Hi from Saint-Etienne :)

[Galcian]

Hi everyone,

I'm a fan of Saint-Etienne. As it appear that we are going to compete against each other, I just swing by to say hello.
First of all, we are quite happy to be with you in the same group, as Rosenborg is a quite famous and glorious opponent (for us at least). Last time we saw each other was in 2008 when you came to Saint-Etienne (in UEFA cup) but we hadn't had the pleasure to visit Trondheim. We will this time

In order to fulfill the curiosity of our supporters, i would like to ask you a few questions :

- Do you know Saint-Etienne in Norway ? Do you know any of its players ?

- What are Rosenborg favorit tactics ?
- What are your strong points and weaknesses ?
- Who are your key players ?
- Are you going to visit us in Saint-Etienne for the first game ?
- Why Rosenborg is struggling to win a new national title ? Because you're weaker or other teams like Molde are getting better ?


If you have any questions, feel free to ask

[Badabeu]

I was just finishing my own thread but no problem, I'll post it here.

As you can see, I'm a Saint-Étienne fan too, and with some members of our forum ( www.poteaux-carres.com/fo.../index.php ), we decided to ask you some questions about various subjects. We did the same last year with the Turkish fans of Karabükspor and it was very nice.

So, I'll post here the questions of several users, and I hope it will be answered.


Poteaux-Carrés' members questions :

• Did you particularily want to have a French team in your group ? If yes, which one ?

• Are some of your fans going to make the trip to "Sainté" on September 17th ? Can we expect them to full the visitors section ?

• What is your typical formation on the field ? Do you have several ones ?

• Do you have strong individualities, or rather a well-built team with players that have quite the same level ?

• Talking about the football level only, to which Ligue 1 team would you compare RBK ?

• What is you physical/technical/tactical level ?

• What is your level on free kicks and corners ?

• What do you know (apart from the UEFA cup group stage in 2008) about our club, our city, our notable and current players ?

• About Ligue 1 ?

• Is RBK a very offensive team that can create a lot of goal opportunities in a game, or a defensively strong team that plays counterattack ?


My questions :

• Bjørn Tore Kvarme played for both teams : in Saint-Étienne (where he played from 1999 to 2001), thanks to his football level and his mentality, he is very respected. Is it the same in Trondheim ?

• Is your most notable rival Valerenga, Molde FK, SK Brann-Bergen or another team ?


Thanks by advance ! Also, if you wanna ask us questions about our club, feel free to register on our forum (the homepage : http://www.poteaux-carres.../index.php ). Click on "M'enregistrer", then "Avant le [current day and month] 2002", type your name, password, etc. and ask us once your account is active. We'll be pleased to answer you on this thread : http://www.poteaux-carres...mp;t=21963 (I go by the username "Super Friteuse")

Good day to you !

[Barney]

Hi!

I'll try to reply to both of you.

I know St. Etienne quite well as a team as a team from France with a very rich history. Located in a very beautiful part of France (I've personally been to Lyon and Le Puy, but not Saint Etienne yet). To be honest I doubt many people hoped for a French team, as French teams are known to be well organized and good, but apart from Paris SG, not very glamorous compared to the English and Spanish teams. That being said: Personally I am very happy with a French team rather than for instance another trip to Eastern Europe. I know very little about your current team, so feel free to enlighten us!

With regards to tactics I think the strong point of the team is just that: The Team. And the weakness is the players. You most likely have better players in every position on the field, but our team is very coordinated on the pitch and the players know where they have each other without looking.

Badabeau: To answer your question directly I believe our physical level is quite good, our tactical level is probably our main asset, while our technical level is slightly below average, especially compared with a regular Ligue 1 - team. Despite that we hardly score goals on set pieces.

Personally I'm looking into going to the game in France, but depends a bit on how easy it will be to get there.

We've struggled for a few years due to poor leadership on and off the pitch, simply put. Rather than doing what brought success for so many years we started hiring Swedish coaches from the school of Roy Hodgson and one Norwegian coach who had Egil Olsen, our former destructive national coach as tutor. At the same time Molde got gifted ~€20m from a Norwegian oligarch and hired Ole Gunnar Solskjær as manager. Now we're back where we belong.


Bjørn Tore Kvarme is well respected for his career after he left Rosenborg. He played at a very high level for many years in top European leagues. He does not have a huge place in the history of the club as he was not really playing that much before he left (to Liverpool amazingly enough). After he came back he wasn't at his best level any more and he also became part of the team that lost the top position in Norway.

Our main rival is probably Molde, but I think we're bigger rivals for them than the other way around, although that might have changed the last few years with all the free money they received which rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Best of luck to you as well!

[kentosd]

Hi, and welcome!

I'm sure you will get very good answers to your questions.. There are many high quality users in here.

St. Etienne is for me most known for its fans, Magic Fans and Green Angels, and i know many are looking forward to experience them. I really wish I could travel to St. Etienne too. I doubt that we are going to fill the away section, but hopefully a respectable number of fans will make the travel.

Our formation is 4-3-3. A very direct and attacking style. It's just the Rosenborg way. We do have strong individuals like Pål André Helland, but this is a well-buildt team. I'll let others talk more about the tactics, it is not my strong point.

Our main rival is molde fk. A plastic club from a small "city" 3-4 hours south-west of Trondheim. The rest of our rivals is a bit of a blur. I like to say that Lillestrøm SK is the second biggest rival, others will say Vålerengens IF or SK Brann. But for me it's mainly molde fk and Lillestrøm SK. Another fact is that many of the other clubs in Norway holds us as their main rival, but this is quite one-sided.

Looking forward to the matches, good luck!
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[xMegafonmannen]

If the game had been later on, many more would have gone to St. Etienne, so i don't think the away sections is going to be full.
But there's some people going.

Trivia about Bjørn Tore Kvarme: Playing for Rosenborg Old boys and coach for his childs team here in Trondheim.
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[attach]

[vegardj]

[Ballahl]

Welcome to both of You, nice to see fans of other teams (abroad) in the forum.

I will try to answer Your questions, but i don't represent anybody, only myself. So don't take my answers and use them as a point of view of all the fans of RBK.

[Galcian]

Thank you guys for your answers, very interesting !

To answer BjarneS enquiries about our team, I would say that we are, a bit like you, more of a team than just players. We do have a strong spine with Hamouma (winger) - Lemoine (Midfielder) - Perrin (Central defender, boy of the town at the club since the age of 13, our god in one word) - Ruffier (Keeper), but mainly, it's a team that defend well (although this year with do struggle on Free kicks without knowing why). We use a massive stricker, who does not score that many goals, but deviates to wingers that will score.

Our main scheme is 4-3-3 ou 4-2-3-1 with an old school 10. The second one is likely to be the n°1 tactic, at least at home. Somtimes, the coach is going berserk and tries 3-4-3 or 3-5-2, and it's either a massive succes or an atrocious catastrophy. The coach, Galtier, is seen as a defensive one, but is very respected, picking up the team at the 17th place (on 20) in 2010 and managing to be 5th, 4th and 5th the last three seasons and bringing us our first trophy in more than 30 years. (A League Cup).


If you have any other questions


Some other enquiries

Some of our fans are hesitating to stay a bit longer in Trondheim, as Norway is famous for its landscapes (I've been to the Lofoten, what a place !). Should they stay a while ? (As it's the end of November, maybe the cold and the dark makes it useless)
Is it very cold ? Even though winters are cold in Saint-Etienne, it is nothing like Norway I guess.
Also, most of the flights are landing in Bergen or Oslo, would you recommand domestic flights or road to get to Trondheim ?

[xMegafonmannen]

easiest for you is to fly to Oslo. from there you can choose fra om bus, train or domestic flights.

If you want to see nature, i recommend the train via Lillehammer from Oslo

Or fly to Bergen, take a buss from there, but thats a crazy long buss-ride. Or, if you're loaded, take the boat ''Hurtigruta''

It's going to be cold, but probably not much snow.
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[Harceïde]

November is cold and dark, and typically without any snow. Worst month to visit Trondheim in my opinion.

The nature here is beautiful, but not spectacular like further south (or north).

[nidaros997]

[larsarus]

[Thulian]

Most know of St. Etienne as a club, few know of it's current players is my statement.

Offensive style of play, as previously mentioned like the Ajax "total football", but at away games in Europe you will see a well balanced team that will start the pressure around the midfield and use counterattacks for what it's worth.

Strong point is mainly the team effort and spirit as already pointed out.
Weakness is the lack of technical abilities compared to high end Europe standards.

Key Players: Helland, Jensen, Selnæs and I'd dare say Lædre Bjørdal even tho he arrived this summer as a replacement to Stefan Strandberg who made a move to Krasnodar in Russia.

I've seen a handfull saying they'll visit St. Etienne, but there is no way whatsoever that we'll be even close to filling the away section.
And most likely the hardcore fans will be outnumbered by those who travel there as well. Those you'll have the pleasure of seeing and hearing at the upper east section of the stadium at Lerkendal;)

We've struggled due to an incompetent board that have more or less wasted all (!) the riches we've won in Europe late 90 early 00, and gone away from the football that truly defines this club and it's culture.
However the supporters are coming back now as KÃ¥re 'the Messiah' Ingebrigtsen is in charge, and we're playing an offensive style of football that attracts the fans in it's thousands.

For the older fans it's Lillestrøm that is the plague put upon this earth to torment us, but we've had a great hold on that team for quite awhile now.
For the younger ones it's Mold£
Then there's always fun matches against VÃ¥lerengen and SK Brann Bergen (even tho they were relegated last season).


Best of luck to you guys:)
At least you'll need it at Lerkendal:D

[Laziale]

Salut les stéphanois !

Ahahahah ! Et oui, côté Lazio. Faisons de ce topic une réunion à 4. Il nous manque un gars de Dnipro ! Le pire c'est que j'en connais un ! Mais il ne voudra pas s'inscrire ici.

[haavarl]

[Badabeu]

Hi guys !

Sorry for my lack of answers, I planned to answer you several days ago but I went back to work, etc... Maybe I'll translate you on my forum this weekend. Anyways, I'll take take to answer to the first messages.

@BjarneS : Le Puy is a lovely city, for both the landscapes and the history. Lyon, however... They're our rivals since a couple of centuries, at least. In an objective way, the city is beautiful, but the inhabitants are cold, mean. The exact contrary of Saint-Étienne.

@Ballahl : Actually, Rennes is very criticized in France for having an annoying style of play for annoying seasons... But I understand what you mean, talking about the squad's level only.

@Thulian : You and others quote Lillestrøm because you seem to always lose against them in important matches - that's what I understood, at least. Is there really a rivalry in the stands with them, or is it just anger because you're not lucky against them ?
"Kåre 'the Messiah' Ingebrigtsen" -> That's good, you have the Messiah and we have God (Loïc Perrin, Centre-Back that played as Central Midfield and Right-Back earlier, son of the club and the city, calm - he never took a red card in about 300 matches - , clever, down-to-earth man). What a struggle !

Actually, our current Right-Back, Théophile-Catherine, hurt himself against Bastia last week (little 2-1 victory with an incredible scenario). So, our RB will be or Kevin Malcuit, young player from Niort that came a few days ago and has some issues in defensive tasks, or François Clerc, born in 504 BC. Anyways, it might be easier for you that it would have been with Théophile-Catherine.

[vegardj]

Welcome back!

[Thulian]

Also in our glory days Lillestrøm were the only team in the top division that had never been relegated.
One of the records we envied them;)

[varg88]

I will be in the stadium of St. Etienne next june during the European Championship and I'm really looking foward to that

Although we are doing very well in the league this season, nobody will be surprised if you win both matches against us. I think the Ligue 1 is one of the Top5-leagues in Europe and the Tippeliga barely in the Top 30 Our team is very well in counter-attacks and that is the part of the game where we really can be dangerous even for much stronger teams. I think Dnipro and St Etienne will qualify for the next round in this group.

[pascal42]

[gollumLAD legend]

Yes, its normal to see the northen lights in Trondheim in November.
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[bastien03]

Hi guys,

I will be in Trondheim for the game. Does anyone feel like going for a beer before/after the game?

I would be more than happy

Cheers

[Mynthon]

Yeah sure. It depends on who wins, but im down for a beer before the game at least.
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Gama tous tin mana, Rosenborg.

[arnt]

Sure, let's have a wee dram avant jeu
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Med Hagel paa en Thrønder vilde skyde,
Men fik hans Pande ei i sønder,
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