Caen started the Ligue 2 season as one of the favourites for promotion but ended it in a nervy fashion, with a 2-1 home win over a Clermont side with nothing to play for ultimately pushing them out of the bottom three.
It was a thoroughly miserable campaign for Caen, who underperformed on virtually every conceivable level and struggled to turn things around after a strong start to the season that had them punching their expected weight in fourth after nearly a third of the campaign.
Indeed, Caen had enjoyed a four-match undefeated run to start the season, not even conceding a single goal in those games, and that would be a trademark for them up until almost Christmas as they ground out victories.
A serious injury to Yacine Bammou, however, was the trigger to a wretched run of form that saw them win only three of their last 27 matches. Indeed, Bammou barely played half of their matches over the course of the campaign yet still finished as their top scorer on six goals, testimony to how disappointing the likes of Benjamin Jeannot and Alexandre Mendy were in attack.
There were disappointments in midfield, too. In particular, the experienced duo of Anthony Goncalves and Yoann Court struggled to find their form for long periods of the season, while younger players like Aliou Traore, who arrived on loan from Manchester United, struggled to contribute successfully. Too often, Caen were left without a real engine room.
Similarly, in defence, Caen were highlight disappointing. Goalkeeper Remy Riou, an experienced campaigner and one they would have expected much of, was very disappointing and Sullivan Pean, third choice at the start of the season, featured 13 times and was, largely, faultless.
Despite boasting a relatively experienced rearguard, they failed to shine and when Fabrice Vandeputte replaced Pascal Dupraz, this was the area in which he brought the youngsters in to the greatest extent (albeit their impact was extremely mixed).
By the season’s end, survival was all that matter and, while that is embarrassing given their aims at the start of the campaign, they are at least in a position whereby they can build for another season in Ligue 2 next term.
