I want to start this entry by saying congratulations to Middelfart for not only winning this weekend but for putting a really strong, well run tournament. It was great to see that they made a few adjustments and came out with a much better result than in previous years. The level of play was high and everything ran smoothly and I’m fairly sure that all of the teams participating got exactly what they wanted out of it – a bunch of good volleyball.
With that said, allow me to give you my immediate reactions and some unfounded speculation…
Things haven’t changed much from my team previews. I still think the top four teams are Gentofte, Middelfart, Marienlyst and HIK. With that said, I also think that Gentofte and Middelfart have separated themselves out as the top two teams right now.
Gentofte looks like they have the biggest upside to me, if they continue developing throughout the season they are going to be really tough to beat. The setters are going to have to work hard to find the Brazilian’s attack points because right now it looks like they are somewhat out of sync with each other.
Middelfart was absolutely solid throughout the tournament. They have a deep bench and a full team that can all play at a high level. I think out of everyone they are the sharpest team right now. They don’t make a lot of mistakes and they play a good solid all around game. In order to beat them you have to execute at a high level for an entire match and that is about all you can ask for from a team at this point.
That leaves Us and HIK to try and catch up. We played okay at times in the tournament but our level is far too inconsistent. Something we are going to have to remedy through training and experience. It’s hard to point to one thing that we need to improve on for me, I just think that right now we are not as good as some of the other teams out there.
HIK has all the ingredients to be in the top as well and it was great to see Villadsen back around. They just need to pass the ball better. At the moment their passing is not good enough and without consistent passing they won’t be able to challenge any of the top level teams.
SK Aarhus also put on a fairly strong showing, considering that their team has only been together for about ten days they look pretty solid. I didn’t really get to see them play a whole lot so I can’t say too much more about them.
I’m absolutely excited and thrilled to see that the level of Danish volleyball has been strengthened so much since last year. It is going to make for a really interesting season which will hopefully translate into some renewed enthusiasm for volleyball. No doubt that since I have been in Denmark this is the highest the level has ever been.
I don’t know what the deal is, maybe they didn’t have all of their players or whatever, but the only Swedish team that was any good was Hylte. So the lesson here is that Swedes suck.
And Germans too.
Season start is only one week away for most of the teams in the elite division except for us who will be going to Austria for our top teams cup qualification match. I’m going to try and keep a kind of running journal of the events leading up and including the matches. If there is anything worth mentioning I’ll try to put it up here on the site.
Also, not this weekend because I will be gone and worrying about other things, but next weekend I’m going to start a weekly “tips” column where I will predict the future and tell you who is going to win each match. So if you want to make some money or post your own predictions (with explanations) then check it out.
Good luck to everyone this weekend, cross your fingers for us we need all the help we can get down there.
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7 comments:
Swedes definitely suck, and yet I believe you somehow managed to lose your match against Örkelljunga, who were later beaten 3-0 by Amager and Hvidovre?
Amager and Hvidovre suck.
I know, especially Amager. But tell us about the Örkelljunga match. I didn't see it.
Now I think both of you have crossed the line :)
Amager suck ????
We were the only 1 div. team and did not come in last, how about that.
Which position did Hvidovre get ?
I think most things are pretty correct. However about the suckiness part you could also see which teams performed best compared to the money invested.
The last 5 years the Mens team in Lyngby had a total cost of 0 kr, this includes off season tournaments, coaching staff and player contracts.
On contrary every player payed 2000 kr a year to practice, and should have 16 work hours for the club in a season.
So if the teams were stocks, Lyngby would be the best place to invest your money :)
joke aside, i think that Middelfart and Gentofte looked the strongest.
However Gentofte dont have many players who are used to winning, which can be fatal when it counts, and both teams have a track record of loosing stupid games that cost them important points.
Marienlyst knows how to win, but seem to have lost some of their "Mojo" on the outside, the new guy is very important.
SK, i dont think it will work this year - it doesnt seem solid compared to the other 3.
Hik, need to step up a bit if they wanna compete, they have the players and the skills . with improved passing over the season they will perform better, they simply need better passes for their fast game.
I was also impressed with Martin Stenderups setting this weekend.
Recap:
Hik needs to improve their reception.
Middelfart needs to learn to win consitently / keep their level of play up.
Marienlyst needs to improve on the outside hitters (except Jesper who is solid as ever)
SK Århus needs to get the team to play together (and get more danes imho).
Gentofte just needs to deal with being a top team, and perform well in every game.
On a personal level im hoping a bit for Gentofte because of the geografi :), but the only prediction worth anything would be to find the 6 teams for the playoffs.
And the 5 teams above are clear, and i think the last spot will go to Hvidovre or Lyngby depending on their internal game November 9th.
/William
Amager sucks.
No seriously, I think Amager had a really good showing there in Middelfart. It is obvious that Breinholm is doing a really good job restructuring that team. I never saw them play last year but the knock on them was that they were far too inconsistent. It looks like this year they are working hard to solve that problem. Clearly they have a chance to move up to the elite if they continue their development.
They'll definitely need a new opposite though...........
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