Allez Les Verts
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire currently languishes in the French Second Division; a sad state of affairs for a club that boasts 10 French titles, six Coupe de France titles, a Cou...
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Big Restructure Job – Gasquet
Bleua Gasquet, the new ASSE manager, said that there is a big restructuring job to do at the club, and that “the path will be long and hard”.
Gasquet arrives for the Press conference
In his first press conference, Gasquet contrasted the squad with the board’s aims. “We have 5 players over 30 and another 4 coming up to that age. We have a lot of players with contracts expiring and it’s not clear at this point how many will adapt to our new playing style.
That means that we have a lot to do to meet the board’s aims for a younger squad.”
When asked whether this means a wholesale clearout, Gasquet said “Too early to say what will happen. Obviously, we do need to bring in new blood at some point – last season’s finishing position was not what the board had in mind, so we need to do something.
Some of that will come from changing the way we play. We will be going for more possession and much fitter players, capable of making a fast dash even in the 90th minute, where necessary.”
Regarding the budget, Gasquet had this to say. “We are not flush with money, and we need to hire new coaches, scouts and so forth. We will be looking for some free transfers, but not many, and some under-20s future prospects that we can mould to our playing style.”
When asked whether any of the older players will be sold, he said this:”I am not going to name names at this point. I have a lot of things to look at in the next few weeks, so watch this space. Anyone committed to the cause and willing to change and work hard, is welcome, unless we get offers we and they cannot refuse.”
Gasquet is clearly a man on a mission and we are in for exciting times at the club.
Squad List Illustrates the size of the task.
The list of players Gasquet has inherited shows very clearly the task he has on his hands. The list does not include the loanees at this point, as they obviously will not feature longer-term.
The over-30s include Dreyer, Appiah, Monconduit, Tardieu and Charbonnier. Perhaps only Appiah has a medium-term future in Gasquet’s fast-paced style, bearing in mind his speed over 50 yards, compared to the others.
We can assume that centre-back Briancon (29), as club captain, is probably a ‘hold’ for nowbut Victor Lobry and Ibrahima Wadji (both 28) are journeymen players with little to recommend them, so we could see them move on in due course.
What these players have, however, is experience and, if there is to be an influx of youth, some of that will be vital in the coming season.
Fun to see this squad list. I remember looking at this club, considering playing with them back in early 2022, when they were about to get relegated IRL. And I thought they had a great number of talented players, whom I wanted to build around.
Etienne Green was one. He's still there, I see. Perfect name for someone playing for St.Etienne, who play in green colours and are nicknamed Les Verts.
And then there are Nadé, Moueffek and Rivera, who are still there as well.
But most of the others have left for 'greener' pastures, I see. I had a few written down in a note, including:
Lucas Gourna - now RB Salzburg
Harold Moukoudi - now AEK Athens
Mahdi Camara - now Stade Brest
Arnaud Nordin - now Montpellier
Yvan Neyou - now Leganés
Adil Aouchiche - now Sunderland
Saidou Sow - now Strasbourg
I'm curious if your plans include bringing any of these back? Or at least they could be worth putting on your scouting list.
Friendlies Reveal Big Issues
St-Etienne took part in a European Friendly tournament this summer, and the results clearly show that the Manager has yet to get the squad into some kind of shape.
A good opening win against Frosinone was followed by some seriously big defeats against Verona
and Lecce, as the teams on the field struggled to find any kind of rhythm against ‘better’ sides.
There was a lack of any definable system, as the players seemed to be unaware of what they were meant to be doing, and many of the players visibly tired towards the end of each match. The conditioning of the players is obviously yet to yield results.
The defeat to Lecce was particularly hard to take, as the Italians effectively won the game in the first 30-odd minutes, waltzing through the defence with ease. At the other end, the strike force found it difficult to make chances against a typically Italian defence and, when they did get through, most of the time their shots went wide.
“It’s early days,” said Gasquet. “We are still working out who is who and the training is obviously going to take time to have the desired effects.
“We are sticking to the plan we have. It will deliver, but may take a while.”
ASSE’s supporters were clearly not happy and derision against the manager drained down from the stands, especially in the Lecce match. Clearly, the fan base is wondering just what the board have done with this appointment.
- @JustinCase0110
I have looked at Sow, but I've not followed that up - yet.
Haven't really looked at the others. There's not much money...First Arrival at ASSE Under the New Regime
Osman Bukhari has arrived at ASSE as Bleua Gasquet’s first signing.
Bukhari (24) joins on a free transfer for 4 years. He is a right-winger.
When asked about his age, Gasquet said “yes, he may be slightly on the higher side of the board’s directive, but he brings experience, which is what we need at this point.”
Bukhari is expected to start the opening match of the season, against Auxerre.
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