French Soccer League Predictions and Discussion Thread (Ligue 1)

[Helena Yu]

Sometimes I find it hard to understand why some of these smaller clubs that are found guilty in some of these charges are easily punished without any form of deal but when it comes to the bigger boys and money spenders it will take forever before you see them being persecuted, it is very bad. Lyon that have been struggling to be in their best for long are now found in this kind of situation and if this is going to happen I don't think the Ligue 1 will have much big clubs that we can say are going to battle PSG for the title, even if we have Marseille, Monaco, Lille and the others ones who are trying to step up, Lyon should be at the top 4 big clubs in Ligue 1, now that they're going to be off the picture I don't know how long it will last, hope this won't stand.

It's because Lyon only have money to buy players, but they don't have money to shut FIFA's mouth.

It's really unfortunate to see Lyon get sanctioned, while in the last season they spend a good amount of money to buy players in order to save them to not be relegated. If Lyon's management haven't find any solution to settle their debt, it's better to sell their teams to the rich Habibi.

[Sexylizzy2813]

Sometimes I find it hard to understand why some of these smaller clubs that are found guilty in some of these charges are easily punished without any form of deal but when it comes to the bigger boys and money spenders it will take forever before you see them being persecuted, it is very bad. Lyon that have been struggling to be in their best for long are now found in this kind of situation and if this is going to happen I don't think the Ligue 1 will have much big clubs that we can say are going to battle PSG for the title, even if we have Marseille, Monaco, Lille and the others ones who are trying to step up, Lyon should be at the top 4 big clubs in Ligue 1, now that they're going to be off the picture I don't know how long it will last, hope this won't stand.

It's because Lyon only have money to buy players, but they don't have money to shut FIFA's mouth.

It's really unfortunate to see Lyon get sanctioned, while in the last season they spend a good amount of money to buy players in order to save them to not be relegated. If Lyon's management haven't find any solution to settle their debt, it's better to sell their teams to the rich Habibi.

Honestly the way and manner some rich clubs behave with money when they know what they're doing is against the laws of football is really killing the game of football and the men at the top are indirectly supporting it, that's why it would be hard to stop all these nonsense that's going on in the world of football. Tomorrow you'd hear that one of the big boys are being fined for something similar, let's say PSG or Man City and we'd be expecting them to face the punishment, before you know nobody is talking about that issue but when it comes to a poor small club that is trying to survive the fine will follow them till the end of the season, is really irritating.
I'm tired of these same thing, Lyon are still struggling to even make it to the top, with the players they bought I can't applaud them that they're trying, they need to do better and selling the club is the best option to clear off these mess they're in, don't think is something they can decide immediately.

[Farma]

Sometimes I find it hard to understand why some of these smaller clubs that are found guilty in some of these charges are easily punished without any form of deal but when it comes to the bigger boys and money spenders it will take forever before you see them being persecuted, it is very bad. Lyon that have been struggling to be in their best for long are now found in this kind of situation and if this is going to happen I don't think the Ligue 1 will have much big clubs that we can say are going to battle PSG for the title, even if we have Marseille, Monaco, Lille and the others ones who are trying to step up, Lyon should be at the top 4 big clubs in Ligue 1, now that they're going to be off the picture I don't know how long it will last, hope this won't stand.

It's because Lyon only have money to buy players, but they don't have money to shut FIFA's mouth.

It's really unfortunate to see Lyon get sanctioned, while in the last season they spend a good amount of money to buy players in order to save them to not be relegated. If Lyon's management haven't find any solution to settle their debt, it's better to sell their teams to the rich Habibi.

This is Lyon's management error and if they receive a punishment then it is a consequence of their poor financial management which caused the team to have quite a large debt.
This is not a problem of not having the money to keep FIFA quiet but this is a problem of rules that Lyon cannot obey.
Indeed, if seen as a whole it would be quite a shame if Lyon were relegated from Ligue 1 because they are a top team with big fans, maybe it would be wiser for Lyon's management to sell their team if they are indeed no longer able to solve their financial problems.

[Pandorak]

There are three promoted teams this season in Ligue 1 and in fact, only Auxerre has managed to be in the middle of the table. As for the other two teams, Angers and St Etienne have the same points tally of 10, and they are currently in the bottom zone of the table. But indeed, about Auxerre  who basically won the Ligue 2 trophy last season, still managed to have a good performance in competing in Ligue 1 this season, despite their status as a promotion team. But, so far Auxerre only has a good winning record at home, while for away matches that Auxerre still often loses away from home. But yes, at least as a promotion team then of course, with the success of Auxerre in the middle of the standings it is also still a good result for them, at least it will stay  in Ligue 1 and not be relegated again.

The three promoted teams came to Ligue 1 with different mentalities & visions, that's what caused the different results so far from the three teams. Auxerre are doing quite well in Ligue 1 this season (at least for a promoted team), last season in Ligue 2 was also a complete domination for them, they were able to get promoted with an absolute 74 points. Their last 2 games were also surprising, they were able to win 4 goals from Rennes & also won from Marseille as away.

[tiCeR]

In addition, the teams in the French League are not like the teams in the English Premier League (EPL), many clubs compete to become champions, sometimes small teams are able to beat big teams. Currently PSG is six points ahead of Monaco which means PSG will win the League One trophy again this season, although the season is still long, but Monaco will have difficulty catching up with the six-point gap. Unless Monaco is six points ahead, maybe they have the spirit in every match so as not to lose points.

The difference between the premier league and french league is too big, there aren't many clubs that can challenge for the title in the french league and that's why PSG are always winning even when they're not playing at their best. They sold their best player and some other good players that were in the team yet they're still leading the french league with 6 points and 23 goals difference.  Monaco can't keep up with PSG but if this was to be the premier league, you'll see other big 6 teams chasing the league with the top team which is Manchester city. PSG in the French league is unbeaten this season and they might go unbeaten too as I don't see any team winning them.

PSG has not sold their best player or which player are you talking about?

This whole problem won't change anytime soon as PSG is supported by sheikhs and unless some other club will be flooded with endless money, I don't think any of the other clubs will be able to sustainably close the gap between PSG and the rest of the league. There can be exceptions to the rule in a single season, but long term PSG is going to keep the upper hand easily.

[Pokapoka124]

Paris Saint Germain is too strong in Ligue 1, so I can't see any comparisons that can be made with other teams in Ligue 1. Not to underestimate the teams in Ligue 1, but we can see for ourselves what the differences are like. In terms of finance, Paris Saint Germain is very strong, in terms of player composition Paris Saint Germain also has good players, they even once had a very luxurious player composition. It will be a different story when we see them in the Champions League because there are many teams like them. And even when they have a luxurious squad, they also can't get what they want all this time, which is to become champions in the Champions League.

I don't entirely agree that PSG is too strong for Ligue 1, they still have competitive teams like Monaco, Lille, Marseille and Lyon. While PSG’s financial strength and star studded squad makes them stronger, historically teams like Monaco and Lille have managed to win the league despite of PSG dominance.

PSG inability to replicate their success in Ligue 1  in the champions league is clear. Despite the signing of world class players they have constantly fallen short in the biggest stage. For them to improve they should be able to prioritize developing young players to understand the club’s identity and also a coach with the right mentality to propel them to perform better in the biggest stage.

[el kaka22]

Premier league definitely feels like a much better league without a doubt, even though we had City winning the league all the time, people still think that other teams have a chance and they keep on watching. PSG is blamed that they are winning the league all too easily, and now look at how City is doing the same thing and people are not really looking at that like it's the same thing for some reason.

If you call the ligue one as farmers league, then you have to call the same thing to premier league as well because just like how psg is winning it, city is winning that one too. Too many people who are focusing on the wrong thing and I believe we are going to be seeing this changing for the long term, can't really make a big change all together. Hopefully, we may see something changing, and because of that we can't really make that much price change all the same, has to be something that will take a while and can't really focus on anything else at all.

[Palakka]

Sometimes I find it hard to understand why some of these smaller clubs that are found guilty in some of these charges are easily punished without any form of deal but when it comes to the bigger boys and money spenders it will take forever before you see them being persecuted, it is very bad. Lyon that have been struggling to be in their best for long are now found in this kind of situation and if this is going to happen I don't think the Ligue 1 will have much big clubs that we can say are going to battle PSG for the title, even if we have Marseille, Monaco, Lille and the others ones who are trying to step up, Lyon should be at the top 4 big clubs in Ligue 1, now that they're going to be off the picture I don't know how long it will last, hope this won't stand.

It's because Lyon only have money to buy players, but they don't have money to shut FIFA's mouth.

It's really unfortunate to see Lyon get sanctioned, while in the last season they spend a good amount of money to buy players in order to save them to not be relegated. If Lyon's management haven't find any solution to settle their debt, it's better to sell their teams to the rich Habibi.

To be honest, I was very surprised to see what Fabrizio Romano said today about Lyon being relegated to Ligue 2, financial problems seem to be a batman trap that often makes small club clubs have to get strict punishment from the financial supervisory authority of the league in europe, what happened to Lyon is no different from what Everton experienced in the English League,  But they are still more fortunate only to get a point deduction and not relegation, just like you, I am also starting to think that there is currently an injustice in decision-making by the financial authorities of a league, where the punishment will apply very quickly if a small team makes a mistake, but a large and rich team team is not touched by the existing rules,  Even when a rich team gets 115 allegations of misconduct, but they are still quite safe until now , Heavy sanctions by the DNCG with a relegation penalty to Ligue 2 and also a transfer ban, reportedly caused by serious financial problems due to Lyon debt reaching more than 500 million euros.

[hahay]

Paris Saint Germain is too strong in Ligue 1, so I can't see any comparisons that can be made with other teams in Ligue 1. Not to underestimate the teams in Ligue 1, but we can see for ourselves what the differences are like. In terms of finance, Paris Saint Germain is very strong, in terms of player composition Paris Saint Germain also has good players, they even once had a very luxurious player composition. It will be a different story when we see them in the Champions League because there are many teams like them. And even when they have a luxurious squad, they also can't get what they want all this time, which is to become champions in the Champions League.

I don't entirely agree that PSG is too strong for Ligue 1, they still have competitive teams like Monaco, Lille, Marseille and Lyon. While PSG’s financial strength and star studded squad makes them stronger, historically teams like Monaco and Lille have managed to win the league despite of PSG dominance.

PSG inability to replicate their success in Ligue 1  in the champions league is clear. Despite the signing of world class players they have constantly fallen short in the biggest stage. For them to improve they should be able to prioritize developing young players to understand the club’s identity and also a coach with the right mentality to propel them to perform better in the biggest stage.

I just want to admit that PSG is indeed a strong team in Ligue 1 and indeed, sometimes PSG can also get draws and also lose against mediocre teams in Ligue 1. But anyway, the fact is that PSG will remain firmly at the top of the Ligue 1 standings and also, although there are still teams that have a great history of winning trophies in the past. But still, the reality in this era PSG remains a better team than the other teams you mentioned.

I also admit, there are still teams like Lille who also managed to beat Real Madrid and Atletico in the Champions League and also managed to hold Juventus to a draw. But anyway, the fact is that Lille is also only in fourth place in the Ligue 1 standings, and has a 10-point gap with PSG at the top of the standings. So evidently, PSG is indeed too strong in Ligue 1 and if we compare the competition that occurs in Serie A, of course there are many teams that are able to be at the top of the table, unlike in Ligue 1 which can always be ascertained PSG will always be able to finish at the top of the table.

[len01]

I just want to admit that PSG is indeed a strong team in Ligue 1 and indeed, sometimes PSG can also get draws and also lose against mediocre teams in Ligue 1. But anyway, the fact is that PSG will remain firmly at the top of the Ligue 1 standings and also, although there are still teams that have a great history of winning trophies in the past. But still, the reality in this era PSG remains a better team than the other teams you mentioned.

It's all because the quality of players owned by PSG is very different from the players owned by other teams, although Marseille currently has quality players like Greenwood, but it is impossible to rely on just that player. Meanwhile, to compete with PSG must have players of equal quality.
In terms of finances, it is the difference here and that is why PSG has always been able to excel or dominate in the last few seasons.
The journey is still very long and league 1 will continue to be a boring league if no other team is able to compete strongly with PSG.

[Awaklara]

It's all because the quality of players owned by PSG is very different from the players owned by other teams, although Marseille currently has quality players like Greenwood, but it is impossible to rely on just that player. Meanwhile, to compete with PSG must have players of equal quality.
In terms of finances, it is the difference here and that is why PSG has always been able to excel or dominate in the last few seasons.
The journey is still very long and league 1 will continue to be a boring league if no other team is able to compete strongly with PSG.

Ligue 1 teams like Monaco, Marseille, and Lille must understand their gap against PSG. PSG has dominated Ligue 1 for quite a long time, and if other teams want to compete, of course there are things they have to change from the club management and also the team.
we can also see the Bundesliga, where Munich also dominates but now we can see other teams also gradually starting to join the competition. although we know PSG's financial strength is very strong. but if other teams can compete, it will definitely make Ligue 1 more interesting.

[rahmad2nd]

I just want to admit that PSG is indeed a strong team in Ligue 1 and indeed, sometimes PSG can also get draws and also lose against mediocre teams in Ligue 1. But anyway, the fact is that PSG will remain firmly at the top of the Ligue 1 standings and also, although there are still teams that have a great history of winning trophies in the past. But still, the reality in this era PSG remains a better team than the other teams you mentioned.

It's all because the quality of players owned by PSG is very different from the players owned by other teams, although Marseille currently has quality players like Greenwood, but it is impossible to rely on just that player. Meanwhile, to compete with PSG must have players of equal quality.
In terms of finances, it is the difference here and that is why PSG has always been able to excel or dominate in the last few seasons.
The journey is still very long and league 1 will continue to be a boring league if no other team is able to compete strongly with PSG.

Until the time comes, there will be several teams that will appear strong as challengers for the trophy title of this competition. as with the Bundesliga for example, last season was surprised by the good performance of one of the teams that was previously not favored. in Lique 1, PSG is still very strong in the last few seasons. but in fact PSG's performance sometimes decreases greatly, for example when Lens was only a small point difference to shift the top position in the standings in previous seasons. even though at that time PSG still had the MNM Trio if I'm not mistaken, but the problem of one thing and another their performance was quite messy, especially the core players who were injured. as for Marseille, at least this team is trying to make an effort to be able to return to being one of the challengers even though it is not as rich as Paris Saint-Germain. it is not easy for a team like Marseille, even to recruit a striker with the number 9 on their back they have quite a hard time, like this season for example. they are targeting several pure strikers, but because the transfer value is too high, the targeted player cannot be brought to the French League.  so, it is clear that only with Greenwood it will be difficult for Marseille to be a strong competitor in the trophy fight. after all, football is not just about one player, teamwork and the coach in it are one of the supporting factors. as we all know, PSG easily with their finances to make this team strong and solid plus under the guidance of a famous coach. this competition will remain like this, at least until the emergence of teams that compete tightly even with limited players. after all we don't know how long PSG will dominate Lique 1, but in the end slipping is something for sure.

[red4slash]

The three promoted teams came to Ligue 1 with different mentalities & visions, that's what caused the different results so far from the three teams. Auxerre are doing quite well in Ligue 1 this season (at least for a promoted team), last season in Ligue 2 was also a complete domination for them, they were able to get promoted with an absolute 74 points. Their last 2 games were also surprising, they were able to win 4 goals from Rennes & also won from Marseille as away.

Actually seeing from what happened the three promoted clubs already knew what would happen when they were in Ligue 1 because after all this is not new to them especially before they also have experience to be in the highest competition in France.

It's just that sometimes the situation that occurs cannot match expectations due to several problems and for a fairly small club like them, of course this is clearly a little difficult to force because they are until now quite minimal in terms of player resources and financial strength, making them sometimes always inconvenient in Ligue 1 even though their performance in Ligue 2 is quite good.

Currently Auxerre is more dominant in performance and indeed this happens because they try to consistently continue their previous performance in Ligue 2 in contrast to the other two clubs who are still struggling.
But on the other hand I think this is still quite good for the other 2 clubs even though in the standings they are still not comfortable but at least there is still a fight they have done until now to stay afloat until now.

[dezoel]

Not entirely sure how this benefits Lyon as a whole. They are doing this because they have a lot of debt, but the way to get out of debt is to get better results, and they are getting better results now. So if they finish in top five, and go to Europe next season, that would be a good way to improve their finances.

I can totally understand blocking their transfers, like make it forced that they can only spend as much as they sell, so if they want to buy a player for ten million then first they need to sell player(s) for ten million to make that move, so limit their spending that way. But to relegate them? How is that helping them in any way? It doesn't feel like it would help them pay their debts at all, and doesn't sound like a smart move.

[junder]

I just want to admit that PSG is indeed a strong team in Ligue 1 and indeed, sometimes PSG can also get draws and also lose against mediocre teams in Ligue 1. But anyway, the fact is that PSG will remain firmly at the top of the Ligue 1 standings and also, although there are still teams that have a great history of winning trophies in the past. But still, the reality in this era PSG remains a better team than the other teams you mentioned.

It's all because the quality of players owned by PSG is very different from the players owned by other teams, although Marseille currently has quality players like Greenwood, but it is impossible to rely on just that player. Meanwhile, to compete with PSG must have players of equal quality.
In terms of finances, it is the difference here and that is why PSG has always been able to excel or dominate in the last few seasons.
The journey is still very long and league 1 will continue to be a boring league if no other team is able to compete strongly with PSG.

Since PSG was acquired by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), the financial gap is clearly visible in this League 1 competition. PSG will be very easy to recruit the players they want to continue to strengthen their dominance so it is not surprising that no other competitors are able to shift that position because the strength they show is not enough for all that. This season we hope Marseille or Monaco will give a surprise at least making it difficult for PSG to get another trophy, maybe that's enough because in the end the final result is easy to guess and boring.

[Hyphen(-)]

Not entirely sure how this benefits Lyon as a whole. They are doing this because they have a lot of debt, but the way to get out of debt is to get better results, and they are getting better results now. So if they finish in top five, and go to Europe next season, that would be a good way to improve their finances.

How sure are we that Lyon can get out of this through making it to the Europe as you said?
They have to manage the players they have now, and at the same time, they will need to keep performing well to see if they can end the season well below the fifth position which will be very difficult to be achieved even though their performance is good this season as they are already seated in the fifth position with one point behind Lille. If they can have consistent possession performance for the rest of the season, then they can make it to either Europa League which will help them, but the players will be very tired due to the fact that they don’t have much space now and the team will always wants their best squad.

[Weawant]

It's all because the quality of players owned by PSG is very different from the players owned by other teams, although Marseille currently has quality players like Greenwood, but it is impossible to rely on just that player. Meanwhile, to compete with PSG must have players of equal quality.
In terms of finances, it is the difference here and that is why PSG has always been able to excel or dominate in the last few seasons.
The journey is still very long and league 1 will continue to be a boring league if no other team is able to compete strongly with PSG.

Player dependency is one thing every club is beginning to understand and so in as much as greenwood is a very good player and can of course be a very vital piece to the team, i doubt if they would want to be solely dependent on him enough to use that as a yardstick for comparison at this point against PSG which has got a really good depth away from that which Marseille has got currently.

[baeva]

Sometimes I find it hard to understand why some of these smaller clubs that are found guilty in some of these charges are easily punished without any form of deal but when it comes to the bigger boys and money spenders it will take forever before you see them being persecuted, it is very bad. Lyon that have been struggling to be in their best for long are now found in this kind of situation and if this is going to happen I don't think the Ligue 1 will have much big clubs that we can say are going to battle PSG for the title, even if we have Marseille, Monaco, Lille and the others ones who are trying to step up, Lyon should be at the top 4 big clubs in Ligue 1, now that they're going to be off the picture I don't know how long it will last, hope this won't stand.

It's because Lyon only have money to buy players, but they don't have money to shut FIFA's mouth.

It's really unfortunate to see Lyon get sanctioned, while in the last season they spend a good amount of money to buy players in order to save them to not be relegated. If Lyon's management haven't find any solution to settle their debt, it's better to sell their teams to the rich Habibi.

This is Lyon's management error and if they receive a punishment then it is a consequence of their poor financial management which caused the team to have quite a large debt.
This is not a problem of not having the money to keep FIFA quiet but this is a problem of rules that Lyon cannot obey.
Indeed, if seen as a whole it would be quite a shame if Lyon were relegated from Ligue 1 because they are a top team with big fans, maybe it would be wiser for Lyon's management to sell their team if they are indeed no longer able to solve their financial problems.

Obviously to sell the team they need to find a buyer first, I doubt they will be able to find a buyer quickly enough to cover the club's debts. It would have to be an ardent fan of the club or a businessman who has a clear plan on how to recoup the debts he will pay for the club and how he will start making money with the club in the near future. It's not the easiest task, but it's really the team's own fault for facing it

[imamusma]

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This is Lyon's management error and if they receive a punishment then it is a consequence of their poor financial management which caused the team to have quite a large debt.
This is not a problem of not having the money to keep FIFA quiet but this is a problem of rules that Lyon cannot obey.
Indeed, if seen as a whole it would be quite a shame if Lyon were relegated from Ligue 1 because they are a top team with big fans, maybe it would be wiser for Lyon's management to sell their team if they are indeed no longer able to solve their financial problems.

Obviously to sell the team they need to find a buyer first, I doubt they will be able to find a buyer quickly enough to cover the club's debts. It would have to be an ardent fan of the club or a businessman who has a clear plan on how to recoup the debts he will pay for the club and how he will start making money with the club in the near future. It's not the easiest task, but it's really the team's own fault for facing it

Lyon has been given until the end of the season by the Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion (DNCG) to sort out their financial mess including the club debts, failing which they are threatened with relegation to Ligue 2. It seems that John Textor as the majority shareholder, must sell the club to a Middle Eastern businessman, as a step to save Lyon from bankruptcy and relegation. It is not as easy as it sounds, but if Lyon is acquired by a Middle Eastern businessman, they can recover quickly and will be like PSG.

[hyudien]

Not entirely sure how this benefits Lyon as a whole. They are doing this because they have a lot of debt, but the way to get out of debt is to get better results, and they are getting better results now. So if they finish in top five, and go to Europe next season, that would be a good way to improve their finances.

I can totally understand blocking their transfers, like make it forced that they can only spend as much as they sell, so if they want to buy a player for ten million then first they need to sell player(s) for ten million to make that move, so limit their spending that way. But to relegate them? How is that helping them in any way? It doesn't feel like it would help them pay their debts at all, and doesn't sound like a smart move.

Paris Saint Germain can comfortably be at the top of the standings with their position having a fairly wide point difference, 6 points. That's the view that we can always see in Ligue 1 every season, yes, no team can make Paris Saint Germain unable to do anything, because other teams are not at the same level as Paris Saint Gemain. There are many things that other teams need to fix if they want to see Ligue 1 more interesting than before. Because only they can make the league more competitive. Although at the beginning of the season they were quite promising, but as the league progressed they often declined.