That sound you can hear from Bergen is the sound of the mother of all inquests as Brann completely fluffed their lines in 2019, and a club that had title aspirations dropped as low as ninth place after a humiliating 5-1 end of season home defeat to Viking. Everyone keeps banging on about what a dreadful campaign Valerenga had, but Brann finished just six points above them in the end, and have a much bigger budget.
The unacceptable campaign started ominously with two wins in the first six games, but it was the home game against Ranheim in May where it became clear Brann would be well off the pace this season. The 1-0 defeat to the side who ended up relegated was a terrible spectacle, and Lars Gunnar Nilsen's season went from bad to worse from thereon in. Brann won just one of their last ten league games, and shipped 11 goals in the last two. The complete breakdown in communication between strikers Daouda Bamba and Veton Berisha resulted in well publicated suspensions for Bamba, and it's crystal clear that those two won't be starting together again. In fact either will be lucky to be wearing a Brann shirt next year.
The budget should still be relatively healthy and Bergen will remain as proud as ever, but it's clear that this winter is a very important one for Brann. What changes do they want to make? Will they be able to get rid of any deadwood? Can they ensure that Fredrik Haugen can keep fit after the midfield jewel lost so much of this campaign through injury? There's plenty to ponder for Brann and they have to make sure that this was a blip rather than another start of a journey down the table. Bergen deserves better than that.
