Football Season Guide

Caen have sailed dangerously close to the relegation wind over the past couple of seasons. Successive finishes in 17th and 16th have seen them narrowly evade the drop, but on both occasions Patrice Garande’s side were going into the final weeks of the season under intense pressure. They will hope for a smoother passage this term, although if it is to be achieved they really need to solve their offensive problems, which saw them lean far too heavily on Ivan Santini and Ronny Rodelin last season. To that end they have added Enzo Crivelli, who played the second half of the campaign on loan at the club, and with Santini leaving for Anderlecht, he has big boots to fill. Casimir Ninga has signed up from Montpellier, but after serious injury he has struggled to show the form he did when he first arrived in France. His signing certainly represents a gamble. Other bets have been made with the fact that Malik Mchokounte and Jonathan Gradit can step up from Ligue 2 smoothly, having previously turned out for Paris FC and Tours respectively. Meanwhile, Caen have lost a raft of other strong players down the spine of their team who will be tough to effectively replace. Julien Feret was their chief creative player in the midfield, while anchoring player Youssef Ait Bennasser has gone back to Monaco after his loan deal expired. Moreover, centre-back Damien Da Silva, who was perhaps their most consistent player last term, has also departed and experienced goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre retired. As such, this is a squad that has been in need of a total overhaul, which only appears to have been partially completed. Prince Oniangue and Erwin Zelazny will certainly help to effectively plug gaps in the midfield and in goal respectively, but this is a side lacking depth, quality and understanding.