Marit Enstad’s reign as Lyn 1896 manager has already had its up and downs. Her first season nearly ended with Lyn reaching the 2. divisjon play-offs… but her second went spectacularly wrong and almost delivered an unexpected relegation!

Nobody really knew what to expect at the Bislett in 2021 then. Marit kept faith in a large part of her squad, hoping that a few additions would turn an underperforming team into a unit capable of challenging for promotion again.

This Season Review will assess Lyn’s results and statistics from the past year before looking ahead to the next one. There will be huge spoilers below, so make sure you’ve caught up on the story so far before continuing. You can find Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 in the links provided.

---

2. DIVISJON, AVDELING 1

Despite once again being tipped to win the division, we didn’t exactly make a convincing start. Solid early 2-0 victories over Bærum and Fram Larvik were followed by narrow defeats to Eidsvold Turn and Raufoss. We were struggling to find consistency, and with star striker Martin Trøen having begun the year slowly, things weren’t looking good.

Then we racked up a couple more two-goal wins to climb up to 4th place. Unfortunately, we got smashed the following week by newly-promoted Træff, who put three goals past us without reply. That was followed by an unconvincing 2-1 win against Elverum – also recently promoted to the third tier – as our erratic start continued.

The turning point came in June at Asker, where Marcus Mehnert got a double as we destroyed the league leaders 5-0 at their place. Not only had we executed our game plan beautifully, but we had also built up some valuable momentum.

In the next five games before the mid-season break, we claimed three victories, two draws and scored 11 goals. Our defence didn’t look too sturdy in that run, but we nonetheless ended July in 2nd place – just three points adrift of Asker.

When action resumed in August, Asker suffered a surprise defeat against Elverum, meaning that we overtook them on goal difference by beating fellow challengers Eidsvold Turn 1-0. Kenyan forward Kot Chol Tafesse scored the decisive goal there, and he excelled again when we made light work of Fram Larvik to consolidate our lead.

Though we could only manage a draw at Raufoss, a resurgent Trøen’s hat-trick saw off Odd 2 to keep our promotion charge on track. That would be the final match of our 11-game unbeaten run, as we had a rare off-day at Strømmen. Thankfully, our rivals also slipped up, and we had a four-point lead with eight games to play.

A 4-0 revenge trouncing of Træff kept us in high spirits before a pivotal home meeting with Asker. Despite twice falling behind, Trøen got a couple of equalisers to salvage a 2-2 draw. We also tied our next two games, memorably coming from 2-0 behind to deny Lørenskog victory.

Though we had dropped six points in September, further poor results from our nearest promotions kept us in a commanding position. After another Tafesse stunner defeated Rosenborg 2, we went into our final two home games with a six-point lead – and a much better goal difference than everyone else.

Our date with destiny was 16 October 2021, when a draw against Stjørdals-Blink would be enough to wrap up the title. Goals from Benjamin Zalo and Martin Holmen got the job done, even if we couldn’t close out the win. We then shared two goals with Hønefoss to end the season on a seven-game unbeaten run. Yes, only two of those games were victories, but who really cared? We were promoted as champions!

---

CUPEN

Another year, another second-round exit from the Cupen. At least we didn’t need extra-time to get past Round 1 this time, as 3. divisjon side Sola were easily swept aside. The same couldn’t be said of top-flight Start, who won 1-0 at the Bislett after we missed several chances to cancel their 30th-minute opener.

---

AWARDS & STATISTICS

Was there ever any doubt about who was our Fans’ Player of the Season? I thought this would be the year in which we started phasing Oskar Hansen out, but he was sensational at left-back. Not only was Hansen productive going forward (getting eight assists), but he also contributed a lot to our much-improved defensive record. No wonder that loanee Nikolas Walstad was almost completely overshadowed!

Oskar won two-thirds of the supporters’ vote to take victory by a huge margin. 2nd place went to new signing Tafesse, who proved to be the deadly and dynamic inside-forward we were looking for. The Kenyan’s late long-range winner against Eidsvold Turn in August – which sent us top of the league and defined our entire year – was named as our Goal of the Season.

Another winter arrival took 3rd place in the big vote. Zalo was the defensive rock we so badly lacked last year, forming a strong centre-back partnership with a revitalised Anders Lübeck. It’s hard to believe that Big Ben is still only 23, but his Young Player of the Season award was testament to his potential and talent. Here’s hoping we get many more years out of him.

So, in a year when Tafesse and Zalo transformed a band of underperformers into title-winners, who was voted as our Signing of the Season? That’s right… Yannis Moula, the young backup right-winger who scored three goals but only played in 10 matches! He apparently made more of an impact than either Kot Chol or Ben! [Hmm… I think awards might be a little buggy on FM19.]

[That’s… a lot of light green.] As you can see, a dozen Lyn players had average match ratings above 7.00 this season. Yes, some of those players only played sporadically – particularly the midfielders. Even so, it makes a change from 2020, when only five men have average ratings in the 7s!

In fact, Hansen was statistically THE best player in Avdeling 1 this year, averaging a 7.47 in his 19 appearances. Tafesse (7.26) was in 3rd place across the division, with Mads Sande and Zalo (7.14 each) also in the top 10, and Rishovd (7.12) just outside.

Trøen was our top scorer for the third year in a row, even if his form was slightly more erratic this season. 11 league goals ranked Martin 4th in Avdeling 1, but seven of them were scored in a four-game span between late August and mid-September. At least he had the division’s best conversion rate, scoring from an impressive 27% of his shots.

Mehnert scored eight goals and Tafesse seven to ease some of the burden of our main man. As a team, we netted a joint-best 49 goals with Asker (who, incidentally, also conceded the most goals). Our shots-on-target ratio was a mediocre 41%, but a 10% conversion rate was reasonable.

We let in 24 goals across 26 league matches, with only 2nd-placed Eidsvold Turn having a meaner defence. That was no doubt helped by us conceding the fewest fouls in the league, and collecting only 23 yellow cards. Walstad and winger Eirik Haugstad were our worst offenders on three bookings each, but none of our players overstepped the mark.

Alexander Vangen‘s performances in goal also played a big part, as he kept 10 clean sheets to come 3rd on that statistic. In midfield, both Jesper Sandberg and Holmen showed their tenacity to average around four tackles per game.

Hansen’s eight assists doubled the haul of our next-best creator Haugstad, with four other players also contributing assists for three goals apiece. In terms of pass accuracy, holding midfielder Erik Lundanes Jonvik led the way again on 89%, and playmaker Gaute Høberg Vetti wasn’t far behind.

Now here’s something that could be a problem next season. While we turned the Bislett into a fortress and lost only one league game there all season, our away form might be cause for concern. Five wins from 13 matches on your travels is not something that will fill you with confidence as you step up into a higher division and come up against tougher opposition.

---

FINANCIAL UPDATE & TRANSFER PLANS

With our wage bill having increased from last year, and attendances having barely improved, we continued to lose money throughout 2021. The mid-season sales of a couple of young prospects eased our problems somewhat, but at our lowest, we were over €300,000 in debt.

Things are looking up, though, as prize money and some new sponsorship deals just about put us back in the black at the end of 2021. Promotion to the 1. divisjon will continue to significantly improve our situation next year [we’re projected to make a profit of at least €300,000, but financial projections in FM19 are… erratic, let’s say]. However, our Financial Status is still ‘Insecure’, and here’s why:

I’m afraid to admit I didn’t know this, but clubs in the top two Norwegian leagues need to have undersoil heating at their grounds. You can perhaps understand why – after all, this is Norway! Anyway, the board had to take out a €550,000 loan to install undersoil heating at the Bislett during the off-season. They will gradually pay the money back over the next 10 years, so it shouldn’t be too much of a burden in the short or long-term.

Despite the required improvements to our ground, the new Lyn chairman Patrick Madsen increased my weekly player wage budget to €13,000. We’re already spending half that, but another thousand – which would take us up to €7,500 per week – should be enough to build a competitive squad in our new division. Again, there’s just no need to be careless with your spending.

In case you’re wondering, there will be major changes to the squad over the winter. While a few of our current stars can surely hold their own in the 1. divisjon, there are several players who I doubt can handle the step up. There’s plenty of dead wood that needs to be moved on.

For starters, I’ll be releasing former first-choice goalkeeper Knut-André Skjærstein after three seasons in which he was alright, if not amazing. Vangen took his starting place in 2021 and fared well, but the 32-year-old will now revert to being a backup. I want a younger, more rounded goalkeeper who can wear our number 1 jersey for the long-term.

I’ll also look for a solid centre-back who can provide strong competition for Zalo and Lübeck. Andorra international Marc Vales will leave us after falling out of favour, and either Marius Skorpen or Eirik Melby will step up from the Under-19s to be fourth-choice.

There’s no question that Hansen is staying put, but a more dynamic left-back could make a huge difference as we battle for second-tier survival. At right-back, I’m less certain about whether we need an upgrade. Joakim Rishovd is a capable player who won’t be disgraced in the 1. divisjon, while 19-year-old Markus Frydenlund remains an exciting prospect who’s due a breakthrough soon.

Jonvik has played reasonably well in defensive midfield, but he won’t be stepping up with us. I just have too many doubts about Erik’s composure in high-pressure matches, so I’ll look for a stronger anchor man who can handle the heat better. Barring any big-money sales, that might be the only major change we make to our midfield, as we’re already stuffed with good runners and playmakers.

Don’t expect much transfer activity on the wings either. Haugstad is established as our leading right-winger, and Yannis Moula is a fine understudy. Tafesse tore up the left flank and completely overshadowed Simen Vedvik, who’s no longer needed. I could replace him with a natural left-winger to give us something different, but there are added complications, which I’ll get to later.

Lastly, there are the strikers. I’m perfectly fine with keeping Trøen and Mehnert in the team; they can also play as inside-forwards on the left, which is an added bonus. I would quite like a third frontman, though, to keep Martin and Marcus on their toes.

Now, as for these added complications… the 1. divisjon has some squad registration rules that I need to keep in mind. I can register a maximum of 25 players to play in the league, but at least two of them must have been developed at the club. If I can’t register two homegrown players, I must leave spaces in the squad.

Because all our good homegrown players keep getting poached, I don’t have any more who are first-team quality! The good news is that Skorpen and Melby both count as homegrown, and Frydenlund will become eligible during the 2022 season. Otherwise, we’re possibly relying on youth-teamers to fill the quota.

Don’t worry too much, guys. I’ll think of something.

---

YOUTH GRADUATES: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Lyn’s conveyor belt of talent has produced many promising players over the last three seasons. Four of those have already flown the nest, and two more followed in 2021. We’ll now have a quick look at all six graduates to see how they’ve fared recently:

Tor Fritzøe Östman (Class of 2019): Tor is making strong progress at Rosenborg, where he’s been a reserve and youth-team regular over the last 12 months. The right-winger also made seven senior appearances this season, scoring his first Eliteserien goal against Kristiansund in August.

Martin Knudtzon (2019): Tromsø loaned Martin out to near-neighbours Tromsdalen in the 1. divisjon this season. Though the right-back initially struggled with regular football at such a high level, he eventually got a match average of 6.78 from 32 games. With Tromsø returning to the second tier next year, they could now blood the 19-year-old into their first-team.

Svein Melfjord (2019): Svein scored four goals in 16 league outings for Odd’s reserve team this season but couldn’t save them from relegation. More significantly, he made his Eliteserien debut in May as a substitute at Molde, who were reportedly interested in signing him this summer.

Jon Andersen (2020): Jon is another striker who’s recently been linked with a move to Molde. That’s a bit surprising to me, as he’s not made much of an impact for Sarpsborg’s reserves and is still to play a competitive match.

Dan Tandberg (2020): Dan was on the cusp of becoming a first-team squad member at Lyn before Brann bought him for €70,000 in August. The 17-year-old central defender finished the season by playing seven league games for Brann 2, though he struggled for form and his development appears to have slowed.

Stian Bogsveen (2021): Odd took another promising forward off our hands when they signed Stian for just €28,000 shortly after his Lyn debut in August. The pacey 16-year-old has scored one goal in six appearances for Odd 2 so far – and it was quite a stunner at the Bislett against his former club!

---

2021 NORWEGIAN SEASON ROUND-UP

Eliteserien

1. divisjon

2. divisjon, Avdeling 1

2. divjson, Avdeling 2

3. divisjon Champions

Avdeling 1: Stabæk 2
Avdeling 2: Kvik Halden
Avdeling 3: Viking 2
Avdeling 4: Fana
Avdeling 5: Tynset
Avdeling 6: Grorud

Cupen

Final: Lillestrøm 3-2 Tromsø

National Under-19s Championship

1st: Molde, 2nd: Rosenborg, 3rd: Strømsgodset

Champions League performances (2020/2021)

Molde – Champions Qualifying Round 2 (lost to Young Boys)

Europa League performances (2020/2021)

Odd – Best-Placed Qualifying Round 2 (lost to Aktobe)

Haugesund – Best-Placed Qualifying Round 2 (lost to RB Leipzig)

Rosenborg – Best-Placed Qualifying Round 4 (lost to Sevilla)

Molde – 4th in Group D

Champions League performances (2021/2022)

Rosenborg – Champions Qualifying Round 3 (lost to Olympiacos)

Europa League performances (2021/2022)

Lillestrøm – Best-Placed Qualifying Round 1 (lost to FCSB)

Molde – Best-Placed Qualifying Round 2 (lost to Hearts)

Strømsgodset – Best-Placed Qualifying Round 4 (lost to Celta)

Rosenborg – 4th in Group G

---

So it was a case of third time lucky for Lyn in the third tier. Marit now has a few months to prepare her team for the greater challenges that will come in the 1. divisjon in 2022. We’ll catch up with them again in the first chapter of Season 4, which will go live next Monday (22 July).

And here’s my usual end-of-season reminder to any readers who want to stay updated on this story. You can hit the ‘Follow Fuller FM’ button and/or follow me on Twitter @Fuller_FM to be alerted whenever a new article is posted on this blog.

“Takk for lesing!”