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[Albion] New signing Vegard Forren. I wrote a THING.
- Thread starter Exile
- Start date
cooliobhafc
New member
Great article, well written and with actual facts included. keep it up.
- Thread starter
- #43
No - he's our player, albeit on a contract that runs to the end of just this season. He has no connection to any other club, and is free to sign where he likes when his short-term deal here expires.
to play in the Premier League, when he was 25. He's now 29, has played 4 more seasons of (Norwegian) top flight football, and picked up another 25 International caps. And we only (currently) need him to perform in the Championship
A risk with ANY signing. Outside of a transfer window, he's as good as you're going to get.
Nobody will know what clauses are in his short-term deal - there may be an offer of a further year(s) if he reaches certain targets. It won't be an option to 'buy' though, obviously.
Molde FK supporter here. I joined this forum mainly to talk about Vegard Forren. I don't really have any favourite team in England, although I do follow the Premier League to some extent. I have also watched a few Championship matches.
Vegard Forren, at his best, is certainly good enough to do well in Championship. His lack of pace may prove a bigger problem in PL, though. He is not very tall, but times his aerial challenges well. He plays with a great deal of bravery and aggression in his challenges and therefore end up lying on the grass quite a bit during matches - but he is not the type to fake it. He times his tackles well, which is a good thing because he's so slow. He likes to break in front of the opposition strikers, which he does well in general, but he has also made mistakes that made him look rather foolish. He has good vision and a precise passing foot - when he is in form. When he is not in form, his long passes tend to go astray and he also has a tendency to get caught out looking for those passes. The high pressing game traditionally seen in England may not suit him well for this reason. He's a smart player and reads the game well. He can also score on corners and on long range free kicks.
About his professionalism, there are rumours going around in Molde which have been reproduced here. There have been episodes but Solskjær has kept a (not so tight) lid on it. Forren did well just on raw talent until Solskjær became his boss in 2011, but Ole Gunnar made it very clear what was expected of him. In the 2011-2013 period, before the failed 6-month stay in Southampton, Forren was by far the best central defender in the country. He dominated the league and deserved the transfer to Premier League. When he came there in January he was fat, unfit and not even close to a starting position - and then a new manager came in, effectively ending his Saints-career before it began. The last 1,5 seasons he has been very mediocre for Molde, and Molde has been mediocre as well, even though the Europa League campaign 2015-16 was a highlight. In short, if he is motivated and your manager works the whip on him, you may have signed a player that should strengthen the team - not just be a short-term backup. If he is not really motivated and feels neglected or left out or that booze is more interesting, he has no business playing in Championship, let alone Premier League.
Regarding the standard of the Norwegian Premier League (Tippeligaen), it is both better than most give it credit for... and worse. The top 4-5 teams would do well in the Championship. Rosenborg, Molde and Odd are good teams playing good football. The middle teams could perhaps do well in League One, while the bottom teams are abhorrent. So there is a large disparity in quality in the league, which has made some pundits question the 16-league system. Personally, I think that it will improve over time as more and more Norwegian youngsters get first-team experience at the highest level in the country. But yes, one of the newly promoted teams hardly has got a stadium at all (it is their first ever visit, so I guess they will get a proper stadium eventually). Tippeligaen is fine, but the second level is semi-amateur and needs time to increase in standard. Before that happens the large quality disparage will remain.
Vegard Forren, at his best, is certainly good enough to do well in Championship. His lack of pace may prove a bigger problem in PL, though. He is not very tall, but times his aerial challenges well. He plays with a great deal of bravery and aggression in his challenges and therefore end up lying on the grass quite a bit during matches - but he is not the type to fake it. He times his tackles well, which is a good thing because he's so slow. He likes to break in front of the opposition strikers, which he does well in general, but he has also made mistakes that made him look rather foolish. He has good vision and a precise passing foot - when he is in form. When he is not in form, his long passes tend to go astray and he also has a tendency to get caught out looking for those passes. The high pressing game traditionally seen in England may not suit him well for this reason. He's a smart player and reads the game well. He can also score on corners and on long range free kicks.
About his professionalism, there are rumours going around in Molde which have been reproduced here. There have been episodes but Solskjær has kept a (not so tight) lid on it. Forren did well just on raw talent until Solskjær became his boss in 2011, but Ole Gunnar made it very clear what was expected of him. In the 2011-2013 period, before the failed 6-month stay in Southampton, Forren was by far the best central defender in the country. He dominated the league and deserved the transfer to Premier League. When he came there in January he was fat, unfit and not even close to a starting position - and then a new manager came in, effectively ending his Saints-career before it began. The last 1,5 seasons he has been very mediocre for Molde, and Molde has been mediocre as well, even though the Europa League campaign 2015-16 was a highlight. In short, if he is motivated and your manager works the whip on him, you may have signed a player that should strengthen the team - not just be a short-term backup. If he is not really motivated and feels neglected or left out or that booze is more interesting, he has no business playing in Championship, let alone Premier League.
Regarding the standard of the Norwegian Premier League (Tippeligaen), it is both better than most give it credit for... and worse. The top 4-5 teams would do well in the Championship. Rosenborg, Molde and Odd are good teams playing good football. The middle teams could perhaps do well in League One, while the bottom teams are abhorrent. So there is a large disparity in quality in the league, which has made some pundits question the 16-league system. Personally, I think that it will improve over time as more and more Norwegian youngsters get first-team experience at the highest level in the country. But yes, one of the newly promoted teams hardly has got a stadium at all (it is their first ever visit, so I guess they will get a proper stadium eventually). Tippeligaen is fine, but the second level is semi-amateur and needs time to increase in standard. Before that happens the large quality disparage will remain.
Very useful, much appreciated. Takk!
Mackenzie
Old Brightonian
He won't be allowed any less than 100% by our players and manager, shirkers tend to be shown the door very quickly. It's up to him really.
I wonder if part of his malaise in his second spell at Molde is quite simply a come down from having a huge shot at a career in English football and then losing it very rapidly, ending up back where he started, with the prospect of any upward trajectory to his career then seeming a lot more remote.
Could very well be a matter of motivation yes. Before Solskjær became his boss he was reportedly very poor in training and only bothered to show is skills on match day. That's a very inefficient way of proving your worth as the new guy who hasn't even played a match for the club yet.
When that is said, it is unrealistic to assume that he is at the height of his game right now, coming from off-season in Norway. But if he impresses for the reserves he may get a chance towards the end of the season.
I just don't see him impressing in training - that's not what he has done so far in his career. Also, if Brighton also employ a traditional high pressing game in a 442 and man-marking zonal rather than pure zonal, there is a clear difference in footballing culture to overcome as well. Norwegian football is all about soaking up pressure just in front of the 16-meter mark and zonal marking, then go on the counter. Even the attacking/stronger team rarely attempt to defend much in the midfield and push up, so Norwegian defenders are often seen as rather passive in their pressing style and poor at marking when getting the chance abroad (as evidenced by the National Team's poor defensive record the last decade). The prevalence of plastic instead of grass is blamed for this by some. The logic behind that is that the ball is travelling so quickly on wet plastic that it simply doesn't pay off to try to get hold of the ball in the midfield.
Excellent insight [MENTION=35268]BiggusD[/MENTION], thanks for taking the time to post
The Andy Naylor Fan Club
Well-known member
Great insight to our new signing. Thanks [MENTION=35268]BiggusD[/MENTION]. Give my regards to Incontinentia Buttocks.
Brightonfan1983
Well-known member
Brilliant 'thing' you wrote. Great read. Nice one.