Football Season Guide

Lorient survived their first season back in Ligue 1 and, while it was not without scares, there was plenty of positivity that the Breton club could take from their survival. Head coach Christophe Pelissier was widely hailed for his achievement of keeping Lorient in the top flight, which was a task made easier by the fine form of striker Terem Moffi, who is expected to be a centrepiece for the club once again. Adrian Grbic, meanwhile, has arrived with a weight of expectation that he failed to live up to and has a strained relationship with the coach due to his lack of game time last season. Pierre-Yves Hamel also available, Lorient are not lacking in offensive quality. Equally, the midfield has a decent blend of youth an experience. Enzo Le Fee has been eye catching with his technical qualities while Fabien Lemoine, Thomas Monconduit and Laurent Abergel are all experienced campaigners. Perhaps what is most obviously missing is depth. Dangerous winger Yoane Wissa was the victim of an acid attack this summer, though, so it remains to be seen how he fares after being an important player last term. Lorient’s only reinforcement has come in the right-back slot, where Igor Silva has arrived from Brazilian football. Jerome Hergault, who played far more regularly (and far better) than expected last season, could be the man to suffer. They have not really lost any players of particular importance to their squad over the summer, with Trevoh Chalobah’s loan from Chelsea perhaps the only significant loss in the first team. Numbers, however have been trimmed down a little, although overall it is still a squad that looks reasonably well balanced and capable of coping with all but the worst of injury crises.