📊 ASSE, young team and turn-over queen!

This season, as in the previous ones, the ASSE is betting on young people, from its center or not. This choice, intentional or not, makes the Loire team one of the youngest in the L2 championship. The causes can be multiple, and in particular the large turnover operated by Laurent Batlles since the beginning of the season can explain it.

An intergenerational workforce

In Sainté, all generations of players mix in the professional group. During the summer training, Laurent Batlles had expressed the desire to leave some lockers in the dressing room to make room for the young people in the training centre. The Loire coach kept his promise, calling on young players who have more or less convinced and integrated in a sustainable way it seems, the group of professionals: Louis Mouton (20 years old), Abdoulaye Bakayoko (19 years old), Anas Namri (21 years old), Aïmen Moueffek (21 years old).

There are also Etienne Green (22 years old), Benjamin Bouchouari (21 years old), Mickael Nadé (23 years old), Lenny Pintor (22 years old) and Saïdou Sow (20 years old).

In addition, based on injuries or suspensions of confirmed players, and also based on individual performances in reserve, ASSE’s professional staff has regularly called young people from the center and for some still in training: Ayman Aiki (17 years old), Mathis Saban (20), Noah Raveyre (17), Djibril Othman (18), Darnell Bile (17), Antoine Gauthier (18).

To bring some experience to these young players and to supervise the group, Laurent Batlles and Loïc Perrin called on more experienced and older players: Jimmy Giraudon (30 years old), Anthony Briançon (28 years old), Victor Lobry (27 years ), Matthieu Dreyer (33 years old), Ibrahima Wadji (27 years old) or Thomas Monconduit (31 years old).

ASSE among the youngest teams in Ligue 2

Finally, after 15 league days, ASSE has the second average age of players used, the youngest of the season after the Girondins de Bordeaux, and ahead of Amiens, Le Havre or Niort. Classification :

1. Girondins of Bordeaux: 23 years and 193 days
2. AS Saint-Etienne: 24 years and 231 days
3. Amiens SC: 24 years and 237 days
4. Haven AC: 24 years and 299 days
5. Chamois Niortais: 24 years and 335 days
6. Nimes Olympique: 24 years and 348 days
7. FC Metz: 24 years and 352 days
8. Rodez AF: 25 years and 152 days
9. FC Sochaux-Montbéliard: 25 years and 271 days
10. Quevilly-Rouen: 26 years and 18 days
11. Grenoble Foot 38: 26 years and 55 days
12. Valenciennes FC: 26 years and 65 days
13. SM Caen: 26 years and 90 days
14. EA Guingamp: 26 years and 199 days
15. FC Annecy: 26 years and 299 days
16. Pau FC: 26 years and 342 days
17. Paris FC: 27 years and 148 days
18. SC Bastia: 27 years and 184 days
19. Dijon FCO: 27 years and 331 days
20. Stade Lavallois: 29 years and 178 days

One would think that this average age could have a more or less direct influence on the league standings and results of the teams, but obviously not. In the Top 5 of the youngest teams there are 2 teams located in the Top 5 of Ligue 2 (Bordeaux and Le Havre) but also the bottom 2 teams in the table (Saint-Étienne and Niort).

At the bottom of the classification it is noted that the promoted Laval have focused on experience to try to maintain themselves, and for the moment the tangos are well engaged in the championship: 10th place.

A slightly more experienced starting XI

If we look at the average age of the 11 starters this season in L2, ASSE drops a bit in the standings and the average age increases. It must be said that very young players (such as Aiki, Othman, Bile, Saban…) start games only very rarely, if at all as starters. The Bordeaux are always the first. This is particularly explained by the start of the season when they were forced, for financial reasons and contractual approvals, to use young center players. A paying choice also on a sporting level.

Average age of starting XI this season:

1. Girondins of Bordeaux: 24 years and 27 days
2. Havre AC: 25 years and 57 days
3. Nimes Olympique: 25 years and 93 days
4. FC Metz: 25 years and 129 days
5. Chamois Niortais: 25 years and 198 days
6. AS Saint-Etienne: 25 years and 208 days
7. Rodez AF: 25 years and 215 days
8. Amiens SC: 25 years and 247 days
9. FC Sochaux-Montbéliard: 26 years and 103 days
10. Quevilly-Rouen: 26 years and 144 days
11. Grenoble Foot 38: 26 years and 222 days
12. Valenciennes FC: 26 years and 255 days
13. SM Caen: 26 years and 256 days
14. FC Annecy: 26 years and 290 days
15. SC Bastia: 27 years and 22 days
16. EA Guingamp: 27 years and 66 days
17. Pau FC: 27 years and 76 days
18. Paris FC: 27 years and 326 days
19. Dijon FCO: 28 years and 212 days
20. Stade Lavallois: 30 years and 16 days

Laurent Batlles, king of turnover

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Laurent Batlles made a big turnover and called up a lot of young players. It has rarely happened at the beginning of the season that Laurent Batlles manages to renew a similar eleven for two games in a row. For various reasons: disappointing individual sports performance, extra sports choices, injuries, disqualifications. Laurent Batlles is therefore the manager who has used the most players this season in Ligue 2: 34 players. Among these, we can include players sold or loaned at the end of the market: Camara, Neyou, Bouanga, Aouchiche, Rivera and Youssouf.

Number of players used this season:

1. AS Saint-Etienne: 34 players
2. FC Metz: 30 players
3. Rodez AF: 29 players
4. EA Guingamp: 27 players
5. Haven AC: 26 players
— Nimes Olympique: 26 players
7. Girondins de Bordeaux: 25 players
— SM Caen: 25 players
— Dijon FCO: 25 players
— Stade Lavallois: 25 players
11. Amiens SC: 24 players
— FC Annecy: 24 players
— Grenoble Foot 38: 24 players
— Valenciennes FC: 24 players
— Paris FC: 24 players
16. FC Sochaux-Montbéliard: 23 players
— Pau FC: 23 players
18. Chamois Niortais: 22 players
19. Quevilly-Rouen: 21 players
— SC Bastia: 21 players

Photo credit: ASSE.fr