A summary was published today of the current odds for winning Allsvenskan 2011 from the different bookmakers. I figured I'd post the ones for the teams with americans on them. Code: 9) Halmstad: 26.00 (BET365) 8) Halmstad: 20,00 (UNIBET) 11) Halmstad: 30.00 (NORDICBET) 9) Halmstad: 25,00 (BETCLICK) 11) Halmstad: 40.00 (BETSSON) 10) Halmstad: 40,00 (SVENSKA SPEL)
The two largest newspapers in Sweden released their big 2011 season preview magazines today. They are generally full of poor research and bad player ratings but I still thought it would be a fun thing to post what they say about the americans. The different experts of the two magazines predicted that Halmstad will finish: 8th - 1 expert 10th - 1 expert 12th - 3 experts 13th - 6 experts 14th - 1 expert 15th - 4 experts
Halmstad finally managed to get a good result in their last game of the preseason when they beat Kalmar, the team that they will play in the first league round, with a 1-0 scoreline. Before this latest game though Halmstad have continued to struggle, with an 1-2 defeat against local fourth tier club Halmia being the biggest embarrassment. Miller have only been getting a medium amount of playing time and reading what the fans are saying it seems like he might have lost his starting place at right back. However in this latest win he played the full 90 minutes at right midfield so there might be a place for him further up the pitch this season.
Miller spent the game today on the bench as Halmstad drew Kalmar 0-0 at home in the Allsvenskan premiere. It was a poor game but both Halmstads right back and right midfielder performed amongst the best on the team so Millers playing time might be scarce in the upcoming games.
Miller spent the whole game on the bench again today as his team lost 3-1 against Malmö FF. Halmstad had a suprising 1-0 lead but after getting a player sent off in the second half Malmö had no problem turning the game around.
I think it's safe to say that Miller might not be the new coaches favourite as he again spent the whole game on the bench as Halmstad lost 0-2 at home after getting two men sent off.
Today Miller finally got his first few minutes of playing time this season when Halmstad played a 1-1 draw home against Trelleborg. He came on in the 86th minute as a right midfielder. The team is still really struggling to perform and only have two points in five games so far.
Second short appearance of the season yesterday for Miller. He came on for the last ten minutes as Halmstad finally got a crucial first win this season. On a sidenote it looked like he is growing a biker moustache.
Some slightly more positive reports on Miller this time (seen in the background of the matchday photo). He came on in the 53rd minute of the Swedish Cup game this week against third tier Karlstads BK. At that time Halmstad were down 0-1 but after Miller came on they turned the game around and won 4-1. This was only the second win for Halmstad this season, but things have maybe been looking a little bit better lately. In the next round of the cup they will face Malmö FF.
Miller is in the paper today as he seems to be getting his first start of the season tonight, he says: "I'm excited over this task. I haven't been playing much so I really want to take advantage of this opportunity. I try to remain professional even when I'm not playing so I've been working really hard during training to be ready when I'm given the chance. It has been tough not getting to play. It always is. Especially now when the team have been struggling it's hard to watch from the side without being able to do anything. I had knee surgery in November and then made a mistake going to the national team camp in January. It was probably too early for me to train as hard as I did then. I missed three weeks with Halmstad and when I came back I wasn't 100%. I also struggled with illnesses at the time so I really didn't put myself in a good position considering we had a new manager."
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHau0ny5j7Y"]YouTube - Halmstad BK - IFK Göteborg 2011 Highlights‏[/ame] Halmstad lost the game 1-2, I didn't watch but from reading the forums it sounds like Miller had a really rough night. He played half the game as left back and was then moved into central defence due to injuries. Things continue to look bad for Halmstad in the table. Code: Helsingborgs IF 9 6 2 1 12-3 20 IF Elfsborg 10 6 1 3 16-12 19 Kalmar FF 10 6 1 3 12-8 19 Malmö FF 9 5 2 2 12-10 17 Örebro 10 5 1 4 14-11 16 GAIS 10 5 1 4 13-11 16 Gefle IF 10 4 4 2 11-9 16 IFK Göteborg 10 4 2 4 13-13 14 AIK 10 4 2 4 11-12 14 Trelleborgs FF 10 4 2 4 14-16 14 IFK Norrköping 10 4 1 5 12-16 13 BK Häcken 10 3 3 4 15-12 12 Mjällby AIF 10 3 2 5 8-8 11 ------------------------------------------------------- Syrianska FC 10 3 2 5 9-11 11 ------------------------------------------------------- Djurgården 10 1 2 7 8-16 5 [B]Halmstads BK 10 1 2 7 7-17 5[/B]
I actually had the chance to watch Miller play the full 90 minutes today against Syrianska. Unfortunaly I have to say that he really struggled, especially in the first half when it looked like Syrianska had the conscious tactic of putting him under pressure and only attacking on his side. The Halmstad manager must have changed something around tactically for the second half because things seemed to calm down alot for Miller after half time. The game ended 0-0 which Halmstad must be very happy with since Syrianska dominated most of the game and created lots of chances.
I was at the game as well, and agreed, the first part of the match was rough for Miller as Syrianska was constantly attacking his side, and he had to make a few quick clearances. But his second half was much stronger, and towards the end of the match he was pressing forward, trying to give the Halmstad offense some much needed tonic. So overall, a positive match for him.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/06/11/american-exports-miller-goes-distance-halmstads {Hope that's Miller on the right! }
Better performance today from Miller in Halmstads 0-0 draw against Örebro. He played the full 90 minutes in central defence against Örebro and looked pretty solid throughout the game. I haven't watched all of their games but this was probably one of Halmstads better performances this season. They're still not scoring many goals though and remain in last place so they're probably unhappy with not getting the full three points.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41ujUFl1g4E"]YouTube - BK Häcken - Halmstad BK 2011 Highlights‏[/ame] Another loss for Halmstad tonight, this time 1-3 away against BK Häcken. Miller played the whole game in central defence again and I think he had a decent performance although he did come up short a couple of times against the current Allsvenskan top goalscorer who was very dominating in this game.
Correct, that's him scoring the second goal. However the top goalscorer who dominated the game and scored the last goal is Mathias Ranégie.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siYMwm8iLgQ"]YouTube - Halmstad - Helsingborg 2011 Highlights‏[/ame] As expected Halmstad lost again today against league leaders Helsingborg. Miller played the full game, unfortunaly I didn't have a chance to watch so I can't comment on his performance. He does look a bit passive (held down?) on Helsingborgs first goal in the highlights. Also shown in the highlights is the last dying gasp of the failed spanish experiment as winger Raul Ruiz removes his shirt and throws it to the ground after being subbed. Two of the five spanish players were sent home last month after the club claimed that they were "unable to adapt" and now the remaining three will return to Real Madrid Castilla. Code: Helsingborgs IF 14 9 4 1 25-10 31 IF Elfsborg 14 8 2 4 23-15 26 Kalmar FF 14 8 2 4 16-12 26 Gefle IF 14 6 6 2 13-9 24 GAIS 14 7 2 5 19-14 23 AIK 14 7 2 5 18-15 23 Malmö FF 14 6 3 5 14-17 21 Örebro 14 6 2 6 20-17 20 BK Häcken 14 5 4 5 24-17 19 IFK Göteborg 14 5 3 6 16-19 18 Djurgården 14 5 2 7 18-17 17 Syrianska FC 14 4 3 7 13-17 15 IFK Norrköping 14 4 3 7 15-23 15 ------------------------------------------------------- Mjällby AIF 14 4 2 8 11-18 14 ------------------------------------------------------- Trelleborgs FF 14 4 2 8 21-33 14 [B]Halmstads BK 14 1 4 9 9-22 7[/B]
Probably some for the first two, not sure who was paying what when it comes to the three loans. Halmstads financial situation has mirrored their on field performance over the last few seasons though. They actually already have two strikers on trial with them since the biggest thing they need right now is goals. The team has put in some ok performances when I've watched them but there is just noone who can score goals. I should also mention on a more positive note for Miller that he got todays start even though the teams veteran central defender was back and starting. I would have expected that this would put Miller back on the bench but instead he got the start and the other central defender didn't. Which I assume means that the manager is happy with how Miller is performing and has moved him up into the second pick in central defense.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JcnVmGo4HM"]YouTube - Halmstad BK - AIK 2011 Highlights‏[/ame] Miller played the full game in central defence again today when Halmstad lost 1-3 at home against AIK. I didn't watch the game but reading the Halmstad forums the fans want Miller out of the team which would indicate a less then great performance. The one positive thing for Halmstad right now is that the four teams right above them in the table also lost their games this round.
Actually, now we've seen the last of the spanish experiment as it was announced today that manager Josep Clotet Ruiz have been fired. Perhaps not very surprising since the team has won only one game in the first half of the season. Halmstads U21 coach will take over as manager, it remains to be seen if this will have any effect on Millers status on the team.