FRENCH LIGUE 2 PREVIEW 2008/09

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Ranskan liigan asiantuntijan Mr. Meatmanin katsaus alkavaan 2-liigaan.

A. Teams challenging for promotion

1. Lens
Defence 8/10 (With a few more additions is could be the strongest in ligue 2)
Midfield 10/10 (Easily the best midfield in the division)
Attack - NO rating yet (They effectively don’t have a single striker at the moment, but this will change.)
Key players - Nenad Kovacevic (Midfielder) Yohan Demont (Midfielder)

2. Troyes
Defence 8/10 (Strong and experienced with new additions increasing competition)
Midfield 7/10 (The loss of Noro and Danic a blow, strong in a creative sense but perhaps lacks solidity)
Attack 10/10 (The strongest in Ligue 2 with up to six proven goalscorers)
Key players - Titi Buengo (Striker), Yahia Kebe (Striker)

3. Metz
Defence 8/10 (Slight lack of depth but should be hard to penetrate)
Midfield 8/10 (Should be fairly formidable)
Attack 8/10 (Some proven strikers who will definitely score goals)
Key players - Julien Francois (Defensive midfielder), Babacar Gueye (Striker)

4. Brest
Defence 7/10 (At full strength its pretty good, although maybe a bit thin in places)
Midfield 7/10 (Fairly unchanged since last season with a good mix of players)
Attack 9/10 (They have a lot of players who are all capable of scoring plenty of goals)
Key players - Steeve Elana (Goalkeeper), Benoit Leroy (Attacker)

5. Montpellier
Defence 9/10 (One of the best in ligue 2 with plenty of depth and should be very solid)
Midfield 7/10 (Will be hard to break down and looks fairly good)
Attack 5/10 (Camara will score goals but there is a general lack of depth)
Key players - Nenad Dzodic (Centre back), Souleymane Camara (Striker)

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B. Outsiders for promotion

6. Angers
Defence 6/10 (this is probably their weakest area but its still reasonable, goalkeeper can be eccentric)
Midfield 8/10 (A good mix of attack and defensive options and should go well)
Attack 8/10 (They have four genuine decent strikers and should be able to score a few goals)
Key players - Fahid Benkhalfallah (Central midfield), Paul Alo’o Efoulou (Striker)

7. Strasbourg
Defence 6/10 (Too thin on the ground)
Midfield 7/10 (Some real quality but also a lack of depth)
Attack 8/10 (They have proven strikers who will score goals)
Key players - Reynaud Cohade (Midfielder), Guillaume Lacour (Midfielder)

8. Reims
Defence 9/10 (Strong, experienced and has plenty of depth - one of the best in ligue 2)
Midfield 6/10 (Not enough solidity, although does have decent creative options)
Attack 5/10 (Lack of proven goalscorers and depth)
Key players - Marc Giraudon (Defender), Habib Balde (Defender)

9. Sedan
Defence 7/10 (Lost a couple of key players but should be solid enough)
Midfield 6/10 (A lot of changes and key departures, will take time to settle down)
Attack 7/10 (They lack a major hitman, but there is decent depth and they should score goals)
Key players - Ismael Traore (Centre back), Djibril Sidibe (Defensive midfielder)

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C. Midtable mediocrity

10. Clermont
Defence 6/10 (Has lost important personnel but the replacements could be decent, good depth)
Midfield 6/10 (A lot of new players who might need time to settle in, also a lack of depth)
Attack 7/10 (Could prove to be very useful should the new players adapt well to ligue 2)
Key players - Frank Chaussidiere (Defensive midfielder), Mikael Pote (Striker)

11. Guingamp
Defence 7/10 (The loss of Lelan is a bit of a blow but they have good experience and solidity)
Midfield 6/10 (Solid rather than spectacular)
Attack 6/10 (Eduardo the key with reasonable back up)
Key players - Nicolas Savinaud (Defender), Eduardo (Striker)

12. Amiens
Defence 7/10 (The loss of Sami a blow, but this is their strongest area and they have decent depth to it)
Midfield 6/10 (Apart from Giresse they lack creativity, although do have a lot of defensive options)
Attack 4/10 (The loss of Buengo a huge blow, and unless Heitzmann can regain his form, then they will struggle to score goals)
Key players - Aurelien Bosche (Left back), Thibault Giresse (Attacking midfield)

13. Ajaccio
Defence 5/10 (If anything it’s got weaker than last year, and it looks nothing special, there is a lack of depth in all areas)
Midfield 7/10 (Their best area, although perhaps lacks depth)
Attack 5/10 (Mandrichi is quality, but apart from him, they don’t really have too much)
Key players - Carl Medjani (Centre back), Jean Jaqcues Mandrichi (Striker)

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D. Teams that could get sucked into the relegation battle

14. Vannes
Defence 5/10 (Lack of depth but some decent new additions)
Midfield 7/10 (Some very useful looking new players and good squad depth)
Attack 5/10 (Not enough conviction, but it might prove to be useful)
Key players - Pascal Delhommeau (Centre back), Jerome Lebouc (Midfielder)

15. Dijon
Defence 6/10 (Performed much worse than it should’ve last season, with 2 new recruits should do better)
Midfield 5/10 (A couple of new signings should bring about improvement)
Attack 5/10 (Has potential but a few too many question marks)
Key players - Desire Periatambe (Defensive midfielder), Stephane Mangione (Striker)

16. Bastia
Defence 5/10 (Two key losses a real blow, also a general lack of depth)
Midfield 6/10 (Their best area, especially on the wings, but lack of balance and depth through the middle)
Attack 5/10 (A bit thin on the ground and I have some concerns)
No key player info

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E. In the relegation battle

17. Chateauroux
Defence 6/10 (A lot of new changes but it has the potential to be solid)
Midfield 4/10 (Lack of quality and depth, they need to reinforce this area)
Attack 5/10 (In Scarpelli they have a quality player but there is a definite lack of depth)
Key players - Henri Bedimo (Left back), Mathieu Scarpelli (Striker)

18. Nimes
Defence 5/10 (Some new signings with experience and plenty of depth, has potential to be solid)
Midfield 5/10 (If the players can adapt to ligue 2 level then it might be quite good)
Attack 4/10 (I have my worries here and they might struggle to score goals)
Key players - Sadio Sankhare (Defender), Mahdi Mostefa (Defensive midfielder)

19. Boulogne
Defence 4/10 (Plenty of depth but lacks quality and hasn’t improved during the summer)
Midfield 4/10 (The arrival of Deveaux is useful, but it looks to be very weak and many teams will overpower it)
Attack 5/10 (Their strongest area simply because of Gregory Thil. They have reasonable other options)
Key players - Damien Perrinelle (Centre back) Gregory Thil (Striker)

20. Tours
Defence 4/10 (Dujeux will be a good addition, but in general it lacks quality)
Midfield 5/10 (I’m not convinced that it will be able to adapt to ligue 2 level, but is their best area)
Attack 2/10 (Pathetic)
No key player info

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