Coach: Thierry Goudet
Stadium: Stade Océane
Last Season: 7th in Ligue 2

DEFENCE

The goalkeeping position has been an issue for HAC in recent seasons. They’ve moved by signing ex-Clermont man Fabien Farnolle, someone who has plenty of Ligue 2 experience. First, he’ll have to do battle with Stephen Milosavljevic though and it remains to be seen who gets the no1 jersey. At the back, they’ve lost influential Maxime Le Marchand to ligue 1 side Nice and he leaves a big hole to be filled. Le Marchand is a very versatile player and often covered for injuries in midfield too so will be missed. HAC have done their best to replace him with Cedric Cambon, someone who has been playing with Evian in ligue 1 for the past few seasons. He should do a good enough job although is probably a slight downgrade on Le Marchand. Le Havre have the makings of a solid defence because the likes of Zargo Toure, Jerome Mombris and Steven Fortes all remain. Right back Jordan Ikoko has left, but he wasn’t the starter there anyway, Issam Chebake holds that role. With an abundance of youngsters waiting in the wings they have both quality and depth in defence, which should serve them well.

MIDFIELD

Romain Saiss has left the club which leaves them lacking a little bit of depth. Saiss was nothing special, but is a fairly hard bloke who wasn’t afraid to tackle with intensity. Le Havre prefer more skilful players though, so perhaps it’s not a bad thing he moves on. The key man for them in this area is JP Fontaine. Fontaine hardly missed a game for the last season, a surprise considering his past injury record. Another man to mention in the middle is Modeste M’Bami. He comes off a poor campaign fitness wise, but has been featuring in friendlies recently. It’s quite possible that this could be the season in which Dylan Louiserre and Victor Lekhal properly break out. The former has already made a big impression last season and we could see him starting more matches this term. Lekhal meanwhile, has had injury problems but possesses plenty of talent. I think they lack one more quality option here, but HAC will still be pretty competitive in midfield.

ATTACK

If The Normandie outfit can keep hold of Mickael Le Bihan and Alexandre Bonnet, then they look in really good shape going forwards. MLB was the leading scorer in Ligue 2 last season with 18 goals, and the presumption was he’d be sold during the summer. This still might happen, but as of yet he remains at the club. The same can be said about playmaker Bonnet who was another who had a stellar season, weighing in with over a dozen goals and assists combined. HAC have plenty of other options in the final third, many of which are pacey wingers who can wreak havoc on the opposition. The likes of Manzala, Mendes and Gamboa are all perfectly good players at Ligue 2 level, whilst youngsters like Lys Mousset are waiting in the wings too. If (and this is a big if) they can keep hold of MLB and Bonnet, then HAC will have one of the strongest attacks in the division. Even if they are sold, you’d have to presume they reinforce wisely. So overall I’m really confident about their chances in the final third.

COACHING

The ineffective Eric Mombaerts did them a favour by leaving to a Japanese club back in December. He was ok, but they played much better under Thierry Goudet for the rest of the season. He has now signed a 2-year contract and I expect them to continue improving under his stewardship. Goudet definitely got the team enjoying its football with his attacking style and they arguably played some of the most eye-catching stuff out of any team following the winter break. HAC haven’t yet produced a really strong home record since they moved to their new Stade Oceane, but the signs are that could change soon. They were 6th-best in front of their own fans last season, and combined with a usually decent away record they could be very dangerous.

CONCLUSION

Le Havre are definitely one of the main candidates to get promoted. But I say this every year so I’m always cautious about whether or not they can fulfill their potential. The team often starts slow and doesn’t get into form until at least November time. HAC will likely go very well after the winter break, but can they finally get out of the traps quickly? The other question mark is whether or not they can keep their best strikers, Le Bihan and Bonnet. HAC have always been a selling club so it depends how much ambition they have in the boardroom this season. But with seemingly all round strength, in addition to a great coach, they really should be going close to the top two this season. They are definitely hindered by the new rules of only two teams getting promoted, but there’s no reason why they can’t be one of them.

Prediction – 2nd