Rosenborg - St Johnstone

[The Saint]

Hello Rosenburg fans!
A Saintee has come in peace in the hope that we can forge a bond!
The St Johnstone fans are very pleased that we might get to visit your beautiful city and play your famous team.
Are you confident of beating Crusaders?
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COME ON YOU SAINTS!
Dundee=GIRUY!

[The Real Saints]

Hi guys, St. Johnstone supporter here! Apologies for my lack of Norwegian.

Delighted with the draw today. A lot of us were a bit concerned when the 'Group 7' teams were announced. Personally, I would have been struggling to get to the away match if it had been against any team apart from Rosenborg and Crusaders!

We're obviously aware of your reputation and past successes, and we know it will be a very tough challenge for us to get anything out of the game.
The Scottish Premier League was quite strange last season. The majority of teams, apart from Celtic at the top end and Dundee at the bottom end, were very close together in the table and we only confirmed 3rd place on the final day of the season.
St Johnstone's main problem last season was in scoring goals (as you can probably tell by our 'goal difference' in the league table). As some of you have already worked out, we were very difficult to beat and had a fair amount of draws and narrow victories. Our strength is in our ability to play as a hard-working team, rather than possessing any particularly outstanding players. We are a strong unit.

We are currently in a period of slight reconstruction. We have just lost our previous manager of two years, and our assistant manager has recently been announced as the new manager. Many of last season's players' contracts have expired, so much of the time during the last few weeks has been taken up with trying to sort out new contracts for our players. As things stand, we have a lack of midfield and attacking options, and the priority will be to find some players to fill those gaps in the next couple of weeks.

So there is no doubt that you will be better prepared for this match than we will be, and I would be very surprised to see us progressing to the next round instead of you! But we will do our best to make it tough for you.

I look forward to the prospect of visiting Norway for the first time. We are a nice bunch of supporters and I'm sure that friendships will be made!

[Sløvsekken]

Hey, and welcome!

Crusaders should be a formality. We beat them comfortably with very little effort in last year's qualifier, and we have a stronger team this year

[The Saint]

Looking forward to visiting Scotland?
How is the league campaign going this year?
Who are RBK's most dangerous players?
_________________
COME ON YOU SAINTS!
Dundee=GIRUY!

[Thulian]

Hey Saints, and welcome to the forums.
Well I myself am really happy with the draw.
Crusaders we met last year as well, and won easily 3-0 away and controlled a 1-0 win at home with a lot of reserves.
This years team is a lot better in both quality and quantity.
And even tho I know you lot are a fairly good hometeam, I'm pretty sure you'll be steamrolled in Trondheim in July;)
Just my opinion ofc, and we'll see if you lot will put up a fight there.
But being out of season, with players coming and going (as well as the manager), the odds are against you obviously.
And of course we do have respect for your team when you lot play at home, we're well aware of the fine 2-1 win against Celtic last year;)

Norway, and especially Trondelag is beautiful in July, but do keep in mind that it's rather expensive over here.
A 0.5L of beer out on the town (Trondheim) varies in price ofc, but do expect 50-70 NOK all depending on where you have your beers.
Cheaper to buy in the stores and enjoy other places.
Public drinking isnt allowed in Norway, but I don't think the police will do much more than empty the can on the ground given the circumstances, if you are "caught".

Anyway best of luck to you lads, and hope that we'll see a few fanatic scottish supporters over:)

[Sløvsekken]

I'll be on vacation, so I won't make the game unfortunately. But I'm sure we'll be well represented still

We're doing alright in the league. 2nd atm, after beating the leaders this past saturday.

Most dangerous player ? Hmm, I guess we just sold him to Hoffenheim Our team is more of a collective though, and the quality is fairly even.

Norwegian transfer window opens on July 15th, so we might see some changes to our squad then, hopefully with a couple of quality signings

[Thulian]

Am hoping I'll get a couple of days off work to go to the away match against you lot^^
As for the league campaign, it's going better than the last two years:P
Just beat the leading team last weekend.
Our best offensive player is sold, and are leaving the club now.
We've signed a Norwegian National team striker as a replacement, but he's not as good as the one we sold.
As it is now, we're more of a collective than a superb striker like we used to have in John Carew, Steffen Iversen, Harald Brattbak and many others.
But you could keep an eye on Nicki Bille Nielsen and I suppose Alexander Søderlund (which is the striker we've just signed).

Our 2nd best defender did a good tournament in the U21 championship in Israel, Stefan Strandberg, and will surely be a hot prospect to sell come the transferwindow in July.
As is the same with the Czech International Borek Dockal, Nigerian offensive player John Chibuike and a few others.
So there might be rather extensive changes in the Rosenborg team by the time we meet you...

[gisp!]

[gisp!]

The Saint:

Lost in translation depending on pronunciation (edit: Sorry, Thulian):
Dictionary.com
of·fen·sive [uh-fen-siv or for 4, 5, aw-fen-, of-en-] adjective
1. causing resentful displeasure; highly irritating, angering, or annoying: offensive television commercials.
2. unpleasant or disagreeable to the sense: an offensive odor.
3. repugnant to the moral sense, good taste, or the like; insulting: an offensive remark; an offensive joke.
4. pertaining to offense or attack: the offensive movements of their troops.
5. characterized by attack; aggressive: offensive warfare.

[sveininge]

I think offensive means both støtende and offensiv, gisp.

From merriam-webster:

1
a : making attack : aggressive
b : of, relating to, or designed for attack <offensive>
c : of or relating to an attempt to score in a game or contest; also : of or relating to a team in possession of the ball or puck

[Harceïde]

Our best weapon against you is surely Per Verner Rønning, a massive redheaded lad.

[Sløvsekken]

Rønning is like a Messi/Vidic hybrid, with red hair

[Thulian]

gisp!, it all depends on the setting it's said in... as for my setting it was about one of our offensive players, not an offensiv individual per say...
Nice to see you're trying to correct ppl tho

[babychunder]

Greetings to you Rosenborg fans. I am looking forward to coming to beautiful Trondheim once again and seeing St Johnstone play your team.

What I want to ask is, will the ground be full? How is it possible to get tickets for the match locally? Will it be payment at the gate?

Kind Regards
BC
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St Johnstone supporter

[Anders]

Won't be full, unless you come with 15 000 people

Ask your club for ticket info after the match is scheduled, or at the stadium on match day.

[Eru]

All your questions should be answered here

[babychunder]

Anyone remember this? Pure joy.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...qZTP8-8wIs

We Scots will always love you Norwegians, especially your mad commentator, for this precious gift!
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St Johnstone supporter

[Elg]

Haha, still funny!
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Herremann

https://m.youtube.com/wat...JO5hlp7L6A

[lmsaintee]

well done! looking forward to visit Trondheim lots of good fun with the fans
i think we will be in the Scottish pub all welcome
you will all be very welcome in Scotland
Perth prices are cheaper than Edinburgh
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we hate dundee

[lmsaintee]

you can not go direct to perth
aberdeen and edinburgh are expensive for drink and places to stay
you can get a bus or train to perth which will take about 1 hour and 30 mins
my pub that i drink in is the foundry bar it has bus and taxis just outside
there is a saints club nearby even cheaper drinks and possible bus for you to the game and back
what ever you do enjoy the game
any questions please ask
les
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we hate dundee

[2mas]

Former Rosenborg striker Harald Brattbakk believes the Norwegians will beat St Johnstone if they meet in the Europa League qualifiers.

(...)

"I would say Rosenborg are slight favourites" he said. "Because they are playing domestically at the moment.

"This is the first competitive game for St Johnstone."

Read more: St Johnstone: Harald Brattbakk says Rosenborg have upper hand

[2mas]

St. Johnstone coach Tommy Wright:

"Rosenborg are a strong, powerful team and a different proposition from Eskisehirspor last season. I actually think the Turks were better technically but there is no doubting Rosenborg’s quality. However, I’ve come away with the feeling that we can go into the tie with confidence."

Read more: Tommy notes Rosenborg's power but has confidence

[2mas]

St Johnstone warmed up for their Europa League clash against Rosenborg in Norway on Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Morton at Cappielow.

Dave Mackay netted the winner with a 20-yard free-kick in the second half and Saints goalkeeper Alan Mannus made some good stops to deny the Greenock side an equaliser as 1,014 fans turned out for Peter Weatherson's testimonial.

Read more: Warm-up win for St Johnstone

[2mas]

TOMMY Wright admits St Johnstone will have to beat the odds to overcome Rosenborg in Europa League qualifying but stresses stranger things have happened in football.

(...)

"Rosenborg are a good club with lots of European experience and I have seen enough to know they have quality. We will treat them with the utmost respect. They've been the national champions 20-odd times and are probably the biggest club in the country with a good fan base and a budget of something like €18 million.

"But we can go into these games with a lot of confidence. We have to go into this tie believing we can win. They are halfway through their season and we will have had 180 minutes against Cowdenbeath and Morton but we have the players as fit as we can in the timeframe, so it's not a negative or an excuse."

Read more: Wright attitude required for St Johnstone's Europa League test

Wright, who takes charge of his first competitive game since succeeding Steve Lomas in the second-round first-leg qualifier in Norway on Thursday, is convinced that British football can learn from the Scandinavians, rather than follow football’s latest fads and fashions.

“I remember going to Rosenborg and Lillestrom with Linfield and they were semi-pro back then, but the club had organised jobs for the players and they trained every day,� said Wright, pictured.

“In the Scandinavian countries I don’t think they try to copy anywhere else. They operate within a framework which suits their climate and type of football they want to play."

Read more: St Johnstone stick to values ahead of Rosenborg tie

[2mas]

ROSENBORG star Tobias Mikkelsen has warned St Johnstone that the Norwegians couldn't be in a better place as they prepare for Thursday night's Europa League clash.

(...)

"Now we have St Johnstone and we know a little about them and appreciate that they will provide a greater test.

"But we are in mid-season while this will be their first match. We are in a great position to win our league title. The side is in great form."

Read more: Rosenborg flying ahead of St Johnstone clash

Tommy Wright:

"I see things talking about a European adventure, but that almost makes it out to be like a holiday we're going on. This is our job. We've earned the right to be there and the players have to realise that. They must have a belief they can go there, get something from the game and get through the tie. If you fall short, you fall short but we're certainly not going into the tie thinking we can't go through and it's all almost damage limitation. That won't be the case."

Read more: Return to Europe is no holiday for St Johnstone manager

Wright hopes his players will not return home having rued missed opportunities or mistakes, all too often the case for Scottish clubs in Europe in recent years.

“It comes down to maybe a poor decision from a player, or a wee mistake at the back, and Rosenborg certainly have the players to punish you,� he said.

“But at other end when you get the opportunities you have to at least stick one of them away. You will get chances so it’s important that we do take them, and that’s always the way."

Read more: Full-strength Saints urged to take chances

Chris Millar wants St Johnstone not to be too cautious when they play at Rosenborg in the Europa League second qualifying round on Thursday.

The midfielder played in both legs of Saints' aggregate loss to Eskisehirspor in the same competition last season.

"When we went to Turkey we gave them too much respect and we sat in too much," Millar told his club website.

"Obviously you have got to respect they are a very good side but there will be chances on the counter-attack."

Read more: Chris Millar hopes St Johnstone strike balance in Rosenborg