Football Season Guide

Stabaek were one of the overachievers in the league last season as they maintained consistency and high performance despite having a small squad, and relied on lots of young players. Toni Ordinas was able to mould a pretty effective squad last season and will be looking for more of the same from his players as they aim to continue their steady progress. Bringing through promising youngsters will be a major part of the process again as Hugo Vetlesen looks to build on an excellent breakthrough campaign while Ola Brynhildsen has looked excellent in pre-season and could be the next to make the step up. The team from Baerum added some depth to the squad as well, with former Strømsgodset midfielder Martin Ovenstad joining on loan. Experienced centre-back Steinar Strömnes comes as a direct replacement for the retired Morten Skjönsberg and should bring authority and leadership, if he played in the second-flight in recent seasons. One sizeable loss is that of midfielder Tortol Lumanza as he joined Turkish side Osmanlispor, having been a real bedrock for the team last season. The biggest positive of the winter has been keeping Ohi Omoijuanfo, who rejected the advances of Chinese clubs, after enjoying a brilliant last season when he was among the best strikers in the league. As a whole, there is enough in the squad to suggest that Stabaek should not be too worried and should navigate around mid-table. The form in pre-season has been quite concerning as they have lost six of the nine friendly games played and it seems like they need more work to get up to speed.