Orebro desperately limped over the line this season, finishing 11th in the Allsvenskan after a run of four straight defeats. By then mid-table had long since been confirmed, but the late season slump was nevertheless very disappointing. Orebro were never really in relegation danger this season, but a topsy turvy season saw Alexander Axen leave his role and Axel Kjall has taken over the reigns with limited success so far. There have been some glimmers of what the team are capable of but more often than not Orebro have struggled to impress for lengthy spells and the lack of consistency means they had to settle for a bottom half finish, when a top half one was going begging with both Sirius and Elfsborg showing alarming form.
While they went unbeaten in their first three games, Axen's Orebro soon ran into trouble. Especially when Nigerian striker Kennedy Igboananike served a lengthy suspension early in the season did the team's frailties come to the fore so obviously. A seven game winless run followed and while they recovered in the summer it was not enough for Axen to continue. He'd been at the club for a number of years but seemed to be struggling with his motivation at the end. The first statement suggested he would leave at the end of the season but, with form dipping further, that departure was hastily sped up. Not that Kjall has had much better results since Axen left, and Orebro will have to think again if they have ambitions of a top half finish for next season.
Kennedy Igboananike was a new signing ahead of the season, and was seen as a wildcard. It paid off very well though and the Nigerian striker bagged nine goals in 23 games despite disciplinary issues early on. Filip Rogic also chipped in with six goals. But Nahir Besara was the star of the season. His commanding displays from midfield resulted in a number of man of the match awards as well as ten goals in 30 games. Besara was an ever present for Orebro this season, and definitely the kind of player the club should be building their 2018 starting eleven around.
There's no immediate alarm for Kjall and Orebro, despite losing four on the bounce. There was an inevitability about the slump, with players finding it tough going with so little to play for in the last weeks. They had long since been mathematically safe from any relegation hiccups and they had also left themselves with too much to do to trouble the top half teams. For next season the main ambition must surely be to have something to play for throughout the 30 Allsvenskan games. The supporters deserve that excitement until the very last kick of the last game. There were too many dead rubbers for Orebro this season and that has to be rectified.
