The French corner [non WHU]

[Puff Daddy]

I like him a lot. He is that kind of player who had to fight their way to the top, never being considered as a first option, mostly due to his limited height. But he is quick, very active and aggressive. He is capable of brilliant tackles and crazy runs with the ball through the defenses. He doesn't fit much with a highly disciplined and tactical way of playing (I guess that's why Galtier benched him for Bard when he was appointed manager in Nice last summer) but the energy and the enthusiasm are pretty enjoyable.

Much like our own Arthur Masuaku, would you say? The comparisons are frighteningly similar

[Misko]

That is very possible, I can't really judge. But Kamara is definitely not a classic LB and he doesn't fit in every system.

[Aztec Hammer]

As PSG would not be PSG without crazy buys, their main target of the summer seems to be Skriniar, but the player appears to be willing to stay at Inter. The backup plan would be Botman, for an estimated fee of €30m (£25.5m).

I would have thought that if Aguerd has been one of the best defenders in the country for a few years, maybe PSG would have looked towards him? Or is he not considered quite good enough for that level? On the Rennes forums they seem adamant that he is among the very best defenders in Ligue 1.

[Misko]

I would have thought that if Aguerd has been one of the best defenders in the country for a few years, maybe PSG would have looked towards him? Or is he not considered quite good enough for that level? On the Rennes forums they seem adamant that he is among the very best defenders in Ligue 1.

Well... Not shiny, glittery nor glamour enough. Hard*ss working guy from Dijon and Rennes is not the kind of credentials they seek. They almost never buy in Ligue 1, bar M'Bappé. Even Botman seems a bit odd, though his agents are in the big pond PSG like to fish in.

[Up the Junction]

Now with pretty pictures.

The French connection: part I
https://www.kumb.com/article.php?id=44347

The French connection: part II
https://www.kumb.com/article.php?id=44348

Full props to Misko once again.

[Misko]

Full props to Misko once again.

Thanks a lot!!!

[Up the Junction]

Thanks a lot!!!

No worries. We'll look forward to you doing it all over again next summer.

[Misko]

I saw on the Summer transfer thread that posters mentioned how French clubs are cash-strapped, especially with the TV rights deal collapsing just in the middle of the Covid crisis. Well, that's globally true, most of the clubs being kept alive through government guaranteed loans. However, the situation varies greatly. Here is a quick overview.

PSG is of course far away from these questions. However, they are facing difficulties that might be very problematic with the coming rules. They have countless players under contract with ludicrous wages they don't manage to get rid of. For instance, it is reported that Rafinha (the twin brother of Thiago Alcântara), whose contract run until 2023, will be paid to be waived. He is already bound to join Real Sociedad, where he was loaned last season. Many good players (and some not so good) are among their black list : Paredes, Danilo Pereira, Kurzawa, Draxler and even possibly Wijnaldum. Absolute nonsense.

Monaco is nicknamed Monakov, as Chelsea used to be Chelski under RA. Same kind of owner, same kind of business going on (thousands of players bought, most of them being loaned to obscure satellite clubs, and normally disappearing from any radar after some time). They always had an incredible advantage: the non-French players don't have to pay income taxes. Money is not the same thing in Monaco than in the rest of the world, be it about football or anything else.

Nice and Rennes are owned by insanely rich owners (respectively Ineos and Pinault, one of the top 30 richest man of the planet). It doesn't mean that money is pouring limitless though, but it gives them stability and long term perspectives to build their teams. Rennes have built over the years one of the finest academy in the country, and Nice have attracted many young talents in the last 2 summer transfer windows. None of these clubs have to sell any player, they are well managed, and their owners can cover any immediate need of cash.

Olympique Lyonnais is another complete different case. It is a quite unique club for different reasons. First, it is the only publicly held company. By the way, there is a major operation ongoing, and it is said it could be John Textor (who owns 40% of Crystal Palace) buying around 40% of the club shares. More will be known by the end of the current week. Second, OL are also the only club in France who own their stadium. They have been building during the last decade a complex with hotels, leisure centers and also an arena with around 15k seats. The business model is totally different from the one of the other clubs. Therefore, the club is actually not in the absolute obligation to sell players this summer. It is more the contractual situation of some of them which would lead to transfers if possible. The club would for example be very willing to sell Dembélé, but the player would rather wait one year, even being benched, to pocket a huge sign in fee from his next club.

Montpellier is also a very stable club, very rationally built. They are planning to build their own stadium in the very close future. They are experts in spotting good bargains on the transfer market. With limited means, they managed to have quality players like Giroud or Delort playing for them.

All the other teams are in more precarious situations. Marseille, despite being qualified for group stages of UCL, have still to bring some additional guarantees to be allowed by the league to recruit any player. They should have done it last week, but they failed to do it. There is little doubt that the American owner, Franck McCourt (the former owner of the Dodgers in the MLB), will once more give several millions from his own pocket to cover it. But all this is structural, the club go through that every year, losing a lot of money and being unable to sell properly any player (Thauvin and Kamara going on a free for instance). They have the bad habit to offer insane contracts to aging players, and they can't get out of it. It has been years now that the word is that the club is to be sold, but the specific context is making many investors go away (let's politely say Marseille is a place where business is more complex to do than anywhere else).

Lille are also regular in the "sell or die" position. They are "lucky" to be part of the right agent network, which enables them to find clubs ready to pay crazy money for their players, but it really doesn't seem like a sustainable MO. Time will tell.

Bordeaux have to sell for €40m (£34m) this summer (or even before the end of the month, some say) to not just simply disappear. They have been relegated to Ligue 2 on the pitch, and now to National 1 (3rd tier) because of their financial records. Saint-Etienne is also in troubles, and the coming days will be decisive for their survival.

There is a growing interest from American funds for French football. Toulouse, Le Havre and Caen, all historic clubs with good academies, have all been taken over. Angers is also on the verge to be sold to another one. French football seems to have been spotted by them as an underused potential which could be some kind of jackpot in the coming years. I strongly disagree with this analysis for many reasons, but I can understand how they came to this conclusion. That's another story....

[Hamburger]

Misko, I read a while back that Newman has a house in France, do you know if this is true?

[Misko]

Misko, I read a while back that Newman has a house in France, do you know if this is true?

I really don't know. A wealthy English man owning a house in France wouldn't be much of a surprise, though

[Misko]

Among the top 5 teams of the last Ligue 1 season, 3 have changed their managers this summer. I don't remember something like that happenning before.

PSG (1st) sacked Pochettino to hire Christophe Galtier from Nice. The choice is suprising at many levels. First, he is a kid from Marseille. He is also by far the least renowned manager they ever hired during the Qatar era. He had some success before, winning the league with Lille in 2021 and giving their first trophy in more than 40 years to the old powerhouse Saint-Etienne (2013 League cup). However, he is famous for being a very conservative manager, developping a solid but massively boring style of play. He never had to deal with the superstar egos. Hard to foresee how the man will handle Messi, Ramos, M'Bappé and all the other divas around. But if he manages to provide the fighting spirit and the grit he normally asks from his players, then it could finally be the year PSG turns into a real team.

Marseille (2nd) lost Sampaoli at the dawn of the season in rather obscure conditions. Nobody really expected it, but the contract was terminated by mutual consent. The word is the Argentine hothead was not satisfied with the recruitment perspectives. Many of the players were simply on loan, and the club don't have the means to keep most of them. Igor Tudor was nominated shortly after Sampaoli's departure, leading many people to believe that was the real reason behind his decison.

Nice (5th) lost Galtier to PSG. But, anyway, there were doubts about the technician to be on the bench next season. It seems tensions with many people inside the club, including the players, were strong. The sporting director, Julien Fournier, who was the man who brought him from Lille, where Galtier just won the title, to Nice has also resign few days ago. Nice have structured themselves as a consisent contender for European competitions during the last decade, and Forunir was thought to be the mastermind behind it (plus the money of Ineos). Lucien Favre, who already coached the club with success between 2016 and 2018, has been appointed as manager.



At the opposite end of last year table, Bordeaux, who finished last has been relegated from Ligue 2 to National 1 (3rd tier) for administrative reason. The sentence has been confirmed today after the club appealed. But, they also have to sell for €40m to be able to start at that level. If they fail to do it, it would simply mean that the professional section would disappear, and they would have to start from the amateur reserve level (National 3 - 5th tier of French football). I reckon this is the most probable scenario.

[Bubbles Fortuna]

With that news on Bordeaux I wouldn't be too surprised to see Hwang join us on essentially a free transfer as an impact sub.

[YorksHammer]

With that news on Bordeaux I wouldn't be too surprised to see Hwang join us on essentially a free transfer as an impact sub.

Moyes must have seen a young Josh Maja at Sunderland when he was there, no?

Also, from this thread:

- Jean Onana (Bordeaux, 22yo, 6'2, CDM) : A strong and yet skillful defensive midfielder, he would probably be the most interesting player of the list. He is still very unexperienced and commits a lot of fouls and mistakes. He might become something very interesting, but Bordeaux was so woeful that it is hard to tell.

[Misko]

I prefer the Onana from Bordeaux than the one from Lille, honestly. I can understand the latter is seen as a bigger potential, especially with his height. But on the pitch, the former seemed a better player this season to me, smarter and more composed.

[D C]

I thought that Zidane was going to be certain for PSG. A man that knows how to manage big egos and fluke CL trophies. I guess that was too logical for PSG who seem to be clueless at board and recruitment level

[Swiss Pauli]

Does Mbappe have a connection to Galtier? Feels to me like Campos was the key mover in that appointment. But all Galtier has to do is win the UCL and everyone at PSGwill be happy

[Misko]

Does Mbappe have a connection to Galtier? Feels to me like Campos was the key mover in that appointment. But all Galtier has to do is win the UCL and everyone at PSGwill be happy

No, he has one with Zidane. That's why he wanted to go to Real before, and we all thought Zidane would be appointed manager once M'Bappé decided to stay at PSG.

Galtier is a Campos man. They worked together at Lille where they ended up winning the title. I am curious to see how all this will shape up, as Galtier is a no nonsense manager who asks a lot of commitment and hard work.

[Swiss Pauli]

With Renato Sanches now supposed to be joining PSG it seems Campos is putting thr band back together.

I do wonder whether PSG have made agreements with Messi and Neymar that they can focus on peaking for the World Cup, but that means accepting being rotated as the 10 in a 4-4-1-1 system. Both Neymar and Messi want a WC win more than the UCL whereas M'Bappe wants his first UCL.

We'll find out soon enough whether there is any sort of masterplan at PSG soon enough, I'm sure

[Misko]

At first, I intended to write an extensive post about the new season, with a detailed presentation of every club and their transfer window. Time passed by, the season started and reality kicked in. I have no time for that, and there is very little probability anyone would really be interested. At the end, I just wrote some comments about each Ligue 1 club for this new season. They are sorted by their position of last year. There will be 4 relegated clubs this year, as there will be only 18 clubs next year. The relegation battle should prove epic.

Paris Saint-Germain

No need to say they are the favorites. The club took a new new turn, trying to be more sensible and down to earth (which means they didn't make the move for Cristiano Ronaldo that they would probably have made the years before). They are still spending a lot of money, but on less glittery playes. The new manager, Christophe Galtier, is a conservative no nonsense coach, with a great record in France but almost nothing on the European scene. His teams are always been known for their fighting spirit. Will he manage to provide this state of mind to PSG in UCL? If yes, it could finally be their year.
The players to follow: well almost any of them, including the ones they try to get rid of (10 at least).


Olympique de Marseille

This club can never have it the easy way. They had a good season last year, despite being very limited in their recruitment by the lack of available cash. They loaned many players, and the coach, Sampaoli, managed to make it a coherent team, hard to beat. But, Sampaoli was so disappointed by the perspective of a new transfer window without massive investments that he resigned at the beginning of the preseason. The new gaffer, Igor tudor, came with a very italian way: crazy hard physical trainings and extreme tactical rigidity. The old guard, Payet and Mandanda expressed their discontent. Te former was transferred for nothing, the latter, still officially the team captain, sat on the bench for most of the 2 first games.
The players to follow: Guendouzi and Clauss, the new RWB just transferred from Lens, are fighting for a spot to this winter WC. The young CB, Isaak Touré, is 6'7 but very comfortable with the ball. The question is now about his ability to show defensive consistency at the highest level.


AS Monaco

After a very slow start last year, they had a crazy run with the new Belgian Coach, Philippe Clément, almost beating Marseille for the direct acces to UCL spot. With Tchouaméni gone to Real, and his replacement not in the squad yet, they failed to qualify for the group stages against a rather average PSV side. Will it break their form?
The players to follow: a lot of quality player in the squad... I still think the Brazilain RB, Vanderson, is the next big thing. He has it all, pace, strength, aggressiveness, crosses, passes, shots, footwork. Up front, the experienced (32yo) Ben Yedder is a hell of a player, cunning as a fox, great finisher and splendid passer.


Stade Rennais

Probably the most enjoyable team to watch last year, with an impressive attacking line. They managed to keep everyone there and even added the young Kalimuendo who adds even more depth and possibilities for link up plays. But, their defense has been clearly weakened by the loss of Aguerd, even if the international GK, Mandanda, was recruited. They struggled a bit to find Aguerd's successor and finally landed the Belgian Theate from Boogna for almost €20M. His first games showed no guarantees of success. Rennes will probably blowing very hot and very cold this year again.
The players to follow: The young striker, Kalimuendo showed nice things during his loan to Lens last year. If he maintains his progression curve, he should be driving the transfer market crazy in 2 years.


OGC Nice

Last year, they hired Galtier from the newly crowned champion, Lille. One year after, nobody can say it was a success. Nice were very happy to see PSG going for Galtier anyway. They called back the Swiss manager, Lucien Favre, who performed very well on the Côte d'Azur during his first time there. His educative skills seems to be the perfect fit for the squad Nice owners, Ineos, are building: young prospects with a handful of very experienced players.
The players to follow: The young Italian CB Viti comes with a very positive reputation. Will he be up to it? Amine Gouiri, who was amazing in 2021, struggled a lot under Galtier, he needs to do better. Finally, Képhren Thuram has to step up, and finally bring consistence to his power box to box role. If he manages to do it, he'll be one of the best midfielder of the league.


RC Strasbourg

I have to confess something. Strasbourg is probably the club I have the most sympathy for in the league, besides Lyon. They have an amazing support (go attend a game there if you can, it's a very nice experience), a very clever management with limited but very well employed resources. They manage to keep a core of team players for many years, which is quite uncommon nowadays. Unfortunately, they missed out at the last moment the Euro spots. It might be much more complictaed this year, as the said core of players is ageing, and injecting fresh blood without big money is always quite a gamble. This season feels like it could be a turning point.
The players to follow: It is probably worth keeping an eye on Ahoulou. He raised as a very hot prospect few years ago in Strasbourg, which trigger a transfer to Monaco. It turned very badly, the player barely played for several years. Now he is back to his roots, as a 28yo who needs to prove himself as a keystone of the team. If he manages to do it, it would be a miraculous broken career fixing.


RC Lens

Another club with a great support. They built in the last years an exciting team, with very direct play which leads to enjoyable end to end games to watch (well, the friendly against WHU proved me very wrong, but globally, they're fun to watch). They lost two of their best players, DM Coucouré to Palace and RWB Clauss to Marseille. Oddly, the captain, the impressive box to box Séko Fofana seems to be staying whereas everyone thought he would move for big money.
The players to follow: Séko Fofana for sure. There is also a young talent in CAM, David Pereira da Costa who is expected to confirm the promises he showed last year. The Belgian striker, Loïs Openda, from Bruges (well, he was loaned to Arnhem the last 2 seasons), is ont of the biggest transfers ever made by the club, so he will have to face the expectations.


Olympique Lyonnais

Annus horribilis. The last season was the worst in 25 years, and probably even much longer if you take in account the club's resources. It was as bad on and off the pitch: players fighting, Spoting Director quitting in the middle of the season, serious troubles with the supporters, 2 of the main shareholders deciding to sell their shares without warning the boss, Jean-Michel Aulas... As a result, Eagle Football Holdings LLC is taking over the club. The 73yo Aulas will remain the chairman for 3 more years, but it is clearly a new era that is begginning, 35 years after Aulas bought the club in a vegetative state in second division. As always, when things go bad for OL, the answer is to turn to the academy. Lacazette and Tolisso came back on a free to lead a younger squad which is mostly composed of academy players. The manager, Peter Bosz, was surpisingly confirmed, but he has a lot of pressure on his shoulders.
The players to follow: The best players of last season have been 2 youngsters with no previous game time with the pro. Will Lukeba and Gusto manage to have a confirmation season at the height of the expectations?


FC Nantes

A traditional stronghold in French football, with an amazing academy and a very distintive way of playing. 8 league titles plus 3 cups. But since the current owner, Waldemar Kita, took over in 2007, one could say the club totally lost its identity. They turn to frenetic exotic players buying in hope of a big profit, changed coaches faster than Palermo and basically killed the "jeu à la nantaise", their tradmark style, with small but quick players with lighting passing game. Somehow, the last 5 years showed some kind of resurgence of what Nantes should be. The academy starts producing players who can actually play with the first team, coaches stay serveryal years in charge, the transfer windows are way calmer and the supporters are coming back and are establishing themselves among the most passionate ones in the country, which is new. It seems therefore quite logical they managed to win the cup last year, which was the nice story of the season. Their goal for the season, is to continue the good work, finally settling them back among the top half teams of the league.
The players to follow: The nigerian LW Moses Simon attracted interest on the forum. His pace and quick footwork are indeed impressive. They also have one of the best goalies of the leaue with Alban Lafont. But the player that might prove of te highest potential is the young LB/LWB Quentin Merlin. Very committed and hard working, he just makes thing happening offensively, with a special eye for long balls. With Simon in front of him, it makes the left side a difficult one to handle for the opponents as the danger is permanent.


Lille OSC

The defending champion had a very disappointing season. The supporters have no problem blaming the coach, Jocelyn Gourvennec for it. The truth is he never proved in his manegerial career to have any good idea nor motivatinal skills. The team seemed quite lost on the pitch, not knowing what to do with or without the ball. Luckily, they had quality players enough to prevent it from being dramatic. In fairness, it's worth noting they reached the knockout stages of the UCL, which is quite a feat for a French team other than Paris or Lyon. The newly appointed coach, Fonseca, seems of a very higher quality. But the club need money and had to let go Botman, Sanches and some other obscure giant midfielder I'd rather not name here. They also recruited many players, but they seem to have focused on immediate sportive output rather than their classic hot prospect/big ROI chase. The new owners appear to be more football focused than the previous ones. It is actually quite wierd to say that when the previous ones just won a title before going.
The players to follow: Will Bayo prove himself a worthy footballer away from his nest in Clermont? Will David finally be consistent during a whole season?


Stade Brestois

This is probably the first club I would tag as "small club" in the list. They are managed by the very experienced Michel Der Zakarian, and I think it is one of the best asset for this season with 4 relegation spots. The bloke has gone through this kind of battle most of his coaching life, and quite successfully. They play a rather ambitious 433 with high pressure and short passes, but they do it well. As usual for such teams, the key for every summer transfer window is to find the right player to loan to add extra quality. This year, they went for Pierre Lees-Melou from Norwich, which is honestly a bit suprising.
The players to follow: The RW Franck Honorat is fast and a good crosser, plus he takes set pieces well. He clearly is the keystone of the offensive play of Brest.


Stade de Reims

An historic club, 2 Champions Cup finals in the 50's, all lost to Real. They almost disappeared during the 80's and the 90's, but the work accomplished in the 21st century to modernise th eclub is quite remarkable. They are especially performant in talent detection, and they have made several shrewd signings in the recent past, expecially from the close Belgian league. The academy is also good, as the recent craze about Ekitike highlighted.
The players to follow: The club record fee (€10M) to bring the 29yo Japanese forward Ito has suprised everyone. Interesting to see what comes out of it. The young CAM Kamory Doumbia is also one to keep an eye on.


Montpellier HSC

The surprise 2011 champion is a consistent midtable club. They have a very reliable academy, and they also know their way around old school scouting. Why old school? The players they bring in are obviously from personal networks rather from advanced data analytics. But it works quite good for them. They are known in France for playing a hard *ss game, a bit old fashioned. Playing Montpelier is never easy. But, as I mentioned above, this season is special with the 4 relegation spots. And as last season was quite disappointing, they have to improve significantly this year. However, some experiences players left this summer, and the recruitment has been very modest.
The players to follow: 19yo Elye Wahi is a very talented forward (primarly a striker, but can play on the sides). He will be awaited by defenses now, will he manage to keep his good form (6 goals in the last 16 league games).


SCO Angers

A direct candidate for relegation. They managed to stay in Ligue 1 the last 7 years, which is quite unexpected for a club that played only one season at the top level during the 40 previous years. They rely on a no nonsense football, with very physical defenders and DMs and fast attackers. They lost this summer 3 of their most talented players, Fulgini, Cabot and the veteran Mangani. Sofiane Boufal seems to be the only creative player left in the squad. 12 new players have been brought in, but all of them are mostly unkownn. One or two should prove decent signings, it is mandatory for Angers to stay in Ligue 1.
The players to follow: Boufal seems to be the real talent here. They signed Cédric Houtondji, a powerful CB from Clermont who is a good aerial presence in both boxes. It could be a very clever move.


ES Troyes

The City Group outlet in France. I will not lie to you, the club seem a total mess, with a very unbalanced squad. From an external point of view, I find it very hard to understand what the owners are trying to do. I would be very surprised they avoid relegation.
The players to follow: Good question. No idea.


FC Lorient

Another small club that will probably find it difficult to make the cut this season. They have some talent in the offense, which may prove decisive. I reckon they would need, as most of the teams, a good start in the season, otherwise they might be unable to fight till the end.
The players to follow: Terem Moffi is a very powerful striker, not the tidiest player you've ever seen, but definitevely one that defenses find tiresome to deal with over 90 minutes. Enzo Le Féee is an attacking midfielder/winger with superior passing skills. He is a France U23 international.


Clermont Foot

Now this is one very small club, the kind that should neever be here (just go and look at their stadium). The last season was the first time ever they played in the first division. They managed to avoid relegation thanks to the performances of players like Bayo, Abdul Samed, Zedadka or Houtondji. They all left tis summer which triggers the biggest concerns about their ability to accomplish a better season this year. However, they anticipated the departures long ago, and they had a relatively calm window transfer. Their management give all the signs of a very good working staff, with vision, patience and humility. It would be nice to see them succeeding, imo.
The players to follow: RB Alidu Seidu is fast and comfortable with the ball. The CAM Muhammed-Cham Saračević was the best player of Austrian Bundesliga 2, and he seems to be able to prove decisive in Ligue 1.


Toulouse FC

Toulouse is a rugby city. Football was always kind of exotic there. However, the TFC academy is clearly one of the best in the country, with players like Moussa Sissoko, Etienne Capoue, Jean-Clair Todibo or Issa Diop coming out of it. Relegated in 2020, the club have been taken over by RedBird Capital Partners, and American investment fund. They brought a totally new approach to the recruitment, and Toulouse is clearly the French version of Brentford. No surprise to find a lot of Danish or Dutch players in the squad. And obviously, it works, as they won very easily last year's Ligue 2.
The players to follow: several players are very interesting ones. I already talked about the assist machine that is CM van den Boomen (very surprised nobody came for him) and how good the young CB Anthony Rouault looks. They bought the top scorer of Dutch second division, 22yo Thijs Dallinga for €2.5M. I'm always wary of strikers performing in the Dutch league, but this one seems a very well rounded aggressive player for the bits I saw of his game. It could be the steal of the year.



AC Ajaccio

As Clermont, this is one club that should never make it to such level. Of course, their spot it the top level is well deserved on the pitch, but the infrastructure and the resources of the club are totally not adapted to elite football. The stadium is below the minimal capacity, and they have to get a special authorization to play in Ligue (and in Ligue 2 too for safety reasons, if I am not mistaking). From a distance, it looks like a real curiosity. But Ajaccio is oddly the only town/city to place 2 clubs (AC Ajaccio and Gazéléc Ajaccio) in the first division since the 90's, though not at the same time. They made their way to the promotion thanks to an iron defense: 18 goals conceded in 38 games. Corsican clubs are always very hard to play at their home, the traveling and the very scary support make it epic every time. This team will not play good football, but they have very disciplined and very phyisical players. I doubt many teams will find it easy to play them.
The players to follow: Nobody in particular, no standout players among them.


AJ Auxerre

For people of my generation, seeing Auxerre coming back to the top is rather pleasant. They offered us many great European nights in the early 90's. This is a club that seems totally not made for modern football. Auxerre is a small town (35k inhabitants), with nothing much to do there. It is no place for a top football club, hence the romanticism about their nice European campaigns. They also had players like Cantona, Laurent Blanc, Frank Verlaat, Enzo Scifo, Taribo West which seems totally incredible now. Like Forest, they were not favorites for promotion, and their victory in the playoffs was rather unexpected. Unlike Forest, they decided to trust the players who brought them there, and they didn't reruit much. The team is build on their academy and a group of players dedicated to the club.
The players to follow: hard to tell... I don't know them enough, nobody stands out. The former French international GK, Benoît Costil, is probably the best known player among them, but he is clearly there for a last ride.

[Albie Beck]

Thanks Misko - very interesting and informative