Fjordball Has A New Home!

After almost a year of faithful service fjordball-towers, like a loyal but aging fullback, is being abandoned. The portraits of Raymond Kvisvik have all been taken down, the last Bengt Eriksen-shaped piñata has been hacked to bits and the bust of Otto Ulseth has been decimated for the last time.

In an exciting new move, fjordball has merged with the mighty Football in Finland and become Nordic Football News. 

So update yer bookmarks and lock up yet daughters, as NFN will now be your primary source for all things pertaining to Norwegian and Nordic football. Articles, interviews and match-reports, wether you just want to know what's going on or you're looking to do some football betting off the beaten track, NFN will have it covered.

<- http://www.nordicfootball.info  ->

It's All Gone A Bit Strange At Fredrikstad

Fredrikstad. A grand old club with 9 league titles and 11 cup wins to their name, who got relegated in 1984 and spent 18 years in the unsettling wilderness of the Norwegian lower divisions before returning to the big-time in 2003. Since then they've won a cup, built a shiny new ground and gradually made themselves a force in the league again, as last season's runners-up finish clearly shows. In 2009 they face a fork in the road: The contracts of nine of their players as well as their manager expire at the end of this season. This fall they hired Tor-Kristian Karlsen, a renowned talent-scout with considerable experience from behind the scenes of European clubs, as their sporting director with the idea of letting one of Norway's most competent young football-men modernize the club and use their current success as a platform to take club forwards. Karlsen went about his work, his abilities in the transfer-market being brought to bare with the shock-singing of Costa Rican midfielder Celso Borges, and he started planning a bright new future for Fredrikstad. It all looked so perfect.

You can imagine then that it rated about a 9,5 on NFN's WTF-o-meter when one of Norway's largest tabloids reported a few days ago that there was serious unrest in the Fredrikstad-camp, and a few hours later the club held a press-conference where they explained that Tor-Kristian Karlsen had resigned. Just how did that happen?

The Norwegian press has reported it as a personal conflict between Karlsen and Anders Grönhagen, the club's Swedish manager who orchestrated last season's remarkable silver medal in the league, though this depiction only partly accurate.

In the aftermath of Karlsen's resignation it becomes clear that yes, him and Grönhagen were incompatible: "We are two different types of persons who have very different approaches to how a football club should be run," Karlsen told local newspaper Fredrikstad Blad. Reportedly he wanted the club to focus on youth development while Grönhagen represented a more short-term, results-orientated view. While there's no evidence for this, it's not an unreasonable assumption to say that these differing views would have clashed badly on the subject of contract re-negotiations.

In an attempt to simplify the situation Fredrikstad's chief executive Runar W. Henriksen told TV2 that "Karlsen chose to resign after a meeting we had. He chose to resign because we didn't agree with his plans", a statement which cuts to the heart of the problem in ways Henriksen himself probably isn't aware of: You don't hire a sporting director and then undermine his plans for the club, it's the administrative equivalent of the board deciding on the team-selection. As Karlsen himself told Fredrikstad Blad: "I'm no longer at FFK because the board didn't back me up on the plans I was hired to implement".

Grönhagen for his part has been rather two-faced in this situation, which will surprise many since the Swede expertly cultivated a sort of sympathetic old uncle-image through the press last season. "There's no power-struggle," he told Norwegian tabloid VG. "I had act, or it would all have gone to hell", he told Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet. Make of that what you will.

What it all boils down to is this: Having hired Tor-Kristian Karlsen this fall to lead the club to a bright new future, the Fredrikstad board flinched when it turned out that backing their man and his vision for the club meant parting company with a manager who has made himself very popular with the public, and like most football executives the idea of making themselves unpopular with the public didn't really appeal to them.

As dust settles around the situation, what remains is a Fredrikstad board with very little credibility and a manager who isn't quite the benevolent uncle people thought he was. And Grönhagen will now be under serious pressure to get results, as the club have effectively exchanged their long-term vision in favor of his short-term ambition.

Back to the Stoneage for Norway as Olsen Gets the Gig

There's an old football-adage that says once you've been successful somewhere you should never go back, but then again it shouldn't surprise anyone that a pragmatic, scientific man like Egil "Drillo" Olsen doesn't put much stock into such things. Yes, in an unexpected and slightly bizarre turn of events, the 66 year old wellie-wearing weirdo is back in charge of the Norwegian national team.

Egil Olsen wants YOU (to play a 70-yard diagonal pass to a freakishly tall winger)

After failing to secure the services of any of their preferred top targets, the Norwegian football association has given the job temporarily to Egil "Drillo" Olsen, the man who previously guided the team to consecutive world cups in 1994 and 1998. He has been hired primarily for the three upcoming friendlies against Germany, South Africa and Finland, but unless the association's first choice for the long-term appointment (widely assumed to be Fc Copenhagen manager Ståle Solbakken) becomes available, chances are the 66 year old tactician will be in charge for the rest of the Wold Cup qualifying-campaign. 

The appointment has been meet with a positive reaction by Norwegians, fueled largely by nostalgia for those glory nights of the 90ties and a distinct feeling that after the disastrous year that was 2008 then it certainly can't get any worse. After a full calendar year without a win, one can easily forgive Norwegians for giving up on the idea of sexy football and just going with whatever might get them a result now and then. Media-reaction has also been largely positive, with Drillo's former disciples (most of whom now manage or work behind the scenes at various Tippeliga and Adeccoliga clubs) virtually queuing up to sing his praises and few other pundits having the cojones to go against the tide of public opinion.

A few have had the audacity to break ranks and criticise the appointment, most notably Aalesund-manager Kjetil Rekdal, who stuck his head out of the trench and told the media that re-hiring Drillo is a step in the wrong direction, that times have changed since the 90ties and that the people in charge of hiring a new manager are all incompetent. Which is all probably true, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and it appears that the Norwegian people are quite content with turning into the international version of Bolton Wanderers if it means putting a few wins on the board.

The decision to go back to Drillo is bizarre to say the least, as the hiring of Hareide in 2004 was supposed to mark a shift in direction for Norwegian football: Defensive long-ball thuggery wasn't seen as the way forward and even though it would probably mean less impressive results the federation wanted a national team that looked like it could string a few passes together. The hiring of Drillo for the short-term (and the assumed hiring of Solbakken for the long-term) indicates a return to the days of continually hoofing the ball forwards, the kind of football which famously caused midfield-magician Erik Mykland to retire from international football because his neck hurt from watching balls fly over his head. It's a remarkable u-turn, and one which probably wouldn't have been quite so welcome in the eyes of the public if they weren't quite so blinded by the horrific results of 2008. 

At any rate, it will certainly be interesting to see how Drillo, once a member of the now disbanded Norwegian Communist Party, deals with the bloated ego's of today's multimillionaire footballers, and how his footballing philosophies hold up in 2009. If nothing else, there are plenty of questions that will be answered one way or the other this coming season, and for Drillo, one of Åge Hareide's most vocal critics in these last couple of years, it's time to put his money where his mouth has been.

Managerial Re-Shuffle

Taking a wholly undeserved break from the very serious business of doing sod-all, fjordball returns to sum up the managerial comings and going so far this winter..

Grabbing most of the headlines obviously is Åge Hareide's decision to step down as manager of the Norwegian national team. The former Molde and Rosenborg manager deserves praise for doing the mature thing in accepting responsibility for this annus horribilis of Norwegian international football, and timing his departure so that the NFF has plenty of time to find a replacement (the next international fixture is in February). A number of names have been mentioned in connection with the job, and fjordball will return with a more comprehensive piece on this later.

One of the names touted as a potential replacement for Hareide is Tom Nordlie, the space hopper-shaped former manager of Lillestrøm. While he has expressed an interest in the job, he is for the moment set to manage the somewhat mighty Kongsvinger next season. The Adeccoliga-side brought in Nordlie to save their bacon when threatened with relegation this season, and the mountain-sized motivator duly delivered and even agreed to stay on for next season (not that a call from the NFF wouldn't change his mind about that one).

Steinar Nilsen somewhat surprisingly shunned the allure of reigning Danish champions AaB and accepted the offer from Brann, replacing the rather unfairly ousted Mons Ivar Mjelde. Nilsen would do well to note that before the relative calmness of Mjelde-era Brann was known as one of the most trigger-happy clubs in the land, going through managers in an almost Zamparini-esque manner. Footballing-wise it makes a lot of sense though, as Nilsen's Tromsø were quite similar to Mjelde's Brann in terms of style and tactics, so Brann won't need to completely revamp their squad to suit their incoming manager's vision.

The vacant seat at Tromsø has been filled by Per-Mathias Høgmo, former manager of the Norwegian national ladies team and one of the few brave souls who tried to manage Rosenborg shortly after the legendary Nils Arne Eggen "retired". Høgmo will be familiar with the surroundings at Alfheim, having managed Tromsø with relative success back in 2004.

Newly promoted Start have also found a replacement for their departed manager in the shape of Knut Tørum. Tørum shot to national attention in 2006 when he was working as assistant manager to Per-Mathias Høgmo at Rosenborg and Høgmo succumbed to the pressure of the job and had to take a two month sick-leave, leaving the inexperienced Tørum in charge of the biggest club in the country. Tørum took his chance with both hands, turned the club's season around and ended up winning the league. The season after things went a bit pear-shaped, and in spite of two memorable wins against Valencia in the champions league Tørum resigned after taking a savage beating in the press because of Rosenborg's poor season domestically. With many still questioning his ability as a manager, the Start-job represents and ideal opportunity for Tørum to prove a lot people wrong.

The Fjordball Team Of The Season Part 3: Forwards!

And now, for the truly tasty part of this thing, the forward trio:

Right Forward:

Veigar Pall Gunnarsson (Stabæk)

We know, we know, he isn't strictly a right forward/winger, more of second striker who loves nothing more than to bewilder opposing defenses by occupying the space just in front of them and flicking devilishly clever through balls into the path of his teammates' expertly timed runs, but such a position doesn't really exist in our preferred 4-3-3-formation and Gunnarsson is a versatile bloke so we'll stick him out wide. And anyway, with 10 goals and a whopping 14 assists this season, a Team of the Season without him wouldn't have much credibility. To put it this way: Pall Gunnarsson scored or created more goals than HamKam scored all season. 

Looking only at the sporting side of things, Pall Gunnarsson is fjordball's favorite player in the Tippeliga right now. While Nannskog and Alanzinho usually get the headlines, Pall Gunnarsson is the real brain behind Stabæk's fantastically flowing forward-play and probably the one of their stars who would be hardest to replace. Which is why their sporting director Lars Bohinen told French side Nancy to bugger off when they offered 15 million NOK for him a few weeks ago.

Centre forward:

Daniel Nannskog (Stabæk)

Top-scorer and captain of the side that pretty much romped the league, not bad for a 35 yearold. Careful observes will have noticed that his turn of pace isn't quite as terrifying as it used to be and his output is diminishing (16 goals against 19 the two seasons before), but with Torstein Helstad gone he is by some margin the best finisher in the league and his leadership and irrepressible will to win is an invaluable asset to Stabæk. He remains undecided on whether or not he'll go back to Sweden, and while he would be a real loss for the Tippeliga there's a part of fjordball who feels he should leave while he's on top. Having said that, it's very possible that he'll sign a new contract with Stabæk and score 20+ goals next season just to prove his critics wrong, really, you can never rule anything out with this fella.

Left forward:

Trond Olsen (Bodø/Glimt)

Completing the Fjordball Team Of The Season is Bodø/Glimt's outstanding winger Trond Olsen. With 10 goals and 11 assists he was involved in over half of Bodø/Glimt's goals (at total of 36), and his pace on the break made him a constant threat to opposing teams. Was handed a wholly deserved international debut in that game against the Ukraine and should be seriously considered as an option for the national team, certainly as an impact-sub coming off the bench against tired legs. Olsen's raw pace makes him a perfect fit for Bodø/Glimt's cheeky counter-attacking ways, and an occasionally thunderous shot makes him a player who requires constant attention from your defenders if you're going to contain him. 

So there we are, the eleven players who have been truly outstanding in their positions this season. A team we'd pay good money to watch, and one which would probably give the Norwegian national side a good spanking (though times may be a-changing, more on that later..). .

The Fjordball Team Of The Season Part 2: Midfield

Now, let's see who make up the midfield-trio in our team of the season..

Right midfield

Johan Andersson (Stabæk)

Joint second in the top-scoring charts with an impressive twelve goals from his midfield position, Andersson was a constant threat to opposing defenses this season. With his superb ability to time his forward runs he is a perfect fit for Stabæk's flowing attacking football, feeding on a seemingly limitless supply of clever flicks and through-balls from his teammates. 

Left midfield

Alanzinho (Stabæk)

Very few things left to say about Alanzinho as columnists, pundits and fans alike have all been waxing lyrical about the pocket-sized Brazilian throughout the entire season. And, unusually with such collective love-ins, the praise is all warranted. His goal against Aalesund is one of the lasting memories of this seasons Tippeliga, and there were eight other fine strikes to savor, as well as a unknown number of outrageous dribbles. While opinion is still divided among experts about whether he would be able to the things he does in a bigger league against less rubbish defenders, there is no doubt that Alanzinho is starting to outgrow the Tippeliga and that his days here are numbered..

Central midfield

Kasey Wehrman (Fredrikstad)

Anchoring this über-attacking trio you need a real stalwart, a bulldog with a brain, a midfield marauder who can also play some ball. And even though he just played 17 of the 26 games this season and got himself into fjordball's bad books by being a bit of a twit, the truth is that Kasey Wehrman was by some margin the best holding midfielder in the 2008 Tippeliga. Wehrman is very much the Roy Keane of the Tippeliga, as his almost brutal style and unpredictable temperament causes most people to label him as just a hard-man. But, like with Keane, underneath his blood-and-thunder approach to the game there is a very intelligent player whose positioning, reading of the game and passing of the ball are all at a level we don't often see in this league. Fredrikstad would do well to sort out his contractual situation sharpish, as there will be no shortage of interested parties should he decide that it's time to move on..

The Fjordball Team Of The Season Part 1: Goalkeeper and The Back Four

Savaged by post-exam parties, internal conflicts and yellow-clad Thai protesters, Fjordball-towers is rapidly starting to resemble the HQ of an Islandic bank. Still, as the dust settles and we all start to get some perspective on the 2008-season, here are the 11 players that caught our eye this time around, arranged in a traditional Norwegian 4-3-3 formation, starting the goalkeeper and the back four.

Goalkeeper

Sead Ramovic (Tromsø)

Perhaps not as consistent as Stabæk's Jon Knudsen, Tromsø's utterly bonkers Bosnian backstop gets the nod from us due to his superlative entertainment-value. Ramovic may be unorthodox, unsympathetic and more than slightly mad, but 23 goals conceded in 26 games for Tromsø is an astounding record. Ramovic is currently looking for a new club after his successful stint with the Northerners and it will be interesting to see where the nutty netminder ends up. 

Right Back

Jon Inge Høiland (Stabæk)

Not a lot of outstanding candidates here, but Jon Inge Høiland has had a fine season for Stabæk and more or less established himself as Norway's first-choice right-back.  An accomplished defender who is not afraid to bomb forward, Høiland also scores points for versatility, having filled in in a number of positions for Stabæk this season. 

Right Centreback

Tore Reginiussen (Tromsø)

While he still looks slightly out of his depth at international level, there is no doubt that for Tore Reginiussen this season was another step in the right direction. The young defender has added some maturity to his game and is a much more commanding presence now than he used to be. Will certainly move abroad this winter, with a proposed January-move to Blackburn looking very likely to happen. 

Left Centreback

Morten M. Skjønsberg (Stabæk)

Like a few other Stabæk-players he had an absolute stinker in the cup-final, which almost made us plump for Fredrikstad's giant Estonian Raio Piiroja instead, but looking at the season as a whole then you have to say Morten Skjønsberg has been very very good. He is slowly but surely developing into a fine defender and a real challenger to the position of  "guy playing next to Brede Hangeland" in the national side. 

Left Back

Wallace Fernando Perreira (Fredrikstad) 

A typically attack-minded Brazilian left-back whose forward runs cause havoc in opposing defenses. Scored some remarkable free-kicks (the ones against Brann and Bodø/Glimt were particularly good) as well, and overall his attacking contribution is enough for us to overlook his occasionally quite dodgy defensive efforts. Another season like that and Fredrikstad could struggle to keep hold of him..