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It speaks to the weirdness of 2020 that RC Lens manager Franck Haise won promotion to Ligue 1 after just two games.
Although they weren’t playing well, Lens were grinding out wins under the stewardship of Philippe Montanier and went into the winter break top of the league. Returning from the break though, Lens won just one match in seven and Montanier was relieved of his duties despite the team only falling to third place.
It may not have been pretty, but it was difficult to criticise Montanier when he was winning. As soon as the victories stopped though, out he went, replaced by reserves coach Haise.
Lens barely had a chance to bounce back before the Covid-19 outbreak put an end to French football, cancelling the rest of the season. In second place, Lens were automatically promoted to Ligue 1, rising to France’s premier division with a new coach and a team that wasn’t even playing well in the lower division.
Despite these difficulties, Lens have put in a solid showing in their first season back in Ligue 1 since 2015. Early results such as the win over champions Paris Saint-Germain were very impressive, losing just two of their opening ten matches, although they have since settled comfortably into mid-table.
Given Lens set their main objective as simply avoiding relegation – Haise saying “We must admit, the first objective is to stay there and sustain the club at this level” in May – a top half finish would be overachieving, particularly when you consider Lorient, who finished above them, look bound for relegation.
Lens haven’t stopped at that though. “The search for security should not prevent ambition and aiming as high as possible,” Haise said. “Let us remain humble but let us be ambitious“, while Seko Fofana admitted “maintaining our place in Ligue 1 remains the major objective, but I have my personal objective which I keep to myself for the moment“.
LensAbsolu have detailed the methods club president Joseph Oughourlian uses for setting objectives, but more important is that these ambitions have been backed financially.
Fofana was linked to the likes of AC Milan, Internazionale and Atalanta, yet publicly stated his desire to come to Lens: “I had the opportunity to discuss with the directors, with some players that I knew in Bastia like [Jean-Louis] Leca and [Yannick] Cahuzac. And they convinced me straight away. Lens, it’s the Stade Bollaert, its supporters. I hope the two clubs will find an agreement. But today, me, my choice is made: it is Lens”.
Rather than let him slip through their fingers, the club broke their transfer record to sign him for €8.5million, despite having already equalled their transfer record the month prior bringing in Ignatius Ganago from Nice for €6million.
These may be small sums in the wider footballing world, but considering the economic climate – Lens have already had to repay many season ticket holders for the first half of the year thanks to Coronavirus restrictions – they are taking a risk.
Alongside them, in came Facundo Medina, Jonathan Clauss and Loïc Badé, Gaël Kakuta, Issiaga Sylla and Arnaud Kalimuendo were brought in on loan, while Corentin Jean’s was made permanent.
France’s decision to cancel the 2019-20 season meant their clubs were able to have a full pre-season, giving these new signings better conditions to acclimatise to the team than in England or Italy.
Basic idea
Haise has made slight alterations to predecessor Montanier’s set-up, changing from a 3-4-3 to a 3-4-1-2. There was a glimpse of this last season when Tony Mauricio was stationed behind the forwards during Haise’s two games in charge against Paris FC and Orléans, and it makes even more sense now Kakuta is involved.
Pressing
By setting up in a 3-4-1-2, Lens get plenty of numbers in defence. With five defenders, the midfielders ahead of them and Leca in goal, Lens have eight men whose primary objective is stopping the opposition.
Despite this, Lens rarely seem a particularly defensive team. This is thanks to their pressing: they may set up initially in a narrow 5-2-3 shape, but they will frequently look to engage the opposition high up the pitch, and even when they stay deeper, they will come alive when certain triggers are met.
Their narrow shape seeks to guide the opposition wide, where they will then try to trap the opposition against the touchline. They press with man-orientations, with the forwards pushing up tight to stop a pass back inside to the defenders, in a position to sprint at the goalkeeper if necessary, while the midfielder on that side will push up in support behind them, sticking to any midfielder who comes back to help, and the wing-back will push up to stop the pass down the line.
With no short passes available, the player on the ball has few options to play out, often forced into kicking long. Having directed the opposition to one flank, the wing-back on the opposite flank can safely tuck inside, meaning Lens still have four players back in defence to combat these long balls forward.
Fail to get rid and Lens will simply win the ball high up the pitch, leading to goals such as when Clauss robbed Adrien Truffert to set up Kalimuendo against Rennes or Kalimuendo chased down Anthony Racioppi until the Dijon goalkeeper’s late attempt to clear the ball was hit straight at him, rebounding into the net.
Lens’ players show an impressive willingness to carry out this running and a strong mentality, continuing to fight after they go behind. With the area’s mining history, this hard work is an easy way to get the backing of Lens’ supporters. Every forward is expected to take part, with even stars like Kakuta racing back to help out the men behind them. It was perhaps revealing that Ganago talked of “wetting the shirt” upon joining.
Florian Sotoca’s pressing is the most eye-catching, not only energetic in chasing down opponents, but also reacting straight away and showing a good ability to change direction quickly so his opponents can’t evade his pressure.
Defending
Although Lens have a solid defensive base, they are far from perfect, much of which can be pinned on personnel.
Standing at just 5ft 11, Jean-Louis Leca is short for a goalkeeper, although it doesn’t affect him as you might imagine. He is good at coming out to claim crosses, possessing a stocky frame that ensures he can’t be bullied in challenges by bigger strikers.
This lack of height also means he relies more on athleticism, which, at 35, you would expect to be fading, yet he still shows good reflexes and, although he might not be as sprightly as a younger man, he’s still capable of springing to make a save.
The Corsican won’t catch the attention of the cameras with a spectacular stop often, however this is largely thanks to his excellent footwork: he’s forever shifting his feet to reposition himself, preventing him from being caught out and needing to come up with something incredible.
Leca rates towards the bottom of the league statistically yet the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Look at the goals he’s conceded and many are from one-on-ones, while models like expected goals would probably look down on goals such as Mathias Pereira Lage’s for Angers – a long distance shot surrounded by defenders – yet Leca couldn’t realistically be expected to save it.
These statistics also don’t account for the shots he prevents. Leca is an excellent sweeper keeper, rushing out to get to the ball before an attacker. He reads these situations well, knowing when to go straight for the ball and when to just narrow the angle for the attacker. With the knowledge that Leca will happily claim any balls in behind, Lens’ backline can safely push higher up the pitch.
He hasn’t been blameless though. Leca’s tendency to punch away crosses has led directly to two goals, against Lyon and Montpellier, where his punches have rebounded straight off a player into the net. There have been other, more basic mistakes too, looking weak on the opening goal against Metz and for Reims’ first two. Even when he’s unfortunate, such as Stephy Mavididi’s for Montpellier where he’s caught shifting his feet, leaving him unable to spring up, you need to do take into account that he’s always shifting his feet to make up for his lack of height, and that a taller goalkeeper would probably have the reach to make that save even if he was caught wrong-footed.
As one of the team’s leaders, Haise likely won’t be in any hurry to replace Leca, however the goalkeeper has struggled at times with the step up in competition and some of these mistakes have proved costly.
Ahead of him, Lens have a new back three. Both Loïc Bade and Facundo Medina were brought in over the summer, while Jonathan Gradit missed large chunks of his debut season through injury last year, so still feels quite new.
Badé has replaced Zakaria Diallo in the centre of the defence, his predecessor yet to make an appearance this season. Despite only turning 20 in April, the Sévrien has appeared more than a match to the challenge. Tall, Badé is good in the air, although he can very occassionally appear a little weak or flail at the ball.
This is likely to come as he gains more experience and fills out his frame, however the issue only really seems to apply to aerial duels. With his feet on the ground, Badé is calm and possesses an excellent control over his body. He gets tight to his man and holds him in place, stopping his opponent from turning, rather than steaming in to win the ball. When he does try to win the ball, it’s usually more a case of sticking his leg out with a well-timed poke rather than committing his body weight to a challenge, meaning he can easily recover if he misses.
This composed way of defending makes him ideal for the central role. He can hold his position and cover in behind either of his defensive partners, always shaping his body well so he can quickly sweep across if they are beaten.
To his right, Gradit is the opposite. Whereas Badé is relatively passive, Gradit is extremely aggressive. Quick across the ground and forceful in challenges, Gradit will regularly nip in ahead of an opponent to intercept or kill an attack dead with a tackle.
The obvious problem is when he doesn’t win these challenges. Gradit will fly into these challenges with everything he has, so if he misses there is little chance of him recovering, leaving a gap for the opposition to attack. He also gives away fouls frequently, many of which have proved costly: he gave away the free-kick for the opener and was then red carded in the Derby du Nord against Lille, booked twice for fouling his man when trying to get to the ball ahead of him, and gave away the penalty that allowed Nantes to equalise.
Arguably worse is that many opponents seem to have clocked Gradit’s bad habits and look to exploit them, baiting him forward into a challenge then attacking the gap he leaves.
To Badé’s left is Medina. The Argentine could give most of Ligue 1’s forwards a run for their money in a foot race, sprinting back ahead of them, making him perfect for a high line.
This speed applies to his footwork too, meaning he can twist and turn quickly without losing his balance, making it difficult for an opponent to escape him in a one-on-one.
Although Medina excels along the ground, in the air it’s a different matter. He leaps well and doesn’t get outmuscled but as he’s relatively short for a centre-back, he’s at a disadvantage, losing as many aerial duels as he wins.
Behind them in the pecking order is Steven Fortes. The Cape Verdean is tall, making him solid in the air, however he’s lanky rather than a physical monster so can be pushed about, often failing to get clean connections even if he does win a header.
Although he isn’t a slouch, Fortes lacks the pace of his defensive teammates so has to push himself to race back when Lens use a high line.
He does have the Bambi on ice vibes typical of lanky players, but is a surprisingly good one-on-defender, able of switching directions quickly and fluidly, waiting patiently to tackle.
Aleksandar Radovanovic has made just one appearance all season – the disastrous Derby du Nord – with full-back Massadio Haïdara used ahead of him at centre-back. Haïdara is relatively short, albeit with a good leap, making him solid but not dominant in the air, and although he’s hard-working, quick and solid positionally, he doesn’t really seem to possess a natural flair for defending. He keeps the correct body shape to ensure he’s there for one-on-ones, however he stays upright and keeps his feet close together, making it difficult to shift them quickly to block a cross, shot or someone trying to dribble past him. Combine this with the fact he often gets very close to his man without trying to put a foot in and he gets beaten more than he should do.
All of these issues are significantly less of a problem at wing-back, where he has the energy to get up and down the flank, than at centre-back.
Haïdara has two new faces to compete with for his spot at wing-back: loanee Issiaga Sylla and youth teamer Ismaël Boura. The gangly Sylla is good in the air and, although he takes risks going into challenges, his long legs mean it often plays out in his favour. When he misses, his opponent can advance forward but he works hard to recover and has the back three to cover him, meaning it’s often worth the risk in Lens’ pressing system.
Stepping up from the reserves, Boura’s been given chances on both sides, albeit primarily on the left. The occasional slip-up aside, he’s fitted well into the defence. He gets out to his man quickly and sticks to him, rarely giving them the space to escape.
On the right side, Jonathan Clauss and Clément Michelin share the wing-back spot.
Quick to cover ground, Clauss will get on top of his man quickly and is difficult to beat in a foot race, yet is frustratingly weak in challenges – it’s not unusual for an opponent to be able to shrug off one of his tackles even if he gets something on them or the ball.
Michelin is slower to get across to his opponent, preferring to leave a bit of distance between them. This makes him more susceptible to conceding crosses, although he’s also harder to beat on the overlap. He’s probably the best technical defender of the wing-backs, capable of some beautiful clean tackles.
Each of Lens’ defenders are solid, yet each possess their own flaws, meaning it’s not unusual to see an individual error give away a goal.
Despite seemingly bolstering the backline with lots of men, Lens’ system is partially at fault here too. The back five provides excellent defensive width around their own box – especially as Medina and Gradit are comfortable defending in wide areas, meaning they can cover for their wing-backs – however it offers little defensive width higher up the pitch.
Kakuta and the two forwards will stay narrow to encourage the opposition to play wide, leaving it to the wing-backs to push forward in the wide areas. This is fine if they don’t have far to go, but if the opposition have pulled players deep, then this can be a huge and unrealistic gap for the wing-backs to cover, leaving the recipient with time on the ball before the wing-back can get close enough to pressure them.
Likewise, while the 3-4-1-2 shape leaves them well-stocked in defence, it leaves just two men in midfield, effectively becoming a 5-2-3 out of possession. That’s a lot of space for just two men to cover, especially when they are asked to push forward and support the press too.
Seko Fofana will occasionally make the wrong decision to step up and cut out a pass into a midfielder, leaving space for the opposition to play through.
On the whole though, the midfielders are strong defensively. Fofana is big and strong, capable of muscling players off the ball.
Cheick Doucouré’s long legs mean he can stretch around an opponent to poke the ball away and stop an attack.
Despite his age, Yannick Cahuzac still has the energy to cover ground and the keen positional sense to snuff out danger.
There’s not a great deal they can do when they are outnumbered though. If they are pulled forward or dragged wide to cover, then that leaves just one of them to cover that area in front of the midfield so it’s easy for the opposition to have someone tuck or drop into this gap to pick up the ball. This was most glaring against Lille, while Lyon using as Memphis Depay as a false nine saw him repeatedly receive the ball in between the lines as Doucouré and Fofana were occupied elsewhere, but plenty of lesser teams have exploited this too.
The central defenders are forced to step out to cover and then all of a sudden there’s holes in Lens’ backline.
Lens often change to a 3-5-2 when they are protecting a lead, adding an extra man to the midfield.
Build-up
A well-staffed backline makes it easier for Lens to play out though. With a back three, there are three short options for Leca to roll the ball out to, spread out across the width of the pitch so that they are difficult for the opposition frontline to cover.
Each of this back three are also superb with the ball at their feet. Jonathan Gradit is the most eye-catching: previously used as a full-back at Tours and Caen, the Talençais takes the same aggression from his defending into his attacking play, rushing forward down the flank into attack to play into the forwards, often continuing his run to join them.
Likewise, Badé is unafraid to push forward on the ball, dribbling forward into attack, while he has a calmness under pressure that he leaves him unfazed by the opposition press.
Medina doesn’t venture forward on the ball as frequently as his teammates, but he can pick out fantastic passes.
Both Gradit and Badé can do this too.
This quality on the ball enables Lens to draw the opposition over to one side, then play out to a free man in space on the opposite flank and advance.
If the opposition refuse to be baited into pressing, then the defenders are can push forward on the ball themselves, forcing action.
It’s one of the likely reasons Fortes has found himself out of favour. The Cape Verdean can pick out nice passes if given space to do so, but is generally awkward on the ball, with his first touch rarely out of his feet.
This strategy means Lens usually progress the ball down the flanks rather than through the centre, and the structure of the midfield supports this too. One midfielder might stay in front of the back three as the tip of a diamond, however he may well join the other one in pushing up into higher positions.
Sometimes these movements are decoys, intended to create space for an attacker dropping back to retrieve the ball.
More often than not though, they appear to be attempts to push the midfield back and occupy them, ideally narrowing the opposition to create space down the flanks.
This helps create space outside for the wing-backs and centre-backs to use, although it also puts the midfielders in positions were they can’t easily receive the ball, rendering them largely null in the build-up.
If the opposition do push forward to press, Lens are also capable of taking advantage of this with long balls. Ganago and youth product Simon Banza are both target men able to hold the ball up for their teammates, while 6ft 2 Sotoca is good in the air, flicking headers on for his teammates. Lens can happily play straight over the press and get men running at their backline.
Attack
Lens’ build-up works to make space for their men down the flanks, however this doesn’t necessarily translate into good chances. Even with time to pick them out, the wing-backs’ supply is mixed, with as many hopelessly overhit balls as those on the button.
It doesn’t help that they often don’t have a lot to aim at. Lens will flood the box with players, however so will the opposition defence, leaving a crowded area with little space to attack the ball.
On occasion Lens have improved this by having the forwards make runs wide in behind the full-backs. With the full-backs already occupied trying to stop the Lens wing-backs from crossing, these forwards either have space to pick up the ball or they drag other defenders wide, opening up space for their teammates inside.
This has only been used rarely, such as against Saint-Etienne and Nantes, but helps create better quality chances.
What if there was an alternative to focussing on crosses though?
Lens’ star player is without doubt Gaël Kakuta. Born half an hour away in Lille, Kakuta was the star of Lens’ youth team before controversially leaving at 16 for Chelsea – part of a string of players poached by English clubs that earned Chelsea a transfer ban, although it was later overturned.
Despite being called the “future of Chelsea” by Carlo Ancelotti and “the star” by Michael Ballack, Kakuta fell into the same cycle as many young Chelsea players, going on loan to Fulham, Bolton Wanderers, Dijon, Vitesse Arnhem, Lazio and Rayo Vallecano before finally leaving in search of first team football.
Now reaching the end of a career that never quite reached the heights expected, Kakuta has returned to “where it all started. I’ve always wanted to play with the first team. It was my childhood dream… I did not hesitate when I got the offer from Lens. No matter which club approached me, it was Lens and nothing else! I have never walked on Bollaert-Delelis’ pitch except as a ball boy [laughs]. I can’t imagine this moment yet, I’m looking forward to it!“
The Congolese international is an attacking marvel. Able to beat a man by dribbling or by pinging it around him with one touch passes, Kakuta advances through the tight areas around the defence, looking as if he’s seeing the game in slow motion while everyone else plays catch-up. He also has an incredible eye for a pass, slicing through balls between opposition defenders to the forwards.
With so much talent, Kakuta is the obvious candidate to be Lens’ creative hub, yet Lens’ strategy sees them move the ball down the flanks instead and actively starves him of space by pushing the midfielders up close to him.
Kakuta remains influential, often dropping deep to collect the ball at the base of the midfield and work it forward, however he’s generally excelling on the fringes of the game rather than at the centre of it.
It’s not just Kakuta either. Sotoca often excels dropping off between the lines, as does Corentin Jean, providing ways of moving the ball through the middle.
Meanwhile Ganago and Banza have shown an ability to hold up the ball that could allow them to bring others into play.
The midfielders behind them can offer more too. Fofana is a good box-to-box player, both strong enough to bully his way through and technical enough to do so through more subtle means.
Doucouré is far better in tight spaces than someone with his gangly frame should be and can pick out good passes.
Even Cahuzac is a neat passer and times his runs well, while Tony Mauricio is a natural attacking midfielder that’s been used deeper at times this season due to Kakuta taking his starting spot.
These players get to show off their technical ability on the counter, where they burst forward, running with the ball and exchanging passes at speed, although how this would translate to when they are given less space to attack is unsure.
Nevertheless, Lens’ wide attacking produces mixed results and they have some very good attackers through the centre, so perhaps it would make sense for them to shift their focus.
Conclusion
Haise has been thrown in at the deep end, stepping up from working with developmental squads in the lower leagues to France’s top division with a side that wasn’t even performing well in the second tier. He’s been more than a match for the challenge though, forming a cohesive unit of hard-working players after being backed by the club in the summer.
There is room for improvement though, and as Lens edge closer to securing their place in Ligue 1 next season, they can start to look upwards rather than focussing on maintenance.
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