Vegard Forren

Hearing a few little whispers that Ole is keen on Vegard Foren from his old club Molde.
Any of our Norwegian fans care to share a little insight into what hes like ?

Not bad at all

Sounds like an Acorn style flop, went to Southampton for reasonably big money and then returned home for an "undisclosed" fee.

Came to Southampton with a great reputation, but he ended getting left out seemingly for lack of pace. Not sure he was given a proper chance there. There are plenty of CBs who play at a top level without pace, you just need great anticipation to make up for it.

But I just think if Ole wanted him he'd be here by now.

My boss is a huge Soton fan so i asked him to write me a little report om the Forren deal.


It started with interest from Soton but they looked at him for a good while without putting in an offer. David Moyes took his private jet to look at Forren as a possible Everton player and Brendan Rodgers wanted him to come to a trial with Liverpool. Solskjær said to media that he was ok with that as long as there was no offers on Forren.
The next day Soton made a bid at around 3,5mill and the trial with Liverpool was cancelled, they did not want to put up the money without a trial.

Forren signed for Soton while Adkins got fired but the man behind it was Pochettino. Forren was gonna replace Fonte and Lovren was goona be the quicker of them when he arrived.

Unfortunately for Forren his arrival ment that Fonte stepped up and started playing really well while Forren got to know the club and get used to the tempo. Pochettino was quoted saying that Forren was ready for PL after 3 months but he could not justify taking out Fonte who had been playing extremely well. Fonte kept up the good play and Forren never got the chance in the first team.When they bought Lovren he was told that he would not be a first team player in near future and got sold back to Molde as he would rather play first team football in Norway than earning big money on a reserve team in England.

Forren skills:

Good attributes: (Soton fan judgement)

Positions himself well inside the box. Always seem to be where the ball lands.
Anticipates the game well and seems to have 5 metres advantage in his head to compensate for the lack of speed.
Good at moving forward with the ball and seemed comfortable with the ball in his feet.
Very good passing, both short range and long range.
Very dangerous on set pieces and also got a extremely heavy shot, can score from range and on the head.
Showed at U21 that he is a leader on the field.

Bad attributes:

Pace. Not the man to catch up if he is already behind the player with ball.
Agility. Sometimes he looked as if he was made of stone. Could also be a good attribute but i rate would preferred him to be more agile.
Work rate. Could look at bit tired at the end of matches but we (soton fans) gave him the benefit of the doubt as he came to us out of season.

My view on Forren was to he was close to match Fonte but not quite there. The tempo in English football was probably what kept him behind Fonte but he is 6 years younger than Fonte and has plenty of time to improve. With patience and first experience he will become a better player than Fonte but at the moment id rather go for Fonte.

Btw, Fonte is not for sale. Among us Soton fans rumours says that 7mill is the least the club will accept for him. Doubt no one pays that much for him when he turns 31 this year.

My boss is a huge Soton fan so i asked him to write me a little report om the Forren deal.


It started with interest from Soton but they looked at him for a good while without putting in an offer. David Moyes took his private jet to look at Forren as a possible Everton player and Brendan Rodgers wanted him to come to a trial with Liverpool. Solskjær said to media that he was ok with that as long as there was no offers on Forren.
The next day Soton made a bid at around 3,5mill and the trial with Liverpool was cancelled, they did not want to put up the money without a trial.

Forren signed for Soton while Adkins got fired but the man behind it was Pochettino. Forren was gonna replace Fonte and Lovren was goona be the quicker of them when he arrived.

Unfortunately for Forren his arrival ment that Fonte stepped up and started playing really well while Forren got to know the club and get used to the tempo. Pochettino was quoted saying that Forren was ready for PL after 3 months but he could not justify taking out Fonte who had been playing extremely well. Fonte kept up the good play and Forren never got the chance in the first team.When they bought Lovren he was told that he would not be a first team player in near future and got sold back to Molde as he would rather play first team football in Norway than earning big money on a reserve team in England.

Forren skills:

Good attributes: (Soton fan judgement)

Positions himself well inside the box. Always seem to be where the ball lands.
Anticipates the game well and seems to have 5 metres advantage in his head to compensate for the lack of speed.
Good at moving forward with the ball and seemed comfortable with the ball in his feet.
Very good passing, both short range and long range.
Very dangerous on set pieces and also got a extremely heavy shot, can score from range and on the head.
Showed at U21 that he is a leader on the field.

Bad attributes:

Pace. Not the man to catch up if he is already behind the player with ball.
Agility. Sometimes he looked as if he was made of stone. Could also be a good attribute but i rate would preferred him to be more agile.
Work rate. Could look at bit tired at the end of matches but we (soton fans) gave him the benefit of the doubt as he came to us out of season.

My view on Forren was to he was close to match Fonte but not quite there. The tempo in English football was probably what kept him behind Fonte but he is 6 years younger than Fonte and has plenty of time to improve. With patience and first experience he will become a better player than Fonte but at the moment id rather go for Fonte.

Btw, Fonte is not for sale. Among us Soton fans rumours says that 7mill is the least the club will accept for him. Doubt no one pays that much for him when he turns 31 this year.

Thanks for that sounds better than some we have, and also sounds like the type of player Ole knows, trusts and would buy

Not sure if he lacks of pace. Pace is missing in central defense and central midfield.

I do think he would cost us £2-3M. He faced quite some competition in Southampton, I think Fonte is a bit better. Forren would walk straight into the starting line-up.

My boss is a huge Soton fan so i asked him to write me a little report om the Forren deal.


It started with interest from Soton but they looked at him for a good while without putting in an offer. David Moyes took his private jet to look at Forren as a possible Everton player and Brendan Rodgers wanted him to come to a trial with Liverpool. Solskjær said to media that he was ok with that as long as there was no offers on Forren.
The next day Soton made a bid at around 3,5mill and the trial with Liverpool was cancelled, they did not want to put up the money without a trial.

Forren signed for Soton while Adkins got fired but the man behind it was Pochettino. Forren was gonna replace Fonte and Lovren was goona be the quicker of them when he arrived.

Unfortunately for Forren his arrival ment that Fonte stepped up and started playing really well while Forren got to know the club and get used to the tempo. Pochettino was quoted saying that Forren was ready for PL after 3 months but he could not justify taking out Fonte who had been playing extremely well. Fonte kept up the good play and Forren never got the chance in the first team.When they bought Lovren he was told that he would not be a first team player in near future and got sold back to Molde as he would rather play first team football in Norway than earning big money on a reserve team in England.

Forren skills:

Good attributes: (Soton fan judgement)

Positions himself well inside the box. Always seem to be where the ball lands.
Anticipates the game well and seems to have 5 metres advantage in his head to compensate for the lack of speed.
Good at moving forward with the ball and seemed comfortable with the ball in his feet.
Very good passing, both short range and long range.
Very dangerous on set pieces and also got a extremely heavy shot, can score from range and on the head.
Showed at U21 that he is a leader on the field.

Bad attributes:

Pace. Not the man to catch up if he is already behind the player with ball.
Agility. Sometimes he looked as if he was made of stone. Could also be a good attribute but i rate would preferred him to be more agile.
Work rate. Could look at bit tired at the end of matches but we (soton fans) gave him the benefit of the doubt as he came to us out of season.

My view on Forren was to he was close to match Fonte but not quite there. The tempo in English football was probably what kept him behind Fonte but he is 6 years younger than Fonte and has plenty of time to improve. With patience and first experience he will become a better player than Fonte but at the moment id rather go for Fonte.

Btw, Fonte is not for sale. Among us Soton fans rumours says that 7mill is the least the club will accept for him. Doubt no one pays that much for him when he turns 31 this year.

Very good report, and very accurate in my opinion. Before he went to Villa, he was an obvious first choice in the Norwegian national team (even before Hangeland), but unfortunately he came back from his stay at Villa as a weaker player (lost some confidence?) However, before Forren went to Villa, Solskjaer said himself that Forren was good enough for Man Utd. He had a dgood season in Molde this year, and I don´t think he would be a bad choice at all. He is a player that can both defend and distribute the ball forward. Would be a better option than any of the defenders we have now. I would go for it. We could probable have him for around 2 mill.

And btw, if you want to sigh Norwegian players, this is the time of year to do so, as the Norwegian league runs from March to November. No off-season excuses needed.

Forren was really good before he signed for Southampton. He is a great header, but not much for pace.. Ole will only get him on the cheap..

Most likely waiting on players to leave before we get anyone in

My boss is a huge Soton fan so i asked him to write me a little report om the Forren deal.


It started with interest from Soton but they looked at him for a good while without putting in an offer. David Moyes took his private jet to look at Forren as a possible Everton player and Brendan Rodgers wanted him to come to a trial with Liverpool. Solskjær said to media that he was ok with that as long as there was no offers on Forren.
The next day Soton made a bid at around 3,5mill and the trial with Liverpool was cancelled, they did not want to put up the money without a trial.

Forren signed for Soton while Adkins got fired but the man behind it was Pochettino. Forren was gonna replace Fonte and Lovren was goona be the quicker of them when he arrived.

Unfortunately for Forren his arrival ment that Fonte stepped up and started playing really well while Forren got to know the club and get used to the tempo. Pochettino was quoted saying that Forren was ready for PL after 3 months but he could not justify taking out Fonte who had been playing extremely well. Fonte kept up the good play and Forren never got the chance in the first team.When they bought Lovren he was told that he would not be a first team player in near future and got sold back to Molde as he would rather play first team football in Norway than earning big money on a reserve team in England.

Forren skills:

Good attributes: (Soton fan judgement)

Positions himself well inside the box. Always seem to be where the ball lands.
Anticipates the game well and seems to have 5 metres advantage in his head to compensate for the lack of speed.
Good at moving forward with the ball and seemed comfortable with the ball in his feet.
Very good passing, both short range and long range.
Very dangerous on set pieces and also got a extremely heavy shot, can score from range and on the head.
Showed at U21 that he is a leader on the field.

Bad attributes:

Pace. Not the man to catch up if he is already behind the player with ball.
Agility. Sometimes he looked as if he was made of stone. Could also be a good attribute but i rate would preferred him to be more agile.
Work rate. Could look at bit tired at the end of matches but we (soton fans) gave him the benefit of the doubt as he came to us out of season.

My view on Forren was to he was close to match Fonte but not quite there. The tempo in English football was probably what kept him behind Fonte but he is 6 years younger than Fonte and has plenty of time to improve. With patience and first experience he will become a better player than Fonte but at the moment id rather go for Fonte.

Btw, Fonte is not for sale. Among us Soton fans rumours says that 7mill is the least the club will accept for him. Doubt no one pays that much for him when he turns 31 this year.

Very good report, and very accurate in my opinion. Before he went to Villa, he was an obvious first choice in the Norwegian national team (even before Hangeland), but unfortunately he came back from his stay at Villa as a weaker player (lost some confidence?) However, before Forren went to Villa, Solskjaer said himself that Forren was good enough for Man Utd. He had a dgood season in Molde this year, and I don´t think he would be a bad choice at all. He is a player that can both defend and distribute the ball forward. Would be a better option than any of the defenders we have now. I would go for it. We could probable have him for around 2 mill.

Theres a slight difference between Villa and Southampton, Forren was at Southampton

Oh yes, of course. Southampton it was. My bad

Youtubed him, omg he kicks like a horse:

http://youtu.be/oy8FnvVRZuI

Looks like Gary Breen.

I've followed him at Molde and in the national team and very much agree with CardiffNs post. Extremely good at both off. and def. set pieces. Great strength. Great passing. Good football intelligence to make up for his lack of speed. But when out of form he really looks like a stone - on form he'll cope with a quicker game.

Would be very surprised to see him at CCFC now though - if Solskjaer really wanted him he would have got him in time for pre-season. Hardly think he would be able to jump right in and make a difference in the championship.

Excellent abilities:
-Reading the game
-Left footed passing can be said to be excellent for a CB

Good abilities:
-Aerial ability
-Upper body strength
-Ball control

Average abilities:
-Stamina
-Speed

Poor abilities:
-Agility (turning)

I quite like him, he's a very bright head trapped in a somewhat slow body, but he has proved intelligence trumps physicality 9/10 times by now. He's always where the ball will be, because he thinks ahead. This also means he can split the opposing defence with a long pass very well too, on the counter.

Cala and Forren together would be a really good fit for the type of playing-out-of-defence buildup Ole obviously wants.

And he's definitely in tip top shape, given it's mid-season in Norway.

I think CardiffN's post sums it up pretty well.

Forren really bossed the Norwegian League the season before going to Southampton. Player of the year and had taken his chances on the national team pretty well - practically establishing himself as the partner to Brede Hangeland.

First problem is that those things really can't say much about whether he was premier league material or not. The norwegian league is very far from top european level, not even tier-2. We struggle to get teams into Europe League group stage, champions league remains a "dream". And the competition for the norwegian national team is hardly much to envy. It's been a good while since we've had strength there. Apart from old and fading Brede Hangeland, the remaining competitors for the central defence spots are playing in Norway (now we also have one in Denmark...).

His stay in Southampton had some unfortunate circumstances. Forren had been off-season when he came in the middle of the english season, the buying manager was sacked, other players performed well.

It might also have something to do with how they played. I am not sure, but in his time in Southampton I think they like to press high - which would put pressure on Forren's vulnerability - lacking some pace. Solskjær knows this - Forren prefers sitting more deep. Somewhat lacking pace, he does not really enjoy play in behind him. He is not really fond of quick dribblers either, I guess. His defensive strength is as mention a very good anticipation and he can boss his area very well (winning very much in the air, blocking and interception etcetera). This made him very important in Molde. They played vert attacking (defensively naive, some would say), but because of Forren Molde was hardly very afraid of crossing into the box. They gave wingbacks some liberties going forward. On set pieces he is like a magnet - he makes it look like the attacking team always aims for him

He was also an attribute for our posession play, having a good passing abilities and can be a creative player opening up play from deep. He didn't score particularly much from headers on attacking corners, but he actually has scored from a few free kicks when he has taken them.

One other drawback I should mention. He has had a slight tendency to make some nasty mistakes, perhaps from low concentration, or to much focus on participating in the attacking play. Those tendencies were gone in his excellent 2011 and 2012-seasons, but has appeared on a few occasions since returning from England.

You might argue that Solskjær knows what he gets. But on the other side, his Molde-imports haven't all come through...