Football Season Guide

Nice missed out on the Champions League once again last season as they had to settle for a fifth-placed finish. This habit of coming up short has been habitual under the ownership of INEOS, which has promised so much but has delivered only a steady stream of top-eight finishes. More is expected of this club. Les Aiglons are one of seven clubs that have changed head coach this summer, with the Italian Francesco Farioli departing and former Lens boss Franck Haise stepping in. It should signal a move away from the incredibly one-paced and boring football they played last term. Haise became associated with a high-tempo, more direct game at Lens and he will look to employ that at the Allianz Riviera. Haise has been given limited tools with which to do his job. The squad remains largely the same, with Morgan Sanson joining on a permanent basis and only the addition of Tanguy Ndombele in the midfield acting as a hint to the more up-tempo brand of football that Haise will want to employ. Given Ndombele’s track record in recent months, this is a move that could go either way. The players at the club, though, should appreciate the new coach. Terem Moffi appears particularly suited to his style while Mohamed Ali-Cho is the other who could be a major benefactor. Equally, the attributes of a powerful midfield group should be better exploited, while the addition of Jonathan Clauss at right-back should provide the type of thrust from wide that Haise’s Lens side typically displayed. Dante, at 40, remains unbending in central defence and will be especially important after the departure of Jean-Clair Todibo, who has not yet been replaced. Indeed, this squad of players looks well set up for Haise to get the best from, although there should be some concern raised that the additional burden of European football will test the depth of the squad more.