Hopes were high for Nice at the start of the season as one of Ligue 1’s richest clubs, with a bright crop of young players and a place in the Europa League. Ultimately, though, the campaign boiled down to disappointment, with head coach Patrick Vieira sacked after a wretched run of results and replaced by right-hand man Adrian Ursea, who fared a little better.
Under Vieira, Nice placed a premium on retaining possession, but they forgot to score goals, making them both unsuccessful and boring – a potently bad combination. There were numerous low moments, including a 6-2 thrashing by Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League, a competition Nice lost five of six in, despite having the potential to qualify from a relatively kind group.
Domestically, meanwhile, Vieira lasted only until a 3-1 home defeat by bottom side Dijon. It was not until the final third of the season that Ursea started to turn things around, aided by major surgery to the defence in January, which saw them bring in William Saliba and Jean-Clair Todibo from Arsenal and Barcelona respectively. Both performed well.
Amine Gouiri was undoubtedly the star performer, one of the few players to justify the investment made in him. He returned 16 goals and was also very creative.
Morgan Schneiderlin arrived in midfield from Everton but was disappointing in terms of his technical contribution. He played largely because of his experience amid a young side. Meanwhile, that sector was hindered by a long-term injury to Jeff Reine-Adelaide and latterly Alexis Claude-Maurice.
The defence was also hit by a serious injury to Dante, while Youcef Atal, who is arguably their best player, did not get a consistent run of games because of injury. Nevertheless, summer signings Jordan Lotomba and Robson Bambu struggled to make an impact in this area.
Nice are set for changes in the summer, with Ursea to leave and the prospect of appointing Christophe Galtier. Certainly, the core ingredients of a strong squad are here but they need reinforced mentally and ideally with a couple more effective players.
