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RC Lens' story represents a true case of French egalitarianism. The club had been rife with financial hurdles and competing in the lower divisions of French football for much of the last two decades. However, their spectacular rise to the upper echelons of French football is no less significant.
For a club that played in France's second division two years ago, Frank Hasie's men have established themselves as one of France's top six.
This season seems to be heading the same way with the club showing consistency in results until October. However, an astonishing 4-0 rout at the hands of Brest in late November triggered volatility in the club's fortunes. Since then, they have failed to beat lower-ranked outfits such as Lorient and Clermont Foot.
Loss of Form for Club Captain Seko Fofana
The former Udinese midfielder is currently RC Lens' captain. Fofana has made a name for himself since his days in Italy and has been the main man behind Lens' rise in recent years. The Ivory Coast international played a pivotal role for the club in their drawn outings against Paris Saint-Germain and Nice.
In his last 10 league outings, Fofana has racked up three goals, with just one game ending in a win. Quite astonishingly, he has no assists to his name this season in Ligue 1. Fofana's dip in form mirrors the club's performances in recent outings.
Lack of attacking finesse
The club's overdependence on the Ivory Coast international is reflected in the number of goals they have scored so far. Fofana has scored one-sixth of their goal tally so far. Centre-forward Arnaud Kaimuendo has scored the same number of goals so far.
Their 3-4-3 set-up is coming under heavy scrutiny as it seems to have affected them on both fronts. Defensively they have struggled as expected however their attacking finesse has been a bigger concern. Gael Kakuta has not fired in recent months and only seems a shadow of his former self.
Wingbacks Are a Concern for Lens
Neither Jonathan Clauss nor Przemyslaw Frankowski have shown tenacity to last ninety minutes in a game. Even against inferior opponents, Lens' were outrun in the wings. One of the biggest reasons behind the club being a direct threat of counter-attacks is because of the failure of their full-backs to track back.
Since the club lack resources in this area coupled with Frank Haise's tactics, they have already conceded the joint-most goals in Ligue 1's top ten.
Lens currently sit in 10th position in the table with 33 points from 23 games.Whether or not they get back on track and regain some of their early season form remains to be seen.
