Monaco’s campaign was undoubtedly the most disappointing of any Ligue 1 side as they were forced to wait until the final day of the season to secure their place in the top flight next term – and even that was only done thanks to help from elsewhere as they lost 2-0 at Nice with the chips down.
Over the past couple of summers, Monaco had allowed their squad to be dismantled, while their policy last year was to replace the outgoing players with youngsters capable of improving and being sold on at a dramatic profit. However, this left the team unbalanced as the few experienced players they had signed were done at cut price and were generally below standard. Nacer Chadli was a perfect example of this.
One of the signings that had been expected to be a smash hit was Aleksandr Golovin, but he has yet to settle in France and mediocre would be a kind way to describe his campaign.
Elsewhere in the attack, Willem Geubbels, who was a big arrival from Lyon, spent the campaign injured, as did youngster Pietro Pellegri. Radamel Falcao was, therefore, saddled with the offensive responsibility and his contribution of 15 goals was essential to keeping his side safe.
Injury problems did cripple Monaco for a long part of the season, particularly in the autumn months, when Leonardo Jardim parted company with the club to be replaced by Thierry Henry, whose tenure was short and disastrous, forcing the club to go back to Jardim at the end of January, by which time the former France striker had already signed a group of players to fit into a 3-5-2 formation that he wanted to play but Jardim did not.
Meanwhile, Youri Tielemans was offloaded to Leicester, where he proved a hit, although his contribution during his time in France was rather less spectacular.
Defensively, Monaco were a shambles throughout the season. With Kamil Glik struggling and Jemerson suffering a crisis in confidence that brought about some crazy mistakes, Monaco found themselves desperately short of cover. Naldo was signed in January as a sticking plaster but failed.
Right-back Djibril Sidibe also had a terrible season, miles off the form that saw him once linked to Arsenal, while Benjamin Henrichs was never totally trusted either.
In goal, things were no better, with both Diego Benaglio and Danijel Subasic mediocre performers at best.
Massive changes are needed in the summer, with the recruitment policy the area that most improve most.
