Johan Esk: It doesn’t matter that the teams behind Malmö are too bad

Pontus Jansson got it wrong when he took away the Allsvenskan.

Simon Thern was right when he saw the series.

Jansson, this year’s most noticed player in Allsvenskan football, said before the season that Malmö should win 20 points if you only look at the teams.

He was right about that.

Damaged stars, flopping construction, sales stars and the circus after Jansson’s talk with far-right supporters have been different reasons why the margin doesn’t look like it will be that big.

The wide squad has nevertheless created situations that no other team has. The confidence in the game that the coach Henrik Rydström has received has meant that MFF has been on top of the table since the beginning.

Behind them, teams that should be able to threaten have not been enough.

Teams that shouldn’t be able to reach have been high.

Malmö High depending so much on your own strength and on the weakness of others.

A few years ago, development towards this non-dramatic battle for the gold was painted as a serious threat to the Swedish men’s league. The rumor that it would mean death was greatly exaggerated. It is visible now.

The average audience for the ongoing run was 10,725 viewers. Clearly higher than last year’s 10,017 and on track to be the highest in 60 years.

The teams I thought would threaten Malmö and fight for second and third place were Djurgården, AIK, Häcken and Elfsborg.

There would be no team close to upsetting Malmö.

Djurgården has been plagued by dissent. Despite the fact that the team has been in the top three since round seven, despite the fact that heavy pieces have been sold and despite Djurgården’s progress in Europe.

The fatigue of the Bergstrand/Lagerlöf coaching duo, a terrible derby year against AIK and Hammarby and a strange poke by Albin Ekdal in the European game are behind the disagreement. After three defeats in three games against AIK and Hammarby, the last chance comes against Hammarby on Sunday.

Since only the results count, it affects the image of the team.

AIK had a strong squad with them until 2024 and after seven rounds AIK were in second place. Then Henrik Berg’s build began to decline.

Mikkkjal Thomassen stopped the bleeding by taking AIK back to its roots. Strict defense and narrow victories and because only the results count, it affects the image of a team.

When AIK won against Hammarby at the end of September, the applause for the effort afterwards was strange. Hammarby coach Kim Hellberg spent the first half trying to play artificial turf football in the Everglades. It was not an advantage for AIK that press.

In the second, Hammarby started to build long and play easily and then AIK created almost nothing. Before Fofana at Hammarby thought the Guidetti AIK was worth an open goal from close range.

Hecken has been listless and half-hearted and is the big flop of the series.

Elfsborg had felt how good Oscar Hiljemark’s team was from the start. Now the first twelve rounds were mostly waiting for Jimmy Thelin to move to Scotland (and be successful).

Instead, Hammarby, Mjällby and Gais have been big teams.

New coach Hellberg has had a cross in Hammarby but he succeeded beyond expectations. Mjällby has shown that money is not everything. And Gai’s unparalleled game has been very different from every team that, since Östersund under Potter, has tried a game that the team has not mastered.

Speaking of games, IFK Värnamos’ Simon Thern was right when he said this summer in Expressen:

“Throughout my years, the interest in Allsvenskan has never been greater. But at the same time, the quality has never been worse than it is now.”

The 31-year-old based his opinion partly on the Swedish clubs selling their young players earlier than before. The players barely have time to show how good they are before they have to draw.

Even if I think Thern is right, I don’t care.

And partly because those who return later, when they have fallen further down than previous returnees because the ability to stay abroad is better today.

And even if I think Thern is right, I don’t care.

I want to see great football is he in the Champions League, but the plasticity has become so complete that this year I could not watch a single game in the first round.

The fact that too many teams are too bad for stability creates an uncertainty that has become a strength of Allsvenskan. That, along with draws in the stands and high intensity on the pitch, makes Allsvenskan the football series I choose every day of the week.