Team Focus: Pressure on Courbis as Montpellier Struggle Without Last Season's Stars

The very first goal of a team’s season should be – and usually is – a moment of great joy and release, sweeping away the cobwebs after a few months off, and opening the route towards an exciting new campaign, replete with fresh hopes and possibilities.

That has not, sadly, been the case for Montpellier. They broke their duck just before 9pm local time on Saturday night, and though Joris Marveaux’s finish was fairly emphatic, it met with little more than a ripple of noise from the stands of Stade de la Mosson. With good reason, too – Montpellier were already trailing 2-0 to visitors Saint Etienne, and Marveaux’s strike came too deep into stoppage time to give the locals any genuine hope of prising a point from the game.

The only consolation it offered was that it at least stopped Montpellier completing a fifth match of the nascent campaign goalless. Instead, Gazélec Ajaccio would attain that unwanted milestone the following afternoon, with the Corsicans drawing a blank in a home defeat to Monaco. Thierry Laurey’s side are all that stands between the surprise champions of 2012 and the bottom of the table, and they only do so on goal difference.

It all means that Rolland Courbis is staring squarely at the possibility of his second spell at La Paillade not lasting to term, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season. Although it could be argued that the veteran is the victim of expectation to a certain extent, with Montpellier having finished a very creditable 7th last season, clearly all is not well at La Mosson.

Colourful owner Louis Nicollin, whose son Laurent runs the club on a day-to-day basis, dragged himself from his sick bed to attend to Saturday’s match, and probably wished he hadn’t bothered. Soon after Nolan Roux scored the visitors’ second (and ultimately decisive) goal, just before the hour, Nicollin decided to take his leave and return home. The symbolism of the moment and its potential ramifications for Courbis’ future has not gone unnoticed in the French media at large.

“Courbis sur un fil” (Courbis by a thread), read the headline in Sunday’s L’Equipe. The accompanying article underlined the positioning of Frédéric Hantz and Raymond Domenech as possible successors, with a return of another currently unattached coach, the title-winning René Girard, less likely.

Whoever did step in would be faced with similar problems; finding a way to create an efficient attack from scratch in order to quickly glean points. With Montpellier already 2 points behind 18th-placed Troyes and 4 short of Lorient, in 17th, after the weekend, the need is growing.

On the eve of the Saint Etienne game, the total turn around in the final third of Montpellier’s game was plainly what was occupying Courbis’ mind. “The offensive trio last year was Barrios-Mounier-Sanson,” he said. “This should become Boudebouz-Yatabaré-Bérigaud.”

The latter three, and any supporting cast, have a stiff task on their hands. The departure of Lucas Barrios after his loan spell, Anthony Mounier to Bologna and the loss of Morgan Sanson to a serious knee injury (he is unlikely to return much before November) has left a considerable gulf. These three players scored 26 goals and provided another 13 between them in 2014/15.

It’s an intimidating target as things stand. Kévin Bérigaud is probably under the most immediate pressure. Having arrived from Evian with a decent goals record (he scored 10 in 30 starts for Pascal Dupraz’s team in 2013/14), the 27-year-old was a major let-down during his first season in the Midi. He scored just 4 in 23 starts last season (coming on 10 more times as a substitute), but he will be expected to plug the Barrios-sized hole in the line-up, most closely replicating the Paraguayan’s burrowing, hard-working style.

Bérigaud was again willing against Saint Etienne, having 3 efforts on goal, 2 of which were on target. He’s not especially suited for aerial combat, but that’s where the more physical Mustapha Yatabaré should come in. Returning to Ligue 1 after a year in Turkey with Trabzonspor, Yatabaré was a handful for Guingamp scoring 11 in 30 during 13/14 and – crucially for Montpellier, and Bérigaud’s needs - winning 2.5 aerials per game. His second-half substitute appearance against Sainté was his debut for the club.

Ryad Boudebouz is the most interesting piece of the puzzle. He is the nominal replacement for Mounier, and they ostensibly have plenty in common; they are both lithe, tricky left-footers with the desire to create, and the Algerian international midfielder will be expected to contribute to make up for the 7 assists that Mounier gave in Ligue 1 last season.

Yet while they both have wingers’ skillsets, Boudebouz has developed more into a player who dictates in central areas since his early days at Sochaux. He even thrived in a new deep-lying role for Bastia last season, so his return to a more orthodox number 10 role since arriving on Montpellier is a readjustment for him.

Boudebouz has dealt with it well. He laid on an excellent 8 key passes against Sainté, and averages 3.6 per game this season, so the strikers can’t complain they’re not getting the service. He could get his own share of goals too – he took 3 shots on Saturday (2 on target), with the average position map showing us that Boudebouz frequently made runs beyond the strikers with his pace. It must also be noted that goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier (rated 7.43) was one of Les Verts’ outstanding players on Saturday.

All hope is not lost - it's worth remembering that last season, Barrios didn't open his account for the club until December. The question is just how patient the Nicollins will be with Courbis. There is no sense that the fans have turned on him. The supporters group that gather behind the home goal at La Mosson, Butte Paillade 91, unfurled a huge banner daubed with the slogan “Courbis ne lâche rien” (Courbis doesn’t give up). With a visit to Caen followed by home matches with Monaco and fellow strugglers Lorient, he will hope to have a chance to show that, though being clinical is what Montpellier need more than anything right now.

Can Montpellier avoid relegation without the stars of last season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below