Le Championnat [Archive] - Page 4

kabbott

14-09-2008, 10:34 AM

Benzema makes Nice pay penalty
Karim Benzema struck a last-minute winner from the spot as Lyon roared back from two goals down to beat Nice 3-2 on Saturday. Elsewhere, Monaco beat Lorient 2-0 and Grenoble grabbed a 90th-minute equaliser at Valenciennes.

Saturday 13 September 2008

Olympique Lyonnais / OGC Nice : 3 - 2

Karim Benzema struck a last-gasp winner after a Juninho double had brought Lyon back from two goals down to beat Nice 3-2 on Saturday and see the champions end the day two points clear of the chasing pack.

Claude Puel's men appeared destined for a first defeat of the season after the visitors had stunned Stade Gerland with two early goals. Habib Bamogo latched onto a long ball to give Nice a third-minute lead - and force Hugo Lloris to pick the ball out of his net for the first time this season - before former Lyon striker Loïc Remy doubled their advantage on 20 minutes.

As so often, the revival was sparked by Juninho. A trademark free-kick dispatched into the top corner of the net five minutes before half-time ensured the champions had a crumb of comfort to cling to come the interval.

There was a sense of déja vu as the Brazilian repeated the trick with 17 minutes left, before Vincent Hognon handled in the box in the fifth minute of time added on. While Nice defender Cyril Rool was sent off for dissent, Benzema coolly slotted home his fifth of the season to clinch all three points.

AS Monaco FC / FC Lorient : 2 - 0

Monaco moved to the brink of the top five with a battling 2-0 victory at home to Lorient.

Ricardo's side had already threatened to break the deadlock when Jean-Jacques Gosso's perfectly-judged through ball found Park Chu Young. The Korean calmly sidefooted past Fabien Audard in the Lorient goal to give his side a 25th-minute lead.

Park was at the heart of Monaco's second with twenty minutes left as he found Frédéric Nimani in space. The substitute rounded Audard before slipping the ball into the empty net to give his team a first win in four matches.

AJ Auxerre / AS Nancy Lorraine : 1 - 1

Auxerre and Nancy cancelled each other out as they settled for a 1-1 draw at the Stade Abbé-Deschamps.

A tense first half had been illuminated only by Julien Quercia's strike which Nancy goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano touched onto the bar as the first 45 minutes drew to a close. However, Bracigliano was helpless as Kevin Lejeune sparked the game into life by giving the home side the lead nine minutes after the break.

Moncef Zerka ensured Pablo Correa's side would leave with a point though, as he headed home after 65 minutes. Landry N'Guemo almost snatched a win for the visitors, but the Cameroonian saw his long-range effort come back off the woodwork late on.

Le Mans UC 72 / Toulouse FC : 1 - 2

Le Mans' impressive early season form came to a halt as they slumped to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Toulouse.

Yves Bertucci's side were always on the back foot after Fodé Mansaré had given the visitors an 11th-minute lead before Daniel Braaten doubled their advantage eight minutes later.

Anthony Le Tallec pulled one back ten minutes before half time, but Le Mans were unable to force an equaliser as they slipped out of the top three.

Stade Rennais FC / Havre AC : 1 - 1

Rennes missed out on the opportunity to move up the table as they were held at home by newly-promoted Le Havre.

Jimmy Briand had looked to be on his way to Paris St Germain this summer, but the French international remained in Brittany and has since shown his commitment to the cause. The striker gave Guy Lacombe's men the lead on 27 minutes after good work from Mickaël Pagis.

The advantage lasted just five minutes though. Jean-Michel Lesage was given too much space at the far post at a corner and bulleted a header past Nicolas Douchez to ensure the visitors headed home to Normandy with a valuable point.

Valenciennes FC / Grenoble Foot 38 : 1 - 1

Ligue Un surprise packages Grenoble salvaged a point at Valenciennes in a match that came to life in the dying minutes.

Grégory Pujol appeared to have given the home side all three points when he scored from the spot five minutes from time after Laurent Batlles had handled in the box. The former Toulouse midfielder was then sent off leaving Grenoble to play out the rest of the game with ten men.

There was to be one final twist in the tail though inside the last minute. Nassim Akrour cut the ball back for the on-rushing Laurent Courtois to fire past Nicolas Penneteau and lift Grenoble into third.

Euro duo share spoils

Bordeaux and Marseille geared up for this week's Champions League matches with a closely-contested 1-1 draw at the Stade Chaban-Delmas on Saturday.

Saturday 13 September 2008

FC Girondins de Bordeaux / Olympique de Marseille : 1 - 1

With Chelsea and Liverpool looming on the horizon, both sides could have been forgiven for taking their eyes off the domestic prize. However, with the pair harbouring ambitions of ending Lyon's dominance, neither did.

Marseille appeared poised for a first win in Bordeaux in 31 years when Baky Koné gave them the ideal start with just two minutes on the clock as he swept home Mamadou Niang's cross.

The diminutive Ivorian could have added to his tally only to first see keeper Ulrich Ramé smother his first-half effort, and then watch a late chip go narrowly wide.

Bordeaux, though, were clearly determined not to test the patience of coach Laurent Blanc with a second successive defeat as they hauled themselves level on 25 minutes.

New signings Yoann Gourcuff and Yoan Gouffran were both involved in a flowing move which led to Marouane Chamakh smashing the ball past Steve Mandanda to knock Marseille off top spot.

kabbott

14-09-2008, 11:03 AM

Two cracking matches last night. Haven't seen anything of the Bordeaux-Marseille game yet, but according to L'Equipe it was a high quility game. As for the Lyon v Nice game, I put the TV on at 8 o'clock just before going out to see the team line-up and then record the match only to find that the second half was starting 'cos the match had started at 7 o'clock. And it was 1:2 to Nice - they had been leading 0:2!
Nice, however, can certainly say they were robbed. For Lyon's first goal, Juninho fell over, picked himself up and scored from the ensuing free-kick. For their second, Lyon won a free-kick about 45 yards out. Juni, who else?, took the free-kick. As it bounced in the penalty area, Piquionne tried to get a touch on the ball, but didn't. This attempt, however, prompted the Nice keeper to go the other way, and Juni's free-kick went in. The Nice players went beserk because the linesman had raised his flag for Piquionne being in an offside position when the free-kick was taken. Consequently the goal should have been disallowed because Piquionne was seriously interfering with play. The ref let the goal stand. The slow motion replay then showed that Piquionne was actually not in offside position when the free-kick was taken but the ref didn't know this. Theoretically the ref should have disallowed the goal. Then in the 93rd minute a Vincent Hognon sliding tackle brushed his elbow totally unintentionally and the ref rather generously awarded a penalty which Benzema gratefully and coolly put away.
Cyril 'carton rouge' Rool lost his cool and got his marching orders for the **th time in his career for dissent. It was, ironically, Lyon's best performance of the season, at least in the second half. They created loads when Benzema came on at half-time. But in the first-half, Cris, once again, showed that he's not on form at all.
Am now looking forward to tonight's live game between PSG and Nantes.

BB Bob

15-09-2008, 08:50 AM

Yesterday afternoon - Caen 2 St Etienne 0, Sochaux 1 Lille 1
Last nights game - PSG 1 Nantes 0.

I'm pleased that Nice made a game of it, but a 95th minute penalty must have been tough to swallow. And I like Cyril Rool! Not enough passion in football these days!

As for Lotto, how did we do? I got a mightily impressive 7/1. Kabbott still not bad at 5/10

BB Bob

15-09-2008, 08:51 AM

Oh and the table....

Ligue 1 P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 5 4 1 0 +7 13
2 Olympique de Marseille 5 3 2 0 +6 11
3 Paris Saint-Germain 5 3 1 1 +2 10
4 Grenoble Foot 38 5 3 1 1 +1 10
5 Le Mans UC 72 5 3 0 2 +4 9
6 OGC Nice 5 3 0 2 +2 9
7 AS Monaco FC 5 2 2 1 +2 8
8 Toulouse FC 5 2 2 1 -1 8
9 SM Caen 5 2 1 2 +2 7
10 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 5 2 1 2 +1 7
11 Valenciennes FC 5 2 1 2 -1 7
12 AJ Auxerre 5 2 1 2 -2 7
13 Stade Rennais FC 5 1 3 1 0 6
14 AS Nancy Lorraine 5 1 3 1 0 6
15 LOSC 5 1 2 2 -2 5
16 Havre AC 5 1 1 3 -2 4
17 FC Lorient 5 1 1 3 -5 4

18 AS Saint-Etienne 5 1 0 4 -4 3
19 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 5 0 2 3 -3 2
20 FC Nantes 5 0 1 4 -7 1

GodstoneEagle

15-09-2008, 12:34 PM

my grenoble prediction still holding up :)

Swanny32

15-09-2008, 12:51 PM

Looks like PSG are heading in the right direction, mind you after last season virtually anything is an improvement!

BB Bob

15-09-2008, 12:54 PM

I don't know if Makalele was injured or not yesterday, but they missed someone to calm things down in the middle of the park. Up front, thinks are looking good. Kezman looked OK and Hoarau look like a nice partnership and even landreau seems to have steadied himself.

Grenoble are doing well, but you have to worry about the depth of their squad.

kabbott

15-09-2008, 07:39 PM

Originally posted by BB Bob
I don't know if Makalele was injured or not yesterday, but they missed someone to calm things down in the middle of the park. Up front, thinks are looking good. Kezman looked OK and Hoarau look like a nice partnership and even landreau seems to have steadied himself.

Grenoble are doing well, but you have to worry about the depth of their squad.

Makalele was injured and was very ably replaced by ex-Lyonnais, Jérémy Clément, who touched the ball more than anybody else on the park yesterday. Tackles, interceptions, picking up loose balls (that sounds painful) and simple lay-offs is his game and he's good at it. Hoarau looks very good, strong, powerful and he can score. It's true it's looking good with Kezman but Rothen is the man who is continually picking him out in space. And so far no clangers from Landreau either. The Top three in the Ligue hasn't been those three in yonks. I'm also pleased for Grenoble too. It just goes to show ... even though they're not likely to last the distance. It's not that far from Lyon so we're hoping to go down there for a match this season. Will take the camera and maybe post a few pics. It looks a wicked stadium.

philsick

15-09-2008, 09:30 PM

Gutted to see st ettiene in the bottom 3.Whats happened?

How are cleremont doing?

Latvian Eagle

15-09-2008, 10:05 PM

Speaking of ASSE... I spent all last season bigging up Bafetimbi Gomis at work, then when he made the Euro team for France everyone was eagerly awaiting seeing him play.

When he did actually get on everyone at work was like "What were you on about, that Bafetimbi bloke is crap"... :D Lol!

philsick

15-09-2008, 10:42 PM

Originally posted by Latvian Eagle
Speaking of ASSE... I spent all last season bigging up Bafetimbi Gomis at work, then when he made the Euro team for France everyone was eagerly awaiting seeing him play.

When he did actually get on everyone at work was like "What were you on about, that Bafetimbi bloke is crap"... :D Lol!

Did exactly the same thing to friends.He looked like a conference player when he came on.:D

GodstoneEagle

15-09-2008, 11:35 PM

Originally posted by GodstoneEagle
was just marauding l'equipe and i have to say i am impressed with grenoble's signings this year. maybe they could stay up?

Arrivées
Batlles Laurent (Toulouse)
Courtois Laurent (Levante) (f.c.)
Jemmali David (Bordeaux)
Le Crom Ronan (Lens)
Moreira Daniel (Rennes) (p.)
Paillot Sandy (Lyon) (p.o.a)
Rendulic Zoran (Borac Cacak) posted on my birthday, before the season started.

Moreira - class
Jemmali - Class
Batlles - Class

and they all have experience.

Then a talented youngster like Paillot.

BB Bob

16-09-2008, 08:11 AM

Ligue 2 Results

vendredi 12 septembre 2008
20h00 Reims (19) 1-1 Boulogne-sur-Mer (3)
Bastia (5) 2-2 Amiens (15)
Brest (10) 1-2 AC Ajaccio (7)
Dijon (17) 1-0 Montpellier (9)
Nîmes (18) 0-1 Tours FC (11)
Châteauroux (13) 1-1 Guingamp (20)
20h30 Sedan (16) 2-2 Strasbourg (1)
Vannes OC (6) 2-0 Angers (8)
Clermont Foot (14) 2-1 Troyes (12)
lundi 15 septembre 2008
20h30 Lens (2) 0-1 Metz (4)

Giving you a table of:-

Equipe Pts J. G. N. P. p. c. Diff.
1 Strasbourg 16 6 5 1 0 10 4 6
2 Metz 13 6 4 1 1 7 4 3
3 Boulogne-sur-Mer 12 6 3 3 0 9 3 6

4 Lens 12 6 4 0 2 9 6 3
5 Vannes OC 12 6 4 0 2 6 6 0
6 AC Ajaccio 11 6 3 2 1 11 5 6
7 Bastia 11 6 3 2 1 7 5 2
8 Tours FC 9 6 3 0 3 5 5 0
9 Angers 8 6 2 2 2 9 7 2
10 Clermont Foot 8 6 2 2 2 9 8 1
11 Montpellier 7 6 2 1 3 7 5 2
12 Brest 7 6 2 1 3 6 7 -1
13 Châteauroux 7 6 2 1 3 4 5 -1
14 Dijon 7 6 2 1 3 6 11 -5
15 Amiens 6 6 1 3 2 7 7 0
16 Troyes 6 6 2 0 4 4 6 -2
17 Sedan 6 6 1 3 2 7 10 -3

18 Reims 4 6 1 1 4 5 13 -8
19 Nîmes 3 6 1 0 5 3 8 -5
20 Guingamp 2 6 0 2 4 3 9 -6

Clermont fairly comfortable in mid table. Lens finding life a bit tough, though, and Reims in the bottom 3! Still, it's early doors (as my Tottenham supporting colleague keeps telling me).

BB Bob

16-09-2008, 08:18 PM

Marseille looking good tonight. Ziani playing well after a shocker last year, bonnart looks good at rb. Kone just off, buy they look worth a point to me.

BB Bob

16-09-2008, 08:25 PM

How could I forget Cheyrou, too? OM fading a bit now, but guerets looks v fetching in his white shell suit. Don't like the gold kit either! White or blue, please.

GodstoneEagle

18-09-2008, 12:41 AM

looking at lique deux, how EA Guingamp have fallen!

Drogba was there for a while I remember

BB Bob

18-09-2008, 11:17 AM

Not so much En Avant Guingamp as En Arrière Guingamp

BB Bob

20-09-2008, 08:29 AM

My quick lotto for this weekend (with odds)

Grenoble V Bordeaux Bordeaux to Win @ 6/4
Le Havre V Lyon Lyon to Win @ 4/5
Lille V Auxerre Lille to win @ 5/6
Lorient V Caen Draw @ 19/10
Nantes V Valenciennes Draw @ 2/1
Toulouse V Sochaux Draw @ 2/1
Nice V Le Mans Nice to win @ 21/20
Nancy V Rennes Draw @ 2/1
St Etienne V Paris S G Draw @ 15/8
Marseille V Monaco Marseille to win @ 8/13

kabbott

20-09-2008, 09:14 AM

My lotto for this weekend:

Grenoble V Bordeaux DRAW
Le Havre V Lyon AWAY WIN
Lille V Auxerre DRAW
Lorient V Caen DRAW
Nantes V Valenciennes DRAW
Toulouse V Sochaux HOME WIN
Nice V Le Mans DRAW
Nancy V Rennes HOME WIN
St Etienne V Paris S G DRAW
Marseille V Monaco AWAY WIN

kabbott

20-09-2008, 09:19 AM

Sorry about this philsick ...

Friday, September 19, 2008
20:00 AC Ajaccio 5 - 1 Clermont Foot
20:00 Amiens SC 2 - 1 Stade Brestois
20:00 Angers SCO 2 - 2 Nîmes Olympique
20:00 US Boulogne CO 1 - 0 SC Bastia
20:00 EA Guingamp 1 - 1 Dijon FCO
20:00 Tours FC 3 - 1 LB Châteauroux
20:30 FC Metz 0 - 0 Stade de Reims
20:30 Montpellier HSC 3 - 1 CS Sedan
20:30 RC Strasbourg 2 - 1 Vannes OC

Sunday, September 21, 2008

18:30 ESTAC - RC Lens

kabbott

20-09-2008, 09:22 AM

After Friday evening's games ...

Ligue 2 P W D L GD Pts

1 RC Strasbourg 7 6 1 0 +7 19
2 US Boulogne CO 7 4 3 0 +7 15
3 AC Ajaccio 7 4 2 1 +10 14
4 FC Metz 7 4 2 1 +3 14
5 RC Lens 6 4 0 2 +3 12
6 Tours FC 7 4 0 3 +2 12
7 Vannes OC 7 4 0 3 -1 12
8 SC Bastia 7 3 2 2 +1 11
9 Montpellier HSC 7 3 1 3 +4 10
10 Angers SCO 7 2 3 2 +2 9
11 Amiens SC 7 2 3 2 +1 9
12 Clermont Foot 7 2 2 3 -3 8
13 Dijon FCO 7 2 2 3 -5 8
14 Stade Brestois 7 2 1 4 -2 7
15 LB Châteauroux 7 2 1 4 -3 7
16 ESTAC 6 2 0 4 -2 6
17 CS Sedan 7 1 3 3 -5 6
18 Stade de Reims 7 1 2 4 -8 5
19 Nîmes Olympique 7 1 1 5 -5 4
20 EA Guingamp 7 0 3 4 -6 3

kabbott

20-09-2008, 09:36 AM

Originally posted by GodstoneEagle
posted on my birthday, before the season started.

Moreira - class
Jemmali - Class
Batlles - Class

and they all have experience.

Then a talented youngster like Paillot.

I'm especially pleased for Moreira. He went to Rennes a couple of seasons back on a big transfer (French standards) and went seriously missing: 39 matches, 0 goals, pretty good for a striker! He's not the first big-money transfer not to make it at Rennes, though.
However all the talk down here is about a young attacking midfielder by the name of Feghouli. Lyon, obviously, but also other big European clubs have already sent scouts down to watch him.

It'll be an interesting game for them against Bordeaux this evening. Bordeaux were humiliated by Chelsea mid-week, so 2 possibilities here: Bordeaux come out all guns blazing and hammer Grenoble, or of course, Bordeaux haven't got over that defeat and slump again.

BB Bob

20-09-2008, 10:16 AM

I think Blanc has just discovered that this management game isn't always straightforward!

BB Bob

22-09-2008, 08:06 AM

Belated weekend results!

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 0 - 1 FC Girondins de Bordeaux
19:00 Havre AC 0 - 1 Olympique Lyonnais
19:00 LOSC 3 - 2 AJ Auxerre
19:00 FC Lorient 1 - 1 SM Caen
19:00 FC Nantes 2 - 0 Valenciennes FC
19:00 Toulouse FC 2 - 1 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
21:00 OGC Nice 2 - 2 Le Mans UC 72

Matchday 6 - Sunday, September 21, 2008

17:00 AS Nancy Lorraine 0 - 0 Stade Rennais FC
17:00 AS Saint-Etienne 1 - 0 Paris Saint-Germain
21:00 Olympique de Marseille 0 - 0 AS Monaco FC

Table now:-

1 Olympique Lyonnais 6 5 1 0 +8 16
2 Olympique de Marseille 6 3 3 0 +6 12
3 Toulouse FC 6 3 2 1 0 11
4 Le Mans UC 72 6 3 1 2 +4 10
5 OGC Nice 6 3 1 2 +2 10
6 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 6 3 1 2 +2 10
7 Paris Saint-Germain 6 3 1 2 +1 10
8 Grenoble Foot 38 6 3 1 2 0 10
9 AS Monaco FC 6 2 3 1 +2 9
10 SM Caen 6 2 2 2 +2 8
11 LOSC 6 2 2 2 -1 8
12 Stade Rennais FC 6 1 4 1 0 7
13 AS Nancy Lorraine 6 1 4 1 0 7
14 AJ Auxerre 6 2 1 3 -3 7
15 Valenciennes FC 6 2 1 3 -3 7
16 AS Saint-Etienne 6 2 0 4 -3 6
17 FC Lorient 6 1 2 3 -5 5

18 Havre AC 6 1 1 4 -3 4
19 FC Nantes 6 1 1 4 -5 4
20 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 6 0 2 4 -4 2

BB Bob

22-09-2008, 08:09 AM

Lucky lotto

5 to me, 4 to you, kabbott. Two on the spin!

BB Bob

22-09-2008, 08:09 AM

Lyon forge ahead - Saturday round-up
Lyon have cemented their hold on top spot in Ligue 1 after Ederson’s penalty gave Claude Puel’s men a 1-0 victory at Le Havre on Saturday. Bordeaux beat Grenoble by the same score, while Nantes claimed their first win of the season as they defeated Valenciennes 2-0.
Saturday 20 September 2008

Havre AC / Olympique Lyonnais : 0 - 1

Lyon have thrown down the gauntlet to those who would deprive them of an eighth successive title by beating Le Havre 1-0 to move five points clear of the chasing pack.

There was little of the drama and tension that had been central to their win over Nice last weekend, but the three points will be just as precious to Claude Puel's side.

Jean-Pascal Fontaine wasted the best chance of a first half that appeared destined to end goalless until Nicolas Gillet clashed with Frederic Piquionne in the Le Havre box seconds before the interval. Ederson sent Christophe Revault the wrong way from the spot to put the champions in the box seat.

Anthony Mounier and Karim Benzema, who replaced Piquionne on the hour mark, passed up several excellent opportunities to give the scoreline a more flattering gloss, but even the sending off of Sidney Govou on 66 minutes failed to prevent Lyon taking all three points.

>> Team Sheet

Grenoble Foot 38 / FC Girondins de Bordeaux : 0 - 1

Nine-man Bordeaux claimed an unlikely three points as they inflicted a first home defeat of the season on Grenoble.

Beaten 4-0 by Chelsea in midweek, Laurent Blanc's side appeared destined to be leaving the Stade des Alpes with little more than a point after Alou Diarra and Wendel were both sent off in the space of three minutes early in the second half.

However, with his side down to nine, a brave decision by Blanc to bring on fresh legs up front in the shape of Jussie paid off. The Brazilian latched onto the loose ball after Grenoble had failed to clear Mathieu Chalmé's cross to score the only goal of the game nine minutes from time and lift the Girondins into fourth.

>> Team Sheet

Toulouse FC / FC Sochaux-Montbéliard : 2 - 1

Toulouse are up to third thanks to an Andre-Pierre Gignac brace which gave them a 2-1 win against struggling Sochaux at the Stadium.

Gignac – like his team – failed to spark last season, but there are signs that the former Lorient forward could finally be settling in the south west after a sublime free-kick gave Alain Casanova's men a fifth-minute lead.

The 22-year-old then doubled that advantage just after the hour mark as he swept home a penalty after Etienne Didot had been fouled in the box.

Five minutes later Sochaux were literally handed a lifeline as Toulouse captain Mauro Cetto sent the ball into his own net via his arm, but Francis Gillot's side were unable to capitalise on their good fortune, despite a late burst of pressure, as they slip to the bottom of the table.

>> Team Sheet

FC Nantes / Valenciennes FC : 2 - 0

Nantes remain in the bottom three, but can celebrate a first win of the season after Mamadou Bagayoko's double saw off Valenciennes in Elie Baup's first home game as coach.

The northerners had arrived at the Stade de la Beaujoire looking to take advantage of Nantes' troubled start to the season, which had seen them take just a point from their opening five games, and Antoine Kambouaré's men may well have done so had Jerome Alonzo not saved Gaël Danic's ninth-minute penalty.

Under Baup, Nantes had already shown improvement in last weekend's defeat in Paris, and enjoyed a deserved stroke of fortune to go in front five minutes before half-time. David de Freitas' free-kick struck the hand of Djamel Belmadi in the Valenciennes wall to give Bagayoko the chance to send Nicolas Penneteau the wrong way from the spot.

The former Strasbourg man then grabbed his and his side's second eight minutes after the restart, pouncing to fire home the loose ball after Penneteau could only parry Stefan Babovic's shot.

>> Team Sheet

LOSC / AJ Auxerre : 3 - 2

Tulio de Melo was Lille's hero as the Brazilian scored his first goals for the club to give them a dramatic win over Auxerre.

The former Le Mans striker linked up with fellow new boy Robert Vittek to give the northerners a 2nd-minute lead, only for Julien Quercia to strike twice in the second half to put Auxerre ahead. Eden Hazard levelled the scores four minutes from time, before De Melo struck in stoppage time after Remy Riou had parried Rio Mavuba's shot.

>> Team Sheet

FC Lorient / SM Caen : 1 - 1

Caen's Anthony Deroin struck late to deny Lorient a much-needed maiden home win of the season.

Christian Gourcuff's side had gone in front on 34 minutes thanks to Rafik Saifi's first goal of the season. Deroin, though, produced a superb long-distance strike six minutes from time to ensure the points would be shared.

BB Bob

22-09-2008, 08:11 AM

Les Verts halt PSG rise - Sunday round-up
St Etienne picked up their first win in four matches as they beat Paris St Germain 1-0 on Sunday, while Nancy and Rennes shared the points after a goalless draw at Stade Marcel-Picot.
Sunday 21 September 2008

AS Saint-Etienne / Paris Saint-Germain : 1 - 0

Mouhamadou Dabo was the unlikely matchwinner for les Verts as they eased the pressure on themselves and coach Laurent Roussey by stopping the PSG renaissance in its tracks at Geoffroy-Guichard.

Paul Le Guen's side arrived hoping to reaffirm their fine start to the season, and the lively Guillaume Hoarau threatened to break the deadlock early on.

It was Dabo, though, who would make the breakthrough on 15 minutes. The full-back cut inside from the left flank before unleashing a powerful rising shot which flew past Mickaël Landreau and into the top corner.

Brazilian forward Ilan then struck a post as St Etienne enjoyed the better of the opening 45 minutes.

Hoarau had chances to level in the second half, but the former Le Havre man was unable to beat Jody Viviani as PSG's four-match unbeaten run – which had seen them climb into third prior to the weekend – came to an end.

>> Team Sheet

AS Nancy Lorraine / Stade Rennais FC : 0 - 0

Nancy and Rennes picked up a point each in a match which saw keepers Gennaro Bracigliano and Nicolas Douchez rarely tested.

Nancy’s Bracigliano twice denied Jimmy Briand – the second save coming from an acrobatic scissor kick from the Rennes striker – and Douchez had to be alert to prevent Marc Antoine Fortuné getting an early effort on goal, but it was the two teams’ defences that reigned supreme.

Even the sending-off of Rennes defender Petter Hansson six minutes from time failed to give forwards any more space, though Nancy’s Monsef Zerka passed up a late chance to snatch all three points for Pablo Correa’s side when he screwed a shot wide from a promising position.

OM drop back with draw
Marseille are four points behind Ligue 1 leaders Lyon after Erik Gerets’ men were unable to break down a stubborn Monaco side at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday.
Sunday 21 September 2008

Olympique de Marseille / AS Monaco FC : 0 - 0

After Lyon's defeat of Le Havre 24 hours earlier, the pressure was on OM to close the gap to the champions, but for the first time this season, Gerets saw his attacking forces unable to unlock the visitors' defence.

A sign of the importance of the game was that Mathieu Valbuena started his first match of the season, but having just played 10 minutes so far this campaign – coming off the bench against Bordeaux last week - the 24-year-old midfielder understandably had limited impact.

Intermittent threat

Stephane Ruffier in the Monaco goal was only called into action intermittently in a quiet first half, though OM had their own keeper, Steve Mandanda, to thank for keeping the scoreline blank as he came out on top in his one-on-one duel with Frederic Nimani just before the break.

With the home side's vaunted attacking forces failing to fire on all cylinders, Monaco grew in confidence as they went in search of a third win of the season.

Park Chu-Young, the inspiration behind last weekend's defeat of Lorient, almost grabbed Ricardo's men a late winner, though Marseille defender Ronald Zubar – who kept his place in the side despite his costly mistake against Liverpool in the Champions League – went equally close to giving OM all three points in the dying minutes.

BB Bob

22-09-2008, 08:12 AM

And not forgetting, of course.....
Lamah's late show takes Le Mans fourth
Roland Lamah struck late to salvage a point for Le Mans at Nice, and move Yves Bertucci's side up to fourth in the table after a 2-2 draw at the Stade du Ray on Saturday.
Saturday 20 September 2008

OGC Nice / Le Mans UC 72 : 2 - 2

Emerse Faé had given Frederic Antonetti's side the ideal start. A weaving run from Eric Mouloungui saw the ball eventually break to Faé, who fired a low shot past Yohann Pelé in the Le Mans goal with barely two minutes on the clock.

The home side then threatened to run away with it as Mouloungui, Loïc Remy and David Hellebuyck all went close with Thorstein Helstad providing the visitors only threat in front of goal.

Remy then doubled the home side's lead on 29 minutes. The former Lyon striker nipped in ahead of Geder to fire low past Pelé for his third goal of the season.

Yves Bertucci's MUC 72 side have character by the bucketful, though, and fought their way back into it in the second half.

Just four minutes after the break, Saber ben Frej – who had already seen one strike ruled out for offside – headed past Lionel Letizi in the Nice goal to reduce the deficit. The Tunisian full-back then played a key role in the move which would give his side a point as it was his cross that found Modibo Maiga in space with four minutes remaining. The Malian's header struck an upright, but Lamah was on hand to snap up the rebound and take Le Mans into fourth.

BB Bob

24-09-2008, 10:15 AM

Coupe de la Ligue time, and here are last nights results:-

Round of 16 - Tuesday, September 23, 2008

20:00 Vannes OC 3 - 3 Valenciennes FC
20:00 US Boulogne CO 1 - 3 OGC Nice
20:00 SC Bastia 0 - 1 LB Châteauroux
20:00 US Créteil 1 - 0 FC Nantes
21:00 AJ Auxerre 1 - 1 Toulouse FC

Nantes crash out, Remy fires Nice through
Nantes have fallen at the very first hurdle in the League Cup after the Ligue 1 side succumbed to Créteil on Tuesday, while Ligue 2 side Vannes advanced at the expense of Valenciennes. No such problems though for Nice as Loïc Remy scored twice to help them to a 3-1 win at Boulogne-sur-Mer, while Auxerre beat Toulouse in a shoot-out.

Madjid Bouabdallah was the hero for Créteil as the 26-year-old forward struck with 20 minutes remaining on the outskirts of Paris to send the National club through and leave Nantes coach Elie Baup with plenty of food for thought.

In-form Ligue 2 side Vannes were always going to be a tough test for Valenciennes, and so it proved at the Stade de la Rabine. Amara Karba Bangoura had given the visitors an early lead before Jérôme Lebouc levelled on 31 minutes.

Seid Khiter restored VA's advantage barely 60 sixty seconds later, but Lebouc struck again from the penalty spot in the second half to take the tie into extra-time. Grégory Pujol again put Antoine Kambouaré's team in the driving seat, but despite having David Martot sent off, Vannes came back again with Ghislain Gimbert levelling to force a shoot-out. Both sides struggled from the spot, but Mody Traoré's miss proved decisive as Vannes go through.

Remy double

Loïc Remy ensured Nice would not endure the same fate at Boulogne-sur-Mer. Alexandre Cuvilier gave the northerners the lead with just six minutes on the clock, but Gérald Cid levelled for the Ligue 1 side five minutes before the break. Remy then struck twice in the second half to take his tally for the season to six and send Frédéric Antonetti's side into the last 16.

The all-Ligue 1 tie of the night saw Auxerre squeeze past Toulouse at the Stade de l'Abbé Deschamps. Dane Soren Larsen put the visitors in front with 19 minutes left only for Julien Quercia to volley an equaliser in stoppage-time to force an extra 30 minutes. Neither side could break the deadlock, and Daniel Braaten's miss in the shoot-out saw Auxerre into the last 16.

I suppose Valenciennes will win away from home again one day, but I think it is more than a year since they did! Nantes lose again - ho hum.

BB Bob

24-09-2008, 10:16 AM

Aulas warns suitors: '€100m for Benzema'
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has warned clubs wanting to tempt Karim Benzema away from Stade Gerland they would have to pay a world record transfer fee of €100m for France's hottest property.

When Aulas and Benzema agreed on a new contract to tie the 20-year-old to the champions until 2013, the pair came to a "symbolic" verbal agreement that it would take a world record offer for a club to buy the striker.

"We got him to sign a contract which runs until 2013, and which has a buy-out clause of €100m," said Aulas on Tuesday as he announced the €20.1m net profit made by the OL Group in 2007/08. "It's more symbolic than anything else. But it is an agreement between Karim and the club."

Ever pragmatic

Ever the pragmatist, it appears Aulas would be willing to listen to offers for Benzema, who is the league's top scorer with five goals this season. The Lyon president admitted Benzema could be sold "if the OL Group administrative council judges it to be opportune," and stressed the embarrassment of riches in attack already at the disposal of coach Claude Puel.

"Fred could find himself back in the Brazil side quite soon. Frédéric Piquionne, after a difficult few weeks, has refound the form that made him an international," said Aulas. "There's also young Yannis Taffer, who's scoring goal after goal, and Sidney Govou, who often plays up front for France. And that's not to mention [Miralem] Pjanic and Ederson."

kabbott

24-09-2008, 07:37 PM

The contract is only symbolic and is of no legal value whatsoever. But when you see the guy play you can understand why Aulas has done this, even if it's just to frighten people off at least until the end of this season.
It's also a pity that Lyon's defence doesn't look too clever at the moment. Cris needs to get back to his usual form and then things should get better.

BB Bob

25-09-2008, 07:58 AM

Last nights results:-

Round of 32 - Wednesday, September 24, 2008

17:00 AS Monaco FC 0 - 1 Paris Saint-Germain
19:00 Montpellier HSC 2 - 2 LOSC
20:00 FC Metz 3 - 1 ESTAC
21:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 1 - 0 Olympique de Marseille
21:00 FC Lorient 0 - 3 RC Lens
21:00 Stade Rennais FC 2 - 2 Le Mans UC 72
21:00 Grenoble Foot 38 2 - 3 AS Nancy Lorraine
21:00 EA Guingamp 4 - 1 AS Saint-Etienne
21:00 Havre AC 3 - 1 SM Caen

Blimey! It's back to En Avant for Guingamp!

Sochaux through, but Ligue 1 sides tumble
Sochaux are through to the last 16 of the League Cup after they beat Marseille on Wednesday, while Ligue 1 sides Lille, St Etienne and Lorient were all knocked out by lower division opposition.

Mevlut Erding's strike 16 minutes from time was enough to give beleaguered Sochaux boss Francis Gillot some cheer as Ligue 1's bottom side progressed at the expense of OM. A Stéphane Dalmat free-kick dropped invitingly for the Turkey striker, whose sharp turn and shot were too much for Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda.

Lille went out at Montpellier, despite Nicolas Fauvergue heading them in front on 17 minutes. Bruno Carotti levelled before the break, though Florent Balmont restored the visitors' advantage in extra-time. Franck Béria's own-goal eight minutes from time took the tie to a shoot-out, however, with the home side coming out on top 4-2.

Soundly beaten

St Etienne also fell victim to a Ligue 2 club as they were soundly beaten 4-1 at Guingamp - Bafetimbi Gomis getting an 82nd-minute consolation for les Verts - while Lorient were defeated 3-0 at home to Lens.

Extra-time was needed to separate Ligue 1 rivals Grenoble and Nancy. Helder had given the visitors to the Stade des Alpes a 15th-minute lead only for Laurent Courtois and a Milos Dimitrijevic penalty either side of half-time to put Grenoble ahead. Joël Sami levelled with 21 minutes remaining, however, and Chris Malonga struck just three minutes into extra-time to give Pablo Correa's side victory.

Late leveller

After a quiet 90 minutes, the Normandy derby between Le Havre and Caen exploded into life in extra-time. Two goals in two minutes from Cédric Fauré and a Nicolas Dieuze strike gave Le Havre enough of a margin to make Juan Eduardo Eluchans' goal for the visitors nothing more than a consolation.

There were also goals in extra-time at the Stade de la Route de Lorient as Rennes overcame Le Mans. Locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes following goals from Jires Ekoko and a late leveller from Andre Paulo, Rennes were in front again on 107 minutes thanks to Sylvain Wiltord. Gervinho hauled Le Mans level once more two minutes from time, but the visitors succumbed 4-3 in the shoot-out.

Pancrate sees PSG through
Paris St Germain are through to the last 16 of the League Cup after Fabrice Pancrate’s goal proved enough for the reigning champions to beat Monaco on Wednesday.
Wednesday 24 September 2008

AS Monaco FC / Paris Saint-Germain : 0 - 1

PSG boss Paul Le Guen abandoned his habitual caution away from home, employing Peguy Luyindula and Mateja Kezman in a forward-thinking 4-4-2. The former Rennes boss was rewarded with a lively display from his side, though PSG keeper Mickaël Landreau had to be at his best to maintain the advantage afforded by Pancrate's 34th-minute strike.

Crashed home

The former Le Mans striker – who had been named in the starting line-up just once this season prior to arriving at the Stade Louis II – sneaked unmarked into the Monaco box, crashing home a shot after Luyindula had intelligently dummied Jérôme Rothen's cross.

Jerko Leko and Freddy Adu – making his first start of the season – were both frustrated by Landreau in the second half, though Kezman and Rothen both had chances to ease PSG's passage into the next round.

kabbott

25-09-2008, 05:12 PM

There were some shocking performances from Ligue 1 sides: St Etienne and Nantes were the biggest culprits. And Marseille weren't too clever either. Ben Arfa looks out of sorts, Valbuena played his first (or was it his second?) match after coming back from injury and, you guessed it, he injured himself. Lyon and Bordeaux come into the draw for the next round and there's only a handful of Ligue 1 clubs left in the last 16. This weekend's Ligue programme could be fun if Nantes, St. Etienne and Marseille were to lose again. Heads might roll.

BB Bob

25-09-2008, 07:02 PM

Guerets under pressure?!?! I guess it must be nearly time for a change at nantes....

BB Bob

26-09-2008, 07:59 AM

Some quick snippets...

_____________________

Gourcuff: 'Very worried'
Lorient coach Christian Gourcuff has admitted he is “extremely worried” after seeing his side knocked out the League Cup by Lens on Wednesday.

Les Merlus were soundly beaten 3-0 at home by the Ligue 2 outfit, their fourth defeat in seven games this season, and Gourcuff is becoming increasingly concerned about his side's form.

"A 3-0 defeat to a Ligue 2 side is a clear-cut score. We can't hide behind excuses," he said. "We were unable to impose ourselves in the first half. We were a little better in the second half, but we showed terrible weakness in defence. After a match like that, we're extremely worried."

______________________

League loss spurred PSG to Cup win
Jérôme Rothen said his impressive display in Paris St Germain’s 1-0 League Cup win over Monaco on Wednesday had been inspired by the side’s Ligue 1 defeat at St Etienne on Sunday.
Rothen supplied the cross which saw Fabrice Pancrate score the only goal of the game at Stade Louis II, and the former Monaco midfielder revealed the desire to wipe away memories of his team's 1-0 loss to les Verts last weekend had served as added motivation.

"Personally, I wanted to make everyone forget my bad performance of the weekend," said Rothen after the 1-0 win over his former club. "We've got every right to be happy, because we qualified and looked solid. It's also good because we want to defend this cup that we deservedly won last year."
___________________________

Sommeil begins recovery
Valenciennes defender David Sommeil has been moved to a neurological rehabilitation unit in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais as he begins his recovery from a heart attack.

The 34-year-old, who suffered the attack during a training session on 20 August, is now able to stand and feed himself, but is unable to walk unaided and still suffers from speech difficulties.

The former Bordeaux defender has the use of his arms, though will require several months of rehabilitation with a physiotherapist and a speech therapist.
_______________________

Fred: 'I want to stay at OL'
Fred has revealed he wants to stay at Lyon, despite being almost constantly linked with a move away from Stade Gerland.
The Brazilian admitted divorce and his ex-wife and daughter returning to the other side of the Atlantic had a major impact on his happiness at the club last season, but said he remains committed to the seven-time Ligue 1 champions.
"I can assure everyone that my priority is to stay at Lyon," said the 24-year-old, who is thought to have held transfer talks with Paris St Germain and a number of English clubs last season. "I will not talk to another club before discussing the issue with president [Jean-Michel] Aulas."

Optimistic

The former Cruzeiro forward is out of contract at the end of June, which means he can begin to talk to potential suitors come the winter transfer window in January. However, Fred remains optimistic a deal can be struck to keep him at Lyon.

"We turned down the offer of a new contract last year, and after our game against Nice recently, the president mentioned that we should have another meeting," said Fred, who has scored 32 goals in 74 Ligue 1 appearances for OL. "I hope that will be the case before January."
__________________________

Makoun marvels at Lyon's lions
Jean II Makoun has revealed his first day at Lyon showed him just why the club has won seven Ligue 1 titles.

The Cameroon midfielder, who should maintain his ever-present tag when Lyon face Nancy this Saturday, moved to Stade de Gerland from Lille in the summer, and was soon aware of the incessant commitment which have been key to the club's domestic dominance.

"I understood straight away that I would have to work extremely hard," said the 25-year-old, who rejoined former coach Claude Puel at OL. "At first, I thought some players just wanted the new boss to notice them, but then I realised that they were always like that."

He added: "The boys don't let up in training, and never say that matches are going to be easy just because they belong to a winning team. They give everything, and are like children who always want to earn their place in the side."

Advanced role

Not known for his attacking qualities, Makoun has flourished in a slightly more advanced role than he had under Puel at Lille. With Jérémy Toulalan patrolling in front of the back four, a freer role has already brought Makoun two goals in the opening six matches after just nine in eight seasons in the north.

Given the choice between Lyon's 4-5-1 formation and the classic 4-4-2, however, Makoun - a defensive midfielder by trade - hints at which system he would prefer.

"We midfielders prefer that there are two of us in front of the defence," he said. "I wouldn't say it's easier, but when there are three in midfield, two of us have to go forward. When there are two of you in front of the back four, there's less space to cover, and you don't expend so much energy, even if you have a lot of work in plugging gaps."

BB Bob

26-09-2008, 07:57 PM

Lucky Lotto time again!

Week 7 - Saturday, September 27, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre Havre AC HOME WIN
19:00 SM Caen FC Nantes HOME WIN
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 Olympique de Marseille DRAW
19:00 Olympique Lyonnais AS Nancy Lorraine HOME WIN
19:00 Stade Rennais FC OGC Nice DRAW
19:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard FC Lorient HOME WIN
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain Grenoble Foot 38 HOME WIN
Week 7 - Sunday, September 28, 2008

17:00 AS Monaco FC LOSC DRAW
17:00 Valenciennes FC Toulouse FC DRAW
21:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux AS Saint-Etienne HOME WIN

kabbott

26-09-2008, 08:54 PM

Que le meilleur gagne! As long as it's me. I can't let you get three on the trot, so here goes.

Week 7 - Saturday, September 27, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre Havre AC DRAW
19:00 SM Caen FC Nantes AWAY WIN
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 Olympique de Marseille HOME WIN
19:00 Olympique Lyonnais AS Nancy Lorraine HOME WIN
19:00 Stade Rennais FC OGC Nice AWAY WIN
19:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard FC Lorient HOME WIN
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain Grenoble Foot 38 HOME WIN

Week 7 - Sunday, September 28, 2008

17:00 AS Monaco FC LOSC HOME WIN
17:00 Valenciennes FC Toulouse FC DRAW
21:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux AS Saint-Etienne HOME WIN

GodstoneEagle

26-09-2008, 09:40 PM

26/09/2008 0000312 Accumulator (7) (To win) 1 £1.91 Auxerre vs Le Havre Match betting Auxerre 1.80
Caen vs Nantes Match betting Caen 1.90
Le Mans vs Marseille Match betting Draw 2.87
Lyon vs Nancy Match betting Lyon 1.36
Sochaux vs Lorient Match betting Sochaux 2.00
PSG vs Grenoble Match betting PSG 1.57
Rennes vs Nice Match betting Draw 3.00

£1.91 wins about £250

BB Bob

28-09-2008, 08:42 AM

PSG let us all down!

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/grandFormat/0809_psg_grenoble_L1_akrour_mono.jpg

Elsewhere...

Olympique Lyonnais / AS Nancy Lorraine : 2 - 1

Lyon were looking to defend an unbeaten run of 21 home matches against Nancy, but were without captain Juninho (groin) and Sidney Govou (suspended) – the only two players to have won all seven Ligue 1 titles with the club.

Just three days ahead of his side's Champions League trip to Munich, Lyon boss Claude Puel started top scorer Karim Benzema and Brazilian Fred together in attack for the first time this season – a move that was to pay dividends with both getting on the scoresheet thanks to assists from new France Under-21 international Anthony Mounier.

Benzema netted his sixth of the campaign in the 31st minute, finishing off a length of the field counterattack, before Fred chalked up his first of the season with a simple finish five minutes later.

Pascal Berenguer immediately pulled one back for the visitors after Issiar Dia had got the better of Lyon's makeshift left-back John Mensah, but Lyon confirmed their best ever start to a Ligue 1 campaign with a comfortable second half, despite seeing Benzema limp off the field with a ankle knock in the 59th minute.

>> Team Sheet

Le Mans UC 72 / Olympique de Marseille : 1 - 1

With just two goals in their last four competitive outings, Marseille were hoping the absence of Ivory Coast forward Bakari Koné would not prevent them rediscovering their goal touch away to Le Mans.

Marseille had never scored a league goal at the Stade Léon-Bollée before Saturday's game, but summer signing Hatem Ben Arfa rectified that anomaly after just six minutes with a clinical finish after the Le Mans defence was unable to deal with one of his piercing dribbles.

However, Le Mans ensured a share of the spoils just five minutes later when Norwegian striker Thorstein Helstad nodded home from close range after Anthony Le Tallec headed across the face goal from poorly cleared Ibrahima Camara long throw.

Former Le Mans striker Mamadou Samassa went close to giving his new club the win in the 85th minute when his header crashed down off the underside of the crossbar.

>> Team Sheet

SM Caen / FC Nantes : 3 - 0

Caen made a made light work of Nantes when the two sides met at the Stade Michel-d'Ornano, needing just two minutes to open the scoring against Elie Baup's visiting side.

Steve Savidan raced clear and calmly slotted home the opener past Jérôme Alonzo in the Nantes goal with his side's first attack and Fahid Ben Khalfallah added the second just eight minutes later after good work from Caen skipper Antony Deroin on the left flank.

Ben Khalfallah and Savidan were again involved as Benjamin Nivet fired in number three on the half-hour as Nantes failed to build on their first win of the season, last weekend against Valenciennes.

>> Team Sheet

Stade Rennais FC / OGC Nice : 1 - 0

Jimmy Briand scored his first goal of the season for Rennes as they defeated Nice 1-0 at the Stade de la Route de Lorient.

Despite an early Loic Remy cross which surprised Nicolas Douchez in the Rennes goal and bounced back of the crossbar, it was the home side who made most of the running in the first period and only a combination of Lionel Letizi and the frame of his goal kept Mickaël Pagis and Olivier Thomert from giving Rennes a half-time lead.

Briand scored the winning goal five minutes into the second half, heading home a Jérôme Leroy cross.

>> Team Sheet

AJ Auxerre / Havre AC : 3 - 0

Jean Fernandez's Auxerre side ran out comfortable winners over Le Havre at the Stade l'Abbé-Deschamps, 3-0 thanks largely to a man of the match performance from Danish playmaker Thomas Kahlenberg.

Mali defender Adama Coulibaly headed the hosts in front after 25 minutes from a corner and Poland striker Ireneusz Jelen added a second, two minutes after the restart after being sent through by Kahlenberg.

The Dane then capped a great individual match by knocking a third past the hapless Christophe Revault in the Le Havre goal, at the second attempt.

>> Team Sheet

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard / FC Lorient : 1 - 1

Turkey striker Mevlut Erding was again the saviour for Sochaux, producing a late equaliser for Francis Gillot's side who are still looking for their first win of the season after a 1-1 draw at home to Lorient.

On loan Marseille striker André Ayew netted his first goal for Lorient in the 37th, turning home a Kevin Gameiro cross which beat Jérémy Gavanon in the Sochaux goal.

However, with just over ten minutes left to play, Erding scored his fourth league goal of the season, and second in three days after his League Cup winner over Marseille on Wednesday, to earn his side a point.

>> Team Sheet

Paris Saint-Germain / Grenoble Foot 38 : 0 - 1

PSG were without captain Claude Makelele, nursing a hamstring strain, as they went looking for a third consecutive home win of the season and bounce back from last weekend's 1-0 defeat away to Saint-Etienne.

While Grenoble were also looking for a return to form after consecutive home defeats to Bordeaux, 1-0 in the league, and Nancy, 3-2 in Wednesday's League Cup clash – but were without equal top scorer Daniel Moreira with a fractured thumb and left-back Martial Robin, suspended.

Early chances

The home side had the better of the opening 45 minutes with Guillaume Hoarau (20' and 34'), Ludovic Giuly (36') and Mateja Kezman (44') all spurning gilt-edged chances to open the scoring as Grenoble failed to draw a save from Mickaël Landreau in the hosts' goal.

In a far more even second half and with the game seemingly headed for a hard-fought, if uninspired scoreless draw, Akrour pulled a wonderful winner out of the bag with 15 minutes left to play.

The surprise effect

Inheriting a Sofiane Faghouli pass, the 34-year-old Algerian international turned and shot, surprising Landreau with an effort which lobbed the France 'keeper from 22 metres out.

PSG coach Paul Le Guen brought on attacking options Fabrice Pancrate and Peguy Luyindula late on, but despite showing more urgency in the closing stages, the home side were unable to conjure and equaliser.

The win sees Grenoble move into the third on the standings ahead of Sunday's final Week 7 matches, while the capital club's first home loss of the season sees them drop to tenth ahead of next Thursday's UEFA Cup first round second leg match against Turkish side Kayserispor.

>> Team Sheet

kabbott

28-09-2008, 08:59 AM

Lyon champions at Xmas? They're 6 points ahead and haven't even played well over 90 minutes. Young lad Anthony Mounier played a blinder apparently. He only played because Govou was suspended. Juni was also out through injury but should be back to face Bayern Munich and pretty boy Ribéry.
Marseille are going through their customary crisis. Niang had a 'mare missing at least three sitters. Come back Cissé all is forgiven. Having said that, he's hardly setting the Premier League on fire.
The most reassuring news from last night is that, after a worryingly good start to the season, PSG are showing signs of their usual form, a 0:1 thrashing from the surprise package Grenoble. Now, who had that in their Loto Sportif? That wasn't the only slip-up on my part. I'm banking on today's results to play catch up.

BB Bob

29-09-2008, 08:20 AM

I can't say it's altogether positive for le Championnat. But that's not Lyons fault, is it? Marseille, after a bright start, have faded very badly and now starting to look like petulant children. PSG flattered to deceive. And as for Bordeaux, what can you say?

Week 7 - Sunday, September 28, 2008

17:00 AS Monaco FC 0 - 2 LOSC
17:00 Valenciennes FC 0 - 1 Toulouse FC
21:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 1 - 1 AS Saint-Etienne

Toulouse climb to second
André-Pierre Gignac’s fourth goal of the season was enough to give Toulouse a last-minute 1-0 win away to Valenciennes while Lille earned their first away win of the campaign in Monaco.
Sunday September 28 2008

Valenciennes FC / Toulouse FC : 0 - 1

With three consecutive defeats, Ligue 1's worst away side , Valenciennes, were looking to bounce back at home against high-flying Toulouse after two losses in a week against Nantes and Ligue 2 side Vannes in the League Cup on Tuesday.

In a lacklustre match in which both sides reticent to commit players forward, André-Pierre Gignac made the breakthrough in the final minute for Toulouse.

The TFC's top scorer netted his fourth of the campaign with a tame shot from the edge of the area which ballooned into the net off the legs of VA 'keeper Nicolas Penneteau.

The win sent Alain Casanova's side second on the table, five points behind leaders Lyon.

>> Team Sheet

AS Monaco FC / LOSC : 0 - 2

Lille recorded their third win in four games to continue their early season revival with a hard-fought, but deserved 2-0 victory over Monaco at the Stade Louis II.

After a scoreless opening period in which Lille threatened from set pieces only to be denied by France Under-21 'keeper Stéphane Ruffier, the visitors finally went ahead in the 68th minute when Yoann Cabaye fired home from the edge of the area after Michel Bastos dummied Florent Balmont's square ball from the right.

Rudy Garcia's side then made the game safe three minutes from time when Cabaye released substitute Ludovic Obraniak who chipped the ball past the advancing Ruffier from six metres out.

Cavegol earns Bordeaux point
Argentine striker Fernando Cavenaghi earned Bordeaux a share of the spoils against Saint-Etienne after Dimitri Payet’s first goal for Les Verts had given Laurent Roussey’s side a first-half lead.
Sunday September 28 2008

FC Girondins de Bordeaux / AS Saint-Etienne : 1 - 1

Without the suspended Geraldo Wendel, Alou Diarra and Henrique, Laurent Blanc offered first starts of the season to youngsters Abdou Traoré and Benoît Trémoulinas. While Saint-Etienne, without Pascal Feindouno – who quit the club on Friday – were hoping to build on last weekend's encouraging victory over Paris Saint-Germain.

Payet strikes again

It was Saint-Etienne that had the better of the opening exchanges and they were rewarded for their enterprising start with Dmitri Payet's first ever league goal for Les Verts in the 27th minute – coming just ten days after he broke his 14-month goal drought against Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the UEFA Cup.

However, Bordeaux were offered a lifeline on the stroke of half-time when Saint-Etienne skipper Loic Perrin handled in the area. Fernando Cavenaghi stepped up to spot but saw his powerful drive come back off the cross bar as the visitors led 1-0 at the break.

Carbon Copy Cavegol

'Cavegol' made amends for his earlier miss with the equaliser in the 56th minute – his fourth goal of the season. With a carbon copy of his winning goal against Caen in Week 2, the Argentine flicked a Yoann Gourcuff free-kick beyond the reach of Jody Viviani in the Saint-Etienne goal.

Bordeaux even had a chance to win it in the dying seconds when Viviani failed to collect a cross and Cavenaghi's shot was saved by the head of Efstathios Tavlaridis on the line.

BB Bob

29-09-2008, 08:21 AM

Which leaves the table looking like this...

Ligue 1 P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 7 6 1 0 +9 19
2 Toulouse FC 7 4 2 1 +1 14
3 Olympique de Marseille 7 3 4 0 +6 13
4 Grenoble Foot 38 7 4 1 2 +1 13
5 SM Caen 7 3 2 2 +5 11
6 Le Mans UC 72 7 3 2 2 +4 11
7 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 7 3 2 2 +2 11
8 LOSC 7 3 2 2 +1 11
9 OGC Nice 7 3 1 3 +1 10
10 Stade Rennais FC 7 2 4 1 +1 10
11 AJ Auxerre 7 3 1 3 0 10
12 Paris Saint-Germain 7 3 1 3 0 10
13 AS Monaco FC 7 2 3 2 0 9
14 AS Nancy Lorraine 7 1 4 2 -1 7
15 AS Saint-Etienne 7 2 1 4 -3 7
16 Valenciennes FC 7 2 1 4 -4 7
17 FC Lorient 7 1 3 3 -5 6
18 Havre AC 7 1 1 5 -6 4
19 FC Nantes 7 1 1 5 -8 4
20 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 7 0 3 4 -4 3

BB Bob

29-09-2008, 08:26 AM

Loto sportif resultat

BBB 4
K 1
GE 3

I'm not saying anything....

kabbott

29-09-2008, 04:56 PM

Originally posted by BB Bob
Loto sportif resultat

BBB 4
K 1
GE 3

I'm not saying anything....

Nor am I. Oh yes I am. It was the refs' fault in the other 9 games.

BB Bob

30-09-2008, 04:01 PM

There's a picture of Benzema on the front of l'equipe today in a worryingly St-Etienne-esque shade of green! A bit luminous, but it's still green!

kabbott

30-09-2008, 05:43 PM

Originally posted by BB Bob
There's a picture of Benzema on the front of l'equipe today in a worryingly St-Etienne-esque shade of green! A bit luminous, but it's still green!

I took L'Equipe into work today and on leaving discovered that a dear colleague must have gone off with it. I'll just have to make do with Benzema hopefully running rings around a few Germans tonight. TV in one room, PC in another for Palace. There'll be a lot of to-ing(?) and fro-ing(?) tonight.

BB Bob

30-09-2008, 05:58 PM

Bonne chance! Bayern are shocking at the moment so you've got a good chance. Not so sure about Palace, though we are due a good performance at some stage. Maybe tonights the night...

kabbott

30-09-2008, 06:27 PM

Originally posted by BB Bob
Bonne chance! Bayern are shocking at the moment so you've got a good chance. Not so sure about Palace, though we are due a good performance at some stage. Maybe tonights the night...

Lyon have been pretty good against German sides, even over there, recently. Local press have made Lyon favourites, which for me is not good news. Juni, however, has scored some beauties against Munich and Werder Bremen in the past, so why not a 50-yard free kick this time around? Allez L'OL!!!

BB Bob

30-09-2008, 07:49 PM

http://img.lequipe.fr/Xml/Media/3009_juni.jpg
It must have been the print quality of l'equipe. This looks much more yellow (still not a Lyon colour though!)

Still 1-0 at mi-temps. Gotta be happy with that.

kabbott

30-09-2008, 09:09 PM

We controlled the first half and then let them come into it in the second. Could even have lost it. Cris played better but generally speaking the defence was still a bit shaky. Benzema showed some great touches but missed a few chances. Puel will be happy with a point and I'm happy with our three.
By the way, it is yellow, like those yellow marker pens! Ugh!

BB Bob

30-09-2008, 10:18 PM

Yeah, but sponsored by Stabilo Boss. I mean, really. Come on.

http://www.ideasbynet.com/images/highlighers/to-60512496.jpg

OL are a professional football club?!? Is this where it is going.

I say that, of course, as someone who follows Palace and Nice who can't muster a decent sponsor between them!!!!

Still 1 point is better than 0! You're still in the game!

GodstoneEagle

01-10-2008, 08:41 AM

decent point for OL. Lucky goal buy maybe benzena should ha e scored.

Nice to see my preseason tip grenoble beating PSG at the weekend -

BB Bob

01-10-2008, 08:46 AM

I saw the highlights last night. PSG were all over them like a bad rash, but just couldn't score. Grenoble I think had one shot on target and scored. Cracking finish though. Still, 3 point is 3 points, as they say.

Like Caen last year, I suspect they will have a bumpy patch at some point, but if they carry on like this they should stay up. Europe might be pushing it a bit this season, though!

kabbott

01-10-2008, 11:17 AM

Originally posted by GodstoneEagle

Nice to see my preseason tip grenoble beating PSG at the weekend - [/B]

You weren't the only one, but hang on a minute. Didn't you have a few bob (not BB) on PSG to beat Grenoble at the weekend?

BB Bob

01-10-2008, 11:18 AM

I had a few of BB Bob's bobs on PSG at the weekend too! Well £2 anyway.....last of the big gamblers!

kabbott

01-10-2008, 11:19 AM

Originally posted by BB Bob
Yeah, but sponsored by Stabilo Boss. I mean, really. Come on.

http://www.ideasbynet.com/images/highlighers/to-60512496.jpg

OL are a professional football club?!? Is this where it is going.

I say that, of course, as someone who follows Palace and Nice who can't muster a decent sponsor between them!!!!

Still 1 point is better than 0! You're still in the game!

It's 2 more than we had this time last season, but then we haven't got Rangers in our group this time. And when Bayern come to Lyon Scarface Ribéry will be fully match fit.

BB Bob

02-10-2008, 10:16 AM

Another great piece from the Guardian

Why is Zizou so riled about a PSG winger's autobiography?Shocks, controversies, rampaging fans and an upset Zinedine Zidane are the talking points in French football this weekAll comments (58)
Zinedine Zidane head-butts Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. Photograph: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images

There were shocks, controversies, rampaging fans and a new discovery in Ligue 1 last weekend, but an exciting round of action was overshadowed by a revelation in a new autobiography that has upset Zinedine Zidane. While Grenoble were winning away at Paris St Germain, Marseille reeling after another refereeing decision went against them, Nantes fans attacking their training ground and Lyon unveiling the latest star from their youth academy, Zidane's entourage were reportedly doing all they could to prevent publication of an enlightening passage from Jérôme Rothen's autobiography.

The offending extract focuses on an incident during the second leg of Monaco's 2004 Champions League quarter-final win over Real Madrid. Monaco had overturned a 4-2 first leg deficit, and were 3-1 up with seconds left to play when Zidane tackled Rothen from behind. "It was a foul and I went down, admittedly I made a bit more of it, but anyone would have done the same, as we were trying to buy some seconds," Rothen wrote. "Zidane leant over me and said: 'Get up, you son of a bitch.'"

The expression Rothen claims Zidane used, 'fils de pute', is a variation on what Marco Materazzi is alleged to have said to Zidane before the head-butt that proved the iconic moment of the 2006 World Cup final. "I was surprised but put it down to his frustration, and I expected him to apologise at the end of the game, but he said nothing," Rothen continued. "I thought the next time we saw each other with the France team he would say sorry, and then it would be forgotten, but he didn't and that disappointed me."

Zidane remains one of France's most popular all-time players and it could be that L'Equipe's explanation of his people working overtime to remove the extract, rather than the comment itself, that does more to dislodge his halo. Then again, it may not help Rothen's case that his book is called You're Not Going To Believe Me.

On Sunday night, Zidane shifted the spotlight on to his row with FA president Jean-Claude Escalattes, who had accused the France 1998 world champions of behaving like a clan in wanting national coach Raymond Domenech replaced by Didier Deschamps. "It's completely false and disrespectful to say we tried to exert pressure, he hid behind that to keep his man in place," said Zizou, while his interrogator Christophe Dugarry added: "The real clan is the one at the federation."

Zidane would have enjoyed a minor victory last weekend when Rothen's PSG were victims of the result of the season as Grenoble's golden oldies mugged the capital side at the Parc des Princes. Seven of the visitors' starting XI were over 30, and their spine of goalkeeper Grégory Wimbée (aged 37), defender Maxence Flachez (36), midfielder Laurent Battles (33) and striker Nachim Akrour (34) held out against a side whose seven league games have worryingly produced just four goals. PSG president Charles Villeneuve, who had defended Rothen when Franck Riboud, the chairman of Danone (Zidane's main sponsor) complained about the book, asked the winger to put in a decent performance but he did not provide one.

Grenoble's motivation comes from being written off at the start of the season. The mood in the squad is positive, mainly because the club has so little money and so no one is getting paid very much. It was Akrour, an Algerian international who once played for Sutton United and Woking, who smashed in this long-range effort to win the game 1-0. "Nachim could and perhaps should have had a greater career," said coach Mécha Bazderavic "He plays and works for the team. He was out of contract last season but I kept him on because he's a leader and when he's not around, we're all a bit sadder." He also has a habit of scoring important goals, as his 87th-minute equaliser against Sochaux and this even better winner against Rennes testify.

Marseille dropped more points in their 1-1 draw at Le Mans, although they felt they should have had all three when Mamadou Samassa's late header looked to have crossed the line. "This was daylight robbery and we're starting to get tired of these decisions going against us," moaned chairman Pape Diouf. Marseille are still furious at being denied a penalty in the draw with Bordeaux and with the decisions that went Lyon's way in the 3-2 win over Nice in round five. "If you give us four extra points from our two games and take away the three points Lyon got against Nice, we wouldn't be so far behind." Computer graphics on Canal Plus showed that referee Fredy Fautrel actually called it right and the ball did not cross the line in its entirety.

As it is, Marseille are six points behind Lyon, who ended another difficult week on a high with a 2-1 win over Nancy. Everyone connected to the club had something to say: John Mensah went public on being stopped by the police while driving his 4x4 "and being treated like a criminal", Fred broke his silence on the personal problems — messy divorce and missing his daughter — that disrupted him last season, while Sidney Govou blamed the club for not helping him move in the summer and said his relationship with Jean-Michel Aulas was non-existent. Even former coach Alain Perrin gave a rare interview, admitting that each of last season's double-winning players received a VW Beetle for their efforts while he was still waiting for the watch Aulas had promised him. All that was forgotten after France Under-21 forward Anthony Mounier set up both goals in a man of the match performance for Lyon. Mounier is an authentic left-winger who played alongside Karim Benzema for Lyon Under-12s and with his direct style, already looks a useful replacement for Hatem Ben Arfa.

The closest team to leaders Lyon is now Toulouse, which one France Football journalist claimed was an indictment of Ligue 1. "They are worst football-playing team ever to be second in France and their only tactic is to put ten men behind the ball and take advantage of a mistake." It worked for them at Valenciennes, whose goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau's shocking last-minute error allowed André-Pierre Gignac's speculative shot to seal a 1-0 win.

Down at the bottom, Nantes coach Elie Baup prepared for the game at Caen by publicly naming seven players in his 32-man squad that he wanted to release. After the game, which Caen won 3-0, Nantes fans attacked the training-ground and daubed 'Kita Out' slogans on the players' cars. "We can't let people get away with this kind of thing. It's serious, we need police protection," said president Waldemar Kita. "I'm afraid for the people who work for Nantes and the players are scared too." Kita should be safe: like the unpopular director of football Pascal Praud, he lives in Paris. Midfielder David de Freitas has sympathised with the fans but it's a situation unlikely to tempt their latest transfer target Sylvain Wiltord, a title-winner under Baup at Bordeaux. "You can understand the fans being mad, but they're not going to kill us," said De Freitas. If he joined this sinking ship, though, Wiltord would be mad.

Results: Lyon 2-1 Nancy, Le Mans 1-1 Marseille, Rennes 1-0 Nice, Caen 3-0 Nantes, Auxerre 3-0 Le Havre, Sochaux 1-1 Lorient, PSG 0-1 Grenoble, Valenciennes 0-1 Toulouse, Monaco 0-2 Lille, Bordeaux 1-1 Saint-Etienne.

BB Bob

02-10-2008, 04:06 PM

You couldn't invent it......

(ESP)-MARSEILLE FLIGHT FAR FROM PLANE SAILING
2008-10-02 14:50:45.260 GMT

MARSEILLE FLIGHT FAR FROM PLANE SAILING MARSEILLE, October 2 (Champions League) - Marseille's Champions League nightmare continued even after their defeat to Atletico Madrid as their flight back to France was delayed while the players had a whip-round to pay for the plane's fuel.
The players arrived at Madrid's Barajas airport just before midnight on Wednesday following their 2-1 loss but did not take off until 2:48am after an argument over fuel costs with the petrol company.
The Marseille players, staff and directors were reportedly forced to scramble together 3,300 euros before the plane could take off.
``It was abracadabra-esque,'' said Pascal Feraud, the plane's captain. ``I never experienced this in all my career.''
end
-0- Oct/02/2008 14:50 GMT

-0- Oct/02/2008 14:50 GMT

kabbott

02-10-2008, 08:58 PM

The Guardian article is spot on. I posted something the other day about Akrour on the Sutton Utd thread, but it was more than 10 years ago and it seems he didn't make much of an impression. Obviously a late developer.

BB Bob

03-10-2008, 01:51 PM

Lucky loto tiime again!

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 FC Nantes HOME WIN
19:00 Havre AC Le Mans UC 72 AWAY WIN
19:00 FC Lorient FC Girondins de Bordeaux DRAW
19:00 Olympique de Marseille SM Caen HOME WIN
19:00 OGC Nice FC Sochaux-Montbéliard HOME WIN (I'll regret this one!)
19:00 Toulouse FC AJ Auxerre DRAW
21:00 LOSC Valenciennes FC HOME WIN
Week 8 - Sunday, October 05, 2008

17:00 Stade Rennais FC Olympique Lyonnais AWAY WIN
17:00 AS Saint-Etienne AS Monaco FC DRAW
21:00 AS Nancy Lorraine Paris Saint-Germain DRAW

kabbott

03-10-2008, 02:34 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BB Bob
[B]Lucky loto tiime again!

19:00 OGC Nice FC Sochaux-Montbéliard HOME WIN (I'll regret this one!)

You've only got one regret, I've got ten! I don't know if I need more time or less.

kabbott

04-10-2008, 11:13 AM

Oh well, here goes. I can't do any worse than last week, can I?

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 FC Nantes AWAY WIN
19:00 Havre AC Le Mans UC 72 DRAW
19:00 FC Lorient FC Girondins de Bordeaux DRAW
19:00 Olympique de Marseille SM Caen AWAY WIN
19:00 OGC Nice FC Sochaux-Montbéliard HOME WIN
19:00 Toulouse FC AJ Auxerre HOME WIN
21:00 LOSC Valenciennes FC HOME WIN

Week 8 - Sunday, October 05, 2008

17:00 Stade Rennais FC Olympique Lyonnais AWAY WIN
17:00 AS Saint-Etienne AS Monaco HOME WIN
21:00 AS Nancy Lorraine Paris Saint-Germain HOME WIN

BB Bob

05-10-2008, 08:14 AM

Week 8 - Saturday, October 04, 2008

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 0 - 1 FC Nantes
19:00 Havre AC 1 - 2 Le Mans UC 72
19:00 FC Lorient 1 - 2 FC Girondins de Bordeaux
19:00 Olympique de Marseille 2 - 1 SM Caen
19:00 OGC Nice 1 - 1 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
19:00 Toulouse FC 1 - 0 AJ Auxerre
21:00 LOSC 1 - 0 Valenciennes FC

BB Bob

05-10-2008, 08:17 AM

and I think, with three to play, that makes it:-

BBB 3
K 3

The (probably) more exciting league table looks like this:-

P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 7 6 1 0 +9 19
2 Toulouse FC 8 5 2 1 +2 17
3 Olympique de Marseille 8 4 4 0 +7 16
4 Le Mans UC 72 8 4 2 2 +5 14
5 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 8 4 2 2 +3 14
6 LOSC 8 4 2 2 +2 14
7 Grenoble Foot 38 8 4 1 3 0 13
8 SM Caen 8 3 2 3 +4 11
9 OGC Nice 8 3 2 3 +1 11
10 Stade Rennais FC 7 2 4 1 +1 10
11 Paris Saint-Germain 7 3 1 3 0 10
12 AJ Auxerre 8 3 1 4 -1 10
13 AS Monaco FC 7 2 3 2 0 9
14 AS Nancy Lorraine 7 1 4 2 -1 7
15 AS Saint-Etienne 7 2 1 4 -3 7
16 Valenciennes FC 8 2 1 5 -5 7
17 FC Nantes 8 2 1 5 -7 7
18 FC Lorient 8 1 3 4 -6 6
19 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 8 0 4 4 -4 4
20 Havre AC 8 1 1 6 -7 4

kabbott

05-10-2008, 05:51 PM

Rennes 3:0 Lyon

A woeful performance from Lyon. Claude Puel won't be happy with that. I reckon that kind of show has been on the cards for a while now. The defence was a shambles.
Cris is a shadow of his former self. Slow, out of position, he may well be injured still. Bodmer is looking less and less a central defender after show promising shows last season. Puel put Kallstrom in at left-back. He isn't one, pure and simple. It's time Claude gave the young Gassama a run-out. He can't be worse. Réveillère was OK.
MOM was a certain Mikaël Pagis. He's no kid any more, must be in his 30s, but he's class. Hat trick hero. His third was a beauty. He's a bit of a journeyman since playing his first Ligue 1 game at the ripe old age of 28! He's not that consistent, but when he's on song, he's class. Look out for the headline in L'Equipe tomorrow- it's got to be ''Pagistral''. I'll bet you all on that one. I've got more of a chance than on the Loto Sportif anyway.

Le Big Match du soir is Nancy v PSG. Seeing PSG lose again and start sliding down the table won't make up for a pitiful Lyon performance.

BB Bob

06-10-2008, 06:33 PM

17:00 Stade Rennais FC 3 - 0 Olympique Lyonnais
17:00 AS Saint-Etienne 2 - 0 AS Monaco FC
21:00 AS Nancy Lorraine 1 - 1 Paris Saint-Germain

1-1 for Sundays games and 4-4 for the week

BB Bob

06-10-2008, 06:34 PM

Blimey - we have a contest (well until next week, anyway!)

P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 8 6 1 1 +6 19
2 Toulouse FC 8 5 2 1 +2 17
3 Olympique de Marseille 8 4 4 0 +7 16
4 Le Mans UC 72 8 4 2 2 +5 14
5 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 8 4 2 2 +3 14
6 LOSC 8 4 2 2 +2 14
7 Stade Rennais FC 8 3 4 1 +4 13
8 Grenoble Foot 38 8 4 1 3 0 13
9 SM Caen 8 3 2 3 +4 11
10 OGC Nice 8 3 2 3 +1 11
11 Paris Saint-Germain 8 3 2 3 0 11
12 AJ Auxerre 8 3 1 4 -1 10
13 AS Saint-Etienne 8 3 1 4 -1 10
14 AS Monaco FC 8 2 3 3 -2 9
15 AS Nancy Lorraine 8 1 5 2 -1 8
16 Valenciennes FC 8 2 1 5 -5 7
17 FC Nantes 8 2 1 5 -7 7

18 FC Lorient 8 1 3 4 -6 6
19 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 8 0 4 4 -4 4
20 Havre AC 8 1 1 6 -7 4

BB Bob

06-10-2008, 06:42 PM

Sorry. I've had a busy week! Highlights (and low lights) of the weekend below:-

-------------------------------------
Casanova hails Toulouse display
Alain Casanova said his Toulouse side had played "one of [their] best matches of the season" as they beat Auxerre 1-0 to move to within two points of Ligue 1 leaders Lyon on Saturday.

André-Pierre's rich vein of recent form continued as he struck his fourth goal in three games to see TFC extend their unbeaten run to seven games and consolidate their hold on second place in the table.

"We played very well, even though we would have liked to have scored more to make it safe sooner," said Casanova, who took over from Elie Baup in the summer. "But it was one of our best games of the season. The thing I'm most happy about is that our game is still progressing. That's something very important for me, at least as important as the three points or the second place which - for me - is merely an anecdote."
--------------------------------------

Faty hails Nantes win

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0708_l2_nantes_ricardofaty_art.jpg
Nantes defender Ricardo Faty was deilghted after helping les Canaris out of the bottom three with victory at Grenoble on Saturday.

Elie Baup picked up his second win in four Ligue 1 matches in charge as Christian Bekamenga's goal 13 minutes from time gave them all three points at the Stade des Alpes.

"It was a very tight win, but still it's a victory that does us a lot of good with a super goal," said Faty. "We worked very hard with the video to prepare this match. We always knew that we were a united squad. It's not a new Nantes, it's just that before we were a little bit lost."

----------------------------------------

Nobilo: 'Terrible blow'
http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/uk0809_Nobilo_Havre_1art.jpg
Le Havre coach Jean-Marc Nobilo was left to rue his side's profligacy in front of goal as they were beaten 2-1 by Le Mans in dramatic circumstances on Saturday.

Amadou Alassane's first-half strike looked as if it would give the Normandy side a first win since the opening day of the season, only for MUC 72 to strike twice in the dying seconds through Modibo Maiga and Gervinho to snatch all three points.

"It's a terrible blow for us", said Nobilo. "We played well in the first half. I don't think we lost it in the last few minutes, because we should have had the win sown up long before then. Le Mans, it has to be said, are a good team that got themselves back into it thanks to their physical qualities. I don't really have anything to criticise my players for."
---------------------------------
Blanc wants more from Bordeaux
Laurent Blanc was not entirely satisfied despite seeing his side beat Lorient 2-1 on Saturday to move into fifth place in the Ligue 1 table.
Michael Ciani had put Lorient ahead just before the hour mark, but two goals from Fernando in the space of two minutes gave Bordeaux a fifth win of the season and extended their unbeaten run to four games.

"I'm happy with the result, but you can't see it. We have to do better than that. It's a bit like we've been playing recently, we have to be pushed first before we give the best of ourselves," said Blanc. "It won't always work. We needed three points, and we got them, but it wasn't a good performance."

The former France international also defended Yoann Gourcuff, who appeared jaded in a victory which sent his father Christian's side into the bottom three.

"He's played a lot of matches recently. He is very important in our system, but it's affecting his performance," said the Bordeaux coach, whose side was playing their third match in six days. "If we hadn't been able to up our game for ten to 15 minutes, we wouldn't have won. I would like the team to be motivated more often, even if there were mitigating circumstances tonight. We're in the top five - if we want to stay there, we'll have to play differently.

---------------------------------------

Lacombe unsurprised by Pagis performance

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0708_l1_rennes_psg_lacombe_art.jpg
Rennes coach Guy Lacombe revealed he was not surprised by the five-star performance from Mickaël Pagis which inspired his side to a 3-0 win over Lyon on Sunday.

Pagis struck a hat-trick to end the champions' run of five consecutive Ligue 1 wins and inflict a first defeat of the season on Claude Puel's men, but a laconic Lacombe admitted he was fully aware of the 35-year-old's talents.

"If you look at the stats, Mike has often scored goals against Lyon," said the former Sochaux and PSG boss. "We know that if we give him space, he's got the necessary technical ability and sang froid. I'll now be interested to see how the players deal with the win. We've seen that they were able to deal with things when they weren't going well, but now they have raised the bar very high."

----------------------------------------

Courageous Balmont doesn’t frighten easily

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0809_matchamical_lille_nice_art.jpg

Lille midfielder Florent Balmont was injured on Saturday morning when armed intruders broke into his house. But it would take more than that to keep hard-man Balmont from taking part in Lille’s 1-0 derby win over Valenciennes, later that same day.
Balmont turned up to Lille's pre-match meeting without a word of what had transpired earlier in the day, when the 28-year-old and his young family were threatened by three armed intruders who made off in the family car. Only the lump on the back of his head and the three stitches which accompanied it (after being struck by a pistol) betrayed the drama.

"I think he wanted to play to just clear his head and move on as quickly as possible," said Balmont's close friend and former Nice teammate Sébastien Roudet.

An exceptional man

"It was a brave decision because either you play a blinder or you have a shocker. But he was reassured to know that his wife and kids were not home alone.

"I think mentally, the fact that he won, and that he personally had a great game, really took the edge off what was a pretty tough day."

Lille president Michel Seydoux was full of praise for his midfielder:

"I really admire his force of character. Out on the pitch, he didn't let anything show of the ordeal he'd gone through just hours earlier. As a man, he's exceptional."

Lille climbed to sixth on the table after their derby victory – their fourth win in five matches.

He should have stayed in Nice - it's much safer there! Well, sort of. In the right bit. And definitely not the bit around the station!

----------------------------------------

BB Bob

06-10-2008, 06:50 PM

More pretty pictures for you all

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/grandFormat/0809_l1_toulouse_auxerre_gignac_mono.jpg
The man of the weekend:-http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Dossiers/Media/tug_9.jpg
http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Dossiers/Media/tug_4.jpg
http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Dossiers/Media/tug_5.jpg
http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Dossiers/Media/051008_makoun.jpg

And the headline in todays L'equipe? "Simplement <<pagistral>>"

kabbott, that's got to be the tie break answer to give you victory in this weeks loto sportif!

kabbott

06-10-2008, 07:29 PM

And the headline in todays L'equipe? "Simplement <<pagistral>>"

kabbott, that's got to be the tie break answer to give you victory in this weeks loto sportif!

Is that all? I reckon that was harder to find than getting 10 out of 10 on the Loto Sportif. Then again, maybe not. Or what about getting a job as a journalist for L'Equipe?
OK it's come clean time. The commentators said it three or four times during the game. They'd probably had that one up their sleeves for years, waiting for the Pagis ''coup du chapeau''. I wasn't that surprised when I saw it, even though it wasn't the PAGE 1 headline, which was the very ordinary ''Pagis relance la Ligue 1''.

philsick

06-10-2008, 08:25 PM

How are cleremont doing?

BB Bob

06-10-2008, 08:29 PM

A bit like last year, really - comme ci comme ca:-

Week 9 - Friday, October 03, 2008

20:00 AC Ajaccio 1 - 2 RC Lens
20:00 Amiens SC 0 - 2 Vannes OC
20:00 Angers SCO 0 - 0 ESTAC
20:00 EA Guingamp 2 - 1 Clermont Foot
20:00 Stade de Reims 1 - 4 Dijon FCO
20:00 Tours FC 2 - 0 Stade Brestois
20:30 US Boulogne CO 2 - 1 LB Châteauroux
20:30 FC Metz 2 - 0 CS Sedan
20:30 Montpellier HSC 2 - 1 SC Bastia

P W D L GD Pts
1 US Boulogne CO 9 6 3 0 +9 21
2 RC Lens 9 7 0 2 +8 21
3 RC Strasbourg 8 6 2 0 +7 20

4 FC Metz 9 6 2 1 +6 20
5 Vannes OC 9 5 1 3 +1 16
6 AC Ajaccio 9 4 3 2 +9 15
7 Tours FC 9 5 0 4 +3 15
8 Montpellier HSC 9 4 2 3 +5 14
9 SC Bastia 9 3 3 3 0 12
10 Amiens SC 9 3 3 3 0 12
11 Dijon FCO 9 3 2 4 -3 11
12 Angers SCO 9 2 4 3 -1 10
13 ESTAC 9 3 1 5 -2 10
14 Clermont Foot 9 2 3 4 -4 9
15 LB Châteauroux 9 2 2 5 -4 8
16 Stade Brestois 9 2 1 6 -5 7
17 EA Guingamp 9 1 4 4 -5 7

18 CS Sedan 9 1 3 5 -8 6
19 Stade de Reims 9 1 3 5 -11 6
20 Nîmes Olympique 8 1 2 5 -5 5

kabbott

06-10-2008, 09:49 PM

Tonight's live game on Eurosport:

RC Strasbourg 5:0 Nîmes

After watching enough football over the weekend (French, English-only the rich men's league!- a bit of German and a bit of Italian) I tend to give my football brain a (TV) rest on Mondays. Mind you I should have watched the Monday game a couple of weeks back because it was Clermont v Strasbourg. I could have given you, Philsick, a low-down on Clermont's season thus far. I don't think they were too clever the other week. I'll try and get some info for you in the coming days.

kabbott

06-10-2008, 09:51 PM

So le classement général looks like this tonight:

Equipe Pts J. G. N. P. p. c. Diff.
1 Strasbourg 23 9 7 2 0 19 7 12
2 Boulogne-sur-Mer 21 9 6 3 0 13 4 9
3 Lens 21 9 7 0 2 15 7 8

4 Metz 20 9 6 2 1 10 4 6
5 Vannes OC 16 9 5 1 3 9 8 1
6 AC Ajaccio 15 9 4 3 2 19 10 9
7 Tours FC 15 9 5 0 4 12 9 3
8 Montpellier 14 9 4 2 3 13 8 5
9 Bastia 12 9 3 3 3 10 10 0
10 Amiens 12 9 3 3 3 10 10 0
11 Dijon 11 9 3 2 4 11 14 -3
12 Angers 10 9 2 4 3 11 12 -1
13 Troyes 10 9 3 1 5 7 9 -2
14 Clermont Foot 9 9 2 3 4 13 17 -4
15 Châteauroux 8 9 2 2 5 7 11 -4
16 Brest 7 9 2 1 6 7 12 -5
17 Guingamp 7 9 1 4 4 6 11 -5

18 Sedan 6 9 1 3 5 8 16 -8
19 Reims 6 9 1 3 5 8 19 -11
20 Nîmes 5 9 1 2 6 7 17 -10

philsick

06-10-2008, 10:11 PM

Tonight's live game on Eurosport:

Mind you I should have watched the Monday game a couple of weeks back because it was Clermont v Strasbourg. I could have given you, Philsick, a low-down on Clermont's season thus far. I don't think they were too clever the other week. I'll try and get some info for you in the coming days.

Thanx.Looking a bit grim at the moment.At least they were within touch of the leading pack last year.But its early days.At least st ettienne seem to be picking up some points .

BB Bob

07-10-2008, 09:12 AM

I know that you have all been crying out to find out what is going on in the rarified atmpsphere of the French National:-

vendredi 3 octobre 2008
20h00 Cannes (10) 1-2 Entente SSG (20)
samedi 4 octobre 2008
18h00 Paris FC (16) 2-1 Gueugnon (9)
Croix-de-Savoie (14) 1-1 Rodez (11)
18h30 Bayonne (6) 0-0 Calais (15)
20h00 Laval (1) 1-0 Pacy-sur-Eure (5)
Istres (2) 3-1 Créteil (12)
Cherbourg (13) 1-1 Cassis-Carnoux (3)
Sète (4) 0-2 Arles (7)
Libourne/Saint-Seurin (18) 2-0 Louhans-Cuiseaux (8)
Beauvais (17) 2-1 Niort (19)

Equipe Pts J. G. N. P. p. c. Diff.
1 Istres 21 9 6 3 0 18 6 12
2 Laval 21 10 6 3 1 15 7 8
3 Cassis-Carnoux 19 10 5 4 1 10 7 3

4 Sète 18 10 5 3 2 10 6 4
5 Arles 17 10 5 2 3 14 11 3
6 Pacy-sur-Eure 16 10 4 4 2 11 6 5
7 Bayonne 15 10 4 3 3 7 5 2
8 Louhans-Cuiseaux 13 10 2 7 1 9 9 0
9 Gueugnon 12 10 2 6 2 13 13 0
10 Rodez 12 10 3 3 4 12 13 -1
11 Cannes 11 10 2 5 3 10 11 -1
12 Cherbourg 11 10 1 8 1 11 12 -1
13 Paris FC 11 9 3 2 4 10 13 -3
14 Croix-de-Savoie 11 10 3 2 5 8 10 -2
15 Créteil 10 10 1 7 2 8 10 -2
16 Calais 10 10 2 4 4 10 14 -4
17 Beauvais 9 10 2 3 5 11 14 -3
18 Libourne/Saint-Seurin 9 10 2 3 5 8 14 -6
19 Entente SSG 7 10 2 1 7 5 12 -7
20 Niort 5 10 0 5 5 5 12 -7

Cassis-Carnoux in 3rd place!?!?!?! Where on earth is that?

BB Bob

07-10-2008, 09:24 AM

Aahhh. It's between Toulon and Marseille. Toulon is sort of Pompey-sur-mer, a naval pit on the Med and the base for the French navy. Not to be confused with Marseille, a beautiful city and mediterranean counterweight to the snobs in Paris.......well, sort of.

BB Bob

09-10-2008, 09:11 AM

Some more shorts...

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0809_lyon_benzema_art.jpg
Benzema snubbed Barça to stay at OL
Spanish giants Barcelona have revealed they contacted last season’s Ligue 1 top scorer Karim Benzema, but the France international turned them down to stay at champions Lyon. Yet, the Catalan club are convinced it’s just a matter of time…
"We've tried to sign him several times but it's never been possible," explained Barça director Txiki Begiristain. "We tried this summer, but he wanted to stay at Lyon.

"In the end it will be his decision. We have excellent relations with both him and his club and we'll definitely keep in contact so that he knows we want him, and that he wants to come to us," added the former Blaugrana player.

'A striker goalkeepers hate'

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes was also glowing in his praise of the 20-year-old: "He's ultra-fast and doesn't hesitate for a second in front of goal. He's exactly the type of striker that goalkeepers hate. But he has all the qualities needed to play in Spain."

Any attempt by Barcelona to sign the France ace will face stiff competition from other European giants, such as Manchester United and Inter Milan.

'Top, top, top!'

Martin Ferguson, head of recruitment at Manchester United revealed the club has been following the Lyon striker for three seasons: "He's a powerful striker and reminds me of Zidane. He's cunning like him, a great football brain and a born striker."

While new Inter boss José Mourinho is apparently equally taken: "Benzema? Top, top, top! He's already a star."

-----------------------------

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0607_moussilou_nice_art.jpg

Moussilou gets Nice second chance
Striker Matt Moussilou has been given a second chance to prove his worth – and perhaps save his career – by Nice coach Frédéric Antonetti, after more than three years of unfulfilled potential.
"I always give players a second chance, even if it's often a mistake on my part," revealed Antonetti after inviting Moussilou to return to first team training after three months with the reserves.

"It's up to him now, to prove that he deserves it, that his crossing of the footballing desert has made him a stronger player, mentally and physically."

Raw talent

Moussilou, 26, burst onto the scene in the 2003-04 season with Lille, scoring seven goals in 22 Ligue 1 appearances. The following season he added another 12, earning a reputation as talented, natural striker, before falling out of favour with coach Claude Puel.

In 2006 he signed for Nice, but despite appearing in all 19 league matches in the first half of the season, he failed to score a single goal and joined Saint-Etienne on loan until the end of the season, scoring three times.

He spent the first four months of the next season on loan at Marseille, but failed to impress coaches Albert Emon and then Eric Gerets. From Marseille he headed to the Middle East for an unhappy spell before returning once again to Nice.

-------------------------------

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0809_l1_rennes_ol_pagis_art.jpg
Pagis, the modern day Platini!
Former Marseille coach Albert Emon claimed Mickaël Pagis is the most skilful player in Ligue 1 after the Rennes forward’s hat-trick sunk champions Lyon on Sunday.
Emon, who was replaced as Marseille coach by Eric Gerets last season, coached Pagis during the 2006-07 campaign and was unrestrained in his praise for his former player.

"I'm only going to say one thing, but it's important: Pagis, he's Platini!

"His extraordinary skill and his footballing brain are on par with [former France international and current UEFA President, Michel] Platini. In the 1980s there was Platini, in the 2000s there's Pagis. It's the same thing. If only Mickaël was ten years younger," Emon told France Football.

Better than Nasri, Ribéry, Cissé or Niang

"In my opinion, Pagis is the most skilful player in Ligue 1.

"Only the greats can produce performances like that against teams like Lyon. We'll still be talking about in ten years time.

"He's the most talented player in Ligue 1 and better than a few France internationals playing overseas.

"He's all about the ball and he can do anything with it: control, shoot, pass.

"When I coached him at Marseille in 2006-07, there was Samir Nasri, Djibril Cissé, Mamadou Niang, Franck Ribéry. He was probably the best of the lot."

Pagis, 35, has never played for France and only made his Ligue 1 debut at the ripe old age of 27, for Sochaux in the 2001-02 season. Before joining Rennes at the start of last season he played for Stade Lavallois, Nîmes, Sochaux, Strasbourg and Marseille.

---------------------------------------

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0708_psg_om_l1_cisse_art.jpg
Cissé backs OM ‘teammates’
On-loan Sunderland striker Djibril Cissé has offered his support for Marseille’s current under-fire attackers, whom he referred to as his teammates and his friends.
On loan at the English Premier League side, where he scored on debut for Roy Keane's men, the France international defended his former partners, claiming he still feels like a Marseille player.

Getting flack

"I always felt at home in Marseille," said the 27-year-old, to French TV channel Canal+. "I get frustrated when I hear what the French media is saying. I'd like them to leave my Marseille teammates alone, give them a little peace to work, especially the strikers.

"They're still my teammates because I'm only on loan at Sunderland. And besides, they're my friends. I was heavily criticised when I was there and now that I'm gone, they are getting flack... it's all a bit too easy," he added.

Twice top scorer in Ligue 1 with Auxerre back in 2002 and 2004, Cissé joined Marseille on loan from Liverpool in 2006, finding the back of the net eight times after recovering from a broken leg. Last season, after completing a permanent move, he scored 16 goals, finishing second top scorer at the club behind 18-goal man Mamadou Niang.

BB Bob

09-10-2008, 11:48 AM

Another excellent article from the Guardian

The Pagisian magician in rouge et noir is thrilling Ligue 1

Rennes' 35-year-old striker Mickaël Pagis won the plaudits, but it's Toulouse who are keeping the pressure on Lyon at the top

Rennes celebrate their convincing defeat of Lyon. Photograph: Pascal Alee/AFP

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2008/10/07/rennesb2.jpg

If you were looking for a way to get out of a tough game against your local rivals the next day, it would be the perfect excuse: "Sorry boss, I've got a bit of a headache today. Three armed men broke into my house last night, smashed me over the head with the butt of their shotgun, threatened my wife and kids, nicked my Audi A5 and then tried to ram-raid it into two supermarkets before the bastards burnt it."

That's what Florent Balmont told the Lille coach Rudy Garcia on Saturday morning after his eventful Friday night, but the hard-man midfielder added that he still wanted to play against neighbouring Valenciennes. So there he was, sporting a nasty cut on the back of his head, as he put in a typically combative man-of-the-match performance to earn his side a 1-0 win in the northern derby, with Jacques Abardonado's own-goal proving the winner.

"Florent's response was exceptional," said the Lille president Michel Seydoux. Balmont's friend Sebastien Roudet explained: "He wanted to play to turn the page and that result would have brought him some calm after one hell of a day." Balmont is not the first footballing victim of such a crime in the region: Christophe Landrin was at Lille when he was car-jacked, while Valenciennes's Gaël Danic had two cars nicked last summer. And nor was Balmont's the only mugging of the weekend in France: Lyon suffered their first setback of the season, losing 3-0 at Rennes.

"Simply Pagistral!" was how L'Equipe described the performance of Rennes' 35-year-old hat-trick hero Mickaël Pagis. "The Pagisian" is what his team-mates call him, though when he arrived 15 months ago, it was a different story: he needed 11 games to get off the mark, and the director-coach Pierre Dréossi and fans lost patience with him. Pagis confronted one critical fan live on Canal Plus but the supporter ran away.

Pagis might have feared the worst when Guy Lacombe replaced Dréossi last December — he had left Sochaux in 2004 after a huge fall-out with the same coach — but he was soon back in favour and ended up Rennes' top scorer. "I know how to get the best out of Micka," said Lacombe. "We know that if you give him a little bit of space in front of goal, he has a great technique and the sang-froid to make the difference."

This season Pagis has already scored two against Marseille and now three against Lyon (the last player to score a hat-trick against Lyon was also from Rennes: John Utaka, now at Portsmouth, in February 2006). "Sometimes people criticise me for trying to do difficult things but that's what the game is all about," said Pagis. "People pay to see something special and I like to think I'm one of those players who can do something out of the ordinary."

Pagis has always been a bit of a rebel, the kind adored by his club's teams and misunderstood by everyone else. In that respect, he is a modern-day Cantona-Lite. "His technique and reading of the game are as good as Michel Platini's," said Albert Emon, the coach in his one season at Marseille. "He's still the best ball player in France." Pagis' contract is up at the end of the season, and he is undecided about playing on.

Lyon went into the game five points clear and claimed that the defeat changes little. "We're still top of the table and it's not serious," said the captain Juninho, who started on the bench but insisted that Claude Puel's rotation system — which meant Kim Källström played at left-back and Kader Keita struggled in his first start of the season — was not causing problems. "Everyone needs to have a game and others need to rest."

Pagis admitted that Puel's decision to switch from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 gave him more room in front of the centre-backs. "It's rare to have that much time to control the ball and set it up to shoot," he said of his wonderful third goal. Karim Benzema summed up the mood, saying: "We're still in front and I guess everyone will think it's good for the title race."

That much is true, especially as the five teams behind Lyon all won. Bordeaux and Marseille went into their matches under some pressure after second straight Champions League defeats drew unflattering comparison with Anorthosis Famagusta (224th on Uefa's ranking list but with four points from their two group games). "Let's imitate Famagusta" was the L'Equipe headline before a disturbing wage comparison showed the Cypriot side pay Savio Bortolini €480,000 per year, compared with Alou Diarra's €1.32m and Bolo Zenden's €3.12m.

Marseille ended their wretched September run of six winless games with a nervy 2-1 success at home to Caen — just as the critics started claiming that losing Djibril Cissé on loan had made the strikers complacent about their place in the side. "If anything went wrong when I was there it was always my fault, and now they're saying L'OM miss me," said Cissé. "Give the guys a break."

It was not a vintage match for goalkeepers: the Caen No1 Vincent Planté seemed to dive out of the way of Hatem Ben Arfa's early shot, while Steve Mandanda's fumble gifted Steve Savidan an equaliser. Mamadou Niang headed the winning goal and the hosts held on after Karim Ziani was sent off with 20 minutes left. The Caen coach Franck Dumas was furious that Planté had stones and batteries thrown at him from the stands. "We took them to the officials after the game and they asked if he was sure they had come from the stands," said Dumas. "I can tell them now, he didn't have them down his pants when he went out to play."

Bordeaux came from behind to beat Lorient 2-1, with Yoann Gourcuff man of the match in his first game against the team coached by his father Christian. "I knew it would be odd to face my dad, but I was happy to be at Lorient as this is my city, where my friends and family are." Gourcuff is in a rich vein of form and deserves to keep his place as France's playmaker for the World Cup qualifier against Romania, despite Franck Ribéry's return to fitness. He now has a celebrity girlfriend, the swimmer Laure Manaudou, to befit his star status.

Also in great form is the Toulouse forward André-Pierre Gignac, who hit the match-winner for the second week running, this time against Auxerre. Signed from Lorient for €5m, Gignac admitted that he "lost it" last season, as he was played out of position to accommodate Johan Elmander. "I became poor in training and I knew people at club were starting to wonder if they made a big mistake with me," he said. "But I have worked hard and I want to shut up those who spat on me last season."

St Etienne continued their revival with a 2-0 win over Monaco, with Bafé Gomis showing signs of his last-season form, while Paris St Germain drew 1-1 at Nancy, a decent result considering they were missing Claude Makéléle, Ludo Giuly and Jérôme Rothen.

Behind the scenes, there are talks to prevent a players' strike in Round 10 later this month. The sports minister Bernard Laporte has reportedly backed club presidents' plans to take majority control of le conseil d'administration, effectively French football's governing body, despite outrage from the players' union. "If the presidents want to run their own show, they should get on with it and even set up a parallel league," said man of the people Savidan, "but we want no part of it."

The Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud, however, is confident that his colleagues will win the battle. "It will be the first time that a millionaires' trade union called for a strike but at Bordeaux, I can tell you, there will be no strike. The presidents will win." Let's just hope the matter is resolved soon: this weekend, Ligue 1 provided unlikely heroes in Balmont and Pagis, and long may that continue.

Results: Toulouse 1-0 Auxerre, Marseille 2-1 Caen, Grenoble 0-1 Nantes, Le Havre 1-2 Le Mans, Lorient 1-2 Bordeaux, Nice 1-1 Sochaux, Lille 1-0 Valenciennes, Rennes 3-0 Lyon, St Etienne 2-0 Monaco, Nancy 1

BB Bob

13-10-2008, 07:00 PM

No Ligue 1 this week, of course, but some L2 action for you:-

vendredi 10 octobre 2008
20h00 Troyes (13) 2-0 AC Ajaccio (6)
Clermont Foot (14) 0-0 Tours FC (7)
Brest (16) 0-3 Montpellier (8)
Nîmes (20) 1-1 Amiens (9)
Bastia (9) 0-0 Dijon (11)
Sedan (18) 1-1 Reims (19)
20h30 Angers (12) 3-0 Strasbourg (1)
Vannes OC (5) 0-0 Boulogne-sur-Mer (2)
Châteauroux (15) 1-1 Metz (4)

Lens playing En Arrière Guingamp tonight and can go top after a stinker from Strasbourg in Angers

Equipe Pts J. G. N. P. p. c. Diff.
1 Strasbourg 23 10 7 2 1 19 10 9
2 Boulogne-sur-Mer 22 10 6 4 0 13 4 9
3 Lens 21 9 7 0 2 15 7 8

4 Metz 21 10 6 3 1 11 5 6
5 Montpellier 17 10 5 2 3 16 8 8
6 Vannes OC 17 10 5 2 3 9 8 1
7 Tours FC 16 10 5 1 4 12 9 3
8 AC Ajaccio 15 10 4 3 3 19 12 7
9 Angers 13 10 3 4 3 14 12 2
10 Amiens 13 10 3 4 3 11 11 0
11 Bastia 13 10 3 4 3 10 10 0
12 Troyes 13 10 4 1 5 9 9 0
13 Dijon 12 10 3 3 4 11 14 -3
14 Clermont Foot 10 10 2 4 4 13 17 -4
15 Châteauroux 9 10 2 3 5 8 12 -4
16 Guingamp 7 9 1 4 4 6 11 -5
17 Sedan 7 10 1 4 5 9 17 -8

18 Brest 7 10 2 1 7 7 15 -8
19 Reims 7 10 1 4 5 9 20 -11
20 Nîmes 6 10 1 3 6 8 18 -10

BB Bob

13-10-2008, 07:04 PM

I'll spoil you with the National too as i've got 5 mins this evening:-

vendredi 10 octobre 2008
19h30 Calais (16) 1-0 Cherbourg (12)
20h00 Entente SSG (19) 0-2 Istres (1)
Rodez (10) 2-0 Laval (2)
Cassis-Carnoux (3) 3-1 Cannes (11)
Gueugnon (9) 0-1 Sète (4)
Arles (5) 3-2 Libourne-Saint-Seurin (18)
Pacy-sur-Eure (6) 2-1 Bayonne (7)
Louhans-Cuiseaux (8) 1-2 Croix-de-Savoie (14)
Niort (20) 0-1 Paris FC (13)
Créteil (15) 1-1 Beauvais (17)

Equipe Pts J. G. N. P. p. c. Diff.
1 Istres 24 10 7 3 0 20 6 14
2 Cassis-Carnoux 22 11 6 4 1 13 8 5
3 Laval 21 11 6 3 2 15 9 6

4 Sète 21 11 6 3 2 11 6 5
5 Arles 20 11 6 2 3 17 13 4
6 Pacy-sur-Eure 19 11 5 4 2 13 7 6
7 Rodez 15 11 4 3 4 14 13 1
8 Bayonne 15 11 4 3 4 8 7 1
9 Croix-de-Savoie 14 11 4 2 5 10 11 -1
10 Paris FC 14 10 4 2 4 11 13 -2
11 Louhans-Cuiseaux 13 11 2 7 2 10 11 -1
12 Calais 13 11 3 4 4 11 14 -3
13 Gueugnon 12 11 2 6 3 13 14 -1
14 Créteil 11 11 1 8 2 9 11 -2
15 Cherbourg 11 11 1 8 2 11 13 -2
16 Cannes 11 11 2 5 4 11 14 -3
17 Beauvais 10 11 2 4 5 12 15 -3
18 Libourne-Saint-Seurin 9 11 2 3 6 10 17 -7
19 Entente SSG 7 11 2 1 8 5 14 -9
20 Niort 5 11 0 5 6 5 13 -8

I think Niort got relegated from L2 last year. They seem to have totally imploded!

BB Bob

13-10-2008, 07:07 PM

The bizarre mind of the Lens kit designer seems to have taken another twist this season:-

http://boutique.emotionfoot.com/boutique/images_produits/287439-701_1.jpghttp://www.rclens.fr/files/473027826000014.jpg

I suppose it is better than last seasons hoops, but not by much

kabbott

13-10-2008, 08:49 PM

Lens 1:0 En Arrière Guingamp

and go roaring to the top of Ligue 2. My Euros are on Lens, Strasbourg and Metz to go up. Nothing very original there perhaps. And while that is going on, the nation of French football fans is sitting on the edge of their sièges waiting for the most unexpected news that notre cher bien aimé Raymond will be kept on as coach, at least until the next Gallic coq-up, geddit? Bonne nuit à vous tous!

kabbott

13-10-2008, 09:12 PM

I had 10 minutes so beat this:

This is the latest round of French cup games played 2 weekends ago. This brought in the clubs from the CFA 1 and 2, I think! (Div. 4 and 5). The matches are still between clubs from the same region. There are some very lowly ranked clubs, i.e. the equivalent of maybe a Division 15 in England, hence some ridiculous scorelines. I'll try and give you some order of the leagues beyond CFA2 when L'Equipe prints the next round's matches.

Alsace
Berrwiller A.S. (Pr. Exc.) 1-4 SR Colmar
Andolsheim A.S. (Pr. Ligue) 0-6 FC Mulhouse

Aquitaine
Vestas SMG (PH) 0–3 Genets Anglets
Orthez EB (DH) 1–3 Stade Bordelais
Montpon. Menesplet FC (DHR) 2–0 Pau FC
Hagetmau FC (PH) 0–3 Bergerac Foot

Atlantique
La Roche-sur-Yon Esofv (PH) 0-1 Fontenay-le-Comte
ES Blain (DRS) 0-2 Stade Luçon

Auvergne
Le Puy USF (DH) 0-3 Aurillac FC
EDS Montluçon 12-0 SC Ygrandais (Promotion District)
AS Moulins 9-0 Souvigny FC (Elite District Allier)
St Gervais Auv. (PHR) 0-7 AS Yzeure

Bourgogne
La Chapelle de Guinchay (PH) 0–3 Montceau les Mines

Bretagne
Pleyben Stade (Dist. Fin. Sud) 1-10 Plabennec
ES Saint-Ave (DRH) 0-2 GSI Pontivy
Languidic FC (DSR) 1-3 Quimper Cornouaille FC
Fremur Fresn. US (DSR) 0-4 AS Vitré
Cesson OC (DH) 0-1 FC La Vitréenne

Centre
EGC Touvent Châteauroux (PH) 0–2 Romorantin
SMOC St Jean-de-Bray (PL) 0-12 US Orléans 45

Centre-Ouest
Montamise FC (PL) 0-2 (ap) SO Chatellerault

Corse
AS Porto Vecchio (PH) 0-4 GFCO Ajaccio
AS de la Casinca (PH) 2-3 (ap) CA Bastia

Franche-Comté
Audincourt AS (DH) 1-3 RC Besançon
Pontarlier CA (CFA2) 1-3 (ap) Jura Sud Foot
Plateau 25 (DHR) 1-2 USFC Vesoul

Languedoc-Roussillon
RCO Agde 0-1 Vergeze EP. (DHR)

Lorraine
Hagondange FC (DHR) 0-3 US Raon-l'Etape

Méditerranée
A.S. Roquebrune Cap Martin (DH) 1-3 ES Fréjus
Espe. Pernoise (DHR) 1-0 Gap HAFC
AJ Bosquet Néreides (PH) 2-2 (4 tab à 5) FC Hyères
US Marignane 2-1 AS Castellas Chateauneuf (PH)
FC Martigues 1-0 Sarrians Comète (DH)
SC Toulon 3-0 Le Pontet US (CFA2)

Midi-Pyrénées
Toulouse St J. (DH) 0-1 US Albi
Cazeres US (DHR) 0-1 SC Balma
Rodeo FC (CFA2) 0-1 US Colomiers
AS Auch Gascogne (DH) 1-4 US Luzenac

Nord-Pas-de-Calais
SC Bailleul (PHR) 0-3 Dunkerque USL

Normandie
Le Trait Duclair FC (PH) 0-4 US Quevilly
US Portugais d'Evreux (PH) 0-10 FC Rouen 1899

Paris-Ile-de-France
St Michel Sp. (DHR) 0-1 UJA Paris
Orly AS (DH) 1-0 US Moissy-Cramayel
Villeneuvois Cheminots (1ère Div. District) 0-3 Olympique Noisy-le-Sec
Champigny FC (DSR) 1-4 Racing
Sevres 92 FC (Exc.) 1-5 (ap) Red Star
AS Chatou (Exc.) 0-3 Sainte-Geneviève
Lusitanos US (DH) 1-3 Villemomble Sport
ES Viry-Chatillon 2-0 Linas Montlhéry (PH)

Picardie
ES Vaux-Vignacourt (PH) 0-5 AFC Compiègne

Rhône-Alpes
FC Péageois (D2 District) 1-6 ASF Andrézieux
FC Allobroges Asafia (Excellence District) 0-2 (ap) AS Lyon-Duchère
Allinges (Excellence District) 0-3 AS Saint-Priest
St-Etienne Côte Chaude Chaud (PHR) 0-1 Villefranche FC

kabbott

18-10-2008, 12:01 PM

This weekend's fixtures plus, for free, my Loto Sportif!

18/10

19:00 Bordeaux v Toulouse HOME WIN
19:00 Caen v Grenoble HOME WIN
19:00 Monaco v Nice DRAW
19:00 Nantes v Saint-Etienne DRAW
19:00 Paris SG v Lorient HOME WIN
19:00 Sochaux v Le Havre HOME WIN
21:00 Lyon v Lille HOME WIN

19/10

17:00 Auxerre v Rennes AWAY WIN
17:00 Le Mans v Nancy HOME WIN
21:00 Valenciennes v Marseille DRAW

kabbott

18-10-2008, 12:08 PM

This is the only match I won't be able to watch this weekend with my subscription. Plus our daughter's got a friend round for the night, otherwise a trip down to Gerland could have been planned.

Lyon look to bounce back against Lille
Lyon coach Claude Puel takes on Lille – the side he left to join the champions last summer – when the two sides meet at the Stade Gerland on Saturday.

Samedi 18 octobre 2008

21:00 - Olympique Lyonnais / LOSC

Puel, who spent six seasons at Lille, from 2002-08, is not the only familiar face to Lille supporters in the Lyon camp. Former players Mathieu Bodmer, Jean II Makoun and Abdel Kader Keita all played under Puel for the LOSC.

All four ex-Lille men played their part in the visitors 3-1 away win on December 16, 2005 – worth noting because since then, only Rennes, Bordeaux and Marseille have registered league wins at the Stade Gerland.

Lyon will be looking to bounce back from their Week 8 3-0 drubbing away to Rennes. Mickaël Pagis' 17th-minute opener came after a raid down Lyon's troublesome left-back position, but Puel should welcome back Italian full-back Fabio Grosso this weekend. The World Cup winner has finally recovered from fractured ribs he suffered playing for his country against Cyprus back in early September and have kept him sidelined since the Week 3 2-0 win over Grenoble.

However Brazilian midfielder Fabio Santos, who only recently recovered from a fractured cheekbone and eye socket, will have to wait before he can make his season debut after straining a calf muscle in training this week.

Fabio Santos' injury is added to that of Sidney Govou, who expected to be sidelined for another four weeks with an ankle injury, while France full-back François Clerc is sidelined until the New Year after undergoing knee reconstruction surgery. Côte d'Ivoire winger Keita and Argentine Cesar Delgado have both shaken off injuries and trained normally this week.

The spate of injuries, added to Puel's insistence in rotating his squad means that Lyon have yet to align the same starting XI for two consecutive Ligue 1 matches this season.

The loss to Rennes was OL's first of the season, ending a five-match winning streak in the league and saw their lead at the top of the standings cut to just two points over Toulouse.

Jean-Alain Boumsong, Karim Benzema and Jérémy Toulalan all played in France's 2-2 draw away to Romania last weekend, while Hugo Lloris returned to the France Under-21 squad for their play-off match against Germany to qualify for next year's European Championships.

Lille head to the Stade Gerland on the back of three consecutive wins and new coach Rudy Garcia would dearly love to register a fourth at the expense of the man he replaced, especially considering his 're-uniting' with former club Le Mans ended in a 3-1 defeat in Week 2.

Against Valenciennes, last time out, LOSC's Florent Balmont played just hours after being threatened by armed intruders when his house was burgled on the morning of the game. The hard-man midfielder still bore the scars after being struck with the butt of a pistol on the back of his head, while he played 82 minutes of the match.

Lille have also steadied their defence after conceding nine goals in the opening six games, the emergence of 23-year-old Cameroon Olympian, Aurèlien Chedjou – one of the finds of the season in central defence – has seen the side keep back to back cleansheets ahead of Saturday's clash.

Full-back Grégory Tafforeau is sidelined with a torn hamstring, while former Lyon striker Pierre-Alain Frau (ankle) and defender Adil Rami (groin) are both long-term absentees. Youth product Nicolas Plestan, sidelined since February with an ankle ligament problem, played his first competitive match in over seven months with Lille's reserve side against Mulhouse last weekend.

Figures released this week showed that Lyon lead the way in the France in terms of football internationals in their ranks. The seven-times French champions count 17 senior internationals in their ranks, comprising more than two-thirds the professional squad and the most of any Ligue 1 club. Lille on the other hand boast just two players capped by their respective countries, in Slovakian Robert Vittek and France's Rio Mavuba – the lowest number (along with Caen) of any L1 outfit.

kabbott

18-10-2008, 12:13 PM

The other top game is Bordeaux v Toulouse:

Toulouse vying for top spot
With Lyon not in action until later on Saturday evening, Toulouse have the opportunity to go top of the Ligue 1 standings with a victory away to Bordeaux in en eagerly-anticipated south-west derby.
Samedi 18 octobre 2008

19:00 - FC Girondins de Bordeaux / Toulouse FC

It's a scenario few could have imagined after a 2007-08 campaign that club president Olivier Sadran described as 'catastrophic' and a summer of upheaval both on and off the pitch.

Coach Elie Baup paid for TFC's abysmal form that led to the club avoiding relegation on the last day of the season, and 13 players were offloaded, including five first-team regulars (Yohan Elmander, Achille Emana, Dominique Arribagé, Nicolas Dieuze and Nicolas Douchez). Sadran replaced Baup with his assistant Alain Casanova, a novice in the dugout, and the club spent just €11m of the €21m recouped from player sales. A 3-0 defeat at Lyon on the opening day appeared to be a sign of things to come, yet since then Toulouse have picked up 17 points from seven games, winning their last four.

The defence, expertly marshalled by Argentine skipper Mauro Cetto, has become impressively watertight, while midfield terrier Etienne Didot and striker Andre-Pierre Gignac have been two of the revelations of the year so far. Both were nominated alongside Karim Benzema for the latest Ligue 1 player of the month award, with Didot – a summer arrival from Rennes – earning plaudits for his all-action displays and Gignac plundering home five goals.

'Everything is going right for Gignac at the moment,' Casanova said after the former Lorient ace grabbed the winner against Auxerre, meaning he has now scored Toulouse's last four goals. 'In training he's scoring from the halfway line with his back to goal. His confidence is so high he's not afraid to try his luck - it's a real bonus for us.'Gignac has already beaten his tally for last season of two strikes and appears to be relishing the extra responsibility of filling Elmander's boots. Toulouse will need the 22-year-old to be on song at the Stade Chaban-Delmas if they are to continue their fine run, although new signing from Schalke 04, Soren Larsen, suggested he may soon be ready to start sharing the goalscoring burden after netting twice for Denmark against Malta on Saturday.

Bordeaux also have players returning from international duty with renewed confidence. Midfielder Alou Diarra filled in admirably for the injured Patrick Vieira in France's games against Romania and Tunisia, while Yoann Gourcuff's performances have made the young playmaker flavour of the month. The dreaded comparisons with Zinedine Zidane are gathering pace for the 22-year-old on loan from AC Milan after he struck a superb equaliser from 30 metres in Constanta on Saturday, before laying on two goals for Thierry Henry at the Stade de France four days later. Striker Marouane Chamakh also played 90 minutes of Morocco's 4-1 World Cup qualifying win over Mauritania.

Les Girondins completed the double over Toulouse last season and have triumphed in four of the last five 'Garonne' derbies. Furthermore, Laurent Blanc's men appear to be in the ascendancy after an uncertain start that saw them lose twice in the first four matchdays. Indeed, the 2007-08 runners-up are unbeaten in their last four outings, have not lost a domestic match at home this term, and could climb from fifth position to second – overtaking Toulouse on goal difference in the process – should they beat their regional rivals.

Certainly if last season's meeting is anything to go by it will be an exciting contest: Bordeaux edged a seven-goal thriller in December 2007, although neither of the two hat-trick scorers will be present on Saturday: the hosts are missing Wendel through suspension while Elmander is no longer on the Toulouse books. Bordeaux goalkeeper Ulrich Ramé is in contention to return from a groin injury.

BB Bob

18-10-2008, 01:59 PM

Here's my shouts...

18/10

19:00 Bordeaux v Toulouse HOME WIN
19:00 Caen v Grenoble HOME WIN
19:00 Monaco v Nice DRAW
19:00 Nantes v Saint-Etienne DRAW
19:00 Paris SG v Lorient HOME WIN
19:00 Sochaux v Le Havre HOME WIN
21:00 Lyon v Lille DRAW

19/10

17:00 Auxerre v Rennes DRAW
17:00 Le Mans v Nancy DRAW
21:00 Valenciennes v Marseille AWAY WIN

On y va!

BB Bob

18-10-2008, 08:22 PM

Just back from a night out (well sort of). Scores (and Lyon are half way through):-

Ligue 1 - 9e journée
Commentaires audio en direct sur - Terminé Bordeaux (5) 2 - 1 Toulouse (2)
Gourcuff (29e)
Bellion (41e)
Capoue (90e+3)

- Terminé Caen (9) 2 - 2 Grenoble (8)
Savidan (24e sp)
Florentin (58e)
Akrour (19e)
Moreira (74e)

- Terminé Monaco (14) 1 - 2 Nice (10)
Cufré (39e sp)
Bamogo (9e)
Faé (57e)

- Terminé Paris-SG (11) 3 - 2 Lorient (18)
Pancrate (22e)
Hoarau (48e)
Arnaud (87e)
Saïfi (12e)
Abriel (38e)

- Terminé Nantes (17) 1 - 0 Saint-Etienne (13)
Bekamenga (27e)

- Terminé Sochaux (19) 1 - 1 Le Havre (20)
Birsa (72e)
Alassane (45e)

59e 2e mt Lyon (1) 1 - 1 Lille (6)
Chedjou (24e csc)
Rami (14e)

kabbott

18-10-2008, 08:25 PM

BB Bob same link as this afternoon

http://www.ustream.tv/videoplayerpopup/channel/322101

BB Bob

18-10-2008, 08:33 PM

Qui porte la casquette? Elie Baup!

Great result for les Canaris tonight (and Nice of course!)

kabbott

18-10-2008, 08:36 PM

Grosso's just equalised. A barnstorming dernier quart d'heure in store.

BB Bob

18-10-2008, 08:36 PM

BB Bob same link as this afternoon

http://www.ustream.tv/videoplayerpopup/channel/322101

That's a good site! Just caught the equaliser! Surely it's Lyon's game to take now...

BB Bob

18-10-2008, 08:40 PM

Has Mensah come off because his cojones are feeling a bit bruised?

kabbott

18-10-2008, 08:44 PM

Pity they couldn't take Keita off. He can't even stand up. Don't know if it's anything to do with his cojones.

BB Bob

18-10-2008, 08:46 PM

Rudy Garcia has obviously got them well pumped up for tonight. Top quality football? Well, a bit debateable. An entertaining game of football - absobloodylutely!

Benzema still looks a class apart though, even when he makes mistakes...

BB Bob

18-10-2008, 08:52 PM

Time for the famous 94th minute winner at the Gerland....

kabbott

18-10-2008, 08:55 PM

Time for the famous 94th minute winner at the Gerland....

Couldn't see it coming. Lyon are saving it for Steaua(?).

BB Bob

18-10-2008, 08:57 PM

...or not! 2-2 at the end and a fair result? Didn't watch it all, so can't comment!

Bonne nuit à tous

kabbott

18-10-2008, 09:03 PM

...or not! 2-2 at the end and a fair result? Didn't watch it all, so can't comment!

Bonne nuit à tous

Fair result. LLoris made some good saves but was at fault too. The defence looks too shaky still. Bonne nuit. Vélo demain matin!!!

BB Bob

19-10-2008, 08:52 AM

Bordeaux move second as PSG win thriller
Saturday night's action saw important home wins for Bordeaux, PSG and Nantes, as well as an away win for Nice and a bumper crop of 18 goals.

Saturday October 18, 2008

FC Girondins de Bordeaux / Toulouse FC : 2 - 1

Bordeaux produced an impressive first-half display to beat in-form local rivals Toulouse 2-1, and leapfrog them into provisional second place on the L1 table.

Les Girondins went ahead in the 20th minute when rising star Yoann Gourcuff turned the TFC defence inside out before slotting home past Cédric Carrasso. Gourcuff was also at the heart of Bordeaux's second, nodding down for David Bellion to pounce powerfully as he did so frequently last season.

Despite coming closer to living up to expectations in the first half, Bordeaux dipped somewhat after the break, allowing their opponents more of the ball. But Toulouse lacked precision in their play and in the end Capoue's stoppage time strike after a strong initial save from Ramé was just a consolation.

This represents high-flying Toulouse's first loss since their defeat away to champions Lyon in Week 1.

>> Team Sheet

Paris Saint-Germain / FC Lorient : 3 - 2

Paris Saint-Germain staged a come-from-behind win at home to Lorient with a late goal from substitute Loris Arnaud.

Lorient took the lead early through Algeria international Rafik Saïfi, later subbed off with a shoulder injury, and despite an equaliser from Fabrice Pancrate led 1-2 at the break thanks to former PSG junior Fabrice Abriel's scrambled effort in the 38th minute.

Paris reacted strongly in the second half, getting back on even terms through giant striker Guillaume Hoarau's header three minutes after the break. The Parisians had the better of the ensuing action, clinching the three points within minutes of the final whistle.

Makeshift left-back Jérôme Rothen, released into space deep on the left by Mateja Kezman, delivered a sweet far-post cross for substitute Loris Arnaud to head home and clinch the much-needed home victory.

Paris now sits in provisional 8th place in the league standings, with Lorient slipping dangerously into the relegation zone.

>> Team Sheet

FC Nantes / AS Saint-Etienne : 1 - 0

Nantes took all three points in a reassuring home win over Saint-Etienne at the Stade de la Beaujoire.

Christian Bekamenga, forgotten by the St-Etienne defence, latched onto a quickly played corner to rifle past Viviani in the 28th minute for the only goal of the match and his second in as many starts.

After a troubled start to the season, Nantes now have three wins from their last four matches and climb to 14th on the L1 table.

>> Team Sheet

SM Caen / Grenoble Foot 38 : 2 - 2

Caen and Grenoble slugged out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Stade Michel D'Ornano.

Grenoble took the lead when Nassim Akrour capped off some excellent team play with a delightful chip over Caen 'keeper Vincent Planté, but Caen bounced back straight away through Steve Savidan, who fired home from the spot before setting up Nicolas Florentin to take the lead in the 58th minute.

Daniel Moriera evened things up in the 74th minute, clinching a draw that sees Caen slip one place to 11th while Grenoble slides up to 9th.

>> Team Sheet

AS Monaco FC / OGC Nice : 1 - 2

With both of the Côte d'Azur sides looking for a first win in several weeks, bragging rights and a precious three points were at stake as Monaco hosted Nice at the Stade Louis II.

The lively local derby saw tthe woodwork rattled on several occasions throughout the match, but in the end the visitors were too strong, winning 1-2 with goals from Habib Bamogo and Emerse Fae.

Despite getting back on even terms through Leandro Cufré's first-half penalty, Monaco couldn't hold the visitors out and slip to 15th place while a buoyant Nice take 6th.

>> Team Sheet

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard / Havre AC : 1 - 1

Bottom of the table Le Havre took the fight to Sochaux in an entertaining match that would have seen more goals had it not been for strong performances from both 'keepers.

Sochaux's Teddy Richert was the first to crack however when Amadou Alassane slotted home just before the break to give the visitors a glimpse of their first win of the season.

Sochaux coach Francis Gillot responded by changing his attacking line at half time, a move that paid dividends when Valter Birsa nutmegged heroic Le Havre 'keeper Christophe Revault in the 72nd minute to secure a draw that does little for each side's league standing, with Sochaux still in 19th place and the valiant visitors still propping up the table.

4-goal thriller in Lyon
Emotions ran high as Lyon coach Claude Puel welcomed former club Lille to Gerland, where Brazilian dead ball specialists Juninho Pernambucano and Michel Bastos both put their stamp on a match that saw Lyon wait until the 75th minute to even the score and snatch a point.
Saturday October 18, 2008

Olympique Lyonnais / LOSC : 2 - 2

Lille coach Rudi Garcia promised his side would come to Gerland on Saturday night to attack, and attack they did, delivering a powerful yet balanced performance that pushed the reigning champions to the limit on their own turf.

Unintimidated by the fierce home crowd, Lille came out swinging. As the sides traded blows, both Juninho and Bastos tried their luck from free kicks, but it was the Lille man who made the difference in the 14th minute, delivering a deft free kick to Adil Rami. Soaring above the Lyon defence, Rami scored his first Ligue 1 goal gave the visitors a deserved lead with a powerful header that an excellent Hugo Lloris had no chance of keeping out.

Lyon reacted strongly, stepping on the gas and getting back on even terms minutes later when Juninho's free kick from 40m out curled dangerously into the box. Aurélien Chedjou got to the ball first but his fateful defensive header sailed past Grégory Malicki and into the back of the net.

The second half saw the battle raging in the middle of the park, with neither side prepared to concede an inch. Looking to break the deadlock, Claude Puel brought on Karim Benzema, rested ahead of Lyon's midweek UEFA Champions League match away to Steaua Bucharest, in the 58th minute.

But it was the visitors who took the lead, with Bastos this time doing the scoring himself. From a trademark long-range free-kick, the Brazilian fired a glorious shot low and hard through the wall. The flight and the bounce wrong footed Lloris and the hosts were once again chasing the score.

Not to be outdone, Juninho answered back 15 minutes later, looping a high corner to the far post where an unmarked Fabio Grosso slotted home coolly to take the match to 2-2. With both sides determined to get a result, the action was intense for the last 15 minutes but neither side could hammer in the final nail.

Lyon remain in top spot, three points above Bordeaux, while Lille's courageous yet balanced showing takes them up to 5th place, just a point behind Marseille, provisionally fourth ahead of their Sunday evening clash away to Valenciennes..

BB Bob

20-10-2008, 05:00 PM

Belated results from Sunday:-

Week 9 - Sunday, October 19, 2008

17:00 AJ Auxerre 0 - 0 Stade Rennais FC
17:00 Le Mans UC 72 2 - 0 AS Nancy Lorraine
21:00 Valenciennes FC 1 - 3 Olympique de Marseille

And here is the table:-

P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 9 6 2 1 +6 20
2 Olympique de Marseille 9 5 4 0 +9 19
3 Le Mans UC 72 9 5 2 2 +7 17
4 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 9 5 2 2 +4 17
5 Toulouse FC 9 5 2 2 +1 17
6 LOSC 9 4 3 2 +2 15
7 Stade Rennais FC 9 3 5 1 +4 14
8 OGC Nice 9 4 2 3 +2 14
9 Paris Saint-Germain 9 4 2 3 +1 14
10 Grenoble Foot 38 9 4 2 3 0 14
11 SM Caen 9 3 3 3 +4 12
12 AJ Auxerre 9 3 2 4 -1 11
13 AS Saint-Etienne 9 3 1 5 -2 10
14 FC Nantes 9 3 1 5 -6 10
15 AS Monaco FC 9 2 3 4 -3 9
16 AS Nancy Lorraine 9 1 5 3 -3 8
17 Valenciennes FC 9 2 1 6 -7 7
18 FC Lorient 9 1 3 5 -7 6
19 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 9 0 5 4 -4 5
20 Havre AC 9 1 2 6 -7 5

How things change in a few weeks! Looks like a competition again!

BB Bob

20-10-2008, 05:02 PM

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0708_l1_lyon_fred_art.jpg
Fred to quit OL after fans' whistles
Fred has revealed he expects to leave Lyon next summer after he was whistled off the pitch when he was substituted during the champions’ 2-2 draw with Lille on Saturday.

Replaced by Frédéric Piquionne 20 minutes from time, the 25-year-old left the pitch under a cacophany of whistles from the OL faithful - one final chapter in his love-hate relationship with the supporters, which may now see him quit the club come June.

"Those whistles change a lot of things – the supporters don't want me to stay. It's hard when 40,000 people are whistling you," said the Brazilian, who earlier this season said he would stay in Lyon if he continues his career in Europe when his contract expires next June. "I think I will leave in June. It's too difficult in these conditions. Not in the winter transfer window, but in the summer. Until then, I won't stop giving my all for the team, the staff and myself."

Tumultuous

The 25-year-old has endured a tumultuous relationship with the club since arriving at Stade de Gerland in 2005. Earlier this season, he admitted his divorce and his ex-wife and young daughter's subsequent move back to Brazil had unsettled him, before publicly announcing his commitment to the club. OL president Jean-Michel Aulas is confident he can persuade Fred to stay.

"Fred is a great player, and I have faith in his progress," said Aulas, who said he had allowed the player to return to his native country in order to see his daughter during the international break. "I feel he's becoming more settled. I had hoped to see him soon to be able to get him to sign a contract extension. I hope this incident does not put that into question."

BB Bob

20-10-2008, 05:07 PM

Almost forgot the most important match of the weekend.

BB Bob 5
kabbott 3?

kabbott

20-10-2008, 06:38 PM

Almost forgot the most important match of the weekend.

BB Bob 5
kabbott 3?

Oh dear. Really? I must admit I don't run to check them. Bien joué.
When I've got a little time, I'll post the next round of the French Cup matches which were played over the weekend.

BB Bob

21-10-2008, 04:31 PM

This guys articles are very good:-

Gourcuff gives reason to cheer as booing takes centre stage

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Sport/Pix/pictures/2008/10/21/gourcuff1.jpg
The Bordeaux midfielder Yoann Gourcuff is going the wrong way about ending comparisons with Zinedine ZidaneComments (33)
If Raymond Domenech needs to thank anyone for saving his job it's Yoann Courcuff. Photograph: Bob Edme/AP

The decision to keep Raymond Domenech as France coach ended up as a minor footnote to the main talking-point on last week's news programmes and chat-shows: to boo or not to boo the national anthem. Nicolas Sarkozy's fantastically impractical solution to abandon any match minutes before kick-off if an anthem is jeered completely overshadowed the Domenech saga. But if the France coach can thank one man for saving his job, it wouldn't be the FA chief Jean-Pierre Escalettes, who had to meet Sarko at the Elysée Palace for a wrist-slap following the trouble against Tunisia, nor would it be Gerard Houllier, who reportedly stood up for Domenech after the failure at Euro 2008 before insisting he didn't want the job. No, the man Domenech owes it to is a 22-year-old midfielder who has spent the last two years in Italy, and who is doing a pretty bad job if he wants to stop being compared with Zinedine Zidane.

Yoann Gourcuff ran the show in his first France start last month – days after the team had lost 3-1 to Austria in World Cup qualifying – and set up the winner for Nicolas Anelka before hitting the bar in a 2-1 win over Serbia. When France were two down in Romania 10 days ago, it was Gourcuff who smashed in a 30-yarder that went in off the crossbar (enjoy the commentary!) to start the comeback in a 2-2 draw – and his goal was eerily similar to Zidane's debut strike against Czech Republic in 1994. Meanwhile in the Champions League, Gourcuff - on loan from Milan - put Bordeaux ahead against Roma before Henrique was sent off and the team lost 3-1.

Gourcuff was at it again this weekend, scoring an amazing first goal and setting up the winner for David Bellion in Bordeaux's 2-1 south-west derby win over Toulouse. "If Kaka or Ronaldinho had scored that goal, it would be shown all around the world this week," said Canal Plus's commentator after the midfielder spun from two defenders with a backheel before smashing the ball past Cédric Carrasso. "I had two options, either to pass sideways or backwards but then I saw another solution that the defenders didn't think I could pull off," said Gourcuff. "It was all about instinct."

The Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said, "If he carries on like that, he'll be coming back to Milan," but the Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud has other ideas. "We have an option to buy him and it's very clear: if we sign the cheque, he's our player." The buy-out clause is reported to be €12m, but already Gourcuff is worth much more than that. Bordeaux are not normally big spenders, but they can't afford not to buy him.

An outcry normally follows when French players leave Ligue 1 at a young age, but there is a feeling that Gourcuff, who was 19 when he moved to Milan from Rennes, has benefited from his time at Milanello. "We wanted a player who was used to the big time, and we took Yoann because even though he didn't play much Champions League football with Milan, he gained lots of experience from being surrounded by quality players," said the Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc.

Gourcuff is now flourishing in Blanc's 4-2-3-1 system – which mirrors how Les Bleus play – and Bordeaux are up to joint-third as their dismal August becomes a distant memory. Zidane also burst onto the scene at Bordeaux and the pair have similar on-pitch postures and shooting styles. "Don't put too much pressure on the guy and don't ask him to be the new anybody," warned Zidane. "We can all see he's very talented."

Bordeaux's win closed the gap on Lyon, who twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Claude Puel's former side Lille. Dropping their first points at home this season was not how Jean-Michel Aulas wanted to end his 1,000th match in charge, but the president has other concerns: among them Fred, who started ahead of Karim Benzema but was booed by the supporters. "These people are not real fans, jeering me is not going to help, and that's why I think I will leave in June." The problem for Aulas, who hates players leaving Lyon for nothing, is that Fred cost €15m and his contract is up next summer.

Another Brazilian, Michel Bastos, is threatening to take Juninho's crown as Ligue 1's free-kick specialist. The Lille midfielder scored his third dead-ball effort of the season against Lyon. "When I first arrived at Lille I wasn't playing very well, but the boss [who was then Puel] did not lose faith in me. I owe it all to him," he said after the game, which may or may not have helped Puel's mood.

Just a point behind Lyon now are Marseille, who extended their unbeaten run away from home to 13 games after a 3-1 win at Valenciennes. L'OM are the one unbeaten side left in France, and have only been trailing in matches for six minutes all season. The work of their new fitness coach Philippe Manouvrier appears to have made a difference. Former players under the coach Eric Gerets have told how he used to hang under-performing players on dressing-room pegs and kick in doors after defeat, but the Belgian cuts a cooler character these days. He even recently featured on 30 Millions D'Amis, a Me And My Pet-style show, where his Great Dane, Georges, was featured lying under his desk at L'OM's Comanderie training-ground. "Georges is like my son, he comes to work with me and sometimes he joins in training with the players," said Gerets. The dog was a gift from the Galatsaray president Ozhan Canaydin after Gerets led them to the title, but caused problems as his white-and-black coat reflected the kit of rivals Besiktas.

It's a big week for Gerets, who this week returns to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, where he won six league titles and the European Cup as a player and two titles as a coach. "The best thing is to win the league title, it's so much more gratifying even than winning the European Cup," he said. "So long as there are no unforeseen accidents, I think we will be up there at the end of the season."

The same cannot be said of Paris Saint-Germain, who remain in mid-table despite twice coming from behind to beat their bogey-side Lorient 3-2 in a match that their under-pressure coach Paul Le Guen needed to win. The coach has fallen out with the owner Charles Villeneuve over transfer dealings: Le Guen wanted Jimmy Briand, Villeneuve bought the higher-profile Mateja Kezman, whose only success has been to beat Ivan Klasnic and Freddy Adu to France Football's No1 transfer flop of the season. Didier Deschamps is just the type of big-name coach Villeneuve wants to replace Le Guen, and if results in the coming week against Schalke and Marseille go against him, there may be a change at the club.

Elsewhere, Nantes beat Saint-Etienne 1-0 for their second win in a row under Elie Baup and are climbing to a position of safety while Le Mans, the best away team in the league, beat Nancy 2-0 at home (helped by a cracking own goal from Pascal Bérenguer) to move up to third place. Steve Savidan scored again for Caen in a 2-2 draw with Grenoble. Nice won 2-1 at struggling Monaco and next week they welcome Bordeaux to the Stade du Ray. With Gourcuff in his current form, it could be anything but nice for them.

Results, week nine: Bordeaux 2-1 Toulouse, Caen 2-2 Grenoble, Monaco 1-2 Nice, PSG 3-2 Lorient, Nantes 1-0 Saint-Etienne, Sochaux 1-1 Le Havre, Lyon 2-2 Lille, Le Mans 2-0 Nancy, Auxerre 0-0 Rennes, Valenciennes 1-3 Marseille

BB Bob

22-10-2008, 08:14 AM

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/grandFormat/0809_steaua_lyon_UCL_benzema_mono.jpg

Fantastic result for Lyon last night. 3-2 down to a 5-3 victory. You've got to be happy with that! Wasn't it a bit like watching Lyon beat Palace though with their red and blue stripes?

It takes a bit of pressure off this man, I guess...
http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Titres/Media/puel_BREVE_REACS_211008.jpg

As he says, «On a besoin de matches comme ça pour faire apprécier Lyon à tous les supporters. Vous vouliez des buts, vous en avez. C'était un match magnifique.»

On to Marseille tonight. Can they repeat the feat away at PSV?

BB Bob

24-10-2008, 10:13 AM

....er....no.

Better showing in the UEFA last night (apart from PSG)

Nancy and Saint-Etienne fire
Nancy and Saint-Etienne both notched impressive wins while Paris Saint-Germain were beaten as Round 1 of the UEFA Cup group phase got under way.
Nancy 3-0 Feyenoord

Nancy delivered an inspired second-half performance to run out 3-0 winners against Group H rivals Feyenoord at the Stade Marcel-Picot.

The teams traded blows in the first half but Nancy had trouble connecting their play, with two superb saves from 'keeper Gennaro Bracigliano keeping them from falling behind.

Nancy coach Pablo Correa took action just after the break, bringing on Benjamin Gavanon and Marc-Antoine Fortuné in a straight swap for wide men Francis Malonga and Issiar Dia. With almost immediate results.

The change brought Nancy alive, notching two goals in quick succession. Just two minutes into the half, Julien Féret (pictured) played a sensational first-time ball through to Moncef Zerka who rounded the Dutch 'keeper to slot home. Seven minutes later, Féret turned scorer after controlling a lofted pass before turning and shooting low and hard into the bottom corner.

Brazilian Hélder finished the scoring in soectacular fashion with five minutes to go, jinking his way through the Feyenoord defence before blasting into the roof of the net from the edge of the area.

The win sees Nancy join CSKA Moscow at the top of Group H ahead of next week's clash away to Polish side Lech Poznan.

>>Group H

FC Copenhagen 1-3 Saint-Etienne

Saint-Etienne hit their straps away from home, deservedly winning out 1-3 over Danish side FC Copenhagen as Group G got under way.

The Frenchmen started with a bang, going 1-0 up with just a minute played when Bafetimbi Gomis pounced on Dimitri Payet's perfect cross at the far post to head home.

Copenhagen could have evened the score just minutes later from the penalty spot but 'keeper Jody Viviani dived to deny Brazilian César Santin.

Saint-Etienne widened their lead through captain Loïc Perrin in the 37th minute before Copenhagen were awarded another penalty – and this time Santin made no mistake from the spot.

Despite their lead being narrowed, Laurent Roussey's men continued to dominate in every area and finished the scoring with a splendid goal 20 minutes into the second half. A scintillating Payet caught the Danes on the counter and, after wrong footing the defence, chipped calmly over the advancing Copenhagen 'keeper.

Now in the lead in Group G, Saint-Etienne's next UEFA Cup match is away to FC Bruges on November 27.

>> Group G

Schalke 04 3-1 Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain much-changed line-up struggled against an imposing Schalke, eventually going down 3-1 at the Aufschalke Arena in Gelsenkirchen.

Despite his faith in his young players, Paul Le Guen's men were overwhelmed by the better organised and more experienced Germans, who are quickly firming as Group A favourites.

Schalke went ahead early through a Larrys Mabiala own goal before Kevin Kuranyi added to their tally in the 39th minute, followed by Hamit Altintopp in the 69th.

Le Guen brought on more experienced names in Jérôme Rothen and Pegguy Luyindula with 15 minutes to go but Schalke continued to dictate terms.

Chantôme's far-post strike in stoppage time at the end of the second half spared Parisian blushes but came too late in a game where PSG struggled to find their rhythm as Schalke pushed forward relentlessly.

Paris next take on Racing Santander at the Parc des Princes on November 27, when the capital club will be looking to rebound and stake a claim in their group.

>>Group A

BB Bob

24-10-2008, 10:18 AM

Some more shorts for you:-

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/uk0809_simic_Monaco_1art.jpgSimic: 'We're in a crisis'
Veteran defender Dario Simic has admitted Monaco are facing a crisis ahead of this weekend's Ligue 1 encounter with Toulouse.

Ricardo's side have seen the ambitions born of a promising start to the season evaporate with a run of three consecutive league defeats - as well as a 1-0 reverse against Paris Saint-Germain in the League Cup - which has seen them slip to 15th place in the table.

"We haven't won for four matches, and it's a problem," said the 32-year-old, who joined the Principality club from AC Milan this summer. "It's possible to say we're facing a small crisis. In these sorts of times, everyone has to give of his best and face up to his responsibilities."
________________________________

Arnaud set for long lay-off
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Loris Arnaud could face several months on the sidelines after sustaining a serious knee injury in his side's 3-1 UEFA Cup defeat to Schalke on Thursday.

The 21-year-old had to be stretchered off late in the match in Gelsenkirchen, with coach Paul Le Guen stating that Arnaud had ruptured cruciate ligaments in his knee.
___________________________

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0708_marseille_gerets.jpg
Gerets: ‘It’s over!’
Marseille coach Eric Gerets was under no false illusions after his side’s 2-0 Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday, which sees the 1993 European champions bottom of Group D without a point from their opening three matches.
>> PSV 2-0 Marseille

After a scoreless first half, PSV striker Danny Koevermans struck twice in the final 20 minutes to hand PSV their first win of the section, all-but ending Marseille's hopes of qualifying for the Last-16 of the competition.

'C'est fini!'

"The Champions League is over!" Gerets told French TV channel TF1 seconds after the final whistle. "We were better in the first half than we were in the second. PSV closed down the middle of the park well. The only place we had any space was on the flanks and we failed to take advantage of it."

A former PSV captain and coach, Gerets was quick to point out his side hadn't lost all hope of European competition this season:

Third place

"With no points from the first three games, it's hard to say that we're going to go much further in the Champions League. Now we have try and beat PSV by more than two goals in the return fixture [in two weeks time] to try and land third place in the group and go into the UEFA Cup."
__________________________

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0708_l1_nice_lloris_art.jpg Lloris doubt for OL
Hugo Lloris could miss his first game of the season when Lyon play Auxerre on Saturday as the France goalkeeper is suffering from a chest infection.

The 21-year-old, an ever-present since joining the champions from Nice last summer, began to feel the effects of the illness prior to Lyon's 5-3 Champions League win over Steaua Bucharest, though he was able to play in the game in the Romanian capital.

However, Lloris' condition has now worsened, with coach Claude Puel confirming he is doubtful to play at the Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps.

OL number two Rémy Vercoutre, who has made just 30 Ligue 1 appearances in six seasons at the club, stands by to replace Lloris.
___________________________

BB Bob

24-10-2008, 07:22 PM

My calls for this weekend:-

Auxerre V Lyon Lyon to Win
Le Havre V Valenciennes Draw
Lille V Caen Lille to win
Lorient V Nantes Draw
Nice V Bordeaux Draw
Rennes V Le Mans Draw
Toulouse V Monaco Draw
Nancy V Sochaux A S Nancy to Win
St Etienne V Grenoble St Etienne to win
Marseille V Paris S G Marseille to win

kabbott

24-10-2008, 09:43 PM

I don't know why I bother any more, anyway here goes ...

Auxerre V Lyon Away Win
Le Havre V Valenciennes Home Win
Lille V Caen Home Win
Lorient V Nantes Away Win
Nice V Bordeaux Draw
Rennes V Le Mans Away Win
Toulouse V Monaco Away Win
Nancy V Sochaux Home Win
St Etienne V Grenoble Draw
Marseille V Paris S G Away Win

Bonne chance BB Bob. Que le meilleur gagne!

BB Bob

26-10-2008, 07:52 AM

Ligue 1 - 10/25/2008 | | |
Leaders held, Bordeaux pegged back
Lyon could lose top spot to Marseille this weekend after the champions failed to win for the third consecutive Ligue 1 match when they were held to a goalless draw at Auxerre on Saturday. Bordeaux let slip a two-goal lead as Nice snatched a point, while Mickaël Pagis' late strike earned Rennes a draw against Le Mans.
Saturday 25 October 2008

AJ Auxerre / Olympique Lyonnais : 0 - 0

Claude Puel's side failed to win for the third consecutive game as they were held goalless at the Stade de l'Abbé Deschamps, and they could see Marseille overtake them at the top of the table if OM beat Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

Rampant in the 5-3 Champions League defeat of Steaua Bucharest last Tuesday, Karim Benzema had an off night as he failed to add to his tally of six league goals this season.

Ireneusz Jelen had the best of the home side's chances as Jean Fernandez's men registered their second successive goalless draw.

>> Team Sheet

OGC Nice / FC Girondins de Bordeaux : 2 - 2

Laurent Blanc will be ruing a calamitous final six minutes in Nice which saw his Bordeaux side let slip a two-goal lead.

Wendel's long-range free-kick had put the visitors in the driving seat just ten minutes in, and when Fernando Cavenaghi converted a spot-kick before the hour mark, les Girondins appeared set for a third consecutive Ligue 1 victory.

However, Eric Mouloungui reduced the deficit on 84 minutes with a near-post header from David Hellebuyck's cross. Pierre Ducasse was then harshly adjudged to have handled in the box in the dying seconds, and Loïc Remy sent Ulrich Ramé the wrong way from the spot to extend Nice's unbeaten run to three matches.

>> Team Sheet

Stade Rennais FC / Le Mans UC 72 : 2 - 2

Le Mans missed out on the chance to move up to second as they were twice pegged back by a resilient Rennes side.

Gervinho had given the visitors a tenth-minute lead in Brittany, but Guy Lacombe's side were level just four minutes later. Jimmy Briand and Mickaël Pagis failed to fire against Auxerre last weekend, but the pair linked up to good effect as the latter's through ball found the former bearing down on Yohann Pelé - Briand's delightful chipped finish nestling in the far corner of the Le Mans keeper's net.

Boasting the second-best attack in Ligue 1 at kick-off, there was little surprise when MUC 72 again went in front on 34 minutes after Kader Mangané handled in the box. Mathieu Coutadeur slotted home coolly from the spot for his second goal of the season.

With their unbeaten home record in danger, Rennes hauled themselves level eleven minutes from time - Pagis registering his fourth of the season to extend the Brittany club's unbeaten run to nine matches.

>> Team Sheet

Havre AC / Valenciennes FC : 2 - 1

Le Havre picked up their first league victory since the start of the season thanks to a come-from-behind win against fellow strugglers Valenciennes.

Antoine Kombouaré's side took a second-minute lead through Luigi Pieroni, but Jean-Michel Lesage pulled the home side level before he grabbed his second of the game three minutes after the break to lift HAC into 18th and condemn Valenciennes to a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 defeat.

>> Team Sheet

LOSC / SM Caen : 2 - 2

Lille let slip a two-goal lead against Caen to miss out on the chance to break into the top five.

Rudi Garcia's side appeared on course for a fourth win in five league matches after Ludovic Obraniak's brace had given them a 2-0 half-time lead.

Caen, though, had lost just once in five games before heading north and made the ideal start to the second half when Nicolas Seube pulled one back within sixty seconds of the restart.

Steve Savidan then struck his fifth of the season just after the hour mark to give Franck Dumas' side a share of the spoils.

>> Team Sheet

FC Lorient / FC Nantes : 3 - 0

Lorient brought Nantes' recent good run to an end as they picked up their first victory since the opening-day of the season.

The visitors headed to the Stade Yves Allainmat on the back of two consecutive wins, but never looked likely to add to that run after Fabrice Abriel had given the hosts a first-half lead.

Jérémy Morel doubled Lorient's lead before the hour mark, with Kévin Gameiro completing a comfortable win 13 minutes from time.

>> Team Sheet

Toulouse FC / AS Monaco FC : 0 - 0

Toulouse were another of the top five sides to pass up the opportunity to close on Lyon as they were held at home by Monaco, who ended a run of four successive defeats.

Frédéric Nimani wasted a glorious late chance for the visitors, while André-Pierre Gignac could have snatched all three points for the home side in time added on.

>> Team Sheet

kabbott

26-10-2008, 08:57 AM

So far so bad for me, comme d'habitude! 3:2 I make it.

Haven't seen any action yet. Was out last night. And it's a very misty morning outside and in! According to L'Equipe L'OL were lucky to come away with anything last night. Auxerre missed a hatful of chances. I wonder, however, if, in spite of Hugo Lloris's performances between the sticks, Claude Puel is not going to give Vercoutre another game or two. Maybe it's more in the way the keeper commands his defence bla bla bla. We shall see what Clo-Clo decides in the next game.

BB Bob

26-10-2008, 01:35 PM

kabbott

26-10-2008, 03:01 PM

Lloris is only young and was doubtful for the game. The hardest thing for a keeper to get is the "command" thing and it's why, I guess, keepers don't peak until their 30s usually. He's not Coupet at his best yet, but he could be in time.

Enjoy the classique ce soir. You must PM me and tell me how you found the link to watch it!

I don't actually need links for the Ligue matches since I've got the Canal+ package for all the games, except that this year Canal 'let' Orange show one game per weekend. It's the one on Saturdays at 9 o'clock, whereas all the others now have a kick-off time at 7 o'clock so there is no interference. Buying this one match costs as much as it costs me to have all the other games on my Canal+ package for a whole month!!! Needless to say, in spite of claims, Orange have not sold that many subscriptions for these matches.
The link I found just happened to be the same as the Palace v Barnsley game.
Having said that ...

kabbott

26-10-2008, 07:08 PM

See PM

kabbott

26-10-2008, 09:33 PM

OM 2:4 PSG

PSG walked this and scored with their only four chances.
Troubled times ahead for Marseille methinks. Some good footy played in a rare hostile-free atmosphere. OM probably couldn't cope with the pre-match pressure of win-and-go-top day.
Hope you got some of it, BB BoB.

BB Bob

27-10-2008, 06:55 AM

I certainly did - thanks again!

Yesterdays results, then:-

Week 10 - Sunday, October 26, 2008

17:00 AS Nancy Lorraine 1 - 1 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
17:00 AS Saint-Etienne 0 - 2 Grenoble Foot 38
21:00 Olympique de Marseille 2 - 4 Paris Saint-Germain

which makes 3-3 for the week in the lucky loto sportif and gives a table of:-

P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 10 6 3 1 +6 21
2 Olympique de Marseille 10 5 4 1 +7 19
3 Le Mans UC 72 10 5 3 2 +7 18
4 Girondins de Bordeaux 10 5 3 2 +4 18
5 Toulouse FC 10 5 3 2 +1 18
6 Paris Saint-Germain 10 5 2 3 +3 17
7 Grenoble Foot 38 10 5 2 3 +2 17
8 LOSC 10 4 4 2 +2 16
9 Stade Rennais FC 10 3 6 1 +4 15
10 OGC Nice 10 4 3 3 +2 15
11 SM Caen 10 3 4 3 +4 13
12 AJ Auxerre 10 3 3 4 -1 12
13 AS Monaco FC 10 2 4 4 -3 10
14 AS Saint-Etienne 10 3 1 6 -4 10
15 FC Nantes 10 3 1 6 -9 10
16 AS Nancy Lorraine 10 1 6 3 -3 9
17 FC Lorient 10 2 3 5 -4 9

18 Havre AC 10 2 2 6 -6 8
19 Valenciennes FC 10 2 1 7 -8 7
20 Sochaux-Montbéliard 10 0 6 4 -4 6

Which leaves my biggest question of the weekend. Was Nice's 96th minute penalty against Bordeaux payback for the 95th minute Lyons winner a few weeks ago? I didn't see the incident, just the pen!

kabbott

27-10-2008, 08:52 AM

I certainly did - thanks again!

Which leaves my biggest question of the weekend. Was Nice's 96th minute penalty against Bordeaux payback for the 95th minute Lyons winner a few weeks ago? I didn't see the incident, just the pen!

Nice article in L'Equipe this morning in which Frédéric Antonetti suggests giving Bordeaux back the two points of which they were robbed on Saturday

as long as Nice are given back all their ''robbed'' points over the past four seasons!
What goes around is what some people think, although statistically the smaller clubs don't get the rub of the green.
Going back to yesterday's classique, Guillaume Hoarau got 9/10 and is possibly in line for a call-up by Raymondo, and I'm glad to see Peggy Luyindula had a good game. He was class when he was at Lyon a few seasons back but is another fool to think he could go to either PSG or OM and make it. Talking of which, Ben Arfa and Gerets had a big pre-match barney, with Ben Arfa refusing to do the pre-match warm-up. Needless to say, He spent the whole match '' polishing the bench with his bum!'' as they so poetically put it over here.

Glad you got some of the action anyway.

BB Bob

27-10-2008, 11:10 AM

I watched the first half and then thought I had better go and spend a bit of the weekend with Madame! At that point, OM looked like they were in control with Valbuena running the game. I dipped back into the PC on and off for the second half, so kept on top of the score if not the action.

Mandanda looks well out of form as well at the moment. This must leave Domenech with a bit of a problem. Pinning your hopes on two goalies under the age of 25 is starting to look a bit foolhardy. But what are the options for him now? Recall Landreau?

I've just got my equipe, so I'll look forward to reading the Antonetti interview. He's my hero....
http://www.om4ever.com/SaisonImages/20062007/Antonetti.jpg
http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2008/04/01/2322618.jpg

BB Bob

27-10-2008, 11:15 AM

Some more pics, while I'm in the mood:-
http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Titres/Media/261008_hoarau_itw.jpg
http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Dossiers/Media/251008_pjanic_ederson.jpg
http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/grandFormat/0809_l1_paris_hoarau_mono.jpg

kabbott

28-10-2008, 09:08 AM

Back again for another round of ''guess the result''

28/10

21:00 Bordeaux v Le Havre HOME WIN (MOM Wendel)

29/10

19:00 Caen v Nice DRAW (where do your allegiances lie BB Bob?)
19:00 Grenoble v Lille DRAW
19:00 Le Mans v Auxerre HOME WIN (quelle équipe!)
19:00 Monaco v Nancy DRAW (a bore draw)
19:00 Nantes v Marseille HOME WIN (the crisis deepens ...)
19:00 Paris SG v Toulouse AWAY WIN (PSG so unpredictable)
19:00 Sochaux v Lyon AWAY WIN (and a big one at that 0:4 maybe)
19:00 Valenciennes v Rennes HOME WIN (to silence the critics)
21:00 Saint-Etienne Lorient HOME WIN (Gomis is running into form)

BB Bob

28-10-2008, 11:13 AM

28/10

21:00 Bordeaux v Le Havre HOME WIN
(can't see this one going any other way)

29/10

19:00 Caen v Nice HOME WIN (but I would prefer Nice to win! Caen are my second team, really))
19:00 Grenoble v Lille HOME WIN
19:00 Le Mans v Auxerre HOME WIN (quelle équipe! - quite agree! How do they do it!)
19:00 Monaco v Nancy DRAW (a bore draw - when will either team win again in the league)
19:00 Nantes v Marseille AWAY WIN (the crisis deepens in Nantes...)
19:00 Paris SG v Toulouse DRAW (Could be a good game)
19:00 Sochaux v Lyon AWAY WIN (time for the big guns to show up)
19:00 Valenciennes v Rennes DRAW (Valenciennes are good at home, but I quite like Rennes at the moment, even if they are horribly inconsistent)
21:00 Saint-Etienne Lorient HOME WIN (ASSE starting to hit their stride)

Well, quite a lot of differences there! On verra...

Why have they got midweek fixtures? Very unlike Ligue 1...

kabbott

28-10-2008, 12:05 PM

28/10

Why have they got midweek fixtures? Very unlike Ligue 1...

This sometimes happens. It's probably to make up for the weekend 'lost' to the international games a couple of weeks ago.

BB Bob

28-10-2008, 01:40 PM

The latest piece from the Guardian.....

Dissent and sensitivity overshadow PSG's Marseille adventure

Despite the Parisian side earning a famous away win, it was Marseille player Hatem Ben Arfa's sulk that made the headlinesComments (2)
Marseille's coach Eric Gerets and Paris St Germain's coach Paul le Guen during PSG's 4-2 win. Photograph: Claude Paris/AP
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2008/10/28/1225196329694/Eric-Gerets-and-Paul-le-G-001.jpg
Hatem Ben Arfa was not at Marseille last season when coach Eric Gerets threw a half-time wobbly at Karim Ziani during the team's French Cup defeat at the hands of non-league Carquefou. If he had been, he may have thought twice before refusing to warm up following his demotion to the subs' bench for L'OM's 4-2 home defeat by Paris St Germain on Sunday night. Gerets — who last season had reportedly picked up Ziani by his shirt and thrown him across the changing-room, shrugging off the incident by saying "no one ended up with a broken nose" — was not impressed by Ben Arfa's behaviour. "No player has ever done that to me in all my [16] years as a coach and he will get what's coming to him," was his response after the game.

Coming from a man who, according to former players, used to hang up those he felt had under-performed on coat-pegs and kick in changing-room doors after a defeat, Gerets showed remarkable restraint. After all, he was speaking after Marseille's first league loss of the season, their first at home to PSG for five years and the first time they have ever allowed their biggest rivals to score four at the Vélodrome. And as Lyon had drawn 0-0 with Auxerre on Saturday, L'OM also blew their chance to top the table.

Gerets has since made up with Ben Arfa. "I'm happy with the way I controlled myself during our chat, as at other times it could have been something that ended with injuries to both sides," he said, while Ben Arfa interrupted his coach's Monday press conference to publicly apologise. "I'm a competitor and I admit what I did was wrong, and I have said sorry to the coach." This is the same Ben Arfa who caused dressing-room unrest at Lyon, had a bust-up with team-mate Modeste M'bami during L'OM's warm-up before the European match against Liverpool, and who, when asked to play on the left in a League Cup defeat to Sochaux, told Mathieu Valbuena to move to the left so he could play in the middle. He recently told France Football, "I don't care what people think of me." When William Gallas reportedly revealed that a young player had told him to "•••• off and worry about your own game" after he had offered some advice during a France international training session, Ben Arfa was rumoured to be the culprit.

The row overshadowed one of the best results of Paul Le Guen's career as PSG coach, and will now surely end Didier Deschamps's ambitions of replacing him anytime soon. After Jérôme Rothen's autobiography brought one type of headline to PSG, this week it was the turn of former president Alain Cayzac, who revealed in Impossible Passion that Yoann Gourcuff's proposed move to PSG last year was blocked because his father Christian did not want Le Guen coaching the youngster. The pair, both Bretons, apparently fell out when the elder Gourcuff replaced Le Guen at Rennes in 2001.

This week, Le Guen made two big decisions, one impacting on the other. First he selected a reserve side for Thursday's Uefa Cup loss to Schalke, for which he was widely criticised. Then, with a newly refreshed first team at his disposal, he picked an attacking 4-3-3 formation at Marseille in which Claude Makéléle was the only defensive midfielder. Péguy Luyindula, who scored one and set up another, once again looked like the player who won three titles at Lyon while Mateja Kezman, the striker foisted on Le Guen by perma-tanned owner Charles Villeneuve, stayed on the bench.

But the star of the show was Guillaume Hoarau, who opened the scoring with PSG's fifth consecutive headed goal (despite closing his eyes as he made contact) before having the good grace not to claim a touch when Rothen's free-kick went in through a bundle of players. His second strike allowed him to join Karim Benzema at the top of France's scoring charts. "You can understand why Raymond Domenech is now beginning to think of Hoarau," wrote L'Equipe, who rated him nine out of 10 and compared him to Peter Crouch. "There's something good happening in this team, and we have to make sure we hang on to it," said Hoarau, "but I would prefer you not to talk too much about me."

PSG are now just two points behind second-placed Marseille and will leapfrog Toulouse if they beat them on Wednesday night. But there are still some concerns: goalkeeper Mikaël Landreau was at fault for both Marseille goals, the Schalke defeat showed up the lack of depth in the squad while another Villeneuve signing, Ludovic Giuly, is still struggling for fitness. The owner's obsession with big-name players has now extended to Ronaldo, who has confirmed he's in talks with PSG recruitment director Alain Roche. Considering Le Guen deemed Kezman too high-profile, you can imagine his response to that. Newcastle's Charles N'Zogbia is also a target.

PSG were the only side in the top six to win at the weekend, as Lyon showed signs of fatigue following their midweek 5-3 Champions League win over Steaua Bucharest. They escaped from Auxerre with a goalless draw, but were lucky as Dennis Oliech hit the post, and they could also have had goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre sent off. "I think it's a decent result for us, considering we were all a bit knackered," said Ederson.

Bordeaux somehow failed to capitalise, drawing 2-2 at Nice despite being 2-0 up with six minutes left. At that point, Eric Mouloungui pulled one back from a clearly offside position. "If the linesman could not see that goal was offside, then we have a serious situation here," said Bordeaux's coach, Laurent Blanc. Worse was to come, as referee Tony Chapron awarded a 96th-minute penalty after the ball struck the top of Pierre Ducasse's arm. Loïc Rémy made no mistake from the spot to leave Bordeaux defender Marc Planus fuming: "It's a scandal."

Nice coach Frédéric Antonetti accepted Chapron had messed up but, considering his team were on the receiving end of some shockers in week five, when Lyon came back from 2-0 down to beat Nice 3-2, he remained unrepentant. "I propose that we give Bordeaux the two points that they were deprived of," he said, "on the condition that Nice are given all the points that we've had robbed from us due to bad refereeing this season." Given that the linesman who missed the offside was in fact a lineswoman, Corinne Lagrange, the subsequent debate in France means it might be a while before Sabine Bonnin, the female referee who made her Ligue 2 debut in Angers' win over Tours at the weekend (coming on at half-time to replace her injured brother-in-law) moves up to the top flight.

Grenoble continued their excellent start to the season with a 2-0 win at St Etienne. Caen's hero as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Lille was once again Steve Savidan, France's favourite former dustman, who last week revealed he still takes out the bins at home. "I was ashamed when I was 20 and wore a bright yellow jacket and big work boots, but one thing I learnt from those days was solidarity. We all looked out for each other," he told Fabulous Sport. His former club Valenciennes are now 19th after losing 2-1 to Le Havre, their fifth straight defeat. They are winless away in 15 months and, with no Savidanho to bail them out at home, look in big trouble.

Bordeaux could join Lyon at the top if they beat Le Havre on Tuesday, before a full round of action on Wednesday night. "It's a shame we don't have longer to enjoy this win over Marseille, what with all the games this week," admitted Hoarau, but he should look on the bright side. Last weekend's games were the ones set aside for strike action. Perhaps someone forgot to tell Ben Arfa it was called off.

Results: Auxerre 0-0 Lyon, Rennes 2-2 Le Mans, Nice 2-2 Bordeaux, Lille 2-2 Caen, Lorient 3-0 Nantes, Le Havre 2-1 Valenciennes, Toulouse 0-0 Monaco, Saint-Etienne 0-2 Grenoble, Nancy 1-1 Sochaux, Marseille 2-4 PSG

BB Bob

29-10-2008, 10:03 AM

Tuesday 28 October 2008

FC Girondins de Bordeaux / Havre AC : 4 - 0

Laurent Blanc's side went into the game at Stade Chaban-Delmas knowing victory by three goals would see them overtake Lyon at the top of the table, and they went one better as they tore apart the visitors from Normandy.

While the final scoreline was utterly convincing, the manner in which Bellion set Les Girondins on their way to a sixth win of the season was more than a little fortuitous as the former Nice striker saw his 30th-minute shot take a deflection which totally wrong-footed Christophe Revault in the Le Havre goal.

The brio with which Bordeaux swept aside their bedraggled opponents in the second half, though, will have turned heads amongst the Ligue 1 élite.

Bellion latched onto Yoan Gouffran's through ball three minutes after the restart to fire a low shot past Revault to double his side's advantage, before Fernando Cavenaghi's sixth goal in eleven games moved his team into top spot with 19 minutes remaining.

Geraldo Wendel – who like the Argentine striker scored in the Week 10 draw at Nice – added a fourth when he netted Marouane Chamakh's cross ten minutes from time to leave Blanc's men on top of the Ligue 1 world.

kabbott

29-10-2008, 07:33 PM

Missed the first half again because of the early kick-offs. I keep forgetting. But I did see another screamer from Benzema. Nice to see Delgado come on late and get a goal. There was also a debut at right-back for 20 year-old Academy product, Gassama.

28/10

Bordeaux 4 - 0 Le Havre

29/10

Saint-Etienne Lorient (still playing)
Caen 1 - 1 Nice
Grenoble 0 - 0 Lille
Le Mans 0 - 2 Auxerre
Monaco 3 - 1 Nancy
Nantes 1 - 1 Marseille
Paris SG 0 - 1 Toulouse
Sochaux 0 - 2 Lyon
Valenciennes 0 - 0 Rennes

BB Bob

30-10-2008, 07:33 AM

Lyon take charge at top
Lyon have retaken top spot in Ligue 1 thanks to a 2-0 win over rock-bottom Sochaux on Wednesday. Toulouse are up to third thanks to their 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain, while Marseille could only draw at Nantes.
Wednesday 29 October 2008

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard / Olympique Lyonnais : 0 - 2

Lyon had seen Bordeaux move ahead of them on Tuesday, and appeared to be heading for a fourth Ligue 1 match without victory following a lukewarm first-half performance at Stade Bonal.

Karim Benzema sparked the champions into life on 66 minutes with a spectacular strike - the French international forward unleashing a powerful shot from distance which left Sochaux keeper Teddy Richert groping at thin air.

The hosts have enjoyed little luck this season, and Francis Gillot's side again saw Lady Luck turn her back on them late in the game.

Stéphane Dalmat received a straight red card for his wild tackle on Miralem Pjanic nine minutes from time, and when Alvaro Santos did find the net in stoppage time, Sloan Privat - who had provided the Brazilian with the chance to score - was adjudged to have been offside.

Damien Perquis was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card for his protests, and the home side's misery was compounded when Benzema raced upfield before giving César Delgado the chance to score a second and take the champions three points clear.

>> Team Sheet

SM Caen / OGC Nice : 1 - 1

Steve Savidan grabbed his sixth goal of the season, but the prolific Caen striker still could not spark Franck Dumas' side to a first win in four matches.

The ex-Valenciennes front man beat Nice keeper Lionel Létizi to Julien Toudic's cross to head the Normandy side in front after 67 minutes.

However, Nicolas Seube's mis-timed challenge on Habib Bamogo six minutes from time allowed Loïc Remy to score from the spot to take his season's tally to six and secure Frédéric Antonetti's side a point.

>> Team Sheet

Grenoble Foot 38 / LOSC : 0 - 0

A flawless display from former Lille keeper Grégory Wimbee earned Grenoble a point at the Stade des Alpes to keep the hosts in sixth, a place ahead of their visitors.

The 37-year-old, who spent six seasons in the north, enjoyed a stroke of fortune as he saw Florent Balmont's early shot strike the bar, but then denied Rudi Garcia's side time and again.

Milos Dimitrijevic could have snatched an undeserved three points for the home side in the closing stages as he lunged to meet a cross ten minutes from time, but the midfielder was unable to keep his shot down as Lille drew their third consecutive Ligue 1 match.

>> Team Sheet

Le Mans UC 72 / AJ Auxerre : 0 - 2

A quickfire double from Dennis Oliech gave Auxerre their first victory in four games and inflicted a third home defeat of the season on Le Mans.

The Kenyan had failed to score in his first eight appearances of the season, but latched onto Thomas Kahlenberg's through ball to beat Yohann Pelé and open his account for the season on 35 minutes.

Four minutes later, he doubled AJA's advantage. Alphousseyni Keita's misplaced pass was intercepted by Oliech, who beat Pelé comfortably to give Jean Fernandez's side their first win in four matches.

>> Team Sheet

AS Monaco FC / AS Nancy Lorraine : 3 - 1

Monaco picked up their first Ligue 1 victory in seven games as they added to Nancy's troubled start to the season.

Frédéric Nimani grabbed his fourth goal of the campaign on 32 minutes after Park Chu-Young had seen his shot parried by Gennaro Bracigliano, and Nikola Pokrivac's long-range effort doubled the hosts' advantage in the 64th-minute.

Youssouf Hadji reduced the deficit 14 minutes from time, but Alexandre Licata claimed a third for Monaco with three minutes remaining to ease the pressure on Ricardo and leave Nancy a point and a place above the relegation zone.

>> Team Sheet

FC Nantes / Olympique de Marseille : 1 - 1

Not even the presence of Hatem ben Arfa in the Marseille side at kick-off could prevent OM slipping out of the top three as they were held at Nantes.

Rémi Mareval's scorching drive had given the home side the lead on the stroke of half-time, but a lightning break - led by Ben Arfa - saw Bakari Koné level 12 minutes from time to earn Eric Gerets' men a point.

Christian Bekamenga was sent off for a second bookable offence ten mintues from time, but Elie Baup saw his men hold on to move up to 14th in the table.

>> Team Sheet

Paris Saint-Germain / Toulouse FC : 0 - 1

A bizarre own-goal from Zoumana Camara condemned Paris Saint-Germain to defeat at home to Toulouse.

The atmosphere at the Parc des Princes was buoyant following last weekend's win over arch-rivals Marseille, but the optimism was soon tempered by the lukewarm display of Paul Le Guen's men.

With neither side creating clear-cut goalscoring chances, a mistake was always likely to be the only way the deadlock would be broken, and Camara provided it on 65 minutes.

With keeper Mickaël Landreau having vacated his goal in a vain attempt to reach a corner, Camara rose highest to get his head to the ball, but misuced his clearance into his own goal as PSG lost their first game in four to help Toulouse move up to third.

>> Team Sheet

Valenciennes FC / Stade Rennais FC : 0 - 0

Rennes stretched their unbeaten run to nine matches, but drew for the third consecutive game as they failed to break down a stubborn Valenciennes side.

Nicolas Douchez needed to be alert to deny the home side on several occasions as Antoine Kombouaré's team ended a run of five consecutive Ligue 1 defeats.

>> Team Sheet

AS Saint-Etienne / FC Lorient : 1 - 4

St Etienne continued their slide down the table, suffering a third consecutive defeat as they were beaten 4-1 by Lorient.

Christian Gourcuff's side struck three against Nantes last weekend, and proved equally efficient in front of goal at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard.

Bafétimbi Gomis levelled for Les Verts after Jérémy Morel had put the hosts in front on 20 minutes, but Laurent Roussey's men were swept aside after the break. Bertrand Robert struck twice before Andrew Ayew added his name to the scoresheet in the final minute to hoist Les Merlus into 14th, their highest position since late August.

kabbott

30-10-2008, 07:53 AM

That's more like it 5:3 to me this week. No Equipe today - loads of French dailies on strike today. So it looks like www. etc today. It's not the same, and you don't get those ratings. Still, if you can, check out Benzema's strike, not the same one as the papers'. It's not as good as Bentley's, but it's vintage Benzema boom boom.

BB Bob

30-10-2008, 08:16 AM

Lucky loto. 5 to you, kabbot, while I recreated Palace's miserable midweek form with a disappointing 3.

kabbott

30-10-2008, 08:20 AM

Chose promise ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhJXjx4fL9A

kabbott

30-10-2008, 08:26 AM

But not the best apparently:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nvp1EYnPIM

BB Bob

30-10-2008, 08:33 AM

I can never get l'Equipe on a sunday as it's not sold outside Central London. So, I was really looking forward to getting a "post match day" edition today for the first time since I was last in France. Not happy that the b*stards have decided to go on strike for the day!

You tube is blocked at work, too, so I'll have to wait for this evening to watch the goals.

Some funny results in there, too, I thought. What on earth happened to ASSE? Funny if you are a Lyon fan, I guess. Sounds like Landreau had a bit of a mare, as well.

kabbott

30-10-2008, 08:45 AM

Some funny results in there, too, I thought. What on earth happened to ASSE? Funny if you are a Lyon fan, I guess. Sounds like Landreau had a bit of a mare, as well.

Are you trying to explain why I won this week?

The ASSE bosses said before the game that whatever the result, Roussey, the coach, would remain in place. So he'll probably be sacked within the next 48 hours. Landreau certainly isn't 'la Sécurité Sociale' en ce moment as they put it. He was much at fault against OM on Sunday, but the result went their way. But last night he was caught flapping again.
It's funny that Vercoutre kept another clean sheet last night for Lyon. Maybe more in command of the penalty area, i.e. for set-pieces he doesn't stay rooted to the goal-line like others, Lloris and Mandanda spring to mind. Landreau does, however, come out. He just misses the ball. La nouvelle Cendrillon peut-être?

BB Bob

30-10-2008, 08:47 AM

Are you trying to explain why I won this week?

I thought I'd better let you win once in a while or you won't play anymore

;)

philsick

30-10-2008, 06:19 PM

Both my teams st ettiene and clermont are having poor seasons.Whats happened to les verts?

kabbott

30-10-2008, 06:42 PM

Both my teams st ettiene and clermont are having poor seasons.Whats happened to les verts?

Lots of backroom unrest at St. Etienne. They've got co-Presidents who don't seem to see eye to eye over a lot of things, not to mention the choice of coach/trainer/manager, whatever you want to call him. Laurent Roussey was, a few years back, Claude Puel's (Lyon's current coach) right-hand man at Lille before become Ivan Hasek's right-hand man at St. Etienne until Hasek left last season. Roussey then stepped up to become no. 1 coach and consequently qualified the team for the UEFA cup, a feat St. Etienne hadn't achieved for years. In spite of that achievement there were still people questioning his capacity to coach a 'European' team. Some of these people are former glories and players from the great team of St. Etienne that ruled France and very nearly turned over the great Liverpool team circa 1977. Laurent Roussey is also a former ASSE player, a prodigy even, making his debut at the ripe old age of 16. He also got 2 international caps but then had to give up pro footy at the age of 29 with knackered knees.
On paper St. Etienne have got a pretty good side but, like a lot of other teams like Marseille, they are still very inconsistant. Gomis took time to get going this season after his surprise call-up to the French Euro squad and ultimately disappointing performances. He's probably just getting used to having his feet on the ground again.
Roussey and St. Etienne just need time, but whether the Board of Directors will give him any, is another question.

As for Clermont, anything outside Ligue 1 is rarely covered in the national press. I'll look around and see what I can find for you.

HTH

philsick

30-10-2008, 07:08 PM

Lots of backroom unrest at St. Etienne. They've got co-Presidents who don't seem to see eye to eye over a lot of things, not to mention the choice of coach/trainer/manager, whatever you want to call him. Laurent Roussey was, a few years back, Claude Puel's (Lyon's current coach) right-hand man at Lille before become Ivan Hasek's right-hand man at St. Etienne until Hasek left last season. Roussey then stepped up to become no. 1 coach and consequently qualified the team for the UEFA cup, a feat St. Etienne hadn't achieved for years. In spite of that achievement there were still people questioning his capacity to coach a 'European' team. Some of these people are former glories and players from the great team of St. Etienne that ruled France and very nearly turned over the great Liverpool team circa 1977. Laurent Roussey is also a former ASSE player, a prodigy even, making his debut at the ripe old age of 16. He also got 2 international caps but then had to give up pro footy at the age of 29 with knackered knees.
On paper St. Etienne have got a pretty good side but, like a lot of other teams like Marseille, they are still very inconsistant. Gomis took time to get going this season after his surprise call-up to the French Euro squad and ultimately disappointing performances. He's probably just getting used to having his feet on the ground again.
Roussey and St. Etienne just need time, but whether the Board of Directors will give him any, is another question.

As for Clermont, anything outside Ligue 1 is rarely covered in the national press. I'll look around and see what I can find for you.

HTH

Thanks.
I thought gomis confidence would of taken a knock with his poor displays at the euro's,but they also seem to be leaking goals at the back at an alarming rate.I was hoping they would take their decent result in europe on thursday into the league,but the reverse seems to of occured.

BB Bob

31-10-2008, 11:51 AM

ASSE seem to be a club that can't escape from their past. They need to be careful - they aren't that far above the drop zone and, apart from Le Havre, there don't seem to be too many obvious candidates this year...

BB Bob

31-10-2008, 12:13 PM

Which leads me neatly on to this weekends lucky loto sportif:-

Week 12 - Saturday, November 01, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre Valenciennes FC HOME WIN
19:00 LOSC FC Nantes DRAW
19:00 FC Lorient Grenoble Foot 38 DRAW
19:00 AS Nancy Lorraine FC Girondins de Bordeaux AWAY WIN
19:00 OGC Nice Paris Saint-Germain DRAW
19:00 Toulouse FC SM Caen HOME WIN
21:00 Olympique de Marseille AS Saint-Etienne HOME WIN
Week 12 - Sunday, November 02, 2008

17:00 Havre AC AS Monaco FC AWAY WIN
17:00 Stade Rennais FC FC Sochaux-Montbéliard HOME WIN
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais Le Mans UC 72 DRAW

Bonne chance!

kabbott

01-11-2008, 09:26 AM

I could be on a roll here:

Week 12 - Saturday, November 01, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre v Valenciennes FC HOME WIN
19:00 LOSC v FC Nantes AWAY WIN
19:00 FC Lorient v Grenoble Foot 38 AWAY WIN
19:00 AS Nancy Lorraine FC Girondins de Bordeaux DRAW
19:00 OGC Nice Paris Saint-Germain DRAW
19:00 Toulouse FC SM Caen HOME WIN
21:00 Olympique de Marseille AS Saint-Etienne AWAY WIN

Week 12 - Sunday, November 02, 2008

17:00 Havre AC v AS Monaco FC DRAW
17:00 Stade Rennais FC FC Sochaux-Montbéliard HOME WIN
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais Le Mans UC 72 HOME WIN

kabbott

01-11-2008, 09:34 AM

Sorry about this Philsick. Mind you Boulogne did go top of the table after this victory. There was a very short article pre-match in yesterday's paper plus a detailed report of the match in this morning's. I'll post a summary later. It might explain why Clermont are floundering this year.

Friday, October 31, 2008

20:00 Amiens SC 1 - 1 ESTAC
20:00 SC Bastia 2 - 0 CS Sedan
20:00 Dijon FCO 1 - 2 Stade Brestois
20:00 EA Guingamp 0 - 0 Angers SCO
20:00 Stade de Reims 4 - 3 LB Châteauroux
20:00 Tours FC 4 - 1 AC Ajaccio
20:30 US Boulogne CO 2 - 1 Clermont Foot
20:30 FC Metz 2 - 0 Vannes OC
20:30 Montpellier HSC 1 - 1 Nîmes Olympique

Monday, November 03, 2008

20:45 RC Strasbourg - RC Lens

kabbott

01-11-2008, 09:37 AM

Ligue 2 table:

Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1 US Boulogne CO 13 8 4 1 16 6 +10 28
2 RC Lens 12 9 0 3 19 10 +9 27
3 RC Strasbourg 12 7 4 1 20 11 +9 25
4 FC Metz 13 7 4 2 14 7 +7 25
5 Tours FC 13 7 1 5 19 13 +6 22
6 Montpellier HSC 13 6 3 4 21 12 +9 21
7 Vannes OC 13 6 2 5 11 13 -2 20
8 Angers SCO 13 4 6 3 16 12 +4 18
9 AC Ajaccio 13 4 5 4 21 17 +4 17
10 SC Bastia 13 4 5 4 12 12 0 17
11 ESTAC 13 4 4 5 12 12 0 16
12 Stade Brestois 13 5 1 7 12 17 -5 16
13 Amiens SC 13 3 6 4 12 14 -2 15
14 Dijon FCO 13 4 3 6 15 18 -3 15
15 Clermont Foot 13 3 5 5 16 20 -4 14
16 CS Sedan 13 3 4 6 12 20 -8 13
17 LB Châteauroux 13 3 3 7 13 18 -5 12
18 EA Guingamp 13 2 6 5 9 14 -5 12
19 Stade de Reims 13 2 4 7 13 25 -12 10
20 Nîmes Olympique 13 1 4 8 9 21 -12 7

philsick

01-11-2008, 09:39 AM

20:30 US Boulogne CO 2 - 1 Clermont Foot

:(

BB Bob

01-11-2008, 11:48 PM

Week 12 - Saturday, November 01, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre 0 - 0 Valenciennes FC
19:00 LOSC 2 - 0 FC Nantes
19:00 FC Lorient 1 - 1 Grenoble Foot 38
19:00 AS Nancy Lorraine 1 - 0 FC Girondins de Bordeaux
19:00 OGC Nice 1 - 0 Paris Saint-Germain
19:00 Toulouse FC 0 - 1 SM Caen
21:00 Olympique de Marseille 3 - 1 AS Saint-Etienne

Another vintage display from the two pundits tonight. Maybe we should stick to something similar like world peace or a cure for the world's financial problems...

Still, nice to see les aiglons beat PSG, eh?

BB Bob

02-11-2008, 08:56 AM

Marseille make their mark
After losing to Paris in Sunday’s ‘clasico’ and drawing midweek with Nantes, Marseille got back to winning ways with a dominant display against struggling Saint-Etienne at the Stade Vélodrome.
Saturday November 1, 2008

Olympique de Marseille / AS Saint-Etienne : 3 - 1

>> Team Sheet
Marseille coach Eric Gerets fielded a strong attacking line-up of Bakary Koné, Mathieu Valbuena, Karim Ziani and Hatem Ben Arfa for the visit of Saint-Etienne but it was a midfielder – Benoît Cheyrou – who gave the home side the lead in the 22nd minute. Hatem Ben Arfa's corner curled in perfectly for Cheyrou, who rose highest at the near post to head home powerfully.

Saint-Etienne struck back immediately through Bafetimbi Gomis who, released into the area by the mercurial Dimitri Payet, passed the got the jump on Steve Mandanda, firing an angled shot past his France teammate and into the net.

Ben Arfa re-took the lead for the home in the 38th minute, firing home from the spot after Saint-Etienne 'keeper Jérémie Janot was adjudged to have brought down Ivory Coast international Koné in the area.

Despite their defensive shakiness, Marseille dominated possession and forced Les Verts to chase the game, leaving OM's speedy midfield to wreak havoc. Their assaults finally bore fruit again in the 71st minute when Nigerian international Tayé Taiwo held off Blaise Matuidi in the area to head Ben Arfa's corner into the back of the net from 6m out, rounding out the scoring for the night.

The win puts Marseille in 2nd place, just one point behind leaders Lyon, while crisis club Saint-Etienne slip a place to 17th, dangling on a thread just above the relegation zone.

Lyon’s lead safe
With both Bordeaux and Toulouse on the wrong end of the scoreline, Lyon maintain their lead. Meanwhile Nice and Lille both won at home to cement their places in the chasing pack.
Saturday November 1, 2008

AS Nancy Lorraine / FC Girondins de Bordeaux : 1 - 0

>> Team Sheet
Nancy put the brakes on Bordeaux with a finely tuned performance, frustrating the visitors' game and turning to the inspiration of Moroccan international Youssuf Hadji to take the points and move clear of the relegation zone.

In the 70th minute, against the run of play, Hadji latched onto a sloppy defensive pass before lashing a 20m shot past a diving Mathieu Valverde who had been subbed on when captain and 'keeper Ulrich Ramé left the field injured.

Bordeaux dominated play but couldn't convert possession into goals, leaving the Stade Marcel-Picot empty handed but still in 2nd place pending Marseille's match against Saint-Etienne.

Toulouse FC / SM Caen : 0 - 1

>> Team Sheet
Toulouse conceded their first home loss of the season while Caen notched their first away win. Toulouse coach Alain Casanova made several changes to the side that won at the Parc des Princes midweek and it showed.

Toulouse struggled to play collectively and missed out on a chance to go level on points with leaders Lyon after substitute Benjamin Nivet ran onto a neat flick from Steve Savidan, who tops the league for assists, curling a 25m shot past Cédric Carrasso and into the back of the net.

Toulouse remain in provisional 3rd place, equal on point with 2nd-placed Bordeaux while Caen's win ses them move into the top half of the table.

LOSC / FC Nantes : 2 - 0

>> Team Sheet
Lille took the points at home to Nantes with goals either side of the break from Ludovic Obraniak and Nicolas Fauvergue.

It was one-way traffic in the first half, with Lille dominating possession and creating numerous chances. Their repeated assaults finally broke the Nantes defence, with Obraniak's long-range free kick somehow making its way through a swathe of players and into the back of the net.

Lille's second came in the 47th minue when Brazilian Fernandes Michel Bastos laid the ball off in the area for Fauvergue, who scored on his second attempt despite the packed penalty area.

Nantes almost pulled one back in the 75th minute when Romanian forward Claudiu Keserü's long-range free kick, the spitting image of Obraniak's, made it past everyone… except Lille 'keeper Grégory Malicki, who turned it away at the last second.

Lille's 4th home win of the season pushes them to 5th place while a disappointing Nantes drop to 16th, just two points above the danger zone.

OGC Nice / Paris Saint-Germain : 1 - 0

>> Team Sheet
Nice created the better first-half chances against a timid Paris Saint-Germain and took a deserved lead into the break possession of the ball being shared evenly.

In the 39th minute Eric Mouloungui cleverly evaded marker Mamadou Sakho to head home powerfully from David Hellebuyck's perfectly weighted corner.

Had Nice made the most of the first-half chances, the game would have been killed off. But Paris, looking to even the score, pushed forward in the second half and caused problems for the home side.

Nice managed to hold out despite Paris' various chances and the win sees Frédéric Antonetti's men leapfrog their visitors into 6th place on the table.

FC Lorient / Grenoble Foot 38 : 1 - 1

>> Team Sheet
Grenoble briefly looked set to record yet another away win, with Laurent Courtois capping off a clinical team move by lashing home a splendid far-post volley after Sofiane Feghouli, released by Daniel Moreira on the right, crossed superbly.

But Lorient were handed a gilt-edged opportunity just minutes later when the referee pointed to the spot after adjudging Martial Robin to have fouled Kévin Gameiro. Grenoble's Moreira picked up a yellow card for his protests, which were in vain as Fabrice Abriel made no mistake, notching his third of the season.

In the end the draw was the logical result in a game where few chances were created. Lorient move up one place to 13th while Grenoble sit in provisional 7th place.

AJ Auxerre / Valenciennes FC : 0 - 0

>> Team Sheet
Auxerre and Valenciennes shared the points in a dour affair at the Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps in which few clear-cut chances were made for either side.

Despite Auxerre's dominance, they presented little danger to a cautious Valenciennes outfit, and as such the scorers were untroubled all night.

It was Auxerre's third consecutive nil-all draw at home but Valencienne's first point won on the road this season.

BB Bob

02-11-2008, 09:09 AM

Ligue 1 P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 11 7 3 1 +8 24
2 Olympique de Marseille 12 6 5 1 +9 23
3 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 12 6 3 3 +7 21
4 Toulouse FC 12 6 3 3 +1 21
5 LOSC 12 5 5 2 +4 20
6 OGC Nice 12 5 4 3 +3 19
7 Grenoble Foot 38 12 5 4 3 +2 19
8 Le Mans UC 72 11 5 3 3 +5 18
9 SM Caen 12 4 5 3 +5 17
10 Paris Saint-Germain 12 5 2 5 +1 17
11 Stade Rennais FC 11 3 7 1 +4 16
12 AJ Auxerre 12 4 4 4 +1 16
13 FC Lorient 12 3 4 5 -1 13
14 AS Monaco FC 11 3 4 4 -1 13
15 AS Nancy Lorraine 12 2 6 4 -4 12
16 FC Nantes 12 3 2 7 -11 11
17 AS Saint-Etienne 12 3 1 8 -9 10

18 Valenciennes FC 12 2 3 7 -8 9
19 Havre AC 11 2 2 7 -10 8
20 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 11 0 6 5 -6 6

kabbott

02-11-2008, 12:55 PM

Another vintage display from the two pundits tonight. Maybe we should stick to something similar like world peace or a cure for the world's financial problems...

Still, nice to see les aiglons beat PSG, eh?

Is that 2:0 to you? Pitiful. I don' t think I'll be any better at the other two suggestions.
Anyway, I'm off to the Lyon wine fair in about ten minutes. I'm sure I'll find some inspiration there. Well, I did last year anyway.
Santé!

BB Bob

03-11-2008, 07:18 AM

Week 12 - Sunday, November 02, 2008

17:00 Havre AC 2 - 3 AS Monaco FC
17:00 Stade Rennais FC 1 - 0 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais 2 - 0 Le Mans UC 72

which makes 4-2 to me.

Hopefully, you enjoyed the Lyon show after the wine fair. I saw a few bits of it and Lyon looked pretty much in control. A clean sheet always helps, of course...

BB Bob

03-11-2008, 07:27 AM

Ligue 1 - 11/3/2008 | | |
Benzema fires champions clear
Karim Benzema’s eighth goal of the season set Lyon on their way to a comfortable 2-0 home win over Le Mans at the Stade Gerland on Sunday as the champions skipped four points clear at the top of the table.
Olympique Lyonnais / Le Mans UC 72 : 2 - 0

Yves Bertucci's Le Mans side arrived in Lyon defending the best away record in the land with three wins and two draws from five matches this season – and also looking to upset the statistics having lost their four previous Ligue 1 matches away to OL.

Shattered illusions

However, their illusions were quickly shattered by a Lyon side which wrestled control of the match, playing a new 4-4-2 formation with Argentine Cesar Delgado and Abdul Kader Keita in the wide midfield roles and Fred partnering Benzema in attack.

Juninho forced Le Mans 'keeper Yoann Pelé into an early save from a long range free-kick before Benzema scored his second goal in four days in the 22nd minute. Released down the right hand side, Benzema tormented Grégory Cerdan before bursting into the area and beating Pelé with a stunning right-footed shot which cannoned in off the inside the far post.

Without three first-choice defenders missing with injury, Claude Puel switched Anthony Réveillère to left-back and Lamine Gassama started his second game on the right side, with Jean-Alain Boumsong alongside Cris in the centre of the defence. But despite the changes, Le Mans were incapable of taking advantage of the rare counterattacking opportunities that came their way.

Simple finish

Early in the second-half, Juninho added his third of the campaign with a simple finish in the 53rd minute after Benzema and Fred both saw shots blocked.

With the game safely in their keeping and with one eye on next Wednesday's must win Champions League home clash with Steaua Bucharest, Puel replaced his goalscoring duo with over half an hour left to play.

The septuple champions were able to close out the match despite the introduction of Le Mans top scorers Thorstein Helstad and Gervinho late in the game. The 2-0 win, coupled with Week 12 losses to Bordeaux and Toulouse, see the champions move four points clear of Marseille at the top of the standings.

Monaco on the comeback trail
Monaco continued their string of positive results with a convincing 3-2 win, their first on the road this season, in Normandy against a struggling Le Havre. Meanwhile Rennes closed out a valiant Sochaux at the Stade de la Route de Lorient.
Sunday November 2, 2008

Havre AC / AS Monaco FC : 2 - 3

>> Team Sheet
Le Havre were looking for a second successive home win to get their season back on track after showing some positive signs in their 2-1 win over Valenciennes last Sunday. However Monaco, after a disappointing start to the season, on the back of a draw and a win, maintained form with a strong performance and a deserved win.

The visitors took a 2-0 lead into the break after a first half in which they dominated in every department. They went ahead when Argentine Leandro Cufré evaded the lax defending of Nicolas Gillet and Loic Nestor to blast home a point-blank header from a Yohan Mollo corner in the 20th minute. Alexandre Licata added another in the 40th minute when Adriano's cross found him unmarked at the far post.

Whistled

The Le Havre fans whistled their team off at half time and it must have stirred something in the Norman side, as they pulled one back just three minutes into the second term, breathing new life into the match. Jamel Aït Ben Idir sent in a fine cross from the right that was met by Nestor, who tackled the ball home despite the presence of Croatian defender and Monaco captain Dario Simic. It was the youngster from Guadeloupe's first goal, in just his 4th Ligue 1 encounter.

Foreign legion

Monaco hit back immediately through South Korean pin-up Chu Young Park, who charged through the Le Havre defence to latch onto a cross from Argentine Alejandro Alonso, rising above Nestor to score Monaco's third.

Le Havre pushed hard and pulled another back on the hour mark when Amadou Alassane slotted home after Stéphane Ruffier could only parry Jean-Michel Lesage's 25m effort.

Despite Le Havre's rallying in the second half, Monaco's lead and technical superiority were too much, and the match finished 2-3. Le Havre remain in the relegation zone while Monaco rest in 13th place.

Stade Rennais FC / FC Sochaux-Montbéliard : 1 - 0

>> Team Sheet
Francis Gillot's Sochaux were looking to lift themselves off the bottom of the table with their first win of the season away to Rennes, a tall order perhaps considering Rennes' nine-match unbeaten run in L1.

A tall order too as they went behind just 21 seconds into the match after Bojan Jokic brought down Moussa Sow in the area. Rennes' France international forward Jimmy Briand stepped up and made no mistake from the penalty spot.

Sochaux fought back valiantly, with some fine passing play allowing them to dominate possession, but having lost top scorer Mevlut Erding to injury in the 8th minute, they lacked impact and couldn't break the last line of a Rennes outfit seemingly happy to do the bare minimum.

Frustrated by his side's incapacity to break the hosts down, Sochaux coach Franci Gillot evidently said too much and was expelled from the bench. He will have to watch his side's next match, against Le Mans, from the stands.

The comfortable win sees Rennes jump three places to 6th while a courageous but unlucky Sochaux outfit remain at the foot of the table.

BB Bob

03-11-2008, 07:30 AM

Ligue 1 P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 12 8 3 1 +10 27
2 Olympique de Marseille 12 6 5 1 +9 23
3 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 12 6 3 3 +7 21
4 Toulouse FC 12 6 3 3 +1 21
5 LOSC 12 5 5 2 +4 20
6 Stade Rennais FC 12 4 7 1 +5 19
7 OGC Nice 12 5 4 3 +3 19
8 Grenoble Foot 38 12 5 4 3 +2 19
9 Le Mans UC 72 12 5 3 4 +3 18
10 SM Caen 12 4 5 3 +5 17
11 Paris Saint-Germain 12 5 2 5 +1 17
12 AJ Auxerre 12 4 4 4 +1 16
13 AS Monaco FC 12 4 4 4 0 16
14 FC Lorient 12 3 4 5 -1 13
15 AS Nancy Lorraine 12 2 6 4 -4 12
16 FC Nantes 12 3 2 7 -11 11
17 AS Saint-Etienne 12 3 1 8 -9 10

18 Valenciennes FC 12 2 3 7 -8 9
19 Havre AC 12 2 2 8 -11 8
20 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 12 0 6 6 -7 6

BB Bob

03-11-2008, 07:33 AM

On a different issue, I have got to go to Paris for a business meeting tomorrow - I know, it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. However, I have got an overnight stay with my better half and we will be free from, say 3pm for one night only.

Has anyone got any suggestions on what one thing we should do? Or where we should head for dinner?

I've not been to Paris since 1987, so feel very out of touch!

kabbott

03-11-2008, 09:12 AM

The trouble with those wine fairs is once you're in, it's very hard to find the exit. I'm not a wine expert, but I was with a friend who is, and I must say we sampled one or two very fine wines. In the euphoria I bought a 'few' bottles, then cracked one open for Sunday dinner and consequently saw a very convincing Lyon performance. Benzema scored another stunning goal. Cris was much better, Toulalan played well, so did Delgado.

As for Paris, I'm afraid I can't help you there. I've only been there once for any length of time, and since it was with in-laws, we didn't actually do any restaurants. I'm sure you'll find one to your liking.

Bon séjour!

BB Bob

03-11-2008, 10:06 AM

I think Aulas is going to have a very busy time in January trying to fend off interest in Benzema who is, without doubt, the best player in le Championnat. I guess a lot depends on whether Lyon progress in the Champion League although the natural buyers for him would all find him cup tied for this season.

Not much chance he'll still be there in September though....

kabbott

03-11-2008, 11:27 AM

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPYWFB3z3V0

BB Bob

03-11-2008, 08:26 PM

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPYWFB3z3V0

Ooooh. That was special. Not sure about the whole superman thing, though.

BB Bob

05-11-2008, 05:57 PM

Just back from Paris. Amazingly the people there were pretty friendly - there really must be a credit crunch on! A good night in the Champions Leagues for the french clubs hier soir, with Bordeaux getting a result in Cluj and Marseille doing a number on PSV. It's unlikely either club will make it through to the next round, but 3rd place and the UEFA may still be on.

On to Lyon ce soir, hein?

Oh, I have to say I discovered a great band while in France. Maybe it's the name, but BB Brunes are well worth a listen, especially if you like your music a bit "un, deux, trois, quatre" and a good thrash.

BB Bob

06-11-2008, 12:41 PM

Another good piece from Ben Lyttleton at the Grauniad:-

Benzema answers his critics on a glamorous weekend for Ligue 1

Under pressure for the first time in his career, Karim Benzema responded perfectly in Lyon's win over Le Mans
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2008/11/4/1225799564328/Karim-Benzema-001.jpg
Benzema scored another stunning goal for Lyon in their victory over Le Mans. Photograph: Philippe Merle/AFP/Getty Images

A French tennis player won the Paris Open, a Hollywood superstar - and one considerably better-looking than Sly Stallone at that - watched Rennes play Sochaux, and two sports tabloids launched on the same day. Some weird stuff happened in France this weekend but a lot of things were comfortingly familiar: Karim Benzema scored another cracker to rescue Lyon, Bordeaux's inconsistency once again proved their undoing, while Saint-Etienne and Paris Saint-Germain both lost to leave their owners talking balls.

France's new golden boy of tennis Jo-Wilfried Tsonga comes from Le Mans, but his local team failed to live up to Ligue 1's best away record - unbeaten in five with 13 goals scored - as they barely troubled Lyon in a 2-0 loss at the Stade Gerland. Coach Yves Bertucci's decision to drop winger Gervinho and top scorer Thorstein Helstad to the bench didn't help, but it's not easy to stop Benzema on current form. He followed up a screamer in last week's win over Sochaux with an even better effort for his eighth goal of the season.

Benzema is reacting well to the first moments of pressure in his career. He has been criticised since Euro 2008 for not repeating his Lyon performances for Les Bleus, not getting on with Thierry Henry on the pitch, and even passing too much to Franck Ribéry. Zinedine Zidane sparked a minor spat when he suggested that Benzema did not look at ease in the France set-up. Benzema responded by telling TV show Le Grand Journal: "I wouldn't pay to play alongside Zidane, why would I do that? I've learnt that when you're at the top of the pile, there are people who will try and bring you down, so I have to be more careful with what I say." Zidane, in an interview with ex-PSG star Daniel Bravo in Le 10 Sport, backtracked: "Anything I say is for his benefit and he mustn't think I am criticising. I want Karim to be aware that he can be an extraordinary player, and I admire his qualities."

He is not alone. Luis Fernández has nicknamed him "Benzemax" and put him a level above the rest of the league. "It's so easy for him to lose his markers and he always shoots on target. With his control, ease on the ball and technique, I would compare him to Enzo Francescoli." The irony of his comparison is not lost on those who know that the Uruguayan forward was Zidane's hero, and the player after whom he named his son.

Benzemax (let's try and run with it, for Luis's sake) is certainly responding well to Claude Puel's management - which L'Equipe described as "juggling" due to his switches between 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 formations, trust in youngsters and experiments with Kim Kallstrom and John Mensah at left-back. Until Mathieu Bodmer returns from injury, Lyon will still look dodgy at the back, as Cris is some way off his best form and Jean-Alain Boumsong has been rubbish all season. But Benzemax, with 45% of Lyon's goals this season, can be relied upon to bail them out at the other end.

Laurent Blanc's rotation system at Bordeaux is not quite as successful: he made six changes before the 4-0 midweek win over Le Havre briefly put them level with Lyon and top of the table, but another four changes did not help them in a 1-0 defeat at struggling Nancy, for whom Youssouf Hadji came up with this excellent winner. "They had one shot and scored, and if that's the way they want to play football what can you do?" said Blanc after the game. "It's not the way I see football." Five days after topping the pile, Bordeaux are now six points behind Lyon.

Marseille are two points ahead of Bordeaux after last week's enfant terrible, Hatem Ben Arfa, made amends by setting up two goals and scoring one in a 3-1 win over Saint-Etienne. After Marseille coach Eric Gerets had said, "I've got the players I want and if we don't do well this season it will be down to me," he has now decided L'OM need a penalty-box "killer" and named Fred and Steve Savidan as his targets. L'Equipe has added Lens' fashion-boutique owner Toifilou Maoulida to that list while Le 10 Sport included Sochaux youngster and Arsenal target Mevlut Erding. No one has mentioned Saint-Etienne's hero of last season, Bafétimbi Gomis, despite him scoring his third goal in five games at the Vélodrome. Gomis has stuggled since Pascal Feindouno left for Qatar and was unhappy when vice-president Roland Romeyer claimed "the players are not pulling their weight and Gomis has had a big head ever since his France call-up. Former Sainté hero Jean-Michel Larqué told Romeyer to shut up. "Telling everyone they should have sold Gomis just weakens the manager, and nobody wins," he said. "He's shooting himself in the foot."

Charles Villeneuve is another owner whose words may come back to haunt him. The PSG boss has seen his side follow up last week's 4-2 win over Marseille with dismal 1-0 defeats to first Toulouse and now Nice. "Paul Le Guen and I are in perfect harmony, and not even a hair's shadow separates us," he told Le Parisien. Le Guen told his players to show more aggression and commitment at half-time, but got little response. "He asked them to show certain parts of their genitals to get them to wake up," added Villeneuve. "I liked what he said and I have the feeling that the players don't love winning as much as we both do. Our goal is to finish the season with Le Guen." As votes of confidence go, it's more touchy-feely than most. Don't say you weren't warned, Paul.

He'd have had more fun at one of his former clubs Rennes this weekend. Salma Hayek was in France's Wild Wild West to give the players a pre-match dressing-room pep-talk - her ex-fiancé François-Henri Pinault is the son of the owner - and was presented with a Hayek No 10 shirt, which she wore to greet the fans before kick-off. There was nothing Desperado about the players' response: Jimmy Briand, the player Le Guen wanted (but was not able) to sign, scored a first-minute penalty and After the Sunset Rennes were up to sixth place. Hayek's appearance came soon after Eva Longoria was spotted at a Nancy basketball match. Who said French sport wasn't hot any more?

Results, Week 12: Nancy 1-0 Bordeaux, Toulouse 0-1 Caen, Lorient 1-1 Grenoble, Lille 2-0 Nantes, Nice 1-0 PSG, Auxerre 0-0 Valenciennes, Marseille 3-1 Saint-Etienne, Rennes 1-0 Sochaux, Le Havre 2-3 Monaco, Lyon 2-0 Le Mans

BB Bob

07-11-2008, 11:54 AM

It's friday, so it must be loto time:-

Week 13 - Saturday, November 08, 2008

19:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux AJ Auxerre HOME WIN
19:00 SM Caen Havre AC HOME WIN
19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 Olympique de Marseille AWAY WIN
19:00 FC Lorient OGC Nice DRAW
19:00 AS Monaco FC Olympique Lyonnais DRAW
19:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Le Mans UC 72 AWAY WIN
21:00 FC Nantes Toulouse FC DRAW
Week 13 - Sunday, November 09, 2008

17:00 AS Saint-Etienne Stade Rennais FC AWAY WIN
17:00 Valenciennes FC AS Nancy Lorraine DRAW
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain LOSC DRAW

Enjoy the games!

kabbott

08-11-2008, 09:09 AM

Here goes:

Week 13 - Saturday, November 08, 2008

19:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux v AJ Auxerre HOME WIN
19:00 SM Caen v Havre AC HOME WIN
19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 v Olympique de Marseille DRAW
19:00 FC Lorient v OGC Nice HOME WIN
19:00 AS Monaco v FC Olympique Lyonnais AWAY WIN
19:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard v Le Mans UC 72 HOME WIN
21:00 FC Nantes v Toulouse FC HOME WIN

Week 13 - Sunday, November 09, 2008

17:00 AS Saint-Etienne v Stade Rennais FC DRAW
17:00 Valenciennes FC v AS Nancy Lorraine DRAW
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain v LOSC HOME WIN

kabbott

08-11-2008, 09:12 AM

Good news for you Philsick:

Friday, November 07, 2008

20:00 AC Ajaccio 2 - 1 EA Guingamp
20:00 Angers SCO 1 - 0 Amiens SC
20:00 Stade Brestois 4 - 0 SC Bastia
20:00 LB Châteauroux 1 - 1 CS Sedan
20:00 Nîmes Olympique 2 - 2 Stade de Reims
20:00 Vannes OC 1 - 1 Dijon FCO
20:30 Clermont Foot 1 - 0 FC Metz
20:30 RC Strasbourg 4 - 0 Tours FC

Monday, November 10, 2008

20:30 ESTAC - US Boulogne CO

Thursday, December 11, 2008

20:45 RC Lens - Montpellier HSC

kabbott

08-11-2008, 09:14 AM

Clermont Foot are storming up the table:

Ligue 2 P W D L GD Pts
1 RC Strasbourg 14 8 5 1 +13 29
2 US Boulogne CO 13 8 4 1 +10 28
3 RC Lens 13 9 1 3 +9 28
4 FC Metz 14 7 4 3 +6 25
5 Tours FC 14 7 1 6 +2 22
6 Montpellier HSC 13 6 3 4 +9 21
7 Angers SCO 14 5 6 3 +5 21
8 Vannes OC 14 6 3 5 -2 21
9 AC Ajaccio 14 5 5 4 +5 20
10 Stade Brestois 14 6 1 7 -1 19
11 Clermont Foot 14 4 5 5 -3 17
12 SC Bastia 14 4 5 5 -4 17
13 ESTAC 13 4 4 5 0 16
14 Dijon FCO 14 4 4 6 -3 16
15 Amiens SC 14 3 6 5 -3 15
16 CS Sedan 14 3 5 6 -8 14
17 LB Châteauroux 14 3 4 7 -5 13
18 EA Guingamp 14 2 6 6 -6 12
19 Stade de Reims 14 2 5 7 -12 11
20 Nîmes Olympique 14 1 5 8 -12 8

philsick

08-11-2008, 12:41 PM

:lux: And metz is a decent scalp:p

kabbott

08-11-2008, 07:16 PM

Controlled victory for Lyon:

Monaco 0:1 Olympique Lyonnais

Fred scored the goal.
Benzema came on at half-time for Govou, who started the game, and livened things up.
Cris is getting back to some decent form.
Lyon's players got tired in the final quarter of an hour but held on.

kabbott

08-11-2008, 07:18 PM

No change at the top:

Saturday, November 08, 2008

19:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 2 - 0 AJ Auxerre
19:00 SM Caen 0 - 1 Havre AC
19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 0 - 3 Olympique de Marseille
19:00 FC Lorient 0 - 1 OGC Nice
19:00 AS Monaco FC 0 - 1 Olympique Lyonnais
19:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 2 - 1 Le Mans UC 72

kabbott

09-11-2008, 08:39 AM

Status quo reigns as top three win
It is as you were at the top of the Ligue 1 table as the top three all picked up victories on Saturday. Fred scored the only goal of the game as Lyon beat Monaco to remain four points clear of Marseille, who crushed Grenoble 3-0 while Bordeaux defeated Auxerre 2-0.

Saturday 8 November 2008

AS Monaco FC / Olympique Lyonnais : 0 - 1

It may not have been pretty, but Lyon coach Claude Puel saw his team record their third straight league win to keep breathing space between themselves and the chasing pack.

Fred may not be flavour of the month at OL after some of his recent public declarations, but the Brazilian's commitment on the pitch was in no doubt at the Stade Louis II as the forward posed a constant threat to the hosts' rearguard.

After an incident-free first half, the 25-year-old enlivened proceedings with his second goal of the season, darting in at the near post to turn in Kim Källström's inch-perfect cross to put the champions ahead ten minutes into the second half.

Alexandre Licata had the hosts best chance but saw his header come back off the woodwork, while Ederson could have added a late second for OL as they brought Monaco's three-match unbeaten run to an end.

Grenoble Foot 38 / Olympique de Marseille : 0 - 3

Hatem Ben Arfa's early goal spurred OM to a second straight Ligue 1 victory which ensures Eric Gerets' men remain in touch with the leaders.

The French international midfielder was at both ends of a flowing move as he released Mamadou Niang before racing into the box to be on the receiving end of the Senegal striker's cross to net his sixth goal of the season with just four minutes on the clock at the Stade des Alpes.

That moved the former Lyon man ahead of Bakari Koné as OM's leading league scorer, but the Ivorian was not behind for long – Maxence Flachez inexplicably failed to clear Laurent Bonnart's centre and Koné was handily placed to beat Grégory Wimbée in the hosts' goal to give OM a two-goal advantage just after the half-hour mark.

A spectacular long-range effort from Benoît Cheyrou eight minutes from time set the seal on a convincing win to prolong Grenoble's sorry home record, which has seen them fail to win at their own ground since late August.

FC Girondins de Bordeaux / AJ Auxerre : 2 - 0

Bordeaux remain third after bouncing back from their surprise loss to Nancy last week.

An open game at the Stade Chaban-Delmas saw both sides spurn chances to score before Fernando Cavenaghi opened the scoring twenty minutes from time – the Argentine showing his formidable goalscoring skills as he expertly found the net after David Bellion had touched Yoann Gourcuff's pass into his path.

Five minutes later Marouane Chamakh doubled the hosts' lead, heading home Gourcuff's cross to give Laurent Blanc's side their fourth win in six Ligue 1 fixtures.

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard / Le Mans UC 72 : 2 - 1

Sochaux recorded their first league win of the campaign as they inflicted a third straight defeat on a Le Mans side in freefall after an impressive start to the season.

The visitors enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges at the Stade Bonal and were desperately unfortunate not to go in front when Gervinho struck a post just eight minutes in.

The home side, though, have been short of luck so far this season, and with fortune finally favouring them, Francis Gillot's men took full advantage.

Romain Pitau bamboozled three Le Mans defenders down the right before picking out Francileudo Santos in the box, and the Tunisian international coolly applied the finishing touch to put the hosts ahead on the half-hour mark.

Le Mans appeared to have clawed their way back into the match seconds before the break when Paulo Andre found space and time to shoot past Teddy Richert after the home side had failed to clear a corner.

However, Bojan Jokic's pass picked out Ryad Boudebouz on 69 minutes and the 18-year-old provided a crisp finish to see Sochaux finally break their duck.

SM Caen / Havre AC : 0 - 1

Le Havre clinched a maiden victory in the Calvados region to move out of the relegation zone for the first time since Week 5.

Amadou Alassane and Hassane Alla proved a constant menace to the home side, but it was only eight minutes from time that HAC finally broke the deadlock - Jamel Aït Ben Idir's free-kick was headed home by Nicolas Dieuze to give Jean-Marc Nobilo's side their fourth win of the season.

Steve Savidan wasted Caen's best chance in the second half, while Pablo Barzola could have grabbed a point with a free-kick in added time but the Argentine saw his effort fly narrowly over Christophe Revault's goal.

FC Lorient / OGC Nice : 0 - 1

Nice moved into the top four thanks to Olivier Echouafni's first-half strike in Brittany, which extended the south coast side's unbeaten run to six games.

Eric Mouloungui had already passed up a good chance to open the scoring before Echouafni profited from some laborious defending to seize onto David Hellebuyck's free-kick to record his second goal of the season.

FC Nantes / Toulouse FC : 1 - 1

Nantes picked up only their second point in four matches with a battling display which saw Toulouse slip out of the top four.

Guillaume Moullec's fourth-minute opener gave Les Canaris the ideal platform, but André-Pierre Gignac struck his sixth goal of the season on 19 minutes to bring the visitors level.

Moullec then struck the bar, while Toulouse keeper Cédric Carrasso and his opposite number Jérôme Alonzo both had to be alert to ensure the spoils were shared.

BB Bob

09-11-2008, 09:04 AM

3 - 3 ahead of tonight's games!

Fred on form is a fine player - it is just a shame he gets it wrong "in the head" so often. If he can sort himself out after his divorce, he could be a real asset for the rest of the season. His contract is up (I think) at the end of the year, and OL will need some continuity up front next season if Karim Benzegol heads off in the off season.

BB Bob

09-11-2008, 09:12 AM

Some pictures of last night:-
http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/grandFormat/0809_l1_monaco_lyon_govou_mono.jpg
http://i.eurosport.fr/2008/11/08/479006-3637278-317-238.jpg
http://i.eurosport.fr/2008/07/30/455628-3243568-317-238.jpg

BB Bob

09-11-2008, 09:14 AM

Just trying this out to see if it works...

I am trying to "embed" this:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dulPUVhOdS4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dulPUVhOdS4

kabbott

09-11-2008, 07:42 PM

It doesn't look good for les Verts. Guess the headline:

Les Verts pâles or les Verts cassés.

I can't see Roussey(?) lasting this umpteenth ''crise'' and what with our good friend Reggie waiting to step in, it should be a fun week down the road. How poignant it would be if he were sacked on Tuesday ...

Week 13 - Sunday, November 09, 2008

17:00 AS Saint-Etienne 0 - 3 Stade Rennais FC
17:00 Valenciennes FC 0 - 1 AS Nancy Lorraine

So that's 4:3 to you BB Bob with one to go. Madame's got one of her films on tonight. Well I did get Monaco v Lyon in during apéritif and dinner time last night.

BB Bob

09-11-2008, 08:12 PM

I was watching the goals go in this afternoon. ASSE have got to change something and soon. It's too tight a league to think you can get away with it - just ask nantes and lens.

kabbott

09-11-2008, 09:05 PM

PSG 1:0 LOSC

A late equaliser there from me to make it 4:4. Honours even.

BB Bob

10-11-2008, 11:59 AM

This might work now...
dulPUVhOdS4

BB Bob

10-11-2008, 07:31 PM

No surprise there then....

Roussey shown the door
Laurent Roussey was today dismissed by the directors of AS Saint-Eitenne following a series of poor results that saw the club slip to 18th place and into relegation contention.
Roussey, along with his agent, met this afternoon with club co-presidents Bernard Caïazzo and Roland Romeyer, newly arrived sporting director Damien Comolli and Saint-Etienne's lawyer to discuss the club's disastrous season so far and Roussey's future at its helm.
Shortly after the interview, the club released an official statement to journalists and on its official website citing 'dysfunctional sporting management' and a desire to rearrange its sporting affairs as reasons for the meeting and the basis on which Roussey was dismissed.

Roussey joined Saint-Etienne as assistant coach in 2006, after four years in a similar job at Lille. With the departure of Ivan Hasek in June 2007, Roussey took over the reins of the first team, finishing fifth in the league to take his side into European competition in season 08-09.

The results this season have however failed to live up to the promise of last year, suffering nine losses in 13 matches – including five consecutive defeats in their last five matches – and slipping into the relegation zone.

Who's next?

The club gave no indication of who will replace Roussey, but the names of Alain Perrin, former Marseille and Lyon boss, and Didier Deschamps, World Cup winner and former Monaco and Juventus coach, are at the top of most pundits' lists.

The club's directors have nominated an interim coaching lineup from within the club consisting of youth coach Alain Blachon, Roussey's assistant Gérard Fernandez and physical trainer Thierry Cotte.

Roussey's other assistant and long-time colleague Luc Sonor was not mentioned in the official statement but was conspicuous by omission.

BB Bob

10-11-2008, 07:31 PM

BB Bob

10-11-2008, 07:38 PM

It's cup time this week:-

League Cup – Round-of-16 draw
The match schedule for the League Cup’s round-of-16 was finalised in Paris last night. Current holders Paris Saint-Germain take on Nancy and Le Havre host Rennes in the round’s two all-L1 encounters on Wednesday November 12, while L1 champions Lyon face Ligue 2’s Metz in one of six games to be played on Tuesday November 11.

Tuesday November 11
17:00 - FC Sochaux-Montbéliard–RC Lens

19:00 - FC Girondins Bordeaux–EA Guingamp

20:00 - Vannes OC–AJ Auxerre

OGC Nice – US Créteil

Montpellier HSC – LB Châteauroux

21:00 - Olympique Lyonnais – FC Metz

Wednesday November 12

21:00 - Le Havre AC – Stade Rennais

21:00 - Paris Saint-Germain – AS Nancy-Lorraine

kabbott

10-11-2008, 08:00 PM

BB Bob

11-11-2008, 08:27 AM

I think Reggie would rather enjoy being in charge of one of Lyons rivals. Not sure he would fancy working with Comolli, though, after seeing what that interfering bar steward did at Tottenham!

P.Hep

11-11-2008, 09:40 AM

PSG 1:0 LOSC

A late equaliser there from me to make it 4:4. Honours even.

allez paris.
quick shot of the tifos from around the 1 min mark..

1.23 - good to see that the Boulogne Boys are still active despite having their group disbanded by the government.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EaQDwbmgIk

BB Bob

11-11-2008, 02:34 PM

Ben Lyttleton's article:-

Les Verts on red alert as Comolli sweeps into Saint-Etienne
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2008/11/11/1226400616439/Saint-Etiennes-Geoffrey-D-001.jpg
Saint-Etienne are Ligue 1's Tottenham but can Damien Comolli find a French Harry Redknapp to save their season?
Saint-Etienne's Geoffrey Dernis celebrates with goalscorer Ilan Photograph: Stephen Pond/Empics

A club weighed down by past success, its supporters still living off the glory days of 30-odd years ago; a club former players are desperate to coach in the hope of being the one to break the cycle; a club that this season dreams of European success but realistically, faces a battle against relegation. Damien Comolli, former sporting director at Tottenham Hotspur, has just left one such team and is already at another: on Sunday night, he was confirmed as Saint-Etienne's new sporting director, and within 24 hours he had sacked coach Laurent Roussey.

Sunday's toothless 3-0 defeat at home to Rennes was Saint-Etienne's fifth successive league loss, and their ninth in 13 games. It's their worst run since 1954 and they are now in the relegation zone. "The coach has lost the support of the dressing-room," co-president Bernard Caïazzo said on Sunday night. "We know the results are unacceptable, but the decision on the coach's future will be up to Damien Comolli. He will meet Laurent and then decide."

It was a bizarre sequence of events, especially after Caïazzo last week issued a public statement demanding Roussey improve results before the matches against Marseille (lost 3-1), Rosenborg (won 3-0) and Rennes. "In 30 years in football, I have never heard anything like that," responded Roussey. Out-of-work coaches suddenly became interested, with L'Equipe linking Alain Perrin, Luis Fernandez, Didier Deschamps and Frédéric Hantz to the position. "I like Roussey very much and wouldn't wish him any harm, but if the post becomes vacant everyone knows the rules of the game," said Perrin. "Coaching Saint-Etienne is a very interesting job." Perrin has shown no sign of changing his mind after seeing Comolli come in with carte blanche to control the club from top to bottom, despite rejecting Nantes because he wasn't allowed to control the recruitment. He is the early favourite for the job.

"It's an unbelievable situation. Saint-Etienne need a big coach with a strong assistant, not a sporting director who's looking after every aspect of the club," wrote France Football. The root of the problem is that the co-presidents have different ideas about the club. Caïazzo is the businessman who pulls the strings, while Roland Romeyer acts and speaks like a supporter, even telling new signing Daisuke Matsui last week: "I thought your cousin was pretending to be you because you're playing so badly." Yet for Caïazzo to balk at firing Roussey and leave that up to Comolli is strange, especially as he had no problem phoning his main ally, recruitment director Omar da Fonseca, to sack him at half-time of the Rennes game.

"It's amazing to have two presidents who can't speak with the same voice," said Yoann Hautbois, author of the best-selling book about Saint-Etienne, L'épopée Des Verts. "They have totally different opinions: Romeyer is Roussey's friend and likes hard-working players like Geoffrey Dernis and David Sauget, while Caïazzo, who wanted to sack Roussey last season, prefers big-name players and enjoys the attention he gets from running the club. As for Comolli, he may have had no success with Tottenham but he still has a good name here because he spent time working for Arsenal." In his first spell at Saint-Etienne, for the 2004-05 season, Comolli helped the club sign Didier Zokora and Frédéric Piquionne before he fell out with then-coach Elie Baup. The team finished a respectable sixth.

In the Monday afternoon meeting that sealed his fate, Roussey pointed to the situation last year, when his team were two points off the drop-zone in February before losing only one of their last 11 games to finish fifth and qualify for Europe for the first time in 27 years. But back then, he had Pascal Feindouno, who has since joined Qatari side Al-Sadd, as creator-in-chief, and a defence which conceded just four goals in 19 home games (compared to leaking seven in their last two home games). His hope that coaches might turn down the job because they don't want to work under a sporting director also looks futile, although the only man publicly open to the idea so far is ex-France (and, briefly, Spurs) boss Jacques Santini, another former Saint-Etienne player, who told Canal Plus, "I'd love the chance to work for my former club."

Santini was the coach who led Lyon to their first title success in 2002, and No8 still looks on the cards after their 1-0 win at Monaco kept them four points clear at the top. Claude Puel rested Juninho and Kader Keita, and it was only after Karim Benzema came off the bench at half-time that the champions looked threatening. Fred scored the only goal of the game early in the second half although Monaco claimed Hugo Lloris had brought down Park Chu-yung, their best player, for a penalty. "I thought the goalkeeper touched the ball, then made contact with the player," said the referee Hervé Piccirollo, "but I haven't got bionic vision and I accept that video replays might help."

Marseille remain in second after a comfortable 3-0 win at Grenoble. Hatem Ben Arfa scored his fifth goal in seven games - and his third in the first five minutes of a match - to set L'OM on their way before Bakary Koné and Benoît Cheyrou sealed the win. Bordeaux completed a clean sweep for the top three, winning 2-0 at home to Auxerre. Fernando Cavenaghi got his seventh of the season with a moment of magic before Marouane Chamakh, the centre-forward who last week fancied a move to "either Arsenal or Spurs" doubled the lead, and his tally for the season, with the second. By then, Bordeaux's goalkeeper Matthieu Valverde had been replaced after a clash of heads with Dennis Oliech left him unconscious and, when he eventually woke up in hospital, with no memory of the game. "This win was for him," said coach Laurent Blanc, who talked down any trouble after Cavegol kicked a water-bottle in frustration following his substitution.

Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain coach Paul Le Guen's decision to recall Jérémy Clément to midfield and play Ludovic Giuly as second striker in a 4-4-2 paid off as Giuly scored the only goal of a dour game to end Lille's nine-match unbeaten run. The bottom two sides also won, Le Havre moving out of the drop-zone after winning 1-0 at Caen, while Sochaux beat Le Mans 2-1 for their first win of the season.

The new side at the bottom is Valenciennes, winless since August, who lost 1-0 at home to Nancy. They are only one point behind Saint-Etienne, where it remains to be seen if the new sporting director will prove to be Les Verts' very own version of Harry Redknapp or, more worryingly, Damien Comolli.

Results, week 13: Monaco 0-1 Lyon, Grenoble 0-3 Marseille, Bordeaux 2-0 Auxerre, Lorient 0-1 Nice, Sochaux 2-1 Le Mans, Caen 0-1 Le Havre, Nantes 1-1 Toulouse, Saint-Etienne 0-3 Rennes, Valenciennes 0-1 Nancy, PSG 1-0 Lille

kabbott

11-11-2008, 04:46 PM

allez paris.
quick shot of the tifos from around the 1 min mark..

1.23 - good to see that the Boulogne Boys are still active despite having their group disbanded by the government.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EaQDwbmgIk

I'm not 100% sure of this but I think the Boulogne Boys only had a temporary ban last season. They seem to be behaving themselves this season.

What I don't like about French football is the way these groups of supporters' clubs think they have some kind of role within their clubs.
For example, after St. Etienne's home defeat against Rennes at the weekend, when the players arrived at their training HQ on Monday morning there were something like 100 riot police ready to intervene if any dissatisfied fans had decided to ''express their discontent'' at present results. How many times has this happened in France when groups of so-called fans turn up and hurl abuse at players, club officials etc. even going as far as damaging training facilities, players' cars and even coming to blows with players and officials?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this type of behaviour would never be seen in England.

kabbott

11-11-2008, 04:51 PM

News is that Reggie will be signing a two-and-a-half year contract tomorrow.
He'll get them out of trouble, do no better next season, get sacked (again) and walk away with a massive compensation cheque and go back to Canal + as a very well-paid football pundit. The guy will be laughing all the way to the bank again.
Reggie, on t'aime!

Matt_Hep

11-11-2008, 06:38 PM

P.Hep

11-11-2008, 06:40 PM

I'm not 100% sure of this but I think the Boulogne Boys only had a temporary ban last season. They seem to be behaving themselves this season.

What I don't like about French football is the way these groups of supporters' clubs think they have some kind of role within their clubs.
For example, after St. Etienne's home defeat against Rennes at the weekend, when the players arrived at their training HQ on Monday morning there were something like 100 riot police ready to intervene if any dissatisfied fans had decided to ''express their discontent'' at present results. How many times has this happened in France when groups of so-called fans turn up and hurl abuse at players, club officials etc. even going as far as damaging training facilities, players' cars and even coming to blows with players and officials?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this type of behaviour would never be seen in England.

No he boulogne boys organiation has been disbanded and even to display their merchandise or logo in the stadium is illegal. They are all still ocuppying the same area of the boulogne tribune just without the group banner or other material such as large flags.

Understand what you're saying about the fans but at least they still have say over there...the power the groups wield offers some kind of resistance against increases in ticket prices, domination of canal +, tightening of ground rules in the stadiums and allows clubs heritages to be preserved...PSG fans for instance boycotted their kits until they returned to the favoured red stripe down the middle with blue either side.

We are trampled upon like muck in this country

kabbott

11-11-2008, 08:01 PM

In the meantime Lyon are being ''hammered'' 0:2 at half-time to Ligue 2 Metz and Benzema's watching from the stands!

kabbott

11-11-2008, 09:04 PM

Lyon absolutely hopeless tonight, with Keita taking the biscuit. A remembrance day to forget. When was the last time Lyon lost a match at home? 11/11/07 against Marseille.

11/11

Lyon 1 - 3 Metz
Vannes OC 2 - 0 Auxerre
Nice 3 - 0 Créteil
Montpellier 1 - 2 Châteauroux
Bordeaux 4 - 2 Guingamp
Sochaux 0 - 1 Lens

BB Bob

11-11-2008, 09:05 PM

Oh là là, kabbott! Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé?

Coupe de la Ligue - Huitièmes de

Terminé Sochaux 0 - 1
(a.p.) Lens
Yahia (109e)

- Terminé Bordeaux 4 - 2 Guingamp
Trémoulinas (13e)
Obertan (23e, 31e)
Cavenaghi (78e sp)
Eduardo (33e sp, 44e)

- Terminé Vannes OC 2 - 0 Auxerre
Hervé (74e)
Bourhani (90e+2)

- Terminé Nice 3 - 0 Créteil
Ben Saada (8e sp)
Modeste (30e)
Bamogo (47e)

- Terminé Montpellier 1 - 2 Châteauroux
Compan (44e)
Sako (55e)
Mulenga (73e)

- Terminé Lyon 1 - 3 Metz
Cris (50e)
Mendy (20e)
Renouard (28e)
Rocchi (66e)

Looks like Bordeaux made a bit of a meal of it too!

BB Bob

11-11-2008, 09:06 PM

Blimey - synchronised posts! Still at least the sang et or had a good night for once...

kabbott

11-11-2008, 09:24 PM

Blimey - synchronised posts! Still at least the sang et or had a good night for once...

Soirée de m*rde.
A nice day off, building up for a few goals and then that.
After the big clubs started neglecting La Coupe de la Ligue and fielding teams of stiffs a few years back, the FFF ruled that at least 70% of the team had to have played (is that English?) in the previous 2 games. So the team put out wasn't too bad. OK Gassama (19 years old) played and Sébastien Faure (under-17 international) made his début. But Keita is hopeless. Puel, of course, rates him because he brought him to Lille. At the moment he's doing everything wrong. I would have picked Mounier who looks good when he plays, Delgado who is starting to show some form or even Govou who needs to get back to match fitness.
Oh well. I wish I'd watched the Wenger Babes now. I'll just have to make do with the goals on Sky News in a few minutes.
Bonne nuit!

BB Bob

12-11-2008, 07:21 AM

Then english was fine!

I don't know why some clubs don't take it a little more seriously. Like the Worthless Cup in England, for some clubs it represents their best chance of getting into Europe. Much as I love them, I can't see Nice making it into a Champions League spot or even one of the UEFA spots. Apart from that, what else are they going to win? The Cote d'Azur Under 12s Cup?

Or have I got it wrong and the winner doesn't qualify for Europe?

BB Bob

13-11-2008, 07:35 AM

Last nights results:-

Round-of-16 - Wednesday, November 12, 2008

21:00 Havre AC 2 - 1 Stade Rennais FC
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain 2 - 0 AS Nancy Lorraine

Luyindula keeps PSG on course
Peguy Luyindula scored both goals in Paris Saint-Germain's 2-0 defeat of Nancy on Wednesday to send the holders through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup. Le Havre are also in the last eight after beating Rennes 2-1.

Wednesday 12 November 2008

Paris Saint-Germain / AS Nancy Lorraine : 2 - 0

Luyindula took full advantage of Paul Le Guen's decision to rest leading scorer Guillaume Hoarau as he scored his second and third goals of the season in six first-half minutes.

Luyindula combined with fellow forward Mateja Kežman before clipping the ball delicately over Nancy keeper Damien Gregorini to open the scoring after half-an-hour at the Parc des Princes.

The former Lyon and Marseille striker then outpaced the visitors' rearguard to reach Sylvain Armand's long ball down the left-hand channel before repeating the finish of his opening goal to beat Gregorini and send PSG through to a re-match of last season's final against Lens.

>> Team Sheet

Havre AC / Stade Rennais FC : 2 - 1

Jean-Michel Lesage scored a last-gasp penalty to send Le Havre through to the quarter-finals at the expense of Rennes.

The 31-year-old struck four minutes into added time after Lucien Aubey had been punished for a push on Jérémy Henin.

Henin had also been involved in HAC going in front on 15 minutes. The defender supplied Guillaume Norbert on the right flank, and the former Nantes midfielder's cross was met by El Fardou Ben Nabouhane who steered the ball past Nicolas Douchez.

Rennes, though, were level nine minutes later through Moussa Sow, but Lesage's late spot-kick means Jean-Marc Nobilo's side will play Nice in the last eight.

BB Bob

13-11-2008, 03:10 PM

Unbelievably, Nice have a relatively open route to the final in the cup!

Quarter Final Ties are:-

Vannes v Metz
Nice v Le Havre

and in the other pool

Bordeaux v Chateauroux
PSG v Lens
Yes, PSG are back chez les ch'tiis! Let's hope they behave themselves better this time!

On another - and slightly surprising - note
http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/grandFormat/0809_Caen_l1_Savidan.mono.JPG

Savidan gets France call-up
Caen striker Steve Savidan has been called into the France squad for the first time ahead of Les Bleus’ friendly with Uruguay next Wednesday.
The 30-year-old had never previously received international recognition at any level, but his fine start to the Ligue 1 season – which has brought him six goals and four assists – convinced Raymond Domenech to draft him into the squad.

"I'm simply very satisfied to be called up, but it also involves a lot of responsibility. To be in the French national side signifies obligations vis-à-vis the crowd and a whole nation," said Savidan, who was playing in the third division with Valenciennes just three years ago and only got his first taste of Ligue 1 in the 2006/07 campaign.

"Getting a first call-up is a reward for all the effort and years of work I've put in in my different clubs. It's great to be on the list, but the most important thing is to know how I'm going to exploit this opportunity and see what I'll do with it."

New face

Savidan, who becomes the first Caen player to be called up by France since Xavier Gravelaine in the 1992/93 season, is the only new face in the 23-man squad which features ten Ligue 1 players.

Rod Fanni, who made his debut in the friendly against Tunisia earlier this season, is joined by Rennes team-mate Jimmy Briand, while Ligue 1 leaders Lyon have a trio of players heading to Clairefontaine – Hugo Lloris, Jérémy Toulalan and Karim Benzema – and Bordeaux have two in midfielders Alou Diarra and Yoann Gourcuff. Le Mans keeper Yohann Pelé, his Marseille counterpart Steve Mandanda and Savidan complete the domestic contingent.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Lloris (Lyon), Mandanda (Marseille), Pelé (Le Mans)

Defenders: Clichy (Arsenal), Escudé (Sevilla), Evra (Manchester United), Fanni (Rennes), Gallas (Arsenal), Mexès (Roma), Sagna (Arsenal), Silvestre (Arsenal)

Midfielders: A.Diarra (Bordeaux), L.Diarra (Portsmouth), Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Nasri (Arsenal), Toulalan (Lyon), Vieira (Inter Milan)

Forwards: Anelka (Chelsea), Benzema (Lyon), Briand (Rennes), Henry (Barcelona), Ribéry (Bayern Munich), Savidan (Caen)

I'm really pleased for Savigol. His goal scoring record is fantastic but it will be interesting to see if he can repeat this at international level.

BB Bob

13-11-2008, 08:10 PM

Pnwy28kvUBo

kabbott

14-11-2008, 06:51 AM

Another good article on Super Steve Savidan in L'Equipe this morning. Well worth the read if you can get hold of it. Very refreshing compared to other big-headed, so-called ''stars''.
Bonne lecture!

BB Bob

14-11-2008, 12:59 PM

kabbott

14-11-2008, 02:42 PM

Very good article! He comes across as a top bloke - un vrai mec? I hope Domenech plays him, if conly for five minutes!

A little piece on Clermont for phil. Playing away at Reims tonight and looking for their first away win since March.

Oh, and I see that Reggie thinks that Saint Etienne are a bigger club than Lyon. That's all right then....

Domenech = pr*ck. He said he'd have to see what Savidan was like in training before picking him. So is he going to suddenly think he's dross?
Bad news for Phil. Lyon have bought/poached/nicked a Clermont player of 16, whose name I can't remember and I've left my paper at work! Chelsea were apparently also interested. Sorry, Phil, but he is better off at Lyon than at Chelsea.
Reggie in trying very hard to impress ASSE fans by slagging off Lyon shocker.

I wish him bonne chance all the same. He might need it!

BB Bob

14-11-2008, 03:22 PM

It's lucky loto time, so without further ado:-

Week 14 - Saturday, November 15, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre FC Sochaux-Montbéliard DRAW
19:00 Havre AC Paris Saint-Germain AWAY WIN
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 Valenciennes FC HOME WIN
19:00 Olympique de Marseille FC Lorient HOME WIN
19:00 AS Nancy Lorraine SM Caen DRAW
19:00 Toulouse FC Grenoble Foot 38 DRAW
21:00 LOSC AS Saint-Etienne DRAW
Week 14 - Sunday, November 16, 2008

17:00 OGC Nice FC Nantes HOME WIN (I'll regret that)
17:00 Stade Rennais FC AS Monaco FC HOME WIN
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais FC Girondins de Bordeaux TRICKY.....HOME WIN

kabbott

14-11-2008, 08:28 PM

C'est parti!

Week 14 - Saturday, November 15, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre FC Sochaux v Montbéliard HOME WIN (AJA put their scoring boots on at last)
19:00 Havre AC v Paris Saint Germain HOME WIN (PSG just can't string together 2 decent performances)
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 v Valenciennes FC AWAY WIN (about time too)
19:00 Olympique de Marseille v FC Lorient HOME WIN (OM on a roll-Ben Arfa to star)
19:00 AS Nancy Lorraine v SM Caen DRAW (out of luck Savidan scores and then injures himself and is thus ruled out of his international début-cruel)
19:00 Toulouse FC v Grenoble Foot 38 HOME WIN (Grenoble start their slow decline)
21:00 LOSC v AS Saint-Etienne AWAY WIN (Reggie off to a flyer-le choc psychologique fonctionne!)

Week 14 - Sunday, November 16, 2008

17:00 OGC Nice v FC Nantes AWAY WIN (so unpredictable, both of them)
17:00 Stade Rennais FC v AS Monaco FC HOME WIN (Pagis encore)
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais v FC Girondins de Bordeaux HOME WIN (Benzema hat trick, very ill-tempered match, Lyon walk it and show everyone who the boss is 4:0 or 5:1)

BB Bob

14-11-2008, 08:45 PM

Friday night is....er.....Ligue 2 night (i know, I really should get out more)

Ligue 2 - 15e journée
- Terminé Guingamp (18) 3 - 1 Tours FC (5)
Haquin (75e)
Oruma (78e)
Soumah (86e)
Atik (28e)

- Terminé Châteauroux (17) 1 - 0 Vannes OC (8)
Mulenga (22e)

- Terminé Amiens (15) 2 - 0 AC Ajaccio (9)
Contout (8e)
Heitzmann (85e)

- Terminé Sedan (16) 1 - 0 Brest (11)
Mokaké (13e)

- Terminé Reims (19) 1 - 1 Clermont Foot (12)
Mienniel (45e csc)
Poté (53e)

- Terminé Dijon (14) 2 - 1 Nîmes (20)
Aubameyang (5e)
Ribas (32e)
Sankharé (37e)

- Terminé Bastia (13) 0 - 1 Lens (2)
Boukari (45e+1)

- Terminé Boulogne-sur-Mer (3) 2 - 3 Angers (7)
Thil (46e, 90e)
Cunha Reche (36e)
Diers (56e, 81e)

- Terminé Montpellier (6) 3 - 0 Troyes (10)
Compan (6e)
Montano (15e)
Camara (78e)

Troyes on the wrong end of a pasting and a good result for Clermont Phil. Not a win, but, hey, it's a point and we know what points make....

kabbott

14-11-2008, 09:53 PM

[QUOTE=BB Bob]Friday night is....er.....Ligue 2 night (i know, I really should get out more)

I know what you mean. I was out early, thus back in early. That's the advantage. Can't last more than a couple of hours anyway. Then up early to keep the body in shape with a mini-étape. Oui monsieur je fais partie de la racaille du vélo. A demain.

BB Bob

15-11-2008, 08:00 PM

Hope the vélo went well! Better than it did at the Vélodrome tonight, anyway!

- Terminé Marseille (2) 2 - 3 Lorient (15)
Ziani (10e)
Niang (60e sp)
Amalfitano (76e)
Abriel (84e)
Gameiro (87e)

- Terminé Toulouse (6) 2 - 0 Grenoble (9)
Gignac (2e, 19e)

- Terminé Le Havre (17) 1 - 3 Paris-SG (8)
Alassane (48e)
Hoarau (18e, 90e+1 sp)
Giuly (34e)

- Terminé Le Mans (10) 1 - 0 Valenciennes (20)
Coutadeur (21e)

- Terminé Nancy (14) 1 - 1 Caen (11)
Boucansaud (72e csc)
Savidan (51e)

- Terminé Auxerre (12) 1 - 0 Sochaux (19)
Lejeune (31e)

- Mi-Temps Lille (7) 2 - 0 Saint-Etienne (18)
Hazard (25e)
Obraniak (34e)

BB Bob

15-11-2008, 08:07 PM

3 - 3

3½ to play!

kabbott

15-11-2008, 08:18 PM

[QUOTE=BB Bob]Hope the vélo went well! Better than it did at the Vélodrome tonight, anyway!

- Terminé Marseille (2) 2 - 3 Lorient (15)
Ziani (10e)
Niang (60e sp)
Amalfitano (76e)
Abriel (84e)
Gameiro (87e)

The vélo went very well. Not up to much this evening, mind you. I thought the Vélodrome went very well. Couldn't find any pictures. Didn't insist on the T.V. tonight since I'm hoping to have it tomorrow for le big match/le crunch. Highlights on Canal + in about 1 hour.

philsick

15-11-2008, 08:43 PM

a good result for Clermont Phil. Not a win, but, hey, it's a point and we know what points make....

And came from behind:p

kabbott

15-11-2008, 08:46 PM

And came from behind:p

According to the papers, the Clermont keeper (ex-Sedan) was MOM and played a blinder.

kabbott

16-11-2008, 08:12 AM

Marseille crack
Marseille frittered away a two-goal lead against Lorient to go down 3-2 while Paris took the points 3-1 in Le Havre with goals from Guillaume Hoarau and Ludovic Giuly.

Saturday November 15, 2008

Olympique de Marseille / FC Lorient : 2 - 3

Lorient pulled off an amazing come from behind win, with three goals in just 11minutes, to stop the Marseille juggernaut dead in its tracks.

Karim Ziani put the home side ahead in the 10th minute, attacking Benoît Cheyrou's cut-back pass at the edge of the area with a powerful angled shot that easily beat Lionel Cappone in the Lorient goal.

Marseille, better organised and with the better chances of the first half, should have gone further ahead, but waited until the hour mark when Mamadou Niang made the most of a hotly contested penalty decision to double his side's lead.

Instead of hanging onto their lead and simply playing the game out, Marseille kept on the front foot, and were contentiously denied a second for Niang by the linesman's flag.

Minutes later Lorient began its amazing comeback through Morgan Amalfitano, who ran onto a poor Marseille clearance, smashing a 20m volley that somehow snuck between Steve Mandanda and the bottom of the post. Fabrice Abriel notched their second in the 84th minute with a wicked 25m shot that bounced awkwardly past Mandanda and into the goal.

Just three minutes later, Kévin Gameiro struck the surprise winner, diving to steer Abriel's excellent cross, which had found him unmarked in the area, into the back of the net.

Marseille could have gone within one point of leaders Lyon with a win, but remain in second place nonetheless. Lorient climb two places to 13th.

Havre AC / Paris Saint-Germain : 1 - 3

Paris were too strong for Le Havre, scoring two goals in the first half and one at the death to take the three points and climb two places to sixth on the table.

In-form striker Guillaume Hoarau continued his fine form in front of goal with a double against his old club, nodding home a Sylvain Armand cross in the 18th minute and slotting a penalty past Christophe Revault and then firing from the penalty spot in injury time at the end of the match after the Le Havre 'keeper was adjudged to have brought down Peguy Luyindula in the area. Hoarau now sits atop the goal scoring charts alongside Lyon's Karim Benzema and Toulouse's André-Pierre Gignac.

Ludovic Giuly scored Paris's second in the 34th minute in a half largely dominated by the men from the capital, latching onto Clément's pass to beat Revault with a magnificent angled shot from the edge of the area.

Le Havre bounced back in the second half, pulling a goal back through Amadou Alassane after just three minutes of play, but the Parisians were much stronger on the night, attacking freely and dominating play.

Toulouse FC / Grenoble Foot 38 : 2 - 0

An André-Pierre Gignac double in the first 20 minutes of the match was enough to see Toulouse past Grenoble at The Stadium.

Toulouse came out firing and took the lead in the 2nd minute, when Gignac pounced from close range after Grégory Wimbée could only parry Jeremy Mathieu's shot from outside the box. The league's equal-top scorer was at it again in the 19th minute, this time placing a deft lob over Wimbée after racing past Grenoble defender Milivoje Vitakic on the counter.

Grenoble failed to react significantly in the second half and Toulouse took the points, overtaking Bordeaux to move into provisional third place, ahead of Bordeaux's trip to Lyon on Sunday night.

AS Nancy Lorraine / SM Caen : 1 - 1

Caen did all the scoring in this 1-1 draw at the Stade Marcel-Picot, going ahead through newly capped France international Steve Savidan, who neatly chipped Gennaro Brcigliano after latching onto a defence-splitting pass from youngster Julien Toudic in the centre circle in the 51st minute.

Florian Boucansaud undid their hard work 20 minutes later however, heading Benjamin Gavanon's dangerous corner into his own goal at the near post.

In the end either team could have taken the points, with strong performances from Savidan and Nancy striker Youssouf Hadji and several chances created at both ends, but the score remained locked for a draw that sees both sides remain locked into the bottom half of the table.

Le Mans UC 72 / Valenciennes FC : 1 - 0

A magnificent strike from Mathieu Coutadeur, direct from a corner in the 21st minute, was enough to see Le Mans past cellar-dwellers Valenciennes in a free-flowing and attacking match at the Stade Léon-Bollée.

Le Mans put a string of poor results behind them to climb one place to ninth while Valenciennes, still without an away win for the season, remain stuck to the bottom of the table.

AJ Auxerre / FC Sochaux-Montbéliard : 1 - 0

Auxerre scored the only goal of a hard-fought match against the run of play in the 31st minute. Daniel Niculae delivered a precise pass to put Kévin Lejeune clean through and the young striker did the rest, beating Sochaux 'keeper Teddy Richert with a side-footed shot.

Sochaux will be disappointed with the loss after dominating possession and producing some excellent football. Francis Gillot's men remain in 19th place while the win sees Auxerre climb into the top half of the table.

Saint-Etienne lose again
Despite the best efforts of new coach Alain Perrin, Saint-Etienne were dominated away to 3-0 Lille, conceding a club record sixth straight defeat.

Saturday November 15, 2008

LOSC / AS Saint-Etienne : 3 - 0

Saint-Etienne's troubles continued on Saturday night despite having hired last year's title-winning coach to replace Laurent Roussey midweek. With just three days at the helm before meeting Lille, it seems Perrin will need more time to breathe new life into a demoralized squad.

Lille had the run of play from beginning to end at the Stade Lille Métropole, scoring three goals, dominating possession and taking 23 shots on goal to Saint-Etienne's seven.

Perrin's new charges seemed ill at ease, bereft of inspiration and confidence and Lille took full advantage, going ahead through Eden Hazard in the 25th minute. The young Belgian striker cut into the box from the left and after a flurry of stepovers, lashed a right-footed shot past recalled 'keeper Jérémie Janot, preferred by Perrin to Jody Viviani, and into the net.

Nine minutes later, Brazilian Fernandes Michel Bastos crossed for Ludovic Obraniak to surge into the area and nod home Lille's second of the night.

Lille continued their domination into the second half, adding the third and final goal in the 70th minute through Slovakian Robert Vittek who, set up brilliantly by captain Rio Mavuba, took a neat touch in the area before sliding an unbeatable side-footed shot past Janot.

The win sees Rudy Garcia's men climb two places to fifth while Saint-Etienne stay locked in the relegation zone with a mammoth task still ahead of new boss Perrin and his men.

BB Bob

16-11-2008, 04:54 PM

Issa nissa.

Another somewhat dodgy Nice performance serves as the perfect apéro for tonights main course. Well for me, anyway. Nice - 4th Give me a break! I can feel a nose bleed coming on. I think Saint Etienne would have done better getting Antonetti back...there's a man who can use nothing to create....er...not very much! Mais ca marche, non?

BB Bob

16-11-2008, 05:18 PM

17:00 OGC Nice 2 - 1 FC Nantes
17:00 Stade Rennais FC 2 - 1 AS Monaco FC

1 Olympique Lyonnais 13 9 3 1 +11 30
2 Olympique de Marseille 14 7 5 2 +11 26
3 Stade Rennais FC 14 6 7 1 +9 25
4 OGC Nice 14 7 4 3 +5 25
5 Toulouse FC 14 7 4 3 +3 25
6 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 13 7 3 3 +9 24
7 LOSC 14 6 5 3 +6 23
8 Paris Saint-Germain 14 7 2 5 +4 23
9 Le Mans UC 72 14 6 3 5 +3 21
10 AJ Auxerre 14 5 4 5 0 19
11 Grenoble Foot 38 14 5 4 5 -3 19
12 SM Caen 14 4 6 4 +4 18
13 FC Lorient 14 4 4 6 -1 16
14 AS Monaco FC 14 4 4 6 -2 16
15 AS Nancy Lorraine 14 3 7 4 -3 16
16 FC Nantes 14 3 3 8 -12 12
17 Havre AC 14 3 2 9 -12 11
18 AS Saint-Etienne 14 3 1 10 -15 10
19 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 14 1 6 7 -7 9
20 Valenciennes FC 14 2 3 9 -10 9

kabbott

16-11-2008, 07:00 PM

kabbott

16-11-2008, 07:50 PM

H-T Lyon 2:0 Bordeaux

Bordeaux all over Lyon for 30 minutes, then Benzema, comme d'habitude followed by Kallstrom. I'll take that.

kabbott

16-11-2008, 08:57 PM

F-T Lyon 2:1 Bordeaux

Bordeaux played the football, Lyon (experience) won.

BB Bob

16-11-2008, 09:00 PM

Ligue 1 Ligue 2

P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 14 10 3 1 +12 33
2 Olympique de Marseille 14 7 5 2 +11 26
3 Stade Rennais FC 14 6 7 1 +9 25
4 OGC Nice 14 7 4 3 +5 25
5 Toulouse FC 14 7 4 3 +3 25
6 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 14 7 3 4 +8 24
7 LOSC 14 6 5 3 +6 23
8 Paris Saint-Germain 14 7 2 5 +4 23
9 Le Mans UC 72 14 6 3 5 +3 21
10 AJ Auxerre 14 5 4 5 0 19
11 Grenoble Foot 38 14 5 4 5 -3 19
12 SM Caen 14 4 6 4 +4 18
13 FC Lorient 14 4 4 6 -1 16
14 AS Monaco FC 14 4 4 6 -2 16
15 AS Nancy Lorraine 14 3 7 4 -3 16
16 FC Nantes 14 3 3 8 -12 12
17 Havre AC 14 3 2 9 -12 11
18 AS Saint-Etienne 14 3 1 10 -15 10
19 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 14 1 6 7 -7 9
20 Valenciennes FC 14 2 3 9 -10

Situation normal.

Bonne nuit!

kabbott

17-11-2008, 07:19 AM

Lyon stamps its authority on Ligue 1
After two first-half goals, Lyon held on to beat a tireless Bordeaux 2-1 in a thrilling match on Sunday night, widening their lead at the top of the table to seven points, and setting Bordeaux a huge challenge to keep their title hopes alive.

Sunday November 16, 2008

Olympique Lyonnais / FC Girondins de Bordeaux : 2 - 1

Bordeaux went to Lyon with the firm intention of playing attacking football and taking all three points, pinning their hosts down in the first half hour with their imposing physical presence and flowing passing game. Lyon 'keeper Hugo Lloris was called on several times, pulling out fine saves from Brazilian Geraldo Wendel and France star Yoann Gourcuff.

Despite Bordeaux's domination, it was Lyon who opened the scoring, against the run of play and with almost their first chance of the match, in the 33rd minute. After a sublime one-two with Fred, France international Karim Benzema found himself clear in the area, racing past the Bordeaux defense to finish with a clinical left-foot shot at the near post, notching his ninth strike of the season to go back to the top of the scorers' charts.

A stunned Bordeaux went further behind just minutes later when Swede Kim Källström's thunderbolt from outside the area took a wicked deflection off Marc Planus to curl and dip viciously past Mathieu Valverde, back in the side after being knocked unconscious in last week's match against Auxerre, in the Bordeaux goal.

Bordeaux kept up the pressure despite going behind so suddenly to Claude Puel's men, who were uncharacteristically defensive, preferring to attack on the counter through the lightning pace and technical precision of Benzema. Excellent chances were created by both sides but the scores remained locked.

Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc brought on Argentine hitman Fernando Cavenaghi on the hour mark and 20 minutes later the move paid off. From a Wendel free kick, Cavenaghi managed to lose his marker, sneaking in behind the Lyon defence and, first to the ball, volleying a low shot past the legs of Lloris.

It was a frenetic final phase of the match, with Lyon holding off Bordeaux's repeated assaults to take the three points that widen their lead in the league to seven points over second-placed Marseille.

Despite their valiant performance, Bordeaux slip three places to sixth, a point behind weekend winners Rennes, Nice and Toulouse, and a massive nine points behind Lyon.

BB Bob

18-11-2008, 03:11 PM

This weeks guardian article

Lyon get by with a little help from a little friendWhy some neat work from a ball-boy helped Karim Benzema and co reinforce their position as the dominant force in France
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2008/11/17/1226941120383/Lyon-striker-Karim-Benzem-001.jpg

"I won't give you my win-bonus but I'll give you my shirt," said Lyon vice-captain Cris to the cherubic adolescent who turned out to be an unlikely hero after the champions went seven points clear at the top following Sunday night's 2-1 win over Bordeaux. The youngster, now with a sweaty shirt, was the ball-boy who reacted quickest after Bordeaux defender Marc Planus smashed a clearance into the stands, by smartly giving a different ball to Kim Källström to throw to Karim Benzema. With Planus dawdling on the right, Benzema accelerated into the space he'd vacated, exchanged passes with Fred, and opened the scoring.

It all happened in the space of four seconds and it knocked the stuffing out of the visitors, who were on top at the time and could have been ahead had Jean-Alain Boumsong not blocked Marouane Chamakh's shot from eight yards out. "The game turned on that one moment," said Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc, "and if there hadn't been that little error, I would have had no complaints about my players. For the rest of the game, Benzema did not get a look-in, but he escaped our vigilance from the throw-in and we paid a heavy price. It's often like that with Lyon."

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had warned his players that last week's League Cup loss to Metz, their first home defeat in over a year, was "unacceptable - even more so as it was to a second-division side". He had also complained to L'Equipe that they misquoted him in claiming he wanted to buy Bordeaux's Yoann Gourcuff, his shaky defence that he was merely responding to the question from Sud-Ouest, 'Would you like Gourcuff in your team?'

Lyon took control after Benzema's goal and soon doubled the lead when Källström's deflected effort sailed in. Fernando Cavenaghi scored a late consolation from an offside position for Bordeaux, who are now nine points behind Lyon and have dropped to sixth place. More worryingly, Blanc is refusing to discuss a new contract with president Jean-Louis Triaud. His current deal expires at the end of the season and Triaud is desperate to keep him. "It's not on my agenda. I don't have to play the long-term security card," said Blanc. "The problem is, if Lyon maintain their economic and political advantage, it will be difficult to knock them off the No1 spot. But their lead is not insurmountable."

Eric Gerets is another coach whose contract is up next summer, and Marseille may have a job keeping him if they repeat Saturday night's shocker at the Vélodrome. The home match against Lorient was the perfect opportunity to move to within one point of Lyon, and everything looked on course for them when Karim Ziani and Mamadou Niang, with a penalty after he was clearly brought down outside the area, put them two goals ahead with half-an-hour to play. "That penalty pissed us off and the injustice of it drove us on," said Lorient's in-form midfielder Fabrice Abriel. Niang then put the ball in the net for a third goal, but it was ruled out, incorrectly, for offside. Lorient pulled one back through Morgan Amalfitano's superb volley before Abriel and then Kevin Gameiro scored in the last five minutes to seal an astonishing 3-2 win.

"It's scandalous to lose like this," said L'OM goalkeeper Steve Mandanda. "Obviously the ref played a role, as with a third goal the match would have been over, but we should have held on. Everyone just switched off and it happens too often. Each time we have a chance to take a big step we fail." To his credit, referee Tony Chapron faced up to his mistakes and told Jour de Foot: "When you have a game like that all you want to do is go home and try to forget about football for a while."

Gerets had been looking forward to watching Lyon-Bordeaux and had his side won, he said, he would have been enjoying it with "a nice little cigar and a glass of champagne". Instead, he may well have been kicking his dog Georges, (who, incidentally, has been joined by former L'OM defender Habib Beye's cat and "they get on like a house on fire", says Gerets). He was furious with his players. "Lorient played with big heart and big balls, and they weren't scared - but there are still things we did that I cannot understand." Marseille were booed off at the final whistle.

Steve Savidan, the man of the moment after his popular yet bizarre call-up to the France squad, scored again for Caen in their 1-1 draw at Nancy. On Monday morning, Caen coach Franck Dumas drove the 30-year-old to Clairefontaine for his first day of training (a nice touch, but then again, he might be the first Caen player to represent France since Xavier Gravelaine in 1992) but he could expect a frosty reception after some honest appraisals of his new international colleagues. "Some of them don't even smile when they score a goal, and if there's one thing I can't stand, it's seeing players out there who never smile," said Savigol in a reference to Thierry Henry. He also claimed that Benzema was a player manufactured from a youth academy, and he preferred players with more instinct and character, like Rennes' 35-year-old striker Mikaël Pagis. The rest of the Caen squad are going to support Savidan at the Stade de France for Wednesday night's friendly against Uruguay, and he may need it.

The player who can consider himself unlucky to have missed out to Savidan is Paris Saint-Germain forward Guillaume Hoarau, who scored twice on his first game back at Le Havre in PSG's 3-1 win. Former PSG president Alain Cayzac this week revealed that Hoarau had allowed Le Havre to take an extra €550,000 from the transfer. "He is a real gent, and did everything he could to make sure that made him the player he is got the best deal possible," said Cayzac before dropping the bombshell that he had invited former Marseille owner Bernard Tapie to take over PSG last summer. "He didn't rule it out, but said he would join me if I stayed. That never happened but it would have been interesting." Not as interesting as the reaction of PSG fans, Alain.

Elsewhere, Rennes moved up to third place with a 2-1 win over Monaco, thanks to another goal from Jimmy Briand and a man-of-the-match performance from France Under-21 international Jires Kembo-Ekoto. Nice are up to fourth as Frédéric Antonetti got one over his bête noire Elie Baup (whom, Antonetti insists, got him sacked at Saint-Etienne before replacing him in 2004) in a 2-1 success over Nantes. The coaches refused to shake hands before or after the game. And Alain Perrin discovered the size of the job awaiting him as Saint-Etienne lost 3-0 at Lille and slipped into the bottom three. Last year, Perrin was the first coach to guide Lyon to a league and Cup double: this season he has a survival battle on his hands. Meanwhile Lyon, thanks to some help from a ball-boy and Chapron, are coasting.

Results, Week 14: Marseille 2-3 Lorient, Toulouse 2-0 Grenoble, Le Havre 1-3 PSG, Le Mans 1-0 Valenciennes, Nancy 1-1 Caen, Auxerre 1-0 Sochaux, Lille 3-0 Saint-Etienne, Rennes 2-1 Monaco, Nice 2-1 Nantes, Lyon 2-1 Bordeaux.

BB Bob

19-11-2008, 01:26 PM

Savidan: 'It's not Euro Disney'

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/uk0809_Savidan_Caen_art1.jpg
Caen striker and newly capped France international Steve Savidan is not fazed by life in the fast lane of the national team as they prepare to take on Uruguay in an international friendly at the Stade de France on Wednesday night..
Steve Savidan is taking his first international call-up in his stride. When asked at a press conference if being part of the national team set-up was a whole different world, Savidan replied coolly.

"You know, the only difference between what I'm experiencing now and what I've known before, it's this - press conferences. Because, in the end, this job, be it at Caen, Valenciennes or with the France team, it's the same."

With hype and big names like Henry, Anelka and Ribéry everywhere, Savidan isn't letting it go to his head.

"It's not Euro Disney. I haven't come here to meet Mickey Mouse."

The 30 year-old Caen striker knows he has been called up to get a job done, something he has long dreamt of and takes very seriously.

"I always said I wouldn't get carried away if I got called up. I'm looking at it as a kind of professional orientation. I'm taking part in a three-day project that precedes more of its kind. There's serious work to do, and you can't afford to take it lightly nor blow it out of proportion."

BB Bob

19-11-2008, 01:28 PM

Mondays L2 result:-

Monday, November 17, 2008
20:45 FC Metz 3 - 2 RC Strasbourg

Ligue 2 P W D L GD Pts

1 RC Lens 14 10 1 3 +10 31
2 RC Strasbourg 15 8 5 2 +12 29
3 US Boulogne CO 15 8 4 3 +8 28

4 FC Metz 15 8 4 3 +7 28
5 Montpellier HSC 14 7 3 4 +12 24
6 Angers SCO 15 6 6 3 +6 24
7 Tours FC 15 7 1 7 0 22
8 Vannes OC 15 6 3 6 -3 21
9 AC Ajaccio 15 5 5 5 +3 20
10 Dijon FCO 15 5 4 6 -2 19
11 Stade Brestois 15 6 1 8 -2 19
12 ESTAC 15 5 4 6 -2 19
13 Amiens SC 15 4 6 5 -1 18
14 Clermont Foot 15 4 6 5 -3 18
15 SC Bastia 15 4 5 6 -5 17
16 CS Sedan 15 4 5 6 -7 17
17 LB Châteauroux 15 4 4 7 -4 16

18 EA Guingamp 15 3 6 6 -4 15
19 Stade de Reims 15 2 6 7 -12 12
20 Nîmes Olympique 15 1 5 9 -13 8

BB Bob

19-11-2008, 01:31 PM

"But what about the National?" I am sure you have been asking yourself.

Calmez vous!

vendredi 14 novembre 2008
19h30 Calais (17) 4-0 Paris FC (9)
20h00 Cassis-Carnoux (4) 1-2 Sète (5)
Niort (19) 1-0 Libourne-Saint-Seurin (20)

samedi 15 novembre 2008
17h00 Entente SSG (18) 1-4 Arles (3)
18h00 Pacy-sur-Eure (6) 2-3 Beauvais (13)
Croix-de-Savoie (7) 1-2 Cherbourg (15)
Louhans-Cuiseaux (8) 1-0 Cannes (11)
Créteil (16) 1-0 Gueugnon (12)
20h00 Rodez (14) 0-1 Istres (1)
Laval (2) 1-0 Bayonne (10)

Equipe Pts J. G. N. P. p. c. Diff.
1 Istres 34 14 10 4 0 27 8 19
2 Laval 31 15 9 4 2 22 11 11
3 Arles 27 15 8 3 4 24 17 7

4 Sète 27 15 7 6 2 13 7 6
5 Cassis-Carnoux 24 15 6 6 3 17 16 1
6 Louhans-Cuiseaux 23 15 5 8 2 15 13 2
7 Pacy-sur-Eure 22 15 6 4 5 19 17 2
8 Croix-de-Savoie 20 15 6 2 7 17 19 -2
9 Beauvais 19 15 5 4 6 20 19 1
10 Paris FC 19 14 5 4 5 16 20 -4
11 Cherbourg 18 15 3 9 3 17 17 0
12 Bayonne 18 15 5 3 7 9 11 -2
13 Créteil 17 15 2 11 2 12 13 -1
14 Cannes 17 15 4 5 6 16 19 -3
15 Gueugnon 16 15 3 7 5 16 16 0
16 Rodez 16 15 4 4 7 16 18 -2

17 Calais 16 15 4 4 7 15 18 -3
18 Niort 13 15 2 7 6 8 14 -6
19 Entente SSG 11 15 3 2 10 8 21 -13
20 Libourne-Saint-Seurin 9 15 2 3 10 12 25 -13

kabbott

19-11-2008, 04:05 PM

[QUOTE=BB Bob]Savidan: 'It's not Euro Disney'

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/uk0809_Savidan_Caen_art1.jpg

"It's not Euro Disney. I haven't come here to meet Mickey Mouse."

I must disagree here. He has already bumped into Raymond Domenech.

BB Bob

19-11-2008, 04:51 PM

Boom boom! Let's keep our fingers crossed for Savigol tonight!

kabbott

19-11-2008, 06:20 PM

Boom boom! Let's keep our fingers crossed for Savigol tonight!

Anelka's on fire at the moment, so he'll probably get the nod. Savigol will probably get a run-out in the 2nd half. Lloris may also be getting his 1st cap. Scotland v Argentina is on a satellite channel but not England, and Madame's got the telly again. Looks like I'll be on PC a lot tonight.

Bon(s) match(s)!

kabbott

19-11-2008, 06:26 PM

France : Lloris - Fanni, Mexès, Gallas, Evra - Vieira, Toulalan - Ribéry, Gourcuff, Henry - Anelka.

Subs: Y.Pelé, S.Mandanda, J.Escudé, M.Silvestre, G.Clichy, A.Diarra, S.Nasri, S.Savidan, J.Briand, K.Benzema.

Uruguay : Carini - Silva, Godin, Lugano, Caceres - M. Pereira, Gargano, A. Pereira, Rodriguez - Suarez, Forlan

BB Bob

19-11-2008, 06:30 PM

kabbott

19-11-2008, 08:00 PM

H-T 0:0 RAS!

BB Bob

19-11-2008, 10:23 PM

ft 0-0 but at least he got his cap

BB Bob

20-11-2008, 10:29 AM

Savidan impresses on debut
Caen striker Steve Savidan, 30, made an impressive debut for Les Bleus against Uruguay on Wednesday night, breathing fresh air into a French frontline shut down by a packed Uruguayan defence.
Brought on in the second half for Nicolas Anelka, Savidan was far from overawed in his first appearance for the national team lit up the match with his energy, inventiveness and a couple of spectacular overhead volleys.
"I felt completely at ease, I felt no pressure and tried to get into the match straight away. I was asked to give them Savidan, and I did."

Despite the goalless scoreline, Savidan was satisfied with his debut.

"Sure I would have liked to score. There's still a lot of work to do. A striker is there to score, a 'keeper to make saves. Everyone has their job to do. If I'd got my shots on target, that would have been half the battle. But I didn't. Still, I have a strong desire to continue with the France team."

Manchester United's Patrice Evra was full of praise for the Caen man on his debut.

"It was great to see Savidan come on. We've found another JPP (Jean-Pierre Papin). He brought freshness to the side and I think he scored some serious points. I loved seeing him come on and I wasn't the only one."

Coach Raymond Domenech was not surprised, noting that the former Valenciennes forward's performance was exactly the kind of display that earned him his first international call-up at the age of 30.

"We know him, that's what he's like. One of his qualities is his ability to try the spectacular, and he played on his qualities. It's not always easy to try things on your national team debut but that's exactly what he did. He did what he always does."

kabbott

22-11-2008, 10:34 AM

Le big match ce soir:

Lyon looking for capital gains
Lyon travel to the French capital to take on former coach Paul Le Guen and in-form Paris Saint-Germain, looking to maintain their seven-point lead atop the standings in Week 15 of the season, this Saturday.

Saturday 22 November 2008

21:00 - Paris Saint-Germain / Olympique Lyonnais

Last weekend's hard-fought 2-1 win over Bordeaux saw the septuple champions extend their lead over second-placed Marseille to seven points as well as relegating Bordeaux to nine points in arrears. Karim Benzema's ninth goal of the season (33') and Kim Källström's first (38'), were enough to see OL over the line against a valiant Bordeaux side who pulled a late goal back through Argentine Fernando Cavenaghi (81').

Cavenaghi's consolation strike was the first goal Lyon have conceded in their last five Ligue 1 outings. The win was Lyon's tenth of the campaign and they remain undefeated at home having taken an impressive 19 points from a possible 21 at the Stade Gerland. Away from home, Claude Puel's side have won their last two matches on the road, having lost just once all season – to Rennes, 3-0 in Week 8.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris earned his full international debut for France on Wednesday, playing a full 90 minutes in Les Bleus' scoreless draw with Uruguay at the Stade de France. Jérémy Toulalan also played a full match while Ligue 1 top scorer Benzema was a second-half substitute. Defender Jean-Alain Boumsong was an unused substitute.

World Cup winner Fabio Grosso (Italy), Källström (Sweden), Jean II Makoun (Cameroon) and young full-back Lamine Gassama (France U-21) all featured in midweek international friendlies.

Puel will again be without the services of the versatile Mathieu Bodmer who finally elected for surgery to fix a recalcitrant pubalgia (tear in the abdomen muscle lining) and will be absent until late January next year. Bodmer has been sidelined since the Week 8 loss to Rennes. However Ghanaian defender John Mensah finally resumed training this week after limping out of OL's Week 9 2-2 draw with Lille with a groin strain.

Eighth-placed Paris Saint-Germain feature a number of former Lyon players and boss Paul Le Guen coached OL to three consecutive titles between 2002 and 2005 before joining Glasgow Rangers. Midfielder Jérémy Clément followed Le Guen from Lyon to Scotland and then to PSG, while Peguy Luyindula spent two seasons at the Stade Gerland under his current boss. Ludovic Giuly played 92 Ligue 1 matches for Lyon between 1995 and 1998, scoring 21 goals, before joining Monaco.

Last week, PSG registered back-to-back league wins over Lille (1-0 at home) and Le Havre (3-1 away) as well as qualifying for the quarter-finals of the League Cup where they will meet Lens in a replay of last season's final in mid-January.

Last weekend's Week 14 win over Le Havre featured a second goal in as many games for Giuly and also a second brace of the season for Guillaume Hoarau who took his tally to eight in Ligue 1 – one shy of OL ace Benzema.

Serbian striker Mateja Kezman was injured in the 2-0 Cup win over Nancy but resumed training on Thursday and could be fit for a place on the bench.

PSG youngsters Mamadou Sakho and Younesse Sankharé played alongside Lyon's Gassama in the France Under-21 side's 1-0 friendly win over Denmark. Sankharé scored the only goal of the game in the 67th minute.

kabbott

22-11-2008, 10:38 AM

Loto sportif time again:

Week 15 - Saturday, November 22, 2008

19:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux v Stade Rennais FC DRAW
19:00 SM Caen v AJ Auxerre DRAW
19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 v Havre AC AWAY WIN
19:00 FC Lorient v Toulouse FC DRAW
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne v OGC Nice HOME WIN
19:00 Valenciennes FC v FC Sochaux-Montbéliard HOME WIN
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain v Olympique Lyonnais AWAY WIN

Week 15 - Sunday, November 23, 2008

17:00 AS Monaco FC v Le Mans UC 72 DRAW
17:00 FC Nantes v AS Nancy Lorraine HOME WIN
21:00 Olympique de Marseille v LOSC AWAY WIN

BB Bob

22-11-2008, 03:45 PM

Here goes...

Week 15 - Saturday, November 22, 2008

19:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux v Stade Rennais FC DRAW
19:00 SM Caen v AJ Auxerre DRAW
19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 v Havre AC HOME WIN
19:00 FC Lorient v Toulouse FC DRAW
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne v OGC Nice AWAY WIN
19:00 Valenciennes FC v FC Sochaux-Montbéliard DRAW
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain v Olympique Lyonnais DRAW

Week 15 - Sunday, November 23, 2008

17:00 AS Monaco FC v Le Mans UC 72 DRAW
17:00 FC Nantes v AS Nancy Lorraine DRAW
21:00 Olympique de Marseille v LOSC HOME WIN

BB Bob

22-11-2008, 07:31 PM

Week 15 - Saturday, November 22, 2008

19:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 1 - 1 Stade Rennais FC
19:00 SM Caen 1 - 0 AJ Auxerre
19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 0 - 0 Havre AC
19:00 FC Lorient 1 - 0 Toulouse FC
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne 0 - 1 OGC Nice
19:00 Valenciennes FC 2 - 2 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard

BB Bob

22-11-2008, 08:58 PM

- Terminé Paris-SG (8) 1 - 0 Lyon (1)
Giuly (26e)

I'm not saying anything!

kabbott

22-11-2008, 09:01 PM

PSG 1:0 Lyon

Réveillère out with what looks like a serious knee injury.
Red card for Juninho for a horrible tackle.
Cris could have had one too.
So could the 18-year-old sub Kolodziejczak.

Une soirée à oublier.

kabbott

22-11-2008, 09:05 PM

BB Bob

23-11-2008, 08:20 AM

You beat me to it and it's 3:1 to you.

S*d it anyway. We had our first ''raclette'' of the season washed down with a very fruity vin de Savoie tonight. Weather permitting I'll be cycling off those excess calories tomorrow morning. Even if there's no snow it'll be a bit ''singes de cuivre''.

If only the french actually used the phrase. One of my favourites was someone talking about getting some stick from the Nimes fans and he had no choice but to show them "le bras d'honneur".

Bon cyclisme

philsick

23-11-2008, 08:24 AM

1f75

any idea how cleremont did on friday?

BB Bob

23-11-2008, 08:29 AM

It doesn't look as though there were any games at all in L2 this week as it was Coupe de France 7th Round.

vendredi 21 novembre 2008
19h30 Vitré (CFA) 2-1 Libourne-Saint-Seurin (Nat)
20h00 Colmar (CFA) 1-1
2 tab 4 Tefana
20h45 Créteil (Nat) 2-1 Metz (L2)
samedi 22 novembre 2008
14h00 à Aubagne ES Pennoise (DHR) 0-2 Louhans-Cuiseaux (Nat)
Saint-Louis-Neuweg (CFA2) 0-1 Jeanne d'Arc
Eclaron (DH) 2-1 Dieue-Sommedieue (DHR)
14h15 Feignies (CFA2) 3-2 Evolucas (DH)
14h30 à Villeneuve-St-Germain Villeneuve-Saint-Germain (PH) 1-9 Reims (L2)
15h00 Strasbourg (L2) 6-0 Entente SSG (Nat)
Luzenac (CFA) 1-2 Bastia (L2)
à Bagnols-sur-Cèze Bagnols-Pont-Saint-Esprit (DH) 2-2
5 tab 6 AC Ajaccio (L2)
GFCO Ajaccio (CFA) 3-1 Chenove (DH)
16h00 Vauban Strasbourg (CFA2) 1-4 ap Besançon (CFA)
17h00 Saint-Priest (CFA) 4-4
3 tab 4 Troyes (L2)
Haguenau (CFA2) 0-1 Dijon (L2)
Andrézieux (CFA) 2-0 Lyon Duchère (CFA)
La Suze (DH) 0-2 Alfortville (CFA)
Villefranche/Saône (CFA) 1-1
5 tab 4 Clermontaise (DH)
Mondeville (CFA2) 1-2 Alençon (CFA2)
Ezanville (PH) 1-0 Marck (CFA2)
Ornans (DH) 1-1
4 tab 5 Pont-de-Roide (DH)
17h30 à Arras Biache (PH) 0-2 Calais (Nat)
Grande-Synthe (DH) 1-0 St-Ouen-l'Aumone (DH)
18h00 Châteauroux (L2) 2-1 Saumur (CFA2)
à Saint-Flour Saint-Flour (DH) 1-3 ap Montpellier (L2)
à Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (DH) 1-0 Amiens (L2)
à Anglet Anglet Genêts (CFA) 0-1 ap Bayonne (Nat)
Amiens AC (CFA2) 0-1 Pacy-sur-Eure (Nat)
à Sarreguemines Sarreguemines (DH) 0-3 Paris FC (Nat)
Viry-Châtillon (CFA) 2-1 ap Saint-Lô (DH)
Yzeure (CFA) 5-1 Vichy (DH)
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (CFA) 1-0 Les Ulis (DHR)
Amnéville (CFA2) 2-0 Saint-Dizier (CFA2)
Blagnac (CFA2) 4-1 Saint-Alban (CFA2)
Pont-de-Chéruy (DH) 0-1 Selongey (CFA2)
Le Touquet (DH) 1-2 Issy Ararat (CFA2)
Avion (CFA2) 6-0 Fresnoy-le-Grand (PH)
Albertville 0-0
1 tab 3 Thiers (CFA2)
18h30 Orléans (CFA) 0-1 Montluçon (CFA)
Carquefou (CFA2) 0-0
3 tab 4 Luçon (CFA)
19h00 Sedan (L2) 1-0 Noisy Le Sec (CFA)
au Poiré-sur-Vie Le Poiré-sur-Vie (CFA2) 2-4 Tours FC (L2)
Evreux (DH) 0-2 Boulogne-sur-Mer (L2)
Lannion (DH) 0-0
9 tab 10 Brest (L2)
Les Herbiers (CFA2) 1-2 Niort (Nat)
Raon-l'Etape (CFA) 1-0 Saint-Dié (CFA2)
Quimper (CFA) 1-1
4 tab 2 Saint-Malo (DH)
Plabennec (CFA) 1-2 Lesnevien (DHR)
Bourg-Péronnas (CFA2) 1-1
4 tab 3 Corte (CFA2)
Lons-le-Saunier (DH) 0-3 Epinal (CFA2)
Concarneau (CFA2) 2-0 Plouvorn (DH)
20h00 Vannes OC (L2) 3-1 ap Cherbourg (Nat)
à Guingamp Dinard 0-5 Guingamp (L2)
Rodez (Nat) 1-0 Balma (CFA)
à Thonon-les-Bains Croix-de-Savoie (Nat) 1-0 Montceau (CFA)
Poitiers (DH) 1-0 Thouaré-sur-Loire (DHR)
19h30 Rivière Pilote - Fontenay-le-Comte (CFA)
20h00 CSC Cayenne - Martigues (CFA)

dimanche 23 novembre 2008

14h00 à Fraisses Firminy (DH) - Nîmes (L2)
La Tour-Saint-Clair (DH) - Montréal
Strasbourg Neuhof - Bischheim Soleil (DH)
Creutzwald (DHR) - Barsequanais (DHR)
Ligny (DHR) - Fameck (DHR)
14h30 à Coulaines Arnage-Pontlieue (DH) - Angers (L2)
à Luneray Luneray (DH) - Beauvais (Nat)
Bassin d'Arcachon (CFA2) - Aurillac (CFA)
Châtellerault (CFA) - La Chapelle-Marais (DH)
Larmor (DSR) - Pontivy (CFA)
Creil (Interrég.) - Quevilly (CFA)
Toulon (CFA) - Saint-Maurice-l'Exil
Evry Essonne (DH) - Wasquehal (CFA2)
Orly (DH) - St-Pryvé-St-Hilaire (CFA2)
Chantilly (DH) - Lesquin (CFA2)
Port-La-Nouvelle (DH) - Cognac (CFA2)
Amilly (DHR) - Changé (CFA2)
La Gacilly (DSR) - Saint-Brieuc (DH)
Villenave (DH) - Rilhac Rancon (DHR)
Ribecourt - Marquette
15h00 à Lens Arras (CFA2) - Lens (L2)
à Rumilly Cruseilles (DH) - Clermont Foot (L2)
à Mamoudzou Foudre 2000 - Cannes (Nat)
La Vitréenne (CFA) - Rennes TA (CFA2)
Romorantin (CFA) - Sablé (DSR)
Mont-Doré - Dunkerque (CFA)
Mars Bischheim (DH) - Schirrhein
15h30 Chauny (CFA2) - Charleville (DH)
17h00 Hénin (DHR) - Roubaix Hommelet (DHR)

Away at Cruseilles at 3pm. An no, I have no idea at all where that is!!!

philsick

23-11-2008, 08:37 AM

Me neither.Cruseeilles sounds like some kind of shellfish.A win methinks.

kabbott

23-11-2008, 10:42 AM

Me neither.Cruseeilles sounds like some kind of shellfish.A win methinks.

Rumilly, I think, is near Grenoble or Chambéry. Not too many shocks in yesterday's cup matches. So, for your sake, I hope there won't be any today!

kabbott

23-11-2008, 06:33 PM

17:00 AS Monaco FC 3 - 0 Le Mans UC 72
17:00 FC Nantes 0 - 1 AS Nancy Lorraine

So that's an unassailable 3:1 to you BB Bob. Bien joué encore. Just hope Marseille get stuffed tonight like one of Monkoid's Christmas turkeys!

I finally made it out on the bike early afternoon. Stayed down in the valley and avoided any climbs due to snow and colder temperatures. It was cold enough down here but I've cycled in a lot colder conditions. 'Twas actually quite pleasant.

kabbott

23-11-2008, 06:42 PM

Me neither.Cruseeilles sounds like some kind of shellfish.A win methinks.

Cruseilles is actually between Annecy and Geneva. I don't think it's any bigger than a village.
Population = 3829 inhabitants.
Area = 25 square km.

kabbott

23-11-2008, 06:53 PM

You'll be able to sleep all right tonight, Philsick. Here are 4 results from today concerning Ligue 2 outfits with one enormous shock, Lens lost to a club literally down the road from them. A bit like Palace losing to Sutton or Tooting and Mitcham or dare I say it Croydon FC!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2008
14:00 Firminy 1 - 2 Nîmes
14:30 Arnage-Pontlieue 2 - 7 Angers
15:00 Cruseilles 0 - 4 Clermont
15:00 Arras 0 - 0
a.p. (après prolongation = aet)
4 tab (tirs au but) à 2 Lens

BB Bob

23-11-2008, 08:23 PM

....still, at least Lens can concentrate on the League now!

BB Bob

24-11-2008, 07:56 AM

1956

A dodgy late equaliser for OM:-

Zenden rescues a point for OM against Lille
Trailing from the 11th minute of their home match against Lille, Marseille salvaged a stoppage-time 2-2 draw thanks to Boudewijn Zenden's 92nd minute free-kick.
Sunday November 23 2008
21:00 - Olympique de Marseille / LOSC

With memories of last week's 3-2 home loss to Lorient still fresh in the minds of his players, Marseille coach Eric Gerets saw his side make a nervous start to final game of Week 15.

A victory would have seen OM close the gap at the top to just four points behind leaders Lyon, however missing midfielders Mathieu Valbuena and Karim Ziani with injury, the hosts struggled to keep pace with a confident and aggressive Lille outfit.

After early chances to new Belgian international Eden Hazard and Slovakian Robert Vittek, the visitors' pressure finally told when Adil Rami rose to head home his second goal of the season from Michel Bastos' well-taken corner (11').

On a platter

Mamadou Niang went within millimetres of equalising for Marseille with a spectacular long-range effort which rebounded off the crossbar and into the arms of Grégory Malicki in the Lille goal, before Lille doubled their advantage seven minutes before the break.

A huge misunderstanding between OM 'keeper Steve Mandanda and Ronald Zubar handed Lille winger Michel Bastos a fifth-goal of the season on a platter, when the defender's back header eliminated his teammate and allowed Bastos to pass the ball into an empty net despite the return of Laurent Bonnart (38').

In an reverse of last weekend's half-time result at the Stade Vélodrome, OM were trailing by two goals at the break as Gerets switched from his side's ineffective 4-4-2 to a more attacking 4-2-1-3 with top scorer Bakari Koné coming into the game at the expense of defensive midfielder Charles Kaboré.

Immediate results

The result was immediate with Mamadou Samassa, making his first start since signing for OM from Le Mans at the start of the season, heading home Bonnart's cross from the right (47').

Le Mans sat back to defend their lead and Marseille launched the ball and players forward. The visitors held firm and even created a number of chances late on to take the game behind their hosts, but Nicolas Fauvergue and Bastos were both denied by an inspired Mandanda in the Marseille goal.

With just seconds remaining a mazy Hatem Ben Arfa dribble was stopped illegally by Aurelian Chedjou on the edge of the area and Zenden, just as he had done against Auxerre and Le Havre, struck the resulting free-kick into the back of Malicki's net.

The draw was not enough to stop Marseille slipping to third in the standings, a point behind Nice and six behind leaders Lyon, while Lille remain in eighth place, a further three points adrift.