Football Season Guide

Over the summer months, Grenoble have seen head coach Philippe Hinschberger depart and Maurizio Jabocacci arrive. While Jacobacci is immensely experienced, he has never previously coached in France before, having worked exclusively in Switzerland in recent years. Most recently, he steered Lugano to a fourth-placed finish with a defensively orientated side. Grenoble have seen key attacking players Moussa Djitte and Willy Semedo both depart the club, while Kevin Tapoko, who regularly featured in the heart of the midfield, has also gone. In return, Grenoble have not worked particularly quickly in getting replacements. Giorgi Kokhreidze has joined up from Georgian footbal and Olivier Boissy has arrived from Burkina Faso. Both are entirely unknown quantities. Meanwhile, Kristofer Kristinsson and Terell Ondaan are both back at the club after loan stints in the Netherlands. Neither shone during these spells. Grenoble, meanwhile, are seeking to piece together a side that is lacking in quality and depth compared to last season’s panel. Indeed, their pre-season performances suggest that they are also lacking a little in balance. Results have been fairly encouraging, including a draw against Dijon and Ligue 1 side Clermont, but performances have not typically matched. Grenoble have lacked balance to their play thus far, struggling to attack and defend effectively in the same fixture. A big responsibility lies on centre forward Achille Anani to be more efficient than last season, as well as right winger Yoric Ravet to remain fit. Youngster Zinedine Labyad could gain time after some good pre-season showings, but his long-term suitability is unknown. There is a solid base to the midfield, with Manuel Perez, Charles Pickel and Florian Michel the pick of their players, while Anthony Belmonte’s strong performances towards the end of last season have seen the club place more faith in him. While the defence should be solid on paper, it struggled at times last season and has not looked any improved in pre-season. Complicating matters further for Grenoble is the fact they will be displaced from their home ground in the first two matches of the season due to the laying of a new surface.