Football Season Guide

Eliteserien
Norway
Eliteserien
2017
Molde
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Molde

In


Sonni Nattestad (def), Hafnarfjördur), Óttar Magnús Karlsson (att), Vikingur), Etzaz Hussain (mid), Rudes), Ole Martin Rindaröy (def), Lillestrøm - return from loan)

Out


Ethan Horvath (r)(gk), Club Brugge), Pape Paté Diouf (sp)(att), Odd), Per Egil Flo (r)(def), Slavia Praha), Thompson Ekpe (sp)(mid), Kristiansund - loan), Agnaldo (sp)(att), Vila Nova - loan), Joshua Gatt (sp)(att), Minnesota United), Vegard Forren (r)(def), Brighton), Harmeet Singh (r)(mid), Wisla Plock)

Molde endured a season to forget last year when they struggled in mid-table for a long time and performed with tameness and lack of quality that was not seen in recent years. The Blues were never really in the pursuit for the title and their improvement late in the season proved to be in vain as a loss on the last day of the season denied them a European spot. One cannot shake the feeling that Ole Gunnar Solskjær should not really have come back to the club where he won two titles before as a manager. He did not seem the same hungry, driven and innovative coach last season as that disappointing experience with Cardiff in the Premier League still seems to be haunting him. He never really settled on a proper first-choice 11 last season and constantly veered between formations. The hopes of the Molde faithful for this season are mainly linked with the return of Mark Dempsey as a first-team coach to work alongside Solskjær. He enjoyed an impressive first half of last season as a manager at Haugesund and now revives the working relationship that delivered the two titles for Molde a few years ago. It remains to be seen whether he is a positive influence but the lack of transfer activity is something to worry the fans. Important and experienced players like Vegard Forren, Per Egil Flo and Ethan Horvath have all been allowed to leave during the close season while Harmeet Singh and Joshua Gatt are not around as well. Signings have been limited to a couple of unknown from the Iceland league who have potential but very little experience. Etzaz Hussain also returned to the club but he is hardly a player to make a big difference. Bjorn Sigurdarson is expected to deliver the goals but there are always doubts about his ability to stay fit. Anders Linde is set to be the number one keeper after Horvath's departure and he has so far not shown enough maturity and experience for this role. All in all, the squad looks shorn of depth and quality in key areas and it is hard to see this Molde side doing something memorable this season.

Target


Squad certainly weekend compared to last season. Unlikely to challenge for Europe. Position 5th-9th.