French Ligue 1

Il Drago

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Messages
20,765
Likes
32,460
Favorite Player
Wesley Sneijder
Best Football Poster
Best Overall Poster
Ligue 1 is starting this weekend. Here's a preview about the upcoming season.

Prepare for another fascinating season in the ever-improving Ligue 1​


Ligue 1 is back this weekend following a busy summer. Of the four sides that were involved in the extremely close title race last season, Lille and Lyon have been relatively quiet in the transfer window as they have tried to consolidate under their new managers. Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain have been eager participants in the market, buying well in a way that addresses their needs in a comprehensive way. Nice and Rennes have also done some canny business in the break, to say nothing of Marseille’s flood of arrivals. But the discussion about prospective title favourites has to start and end with PSG – who may yet pull off the biggest transfer of all this summer.

Even as rumours swirl around the potential departure of Kylian Mbappé, with the young striker still yet to sign a contract extension as the season kicks off this weekend, PSG have done their utmost to convince their young star to stay. At least, that is, if one judges by their transfer activity. Even if Lionel Messi does not join the club, the arrivals of Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum and Achraf Hakimi have bolstered Mauricio Pochettino’s side in key areas, while also adding another layer of dynamism.

The Argentinian will have his hands full doling out playing time, with the centre-back and goalkeeper positions his chief concerns. The team will also miss the workrate and energy of Moise Kean – but these are minor caveats. Wijnaldum’s drive from midfield will lessen the creative load on Marco Verratti; Hakimi is arguably the world’s best young right-back; and Donnarumma looks a brilliant bit of business, having signed on a free after being named player of the tournament at the European Championship.

If Pochettino can keep his squad happy and balanced, this team looks as potent as any in Europe, and the title in France should be a given provided the players keep their focus. While another title to mark the 10th anniversary of the Qatari takeover seems inevitable, the league as a whole is full of intrigue, with half a dozen sides pushing for a place in the top three.

Monaco are probably best equipped, even though they will have to contend with playing European football. The arrival of Dutch prospect Myron Boadu will provide a capable replacement for former striker Stevan Jovetic. Young Germans Alexander Nübel and Ismail Jakobs look to be upgrades on Benjamin Lecomte and Fodé Ballo-Touré, respectively, all without breaking the bank.

Niko Kovač’s exciting, front-foot football remains in place and so do all of the key elements of a side that was a late Lyon winner away from the title last year. With more experience for the team’s youngsters, a full season of Aleksandr Golovin and more time for Kovač to improve the squad’s fitness, they look certain of a place on the podium.

Their chief rival, then, might just be Marseille. One of only a few clubs in the mix for Europe not to have changed their manager over the summer, they have brought in a raft of talented young players to support Jorge Sampaoli. Mattéo Guendouzi and William Saliba are the most promising, but American winger Konrad de la Fuente also looks a livewire, and in Arkadiusz Milik the team have a clinical finisher to get on the end of attacks. There are still questions lingering over the ability of ageing players such as Dimitri Payet and Steve Mandanda to balance a season in which Marseille will feature in the Europa League, but on the whole, France’s best-supported club should push Monaco hard for a Champions League place.

Elsewhere, Lyon fell just short of the top three with a gutting loss to Nice on the final day of the season. The two clubs find themselves in a presumptive battle for Europe under new management. Lyon will have to make do without the incandescent individual quality of Memphis Depay, but may be a more potent force going forward following the return of Moussa Dembélé and the installation of Peter Bosz in the dugout. The Dutchman’s gung-ho style may lack the defensive rigour to keep Lyon in the title hunt, but they are unlikely to be boring, even if they have largely stood firm in the transfer market.

Nice have been quite active in the market, bringing in a cadre of promising young Dutch players, including Calvin Stengs, Pablo Rosario and Justin Kluivert. This trio, along with Jean-Clair Todibo’s return on a permanent deal and the likes of Dante, Kasper Dolberg and Youcef Atal being back up to speed make them a team of immense potential. In order to contend for the top three, new manager Christophe Galtier will have to get a diverse group of (mostly) young players off to a fast start, but it would be unwise to bet against the former Lille boss.

As for Galtier’s former club, the reigning champions are likely set to battle Rennes for a Europa League place. The northern side will do so with a new face at the helm in the person of Jocelyn Gourvennec. The former Guingamp and Bordeaux manager takes charge of a largely unchanged side, save for Mike Maignan and Boubakary Soumaré, now at Milan and Leicester. While further departures could ding what is a shallow side’s hopes of returning to the Champions League, the further development of youngsters like Timothy Weah, Jonathan David, and Jonathan Bamba make Lille a team to watch.

The Breton side, meanwhile, were busy in the transfer market, spending €20m on Lens defender Loïc Badé. Rennes also brought in Ghanaian winger Kamaldeen Sulemana to complement the ever-improving Jérémy Doku, on the back of the Belgian’s impressive displays this summer. The departure of Steven Nzonzi leaves more questions than answers in central midfield, but under Bruno Génésio, they are highly unlikely to be a boring side.

Elsewhere, a raft of other sides will have new managers, with Michel Der Zakarian and Olivier Dall’Oglio having swapped places at Montpellier and Brest. Bordeaux (Vladimir Petković), Reims, Angers and Strasbourg (Julien Stéphan) have also enacted changes at coach level. Stéphan and the attacking players at his disposal in Alsace bears watching, as does the ability of Dall’Oglio to play his usual mad-scientist role with attacking football using the likes of Andy Delort, Téji Savanier and Gaëtan Laborde.

At the bottom of the table, neither of the promoted sides, Clermont – who are making their Ligue 1 debut – nor City Football Group-backed Troyes look up to the task of sustaining their status. Angers, Reims, Lorient and Brest could also be circling the drain given departures both from the bench and on the pitch.

All told, though, the quality in France should continue to increase, as it has done for several seasons. More and more sides are investing in meaningful ways and, with France being an unparalleled source of young talent, the league’s reputation has deservedly risen of late. Even without a title race, then, Ligue 1 will this season remain compelling viewing, with a panoply of big personalities and absurdly talented players from which the neutral can choose.

 
  • Like
Reactions: MVD

wera

might be Deadpool
La Grande Inter
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
32,670
Likes
11,465
Favorite Player
Bea Arthur
10 years of FIF
Most Diverse Poster
A section of the OGC Nice supporters with infantile behaviour tonight, ruining the 1st big match at home since COVID-19 by regularly throwing bottles & the like at Marseille players in the lead up to & during set plays.



Embarrassing situation gets worse for OGC Nice as players get into a fight and fans pour onto the pitch after Dimitri Payet threw back a bottle which struck him. Shameful & woeful lack of security at the Allianz Riviera.



Nice vs Marseille is now suspended. Fans pouring onto the pitch again. Embarrassing.



Jorge Sampaoli had now completely lost the plot, seemingly at Jean Clair Todibo, Dimitri Payet has to stop his own manager from committing an act of physical violence.



Marseille President Longoria looks totally shell-shocked in the tunnel - Nice President Jean Pierre Rivère goes to the Populaire Sud to calm down the ultras who had burst onto the pitch unacceptably.




Just ban ALL Nice fans from attending games from now on and help the club get financially unstable. Bra-fucking-vo, idiots. Is this what you wanted? Throwing bottles at players?
 

brehme1989

La Grande Inter
La Grande Inter
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
34,402
Likes
17,025
10 years of FIF
Nostradamus
Most Passionate Member
Excellent. Football's back!
 

wera

might be Deadpool
La Grande Inter
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
32,670
Likes
11,465
Favorite Player
Bea Arthur
10 years of FIF
Most Diverse Poster
Rumours of Camavinga to PSG. Eyuckh, this makes me sick.
 

brehme1989

La Grande Inter
La Grande Inter
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
34,402
Likes
17,025
10 years of FIF
Nostradamus
Most Passionate Member
Messi on the bench
 
  • Like
Reactions: MVD

nelsonrivas2011

Capitano
Capitano
Joined
Jun 18, 2021
Messages
2,434
Likes
3,554
Favorite Player
Pandev
The Cambodian Royal Family could at any moment buy Saint-Étienne for €100M.

There was also another pitch invasion in Ligue 1, in the game between Metz and PSG.
 

wera

might be Deadpool
La Grande Inter
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
32,670
Likes
11,465
Favorite Player
Bea Arthur
10 years of FIF
Most Diverse Poster
I think we have seen a lot of games to know that even the greatest team can lose to a relegation side. All of these Rennes players are professional players.

It's been a crazy weekend, Real lost to Espanyol for instance
 

brehme1989

La Grande Inter
La Grande Inter
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
34,402
Likes
17,025
10 years of FIF
Nostradamus
Most Passionate Member
Bayern losing at home
Real losing to Espanyol
Ajax losing at home
PSG losing to Rennes

Been a great week for the anti-modern football world.
 

NimAraya

La Grande Inter
La Grande Inter
Joined
Apr 22, 2005
Messages
10,547
Likes
9,001
10 years of FIF
Ligue 1 is the first of the top five European Leagues to announce it will reduce the division from 20 teams to 18, with similar plans afoot in Serie A.

The increasingly packed fixture list and tight finances have prompted several of Europe’s major leagues to reconsider their current structure.

Ligue 1 in France becomes the first to take formal action, as the LFP announced today that the 2022-23 season will see four teams relegated and only two promoted from Ligue 2.

Serie A is holding meetings for similar plans and presented the teams with a dossier on the financial impact of such a move.
 

Sawyer

Capitano
Capitano
Joined
Jul 22, 2007
Messages
3,642
Likes
5,313
Favorite Player
Dimarco
10 years of FIF
Forum Supporter
PSG are such a terrible team, they always have "players missing" but their subs bench should be good enough to steam roll anyone, I've just watched the first half tonight and they are just shocking, why do we rate Neymar? He is turning 30 I thought he was like 24! They should be down 2,3-0 let alone just the 1-0 they are. Is it Poch tactics making them look this bad or are they always this bad? If Icardi was on the pitch he'd have zero touches I swear the ball has only been in the box once when Di Maria scorned a massive chance they didn't deserve.

Sorry to ramble but its painful to watch. Wish they were in a decent league to get exposed, they'd be the Arsenal of the premier league the way they are playing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MVD

wera

might be Deadpool
La Grande Inter
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
32,670
Likes
11,465
Favorite Player
Bea Arthur
10 years of FIF
Most Diverse Poster
I was home and I forgot to watch the game! For fucks sake, friday derby games should be cancelled.

I saw Messi was substituted by Icardi in the second half, was Messi that shit against Lille? Damn :(
 

rfU

Allenatore
Allenatore
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
5,066
Likes
1,162
Favorite Player
JZ4
10 years of FIF
Is it Poch tactics making them look this bad or are they always this bad?
Bit of both. Personally I think Leonardo is biggest culprit. There's no transfer strategy or vision, no definite system or philosophy to adhere to, no play style, no balance. Messi doesn't fit Poch's tactics but has to play. Definitely one of the worst PSG halves I've ever witnessed. Reminds me of the moratti 90s era, just buying players with no notion how the pieces will fit.
 
Last edited:

magnesium

Capitano
Capitano
Joined
Jul 2, 2014
Messages
2,922
Likes
1,491
Favorite Player
Gagliardinho
Bit of both. Personally I think Leonardo is biggest culprit. There's no transfer strategy or vision, no definite system or philosophy to adhere to, no play style, no balance. Messi doesn't fit Poch's tactics but has to play. Definitely one of the worst PSG halves I've ever witnessed. Reminds me of the moratti 90s era, just buying players with no notion how the pieces will fit.
It's hard to mix superstars ego.
Unless you top coach like Zidane, Mourinho, or Conte.
Sometimes big players think he is bigger than club or the coach.

PSG need a coach who can mix them in harmony, maybe Zidane is perfect for them.
 

Sawyer

Capitano
Capitano
Joined
Jul 22, 2007
Messages
3,642
Likes
5,313
Favorite Player
Dimarco
10 years of FIF
Forum Supporter
Messi was that shit but was subbed due to injury and the substition changed the game for PSG, can't believe they won that game.

They need to drastically change something at that club, I can't figure it out when I watch them between players or Poch but I think @rfU is spot on, bit on both.
 

thatdude

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 18, 2010
Messages
19,724
Likes
9,965
10 years of FIF
FIF Special Ones
It's hard to mix superstars ego.
Unless you top coach like Zidane, Mourinho, or Conte.
Sometimes big players think he is bigger than club or the coach.

PSG need a coach who can mix them in harmony, maybe Zidane is perfect for them.
Tuchel spoke about how difficult it was to manage there. He didn’t have to just manage certain players (Neymar) he had to basically manage their families too.
 
Top