ASSE is on a very slippery slope, the day after its fourth consecutive defeat in Ligue 1, conceded on the ground of FC Metz (0-2) on behalf of the 8th day of Ligue 1. After a thunderous start, three success in three matches, the Greens are on a very bad series of five games without a win and slipping in the standings.
ASSE stalls in the fall
It’s a start to the season that strongly reminds that of last season for supporters of ASSE. A start on the hats of wheel, with three consecutive victories, against FC Lorient, RC Strasbourg and on the lawn of OM (2-0 each time), before experiencing a fuel exhaustion, started by a draw at la Beaujoire against FC Nantes (2-2) and four defeats, at home against Stade Rennais (0-3) and OGC Nice (1-3), as well as on the grounds of RC Lens (0-1) and FC Metz (0-2). The Greens are now on a slippery slope and the arrival of Montpellier HSC and, above all, the trip to Lyon for the derby against OL, will be decisive. Determining, because Claude Puel has been the target of criticism since AS Saint-Etienne can no longer do it. The project of the coach of the Greens is not unanimous, he who had to deal with a financially complicated situation on the side of the Forez club, but who also decided to separate from several executives in the summer transfer window.
Indeed, for many observers, the ambition of Claude Puel, which is to bet on young players, has its limits. For the chronicler Pierre Ménès, ASSE made a mistake by separating from an experienced player like Yann M’Vila. In Metz, “we never felt this team, whose average age is 22, capable of reversing the situation,” said the journalist, who adds, prickly, that “Claude Puel will not be able to come and cry “by complaining about the lack of maturity of its workforce. Same story for Mathieu Bodmer on Square Posts, which points to a team with “a lot of youth”, inexperienced understand. And the CFC columnist added: “ASSE is a prisoner of Puel’s philosophical choices. It started very well because when things are going well with young people, it is immediately euphoria. But when it does happen less well, you approach the tomb very quickly. “
The departure of Wesley Fofana pointed out
Yet it was necessary that ASSE degreases. The departures of Yann M’Vila and Loïs Diony, to Olympiakos and Angers SCO, reduced the club’s payroll. Necessary in the face of the club’s indebtedness, which also brought some cash into its coffers. And not least, the sale of Wesley fofana (19) in England at Leicester City against 35 million euros excluding bonus, was a real relief for Roland Romeyer, who recorded the largest transfer in the history of theAS Saint-Etienne. But the Greens have thus separated from a pillar of their defense, creating a real imbalance visible since the player crossed the Channel, and forcing Claude Puel to change his defensive plans, without success for the moment.
Because since Wesley Fofana left Forez, nothing is going on in defense with the Greens. When the young player formed the defensive pair of ASSE with Thimothée Kolodziejczak, the men of Claude Puel were insurmountable: no goal conceded in three games. But since then, Fofana has left and his friend has been suspended for two matches after his expulsion from Lens. Result: ASSE has since conceded twelve goals in five matches and has not won another. The team This observation also highlights the disappointing performance of Jessy Moulin in goal. The goalkeeper has been in the hard for a few meetings, “orphan of his central hinge” he who was named number one after the disgrace of Stéphane Ruffier. Claude Puel also knows how much this departure has changed the situation: “We do not lose Fofana without consequences. He is a monster, he filled a lot of boxes, brought confidence and his departure is difficult to manage.” A serenity that ASSE must regain as quickly as possible, under penalty of sinking into a real sporting crisis, while Panagiotis Retsos, who arrived to strengthen the central defense, was injured in Metz …
By Matthew