Må nesten poste intervjuet med vår alles redaktør, Svend. Og jeg gjør det her siden det er TPN som er utgangspunktet for reportasjen .
http://werenotfamousanymore.blogspot.com/2011/02/interview-with-svend-karlsen-norwegian.htmlInterview with Svend Karlsen... Norwegian Fanatic...
I decided to give a brief interview to a fan that should be synonymous with Leeds fans online firstly due to his fantastic video from Old Trafford (complete with Yorkshire singing accent)... Svend at Old Trafford FA Cup Video... and secondly due to his heavy involvement in the production of the Peacock News - the magazine for the Scandinavian Supporters Club (he informed me he was working day and night to finalise the publication for its production):
So, then, here are my questions to the man:
Sean: What do you think to our current squad?
Svend: The current squad seems to be good enough to compete in the top half, but to get it working you need some luck with injuries, a good team spirit and consistency. If these points all match you're well out of the starting blocks. The good thing about the current squad is the strike-force. We have plenty of goalscorers, not just upfront. We do however, strongly need a commander in midfield, a position I know Grayson is looking to strengthen. This problem has been obvious from at least the moment Grayson decided Michael Doyle wasn't good enough, and it's surprising to see that we still haven't found anyone to do the job. A quality player here could very well make the difference between promotion or no promotion.
Sean: Who would you like to see come in to improve us?
Svend: If Andy O'Brien and Alex Bruce can get established as a central defending duo then I think we're quite solid at the back. However it's still likely we'll see another strong name added in that position. In midfield I'd like to see a midfield commander coming in, preferably someone who can understand the league, and I think we'll have to pay up here or offer players in exchange. If I could recommend a player to the club it would be someone I know very well from the Norwegian league: Celso Borges. He captains Costa Rica (who Ramon Nunez' Honduras recently beat in the Copa CentroAmericana final) only at the age of 22, is a central midfielder with qualities good enough for the Premiership.
Sean: How far do you think we've come this season, and where can you see us finishing up?
Svend: I feel Leeds have done quite well this season, which the league position obviously confirms. But this division is so tight, there's small differences between automatic promotion and not even being in the playoff-zone. On the positive side, I think the team and squad still have a lot more to show, and on good days we can beat anyone in the league. If the transfers Grayson is working on goes through [referring to January window, but now obviously the emergency loan window coming up] and we are OK with injuries, there's no reason why we shouldn't fight for promotion - automatic or through playoff.
Sean: Talk me through your trip to Old Trafford, and the match itself - your emotions. You clearly enjoyed it! As we all did...!
Svend: The trip to Old Trafford was really an unforgettable Leeds United moment. Me and my mate Jon set off before sunrise, flying from Oslo to Manchester via Copenhagen. We had no intention of staying in that town longer than necessary so we had a flight back home to Gothenburg, Sweden in the evening. An incredible round-trip in 17 hours which included my Dad's 5 hour drive just to pick us up in Gothenburg so we could get back to Norway.
The match experience can hardly be described, as anyone who was there will sign off on. It felt as we all went there with the same expectations, the underdog, lets-have-a-go-feeling. I was interviewed by the biggest sports media in Norway, vg.no, on my way over and I told them we may not win the match, but we'd win the atmosphere for sure. When Beckford got us 1-0 I had a black-out, but in a self-defence kind of way, I refused to believe it would end up in a victory. It was just fun to have stirred up Ferguson's mind a bit. As we approached the final minutes I was just waiting for the home side to get a penalty or something lucky. But they didn't, and five minutes over time we realised this was going our way, and I wanted to capture the moment. I had no idea if I was even getting a good picture, but I think the video really did capture the moment: The 29 year wait since last win there, the rivalry, the raise from League One, the Bremner Spirit, the Beckford flair. Simply being Leeds and proud.
After that, I got a call from Viasat, the TV station showing the match in Norway, and they got me on line through the phone, reporting my thoughts as we waited to get out of the ground. The host, former Middlesborough-striker Jan Aage Fjortoft, asked me "Svend, what next now, for Leeds?". I said "now, we mess up against Wycombe"... And we did.
Other media obviously picked up, because my phone went red hot with media calls when victory was confirmed. The biggest newspaper in Norway had no less than five full pages on our victory the following day, and I think it's another proof of both the interest up here, and also where our club really belongs.
Sean: What's your favourite game you've ever attended?
Svend: The game at Old Trafford is so far the favourite game I've attended ever, and I think my summary above explains it. Unfortunately I couldn't go to the Bristol game last May, which would obviously have been be a good contender.
Sean: What did you think of the Arsenal ties this season?
Svend: I'm a bit superstitious so I thought I had to do another one day round-trip for the Emirates game. I only managed to get a spare two days before and set off Saturday morning. When we got the 1-0 lead relatively late, I really thought we were going to make it, but Fabregas made the difference this year. Arsenal are a very good side but I thought the lads did us proud both home and away. I also think some of our players really proved they can play at Premiership level when we do go up.
Sean: Just how are Leeds seen in Scandinavia/Norway?
Svend: Leeds United has a good following in Norway, and has ever since the Revie days. That's also why many of our fans are 40 years or older, compared to some other teams in reds who has a lot of the kids these days... There's more than 40 supporters clubs in Norway for English teams, and our branch is 4th. Man Utd and Liverpool are at about 25,000 plus each, Arsenal are just above 5,000, while our branch has just knocked the 4,000 mark. Obviously the far best supported club in the Championship, but also bigger than the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle, and so on.
Sean: Finally, Svend, tell us a little about your publication, the Peacock News.
Svend: The Peacock News is the magazine provided by LUSCOS, the Scandinavian supporters club. I'm proud to be the editor of the magazine, which has been out for 31 years now, and we publish six issues a season, all around 100 pages in A5 format. More or less everything is in Norwegian, we have a pro designer and I've got 10 years experience from journalism myself to set it up as professionally as possible. We have 10-15 contributors helping out, all unpaid, and we were all very proud to receive the award as Best Supporters Magazine in 2009, beating some really good competition.
I strive to get exclusive interviews and feature stories in every issue, and I'm grateful for the help and sporting attitude to us from the media department at the club as well as the coaches, players and staff personally. In our upcoming issue we have our own interviews with Andy O'Brien, Ben Parker and coach Ian Miller, and Squareball-writer Steve Firth has helped out with a solid Gary Sprake interview. Peter Lorimer, Eddie Gray and Gary Edwards all help put with personal columns and we've got our own writers who are also much appreciated by our readers.
Thanks very much Svend for that chat, I hope its of interest to fans across the internet - much appreciated and best of luck with the Peacock News and playing your football in the Norway's Division 5!
You can follow Svend on twitter @svendleeds
