AIK’S consistency in the league has been a real strength of their recent campaigns as they secured a top three spot for the fourth season in a row. But the big prize continues to elude them as they went agonizingly close to winning the league once again. The fact that the Stockholm side managed to finish six points behind eventual winners Malmo is also incredible considering that they sacked their coach midway through the season due to the results not being up to par. Once again therefore it was the start of their season which really let them down and that is something that the club very much have to look at for next season. Failing to beat other big sides was also an issue for the club who only beat one of the eventual top four once. That came against IFK Norrkoping late in the season and was one of the best performances by any team in this season, but it was followed two weeks later by a defeat to IFK Gothenburg which ended their chances of winning the title. Nevertheless the ability is clearly in the squad to take results when they play well and that should give them a boost going into next season. But huge question marks remain as to who will be in the squad for next year with some of their players now highly prized. At the top of the list is 17 year old Alexander Isak who broke into the first team this season scoring in ten goals, many of those in the final third of the season when he linked up well with Chinedu Obasi. Both Obasi and Isak may end up moving away from the club with in excess of 50 scouts watching Isak during one match, while Obasi could easily make the step up into a more major league. There are also question marks as to the role of some players in the squad such as Ahmed Yasin and Jos Hooiveld who were regularly left out of the squad. Both could be candidates to leave the squad along with Dickson Etuhu and John Chibuike who have both been confirmed to be leaving. Without doubt though Rikard Norling has made significant progress with his squad since taking over from Andreas Alm and he will be on the look out for more bargains over the winter. One key for AIK could well be whether they keep hold of Isak for one more season as he was their best player this year, despite his young age.
