Saint-Etienne finished the season in a flattering 11th place in Ligue 1, despite having spent much of the campaign battling relegation.
There were positive signs at the start of the season as Claude Puel’s men came flying out of the traps by winning three successive matches 2-0, though this came against expectations and proved to be unsustainable as they quickly tumbled down the table amid a woeful run of results that was never really arrested until January.
From then, Sainte played some better football and largely picked off the teams around them in the table as they moved serenely to a safe position in the standings.
It was a campaign in which Puel was made to a look a little silly as he froze out senior players last summer and was forced to reintroduce them one by one to his squad, either because of necessity or because others were lacking form.
The most prominent example was Wahbi Khazri, who finished as joint top scorer on seven goals along with winger Denis Bouanga, whose form blew a little hot and cold throughout the campaign. Indeed, that was the case with all of Sainte’s forwards, with the possible exception of Anthony Modeste, whose return to Ligue 1 was simply a disaster.
In midfield. Yvan Neyou proved to be a surprisingly impressive addition while Mahdi Camara had a solid season and 17-year-old Lucas Goura-Douath impressed. Adil Aouchiche arrived with a big reputation that he failed to live up to, though in hindsight, it was always going to be difficult for the teenager, especially in a struggling side.
At the back, Sainte were poor for much of the season but improved after Pape Cisse joined the club in January. Harold Moukoudi, meanwhile, outperformed expectations but on the left promising youngster Yvann Macon missed nearly the whole season due to serious knee injury.
Puel’s decision to freeze out veteran Stephane Ruffier was misguided. Jessy Moulin was not good enough and in the end third choice Etienne Green stepped up well in the closing weeks of the season.
Saint-Etienne will need to rebuild significantly if they are to match this finish next term. It is a team still in transition.
