The Nantes Way – Part 1
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900 MINUTES
We have managed to make an unbelievable start to our career, the board are ecstatic with the initial progress made towards realising the club’s vision, along with the supporters being very pleased with the clubs form in Ligue 1, despite losing to fierce rivals Rennes in the Breton Derby.
The game model stripped from the failed Fiorentina save is clearly OP (using those favoured team instructions ‘counter-press’, ‘counter’, ‘much higher defensive line’, and ‘high press’), along with the combination of narrow width and focusing play down the flanks, paired with a fluid team, which I have had plenty of experience/success with in the past.
This is clear to see when comparing our results to our mental (above) and technical (below) profiles. Mentally we hold one of the lowest ‘off the ball’ and ‘determination’ ratings, we also are a million miles off average for ‘flair’ and ‘work rate’. What we lack in those departments we make up for in ‘bravery’, ‘leadership’, and ‘positioning’.
Technically we are below average for all attributes, excluding ‘heading’, ‘marking’, and ‘penalty taking’. We also find ourselves slap bang in the middle of Ligue 1 in terms of salary (£18.72 million), miles away from the ‘big four’ with every other team under £25 million.
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
Team attacking stats to note
- 44% possession (16th)
- 17.34 expected goals for (3rd)
- 43 chances created (2nd)
- 119 shots for (5th)
- 17% conversion rate (2nd)
- 132 fouls against (1st)
- 185 dribbles made (3rd)
- 1146 high intensity sprints (8th)
In a nutshell, this team is a force to be reckoned with going forward. They’re creating chances, converting them at a high rate, and causing havoc for defences with their dribbling and pace.
Team defending stats to note
- 43% headers won (14th)
- 7 conceded (3rd)
- 9.15 expected goals against (16th)
- 5 clean sheets (3rd)
- 136 fouls made (2nd)
- 70 shots against (2nd)
- 44 final third passes against (1st)
Overall, while we might need to improve our aerial presence, this team is doing a commendable job defensively. We’re keeping goals against low, securing clean sheets, and making it tough for opponents to create scoring opportunities.
The score line racked up against Lens was our most comprehensive to-date in Ligue 1. The highlight of the game was undoubtedly a hat-trick from Mostafa Mohamed. The striker may looks as if he could either play hot or cold, scoring in only four of our first ten games. However, when he is on he is on, scoring nine goals in those four appearances (Lens (3), Clermont (3), Montpellier (2), and Strasbourg (1)).
The Egyptian forward is acting as the fulcrum in our attacking phase, showing his effectiveness/dominance in the air. Whilst proving to be a clinical scorer, currently outperforming his expected goals by 3.25.
The spearhead of our attack has scored 43% of our goals in Ligue 1, holding a conversion rate of 26% from his 35 shots.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
Just the three games across November, we face 10th, 6th and 18th of Ligue 1.
