Stade Rennais 16/17 Season Discussion

New York Breton · 10-08-2016 18:38:19

Hello friends, it's that time again. Hope springs eternal. New season, new coach, clean slate. How is everyone feeling about the upcoming campaign? Personally I just want to see the team qualify for Europe, however possible. Of course a cup win would be fantastic, but I'd be happy with a 4th or 5th place finish and Europa League next year.

Here's our schedule for the first half of the season, with a couple extra home games:

14/08/16       Nice - Rennes
20/08/16       Rennes - Nancy
27/08/16       Montpellier - Rennes
09/09/16       Rennes - Caen
16/09/16       Monaco - Rennes
20/09/16       Rennes - Olympique Marseille
23/09/16       Dijon - Rennes
30/09/16       Rennes - Guingamp
14/10/16       Rennes - Bordeaux
21/10/16       Nantes - Rennes
28/10/16       Rennes - Metz
04/11/16       PSG - Rennes
18/11/16       Rennes - Angers
25/11/16       Rennes - Toulouse
29/11/16       Lorient - Rennes
02/12/16       Rennes - Saint - Étienne
09/12/16       Olympique Lyonnais - Rennes
16/12/16       Rennes - Bastia
20/12/16       Lille - Rennes

Dernière édition de: New York Breton (10-08-2016 18:39:04)

MichaelBBack · 11-08-2016 00:36:11

Aha thanks for making the thread! All week long I've been thinking "Hmm shall I start that today.. no I'll wait till tomorrow."

I think we're in for an interesting season. A lot of people are saying we'll need to be patient, that it'll be a "transitional year", but I'm a little more hopeful. I think if the Gourcuff effect can take hold quickly, we do have the squad and the coach to push for a spot in the top 6. Maybe we still need to lose a few players and possibly add one or two to spice up the attack, but I'm feeling pretty positive in general. Looking around the rest of the league, some teams have gotten stronger but others (Nice, for example) have lost a lot of talent. We've stayed pretty stable. The additions of Chantome and Bensebaini are particularly exciting for me. And if we can get Ntep and Gourcuff fit and firing, that'll be like having two brand new signings in the team. I also feel like this could be a good year for Erasmus. He's been used a lot in pre-season and has looked very good whenever I've watched him, so that's almost like having another new player as well.

Overall, like you, I just hope that we make it into Europe. I don't really care how it happens, as long as it happens. A cup run would be good. And honestly I think maybe, now that Zlatan has gone, the idea of PSG winning absolutely everything might be a little less likely... but we'll see. They are still way better than everyone else, so I guess the most likely route into Europe is still to try and finish top 4/5, and I do think we're capable of that. Obviously, our home form needs to drastically improve from last year. I think the Rennes fans deserve to see good games and I hope the team will be able to provide that. I think it's definitely possible. We just need a bit of luck and we need those guys like Ntep/Gourcuff/Grosicki to stay healthy and have good seasons.

Looking at the start of the season, we have a few early tests. I'm kinda glad we're playing Nice away first, as it feels like this is a good time to get that match out of the way, before Nice start to strengthen and find some rhythm under their new manager. Montpellier and Monaco away won't be easy either, so we need to make those early home games count.

Glasgow_Celtic · 11-08-2016 01:25:42

Michael pretty much summed it up for me. However, I still think we need another striker - a recognised good striker with a track record. Pre season suggests Gourcuff is happy to play Erasmus up front but also Ntep and Saïd as well in the striker position. I'm not happy with PGN being pushed into an unnatural position and the jury is still out on Saïd and Erasmus as strikes in the first team of the club.

Appointing Mendes as captain is another big call from Gourcuff, especially taking it off someone like Danzé, so it is a big move by the new manager. He must think Mendes and Mexer are the two centre-backs with Afonso at left-back and Zeffane or Moreira right-back.

MichaelBBack · 11-08-2016 16:10:26

I'm not too happy about the idea of Ntep being played up top either. It could work but I feel like we wouldn't be getting the best out of him. And, as you say, Said and Erasmus are big question marks. It feels a bit risky to go into a season banking our goalscoring hopes on two guys who have never really played in Ligue 1 (plus Sio). Right now I'm praying the Aboubakar rumours could be true. That'd be such a big signing for us. A 15 goal per season striker like that could be the difference-maker that would help us finish in the European spots.

Yeah about the captaincy, I have mixed feelings. I like Danzé. I think he's a really nice guy and still the best right back we've got. It's rare to see players like him who stick around at one club for their entire careers, so it's a bit hard to see him lose the armband, but I do like Mendes and am glad to see that Gourcuff appreciates him too. Logically, that means that Mendes and Mexer are the main defensive partnership, with a nice mixture of youth and experience on the bench in Bensebaini and Armand. I think we're pretty solid in that area, but I'm still not sold on Moreira as the first-choice right back. He's really never managed to impress me and Danzé just seems so much cooler and calmer in defensive situations and on the ball. The one advantage Moreira has is youth.. maybe Christian can get the best out of him. We'll see.

New York Breton · 20-08-2016 18:23:38

Michael, you're absolutely right that we're thin up front. Aboubakar would be great, not sure if that rumor is still going around, but we need an experienced forward (preferably a big, clinical target man).

One of the biggest takeaways from the first match was that Moreira still isn't a Ligue 1 caliber player. And he probably won't be either...at 22 years old in this game, you pretty much are what you are. I cringe every time I see him in the lineup or warming up on the touch line facepalm

Despite the loss, Moreira was really the only negative I took from the match. Loved Gourcuff's 4-4-2, the passing was sharp, and the midfield was cohesive in a way that we never really saw under Montanier. I don't believe in "good" losses or moral victories, but this was about as close as it gets for me.

Wesley Said was really impressive! His physicality, demeanor, and maturity were night and day compared to the last time we saw him. How long has it been since we last saw him in red and black? 2 years? 3? It seems like he grew up and became a man since. Way to go Wesley.

For today against Nancy, anything short of the 3 points would be really disappointing. I have high hopes for this year with Papa and Fils Gourcuff! Then again, I find a reason to have high hopes every August biglol

MichaelBBack · 22-08-2016 12:03:32

Yeah the whole Aboubakar thing seems to have faded away a little in the last week. We definitely need to bring someone in though, I think. Yoann Gourcuff is playing really well and he could work wonders with a proper, clinical striker alongside him. Sio has been okay in these first two games but for me, he's still more of a support striker, and can't be relied upon as the main goalscorer for a team like Rennes. He just doesn't look capable of scoring a lot of goals and we can't go through a whole season with him as our main man. He did score on Saturday but he also wasted 2 or 3 other solid chances that guys like Aboubakar would probably have finished.

Totally in agreement about Moreira. I don't have anything against him but he's never looked good enough to play in this league, let alone at a club that wants to finish near the top and play in European competitions. When I got to the stadium on Saturday night and saw Danzé warming up with the rest of the team instead of Moreira, I felt so relieved.

I think we played a good game against Nancy. We did do well against Nice and didn't deserve to lose, so I'm glad the team was able to bounce back positively for the second game. It wasn't perfect but there was some nice movement, fluidity in the formation, and a couple of good goals. I think Bensebaini looks brilliant. Obviously, it's a bit earlier to be judging players, and we'll have to see how he does against better opposition, but he was so cool and calm on Saturday night. Yoann was fantastic as well and Danzé had an excellent game. Said was a little bit disappointing. He did well against Nice but didn't really seem to be able to get involved too much against Nancy. He's still young though and I'm sure he'll be given more chances. Already, we're starting to see Christian putting his mark on the team and I think we do have plenty of reasons to be optimistic this season. Still need to sell a few players and bring a couple of new faces in, but I'm feeling pretty excited.

Next game: Montpellier. Like us, they've won one game and lost one. I've only seen parts of their first two games, so I can't be 100% sure, but I don't think they've been playing too well so far this season. They narrowly beat Angers and then were dominated for large parts of their 3-1 loss to St Etienne at the weekend. This game is winnable. Looking forward to seeing how we do. Another 3 points would be fantastic.

Glasgow_Celtic · 22-08-2016 15:02:15

Can only echo the sentiments from both of you. I don't think Said can cut it playing out wide left - he's a striker first and foremost and I wouldn't say his dribbling or crossing ability is anything special. He also doesn't have that drive or lightening fast pace which Ntep has and makes full use of, so I'm hoping PGN comes back ASAP although a move away seems to be on the cards.

Moreira is hopeless in my opinion. I don't see what he brings to the team other than giving us fans heart in mouth moments. I never trust him to win against a winger one-on-one in a battle and he just seems too feeble and is a definite weak link. Someone on the French section of this forum said that Moreira thinks he's Dani Alvez when he isn't and doesn't seem to know his limits either. Whereas Danzé knows his limits and has that brain and experience to work with it and sort the problems out.

New York Breton · 22-08-2016 21:50:32

Toivonen will be sorely missed if we don't find a replacement by month's end. I saw OM got Gomis on loan. That's the move we should have made. We need that kind of striker. And we need to KEEP Grosicki!

Glasgow_Celtic · 22-08-2016 22:14:20

lol

We won't miss Toivonen in any eventuality, he's lazy and rank rotten.

New York Breton · 22-08-2016 23:35:30

I'll give you lazy, but when he's enjoying his football he's a top 5 striker in the league. Remember when he first got here?

MichaelBBack · 23-08-2016 19:36:29

It's true that Toivonen had some excellent games in his first few months at the club. He seemed unstoppable in the early days and scored some great goals, but the consistency wasn't there. Like you say, when he's on fire, he's a top player. The trouble is that he was never really on fire long enough to have a consistent impact. He has the ability to dominate a game, but is just as likely to walk around and kinda do nothing for 90 minutes. Maybe Christian Gourcuff could've gotten more out of him.

If we don't bring another striker in, I think we'll definitely regret letting him go. He could have been a good player to have on the bench to offer some competition for Sio. God knows we need some competition in the striker department.

I agree about Gomis too. When I first heard that he wanted to go back to France, I thought it'd be a real coup if we managed to get him at Rennes. He didn't exactly light up the Premier League, but he's a big, strong guy who has always scored plenty of goals in Ligue 1. I think that's what we need. An experienced striker. Sure, it'd be exciting to try one of these 21/22 year old kids from Spain or Brazil or something, but right now I think we just need a guy who has proven himself and has a good goalscoring record throughout his career. Someone who can help to lead the team and maybe inspire some of the younger players to step up. Obviously, it's easier said than done to find that sort of striker, but we did get a lot of money from Dembélé and we've barely spent any cash at all so far. In terms of attacking players, we've lost Dembélé, Hosiner, Toivonen, Boga and Abdoulaye Sané. And we haven't bought a single replacement.

The transfer window has been pretty rough in general really. Especially these last couple of weeks. First the newspapers were saying Osvaldo and Odegaard were coming. Then Osvaldo was cancelled. Now Odegaard isn't happening either. I hope we get some good news soon.

New York Breton · 24-08-2016 00:57:19

Hey, Mario Balotelli's looking for a club...we could have a completely fictional strike partnership

Roudoudou · 24-08-2016 10:04:21

He will just help FCN sink !

MichaelBBack · 25-08-2016 22:57:14

It's not official yet so I don't want to jinx anything but... *whisper* Moreira is leaving!

Ohhh yeaaaah

Edit: Don't want to double post, but I'd like to comment on our transfer window, now that deadline day has come and gone. Obviously, I think we have every right to feel a little disappointed. I know I do. I think that, at least on paper, we're really light in attack. Especially when we consider that guys like Gourcuff and Ntep are very injury-prone, Kamil might be a little disinterested after what happened with Burnley, and Sio picks up a lot of yellow cards. If we encounter any injuries or suspensions, I think we'll end up needlessly dropping points and losing games. That sort of scenario could have been avoided with just one or two reinforcements. All we needed was a striker and a winger.

Still, it didn't happen and we have to deal with it as well as we can. I still have faith in Christian to do what he does and give some younger players a chance. I was glad to see Hunou stay at the club and hope he gets an opportunity to show what he can do. I also hope we see a bit more of Kermit Erasmus in games, as I don't think he's being given enough time so far this season.

Concerning the whole Kamil to Burnley debacle, I don't really know what to think. There are a few conflicting reports, so I don't want to blame anybody, but it's a bit of a frustrating story whichever way you look at it. He's a good player to have on our side, I just hope that he can get over what happened and give everything he's got for the club going forward. I think the worst part about it is that the club was seemingly happy to let him go without even thinking about replacing him. I really don't know how anyone could think that we'd be fine starting Pedro Henrique every game, without any genuine replacement. It shows a real lack of ambition.

Still! Let's stay positive. At least we managed to hold onto most of our big players. We lost Dembélé, but Ntep, Costil, André, Mexer, Gourcuff and Grosicki are all still here. Big game at the weekend against Caen. They've had a good start to the season, so it'll be tough. I remember this fixture last season and it was a really exciting and frustrating game. Quintero scored his only goal and we had a huge amount of shots and nearly 70% possession but the ball just wouldn't go in for the winner. Hopefully this year we'll see a victory. 3 points would move us above Caen and provide a big morale boost to the team and the fans, especially after a pretty lacklustre end to the transfer window. Fingers crossed!

Dernière édition de: MichaelBBack (04-09-2016 12:26:53)

New York Breton · 15-09-2016 03:15:47

Disappointing transfer window. True, we didn't lose anyone, but we really could have used a striker. Balotelli going to Nice adds insult to injury, especially after banging in 2 on his debut. Watch him finish as a top 5 goal scorer this season. Correct me if I'm wrong - aren't we set to lose both Sio and Erasmus in January for the African Cup? This is the thinnest the squad has been up front in a long time.

That being said... I'm also predicting Wesley Said to be the revelation of the year. He may not have been brilliant on Sunday, but he scored an important goal. He's matured tremendously in his time away, and can continue to contribute as long as he gets playing time. Good win on Sunday!

Zoub' · 15-09-2016 15:20:38

Hey smile

Do you really consider the fact of Giovanni Sio going to the CAN a "loss"? Cause i don't smile
For information, Ivory Coast is qualified but there will be no South Africa. Also, according to Christian Gourcuff, the plan is to set Paul-Georges N'Tep at the forward position, so in January N'Tep will be able to replace Sio. In any case he will be the only one going to the competition with Bensebaini. This is not a bad thing comparing with some other clubs (Lorient will be losing Moukandjo and Waris).

New York Breton · 15-09-2016 19:31:41

As much as Sio drives me crazy, it's only addition by subtraction if there's someone competent to replace him. Who knows - maybe Diakhaby is the real deal. I'd rather see Ntep stay on the wing where he can really shine. I see the French section of the forum is really pessimistic about this year, consensus seems to be no shot whatsoever at European football next year. What does the R&B Corner think? hmm

Zoub' · 16-09-2016 09:39:42

Diakhaby, Saïd, N'tep and Erasmus might be options, even if first two ones will play on the wings while N'Tep will play as a forward.

Glasgow_Celtic · 16-09-2016 13:10:38

I think we've actually played some decent stuff this season and I don't understand why the French are so pessimistic on here. We're playing with some good structure and strong attacking play. Still a bit soft at the back but that will come with Bensebaini (who I think's been a revelation) become the potential number one stopper at the club.

If SA even did qualify for the Cup of Nations, Erasmus wouldn't be picked, and even if he was I don't think he would go based on past comments.

Zoub' · 16-09-2016 14:23:07

At the contrary, I consider that our defence, thanks to the team organisation is our main force. We have a lack of creativity in our attacks, as our best players are just beginning to get back on the pitch (Gourcuff, N'Tep) or injured and mentally not ready to play (Grosicki).
Honestly, our team has one of the 5 greatest goalkeepers of the championship. I put in this group Enyeama, Lopes, Subasic and Ruffier.
Danzé is one of the most regular right wing defender i've known in the championship. He doesn't do great games but we know what to wait from him. Our pair of centrals is good with Mexer, whom I love, and Mendes. Baal might be the weakest point of our defense. André & Fernandes get along pretty well, work good together, and are pretty efficient in their tasks. On the wings it is more difficult because our two wingmen are missing (although i think N'Tep will play at a central forward position). Pedro Henrique looks really dizzy during the matches, Baal is clearly not an attack player but might be useful when Bensebaini plays behind him, Saïd is still young and will need to "muscle his game" and Diakhaby discovers the competition. And Sio makes some Sio stuff, so we can't say he belongs to the best forwards of the Ligue 1.

Then we have our two X factors: Bensebaini & Gourcuff. Gourcuff is our best player but he is still sweet in the contacts with oponents. And Bensebaini has shown that he can play at 3 different positions(CD,LD,LDM).
Also i consider that our bench is weak but this is a minor problem as the tactical gives more importance to the teamwork than to the individualities.

When we take only the players, i think our defense is our best force during games, and this statement is, in my opinion, reinforced by the tactical, which gives a good defensive stability but need a high creativity on the wings for attack phases.

Dernière édition de: Zoub' (16-09-2016 14:24:38)

KantBZH · 16-09-2016 14:35:28

Zoub', the guy who's training himself to complete a TOIC or TOEFL exam soon. mrgreen

Zoub' · 16-09-2016 15:03:25

Thank you for reminding me. I was actually thinking about trying to pass one of them. I don't know if I will do it this year or not. But you are out of the subject here my dear wink

Glasgow_Celtic · 16-09-2016 19:16:33

Zoub' a écrit:

At the contrary, I consider that our defence, thanks to the team organisation is our main force. We have a lack of creativity in our attacks, as our best players are just beginning to get back on the pitch (Gourcuff, N'Tep) or injured and mentally not ready to play (Grosicki).
Honestly, our team has one of the 5 greatest goalkeepers of the championship. I put in this group Enyeama, Lopes, Subasic and Ruffier.
Danzé is one of the most regular right wing defender i've known in the championship. He doesn't do great games but we know what to wait from him. Our pair of centrals is good with Mexer, whom I love, and Mendes. Baal might be the weakest point of our defense.
Then we have our two X factors: Bensebaini & Gourcuff. Gourcuff is our best player but he is still sweet in the contacts with oponents. And Bensebaini has shown that he can play at 3 different positions(CD,LD,LDM).
When we take only the players, i think our defense is our best force during games, and this statement is, in my opinion, reinforced by the tactical, which gives a good defensive stability but need a high creativity on the wings for attack phases.

Perhaps I was too harsh on the defence in my previous post, however there are clear weaknesses at crossed balls and set pieces.

Dernière édition de: Glasgow_Celtic (16-09-2016 19:20:51)

MichaelBBack · 16-09-2016 21:54:57

I agree that there's quite a bit of seemingly unnecessary pessimism floating around. I suppose it's just that the fans of the club have been burned too many times and new systems/managers take time to gel, so nobody wants to get too far ahead of themselves. I think people are just being pragmatic by saying that we don't have much of a shot at Europe, but honestly I do think we still have a right to be optimistic; we've played some very good football so far and it's not out of the question to suggest that we could at least put up a fight for the top 6 this season, if things keep going to plan.

I was at the Caen game and really liked what I saw. We had a few slow periods and a lack of creativity from time to time, but we scored two good goals and I think the return of Ntep is really, really excellent news for everyone. His first little touch of the ball was sublime and he picked up an assist at the end. Guys like Prcic and Hunou are now getting back into the group, which gives us a few more options, and I agree with Zoub that our defence has been very impressive. Danzé has been brilliant. Bensebaini is, without a doubt, one of the best signings we've made in quite a while. Mendes and Mexer are looking great and Baal has been stepping up too. Connor is right that we can struggle with set pieces, but we still (for the moment) have the strongest defence in the league, and that's not bad.

Having said all that, I'm not feeling too optimistic about this weekend's game. Monaco are looking REALLY good right now and it'll be very hard to keep them out. Yoann is also not in the group, so that's a big loss. We need big games from Costil and all of the defence if we want to come back home with at least a point. I'm looking forward to watching it, but I won't be too disappointed if we lose. I just hope we put up a good fight.

Zoub' · 17-09-2016 12:53:39

You've said everything MichaelBBack. We know that we won't win any title with Christian Gourcuff. But thanks to his methods, his tactical etc, he will bring the Stade Rennes back in the first third of the championship. The coherence is the main word in what he does. The players seem happy to work with him, understand quickly what the coach wants, even if there are many players under contract. For the moment, his management is quite good, because we don't know any player that destroy the group or the team because he wants to play more. At least we see some disappointment (Costil & Grosicki because they didn't leave the club, N'tep because he wanted to play more than ten minutes against Caen, Nardi because he came to be the first goalkeeper) but there is no player that has made a "Delort".

From a game point of view, what i've seen against Montpellier and Caen was appreciable. Good sequences happened and we have now to work on holding this level during 90 minutes. But i am pretty confident in it.

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Stade Rennais 16/17 Season Discussion

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