Lille suffered the most disappointing campaign of any Ligue 1 team, despite avoiding relegation. It was a season that started with high hopes as they welcomed new investment into the team, plus the talents of head coach Marcelo Bielsa. However, it rapidly became apparent that things were not working and at Christmas Christophe Galtier took charge.
Bielsa’s reign started impressively enough, with a 3-0 win over Nantes, but the Argentine is a man who likes to be in complete control over his teams and he did not have that luxury in Lille, with Luis Campos signing players as the sporting director. While these players fitted Bielsa’s style, they were not suitable for Ligue 1 as a unit.
Lille had too many youngsters in their ranks prone to lapses of concentration, and with that occurring all over the field, but especially in defence, it spelt disaster for LOSC. Moreover, their lack of natural goalscoring centre forward was a massive handicap that was perhaps fatal. Nicolas Pepe was used there and, while a talented individual, that is not his position. He struggled to show his best as a result but did end the campaign with 13 goals.
Bielsa’s sacking brought nasty off-field repercussions, which were not aided by a transfer ban in January brought about because the league were concerned by the club’s finances. It made for an ugly situation and increased the difficulty for Galtier when he came into the club.
A far more pragmatic coach than Bielsa, he still did not have the type of player that he would ideally like to have worked with, so improving the team defensively was tricky.
LOSC’s raw talent did eventually see them out of difficult, but only in the last couple of weeks of the season. Wins over Metz, Toulouse and Dijon showcased a gutsy side to the team that had not been evident previously, though were aided by renewed confidence.
They are still at threat from relegation due to their financial problems, but at least on the sporting side they are safe. The future, though, is uncertain.
