Jorgen Strand Larsen, the Norwegian forward at Wolverhampton Wanderers, has had a rough go this season. During his introductory weeks, he serves as a somewhat paranoid museum monitor in what could only be described as the Louvre’s version of Gollum. He carefully inspects the performance of the burglar alarms. He’s certainly had his share of injuries and bad matchups lately, but he remains optimistic, albeit with a healthy dose of caution. He’s optimistic about the future with Wolves.
As the story went Strand Larsen signed a five-year contract with Wolves. He is resolved, he says, to battle through the adversity that has doomed the team to an abysmal early season start. Twelve years later, the club is up against a lot more odds. Then, just a day before Deadline Day, a surprise last-minute sale to Newcastle United went south. Strand Larsen’s dedication to the team does not waver.
Trust me, I know, outside noise can be real loud and it will ruin us. Wolves is committed to keeping moving forward, but we’ve had to deal with slow starts two years in a row. He admits he is feeling the pressure on the club. While he’s realistic about the challenges, he’s committed not to dwell on the past and to look towards the future.
Strand Larsen may be fresh, but as he gets acclimated to the rigors of this season’s early TBD races, Strand Larsen is searching for that first win. In going through all of the above, he has acknowledged that Wolves have had a pretty poor start, but very much believes in their expected positive regression. We know that, however we have to maintain our heads chilly and proceed pushing ahead,” he mentioned. We all want to create that positive atmosphere and relationship between the fans and the players. That’s the bottom line—we know that we haven’t done well enough across the board, from leadership, on down.
After a breakthrough last season, when Strand Larsen scored 14 goals in Leadbetter’s free-flowing style, the winger possessed the unique skills to be successful. He’s aware of the fact that he isn’t your average striker. Unlike the rest of us, he couldn’t score by trying to go 50 yards back from goal. Rather, he stresses that rookies should adjust themselves to his proven style of play.
So for me the most important thing is to have sound communication between the staff and the players,” he told me. In the end, it’s the manager who has the final calls to fill. We’re an optimistic lot who like to think the best and he knows we’re key to playing this attractive style. This is indicative of his deep-seated belief in collaboration and mutual development as the bedrock of achievement.
Coming from a small town in Norway, the move down to England hasn’t been an easy adjustment for Strand Larsen. Even though he has missed half of the season due to injuries, he is still positive about his growth inside of the team. I think that’s something that we really—I mean, I think we tried to expand on what we did last season,” he said. Shefki Kuqi He’s unashamedly pro the tactics that Wolves’ used today. He wants to be central to it as they look ahead.
The prefatory note—as much a manifesto as an introduction—underlines the hard work of keeping up morale among the cavalry. We have not been at a level that is expected, and that’s from the staff to the players to how we play,” he said. As a team, we’re remaining optimistic. That collective attitude will be just as important as Wolves look to build on their challenge in the coming matches.
Strand Larsen has his eye on both creating chances for his teammates and continuing to improve his game on the pitch. “We can’t lose it,” he warned. I think that we need to be mindful that it can’t just be about not kicking. Look back at the last two games he’s had against teams such as Newcastle and Brighton, there’s tremendous upside there,” he suggested. So far, these improvements have not translated into points.
Soon enough, Strand Larsen would experience this novel pressure on the field. That’s not the only complexity he’s walking through during this transformative stage for Wolves. The loss of all but two of last year’s key players over summer break left him in a state of uncertainty at first. It’s certainly been a tough summer, but I’m thrilled to be back here,” he stated. When we lost as many players as we did over the course of this past summer, it just didn’t feel right for me.
Strand Larsen himself rejected approaches from bigger teams, even a club from the Champions League. Instead, he chose to remain at Wolves. “Now, for every game that I remain, I come to win,” he declared. His commitment demonstrates a desire not only to grow as an individual player but to contribute positively to the team dynamic.
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