Reims Season Preview 2013/14

Could this be a Champagne season for Reims?

GK and defence

Reims don’t have a bad goalkeeping situation. Kossi Agassa proved himself last season in Ligue 1 and had some very strong games in between the sticks. Johnny Placide will eventually take over the no1 spot but not this season, he’s a more than able deputy. The defence will stay exactly the same as last season, minus the departure of Pape Soaure who returns to Lille after his loan spell. Reims don’t really have an exceptional player at the back here, but at the same time they have some solid guys who’ll do a good enough job. The likes of Weber, Tacalfred, Glombard and Signorino all had decent years last season, whilst Fofana and Mandi are more than able too. Maybe they lack a bit of depth, but Krychowiak can play CDEF if required which helps their cause. Without being spectacular, this should be a reasonable enough defence. Everyone knows each other extremely well which is a big positive factor.

Rating 6/10

Midfield

Reims don’t look too bad in midfield either where they will be spearheaded by Grzegorz Krychowiak who is easily their best player in the whole squad. The Polish international is a formidable force and will often drive them on when times are tough. Reims have upgraded in this department, clearly deciding that a supporting case of Devaux, Ghisolfi and Ca wasn’t good enough. Johan Ramare has departed which might not be the worst of things because he’s only a borderline Ligue1/ Ligue2 quality player. They have signed Prince Oniangue from Tours, someone who is now ready for the top flight after impressing the last few seasons. Mads Albaek has been signed in from Denmark too, an adaptable midfielder who can literally play anywhere. He looks to be a useful prospect. Reims won’t always employ a wingers system so its important they have some reasonable wide midfielders. Thankfully this is the case and they look fairly well set in midfield overall. Because of Krychowiak, this has to be classed as their strongest area.

Rating 7/10

Attack

This is perhaps a slightly worrying department for Reims. The biggest concern is over star winger Diego Rigonato who will likely be out until October or November with a torn patellar tendon. This is a very difficult injury to recover from and he may never come back the same. Realistically, he isn’t going to be anywhere near full fitness until after the winter break, so Reims will miss him for effectively half a campaign. One problem the Champagne side had last season was scoring goals. They just didn’t possess a striker who would regularly find the back of the net. To aid them this year they’ve signed two new players, Gaetan Charbonnier and Eliran Atar. The former of these arrives from Montpellier and its hit or miss if he can deliver the goods. Atar is an Israeli who I know little about, so only time will tell. Courtet and De Preville are other options upfront, but neither is anything special. Fortes and Ayite on the wings can both do a decent job at least. At least they have options in attack, but they need someone to step up and score some goals for them.

Rating 5/10

Coaching and other factors

Hubert Fournier is a young manager who proved he could cope at Ligue 1 level last season. I wouldn’t say he’s anything exceptional yet, but here at Reims he’s popular with the fans which is always useful. He has helped bring together an excellent team spirit here and everyone fights for each other. Reims only ended up last season with a mediocre home record, but this was misleading because teams found it difficult to come to Le Stade Delaune. This was the case especially in the 2nd half of the season where the likes of Lyon, PSG, Rennes and Lorient all succumbed to defeat here. Fournier will hope to maintain a good home record again, but they’ll need to improve on the road where they had the 3rd worst record and lost a miserable 11 times on their travels.

Overall conclusion

They say that ‘2nd season syndrome’ after promotion is always a dangerous and difficult time for most clubs. This could be the case for Reims and they will hope to avoid any trouble with relegation. Ultimately, they’ll be a bottom half of the table team though and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them hovering in and around the red zone at some stage. But they look like a settled side with a good team spirit and reasonable strength, especially in defence and midfield. In conclusion I think they’ll have enough to avoid the drop, the key factor may well be a strong home record.

MEATMAN PREDICTION 13th