Orebro had something of a season of two halves in 2016 as they were very strong to begin with, before fading badly in the latter part of the season. Part of the reason for the clear difference between the two parts of the season has to do with a problem many Swedish sides face: losing talented players to bigger teams. At the half way stage of the season three attacking players and their first choice goalkeeper were sold on meaning there were gaps to be fill at both ends of the pitch. In the opening rounds of the season Orebro had forged a reputation as a very attacking side who tended to favour trying to outscore the opposition as some of their high scoring wins showed. The weaknesses at the back would come to haunt them though as, when the goals dried up, their position in the table dropped dramatically. In the closing ten rounds of the season Alexander Axen’s side won just a single match which ended up taking them completely out of contention for the top three which had seemed a realistic goal in the spring. Injuries and suspensions in their defence did not help their cause but Axen will surely be looking to strengthen that area of the team as there are clearly issues that need to be solved. In attack however they have the basis of a very dangerous side with Astrit Ajdarevic as the fulcrum of the attack. When he tended to play well then the attack functioned well. However in the latter part of the season the addition of Nasir Besara looked like a very shrewd purchase while Maic Sema also had a very strong campaign. It is Sema who was their best performer this year overall as Ajdarevic lacked consistency, especially after missing out for around a month during the season. Once again though Axen will have to try not to lose some of the more talented players in the team as there will certainly be interest from other sides in the league and elsewhere.
