They escaped relegation in the last round
After qualifying for the Champions League the year before, Toulouse entered the third qualifying round at the start of last season, but lost to Liverpool 5:0 on aggregate. They managed to enter Uefa Cup group stages by beating CSKA Sofia on away goals, but had little success as they took only three points in the group. The way the season kicked off, the same way it continued as the team struggled to find the form from the season before, when they had finished third in Ligue 1. The whole season was the fight for survival and Toulouse beat Valenciennes in the last round to stay in Ligue 1. The team underperformed the whole season and could have easily been relegated. Some of the best players, such as Elmander who was the best scorer last few years, have left the club, while some new faces arrived, and it remains to be seen how the team will cope with the changes.
Johan Elmander left the club
The team suffered a lot of changes before the coming season. Three excellent players left the club, but Tunisian forward Santos did not play much last season. But the other two players include the best goal scorer over the last years, Johan Elmander who joined Bolton, and Cameroon national team player Achille Emana, who joined Real Betis. These two will be sorely missed as they were very important part of the team. Keeper Nicolas Douchez also left, but great young keeper Carrasso came from Marseille, and that is a plus for the team. Besides Carrasso, Tulouse brought some very good players to compensate for the departures. These include forward Soren Larsen, who came from Schalke, attacking midfielder Daniel Braaten from Bolton, Argentinean defender Cetto, whose contract was bought from Nantes, among others. Ettiene Didot has been brought from Rennes to compensate for the departure of Emana. The team is now stronger in goal than last year, defense and attack are pretty much the same strength, but midfield area might be a bit weaker because the absence of Emana, though Didot is great player, who can fit right in. The best players that remained in the team are wingers Fode Mansare and Bryan Bergougnoux.
In
Soren Larsen (Schalke)
Ettiene Didot (Rennais)
Cedric Carrasso (Marseille)
Daniel Braaten (Bolton)
Mauro Cetto (Nantes)
Oliver Blondel (Havre)
Sebastian Hamel (Marseille)
Alexandre Bonnet (returned from loan at Sedan)
Xavier Pentecote (returned from loan at Bastia)
Out
Johan Elmander (Bolton)
Achille Emana (Real Betis)
Santos (Sochaux)
Nicolas Douchez (Rennais)
Nicolas Dieuze (Le Havre)
Laurent Batlles (Grenoble)
Rudy Riou (Marseille)
Cherfa (Taragones, ESP)
Arrache (Marseille, r.p.)
Jon Jonsson (Brondby, DAN)
Mermillod (Troyes)
Fight to avoid relegation
Last season was very disappointing for the team as they struggled to stay in the league after finishing third in 2006/2007 season. The team will have to deal with the absence of two best players Elmander and Emana, as they left the club. Elmander was one of the top scorers of ligue 1, and he will be difficult to replace. The man for that job is Soren Larsen, powerful forward who arrived from Schalke, and is a similar type of player as the Swede. Etiene Didot, one of best Rennais players over the last years will be the man to replace Emana. The place in front of goal is reinforced by Cedric Carasso, who showed great potential in Marseille. Daniel Braaten, along with Mansare and Bergougnoux will have to help Larsen score some goals and keep Toulouse in Ligue 1 for another season. The team will be in the fight for relegation, but I think they will stay in the league this season.
Our tip: Toulouse to avoid relegation
Odds
Bookmaker: Bet365
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