Football Season Guide

Hammarby flirted with relegation before eventually confirming their safety quite comfortably last term but may well end up in a similar position this term. While there is undoubtable talent in the squad, there are also some fairly clear weaknesses. Nanne Bergstrand was relieved of his duties after a difficult 2016 campaign and has been replaced by former SonderjyskE coach Jakob Michelsen. The new man in charge has no experience of working in the Allsvenskan before which is worrying considering where the team finished last year with a very experienced coach in this league. Furthermore Hammarby start this term without some of their star performers from last year, most notably Erik Israelsson who has moved to Zwolle in the Netherlands. Lars Saetra and Philip Haglund also belonged to the back bone of the team while David Wiklander established himself in the first team before moving on. Those calibre of players are hard to replace, especially Israelsson. To try and fill the hole Israelsson left Gershon Koffie has been brought in from MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps who should become the playmaker in the team. A further coup was the signing of Jiloan Hamad who had a tough time in Germany with Hoffenheim, but has the ability to do well at this level. Nevertheless, for the side who struggled at the back last year, there are no significant signings in that department and cover at centre back looks very weak. In attack Pa Dibba will have to score plenty of goals as the rest of the attacking unit looked goal-shy. Under the new coach Hammarby might be able to adapt their style of play and become a more well rounded team. At the moment though the focus of the team is very much on the midfield and results in the Swedish Cup showed a lack of balance. Hammarby conceded five goals against second division sides in two matches and failed to trouble an Allsvenskan side in their final group game. The aim in Michelsen’s first season in charge will be to try and finish in mid table and build for the coming seasons.