After several years struggling to keep their heads above water, Laval came up short in 2016-17, finishing rock-bottom as their stay in Ligue 2 came to an end after eight seasons. The Tangos must now build for life in the third tier next season after a campaign which saw them amass a meagre five wins and 30 points as they ended up six points adrift of Red Star in 19th and 13 points from outright safety. Laval never replaced key players who departed last summer and Denis Zanko was sacked as coach with the club in the bottom three in early November with just two wins and 11 points from their first 14 games. Italian Marco Simone, who had coached Tours last season, was named as his replacement and Laval won 2-0 away to Reims in his first game. However, Simone departed in April having overseen just two wins in 18 league outings. Like Zanko, his last game was a 2-0 defeat against Le Havre, a result that left the Tangos without a win in 11 outings. Thierry Goudet became Laval's third coach of the season and a sensational 5-2 win over Reims in his first match at the helm raised hope of a great escape. Alas, five straight defeats followed to finish the campaign. Their relegation was confirmed with two games to spare after a 3-1 home loss to Tours.
Laval were quite simply not good enough in any area, scoring just 33 goals in 38 league games and managing just three wins at home, for example. Mathieu Coutadeur and Hassane Alla were influential presences in midfield but a host of strikers failed to make an impression, Dylan Saint-Louis coming closest in a loan from Ligue 1 Saint-Etienne as he contributed six goals. A club who were a top-flight force throughout the 1980s face a big task in rebuilding for life in the Championnat National.
