Brann were left to rue a dip in form this autumn as they slipped down to fifth in the table at the end of 30 games played, having been challenging for a top three spot for most of the campaign. Lars Gunnar Nilsen's side were hoping to even improve on their runners up spot from 2016, but it was not to be as poor form and injuries to key creative players hindered their progress and in the end they had no answer to the consistency of Molde and Sarpsborg 08 and the resurgence of Tor Ole Skullerud's Stromsgodset whose incredible autumn run was impossible to match. But fifth place is no disaster for the Bergen club, who only as recently as 2015 were in the division below after being stuck in the relegation doldrums, and the season was further evidence that those particular nightmares should be well and truly behind them. The squad just looked far too thin to be challenging for anything in particular this season and, while they were an element of surprise last season which gave them that stunning lift into second, this was a more difficult year for Brann with their opponents much more wary of the threat they carried.
They started the season well enough, barring a disappointing defeat to newly promoted Kristiansund and a somewhat more predictable failure against Rosenborg at Lerkendal, and at the halfway point those were the only two defeats Nilsen's team had suffered. They had also hit both Sandefjord and Stabaek for five without reply, and a 3-0 home win against Stromsgodset and a 4-1 triumph against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Molde side were also comprehensive displays. Brann looked superb at that point, and were definitely in the hunt for a medal of the silver variety again before the summer break. But after thrashing Stabaek 5-0 they went on to record five winless games. Four straight wins followed suggesting Brann were back in the running, but just two wins from their last eight fixtures coincided with injuries to attacking outlets Daniel Braaten and Jakob Orlov and, while Deyver Vega was impressive and Torgeir Borven had a better season than his last one, they weren't prolific enough and the burden of firing Brann up the table again was just too much for them to handle.
Fredrik Haugen was Brann's best performing midfielder again, and an almost ever present as the Bergen side challenged for the top three. But it's no coincidence that Daniel Braaten's absence resulted in their slump in form just when they were looking to tighten the grip on a top three spot. The goals dried up and so did the creative flow going forwards, and it all boiled over as Brann lost 4-0 at home to Kristiansund in September. That was such a disappointing result and performance, and proved how thin the squad was.
For next season Brann need to add strength in depth if they are to improve on their top five finish. Their starting eleven looks strong, but it was amazing how imbalanced they looked when the likes of Braaten was injured, and also when captain Vito Wormgoor had to serve suspensions. More needs to be done with the squad if they want to really challenge at the top end of the table, otherwise Brann might struggle to even recapture the form of this year. And no one wants to see them slip further and further away until they end up a mid-table outfit again. They've been there before and the end result proved disastrous. Only decent planning and shrewd business in the off season will get the Bergen side firing again.
