Marked for Thomas Lotsberg
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Apr 2028
9 matches without a win for KFUM Oslo
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around KFUM Oslo are no longer polite ones.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” KFUM Oslo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Transfer targets17 Apr 2028
Everything was agreed with another club and then the doctor spoke. KFUM Oslo have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad17 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KFUM Oslo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Martin Vinjor falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match15 Apr 2028
Bodo/Glimt left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fredrik Berglie, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Mar 2028
108 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Åsane lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Åsane
Kristoffer Barmen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A row about effort at Åsane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Peter Reinhardsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Emanuel Grønner faces a manager he fell out with
They have worked together before and it did not end well. Nobody at Åsane expects the new manager to have forgotten, least of all Emanuel Grønner.
Transfer targets27 Mar 2028
Åsane asked and San Diego Football Club said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Snorre Furnes, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets27 Mar 2028
Åsane have made the call to FC Fredericia. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Thomas Lotsberg is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Squad27 Mar 2028
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
Ruben Riise has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Åsane can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The Åsane board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Market6 Mar 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market6 Mar 2028
Lyn come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Åsane did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The terraces6 Mar 2028
Åsane sell a favourite for $7.8M
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Felix Kutsche Eriksen was one of the reasons people came, and $7.8M does not replace that by itself.
Squad6 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Åsane this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Mar 2028
A row about effort at Åsane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Peter Reinhardsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets6 Mar 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. KFUM Oslo have kept their man, and Åsane go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Feb 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Åsane have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market28 Feb 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market28 Feb 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Åsane can pretend not to have heard.
Market28 Feb 2028
The name of Hassan Mohamed Yusuf has come up in conversations Åsane were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Peter Reinhardsen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets28 Feb 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Kongsvinger have kept their man, and Åsane go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Åsane
Charlie McCann was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Åsane
Kristoffer Barmen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Peter Reinhardsen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Thomas Lotsberg's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Boardroom31 Jan 2028
Belts tighten at Åsane
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Åsane, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces24 Jan 2028
Supporters organise against the Åsane board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Åsane
Kristoffer Barmen and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Peter Reinhardsen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
Alexey Gorodovoy asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market24 Jan 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Nobel Tesfazgyi Gebrezgi’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market24 Jan 2028
Åsane have made Thomas Lotsberg available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jan 2028
16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Åsane lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom17 Jan 2028
Pressure builds in the Åsane boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market17 Jan 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Åsane, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Åsane
Nobel Tesfazgyi Gebrezgi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Steinegger is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Jan 2028
Kristoffer Barmen damages knee ligaments — 30 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 30 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Ruben Riise has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Åsane can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Peter Reinhardsen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market3 Jan 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Thomas Lotsberg's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Åsane counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Åsane now.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Åsane will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Dec 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Kristoffer Barmen
44 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Åsane lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom20 Dec 2027
Pressure builds in the Åsane boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market20 Dec 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Peter Reinhardsen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom20 Dec 2027
Hødd will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. David Lopes has pre-agreed a move to Åsane, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Squad20 Dec 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Åsane this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Dec 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Kristoffer Barmen
51 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Åsane lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Åsane
Kristoffer Barmen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad13 Dec 2027
A move David Steinegger would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. David Steinegger is living that version at Åsane, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad13 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Åsane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Peter Reinhardsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom13 Dec 2027
Odd will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Marco Ribeiro has pre-agreed a move to Åsane, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Market13 Dec 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Åsane, another week without a signature from Kristoffer Barmen.
Market13 Dec 2027
David Steinegger is 20, and Åsane have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Åsane, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Dec 2027
Kristoffer Barmen damages knee ligaments — 58 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 58 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Ruben Riise has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market6 Dec 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Åsane, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Åsane
Peter Reinhardsen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Åsane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Knut Spangelo Haga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hassou Diaby, and the manager let it.
Market6 Dec 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Peter Reinhardsen is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Nov 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Kristoffer Barmen
72 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Åsane lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom22 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Åsane boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match22 Nov 2027
The season ends: position 13 for Åsane
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 31 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Market22 Nov 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Åsane may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Peter Reinhardsen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch22 Nov 2027
“I watch every Åsane game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Tromso runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The team sheet said everything about Hassou Diaby
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Hassou Diaby.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Nov 2027
Kristoffer Barmen damages knee ligaments — 88 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 88 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Felix Kutsche Eriksen did not need any: 8.20, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Åsane
Frederik Carstensen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A season average of 7.02 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Åsane know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Peter Reinhardsen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces8 Nov 2027
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match6 Nov 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Felix Kutsche Eriksen’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Åsane.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
In brief
-
Market
Still no ink between Åsane and Eirik Haugan
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
-
The dugout
The manager has not finished forgetting Thomas Lotsberg's mistake
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Åsane
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Åsane is running low.
Market25 Oct 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Åsane know it.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Åsane
Peter Reinhardsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Knut Spangelo Haga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad25 Oct 2027
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
Loan watch25 Oct 2027
“I did not go to Tromso to sit and watch. I want to come back to Åsane and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
Alexey Gorodovoy dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Oct 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Åsane have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Peter Reinhardsen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad11 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Åsane this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Jesper Grundt knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jesper Grundt trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Sogndal in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Market11 Oct 2027
The name of Felix Kutsche Eriksen keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Åsane say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom27 Sep 2027
Pressure builds in the Åsane boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market27 Sep 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match25 Sep 2027
The wait goes on for Åsane
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match25 Sep 2027
The goals have deserted Åsane
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Åsane can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Åsane
Frederik Carstensen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Åsane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Peter Reinhardsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kristoffer Barmen, and the manager let it.
In brief
-
Match
A bad afternoon for Åsane against Ranheim
-
Squad
Åsane are still strangers to each other
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 Sep 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Åsane, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad13 Sep 2027
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Åsane
Peter Reinhardsen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexey Gorodovoy, and the manager let it.
Match11 Sep 2027
0‑1 to Kongsvinger, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Åsane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Knut Spangelo Haga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad13 Sep 2027
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Ruben Riise left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Åsane
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Åsane is running low.
Market30 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Åsane can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Thomas Lotsberg: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Åsane have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Åsane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Peter Reinhardsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Molde have kept their man, and Åsane go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Åsane
Nobel Tesfazgyi Gebrezgi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match28 Aug 2027
A bad afternoon for Åsane against Moss
0‑1 to Moss, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ruben Riise after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Ruben Riise has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Åsane
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Åsane is running low.
Match2 Aug 2027
Åsane are in real trouble now
Position 14, 16 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market2 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Åsane can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with Tromso, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Åsane
Peter Reinhardsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match31 Jul 2027
A bad afternoon for Åsane against Aalesund
0‑2 to Aalesund, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
The deal with IK Start is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Åsane
Frederik Carstensen and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market26 Jul 2027
Einar Iversen has left for Stromsgodset in a $390.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Peter Reinhardsen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match24 Jul 2027
Egersund left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ruben Riise after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Åsane
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristoffer Barmen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market1 Feb 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Einar Iversen has his answer from Åsane; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Amund Sundsøy commits to Åsane for another 3 years.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Peter Reinhardsen was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market14 Dec 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sebastian Selin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Åsane the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Hassou Diaby falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Thomas Lotsberg commits to Åsane for another 4 years.
Market14 Dec 2026
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Åsane money.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luka Aaker-Saldanha, and the manager let it.
Market14 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Emanuel Grønner signs something — a contract at Åsane or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Peder Hoel Lervik is on it.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Åsane. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces30 Nov 2026
Supporters organise against the Åsane board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Match30 Nov 2026
Every point is an argument now for Åsane
Position 15 and 6 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market30 Nov 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Åsane they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Åsane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristoffer Barmen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ole-Monrad Alme, and the manager let it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Åsane. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market30 Nov 2026
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Åsane could get for him.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Åsane, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager plants his flag on Filip Oprea
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Filip Oprea’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for Åsane
15 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market23 Nov 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Knut Spangelo Haga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Åsane the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Åsane
Kristoffer Barmen was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match21 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Ruben Riise left the room before anybody could ask which.
Market23 Nov 2026
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Åsane money.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Hassou Diaby knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Åsane, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 10. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market14 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Åsane, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Åsane's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Åsane has to find a result from somewhere.
Market14 Sep 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Åsane is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Kristoffer Barmen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match12 Sep 2026
0‑2 to Lillestrom, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market14 Sep 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.