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After another season has ended, the section "Fans' Thoughts" on [link="http://www.eurofootball.com"]"EuroFootball.com"[/link] invites fans to review the past football year of their favorite clubs and share ideas about the near future. For your attention - the second part of the review of the French "Ligue 1" season, written by forum member T-Wolves. "Lorient" If not for the last rounds when "Lorient" failed to win 5 matches in a row, the season could be considered almost ideal. Last summer, having lost several key players, "Lorient" managed to compete for a place in the Europa League. The biggest "culprits" for this are coach Christian Gourcuff and two players – Kevin Gameiro and Morgan Amalfitano. Gameiro is second in scoring this season in "Ligue 1", while Amalfitano made a whopping 13 assists, 9 of which were for Gameiro. Unfortunately, "Lorient" is not the club that can easily retain these players. Amalfitano's contract expires this year and he is likely to join OM, while Gameiro is pursued not only by "Ligue 1" clubs but also by clubs in Spain and England. "Valenciennes" Another season where they are neither fighting for a European place nor relegation. Before the season, I thought this year would be the end for VAFC, as they lost two of their key players - Audel and Ben Khalfallah, but Gregory Pujol, who scored 17 goals, had his best season in his career and was well supported by attacking winger Gael Danic, so VAFC managed to stay in the league quite confidently. However, Pujol seems reluctant to continue being a member of "Valenciennes" and he is actively courted by somewhat bigger "Ligue 1" clubs. Coach Philippe Montanier has already left the team and will coach Real Sociedad players in Spain. "Nancy" Tough years with a happy ending - that's how you would describe Nancy's season. Throughout the season, Nancy was at the bottom of the table and only thanks to the successful last 4 games (where they earned 10 points) the team will delight their fans with "Ligue 1" football next season. It has long been clear that after the season coach Pablo Correa will leave the club – a man who worked in the Nancy team for almost a decade and led the team to "Ligue 1". The only thing that would have kept Pablo was Nancy's relegation to "Ligue 2", but that didn't happen, and Correa left his post. There was no need to search for a new coach for a long time - Jean Fernandez, who left Auxerre, took the vacant place. The composition of the team should also change significantly. Long-time club forward Youssuf Hadji is likely to move to the Middle East to earn more money, defender Michael Chretien also wants to change the environment, and one of the best "Nancy" players - Julien Feret - is being pursued not only by France but also by Germany. "Montpellier" Last season's surprise package this year had to come back down to earth. Although they fought for a place in the Europa League for quite a while, Montpellier lost their last three games and dropped as low as 14th place. The defense of MHSC was not bad at all, and the team's goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren often had reasons to be pleased with not conceding a goal, but the attack was abysmal. "Montpellier" scored more than twice as few goals as "Ligue 1" champions "Lille". The only player who played quite successfully in the attack was Olivier Giroud. The tall center forward scored 12 times and has already attracted the attention of stronger teams. "Caen" Among the clubs promoted to "Ligue 1," "Caen" achieved the highest position. The first two rounds were more than impressive - they defeated OM away and OL at home. But after a few weeks, the team plunged into a hole and the rest of the season they fought to avoid relegation. Seven consecutive games without a defeat at the end of the season allowed the Norman team to stay in the league. This season in the "Ligue 1" championship, two new stars emerged from "Caen" - striker Youssef El Arabi, who scored 17 goals, and wingback Romain Hamouma, who added 9 goals and 6 assists. The latter has already attracted the attention of PSG. If the team were to lose both of these players, they would be among the favorites to drop to the lower division next season. "Brest" As the season progressed, "Brest" became one of the biggest surprises in "Ligue 1." The club, promoted from "Ligue 2," was at the top of the league table for several rounds. Unfortunately, in the second half of the season, "Brest" players had to come back to reality and eventually fight for a place to play "Ligue 1" next year. Defense was the strength of "Brest", but several attacking players also stood out, especially attacking winger Bruno Grougi. Main striker Nolan Roux missed a lot of time due to injury, so Grougi took over the role of team leader from him and not only scored goals but also created opportunities for his team. "Nice" One of the weakest teams of the season managed to avoid relegation. Last summer, losing their main striker Loic Remy, "Nice" couldn't find a replacement for him. In the first part of the season, Anthony Mounier shone, but later his form declined. Goalkeeper David Ospina was not reliable either. In the final stages of the season, forward Eric Mouloungui led the team forward, scoring both goals in a very important match against "Lorient." The club's board urgently needs to strengthen the team, otherwise another season of relegation battle awaits. "Monaco" Nobody expected this. Former flagships of French football will play in "Ligue 2" next year. Despite strengthening well in the summer, Monaco hoped to compete for a European place but in the end found themselves fighting for survival and lost that battle. New coach Laurent Banide didn't help. The heroic goalkeeping of Stefano Ruffiero didn't help. The goals of the only successful Korean striker Chu Young Park didn't help. The lack of goals sent "Monaco" to the second division. The defense was solid, but scoring was harder than overtaking in the Monaco GP circuit. Hopefully, the Monégasques won't stay in "Ligue 2" for long and will make the right conclusions to return to "Ligue 1" even stronger. "Lens" Another painful loss. Legendary "Lens" club falls to "Ligue 2" for the second time in a few seasons. However, unlike "Monaco," RCL ensured their relegation quite a few rounds before the end of the season. They lacked a better defense, a bigger safe contribution, and, of course, goals from forwards. It is already clear that team captain and one of the best players, Adil Hermach, will leave the club. This defensive midfielder should have no shortage of offers. The most promising player of the club - defender Raphael Varane - is being pursued by teams like Man Utd and Real Madrid. It is unclear whether other leaders will stay. It is hoped that well-supported clubs like "Lens" will not fall to "Ligue 2," but sometimes it happens... "Arles-Avignon" 37 out of 38, "Arles" finished last. It would take a lot of time to list the reasons why "Arles" got relegated, but they stood out with rough play trying to compensate for the lack of technique. No one will miss them, no one will remember them, and hopefully we won't see such meat in the "Ligue 1" championship again. Newcomers: "Evian" A true "Ligue 2" sensation. Established in just 2003, the club this year confidently won the "Ligue 2" championship and a ticket to "Ligue 1". Worth mentioning that the shareholders of this team are legendary Zinedine Zidane and Bixente Lizarazu. "Ajaccio" After a five-season break, a club from the island of Corsica will play in "Ligue 1" again. "Dijon" Only because of the better goal ratio, "Dijon" managed to get promoted to the highest league in the country and during the summer, the club managers will have to solve the difficult puzzle of how to replace their best and most goalscoring player of this season - forward from Uruguay Sebastien Ribas. Top Goalscorers of "Ligue 1": 1. Moussa Sow – 25 goals – "Lille". 2. Kevin Gameiro – 22 goals – "Lorient". 3. Lisandro Lopez – 17 goals – "Lyon". 4. Gregory Pujol – 17 goals – "Valenciennes". 5. Youssef El Arabi – 17 goals – "Caen". 6. Loic Remy – 16 goals – "Marseille". 7. Gervinho – 15 goals – "Lille". 8. Modibo Maiga – 15 goals – "Sochaux". 9. Brown Ideye – 15 goals – "Sochaux". 10. Nene – 14 goals - PSG. Most Assists in "Ligue 1": 1. Marvin Martin – 17 assists – "Sochaux". 2. Morgan Amalfitano – 13 assists – "Lorient". 3. Anthony Mounier – 11 assists – "Nice". 4. Gervinho – 10 assists – "Lille". 5. Eden Hazard – 10 assists – "Lille". 6. Jaroslav Plašil – 10 assists – "Bordeaux". Official Best Player Awards: Best "Ligue 1" Player: Eden Hazard ("Lille"). Best "Ligue 1" Young Player: Mamadou Sakho (PSG). Best "Ligue 1" Goalkeeper: Steve Mandanda ("Marseille"). Best "Ligue 1" Coach: Rudy Garcia ("Lille"). Symbolic "Ligue 1" XI: Mandanda; Reveillere, Rami, Sakho, Taiwo; M'Vila, Gervinho, Hazard, Nene; Sow, Gameiro. [link="http://www.eurofootball.com/index.php?page=news&id=24154"]Fans' Thoughts: "Ligue 1" Season Review (Part I)[/link] Would you like to contribute to this section? You can find all the necessary information about participating in "Fans' Thoughts" by clicking [link="http://www.eurofootball.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3534"]here[/link].
