Ligue 1 relegation battle shows it pays to be decisive if sacking a manager | Eric Devin
Football clubs are often indecisive when the stakes are high. Too often they dither over transfers, dropping players who have lost form, or dismissing managers. The dangers of this approach has been on show in Ligue 1 this season, where the relegation of four clubs rather than the usual three has made the need for success even more acute than usual. Ligue 2 is a particularly difficult division to bounce back from, as St-Étienne are discovering. Having been relegated from the top flight last season, they are now 13th in the second tier.
With other clubs understandably concerned about facing a similar fate, they have been quick to fire managers. Eleven bosses have lost their jobs since the start of the campaign. In October alone, five clubs sacked managers – Lyon, Auxerre, Brest, Reims and Montpellier – mostly due to concerns about relegation. Montpellier are on their third manager of the season and Angers have a vacancy following the resignation of Abdel Bouhazama last week.
Some of these decisions have borne fruit in dramatic fashion. Will Still at Reims and Didier Digard at Nice have brought the best from expensive squads that were underachieving. For others, such as Brest and Troyes, little has changed – teams that were lacking in talent and were always going to be fighting for their survival are doing the same. But for three clubs in particular, their decisiveness (of lack thereof) looks to be season-defining.
Reims’ decision to appoint Will Still has been a masterstroke. Photograph: JE E/SIPA/Rex/Shutterstock
We have been quick to judge clubs in France for lacking imagination in their managerial appointments – coaches such as Rolland Courbis, Claude Puel, Antoine Kombouaré and Frédéric Antonetti seem to bob to the surface regularly at different clubs. But in a league where expertise has its value, installing one of these managers can be a smart move – so long as their tactical approach is both progressive and in line with their squad.

Enter Michel der Zakarian and Christophe Pélissier. The former had a brilliant run at Montpellier a few years ago, taking them agonisingly close to Europe while playing some incandescent football as he improved players such as Andy Delort and Gaëtan Laborde. But, after failing to get over that final hurdle despite considerable investment from the club on players such as Téji Savanier and Stéphy Mavididi, he left Montpellier at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Der Zakarian took charge of Brest at the start of last season and had his moments, but was deservedly among those dismissed in October, with the team joint-bottom in the league. After several months out of work, he rejoined Montpellier in January and their upturn in form has been immediate. Their win over Ajaccio this weekend was their fourth in their last five matches – and they have only conceded three goals in that run. The joie de vivre so apparent in his previous spell is back. Montpellier have been rewarded for acting quickly and installing a manager who has a clear philosophy. After some impressive wins over fellow relegation strugglers, they have moved 10 points clear of the bottom four.
Auxerre have enjoyed a similar revival under Pélissier. They are still in the bottom four on goal difference, but they are on a six-match unbeaten run that includes a win over Lyon and draws against Nice, Rennes and Reims. Pélissier took over in October and his work in the transfer window made all the difference. He has rebuilt the team with a raft of loanees.
Ionut Radu has been a massive step up from the uninterested Benoît Costil in goal, and Pélissier has brought in a cadre of young loan signings, including defender Isaak Touré, midfielder Han-Noah Massengo, striker Matthis Abline – all France youth internationals and regulars in the Auxerre team since their arrival. Along with Akim Zedadka from Lille and Siriki Dembélé from Bournemouth, they have helped the team sparkle. Goals remain a problem, but Auxerre are now awkward opponents for anyone.
The story is different at Strasbourg. Much was expected of the eastern side this season after they resisted advances for Ludovic Ajorque and Alexander Djiku in the summer, as well as keeping faith with manager Julien Stéphan, who was seen as one of the game’s rising stars. After a sixth-place finish last year, though, things could not have gone any worse this season. Ajorque scored just once before leaving for Germany and creative midfielder Adrien Thomasson cut a frustrated figure before he departed for Lens in January.
Stéphan was finally sacked in January after a galling Coupe de France exit to Angers. Whereas Montpellier, Reims and Nice installed replacements quickly, Strasbourg dithered for more than two weeks before they appointed Frédéric Antonetti. He had done well enough in a recent spell with Metz but his approach to football is far more hammer and tongs than Stéphan’s, and his new players are not suited to it. Rather than bringing in a manager who could get the best from the team, Strasbourg wanted an “experienced head” and that has been to their detriment, even if they may yet survive.
The clubs that have moved quickly to replace their struggling manager with someone with a defined idea of play – be they younger coaches such as Digard or Still, or those with more experience such as Pélissier or Der Zakarian – have reaped the benefits.
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Talking points
Alexis Claude Maurice scored the fourth goal as Lens hammered Clermont. Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images
It was a good weekend for Lens in the race for the top three. Their two rivals stumbled, with Monaco losing and Marseille unable to beat Strasbourg at home, and they produced their best performance since their victory over PSG on New Year’s Day. Clermont are not the toughest opponents, but Franck Haise’s side had won just twice in the league since that victory over the league leaders – against 10-man Auxerre and injury-hit Nantes – so they deserve credit for their 4-0 win on Sunday. Loïs Openda led the way with a hat-trick, his first goals in the league in two months. Lens still have to face Marseille, PSG and Monaco before the end of the season, but they will feel that they are back on right after a frustrating interlude.
Reims continued their incredible unbeaten run with a gritty 1-0 win away to Monaco. One has to wonder whether they have an outside chance of reaching the European places as they are now within four points of Rennes in fifth. Monaco will feel unlucky to have lost the game after hitting the woodwork twice, but Will Still’s side continue to show they are a force with which to be reckoned, having kept clean sheets for six matches on the trot.
Finally, Lorient were able to right the ship against Troyes, winning 2-0 at home. Their promising start to the season had looked in danger of unravelling after the departures of Terem Moffi and Dango Ouattara in January. But, with Bamba Dieng and Jean-Victor Makengo now settling into the team, they are regaining more of their former cohesion. Only three points off Europe, they are still in with a shout for a top-five finish, further testament to the good work being done by Régis Le Bris in Brittany.
Pos Team P GD Pts
1 PSG 27 42 66
2 Marseille 27 24 56
3 Lens 27 23 54
4 Monaco 27 18 51
5 Rennes 27 16 47
6 Lille 27 13 46
7 Nice 27 12 43
8 Reims 27 9 43
9 Lorient 27 4 43
10 Lyon 27 11 40
11 Toulouse 27 -3 35
12 Clermont Foot 27 -12 34
13 Montpellier 27 -4 33
14 Nantes 27 -7 29
15 Strasbourg 27 -14 23
16 Brest 27 -16 23
17 Auxerre 27 -26 23
18 AC Ajaccio 27 -28 21
19 Troyes 27 -23 20
20 Angers 27 -39 10
This is an article from Get French Football News
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