It is no surprise that Bundesliga football returns to Bryggen Arena next season. There were a few bumps along the way, though. In a rather arrogant manner, Head Coach Sepp Piontek decided that he didn't need a replacement for central defender Arian that was sold at the end of last season. In stead he played in a rarely seen 253 formation. Oh, boy was that a failure! A run of 1 point in three home games, including a 0-3 defeat to Skanderborg GF made Piontek rethink his strategy. 30 year old Lithuanian Leonas Encius was brought to Bryggen for 15.25M as the sixth 90+ rated player on the roster and from there on out, it was plain sailing.

Two other new faces made their entrance in the starting 11: Early in the season, German goalkeeper Engelbert Thiessen (114 matches) was sold with a profit of 1.7M and replaced with 27 year old Swede Håkan Sartell. Sartell has been with the club for some time and has been relieving Thiessen now and then. Now he is on his own. We are not 100% confident that he will hold up against some of the worlds best strikers in the Bundesliga but time will tell.

Also, aging Aurelio Ardiles (292 games, 8 goals) was replaced at left midfield with frenchman Robert Aurenche (15M).

Chief Dealer Lick Neeson didn't manage a single sell except Thiessen and in that light, the financial result of 6.3M is actually pretty decent.

We can't wait to follow Lokomotive Bryggen now that they are back in the Bundesliga. As customary, we predict a finish in the bottom half of the top half of the table.