Relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of their third Ligue 1 season ever, Amiens SC literally found themselves totally unprepared for the new campaign. In fact, for some time, there were revolving doors at the club, with players coming and going.
The initial weeks were in fact a bit of a nightmare as coach Elsner, confirmed at the helm despite the relegation, did not really know whom he could count on and had to field some youngsters in defence for lack of alternatives.
Nevertheless, Amiens debuted with a 1-0 home win over Nancy. That was their first success since early November 2019. The following 4 games (D2 L2) though, cost Elsner his job. To tell the truth, he was already at odds with the management that had not strengthened the squad.
Oswald Tanchot, the new coach and Elsner’s former assistant, managed to work miracles with a squad that kept losing pieces all along the campaign. The likes of Ghoddos, Otero and Mendoza all managed to quit, as they were yearning for top flight football.
In the end, Tanchot was given the needed defenders. Wague and Opoku formed an insuperable pair in the heart of the defence, but he could never count on a decent striker as Amiens had to play most of the season with a false number 9.
Between weeks 6 and 20 Amiens lost only 3 times, settling themselves steadily in the top 10. Then, injuries – especially to the defenders - and Covid issues depleted the squad and Amiens obtained just 4 wins until the end. Moreover, in the last 13 games they obtained only 2 out of their 15 clean sheets.
Central midfielder Lusamba and right-back Alphonse were the ones who most impressed, together with Opoku, notable serving 7 and 3 assists respectively.
Amiens could turn into promotion contenders if only Tanchot is given freedom to manage and is lucky enough to work with a full squad right from the start of the new season.
