French Soccer League Predictions and Discussion Thread (Ligue 1)

[Doell]

-snip-

Neymar is a complete failure with PSG. We have to accept that. Neymar is a great player. But he did not play well with PSG. In 4 seasons with Barcelona, Neymar played 123 matches and scored 68 goals. And made 20 assists. On the other hand, Neymar played only 112 matches in 6 seasons in Ligue 1. Neymar has faced a lot of injuries at PSG. And that's why he didn't succeed with PSG. If Neymar had not faced so many injuries, we could have enjoyed more excellent gameplay from Neymar.

Yes, unfortunately it is. If Neymar doesn't have many injuries, maybe we will see him playing to his full optimal, as a striker and the most expensive player he should be able to give good results for PSG. By the way, if Luis Enrique becomes PSG new coach, Neymar is likely can stay in Paris. Because Enrique really understands the character of this striker, so I think there is still an opportunity for Neymar to show his great skills at PSG.

[1715267978]

1715267978

[Bobrox]

Do you mean to win french league again? Mbappe has been signed for something bigger than it to win UCL. Losing mbappe as free agent is a big loss for PSG. You can remember that if PSG paid a lot of money for him.
It's not even worthy of PSG paid almost 1/5 from 1 billion to win only french league. The price that already got from winning french league was smaller compared with money used to buy mbappe.
Im thinking about PSG must try to make him leave from the club by selling it. It will help PSG so much to recover some funds used to bought him.

Are you kidding with PSG financial condition? they has much money and seems not problem losing Mbappe as free agent than sell him for next season. Regarding last contract Mbappe ever become free agent and he was success extended his contract until June 2024, I don't think with Mbappe last announcement he will not extend his contract when expiry on June 2024 because ever was broken his statement want to join with Real Madrid.

PSG still difficult for winning Champion League and make some star player frustrated keep stay with PSG, but I believe with excited offering from PSG for Mbappe seems can't denied and make him will stay for longer time there than joining with Real Madrid and has good chance winning Champion League.

[ndutndut]

Yes, unfortunately it is. If Neymar doesn't have many injuries, maybe we will see him playing to his full optimal, as a striker and the most expensive player he should be able to give good results for PSG. By the way, if Luis Enrique becomes PSG new coach, Neymar is likely can stay in Paris. Because Enrique really understands the character of this striker, so I think there is still an opportunity for Neymar to show his great skills at PSG.

I also think so, I think Neymar's future lies with Luis Enrique if he becomes PSG coach it will be a big project. PSG have a great team, they have no rivals in their league (they only have pressure from the Champions League). they also have the money to sign the players they want, plus the French league puts out very good players every year. And there is still a lot of untapped potential and they have to try. If they take Luis Enrique and bet on him the way City bet on Pep Guardiola, I believe PSG will be at the level of a big club in a few years.

[hahay]

Yes, unfortunately it is. If Neymar doesn't have many injuries, maybe we will see him playing to his full optimal, as a striker and the most expensive player he should be able to give good results for PSG. By the way, if Luis Enrique becomes PSG new coach, Neymar is likely can stay in Paris. Because Enrique really understands the character of this striker, so I think there is still an opportunity for Neymar to show his great skills at PSG.

I also think so, I think Neymar's future lies with Luis Enrique if he becomes PSG coach it will be a big project. PSG have a great team, they have no rivals in their league (they only have pressure from the Champions League). they also have the money to sign the players they want, plus the French league puts out very good players every year. And there is still a lot of untapped potential and they have to try. If they take Luis Enrique and bet on him the way City bet on Pep Guardiola, I believe PSG will be at the level of a big club in a few years.

Even though Neymar often gets injured and can't play optimally, but the fact is that Neymar is still very prolific in scoring goals. Because after all, last season Neymar also had 13 goals in Ligue 1 and Neymar was in 14th place on the list of top scorers. So yeah, I think any team that might sign Neymar, that team might be very lucky. But yes, because Neymar is still under contract at PSG until 2025, of course the transfer fee will be high, and maybe it will also be a serious consideration for other clubs to sign him.

[Jody.Drummer]

What happens is that right now you cannot find a player like the stars that are like Messi and CR7, this suggests that for now the most sought after stars are Haaland, Mbappé and some others , until now I have not seen prospects that are very promising , but we have to see how the talent scouts of the world's great teams are handling it, maybe they already have stars that have not yet been seen, at least in Qatar we did not see some  Players from countries like Italy , Sweden , that they are always very good and they did not see each other , that is Something that we have to take into Consideration.

It is very difficult to find players like Messi and Ronaldo whose abilities are beyond doubt. And I think that instead of looking for the star player they want, it's better for them to make it themselves, or in other words they look for young players, both from their academy and from anywhere, and they create it, like Borussia Dortmund did for example. I don't deny that having star players while they can pay for them is not a problem, but there are things that are more important in my opinion, namely when they can have a solid squad and good teamwork. Even though there may not be any players who really stand out, if their team play is great then it will bring an achievement.

[Docnaster]

@wmaurik Poch wasn’t a bad coach but he failed at managing the ego’s of the PSG player’s and hence I feel that Enrique will do a better job due to his vast experience. Furthermore I’m keen to see what kind of rebuild will Enrique do because buying star player’s has back fired and Mbappe is bound to leave next year hence he has to rebuild this squad immediately.

Pochettino was not a good coach at PSG. The way PSG played were hurtful to the eyes. They were horrible. In fact, it was due to those big players that he was able to maintain the top spot position.
PSG had no style of play, they played so individually. They couldn't create chances, they couldn't break defenses and their own defence was awful. When a team with Messi and Neymar in attack struggles to create chances then you know the coach is bad.

PSG's condition shouldn't be channelled to Potchetino only
. It's not easy to manage a team with the likes of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. What if those men didn't play according to his rules? What if they struggled to see themselves first before the team? I don't see it to be completely Potchetino's fault. The same may repeat itself under the tutelage of a different coach with a different coaching perspective. The operation and understanding of players, couple with their relationship with the coach, also have a role here.

[asriloni]

Chelsea is now officially strasbourg's brother



I dunno what means is this, but it seems possible for chelsea to use strasbourg as another place to send its unused players from chelsea. Strasbourg may be getting so many improvements from this.
This has become trending on twitter. There are so many people who pros and cons with the decision by todd.

Will we see datro fofana or even lukaku go to the strasbourg next season?

In addition, todd has acquired around 40% stake of strasbourg.

[klidex]

What happens is that right now you cannot find a player like the stars that are like Messi and CR7, this suggests that for now the most sought after stars are Haaland, Mbappé and some others , until now I have not seen prospects that are very promising , but we have to see how the talent scouts of the world's great teams are handling it, maybe they already have stars that have not yet been seen, at least in Qatar we did not see some  Players from countries like Italy , Sweden , that they are always very good and they did not see each other , that is Something that we have to take into Consideration.

It is very difficult to find players like Messi and Ronaldo whose abilities are beyond doubt. And I think that instead of looking for the star player they want, it's better for them to make it themselves, or in other words they look for young players, both from their academy and from anywhere, and they create it, like Borussia Dortmund did for example. I don't deny that having star players while they can pay for them is not a problem, but there are things that are more important in my opinion, namely when they can have a solid squad and good teamwork. Even though there may not be any players who really stand out, if their team play is great then it will bring an achievement.

That's better but very difficult to do in the French league because as we all know to make the best players yourself it doesn't just take a little time and it will require very good coaches here and it takes a lot of money to facilitate young players to become the best players.
Even though in the French league it is difficult to build the best players and prefer to buy reliable players like Ronaldo and Messi because the very rich finances in several French leagues choose to buy rather than make their own reliable players because it will only waste time.
This was all caused because the clubs in the French league wanted to have the big league title, so they preferred a short time to spend a lot of money to achieve their dreams, but all failed.

[FanEagle]

Enrique to PSG would mean that he could bring at least some "flair" to their game. Right now PSG plays with power and speed a lot, that's their strength and that's what they are known for. If they can add in the flair and nice touch, the idea of playing "beautiful looking football" instead of just trying to dominate, then they could actually be an elite club of the world and not just their own nation. He makes his players basically provide a showmanship, a dance, an opera on the field and that makes it so much fun to watch.

This doesn't mean that it could work, he has tried it with a few different teams and sometimes it worked while some other times it didn't work, this is why I can't really say which one is which with PSG, we have to wait and see.

[Iranus]

Neymar is a complete failure with PSG. We have to accept that. Neymar is a great player. But he did not play well with PSG. In 4 seasons with Barcelona, Neymar played 123 matches and scored 68 goals. And made 20 assists. On the other hand, Neymar played only 112 matches in 6 seasons in Ligue 1. Neymar has faced a lot of injuries at PSG. And that's why he didn't succeed with PSG. If Neymar had not faced so many injuries, we could have enjoyed more excellent gameplay from Neymar.

When you compare the stats, then maybe you should also say how many goals and assists Neymar has scored at PSG instead of just saying it was with Barcelona. Neymar has made 112 appearances for PSG for a total of 82 goals and 50 assists, and Neymar has 18.8 as an average appearance per season, obviously due to Neymar injuries and other reasons.
Neymar can be said to be quite successful as one of the striker at PSG, but he has many injuries with PSG because the playing style of the Ligue 1 team is different compared to La Liga. Neymar's success at PSG is marked by PSG's consistency in winning domestic titles, so I think your opinion is too bad about Neymar.

I will never say that Neymar is a bad striker. He is an excellent player. And one of my favorite players nowadays is Neymar. In all the matches Neymar has played with PSG, his performance has been outstanding in almost every match. He played very well. But the problem is his fitness is not good. Neymar's wages are very high. No club wants the best player in their squad to be on the bench for half the season due to injury. If Neymar's fitness was good, he would undoubtedly be the best player of the present time. And Neymar has the potential to win the Ballon d'Or. However, due to many injuries, he is far behind.

[Bananington]

@wmaurik Poch wasn’t a bad coach but he failed at managing the ego’s of the PSG player’s and hence I feel that Enrique will do a better job due to his vast experience. Furthermore I’m keen to see what kind of rebuild will Enrique do because buying star player’s has back fired and Mbappe is bound to leave next year hence he has to rebuild this squad immediately.

Pochettino was not a good coach at PSG. The way PSG played were hurtful to the eyes. They were horrible. In fact, it was due to those big players that he was able to maintain the top spot position.
PSG had no style of play, they played so individually. They couldn't create chances, they couldn't break defenses and their own defence was awful. When a team with Messi and Neymar in attack struggles to create chances then you know the coach is bad.

PSG's condition shouldn't be channelled to Potchetino only
. It's not easy to manage a team with the likes of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. What if those men didn't play according to his rules? What if they struggled to see themselves first before the team? I don't see it to be completely Potchetino's fault. The same may repeat itself under the tutelage of a different coach with a different coaching perspective. The operation and understanding of players, couple with their relationship with the coach, also have a role here.

During Cavani's time at PSG, the team did only well when the strikers had more control of the ball, and that's how a player like Neymar got to fit into the play, along with Di Maria. We only got to see more formative play when Mbappe got added and Messi came. Of course Messi couldn't fit in for the first few games because the game was really random upfront. With his age too.

Neymar is a natural selfish player, can dribble, the rest I mentioned had same prowess and can topple a defense in secs count.
Will Zidane have been a better manager for PSG?

[KTChampions]

It is very difficult to find players like Messi and Ronaldo whose abilities are beyond doubt. And I think that instead of looking for the star player they want, it's better for them to make it themselves, or in other words they look for young players, both from their academy and from anywhere, and they create it, like Borussia Dortmund did for example. I don't deny that having star players while they can pay for them is not a problem, but there are things that are more important in my opinion, namely when they can have a solid squad and good teamwork. Even though there may not be any players who really stand out, if their team play is great then it will bring an achievement.

By the way, Real Madrid bought 16-year-old Andrik for 70 million (this is the total amount with bonuses) - this is more expensive than Neymar and Bellingham were bought at one time. Until the age of 18, he will continue to play in Palmeiras, and then move to Real Madrid. It is obvious that Real believes that they found (although everyone was talking about him) a new generation star and were able to buy it in advance. I'm not from Brazil, so I just heard about him recently, but the fact is that potential (or already active young) stars are searched for and identified very early.

[Leviathan.007]

We know PSG wants to hire Bernardo Silva for the next season but in fact, this transfer won't be a cheap transfer for them. As an effective player in Manchester City Bernardo Silva helped his team a lot and he had a good performance here. That's why even the Arabian teams send him an offer and PSG said they can't pay more money than the Arabian teams for Silva. 

https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football/transferts/mercato-la-grande-offensive-de-l-arabie-saoudite-pour-bernardo-silva-cite-au-psg_AV-202306210909.html

[Distraction]

Luis Enrique is really close to make the deal official with PSG now. Everyone has been saying that Zidane would be the best coach for PSG and I also agree. However it doesn't look like Zidane want that in the first place. Of course PSG still could have tried their chance by making an official offer to him but they haven't either.

In this situation there is no other thing to do than hoping Luis Enrique to be successful here. He is a decent career as he has managed Barcelona and Roma as big teams. He even managed Spain national team also. His most successful years were with Barcelona indeed. He won 10 titles in total with Barcelona and one of them was even a Champions League title.

At least it must be exciting to have a Champions League winner coach around here.

It could be difficult because Luis Enrique, like Guardiola, favors ball possession, whereas PSG focuses more on transition and quick counterattacks. This is why I'm not very excited about it. Nagelsmann or Mourinho are my top choices.  Mbappé must leave for Luis Enrique to achieve anything significant because if he stays, he won't ever have full control or won't be spared from making tough choices like Erik ten Hag had to with Ronaldo at Manchester United. If we don't give him control of the locker room, it will be another failure, and no respectable coach will be interested in coaching PSG again.

It is also a good aspect to think about. Luis Enrique must be very used to using such game plan thanks to his years in Barcelona. Mostly we don't see managers changing their way of planning strategies during their whole careers. Luis Enrique would do the same I guess. However I don't also think that a ball possession focused game plan would be the best for PSG.

Because while you have players like Mbappe in your squad it isn't very sensible to play slow. Mbappe likes to penetrate the box from wings to create big goal opportunities. Now I wonder what kind of a plan Luis Enrique would have in his mind about that.

Because if he can't make use of Mbappe's skills at the highest level then there is no meaning in this.

[Alpha Marine]

Do you mean to win french league again? Mbappe has been signed for something bigger than it to win UCL. Losing mbappe as free agent is a big loss for PSG. You can remember that if PSG paid a lot of money for him.
It's not even worthy of PSG paid almost 1/5 from 1 billion to win only french league. The price that already got from winning french league was smaller compared with money used to buy mbappe.
Im thinking about PSG must try to make him leave from the club by selling it. It will help PSG so much to recover some funds used to bought him.

There's this thing people do that is always funny and that is belittling league titles. You guys make it seem like the league is so insignificant. Especially leagues that are not the premier league.
So because Mbappe could not win the champions league with PSG does that make him a failure at PSG?
Mbappe was signed for about 180 million. Are you saying the French league titles he has won with PSG are not worth more than PSG? Are you saying if PSG as a club know knew that this is how Mbappe would perform for PSG before they signed him they wouldn't have signed him?
What do you mean by "only French league"? It took Pep 8 years or so to win the champions league with Man City. So if PSG hasn't won it doesn't mean they have been a colossal failure.

I'm, not a fan of PSG and the way they do business but signing Mbappe was the right move. The mistake they made is they would have sold him last summer. Now, I don't see a need in selling him again. It's just better if he plays one last season and leaves for free. The extra season gives them a lot of time to build their squad and get replacements so he won't be missed much when he leaves.

[rahmad2nd]

-snip-

Neymar is a complete failure with PSG. We have to accept that. Neymar is a great player. But he did not play well with PSG. In 4 seasons with Barcelona, Neymar played 123 matches and scored 68 goals. And made 20 assists. On the other hand, Neymar played only 112 matches in 6 seasons in Ligue 1. Neymar has faced a lot of injuries at PSG. And that's why he didn't succeed with PSG. If Neymar had not faced so many injuries, we could have enjoyed more excellent gameplay from Neymar.

Yes, unfortunately it is. If Neymar doesn't have many injuries, maybe we will see him playing to his full optimal, as a striker and the most expensive player he should be able to give good results for PSG. By the way, if Luis Enrique becomes PSG new coach, Neymar is likely can stay in Paris. Because Enrique really understands the character of this striker, so I think there is still an opportunity for Neymar to show his great skills at PSG.

So in essence it doesn't mean, Neymar doesn't play well. it's just that, the problem is that he is prone to injury. in this season, Neymar contributed 13 goals before he was injured. unfortunately, he had to miss a long time until the end of the season. this condition, made him lose a lot of momentum even though he is one of the great players. So far we have only heard of Neymar rumors, but nothing can really be claimed for the truth. In fact, he still has a contract until June 30, 2025. Now, his future is in the hands of Luis Enrique, who he was with during his time at Barcelona.

Well, referring to what you said. this is the interesting part. whether Enrique will include Neymar in the project in his squad. if so, as you said that Enrique really understands the character of this one player. it is possible that Neymar will remain with PSG, because so far there have only been mere rumors regarding reports that Neymar will leave PSG.
IMO, I'm pretty sure Enrique still needs his services in the PSG squad. however, to find out more, let's just wait for the developments.

[posi]

Do you mean to win french league again? Mbappe has been signed for something bigger than it to win UCL. Losing mbappe as free agent is a big loss for PSG. You can remember that if PSG paid a lot of money for him.
It's not even worthy of PSG paid almost 1/5 from 1 billion to win only french league. The price that already got from winning french league was smaller compared with money used to buy mbappe.
Im thinking about PSG must try to make him leave from the club by selling it. It will help PSG so much to recover some funds used to bought him.

There's this thing people do that is always funny and that is belittling league titles. You guys make it seem like the league is so insignificant. Especially leagues that are not the premier league.
So because Mbappe could not win the champions league with PSG does that make him a failure at PSG?
Mbappe was signed for about 180 million. Are you saying the French league titles he has won with PSG are not worth more than PSG? Are you saying if PSG as a club know knew that this is how Mbappe would perform for PSG before they signed him they wouldn't have signed him?
What do you mean by "only French league"? It took Pep 8 years or so to win the champions league with Man City. So if PSG hasn't won it doesn't mean they have been a colossal failure.

I'm, not a fan of PSG and the way they do business but signing Mbappe was the right move. The mistake they made is they would have sold him last summer. Now, I don't see a need in selling him again. It's just better if he plays one last season and leaves for free. The extra season gives them a lot of time to build their squad and get replacements so he won't be missed much when he leaves.

I can't say that league title is actually worthless. But when it is PSG and they are only being able to win the league titles, I will say that it is genuinely worthless. Because they have the most amount of money compared to any other club in the league.

So they are supposed to win the league title. I know that they are not having the type of success that let's say Bayern Munich is happening. But that makes things worse. Because there are teams which have money in the Bundesliga. But Bayern Munich is so good that they are not facing too many problems. But PSG is not being able to do that. At least PSG is not winning the league title 10 years back to back.

[Velvet78]

When it is time and Mbappe is about to leave PSG I wonder what kind of a team they will be. Because Mbappe is the main reason why they are this much strong right now. He has carried the team in so many games and his goal contribution is pretty huge. He is such a special talent that it won't be easy to fill his place with the right player either.

PSG don't want to lose him for free but I don't feel like they are ready to build a team without him yet. Therefore I assume he wouldn't be sold this summer that easy. PSG have no other chance than continuing with him for at least one more season and then part their ways with him as it seems.

[Leviathan.007]

Another good news for Real Madrid and bad news for PSG is, It seems the Emir of Qatar asked Mbappe to extend his contract or they will sell this player this summer.
Real Madrid is obviously waiting for this moment to hire Mbappe.

https://psgtalk.com/2023/06/emir-of-qatar-to-mbappe-extend-contract-at-psg-or-be-sold-this-summer/

[lalabotax]

Yes, unfortunately it is. If Neymar doesn't have many injuries, maybe we will see him playing to his full optimal, as a striker and the most expensive player he should be able to give good results for PSG. By the way, if Luis Enrique becomes PSG new coach, Neymar is likely can stay in Paris. Because Enrique really understands the character of this striker, so I think there is still an opportunity for Neymar to show his great skills at PSG.

Even though PSG has planned to let Neymar go and there are already several clubs that are eyeing him, moreover Man United or Chelsea. but this is still a rumor. If it turns out that Enrique later changes his mind, he might reconsider. But in my opinion, PSG will still let Neymar go if there is a price agreement with another club. He had quite a small contribution during the last season in PSG although his transfer fee is very high, but he couldn't make it awesome during being in PSG.