Ostersunds were promoted as runners up from the second division last season but ended up having a very good campaign in the top fight in 2016. Graham Potter made minimal changes to the team that he had the previous season meaning the players were already a very solid unit and the fighting spirit this created was vital at times during the campaign. Some poor results in the early part of the season and the controversy of on loan goalkeeper Jamal Blackman being prosecuted for drink driving could have derailed the team’s season. Before the summer break OFK lost both of their games including a 0 – 5 drubbing by GIF Sundsvall who would eventually become relegation candidates. Especially in the second half of the season Ostersunds found form and pulled off some impressive results including a win over Malmo before they became champions and draws against Elsborg an Norrkoping. It showed that at their best the team had what it takes to compete with even the best sides in the league. Easy wins over relegation candidates Helsingborg, Sundsvall and Falkenbergs meant that they were never really going to be in trouble. Potter himself went from an unknown coach to having one of the better reputations in the league due to his constant, but effective, variation in his team selection and formation. Very rarely did the same team start two matches in a row, but instead all of the squad played some part and that also helped to keep the squad fresh. Alongside some of the longer term members of the squad such as Sotiris Papagiannopoulos who is likely to move to England in the winter and midfielders Fouad Bachirou, Ken Sema and Brwa Nouri who all made very good contributions, there were also some excellent additions. Curtis Edwards joined at the mid way point of the season but quickly showed he belonged in the top division. Hampus Nilsson and Stefan Karlsson also added Allsvenskan experience to a squad which badly needed it. However the player of the season was top scorer Saman Ghoddos who showed scored some vital goals for the club and was as almost an ever present. Next season will be another tough year for Osterunds as other sides have more resources than them, but if they can continue to build on their success this year then they will be a tough side to face.
