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END OF SEASON REVIEW
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It has been a weird season for us in goal. Steve Mandanda started the season as our number 1 but he made quite a few errors at the start, and it became quite clear, quite quickly that he was going to be sold in January, and he’s now at Fiorentina, and frustratingly seems to be doing relatively well. BRICE SAMBA was the man at the club that filled in for him as number 1 before we had chance to sell him, and initially he did very well, and in the 16 appearances he made for us this season, to achieve an average rating of 7.00 in your first 16 games for the club is brilliant, and it is likely that he will be our first choice goalkeeper next season. ASMIR BEGOVIC joined us on loan in January, and although there was a release clause in his loan contract, this was never going to be activated because he is still in his prime, he deserves to be playing in a League with a higher reputation and most importantly he would demand wages too high for a club of our stature to realistically aim to be paying a player. However that doesn’t mean he didn’t do well for us because he was fantastic and was an instrumental part of the run of form we went on where we were extremely impressive in defence and he kept 17 clean sheets in his 31 games for us which was brilliant. NICOLAS DOUCHEZ has retired now and he will be sorely missed because he was such an experienced goalkeeper and hopefully his tutoring of Samba will be invaluable when it comes to kicking off the 2017-2018 season that will hopefully establish Samba as the clubs number one goalkeeper for a long time to come. On the whole then, our goalkeepers have been incredibly impressive for us, it’s just a shame that Begovic was only on loan but hopefully Brice Samba can become just as good if not better and can keep our defence just as solid next season.
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Once again it has been very impressive for our full backs this season. BRICE DJA DJEDJE carried on his fantastic form from last season as our first choice right back and kept summer signing BRUNO PERES out of the side, and it was always an easy choice as it always felt like he was the reliable choice and the player that would really improve the XI if selected. His stats of 13 assists and 4 man of the match awards is fantastic, especially in a team that has so many potential stars going forward, and he was an integral part of our side when we went on that fantastic defensive run towards the end of the season that really helped us push on in our attempts to win Ligue 1. Peres had a good debut season but there are clubs circling around him at the minute and he has expressed his desire to leave the side on several occasions this season because of the lack of first team football so it is likely that he will leave, with Sporting Lisbon being the first team to make an offer for him in what could be an interesting transfer saga this summer. When he did play though he wasn’t that impressive, only achieving 4 assists all season, which isn’t great as the full backs are such an integral part of our attacking play and his average tackles per game is relatively poor, only higher than Dja Djedje’s. However it is important to note that Brice Dja Djedje played a lot more football than Bruno Peres so his average was more than likely going to be lower based on that. Perhaps a key objective in the summer though is to find a right back who is both fantastic at attacking but can make a high amount of tackles if and when we need him to. At left back FRANCK TABANOU quickly came in and established himself as perhaps the best left back at the club and contributing 9 assists there too was fantastic. He has been a very good signing for us and if he can keep up his good form then he will be quality again next season and hopefully our defence will be just as strong. BENJAMIN MENDY played quite a bit of football again this season which was brilliant and he is continuing to develop into a very good footballer. Again though the only thing he needs to improve is his discipline because that red card against Lille was unacceptable and unfortunately has probably cost us the Ligue 1 title because we would have won the game against Lille if we had 11 men on the field because we were the better side. However we’re going to keep persisting with him, because if he plays as well as he does when we use him then he will be a very good left back.
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Defensively we have been fantastic this season and it has been brilliant to watch, absolutely brilliant. LOIC PERRIN and DENNIS APPIAH were the two defenders chosen most often this season for one good reason; they were extremely solid when they played together. During that integral run at the end of the season that nearly saw us lift the Ligue 1 title, those two were the two players that played together at the heart of our defence and with Perrin fulfilling his captaincy duties our defence was fantastic and that is why we kept so many clean sheets during the end of the season. Appiah is now being scouted quite heavily by several big clubs such as FC Porto and Juventus after being linked with a move to the Premier League in January, but we are going to try our absolute best to keep hold of both of them because in theory they should be our central defensive pairing at the start of the new season. Seeing that KARIM REKIK made 19 appearances was extremely surprising as he was a player that never felt right for the club this season as his development was stunted by the emergence of Appiah and Perrin as our defensive pairing, and although he was solid he never hit the extreme heights that were predicted of him at the start of my reign in charge of Marseille, and we have already received offers for him to leave the club and this seems likely to happen. This means that there will now be two central defender vacancies in the squad as ADIL RAMI will be returning to Sevilla at the end of the season. He was never too disappointing although like his predecessor, Rolando before him, he was quite error prone at the start of the season and certain games may well have gone better if he hadn’t made those mistakes and as such his loan move will not be being made permanent and a replacement will be found during the course of the summer. FLORENTIN POGBA was a player that was bought in to add an extra element of cover in case things ever got that bad injury or suspension wise although it did at one point look like he was going to become a big player for us although when Appiah and Perrin started to begin their incredible understanding Pogba’s chances were always going to be limited. Unless he declares that he wants to leave or an offer that is deemed acceptable is received, he will still be here next season though and will be hoping to earn more chances in the First Team. STEPHANE SPARAGNA was bought back amidst a potential injury crisis and always did his duties well when called upon in the 2 games he played in and will be hoping to move up the pecking order in the coming season if he isn’t loaned out again like he had been earlier in the season.
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In defensive midfield we’ve had another good year, although it is perhaps a position where we could have done a bit better. TIEMOUE BAKAYOKO has been an absolute gem and achieving a 7.16 average rating in 41 appearances is brilliant to see. He never seemed to put a foot wrong, despite his sending off in the 9th round of the Coupe de France. His tackling and passing always seemed to be absolutely phenomenal which was great to see and so far has been a very astute signing, especially when you consider how cheaply we signed him for. Where we could have done better though perhaps is the other two players. LASSANA DIARRA never seemed to hit the heights that he did in his first season at the club, although this may have something to do with injuries, though his appearance stats do suggest he was quite regular. If he can reach the heights of the 2015-2016 season though he can still be an integral part of the team moving forward. ALAIXYS ROMAO though didn’t have anywhere near as good a season this year as he did last season which was disappointing and will be moved on in the summer as he reaches the twilight years of his career as we need to start looking at blooding a younger player in for this position as Diarra is also reaching the end of his career and is still so highly rated. With Romao likely to leave, a replacement will be required and Marseille scouts have been out watching several players suitable to this position since January so a new arrival is very much likely here.
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As for our central midfielders it has been a very good season indeed. JONAS MARTIN has been an absolute gem of a signing and has been an absolute star of this team. Whenever he played this year, he raised the team’s level up another notch and has undoubtedly become a key player at the Stade Velodrome, even when you don’t include the fact that he’s the new vice-captain of the club. 6 goals and 1 assist don’t reflect just how good he was, and I am delighted with those stats for someone in their first season and if he can add more assists next season then he will be a star for us again. The amount of key passes he’s played for us this season has been brilliant and his eye for a pass was mesmerising and it will be surprising if he’s not looked at by bigger clubs. MARIO LEMINA has been another quality addition to the club and I am so thankful that Juventus didn’t activate the release clause in his loan contract. He scored three goals and assisted 5 during his first season as a part of my team, and he quickly became a key player. If he can continue to develop into the player I think he could be, we’re going to have one hell of a good midfielder at the club in the future, and hopefully we can keep hold of him for the near future. ABOU DIABY had a relatively good season although he spent a lot of time injured or struggling to come back from injury. Then whenever he was available and he didn’t play because of the emergence of our regular central midfield pairing he was often frustrated at his lack of game time, and wanting to leave. When he did play though he did have good games and would often boss the midfield, something that comes with his age and experience which was a delight to see and 3 goals and 3 assists is a relatively good set of stats for the amount of appearances he made. However I did tell him I would grant him his wish to leave so it looks likely that he will be at another club come the end of the summer so a replacement will be needed, and hopefully MOUSA DEMBELE can not only be a replacement for him, but also an improvement. ABDELAZIZ BARRADA, despite having a good season last year, didn’t have the best of years this year. Most of this though was down to the fact that he had long term injuries and never seemed to get back to a level of fitness where he could become a regular first team player. He will be staying though and fighting for a place in the team because he is still a very good player and hopefully will still contribute massively to any successes we have next year, and he certainly laid the foundations for that this year, laying on 4 goals for his team mates. CHARLES ARANGUIZ was signed on loan in January as cover for Mario Lemina who went to the African Cup of Nations and did a very good job whenever he was called upon, making 18 appearances for us during the second half of the season. Unfortunately for him, he never impressed to the level where I would consider him for a permanent place at the club and it looks like he’ll be playing for another new club next season, and I don’t think we’d be able to afford his wages either especially as he plays for one of the bigger clubs in the Bundesliga. In terms of summer activity Mousa Dembele is likely to be the only new addition to this part of the pitch, MAXIME LOPEZ is going to be in and around the first team next season to add some more youth academy graduates in the team. The only way in which there may be another new addition is if someone like Barrada asks to leave for more first team football or if someone comes in for an offer for Lemina or Martin that we either can’t refuse or turns the players head and makes them want to move to a bigger club.
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The way we set up definitely allows our line up to form a front three rather than 2 wingers and a striker, as the way the two players who are supposed to be wingers tend to drift inside and be our top scorers at this club. This is fantastic because it means we are a force to reckon with going forward and we can operate with a level of respect from the other teams. Unfortunately in one way, REMY CABELLA has had another magnificent season, and the big clubs are circling around his head like vultures with Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid all expressing interest in him, and sending scouts to watch him. 23 goals and 24 assists are brilliant statistics and he is easily the best player at the club, and it is a shame that we look likely to lose our most creative player for the second summer in three. He scored a lot of important goals for us and seemed to be involved in everything we did well when we went forward this season and it was a delight to watch. If Cabella does leave, then it means a replacement will most likely be needed, although with GEORGES-KEVIN NKOUDOU coming back from his loan spell at Kayserispor, he could well slip back into our squad and see us move LUCAS OCAMPOS onto the right wing. Ocampos, then, perhaps didn’t have as good a season this year as he did last, but if we can continue to nurture him in the right way, and if Cabella leaves he could be a huge player for us next year. He was kept out of the side by the brilliance of the other players above him and he’ll be hoping to get more first team football next season. Despite this he still contributed with 15 goals and 4 assists, even if 7 goals did come in the Coupe de France tie in the 9th round. However if he continue to reach figures like this for the foreseeable then he’s going to be a great player for the club. ROMAIN ALESSANDRINI has been absolutely brilliant this year, and whilst he was very good for us last season, he has taken those performance levels to another level this year. 20 goals and 5 assists is great to see, and if he can keep that up and add more assists next season, then we will definitely be a force to be reckoned with next year. Keeping Alessandrini is a must this summer, especially if we lose Cabella as expected, because he will slot right in as the first choice left winger, and will hopefully give Nkoudou an edge too as competition for places heats up. As for JUAN MANUEL ITURBE he has had a good season on loan, and will be very grateful for the football he has played. His pace has been fantastic to watch and he has torn defences apart this season and although he has only scored twice and set up three, he has still had a very good year, and I am pleased with how well he has done. He might be going back to Roma, but if Cabella is to leave, at some point during the summer we may have a look at bringing him back either on loan or on a permanent deal because he did impress.
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Our out and out forwards is an area that is going to need some real improvement and some hard work is going to be put into improving it during the summer transfer window. Of the four strikers used in our Matchday squads this season MICHY BATSHUAYI will be the only one still here next season. He has been very impressive and was a crucial part of the team during our big run of form which almost powered us to the title, and 18 goals is a good return and he if can improve on that next season then we will be in for another good season. To grab 9 assists as well is really good and the part he plays in our build up play is really effective and that’s where the assists are coming from. EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR has played a fair bit of football for us this season and whilst he scored quite a few in the initial parts of the season his goals tailed off when he we played him at the end of the season which was disappointing and it was almost like his ability dropped off because of his age during the course of the second half of the season. To grab 9 goals though was a relatively good return for a second choice striker and he will leave us on a high, and he has been a good servant for the club. His departure to Lekhwiya will see him hopefully be successful at a lower standard of football, and will also leave a place free in the squad, and a new striker will be signed to replace him with scouts watching several players. MAURO ZARATE returning from injury was fantastic and he came back in and made an impact, scoring every time he was picked for the first couple of games, but he was never able to replicate that form after that initial burst and as such he wasn’t chosen as much as Adebayor because he simply wasn’t good enough. Because of the drop in quality he will be moved on in the summer, which is unfortunate that a big part of his time at Marseille has been blighted by a nasty injury, but another new forward will be coming through the door and so our frontline could have a very different look going into next season. Finally JEREMIE PORSAN-CLEMENTE, will also be leaving the club this season as he has refused to sign a new contract as he wants to play more first team football. He never improved in the areas we needed him to, to find a place in the squad, and with him rejecting a new contract at the club, his time at the club is over, and his future will lie somewhere else, although hopefully he can develop into the quality of striker our coaches seemed to think he could be.
Overall Rating
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Overall we’ve had a very good season. At the start of the year I never expected us to mount as serious a title challenge as we did, but we came very close. Especially after the start we made where we were struggling really to gain any momentum and we were flirting between the top 6 and a mid-table finish, so to come out at the end of the season and be serious contenders for the Ligue 1 Title was fantastic. The squad then is going to need some addressing in the summer and there are areas we are going to work on, and areas where I fear we may be forced into working on because our key players are going to be targeted this year. It is clear now though, that after 2 seasons, our key players are always going to be our forward three, composed of two wingers and a forward, and the players we’ve played in those positions this season have been absolutely devastating. Having said that, we have oozed quality throughout the squad, proving that we can compete with the best as we have had brilliant results against PSG and AC Milan, and came very, very close to eliminating Man City in the Europa League. Jonas Martin has come in and already established himself as a key central midfielder as has Mario Lemina after a year learning his trade at Juventus. To bring in a top quality player in Mousa Dembele as well means we now have three players in there that would get in to any team in the league, as well as some very good rotation players. Defensively we have been a lot stronger this year than last, and hopefully we can keep up that fantastic defensive work next season, and Loic Perrin can continue to excel, because he seemed to get better throughout the season. In goal, we’ve had a bit of a weird spell since taking over at the club, but hopefully now the path is clear for Brice Samba to become number 1 for a long time. Hopefully next season then, we can continue the progress we have made. We’re obviously in the Champions League Group Stage which is fantastic and we can’t wait to get started there. Progress for us next year will of course to win a trophy again. To miss out on all 4 when it looked like we could win all 4 was gut wrenching but we will improve this summer, and come back fresh next season and hopefully mount a serious challenge for some silverware.
