Nok en rutine SE for Norge U20

Jeg måtte selvsagt ta en prat med GM-Sparky før kampen, og han er en meget hyggelig fyr!


Hello GM-Sparky, and thanks for taking time to do this interview! I took the liberty to order a pitcher of beer and two glasses for us :-)
First of all, Sparky, where does that name come from? And who is GM-Sparky in real life?

-Sparky is a nickname from school, coming from a physics experiment where I managed to send sparks flying across the workbench. And in real life, I'm Bryan and a student at university.

You joined Hattrick in december 2002. Quite an experienced manager one could say. How long have you worked as a GM?

-I've worked too long as a GM. I've been a member of staff since February 2005, first as a Mod and now as a GM. If there's something I don't know about this game, then it's probably not worth knowing.

Its your 2nd time as coach for U-20. You have also coached the senior team once. Do you have enough time for both the National team and your job as a GM?

-I coached the U20 for three seasons when Wales started, and I was caretaker a couple of seasons ago, so this is actually my third time as U20 coach. If I didn't have enough time to do both, I wouldn't be the manager of the U20s now ;)

Whats your opinion on the importance of defence in Hattrick? And your thoughts on this match? (133603337) I guess you're a big fan of attacking football. Your favourite tactic? 3-4-3?

-Defence can be pretty much useless in some games, but in others it can prove vital. That score was a little harsh I thought but things like that can happen. I'm just happy to be in the top four this season and in the last 16 of the Welsh Cup with my club team.

You had a great start in the Qualification so far, and some would say that you got a "little" lucky against Mexico last Friday. I guess you don`t see it that way? ;-) And you got a little bit cocky after that match! :-)

-I'm not going to deny it, I got lucky last week in Mexico. I had the TS advantage so it was tactical to try and take the midfield. I had been hoping for a little more and to cause an upset that way. It did work I guess, but the ratings say it was lucky. It's great to be cocky after a game when you win. You'll just find me hiding when I lose.


Do you think that Norway`s gonna be an easy match? You have a little advantage on TS. Do you risk a PIC against us? Would you break a PIC-agreement? Or take such a deal in the first place?

-No game is ever easy, especially against a country as big as Norway. As for risking a PIC, you'll have to find out after the game. I'm not going to tell you how I'm going to play a game. As for breaking a PIC agreement, I'm very reluctant to make them and it does depend on who they're made with and how much I can trust them. I've made one with someone I didn't like in the Welsh league before, and ended up normalling him to get a result. He's no longer in the game so no worries there :)


After seeing Mexico's set up against you, you are probably the strongest candidate to win our group. What do you think of your chances? Who do you think will qualify from our group? And what do you think the group will look like after all matches have been played?

-I think the chances look alot better than they did four weeks ago. It's still far from over, but if I can pick up two home wins in the next two games, I'd be disappointed not to make it. I think it's too close to call. Obviously I hope one of the places will go to Cymru, and I think it's between Mexico and Norge for the second spot. Don't count out Hanguk either. They can still cause trouble.

U-20 Cymru - U-20 Norge 3 - 1
Date: 31.08.2007 at 20:00
MatchID: 139865769
Arena: The State Prison
Crowd: 78617

Wales:
AH-poeng 280
Defence 89
Midfield 99
Attack 92
LoddarStats 25.37

Norge:
AH-poeng 247
Defence 102
Midfield 90
Attack 55
LoddarStats 20.78


Går ikke Norges vei om dagen!

Vi forventet tøff motstand mot et Wales proppfull av tillit, og de tok ledelsen allerede etter 5 minutter. Det skulle gå hele 66 minutter før Dag Melby utlignet, etter at han rett før hadde spilt litt skuespill med motstanderne. De trodde han var sliten så de passet ikke like godt på ham, og da så han sitt snitt til å sette inn et støt!
Sverre Røed burde satt ballen i nota etter pause, men han ble så forfjamset da han sto alene at han trodde han hadde dårlig tid og satte skuddet over mål.
Nok en gang får vi en rutinesmell mot oss, der det ikke er så stor forskjell på rutinen på lagene.
Etter det smalt det 2 ganger til, og offside-fellen satt ikke da Darren Sadler ble spilt fri.

Nå har vi en lett kamp mot Honduras neste fredag, før vi får nok en tøff oppgave, da vi skal slå Mexico.
Kampen mot Honduras er som en treningskamp å regne, og vi kan samle litt TS igjen. Mexico møter Malta, og må nok regne med at de tar sjansen på en PIC der. Uansett så har vi bedre TS enn dem før møtet, og med hjemmebane skal vi dra det iland. Vi skal iallefall ikke ha en rutine-SE mot oss i den kampen!


Etter 5 runder spilt, der faktisk bare 2 lag har spilt 5 kamper, ser tabellen slik ut:

1. U-20 Cymru 5 17 - 4 15
2. U-20 México 4 15 - 5 9
3. U-20 Norge 4 10 - 8 6
4. U-20 Hanguk 4 8 - 9 6
5. U-20 Malta 4 7 - 6 4
6. U-20 Côte d'Ivoire 5 4 - 15 4
7. U-20 Honduras 4 2 - 16 0

Fortsatt ganske åpent, og Wales og Korea har spillefri neste fredag,

Så hvordan gikk det for våre andre U-20 sjefer?

U-20 Colombia - U-20 Hong Kong 3 - 0

Ronnyhul satte opp en aldri så liten kamikaze-taktikk for å prøve å ta poeng i en kamp som kunne gått begge veier, hadde han truffet med forsvarsoppsettet sitt.


U-20 Dominican Republic - U-20 Bulgaria 1 - 2

FFHF-Briscoe tok nesten skalpen til Bulgaria, og tok ledelsen, men det varte dog ikke lenge før Bulgaria utlignet. Det var spennende lenge, men i det 89. minutt sprakk det desverre, da de møtte mer rutine.

Så nok en gang et surt tap, og GM-Sparky er like kjepphøy desverre :-)
Men det blir iallefall mye morsom fotball neste fredag, det kan vi love!

AV: NCA-Paendrag.