Football Season Guide

It was a season of transition for Orebro in 2017 with new head coach Axel Kjall taking over midway through the season and doing enough to steer the team well clear of the relegation battle. They finished six points clear of the bottom three last season, but there were times when they were much closer to the dotted line than that. And the outlook for 2018 isn't much brighter, with more of the same on the horizon for Orebro fans. What goes in their favour is that the club know how to keep themselves above water in the top flight by hook or by crook, and also the reality that there will probably be at least three teams that are worse than them this season, as the gulf between the top sides and lower sides in the Allsvenskan looks bigger than ever. Finances are tight and Orebro will once again be relying on free transfers that may or may not hit the spot this season. Daniel Bjornkvist should add some steel on the left hand side of the defence despite suffering relegation with AFC Eskilstuna last season. Otherwise they have lost key first team players like Maic Sema, Yanis Mbombo and Ferhad Ayaz and have yet to plug those gaps efficiently. Johan Martensson will once again be important in midfield, while Kennedy Igboananike will have to prove that last season's exploits was not a one off. This team simply need his goals and hold up play in the final third. Orebro enter the 2018 season with low expectations, and will be solid rather than spectacular at best. Kjall certainly needs a solid start because confidence must not be allowed to drip away from the word go. The ties against newly promoted sides will be crucial, as will keeping up with the mid-table sides that were in or around them last season.