PSG Ligue 1 Champions...3 questions for how they defend title next season

PSG capture the Ligue 1 title, something that was expected after the club made some major moves last season. It was not without some difficulty. After winning the crown, PSG will be expected to defend their title...potentially begin a run of form similar to Lyon's run from a few seasons back. PSG have the resources and already the talent to defend their title. There are three main questions that will linger with the club:

• The main question - who will be managing the club? With Ancelotti all but heading off to Real Madrid it is clear that PSG will have a new manager for next season. The rumor mill was ripe with stories from North London that Wenger would make the move across the channel, but those have recently simmered down. What about Rafa from

  

  We hardly knew ya!

  Chelsea? Ugh. Please no. Although PSG might have a decent shot at a cup with the Spaniard at the helm. Mourinho was spoken of as well, but all signs indicate he will head back to his stomping grounds a the end of King's Road in London. Of course two Italians could have outside shots at getting the gig - Mancini who was just let go at Manchester City and Allegri from Milan. Both dark horse outsiders. What about Pellegrini from Malaga? He seems destined for City, but you never know. I think an outsider to keep an eye on is Laurent Blanc. Who has been out of work since France crashed out of the Euros. The former French national team manager would be a good fit - he knows Ligue 1 from his time managing Bordeaux. Blanc might see this as a chance to take over a club with the resources and ambitions to allow him the environment to succeed. And would thrust him right back into the lime light.
• Whoever is the manager will have to find someone to help shoulder the scoring load of Ibra...that is if the temperamental Swede remains at PSG! The Swede led Ligue 1 with 29 goals. The next highest goal scorer for PSG - Gameiro - had...6 goals. Yikes, talk about over-reliance on one player. Assuming Ibra stays, that might be a big assumption, PSG will need to find someone not named Ibra to score more than 6 goals. The Napoli striker - Cavani - is highly rumored to be heading to Paris. As well as a rumor of Rooney being in the sites of the Parisian club. Of course there is the outlandish rumor that PSG see themselves as serious contenders for Ronaldo...not sure that is going to happen. I think the Portuguese superstar might get overwhelmed by the financial offer from Paris, but I just do not see him wanting to go the Ligue 1 over a return to the EPL. I think PSG will hold on to Ibra, at least for one more season, and add the likes of Cavani to try to spread the scoring burden.
• Can PSG develop or acquire the necessary depth to be serious players for both

  

  Get this man some help!

  Ligue 1 and Champions League glory? Other than Ibra, PSG became overly reliant on the likes of Matuidi, Alex and others. In order for the club to be more of a player on multiple fronts they need to add some more depth. More importantly the talent they already have must step up their game. The likes of Pastore, Menez, Lucas, Lavezzi to name a few need to contribute more when it comes to PSG's game. Adding some depth in the midfield to take away some of the pressure on Matuidi would be helpful. This transfer season will be telling for what PSG can expect next season.

Great to see PSG getting their hands back on the Ligue 1 title. But the hard work has only begun.

Beckham to PSG...really? Where will he play?

After playing coy with the media, the Spice Boy, David Beckham ends up in the city of lights - with PSG. Uh okay. When this transfer was discussed months ago I was very skeptical. On the sporting front I just do not see why PSG would bring in a way-past-his-prime former England captain. On the branding and marketing side it makes "sense."

But where do you play him? He could not longer "tear up" the MLS so now what will he be able to do back in Europe? The PSG midfield is already full of quality players - Menez, Pastore, Matuidi, Motta and the youngsters - Veratti and Lucas. You cannot expect Beckham to play the creative midfield role, he does not have the legs anymore. He cannot play wide, those corridors are already occupied but the likes of Menez et al. Deep lying play maker? Seems like Ancelotti rather have players with engines there - Motta and Matuidi come to mind. Could Golden Balls be used as a late game sub off the bench? Sure. I can see him being played 15-20 minutes if PSG is chasing a goal. Use his dead ball skills and some of his creativity. But even in that capacity I feel PSG has plenty of options to fulfill that role...who also have younger legs.

On the sporting plan this does not seem to jive. If it is about creating buzz, selling kits, filling stadiums and turning PSG into a greater "name"...mission accomplished.

PSG...Ligue 1 theirs to lose?

So the Manchester City on the Seine has made a number of big time moves this transfer season. Doing some of their shopping in Italy, see below, as well as the top five most expensive transfers in Ligue 1:

date	player	to	from	m€
Jul 12	Thiago Silva	Paris SG.	Milan	42
Aug 12	Lucas Moura	Paris SG.	Sao Paulo	40
Jul 12	Ezequiel Lavezzi	Paris SG.	Napoli	26
Jul 12	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	Paris SG.	Milan	21
Jul 12	Marco Verratti	Paris SG.	Pescara	11

With this new purchasing power, that puts PSG in the same level as the top clubs in Europe, it also puts expectations on a whole new level. One that PSG has seldom been able to live up to, even before the petro-dollars came pouring in.

Of course while PSG has been bringing in players, they teams that will challenge PSG are losing players - Lille lost their best player, and the best player in Ligue 1 Eden Hazard and they might also lose their right back Debuchy to Newcastle, Marseilles lost Diarra and their coach, defending title holders Montpellier lost Ligue 1 leading goal scorer Giroud and might lose young starlet Mbiwa.

Lyon has stood pat so far, but they are just trying to keep their key players, such as Lloris (who I still think would look very good in North London red) and Cissokho.

What me worry?

So it is PSG's title to lose...at some level yes. They came very close last season to capturing that elusive Ligue 1 title. Something they have not done since Weah and Ginola have graced the pitch at the Parc des Princes. The pressure does mount on Ancelotti now. How will he leverage all the assets he has?

What will he do with what appears to be a log jam at striker - Ibra, Hourau and Gameiro (I think one of the two French strikers will need to be sold). If Ancelotti sticks with his preferred formation of 4-3-2-1 he does not really need three international strikers. What about Nene? Will the Brazilian stay or does he not have a place on the field? Assume Menez, Lavezzi, Pastore and Verratti will be rotating for the two offensive roles...Nene seems odd man out. Especially with young Brazilian midfielder Moura coming in January. The three deep lying midfielders will most likely be a combination of Motta, Matuidi, Sissoko, Chantome and Bodmer - with the first three getting the bulk of the time.

The back line will also need some managing with a log jam at central defense, especially that Silva is now in the mix. He would appear to be a lock for one of the central roles. With Sakho seeming on the outside looking in, will he get moved? One area that is not a concern is in goal where Sirigu will continue to be PSG's #1, with Douchez more than capable as his back up.

PSG have a lot of options, a lot of money and a lot of expectations. With Champions League football as well as the expectations for Ligue 1 glory, much will depend on how the team is managed and how Ancelotti manages his players time and egos. PSG must get off to a good start and more importantly, they have to stop giving away points to teams they should beat. This has haunted them and cost them dearly over the past few seasons - two loses to lowly Nancy last season cost them the title....I think PSG will win the title this season and get to the knock out stage in the Champions League.

Look for Nene, Sakho and Gameiro to be moved before end of August or in the winter. Also look for PSG to make a big name signing over the winter as well.

PSG - can't buy me love

Beckham, Pato and now Tevez? I guess the petro-euros in Paris are not as valuable as once believed! After Beckham said no thanks to PSG and re-upped with the Galaxy and then we say PSG do a dance with AC Milan only to see Pato say no to the French capital, now we are watching at the Apache might follow suit. What is going on! A few weeks ago I was waiting to see a whole host of big names being unveiled at the Parc. Well we did sign 30 year old Barcelona bench warmer - Maxwell. PSG is linked with another aging defender in Maicon.

Hmm should I go to Paris....

So what is really going on in Paris. Ancelotti has made it clear he wants a big name striker/offensive option brought in before the end of the month (did I mention that Kaka has also been on this merry go round) but it looks as if that might be a pipe dream. I understand what Ancelotti is looking to do, but once again I ask - what is the plan?

Beckham, thankfully he stayed in LA, but what would have been his role? Wide player? Deep lying midfielder? Late game substitute? That smells like a PR move and not a football move.

Pato? Big name. How would he be used? Top of the Ancelotti Christmas Tree? (4-3-2-1) Or would he some how be a tandem striker with Gameiro and/or Hourau. What about Tevez? What formation would he slot into? What about Kaka. Where would he slot and doesn't he make Pastore redundant? Or would Kaka be more of a 9.5, but then who plays the role of the #9? What about Nene and Menez? If you have Pastore, Kaka, Nene and Menez with Sissoko, Matuidi and Chantome you find a very crowed midfield.

PSG is sitting in a good position, they are our of the Europa League so can focus on domestic football. They sit 3 points clear of second, even after playing through a poor spell. Do they need a big name striker? Not sure. Hourau is coming back from injury and should assist. They might need some more depth in the midfield, especially if Ancelotti sticks with his preferred 4-3-2-1 formation. I also believe that we will see more success over the summer transfer window, if and when PSG are qualified for the Champions League.

12 more days...how many more players can avoid PSG during the transfer window?