Jim Ratcliffe has returned to Nice … and they are struggling again | Ligue 1

What if correlation did imply causation? The “best season†of Ineosâ€s ownership of Nice correlated with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co being forcibly distanced from the club due to Uefa regulations. “They have been so much better without our interference,†admitted Ratcliffe last season, as Nice achieved their highest league finish since 2017. With Nice and Manchester United no longer competing in the same European competition, Ineos regained operational control of the French club at the start of the summer and have only corroborated Ratcliffeâ€s previous assertion.

Already out of the Champions League at the first hurdle having been outplayed by Benfica in the qualifiers at the start of August, Nice have lost three of their first six games in Ligue 1 as well as losing their Europa League opener against Roma last Wednesday. “We canâ€t say that weâ€re swimming in joy and confidence,†said the clubâ€s manager, Franck Haise, before their 1-1 draw against newly promoted Paris FC on Sunday.

Nice are swimming in troubled waters. Injuries have contributed to their sub-standard start. Although, when you are reliant on 41-year-old Dante and the eternally injured Tanguy Ndombélé to make up the numbers, the problem is also in squad building. This is where Niceâ€s main issue currently lies. Sporting director Florian Maurice described the summer transfer window as “unpleasantâ€. From an accountancy perspective, the picture is rosy; they made €108m from player sales, the third-highest figure in Ligue 1. But there was not been significant reinvestment and the signings they did make are not paying off.

A third of Niceâ€s budget was spent on Isak Jansson, who looks ill-suited to the demands of Ligue 1, and was not exactly prolific at Rapid Vienna either; Yehvann Diouf looks a shadow of the goalkeeper he was at Reims last season; Kevin Carlos is yet to score his first goal; and Salis Abdul Samed, who is trying to get his career back on track following an injury-hit spell at Sunderland last time around, is short of confidence.

“We expect more,†said Haise last week. “That goes for other players too; it isnâ€t just the signings.†But the new arrivals are failing to fill the voids, the largest of which was created by the departures of Evann Guessand and Gaëtan Laborde, Niceâ€s top two goalscorers last season. Between the ineffective Jansson, the struggling Carlos and Terem Moffi, whose prolific form for Lorient back in 2022 now looks to have been a flash in the pan, it is difficult to see where the goals are coming from.

Isak Jansson has not exactly lit up Nice this season. Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters

In search of solutions in the transfer window, Maurice turned to Manchester United but did not receive any help. “We envisaged things like asking them to sign a player and then loaning us back, but their priority was selling,†said Niceâ€s sporting director. Nice have been treated with a level of ambivalence that would make BlueCo-owned Strasbourg green with envy. “I donâ€t think that [the link between Chelsea and Strasbourg] is Manchester Unitedâ€s model,†said Maurice. Between Nice and Strasbourg, the realities of multi-club ownership are starkly different.

It wasnâ€t just movement of players that Nice sought over the summer – it was clarity. There has been a lack of communication from the owners about their continued commitment to the club, amid reports that the investment bank Lazard has been tasked with finding a buyer. The silence has been a source of frustration, as Haise admitted earlier this season. “Lots of us are waiting for the owners to speak,†said the manager, who conceded that he was “annoyed†by Ratcliffeâ€s disparaging comments about the club last season. Ratcliffe made a rare appearance at the Allianz Riviera on Wednesday to watch Nice lose 2-1 to Roma in the Europa League, although he was not sitting alongside Maurice and CEO Fabrice Bocquet in the stands.

Ratcliffeâ€s controversial assertion that Niceâ€s standard of football is “not high enough for me to get excited†perhaps now has relevance, unlike last season, when the comment was originally made. The untouchable Haise is cobbling together the elements as best as he can, although he says he is “no magician†and “can understand the concerns†of the fans.

Their concerns are certainly warranted. Nice are 12th in the 18-team league after games against Toulouse, Auxerre, Le Havre, Nantes, Brest and Paris FC. “It is insufficient,†said Haise on Sunday. “Two wins, one draw and three losses against teams that donâ€t often play at the top of the table. We expect better, but it is our reality. We have to up our level. We know that the level of opponents will also increase.â€

In their next four games they play Monaco, Lyon, Lille and PSG, all of whom are in the top six. For a club that is questioning its long-term fate, there are plenty of issues to address in the short term, but it may be decisions made in the recent past, by Ineos and the wider management at Nice, that leave their ambitions for European qualification for next season already in peril.

Quick GuideLigue 1 resultsShow

Nice 1-1 Paris FC

Angers 0-2 Brest

Lille 0-1 Lyon

Metz 0-0 Le Havre

Rennes 0-0 Lens

Lorient 3-1 Monaco

Toulouse 2-2 Nantes

PSG 2-0 Auxerre

Strasbourg 1-2 Marseille

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Talking points

After defeat in Le Classique, PSG returned to winning ways and regained top spot in Ligue 1 thanks to a comfortable 2-0 win over Auxerre. However, it was yet another victory that came at a cost, with Vitinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia withdrawn before half-time. Both are now doubts to face Barcelona on Wednesday. Injuries are seemingly contagious at Le Campus this season – no doubt symptomatic of an extended season and curtailed pre-season. Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, João Neves, Fabián Ruiz and Marquinhos are also on the sidelines. A second-string PSG side can suffice in Ligue 1; it may be a different story in Barcelona.

Adi Hütter has expressed “dissatisfaction†after every Monaco performance this season. The Austrian concedes that his annoyance is “paradoxical†given that, going into this weekendâ€s action, his team were top of Ligue 1. “It is not good enough,†he said after a 5-2 win over Metz last week. There was neither the performance nor the result on Saturday, when they lost 3-1 to Lorient. Thilo Kehrer was harshly sent off in the first half, hobbling a team that was already struggling with injuries. Every first-team midfielder (Lamine Camara, Denis Zakaria, Aleksandr Golovin, Aladji Bamba and Paul Pogba) is currently unavailable due to injury or lack of fitness. But the poor performances preceded those absences, and the concern before they face Manchester City on Wednesday is justified.

This is an article by Get French Football News

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