My time in Norway
Credit:
A few weeks ago after our televised match against St.Pats, I received a phone call from an agent whom I am familiar with from Scandinavia. He told me that he had been watching the match via web TV and gave me his opinions on the game and how he felt I had played. He continued by asking me if I would be interested in returning to Scandinavia in the not so distant future as there is a couple of teams interested.
It was 2005 when I first ventured over to Norway for a four month loan period. At the time, I was playing with Bray Wanderers. Bray were doing relatively well in the Premier Division, in the semi-final of the F.A.I Cup, and I happened to be top goal scorer in the division with 12 league goals to my name at the time. A Norwegian agent had come over in search of young Irish talent in a bid to tempt them over to the Scandinavian leagues. At first he was eyeing up Daryl Murphy (who was with Waterford at the time), John Paul Kelly (formerly of Bohemians) and Liam Kearney (who was with Cork City at the time).
A team named Aalesund fk, who were struggling in the Norwegian top-flight and in desperate need of new players was the team that I eventually ended up going over to. At first, a two and a half year deal was mentioned but after I quickly poured ice on that idea, a four month loan deal was approved by both Bray and myself.
It is adequate to say without going into detail that financially, Bray were very well looked after and I too received a reasonably healthy sum for the period spent there. But for me anyway, money was not the reason for going over there. The chance to play in a better league which consisted of the likes of Rosenberg who feature in the Champions League regularly and also the opportunity to experience a whole new culture and environment were the main reasons for me agreeing to the deal.
When I arrived, the season was reaching its penultimate series of games. It was the end of August and there were only 7 games left to play in the league that would drag on until November time. Before I signed the loan deal I was assured by the agent that I was going to play all the remaining games. However, that was not the case.
The first game in which I was involved in ended in a 4-1 defeat. The second game ended 1-1. In both games I was named on the bench. Disappointed at not starting either game, I questioned the manager as to why he had brought me over if he hadn’t intended on playing me. Add in the fact their top goal-scorer at the time was their central defender on 4 goals, I believed I had a justifiable case. I felt I was doing well enough in training to warrant a start in a team that was desperately struggling. However, the manager didn’t take kindly to my words and I found myself out of the squad.
One must learn from their mistakes and I’ve learned never to question your manager’s decisions. I eventually apologised to the manager saying that I was just anxious to play having given up so much back home and travelling over but by then, our relationship was diminished. However that did not take from what turned out to be an unforgettable and enjoyable experience. I learned a lot about what it is like playing football in a different culture and also had first sight at what a league within a rather small populated nation should be like. Football players in Norway do not earn huge amounts of money as they pay tax at a rate of 46% or so. However, they are well looked after in every possible aspect; be it accommodation, transportation, education. Not only are they looked after but their families are looked after just as much.
As I said last week in my column, Norway has a population similar to that of Ireland. The league as a whole is very well run and the standard of football is probably on par with the championship in England. In saying that, the top teams here in Ireland would not look out of place and would do relatively well against most Norwegian teams. The main difference between the Irish League and the Norwegian League is not the standard of football on the pitch but the standard seen off the pitch.
Stadiums in Norway are of a very high standard. They hold anywhere between 10,000 and 40,000 and on match days, are always packed. The team I played for over there had a state of the art 12,000 all-seated stadium, and every home game was a sell-out. The league is very well run from the top; from both club level and the league association and as far as I am aware, funding comes from the government and local communities. Norwegian clubs are very community driven and Norwegian people are very proud of their local clubs; similar to that seen with GAA here in Ireland.
Before I finish this week, I want to mention that a team mate of mine at Sporting Fingal, Conan Byrne is set to make his successive 100th appearance in a row in the League of Ireland against Drogheda United this Friday night. He made the move from UCD back in 2008 and has subsequently started and played in every single game in Fingal’s short history. It’s an unbelievable achievement to not only appear in but start 100 games in a row. It is also a record that I cannot see being broke for a long, long time. So, congratulations to Conan and hopefully he can go on and increase his own record.
It was 2005 when I first ventured over to Norway for a four month loan period. At the time, I was playing with Bray Wanderers. Bray were doing relatively well in the Premier Division, in the semi-final of the F.A.I Cup, and I happened to be top goal scorer in the division with 12 league goals to my name at the time. A Norwegian agent had come over in search of young Irish talent in a bid to tempt them over to the Scandinavian leagues. At first he was eyeing up Daryl Murphy (who was with Waterford at the time), John Paul Kelly (formerly of Bohemians) and Liam Kearney (who was with Cork City at the time).
A team named Aalesund fk, who were struggling in the Norwegian top-flight and in desperate need of new players was the team that I eventually ended up going over to. At first, a two and a half year deal was mentioned but after I quickly poured ice on that idea, a four month loan deal was approved by both Bray and myself.
It is adequate to say without going into detail that financially, Bray were very well looked after and I too received a reasonably healthy sum for the period spent there. But for me anyway, money was not the reason for going over there. The chance to play in a better league which consisted of the likes of Rosenberg who feature in the Champions League regularly and also the opportunity to experience a whole new culture and environment were the main reasons for me agreeing to the deal.
When I arrived, the season was reaching its penultimate series of games. It was the end of August and there were only 7 games left to play in the league that would drag on until November time. Before I signed the loan deal I was assured by the agent that I was going to play all the remaining games. However, that was not the case.
The first game in which I was involved in ended in a 4-1 defeat. The second game ended 1-1. In both games I was named on the bench. Disappointed at not starting either game, I questioned the manager as to why he had brought me over if he hadn’t intended on playing me. Add in the fact their top goal-scorer at the time was their central defender on 4 goals, I believed I had a justifiable case. I felt I was doing well enough in training to warrant a start in a team that was desperately struggling. However, the manager didn’t take kindly to my words and I found myself out of the squad.
One must learn from their mistakes and I’ve learned never to question your manager’s decisions. I eventually apologised to the manager saying that I was just anxious to play having given up so much back home and travelling over but by then, our relationship was diminished. However that did not take from what turned out to be an unforgettable and enjoyable experience. I learned a lot about what it is like playing football in a different culture and also had first sight at what a league within a rather small populated nation should be like. Football players in Norway do not earn huge amounts of money as they pay tax at a rate of 46% or so. However, they are well looked after in every possible aspect; be it accommodation, transportation, education. Not only are they looked after but their families are looked after just as much.
As I said last week in my column, Norway has a population similar to that of Ireland. The league as a whole is very well run and the standard of football is probably on par with the championship in England. In saying that, the top teams here in Ireland would not look out of place and would do relatively well against most Norwegian teams. The main difference between the Irish League and the Norwegian League is not the standard of football on the pitch but the standard seen off the pitch.
Stadiums in Norway are of a very high standard. They hold anywhere between 10,000 and 40,000 and on match days, are always packed. The team I played for over there had a state of the art 12,000 all-seated stadium, and every home game was a sell-out. The league is very well run from the top; from both club level and the league association and as far as I am aware, funding comes from the government and local communities. Norwegian clubs are very community driven and Norwegian people are very proud of their local clubs; similar to that seen with GAA here in Ireland.
Before I finish this week, I want to mention that a team mate of mine at Sporting Fingal, Conan Byrne is set to make his successive 100th appearance in a row in the League of Ireland against Drogheda United this Friday night. He made the move from UCD back in 2008 and has subsequently started and played in every single game in Fingal’s short history. It’s an unbelievable achievement to not only appear in but start 100 games in a row. It is also a record that I cannot see being broke for a long, long time. So, congratulations to Conan and hopefully he can go on and increase his own record.
