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meatman · 17-07-2007, 05:02

Part (IV) - Teams that could get sucked into the relegation battle

Bastia
The Corsicans finished up in midtable last season and many people might expect them to do better this year. I don’t think they will improve much though, and if anything, could go backwards. They haven’t been very prolific in the transfer market this summer which has both is positives and negatives. At least there is some continuity amongst the squad and players. The trouble is that I feel new blood is needed here and that the options available to them aren’t good enough to progress. They have quality players in all areas of the park, but not enough of them and the squad is seriously thin with lack of cover.

The defence has lost old legend, Florent Laville and he will be hard to replace. Bastia do have Meniri and Maire as 1st choice centre backs, but only have Cahuzac as cover for this position. Midfielder Yohann Gomez can also play here but he ideally need to be used in that midfield holding role. Bridonneau on the right and Lorenzi on the left are decent players ,but there is no cover. When at full strength, this defence looks pretty good, but if injuries kick in, then Les Bleus are in big trouble.

The midfield welcomes 2 new additions, one of them is Fethi Harek from Rodez. But I don’t expect him to play much of a key role this year, he will be an understudy to Bastia’s key left winger, Frederic Mendy. The Corsicans do look strong on the wings and they welcome back Fabrice Jau after he spent an unsuccessful year at Sedan. Yohann Gomez in the holding midfield role is vital, but more often than not he is forced to play in defence which severely dampens the solidity of the midfield. There aren’t enough options in the middle, and although there is some decent cover on the wings, I think some teams will easily dominate the centre of the field against Bastia this season.

The strike force still relies too much on the old legs of Pierre Yves Andre. He’s an old legend but not a spring chicken anymore at 33 years old. He will get goals of course but he isn’t as effective as he once was and some teams will easily deal with him. Bastia will hope that loan signing from Toulouse, Xavier Pentecote proves to be a decent new addition, but he’s completely unproven so time will tell. Chakouri Ben Saada can do a job upfront but he’s often used more in a creative role. Bastia definitely lack options upfront, and although there are some decent youngsters, none of them are yet good enough to be prolific goal scorers in ligue 2.

Bastia are a team with quite a big reputation and in the last couple of seasons they have been wrongly overestimated by a lot of people. I think in general, that pattern will continue in the initial stages of this new campaign, before it becomes apparent they will be nothing more than a midtable outfit once more. The squad simply doesn’t have enough depth in it for them to launch any sort of promotion bid. When at absolute 100%, they will give any team a decent game and they are capable of upsetting the best sides. But I expect Les Bleus will be far too hit and miss, unable to get any consistency together. If things go really badly and injuries kick in, then they might even become a shock addition to the relegation dogfight. Its unlikely though and they should end up around the midtable mark.

Key players - Frederic Mendy (Left winger), Pierre Yves Andre (Striker)

Verdict

Defence 6/10 (When at full strength its good, but real lack of cover in all areas)
Midfield 5/10 (Strong on the wings but lacking central players, Gomez key in the holding role)
Attack 4/10 (Andre will score goals but I struggle to see any other real quality)

Overall 12th - Lack of squad depth a worry, but should ultimately be pretty safe.

Dijon
Its all change at Dijon over the summer and a lot of players have both left and arrived. Some people might expect them to be in the promotion hunt, but that cant realistically happen and the objective must be to have a settling down year to rebuild again. Dijon have lost their excellent tactical coach, Rudy Garcia to ligue 1 Le Mans, and he will be a tough man to replace. Given the job is Serge Romano who took Sedan to promotion a couple of seasons ago. Dijon fans will be hoping he can do the same again for them, but it wont be easy. They seem to be lacking certain aspects, creativity in midfield for one, although do have a reasonable attack force.

I’m worried in defence that Dijon wont be able to replace two key centre backs. Abasse Ba was one of the best players in the whole of ligue 2 last season, but now moves onto Le Havre. Meanwhile, old legend, Stephane Gregoire retires to coach lower ligue side Orleans. Both will be missed and currently Dijon have yet to buy anyone to replace either of them. In fact the only new addition is left back Herve Batomelina who comes in from Paris FC. But I cant see him playing too many games as Dijon’s best left back is Florian Jarjat. There are a couple of decent players at the back but there is also a definite lack of cover, and they are in trouble if injuries kick in. Some teams will certainly fancy their chances against this defence.

At the start of last season, Dijon definitely had one of the strongest midfields in the division. Now just 12 months on it looks to be one of the weakest and they have lost a lot of players already during the summer. Attempts have been made to replace of course but I’m not convinced by the 3 guys Dijon have brought in. Robail on the left drops down a division from Ligue 1 Lille and could be useful, but Guedioura and Famery both come up from the national division. The latter signing is said to be a very good youngster but I cant see him playing too much of a major role this season. At this moment, there aren’t enough creative minded midfielders, and although there are a few decent holding guys, I’m worried that the strikers sometimes wont have too much to feed on. There is definitely a lack of options in the middle of the park for Les Rouges and it looks to be one of the weakest in ligue 2, certainly in a creative sense.

The attack force looks to be Dijon’s strongest area this season and they should score enough goals if the strikers are supplied with enough ammunition. Helder Esteves could become a key man for them again, as long as he has now fully recovered from the cruciate ligament injury which sidelined him for most of last season. The signing of Christophe Mandanne from Le Havre is a good one and he did a decent job for Tours last year. He is pacey, quick, creative and also able to put the ball into the back of the net. Dijon also have a few other decent options upfront such as Stephane Mangione and I’m confident that this side will score goals if they are supplied properly.

Key players - Barel Mouko (goalkeeper) Sebastien Larcier (Defensive midfield)

Verdict

Defence 4/10 (Lost key players and looks to be fairly weak)
Midfield 4/10 (Will be solid but doesn’t have enough creative players in it)
Attack 7/10 (Their strongest area and they have strikers who will score, as long as they are supplied properly)

Overall 13th - Poor defence and midfield will hamper them, but should be storng enough to avoid getting into any serious trouble.

Montpellier
The south coast club had a big scare last season when they were nearly relegated. Luckily they were saved by a late change of management and a really good run of late results. Rolland Courbis came in and effectively saved the team from relegation. Now a lot of the talk is that he can lead them to better things, but any dreams of promotion are way off the mark. Montpellier have lost a few players during the summer and I don’t really see any miracle new signings who should propel them up the table. The attack force especially looks very weak and I think Montpellier will be a bottom half of the table side. I doubt they will be relegated, although might potentially get sucked into the battle if things turn out badly.

In defence they have lost centre backs, Cedric Cambon and Fredric Mendy who were both important players. One replacement is Nenad Dzodic who arrives from Ajaccio. He looks to be a decent singing and will probably link up with Alexis N’gambi to form a partnership. Montpellier have a few more options, but in general I think their backline looks pretty weak with definite lack of cover. They certainly seem thin on the ground and could be in some trouble if injuries kick in. When at full strength and at their best, it could be potentially formidable, but I think it will have a mixture of good and bad days.

The midfield looks to be Montpellier’s strongest area simply because they have so many options available to them. There is loads of depth and they can easily cope with any injury crisis in this part of the squad. They have brought a couple of new players during the summer and Lacombe / Ouadah should do decent jobs. Phillipe Delaye is probably the key man for MHSC on the right hand side, but the good thing about this midfield is that they do not rely on any star individuals. I expect plenty of rotation as many guys are capable of playing in a range of positions. There is certainly enough quality in this midfield and I expect them to often play with 5 men in the middle of the park.

There is plenty of depth in the midfield, but the same certainly cant be said about the Montpellier attack force. It looks very thin on the ground and I struggle to see where they will get their goals from. Robert Malm was a key man for them last season, but he’s now 35 years old and cant be expected to do as much. Victor Montano is too hit and miss along with Lamine Sakho. Montpellier will be hoping that loan signing from Nice, Souleymane Camara proves to be a useful addition to the squad. He should do alright but there are certainly some question marks about him. Montpellier definitely lack any star strikers and I do worry about where they will get goals from. This attack is one of the weakest in the ligue and opposition defences wont be quaking in their boots at the prospect of playing against it.

Overall, some people might expect Montpellier to do quite well this season, especially with Roland Courbis as coach. However think he’s far too over-hyped and I cant see them doing that much. They will have their good days, but also bad ones, probably proving to be a very inconstant side. Any fans dreaming of promotion can think again because they are more likely to be mixing it in the relegation dogfight than with the big boys. Ultimately though, Montpellier should survive although I do think they will finish in the 2nd half of the table.

Key players
Alexis N’gambi (Defender), Phillipe Delaye (Midfielder right)

Verdict

Defence 4/10 (When at full strength it should be alright, but real lack of cover)
Midfield 7/10 (Their strongest aspect and have loads of depth)
Attack 3/10 (Looks weak and they could struggle to score goals)

Overall 14th - An overrated team and will struggle to score goals, ultimately should survive though

Brest
Les Rouges et Blanc have spent the last couple of seasons really close to the relegation zone and have only managed to survive by the skin of their teeth twice. Amazingly, they managed to finish up in 14th last season, although this was thanks to a late run of 3 wins. They will hope that they can move up towards the safety of midtable this year, and that’s certainly a possibility. They have lost a few payers but also gained some and they look to have enough quality to remain in the division. All the same they will probably be in the relegation mixer at some point, its just their natural way.

The defence has lost Johann Charpenet and he was quite an important central defender. They have also lost left backs Mangani and Radrianna. However, the signing of Ludovic Jeannel from Reims is a good one. He might be old, but still has some years in him and will add experience. Phillipe Billy arrives from Laval although he will be an understudy to regular right back, Yvan Bourgis. Brest’s key central defence duo is Fernando Casartelli and Yohann Poulard. There is some pretty good cover in all areas and look strong, although there are better defences in ligue 2. Nevertheless, I do quite like the look of this back line and is probably their best area.

The midfield has lost important holding man, Olivier Auriac who has moved to Angers. They have also lost a couple of other minor players although have been recruiting new guys in this area. Cedric Collet on the left hand side comes from Tours whilst David Bouard is an addition from Niort. Francois Masson from Dijon and Erik Sitruk from rivals Guingamp also bolster Brest and I like the look of this midfield. There is some pretty good cover in all areas and it should fire pretty well this season.

The attack force seems to be a bit thin on the ground though, and it doesn’t really impress me much. Richard Socrier scored 11 goals last season but I’m not really of a fan of him. He’s not someone I rate too highly, although he will do a reasonable job. Basil De Carvalho will be his partner although Brest will often go for just one man up front in a lot of games. It’s a good job because they don’t have many back up strikers and severely lack cover. I really don’t like the look of this strike force and Brest definitely need to get some new guys in to improve it

Overall, the Bretons have some decent options, especially in defence and midfield, although they could struggle to score goals. I don’t expect their matches will produce much excitement and there will be a lot of tactical battles they fight out. They should survive, although again will probably be involved in the relegation fight at some stage during the year. This is always a team that seems to flirt with relegation and their lack of attacking options might mean that they find themselves in trouble again.

Key players - Fernando Casartelli (Centre back), Richard Socrier (Striker)

Verdict

Defence 6/10 (Look good here in all areas, some strong players and will be hard to break down)
Midfield 5/10 (A good mix in all areas although new guys might need time to settle)
Attack 3/10 (Take Socrier away and it looks very toothless)

Overall 15th - Look better this season, but a lack of striker options could mean they are forced to fight against relegation again.

17-07-2007, 05:02	#4 (permalink)
meatman meaty punter Join Date: 26 Feb 2005 Age: 21 Posts: 12,476 Awards Showcase Total Awards: 2	Re: Meatman French Ligue 2 Preview 2007/08 Part (IV) - Teams that could get sucked into the relegation battle Bastia The Corsicans finished up in midtable last season and many people might expect them to do better this year. I don’t think they will improve much though, and if anything, could go backwards. They haven’t been very prolific in the transfer market this summer which has both is positives and negatives. At least there is some continuity amongst the squad and players. The trouble is that I feel new blood is needed here and that the options available to them aren’t good enough to progress. They have quality players in all areas of the park, but not enough of them and the squad is seriously thin with lack of cover. The defence has lost old legend, Florent Laville and he will be hard to replace. Bastia do have Meniri and Maire as 1st choice centre backs, but only have Cahuzac as cover for this position. Midfielder Yohann Gomez can also play here but he ideally need to be used in that midfield holding role. Bridonneau on the right and Lorenzi on the left are decent players ,but there is no cover. When at full strength, this defence looks pretty good, but if injuries kick in, then Les Bleus are in big trouble. The midfield welcomes 2 new additions, one of them is Fethi Harek from Rodez. But I don’t expect him to play much of a key role this year, he will be an understudy to Bastia’s key left winger, Frederic Mendy. The Corsicans do look strong on the wings and they welcome back Fabrice Jau after he spent an unsuccessful year at Sedan. Yohann Gomez in the holding midfield role is vital, but more often than not he is forced to play in defence which severely dampens the solidity of the midfield. There aren’t enough options in the middle, and although there is some decent cover on the wings, I think some teams will easily dominate the centre of the field against Bastia this season. The strike force still relies too much on the old legs of Pierre Yves Andre. He’s an old legend but not a spring chicken anymore at 33 years old. He will get goals of course but he isn’t as effective as he once was and some teams will easily deal with him. Bastia will hope that loan signing from Toulouse, Xavier Pentecote proves to be a decent new addition, but he’s completely unproven so time will tell. Chakouri Ben Saada can do a job upfront but he’s often used more in a creative role. Bastia definitely lack options upfront, and although there are some decent youngsters, none of them are yet good enough to be prolific goal scorers in ligue 2. Bastia are a team with quite a big reputation and in the last couple of seasons they have been wrongly overestimated by a lot of people. I think in general, that pattern will continue in the initial stages of this new campaign, before it becomes apparent they will be nothing more than a midtable outfit once more. The squad simply doesn’t have enough depth in it for them to launch any sort of promotion bid. When at absolute 100%, they will give any team a decent game and they are capable of upsetting the best sides. But I expect Les Bleus will be far too hit and miss, unable to get any consistency together. If things go really badly and injuries kick in, then they might even become a shock addition to the relegation dogfight. Its unlikely though and they should end up around the midtable mark. Key players - Frederic Mendy (Left winger), Pierre Yves Andre (Striker) Verdict Defence 6/10 (When at full strength its good, but real lack of cover in all areas) Midfield 5/10 (Strong on the wings but lacking central players, Gomez key in the holding role) Attack 4/10 (Andre will score goals but I struggle to see any other real quality) Overall 12th - Lack of squad depth a worry, but should ultimately be pretty safe. Dijon Its all change at Dijon over the summer and a lot of players have both left and arrived. Some people might expect them to be in the promotion hunt, but that cant realistically happen and the objective must be to have a settling down year to rebuild again. Dijon have lost their excellent tactical coach, Rudy Garcia to ligue 1 Le Mans, and he will be a tough man to replace. Given the job is Serge Romano who took Sedan to promotion a couple of seasons ago. Dijon fans will be hoping he can do the same again for them, but it wont be easy. They seem to be lacking certain aspects, creativity in midfield for one, although do have a reasonable attack force. I’m worried in defence that Dijon wont be able to replace two key centre backs. Abasse Ba was one of the best players in the whole of ligue 2 last season, but now moves onto Le Havre. Meanwhile, old legend, Stephane Gregoire retires to coach lower ligue side Orleans. Both will be missed and currently Dijon have yet to buy anyone to replace either of them. In fact the only new addition is left back Herve Batomelina who comes in from Paris FC. But I cant see him playing too many games as Dijon’s best left back is Florian Jarjat. There are a couple of decent players at the back but there is also a definite lack of cover, and they are in trouble if injuries kick in. Some teams will certainly fancy their chances against this defence. At the start of last season, Dijon definitely had one of the strongest midfields in the division. Now just 12 months on it looks to be one of the weakest and they have lost a lot of players already during the summer. Attempts have been made to replace of course but I’m not convinced by the 3 guys Dijon have brought in. Robail on the left drops down a division from Ligue 1 Lille and could be useful, but Guedioura and Famery both come up from the national division. The latter signing is said to be a very good youngster but I cant see him playing too much of a major role this season. At this moment, there aren’t enough creative minded midfielders, and although there are a few decent holding guys, I’m worried that the strikers sometimes wont have too much to feed on. There is definitely a lack of options in the middle of the park for Les Rouges and it looks to be one of the weakest in ligue 2, certainly in a creative sense. The attack force looks to be Dijon’s strongest area this season and they should score enough goals if the strikers are supplied with enough ammunition. Helder Esteves could become a key man for them again, as long as he has now fully recovered from the cruciate ligament injury which sidelined him for most of last season. The signing of Christophe Mandanne from Le Havre is a good one and he did a decent job for Tours last year. He is pacey, quick, creative and also able to put the ball into the back of the net. Dijon also have a few other decent options upfront such as Stephane Mangione and I’m confident that this side will score goals if they are supplied properly. Key players - Barel Mouko (goalkeeper) Sebastien Larcier (Defensive midfield) Verdict Defence 4/10 (Lost key players and looks to be fairly weak) Midfield 4/10 (Will be solid but doesn’t have enough creative players in it) Attack 7/10 (Their strongest area and they have strikers who will score, as long as they are supplied properly) Overall 13th - Poor defence and midfield will hamper them, but should be storng enough to avoid getting into any serious trouble. Montpellier The south coast club had a big scare last season when they were nearly relegated. Luckily they were saved by a late change of management and a really good run of late results. Rolland Courbis came in and effectively saved the team from relegation. Now a lot of the talk is that he can lead them to better things, but any dreams of promotion are way off the mark. Montpellier have lost a few players during the summer and I don’t really see any miracle new signings who should propel them up the table. The attack force especially looks very weak and I think Montpellier will be a bottom half of the table side. I doubt they will be relegated, although might potentially get sucked into the battle if things turn out badly. In defence they have lost centre backs, Cedric Cambon and Fredric Mendy who were both important players. One replacement is Nenad Dzodic who arrives from Ajaccio. He looks to be a decent singing and will probably link up with Alexis N’gambi to form a partnership. Montpellier have a few more options, but in general I think their backline looks pretty weak with definite lack of cover. They certainly seem thin on the ground and could be in some trouble if injuries kick in. When at full strength and at their best, it could be potentially formidable, but I think it will have a mixture of good and bad days. The midfield looks to be Montpellier’s strongest area simply because they have so many options available to them. There is loads of depth and they can easily cope with any injury crisis in this part of the squad. They have brought a couple of new players during the summer and Lacombe / Ouadah should do decent jobs. Phillipe Delaye is probably the key man for MHSC on the right hand side, but the good thing about this midfield is that they do not rely on any star individuals. I expect plenty of rotation as many guys are capable of playing in a range of positions. There is certainly enough quality in this midfield and I expect them to often play with 5 men in the middle of the park. There is plenty of depth in the midfield, but the same certainly cant be said about the Montpellier attack force. It looks very thin on the ground and I struggle to see where they will get their goals from. Robert Malm was a key man for them last season, but he’s now 35 years old and cant be expected to do as much. Victor Montano is too hit and miss along with Lamine Sakho. Montpellier will be hoping that loan signing from Nice, Souleymane Camara proves to be a useful addition to the squad. He should do alright but there are certainly some question marks about him. Montpellier definitely lack any star strikers and I do worry about where they will get goals from. This attack is one of the weakest in the ligue and opposition defences wont be quaking in their boots at the prospect of playing against it. Overall, some people might expect Montpellier to do quite well this season, especially with Roland Courbis as coach. However think he’s far too over-hyped and I cant see them doing that much. They will have their good days, but also bad ones, probably proving to be a very inconstant side. Any fans dreaming of promotion can think again because they are more likely to be mixing it in the relegation dogfight than with the big boys. Ultimately though, Montpellier should survive although I do think they will finish in the 2nd half of the table. Key players Alexis N’gambi (Defender), Phillipe Delaye (Midfielder right) Verdict Defence 4/10 (When at full strength it should be alright, but real lack of cover) Midfield 7/10 (Their strongest aspect and have loads of depth) Attack 3/10 (Looks weak and they could struggle to score goals) Overall 14th - An overrated team and will struggle to score goals, ultimately should survive though Brest Les Rouges et Blanc have spent the last couple of seasons really close to the relegation zone and have only managed to survive by the skin of their teeth twice. Amazingly, they managed to finish up in 14th last season, although this was thanks to a late run of 3 wins. They will hope that they can move up towards the safety of midtable this year, and that’s certainly a possibility. They have lost a few payers but also gained some and they look to have enough quality to remain in the division. All the same they will probably be in the relegation mixer at some point, its just their natural way. The defence has lost Johann Charpenet and he was quite an important central defender. They have also lost left backs Mangani and Radrianna. However, the signing of Ludovic Jeannel from Reims is a good one. He might be old, but still has some years in him and will add experience. Phillipe Billy arrives from Laval although he will be an understudy to regular right back, Yvan Bourgis. Brest’s key central defence duo is Fernando Casartelli and Yohann Poulard. There is some pretty good cover in all areas and look strong, although there are better defences in ligue 2. Nevertheless, I do quite like the look of this back line and is probably their best area. The midfield has lost important holding man, Olivier Auriac who has moved to Angers. They have also lost a couple of other minor players although have been recruiting new guys in this area. Cedric Collet on the left hand side comes from Tours whilst David Bouard is an addition from Niort. Francois Masson from Dijon and Erik Sitruk from rivals Guingamp also bolster Brest and I like the look of this midfield. There is some pretty good cover in all areas and it should fire pretty well this season. The attack force seems to be a bit thin on the ground though, and it doesn’t really impress me much. Richard Socrier scored 11 goals last season but I’m not really of a fan of him. He’s not someone I rate too highly, although he will do a reasonable job. Basil De Carvalho will be his partner although Brest will often go for just one man up front in a lot of games. It’s a good job because they don’t have many back up strikers and severely lack cover. I really don’t like the look of this strike force and Brest definitely need to get some new guys in to improve it Overall, the Bretons have some decent options, especially in defence and midfield, although they could struggle to score goals. I don’t expect their matches will produce much excitement and there will be a lot of tactical battles they fight out. They should survive, although again will probably be involved in the relegation fight at some stage during the year. This is always a team that seems to flirt with relegation and their lack of attacking options might mean that they find themselves in trouble again. Key players - Fernando Casartelli (Centre back), Richard Socrier (Striker) Verdict Defence 6/10 (Look good here in all areas, some strong players and will be hard to break down) Midfield 5/10 (A good mix in all areas although new guys might need time to settle) Attack 3/10 (Take Socrier away and it looks very toothless) Overall 15th - Look better this season, but a lack of striker options could mean they are forced to fight against relegation again.