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I've undoubtedly arrived at a club with a LOT of history but that hasn't performed in the last couple of decades. Saint-Étienne saw their arch rivals Lyon win the league for 7 years in a row between 2001/02 and 2007/08 and finish above them for the last few decades as well, so there's clearly a lot of room for growth here. I've not been blessed with an incredibly talented side either, and let's just say the board isn't looking like they're going to make my job any easier. Getting Les Verts back on top could take a while.
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In terms of squad depth, it looks like we have a lot in this team but unfortunately, most of the depth isn't exactly quality depth. Some of our top players are only here on loan which could prove to be a problem and with just under 60% of the squad being French, I'm going to have to bring in a couple of French players to at least be able to stay on track with that challenge. Most of the players are still away on holiday and with pre-season not starting for a couple of weeks, I'm going to also have to wait to be able to make any potential signings to strengthen the team or at least build some depth.
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As you can see, I've definitely not been given a lot of room to make any new signings other than free agents, and most of them either want ridiculous wages or just don't want to play for the club. With an 8th place finish in the league last season, we also have no European football which is definitely going to hamper any chances of potential signings we'll have. At least we have quite a few games in pre-season to really evaluate the team and where we need depth or strengthening but this could prove to be a much tougher task than I thought.
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So there it is, 6 games against some lower league French teams and a Belgian team, that's what I'm going to have to base any signings on. On paper, we should smash every single one of these teams at least 3-0 or 4-0 but you never know in football, especially in friendly matches when motivation levels are always low. I'll update you again later with any new signings and at the end of pre-season, when I have a better grasp on where I'll be taking this club.
skins please ?