Football Season Guide

Bastia were once again wrought with financial difficulties this summer, though unlike 12 months ago, there was never any danger of them being relegated due to their precarious position. As a result, there has been some prudence in the transfer market from Francois Ciccolini’s side, yet they find themselves relatively well placed as the start of the campaign approaches, having made a flurry of moves over the last fortnight. For much of the summer it seemed that they would be bereft of attacking players, yet Enzo Crivelli, Allan Saint-Maximim, Lenny Nangis and Thievy Bifouma have all arrived to suddenly make that area of their side look comfortably off. True, they are without a particularly potent scoring threat, but more importantly for the Corsican side it seems that they will have enough creativity and attacking power to at least give themselves a strong chance of avoiding the worst of the relegation battle. The squad has been trimmed as a necessity, but while their biggest name player in the form of Brandao has been allowed to leave – along with his large pay packet – the loss of left-sided star Julien Palmieri will be far more acute. Floyd Ayite and Francois Kamano have also gone, so they will lean heavily on their new arrivals going forward. Indeed, there is no area of the side that looks particularly well off, with the defensive sector looking particularly scrawny. Experienced centre-back Sebastien Squillaci will have to stay fit and healthy, given there are few other central options following the retirement of Francois Modesto, while in the midfield the combative Yannick Cahuzac will have to stay out of suspension trouble. Bastia will surely add a little to their squad before the end of August, but these will have to be shrewd additions due to their lack of cash. Ciccolini was an inspirational figure last season as they comfortably avoided the drop, despite difficult off-field circumstances, and if the coach can reprise that magic, Bastia should have enough to avoid the bottom three.