Football Season Guide

Clermont pushed for a playoff place in Ligue 2 last season but face a challenge to replicate that success this time around. They fell frustratingly short of the post-season only a couple of months ago but since then have lost a trio of key performers in the shape of goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni – elected the best in his position in the league last term – stalwart centre-back Thomas Fontaine and centre forward Ludovic Ajorque. While some tweaks have been made elsewhere in the side, it does not look like that they replaced the outgoing players with performers of similar quality. Indeed, no new goalkeeper has arrived at all. Offensively, much will revolve around Remy Dugimont, who scored 11 times in the league last season after a disrupted start to the campaign. He will feel he is capable of doing better, while fellow midfielders Franck Honorat and Mathias Pereira Lage are capable of strong offensive production. Florian Aye, who scored only twice for Auxerre last term, is the man who has been signed to replace the 14 netted by Ajorque. The youngster is developing and should benefit from regular football to score more goals. Manuel Perez and Jonathan Igelsias will be an unchanged duo in the heart of the side, while the defence, which was a little flimsy last season, is reinforced by the arrival of Josue Albert from relegated Quevilly. He has a strong end to the season with the Rouen side. He will come into an area that has largely been remodelled, with three of last season’s back five having departed over the summer. As such, this is the sector where there is the greatest question mark hanging over, and yet it is a very important area of the team.