Football Season Guide

Saint-Etienne were one of a number of clubs that flirted with relegation from Ligue 1 last season only to scrape their way to survival in the final weeks of the campaign. Claude Puel’s side were unimpressive, with the coach failing to inspire in terms of his personnel management, yet he remains in charge for the new campaign. With just a year left on his contract, though, he is vulnerable. Saint-Etienne are one of the sides that have felt the pinch of French football’s financial difficulties. Even before the collapse of the TV rights deal, they were starting to invest primarily in very young talent with the hope that they could blend a promising young side together. That is not one of Puel’s strengths. Indeed, the coach will have lesser numbers to work with this season. Kevin Monnet-Paquet and Mathieu Debuchy have both notably been released, while Jessy Moulin has been allowed to join Troyes, though in truth he had lost his status as starter in any case as he simply was not good enough. That burden falls on youngster Etienne Green, who finished last term very well but has much to live up to. Meanwhile, Pape Cisse’s loan deal is up and the heart of the defence will miss his presence. Saint-Etienne were dogged with defensive injury problems last season and go into this campaign with only three natural centre-backs, one of whom is Timothee Kolodziejczak, a player who Puel has struggled to maintain a good relationship with. Saint-Etienne also look short on the right of the defence. In midfield, meanwhile, there is plenty of talent. Yvan Neyou surpassed expectations last season and Lucas Gourna-Douath is a highly promising youngster. With Mahdi Camara and Zaydou Youssouf also on the books, Saint-Etienne have quality, though the lack of experience in this area must be a concern. In their entire midfield corps, only Ryad Boudebouz is over 25. More will be expected of Adil Aouchiche in an attacking capacity, while up front Romain Hamouma was belatedly retained after a long saga. Saint-Etienne do lack quality in attack, with Wahbi Khazri likely to be a centre-forward role for much of the season.