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Episode 24: The end of season awards special w/ Casper De Linde & Kasper Pedersbæk
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For the 2022/23 end of season finale I'm joined by Casper De Linde & Kasper Pedersbæk to talk about the final outcomes of the title race & relegation battle as well as hand out our awards for the season.
As ever if you want to support the show head over to Patreon and sign up for the cost of a coffee a month and come on over to the website to check out the rest of my Danish football content.
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Transcript
Season Finale and Awards
00:00:16
Speaker
Welcome to the final instalment of Danish Dynamite for the 2022-23 season. And what an episode I have in store for you. To finish things, we're going to hand out a bunch of awards and pick through the final round of action, which was dramatic until the very end. And joining me to do that, I've got the two Casper's are back, Casper the Lind.
00:00:35
Speaker
who has earned himself an award for most pod appearances this season. I will send you the Faxi Condi shaped prize for that and Caspar Pedder's back is here. So welcome guys. Thank you. Thank you very much.
00:00:52
Speaker
We might as well start by looking at the action from previous week because although the title race was decided the week before, there was still the bronze medal and relegation up for grabs.
Title Race and Team Dynamics
00:01:03
Speaker
Speaking of title races being decided a week early, Kasper, I wanted to find out what's your take on this. I know that you were feeling quite good about your chances of getting the gold a few weeks back. What happened in the previous five, six weeks and what's your take on it all?
00:01:19
Speaker
I think it started a little bit before five, six weeks ago. I think it started the second that we changed the coach and then also sold off Andrei Shettop, which I hoped wouldn't have had that big of an influence. And of course, we can always discuss letting Fleming go and bringing in Johannes.
00:01:42
Speaker
It's a bit harder to measure the change there in personnel, but I think it was very evident to everyone who watched Epson Norschland that the blow of missing out on a shuttle was detrimental to the gold chances. You can look at the sheer numbers, how much did the shuttle contribute, so 10 goals in half a season, and then you can look at how much did the replacements actually score.
00:02:11
Speaker
It was just all in all a case of the replacements. So McCundis came in only playing 476 minutes in the half season, got injured, and then the second best replacements didn't live up to it. That, in combination with Ebsico putting together a very good rhythm, meant that it went the wrong way.
Final Game Atmosphere
00:02:33
Speaker
And you were in the stadium for the final game of the season. What was the mood? Were people happy to have the silver medal after a season where you were down the other end of the table? Or was it more disappointment that it wasn't a different colour?
00:02:45
Speaker
At the last game, we enjoyed ourselves. We had already realized the fact that it was all over. So there, we were actually just cheering on and shouting, Europe, Europe, Europe, Europe. And for the English speakers, we're back in Europe, right? So actually, we did our best to make it a party, which I think worked out pretty well for us.
00:03:13
Speaker
The mindset wasn't in the same place when we got trashed by Bronbee 5-1, I can say. There it was a bit more cheers and a glass of, yeah, a beer of five or a glass of red wine, right? So it was pretty bad at the end.
00:03:29
Speaker
Yeah and I wanted to ask Casper P about that result particularly because for me that was probably the most unexpected result of the season apart from I guess actually maybe the last Copenhagen Derby.
Unexpected Results and Performances
00:03:41
Speaker
What was your take on that? Where did those five goals come from? Was it a case of playing without any pressure or was there something more at play there?
00:03:48
Speaker
It was a combination, I guess, of course, just sheer quality, of course, because no matter that they have had a pretty up and down season, it's still quality players there. And then there was this indescribable part of it, that was luck, of course. If you look at the goals, the game could have ended 3-2 as well. Nobody would have lifted an eyebrow.
00:04:13
Speaker
And then I have to say that, you know, just five minutes into the game, I texted Casper and said, oh, Nagalo, he has one of those days, doesn't he? And then I just got the reply.
00:04:25
Speaker
Oh, I'm not going to answer you today. So it was, and also, you know, it, for me, it also looked like Norschland, they were struck a little bit, you know, a bit of unfortunate, you know, bad luck. And then also a little bit of nerves in certain situations. Just, you know, just tipped a close game. And I know it sounds ironic when it's the result is 5-1, but it was a close game. But then one, we got this early goal.
00:04:52
Speaker
And it basically fitted the storyline for the game because then they could sit back, wait, and then just try and let Norschneten pass the way through this 5-4 block in the back and they never really succeeded in time and got some good goals and also some lucky goals and then just one of those days.
FC Copenhagen's Season Review
00:05:15
Speaker
Where would you rate the FC Copenhagen team this season versus the team that won gold last season? Would you say they were stronger, weaker? Or is it just a case that there was stiffer competition this season? I think on paper, I'd say they would be better. But in reality, they have been struck with the injuries. Main guy, Cornelius, up front, he has played what?
00:05:42
Speaker
three games. I don't know. I don't even know if he has actually made just one single goal in the league. And they also got injuries in the defense in the spring. And basically also they played without a proper number nine. So on paper, they were better. But in reality, they didn't perform that well. I think that's fair. Kasper, would you agree?
00:06:05
Speaker
Yeah, I think in general, when you look at this FC Copenhagen team, even when they play their reserves, I remember the game when they played against us, where half of Twitter was on the other edge, because they had to play Peter Ankerson for a game for points.
00:06:22
Speaker
I mean, it's a former national player. He's had a pretty great career. Yes, he's not in the shape that he was, but that's still actually Copenhagen's reserve. So I think the depth of this team is big. And then I think we need to salute the talents that they do have because they are now on a completely different scale and can
00:06:44
Speaker
at least compete with FC Northland about having some of the strongest players in Denmark below 21. So in that sense, it's a pretty complete team, even though they've had their troubles. And maybe it's not been good enough to be two, three goals better than their opponents every game.
00:07:04
Speaker
but even with the injuries it is, it is super solid. Basically it's the best team that won the league, it's the most stable team. So I also had, you know, I was in the Mediano's preview podcast a couple of times and also in the pre-spring season podcast and I also said, you know, for me,
00:07:23
Speaker
At the time, Copenhagen was, I don't know, I think they were maybe number two at the time and Norschle was leading. And I said, my favorite to the title was Copenhagen still, because, you know, if you look at the way, you know, expected goals, they performed the most like, you know, flat line, a stable line where the other teams, some of the other teams were bouncing up and down.
00:07:44
Speaker
FC Copenhagen has most expected goals, they have most finishes on goal, they have quite a few more of these key stats that again indicates over a full year that FC Copenhagen was the best team.
FC Neutschland's Overperformance
00:07:58
Speaker
Then you can of course argue a lot of things where we all
00:08:01
Speaker
a bit taken by surprise that FC Neutschland was so good in the fall season. Yeah, we were. Did we all think that that led to FC Neutschland, or did we think that FC Neutschland was better than they were because of that period of time? I think we did. So FC Neutschland performed slightly over what they should, and then reality hit when Schellerhope went out. And also in the autumn,
00:08:31
Speaker
if you're not conceded, far less goals than expected to. And it's not that, you know, I'm not saying that Andreas Henderson is a bad keeper, but most players and also Andreas Henderson, also basically any other players except the really tough players.
00:08:49
Speaker
they regressed to the mean over time. And the way that Norschland got away with not conceding those goals in the autumn, they just basically just conceded what was expected for them in the springtime, and also had to deal with the fact, as Kasper said, the loss of Kjellaup to Benfige. So it was kind of two things. One, goals against were regressing to the mean. And the other way, goals scored.
00:09:15
Speaker
they didn't get the, I call them extra goals. It's not that they count less than other goals, but don't get the unexpected goals if you can put it that way.
Lungbi's Survival Story
00:09:27
Speaker
Yeah, totally. And even not looking at the numbers, I felt that
00:09:31
Speaker
that's what my eyes were seeing that Handsome was far stronger in that first half of the season. Looking at the other end of the table, I was, just before we started recording, I said to Kasper, I'm going to try and see if I can find the clip from earlier in the season where he didn't even want to talk about Lungbi's chances of survival because he said, look, they're already down, they've sold their best players, you know, they're just preparing for a season in the first division, so let's not even talk about them. So,
00:09:57
Speaker
How are you feeling that they managed a great escape? And according to, I think it was super stats, it's the biggest margin that a team's ever been behind, 16 points and then survived. So pretty impressive feat. I am so surprised by Olympic.
00:10:14
Speaker
At the winter break, I said, OK, they started to sell, you know, Adam Johnson and other players. They were preparing for the life in the first division. And also all the stats, all the performance data said, you know, this is a button to team. But then again, you know, looking through the spring, it's not that I say they are the most clear survivor, but they managed to elevate the performances. So they made the games more even.
00:10:42
Speaker
especially in the bottom six playoff in the end.
Alborg's Downfall Analysis
00:10:49
Speaker
They succeeded by making the games, as I said, even more like flipping a coin, and then they caught the momentum, and Obey didn't at all. I lost the nerves in the last game, so I think it was
00:11:06
Speaker
What's reasonable could open have survived? Yes, they could. But is it totally against the data, the performances that limits right? No, I don't think so.
00:11:15
Speaker
Yeah, so I think we can officially cross football expert of my curriculum, right? In that sense, yeah, I went all-in for Lüngbi going down. And I think, again, if we replay this season 10 times, I have a very hard time seeing Lüngbi staying up. But again, hands down to the effort, super, super impressive. And I think some of their young players really took a step forward as well, which I think improved the team radically.
00:11:45
Speaker
And part of the reason why Alborg are going into next season in the first division is because they messed up the final game of the season, which I said at the time, they couldn't have asked for an easier fixture. They were playing the only team from the relegation group who had nothing to play for on the final day. They were playing at home. Fans were really up for it. Okay. They were missing Alan Souza, but most of the key players were there. And in the second half,
00:12:14
Speaker
they barely created a chance. It was bizarre. They were on the back foot, um, silver ball, Mr. Penalty. And the goal came from them clearing the ball and thinking the danger was gone. Uh, and in fact, the danger was still very much there. And it just felt like crazy way to go down.
OB's Relegation and Management Issues
00:12:30
Speaker
And at the final whistle, there were booze around the stadium and I can kind of see why, because the fans have been supporting them throughout
00:12:38
Speaker
throughout this terrible season for them. And it feels like often the players just didn't have it in them to rise up to the level. It felt like that to me on the final game. Is that fair or harsh? I think it's fair because also, you know, when you look again, Obe got into the relegation play of riding a high.
00:13:01
Speaker
they started good i thought okay they might gonna pull this one off but then you know from the last seven games just two times they created more than one expected goals in those matches and it it's hard to win a game when you barely create a chance to one goal then okay you can say okay we don't concede many but then again if you're not creating much
00:13:26
Speaker
then you're only gonna get like, you know, one shot against you that's unlucky and then you're gonna lose the game. So, OB for me, when you look back at the last 10 games in the relegation playoff, it's not that big a surprise that they got caught up in the mud and finally got relegated.
00:13:42
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, for me, OBE did a lot of things right when we had the winter transfer window. The thing they did wrong was, of course, when they brought in Hamrein, which just completely pulled out the energy. Huge mistake. And I'm sure that Kasper has supporting data that we see a team with Eric Hamrein and we see a team after Hamrein. Oh, yeah, they dropped.
00:14:03
Speaker
They dropped way below zero and got into like, you know, for a period of games, they were around minus one expected goals difference in a period of games. So they, you could really see like a blowout from, from opening that. And I think the biggest mistake they made this season was saying goodbye to Lars Freis.
00:14:25
Speaker
Yeah, I, I backed that statement for sure. So for me, of course they were unlucky with the Sousa injury because when Sousa was playing, it was a different OB team. But besides that, I also think it says a lot about OB that when you are in the final stint and you normally you would back the senior players in the squad who started the final game, a mentor started the game.
00:14:50
Speaker
34 games or 33 games in a row zero goals, right? So the confidence in some of these players that should help them to land I wasn't playing the final game either because of an injury so a bit of unlock you can say in the roster combined with the Players who needed to lift the team wasn't able to contribute. So it's a very sad story They've been in the league for 40 plus years and now they're out. So I think it's
00:15:20
Speaker
It's one of these half empty moments. So either you can say it's a chance to rebuild, or else you can say it's set for the Super Leaguer that we will lose one of the teams that can actually draw people's attention in, and a lot of people in the stadiums, etc.
00:15:36
Speaker
Yeah. And it was interesting when Lars Freis made that move, he obviously was chosen on merit for the work that he'd done at V-Balk. And I totally agree that I think he should have had more time there. And I think that they are where they are now because they persisted with Hamrin too
Super League Competition and Management
00:15:51
Speaker
long. And I wonder if they persisted with him so long because he was experienced, had a track record, you know, had managed at national team level. And they thought, you know, surely this is the safest pair of hands we can get. But actually,
00:16:01
Speaker
As has been shown by lung be actually a younger more dynamic manager maybe has and i wasn't in the wasn't in the dressing room so i can't say this but certainly seem like last freeze had a bit more personality about him but basically it was already in deep water when i'm rain was both higher than fire as well.
00:16:22
Speaker
and also basically when Lasfis was hired because the first transfer window, you know, Lasfis, he wanted to play with three central defenders. They sell one of the central defenders, leaving him with two central defenders, having him to play, I think, what's Kristoffer Pelissen as a central defender.
00:16:44
Speaker
They basically wanted him to do one thing but didn't give him the tools to reshape the team in his spirit. For me, the mistakes Obey have
00:16:59
Speaker
made that made them like, you know, when I was first division team, they were made a couple of years back, especially when they hired in in the ocean. And he started to to me to make these transfers in he made a lot of young transfers of young players in and also the whole Sifuentes spell with him in charts. So for me, it's
00:17:29
Speaker
It's easy to point the fingers at Lars Vries and Hamrein. But Hamrein was hired from something he did, I don't know what, 10, 14 years ago. I don't even know when he did it. And he got a squad that wasn't constructed
00:17:49
Speaker
to what he wanted to play. So you basically, in one season, you went from Sifuendes last year to Las Fries, who wanted to play one way, to Hamreinen, who wanted to play 4-4-2, who now you see Oscar Hillmark, who wants a whole other thing. So Ubi is like, you know, a ship sailing without a course. But the fact remains that this was a squad largely that had finished in the, I think they finished, was it fourth or fifth? They made the European playoff.
00:18:19
Speaker
and really the summer editions there were good editions you know Lars Kramer, Alan Sousa you know these were that that squad started the season stronger than it finished I think. No doubt and I think that's also I think it says two things it says one thing is that the
00:18:35
Speaker
Super League is pretty tight and it's pretty tight from number one to number twelve. Of course, you can argue that FC Copenhagen will always be the favorites when the season starts, but it's often very tough to figure out who is going to be the teams going for relegation. And if you're not sharp on the ball, then over time you just you just fall apart. And I think we saw that with OB. So
00:19:00
Speaker
So again, a tight super leaguer and poor management has led to this, but you're completely right. The squad in itself was super strong and it should never have ended in these kind of issues at all.
00:19:11
Speaker
The final bit of undecided drama from the weekend was the bronze medal, which is something that doesn't exist in English football, but it's something that people get quite excited about in Denmark.
Bronze Medal Battle: Viborg vs. AGF
00:19:22
Speaker
And there were two teams vying for it, Viborg and AGF. Viborg were playing FC Norjland and only managed in a nil-nil draw. There was a fantastic late save by Andreas Hansen.
00:19:33
Speaker
And it looked like they were going to take it with that, because with just over 15 minutes to go, AGF were 3-0 down against 10-man Bronby. And Kasper, tell us what happened. Well, lightning struck, I think. Yeah, it was a combination of Bronby, even though they were a man up, they were letting AGF play high up the field, then AGF gets this,
00:20:01
Speaker
it's unfair to say lucky goal but you know let's call it a rear goal where he basically hits this half wallie from the edge of the box with a ball just hitting the ground just you know on the way up and then he somehow this striker who has only scored once before in the season against 1p also he hits this incredible
00:20:26
Speaker
Beautiful shot that's just the flukes right into the corner then one day it gets nervous Kevin Mensa makes a stupid mistake but also, you know like one where he's reacting in the reflex leaving him with a red card and again for the penalty, you know, and then only one goal down a gift just push on and Yeah
00:20:46
Speaker
Stupid mistakes in the body fans and and also basically game where you know what we could have one you know maybe with one girl but i have managed to you know just to get to the favor and make it a draw it was a strange game but also very symptomatic for the season of one day.
00:21:04
Speaker
And it's one of those results, I think, that maybe if the carrot of the bronze medal hadn't been dangling, they wouldn't have had it in them to come back from 3-0 down. But you mentioned the goal that sort of opened the dam, that first goal by, I'm going to do a terrible job pronouncing this, but Jelle, Jelle Duy. We cannot help you, right? You can say it in any way you want and we will not correct you. But that first goal.
00:21:31
Speaker
I almost had it as my goal of the season. It hasn't made it, but I think aesthetically, it was just perfect. But I would say on the Kevin Mentzer thing, for me, that wasn't a penalty. I don't know how you guys feel about it. To me, that looked like a shoulder and I can't really believe it was given as a penalty in the red card. I don't know. I'm not that much into the whole football law situation and referee stuff. We are already talking too much about referees and bar and
00:21:59
Speaker
I honestly, I don't know. I asked actually today a colleague of mine who is a elite referee and he said, yeah, because the tipping point was the fact that he was leaning to the side and then, you know, like it was, if it just hit him, you know, like when he was standing up, but he was leaning to the side that made him. So he said, yeah, he could understand why he got the red card in the penalty, but you know, it's not an easy situation.
00:22:27
Speaker
That makes sense. But it's kept an incredible sort of run of form that AGF have gone on since January. And I looked at how they were charting over the season in terms of their odds for a top three finish. And at Christmas time, they didn't have a hope. And really since the winter break, they've been on an incredible run of form. And I think that going into this game, they were favorites for this and took it home.
00:22:52
Speaker
Pretty dramatic style, but I think, you know, incredible work that has been done there because AGF were, I think, a point of relegation last season. And I think if the season had been any longer, they might have come for that silver medal, too.
00:23:05
Speaker
me there's a little bit, I'm actually super happy that it ended up being EKF ending number three. And that is predominantly because EKF, they continued to attack and we bought when they came to farm. They just sat back and they wanted to just defend and defend and defend. And if you have a chance to win a bronze medal and
00:23:28
Speaker
I think in Denmark it is a pretty big thing and especially for people who hasn't won it ever and you come and you only want to defend well then I'm not too sad to see that it actually ended up somewhere else even though they had the big chance at the end so for me it was a bit of like
00:23:46
Speaker
Yeah, it was also if you look again, you know, it's not that you shouldn't look at also the the performance is on field But you know if you look at the data behind you can also see a report team that was trending down for the last four games They created less than one expected goals. So if you look at like the this Curve for the expected goals difference. It was just not you know, like it was looking like this ski hill No jumping was just like no slightly going down and
00:24:13
Speaker
It's it's not you know like a sudden drop is just like you know slightly going down down down down down down So for me and I gave was basically going the other way around so for me it was common sense and naturally that they would want to claim the bronze medals in this tight ending of the season and Before we move on to the end of season awards there is still one game to play which is the European playoff on Friday which is a
00:24:37
Speaker
excitingly now, a local derby between V-Borg and FC
European Playoff Speculations
00:24:41
Speaker
Michelin. Which way do you guys see this game going? I see Michelin. If V-Borg doesn't change the performances from the last games, as I said, I see a Michelin team with the
00:24:55
Speaker
individual quality, especially of course the V-Saxon, claiming the spot in Europe if V-Bo doesn't well get a grip and also start to create chances again. And my second reason why I wanted V-Bo to become fourth was the fact that I wanted the game to be between V-Bo and Hanning, right? I think it's going to be super, super exciting to see. I actually think that V-Bo will pull it off. I think they've played some pretty good games against the Mitchell Lab.
00:25:25
Speaker
And I think it's going to be super exciting. And I actually expect a small win for Vivo. And I hope they do. Because again, this game should never be. It should just be the team that ends fourth that gets the European qualifier. I agree about that one.
00:25:43
Speaker
Yeah, one thing that people have been saying is that Mitchell and have a better chance of earning coefficient points, which which I can, you know, they played Lazio off the park this season, for example, so I can see how that is valid. But yeah, I personally think we're going to win this. And I think that it would be great for them to make it past the qualifying stages. But, you know, as as we talked about offer, the sorts of teams that you face in even in the conference league qualifiers are really tough teams for Danish teams to come up against
00:26:11
Speaker
before you've reached the group. So it'll be a tough test for either of them, to be honest. It's also a little bit of an arbitrary measuring standard to pick your team on who will have the best chance in Europe, for me at least. For me, it's the team who's ended the highest in the league that deserves it. And therefore, I don't care at all about the coefficient points. I just care about having the right team play. Cool. All right. I'm going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to go into handing out awards.
Team of the Season Debates
00:26:42
Speaker
Welcome back and we're at the exciting part of the season where we can start handing out awards. And to kick things off, I wanted to share with you guys, my team of the season, and you can tell me which players don't make it into yours and which ones do.
00:26:56
Speaker
that's probably the easiest way to cover three people's teams but I'll start off in goal and I've got Patrick Karlgren as my goalkeeper of the season and just bear with me because I know that he probably hasn't been the most eye-catching goalkeeper but he's got the second most clean sheets in the league, best save percentage
00:27:16
Speaker
Best saves per 90 at 4.8. And the next player to him in that list was Matej Delach with 3.8. So he's head and shoulders above that statistics. But most impressively, 16.7 goals prevented. And the next player in the list on that particular metric was Andreas Hansen at 7.3.
00:27:34
Speaker
And when you look at runners, the lowest scoring team in the championship group, I think preventing 16 goals is the difference between them being in the championship group in the first place. So Patrick Carlgren makes it for me. Does he get into either of your teams? He does make it into my team. Oh, brilliant. Yeah, we have a slam dunk. He's in my team as well. I think it is exactly as you said, it's one of these cases where you don't necessarily recognize it all. And I personally don't watch all 32 honors games in the season.
00:28:04
Speaker
But looking at the sheer numbers in the data behind, I lean towards him as well. Yeah. And also, if I had to just put one comment onto him, if you look at the teams beside the keepers and you look at the end position and you look of what, if you try to measure how much the keepers, they have affected the end positions, I think
00:28:32
Speaker
Kalkrein is the one who has carried his team the most, the highest. I know he's not in the top, Ranus is not ending in top two or three of all, but making it to the championship playoff, I think he has had the most influence and carried his team the most, the fastest. I don't know if we would have had a different conversation if Delage was actually
00:28:58
Speaker
the reason why Horsen stayed up. But now he didn't, right? So for me, that also became a decisive moment that even though De La Chez had a fantastic season, going down, you've just not had enough interest. No, I agree. The interesting thing is both De La Chez and Calgren suffered
00:29:15
Speaker
quite serious injuries this season and have had to kind of deal with that disruption. And so to be in the conversation for the top two keepers in the league despite those, I think is great testament to both of their quality. Back four, I can almost guarantee that we're not going to agree on, but I've got
00:29:33
Speaker
Elias Jelle at left-back, Jan Bissek and Adamo Nagalo at centre-back, and Anton Guy at right-back. I can make a case for all of those, but I'd be keen to know which you wouldn't keep in your back four. So I can start. So here, this is always an interesting exercise.
00:29:53
Speaker
So if we say that Jelen has played enough on left back because he hasn't played a lot, then I can move a few players around. If I need to pick a pure left back, then I would pick Martin Fraser. But I'm not... It really depends how many games you need to have played in the right position to actually fill the role. Because I actually don't think Ilya Jelen has been that well playing on the left side. I think he's been really, really strong on the right side.
00:30:21
Speaker
But on the left side, I think he's been, let's call it a human. I operated with a little bit of creative liberty. Yeah, that's good. If we work with creative liberty and we can transfer his skills from right back to left back, then I don't disagree because I actually think the left back position was one of the hardest to fill.
00:30:40
Speaker
We don't have so many strong contenders, but a contender would for me, for sure, be Martin Freise, because I think he's had a smashing season. I think he's contributed with goals also towards the end, and he's been a stable factor. And the second he got injured, Evsenor Schlenz's defense went down in performance. Yeah, I agree about Freise, especially because he has played that position. Jelen is great, but he's a right-back.
00:31:08
Speaker
And at the right bag, I agree about Anton Gai. In the middle, I had selected Pyurki from Weibo as one of them and Pizek as the other one. Pizek is not to come around, basically.
00:31:29
Speaker
Yeah, interestingly, that was the other name in the mix for me. And I was actually weighing up whether to put him ahead of Bizek or not, but Bizek just shaded it for me. But yeah, I think that Berge's been really impressive too.
00:31:44
Speaker
So I also have Bizek and he was my first pick out of all. And then I have two other contenders. So I actually don't have Nagelo because his mistakes have caused a lot of points, but I have two alternative cases. I think Vavo has been a beast in defending.
00:32:03
Speaker
And then I think the way that Kian Hansen has set up the game from the get-go has also been extremely impressive. So for me, I can also go with Berge. It's not a problem, but I think that for me is the four defenders. So Bizek, Kian, Vavo and Berge as the options.
00:32:24
Speaker
actually mentioning that Nagalo has cost some points. I think I remember seeing that he's one of the only players with two red cards this season, and I think he's given away the most penalties. Is that right? Yeah, true.
00:32:35
Speaker
Yeah, so it has been one of these, I think, on his top level. He's showed himself that he's great enough to go wide and broad. But also, at the bottom, you know, he makes mistakes like the one with the 1B opening goal, where he gets caught in between Nikolai Veliz, who is making the pass, and Ohi Omujamfo, who makes a run in the back of Nagalo's space, he leaves behind him.
00:33:02
Speaker
And it actually makes Kian Henson look stupid, but it's not Kian Henson who is actually stupid, it's Nagalo who opens up the space that Kian is trying to cover. So for me, Nagalo is no-go because of the mistakes, but I go with Freise left, Birki, Bizek in the middle, and then Anton Guy at the right.
Standout Players of the Season
00:33:22
Speaker
So we agree on Guy and we agree on Bizek, and we have more or less an understanding on the other positions.
00:33:29
Speaker
Yeah, and I just want again, I think it's I think it's tough also to leave a lot out. He's been a superstar. For me, he was the starting right back as well. So I just want to mention him in at least the run in for for the right back position. And I think it will be our starting right back for the national team within
00:33:50
Speaker
I don't know, three to four years. Yeah, I think so. In terms of a midfield three, I've gone for Mads Bidstrup, Jepic running and Victor Claesen. How are you feeling about those selections? I have instead of, you know, Beastop has had a great season, but to make a diverse team, I also had Marcel Röhmer in consideration along Beastop.
00:34:13
Speaker
you know, kind of fighting for the same spot. But then I had Jebe Gröning as my safe choice at the back end of the midfield. So yeah, basically the same. Yeah, I have a Gröning, Claesan and Jaxe actually. The people that I feel is left out potentially that could be mentioned is Léaia, Pönde, Bistrop. I think it's super strong contenders.
00:34:36
Speaker
Yeah. And the interesting thing actually about Marcel Roma this season is that he played quite a lot out of position. You know, he was mucking in as a third center back at a certain point. And, you know, he just has played wherever he's been asked and has been really important for them. So I think that's a great outside shout. My front three is Elias Ashuri, Gustav Isaksson and Ernest Nwama. Any dissent on those three? I have a feeling we're going to hear a Nikolai Valley's call.
00:35:03
Speaker
At some point. Yeah, I know. What makes me leave him out of the team is the fact that he fell out of too many games, not because he's a bad player, but because he was, in my eyes, misused to help babysit other players in the bunker squad in the build-up. Again, you know, then you can argue and say, okay, he made the most assists in the league. Yeah.
00:35:24
Speaker
OK, he's still a great player. But if you have to look at both individual and team performance, it's hard for me to bring him on board on the fact that one has had like this up and down season. So for me, the right side is a sure thing. Nuama is for me a sure thing. I think the left side is tough.
00:35:44
Speaker
because no one has had a full season where they've been very strong. The Rami started weak and then came in lightning speed. When FC Copenhagen became good, the Rami was a one-man army. Etrure has been absolutely fantastic and I know I'm not allowed to mention him because it's not a full season, but Andreas Kjellrup has also been second to none.
00:36:07
Speaker
So for me, I would probably end up leaning towards Ashuri, but again, it's super tight between him and Daram. But if I have to, you know, just let my blue and yellow heart a little bit, yeah, like pick a player, I'd say that, you know, E-Saxon definitely, for me, he's a great talent. And also a shame that he isn't higher in the spring nomination for player of the spring in tips, but I say E-Saxon Nuama.
00:36:34
Speaker
And then to have this true number nine, I go with the Ohi Umu Jamfo, who in a love the season, bad performing team still makes a lot of goals and still contributes with, I think, was it 13 or 14 goals, despite playing in a team that didn't create much offensively. So to get a true number nine, I pick him, but you know, again, then you can also pick Patrick Morrison. So.
00:36:59
Speaker
Yeah, I think Ohi's positioning is up there with the very best in the league. He always finds himself in really dangerous spots. I was going to ask, do you think there's a shout that Mortensen should be in this team or were there too many penalties? If you look at the importance he has for the way I gave his playing, he definitely got a fair spot in a team of
00:37:22
Speaker
at least in a nomination for a certain team. I think he could be as well but you know if you had to then you say okay too many penalties maybe but again he's a good player. Yeah so he's not in my team I can say that. No no he does not come into my team as well but he got a mention for the team but not making it. Nuama and E-section
00:37:43
Speaker
for sure. And if I had to leave one out, if you say, okay, you can only pick two of the three I've said, I would leave all out. Just to circle back on Ashuri, one of the numbers that stuck out to me was the fact that he's the best dribbler in the league. So he has four successful dribbles per game, but also he's second in terms of players who win the ball in the final third at 1.4 times. So he's really good with the ball and he presses really effectively without it. And I think that that combination is
00:38:12
Speaker
the perfect archetype for a modern winger, particularly in V-book system. He works really well, but that's kind of why he made my front three. I have to say, a player who impresses me, Hughes, is Philip Bunger from Ranas. I think people tend to forget he's only 18 years old. He has played 50 games, more than 50 games in the league, and he performs at a high level and he's 18 years old.
00:38:39
Speaker
So I think he's, it's not that I say that he should be in the team, but I run up and it would be basically, it would be, as I see it, it would be for Klassen in midfield. But not, you know, not, I'm not saying that he is going to replace him. I also have to be true to my word because at Emiriano, I said, uh, Victor Klassen was one of the best players in the league. Uh, and then, you know, to, for me as a boundary fan to say that I really, I really has to meet him.
00:39:08
Speaker
No, but I think he's a super player. And I think if we had to predict players that will for sure play a huge role next season, he's a top, top, top contender. And it's not too long time ago that he just took the mic out of Eric Markson in a full game. So yeah, I think he's super strong. And I think we've just seen the beginning of his career.
00:39:35
Speaker
In terms of the players that we all agreed on, we agreed on Patrick Karlgren. I think we agreed on Elias Jela in some shape or form alongside Jan Bissek and Anton Gai. We agreed on Victor Claesen and Yepig Ronning. And we agreed on Ernest Nwama and Gustav Isaksson. So those players made all of our teams and it was close between the rest. But I think that those players were the first names on the team sheet.
00:40:02
Speaker
What I want to do now is put you on the spot and ask you, you can only pick one. I don't want, I don't want any substitute choices, backups, runners up, one player. Who gets your overall player of the season? Best player in the league. Got stuff for you, Sexton? Earnest and fire. Your defense is terrifying. No, for me it's, it's.
00:40:21
Speaker
it's been a it's been a great season for epsilon so i also take that into account when i look at for me and mvp because it's about how they've shaped the team it's about how they've made the team perform and for me then it stands out loud and clear as a person who's had a major influence interesting yeah i i do wonder how much
00:40:45
Speaker
The statistics have been skewed by the fact that Isaacson was able to play 10 games in the relegation group.
00:40:52
Speaker
He has been absolutely outrageous this season, 23 goals and assists. Most goals per 90, that's sick in terms of shots on target and really big performances like that Lazio game where he was just, it was probably the performance of his career. I was there when he scored a hat trick against V-Borg, so I can totally see the shout for him. And it's also because of the way he has transformed himself from being this kind of ineffective winger
00:41:18
Speaker
who actually now produces more of the things he's good at and less of the things that he's not above average at. He's not a great passer, he's not a shot creator with creative passes, but he too makes a lot of one-on-one attempts, he too makes a lot of crossings, he too makes a lot of shots. He has the most shots per 90 of the players in the Super League and he has transformed himself from, you know, like
00:41:46
Speaker
being an outside winger to make this kind of Artyn Robin-ish performance. The funny thing is, you actually know what he's going to do. The way that most defenders in Europe knew what Robin was going to do, but they still couldn't stop him.
00:42:06
Speaker
For me, I have to say he has had a great season. After that hat trick in V-Boy, I actually interviewed him and going into that game, he had said that he wanted to shoot more, essentially, and that he was getting into positions where he could shoot and was opting to, I don't know, take another touch or pass. And it was going into that game that he
00:42:26
Speaker
had told himself that he was going to shoot more and a hat trick came from that. And I wonder whether that was the thing that boosted his confidence for the running of the season, because he certainly was on an upward trajectory from that point onwards. And he also had to take up the mantle with Anders Dreja going. So he would be high up in my list, but my personal MVP was Ernest Nohama as well. And I think that just the fact that
00:42:52
Speaker
He was stepping into the shoes of Simon Odinga, who had such a season last year, and he was just churning out performance after performance. And even after Sheldrup left, he took up the mantle. And so, yeah, for me, it's no armor, but I can I can see merit in both names. You can sing the tune as well if you want.
00:43:11
Speaker
I'm not going to subject people to that, but maybe at a game. I'll tell you what, I'll join you in the stands and I'll sing that. If he's still there, which I'd very much doubt he will be. You probably need to go to La Liga or something like that to sing it.
00:43:26
Speaker
So next award is Breakout Player of
Recognizing Newcomers and Managers
00:43:28
Speaker
the Season. So this is for someone's, someone playing their first full season in the Superleaguer, which could be Ernesto Armour again. I went for a different name here. I went for Elias Ashuri. Who did you guys choose for this illustrious award?
00:43:42
Speaker
See, this is where I get tactical because, you know, I had E-Saxon as the most valuable player, but Nuama is the first season he plays, so I have him as the number one. Spot on. Yeah, so for me, it was actually, I had Illya Satori as well as an option.
00:43:58
Speaker
And then I actually ended up with Lucas Hye from... Oh yeah, what a great choice. Because again, I mentioned it earlier, some of the young players, they took it up completely a level in the spring season. And I think Lucas Hye has been a super, super stable defender, also playing a few different roles.
00:44:22
Speaker
And I think his ability to play this main marking role, but covering at the same time, a very big distance on the pitch has been pretty phenomenal. And I think he actually has seven minutes from two seasons ago, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt and said it is his first full season. And then if we are to mention shout outs, I think to be a slot say from Obey also showed that there is a man that we will see a lot more to in the future.
00:44:51
Speaker
Dan who runs the Lingbee BK English account is going to be delighted that a Lingbee player was a recipient of an award. So well done to Lucas, hey. Manager of the season for me was
00:45:07
Speaker
It was a challenging one, but there was one candidate who for me was above the rest and it was Uwe Rosler. The fact that he came in, he took this AGF team who were going nowhere last season, made some smart additions, and he's got them playing a really exciting brand of football that has people flocking in their numbers to Cérez Parque. Tell me I'm wrong, guys. Okay, so for me, it was super tough. It was super tough because I think what Nijstrup has done has been
00:45:36
Speaker
pretty damn impressive. He came in at a time where they were still playing European competitions. They had a ton of injuries. And it's a bit like Pep Guardiola not getting the award in England. It is also the expectation. And therefore I said, who really did something that I did not expect? And again, I'm back to Leungby and Freya Alexandersson, because I had
00:46:03
Speaker
I couldn't, in my wildest dream, foresee that this was happening. I could foresee Neistrope getting more than two points in a row. Super, super strong accomplishment. But for me, Freja Alexandersson is a bigger accomplishment. I was landing in a spot between Fries, in V-ball, and also Ubersla in Egev. Not that Neistrope's performance isn't impressive, but
00:46:32
Speaker
If you look at what Vipo has been building with the size of the budget,
00:46:40
Speaker
the structure, the play, the continuity, the way they stick to this plan, got me pretty much going for Jakob Freis. But then again, mid-ways through the season, Rösler changed a gift from when I saw them play in 1-2 in game, was it 1-2 in the season? I have seen them go from, I think, 3-5-2,
00:47:08
Speaker
to this more intriguing three, four, three-ish system with a lot of power, a lot of pressure on it. So I ended up going for Uber in a gig. Good choice. Brilliant. Well, the next one is going to be quite tough because there were so many, but game of the season.
Season Highlights: Games and Goals
00:47:32
Speaker
I'm going to put this out, Casper D.
00:47:35
Speaker
What was your game of the season? Try and think as impartially as possible. So for me, actually the game of the season was, I was in the stand myself. I was with 30 plus thousand supporters watching FC Copenhagen win 4-3 against AGF.
00:47:58
Speaker
And the reason why this game was pretty damn amazing was not necessarily because of the level. The level wasn't at a very high, it wasn't the best of the super leaguer that we've seen, but seeing the crowds going completely bananas being in front 2-0, to seeing the disbelief of losing the title, being behind 3-2, to actually winning it all at the end,
00:48:26
Speaker
For me that was a pure spectator game. It went back and forward and it wasn't just one team being better than the other one and crushing FC Copenhagen 3-1. It was a true football moment and I didn't enjoy the result but I could truly enjoy the game in itself because as a spectator it was so unusual business. So I actually have an FC Copenhagen AGF 4-3.
00:48:55
Speaker
Well, that was actually the game that I picked too. And it was between that and the second leg of the Cup semi-final, FC Nordsland, FC Copenhagen game that was just, I mean, both legs of that were fantastic. But given the, given the podcast is focusing on the Super League and not the, not the Cup, I also went with that one. Kasper, I'm guessing that an FC Copenhagen victory at AGF didn't make your game of the season, but I might be wrong.
00:49:24
Speaker
Well, if I have to put on my objective view on the League, being a witness to that game and the television for a free game, Copenhagen versus Egev, even though that I was cheering for Egev, I have to say that game because it had so much in it.
00:49:48
Speaker
one team leading, one team being down, to a last drama goal made by a player who was playing out of position. If I have to put Janjor, through being objective, this is the game. It's hard not to when it's decisive for the title. Yeah, it had a bit of everything, didn't it?
00:50:14
Speaker
I think often these games do throw up an unlikely hero. And I don't think anyone was expecting Kevin Dix to get an assist and a goal in that fashion. But yeah, he stepped up in a big way and the game was something special. So I'm jealous that you got to be there in the stadium, Kasper. But amazing that of all the games we've agreed on one between us, this is the first award that we've agreed on between us. How about goal of the season? This one was
00:50:42
Speaker
very, very tough. But I've gone for a goal from March, which was Franco Tongue for OB scoring a scissor kick volley, which was an incredible bit of acrobatics made even more incredible by the fact that there was another player trying the exact same kick about two meters to his right. So there were these two players going up for bicycle kicks in in
00:51:06
Speaker
synchronicity, but yeah, that was my goal of the season. It might not have meant much in terms of the league, but just as a pure piece of goal scoring, that was a beauty. What have you guys got? It's almost kind of, you know, like a self torment, but the way that, you know, like it was kicking off the comeback for a GIF this Sunday. Yeah, the doings, you know, we can pronounce his name any way we want, basically.
00:51:33
Speaker
But even though that it was just like, it was both symptomatic because it was a great goal. You have to say that, you have to admit it. But it also very symptomatic for point-view season. Yeah, the way it has rolled out that this is like, you know, like this freak goal that makes another team have a comeback in a game where point-view is leading. So it's kind of, you know, like self torment, but that goal.
00:51:56
Speaker
And for me, it is Andreas Schillop's goal against Grannas where he put two defenders aside in a foam booth and he slotted in in the bottom right-hand corner, which again is just a testament to what this young man can do and hopefully will do a lot more in the future. I remember that goal very well. That was phenomenal. There was another one where he did one of his kind of trademark
00:52:19
Speaker
cut in on the edge of the box and curled it in the far corner. I can't remember who it was against, but there was one of those in particular that it was just very aesthetically pleasing. It's always nice when it goes off the inside of the post. Yeah, I think maybe it was against OB. I think that's it. The final award to be handed out is the funniest moment of the season.
Humorous Moments Recap
00:52:38
Speaker
This is the worst podcast making event because now I can describe the gold, but I can remember who made it.
00:52:46
Speaker
or what game you're watching. But I just remember this defender making a back pass. I think it's starting to come back. What's the garden man who makes this pass towards where he thinks Lüzel is, and Lüzel is not completely at all where that pass is going. So that's my moment. I remember that one. Yeah, that was a classic.
00:53:10
Speaker
I had James Gomez back in October. He got a red card for a second yellow and was heading down the tunnel and the referee went to VAR. About two minutes later, they pulled James Gomez out of the dressing room and said, the referee wants to have a word with you. And he went out, he knelt down and started doing his boots back up and the referee said, yellow card canceled, straight red.
00:53:34
Speaker
And so he came all the way out to get sent off again. It was a super tough moment for him. And he was all, as you said, he was all the way down in the tunnels, right? So it took quite a bit of time as well. Yeah, I just couldn't believe that he thought it was getting overturned and actually the punishment got worse. It was overturned.
00:53:57
Speaker
There's also this moment, I don't recall in what game, just that there was this spring, where Ojampo and Buonbu, he picks up the yellow card that the referee has dropped further down the pitch, and then the classic runs to him and gives him the yellow card before handing him the card. And I like the thing is that the referee was just smiling, getting the yellow card. Great game.
00:54:25
Speaker
Good stuff. Yeah, so for me, the funniest moment is also a bit of a tragic moment because the funniest thing for me over the season has been the joke, Mikael Johansson. So the man in charge of, you can say, all the referees in Denmark, him setting a line on what is the hand situation and what isn't the hand situation, it's been
00:54:46
Speaker
So in the sad way it's been the joke of the season to actually see the inconsistencies and if I had to pick one thing that needs to change for next year it is that this gentleman gets escorted out of Danish Football Association as quick as possible and then we get in someone who owns the task a bit more. This is just a depressive funny moment.
00:55:08
Speaker
But for me, it is funny to see that this guy is in charge. No, I'm just feeling sad. No, but it is. It's crazy to see and the inconsistencies are insane. And there's no reason in the hands, judgment anymore, because you know, like every time it hits a hand, we're just like, you know, what way is the wind blowing today?
00:55:31
Speaker
Yeah, and that's one thing, but the second thing is that I think it's completely okay to make a mistake, but get people to own up to their mistakes, staying in front of the crowd. I think a lot of things that the lack of communication, of course, starts with this guy, and it's not serving a good purpose for the Super League. I know it's a bit of a harsh one to end up with, but I think it is a funny moment in the sense that he's a joke.
00:55:58
Speaker
you've opened a can of worms now because I feel that this is a topic we could talk for a long time about. I was listening to an Arsenal podcast where they were talking recently about how to change the game for the better and one of the things that came up was the fact that in a game where one goal often decides a game, having a penalty for a handball that happens somewhere in the penalty box but isn't heading towards goal isn't on target feels incredibly unfair and maybe there's
00:56:24
Speaker
Maybe there's some kind of rule change that needs to happen that means that we don't get these ridiculous handballs that have nothing to do with a shot on goal that are occurring miles away.
00:56:34
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. Yeah, that would help a lot. And I think, again, as you said, football is a game of many variables and few goals, and they just have the way too big of an influence in the games. And we've seen it over and over again, and a bit more of a consistent line would be preferable.
00:56:54
Speaker
absolutely well we have handed out a bunch of awards now i'll be delivering them personally over the next few weeks uh like a danish football santa but we're gonna wrap the show there before i do i just wanted to say it's been an amazing time that i've had doing this podcast this year and not only have i got to speak to you
00:57:14
Speaker
You two fellas several times, but I've also welcomed players, coaches, journalists, scouts, fans to the show and done the thing that I thought was missing most when I first started watching Super League of Football, which was an English language podcast that covers it in some sort of detail. So I wanted to thank you two in particular for giving up your time throughout the season, but also to all the guests that I've had on here. It's been a huge privilege for me and I really appreciate it.
00:57:41
Speaker
And I think we are super thankful for you to put the spotlight on the Liga and it's always fun to discuss. So thanks a lot for your efforts. Yeah, it's a pleasure being here. Amazing. Well, it's only six weeks before the season starts up again. So enjoy the break. Yeah, I need the break. I need the break too. But enjoy it and I can't wait to do it all again next season. So I'll catch you then. Thank you. Talk to you.