Perhaps it was because of this relaxed atmosphere that the club was so successful, and also why it eventually fell into decline. After years of glory the club was becoming conservative, although they would not admit it themselves. Other clubs were increasingly turning to professionalism, while players from FFK still played football in addition to having normal jobs. Training regimes were becoming more rigorous than before, but in Fredrikstad they felt that training more than twice a week would ruin the joy of playing football. There is also the sentiment that, in light of the club's formidable history, newer generations of FFK-players were given too much responsibility, folding to the pressure again and again whenever things were starting to look brighter.