Wally with a Brolly

Here is Part I of our review of the Ligue 1 season. This is more of a general overview of what happened. Part II will focus on the best and worst moments of the season, whilst Part III will set out our Ligue 1 team of 2012-2013. Enjoy.

It was a colourful season in Ligue 1 as every team and neutral was gunning for the nouveaux riches PSG and their armada of 'world class players', a moniker which only truly fit Zlatan (no need for last name) and Thiago Silva. But the power of French football had decidedly shifted to Paris. L'OM were reducing wages and turning to Elie Baup, a pragmatic manager who had last managed a relegated Nantes in 2009. Lyon were continuing their commitment to youth due to finances being tight through Champions League absence. Only Lille, with their stability and ambitious signing of The Salmon Kalou (don't laugh), seemed like potential contenders. Even last year's champions, Montpellier, were realistic enough to understand that the loss of Giroud and a Champions League campaign would take its toll. Especially when handing the keys of the team to Younes Belhanda, the Ligue 1 version of Adel Taraabt (except much better when he's on form). 

The Salmon at Lille: a sign that the rest of Ligue 1 is becoming ambitious. Don't laugh. Not sure how Lille started to grow palm trees though.

But everyone tended to forget that Ligue 1 doesn't just consist of PSG, and there was much more to look forward to: the Corsican derby promised to be fiery, the teams from Brittany were getting stronger, Claude Puel was making an interesting comeback at Nice, and more teams than ever were turning to youngsters as a remedy to their financial difficulties. Ligue 1 was going to be more interesting and open than in previous years, and so it proved to be.

People have a habit of laughing and sniggering at Ligue 1. Perhaps it's due to the perceived (and slightly true) notion that Ligue 1 games are boring. Managers have a reputation for being conservative and risk-shy. Sure, that might be true sometimes, but it's also very rare to see French clubs with foreign managers. Even the top ones: Lyon at its peak was always managed by a Frenchman, and l'OM did turn to Elie Baup. Contrast that with the Premier League, where clubs turn to foreign managers, be they very good (Mourinho, Wenger, AVB) or atrocious (Avram Grant anyone?). And let's not forget the supposedly 'local' British managers who overpopulate the Premier League despite their incompetence. I mean, Mark Hughes just got a job at Stoke! And Steve Kean actually managed in the Premier League. Wow. Just wow. French managers are only doing what they can with much more limited means, but their tactical knowledge is by far superior to that of English managers. Whilst Harry Redknapp doesn't understand the need for somehting else than a 4-4-2 and Tony Pulis liked Cameron Jerome as a winger, Rudi Garcia of Lille has set out his teams in ambitious 4-3-3 over the years, and Daniel Sanchez's Valenciennes have played expansive football. You just need to take a look at Philippe Montanier, who left Valenciennes for Sociedad and had the Spanish side reach the Champions League whilst playing attractive, open football. Ligue 1 obviously has its share of boring managers (Alex Dupont and Alain Casanova in particular) but the majority of them are young, progressive men who are slowly dispelling that reputation for conservatism.

Philippe Montanier doing his best Wenger impression at Real Sociedad: ridiculous coat and Champions League qualification. A reminder of French managers' ability.

What people also have a tendency to forget is that Ligue 1 has a proven track record of producing high quality players who combine spotless technique with undeniable tactical nous. Over the years, there has been a conveyor belt of talent coming over to England from France. Sure, it's not all been glorious, but the proportion of French players who do well in England is quite impressive. Even the 'forgotten men' of French football have had successful careers. Just ask Sylvain Distin and William Gallas, who were rejected by PSG and OM respectively. How well did they fare? Better than Jermaine Pennant at Zaragoza, that's for sure. And, recently, Yohan Cabaye and Eden Hazard showed to everyone what harnessing your skills in Ligue 1 can do to a player.

The English Yohan Cab...sorry. The English Pascal Cygan.

So the season started with renewed enthusiasm, and it didn't actually go as we planned it.

Despite cutting their annual budget from €150m to €100m due to work on the Stade Velodrome for Euro 2016 and their failure to qualify for the Champions League, and doubts persisting as to Elie Baup's suitability for the job, OM raced out of the gates, winning their first 6 games of the season. Mandanda and N'Koulou in particular were solid, and OM proved that possessing a strong defence was vital for success, often winning its games 1-0. PSG, on the other hand, were slow out of the gates, winning games by the barest of margins. But Zlatan's debut was a sight to behold, as he single-handedly brought PSG back against perennial black sheep Lorient at the Parc des Princes. This started a craze of following Zlatan's every move and clinging to every word he said, which, as the season went on, became a very good source of cringy comical entertainment.

My two favourites? Ibrahimovic coming to training and telling his team-mates after a bad game that 'his sons' play better than them (fyi, his children are 2 year-old). And his puppet on 'Les Guignols de l'Info' (a renowned satirical show), which introduced everyone to the word 'Zlataner' ("to Zlatan"), basically meaning doing something awesome with incredible arrogance.

"Eau de Zlatan is made of concentrate of Zlatan's sweat. If you put Eau de Zlatan, you'll be able to Zlatan any woman. If you Zlatan yourself with Eau de Zlatan, everybody will respect you: you won't have to queue at the Post Office, you'll be up-Zlataned on more than 120 airlines, Nene will pass you the ball and Gameiro will wash your car. Eau de Zlatan: only available at the Zlatan St Germain shop."

Montpellier and Lille, as the last two champions, were proving desperately inadequate as challengers. The loss of Giroud and Belhanda's moody play were baffling able manager Rene Girard in the South, whilst the North's premier team were realising that Salomon Kalou was no winger, as he put up minimal effort and simply looked average. Lyon, on the other hand, were proving to be able challengers: their young team, finally devoid of the 'dinosaurs' (Cris in particular), was hungry and well led by Remi Garde. Remi Vercoutre's revival, after years as Coupet and Lloris' understudy, was particularly impressive.

At the bottom, Nancy were a team in shambles, at one point aiming to challenge Derby County as the worst team to have ever played in a top division. After winning their first game of the season (an atrociously dull affair), the club from Lorraine couldn't win to save their lives, reaching the Christmas break with a paltry 11 points. The usual suspects were all near them as well, with the Corsican clubs, Brest, Troyes, Evian, Sochaux and Reims involved in an all-mighty scramble to survive.

Saint-Etienne and Nice were proving to be the surprises of the season. Les Verts, with Aubameyang playing as in a dream all season, were finally proving resilient and solid to go with their enthusiastic style of play. Nice, normally the forgotten club of the South, were slowly starting a revolution with Claude Puel recovering from his sacking from Lyon in the best way possible. With Dario Cvitanich proving to be Ligue 1's Michu (€400,000 and 19 goals!) and young men like Esseyric, Pied and Bautheac playing the right way, OGC Nice were happily riding a wave of overachievement to trouble the big boys, most notably beating PSG 2-1 with two goals in the last ten minutes.

Claude Puel: miracle worker at OGC Nice

And yet the season then started to follow a sort of pre-determined pattern, with PLM (Paris-Marseille-Lyon) leading the way. PSG were obviously going to end up as winners due to their strength in depth but were making hard work of it, Ancelotti in particular losing a lot of kudos for struggling to win the title with the team he had at his disposal.

The arrival of Beckham livened things up a little bit, even if we all knew this was a swansong and Becks wasn't actually going to contribute materially to the title. It nevertheless perked up interest in Ligue 1, which can only be good. It also pushed all clubs a little bit harder when facing PSG, and gave renewed courage to Lyon and Marseille.

Up for a swansong.

The battle for 4th place and the Europa League was also developing nicely. Bordeaux had always been there or thereabout, but the sale of Gouffran to Newcastle (who else?) left them with a huge hole up front which the young Diabate did his best to fill. Nice and St Etienne were proving genuine contenders for that position and Lille were fighting their way back into it, leading to some exciting last few days of the season.

Meanwhile, Lorient and Toulouse were happy to keep plodding along in mid-table. Lorient's continued excellence under Christian Gourcuff despite one of Ligue 1's smallest budgets constantly baffles the imagination, whilst Toulouse's lack of ambition both in terms of play and transfers was underwhelming.

The bottom of the table suddenly became more interesting when Nancy and Troyes in particular decided to revolt against the status quo, both embarking on a run of results which scared the bejeesus out of every other team in that half of the table. Brest, despite being solid if unimaginative in previous years, didn't know what hit them and started a wonderful run of losses which ended up with them being cast adrift and in serious turmoil. The backroom battles at Brest between Guyot and the shareholders certainly didn't help an atmosphere already poisoned by Correntin Martins' meddling in Landry Chauvin's affairs. Despite getting what he wanted in the end, Martins was in no way up to the job and couldn't halt Brest's slide towards Ligue 2. Considering their negative, defensive football, it's fair to say they won't be missed.

What? My team is relegated because of me? Just because of ME? How can that be?

Somehow, despite their stature, Rennes were 'doing a West Ham' (of yesteryear) and getting closer to the drop zone, despite being 'too good to go down'. Frederic Antonetti, always one of Ligue 1's most colourful characters, was simply unable to explain it and his contract wasn't renewed. This helped explain a quite shameful lack of interest on both his and his players' part once survival was ensured. A sad ending for a likeable/tiresome character and able manager.

As we reached the business end of the season, much was still to play for, even though the title was effectively PSG's. Marseille and Lyon had given up hope of the title but made sure they finished on the podium to get back to the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Claude Puel's Nice continued to defy expectactions and beat bigger teams to 4th place, ending on a spectacular 64 points and notably pipping Saint Etienne to that position. A minor disappointment for Aubameyang and co, who had already booked their Europa League place through League Cup success. Lille had, however, left it too late despite a remarkable last few weeks, and ended up 6th, far from our predictions. Kalou finally managed to repay his wages but the injury to Rio Mavuba, despite Dimitri Payet's superb season, was the real catalyst for this lowly finish.

At the other end of the table, and after months of embarking on The Great Escape and getting out of the relegation zone, Nancy stumbled at the last hurdle and were sent back down, along with a plucky Troyes and a disgustingly inadequate Brest. The Corsican teams survived, Bastia thanks to Thauvin's excellent play and Rothen and Landreau's experience, and AC Ajaccio thanks to a good collective approach in which Adrian Mutu finally convinced after a shaky start. The Stade de Reims, after years of living in the past, was finally able to experience Ligue 1 again and did well, finishing 5 points above 18th despite suffering a huge drop in form in the middle of the season. Considering Reims' budget, this was still quite an achievement.

Paco Gabriel: nearly masterminded Nancy's unlikely Great Escape.

The Ligue 1 season was therefore surprisingly competitive, both at the top and the bottom. It is certainly a league which is heading upwards, unlike the Premier League which has tended to rest on its laurels in the last few years. And, with PSG and Monaco now flexing their financial muscle, and OM and Lyon back in the Champions League, this is about to get really interesting.

Champions: PSG
Champions League: PSG, Olympique de Marseille, Lyon
Europa League: OGC Nice, Bordeaux, Saint Etienne
Relegated: Brest, Troyes, Nancy
Promoted: Monaco, Nantes, Guingamp

UNFP Team of the Season: Sirigu, Jallet, Thiago Silva, N'Koulou, Maxwell, Payet, Matuidi, Verratti, Valbuena, Aubameyang, Ibrahimovic

Top Scorers: Ibrahimovic (30), Aubameyang/Cvitanich (19), Gomis (16), Ben Yedder/Aliadiere/Modeste (15)

Top Assist Men: Valbuena/Payet (12), Danic/Mollo (11)