Football Season Guide

It is the beginning of a new era for Saint-Etienne who had long-serving manager Christophe Galtier step down in the summer. Oscar Garcia has been selected as the man to take his place, though they were turned down by several other figures. Nevertheless, this is a club that expects to push for Europe on a regular basis after several successful years. The squad last season was an unwieldy size and Saint-Etienne are paying for it this term as they have been forced to trim their numbers and have largely been unable to bring in many players to supplement those already on the books. Fringe men have made the bulk of those to leave. In the heart of the midfield, Fabien Lemoine and Benjamin Corgnet have both departed the team while loan deals from Henri Saivet and Jordan Veretout are over, though they might have wished to keep hold of the latter after a strong season. Right-back Kevin Malcuit is one of the few players to have been sold but he was one of their better performers last term while Nolan Roux has been offloaded to Metz after a thoroughly disappointing spell at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. In return, Sainte have not been able to sign as lavishly as they might have liked but the arrival of Lois Diony from Dijon represents a fine piece of business as the youngster proved himself to be an excellent all-round option for the Burgundy side last term. Replacing Malcuit at right-back is Saidy Janko who is not of the same standing of the man he replaces. Some strong elements of the squad remain, with Stephane Ruffier and Loic Perrin capable of forming a strong base in goal and defence respectively. Offensively, there are plenty of good options in the wide areas while Robert Beric, if he can stay fit, is a fine poacher. The issues come in the midfield, where there was a lack of consistency last term. Bryan Dabo was a particular flop but if he can regain the form that saw him come to prominence at Montpellier, he may yet be able to save his reputation.