Lillestrom SK - Broken Dreams

[Darandio]

I have been looking for a new game to start with a different twist for a while, somewhere away from the usual British Isles where I normally ply my trade. After watching Blackburn v Man Utd on SS last weekend, I noticed Henning Berg was doing analysis and after a quick net search, realised he was managing Lillestrom and saw how far they had fallen, a mid to bottom side in the Norwegian Premier, miles away from the early days of Championship Manager when they seemed to be frequent European opponents. So, without further ado.

Lillestrom AK - Broken Dreams
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Without a Norwegian top tier title since 1989, Lillestrom SK have fallen from being one of the most feared sides in Scandinavia to a struggling mid to bottom half outfit, teetering on the brink of financial ruin. With brief mini revivials in the early and mid 2000's which culminated in a Norwegian cup success in 2007, the clubs most recent history has been fraught with failure.

In October 2008, spirits were raised when highly respected international defender and former Kanarifuglene, Henning Berg was placed in charge with the task of reviving the fortunes of the club. Following a poor 12th placed finish, Berg was replaced in the 2009 pre-season by unknown English manager Darren Porter, an appointment that hasn't been met with wide praise from the fans. Despite this, the general feeling is that things can't get any worse at the Arasen Stadion and they hope that the decision can prove to be a wise one in order to halt the slide.


Pre Season 2009

Transfers In

Matthieu Essou-Ekotto DM/MC Free
Audun Scheide ST Free

Results

Thoughts

An enjoyable pre-season for me with a lot of tinkering, trying to find the right blend of youth and experience in the side, made harder by no transfer budget and a very small salary structure which is already being exceeded. Arild Sundgot (see below) was the undoubted star in front of goal with 11 goals in 7 appearances, managing to find the net against Rangers although he was dealt with by Matthew Upson in the West Ham game although this doesnt worry me too much going into the Norwegian league season as we should not come across many players of that quality.

The pre-season target agreed with the board is for a mid table finish, however, I feel that after some in depth scouting of the teams in this division, a top 6 finish is a distinct possibility along with a good cup run.

 

[fuelledbypassion]

good luck mate. nice team choice too, I'll try to follow

 

[Chaz Sexington]

Last time i went to Vålerenga - Lillestrøm, the Lillestrøm supporters were flying a banner across their end saying "Vålerenga burn in ****." But good luck;p

 

[EvertonianChriss]

Good luck mate

 

[Darandio]

Thanks for the comments guys. I will be updating this thread as I play on a month by month basis and with the two remaining games in March being postponed due to international call ups, only one game was played, a solid 2-1 victory away to Aalesund.

As you can see from the screenshot, the opposition went down to 10 men after only 21 minutes which took the pressure off slightly and was a mark of their tactics throughout the game, giving two of my players fairly hefty knocks. Despite me having a refusal to use any sort of "wonder corner" instructions, both goals did indeed come from set pieces with Frode Kippe (the skipper incidentally) scoring both after being left free on the back post on both occasions. Kippe started his career at Kanarifuglene before mocing to Liverpool where he didn't manage to accrue one league game for the reds, instead being sent on loan to Stoke on two occasions.