allan Gaarde) - Fc Honka 2 (Rami Hakanpää, Jaakko Lepola) - (1-2 on aggregate)

Embarrassing doesn't even begin to describe the nature of Viking's UEFA-exit. Not only did they lose to a somewhat rubbish team from Finland, they also surrendered any moral high-ground they may have had. Viking have been sanctimoniously harping on about fair play all season after John Pelu's "cramp" and that unfortunate incident in Lithuania, but last night they had no qualms about scoring when Honka had a man down, so presumably they'll shut up now.

Viking did dominate the game, but Honka were efficient and put their chances away while Viking, and Peter Ijeh in particular, looked lost and confused in front of goal. "This result shows that we have no business being in this tournament," said a refreshingly honest Uwe Rösler after the game.

Herr Uwe: Summing up Viking's season so far

Shock And Awe At Åråsen

Lillestrøm 2 (Olivier Occean, Simen Brenne) - Fc København 4 (Cesar Santin, Ailton Almeida, Atiba Hutchinson, Jose Junior) - (3-7 on aggregate) 

Åråsen-regular 1: What the hell are those guys doing?

Åråsen-regular 2: I think they call it "passing the ball"..

Åråsen-regular 1: Hmm..

..and it wasn't just Lillestrøm's management-team who saw something they hadn't seen before last night, you'd imagine the home-crowd were a bit shocked as well. "It's scary that they were so much better individually than us," a shell-shocked Erlend Johnsen told Dagbladet after the game. Not as much scary as depressing, fjordball would suggest. 

Rampant RBK thwack some Swedish characters

Rosenborg 5 (Steffen Iversen 3x, Didier Konan Ya, Per Ciljan Skjelbred) - Djurgården 0 - (6-2 on aggregate) 

God bless Rosenborg. As Norwegian club-football is going through a bit of a sticky patch, RBK showed last night that if nothing else Norwegian clubs are still miles ahead of the Swedes. And frankly, that'll do for us.

"Tonight I'll have a good cigar," said Rosenborg's Swedish manager Erik Hamrén, who is really looking and sounding like a guy who can revive Rosenborg's fortunes.

Iversen: Leading the way for Rosenborg

Unfortunate Stabæk Doomed By Draw

Rennes 2 (Jerome Leroy 2x) - Stabæk 0 - (3-2 on aggregate)

You've gotta feel for Stabæk, currently playing some of the best football we've seen in Norway for ages they managed to draw the only daunting team they could. Viking got some random Finns, Rosenborg got some rubbish Swedes, but poor old Stabæk managed to draw a French team that's very handy indeed.

And no matter how optimistic the somewhat naive Norwegian media were after the first game, winning your home-game 2-1 isn't a very good result and it was that one away-goal which rather predictably became Stabæk's undoing. They never managed to threaten their French hosts here and a depressing evening became even more depressing when their captain Mike Kjølø broke his collarbone and could miss the rest of the season.

It's now all about damage-control for Stabæk, about not letting this disappointment affect their stellar league-form. A resounding win against Lillestrøm this coming Monday would do..

Alanzinho: Not quite so brilliant against defenders who aren't rubbish

Sypmathy For Mr. Mjelde

Champions League Third Qualifying Round

Marseille 2 (Mamdou Niang 2x) - Brann 1 (Kristjan Örn Sigurdsson) - (3-1 on aggregate) 

Facing the impossible at the imposing Stade Velodrome, Brann rose to the occasion and produced one of their best performances of the season. Sadly, it was soiled by two unforgivable defensive gaffes by Kristjan Örn Sigurdsson which were both punished by a goal and killed off any hopes Brann may have had of going through against the 1993 European Champions. 

There was a clear consensus at fjordball-towers that if Brann could replicate this kind of performance in the league they would shoot up the table in no time, and that in spite of the inevitable defeat the performance was really something Brann could build on as they attempt to turn their season around. Therefore it was rather surprising to wake up the next day and discover that both Bergen's major newspapers were going with "Mjelde Must Go" on their entire front page.

Sure enough, Brann are out of the Champions Leauge, out of the Norwegian cup and ninth in the table, but is really Mons Ivar Mjelde to blame?

Brann's perhaps biggest problem this season has been that their midfield isn't working at all, the decision to gamble on injury-prone has-beens like Eirik Bakke and Hassan El Fakiri has proved a poor one. Throughout the season Brann's passing-game has been completely devoid of rhythm and flow, and opposing teams have been cutting through Brann's center almost effortlessly. But the decision to not replace Mad Martin Andresen with a similarly dominant midfielder wasn't made by Mjelde, it was made by Brann's sporting director Roald Bruun-Hanssen. 

Bruun-Hanssen is also to blame for Brann's poor performance in the transfer-market this season: Not a single one of the players they've brought in this season has improved Brann's first team, and to make things worse Brann sold off their top-scorer in the middle of the season without replacing him with anyone.

Blaming Mjelde for Brann's exit from the Champions League is ludicrous as well, what could he have done? Fixed the draw? Going out to the team that's currently top of the French Ligue 1 is no embarrassment. Not a single one of Brann's current players would make Marseille's team, in fact there are only a handful who might have made Marseille's bench, so did people really expect Brann to go through?

As it turns out, even the notoriously fickle Brann-fans don't believe sacking Mjelde is the way to go. While the Bergen-newspapers and even the Brann-board might have forgotten that Mjelde is their most successful manager in the modern era, a poll at bt.no (the web-edition of Bergen's leading newspaper) shows that a significant majority of their readers don't believe sacking Mjelde is the answer.

Instead, perhaps the Brann-board would do well to take a closer look at the actions of their sporting director this season. The fact that he spent more money on Njogu Demba-Nyrén than Stabæk spent on their entire front-line should tell them all they need to know.

Boring Boring Vålerenga

Vålerenga 1 (Mohammed Abdellaoue) - Strømsgodset 2 (Andre Bergdølmo, Christer George)

There are many things in life fjordball doesn't understand, like why provocatively dressed women get annoyed with you when you look at them a certain way, or why anyone would pay Bengt Eriksen to write a blog. But one thing fjordball finds truly puzzling is why Vålerenga have traditionally had one of the highest average attendances in the league. They've never been THAT successful (except for a short period in the early eighties), they've never played particularly good football, and they're not really a part of Oslo's collective psyche like for an example Brann is in Bergen. Yet, they have the biggest supporter-club in the land and are almost every year in the top5 in the country in terms of average attendance. It's bizarre. 

However, a meek 10 goals in nine home games this season and some terribly bland performances is starting to kill off this inexplicable enthusiasm. In attendance for their encounter with Strømsgodset was a mere 8,000 people, 4,000 less than the club had expected for this fixture.

Those 4,000 clearly caught the better end of the deal, as the game was another disappointment for the home-fans. 

There is no doubt that Mad Martin is a competent fellow and that if given time his elaborate regime of 57 different coaches could bring success to the bohemians, but for the moment people must be wondering what the club is getting in return for it's considerable investment. Expensive names like Kristoffer Hæstad, Lars Iver Strand, and now lately Luton Shelton and Erik Hagen have been brought in, yet Vålerenga are languishing in mid-table no man's land and don't look a whole lot better than they did at the end of last season.

"We're not focusing on the table this season, we're thinking mostly about developing and playing the best possible football," said Mad Martin after the game. Worryingly for Vålerenga, there has been very little development or good football on display so far.

Adecco-update

Predictable stuff in the Adeccoliga this weekend: Odd won, Start won, Bryne lost. Who'd have thunk it?

But Odd had to work for their win as Sandnes Ulf really took the game to their more illustrious hosts. In the end though quality prevailed and Odd notched up a 3-2 win. Start left it late but managed to overcome Hødd with a 2-0 scoreline, strangely enough both goals were scored after Start went down to ten men.

Fjordball-friend Jay Needham scored his first goal for Alta as they beat a truly hopeless Bryne-side 4-1. Bryne haven't won a game since the start of June and are closing in on the relegation-spots. 

Haugesund were looking to move in on a qualifying-place but could only draw 1-1 away to Hønefoss, while Sandefjord strengthened their hold of the third promotion-spot by beating Løv-Ham 4-1. 

Notodden and Moss got in each other's way and drew 2-2, the same thing happened in the match between Sarpsborg Sparta and NIL-Trysil, while Songdal beat Kongsvinger 3-0.

In the news this week, it appears the bungee-effect is starting to kick in as what came down looks set to go straight back up. Start and Odd have been dominating this league from the first kick of the ball (and one suspects they will keep doing so until the last), while Sandefjord have recovered from their wretched start to the season and are now sitting pretty in third. We might be in for a surprise in the playoff-spot though, with Bryne imploding completely and Moss, Haugesund and Sogndal showing wildly inconsistent form, it looks like less reputable teams like Notodden and Hønefoss could well end up with a decent shot at sneaking into the 2009 Tippeliga. 

..which is fun, but it raises the very real possibility of Hønefoss Idrettspark being a Tippeliga-venue next season. Blimey.

Hønefoss Idrettspark: A bit of a dump

Round 18: Rubbish

Stabæk 1 (Veigar Pall Gunnarson) - Lyn 1 (Diego Gustavino)

HamKam 1 (Vegar Bjerke) - Fredrikstad 1 (Partik Gerrbrand) 

Molde 1 (Øyvind Gjerde) - Bodø/Glimt 2 (Birkir Bjarnason, Jan Derek Sørensen)

Tromsø 1 (Ruben Yttergård Jensen) - Aalesund 0

Viking 0 - Lillestrøm 0

Brann 0 - Rosenborg 0

Eight goals in six games pretty much sums up what was a pretty rubbish round of the Tippeliga. Stabæk dominated their game against Lyn but were undone by a cracking strike from Diego Gustavino. Due to injuries Fredrikstad were forced to line up with an untested youngster and an overweight winger (you know the one) up front, and that's not going to cut the mustard, not even against HamKam. The rumors of Bodø/Glimt's demise proved to be greatly exaggerated as they came up with an impressive (if undeserved) away-win against Molde, while a deflected strike from young Ruben Yttergård Jensen was enough for Tromsø up north. Lastly, Viking, Lillestrøm, Brann and Rosenborg should all be ashamed of themselves as all four teams were shockingly poor in the last two games of the round.

Money Isn't Everything In The Tippeliga

1. Rosenborg

2. Brann

3. Lillestrøm

4. Vålerenga

5. Viking

These are the five richest clubs in Norway, in terms of the size of their budget anyway. Pathetically, they're all stuck in mid-table (between 6th and 12th), with the top two a whopping 12 points behind Stabæk. Lillestrøm have assembled exactly half as many points as Stabæk, yet their budget is more than twice that of the Bærum-outfit. 

Just how mismanaged these clubs are was painfully obvious when four of them faced off this weekend. The result was a plethora of misplaced passes, players treading on the ball and falling over themselves for no reason in particular, and not a single goal. What chances were created mostly came from hilariously bad defending, and were wasted by even worse finishing. 

Everyone involved should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

Otto Ulseth In Quite Good Article-Shocker

There must be something in the water: Former assistent-manager of the now disbanded Iraqi national team Otto Ulseth has written a rather good article on Brann's continuing woes and the importance of having a game-plan. He rightly points out that the two teams who are to the greatest extent punching above their weight this season (Stabæk and Bodø/Glimt) are the two teams who has showed the greatest tactical consistency going forward, continually focussing on the same kind of passing-moves, while it all looks a bit random when the reigning champions are on the offense.

Perhaps Otto isn't the imbecile some sections of the fjordball editorial-staff suspected he was, but it remains to be seen if he is physically capable of writing an article that has no references to Rosenborg in the nineties. 

The Preview That Didn't Oversleep

After a period of cup-games and internationals and whatnot, fjordball is all sorts of excited about the return of the Tippeliga..

Saturday

Stabæk (1st) - Lyn (4th)

And it all kicks off on Saturday when the two sides who have played arguably the most entertaining football this season square off at Nadderud. Having strengthened considerably this summer it now looks unlikely that Stabæk will be caught by anyone, and if they can even make the outstanding Anthony Annan stay on.. well.. it's going to be a boring finish to the season for the rest of us.

Home win.

Sunday

HamKam (14th) - Fredrikstad (2nd)

While generally speaking it's been a slow news week in the Tippeliga, all sorts of stuff has been happening at Fredrikstad. 

First it was the whole Kasey Wehrman-thing, which now seems to be resolving itself. The whinging, money-grabbing Aussie noticed that public opinion was squarely and forcefully against him on this one, and promptly made a U-turn quicker and sharper than any movement he's ever made on a football-pitch. "Just so people are clear about this: I want to stay with FFK", said the man who a few days earlier reached the conclusion that he was through with FFK. 

Then Fredrikstad made two rather interesting signings: Brazilian forward Everton Santos Da Costa (22) and Ghanaian striker Dominic Adiyiah (18). Both could prove exciting additions to the Tippeliga.

And finally, the transfer-saga that never gets old: Raymond Kvisvik isn't heading for Sparta Sarprsborg after all. The Adeccoliga-minnows have withdrawn their contract-offer for the portly cult-hero, and word is he has entered negotiations with Fredrikstad and that the two parties aren't quite so far apart in their demands as they were a few months ago. Yey!

Away win.

Molde (11th) - Bodø/Glimt (5th)

Not nearly as much to say about this one. Overperforming Northerners versus underperforming Westerners. Yawn.

Draw.

Tromsø (3rd) - Aalesund (13th)

One of the silver linings of the week's rather depressing international friendly was an accomplished performance from young Tore Reginiussen (22). The centerback is really starting to look ready for bigger things than the tippeliga, something he himself is well aware of. "Yes, I've told the club that I wish to go abroad," he admitted to Dagbladet. 

Home win.

Viking (7th) - Lillestrøm (12th)

Viking have finally done something to address their lack of a reliable striker; they've loaned a giant Senegalese bloke named Mame Niang from Bundesliga-outfit Wolfsburg. Peter Ijeh is pleased: "Niang can help me get better. I like his qualities," said the selfless striker. 

Home win.

Brann (8th) - Rosenborg (6th)

Rosenborg are also trying to plug some gaps in their team, and are making a surprise-effort to sign Anthony Annan. RBK have struggled to find a top-class midfield anchor-man for years, and while some (fjordball included) think Vadim Demidov might be the answer they are now looking to Annan. Just how they are going to convince Annan to shun interest from La Liga and the Premier League and stay in Norway is anyone's guess, one possibility could be sending him out on town with Steffen Iversen and show him a good time..

In the wake of that particular fiasco (Iversen being sent home from the national team for going on a bender and oversleeping the next day), Rosenborg have decided to hold yet another meeting with their players to clarify the do's and don'ts of drinking when you're a professional footballer. This will be the third such meeting this season, and considering the outstanding successes the two earlier ones proved to be fjordball wouldn't be surprised to see the entire RBK-squad out on Friday-night sniffing raw ether and fighting over a kebab.

Draw.

Monday

Vålerenga (9th) - Strømsgodset (10th)

Dull mid-table encounter between dull mid-table teams. One that has spent a lot of money and gotten bugger all in return, one that has spent very little and gotten quite a lot in return. Sadly, money will talk in this one.

Home win.

Norway Going Nowhere

Norway 1 (Tore Reginiussen) - Ireland 1 (Robbie Keane)

The job of a football manager is, generally speaking, to take a squad of players and turn them into a unit that is more than the sum of it's parts. This is not an easy task at club-level, and it's even harder at international level as the amount of time the players spend together is very limited.

What typifies a good national team is, aside from a good crop of talented players, a coherent long-term strategy with simple tactical concepts developed over time. Russia under Hiddink have cultivated a zonal marking system in defense and a sharp, one-touch attacking game involving several players moving off the ball simultaneously. Performances were mixed in the qualifying-phase, but Hiddink stuck to his guns and it all culminated in a memorable showing at Euro08. 

What typifies an underperforming national team is a lack of long-term thinking, a lack of clear tactical concepts and a team-selection based more on current form and media-hype than on the need to fill the squad with certain types of players. Steve McClaren's England will probably remain the prime example of this sort of team for quite some time.

And while there was nothing disgraceful about Norway's performance in their 1-1 draw with Ireland, it was further evidence that they belong squarely in the second category. 

Manager Åge Hareide spoke before the game of the importance of picking players who know each other from club-level, using the examples of Tom Høgli and Tore Reginiussen from Tromsø, and "Moa" Abdellaoue and Daniel Fredheim Holm from Vålerenga. Yet Høgli was only called up when Stabæk's Jon Inge Høiland withdrew because of injury and "Moa"only started because John Carew was injured and Steffen Iversen overslept and was sent home. So when Hareide is harping on about the importance of using players who already know each other, it's simply a case of him finding some glossy rhetoric to explain changes that have been forced upon him.

The follow-up stories in the media after the game focused heavily on Haredie's decision to change from the 4-3-3 to the 4-4-2-formation, but more perplexing still was the decision to start with "Moa" and Helstad up front. At no point during the upcoming qualifiers will Norway start with a strike-force consisting of two short, pacy strikers such as last night. It will always be a "little 'n large"-combination with John Carew or Steffen Iversen or even Azar Karadas providing an aerial threat and Helstad, Tarik or Nevland (or "Moa"?) trying to pick up the pieces. Why then use the final dress-rehearsal before the qualifiers to practice on a scenario that isn't likely to occur when the real thing starts?

Reginiussen: Rescued a point on a rainy day

Under Hareide the Norwegian team has never, not once, looked like a team that's better than the sum of it's parts. There have been a few impressive results, some dogged performances, but on no occasion has the team been overwhelmingly impressive. Also, it is incredibly hard to put your finger on any one tactical concept that Hareide's Norway consistantly employ: some times it's the long ball to Carew, some times it's a passing game through the middle, occasionally there is some good wing-play, but it all seems to vary from match to match. Never under Hareide have Norway looked like a team with a sense of purpose or, for lack of a better expression, "a game-plan". 

If you ask Hareide about it he would tell you something about tactical flexibility, while his critics would say that his teams just look clueless. After yet another hard-working, earnest but ultimately incoherent and befuddled performance, fjordball is inclined to agree with the latter.

Adecco-update

Ask and you shall receive! Except if you ask Frode Kippe about numbers that can be divided by five, in which case the only thing you'll receive is a blank stare..

Well, the cat was away and Start did play, they are now just a point behind cup semifinalists Odd Grenland after having beaten Sarpsborg Sparta 2-1 at home. The fact that they struggled to do so should be cause of concern, but the table makes for happy reading if nothing else.

Hønefoss kept up the pace as they made it six defeats in a row for Bryne, who were defeated 2-0 on home turf. Bryne seem to be in complete meltdown and local newspapers are screaming for the players to "bleed for the shirt", fjordball on the other hand would suggest they refrain from shedding themselves of their bodily fluids and instead focus on stuff like marking opponents and passing the ball to each other.

Moss and Sogndal drew 1-1 in a game that was, according to reports, mind-numbingly poor. 1-1 was also the score in the game between Løv-Ham and Hødd.

Another win for Notodden as they overcame Sandnes/Ulf away from home with a 2-0 scoreline, while NIL-Trysil are still comfortably mid-table as they beat Kongsvinger 2-1. 

Finally, continuing the tradition of saving the most bizarre result for last, Haugesund and Atla played out a nine-goal thriller which Haugesund eventually won 5-4. 

In the news this week, in olden times one possibility if you had committed a heinous crime in Norway was to abandon shop, leave your village behind and go into the mountain until you found somewhere else to live. The Bryne-players are doing something similar, but they are expected to return in a day or so. Their captain Roger Eskeland along with his team-mate Ronny Espedal has arranged for the entire squad to go on a hike deep into the mountains. "They know they are going for a hike, but they don't know where," sniggered the mischievous Eskeland. "There's no one in the squad who couldn't do with changing focus for a day," he added. "Why not, they sure as hell haven't been focused on the pitch lately," the reporter failed to add.

Berg To Be The Next Ringmaster Of Circus Åråsen

Everyone's favorite circus has found it's next ringmaster, and that man is Henning Berg. Faithful readers of fjordball won't be too baffled as this move was forecasted here way back in May.

Not much have changed since then, and fjordball still thinks the competent and rational Berg will be the perfect counterweight to the casual madness of the Åråsen-board. The whinger turned dullard will be teaming up with the canaries after the end of this season.

Rather unsurprisingly, the news of the appointment was accompanied by news that Lillestrøm's sporting director Jan Åge Fjørtoft will be leaving the club after the season, and that his position might not be filled by anyone.

Lyn-fans (who, contrary to popular opinion, exist) are wishing Berg all the best, the writing has been on the wall for quite a while now and you'd think they'll have grown accustomed to the idea that he was leaving.

Several of Lyn's most important players are on the last few months of their contracts, and it will be interesting to see if Berg will be looking to bring some of his current crop of disciples with him to his next port of call. 

Epsen Hoff for one might well be looking to follow his current boss, and while the Fredrikstad-board found his wage-demands to be fiscally unsound the Lillestrøm-board aren't likely to be as stingy/responsible.

Greed Not So Good For Fredrikstad

Greed is good said Gordon Gekko, but the poor unfortunate souls who are trying to run Fredrikstad Fotballklubb would probably disagree vigorously right now. 

After a remarkably good season Fredrikstad now risk seeing their title-challenge derailed by matters off the pitch. Their captain and talisman Kasey Wehrman has decided it's time to cash in on the club's success and is demanding a new and improved contract, even though he has over a year remaining on his current deal. When the club declined his request he did what every footballer seems to do these days when things doesn't go their way: He went to the media. 

"Amateurs," he boldly whinged to Nettavisen. "This is no way to treat people...I still want to stay at the club, but with this sort of treatment I hope to leave when the season is over," he continued, showing that he knows a thing or two about amateurish behavior himself.

"We want to be a top club, but we have to live in the reality," responded Fredrikstad board-member Tom Kristoffersen. "And the reality is that the wage-developments in Norwegian football are far above the limit of what a lot of clubs can handle. We can't run FFK into the ground." 

Captain Marvellous then went one step further: "I've reached the conclusion that I'm through with FFK. I'm mentally prepared to play for another club next season," he sobbed, before making a thinly veiled threat that he might even have to stop playing for a while to nurse an injury if his contract demands weren't met. Jaw-droppingly unprofessional comments for any player, let alone a club captain.

Then, hilariously, Wehrman played terribly and was sent off as Fredrikstad crashed out of the cup against Odd Grenland. Way to prove your worth, Kasey.

Wehrman: Hard-man on the pitch, greedy and unprofessional off it

But Fredrikstad's trouble didn't end with their captain, their hunt for a Tarik-replacement suffered a setback this week when they publicly ended their interest in Lyn's top-scorer Espen Hoff. 

The versatile forward would have been an ideal replacement for the departed Elyounoussi, but his wage demands (rumored to be somewhere between four and five million NOK per year) were simply too steep for Fredrikstad. 

Cup Half-Empty In Norway

Between the Olympics and the return of The Money League it was very hard for anyone to get excited about this weekend's Norwegian cup quarterfinals. 

Every year when it's time for the final the Norwegian media falls over itself in praise of this magnificent competition and delights in telling us all how the cup is much more important in Norway than in other countries, possibly because of it's all-inclusive nature and the romantic idea that technically anyone can win it.

Yet, in spite of it being so important and wonderful, no one really seemed to give a damn that the quarterfinals were on this weekend. The four games attracted an average attendance of under 6000 souls, far less than these four venues would attract for a normal league-match, and the press-coverage was marginal. Has the Norwegian cup lost it's magic or was this just bad timing?

At any rate, Stabæk continued their superb season by comfortably dumping out Strømsgodset with a 4-1 win, and joining them in the first semifinal will be Molde who bested Lyn 3-1. The last Adeccoliga team in the competition Odd Grenland did themselves proud as they knocked out high-flying Fredrikstad on penalties, waiting for them in the other semifinal will be Vålerenga who easily disposed of Bodø/Glimt with a 3-1 scoreline.

So, if you missed it, the semifinals look like this: Stabæk - Molde, Vålerenga - Odd Grenland. 

Stabæk for the double, anyone?

Oh dear

A rather nasty stomach-bug has swept through fjordball-towers and momentarily incapacitated the entire writing-staff. Thoughts on the recent European-ties and this weekend's Cup-encounters will be online as soon as anyone is fit enough to write them.

More Fantsasy-Footy! Yey!

The all-conquering English Premier League is all set to commence, and the marketing-department here at fjordball-towers is well aware that the richest league in the world might steal some of the Tippeliga's thunder. 

So to show that, unlike Odd Grenland, fjordball isn't completely one-tracked, you are all invited to join a fantasy premier league-thingy. After much consideration The Guardian's fantasy-thingy was selected, as it was free and looked rather good. Sign up here, and join the league Fjordball's Fantasy Football Fiends. The password is "windass". 

There are some jaw-droppingly awesome (if somewhat imaginary) prizes at stake here people, you won't regret it!

Adecco-update

If you ignore two results this was a rather dull, mundane and uninteresting round of the Adeccoliga. IF you ignore two results.

Ok, perhaps there were three strange results, because Odd Grenland actually dropped points at home. It was Haugesund who proved strong enough to stand against runaway leaders, or at any rate their keeper Beau Molenaar who put in an astonishing performance and was the main reason the score ended in a 1-1 draw, not a 6-1 defeat for FKH. Start had to work hard to overcome Alta, but in the end their superior quality showed and they could start the long journey home with a 2-1 win in the bag.

Sandefjord reinforced their credentials as the third team that looks very likely to go up as they beat Hødd away from home with a 2-0 scoreline, while Moss piled on the misery for Kongsvinger by beating them 3-0 at their place. 

Sarpsborg Sparta recorded a strong 2-1 home-win over Løv-Ham, while Sogndal and Sandnes/Ulf shared the points with a 1-1 draw in a completely uniteresting and irrelevant mid-table encounter.

See? Boring stuff, what a dull league. Or not.

Because the last two games on the docket this weekend saw two of the heftiest scorelines of the season so far: Hønefoss thumped NIL-Trysil 6-1 while.. wait for it.. Bryne were smacked, pwned, bitch-slapped, humped, walloped, thwacked and indeed pummelled by Notodden, 7-0 the scoreline at Notodden (yes, there was one word per goal there). Yanks-Abroad.com described it as "One of the worst defensive displays in recent memory", and for obvious reasons fjordball agrees entirely.

In the news this week, the ongoing saga of Raymond Kvisvik has taken a bizarre turn, as two clubs are now fighting over the previously unwanted and unloved gambler. The man himself has finally agreed a long-term contract with Sparta Sarpsborg, and the Adeccoliga-strugglers claim that they have "a gentleman's agreement" with Fredrikstad that if they agreed a contract with him FFK would let him go for free, even though there are a few months left on his contract. But following the recent sale of Tarik Elyounoussi and an unexpected upturn in Kvisvik's form, Fredrikstad are no longer quite so keen on letting him go without compensation. 

"Now they are refusing Raymond to go to us. I thought such things happened in Russia or Turkey, not in Norwegian football," said Sarpsborg Sparta-official Bjørn Inge Nilsen, making himself a clear front-runner for the 2008 Prince Philip-award for cultural awareness. "This is nonsense, we haven't promised Sarpsborg Sparta anything," countered his opposite number in Fredrikstad Per Morten Haugen. 

Kvisvik: Causing bad blood in Østfold

Unpredictable Eddie Does It Again

Fredrikstad 2 (Hans Erik Ramberg, Kasey Wehrman) - Tromsø 0

Svein-Erik "Eddie" Edvartsen continues to occasionally dish out cruel and unusual punishment, and this time it was Tromsø who were on the receiving end. Earlier in the season he upset the establishment by actually awarding penalties when players were held in the box at set-pieces, and now he's done a similar thing by awarding Fredrikstad a penalty when Tromsø-keeper Sead Ramovic rather stupidly pushed fjordball-favorite Raymond Kvisvik away from him as Fredrikstad were taking a corner. 

Tromsø-manager Steinar Nilsen was unimpressed, but those of us who have been paying attention this year will remember that Steinar didn't really mind back in April when it was Tromsø who won a game through one of Eddie's moments of bravery/madness. 

Nilsen: Karma, it's a bitch isn't it?

The game itself was a bit dull, with both teams putting in impressive performances at the back but less so in attack. In the end Fredrikstad had too much in the tank for Tromsø, a terrific header from Hansi Ramberg and a cool conversion of that controversial penalty from Kasey Wehrman gave the home-side the win. They are now in second, just four points away from Stabæk. Could they really go all the way?

Round 17: Albanian Bloke Makes Rosenborg-Fans Look Silly

Strømsgodset 2 (Christer George 2x) - Brann 0

Aalesund 1 (Peter Orry Larsen) - Stabæk 2 (Johan Andersson, Veigar Pall Gunnarson)

Lyn 1 (Espen Hoff) - Lillestrøm 0

HamKam 1 (Tommy Øren) - Vålerenga 1 (Jarl André Storbæk)

Bodø/Glimt 3 (Jan Derek Sørensen, Birkir Bjarnasson, Alo Bärengrub) - Viking 2 (Nicolai Stokholm, Andre Danielsen)

Rosenborg 3 (Steffen Iversen, Besart Berisha 2x) - Molde 1 (Rune Ertsås)

In honor of Strømsgodset's two-goal hero Christer George, who if you didn't know is a part-time rapper, this weekend's roundup has been run through The Ebonizer-thingy before publishing. Bitches.

George: Gangsta!

The 17th round o' da Tippeliga kicked off on Saturday when Mons Ivar Mjelde ignored fjordball's advice, kept Eirik Bakke in his starting lineup, an' wuz soundly beaten by Strømsgodset. Not saying dere'suh direct link dere, just stating da facts. On Sunday, Stabæk took another step towards what now feels like an inevitable championship win by beating Aalesund, while Viking ballsed it all up fo' themselves by conceding some very silly goals. There wuz reason ta cheer at Hamar where HamKam rescued uh point through uh late Tommy Øren-strike, while Espen Hoff wuz da difference between Lillestrøm an' Lyn at Ullevål. Lastly, Rosenborg cruised past uh Molde-side which didn't really turn up. what the fuck sup now?.

Berisha-Brace Silences Boo-Boys

While da tippeliga has been uh weird an' unpredictable place dis here season, dere iz one thin' ya can always rely on: The complete an' utter stupidity o' some fans. When Rosenborg announced in da mid-week dat dey wuz brining in 23 year- old Albanian striker Besart Berisha on loan from Burnley, da majority o' fans seemed unimpressed. In fact, many o' dem described it as "scandalous", an' suggested they sporting director should resign. "As uh sporting director [Erik Hoftun] seems devoid o' competence," wrote one angry fan. However, da boo-boys wuz made ta peep rather silly when the Albanian bagged uh brace in iz debut. Perhaps da RBK-faithful in da future should consider waiting until they've actually seen uh player in action 'bfoe da write him off? what 'chew trippin foo'

Stellar Logic From Ulseth

Former assistant manager o' da Iraqi national team an' now Dagbladet-columnist Otto Ulseth has offered uh welcome werd o' support ta HamKam fans, an' also ta boiling lobsters all over da world: If ya don' panic, everything will be fine. "In Hedmark every football-result iz registered wiff uh stoic calm...This Hedmarkian calmness, combined wiff da knowledge o' how football should be played, will most likely take da Hamar-team ta safe-ground". That'sright Otto, if you've been da worst team in da league all season, yo' bomb bet iz ta keep doin' da same thin' you've been doin' all along. It'sbound ta start working at some point, right? And dat goes out ta all ya lobsters sitting in uh pot worrying about yo' future an' da rising temperature o' da water around you: Relax, chill, it'll be fine. and git Sheniquah's ass back ova' heeah.

The Jubilant Preview

Wild celebrations at fjordball-towers tonight as this is officially the 100th post. Yey.

Saturday

Strømsgodset (11th) - Brann (6th)

Does Mons Ivar Mjelde read fjordball? Possibly, because according to Bergens Tidene he is considering dropping captain Erik Bakke. Just like fjordball told him to. Since we now have your attention Mons: Please for the love of God tell Azar Karadas to kick Erik Huseklepp repeatedly in the head until the poncy git gets a haircut. And give your sporting director an atomic wedgie. 

Draw.

Sunday

Aalesund (13th) - Stabæk (1st)

Stabæk's Brazilian midfield maestro Alanzinho has made Norwegian pundits wet themselves on several occasions this season, doing things that are unheard of in the Tippeliga (like doing step-overs without falling over). "It's starting to become hard to believe that no clubs in Europe are starting to find out about the things he is doing," Dagbladet's somewhat geographically challenged Sports-columnist Morten Pedersen wrote this week. The fact of the matter is that quite a few European clubs have been at Nadderud this season. They came, they saw, they made mental note never to sign defenders from the Tippeliga.

Away win.

Bodø/Glimt (8th) - Viking (5th)

Unless Ragnvald Soma and/or Maurice Ross pass late fitness-tests, Viking will have a grand total of two senior defenders available to them for this game. This will probably mean a right winger at right back and a 16-year old centre back. Viking are also short on strikers, with the erratic Peter Ijeh as the only experienced alternative up front. All this shortage of things seems to be driving their fans a bit loopy, as some of them were actually upset that their club didn't try to bring in Rune Lange. Fjordball recommends they seek help sooner rather than later.

Draw.

HamKam (14th) - Vålerenga (7th)

Another group of supporters who are losing their grip on sanity are the HamKam-fans, who apparently would rather see the club relegated than see Nigerian Oluwasegun Abiodun play for their team again. Granted, the Nigerian is a nasty piece of work (among other things he has recently been to prison for threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend), but surely fans are getting their priorities all wrong here? Captain Markus Ringberg is certainly more of a "forgive and forget"-kind of guy: "His behavior lately has been exemplary," the sympathetic Swede told Tv2.

Away win.

Lyn (4th) - Lillestrøm (12th)

Lyn-manager Henning Berg is slowly but surely worming his way into fjordball's good books. Not only has he assembled a team of predominantly young and talented players who are doing well, he also had a right pop at Brann's sporting director Roald Bruun-Hanssen this week. Berg was rather unhappy about the way Bruun-Hanssen had declared so firmly (others would say clumsily) in the media that they had signed Odion Ighalo, in spite of the player still being contracted to Lyn, and called Bruun-Hanssen "unprofessional". Fjordball would have gone for "incompetent", possibly "buffoonish", but we're with Henning all the way here.

Home win.

Rosenborg (9th) - Molde (10th)

The rivalry that isn't a rivalry anymore because the teams are so far apart suddenly seems to have become a poper rivalry again. Or something. There certainly isn't much separating the sides in terms of points, with Rosenborg just two points ahead of their less wealthy, errr, rivals.

Home win.

Monday

Fredrikstad (2nd) - Tromsø (3rd)

Definitely the pick of the bunch this weekend, as both the unlikely title-challengers of the hour battle it out to try to keep up with Stabæk. Fredrikstad have told the press this week that in spite of rumors that their portly winger Raymond Kvisvik has reached an agreement with Adeccoliga-minnows Sarpsborg Sparta, they're not all that keen on letting him go just yet. "We want to keep Raymond Kvisvik," said some club official. 

Tromsø for their part seem to have completely lost the plot, and decided to bring back Rune Lange. Why anyone would want to inflict such damage upon their own club is beyond fjordball, perhaps it's a Northern thing. "Rune would reinforce any ambitious team, when he's injury-free and in good form," sporting director Morten Kræmer said, before the men in white coats came to take him away.

Home win.

Adecco-update

Bloomin' 'eck, there was a full round of Adeccoliga-matches this midweek.

And predictably, we start with yet another win for Odd Grenland, who inflicted upon Bryne their third 1-0 defeat in three games. Start for their part were very much back on track with a convincing 3-0 win over Hønefoss at home.

Løv-Ham continued their remarkable season with a 3-1 victory on home turf over Notodden, while a seemingly revived Haugesund-side notched up another three points by beating Sogndal 2-0.

Poor old Hødd were on the wrong end of another spanking, this time it was a 1-5 defeat at home against the wildly unpredictable Moss. Alta's good run came to an abrupt end as a visit to NIL-Trysil ended up with a 2-0 defeat.

Another win for Sandefjord who are now really starting to look like a team en route to promotion, this week it was Sarpsborg Sparta who felt their wrath and were beaten with a 2-0 scoreline. And lastly, Kongsvinger picked up three invaluable away-points as they rather surprisingly defeated Sandnes/Ulf, 2-1 the scoreline there.

In the news this week, a horrible run of results means Hødd-manager Sture Fladmark is now former Hødd-manager Sture Fladmark. "I disagree entirely with this decision, and I think it's a stupid thing to do. I'm incredibly disappointed," Fladmark told Sunnmøreposten. Well Sture, 9 points in 17 games, 7 consecutive defeats, surely you saw this one coming?

In other news, the board at Sparta Sarpsborg have been working intensely for the last month(!) trying to find the money to sign everyone's favorite fattie, Raymond Kvisvik. Presumably, no-one has come up with the idea of inviting him to a poker-night. Yet.

Kvisvik: On his way to Sparta?

Bonkers Brann Get It All Wrong

There are a multitude of people who can be blamed for Brann's poor season so far. There is sporting director Roal Bruun-Hansen who has assembled an expensive but unbalanced squad. There is manager Mons Ivar Mjelde who perhaps doesn't have the authority in the dressing room a manager should have. And perhaps most significantly, there are several very well-paid players who haven't been pulling their weight. 

So obviously, the bigwigs at Brann decided to sack the assistant manager Epsen Steffensen. 

Steffensen has been manager Mjelde's trusted right-hand man for more than five years, and Mjelde was in no mood to hide is outrage at his sacking. "I am against this decision," a rather upset Mjelde told the press-pack, with sporting director Bruun-Hansen standing next to him, looking rather uncomfortable. "I asked them if they wouldn't rather get rid of me," Mjelde continued, "But for financial reasons I can't quit". Way to make a stand, Mons.

The man who will replace Steffensen as Mjelde's assistant, against Mjelde's wishes, is Harald Aabrekk. "I feel bad about it. I feel sorry for Espen, who is a very good friend of mine," Aabrekk said. 

Captain Erik Bakke wasn't too pleased either: "It was a big surprise for the entire squad. Some of the players were very sad."

In other words, with this decision the Brann-leadership has managed to unsettle everyone involved. It takes a special kind of incompetence to do that.

Espen Steffensen for his part showed himself to be a man after fjordball's own heart: "I've gone fishing. I have no comment to make about this," he told TV2. Good man.

Midweek Mayhem

Tippeliga, Adeccoliga, the cup, it's all very confusing.

Deadly Stabæk Move Ahead

Rosenborg 1 (Alexander Tettey) - Stabæk 2 (Alanzinho, Veigar Pall Gunnarson)

The home side put in a vindicating performance after the weekend's embarrassment against Tromsø, but Stabæk showed the kind of class and ruthless efficiency which makes it very hard to see the title ending up anywhere else than Nadderud this season. Rosenborg were ahead for over an hour and were in many ways the better team, but they were undone by two cracking goals: One a long-range beauty from Alanzinho and the other a wonderful counter-attacking move which culminated in Pall Gunnarson beating a man and finishing coolly through the legs of the Rosenborg-keeper.

"Efficiency was the difference between the teams. Stabæk deserved to win, but we didn't deserve to lose," concluded Rosenborg-manager Erik Hamrén.

Stabæk: Happy together

Late Larsen Belter Puts Another Nail In HamKam's Coffin

HamKam 0 - Tromsø 1 (Kevin Larsen)

Bugger all happened for 92 minutes at Briskeby, but then in the 93th Tromsø were awarded a dodgy free-kick at the edge of the box. And since this seems to be a season when almost everything goes right for Tromsø and almost everything goes wrong for HamKam, obviously the free-kick was duly hammered home by Kevin Larsen.

One thing that didn't go right for the Northerners was that their red-hot striker Morten Moldskred picked up an injury. Dagbladet reports rather splendidly: "However the initial reports indicate that the prolific player - and it is important to the Norway's northernest team, who already have Sigurd Rushfeldt out injured."

Top-notch journalism there boys, keep it up.

(addeco-stuff and a cup-roundup to follow at some later stage)

Norwegian Clubs Set For Euro-Raids?

The person who has done the most to put Norway on the footballing map is without a doubt Ole Gunnar Solskjær. The runner up isn't Rune Bratseth (unless you're German), it isn't John Carew, it isn't Henning Berg, it isn't Steffen Iversen and it certainly isn't Frode Kippe (and thank God for that), in fact it's not a person at all, it's Rosenborg Ballklubb. 

Every year from 1995 to 2002 Rosenborg qualified for the group-phase of the UEFA Champions Leauge, which is a staggering achievement for a Norwegian club. While they usually struggled to get out of their group, they did record a number of impressive scalps including a 2-0 win over Real Madrid and a 2-1 win over Ac Milan at the San Siro. Rosenborg's run in the Champions League is regarded by many as the greatest Norwegian achievement in football, eclipsing even the national team's success in the 90's (possibly because the national team's success was built on long-ball hoofery and anti-football, while Rosenborg always sought to play the beautiful game).

This past success weighs heavily on the shoulders of today's clubs when they head into Europe, and this seasons' hopefuls are: Brann, Stabæk, Viking, Lillestrøm and Rosenborg. 

Brann is the only team with a theoretical chance of taking part of the group stage of the Champions League. That theoretical chance almost disappeared tonight, but in spite of Brann's best efforts to balls it all up for themselves they managed to sneak through the 2nd qualifying round against the mighty FK Ventspils of Latvia. 

Going into tonights away-leg with a 1-0 lead, Brann put in a pathetic first half which saw them go into half-time 2-0 down even though Ventspils had been playing with 10 men since the 13th minute. A scruffy, fortunate second half-goal after a corner sent Brann through on away-goals. Their next and final obstacle on the way to the Champions League are French giants Marseilles, and on current form Brann have about as much of a chance of going through as Frode Kippe has of getting accepted into Mensa. 

Which leaves them in the UEFA Cup, the Champions League's poor, ugly and neglected cousin. There they'll join the other Norwegian teams and battle it out with the best of the backwater-leagues and the also-rans from the big-leagues. Traditionally this tournament has been a mixed bag for Norwegians, Viking famously knocked out Chelsea a few years ago (pre-Abramovich, but still), while on the other hand Lillestrøm were once hilariously knocked out by some part-timers from Luxembourg. 

The draw for the first round has been kind to Viking, who face Fc Honka of Finland. A slightly trickier but still rather winnable tie awaits Rosenborg who are up against Swedish outfit Djurgården. Lillestrøm are as good as out, not just because they are a bit poo these days but because they face Fc København. The unluckiest draw by far fell to Stabæk who have to find a way past the able Frenchmen of Stade Rennais F.C. Still, the way they are playing these days you really wouldn't put it past Stabæk to surprise the Ligue 1-side.

With the amount of money going around in the Tippeliga higher than ever before the Norwegian clubs really should be able to make an impact in the UEFA Cup, and it will be terribly interesting to see if they do.

Adecco-update

There was a time when it was all nice and predictable down in the Adeccoliga: Odd and Start won every game, Alta and Kongsvinger lost every game, and everything else was random. Not anymore though, but to help you make sense of it all, here's the Adecco-update..

Not everything has gone all strange though, Odd put NIL-Trysil in their place with a 5-1 drubbing. Start on the other hand were held by bottom of the table-Kongsvinger, 2-2 the surprising score-line there.

Sandefjord were also held, they found goings tough against Northern minnows Alta and could only manage a 1-1 draw. Promotion-chasing Hønefoss on the other hand did one worse and lost 3-1 to Løv-Ham at home.

And the weirdness continues at Melløs, where Moss inexplicably lost 4-2 to visiting Sandnes Ulf. 

Sogndal are suddenly not that far off the promotion-chase after they beat Bryne 1-0 at home, while at Notodden the home-side were held to a 1-1 draw by Haugesund. 

And finally, Sarpsborg Sparta had no trouble taking care of Hødd on home turf, 2-1 the score there. 

In the news this week, Sogndal have decided to try to up their attendance for their next game against Sandnes Ulf by declaring that every person who is under 16 or named Ulf will get in for free. They are not worried that their stadium will be filled to the rafters with freebie-chasing Ulfs, as there are only 2490 people named Ulf in the entire country. "If ten people named Ulf show up, we'll be happy," said a club official. "I think I'll even buy a hot-dog for them if they give me a call". 

So if your name happens to be Ulf and you live close to Sogndal, there's free football and perhaps even a hot-dog to be had next weekend. Get in.

Round 16: Tromsø for the title?

Brann 4 (Olafur Örn Bjarnason, Azar Karadas, Petter Vaagan Moen, Njogu Demba-Nyrén) - HamKam 1 (Abiodun)

Vålerenga 1 (Shelton) - Fredrikstad 1 (Piiroja)

Lillestrøm 3 (John Anders Bjørkøy, Olivier Occean, Ståle Stensaas) - Strømsgodset 1 (Glenn Andersen)

Stabæk 4 (Morten M. Skjønsberg, Christian Keller, Johan Andersson, Jon Inge Høiland) - Bodø/Glimt 1 (Jan Derek Sørensen)

Viking 2 (Peter Ijeh, Allan Gaarde) - Lyn 0

Tromsø 4 (Morten Moldskred 2x, Adriano Munoz 2x) - Rosenborg 0

The 16th round of the Tippeliga got started on Saturday when HamKam were defeated yet again. The boys from Hamar are doing a very fine impersonation of an Adeccoliga-team at the moment, and unless something very weird happens that's exactly what they'll be next season. A late strike from debutant Luton Shelton gave Vålerenga a point against Fredrikstad, which in turn allowed Stabæk to reclaim the top-spot the next day when they made Bodø/Glimt look as lost and confused as Torstein Helstad in a library. The improving Lillestrøm notched up another win, injury-ravaged Viking overcame Lyn, but perhaps the most eye-opening result of the round came at Alfheim where Tromsø thumped Rosenborg 4-0. 

Tromsø for the title?

It sounds absurd, but looking at the table right now they're not that far off. Steinar Nielsen's men are a hardworking and well-organized bunch, and their 4-0 mauling of Rosenborg this Sunday showed that even with Old Man Rushfeldt injured they're not short of attacking verve. 

One potential problem for them is Brann's prolonged interest in striker Morten Moldskred. The in-form hitman admits that he's an ambitious person and insinuates that he wouldn't mind a move to Brann. Tromsø for their part need to raise 16 million NOK from player-sales this season to make their budget work, and while it has always been assumed that this money would come from the inevitable transfer of Tore Reginiussen, Brann might make Tromsø an offer their accountants can't refuse..

Moldskred: Firing Tromsø into the title-chase

Brann - Better without Bakke?

Ok, so it was against the desperately rubbish HamKam, but Saturday saw Brann put in one of their most coherent performances for the season. Captain Erik Bakke was rested, and in his absence Tijan Jaiteh and Hassan El Fakiri put in a pretty good shift in the middle of the park for Brann. El Fakiri had a miserable start to the season, but has showed signs of improvement in recent weeks, particularly when he has been used in a deeper midfield-role. 

An improved El Fakiri could be the key to sorting out Brann's midfield-trouble, as the former Monaco-man possesses the creative powers Erik Bakke, Tijan Jaiteh and Gylfi Einarsson all lack. The aforementioned trio are all more traditional box-to-box midfielders who enjoy running around a lot, but none of them are particularly good at passing the ball around. Hence, when you pair two of the three together in the same midfield, you get a massive problem with retaining possession, and anyone who has watched Brann this season can tell you that one of their biggest problems has been that they keep giving the ball away. If El Fakiri can keep improving he could be the key to solving this problem, but with Tijan Jaiteh showing huge promise and ability which more than justifies a place in the starting 11, where does that leave captain Eirik Bakke?

El Fakiri: Could be the key

The Preview that hasn't been banned by the Chinese Government. Yet.

Saturday

Brann (9th) - HamKam (14th)

The bigwigs at Brann are royally miffed at having missed out on Odion Ighalo, who took fjordball's advice and buggered off to Udinese. Brann's Sporting Director has been all blood and thunder this week, reporting people to the FA and threatening legal action. Just exactly why he is doing this is anyone's guess, as he has no case whatsoever (if your Norwegian is up to scratch, read all about this in Tor Kristian Karlsen's excellent blog). 

Brann have now turned their attention to.. pretty much every other striker under the sun. Tromsø's Morten Moldskred, Sunderland's Rade Prica, some Brazillian bloke from Souchaux and possibly also fjordball's uncle's dog have all been linked.

Home win.

Vålerenga (7th) - Fredrikstad (1st)

Table-topping Fredrikstad take on Vålerenga, one of the most unpredictable teams in this very unpredictable league. The bohemians (another daft nickname) have strengthened their squad considerably this week, by bringing back defender Erik "Panzer" Hagen (as we all knew they would) and striker Luton Shelton (which came out of nowhere really). Both could prove to be big singings for the Oslo-outfit, but what should really please the Vålerenga-crowd this week is news that the truly hopeless Rune Lange just might be going somewhere on loan.

Draw.

Hagen: Back at Vålerenga

Sunday

Lillestrøm (12th) - Strømsgodset (10th)

The thuggish long-ball merchants of Lillestrøm versus the hard-working but a bit crap Strømsgodset. Lovers of the beautiful game should stay well clear of this one.

Home win.

Stabæk (2nd) - Bodø/Glimt (5th)

The most under reported transfer-story of the summer was undoubtedly Stabæk's capture of Pontus Farnerud, who in spite of having a silly first name has a CV that indicates that he should be one of the best midfielders in the Tippeliga when he arrives. "This is a bigger signing than many people understand," said Stabæk's rather good sporting director Lars Bohinen. Indeed, it's not every day a Tippeliga-team manages to secure the signature of a player who was a regular starter for Monaco and Sporting Lisbon.

Home win.

Viking (8th) - Lyn (4th)

Like Moss in the Adeccoliga, Viking must have really done something to offend the footballing Gods. They currently have 6 defenders injured, which leaves just two left-backs and a centerback. Hardly enough to form a sturdy backline is it? And considering Viking's defense was a big of a Maginot line even when everyone was fit, the good people of Stavanger should be afraid. Very afraid. "I might have to do something crazy," said herr Uwe. Good luck.

Away win.

Rösler: Having to do crazy things

Tromsø (3rd) - Rosenborg (6th)

Few people would have expected Tromsø to be chasing medals this season, but in this case the table doesn't lie. The Northern Capello and his men have only conceded 9 goals in their first 14 games this season, and lately they've been scoring a few goals as well, a combination which makes them very difficult to beat.

The great Rosenborg revival sorta died, but then sorta got started again when they beat Viking last week. A win here and they won't be far away from the leaders, and they also have a game in hand. Perhaps we should all wait a bit before we write them off for this season..?

Draw.

Moldskred: Has found his shooting-boots

Monday

Molde (11th) - Aalesund (13th)

Yey! A derby! And not an insignificant one either, as both these West coast outfits need the three points. With Lillestrøm improving their fortunes and picking up some points, Aalesund are bang in trouble. They are starting to get some of their players back from injury, and they really need three points sharpish. 

Molde for their part look safe, but they are the mid-table team closest to the relegation-scrap and at least one of the teams below them is showing some sort of form. Their inexplicable purple-patch which saw them thump both Vålerenga and Brann looked well and truly over last weekend when they were mauled by Strømsgodset.

Draw.