Football Season Guide

Molde once again finished second last season after a campaign that saw them lead the title race for a while before eventually starting to lose pace with that relentless Bodø/Glimt side that ultimately prevailed. There is a feeling of a club that found a glass ceiling and is not really able to break it over the last few months as Erling Moe looks to revitalise the 2019 champions and try to make them prevail over Bodø this season. The signs are not looking too promising as the Blues lost their best player from last season in Ohi Omoijuanfo, scorer of 27 goals, as he moved to Serbia to play fro Red Star. The fact that he was not replaced at all must be more of a worry for the fans as it leaves Moe with the raw David Fofana and the oft-injured Bjorn Sigurdarsson as his main options at the number 9 slot. Granted, Molde have abundance of quality and flair in attacking players and most teams will struggle against the combination of Magnus Eikrem, Ola Brynhildsen and Eirik Ulland Anderson. But that is unlikely to be really enough in what promises to be another bitter and tough battle for the coveted top spot. Another problem position may be on goal as Andreas Linde took the plunge going to Bundesliga Greuter Furth and the coach is betting on Jacob Kalstrom, who is coming from lowly Tromso, to carry the can and he could struggle when playing in a more expansive side that expects the keeper to be good with the feet. They bolstered defensive options with Benjamin Hansen and Eirik Haugan and indeed a team that does not concede that many openings stands a better chance in the long run. Yet, there is still an unshakeable feeling that this Moldse's side have reached their zenith a bit and are starting to go down a bit in their level, with potentially Vålerenga and Viking challenging them for a European spot.