London/Chippenham. They met in Leeds, both moved to Scandinavia and have very different pictures of what it’s like to train Östersunds FK.
Now Brighton, led by Graham Potter, face Ian Burchnal’s Forest Green Rovers in the English Premier League Cup.
– We were constantly compared to Östersund, which was difficult, says Burchnal.
What happened to the club really had nothing to do with Ian, says Potter.
Ian Burchnall reclines at the bar in the lounge at the training facility.
No matter what I have been able to achieve in Östersund, nothing beats what Graham has done. They just defeated Arsenal and finished sixth in the Allsvenskan. “As long as I don’t win the league, I won’t be able to get past it,” Burchnal says harshly.
It’s afternoon in the small town of Chippenham a few miles east of Bristol. The heat wave that has terrified England in recent weeks has been replaced by cold winds and torrential clouds.
Forest Green Rovers just finished training today. When Rob Edwards unexpectedly chose to leave the club, which had recently been promoted to League One, for the attractive Watford, owner Del Vince turned coach with a background in Scandinavia.
“You don’t want me anymore”
It’s been two years since Ian Burchnall packed his bags and moved to England with his family after seven years in Norway and Sweden. The feeling when he left Östersund a year before the contract expired was relief above all.
– Yes, I was ready to leave. There was a lot of politics. I knew the new people who entered the club didn’t want me anymore. Maybe because Daniel (Kindberg) brought me in. I knew they wanted to get rid of everyone making good money and start over, he says.
We support the band for 2018. Graham Potter He made a name for himself by taking ÖFK all the way to Emirates Airlines and Swansea decided to bet on the Englishman with an odd background.
President Daniel Kindberg has a clear goal with his replacement appointment: the new Graham Potter.
Look at me as something before Graham
On paper, Kindberg surprisingly came close. Ian Burchenal, then working for Viking, headed to Norway a year after Potter took charge of Östersund in 2011.
In fact, the duo have known each other very well since their time in Leeds.
Graham was a coach at Leeds Metropolitan University and I’m at the University of Leeds. Burchenal explains, so we met often.
While he himself got straight into the Norwegian Premier League, Potter took a long, fourth-tier turn into the Allsvenskan, something the friend describes as an “unparalleled feat”.
In many respects the coaches were alike. University background in Leeds, outstanding features and clear playing philosophy.
– When I finished playing with Östersund, I was 35 years old. Burchnall says Graham was quite old when Daniel took him there.
I think Daniel thought he had seven wonderful years with Graham. Graham Potter who left Östersund wasn’t the same coach who arrived, he’s grown hugely during those years and Daniel loved it. Maybe he saw me as someone who was a little ahead of Graham because of my five years in Norway and that I had the ability to make the same journey.
“Team motivation is the biggest problem”
Constant comparison with Potter became a heavy burden to bear. Burchal remembers what it was like to sit on the podium after matches next to the opponent’s coach and hear the media ask him how “new” it was. Östersund FK Different from Graham Potter’s team.
It’s great to see someone move out of the Swedish league to achieve what Graham has achieved, and above all good to know it’s possible. But I needed to find my own way.
The time in northern Sweden was not what he had imagined. This is partly due to the state of the team and the fact that many stars have left after the success of the Europa League.
I remember talking to Graham before I took the job and how he described it as a rebuilding. Ian Burchnall says this cycle was coming to an end.
The club had started the league season fairly well. Regarding Potter’s disappearance, assistant coach Billy Reed, Bjorn Hamburg and head scout Kyle Macaulay, players such as Saman Quddus, Ken Sima, Pro Nouri, Alhaji Jirou and Sotirios Papagianopoulos, left.
– My biggest problem was motivating the rest of the team who seemed to think “Everyone has their dream moving, where’s me?”. So I needed to manage these things properly and at the same time build the team, says Burchnall.
He had financial problems
That year, ÖFK finished sixth with 49 points, one point lower than the previous year. A highly reliable result based on the conditions, the coach believes.
– But I think because the club has done so well in the past, that performance has been overlooked.
Then something was discovered that would put Östersund’s unlikely success in an even worse light.
Journalist Linda Hedenljung, author of “Faktura Luft”, describes how the club was first seen as a real Åshöjdens BK, but the situation was quite different behind the scenes:
“The economic crises have met with success year after year. But the success of the European Games started the money flowing. At the same time, critical voices from within the club office indicated that costs were rising. Millions were spent on what could be considered a pure luxury in terms of outdoor games. In Berlin and London. Up to 2 million kroner was spent on renting an additional plan for VIP guests and booking superior hotels for a select few. This is one of the many things that will knock the club out financially in 2019.”
‘The whole club was divided’
It would be worse for Chairman Daniel Kindberg. In 2018, he was sentenced in Angermanland County Court to three years in prison and a five-year business ban for committing serious accounting offenses and aiding and abetting serious accounting offenses (but the appeals court acquitted him in December 2021. The Östersund County Court then sentenced him to imprisonment, among other things bribery in June 2022).
The case also had an impact on the sporting level.
– I love Daniel because he gave me the opportunity and he was always a good starting point for me. It gave me a very valuable experience, says Ian Burchnall, adding:
– But he clearly had a lot of personal problems that affected him.
Burchnal says the incident caused a rift in the club. There was a group that felt Kindberg was important to the club and wanted him to stay. As well as those who felt he had to leave because of the allegations.
– So the whole club was divided. In the end, we probably talked about it more than football, which made it difficult, says the Englishman.
– Every day the newspaper picks it up. There were banners hanging calling for us to be expelled from the Allsvenskan. Östersund has gone from being a pure dream to something people look at sarcastically, something built out of dirty money.
“You didn’t like the group of players”
Despite the uproar, Ian Burchenal had a locker room on his side at first.
– But towards the end … I did not like the group of players at the end, he says and elaborates:
– I do not blame them for this, but the group became very selfish. There were many problems and most people wanted to leave because of the chaos. I felt it. Many thought we should be one of the top three clubs in Allsvenskan when the reality was very different.
Borchenal points out that few of the former team have advanced to the major leagues, with the exception of Thomas Isherwood representing Darmstadt.
– But there was so much ego in Östersund, they attached themselves to the saga of a few years ago. He says they didn’t understand that they needed to create a new one.
The fact that the club has since fallen into Superettan hurts him. Above all, he suffers from his supporters.
– I really enjoyed myself there. It is a very interesting and beautiful place and I still have many friends in the area. But it’s tough when the job isn’t good. To be honest, it was a relief to leave, says Ian Burchnall.
Potter: “Too many mistakes were made”
Kindberg’s employment of Graham Potter was a huge investment on the part of ÖFK. According to the tax authority, the coach’s average salary was 77,000 SEK per month in the first year and his service was shared between the club and his company Driftaren AB. Something that the IRS will ask about in a few years and point out fake invoices in millions of kroner to the operator.
“It is not unreasonable to assume that some of this money may have been used to pay the salary of a future successful coach.”Linda Heddenlong writes in her book Faktura Luft.
Graham Potter thinks he never really realized that anything wasn’t right and is mostly sad about how it all happened.
– But if you do not manage everything perfectly, you will not stay in Allsvenskan. I’ve said it many times when I was there, Potter tells Sportbladet.
– Many mistakes have been made. Football can punish you quickly and severely, that is the reality.
On the other hand, Potter is keen to defend his colleague.
– What really happened had nothing to do with Ian, there were many other factors that played a role. It is sad to see where the club is now, I spent seven years of my life there and many friends remain, he says.
Graham direct message.
Whatever the financial situation, it is impossible to say anything other than that Graham Potter is a very skilled football coach. The 47-year-old has proven this countless times since signing him Premier LeagueBrighton club 2019.
When the Premier League Cup draw was made, Ian Burchnell felt how it would turn out.
I spoke to one of the players at the club before and he said ‘I feel like it’s going to be Watford’. Then I replied, “You’ll be Brighton,” says Burchnall, who was also right.
– I wrote directly to Graham. It’s a very difficult match, but a great opportunity for the club. And then I can see Graham again.
Graham Potter is also looking forward to Wednesday’s meeting.
– It would be nice to see him again, I haven’t seen him for several years. I hope he’s aged better than me haha… but it’s going to be hard out there, that thing’s done, says Potter.
During the pandemic, when England had been on a standstill for a few months, the duo took the opportunity to talk about football, and when Forest Green Rovers approached this summer’s show, Burchnal also turned to Billy Reid for advice.
He will be the captain of the national team.
Burchnal was not surprised at how far his colleagues had come.
I knew Graham before he left for Östersund and immediately noticed that he was very smart but also had strong values in how he viewed his team, says the coach.
– The second time I got to Östersund, I asked as many questions as I could, because I wanted to know everything. See all workouts that have been recorded. I just saw how… When he went to Swansea, I knew he wouldn’t stay long. He would end up coaching a top six team or leading the England national team. Undoubtedly.
Burchnal now hopes to apply his knowledge to Forest Green Rover. The club, known for its strong focus on veganism and sustainability, aims to cement its place in the Premier League before moving on to the tournament.
Are you a vegetarian now by the way?
– No, but I really don’t mind, I eat everything. The chefs in the plaza are absolutely amazing! It can sometimes be more difficult for players who have been trained in a certain mold they have always started from and therefore have to break certain habits. But you don’t have to be completely vegan.
Ian Burchnell sees similarities between Forest Green Rovers and Östersund.
– It’s a small club. When I saw how Östersund, especially under Graham, had grown, and how he had established an identity, I took it with me. My first away game was against Hammarby in the crowded Tele2 stadium, a match we won 2-1, he says and concludes:
The key is to never be afraid. No matter who or what you meet.