Football Season Guide

Since returning to the second flight of French football again in 2022/2023, FC Annecy have been constantly growing. Last season they obtained their point record in Ligue 2, 52, as they finished on the 7th spot, 6 points below the promotion playoffs. Their start to the season, with 2 wins out of the initial 9 games, was far from promising. Due to renovations to their stadium, they only played their first real home game at the end of October. Thus, especially thanks to their away performances, by the end of February they looked like serious candidates for promotion. A 3-game losing streak in March and a 6-point defeat to Rodez in the final game of the season eventually killed their dreams. Usually a wise blend of youth and experience, Annecy will go on with coach Guyot, in charge of the team since May 2021, but, this season, he will have to deal with a somewhat less experienced squad. Firstly, in the midfield they had to part ways with starting Pajot, who had to retire, but he will not be missed since he hardly played last season while Casadei, now signed permanently, and Venot adequately replaced him. New signing Koné could also be considered for a start, also because Kashi is not getting any younger. Then, they lost 2 seasoned attacking midfielders in Jacob and Hbouch, but they both failed to leave a mark in the past campaign. Wingers Mondesir or Young could thus play some role in the new season, especially if Billemaz or Larose miss out. With 39 goals conceded, last season Annecy relied on a solid defence and they not altered it over the summer. They lost a whole group of full-backs, though, in Starting Rowe and back-ups Koutoune, N’Sakala and Makutungu. With Marre as the sole arrival, that is an area where they need strengthening. Up-front, they let Gomes and Paris go as Dion is set to play a more relevant role, after impressing last spring.