Football Season Guide

Start have become the ultimate yo-yo team in Norwegian football, and will be hoping that this time will finally be the year they can stay in the top flight and build up a side that can keep themselves above water. They couldn't have gone up in a more dramatic fashion in 2019 though. Having sacked Kjetil Rekdal on the eve of the new season, they fell well behind the pace setters Aalesund and Sandefjord and had to make do with a play-off place. But what they achieved there, edging Lillestrom out on away goals at Arasen, was incredible and more memorable than finishing in the top two. Martin Ramsland was the hero of the hour against Lillestrom, with his hat trick in the last 20 minutes turning the tie on its head. His team had been 4-0 down and were looking completely out of the running before his heroics. But can Start finally shake off the yo-yo tag and stay out of the bottom three? The squad still consists of loyal players who have been involved in at least one relegation, and head coach Johannes Thór Hardarson is inexperienced at top level football. Start will offer something fresh and new this season, but whether there's enough quality to stay up remains to be seen. The squad doesn't look particularly stronger than the side who went down in 2018. Mark Dempsey lasted ten games before he got the sack back then, and Hardarson has his job cut out if he is to make a better start this time around.