St-Étienne are dreaming about glory while staring relegation in the face | Ligue 1

Euphoria, optimism and ambition were the dominant emotions at Saint-Étienne in the summer. With promotion to Ligue 1 secured and new owners onboard, the club could dream of replicating past glories. But waking up the sleeping giant of French football has not been as easy as flicking a switch.

St-Étienne returned to the top flight after a two-year stint in Ligue 2 thanks to a dour relegation playoff win against Metz. Olivier Dall’Oglio, who replaced Laurent Batlles as manager mid-season, took the club up by reverting to a defensive, back-to-basics approach. However, that approach did not translate well in Ligue 1, despite a summer splurge from the new owners.

Kilmer Sports Ventures completed their takeover in the summer and immediately put their hands in their pockets. Eleven players have arrived since the Canadians purchased the club; only PSG, Monaco, Marseille, Rennes, Lyon and Strasbourg spent more during the summer window. The large investment contrasted starkly to the other two promoted sides, Auxerre and Angers, with the latter not spending a penny.

The new arrivals were exciting. Zuriko Davitashvili was excellent with Bordeaux in Ligue 2 and featured for Georgia at the Euros; Belgian youth international Lucas Stassin had shown great promise with KVC Westerlo; and France U20 international Pierre Ekwah arrived on loan from Sunderland highly-rated. But, bar former Reims captain Yunis Abdelhamid, the new players had very little experience. St-Étienne were preparing for the long-term but neglecting the short-term, putting the cart before the horse, walking before they could run. Their sudden jump in ambition marked a wild swing from the previous decade of inertia, but they are yet to find a happy medium and it could cost them their place in the top flight.

An 8-0 humbling against Nice in September was a bitter dose of reality. “The feeling is one of shame,” said Dall’Oglio. Huss Fahmy, the Kilmer vice-president, and Loïc Perrin, a St-Étienne legend who is now the club’s sporting coordinator, both addressed the dressing room after that defeat, but they decided to keep Dall’Oglio in his post. However, when the situation had not improved by December, the axe fell.

He was replaced by the highly energetic but inexperienced Eirik Horneland. “He is a long-term choice,” said the St-Étienne president Ivan Gazidis. “We will work on the short term but especially on the long term,” added Horneland as he accepted his first job outside of his native Norway. With the club’s gaze fixed on distant horizons, there is a more imminent threat – the spectre of relegation now dominates their field of vision.

Horneland’s appointment marked a mid-season shift from Dall’Oglio’s pragmatic, defensive approach. “It is important to play an attacking style of football,” said the former Brann manager. Centre-back Dylan Batubinsika says the manager wants more “risk-taking” and to “keep the ball in build-up play”, adding that this new style is “very intense”.

Implementing a new approach without a pre-season would be difficult enough, but it becomes nigh-on impossible when the squad isn’t tailored for it either. Playing out from the back has been a particular issue; St-Étienne have made 659 stray passes in their own half (22 per match) – more than any other side in Ligue 1 this season.

They were at it again in their 3-3 draw with Brest on Sunday. Ludovic Ajorque gave Brest the lead after just six minutes following Irvin Cardona’s mistake. Wanting to play out from the back is all well and good, but not if you lack the quality to do it. The tactic has left goalkeeper Gautier Larsonneur overly exposed. No goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues has conceded more goals than the Frenchman (67); he is also in the top five for shots saved (113). That is telling.

The defence has been porous and dreadfully passive. Abdelhamid was brought in as a solution but it quickly became evident that, at 37, it was one season too many. He was error-prone under Dall’Oglio and has not started since Horneland’s arrival.

The team are conceding even more regularly under Horneland, which was always likely given his approach. The issue is that their own goals-per-game figure has not risen sufficiently (1.35 under Horneland compared to 0.8 under Dall’Oglio), so they are picking up fewer points under their new manager. They see more of the ball but are not creating enough chances – and are second bottom in the xG table.

The issue is a top-heavy side created by an uneven recruitment drive. Stassin and Davitashvili are overwhelming success stories and ones for the future. The former is the team’s top scorer with eight goals, including a thunderbolt against Brest at the weekend. And the latter has 14 goal contributions in his first season in Ligue 1. But, despite some strong performances from midfielder Benjamin Bouchouari, the team is not providing them with regular service.

A late chip from Cardona salvaged a point against Brest as he redeemed himself for his earlier error but, with Reims beating Lens, the club’s chances of survival are diminishing. There has been a naivety to St-Étienne’s approach that permeates all levels of the club. Perhaps that was to be expected given their lack of experience; ambition does not guarantee competence.

Horneland wants to produce attractive, attacking football while securing results but, despite the club’s financial means, they do not yet have the players to produce that style. “Fuck, we are rubbish,” read a banner at the Geoffroy-Guichard at the weekend. Negativity and a sense of impending doom are the order of the day at St-Étienne. The broader outlook suggests they can become a force in French football once more, but they have a long way to go before they relive their 1970s pomp.

Talking points

Roberto De Zerbi was uncharacteristically calm and rational after Marseille’s damaging 3-0 loss at Monaco. “It is not about looking for someone to blame,” said the Italian, who has previously reacted to heavy defeats by accusing players of “embarrassing” him and tendering his resignation publicly. “When strong words are needed, I say them. But today is different. I am more optimistic than after some wins this season,” he added. Adi Hütter largely agreed, saying the scoreline was “a bit flattering”. Takumi Minamino scored from Monaco’s only clear chance of the first half before Luis Henrique produced a miss-of-the-season contender for Marseille just before the break. Monaco’s intensity blew their opponents away in the second half, with Breel Embolo and Denis Zakaria both scoring. Monaco jump back up to second at Marseille’s expense but, with five games to go, they are far from a shoo-in for Champions League qualification.

Lyon’s 3-1 win at Auxerre has taken them into the final qualification spot, just two points behind Monaco. They are only the third away side, along with Monaco and Strasbourg, to have won at the Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps this season. The usual suspects – Georges Mikautadze, Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette – were on the scoresheet as they prepared for their match at Old Trafford on Thursday. Lyon leapfrogged Strasbourg, who drew 2-2 with Nice in a Premier League multiclub proxy encounter. Youssouf Ndayishimiye’s last-gasp equaliser slowed Strasbourg’s unexpected charge towards Champions League qualification. Liam Rosenior’s side are sixth in the table, two points above Nice, who remain winless in their last five games. With just five points separating second to seventh, the race for Europe remains wide open.