Football Season Guide

Nantes endured an extremely uncomfortable season last time around, seriously flirting with the drop as they came close to dropping back to the second tier for the first time in a decade. Indeed, all that was between Les Canaris and relegation was a last-day victory over Angers to seal their survival. Pierre Aristouy, who oversaw an uncomfortable end to the season, has remained in charge of the club, despite struggling to get them going last season, while a string of important players have departed the club. Ludovic Blas was their outstanding creative midfielder and has gone to Rennes while Andrei Girotto, who has underpinned the team defensively in a back four in the midfield, has also gone. Nantes, meanwhile, have not added to their squad in any manner of note. Lamine Diack has joined to help out the midfield while Ronael Pierre-Gabriel has signed up from Mainz. Neither is liable to revolutionise this team, which evidently has holes in it. Goalkeeper Alban Lafont is not one of those and will be key to the fortunes of the team, while Jean-Charles Castelletto’s performance levels will be crucial in defence. Veteran centre-back Nicolas Pallois is a cult figure but at 35 started to show signs of aging last season and struggled to be effective. Nantes cannot afford for him to be a passenger in a defence that lacks standout players. More must come from the midfield, where Moussa Sissoko and Florent Mollet must do more to pull their weight. Similarly, the attack can do better. Moses Simon, Marcus Coco and Ignatius Ganago are all capable of doing more than they did last term, and it is up to Aristouy to rebuild the type of spirit that had been lost under previous coach Antoine Kombouare.