Coach: Jean-Luc Vannuchi
Stadium: Stade Abbé Deschamps
Last Season: 9th Ligue 2

DEFENCE

Auxerre had goalkeeping issues last season. Donovan Leon didn’t perform as well as expected and he’s been given the boot. They have definitely upgraded by signing Zacharie Boucher from Toulouse, a fine young talent who is definitely worth the £350k they paid. Geoffrey Lembet is an able backup who was given plenty of starts last season and is experienced. The backline has pretty much stayed intact. Karim Djellabi departs from the left hand side and his replacement is youngster Salimo Sylla from Troyes. This lad is raw but looks to have plenty of potential and they could be rewarded for having faith in him. Auxerre’s main man at the back will continue to be Sebastien Puygrenier. The bald-headed legend is now 33, but still one of the best defenders at Ligue 2 level. Unfortunately they’ve lost JC Castelletto to Club Brugge and at the time of writing haven’t found a replacement. Fontaine and Aguilar make up the rest of their defensive options, and they also have some young backup options who aren’t too bad. I would expect AJA to be fairly strong in defence this year but they need to find a replacement for Castelletto.

MIDFIELD

The Burgundian outfit have lost a couple of key midfielders from last season. Jerome Ait Ben Idir and Remi Mulumba have packed their bags, and the latter will be especially missed. Everything good about their midfield seemed to run through him last year, although AJA will hope that they’ve found a suitable replacement. Ibrahima Seck has been signed from Creteil – a good signing and adds a physical element. Seck however, won’t contribute too much offensively, he is more of a Patrick Vieira type player. Amara Baby and Pierre Bouby are still here and Auxerre will remain reasonably good in the middle of the park. A final addition is Mouhamadou Diaw from Niort. He may be 34 now but should still have a couple of strong seasons to give the club. For sure he was one of the better midfielders in L2 last season and is versatile enough to be creative or defensive. Overall, they look pretty strong in the middle to me and have done their best to replace key players.

ATTACK

Auxerre were actually the 5th highest scoring team in the division last season. Most of the goals were evenly spread around, although Vincent Gragnic got 8 of them in just 15 appearances. The problem is he’s terribly injury prone these days. He went under the knife in the offseason and is now expected to miss the first 4 months of the campaign. This is bad news because when he doesn’t play they are nowhere near as threatening. Frederic Sammaritano and Julien Viale have also both moved on and they are lacking options in the final third. Gaetan Courtet has been signed but if they think he’s the answer then they are deluded. Courtet is just an average talent at best and I can’t see him scoring many more than 7 or 8 goals this year. Cheick Diarra is reasonable enough, but with Livio Nabab reportedly set for a transfer out of the club too, I’m worried they’ll lack firepower. AJA will always have some decent youngsters ready to step in, but they need more proven talent until Gragnic comes back from injury.

COACHING

I had my doubts about Jean Luc Vannuchi a year ago, but he proved last season he is more than capable. Auxerre had a very solid season and also reached the final of the Coupe de France, putting up a plucky display against PSG in the final. They finished 9th overall but this would’ve been higher had they not had to focus on the cup in the last couple of months. AJA were surprisingly strong away from home in the previous campaign, only losing four times and finishing with the 2nd best overall record. Their home form however, was pretty poor and must improve if they harbour any promotion ambitions. Le Stade L’Abbe Deschamps can resemble a morgue-like atmosphere at times which really doesn’t help them.

CONCLUSION

There’s plenty of positives to say about Auxerre and I expect them to have a good season. Tactically and defensively they should be very astute. They’ll also be very well coached and capable of getting good results away from home, unlike some sides. The negative is that they lack firepower on paper. If they can stay in contention until the January transfer window then they have a chance of going up. With Vincent Gragnic then likely back, and the potential to reinforce the squad they could finish strongly. AJA have ambition but aren’t helped by the fact that only two teams can get promoted this year. I see them finishing about 5th or 6th and falling just short, but they can’t be ruled out.

Prediction – 6th