Paris is perhaps the most productive city for player development in the world. But could you beat one of the richest, most global clubs in football using only players from the City of Lights? Martin Vert has been set that challenge.

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May ’24

“We’re not finished yet”.

It’s a bucket of cold water on my good feeling. We performed heroically last season, and we enjoyed ourselves. But we shouldn’t have.

The voice is right. For all the celebrating, we’re not finished yet. Our goal isn’t to finish second, our goal is to topple PSG. And there is a long way to go to achieve that. They finished 16 points ahead of us last time out.

We’re not getting ahead of ourselves either. We may have finished second, but we were incredibly lucky. We struggled in front of goal, and despite our excellent defensive record, we weren’t particularly good at the back. We had one, single, shining performer. Yahia Fofana kept out a whopping 25 expected goals last season, by some distance the highest in Ligue 1. The median in the division was 2. So with an average goalkeeper, we wouldn’t have conceded a meagre 29 goals, but a catastrophic 52. By rights, we shouldn’t have been anywhere near the European places. We should have been safe, but in that relegation conversation. The board know that, and our expectation for this season is simply to avoid relegation again. There’s work to do here.

That begins with me. I only really settled on my best team in the final months of last season. I was too determined to have a left-footed centre-back, which meant Mike Cestor played well beyond when he should. He’s the wrong side of 30, he has a long-term injury, and it’s probably time we move on. On top of that, I wasn’t especially convinced by the defensive replacements I had, as well as needing improvements elsewhere. I pull out the whiteboard again. At least we can start with a world class goalkeeper.

Well, shit.

I try to convince Yahia that we are on the road to trophies, to success, but he won’t listen. What happened to the smiling, carefree hero of our Ligue 2 campaign? I’m devastated, but I’m not willing to let him go yet. He might turn the dressing room against me, but if you sell your best players without replacements, you’ll get relegated.

First through the door in what needs to be another busy transfer window is Yassine Benrahou from Ligue 2 Nimes. He’s a technical player with versatility who could fill in across the midfield, but will mainly be competition for Brahimi. Fomba is pretty set as the other Mezzala and, although Barreto is getting on a bit, his technical ability means we’ll keep him in reserve, unless something better leaps out at us.

Brandon Soppy is next through the door, from relegated Lorient. He’s not the player he should be, not really building on the promise he showed when he came through at Rennes a few years ago. But then, if he had, he probably wouldn’t be coming to Red Star. He’s a better backup that Daury, and still young enough to develop.

Left back Mathieu Goncalves is next through the door. He also joins us from Lorient, so he and Soppy should know each other well. He is a significant upgrade on Senzemba, and likes to get forward, which should mean he fits our style of play well.

Alongside the incomings, we’ve got some deadwood to get rid of. Top of that list is Tristan Muyumba, who played just five times for us, wasn’t very good, and then kicked up a fuss when he didn’t win player of the month or something. Dunkerque offered us €100k and we’ll gratefully accept it. Good riddance.

We also have a new Head of Youth Development. Wim Jonk will bring some Dutch expertise to the academy, which can only be a good thing, and he is a proponent of the 4-3-3 we like. Steve also informs me that he has increased the budget so that we can have four physios, rather than two. I’m not being funny, but Steve, we need a striker, not a doctor!

Less frustratingly, Christ Mukelenge agrees to extend his loan. He had an injury, which hindered his progress here last season, but what we saw, we liked. He is very welcome to develop further at the Bauer. Alexandre Letellier joins as well, from Caen on a free transfer. He is an experienced goalkeeper who has come in as a backup, but could do a job if Fofana’s complaints become too much. Alongside Letellier is Matthieu Huard, a left back from Cittadella who came through the impressive Rennes academy. He will probably be our first choice, meaning Diarra can shift inside and become the centre back I always intended him to be.

Alongside Fofana, Steve N’Goura seems to have got ideas above his station as well. Which is a surprise, because by anybody’s standards he’s been a disappointment. I can’t get him to agree to stay, so it’s probably for the best when Marseille offer us €2m for him. It’s one that could come back to haunt me – he undoubtedly had potential – but it’s an immediate concern out of the way.

Of course, that does leave a hole up top. Tattevin will lead the line again – he did well when he got his run in the team – but in reserve will be Lucas Daclinet, brought in for €350k from Toulouse. He’s got different stats to N’Goura – less out-and-out striker and better and running into the channels – so we’ll see how it goes.

As for the preseason friendlies, it’s time to get back to basics. Which means, around a preseason tour of Portugal (Fabio Barroso feels right at home) we are squeezing in 12 games. By the time the first game of Ligue 1 comes around, these players will know the system and each other backwards. It served us well in the Championnat National, and we can’t rely on Fofana to haul us up the table again so fitness is paramount.

All in all, the games go well. We score a lot of goals, don’t concede many, and do well against a mix of opponents. More importantly, we head into the season with almost 100% familiarity and only a niggle to Thibault Erhling to add to Cestor’s long term injury. And, just to add to the good feeling, Yahia Fofana agrees a sensible transfer fee. After knocking back bids around the €5m mark, he makes me agree to a €20m promise to sell. Which cheers him up and, with the bids where they are, is fine by me.

August ’24

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