At the end of the first part of the season in Ligue 1, it’s time for the first assessments. Game, fight for the podium, arbitration, waltz of the coaches, Maxifoot offers you its mid-term tops and flops for the 2022-2023 financial year.
Igor Tudor has had a superb career with OM.
The first part of the 2022-2023 season in Ligue 1 was rich in emotions… and lessons. While some teams are struggling this weekend in the Coupe de France, others are preparing for the second half of the season in the league.
Maxifoot offers you a review of the first months of competition with the participation of Romain Rigaux, Damien Da Silva, ric Bethsy, Romain Lantheaume, Gilles Campos and Alexis Goudlijian.
TOPS
1. Player coaches. The main thing is the three points , only victory counts , you have to think about defending before attacking … These sentences spoken over the years have shaped one, or even several generations, of coaches in France. This mentality still exists, but it seems to be much less imbued with the main current Ligue 1 coaches. The key word for many of them? The game.
Lens, Marseille, Rennes, Lille, Lorient, Clermont, Reims, Toulouse, to name only these teams, offer football that is pleasant to see. When listening to Franck Haise, Igor Tudor, Bruno Genesio, Paulo Fonseca, Rgis Le Bris, Pascal Gastien, Will Still and Philippe Montanier, talking about football is often to hear… talking about football. Game plan, organization, desire to put on a show, the speeches have evolved, and in the right direction.
2. The suspense at the top of the ranking. Who will finish champion of France? A few years ago, and even at the start of the current season, responding to Paris Saint-Germain was self-evident. Halfway through, who would dare to put their savings on a coronation of the capital club? If they have already lost ground twice (2017 against Monaco, 2021 against Lille), the Parisians face big clients today with Lens and Olympique de Marseille, who secretly dream (but not that much) of overthrowing Table.
In addition to the fight for the title and the podium, that for the European places also keeps us in suspense. If the three leading teams took off like rockets, those who follow have not said their last word. Monaco has often shone on the finish, Rennes and Lille can chain long series at any time to put a little more pressure. Many battles that are really worth following the French championship.
3. The good ideas of the transfer window. Talent drain is a problem that French clubs have still not been able to solve and which will probably not be solved anytime soon. Despite everything, this should not prevent them from working well to reveal future stars. In this little game, several stables, thanks to various methods such as data analysis, in vogue for several years, have succeeded thanks to clever recruitment.
Lois Openda (Lens), Chancel Mbemba, Nuno Tavares (Marseille), Breel Embolo (Monaco), Arthur Theate (Rennes), Yvon Mvogo, Montassar Talbi, Gdon Kalulu (Lorient), Ismaily (Lille), Emmanuel Agbadou, Junya Ito, Folarin Balogun (Reims), Komnen Andric (Clermont), Zakaria Aboukhlal (Toulouse), Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes), Wilson Odobert (Troyes), all discovered the championship with success. And it’s not over.
4. Lens! Still in Ligue 2, three years ago, Lens is now one of the best teams in Ligue 1, to the point of being, mid-season, a serious contender for the title. Perfectly managed by Joseph Oughourlian, who did not hesitate for a single second to put money out of his pocket to pay off debts, the arts club is reaping the fruits of its excellent administration with the best half-term in the history of the championship for a second (44 points).
The secret ? Trust. Franck Haise was promoted to general manager, just like in England. The frames are extended round round. Joy, good humor but above all play and results. In 10 Bollaert games, Lens scored a full board with 30 points taken. If it were necessary to follow a team other than that of his heart, Lens would probably be the most chosen by lovers of the round ball and Ligue 1.
5. Goals, lots of goals. Ligue 1 has often been described as minor championship among major championships . Still, for the show, the French teams have nothing to envy their European counterparts. Halfway through, we already had 558 goals including 475 in the game (85.12%). In terms of goals/match (2.94), only the Bundesliga (3.02) do better while the Premier League (2.78), Serie A (2.59) and La Liga (2.44) are the train.
Since the start of the season, the days have been fairly even. The 8th day was the least prolific (22). In the last forty years, there has never been a year with such a high lower total. The 3rd day was the busiest (38), i.e. as many as the 31st day of the 2021-2022 season and 34th day of the 2020-2021 season. Only the 38th day of the 2007-2008 season (43) did better. This promises for the future!
FLOPS
1.Lyon… But what has become of Olympique Lyonnais? Second club in France by budget, Lyon is unrecognizable this season. Even more than the others. And yet, all the conditions were met to perform: return of veterans still in the prime of life (Tolisso, Lacazette), recruitment of a world champion (Tagliafico), dense workforce with a clever mix of experience and of youth. The equipment provided by Peter Bosz and then Laurent Blanc is good.
With a poor 9th place and only 25 points gleaned in 19 days, the Gones have so far made a mediocre copy with more defeats (8) and only victories (7). The most worrying? The progress since the change of coach is not at all visible. As if the problem were elsewhere. A course unworthy of a club of this standing which has burned its only cartridge, that of not having played in the European Cup in the middle of the week…
2. Presidents in panic. What has stung the presidents of Ligue 1 in recent months? Peter Bosz (Lyon), Jean-Marc Furlan (Auxerre), Michel Der Zakarian (Brest), Oscar Garcia (Reims), Olivier Dall’Oglio (Montpellier), Bruno Irles (Troyes), Grald Baticle (Angers), Julien Stphan ( Strasbourg) and Lucien Favre (Nice) were all victims of the choices of their hierarchical superiors by not even finishing the first leg of the championship.
Halfway through, it’s obviously a sad record in the history of the elite. This is barely less than in 2004-2005 (11) and 2015-2016 (10) over an entire season. A wind of panic which could be explained by the premature cut linked to the World Cup serving as an excuse for certain presidents. But also and above all to the four relegations expected at the end of the financial year which should not spare other managers in the weeks to come…
3. The referees were serious. The presidents were not the only ones to draw the speed of light. No, the referees have done even harder. At mid-season, 65 red cards have already been issued, including 11 for the third day alone, the most agitated for thirty years. All teams got it. Lorient, Brest, Lens and Lille were the wisest (1) while Reims (8) had much less luck with the men in black. Since the resumption, only 8 expulsions (in four days) have been pronounced.
The most crazy ? It’s because the Ligue 1 referees weren’t the strictest. In La Liga, 72 red cards were distributed while some teams played only 16 games! Those in Serie A (32) and Bundesliga (23) were much calmer while those in the Premier League (15) kept to tradition by whistling very little. A line of work to seriously improve, whatever happens.
4. The INEOS project. Three and a half years. It has been three and a half years since Nice was taken over by INEOS. The results? Almost non-existent. Sixth in 2019-2020, ninth in 2020-2021, fifth in 2021-2022, the Gym is in a disappointing 10th position halfway through. Given the infernal pace imposed by the leading teams, it is hard to believe that the Aiglons will be able to take off in the weeks and months to come.
However, it is not the investments that are lacking. Despite €70 million in payouts for Sofiane Diop, Gatan Laborde, Mattia Viti, Alexis Beka Beka, Rares Ilie, Marcin Bulka and Kasper Schmeichel, it still doesn’t take. Admittedly, the OGCN easily qualified for the round of 16 of the C4, but that is still insufficient. We will also have to closely monitor the takeover of Manchester United by the English company, which could have consequences for the Niois project…
5. The apathy of Angers. If the fight for the title will be intense until the end, few teams will fight for the last place, which seems promised Angers. While President Sad Chabane has personal troubles, we still wonder how the SCO was able to give up all its executives in the off-season: Romain Thomas, Ismal Traor, Vincent Manceau, Thomas Mangani, Stphane Bahoken, Mathias Pereira Lage, Anthony Mandra, Camisir Ninga, all left freely, while Mohamed-Ali Cho, Angelo Fulgini and Jimmy Cabot were sold for a living.
As a result, the Anjou club finds itself with the mid-term cap with only 8 points on the clock, 7 less than Strasbourg, the first non-releasable team. In Europe, only Cremonese (7) and Elche (5) do worse. Unless an unlikely awakening, it is hard to see how the SCO will be able to recover when the leaders seek above all to limit damage by preparing certain sales, including that of Azzedine Ounahi. A feeling of resignation that could be fatal.
The tops and flops that made people talk:
TOPS:
– The cover of Prime Vido
– (Finally) calm grandstands
– Lorient Surprise
– The series of invincibility of Reims
FLOPS:
– The Houssem Aouar case
– The descent into hell by Benot Costil
– The half-season misses Strasbourg
– The instability of Montpellier
What do you remember from this first part of the season in Ligue 1? What are your highs and lows? To discuss it, go below in the space Post a comment …
