Football Season Guide

Start were one of the better teams in the second division last year and were generally good value for their spot as a promoted team but they did start the last round third in the standings and needed direct rivals Konsvinger to drop points in order to allow them to sneak in and get that second place at the end. Still, it secures the Blue and Whites the much-desired return to the Eliteserien for a first time in six years. Azar Karadas has steadily built up his resume as a coach there in the past two seasons and will be now fully motivated and with a lot of desire to show the rest of the league that he can be an impactful and important coach at the top-flight level. He has been using three at the back over his career and is not expected to change much in that approach as he tries to make this Start team sturdy and capable of pulling off fine results in tough situations, which is likely to happen quite a lot over the next few months as they face more resourceful and talented sides than them. The squad has been properly strengthened over the close season as players like Erlend Reitan, Erlend Segberg and Kristoffer Tønnesen come with bags of experience at this level and will certainly lift the overall level of the squad. Yet there is still the feeling that there is not enough in attacking department to make this team more of a threat than they are right now, with Jesper Cornelius not looking that inspired of an addition at the moment. Håkon Lorentzen is still likely to be the main striker but he does need a foil and if Cornelius is not up for it, the well is pretty dry at the moment. They also need wing-backs of potency and good stamina to make the 3-5-2 system and this is another area where they seem to be lacking. On the other hand, the back line does seem quite competent and will be aided by a resolute midfield. The loss of Sivert Hansen is definitely a body blow but not an insurmountable one. As a whole, the skeleton of a solid squad that can hold their own is there and it will be up to Karadas's acumen and man management to coax the extra 5-10% to make the crucial difference and ensure this team stays up.