Rosenborg once again proved to be the dominant force in Norwegian football as they claimed a third league title in a row, just as everyone expected at the start. The big headline at the start of the season was the signing of Nicklas Bendtner and whether he can show his quality in the domestic league. The forward has certainly done that and proved that he is head and shoulders the best player in the division over the last year. The Dane displayed real determination, application and hunger for goals, finishing the season with 19 goals and missing just one game. The Trondheim side started the season quite confidently and without stretching themselves, getting a big win over early pace-setters Sarpsborg in May to grab the top spot. They did have quite a wobble in the early summer weeks though as some woeful showings both at home and away saw them drop points against poor sides like Aalesund, Tromsø and Lillestrøm. There seemed to be a bit of tension and lack of coherence in the squad during that but none of the contenders below them really pounced on that and Rosenborg never really looked back after a disastrous defensive showing at newcomers Kristiansunds at the start of July. The champions won seven out of the next eight games and vanished any sort of hopes of genuine title race by late summer. Apart from Bendtner, the likes of Fredrik Midstjø and Mike Jensen were superb in midfield while Birger Meling enjoyed an excellent first campaign at the club at left-back. The one positive change from last season was undoubtedly the performance in Europe, where Rosenborg just lost to Celtic in the Champions League and then overcame Ajax in dramatic circumstances to make it to the groups stages of the Europa League. Samuel Agdenbero proved a genius mid-season as the livewire winger connected immediate with Bendtner and proved superb both internationally as well as domestically. The one real disappointment was failing at the last-eight stage of the NM Cup but overall Kåre Ingebrigtsen has done really well to progress this team from last season and they look in excellent position of dominance at the moment.
