Why PSG's Laurent Blanc Does Not Merit Coach of the Year Nomination

On Tuesday morning, the yearly nominations for the UNFP Ligue 1 awards were revealed. Coach of the Year was one of the first categories to be announced, and Paris Saint-Germain’s Laurent Blanc was one of the four names nominated.

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Voici les 4 nommés pour le trophée du meilleur entraineur de Ligue 1 #TrophéesUNFP cc @beinsports_FR pic.twitter.com/v1QCAteztQ

— UNFP (@UNFP) May 5, 2015"

It is not to say that Blanc has had a poor year in charge of PSG, but there have been some excellent performances this season. The others on the list are all deserving, but when the likes of AS Monaco’s Leandro Jardim, Roland Courbis of Montpellier and SC Bastia’s Olivier Printant miss out, it’s hard to justify Blanc’s place on this list.

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Elu meilleur entraineur de L1 en 2008, L. Blanc est de nouveau en lice pour le titre cc @beinsports_FR #TrophéesUNFP pic.twitter.com/yTnt6qngIS

— UNFP (@UNFP) May 5, 2015"

PSG are top of the league and will likely go on to win the title, unless there is a huge slip-up with three games left. Still, the stark truth is that they should win the league, with little or no complications. Compared to other Ligue 1 teams, with the money, power, resources and players they have, they should be able to dominate.

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Le coach de l'@OL fait partie des 4 nommés au trophée du meilleur entraineur de L1 cc @beinsports_FR #TrophéesUNFP pic.twitter.com/WzoKmummxw

— UNFP (@UNFP) May 5, 2015"

Down in Lyon, Hubert Fournier has guided Lyon from the worst start in the club’s history to a title challenge built on using players from the youth academy.

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Nommé pour le Trophée du meilleur entraîneur de L1 : Christophe Galtier de l'@ASSEofficiel cc @UNFP #TropheesUNFP pic.twitter.com/gtBWPtexTL

— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) May 5, 2015"

Christophe Galtier has once again kept Saint-Etienne at the top end of the table and even gave them a chance at Champions League qualification. Constantly selling your best players while keeping a competitive edge to the team deserves respect.

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L'@EAG_Officiel sera représenté aux #TrophéesUNFP par J. Gourvennec, catégorie meilleur entraineur de L1 cc @UNFP pic.twitter.com/X3n5Ndz0jh

— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) May 5, 2015"

Breton side EA Guingamp are one of the stories of the season. Jocelyn Gourvennec has helped them qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League, reach the later stages in their defence of the Coupe de France and work out how to balance this with a mid-table league place—relegation was heavily predicted.

Outsiders would question Marcelo Bielsa’s name not appearing on the list, but that is one thing the UNFP has gotten correct. His results in 2015 make it impossible to nominate the Argentine coach.

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L'#OM n'y arrive plus... Que faut-il changer selon vous ? ► http://t.co/afhGtNEJEO #TeamOM pic.twitter.com/LFNJO8RSRS

— Téléfoot (@telefoot_TF1) April 26, 2015"

Any team or coach that has won only five games since the turn of the year doesn’t deserve a nomination.

Leandro Jardim is the most shocking name missing from the list. After a terrible start to the season, he has turned Monaco's fortunes around. Being a new coach in a new league with the ability to lead Monaco into a possible place in the top three is a wonderful achievement.

He has changed their style, the budget was severley cut and now youth, rather than marquee names, is the future of the club’s success.

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Scandalous that Monaco's Leonardo Jardim does not even make it on to the list of candidates. No Marcelo Bielsa either (less scandalous)

— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) May 5, 2015"

Jardim also got as far as Blanc in the Champions League, you can even argue Monaco's performances against Juventus did more for the reputation of Ligue 1 than Blanc's side limping out against Barcelona at the quarter-final stage.

Courbis has made Montpellier a contender for Europa League after losing Remy Cabella and Benjamin Stambouli in the summer and Printant managed to save Bastia’s sinking ship after the terrible stewardship on Claude Makelele’s watch.

Bastia born and bred, Printant managed to turn their fortunes around and helped earn the Corsicans a place in the Coupe de la Ligue final, plus he has them six points from safety with three games to go.

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This week on @WhoScored, all about the excellent Ghislain Printant pulling Bastia towards the great escape http://t.co/aeDGvGloMr

— Andy Brassell (@andybrassell) May 5, 2015"

All three coaches have excelled this season, all in different ways, and with fewer opportunities to succeed than Blanc. Any of them would be more deserving of a place on the UNFP list.

That is not to say that Blanc hasn't done a good job. PSG have progressed well in the Champions League, and the win over Chelsea was an historic moment, but their play in the league has been more functional than desirable.

With the group of players he has available to him, you would expect more, highlighted with the recent 6-1 victory over Lille.

Individual awards in a team sport are already questionable enough, but places should be picked on merit and their achievements, not because of their—or the club's—reputation.

It is hard to make an argument as to why Blanc deserves the recognition over the great work that has been done elsewhere in Ligue 1 this season.