The game against Iceland went well, we have won convincingly and made another necessary step towards the playoffs
(82067).
Game shapes of our outside players were excellent, however game shapes of our big men were very poor (also my fault, since I played Ahler with until then optimal minutes also for Thursday's cup match - the game started already at 7 am, which caught me off guard). I expected Iceland to be a bit aggressive with game day predictions, and since we could play inside tactics very well with available players, I didn't hesitate. The sum of tactical-, home court- and quality advantages then led to a quick lead, which finally materialized in the second quarter, when we were leading by 26 points. Although our guests managed to get back to 13 points difference in Q3, our win was never in question, and the final result 127-102 is within the range of the expected outcome.
Four of the five starters -
Josefsson, Forsbratt, Häggin and
Håkansson were almost equally efficient, scoring 20 to 23 points, while the fifth starter,
Herman Hansson was offensively a bit less prominent, probably due to playing on a PG position. However, his +/- is the best among all players (+22), so obviously he was a huge asset for us.
I must say that I am really sad about the fate of
Mats Josefsson, whom I just recently described as one of the most promising swedish players of all generations. But he was sold in the meantime. Although his new owner takes good care of his minutes, he cannot train him further, which is a real loss for us. Josefsson will still be a team member, but his role will be limited, while he could become a team leader within a season or two. Another such player is also
Patrik Skogstedt (23), who was also the best player among many generations. He will be trained with a new chinese owner, and we'll see how it goes. It is very difficult if not impossible to give any directions to chinese managers. Although they can in some cases obviously train very good and very dedicated, they sometimes produce a bit chaotic players, who do not fit well in just any team, but are built for the specific purpose of their club. Actually now our two best 23 year olds are trained in China, I really hope they will give it their best.
So long story short, try to have a long-term vision with your trainees and NT players. Usually a player is best trained if he is with one manager from age 18 (or 19) until 30+. Especially for swedish teams, I strongly recommend not selling your trainees at any point. With Utopia it is a bit different, since most of us have Utopia teams in 4th division (and soon it will be 5th division), where finances cannot support NT caliber players above the age of 25 or so. Still, try to plan in advance and try to find a domestic buyer from swedish leagues if you can.