Football Season Guide

Nice coming off the back of a nightmare season in which they narrowly avoided relegation via the playoffs. It was confirmation that INEOS have essentially forgotten about them as a club given their interest in Manchester United. No aspect of their team was effective last year, with the attack persistently misfiring and a defence (admittedly plagued by long-term injury) that was leaky and prone to errors. Off the field, they were dogged by angry fans, resulting in the player even being assaulted. There’s been a change of coaching in the summer, with Olivier Pantaloni taking charge after two strong years with Lorient. While he has similar pragmatism to previous coach Claude Puel, he is more willing to be attacking and play constructive passing football. His playing squad will be tested. They have lost some promising players – notably Kail Boudache and Tom Louchet – and have not replaced them. Gautheir Hein joins from Metz but their only other addition, Laurent Abergel, has been seriously injured and may not play at all this season. There is a sense of tension coming into this campaign, although pre-season results have generally been solid so far. Ineos’ increasing disinterest in the team is frustrating fans and there is ongoing speculation over a sale. This uncertainty and the lack of investment, as well as broken promises, has left fans furious. Nice do have some good tools in their squad. The defence should be a source of comparative solidarity now the worst of the long-term injuries have cleared, with a strong core and good options on both sides. Middle to front, there are serious concerns, particularly since Abergel’s injury. In midfield, there is little depth and they have a group of injury-prone players, while up front there was no consistency in output last season and no reinforcements to strengthen that area of their options. Indeed, Moffi, their best forward on paper, likely to depart.