Football Season Guide

Saint-Etienne have been one of France’s elite clubs for several seasons now under Christophe Galtier, who remains in charge of the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard outfit, despite suggesting strongly in May that he would depart the club. Certainly, there has been a feeling that they have hit a glass ceiling in terms of their performance because unless there is a significant investment in the playing staff it is difficult to see how they can consistently achieve a stronger level. They have finished between fourth and seventh in the last five seasons, which will once again be their target this time around. Perhaps one domain in which that Sainte could seek improvement is Europe, where their performances have not reflected the quality that is inherent in the squad. They have started their Europa League campaign already, but it does not seem that any great leap forward has been made in this regard as they struggled past AEK Athens 1-0 on aggregate. It was Robert Beric who scored the decisive goal, and the striker is liable to be key after missing much of last term through injury. At times it seemed Sainte were missing only a clinical finisher, and despite a serious knee injury, it seems he remains just that. Indeed, Galtier has only added one player to his squad so far, with Bryan Dabo, a versatile midfield or defender, arriving from Montpellier. He should prove to be an astute addition to their ranks. Sainte were rather bloated in terms of their numbers last season, even when they were playing in Europe, and Galtier has cut back significantly in this regard. Only a couple of other sides have reduced their playing staff as much as ASSE have. Nevertheless, they retain plenty of quality. Star men this season are expected to be Beric, wingers Romain Hamouma and Oussama Tannane, centre-back Loic Perrin and goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier, who was exceptional last term.