Football Season Guide

What a terrific Brann had in 2016 finishing up runners-up to runaway winners Rosenborg. They ended up 15 points behind them, but no one expected Brann to be the closest challengers to the Trondheim champions last year. As a newly promoted side Brann will surely not have expected such a wonderful return in the top flight, after the disastrous Rikard Norling relegation in 2014, but the question remains how can Lars Gunnar Nilsen follow up such a successful season this time around? Because Brann and the city of Bergen now have the bit between their teeth. The standard has been set and there will be more expectation on the team this season. That might hinder them awfully. Vadim Demidov has departed for the MLS and he will be a huge loss to Brann at the back. He was a reliable rock at the back, despite his chequered disciplinary record. Erik Huseklepp has also left for ventures new with Haugesund, where he's no doubt been offered the playing time that Brann refused to guarantee him last season. The signing of Vito Wormgoor is a surprise one. It doesn't look like a defensive marquee signing from Aalesund, but Brann must have seen something in it that they like. Peter Orry Larsen arrives too to bolster the midfield options. The transfer saga of the off-season was undoubtedly Torgeir Borven, with the striker now agreeing to a new Brann deal and very firmly part of the club's plans for the new season. Pre-season results have been mixed, with a defeat against Viking the most disappointing and possibly surprising performance. A lot has to go right if Brann are to replicate the heights of last season, and a more realistic and likely scenario will be a firm place in the top five. There hasn't been enough strengthening to push on, and the squad as it is doesn't look like they will be able to reach the heights of runners-up again. A lot of things clicked last season, and there's no guarantee that the same players will hit the same levels of form this time around. They hadn't done before last season so it would be naive to think that they will again. But a benchmark has been set and the supporters and club alike will expect another promising campaign. Will the Brann players welcome that added pressure ahead of the season kicking off or will they crumble under expectations. Neither might be the case and a solid season, with the aim at a top five spot, seems a sensible target amid the pre-season optimism.