Football Season Guide

Sandefjord return to the top tier of Norwegian football again, desperate to prove all the doubters wrong. Because their last stay in the top flight was nothing short of calamitous, with the club only accumulating 16 points from their 30 games in the 2015 season. Their previous stay for the 2010 season only gained them 12 points, so some would cruelly say that this was progress. But, having ended as runners-up in the OBOS-ligaen last year, Lars Bohinen's side have earned the right to compete in the Eliteserien this year. The nagging doubt over Sandefjord is that, with the financial framework the same, and the squad including many players that failed so badly two seasons ago, what has exactly changed that can in any way suggest Sandefjord are better equipped to tackle the pressures of top flight football this season? The team will likely play in a 3-5-2 formation again, as they did in 2015. It's the formation manager Bohinen prefers, and he is confident that he has better equipped players for the task ahead this time around. Whether there's a plan B if the preferred formation goes haywire remains to be seen. It didn't work last time around, and few believe that Sandefjord are good enough overall to keep their heads above water. Defensively a lot rests on captain Lars Grorud to organise at the back, while Joachim Olsen Solberg, acquired from Mjondalen before the season, also has the expertise of Eliteserien football. Christer Hansen remains a promising defender and, having been injury free for a year, he'll hope he can contribute to the cause at the back. Thomas Kind Bendiksen will be key in midfield, as will Havard Storbaek, because the likes of Erik Mjelde and Pau Morer Vicente were far from convincing last time Sandefjord were in the top flight. Flamur Kastrati is the new lynchpin up front, but there's very little else on offer in the final third. Goals might be hard to come by, which will add more pressure on an already fragile looking back three. Recent pre-season results have been nothing short of disastrous. A 1-1 draw against Sarpsborg 08 was fair enough, but losing 5-0 to Tromso, 1-0 to Kristiansund and more recently 4-0 against Valerenga shows that Sandefjord are far from being competitive against sides they will be facing week in week out in the coming months. This is cause for concern and, with limited resources available to him, Bohinen really has to motivate his side to the maximum if they are to even have a fighting chance of survival. A lot depends on the form of a few, and Sandefjord will also be relying on slices of luck along the way. Because of previous experience in the top flight, Sandefjord should have enough to shade newcomer Kristiansund, but the prospects of survival just seems too unrealistic. They will have to hit the ground running very early on to avoid a long brutal slog of a season.