Football Season Guide

Stabæk pulled off the feat of an instant return back to the Eliteserien after a season in the second flight as they showed impressive consistency down the stretch with seven wins and three draws in the last ten and overcame a mixed start to end up as the clear second-best side in the division. Lars Bohinen had really good impact upon taking charge mid-season last year and will look to consolidate and make this team one that is navigating safely in mid-table and not scrapping around the bottom places again. They will have to do it without their talisman from last season, Emmanuel Gift Orban, who got 16 goals in 19 starts, as he is already tearing it up in Belgium with Gent after a move in late January and seems destined for bigger things. The question of how his goals will be replaced will be hanging heavy early in the season and Bohinen's best hope is that the erratic and streaky Mushaka Baking hits the ground running after joining from Tokushima Vortis in Japan. His last season in Norway, back in 2021, was excellent, but he has had some very mixed runs as well and is hardly a guaranteed goal-getter. In midfield, bringing back Frederik Haugen is a real plus as he knows how to control the tempo and keep the ball moving around, while also having knowledge of the club after a spell on loan in 2021. Isak Pettersson is a nice upgrade in the goalkeeper spot and he is one of the better keepers in the league, even if he failed to make the mark in France. The likes of Nicolai Næss and Simen Wangberg will be vital in the three-man defence to make sure that this team is sturdy and hard to play against, while refreshing the wing-backs by bringing in Nicolai Walstad and Tobias Pachonik seems like a good move too. Therefore, Stabæk have had a productive and pretty efficient off-season and seem ready for the challenges that the Eliteserien presents.