Tromsø started the campaign with the squad not really replenished after a difficult half of the previous campaign and it became clear pretty soon that Simo Valakari will be up in for a pretty tough season as a whole. Indeed, after a win at the start, his team went on a run of just a single point in eight games. They looked way too predictable in attack and, once their main striker Runar Espejord fell down injured, they were relying on midfielders to play up front, which had a predictable bad result.
The team did start to show a bit more backbone and cohesion later in the season and pulled off wins against leaders Molde and champions Rosenborg in quick succession. Yet the result remained mostly mixed and the Northerners never managed to get on that much-needed strong run of form to climb out of danger.
The addition of Fatim Azemi on loan midway through the season solved a lot of the issues in attack but the team struggled in other areas and the coach was constantly rotating and trying to find the right solution. Some good wins in the early autumn looked to have steered the team out of danger but they still reached the stage late in the season when they needed some points and never quite got them.
It boiled down to a final game against Stabæk at home to avoid relegation but a 1:1 draw in a snow-covered pitch meant that they ended up second from bottom and will play the next season in the second division, missing out on safety on the slimmest of margins in terms of goal difference.
It is an agonising outcome for Valakari and his squad but they were ultimately too leaky at the back and unreliable in attack and it cost them. Yet, they have the capacity and structure to mount an immediate challenge for promotion next season even if most of the squad could well leave for pastures new.
