Football Season Guide

Ligue 2

France

Ligue 2

2016/2017

Sochaux

In

Faneva Ima Andriatsima (att) from US Creteil; Mickael Alphonse (def) and Florent Ogier (def) from Bourg-en-Bresse 01; Christopher Dilo (gk) from Dijon FCO; Goran Karanovic (att) on loan from Angers SCO; Franck Honorat (att) on loan from OGC Nice

Out

Thomas Guerbert (sp) (mid) to Clermont Foot; Julien Faussurier (r) (def) to Stade Brestois 29; Karl Toko Ekambi (k) (att) to Angers SCO; Famara Diedhiou (att) to Clermont Foot; Raphael Caceres (r) (att) to ESTAC Troyes; Lionel Zouma (sp) (def) to Asteras Tripolis (GRE); Jean-Pascal Mignot (sp) (def) - released; Hadi Sacko (r) (att) to Sporting CP (POR) - loan ended; Sekou Cisse (r) (att) to KRC Genk (BEL) - loan ended; Yannis Mbombo (att) to Standard Liege (BEL) - loan ended.

After a dangerous brush with relegation last season, FC Sochaux-Montbeliard are determined to enjoy a calmer campaign. Les Lionceaux have retained Albert Cartier as coach after he did enough to prevent a second relegation in three seasons and also took the team to the semi-finals of the Coupe de France, where they eventually lost to Olympique de Marseille. Sochaux have moved on a number of players, including full-back Julien Faussurier to Brest and Raphael Caceres to Troyes. After scoring 25 league goals in the last two seasons, leggy forward Karl Toko Ekambi has taken the step up to Ligue 1 with Angers. But the defence has been strengthened with the arrivals of both Mickael Alphonse and Florent Ogier from Bourg-en-Bresse and three new forwards have been brought in. Madagascar's Faneva Ima Andriatsima arrives from Creteil after their relegation to the third tier, while Goran Karanovic and Franck Honorat will have something to prove after joining on loan from top-flight sides Angers and Nice respectively. Cartier will surely want some more new faces before the transfer window closes and he will also want to see his team competing higher up the Ligue 2 table. "What interests me now is what the players want to do going forward. What's happened in the past doesn't matter anymore," said Cartier, the former Metz coach. The club's Chinese owners claim to be ambitious, but a solid season with a top-half finish would be progress for now.

Target

A top-half finish at least.