Stade Lavallois: 2015/16 Ligue 2 Preview

Coach: Denis Zanko
Stadium: Stade Francis Le Basser
Last Season: 8th in Ligue 2

DEFENCE

Lionel Cappone isn’t a GK I ever really rated, but even I have to admit he was superb last season. Many a time he came up with some clutch saves for Laval and was really solid. Should he repeat that then they’ll have a top man in between the sticks. Les Tangos’ backline was surprisingly one of the best in Ligue 2 last year. On paper, it seems nothing special but it was a unit that worked really well with each other. Whether or not it’ll be as effective remains to be seen, but the majority of this defence has stayed together. The only departure is LB Pierre Yves Polomat and replacing him will be Erwan Quintin. He’s actually not a bad player and has plenty of ligue 2 experience. Laval will hope that Djibril Konate and Malik Couturier will be rocks once more. But both are getting fairly old now and pace isn’t their strong suit. It will be hard for them to repeat such a great campaign. They do have Adrien Monfray waiting in the wings to become a regular starter though and Fouad Chafik on the right hand side is of proven quality. I think it’ll be hard for them to be as strong in defence this year and everything points to some sort of regression, but Les Tangos should still be alright at the back

MIDFIELD

Anthony Goncalves and Hassane Alla are the two mainstays in this department. Both hardly missed a game last season and the presence of Goncalves especially is massive for the club. They aren’t the same team when he isn’t on the field and everything seems to run through him in the middle of the park. Once again, he’ll be a key man and despite being 34 now, Alla should still be effective for one more season. His defensive midfield position is more kinder to aging players and he’s good enough to give Laval the solidity they need. I do worry that they lack depth though. Les Tangos have very few other options here and the departure of utility player Martin Mimoun won’t help matters. Should anything bad happen to Goncalves or Alla, they’ll be relying on younger players, which doesn’t bode well. New signing Romain Habran could fill in here if required, but he’s better in an advanced role.

ATTACK

Laval didn’t exactly set the world alight last year with their goalscoring, and it’s unlikely they’ll improve this time around. They lost Christian Bekamenga to Troyes in January, and now this summer they’ve seen Sehrou Guirassy depart to Lille. Winger Anthony Robic is another who’s moved on so Les Tangos will definitely lack for some creativity and goals. Coming in as replacements are Julien Viale and Rachid Alioui. The former is a typical Ligue 2 journeyman who will have some good days, whilst the latter is not somebody I rate at all. One positive is new playmaker Romain Habran, on loan from PSG. He went ok at Sochaux last season and is pretty versatile. Laval don’t have a lot else in the final third apart from Cesar Zeoula and Maxime Bourgeois. Neither are very good and overall I have major concerns about them going forward. They should have some money to spend before the end of the transfer window though, so could fix the issue with a couple of good signings.

COACHING 

Denis Zanko has worked wonders with this team since he took over midway through the 2013/14 season. First, he saved them from relegation and then last year propelled them to a remarkable 8th placed finish. Behind GFC Ajaccio, they were easily the most overachieving club in the whole division. Their talent levels on paper should’ve seen them involved in the relegation battle but Zanko seems to get the most out of all his players and is a major asset. Les Tangos were incredibly hard to beat and only lost 6 times! They drew a whopping 21/38 games and only lost twice at home. Le Stade Francis le Basser is a really intimidating place to play and visiting sides hate playing here, the crowd is right on top of you. They are usually really good from set pieces too and it’s a guarantee Laval will make the most of any other factors, in addition to being really well coached.

CONCLUSION

Laval massively overachieved last season, and in my experience, teams that do this tend to struggle the following year. Expectations might be falsely raised. Fans will at least presume a comfortable season away from the relegation battle. But if this squad suffers injuries or actually begins to play closer to its talent level then they’ll be in trouble. I respect Denis Zanko as a coach though and he’s worth a large number of points to them in a season. He’ll do enough to keep them afloat but for them to breach the top ten again really would be a superb achievement. Laval won’t be an exciting side to watch and will be hard to beat, but too many draws might cost them this time around.

Prediction – 15th