Title contenders

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Right this week I thought we would take a look at the title contenders with the season set to get underway in just over a week.

Paris Saint-Germain

The bookies favourites and almost everyone’s for the league this season. Leonardo and Ancelotti have been a pair of busy bees this summer, adding wisely to an already very strong team. They have brought in two attacking superstars in Lavezzi and Ibrahimovic, who scored a combined total of 37 goals in Serie A last season. Thiago Silva has also been added to sure up a defence that conceded a somewhat surprising 41 goals in the league last season. So PSG are looking very strong indeed when you bare in mind they already have the likes of Pastore, Ménez, and Thiago Motta. So for me and for all other Marseille fans it looks like our worst nightmare is turning into a reality but don’t give up all hope….Montpellier proved last year that anything is possible.

Lille OSC

I have been very impressed with Lille’s summer dealings. I know they lost Eden Hazard to Chelsea and Joe Cole returned back to Liverpool which would have been a blow to any team but the replacements they have brought in are not to shabby at all. Salomon Kalou has come in on a free which I think is a great bit of business and they have also added the highly rated Belgian, Viktor Klonaridis for just under a 1 million euros. But the biggest signing of the summer has been the addition of French international Marvin Martin, signed for 10 million euros. Nicknamed "little Xavi " by his team mates at Sochaux, Martin adds another dimension to the Lille, and IF they hold on to Debuchy I think they may be in with an outside chance of winning the title.  Skybet has them at 13/2 to win the league which has tempted me into a cheeky 10 pound bet, so fingers crossed that come May next year I will be revelling in this ingenious decision.

Olympique Lyonnais

Right, so now we will have a quick look at Lyon because I quite frankly don’t have much to say about Lyon (this is not meant in a offensive way to Lyon fans, there is just nothing much to say). Lyon are somewhat of an unknown quantity this season and they have been very quiet in the transfer market (they did lose Kallstrom to Spartak Moscow), but last seasons Coupe de France winners are fresh from their Trophée des Champions victory against defending league champions Montpellier, and its safe to say that Lyon will be there or there abouts this season.

Montpellier HSC

Last year for Montpellier fans was nothing short of a fairy tale. So what are their chances of defending their Ligue 1 crown? Well if I’m being honest I think last year was a one off, they suffered a huge blow earlier this summer when they lost Ligue 1 top scorer, Giroud, to Arsenal and although Montpellier fans will be quick to point out that they have brought in replacements, I’m just not sure they are in the same class as Giroud. Argentinean, Emanuel Herrera (signed for 2,8 million euros) and Gaetan Charbonnier  are the two strikers that have been charged with the huge task of filling Giroud’s shoes. Herrera, nicknamed "El tanque " (the tank), has an impressive scoring record in….Chile, not the most glamorous of leagues I know, scoring 27 goals in 31 games for second division side Deportes Concepcion, and 11 goals in his 6 month spell at Chilean Primera side, Union Espanola. Charbonnier is also unproven at this level, finding the net 12 times last season for Ligue 2 side Angers SCO. But Montpellier will still be a threat, especially if they keep hold of their star captain, Yanga-Mbiwa. Watch out for Anthony Mounier signed for 3 million euros from Nice.

Olympique Marseille

Last but by no means least, Marseille. In all honestly I don’t think Marseille are a title contenders if last season is anything to go by, but my friends from Marseille would never have forgiven me if I had left them out. Like Lyon, this summer has been very quiet for the Phocéens with the departure of fans favourite Brandao the only transfer news of note. However the big change was the introduction of new coach Elie Baup. Now I am a relative newcomer to Ligue 1, so when this announcement was made I had no idea who this guy was, but after doing some extensive research things became ermmm none the clearer. Apparently his only success came in 1999 when he won the title with Bordeaux and his move to Marseille has come about after a three year absence from football. French Football Weekly likened him to the French version of Peter Reid, not something that any manager wants to be branded with.  So this isn’t the replacement I was hoping for bearing in mind our former coach was the mighty Didier Deschamps. Last season ended in a shambles for Marseille with disgruntled fans « striking » against the club, but I really hope that the OM fans put all this behind them and get behind the team for the start of the season, and who knows there could be some silverware somewhere…. Europa League outsiders anyone? Allez l’OM!!

Let me know who you think will win the title this season....