Le Championnat [Archive] - Page 5

BB Bob

25-11-2008, 02:10 PM

Ben's piece

Attack of the Hedgehog leaves Lyon unharmedDespite being ambushed by Ludovic Giuly and PSG, the champions emerged from the weekend relatively unscathedComments (3)
Ludovic Giuly scored the only goal of the game as PSG beat his former club Lyon. Photograph: Philippe Perusseau/EPA

Only in France can the league leaders lose, have their captain sent off, another player ruled out for the season through injury and still consider the weekend a success. Lyon remain five points clear at the top despite going down 1-0 at Paris Saint-Germain, but can afford to be unconcerned as both Marseille and Bordeaux, who have taken just four points from their last four games, dropped points at home. But if the title race is over, the battle for Champions League qualification might just be starting, and to the usual suspects you can add the names of PSG and Rennes.

Ludovic Giuly was the hero for PSG, scoring a deserved winner against his former side at a buzzing Parc des Princes. It was his third goal in as many games and his first headed goal, according to his father Dominique, since he scored for Lyon in an 8-0 win over Marseille in May 1997. (Incidentally, Giuly was offended when France coach Roger Lemerre kept calling him 'Dominique' by mistake after his first France call-up in 2000.) "PSG are Team Hedgehog," wrote L'Equipe, describing a side that is prickly and hard to attack. PSG, now in fifth, have beaten Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux this season, which tells its own story: they are best playing on the break against decent sides but not so good when forced to make the running. "We have the potential to finish in the top five, but we have a secret objective," said Stéphane Sessegnon, their summer arrival from Le Mans.

The renaissance of Giuly, who claims he is still not fully-fit, has now helped PSG win three in a row and his strike partnership with Guillaume Hoarau continues to blossom. Giuly made his Ligue 1 debut as a 19-year-old for Lyon under Jean Tigana and made 100 appearances before Tigana signed him for Monaco. Claude Puel, now Lyon coach, had replaced Tigana by the time Monaco won the French title in 2000, and Giuly had bitter-sweet memories of their time together.

"On the training-field, Claude Puel is a brute, and he shows absolutely no tenderness towards his players," Giuly remembered. "One day I went to see him and I said, 'Coach you have to tell me what you think about me because I'm not one of those guys who can just work without knowing: am I an arsehole? Do I need to work harder? If you can't stand me, at least tell me to my face.' His wife used to tell me, 'Don't worry, Claude likes you very much, he's the one who worries for you,' but I never heard it from him."

That changed six years later when Giuly was part of the Barcelona side that won the 2006 Champions League final in Paris. After the game, Puel told Giuly how happy he was for him, "but that was as far as it went". (Puel also, cheekily, asked Giuly for his shirt but he had given it to Thierry Henry so made do with his boots.)

Puel's current side could have no complaints about the defeat, and skipper Juninho summed up their frustration with a straight red card for kicking out at Sylvain Armand. Puel now has a defensive headache, as Anthony Réveillère joined François Clerc on the long-term injured list after damaging knee ligaments against PSG. Mathieu Bodmer is having an operation this week and Fabio Grosso and John Mensah are still not fit, so Puel might choose Thimothée Kolodziecziak, 17, to face Fiorentina on Tuesday night. He has also been linked with a move for Pascal Chimbonda.

Marseille travel to Anfield six points behind Lyon after salvaging a 2-2 draw against Lille thanks to an injury-time free-kick from Bolo Zenden. "In a way it feels like a win," said coach Eric Gerets, who was not happy when his defence gifted Lille a two-goal lead after Ronald Zubar's back-header went nowhere near Steve Mandanda and allowed Michel Bastos to tap the ball into an empty net. Gerets bought Vitorino Hilton and El-Amin Erbate to strengthen central defence but it has not worked out: of his other options, Julien Rodriguez is injured, Gaël Givet out of favour and Lorik Cana, captain, is better as a holding midfielder. Zubar, wrote L'Equipe, "is having a nightmare season and was booed and jeered by his own fans that you have to wonder if the young man will be able to play for the team again".

Bordeaux slipped to sixth place, eight points adrift of Lyon, after drawing 1-1 against in-form Rennes, who extended their unbeaten run to 13 games to move into fourth place. Rennes could have won the match and are serious contenders for a Champions League place next season, thanks to the combined impact of young stars like strikers Jimmy Briand and Moussa Sow and defensive midfielder Fabien Lemoine and old-stagers like Mikaël Pagis and Jérôme Leroy - and the support of the odd Hollywood superstar.

Rennes president Frédéric de Saint-Sernin also deserves credit for holding out in negotiations to sell Briand to PSG and Stéphane M'Bia to Everton in the summer. "We agreed a price of €10m for Briand," claimed PSG owner Charles Villeneuve, "but two days later he came back and said the price was €12m. I said okay but then it became €14m, and I did not know where it would end." Now, Saint-Sernin says Briand is worth even more and would not have been called up to the France squad had he moved on. "The only French team that could sign him now is Lyon, although I think Manchester United or Chelsea would be better for him." While other clubs have capitulated to players' requests to leave (Lille and Kevin Mirallas, Monaco and Nenê, Le Mans and Romaric) Rennes, wrote L'Equipe, is The Club That Said No.

Nice are the surprise team in second place after consigning Alain Perrin to a second straight loss and his Saint-Etienne side to bottom spot with a 1-0 win at the Geoffrey-Guichard. "We are flying at the moment," said Nice captain Olivier Echouafni, at 36 the fourth-oldest player in the league, after scoring the only goal, "but our target remains to avoid relegation."

Valenciennes are one point ahead of Saint-Etienne after an eventful 2-2 draw with fellow strugglers Sochaux, who took the lead just before half-time when goalkeeper Nicolas Pennetau's clearance cannoned off centre-back Jacques Abardonado into the path of Mevlüt Erding, who took advantage to score. At the break, Abardonado had a shower and went home. "I had given them a goal and all I could think about afterwards was trying to hurt somebody, and I didn't want to penalise my team," he explained the next day. "So I just went to bed to try and forget about it."

Valenciennes coach Antoine Kombouaré is under pressure, but the club can't afford to sack him as he recently signed a new contract until 2013. "Our best player is called Steve Savidan," sang the VA fans in tribute to their former forward who last week made his France debut. "They need to stop singing about me and get behind the team," replied Savidan, whose Caen side beat Auxerre 1-0. Elsewhere, Monaco beat Le Mans 3-0 and Nancy won 1-0 at Nantes – but this was the weekend when Lyon lost, but still somehow managed to win.

BB Bob

26-11-2008, 07:10 AM

Fiorentina 1 Lyons 2

You must be happy with that, kabbott. An excellent result, particularly given the injury problems

kabbott

26-11-2008, 06:52 PM

Fiorentina 1 Lyons 2

You must be happy with that, kabbott. An excellent result, particularly given the injury problems

Best performance of the season so far. Benzema was his usual self. Juni hit the crossbar twice with two stonking free-kicks, and Ederson hit the bar too with a superb volley in the final minutes. OK Fiorentina hit the woodwork twice themselves, but, all in all, Lyon controlled the game. As well as the free-kicks, Juni held on to the ball very well and used it very intelligently. Toulalan, ''Monsieur quatre poumons'', was ''énorme comme d'habitude'', and even Keita almost had a good game, though he did miss a sitter in the second half, which would have done everyone's nerves a bit of good.

BB Bob

28-11-2008, 07:47 AM

Not a bad week in Europe for L1 clubs. After Bordeaux's excellent result on Wednesday, last night saw ASSE draw 1-1 away at Bruges and qualift for the next round. PSG threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Santander.

Other news:-

Benzema and Juninho out for two weeks

Lyon will have to do without its two best players, leading scorer Karim Benzema, and captain Juninho, for the next two weeks through injury and suspension.
Coach Claude Puel will be looking to re-jig his line-up after receiving the news yesterday that star striker Karim Benzema has aggravated a thigh strain picked up while on international duty against Uruguay and will be out of action for at least two weeks. Benzema has a history of thigh problems and the medical staff at Lyon are advocating caution.
Benzema will miss Saturday's L1 clash with Valenciennes at Gerland and Week 17's trip to Nantes, as well as the next crucial Champions League match against Bayern Munich that will decide top spot in the group, but Puel is hoping the wunderkind of French football will be back in action for the Week 18 blockbuster when Marseille comes to town.

Puel will also be without the services of Brazilian captain Juninho, sent off against PSG last Saturday night, who has received a two-match ban from the League's Disciplinary Commission, as well as being suspended for the Champions League decider at home to Munich.

Lyon will also be without Brazilian defender Cris, recently back to his best form, for the visit of the Bavarian club, having picked up a suspension in the win over Fiorentina midweek.

Perrin: ‘Very satisfying’

New Saint-Etienne coach Alain Perrin hopes that the 1-1 draw with Bruges in Belgium on Thursday night that saw the struggling side through to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup will get Les Verts back on track in Ligue 1.
Perrin was hugely pleased that Saint-Etienne's European form continued in Belgium, with their two wins and a draw enough to qualify them for the knockout phase of European competition.
"It's very satisfying for us, what with the difficulties we're going through in the league. The lads fought hard and got the point we came for, which has qualified us for the next round."

With the club on a record-breaking run of seven straight losses in L1, Perrin is looking to make the most of the good result to steady the ship in domestic competition.

"I'm feeling confident. Even though the match against Nancy (in Ligue 1 on Sunday night) is our priority for the week, we took this match very seriously. We managed to stand up to the physical test that Bruges posed us. I just hope that this match, in which luck was on our side to a certain extent, will put us back on the right track for the rest of the league season."

Le Guen disappointed with draw

Paris coach Paul Le Guen admitted his frustration after his side squandered a 2-goal advantage at home to Racing Santander in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night.
"It's a bit infuriating. It's frustrating because we were 2-0 up and we had chances to go even further but we couldn't quite do it. In previous matches, when we've scored and held out for the result, I've spoken about luck – well, tonight luck wasn't on our side. We scored an own goal and then conceded another. We didn't manage to stay in control, that's what disappoints me the most. We had all the ingredients there for a good win but we couldn't do it."
Le Guen knows that coming so close to a European win but not taking the points could cost Paris dearly, especially in light of Paris' league ambition.

"You need at least five points to progress. We play Manchester City next. We've got two league matches back-to-back and I don't believe we can do it all with the same side. PSG has to do as well as possible in Ligue 1, it's the essential competition for us. It will be very tempting to try and go as far as we can in the UEFA Cup but we don't have the resources to field our best team every three days. That would be asking for trouble."

BB Bob

28-11-2008, 08:05 PM

Loto time again.

Week 16 - Saturday, November 29, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre AS Monaco FC DRAW
19:00 Havre AC FC Nantes DRAW
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 SM Caen DRAW
19:00 LOSC FC Lorient HOME WIN
19:00 Olympique Lyonnais Valenciennes FC HOME WIN
19:00 OGC Nice Grenoble Foot 38 DRAW
21:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard FC Girondins de Bordeaux AWAY
Week 16 - Sunday, November 30, 2008

17:00 AS Nancy Lorraine AS Saint-Etienne Reggie time AWAY
17:00 Toulouse FC Olympique de Marseille DRAW
21:00 Stade Rennais FC Paris Saint-Germain HOME

kabbott

29-11-2008, 04:10 PM

Week 16 - Saturday, November 29, 2008

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

Week 16 - Sunday, November 30, 2008

17:00 AS Nancy Lorraine AS v Saint-Etienne Reggie time AWAY (could be)
17:00 Toulouse FC v Olympique de Marseille DRAW
21:00 Stade Rennais FC v Paris Saint-Germain AWAY WIN

kabbott

29-11-2008, 10:07 PM

Lyon 24 shots, 0 goals. The game probably shouldn't have been played. Torrential rain for all of the 1st half and a lot of the 2nd. There's probably been localised flooding. It was only 4° down here so that means loads of snow in the Alps. Good news for skiers.

Week 16 - Saturday, November 29, 2008

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

Week 16 - Sunday, November 30, 2008

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

So far 2:1 to me, I think, in another low-scoring match.
A demain.

BB Bob

30-11-2008, 05:04 PM

kabbott

30-11-2008, 06:15 PM

Well, we've perked up a bit today:-

Commentaires audio en direct sur - Terminé Toulouse (7) 0 - 0 Marseille (3)
- Terminé Nancy (15) 1 - 2 Saint-Etienne (20)
Dia (75e)
Machado (8e)
Gigliotti (42e)

Which makes, I think, 4-3 to you with 1 to play. Not a vintage week for predictions eh?

I've just seen the highlights of Reggie's boys. They should have won by four or five, Nancy were down to ten men, they pulled one back with 15 minutes to go and almost equalised at the death. There's never a dull moment with Reggie.
The best part of the Lyon game, which should never have been played, was when Keita went down, and one of the commentators said that if he didn't get up quickly, he'd drown. Well, that's French humour for you, and that's how poor the match was.

BB Bob

01-12-2008, 07:26 AM

Cheyrou strike takes Rennes second
Rennes have moved up to second in Ligue 1 after Bruno Cheyrou's first-half goal proved enough to give Guy Lacombe's side a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-German on Sunday.
Sunday November 30, 2008

Stade Rennais FC / Paris Saint-Germain : 1 - 0

Having beaten Lyon 1-0 last weekend, PSG arrived in Brittany with ambition, but Paul Le Guen saw his team outclassed by a lineup picked by the man who succeeded him at the Parc des Princes.

Rennes started the game like a side on a 13-match unbeaten run and only a magnificent tip onto the bar by Mickaël Landreau prevented Mickaël Pagis from giving the home side the lead.

When tigerish midfielder Stéphane Mbia went off injured six minutes later, Lacombe was forced to reshuffle, but his introduction of Cheyrou would prove fruitful.

The former Liverpool midfielder, who has been used sparingly this season, picked up a loose ball twenty-five metres from goal in the final minute of the half before lashing a left-foot shot past Landreau for his third goal in eight games.

In an open second period, both Landreau and his opposite number Nicolas Douchez were called upon to make saves, with the home keeper denying both Jérôme Rothen and Sylvain Armand with excellent stops to earn his side all three points.

A late equaliser then. 4-4 and honours shared! Oh and much better on the Sunday games!

BB Bob

01-12-2008, 07:28 AM

Just for you Phil, a quick L2 review:-

Friday, November 28, 2008
20:00 AC Ajaccio 0 - 2 US Boulogne CO
20:00 Stade Brestois 2 - 0 LB Châteauroux
20:00 Clermont Foot 1 - 1 Dijon FCO
20:00 Tours FC 0 - 0 Amiens SC
20:00 ESTAC 1 - 0 Stade de Reims
20:00 Vannes OC 0 - 1 SC Bastia
20:30 Angers SCO 3 - 3 Montpellier HSC
20:30 Nîmes Olympique 1 - 1 FC Metz
20:30 RC Strasbourg 0 - 2 EA Guingamp
Monday, December 01, 2008
20:45 RC Lens - CS Sedan

Leaving the table like this:-

Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1 RC Lens 14 10 1 3 21 11 +10 31
2 US Boulogne CO 16 9 4 3 20 10 +10 31
3 RC Strasbourg 16 8 5 3 27 17 +10 29

4 FC Metz 16 8 5 3 18 11 +7 29
5 Montpellier HSC 15 7 4 4 27 15 +12 25
6 Angers SCO 16 6 7 3 23 17 +6 25
7 Tours FC 16 7 2 7 20 20 0 23
8 Stade Brestois 16 7 1 8 18 18 0 22
9 ESTAC 16 6 4 6 14 15 -1 22
10 Vannes OC 16 6 3 7 12 16 -4 21
11 AC Ajaccio 16 5 5 6 23 22 +1 20
12 Dijon FCO 16 5 5 6 19 21 -2 20
13 SC Bastia 16 5 5 6 13 17 -4 20
14 Amiens SC 16 4 7 5 14 15 -1 19
15 Clermont Foot 16 4 7 5 19 22 -3 19
16 EA Guingamp 16 4 6 6 15 17 -2 18
17 CS Sedan 15 4 5 6 14 21 -7 17

18 LB Châteauroux 16 4 4 8 15 21 -6 16
19 Stade de Reims 16 2 6 8 16 29 -13 12
20 Nîmes Olympique 16 1 6 9 13 26 -13 9

Not a lot of clear blue water between Clermont and Chateauroux...

kabbott

01-12-2008, 06:19 PM

Just for you Phil, a quick L2 review:-

15 Clermont Foot 16 4 7 5 19 22 -3 19
16 EA Guingamp 16 4 6 6 15 17 -2 18
17 CS Sedan 15 4 5 6 14 21 -7 17

18 LB Châteauroux 16 4 4 8 15 21 -6 16
19 Stade de Reims 16 2 6 8 16 29 -13 12
20 Nîmes Olympique 16 1 6 9 13 26 -13 9

Not a lot of clear blue water between Clermont and Chateauroux...

2 or 3 good results and you'll be up the other end, just like some other Div. 2 we all know.

philsick

01-12-2008, 09:56 PM

2 or 3 good results and you'll be up the other end, just like some other Div. 2 we all know.

10 pts off the play offs ,but only 3 from relegation is a bit worrying.:confused:

BB Bob

02-12-2008, 12:57 PM

More from Ben in the Guardian....

Rennes continue to rise as Lyon slip up in the rain

A bolshie referee, celebrity fans and a new team in second place - Ligue 1 had everything last weekend, apart from goals

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2008/12/2/1228220077201/Ederson-Honorato-Campos-S-001.jpg

A waterlogged pitch, a bolshie referee, Jean-Michel Aulas throwing his toys out of the pram (twice) and a new celebrity fan at Rennes: it would have been a great weekend of action in Ligue 1 but for one missing ingredient: goals. There were only 11 of them in nine games, and Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseille all drew 0-0. All of which meant the big winners were Rennes, who beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to move up to second place. Samuel Eto'o was at Stade de la Route de Lorient to watch his mate, the Rennes midfielder Stéphane M'Bia, hobble off injured after half an hour only for his replacement Bruno Cheyrou to score the winner .

As usual, the Lyon game, against Valenciennes, was the one with the controversy: first Aulas had a wobbly when Juninho was suspended for two games following last week's red card against PSG; then referee Bruno Coué declared a sodden Gerland pitch playable despite evidence to the contrary. "It was like playing in a paddling-pool," said VA midfielder Rudy Mater. "It was more like water polo," said Lyon's Jean Makoun. "I thought it would be suspended," said Fred, who came closest to scoring from one of Lyon's 24 shots with an effort that hit the post. The image of Kim Källström running up the wing, only able to dribble the ball by chipping it forward, summed up the conditions.

If the pitch was playable before the first half, it did not seem that way an hour later, with the rain still lashing down. It only stopped raining with nine minutes left to play. "The game should have been stopped after half-time for the sake of the players' safety," said RMC's ex-referee Joël Quiniou, now a pundit and famous not for officiating the most World Cup finals matches (eight) but for showing the quickest red-card in a World Cup game, to José Batista after 56 seconds of Scotland v Uruguay in 1986. "There was a bit of water on the pitch but I'm sorry, were you actually out there playing?" responded Coué in a bizarre post-match interview.

When L'Equipe quoted Aulas as saying that Puel had wanted the match to go ahead, he had a second tizzy in as many days. "That is a lie," the club responded in an official statement on their website. "The journalist who wrote that twisted his words, showing a lack of ethics and a desire to cause us harm."

Just like last week, neither (Gourcuff-less) Bordeaux nor Marseille could take advantage of Lyon's latest slip, as they drew away to Sochaux and Toulouse respectively. "It was a dull match and it looked like both teams were afraid of losing," said L'OM president Pape Diouf, going some way to explain why Ligue 1 is consistently Europe's lowest-scoring: this season, French matches average 2.13 goals per game, compared with 2.34 in Italy, 2.58 in England, 2.85 in Spain, and 3.08 in Holland and Germany.

Toulouse games average 1.5 goals per match and they are not alone in making defensive tactics their priority. "There are too many cautious coaches in the division," said Lyon-based reporter Xavier Cerf. "Elie Baup [Nantes], Guy Lacombe [Rennes], Paul le Guen [PSG] and even Claude Puel all put not conceding ahead of their attacking principles."

There are plenty of other theories for the lack of goals: Uefa president Michel Platini has bemoaned "training academies that are more interested in runners and strongmen rather than technically-gifted players" while Lyon winger Sidney Govou, a touch generously, said, "I think there are fewer goals because French teams have reached a very high level in term of tactics and teams are extremely well-organised defensively."

The fact that France won the 1998 World Cup playing their last three games with a five-man midfield behind (non-scoring) lone forward Stéphane Guivarc'h has also been blamed. Many of Ligue 1's bosses were learning their trade 10 years ago and, according to one senior writer at France Football, "an Aimé Jacquet culture has given French football the current defensive outlook". A look at the top-scorers' chart suggests another alternative: apart from Karim Benzema, Fernando Cavenaghi and, perhaps, Guillaume Hoarau and Jimmy Briand, the depth of quality strikers is fairly limited.

Briand and Hoarau were both quiet in Sunday night's Rennes v PSG match, although the fact that Rennes No1 Nicolas Douchez was named Man of the Match, after keeping out efforts from Jérôme Rothen, Sylvain Armand and Mateja Kezman, tells its own story. Rennes are unbeaten in 14 games and second in the table for the first time in 37 years. "It's great to be second now but we want to be there after 38 games," said coach Guy Lacombe, "and why not think of first place? Lyon are a machine and it will be very tough to haul them back, but you never know."

Mikaël Pagis and Briand may be the joint-most prolific partnership in the division — their combined tally of 12 goals matches that of Benzema and Juninho at Lyon, and Hatem Ben Arfa and Bakari Koné at Marseille — but Rennes have built their success on a solid defence, conceding just 11 goals in 16 games. Right-back Rod Fanni has become a France international, while Senegalese centre-back Kader Mangane, a converted holding midfielder, has been a revelation alongside Petter Hansson and could be a target for teams in the January transfer window. Rennes are five points behind Lyon and face neighbouring sides Caen, Nantes and Lorient next up. "They're all teams from around this area and they will want to bring down the region's big club," warned Cheyrou.

Elsewhere, Lilian Thuram's 20-year-old cousin Yohann Thuram-Ulien made his Monaco debut as a first-half replacement for injured goalkeeper Flavio Roma in a 1-0 win at Auxerre while Saint-Etienne ended a run of seven straight losses with a 2-1 win at Nancy to lift them out of the relegation zone. Despite the draws against top teams, Valenciennes and Sochaux, whose coach Francis Gillot was this week handed a contract extension until 2012, are still propping up the table. What with the lack of goals and the events at Lyon, this weekend was a bit of a damp squib all round.

Results, Week 16: Lyon 0-0 Valenciennes, Lille 1-1 Lorient, Le Mans 2-0 Caen, Auxerre 0-1 Monaco, Le Havre 0-2 Nantes, Sochaux 0-0 Bordeaux, Toulouse 0-0 Marseille, Nancy 1-2 Saint-Etienne, Rennes 1-0 PSG, Nice P-P Grenoble

BB Bob

02-12-2008, 01:02 PM

L'equipe gave Ben Arfa 3/10 for his performance at Toulouse. Where does he go from here? Talent - yes. Attitude - far too much of it, unfortunately. Must be Sunderland then......

kabbott

06-12-2008, 08:38 AM

What did I tell you, Phil? First away win of the season against Sedan who were on a roll. Clerlmont are soaring up Ligue 2.

Friday, December 05, 2008

20:00 SC Bastia 6 - 2 AC Ajaccio
20:00 Stade Brestois 0 - 1 Vannes OC
20:00 LB Châteauroux 0 - 0 Nîmes Olympique
20:00 Dijon FCO 1 - 1 ESTAC
20:00 Montpellier HSC 0 - 0 EA Guingamp
20:00 CS Sedan 0 - 1 Clermont Foot
20:30 US Boulogne CO 3 - 3 Tours FC
20:30 FC Metz 0 - 1 Angers SCO
20:30 Stade de Reims 1 - 2 RC Lens

Monday, December 08, 2008

20:45 Amiens SC - RC Strasbourg

kabbott

06-12-2008, 08:40 AM

Ligue 2 P W D L GD Pts

1 RC Lens 16 11 1 4 +9 34
2 US Boulogne CO 17 9 5 3 +10 32
3 RC Strasbourg 16 8 5 3 +10 29
4 FC Metz 17 8 5 4 +6 29
5 Angers SCO 17 7 7 3 +7 28
6 Montpellier HSC 16 7 5 4 +12 26
7 Tours FC 17 7 3 7 0 24
8 Vannes OC 17 7 3 7 -3 24
9 SC Bastia 17 6 5 6 0 23
10 ESTAC 17 6 5 6 -1 23
11 Stade Brestois 17 7 1 9 -1 22
12 Clermont Foot 17 5 7 5 -2 22
13 Dijon FCO 17 5 6 6 -2 21
14 AC Ajaccio 17 5 5 7 -3 20
15 CS Sedan 17 5 5 7 -6 20
16 Amiens SC 16 4 7 5 -1 19
17 EA Guingamp 17 4 7 6 -2 19
18 LB Châteauroux 17 4 5 8 -6 17
19 Stade de Reims 17 2 6 9 -14 12
20 Nîmes Olympique 17 1 7 9 -13 10

BB Bob

06-12-2008, 08:42 AM

Well, we've missed one already this week. Laurent Blanc was not a happy man but 3 points are 3 points. Here are the rest of my predictions:-

Week 17 - Friday, December 05, 2008

19:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 2 - 1 Valenciennes FC
Week 17 - Saturday, December 06, 2008

19:00 SM Caen Stade Rennais FC DRAW
19:00 LOSC Toulouse FC DRAW
19:00 Olympique de Marseille OGC Nice DRAW
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne Havre AC HOME
21:00 FC Nantes Olympique Lyonnais AWAY
Week 17 - Sunday, December 07, 2008

17:00 Grenoble Foot 38 AJ Auxerre DRAW
17:00 FC Lorient AS Nancy Lorraine HOME
17:00 AS Monaco FC FC Sochaux-Montbéliard HOME
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain Le Mans UC 72 HOME

kabbott

06-12-2008, 08:50 AM

[QUOTE=BB Bob]Well, we've missed one already this week.

Zut! You beat me to it. Totally forgot last night's game.

Week 17 - Saturday, December 06, 2008

19:00 SM Caen v Stade Rennais FC DRAW
19:00 LOSC v Toulouse FC DRAW
19:00 Olympique de Marseille v OGC Nice DRAW (electric atmosphere for this one)
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne v Havre AC HOME (Reggie magic)
21:00 FC Nantes v Olympique Lyonnais AWAY WIN (Lyon squad is decimated - another kid, Fontaine, 17, in)

Week 17 - Sunday, December 07, 2008

17:00 Grenoble Foot 38 v AJ Auxerre AWAY WIN
17:00 FC Lorient v AS Nancy Lorraine HOME WIN
17:00 AS Monaco FC v FC Sochaux-Montbéliard DRAW
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain v Le Mans UC 72 AWAY WIN

philsick

06-12-2008, 09:12 AM

[QUOTE=kabbott]What did I tell you, Phil? First away win of the season against Sedan who were on a roll. Clerlmont are soaring up Ligue 2.

Kind of mirroring palace's season:p

kabbott

06-12-2008, 10:55 AM

[QUOTE=kabbott]What did I tell you, Phil? First away win of the season against Sedan who were on a roll. Clerlmont are soaring up Ligue 2.

Kind of mirroring palace's season:p

No offence meant, Phil, but I wish Palace could mirror Lyon's season!

kabbott

06-12-2008, 07:54 PM

H-T
Nantes 0:1 Lyon

BB Bob

06-12-2008, 08:40 PM

OM beat Nice 2-1 but right at the death, a Nice shot hit the cross bar, then the ground and was cleared. My stream was pretty poor, so I couldn't see if it was in or out. Tu l'as vu, kabbott?

BB Bob

06-12-2008, 08:53 PM

Sorry! I thought we had problems! Klasnic 60th minute equaliser and 88th minute penalty. Minutes to go and Nantes 2 Lyons 1!

kabbott

06-12-2008, 08:57 PM

Sorry! I thought we had problems! Klasnic 60th minute equaliser and 88th minute penalty. Minutes to go and Nantes 2 Lyons 1!

Oh la la! Quelle catastrophe!

Bit of a harsh penalty there. Inexperience from Gassama. Without Benzema and Juninho we ain't the same team.

BB Bob

06-12-2008, 09:00 PM

Doesn't bode well for next season then! You could be without them then!

kabbott

06-12-2008, 09:01 PM

OM beat Nice 2-1 but right at the death, a Nice shot hit the cross bar, then the ground and was cleared. My stream was pretty poor, so I couldn't see if it was in or out. Tu l'as vu, kabbott?

Non, je l"ai pas vu. Watched most of it before switching over to the rugger for a bit, then forgot the end of the match and went streaming myself.
I'm not sure if I'll stay up for Jour De Foot (the highlights show). I've been a bit cream crackered recently and need a few zzzzzzzzzzzs. I'll be back 2min.

GodstoneEagle

07-12-2008, 05:30 AM

so lyon cost me £400 today. terrific.

BB Bob

07-12-2008, 08:12 AM

Marseille go second as Rennes are held
Marseille have moved up to second place in Ligue 1 thanks to their 2-1 defeat of Nice on Saturday. Eric Gerets' side leapfrog Rennes who extended their unbeaten run to 15 matches, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Caen.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

SM Caen / Stade Rennais FC : 1 - 1

Guy Lacombe's Rennes extended their club record unbeaten run to 15 games, but missed out on the chance to retake second spot in the league when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Normandy outfit Caen.

A combination of Caen 'keeper Vincent Planté and the crossbar kept the home-side level in the early stages and Caen took a surprise lead in first-half stoppage time when Benjamin Nivet headed home unmarked after being picked out by Remi Gomis' raking cross.

Caen appeared to be hanging on for a third win in nine games when Rennes substitute Moussa Sow benefitted from a neat lay-off from Jimmy Briand to fire home the equaliser past Nicolas Douchez just 15 minutes from time.

The draw lifts Caen one place to tenth, while lose second place to Marseille.

>> Team Sheet

LOSC / Toulouse FC : 1 - 1

Lille left it late in claiming a 1-1 home draw with Toulouse at Stadium Nord.

After a scoreless first-half – in which Lille's Brazilian top scorer Michel Bastos saw an angled effort crash of the TFC crossbar (40') - Toulouse skipper Mauro Cetto netted his first goal of the season and his first league goal for the TFC in the 64th minute, turning home Etienne Didot's free-kick.

With time almost up, Bastos scored his fourth direct free-kick of the season and his seventh goal of the term with a typically thunderous 20m effort which burst through the wall and gave Toulouse 'keeper Cédric Carrasso no chance.

The result sees Lille remain one point and one place adrift of their rivals in seventh, with 26 points.

>> Team Sheet

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Olympique de Marseille / OGC Nice : 2 - 1

Marseille ended a run of three games without a win with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over south coast rivals Nice, climbing to within striking distance of league leaders Lyon in the process.

Marseille opened the match brightly with Dutch midfielder Boudewijn Zenden hitting David Ospina's crossbar in the fourth minute. The breakthrough arrived ten minutes later when Karim Ziani's free-kick from wide on the left was deflected into his own net by former Marseille midfielder and Nice skipper Olivier Echouafni (14', 1-0).

Preferred to Hatem Ben Arfa in Eric Gerets' starting line-up, Marseille midfielder Mathieu Valbuena was brought down in the area by Cyril Rool in first-half stoppage time and Mamadou Niang coolly slotted home his second penalty and sixth goal of the campaign to give the home side a 2-0 lead at the half-time break.

In Week 14, OM blew a two-goal home lead, going down 3-2 to Lorient, and when their former striker Habib Bamogo pulled a goal back for Nice, just three minutes into the second period, Gerets and his side's supporters must have feared the worst. Nice battled hard to find a way back onto level terms and almost succeeded in the final seconds when substitute Chaouki Ben Saada's long-range effort crashed off the underside of Steve Mandada's crossbar.

Then win lifts Marseille to second just three points behind leaders Lyon who... Marseille play next week. Nice slip to fifth, but can move back level with OM with a win in Wednesday's match in hand at home to Grenoble.

>> Team Sheet

Saturday, December 06, 2008

AS Saint-Etienne / Havre AC : 2 - 0

In the battle of Ligue 1's two most porous defences, Saint-Etienne registered their second consecutive Ligue 1 victory, 2-0 over Le Havre, to continue their climb away from the relegation zone under new coach Alain Perrin.

After a slow start Les Verts had the better of a scoreless opening 45 minutes, Saint-Etienne's Japan international Daisuke Matsui released Kevin Mirallas down the right and the Belgian international's cross to the back post was met perfectly by Dimitri Payet who side-footed past Christophe Revault in the visitor's goal on 74 minutes.

Five minutes later Les Verts confirmed their first home win after four consecutive defeats at the Stade Geoffroy-Giuchard when Bafetimbi Gomis finished off a flowing team move for his third strike of the season.

The win sees Saint-Etienne climb four points clear of the relegation zone with Le Havre remaining 18th after a second consecutive defeat.

>> Team Sheet

BB Bob

07-12-2008, 08:13 AM

19:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 2 - 1 Valenciennes FC
Week 17 - Saturday, December 06, 2008

19:00 SM Caen 1 - 1 Stade Rennais FC
19:00 LOSC 1 - 1 Toulouse FC
19:00 Olympique de Marseille 2 - 1 OGC Nice
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne 2 - 0 Havre AC
21:00 FC Nantes 2 - 1 Olympique Lyonnais

Ligue 1 P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 17 10 4 3 +10 34
2 Olympique de Marseille 17 8 7 2 +12 31
3 Stade Rennais FC 17 7 9 1 +10 30
4 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 17 8 5 4 +9 29
5 OGC Nice 16 8 4 4 +5 28
6 Toulouse FC 17 7 6 4 +2 27
7 LOSC 17 6 8 3 +6 26
8 Paris Saint-Germain 16 8 2 6 +4 26
9 Le Mans UC 72 16 7 3 6 +2 24
10 SM Caen 17 5 7 5 +3 22
11 AS Monaco FC 16 6 4 6 +2 22
12 FC Lorient 16 5 5 6 0 20
13 Grenoble Foot 38 15 5 5 5 -3 20
14 AJ Auxerre 16 5 4 7 -2 19
15 AS Nancy Lorraine 16 4 7 5 -3 19
16 FC Nantes 17 5 3 9 -10 18
17 AS Saint-Etienne 17 5 1 11 -13 16
18 Havre AC 17 3 3 11 -16 12
19 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 16 1 8 7 -7 11
20 Valenciennes FC 17 2 5 10 -11 11

BB Bob

07-12-2008, 08:14 AM

so lyon cost me £400 today. terrific.

They didn't cost me that much. but I didn't have that one down as a home win, that's for sure!

BB Bob

07-12-2008, 08:15 AM

Last one!

Lyon lead cut as Klasnic strikes
Lyon's lead at the top is down to just three points after Claude Puel's side succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at Nantes on Saturday.
Saturday 6 December 2008

FC Nantes / Olympique Lyonnais : 2 - 1

Frédéric Piquionne had given the leaders a first-half lead, but Ivan Klasnic registered his first goals for Les Canaris - the second an 89th-minute penalty - to give Elie Baup's side the points.

The Croatian international forward has endured a tough start to his Ligue 1 career, with speculation suggesting he may even leave the club in the winter transfer window just five months since moving to France from German side Werder Bremen.

Those rumours may well now die down after Klasnic secured a vital - and surprise - win for his side.

Piquionne's first goal for Lyon since his summer move from Monaco looked as if it would give Puel something to smile about after the coach saw John Mensah injure a calf muscle in the warm-up to add to his long list of absentees and cause a major headache ahead of OL's Champions League encounter with Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

However, Klasnic levelled on the hour mark, and when Lamine Gassama - Mensah's replacement - fouled Mamadou Bagayoko with a minute left, Klasnic stepped up confidently to beat Hugo Lloris and throw the title race wide open.

>> Team Sheet

kabbott

07-12-2008, 08:26 AM

Nice unlucky by the sound of things. They gifted OM with their two goals and Mandanda was MOM again. He's either brilliant or utter m*rde. If he gains in consistancy he'll be brilliant, and probably off to England one day.

kabbott

07-12-2008, 08:29 AM

If Mensah isn't fit for Wednesday, they'll have one fit centre back, Boumsong.

BB Bob

07-12-2008, 08:37 AM

kabbott

07-12-2008, 08:44 AM

Injuries seem to be really taking their toll at the Gerland at the moment. Didn't I read somewhere that Puel is an absolute beast on the training ground? And didn't Lille have loads of injuries when he was there too?

He is a beast and often takes part in the physical side of training (i.e. sprints, endurance etc.). What is surprising is the number of ligament injuries the Lyon players have endured over the past two or three seasons. The fitness coach, Robert Duverne, is renowned for being the best in his field, so much so that Raymondo Domenech ''hired'' his services for the last two international competitions.

kabbott

07-12-2008, 08:50 AM

Bad news maybe for Philsick in today's Equipe. Nancy are supposed to be interested in the Clermont player, Mickaël Poté. The Clermont coach, Didier Ollé-Nicolle, when asked about this, replied, ''He's not going anywhere,'' which we all know means he'll be off in January.

http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/FootballFicheJoueur19798.html

BB Bob

07-12-2008, 08:09 PM

Just got in, so some late scores:-

Terminé Monaco (10) 1 - 1 Sochaux (19)
Alonso (20e)
Santos (9e)

- Terminé Lorient (12) 1 - 0 Nancy (15)
Gameiro (83e)

- Terminé Grenoble (13) 0 - 0 Auxerre (14)
52e 2e mt Paris-SG (6) 2 - 1 Le Mans (9)
Hoarau (23e, 39e)
Cerdan (31e)

Still some time to go in the PSG game

BB Bob

07-12-2008, 08:14 PM

So, a very good 3-3 after Saturday. Sunday gives us 2-2 with 30 mins to play.

5-5! Good stuff - we must be getting better!"

kabbott

07-12-2008, 09:03 PM

So, a very good 3-3 after Saturday. Sunday gives us 2-2 with 30 mins to play.

5-5! Good stuff - we must be getting better!"

I couldn't have got any worse.

PSG 3:1 Le Mans

Does that mean it's 6:6? I've lost count.

kabbott

07-12-2008, 09:05 PM

so lyon cost me £400 today. terrific.

Sorry. If I'd known, I'd have had a word with the boys.

kabbott

07-12-2008, 09:24 PM

I couldn't have got any worse.

PSG 3:1 Le Mans

Does that mean it's 6:6? I've lost count.

I really did lose count. Bien joué encore une fois. 6:5.
A la prochaine. Bonne nuit!

GodstoneEagle

10-12-2008, 04:52 AM

How good is laminr gassama. Are these Lyon kids like him and mounier actually good or just average kids getting a chance in a good side due to injury?

BB Bob

10-12-2008, 09:12 AM

How good is laminr gassama. Are these Lyon kids like him and mounier actually good or just average kids getting a chance in a good side due to injury?

I'll have to leave the answer to that one to my learned colleague in Lyons.

In the meantime, here is Ben's piece this weeks

Aulas bemoans referee decisions for Lyon's share of misfortune
Ligue 1: Leaders Lyon lose after the manager's wish to bring Nantes encounter forward ends in despair
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2008/12/9/1228835250464/Nantes-forward-Aurelien-C-001.jpg
Aurelien Capoue vies with the Lyon defenders Jean-Alain Boumsong, left, and Cris during Nantes' 2-1 League 1 victory at Gerland. Photograph: Frank Perry/AFP/Getty Images

Jean-Michel Aulas should be careful what he wishes for. The Lyon president kicked up a stink when Bordeaux's game against Valenciennes was brought forward to allow them more time to prepare for their Champions League tie at Roma and demanded the same for his team. Never mind that Lyon had already qualified from Group F, or that Wednesday's home game against Bayern Munich is so important that Juninho and Cris got themselves deliberately booked against Fiorentina so they would be suspended for it. Aulas won his battle with the French league, who switched Lyon's game to Saturday night, only for his players to let him down: Lyon lost for the first time in 40 games after taking the lead, beaten 2–1 at improving Nantes.

Of course, Aulas found more reasons to complain after the match, moaning that the referee, Damien Ledentu, should have given Lyon a penalty when the score was 1–1 and that Nantes' last-minute spot-kick from the substitute Ivan Klasnic should never have been awarded because Lamine Gassama's challenge was outside the area. He had a point on both, though, according to L'Equipe, "Fred fell too easily for the first and … the second was extremely disputable".

None of which changes the fact that, in the last three league games, including the one in which Karim Benzema went off injured against PSG, Lyon have picked up just one point. Juninho and Sidney Govou have both been suspended in that period, while Lyon's defensive injury curse struck again when John Mensah was injured in the warm-up (and with Cris out and Mathieu Bodmer still crocked, Jean-Alain Boumsong appears the only fit centre-back available to face Bayern). "Cris is not performing well, Gassama is too young, John Mensah is not a centre-back and Hugo Lloris does not have Grégory Coupet's charisma," was the defensive analysis from France Football's Jérôme Bigot.

Jérémy Toulalan claimed his individual error, when he lost the ball before Nantes' equaliser, had changed the game. "We'd have won it without my mistake," he said. But his admission cannot mask the failings of the coach Claude Puel's rotation system at the moment: the players who come in (like the under-performing Kader Keïta) are struggling to adapt to Puel's new system and their obvious preference is to play more offensively. Despite their troubles, though, Puel remains popular among his players (certainly much more so than his predecessors Alain Perrin and Gérard Houllier). Bigot is convinced that Lyon's three-point lead will become eight points by the end of January, but their struggles when Benzema is missing do not bode well for next season, when he is likely to have moved on.

Nantes, on the other hand, are scrambling away from trouble thanks to the combustible Elie Baup, who was ignored by his own players when demanding the ball be kicked out of play following Filip Djordjevic's first-half injury. It was only when Baup bellowed at Kim Kallstrom that the Swede, bemused and probably slightly afraid, poked the ball into touch. It's a sign of how far Klasnic has dropped down the pecking order that he didn't come on even then — bad-boy Mamadou Bagayoko was first off the bench — but when the Croat did eventually appear, he scored his first goal in 900 minutes of French football 63 seconds later. "Perhaps the best solution for Ivan is to come off the bench because he certainly wanted to prove a point," said Baup after Klasnic doubled his tally from the penalty-spot.

The last time Lyon lost from a winning position was in November 2007 against Marseille, their opponents who come to the Gerland next week only three points behind the leaders. L'OM were excellent in the first half against Nice, taking a two-goal lead through an Olivier Echouafni own-goal and a Mamadou Niang penalty after "Sex and Drugs and" Cyril Rool ended Mathieu Valbuena's cheeky dribble. Habib Bamogo scored the goal of the week to halve the lead and Steve Mandanda kept L'OM in it with a great save from Eric Mouloungui with 10 minutes left. In injury-time Chaouki Ben Saada's long-range effort rattled Mandanda's crossbar but bounced to safety.

The result, and Niang's broken toe that will keep him out for six weeks, was overshadowed by the three-and-a-half-year jail sentence handed by a Spanish court to L'OM fan Santos Mirasierra following trouble in the Atlético-Marseille match back in October. Didier Drogba, Franck Ribéry and Zinedine Zidane (after slagging off those who criticised him in recent books, including Emmanuel Petit, of whom he said, "I never want to see him again") have spoken in support of Santos, while even the Spanish feel he has been made a scapegoat.

El Pais wrote, "There was nothing in court that proved he threw a seat that struck a policeman". The club's president, Pape Diouf, addressed the Vélodrome before the Nice game, asking for calm when Atlético visit on Tuesday night. "We must not give those who think that we're all madmen at Marseille the slightest reason to continue their campaign," he said. "We count on your dignity." The Ultras have said they will not enter the stadium, explaining in an open letter that, "without our friend, football does not make sense". Atlético have asked their fans not to travel but L'OM's coach, Eric Gerets, is still worried. "I'm afraid about the game and I'm afraid for the future of our club. I want the Ultras to watch the game but we have to set the right example on the pitch."

Rennes stay in third place, one point behind Marseille, after drawing 1–1 at Caen, who are coping well without the injured trio of Juan Eluchans, Anthony Deroin and Fahid Ben Khalfallah. Caen were lucky to go in ahead at half-time. "I told the players I was loving it then," said the Caen coach, Franck Dumas. "Rennes had nine shots and could have scored four while we scored with our only effort." The Rennes manager, Guy Lacombe, countered, "I've never seen a team so dominated at home," even though his team would have lost for the first time in 15 games had Steve Savidan not shinned a late chance over the bar.

Elsewhere, Bordeaux did what Lyon failed to do and beat Valenciennes 2–1 at home, after Laurent Blanc finally started with Marouane Chamakh and Fernando Cavenaghi up front, and both men scored. Kevin Gameiro enhanced his growing reputation with the winner for Lorient as they beat Nancy 1–0 while Grenoble, without a home goal in their past six games, and Auxerre, with three goals in their past 10, played out the week's most predictable goalless draw.

Alain Perrin secured his second win in a row at Saint-Etienne, though he did point out, "It was only against Le Havre". He has been rewarded for restoring out-of-favour players such as Jérémie "Spiderman" Janot and Daisuke Matsui to the squad. "Everyone feels involved again," said Janot. PSG now boast Ligue 1's top scorer after Guillaume Hoarau's two goals, the first set up by the outstanding Stéphane Sessegnon, helped earn a 3–1 win over Le Mans.

Before all eyes turn to Lyon-Marseille next weekend, attention will switch to Europe, where Marseille and Bordeaux could slip into the Uefa Cup and potentially join Saint-Etienne, Nancy and PSG in the round of 32. This is especially relevant given French sides' recent poor showing in the competition: in the past 10 years, only Marseille and Lens have reached the semi-finals, and no French team has reached any European semi-final since 2003-04. That explains why France are set to be overtaken by Germany in next season's Uefa rankings and could soon fall behind Russia and Romania, meaning their three-club Champions League allocation would be cut. The French league is even discussing a plan, at the moment under wraps, to offer clubs a cash bonus for reaching the Uefa Cup quarter-finals. Expect Aulas to make a big fuss once that becomes public, but perhaps he should spend more time worrying about problems closer to home.

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

BB Bob

11-12-2008, 03:48 PM

Too little, too late.....

Brave Lyon downed by Bayern
Karim Benzema was on the scoresheet but could not prevent Lyon ending their Champions League group campaign with a dramatic 3-2 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich, who clinched top spot in Group F ahead of Claude Puel's side.

Benzema was a surprise inclusion in the Lyon lineup, and immediately showed his value to the side as a delightfully-chipped ball found the head of Ederson in the opening minutes, but Bayern keeper Michael Rensing was quickly off his line to block.

But Bayern arrived at a rain-soaked Stade Gerland on the back of a 14-game run, and went in front after some uncharacteristically sloppy play from Lyon just eleven minutes in.

Jérémy Toulalan and Jean II Makoun both failed to take chances to clear, and when the ball broke to Miroslav Klose, the German international sent a first-time shot past Hugo Lloris. Benzema almost produced an immediate response, but his shot from Anthony Mounier's cross ruffled the side-netting.

Ribéry vision

Franck Ribéry could have joined Lyon from Marseille before opting for Bayern in the summer of 2007, and the Frenchman gave the home fans a taste of what they missed out on as he orchestrated Bayern's imposing attacking machine. His vision led him to spy Tim Borowski lurking in space in the area, though the midfielder wasted Ribéry's clever cut-back by shooting over.

However, it was the former Metz prodigy's pace and finishing prowess that put German champions two in front on 34 minutes. A quick free-kick was controlled superbly by Luca Toni, who swivelled and fed Ribéry who burst clear of the Lyon defence before bending a delicious curling effort into the far corner of Hugo Lloris' net.

Lyon were unbowed, and Ederson struck Rensing's left-hand post with a well-struck drive, but less than a minute later, Bayern delivered what appeared to be the coup de grâce. Ribéry and Bastian Schweinsteiger toyed with Lamine Gassama on the Lyon right, before Ribéry bent a ball to the back post for Klose to slot home.

Stumble

Benzema flashed a shot just over seconds before half-time, but Puel's men should have been four down just five minutes after the break. Schweinsteiger sowed panic in the OL rearguard, drawing Lloris before slipping the ball sideways only for Ribéry to stumble with the goal at his mercy.

The let-off sparked Puel's side, and within a minute they had reduced the deficit. Benzema found Ederson in space on the right-hand side of the box, the Brazilian's shot was parried by Rensing, but Sidney Govou reacted first to force the loose ball home.

Miracle stop

The goal heralded a sustained period of pressure from the hosts, and Benzema and Govou fashioned a chance for Ederson, but the Brazilian's extravagent flick was not powerful enough to trouble Rensing. Govou then headed an Ederson corner onto the post, and John Mensah would have stabbed the ball into the net from point-blank range only for Rensing to produce a miracle stop.

There was nothing the Bayern keeper could do though as Benzema reduced the visitors' lead to one 22 minutes from time. Ribéry's miscued clearance allowed Toulalan to pick the ball up, and his pass was touched into the path of Benzema who rounded Rensing with ease before slotting the ball into the empty net.

A last-ditch tackle from Daniel Van Buyten then prevented the Lyon striker from pulling the trigger from close range, before Rensing produced yet another world-class save from a Fred header to extend Bayern's unbeaten run to 15 matches in all competitions.

BB Bob

11-12-2008, 03:50 PM

Meanwhile, on the Cote d'Azur....

Wednesday 10 December 2008

OGC Nice / Grenoble Foot 38 : 0-0

Torrential rain had seen their tie originally scheduled for Week 16 called off, and conditions were barely less humid as the two teams took to a sodden Stade Municipal du Ray pitch.

After defeat to Marseille last weekend ended a run of five consecutive victories, Frédéric Antonetti's side could well have got themselves back to winning ways had David Hellebuyck's third-minute free-kick found the net rather than Grégory Wimbée's right-hand post.

As the home side huffed and puffed ineffectively, the visitors grew in stature and could have snatched all three points five minutes from time, only for David Ospina - replacing the injured Lionel Leztizi - not got down superbly to block Nassim Akrour's low drive and condemn Grenoble to a third successive 0-0 and a seventh match without a win.

Antonetti: 'Draw was fair'
Frédéric Antonetti had no complaints after seeing his Nice side fail to move into third place as they were held to a goalless draw by Grenoble on Wednesday.

Antonetti's side failed to spark into life in the rearranged Week 16 fixture, with David Hellebuyck's early free-kick which struck a post their best chance of claiming a sixth win in seven games.

"The result was a logical one," said Antonetti, whose side are sixth, level on points with Bordeaux and Paris Saint-Germain after a testing night at a rain-soaked Stade Municipal du Ray. "Grenoble adapted better to the conditions than we did. They defended deep in their own half, and left us no space, and we weren't able to break them down."

It was a bit of a snore, too. Watching a poor game in poor weather on a poor link did not make for a great viewing experience....

kabbott

11-12-2008, 03:58 PM

How good is laminr gassama. Are these Lyon kids like him and mounier actually good or just average kids getting a chance in a good side due to injury?

Lamine Gassama is highly thought of in Lyon, but it's true he's only playing because Réveillère and Clerc (both French internationals) are out injured. There's no way he'd have walked into the team otherwise. When I've seen him play, he looks OK, but nothing special. He's far from being the finished product. Having said that, he was seriously caught out against PSG the other week, and last night Ribéry made him look very ordinary, but then Ribéry makes well-established defenders look ordinary. Lyon also bought another highly-rated full-back from FC Lens, Thimothé Kolodziejcjak, from under the noses of Man Ure, so it would seem, who also made his début, rather unimpressively, this season. They are both young and obviously need time and experience.
I don't know if the gist of your question was: how does Gassama compare with the talented Nathaniel Clyne? I managed to see the two recent Palace games on TV and thought Clyne looked really impressive, but then these were only Championship matches, so it's very hard to tell.
Lyon are renowned for their Academy and have brought through stacks of players over the past. Mounier, by the way, also looks handy. I'd play him ahead of Keita, who is proving to be a real waste of money, any day. Another one waiting in the wings is a kid called Yanis Tafer, a centre forward very much in the Benzema mould with a similar scoring record in the junior ranks. HTH

GodstoneEagle

11-12-2008, 11:13 PM

1f75

kabbott

12-12-2008, 06:50 PM

cheers. i'd heard about tafer, i was just wondering if they are the real deal, players who could play at champions league level in the future? or whether they were only rated cos they were at lyon and get to play in the best team in france?

p.s. if i e-mailed you a copy of my french coursework could you check it for me? :)

Tafer is the real deal but still very raw.
Of course the players are rated cos they're at Lyon. But there is an excellent Academy here. And you've got to be very good to get into the first team.
Yes, I could. PM me. I'm a bit bit busy this week what with end-of-term meetings and Xmas work bashes. I'm sure I can find the time.

kabbott

13-12-2008, 01:51 PM

Loto sportif time:

Week 18 - Saturday, December 13, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre v Paris Saint-Germain HOME WIN
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 v FC Girondins de Bordeaux HOME WIN
19:00 AS Nancy Lorraine v Grenoble Foot 38 HOME WIN
19:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard v SM Caen HOME WIN
19:00 Toulouse FC v AS Saint-Etienne AWAY WIN
19:00 Valenciennes FC v AS Monaco FC HOME WIN
21:00 Stade Rennais FC v FC Nantes DRAW

Week 18 - Sunday, December 14, 2008

17:00 Havre AC v FC Lorient HOME WIN
17:00 OGC Nice v LOSC DRAW
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais v Olympique de Marseille HOME WIN

kabbott

13-12-2008, 08:36 PM

Oh the irony, I think I'm playing with myself tonight.

Week 18 - Saturday, December 13, 2008

19:00 AJ Auxerre 1 - 2 Paris Saint-Germain
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 1 - 3 FC Girondins de Bordeaux
19:00 AS Nancy Lorraine 2 - 0 Grenoble Foot 38
19:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 2 - 2 SM Caen
19:00 Toulouse FC 3 - 1 AS Saint-Etienne
19:00 Valenciennes FC 3 - 1 AS Monaco FC

2 out of 6 so far.

kabbott

13-12-2008, 08:42 PM

Coupe de France:

Derniers Résultats Coupe de France8ème Tour

13/12 Ajaccio 2 - 1 Fontenay-le-Comte

Rodez 3 - 0 Arcachon
Nîmes 0 - 1 Bayonne
Changé 2 - 4 Brest
Quimper 0 - 0 Niort
Boulogne-sur-Mer 4 - 0 Lesquin
Pacy-Vallée 0 - 1 Tours FC
Montluçon 1 - 0 Luçon
*Issy Ararat 0 - 5 Vannes OC
Viry-Châtillon 1 - 2 Créteil
Avion 1 - 1 Saint-Omer
*Hénin 0 - 0 *Alfortville
Yzeure 2 - 0 Thiers
Guingamp 1 - 1 La Vitréenne
Besançon 3 - 1 Amnéville
Selongey 3 - 6 Dijon
Blagnac 1 - 0 *Rilhac Rancon
Croix de Savoie 3 - 1 Martigues
*Strasbourg Neuhof 0 - 1 Louhans-Cuiseaux
Clermont 1 - 0 Bastia
*Larmor Plage 0 - 5 *Vitre AS
*Eclaron-Valcourt 1 - 0 Châtellerault

12/12

Strasbourg 2 - 4 Sedan
Romorantin 1 - 1 Angers
Dunkerque 2 - 1 Reims
Troyes 3 - 1 Beauvais
Tefana 0 - 2 Arras FA

philsick

13-12-2008, 08:54 PM

cleremont 1 bastia 0.

Names on the coupe this year.

BB Bob

13-12-2008, 10:11 PM

kabbott

14-12-2008, 06:09 PM

Bad news BB Bob:

Sunday, December 14, 2008

17:00 Havre AC 1 - 3 FC Lorient
17:00 OGC Nice 0 - 1 LOSC

I saw on the Equipe site that Keita is in the starting 11. I hope not. We've got Delgado, Mounier and Ederson who are all better. With Fred and Piquionne both out Yanis Tafer is in the squad of 20. He might get a place on the bench and then a little run-out near the end after Benzema and Juni have turned on the style, he says rather tentatively.
By the way, I hope you got to read some of the Equipes this week. It was ''la semaine lyonnaise'' with loads of interesting articles on sport in Lyon and in particular footy, of course. Bon match!

kabbott

14-12-2008, 07:50 PM

OL 0:0 OM HT

Hopeless 1st half. Lyon players look well cream-crackered.

kabbott

14-12-2008, 08:57 PM

OL 0:0 OM FT

Hopeless 2nd half. This was a very poor advert for French football.

BB Bob

15-12-2008, 11:44 AM

I had a useless weekend without any internet for most of it. The game last night sounds like it was mind numbingly dull and the result better for everyone else.

It leaves the table like this:-

Ligue 1 P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 18 10 5 3 +10 35

2 Olympique de Marseille 18 8 8 2 +12 32
3 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 18 9 5 4 +11 32

4 Paris Saint-Germain 18 10 2 6 +7 32

5 Stade Rennais FC 18 7 10 1 +10 31
6 Toulouse FC 18 8 6 4 +4 30
7 LOSC 18 7 8 3 +7 29
8 OGC Nice 18 8 5 5 +4 29
9 FC Lorient 18 7 5 6 +3 26
10 Le Mans UC 72 18 7 3 8 -2 24
11 SM Caen 18 5 8 5 +3 23
12 AS Monaco FC 18 6 5 7 0 23
13 AS Nancy Lorraine 18 5 7 6 -2 22
14 Grenoble Foot 38 18 5 7 6 -5 22
15 AJ Auxerre 18 5 5 8 -3 20
16 FC Nantes 18 5 4 9 -10 19
17 AS Saint-Etienne 18 5 1 12 -15 16

18 Valenciennes FC 18 3 5 10 -9 14
19 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 18 1 10 7 -7 13
20 Havre AC 18 3 3 12 -18 12

No real surprise about Nice. Too many games with a thin squad and the third heavy pitch on the spin = very tired legs. Situation normale chez les aiglons.

BB Bob

17-12-2008, 12:01 PM

2fa7

Ben's weekly piece.

Ben Arfa the pantomime villain as Lyon fail to look behind them
Rivals rapidly gaining ground on last season's champions who need some Christmas magic to challenge at home and in Europe
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2008/12/16/1229427442288/Marseille-midfielder-Hate-001.jpg

The pantomime season needs a villain and on Sunday night Hatem Ben Arfa obliged on his first return to Lyon after his controversial transfer to Marseille last summer. Did he wind up the league leaders by claiming they were "not a big club" because they made mistakes with payments to players? Oh yes, he did! Did he ever get on with Karim Benzema when they played together at Lyon? Oh no, he didn't! Did he get booed every time he touched the ball, and eventually get booked for dissent? Oh yes, he did!

It was just as well that Ben Arfa was around, because this top-of-the-table fixture had just three shots on target and ended goalless for the first time in its 39-game history. It left Lyon winless in four games and now only three points ahead of Marseille, Bordeaux and Paris St Germain.

Ben Arfa dominated the build-up, his face alongside Benzema on the cover of France Football with the headline The History of A Rivalry. Much of it was, as the French say, rechauffé, old news, and both players trotted out the same line: "I respect him as a player but we are not friends." A youth-team match when Ben Arfa moaned at a misplaced Benzema pass by cussing his team-mate's family, who happened to be watching, apparently marked the start of the frosty relationship.

Ben Arfa hardly improved his standing with others at his former club when he told Le Progress that Lyon were not classy about paying their players and often forgot to include bonuses in their pay-slips. Lyon's financial director, Marino Faccioli, responded by revealing that amidst all the kit that remained in Ben Arfa's training-ground locker after his departure, he had carelessly left behind a cheque for €90,000. "To accuse us of being financially disorganised is a bit much coming from him," said Faccioli, who sent the money to Ben Arfa's agent.

"I saw Ben Arfa play five years ago and today he's the same player," said RMC pundit Jean-Michel Larqué. "For me, he's not a good footballer, nor even a good player in the making. He's just not intelligent with his choice of passes." If Ben Arfa was the panto villain, the unlikely Cinderella figure was the Marseille centre-back Ronald Zubar, booed so mercilessly by his own fans three weeks ago that L'Equipe wondered if he would ever be picked again but who, after keeping Sergio Agüero quiet in midweek, barely gave Benzema a sniff of goal. "Lyon proved that they are the best team in France when they ran Bayern Munich ragged last week [coming back from 3-0 down to lose 3-2, in a game they could have won], so we were pleased to get something from the game," said L'OM coach Eric Gerets.

Lyon have picked up two points from a possible 12 and have beaten only one of the four teams behind them (and even in that game, against Bordeaux, they were out-played). There are four more teams three points behind the chasing pack and with Lyon the only French side left in the Champions League, the title race looks like it's on again.

Bordeaux won their first away match in five, beating Le Mans 3-1, with Fernando Cavenaghi opening the scoring. The Argentinian is Ligue 1's most prolific scorer in 2008, with 25 goals (Benzema is next on 17), yet has never started a Champions League match. "I worked really hard to help Bordeaux qualify and was very disappointed not to have played in the campaign," he said. "The coach told me it was a tactical decision." Cavegol, also known as El Torito, The Little Bull, is now joint top-scorer with Guillaume Hoarau and Pierre-Andre Gignac, and dreaming of a place in Diego Maradona's Argentina squad. "I often think that the French league is the most difficult one for forwards, it's perhaps the toughest place to score goals," he said, hoping to catch Diego's attention.

PSG were also able to take advantage of the top-of-the-table stalemate, deservedly beating Auxerre 2-1 thanks to two Stéphane Sessegnon goals. Despite having already lost six games, the same amount as Grenoble (14th) and one fewer than Sochaux (19th), no team has won more than PSG's 10 games, and Paul Le Guen is reaping the benefits of being able to pick an unchanged side for six games running.

Lorient's nautical winger turned playmaker Marama Vahirua scored a fantastic goal and celebrated with his traditional Tahitian kayaking impression (you had to be there) in the 3-1 win at bottom club Le Havre, whose coach Jean-Marc Nobilo is set to move upstairs with one of Frédéric Hantz, Patrick Remy, Albert Rust or René Girard taking on the impossible job of trying to keep them up.

Sochaux coach Francis Gillot was the Fairy Godmother of the week, after handing Guyanese teenager Sloan Privat a professional contract on Tuesday, and throwing him into action with 20 minutes left and his side 2-0 down to Caen. He pulled one goal back six minutes later and, on 89 minutes, equalised with a brilliant bicycle-kick. "I don't know why we played so well at the end, I just don't know," said Privat after the game. "All I know is it's been magic, a fantastic week for me. I'm on a cloud!" It was Sochaux's fourth straight draw, their 10th of the season. Gillot needs his magic wand to turn these draws into wins (they have won only one league game all season) to move out of the relegation zone.

The other draw specialists, Rennes, played out a 0-0 with Nantes to extend their unbeaten run to 16 games. They face Lorient in next week's Britanny derby, while PSG take on Valenciennes, Marseille host Nancy and Bordeaux go to Monaco. Caen welcome Lyon and, with one week to go before the winter break, the chorus from the chasing clubs is all too clear: "We're behind you!"

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

BB Bob

19-12-2008, 03:53 PM

Right, I'd better slip mine in while I get the chance, as I said to Mrs BB Bob the other night......

Week 19 - Saturday, December 20, 2008

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 Le Mans UC 72 DRAW
19:00 LOSC Havre AC HOME
19:00 FC Lorient Stade Rennais FC DRAW
19:00 FC Nantes FC Sochaux-Montbéliard DRAW
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne AJ Auxerre HOME
19:00 Toulouse FC OGC Nice DRAW
21:00 SM Caen Olympique Lyonnais DRAW
Week 19 - Sunday, December 21, 2008

17:00 Olympique de Marseille AS Nancy Lorraine HOME
17:00 Paris Saint-Germain Valenciennes FC HOME
21:00 AS Monaco FC FC Girondins de Bordeaux DRAW

Some tricky calls in there, I think!

Enjoy the last games of the year!

kabbott

20-12-2008, 09:53 AM

Lyon eye autumn title in Caen

Four games without a league win has left leaders Lyon looking vulnerable ahead of the trip north to Caen. A second consecutive goalless stalemate at Stade Municipal de Gerland on Sunday, against title-rivals Marseille, means the seven-time champions have collected a miserly two points from a possible 12.

Throw in home defeats by Metz in the League Cup and Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and Claude Puel's men have been defeated four times in their previous eight outings (including league losses at Paris Saint-Germain and Nantes), while the squad's morale will have been hit by Fred's demand for a January transfer.

Talk of a crisis can be dampened by a quick reminder of the facts: OL remain top of Ligue 1 and are through to the last 16 of the Champions League for a sixth year running. Yet the gap between the top four teams after 18 games has not been so small since 2002-03, when Nice led the way from Lyon, Guingamp and Auxerre. Indeed, Marseille, FC Girondins de Bordeaux and PSG are all just three points behind, and the trio all head into the final round of games before the winter break with ambitions of pipping Lyon to the honorific title of 'autumn champion.'

Stuttering
Lyon also suffered a stuttering start under Alain Perrin last season, although they were three points better off and had scored 12 more goals at the equivalent stage.

On the face of it, a trip to 11th-placed Caen, who are without a win in three matches themselves, should not hold great fear for the powerhouse of French football. However, the Normandy club have become OL's bête noire over the last 20 years, and will be seeking their third straight win over Lyon at the Stade Michel d'Ornano on Saturday.

The sides first met in the top flight in 1989-90, and though Lyon have won eight of the 18 confrontations, losing six times, only one of those wins has been secured away from home. Of the nine matches played at Caen, the hosts have won six and drawn two. Lyon's solitary success came in 1994-95 courtesy of a slender 1-0 triumph.

Yo-yoing

Caen have spent much of the interim period yo-yoing between the top two divisions, yet they always enjoy locking horns with Lyon. In March 2005, Sébastien Mazure bagged the only goal of the contest, while Caen matched that 1-0 victory thanks to Yoan Gouffran's 18th-minute strike a year ago.

Gouffran may have left for Bordeaux but Caen have found a new saviour in Steve Savidan. The recently-capped France international, who has overcome a bout of illness this week and will play, has contributed seven goals and four assists since joining from Valenciennes. That form has attracted the interest of OM, although Caen president Jean-François Fortin dismissed suggestions the 30-year-old might leave in January.

"Savidan will certainly be with us during the second half of the season," Fortin said. "He has signed for three years. Asking to leave after six months would be indecent."

Savidan influence

It is no coincidence Caen have begun stuttering as Savidan's influence has waned. The striker has not scored in four, while Caen have picked up just two points from their last three outings, against Le Mans (0-2), Rennes (1-1) and Sochaux (2-2). The draw at Sochaux was particularly galling, as Rémy Gomis's double had Caen two up with 12 minutes remaining.

Meanwhile, Lyon, and in particular Sidney Govou, will be looking shake off a hangover after their exertions on Sunday night. Several players headed to a nightclub after the OM stalemate to celebrate Jean-Alain Boumsong and Frédéric Piquionne's birthdays. Govou was stopped by police driving home at 5:30 am, with tests revealing alcohol levels more than five times over the limit.

Having spent much of Monday morning sobering up in a cell, the France forward apologised to his family, the club and supporters on Tuesday. Govou could play this weekend, but Puel is still without long-term absentees François Clerc, Anthony Réveillère (both knee), Mathieu Bodmer (groin) and Miralem Pjanic (broken leg), while Ederson (ankle) is a doubt.

kabbott

20-12-2008, 10:04 AM

Meanwhile, Lyon, and in particular Sidney Govou, will be looking shake off a hangover after their exertions on Sunday night. Several players headed to a nightclub after the OM stalemate to celebrate Jean-Alain Boumsong and Frédéric Piquionne's birthdays. Govou was stopped by police driving home at 5:30 am, with tests revealing alcohol levels more than five times over the limit.

According to a doctor in L'Equipe this morning Govou had the equivalent of 16 shorts. Neil's article this morning was obviously too late to help Sidney, and I'm not sure if Sid reads the British press, but I've always been surprised how players in general don't get nabbed more often for being over the limit, or maybe they just do what everyone else does and take a taxi!

kabbott

20-12-2008, 10:11 AM

Right, it's time for me to pull my finger out as Madame kabbott ... Où est la porte?

Week 19 - Saturday, December 20, 2008

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 v Le Mans UC 72 AWAY WIN (Grenoble going down, down, down)
19:00 LOSC v Havre AC HOME WIN
19:00 FC Lorient Stade v Rennais FC DRAW
19:00 FC Nantes v FC Sochaux-Montbéliard HOME WIN
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne v AJ Auxerre HOME WIN (Reggie is doing the business again)
19:00 Toulouse FC v OGC Nice DRAW
21:00 SM Caen v Olympique Lyonnais AWAY WIN (badly needed here)

Week 19 - Sunday, December 21, 2008

17:00 Olympique de Marseille v AS Nancy Lorraine AWAY WIN
17:00 Paris Saint-Germain v Valenciennes FC DRAW
21:00 AS Monaco FC FC v Girondins de Bordeaux HOME WIN

kabbott

20-12-2008, 10:14 AM

Bad news for Philsick. After an unbeaten run of 2 matches, Clermont come a cropper again.

Friday, December 19, 2008

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

Monday, December 22, 2008
20:45 RC Strasbourg - US Boulogne CO

BB Bob

20-12-2008, 09:13 PM

Week 19 - Saturday, December 20, 2008

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 2 - 1 Le Mans UC 72
19:00 LOSC 3 - 1 Havre AC
19:00 FC Lorient 1 - 2 Stade Rennais FC
19:00 FC Nantes 1 - 1 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne 2 - 0 AJ Auxerre
19:00 Toulouse FC 2 - 2 OGC Nice
21:00 SM Caen 0 - 1 Olympique Lyonnais

BB Bob

20-12-2008, 09:15 PM

4 tonight - better than usual!
4 to you - better than usual!

Nicely poised for tomorrow.

A demain!

kabbott

21-12-2008, 08:17 AM

Lyon Autumn champions!
Lyon secured top spot at the winter break, notching their first win since November 16 by edging out an enterprising Caen side 1-0 at the Stade Michel d’Ornano.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

SM Caen / Olympique Lyonnais : 0 - 1

Without a win in their last four matches, champions Lyon did the necessary to claim the title of Autumn champions and put some distance between themselves and the pretenders to their throne, who since Lyon's run of poor form had come within three points of the league lead.

Despite their own poor form of late, with two draws and a loss in their last three matches, Caen took the game to Lyon from the outset, raiding incessantly down the wings and pinning Lyon back with their well-organised collective game.

Lyon, despite being somewhat on the back foot, remained solid and defended well before taking the lead against the run of play in the 43rd minute through a burst of inspiration from France striker Karim Benzema.

Released on the left of the area, the young superstar blasted home a powerful left-foot shot from a tight angle to score the game's only goal and his tenth of the season.

The goal brought Lyon back to life and the chances began to flow, with Benzema continuing to threaten and Juninho posing a constant threat with the dead ball, but the score remained unchanged until the final whistle.

The loss sees Caen slip one place to 12th while Lyon reinforce their lead with the win, putting the pressure back on pretenders Marseille, Bordeaux and Paris ahead of Sunday night's matches.

BB Bob

21-12-2008, 08:31 AM

You do the words, I'll do the pictures:-

http://img.lequipe.fr/Xml/Media/lyon_op_2112.jpghttp://i.eurosport.fr/2008/12/20/488286-3794280-317-238.jpghttp://i.eurosport.fr/2008/12/20/488275-3794123-317-238.jpg
http://i.eurosport.fr/2008/11/30/483997-3723231-317-238.jpghttp://i.eurosport.fr/2008/12/20/488274-3794108-317-238.jpghttp://i.eurosport.fr/2008/12/20/488283-3794246-317-238.jpg
http://i.eurosport.fr/2008/08/17/460164-3327839-317-238.jpg

BB Bob

21-12-2008, 08:34 AM

Rennes join the chasing pack
Rennes continued their charge up the table with a 2-1 win away to Lorient, pulling into provisional second place on the table, just two point behind leaders Lyon. In other matches, Lille, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne all recorded wins.

Saturday December 20, 2008

FC Lorient / Stade Rennais FC : 1 - 2

>> Team Sheet
Rennes continued their charge up the table with a 2-1 win away to Lorient, pulling into provisional second place on the table, just two point behind leaders Lyon.

In a tight match at the Stade du Moustoir, Lorient, with four wins and a draw in their last five matches, started strongly and looked dangerous notably through an inspired Marama Vahirua. While both sides created several scoring chances, it was the home side who broke the deadlock against Ligue 1's tightest defence in time added on at the end of the first half.

When Rennes' American defender Carlos Bocanegra failed to clear Vahirua's corner, Jeremy Morel was first to the ball and smashed home just under Nicolas Douchez's crossbar to give his side the lead going into the break.

The chances started flying thick and fast as the game resumed, with Lorient's leading scorer Kévin Gameiro (six goals and six assists) shooting narrowly wide and Rennes' Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan, brought on at half time for France international Jimmy Briand, also going close.

Rennes began to take the upper hand, with Bruno Cheyrou drawing a fine save from Fabien Audard with a stinging half-volley in the 62nd minute, and their pressure finally paid off ten minutes later when Gyan, latching onto a cross from fellow substitute Moussa Sow, beat out Morel at the near post and headed past Audard to score his first Ligue 1 goal level the scores.

Rennes coach Guy Lacombe's tactical substitutions proved invaluable when, set up by Mickaël Pagis, Sow turned scorer when he broke through the defence to round Audard and slot home neatly to score the game's winning goal.

The win stretches Rennes' unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to an impressive 17 matches and sees them climb to provisional second place while Lorient remain ninth.

LOSC / Havre AC : 3 - 1

>> Team Sheet
Despite a valiant performance from Le Havre in their first game under new coach Frédéric Hantz, Lille were too strong for the struggling club and took all three points with a convincing 3-1 win at the Stade Lille Métrpole.

In a match fought and won in the midfield, it was Lille's central combination of Yohan Cabaye, Rio Mavuba and Florent Balmont that pulled the strings, creating the early pressure that led to Lille's opener from Ludovic Obraniak, who neatly brought down Brazilian Fernades Michel Bastos' cross at the near post to slap a skidding shot past Christophe Revault on the half-hour mark.

Hantz's men reacted strongly however, with Jamel Aït Ben Idir hitting Grégory Malicki's crossbar before the dangerous Moroccan Hassan Alla, who had been threatening with the dead ball, brought the scores level again the 61st minute with a powerful free kick from the edge of the area that, taking a wicked deflection from Cabaye, left Malicki with little chance.

Le Havre continued to push forward but Lille held firm and began to create chances, taking the lead again in the 81st minute when Cabaye volleyed Bastos' corner home from six metres out.

In a neat role reversal, Bastos turned scorer in the third minute of injury time when, put through by Cabaye, raced past the Le Havre defence to slot a crisp near-post shot past Revault to round out the scoring.

The win sees Lille extend their unbeaten run to six matches and lifts them to fifth place on the table equal on points with Marseille and Bordeaux ahead of their matches on Sunday night.

Despite reacting promisingly under new coach Hantz, Le Havre's troubles continue to prop up the table, with the loss their fourth in a row and fifth in six matches.

Toulouse FC / OGC Nice : 2 - 2

>> Team Sheet
A double from Ligue 1's new top scorer André-Pierre Gignac wasn't enough to take all three points against a Nice side that spent most of the match at the Stadium on the ropes.

Despite opening the scoring in the 7th minute through Anthony Modeste, the visitors were pushed hard and effectively shut down for most of the match by a solidly organised and dominant Toulouse outfit.

Toulouse's pressure paid off in the 32nd minute when Bryan Bergougnoux, after drawing defenders on the edge of the box, put Gignac in behind the defence with a deft chip. Toulouse's top scorer made no mistake in front of goal, shooting calmly past Colombian David Ramirez Ospina in the Nice goal.

The home side's dominance continued in the second half, shutting Nice down and preventing them from establishing any kind of rhythm. Toulouse took the advantage in the 85th minute when Ospina could only parry Jeremy Mathieu's powerful shot into the feet of Gignac, who had the easiest of finishes to score his second of the match and twelfth of the season.

But, despite the domination Frédéric Antonetti's men had suffered for most of the match, Nice managed to salvage a draw in the third minute of stoppage time when, from a corner, Vincent Hognon charged in at the near post to slam the ball past Cédric Carrasso in the Toulouse goal.

The unlikely draw sees Toulouse, who could have gone into provisional third place with a win, drop one place to seventh while Nice remain just one point below them in eighth.

Grenoble Foot 38 / Le Mans UC 72 : 2 - 1

>> Team Sheet
Grenoble scored for the first time in seven matches to secure the win against visiting Le Mans, who suffered their third consecutive Ligue 1 defeat at the Stade des Alpes.

In a tense but uninspired match, Grenoble took the lead through former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Albert Baning. From a free by captain Laurent Batlles, Franck Dja Dejdje headed on to the post and, rebounding past Le Mans 'keeper Yohann Pelé, the ball sailed across the face of the goal, leaving the Cameroonian with a simple tap-in.

Grenoble scored another just after the break, with former Lyon man Sandy Paillot rising highest on the penalty spot to head Batlles' corner past Pelé.

Maïga pulled one back for the visitors seven minutes later when Ronan Le Crom parried Gervinho's stinging shot into his path. The game opened up at this point, with both sides pushing hard and tempers beginning to flare, but with exception of Tunisian Saber Ben Frej's sending off for a second yellow card in the 90th minute, the major action was over.

The win sees Grenoble leapfrog their opponents into tenth spot on the table.

AS Saint-Etienne / AJ Auxerre : 2 - 0

>> Team Sheet
Les Verts made in three wins in four matches at home to Auxerre, holding out for a 2-0 victory over against Jean Fernadez's men and putting a five-point margin between themselves and the relegation zone in which they were mired until Alain Perrin took over from Laurent Roussey a month ago.

Strikes from Portuguese midfielder Paulo Machado and France international Bafetimbi Gomis gave them the advantage while a string of superb saves from 'keeper Jérémie Janot in the second half shut out an enterprising Auxerre side, whose slide down the table continues, now just one point above their opponents on the night.

FC Nantes / FC Sochaux-Montbéliard : 1 - 1

>> Team Sheet
Nantes salvaged a 1-1 draw in this tense bottom-of –the-table clash that does little for the fortunes of either club.

In a first half that saw little flowing play and few chances, Nantes managed to get the upper hand over their overly prudent visitors, but a lack of finishing saw the sides go into the break with the scores even.

Sochaux began to ush in the second half and took a surprise lead through Turkey international Mevlut Erding in the 70th minute when Slovenian international Valter Birsa sent a cross into the area. Erding, returning to form after a string of injuries, controlled the ball neatly with his chest before shooting past Jérôme Alonzo.

Sochaux eased up after the goal however and Nantes struck back with just four minutes to go, Aurélien Capoue latching onto Djamel Abdoun's cut-back cross to level the scores.

The final result will leave both sides with regrets – Nantes for their lack of precision in front of goal and Sochaux for letting a valuable two points slip at the death by going to sleep at the back.

BB Bob

21-12-2008, 08:35 AM

Général - Ligue 1 Pts J G N P bp bc +/-

1 Lyon 38 19 11 5 3 23 12 11
2 Rennes 34 19 8 10 1 24 13 11

3 Marseille 32 18 8 8 2 33 21 12

4 Bordeaux 32 18 9 5 4 27 16 11

5 Lille 32 19 8 8 3 28 19 9
6 Paris SG 32 18 10 2 6 22 15 7
7 Toulouse 31 19 8 7 4 19 15 4
8 Nice 30 19 8 6 5 23 19 4
9 Lorient 26 19 7 5 7 25 23 2
10 Grenoble 25 19 6 7 6 13 17 -4
11 Le Mans 24 19 7 3 9 25 28 -3
12 Caen 23 19 5 8 6 23 21 2
13 Monaco 23 18 6 5 7 19 19 0
14 Nancy 22 18 5 7 6 15 17 -2
15 Auxerre 20 19 5 5 9 14 19 -5
16 Nantes 20 19 5 5 9 15 25 -10
17 Saint-Etienne 19 19 6 1 12 15 28 -13

18 Sochaux 14 19 1 11 7 18 25 -7
19 Valenciennes 14 18 3 5 10 14 23 -9
20 Le Havre 12 19 3 3 13 14 34 -20

mik59

21-12-2008, 08:51 AM

Not popped into this thread for a while so missed chance to note that could've hooked up with my Caen supporting French mate to see the Lyon game. Oh well.

All this reminds me, howsabout we organise a trip for next season to meet Kabbott? I was hoping to divert from a work trip or two this year to return via Lyon but in the end had to head straight back. We'll have to wait for fixtures I guess but I'm as happy soaking up the atmos in a bar so actually attending a game need not be a prerequisite for me.

BB Bob

21-12-2008, 09:18 AM

Sounds good to me! We'll need to find a date far enough away that I can rearrange my life around it though!

Great idea.

philsick

21-12-2008, 09:26 AM

Cleremont:(
st ettiene:)

kabbott

21-12-2008, 11:13 AM

Sounds good to me! We'll need to find a date far enough away that I can rearrange my life around it though!

Great idea.

I'm up for this too. Just give me time to arrange divorce proceedings with madame kabbott. French blokes can't understand English people doing such a thing like travelling across Europe just to watch a football match, or maybe they can, so women?
What about when Lyon beat Barcelona and then take on one of the Big Four in the quarter-finals?
Oh and BB Bob, you'll have to explain to me how you get those photos on.

BB Bob

21-12-2008, 01:20 PM

Find the photo you like and right click on it. Under Properties it will have Address (URL). Copy this:-

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/grandFormat/0809_l1_valenciennes_marseille_kone_mono.jpg

and then put at the beginning and at the end and hey presto!

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/grandFormat/0809_l1_valenciennes_marseille_kone_mono.jpg

kabbott

21-12-2008, 02:36 PM

kabbott

21-12-2008, 02:43 PM

Here goes:

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/uk0809_Puel_Lyon_art.jpg

A delighted Claude Puel says the three points his side won away to a valiant Caen on Saturday night were just the tonic his stalling side needed going into the break.
After four matches without a win, Lyon's lead looked to be slipping and the pressure from the chasing pack of Ligue 1 giants Marseille, Bordeaux and Paris was beginning to mount. But the 1-0 win, thanks to a piece of brilliance from prodigy Karim Benzema, secured Lyon top spot and steadied their slightly shaky ship.
"We owed it to ourselves to win after several indifferent performances. We could have made more of our dominance. Caen had a strong chance in the first half and Hugo Lloris made a fantastic save, that's true, but then Karim scored a stunning goal."

But it wasn't just in attack that Lyon impressed its boss.

"That's not all there is to take from this game – we were very solid at the back. Also, Delgado was excellent both with and without the ball, he was very valuable for us."

Despite the win seeing Lyon claim the honorific title of autumn champions, Puel is focused on his side's return to its usual indomitable form.

"It's the first time in ages that Lyon has won the last game before the winter break. That shows that the squad is still united. Being autumn champions? That doesn't mean anything."

kabbott

21-12-2008, 02:44 PM

Oh dear!

kabbott

21-12-2008, 02:50 PM

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0809_l1_aja_psg_sessegnon_art.jpg

Paul Le Guen’s Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to continue to turn around their season and keep pace with Marseille and Bordeaux in the chase behind Lyon when they host struggling Valenciennes at the Parc des Princes on Sunday night.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Paris Saint-Germain / Valenciennes FC : -

In 11th place at the beginning of November, Paris have won six of their last seven match, climbing to fourth place and figuring among the pack of Ligue 1 clubs posing a threat to the lead of seven-time champions Lyon.

Valenciennes will be looking to capitalise on last week's win over Monaco, just their third of the season, to begin their ascent out of the relegation zone that has been their home for most of the season.

With no serious injury absences and a starting eleven that just about picks itself, Paul Le Guen should field a full-strength line-up featuring the lethal striker partnership of France international Ludovic Giuly and Ligue 1's equal second-top scorer Guillaume Hoarau.

Le Guen is nonetheless wary of a Valenciennes side that is rediscovering some stability despite their stalling attack that has scored just 14 goals in 18 matches so far this season. The northern club has recruited Rangers striker Jean-Claude Darcheville to reinforce their front line but former Bordeaux man won't be available for Sunday night's match.

Depending on the results of fellow Ligue 1 giants and title pretenders Marseille and Bordeaux, the win could see Paris go as high as second place going into the break. While a win would do the world of good to Antoine Kombouaré's Valenciennes outfit, even the three points would see them remain in the relegation zone, two points behind Saint-Etienne.

Probable line-ups:

Paris Saint-Germain: Landreau; Ceara, S. Traoré, Z. Camara, Armand; Sessegnon, Makelele (c), Clément, Rothen; Giuly, Hoarau

Valenciennes: Penneteau; Ducourtioux, Bisevac, Schmitz (c), Tiéné; Sanchez, Saez; Mater, Belmadi, Danic; Pujol

kabbott

21-12-2008, 02:55 PM

Ah! Ça va mieux.

BB Bob

21-12-2008, 04:28 PM

Ca ne va pas de tout at the Velodrome today!

I've just checked the scores - check this out

69e 2e mt Marseille (2) 0 - 3 Nancy (13)
Hadji (33e, 39e)
Dia (56e)

69e 2e mt Paris-SG (4) 1 - 1 Valenciennes (18)
Hoarau (26e)
Mater (46e)

If it stays like that - and I can't see OM scoring 4 in 20 minutes, there will be some happy chappies in Lyon and Rennes!

kabbott

21-12-2008, 05:23 PM

Watched some of it between glimpses of Arsenal v Liverpool.

Great stuff.

Week 19 - Sunday, December 21, 2008

17:00 Olympique de Marseille 0 - 3 AS Nancy Lorraine
17:00 Paris Saint-Germain 2 - 2 Valenciennes FC
21:00 AS Monaco FC FC Girondins de Bordeaux

C'est la crise à l'OM!!!

By the sound of things Ben Arfa had another blinder. Arf, arf, arf.

BB Bob

21-12-2008, 07:08 PM

C'est une ca-ta-strophe énorme pour les phocéens.....it must start to put some pressure on Gerets as well.

People can just about put up with bucket loads of attitude if you are Cristiano Ronaldo. When you are an over indulged brat who leaves cheques for €90,000 and cup winners medals in the locker of your last club....

GodstoneEagle

21-12-2008, 07:41 PM

Nancy! How good is their side? They have some real pace with Issar Dia, Kim etc.

BB Bob

21-12-2008, 07:51 PM

It's not going so well for les Girondins de Bordeaux

- Mi-Temps Monaco (12) 2 - 0 Bordeaux (3)
Pino (14e)
Licata (44e)

Last laugh to Ricardo (who used to manage Bordeaux before Blanc)

kabbott

21-12-2008, 09:03 PM

He who laughs last ... Incroyable!!!!

I couldn't believe my eyes. Almost turned the match off after the third Monaco goal went in.

21:00 AS Monaco FC 3 - 4 FC Girondins de Bordeaux

BB Bob

21-12-2008, 09:09 PM

Sounds like a fantastic finish to the first half of the season! Those Sunday nighters have been really good on the whole (OL - OM aside, of course!)

kabbott

21-12-2008, 09:12 PM

Sounds like a fantastic finish to the first half of the season! Those Sunday nighters have been really good on the whole (OL - OM aside, of course!)

People have been moaning about the lack of goals in la Ligue, but I think there were 33 in the 10 games, a record for the season so far.

kabbott

21-12-2008, 09:16 PM

By the way, I make that 6:4 to me. Champagne all round. We picked up our Xmas delivery yesterday afternoon. We'll be trying to hold out for another couple of days yet.

BB Bob

22-12-2008, 12:42 PM

Congrats. 6/10 - good score!

Bordeaux snatch second in seven-goal thriller
Just as it seemed that all three of the Ligue 1 giants vying for second place behind Lyon would falter, Bordeaux pulled off a stunning 4-3 come from behind win away to Monaco to clinch second place going into the break.
Sunday, December 21, 2008

AS Monaco FC / FC Girondins de Bordeaux : 3 - 4

>> Team Sheet
Despite their inconsistent form this season and poor results against Ligue 1's big sides, Monaco produced a dominant, assured performance in the first 50 minutes against a Bordeaux seemingly already on holidays on Sunday night at the Stade Louis II.

The men from the principality made the break as early as the 13th minute when poor judgement from Bordeaux 'keeper Ulrich Ramé saw him caught off his line as Colombian Juan Pablo Pino's free kick from distance sailed over his head and into the top corner.

Strikes from Alexandre Licata followed on either side of the break to give Monaco an unexpected 3-0 lead.

After seeing his men roundly dominated and moved around in the first half, Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc brought on Moroccan international striker Marouane Chamakh and Brazilian forward Jussiê in an effort to bridge the gap between the sides.

The move paid off just two minutes after Licata's second strike, with Chamakh beating out Croatian defender Dario Simic to head home Yohan Gourcuff's free kick to revive Bordeaux's hopes in the match.

Fifteen minutes later Alou Diarra made it 3-2 with a thumping drive from 25 metres that took a light deflection before sailing into the net, and Bordeaux rose in confidence as they played their way back into the match.

The excellent Chamakh returned to the fore with just three minutes of regulation time left, again heading home a ball from Gourcuff, this time from a corner, leveling the scores against a Monaco side stunned by Bordeaux's comeback and incessant waves of attack.

Two minutes later the Moroccan turned provider, feeding club top scorer Fernando Cavenaghi on the edge of the area with a delicate pass following a well-worked team move on the counter. The Argentine goal machine made no mistake, squeezing his shot through two defenders and past Stéphane Ruffier to seal the win with his 11th goal of the season and snatch an unbelievable victory from the jaws of an embarrassing defeat.

Bordeaux now sit three points behind autumn champions Lyon in second place, one point in front of third-placed Rennes. Monaco, who will no doubt be heavily disappointed with letting a three-goal advantage slip, drop two places to 14th.

Marseille crumble, Paris draw
In the race for second place behind autumn champions Lyon, Marseille and Paris both failed to keep the pace, respectively losing 3-0 to Nancy and drawing 2-2 at home to Valenciennes on Sunday night.
Sunday, December 21, 2008

Olympique de Marseille / AS Nancy Lorraine : 0 - 3

>> Team Sheet
Marseille lived out a nightmare at home to a resurgent Nancy, losing 3-0 in a shaky display that highlighted the problems their once-powerful attack is currently experiencing in the absence of injured Senegal striker Mamadou Niang.

In a performance that will doubtless draw the ire of infamously exacting Belgian coach Eric Gerets, Marseille started well, dominating possession in the opening stages, but failed to threaten, their attacks lacking speed, precision and a focal point.

Somewhat against the run of play, and with their first clear-cut chance, Nancy went ahead in the 34th minute when Jonathan Brison fired a dangerous angled shot along the ground past Steve Mandanda and into the feet of Moroccan international Youssouf Hadji, whose lucky touch cannoned into the net off the post.

A shocked Marseille tried to bounce back but the impressive Hadji, Nancy's leading scorer with five goals this season, was at it again five minutes later. Brison put the Moroccan clean through and the Marseille defence, claiming off-side, failed to play the whistle and stalled as Hadji, alone in front of Mandanda, brought Brison's pass down and fired home. While Nancy's Hélder had been in an off-side position, he was adjudged not t have interfered with play and referee Thierry Auriac let the goal stand.

Nancy went further ahead in the 56th minute thanks to another defensive error from the home side. Algerian international midfielder Karim Ziani lost the ball under pressure from Brison, who slotted a pass through two defenders to the surging Issiar Dia, who raced into the area to beat Mandanda with deft feint and a clinical right-foot shot.

Marseille managed to create a few chances in the second half but their efforts were in vain and Nancy finished the match deserved 3-0 winners. Marseille's attacking woes will doubtless cause a stir and add some urgency to their search for another striker during the winter transfer window.

The loss means Marseille drop from second spot, where they have sat for the last two weeks, to fifth, suffering a heavy blow in their quest to keep pace with leaders Lyon as well as the chasing pack of Rennes, Paris and Bordeaux. Nancy climb two places to 11th.

Paris Saint-Germain / Valenciennes FC : 2 - 2

>> Team Sheet
Paris will be regretting a host of spurned scoring chances in the second half after they drew 2-2 with Valenciennes at the Parc des Princes. Paris went ahead in the 26th minute through giant goal machine Guillaume Hoarau who, perfectly chested down Brazilian Marcos Ceara's pinpoint cross in the middle of the box. Surrounded by Valenciennes defenders, PSG's top scorer unleashed an incredible volley that cannoned into the back of the net for his 11th of the season.

Despite being mired in the relegation zone, Valenciennes are no easybeats and took the game to Paris, but Le Guen's first-choice line-up has really found its rhythm this season and, well-organised and solid defensively, limited Valenciennes to very few chances in the first half.

One minute into the second half however, with their first clear-cut scoring chance, Valenciennes drew level through Rudy Mater. Rising to head clear a ball down the right, Sylvain Armand mistimed his move and ended up nodding down into the path of Mater, who raced into the edge of the area before blasting a dippng ball underneath Mickaël Landreau and into the net to draw the scores even.

Paris reacted strongly and took control of the midfield, putting together some beautiful sequences of play linking their midfield with the lethal strike partnership of Ludovic Giuly and Hoarau. The forward pairing had six or seven clear-cut chances between them but couldn't find the final ball to make the break.

Paris's Benin international midfield maestro Stéphane Sessegnon had an enormous match, posing problems incessantly for the Valenciennes defence, and his efforts bore fruit in the 71st minute when Nicolas Penneteau in the VA goal could only parry his stinging shot from the edge of the area. Jérôme Rothen was on hand however and slotted home to re-take the lead for Paris with his second goal of the season.

Paris almost went further ahead just minutes later when Sessegnon fired a powerful looping shot from the edge of the area that cannoned off the crossbar and straight down before bouncing clear. Referee Bertrand Layec waved play on but Peguy Luyindula was too late to pounce on the rebound.

Valenciennes made Paris pay for their mistakes 12 minutes later when the excellent Mater, after a jinking run down the left, crossed for Grégory Pujol, whose neat back-heeled flick-on sailed over Landreau and onto the bar, dropping for the arriving Ivory Coast international Siaka Tiéné, who blasted home from close range to level the scores and salvage a point for the struggling Ligue 1 club.

The draw sees Paris provisionally climb one place to third ahead of Bordeaux's clash in Monaco. While the point won in the capital will do Antoine Kombouaré's Valenciennes the world of good in terms of confidence, they remain in 18th place on 15 points, four points shy of Saint-Etienne who sit just above the relegation zone.

BB Bob

22-12-2008, 12:45 PM

Gerets: ‘We were hopeless’
Disappointed Marseille coach Eric Gerets had no positives to draw on when talking about his team’s shock 3-0 defeat at home to Nancy on Sunday night.
http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0708_marseille_gerets.jpg
"We lost because we weren't capable of producing any good play. At 2-0 down, if you can score a goal quickly after half time, you might have a slight chance. But after the third goal, things were easy for our opposition. Nancy deserved the win."
Gerets also recognised that Marseille's attack, at one stage in the season the strongest in Ligue 1, went missing at the Stade Vélodrome.

"There were possibilities to score, because Nancy didn't shut the game down. But what was once our strong point proved to be our weakness."

But it wasn't just in attack that Marseille faltered, and Gerets knows his side will have to do better to stay in the race to challenge champions Lyon after holding down second place for several weeks.

"I hope that this defeat haunts us all week. We were hopeless!"

Blanc: ‘We couldn’t have hoped for better’
http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0708_l1_marseille_bordeaux_blanc_art.jpg
Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc was stunned by his side’s revival to win 4-3 against Monaco on Sunday night, but he knows that Les Girondins’ were lucky to get out of jail and that there is work to be done.
"We didn't do it on purpose, I can assure you," said a smiling Blanc. "With the first half we had, we couldn't have hoped for better. The players were already on holidays. They needed to wake up. When you're 2-0 down, you take any risk you can, and it could have finished 4-0."
Monaco's young line-up was put together in the last week by coach Ricardo in the face of an extensive injury list and Blanc knows this was a factor in his side's ability to come back from the brink.

"I think Monaco lost the match as much as Bordeaux won it. But I'm coach of Bordeaux and I know that my side fought hard for the win. That said, I think if we had been faced with a more experienced side, we wouldn't have been able to make the comeback we made. But we did it."

Despite the three points, Blanc is conscious that his team needs to do better.

"We don't have a sufficient superiority over other sides to allow ourselves to fall so far behind. This kind of thing happens just once in your career. We have to be aware of our deficiencies and fix them, especially in defence. But now we have 35 points, and that while having played in the Champions League at the same time. We're very satisfied."

BB Bob

22-12-2008, 12:48 PM

Table at la treve makes interesting reading:-

Ligue 1 P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 19 11 5 3 +11 38
2 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 19 10 5 4 +12 35

3 Stade Rennais FC 19 8 10 1 +11 34

4 Paris Saint-Germain 19 10 3 6 +7 33

5 Olympique de Marseille 19 8 8 3 +9 32
6 LOSC 19 8 8 3 +9 32
7 Toulouse FC 19 8 7 4 +4 31
8 OGC Nice 19 8 6 5 +4 30
9 FC Lorient 19 7 5 7 +2 26
10 AS Nancy Lorraine 19 6 7 6 +1 25
11 Grenoble Foot 38 19 6 7 6 -4 25
12 Le Mans UC 72 19 7 3 9 -3 24
13 SM Caen 19 5 8 6 +2 23
14 AS Monaco FC 19 6 5 8 -1 23
15 AJ Auxerre 19 5 5 9 -5 20
16 FC Nantes 19 5 5 9 -10 20
17 AS Saint-Etienne 19 6 1 12 -13 19

18 Valenciennes FC 19 3 6 10 -9 15
19 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 19 1 11 7 -7 14
20 Havre AC 19 3 3 13 -20 12

kabbott

23-12-2008, 10:45 AM

C'est la trêve hivernale... so here are a few mid-season statistics according to l'Equipe:

The dream team, with a few surprises, here consistency is rewarded:

1 - Planté (Caen) 6.33
2 - Congré (Toulouse) 5.58
3 - Armand (PSG) 5.72
5 - Cetto (Toulouse) 5.94
6 - Traoré (PSG) 5.9

4 - Didot (Toulouse) 6.11
8 - Cabaye (Lille) 6.06

7 - Gourcuff (Bordeaux) 6.18
9 - Benzema (Lyon) 6.43
10 - Gignac (Toulouse) 6.22
11 - Bastos (Lille) 6.17

kabbott

23-12-2008, 10:55 AM

C'est la trêve hivernale... so here are a few mid-season statistics according to l'Equipe:

Match of the season: Rennes 4:4 Marseille

Revelation of the season: C.Hoarau (PSG)

Exploit of the season: M.Pagis's hat trick for Rennes against Lyon

Goal of the season: M.Vahirua, for Lorient against Le Havre (14/12/08)

Surprise team: Rennes

Flop team: St. Etienne (although they're on their way up thanks to Reggie)

Flop player: Michael Gravgaard (arrived at Nantes with a solid reputation, has been embarrassingly poor)

Top goalscorers:
Gignac (Toulouse) 12
Cavenaghi (Bordeaux) 11
Hoarau (PSG) 11
Benzema (Lyon) 10
Bastos (Lille) 9

Top assists:
Hellebuyck (Nice) 8
Bastos (Lille) 7
Gourcuff (Bordeaux) 6
Gameiro (Lorient) 6

BB Bob

23-12-2008, 11:00 AM

Nice to see Nice getting some recognition again :rolleyes:

I would have thought that Ben Arfa was a prime candidate for flop player of the season with OM giving them a run for their money as flop team

Otherwise, I thought they were quite accurate

kabbott

23-12-2008, 11:07 AM

I would have thought that Ben Arfa was a prime candidate for flop player of the season with OM giving them a run for their money as flop team

Yes and no. Ben Arfa's statistics aren't that bad. It's just that he's so inconsistent, much like OM. He was booed off the park after his pitiful performance on Sunday. L'Equipe gave him 2/10 for that!

BB Bob

23-12-2008, 12:57 PM

Ben's article in the Grauniad

Monaco throw it all away as Lyon stay top in France
Laurent Blanc turns the heat up on Ricardo as Bordeaux stage remarkable recovery
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/12/23/1230036432950/Marouane-Chamakh-Diego-Pe-001.jpg
Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh, left, challenges for the ball with Monaco's Diego Perez Photograph: Lionel Cironneau/AP

Laurent Blanc may be one of the more popular coaches in France but it is unlikely he will be getting a Christmas card from the man he replaced as Bordeaux coach, Ricardo. Bordeaux beat Monaco, where the Brazilian is now coach, 6–0 in this fixture last season (with six second-half goals), but Sunday night's 4–3 victory, though just as spectacular, was potentially more damaging. Bordeaux recovered from 3–0 down with 40 minutes left to win 4–3 and remain three points behind top side Lyon.

Talk about going out with a bang. This last round of fixtures before the winter break had it all: last-minute winners, disallowed efforts, comedy banners, shock results and 33 goals — more than any round of the season so far. Lyon even won for the first time in five games while Marseille and Paris St-Germain both dropped points at home.

The stand-out game was at Stade Louis II, where Monaco fans called for Ricardo to be replaced after Bordeaux scored two goals in the last three minutes for a result L'Equipe called "Incroyable!". You have to feel some sympathy for Ricardo, however: Monaco are a totally different club to the one that reached the 2004 Champions League final. They have no money and the side that started against Bordeaux were missing Flavio Roma, Leandro Cufré, Alejandro Alonso and Park Chu-Young, their player of the season. The team that started against Bordeaux had an average age of 23.

Ricardo, who was reported to have had a strained relationship with some of his players at Bordeaux, claimed that he knew his side were in trouble even at 3–0. "We had a lot of young players out there [including three teenagers] and for an hour they did great," he said. "But if you lose in those circumstances it has to be the coach's fault." That seemed to be the opinion of the supporters who scuffled with Ricardo in the car park after the game and even Blanc did little to discourage that view. "My players were on holiday in the first half and we took risks when were 2–0 down," he said. "But I think Monaco lost it as much as we won it."

Le Président deserves some credit for his punchy substitutions: bringing on Jussie and Marouane Chamakh, who scored two goals, at half-time and replacing centre-back Marc Planus with winger Yoann Gouffran with 20 minutes left.

Blanc had to go for the win because of results elsewhere. Lyon kicked off the weekend with a 1–0 win at Caen, where they have lost for the last two seasons, after another fantastic strike from Karim Benzema. It has been a tricky week for the club, with Fred kicking it off with a plea to leave — "I don't get enough games here," he said — Sidney Govou caught drink-driving and five times over the legal limit and ended with Lyon drawn to face Barcelona in the Champions League.

Responding to each issue <a href="<i>L%E2%80%99Equipethe Lyon president, Jean-Michel Aulas, insisted that coach Claude Puel wants Fred to stay, admitting that the striker was a good negotiator. "When he says he's going to sign, it means he's not going, and when he says he wants to leave it might mean he wants to sign," said Aulas, who probably taught Fred all he knows. (Lesson One: tell interested clubs your best player is not for sale. "Karim will not leave, he will stay until 2010, he's indispensable.")

The Govou incident disappointed Aulas, but typically he turned the situation to his own advantage, preferring to attack the Caen fans for the banner that read: "Govou, come and have a little drink at our place." Aulas said: "I was hurt for Sidney and it's the sort of thing that will one day make me walk away from football." We should be so lucky.

As for the Champions League, Aulas's response is to give Puel funds to spend in January. "If we want to go further we're going to have to be stronger than we are today and I'm prepared to put aside the financial results for the next couple of years to invest now. We'll try to get closer to the top teams whatever the cost." Because of the injuries to François Clerc and Anthony Réveillère, the full-back positions are the most likely areas Puel will want to improve, with the Sunderland right-back Pascal Chimbonda, West Ham's Julien Faubert and Hoffenheim's Andreas Beck reportedly on their list.

Lyon's victory meant that the other two teams chasing them, Marseille and PSG, needed home wins to keep in touch. Marseille were blitzed on the counter-attack by Nancy and, though the visitors only had four shots on goals, they still won 3-0. "We were rubbish," said their coach, Eric Gerets. Defensively Marseille are still all over the place, something they might get away with if their attack was more productive. Gerets still has no idea how best to play Hatem Ben Arfa, Mathieu Valbuena and Bakary Koné, and has them regularly switching from left to right to the centre to find the elusive formula. The absence of the injured Mamadou Niang has not helped but scoring only two goals in their last six games says a lot.

"I've got the players I want and if we don't do well this season it will be down to me," said Gerets a few weeks ago, but his president, Pape Diouf, has now said there will be money to spend, and Fred, Bafétimbi Gomis and Steve Savidan are on their list. "The problem is that clubs don't want to let their players go, like the president of Caen who wants €20m [£19m] for Savidan," he said.

PSG came down to earth with a bump after Thursday's 4–0 Uefa Cup win over FC Twente saw them into the last 32. They were 2–1 up against Valenciennes when Stéphane Sessegnon's shot hit the crossbar, bounced over the line and came back into play. The referee, Bernard Layec, ruled it was not a goal and the Valenciennes full-back Siaka Tiéné equalised with five minutes left. "From where we were sitting, we couldn't be sure the ball had gone in, so I don't blame him for not giving it," said Paul Le Guen. "Anyway, the ref is from Britanny like me, so how could I be angry with him?"

Sessegnon has been one of the players of the season but probably comes in a close second behind Michel Bastos of Lille, the winger who scored again in a 3–1 win over Le Havre, for whom the coach, Frédéric Hantz, was in charge for the first time. Bastos, a Brazilian free-kick expert with nine goals this season, is out of contract in June and has a decision on his hands. Panathinaikos have bid for him, Lyon have been linked, while the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is a known admirer. "I'm pleased I'm being talked about and, in my head, I know what I want to do," he said. Expect him to stay until June and then leave France with a fat contract in the summer.

Elsewhere Pierre-André Gignac's two goals for Toulouse put him top of the scoring charts, but another late goal, from Vincent Hognon four minutes into added time, earned Nice a 2–2 draw. Sochaux drew their fifth straight game, this one at Nantes, while Rennes, 2–1 winners over Lorient, and now unbeaten in 17, end the year in second place. Their coach, Guy Lacombe, is pondering a contract extension over the festive break and Rod Fanni, their international full-back, said: "Every player looks up in the table rather than down but I still see us as outsiders."

There promises to be interesting movements in the January transfer window, but the wish for 2009 is that the chasing pack continue to close the gap on a far-from-convincing Lyon. Ricardo, meanwhile, will just be hoping Monaco stay up and he can keep his job. Joyeux Noël!

Results, week 19 Lorient 1–2 Rennes, Toulouse 2–2 Nice, Lille 3–1 Le Havre, Grenoble 2–1 Le Mans, St-Etienne 2–0 Auxerre, Nantes 1–1 Sochaux, Caen 0–1 Lyon, Marseille 0–3 Nancy, PSG 2–2 Valenciennes, Monaco 3–4 Bordeaux

BB Bob

24-12-2008, 10:08 AM

BB Bob

24-12-2008, 10:10 AM

And I know we are all very keen to see how Calais and Cassis-Carnoux are doing!

National

Equipe Pts J. G. N. P. p. c. Diff.
1 Istres 39 17 11 6 0 29 9 20
2 Laval 36 18 10 6 2 25 13 12
3 Arles 34 18 10 4 4 27 17 10

4 Sète 31 18 8 7 3 16 10 6
5 Cassis-Carnoux 31 18 8 7 3 20 17 3
6 Louhans-Cuiseaux 26 18 6 8 4 19 20 -1
7 Paris FC 25 16 7 4 5 21 20 1
8 Beauvais 23 18 6 5 7 25 24 1
9 Pacy-sur-Eure 22 18 6 4 8 20 22 -2
10 Croix-de-Savoie 22 17 6 4 7 18 20 -2
11 Créteil 21 17 3 12 2 17 15 2
12 Cannes 20 17 5 5 7 17 20 -3
13 Calais 20 18 5 5 8 16 20 -4
14 Cherbourg 19 17 3 10 4 18 20 -2
15 Bayonne 19 17 5 4 8 9 12 -3
16 Gueugnon 18 18 3 9 6 17 18 -1

17 Rodez 17 17 4 5 8 17 20 -3
18 Niort 15 18 2 9 7 12 19 -7
19 Libourne-Saint-Seurin 13 17 3 4 10 14 25 -11
20 Entente SSG 13 18 3 4 11 12 28 -16

kabbott

24-12-2008, 11:57 AM

Let's finish with a round up of the other leagues:-

Ligue 2

Equipe Pts J. G. N. P. p. c. Diff.
1 Lens 37 18 12 1 5 26 17 9
2 Strasbourg 33 18 9 6 3 29 18 11
3 Montpellier 32 18 9 5 4 32 15 17

4 Boulogne-sur-Mer 32 18 9 5 4 23 14 9
5 Angers 31 18 8 7 3 26 17 9
6 Metz 29 18 8 5 5 19 15 4
7 Tours FC 27 18 8 3 7 25 24 1
8 Troyes 26 18 7 5 6 18 17 1
9 Vannes OC 25 18 7 4 7 13 16 -3
10 Bastia 23 18 6 5 7 19 20 -1
11 Brest 22 18 7 1 10 18 21 -3
12 Clermont Foot 22 18 5 7 6 21 25 -4
13 Amiens 21 18 4 9 5 15 16 -1
14 Dijon 21 18 5 6 7 20 24 -4
15 Sedan 21 18 5 6 7 17 23 -6
16 Guingamp 20 18 4 8 6 15 17 -2
17 Châteauroux 20 18 5 5 8 18 22 -4

18 AC Ajaccio 20 18 5 5 8 25 31 -6
19 Nîmes 13 18 2 7 9 14 26 -12
20 Reims 12 18 2 6 10 18 33 -15

A terrible fall from grace for Reims. Bottom of L2 and heading for the National, they look like they have appointed former PSG manager Jean Fernandez to save them.

You probably know better than me, kabbott. Is this the equivalent of Man City getting relegated to the conference?

Not Jean Fernandez who is currently managing Auxerre, but Luis Fernandez, ex coach/manager of Cannes (I'm pretty sure he launched a certain Zinédine Zidane's career when he was a junior at Cannes), PSG (twice), Athletico Bilbao, Espanyol Barcelona, Al-Rayyan Club (Qatar), Bétar Jerusalem and Betis Séville.

Luis Fernandez, as a player, was one of the the magical midfield quartet which won the European Nations' Cup in 1984 along with Tigana, Giresse and Platini.
He's got the reputation of being the ''Red Adair'' of French and Spanish football arriving to put out the relegation fire and then naffing off again. He's a pretty outspoken bloke. Il n'a pas sa langue dans sa poche, as the French put it. He has, or maybe had, his own radio show called Luis Attaque (this, by the way, is a pun on the French rock group, Louise Attaque, who you may or may not have heard of). At the height of his popularity his ''guignol'', the French equivalent of ''Spitting Images'', made regular appearances, coming across as a thick but likeable character, which is very much what he is.
I think he thinks French football needs him. It looks like Reims do. He still believes he will go back to PSG one day to lead them to European glory. Let's not forget that Luis Fernandez was the PSG coach at the time when a young Ronaldinho arrived in Europe for the first time. He didn't play him very often because he often turned up late for training and generally didn't take training too seriously. Oh well. Bonne chance Luis, on t'aime, but not as much as Reggie.

kabbott

24-12-2008, 12:39 PM

Reims are hard to compare with any English side really. Reims lost 2 European Cup Finals in the 50s, at least one of them was to Real Madrid, but I'll have to check.
They also won the French Ligue 7 times in the 50s which was a record at the time, later to be equalled by St. Etienne in the 70s and beaten by the one and only Olympique Lyonnais. In that respect one could compare them to Wolves who won the 1st Division 3 times in the 50s.
The most famous player for Reims was the legendary Just Fontaine who holds the record, which will surely never be beaten, of the highest number of goals scored in the final phase of the World Cup with something like 14 goals.

BB Bob

24-12-2008, 10:23 PM

Thanks for that (as usual!).

Have a great Xmas!

kabbott

24-12-2008, 10:52 PM

Joyeux Noêl to BB Bob and family, philsick, Riley, GodstoneEagle and all Francophiles and Palace lovers all over the world. Madame kabbott did me proud as usual, à table I should add, and it's good night from him ...

BB Bob

30-12-2008, 09:56 AM

Hope you all had a great Xmas and are not feeling too mince-pied out (or foie grassé in your case kabbott)

Here are some mid season break shorts to keep you quiet

Marseille on the hunt for a striker
Marseille’s sporting director José Anigo has confirmed that the southern club is looking to recruit a new striker during the January transfer window.
With a long-term injury to star striker Mamadou Niang and coinciding with a slump in front of goal that has seen Marseille faltering in the race to challenge Lyon for the title, Marseille needs to bolster its front line.
But Anigo says the club is working with the utmost discretion on its winter recruitment, refusing to give details of the leads it is following to bring a new striker to the Stade Vélodrome.

"The deals we're actually working on at the moment have not been reported by the media. We haven't, for example, made any contact with Quercia (Auxerre), Le Tallec (Le Mans) or Grax (saint-Etienne)."

To finance any eventual transfer, Marseille could well look to use funds secured by deals for forwards Elliot Grandin and Mamadou Samassa, with Grenoble coach Mécha Bazdarevic confirming on Saturday in La Provence that he is interested in both players, albeit on a loan basis.

_______________________________

Makelele: ‘Step by step’
Paris Saint-Germain captain Claude Makelele says that despite his side’s high-flying recent form and strong position on the Ligue 1 table, the club’s top priority remains ensuring their top-flight survival.
With memories of last season's relegation battle still fresh in many minds in the French capital, Makelele isn't getting carried away with the first half of the season that has seen Paris notch 33 points and secure fourth place on the table.
"The most important thing is to continue to progress step by step – and the next step is to assure our Ligue 1 survival."

While this kind of talk could seem downbeat for a club that has carved a niche for itself among the sides who could challenge champions Lyon for the title, Makelele explains that it's a case of first things first.

"Sure our ambitions have changed in terms of the fact that we're in a more comfortable position now. However, I repeat that avoiding relegation remains our number one priority as we haven't yet secured our survival in Ligue 1. The most important thing is to come back from the break with the drive to collect the couple of points that we're yet to get."

Only once the danger of relegation is taken care of, the men from the capital will turn their sights to loftier goals.

"Then we'll look to staying in the top ten. After that, the third step will just be a bonus. I believe we have to stay humble and first of all achieve the objectives that were set at the start of the season."

(You know, Nice can get away with saying we are just looking to avoid relegation, but I'm not sure it washes at PSG!!!! - BBB)

__________________________________

Faubert eyes French return
West Ham’s French right-back Julien Faubert says he would welcome a move back to Ligue 1 in January and has Lyon and PSG in his sights.
The France international left Bordeaux for England's West Ham at the end of the 2006-07 season where he has played just 24 matches in his 18 months at the Premier League club.
With his first and only appearance for France dating back to August 2006, when he scored a goal against Bosnia, the 25 year-old knows he needs first-team action to have a hope of returning to the national team set-up.

"I need to play, I'm 25 years old now. Even though I feel great here, I can't rule out the possibility of returning to France. I'm open to everything."

Faubert does however have some idea of where he would prefer to go.

"Clubs like Lyon and PSG are very attractive. We'll see in January."

Both Ligue 1 giants currently lack a dedicated right-back

(Could be a good signing for Lyon?)

__________________________________

Foreign Correspondent: Fernando Cavenaghi
There may have been raised eyebrows and cries of 'Fernando who?' when he joined Bordeaux two years ago, but goalscorer-supreme Fernando Cavenaghi has made more than a name for himself in the Gironde.

Only the most scholarly of football fans knew of the Argentine striker's potential when Bordeaux paid Spartak Moscow an undisclosed fee - thought to be in the region of €8 million - for Cavenaghi in January 2007.

A record of twelve goals in 51 appearances for the Russian side hardly had Les Girondins faithful jumping for joy at his signature. However, after 28 league strikes in 51 outings for Bordeaux, the threat of Europe's biggest clubs luring him away from the Stade Chaban-Delmas during the winter transfer window means the club's supporters face an anxious festive period.

'Great club'

English side Tottenham Hotspur and Scottish giants Celtic have both reportedly made enquiries for the 25-year-old, who - though not ruling out an eventual departure - insists he sees his immediate future at Bordeaux.

"I'm ready to listen to interesting offers - I have to think of my career, but I don't want to leave for the sake of leaving. If I stay, I'll be very happy, because I really feel good at Bordeaux," said Cavenaghi, who earned his 'Cavenagol' moniker with an impressive 55 goals in 88 games for River Plate, a record which provoked favourable comparisons with predecessor Gabriel 'Batigol' Batistuta.

"It's absolutely fantastic for me to find myself at Bordeaux after six very difficult months in Russia. Bordeaux is a great club. They try to play football the right way - on the deck - and the coach's philosophy fits my game. I love playing like that."

'Collective goal'

While Bordeaux has been good to Cavenaghi, he has been exceptional for Bordeaux, starting all but two of the 19 league games in which he has featured, plundering eleven goals to make him France's joint-second top scorer come the winter break.

"Above all, I try to score to win. We have a collective goal, which is to win the league and the cups. After that, it would be great for me to be the league's top goalscorer," said Cavenaghi, who is currently just a goal shy of Ligue 1's leading marksman, André-Pierre Gignac, and fully aware of the level of competition to finish as this season's top scorer.

"There are many players who can stop me. Gignac, [Guillaume] Hoarau, Gomis, [Steve] Savidan and - of course - [Karim] Benzema. He's the best of the lot, the best player in Ligue 1. A real phenomenon."

Argentina ambition

While his predatory instincts in front of goal have helped raise his profile in France - "I'm not a star, well, perhaps just a little one at Bordeaux," he claims modestly - Cavenaghi also hopes news of his exploits will reach the ears of his country's greatest-ever player and current national team coach, Diego Maradona.

"I hope Maradona will take a look at the leading scorers in the French league, because in Argentina, people watch the Italian and Spanish and even English leagues much more. The media in my country have continued to follow me since I played at Spartak, but not too much, because there are very few Argentines in Ligue 1," said Cavenaghi, who hopes to add to his four caps at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. "That's my dream. The problem is that all the best Argentinian strikers play in the biggest clubs."

(There are probably plenty of teams looking at him - Blanc may struggle to hold onto him in Jan)
________________________

[B]Aulas: 'Pitch before profit'
Jean-Michel Aulas has sounded a chilling warning to Lyon's Ligue 1 rivals by declaring results on the pitch will take priority over those on the balance sheet in the next three years.

The OL president has made no secret of his ambition to see the seven-time French champions dominate on the European as well as the domestic scene, and has promised coach Claude Puel the financial backing to forge a side capable of winning the Champions League.

"We've decided that we want to build ourselves up to get closer to the very top level of European football," said Aulas, who has turned the club from Ligue 2 dwellers into a French footballing superpower in two decades.

"We're going to focus less on the financial results for this season and the two seasons to come. The sporting side of things will be our priority, and we're going to try and match the very best."

'We'll invest'

OL's win at Caen in Week 19 ensured they picked up their fifth successive 'autumn champions' crown, and they currently hold a three-point lead over the chasing pack. A Champions League last 16 tie against Barcelona awaits in February, but Aulas does not want the club to rest on its laurels, despite the financial crisis.

"We have the means to make a difference. We're going to invest," said Aulas. "It'll be up to Claude Puel to decide. It's up to him to make the most appropriate choice, and he will have the power to invest."

While Fred looks set to leave the Stade Municipal de Gerland, Aulas downplayed the possibility the Brazilian would be replaced by Caen star Steve Savidan, and added that Karim Benzema would spend at least another season-and-a-half in a Lyon shirt.

"He won't leave. That's not what we have in mind," said Aulas. "He's going to stay until 2010. Karim is indispensable - he's a world-class player."

Last word - as ever - from Aulas!

A bientot

kabbott

30-12-2008, 01:02 PM

C'est toujours la trêve hivernale ici and l'Equipe, comme d'hab, at this time of the year is having touble putting a few pages together. (Un)fortunately they've got la Vendée Globe to fall back on, plus loads of English Premier football to talk about. I could have watched 4 or 5 games of le football de boxing day on Canal+, but it was harder to digest than one of my mum and dad's turkeys I had to put up with for the first 20 or so years of my life. Having said that I don't think I could look another oyster in the eye?!? well not until tomorrow night anyway. Hoping to get foie grassé again and maybe a bit lobstered too. We're playing at home again tomorrow night, like last year, so we should be able to make it back to the changing rooms after the game. I don't think I'll be able to manage much of a troisième mi-temps though, but you won't be getting a report of that in L'Equipe nor on here.

There are, however, one or two interesting bits to read. This is L'Equipe's World 11:

1 - I.Casillas

2 - D.Alves
3 - P.Evra
5 - N.Vidic
6 - R.Ferdinand

4 - X.Hernandez
8 - S.Gerrard

7 - C.Ronaldo
11 - L.Messi
9 - F.Torres
10 - Z.Ibrahimovic

GodstoneEagle

30-12-2008, 01:36 PM

Has Hoarau been that much of a surprise? Wasn't he on loan at Le Havre last year?

kabbott

30-12-2008, 02:04 PM

Has Hoarau been that much of a surprise? Wasn't he on loan at Le Havre last year?

PSG bought him from Le Havre this time last year but loaned him back to Le Havre until the end of the season. He scored a hatful of goals (more than 20, which is quite rare for Ligue 2 and French football in general). Even though he looked good the few times he was on TV, he's tall, strong, good in the air and can use both feet, it's pretty rare for a player to jump up from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1 because there is said to be a bigger difference in level than, say, between the Premier League and the Championship.

He's not far from getting a call-up to the National team along with Gignac who is having a corker of a season too.

kabbott

30-12-2008, 02:27 PM

Yesterday L'Equipe came up with another fine idea. They imagined what the Ligue 1 teams would be if they couldn't buy players and could only use players that had come through their Academies. The rankings wezre then made up by counting the number of internationals etc. And the winner is: Le Havre. This is the team:

S.Mandanda
(Marseille)

P.Chimbonda S.Diawara J-A.Boumsong L.Nestor
(Sunderland) (Bordeaux) (Lyon) (Le Havre)

D.Digard L.Diarra C.N'Zogbia
(Middlesborough) (Real Madrid) (Newcastle)

F.Sinama-Tongolle C.Hoarau M.Niang
(Athletico Madrid) (Paris SG) (Marseille)

BB Bob

30-12-2008, 04:03 PM

That's not a bad team in anyone's book! I don't think they were all born and bred du Havre, though.

kabbott

30-12-2008, 05:06 PM

That's not a bad team in anyone's book! I don't think they were all born and bred du Havre, though.

I don't see what you're getting at.

BB Bob

30-12-2008, 05:10 PM

Well, Niang is from Senegal, isn't he?

kabbott

30-12-2008, 07:43 PM

Well, Niang is from Senegal, isn't he?

Sorry BB Bob, I did see what you were getting at.

kabbott

30-12-2008, 08:00 PM

S.Mandanda - born in the Republic of the Congo
P.Chimbonda - born in Guadeloupe
S.Diawara - born in Senegal
J-A.Boumsong - born in Cameroon
L.Nestor - born in France
D.Digard - born in France
L.Diarra - born in France (parents from Mali)
C.N'Zogbia - born in France (locally but parents of African origin)
F.Sinama-Pongolle - born in Réunion
G.Hoarau - born in Réunion
M.Niang - born in Senegal

It's quite possible, as with most French clubs now, that they've got a very good scouting network set up in French-speaking African countries and islands which are part of France.

BB Bob

31-12-2008, 05:27 PM

I think that is pretty representative of most French teams and their youth academies, isn't it? Not in a bad way at all and it is one of the things I like about french football. You do tend to see players from all over the world as the Work Permit restrictions are much looser.

kabbott

01-01-2009, 12:24 AM

Bonne année, bonne santé!
Got rid of the guests, cleaing up now.
Who fancies a little ride tomorrow morning?

BB Bob

02-01-2009, 08:17 PM

Happy New Year to all!

I didn't make a ride, but I had a very nice 8 mile walk around the coast and a very pleasant pint or two after!

Just having a little laugh after seeing that OM seem to think that Henrik Larsson is the answer to their problems. Maybe 5 years ago, but now?

kabbott

03-01-2009, 12:56 PM

French Cup this weekend, and, like in England, the big boys are joining in. Lille had an easy win last night, and I've just found a French overseas channel showing the island of the Réunion's sole representative S.S. Jeanne D'Arc (Division d'Honneur= Division6) against Tours F.C. (L2) being played in front of a couple of hundred fans. Tours have just scored as I'm typing!
Lyon have got a potential banana skin against a Britanny team, Concarneau (CFA2=Div5).

And Philsick's team Clermont are up against the minnows of Schirrhein (District=Div7/8!) which is somewhere between Strasbourg and the German border. A lot of the games are under threat because of sus-zero temperatures especially in the north-east of France.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 02, 2009

20:45 Ste Geneviève 0:3 LOSC

SATURDAY, JANUARY 03, 2009

14:30 SS Jeanne Arc Le Port - Tours FC
14:30 Yzeure - Le Mans UC 72
14:30 Eclaron Valcourt - Dijon FCO
15:00 Alfortville - Havre AC
15:30 Schirrhein - Clermont Foot
17:00 Raon L'Etape - Grenoble Foot 38
17:00 Andrézieux Bouthéon - CS Sedan
18:00 Vannes OC - LB Châteauroux
18:00 Louhans-Cuiseaux - ESTAC
18:00 Montpellier HSC - Dunkerque
18:00 Saint-Omer - EA Guingamp
18:00 Alençon - FC Lorient
19:00 Stade Brestois - Croix de Savoie
19:00 Niort - US Boulogne CO
21:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard - Stade Rennais FC
21:00 FC Nantes - SM Caen
21:00 Concarneau - Olympique Lyonnais
21:00 Romorantin - AS Nancy Lorraine
21:00 Toulouse FC - Valenciennes FC
21:00 AC Ajaccio - AJ Auxerre
21:00 Arras - OGC Nice
21:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux - AS Saint-Etienne

SUNDAY, JANUARY 04, 2009

14:45 Blagnac - AS Monaco FC
17:30 Montluçon - Paris Saint-Germain
21:00 Besançon - Olympique de Marseille

BB Bob

03-01-2009, 03:11 PM

Its pretty chilly here too, kabott. Bits of the South got to -8 last night, which isn't ideal for football pitches!

I've been to Concarneau - very pretty. I can't believe they will get a result against the mighty OL though. Besancon on the other hand.......

kabbott

03-01-2009, 04:33 PM

Oh dear, Philsick;This is pretty hard to believe:

Jeanne d'Arc 1 - 7 Tours FC
Roger (70e) Faye (14e, 45e, 68e), Giroud (30e, 57e, 82e, 88e)

Yzeure 0 - 0(4 tab 5) Le Mans (Le Mans through after penalty shoot-out)
Alfortville 0 - 2 Le Havre
Alassane (29e), Noro (62e)

Schirrhein 4 - 2 Clermont Foot
Wagner (64e) Grougi (15e), Poté (37e)
Marty (73e)
Martzolff (81e)
Roth (85e)

BB Bob

03-01-2009, 05:04 PM

You beat me to it!

http://img.lequipe.fr/Xml/Media/030109_schirrhein_joie.jpg

Oh dear, as you say!

BB Bob

03-01-2009, 06:41 PM

http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Titres/Media/030109_sch_bve.jpg

kabbott

04-01-2009, 03:16 PM

French Cup results in so far:

Ste Geneviève 0 - 3 LOSC
Concarneau - Olympique Lyonnais
SS Jeanne Arc Le Port 1 - 7 Tours FC
Yzeure 0 - 0 a.e.t.
4 to 5 Le Mans UC 72
Alfortville 0 - 2 Havre AC
Schirrhein 4 - 2 Clermont Foot
Raon L'Etape 0 - 0 a.e.t.
3 to 4 Grenoble Foot 38
Andrézieux Bouthéon 0 - 2 CS Sedan
Vannes OC 1 - 0 LB Châteauroux
Louhans-Cuiseaux 0 - 1 ESTAC
Montpellier HSC 0 - 1 Dunkerque
Saint-Omer 1 - 3 EA Guingamp
Alençon 2 - 2 a.e.t.
2 to 3 FC Lorient
Stade Brestois 2 - 2 a.e.t.
5 to 4 Croix de Savoie
Niort 1 - 2 a.e.t. US Boulogne CO
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 0 - 1 Stade Rennais FC
FC Nantes 2 - 2 a.e.t.
3 to 5 SM Caen
Romorantin 0 - 0 a.e.t.
4 to 2 AS Nancy Lorraine
Toulouse FC 0 - 0 a.e.t.
5 to 4 Valenciennes FC
AC Ajaccio 1 - 1 a.e.t.
3 to 2 AJ Auxerre
Arras 1 - 3 a.e.t. OGC Nice
FC Girondins de Bordeaux 0 - 1 AS Saint-Etienne

kabbott

04-01-2009, 08:11 PM

Not sure if I've given all the results. A few matches called off and Besançon v Marseille is on at the moment being played on an ice-rink. If Marseille and Lyon go through, they're up against each other in the next round!!!
The other mouth-watering tie is, of course Monaco v Nice. What do you think of that BB Bob?
Without rubbing it in, Philsick, giantkillers Schirrhein have a good tie against Toulouse to mull over. It was, by the way, only the fourth time in French Cup history that a team 5 divisions below the other has won a match.

Concarneau (CFA2) ou Lyon (L1) - Besançon (CFA) ou Marseille (L1)
Troyes (L2) - Rodez (N)
Dijon (L2) - Villefranche (CFA)
Dunkerque (CFA) - Lille (L1)
Ajaccio (L2) - Vannes (L2)
Monaco (L1) - Nice (L1)
Lorient (L1) - Tours (L2)
Rennes (L1) - Saint-Etienne (L1)
Le Havre (L1) - Le Mans (L1)
Boulogne-sur-Mer (L2) - Caen (L1)
Pont-de-Roide (DH) ou GFCO Ajaccio (CFA) - Paris-SG (L1)
Guingamp (L2) - Brest (L2)
Grande Synthe (DH) - Grenoble (L1)
AS Vitré (CFA) - Créteil (N)
Romorantin (CFA) - Sedan (L2)
Schirrhein (D) - Toulouse (L1)

BB Bob

05-01-2009, 07:30 AM

philsick

05-01-2009, 08:25 AM

Oh dear, Philsick;This is pretty hard to believe:

Schirrhein 4 - 2 Clermont Foot
Wagner (64e) Grougi (15e), Poté (37e)
Marty (73e)
Martzolff (81e)
Roth (85e)

Who the hell are schirrhein:eek: .0.2 up at one point.

They can wheel out the old"concentrate on the league" chestnut.

Decent result for st ettiene though.

BB Bob

05-01-2009, 08:31 AM

Schirrhein Boss Hails Coupe De France Giant Killing
Rank outsiders in the Coupe de France, seventh division side Schirrhein, progressed to the last 32 of the competition with a fairytale win over Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot.

Languishing in the seventh tier of French football, the Excellence league of the Alsace region, few had given Schirrhein a hope when they faced off against Ligue 2 stalwarts Clermont Foot in the Coupe de France.

At half time the match appeared to be going by the form book as the minnows trailed 2-0, but, in a Hollywood-style ending, the Alsatians scored an incredible four times in the final 26 minutes to power through to the last 32.

“There are always some surprises in the Coupe de France but, when you’re trailing 2-0 at half time against a team that’s fully five divisions above you, it’s unbelievable,” smiled a delighted Hervé Strum, coach of Schirrhein, to the press at full time.

“Legs Of Madness”

Even trailing by two goals at half time, Strum felt his side still had a fighting chance in the match.

“In the first half, Clermont only had three chances but they were able to put the ball in the net twice so I was able to convey a message of hope,” he explained.

“In the second half, I felt our opponents were feverish and that we could put them in difficulty. We reduced the score and then our players got legs of madness.

“This result is not due to chance, there are strong foundations at this club and the players have done a lot of work for three weeks.”

“This is incredible,” exclaimed president Pierre Dillinger. “This was our Mont Blanc, now we must conquer Mount Everest!”

________________________

ASSE's result was excellent and if they can hang on to Gomis in January - and the good news is he's has said he wants to stay - they could have a much better second half of the season. Reggie magic again!

Am I alone in thinking there is something not quite right at Bordeaux? A good first season as a coach for Blanc is turning into a bit of a mare of a second, with very patchy form. If he wants to move on to big things, he needs to get a grip before his season turns to dust in his hands.

kabbott

05-01-2009, 04:41 PM

I'll have to get a scooter so that I can rev the engine hard and toodle down the coast road from Nice to Monte Carlo with the thousands who make the journey!

I have just seen highlights of the Nice game in Arras and I am amazed that the game took place at all. The weekends weather certainly helped the smaller clubs, although Marseille got through on panalties after a 1-1 draw and PSG sneaked a 1-0 win

Marseille were literally minutes from getting knocked out. And then everybody was on about how Lyon ''got'' their game called off! I can hardly see how it suits them to spend a whole day travelling the length of France only to see their match called off, and then have to go back there in 10 days and play in the week between 2 Ligue fixtures.

BB Bob

05-01-2009, 07:06 PM

Reggie has had to deny that he is unbeatable in the Cup after winning two years ago with Sochaux and last year with Lyon. A sneaky €10 on ASSE it is then! :D :D :D

BB Bob

05-01-2009, 08:43 PM

Tell the difference

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd195/larry2114/untitled-1.jpg
ASSE Manager Alain Perrin

http://lyonmag.com/images/34887648242e9883c5b3a4f029bb741c.jpg
70s sitcom hero Reggie Perrin

BB Bob

07-01-2009, 05:44 PM

Some little pieces for you

Puel’s priority: keep Benzema

Lyon coach Claude Puel has taken stock of his side’s fist half of a ‘transitional’ season and says the key to winning an eighth consecutive French title is simple – hang onto Karim Benzema.
While Lyon once again claimed the honorific title of Autumn Champions in December, their lead over the rest of L1 is uncharacteristically narrow – just three points ahead of second-placed Bordeaux – but coach Claude Puel can explain the relatively 'poor' situation at the seven-time champions.
"It's a transitional season. Many of my players have never played in Europe before and aren't used to playing so many matches in such a short period of time. That's why this season is an exercise in constructing and developing the squad. But still, we need to get results, because we're Lyon."

In order to achieve this goal, Puel has just one minimum requirement: "We have to hang onto Karim Benzema. For the club's future, this is absolutely fundamental and our top priority. We know what an important player he has become but he still needs another year to be really ready to play in bigger leagues."

Lyon take on Lorient on Saturday night as the L1 season resumes
________________________________________

Klasnic wants results with Nantes
Croatia international Ivan Klasnic has spoken to the French press about being ‘mis-quoted’ and about his desire to stay at Nantes and make an impression.
The Croat striker has finally spoken to the press again after a self-imposed media ban following an interview he gave to a German paper that he feels was mis-quoted in the French press.
"All I said was that many of Nantes' players played in Ligue 2 last season. Ligue 1 is a different story. I'm not the hero. If the team plays well, I can score."

Klasnic, who has scored just two goals since his summer transfer from German Budesliga outfit Werder Bremen, has experienced some difficulties in adjusting to the French game, but says he is keen to turn things around with Les Canaris.

"It's true that my adaptation here has been more difficult than I thought it would be. But I have a contract here. I want to get results with FC Nantes. I want to do better and show what my experience at Bremen gave me."

Nantes travel to Monaco on Saturday night as Ligue 1 gets back into full swing after the winter break.
__________________________________________

Rool optimistic of Nice resurgence
Veteran defender Cyril Rool is looking forward to the second half of the season as Nice gear up for Saturday's encounter with Nancy.

The 33-year-old was instrumental in his side's impressive campaign to the halfway stage, and the well-travelled full-back is looking for a repeat performance until May.

"We're in a good situation even if we lacked a little freshness at the end of the year," said Rool, who has featured in 12 league games for Frédéric Antonetti's side this season.

"We've got 30 points at the winter break. We would have taken that at the start of the season. It would be good to repeat that over the second half of the season."

'Fresh start'

Currently down in eighth - five points behind second-placed Bordeaux - Nice would have been closer to the top three but for a winless December which saw them pick up just two points in four games.

Rool believes the postponed Week 16 fixture with Grenoble - in which victory would have seen Antonetti's men move up to second place - was the key to their slump.

"The postponed match broke our rhythm - it's always better to play," said the former Marseille, Monaco and Bordeaux defender, who was in the side that beat part-timers Arras 3-1 after extra-time on Saturday to reach the fourth round of the French Cup. "Now, though, we're ready to start anew."
_______________________________

Matuidi predicts bright Green future
Saint-Etienne midfielder Blaise Matuidi promised there is more to come from the side after Les Verts sent Bordeaux crashing out of the French Cup on Saturday.

A Bafétimbi Gomis goal was enough to give a side coach Alain Perrin admitted he had "cobbled together" a surprise win, and Matuidi believes the spirit shown at Stade Chaban-Delmas augurs well for the rest of the season.

"It's very encouraging," said the 21-year-old, who was employed as a makeshift centre-back. "After having reached rock bottom not all that long ago, we have been able to turn things around. We're getting better and better, and there is more still to come."

'Positive result'

Perrin was equally optimistic after outwitting Laurent Blanc, despite a host of injuries which forced the ex-Lyon coach to shuffle his pack.

"It's a very positive result for the boys, who battled for every ball and were rewarded for their solidarity," said Perrin, who drafted in teenage striker Emmanuel Rivière as an emergency full-back.

"You have to dig in, but the spirit of the cup is about going out there to get a result. It's a major achievement, because coming to Bordeaux with the injuries we've got and the defence we had in place is perilous."
_____________________________________

Sessegnon: ‘A good start to the year’
PSG’s Benin international midfielder Stéphane Sessegnon is delighted to have scored the winner Paris’s French Cup qualification and is pleased with the way the season is shaping up for the once-struggling club. Interview.
The French Cup, is it a priority?
"Let's say that the French Cup win was a good start to the year. The important things is that we qualified for the next round, even though we didn't do it in style. We hope to go as far as possible in the Cup and to repeat the form that saw PSG get into two consecutive finals."

Paris is still in the running in four competitions. Are things getting complicated?

"It's true that we're still engaged in four competitions, but that's a good thing. We're capable of achieving some good things and we're experiencing some magical moments. We'll all give everything we have, as we always do. Our objective, as we've said before, is Ligue 1, but we're going to do our very best in all competitions."

Is the PSG squad complete?

"It's not really up to me to say. The coach has much more experience than I do. Our team is defending pretty well. We have players capable of making the difference. It's going well right now and the coach is in a much better position to judge this than I am. I'm at an ambitious club and that's really great."

You're playing Bordeaux on Sunday – a decisive match?

'It's the first match of the second half of the season. They lost the match at our home ground, and it's pretty much a six-point match because there isn't much separating the two teams on the table. It's not necessarily a turning point but it's an important match. We have a chance to put all the pressure on Bordeaux and show the other sides at the top of the table that we mean business."

Your New Year wishes?

"To avoid injury, to get the best possible result in the league, win a trophy and give the fans and employees of PSG something to cheer about!"
______________________________________

Marseille give up on Larsson
Marseille has officially given up waiting for Swedish striker Henrik Larsson to make a decision on their offer of a loan move for the rest of the L1 season.
In an official statement on the club's website, OM has announced that it can no longer wait for a decision from the former Barcelona and Manchester United forward following their offer of a loan move to the Stade Vélodrome.
Larsson has been weighing up the offer for the last week, with family concerns reportedly high on his list of priorities, and finally the club has decided it can wait no longer and turning to other leads in its hunt for an attacking reinforcement for its squad.

"The club respects the player's desire to take his time in making this decision, but OM can't wait that long to know his decision, and it now turning towards other avenues."

Among the other candidates for the job, coach Eric Gerets has recently spoken of his admiration for Shakhtar Donetsk's Brazilian striker Brandao.

BB Bob

09-01-2009, 07:37 AM

Le Championnat resumes this weekend after a cup break last week. Here are my guesses

21:00 AJ Auxerre Olympique de Marseille DRAW
21:00 Havre AC Toulouse FC AWAY WIN
21:00 Le Mans UC 72 LOSC AWAY
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais FC Lorient HOME WIN
21:00 AS Monaco FC FC Nantes DRAW
21:00 AS Nancy Lorraine OGC Nice DRAW
21:00 Stade Rennais FC Grenoble Foot 38 HOME
21:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard AS Saint-Etienne DRAW
21:00 Valenciennes FC SM Caen DRAW
Week 20 - Sunday, January 11, 2009

21:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux Paris Saint-Germain DRAW
(Should be an excellent game, probably won't be! It is in the magic time spot, though!)

kabbott

10-01-2009, 09:31 AM

I bet you wouldn't have minded Clermont's match being postponed too, n'est-ce pas Philsick?

Thursday, January 08, 2009
20:45 US Boulogne CO 3 - 1 RC Lens
Friday, January 09, 2009
- LB Châteauroux Postponed Angers SCO
- Dijon FCO Postponed Amiens SC
- FC Metz Postponed AC Ajaccio
- Stade de Reims Postponed RC Strasbourg
- CS Sedan Postponed ESTAC
20:00 SC Bastia 2 - 1 Clermont Foot
20:00 Stade Brestois 1 - 1 EA Guingamp
20:00 Vannes OC 1 - 0 Nîmes Olympique
20:30 Montpellier HSC 1 - 1 Tours FC

kabbott

10-01-2009, 09:32 AM

Ligue 2 P W D L GD Pts

1 RC Lens 19 12 1 6 +7 37
2 US Boulogne CO 19 10 5 4 +11 35
3 Montpellier HSC 19 9 6 4 +17 33
4 RC Strasbourg 18 9 6 3 +11 33
5 Angers SCO 18 8 7 3 +9 31
6 FC Metz 18 8 5 5 +4 29
7 Tours FC 19 8 4 7 +1 28
8 Vannes OC 19 8 4 7 -2 28
9 ESTAC 18 7 5 6 +1 26
10 SC Bastia 19 7 5 7 0 26
11 Stade Brestois 19 7 2 10 -3 23
12 Clermont Foot 19 5 7 7 -5 22
13 Amiens SC 18 4 9 5 -1 21
14 EA Guingamp 19 4 9 6 -2 21
15 Dijon FCO 18 5 6 7 -4 21
16 CS Sedan 18 5 6 7 -6 21
17 LB Châteauroux 18 5 5 8 -4 20
18 AC Ajaccio 18 5 5 8 -6 20
19 Nîmes Olympique 19 2 7 10 -13 13
20 Stade de Reims 18 2 6 10 -15 12

kabbott

10-01-2009, 09:37 AM

I'm pretty sure there'll be a number of matches off today. The French are way behind with regard to undersoil heating etc. Only one club has it: Sochaux, plus the matches are played in the evening, giving the temperature a chance to go down by a few more degrees. In the north-east last night the temperature went down to about -15°.

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

Week 20 - Sunday, January 11, 2009

21:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux Paris Saint-Germain DRAW

kabbott

10-01-2009, 09:31 PM

Lyon were absolutely hopeless again tonight.

21:00 AJ Auxerre 0 - 2 Olympique de Marseille
21:00 Havre AC 0 - 1 Toulouse FC
Postponed Le Mans UC 72 LOSC
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais 1 - 1 FC Lorient
21:00 AS Monaco FC 1 - 2 FC Nantes
Postponed AS Nancy Lorraine OGC Nice
21:00 Stade Rennais FC 1 - 0 Grenoble Foot 38
21:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 1 - 0 AS Saint-Etienne
Postponed Valenciennes FC SM Caen

Week 20 - Sunday, January 11, 2009

21:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux Paris Saint-Germain

kabbott

11-01-2009, 09:59 AM

Lyon held as Rennes close in

Lyon’s lead at the top has been cut to just two points after the champions were held at home by Lorient on Saturday, and Rennes beat Grenoble 1-0. However, the matches at Le Mans and Nancy joined the game at Valenciennes in falling victim to the wintry weather.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Olympique Lyonnais / FC Lorient : 1 - 1

Claude Puel had repeatedly stated just how tough an opponent he expected the visitors from Brittany to be, and so it proved as Christian Gourcuff's men more than matched the champions.

Fred has recently expressed a wish to leave Lyon, but the Brazilian again showed just how useful he can be to OL as he linked up with Karim Benzema to help give the home side the lead nine minutes in.

The Brazilian's awareness enabled him to pick out his strike partner in space, and though Lorient keeper Fabien Audard parried Benzema's shot, Ederson swept home the loose ball.

Lorient were level, though, two minutes before the break after Fabrice Abriel cleverly backheeled Marama Vahirua's driven cross past Hugo Lloris, and only a fabulous double-save from the French international to deny Kevin Gameiro and Gabriel Obertan early in the second half prevented the visitors taking home all three points.

Stade Rennais FC / Grenoble Foot 38 : 1 - 0

Rennes inched to within two points of the leaders after they extended their remarkable unbeaten league run to 18 matches by beating Grenoble in Brittany.

Guy Lacombe's men could have taken a first-half lead only for Moussa Sow to see his close-range effort parried by Grégory Wimbée.

However, the young striker found a way past the veteran keeper seconds after the interval, beating two players from the restart before crashing a shot into the net from distance.

AJ Auxerre / Olympique de Marseille : 0 - 2

Marseille president Pape Diouf said prior to the game that he thought the state of the pitch meant the match should not be played, but the fact Eric Gerets' side claimed all three points in Burgundy may well have lessened the OM supremo's anger.

Diouf was caught on camera vehemently telling Auxerre counterpart Jean-Claude Hamel that he believed the Arctic conditions had left the surface unplayable, but Diouf's players again proved they can cope when the going gets tough.

Last weekend, OM battled past part-timers Besançon on a sticky terrain in the French Cup, and they repeated the trick at the Stade Abbé Deschamps on their return to league action after the winter break.

Mamadou Samassa's header from Boudewijn Zenden's cross two minutes before the interval put Gerets' men ahead before Mathieu Valbuena fired home from Laurent Bonnart's cross to help move Marseille up to fourth.

Havre AC / Toulouse FC : 0 - 1

A late Etienne Didot goal ensured Toulouse's bid for a top-five finish remains alive as Alain Casanova's men grabbed a narrow win in Normandy.

The bottom-of-the-table hosts had looked like claiming an unlikely point after being reduced to nine men following red cards for Jamel Ait Ben Idr after just 21 minutes and debutant Florian Marange on the hour mark.

However, the brave resistance of Frédéric Hantz's men was overcome ten minutes from time as Didot latched on to André-Pierre Gignac's return pass to flash a low shot past Christophe Revault and lift the south-westerners into fifth.

AS Monaco FC / FC Nantes : 1 - 2

Nantes eased their relegation fears and deepened Monaco's problems as Elie Baup's men secured a comfortable win in the principality to leave the hosts without a win in four matches.

Mamadou Bagayoko's third league goal of the season set Les Canaris on their way before Aurélien Capoue struck two minutes before half-time, and though Alexandre Licata halved the deficit late on, Nantes held on to extend their unbeaten run to five games.

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard / AS Saint-Etienne : 1 - 0

Sochaux breathed life into their ambitions of staying in the top flight thanks to Damien Perquis' second-half strike which gave Francis Gillot's men victory over Saint-Etienne.

The young defender rose highest to meet Michaël Isabey's corner on 66 minutes to head past Jérémie Janot and lift his team to within two points of safety.

BB Bob

11-01-2009, 06:32 PM

Just back from a weekend in Brighton and very parky it was too!

What is going on at Lyon? It's just as well that you aren't about to lose your two best forwards as Karim heads off to Spain (probably) or England and Fred goes back to samba. Doh!

Meanwhile there is this years league to get through:-

P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 20 11 6 3 +11 39
2 Stade Rennais FC 20 9 10 1 +12 37
3 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 19 10 5 4 +12 35
4 Olympique de Marseille 20 9 8 3 +11 35
5 Toulouse FC 20 9 7 4 +5 34
6 Paris Saint-Germain 19 10 3 6 +7 33
7 LOSC 19 8 8 3 +9 32
8 OGC Nice 19 8 6 5 +4 30
9 FC Lorient 20 7 6 7 +2 27
10 AS Nancy Lorraine 19 6 7 6 +1 25
11 Grenoble Foot 38 20 6 7 7 -5 25
12 Le Mans UC 72 19 7 3 9 -3 24
13 SM Caen 19 5 8 6 +2 23
14 AS Monaco FC 20 6 5 9 -2 23
15 FC Nantes 20 6 5 9 -9 23
16 AJ Auxerre 20 5 5 10 -7 20
17 AS Saint-Etienne 20 6 1 13 -14 19
18 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 20 2 11 7 -6 17
19 Valenciennes FC 19 3 6 10 -9 15
20 Havre AC 20 3 3 14 -21 12

I guess a draw is your preferred result tonight!

BB Bob

11-01-2009, 09:19 PM

Well!

Bordeaux 4 - 0 Paris-SG
S.Diawara 10e
F.Cavenaghi 35e
Y.Gourcuff 70e
Fernando 87e

kabbott

11-01-2009, 09:28 PM

Well!

Bordeaux 4 - 0 Paris-SG
S.Diawara 10e
F.Cavenaghi 35e
Y.Gourcuff 70e
Fernando 87e

Missed it. Bordeaux are the only threat, but a real threat. Aulas will start his tactics now, dropping hints about what a great coach Laurent Blanc would be at Lyon next season to put them off.

Abjekt

11-01-2009, 10:30 PM

Belting result for my Girondins tonight, I'd love to see us actually go on and pip Lyon to the title this year. Gourcuff's goal was a peach!

GodstoneEagle

12-01-2009, 12:08 AM

Rennes up there, has asamoah gyan been good? I suppose jimmy briand must be fulfilling his potential.

kabbott

12-01-2009, 06:45 AM

Belting result for my Girondins tonight, I'd love to see us actually go on and pip Lyon to the title this year. Gourcuff's goal was a peach!

Gourcuff's goal was indeed a peach. Candidate for goal of the season and reminiscent of a certain Zinedine Zidane. For the suspense I hope it does go down to the wire but with Lyon sneaking it, bien sûr!

kabbott

12-01-2009, 06:48 AM

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZoHBlsMe5I

BB Bob

12-01-2009, 07:15 AM

It'll have to wait until I get home from work as You Tube is blocked here! Rennes are putting a good run together too.

BB Bob

12-01-2009, 12:46 PM

Bordeaux sound the charge

Laurent Blanc’s Bordeaux thumped four unanswered goals past Paris on Sunday night to go within one point of top spot on the table, giving faltering champions Lyon serious cause for concern in the race for the title.

Bordeaux bounced back from the French Cup elimination at the hands of Saint-Etienne last week with a stunning display at home to Paris Saint-Germain. Les Girondins dominated the men from the capital in every department to notch their best performance of the season so far, rubber-stamping their title aspirations by taking sole command of second place on the table.

Bordeaux had been criticised earlier in the season for not performing against the big clubs, but on Sunday night any such commentary was out of the question. Laurent Blanc's men stamped their authority on the match from the beginning, playing a technically inspired brand of passing football that left Paris little room to breathe let alone attack.

As early as the 11th minute, Bordeaux took the lead when Souleymane Diawara evaded the attentions of Stéphane Sessegnon to nod Yoann Gourcuff's pinpoint free-kick past PSG 'keeper Mickaël Landreau.

Argentine goal machine Fernando Cavenaghi, voted in December as Ligue 1's best foreign player, narrowly missed a similar opportunity two minutes later before cropping up in the 35th minute to curl a left-footed shot past Landreau after being put clean through by Mathieu Chalmé. The strike takes Cavenaghi equal with Toulouse's André-Pierre Gignac at the top of the scorers charts with 12 league goals this season.

While it seemed impossible that Bordeaux could maintain the breakneck pace in the second half, Blanc's men proved their adaptability, drawing Paris out and then containing their attacks with a superb defensive display, notably quashing the few chances PSG had through Guillaume Hoarau, Ludovic Giuly and Sessegnon.

Goal of the season contender

In the 71st minute however, Bordeaux stepped back onto the front foot through France midfield prodigy Gourcuff, who sent the Stade Chaban-Delmas faithful into delirium with a stunning piece of individual brilliance.

Gourcuff received the ball on the edge of the area with his back to goal, and with four magical touches (including a reverse roulette that will doubtless draw yet another volley of Zidane comparisons) turned the Paris defence inside out before slamming a shot past Landreau and into the far corner of the Paris goal.

Bordeaux added yet another two minutes from time when Paris captain Claude Makelele misjudged a seemingly innocuous cross to allow Fernando to shoot into an open goal, but by this stage the match was already over as a contest.

Warning bells

Bordeaux's sumptuous performance puts them in sole command of second place and well and truly in the box seat among the sides jostling to challenge Lyon for the championship title they have made their own for the past seven seasons. With Bordeaux's attack now equal top in Ligue 1 alongside Marseille and with four league wins in a row under their belt, Les Girondins have sounded the charge for their assault on the title.

The loss, which sees Paris slip to sixth place, is a serious blow for Paul Le Guen's men, whose impressive trajectory in the first half of the season had seen them find some consistency and solidity to climb as high as fourth place going into the winter break.

PSG 'humiliated' by brilliant Bordeaux
Paris Saint-Germain’s heavy defeat at the hands of Bordeaux left PSG coach Paul Le Guen admitting he felt “humiliated” and saw the Breton cast an envious eye at the resources available to his Bordeaux counterpart Laurent Blanc.
Le Guen said: "I feel humiliated. It's a real slap in the face. They were strong and powerful and certainly have certain assets we don't possess. They were excellent at set plays."

Bordeaux v PSG match report

French international playmaker Yoann Gourcuff, watched by his father Christian, the Lorient coach, scored a magisterial third goal, reminiscent of former Bordeaux player Zinedine Zidane in his pomp.

PSG defender Sylvain Armand said: "Gourcuff is a player who is difficult to keep under control. He certainly has a great future ahead of him.

It was PSG's biggest league defeat since December 2 2000 when coach Philippe Bergeroo was sacked following a 5-1 reverse at Sedan.

The loss at Bordeaux means PSG have dropped to sixth in the table, six points adrift of leaders Lyon. Le Guen has until Wednesday's League Cup quarter-final at home to Ligue 2 leaders Lens to lift morale. He said: "We have to react. We're capable of better than that. We've only taken one point from our last two league games."

Blanc : ‘I would love to be ahead of Lyon’
Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc could barely contain his delight after his club’s 4-0 demolition of Paris Saint-Germain. Up to second in the table Les Girondins have now set their sights on overhauling champions Lyon.
One game into the second half of the season and Bordeaux are just one point behind Lyon.

Blanc said: "If I'm happy at being a single point behind Lyon, it's true I'd love to be ahead of them!"

Bordeaux comprehensively outplayed PSG, who did not record a single shot on target.

Blanc said: "I am very happy with my players. They were excellent in all areas of the field. I picked a team that would put PSG under pressure. I deliberately selected tall players because I noticed they had a lack of height from set pieces.

"There were four different goalscorers. Our players wanted to attack, all the while remaining solid defensively."

Abjekt

12-01-2009, 04:12 PM

Gourcuff's goal was indeed a peach. Candidate for goal of the season and reminiscent of a certain Zinedine Zidane. For the suspense I hope it does go down to the wire but with Lyon sneaking it, bien sûr!
Yep, I think that'd be a good way to end the season, but with Bordeaux pipping Lyon, obviously :D

What is the situation with Gourcuff? Originally I had read he'd signed on loan and that was that, but somewhere else later said Bordeaux had first option on him at any time during the loan...

kabbott

12-01-2009, 05:50 PM

Yep, I think that'd be a good way to end the season, but with Bordeaux pipping Lyon, obviously :D

What is the situation with Gourcuff? Originally I had read he'd signed on loan and that was that, but somewhere else later said Bordeaux had first option on him at any time during the loan...

True. Bordeaux do have first option on him for 15m€. Milan must be kicking themselves. Mind you, they didn't get the best out of him, and Laurent Blanc (''Le Président'') is, so all is fair ...

False. Lyon will pip Bordeaux, says he rather unconvincingly.

BB Bob

12-01-2009, 06:34 PM

There was I thinking that as all of the big boys nick points off each other, Nice sneak through on the rails in the last game of the season for a Champions League place.

Or not.

BB Bob

12-01-2009, 06:38 PM

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZoHBlsMe5I

Blah blah the french league is very poor quality blah blah

My backside. It's moments like that that make any league worth watching.

Goal of any season, any league!

BB Bob

13-01-2009, 02:40 PM

Ben's article this week:-

Gourcuff's reveals his brilliance for Bordeaux is Zizou-inspired
Yoann Gourcuff is living up to his billing as the 'new Zidane'
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/1/13/1231845341098/Yoann-Gourcuff-002.jpg
Yoann Gourcuff has been exceptional while on loan for Bordeaux from Milan Photograph: Caroline Blumberg/EPA

Milan are not the type to ever admit making mistakes in their recruitment but there was some significance about the timing of David Beckham's first appearance for the club. Less than one hour after Becks had been replaced in their 2-2 draw with Roma, the midfielder whose loan move to Bordeaux had created a gap in the Milan squad inspired his team to a 4-0 win over Paris St Germain. In the process, Yoann Gourcuff put the French title race firmly back on, and, for good measure, scored the best goal of the season so far.

Before the game, Gourcuff finally admitted that comparisons between him and the last great playmaker to emerge from Bordeaux were valid: "I come from a generation of players that were inspired by Zinedine Zidane and I can see why people notice aspects of my game, like how I control the ball, and make the connection," he told Journal du Dimanche. "Of course you want to copy the very best, and he is the guy that invented some of these moves."

If Gourcuff was warning the PSG defenders what to expect, they couldn't do anything to stop him when, 70 minutes into the game and with Bordeaux two goals up, he received Mathieu Chalmé's pass with his back to goal, pulled off a Zidane-roulette to spin past Sylvain Armand, and flicked the ball wide of Sammy Traoré before poking it past Mikaël Landreau. "I can't really explain how I did it, I just tried to get free and didn't hesitate to shoot. It was pure instinct." He used the same words after scoring a goal almost as perfect against Toulouse in week nine. "Gourcuff is Zidane" was Monday's headline in L'Equipe, which ran a poll before the weekend that revealed 40 per cent of Ligue 1 players and coaches think Lyon will fail to win the title.

PSG coach Paul Le Guen said he was "humiliated" by his team's worst result for eight years but in truth, his side were a tad unlucky. Ludo Giuly missed two half-chances to take the lead and referee Stéphane Lannoy was generous to award the free-kick that led to Souleymane Diawara's opening goal. Gourcuff had appeared to lose his footing and no more, but from the set-piece, he swung in a cross that was headed home. Soon after, Stéphane Sessegnon fell dramatically in the box under pressure from Chalmé, but no penalty was given. "That was never a foul," said Canal Plus pundits Christophe Dugarry and Jean-Pierre Papin, both formerly of Bordeaux. A third ex-Bordeaux pundit, and the only defender, Bixente Lizarazu, conceded that PSG should have had a spot-kick. "There were a stunning series of decisions that went against us," said Le Guen. "Bordeaux are very strong and definitely have strengths that we don't have, but as I don't often complain about referees, I think I'm allowed to a bit now."

Laurent Blanc insists that he won't be coaching in 10 years but has finally suggested that he would extend his Bordeaux contract into next season. Now the question is whether Gourcuff will join him. If Bordeaux choose to pay the €15m option on him, he's their player. "I'm not thinking about my future for another three months," Gourcuff said. "Blanc staying at the club is not the only factor, and though foreign clubs might offer money, I could stay in France. I haven't heard anything from [Carlo] Ancelotti though."

Bordeaux could meet Milan's asking-price and then sell him for twice that the next day, although majority shareholder, Nicolas de Tavernost, has said he wants to keep the club's key assets. The scorer of Bordeaux's second goal, Fernando Cavenaghi, also Ligue 1's joint-top scorer, might not be among them. He was watched by scouts from Tottenham Hotspur but now fancies a move to Italy or Spain. "I have an Italian passport and can speak the language and besides, that might give me the best chance of playing in the 2010 World Cup."

The result puts Bordeaux one point behind leaders Lyon, who were frustrated by another Gourcuff; Lorient coach Cristian in a 1-1 home draw, their fourth consecutive home game without a win. They have now won only once in their last six, and scored just 24 goals in 20 league matches. Their points-comparison after 20 games of previous seasons is instructive: in 2005, their lead was six points; 2006, 12 points; 2007, 14 points and last season, eight points. "This Lyon team are more dependent on individual brilliance helping them, and there's more of a feeling you can get something from a match against them," said Gourcuff Snr.

Coach Claude Puel is struggling to regenerate his team with younger players, while previously influential figures such as Juninho, Cris and Sidney Govou have been disappointing. Puel has a four-year contract and therefore has time on his hands to make more changes, but his problems will increase if Karim Benzema leaves in the summer. "I concentrate on what happens on the field and not what's written in the papers," was his response to weekend reports linking him to Manchester United. "Obviously the French league is the club's No1 ambition and it's harder to win it year after year, but my personal goal is the Champions League." His team-mates seem to agree, which might explain the club's current situation.

Still, Marseille coach Eric Gerets would love to have such problems. Despite beating Auxerre 2-0 in freezing conditions, the Belgian is not happy at L'OM's failure to bring in a new striker: attention has now shifted from Henrik Larsson (his choice) to Brandão (sport director Jose Anigo's choice), but still no deal has been done. "If they put pressure on your shoulders, then they also have to give you the means to succeed," said Gerets, "and though I will still be a manager next year, I can't say for sure that it will be at Marseille. If I have the means to reach my objective, staying on will be a possibility."

That objective is to finish in the top two, which might be tricky as long as Gerets remains unsure of his best attacking line-up. "Everyone thinks that because our recruitment has been held up, it means that Gerets will leave because he's impatient, but if he leaves it will have nothing to do with that," responded president Pape Diouf. If his post-match press conferences are anything to go by, Gerets cuts an unhappy figure: whereas at the start of the season, he would natter away to journalists for up to 20 minutes, now he walks out after two questions, even if, as on Saturday, L'OM have won.

Elsewhere, Rennes beat Grenoble 1-0 to stay third while Nantes won 2-1 at Monaco to ease their relegation fears and Sochaux won 1-0 at home against St Etienne, who are only two points clear of the drop. Three matches fell foul of the weather. The build-up to the weekend was all about how ridiculous it was that the league would not switch the 9pm kick-off times in such cold weather, but by the end of it, everyone was crowing about the sublime talents of Gourcuff. He certainly caught PSG cold.

Results, week 20: Auxerre 0-2 Marseille; Lyon 1-1 Lorient; Le Havre 0-1 Toulouse; Monaco 1-2 Nantes; Sochaux 1-0 Saint-Etienne; Rennes 1-0 Grenoble; Valenciennes P-P Caen; Le Mans P-P Lille; Nancy P-P Nice; Bordeaux 4-0 PSG

BB Bob

14-01-2009, 12:07 PM

Maybe cup glory is the way to go?
_____________________________________
http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/grandFormat/0809_nice_bordeaux_kante_remy_l1_mono.jpg
Kanté fires Nice into Cup semis
Mali defender Cédric Kanté scored a last-minute winner as 2006 finalists Nice qualified for the League Cup semi-finals at the expense of Le Havre on Tuesday. Nice will now meet Ligue 2 side Vannes in the final four.

Tuesday January 13 2009

OGC Nice / Havre AC : 1 - 0

Le Havre, who suffered a 14th Ligue 1 defeat of the season last Saturday at the hands of Toulouse, were looking for some Cup cheer and almost took an early lead in the second minute, when Hassane Alla headed Stéphane Noro's free-kick against the post.

It was as close as the visiting Normandy side were to come. Nice, who lost the 2006 final 2-1 to Nancy at the Stade de France, responded immediately and only a series of fine saves from Le Havre 'keeper Christophe Revault kept Frédéric Antonetti's side at bay.

Early in the second-half, Revault was finally beaten, but David Hellebuyck's close-range effort struck the post.

Kanté finally got a deserved winner in the 88th minute, volleying home a Hellebuyck corner flicked on by Loïc Remy.

Vannes OC / FC Metz : 1 - 1 (4-3 pens)

Nice will take on second division side Vannes, after the Brittany side overcame Metz on penalties after the all Ligue 2 clash had ended 1-1.

Vannes and Metz, who had eliminated Ligue 1 opponents Auxerre and Lyon in the previous round respectively, couldn't be separated after 120 minutes of football had ended a goal apiece after strikes either side of half-time from Hervé, for Vannes, and Bourgeois, for Metz.

But the hero of the evening was to by Vannes 'keeper Revel. Author of several fine saves throughout the match, the home side's shot-stopper produced to fine stops in the penalty shootout to send Vannes into the final four of the competition.
____________________

Tonights game's in the other half of the draw:-

18:45 FC Girondins de Bordeaux LB Châteauroux
20:45 Paris Saint-Germain RC Lens

kabbott

14-01-2009, 01:38 PM

"La fenêtre du transfert" est très calme so far:

WINTER 2008/2009 TRANSFERS
The winter transfer window opened on Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 00:00. It will close on January 31, 2009 at 24:00.
During this period, the LFP will announce all transfers in two stages. The first stage will see all transfers highlighted in grey before changing to bold once the moves have been ratified by the LFP’s Legal Commission and the League’s Finance Regulatory Body.

p. : Loan r.p. : Return from loan t.d. : Definitive transfer f.c. :Contract expired

Date of transfer : 1/5/2009 In Out

AJ AUXERRE
OUT:A. Traoré (Stade Brestois, p.), Huyghebaert (Roulers, BEL, p.)

FC GIRONDINS DE BORDEAUX
OUT:Obertan (FC Lorient, p.), Marange (HAC, p.)

SM CAEN

GRENOBLE FOOT 38
IN:César (Olympique de Marseille)
OUT:Kamissoko (Stade de Reims)

LE MANS UC 72
IN:Makaridze (Dynamo Tbilissi, GEO)

HAVRE AC
IN:M.Diallo (libre), Franquart (LOSC Lille Métropole, p.), Marange (FCG Bordeaux, p.)
OUT:Fauré (Stade de Reims), Soumaré (Vannes OC, p.)

LOSC
OUT:Franquart (HAC, p.)

FC LORIENT
IN:Obertan (FCG Bordeaux, p.)
OUT:Buron (Amiens SC, p.), Marin (SC Bastia, p.)

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE
IN:Brandao (Shakhtar Donetsk, UKR)
OUT:Erbate (Al-Wahda, EAU), César (Grenoble Foot 38), L. N'Diaye (AC Ajaccio, p.)

AS MONACO FC
IN:Landaas (Mandalskameratene, NOR)
OUT: Bernardi (Libre), Kaita (FC Kuban, RUS)

AS NANCY LORRAINE
IN:Gunnarsson (Stabaek, NOR)

FC NANTES

OGC NICE
IN:Adeilson (Ipatinga, BRE)

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
OUT:Ngoyi (Clermont Foot, p.)

RENNES
OUT:Sorlin (PAOK Salonique, GRE, p.)

AS SAINT-ETIENNE
IN:Nilsson (Elfsborg, SUE, r.p.)

FC SOCHAUX
IN:Sverkos (Banik Ostrava, RTC), Mikari (Grasshopper, SUI)
OUT:Perisic (Roulers, BEL)

TOULOUSE FC

VALENCIENNES FC
IN:Darcheville (G. Rangers, ECO)

kabbott

14-01-2009, 06:15 PM

Le Guen eyes League Cup salvation

Paris Saint-Germain coach Paul Le Guen hopes Wednesday's League Cup quarter-final with Lens will help his team get over their Bordeaux disaster.

PSG were outclassed 4-0 by Laurent Blanc's men on Sunday evening, and Le Guen is looking for a positive reaction from his squad against the visitors from the north as PSG continue their bid to retain the trophy at the Parc des Princes.

"I think it's a good thing to be playing again so soon, even if it's not the same competition," said Le Guen, who is likely to name Mateja Kežman and Peguy Luyindula up front to rest Ludovic Giuly and Guillaume Hoarau.

"That's the advantage of still being in four competitions. We want to go as far as we can in all of the cups, and it's good thing that the matches come thick and fast."

Cup ambition

Though first-choice goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau will play, key midfield duo Stéphane Sessegnon and Claude Makelele will not feature, while sought-after youngster Mamadou Sakho will slot into central defence alongside Zoumana Camara in place of Sammy Traoré.

"If I have to make a choice, I would say the game against Sochaux [next weekend] is more important, because that's a league match," admitted Le Guen. "But this is a cup quarter-final, we're playing at home and we want to retain our trophy."

Probable teams

PSG: Landreau; Ceara, Sakho, Camara, Armand (cap.); Chantôme, Bourillon, Clément, Rothen; Luyindula, Kežman

Lens: Runje; Laurenti, Chelle (cap.), Sartre (or Yahia), Ramos; Kovacević, Sablé; Demont, Roudet, Boukari (or Aruna); Monnet-Paquet

I'll be watching this and listening to the boys at the same time tonight.

BB Bob

14-01-2009, 06:47 PM

For me, it'll be an ear on the Southend - Chelsea game (Southend are my local club now), one ear on the Palace game and an eye on the l'equipe scoreboard!

Enjoy the games!

kabbott

14-01-2009, 07:27 PM

For me, it'll be an ear on the Southend - Chelsea game (Southend are my local club now), one ear on the Palace game and an eye on the l'equipe scoreboard!

Enjoy the games!

A busy evening in store. Bordeaux got the job done.

Bordeaux 2 - 1 Châteauroux
Gouffran (24e)
Bellion (56e)
Mulenga (80e)

kabbott

14-01-2009, 07:39 PM

HT
PSG 1:0 Lens
Keita (o.g.)

Kezman has just missed a sitter. Peggy Luyindula gave him a right r*llocking.

I've got Palace on the link here, PSG-Lens on France 2 TV through the PC (legally) and Manure is on a Canal + channel, but I've left the TV with madame kabbott who's spending the evening with Sean Connery.

BB Bob

14-01-2009, 07:51 PM

1-0 to Palace. 1-0 to Southend and they've just missed an open goal. Even Mrs BBB wants to watch the football as a closet Southend fan.

kabbott

14-01-2009, 08:11 PM

1-0 to Palace. 1-0 to Southend and they've just missed an open goal. Even Mrs BBB wants to watch the football as a closet Southend fan.

Madame's off to bed, so I've got the TV too.

kabbott

14-01-2009, 08:59 PM

Paris-SG 2 - 0 Lens
Keita (13e csc)
Clément (90e+1)

BB Bob

14-01-2009, 10:20 PM

So Nice v Vannes and Bordeaux v PSG

We won't mention Southend ....

kabbott

15-01-2009, 04:25 PM

More injuries at Lyon. Mensah is out for 3 weeks, and, more importantly ...

Govou blow rocks Lyon

Lyon's ambitions of registering an eighth consecutive Ligue 1 title have been dealt a major blow after Sidney Govou was ruled out for the season with injury.

The French international, who had publicly criticised his team-mates earlier in the week, ruptured his right Achilles in training on Wednesday, and will require surgery.

"Sidney's injury is extremely regrettable," said club president Jean-Michel Aulas, who has seen Govou - along with Juninho - play a role in all seven of OL's Ligue 1 title successes.

"Sidney is a leader, an experienced player who has come through the ranks. His injury makes us even more determined to strengthen the squad during the transfer window. Claude Puel and his coaching staff are looking at how he [Govou] can be replaced."

kabbott

15-01-2009, 04:28 PM

PSG and Bordeaux through

In a remake of last season's final, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Lens 2-0 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday to qualify for the semi-finals of the League Cup, where they will meet Bordeaux, 2-1 winners over Châteauroux earlier in the evening.

Wednesday January 14 2009

Paris Saint-Germain / RC Lens : 2 - 0

Passions were running high as Lens made the trip to the French capital looking for revenge for their narrow defeat last March in the final of this same competition.

Les Sang et Or were supported by over 1,700 travelling supporters and the atmosphere at the Parc des Princes was worthy of the high stakes with both sides just two games from a return to the Stade de France.

It was the Ligue 1 high-flyers that made the brighter start, despite coach Paul Le Guen making a raft of changes from his regular starting XI.

Yet it was a Lens player that opened the scoring… for Paris. Lunging to cut out Jérôme Rothen's 13th-minute corner, midfielder Sidi Keita could only turn the ball past his own 'keeper.

While there was little Serbian shot-stopper Vedran Runje could do to deny the Parisian's going ahead, his saves as well as some profligate finishing saw the score remain 1-0 at the break.

Indeed, the capital club seemed happy to see out the match before Peguy Luyindula broke down the right in stoppage time. The former Lyon and Marseille striker's cross was palmed out by Runje, but only as far as substitute midfielder Jérémy Clément who gratefully thumped the loose ball home from 15 metres out.

FC Girondins de Bordeaux / LB Châteauroux : 2 - 1

Earlier in the evening, Yoan Gouffran's first goal in a Bordeaux shirt set the 2007 League Cup winners in their way towards a semi-final berth.

Laurent Blanc made no-less than seven changes to the side which defeated PSG 4-0 in Ligue 1 last Sunday, and he was rewarded as early as the 25th minute when a long cross-field pass from left-back Diego Placente picked out Gouffran on the edge of the area. The former Caen striker, who joined Les Girondins last summer, out-paced the visiting defence to fire home the opening goal.

Defender Souleymane Diawara almost followed up his first goal of the season against PSG on Sunday with a second just after the half-hour mark, but the Senegal international's effort crashed down off the crossbar and away.

Bordeaux did make it 2-0, 11 minutes into the second-half when David Bellion pounced on a Geraldo Wendel shot for a simple tap-in.

Bordeaux appeared to be cruising but second division Châteauroux gave them a scare when Zambian Jacob Mulenga pulled a goal back for the visitors with ten minutes left to play. Mulenga even had a great chance to send the game into extra-time in the dying seconds, but fired into the side netting with only Mathieu Valverde to beat in the Bordeaux goal.

BB Bob

16-01-2009, 09:19 AM

More injuries at Lyon. Mensah is out for 3 weeks, and, more importantly ...

Govou blow rocks Lyon

That's not good news at all. Who will they get to replace him? I saw the highlights last night - I know, a bit late - and Lyon looked very dodgy at the back. Vahirua had a mile of space to cross the ball for the equaliser. It all feels a bit "fin de siècle" at Lyon at the moment.

I also spotted on the news that Wiltord has gone from Rennes to Marseille on load for the rest of the season. :rolleyes:

BB Bob

16-01-2009, 01:22 PM

I've got 5 mins spare, so lets go loto:-

Week 21 - Saturday, January 17, 2009

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 Olympique Lyonnais AWAY
19:00 FC Lorient Valenciennes FC HOME
19:00 Olympique de Marseille Havre AC HOME
19:00 OGC Nice AJ Auxerre DRAW
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne Le Mans UC 72 HOME
19:00 Toulouse FC AS Nancy Lorraine DRAW
21:00 FC Nantes FC Girondins de Bordeaux AWAY
Week 21 - Sunday, January 18, 2009

17:00 SM Caen AS Monaco FC HOME
17:00 Paris Saint-Germain FC Sochaux-Montbéliard HOME
21:00 LOSC Stade Rennais FC DRAW

kabbott

17-01-2009, 11:02 AM

Lyon need to fire

Lyon head into their match at Grenoble after a turbulent week which has added credence to claims their bid for an eighth successive Ligue 1 title is slipping off the rails.

Saturday January 17, 2009

19:00 - Grenoble Foot 38 / Olympique Lyonnais

Claude Puel's irritation was clear at Thursday's press conference as he testily swatted aside suggestions that his team - and himself - are under pressure prior to their Week 21 encounter.

The facts, though, are undeniable. Last weekend's 1-1 draw with Lorient means the leaders have won just once in their last six league matches - at Caen (1-0) in Week 19 - and their advantage over Bordeaux at the top of the table is down to a single point.

That margin is smaller than in any of the previous four title-winning campaigns at this stage of the season, and Brazilian defender Cris admitted there was only one way to ease the tension.

"We have to play and win," he said. "We have to change our attitude, and react. At Grenoble, we'll see how Lyon plays under pressure. The draw with Lorient caused our fans and everyone else to doubt. But that was our first match after the winter break. We're going to fight - we're not dead yet."

The imposing centre-half joined Sidney Govou - who along with Juninho is the only member of the current squad to have been involved in OL's seven consecutive Ligue 1 triumphs - in criticising the squad this week, with Govou berating a lack of unity and character.

Govou sidelined

The experienced midfielder will now have to provide that from the sidelines for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon sustained in training on Wednesday, which has forced the club to change strategy with regard to the winter transfer window as they look to fill the void left by the French international's absence.

Though OL boast the joint-best record in the division with 13 goals conceded, Puel continues to face an injury crisis in defence. First-choice right-backs François Clerc and Anthony Réveillère are still both sidelined with knee injuries, while makeshift full-back John Mensah has a thigh strain which will keep him out for three weeks. Centre-half Mathieu Bodmer is still recovering fitness after groin surgery, though his former Lille team-mate, attacking midfielder Abdul Kader Keita, should recover from a knee injury to help provide boost Lyon's faltering front line.

Top scorer Karim Benzema's matchwinner against Caen is his only goal in the last six league games, while OL's tally of 24 league goals scored is the club's lowest at this stage of the season since 1997-98.

Goal drought

Grenoble's front men have proved even less prolific with their 13 goals registered so far the worst record in the division. Joint-top scorers Daniel Moreira and Nassim Akrour (4 goals) have not found the net since Weeks 10 & 9 respectively, and though Akrour will likely maintain his ever-present tag, Moreira is out after tearing a calf muscle in last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Rennes.

The reverse in Brittany was Grenoble's second in three league games, and they have won just twice in the 13 games since their 1-0 defeat of Paris Saint-Germain in Week 7, slipping from fourth to their current position of eleventh in the process.

Mecha Bazdarevic, who took his squad to the Mediterranean port town of La Grande-Motte this week, also has injury concerns in defence with David Jemmali standing by to replace right-back Hoalid Regragui (ankle), while Milivoje Vitakic will replace Martial Robin (illness) on the left as Grenoble aim to improve on their record of just twelve points from nine home games this season.

Probable line-ups:

Grenoble: Wimbée (c); Jemmali, Flachez, Paillot, Vitakic; Feghouli, Baning, Romao, Dja Djedje; Batlles, Akrour

Lyon: Lloris; Gassama, Cris, Boumsong, Grosso; Toulalan, Delgado, Juninho (c); Ederson, Benzema, Källström

kabbott

17-01-2009, 11:08 AM

Loto time:-

Week 21 - Saturday, January 17, 2009

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 v Olympique Lyonnais AWAY WIN (OL to show everyone who the boss is 0:4)
19:00 FC Lorient v Valenciennes FC HOME WIN (I like Valenciennes but can't see them winning this)
19:00 Olympique de Marseille v Havre AC AWAY WIN (another "crise" is brewing ...)
19:00 OGC Nice v AJ Auxerre HOME WIN (Nice on a roll)
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne v Le Mans UC 72 HOME WIN (l'effet Perrin)
19:00 Toulouse FC v AS Nancy Lorraine HOME WIN (Gignac on the scoresheet again)
21:00 FC Nantes v FC Girondins de Bordeaux HOME WIN (Elie to do us a favour)

Week 21 - Sunday, January 18, 2009

17:00 SM Caen v AS Monaco FC HOME WIN (Savidan's last goal before signing for Lyon)
17:00 Paris Saint-Germain v FC Sochaux-Montbéliard AWAY WIN (la surprise)
21:00 LOSC v Stade Rennais FC DRAW

kabbott

17-01-2009, 11:10 AM

Philsick can breathe more easily this morning!

Friday, January 16, 2009

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

Saturday, January 17, 2009

15:00 RC Strasbourg - Dijon FCO
17:00 RC Lens - Vannes OC
17:00 ESTAC - LB Châteauroux

kabbott

17-01-2009, 11:11 AM

Ligue 2 P W D L GD Pts

1 RC Lens 19 12 1 6 +7 37
2 US Boulogne CO 20 10 5 5 +8 35
3 Angers SCO 19 9 7 3 +11 34
4 Montpellier HSC 20 9 6 5 +15 33
5 RC Strasbourg 18 9 6 3 +11 33
6 FC Metz 18 8 5 5 +4 29
7 Tours FC 19 8 4 7 +1 28
8 Vannes OC 19 8 4 7 -2 28
9 ESTAC 18 7 5 6 +1 26
10 SC Bastia 20 7 5 8 -2 26
11 Clermont Foot 20 6 7 7 -3 25
12 EA Guingamp 20 5 9 6 +1 24
13 Amiens SC 19 5 9 5 +1 24
14 AC Ajaccio 19 6 5 8 -5 23
15 Stade Brestois 20 7 2 11 -5 23
16 Dijon FCO 18 5 6 7 -4 21
17 CS Sedan 19 5 6 8 -7 21
18 LB Châteauroux 18 5 5 8 -4 20
19 Nîmes Olympique 20 3 7 10 -12 16
20 Stade de Reims 19 2 6 11 -16 12

philsick

17-01-2009, 11:17 AM

Good solid two niller for cleremont.Midtable mediocraty beckons.

kabbott

17-01-2009, 12:05 PM

Good solid two niller for cleremont.Midtable mediocraty beckons.

Agree. Good crowd too.:rolleyes: If you take off the Leicester support, it was about the same as we had the other night.

BB Bob

17-01-2009, 07:36 PM

Lyon are back....

Ligue 1 - 21e journée
Commentaires audio en direct sur - Terminé Grenoble (11) 0 - 2 Lyon (1)
Ederson (14e)
Delgado (75e)

- Terminé Marseille (4) 2 - 0 Le Havre (20)
Valbuena (25e)
Zubar (60e)

- Terminé Toulouse (5) 3 - 0 Nancy (10)
André Luiz (45e+2 csc)
Gignac (81e)
Paulo Cesar (88e)

- Terminé Nice (8) 2 - 0 Auxerre (16)
Rémy (49e)
Bamogo (90e+1)

- Terminé Lorient (9) 1 - 1 Valenciennes (19)
Ciani (42e)
Darcheville (27e)

- Terminé Saint-Etienne (17) 1 - 1 Le Mans (12)
Gomis (55e)
Helstad (87e)

Bordeaux still chasing though...

31e 1e mt Nantes (15) 0 - 1 Bordeaux (2)
Gourcuff (11e)

philsick

17-01-2009, 07:42 PM

Agree. Good crowd too.:rolleyes: If you take off the Leicester support, it was about the same as we had the other night.

Its a real rugby town.The footy team play second fiddle.

kabbott

17-01-2009, 08:30 PM

Tonight's results:

19:00 Grenoble Foot 38 0 - 2 Olympique Lyonnais
19:00 FC Lorient 1 - 1 Valenciennes FC
19:00 Olympique de Marseille 2 - 0 Havre AC
19:00 OGC Nice 2 - 0 AJ Auxerre
19:00 AS Saint-Etienne 1 - 1 Le Mans UC 72
19:00 Toulouse FC 3 - 0 AS Nancy Lorraine
21:00 FC Nantes FC Girondins de Bordeaux

BB Bob

18-01-2009, 09:12 AM

Lyon hold on to top spot
Lyon remain atop the table after winning 2-0 away to Grenoble while Marseille kept up the pressure, beating bottom club Le Havre by the same scoreline to claim provisional third place.
Saturday January 17, 2009

Grenoble Foot 38 / Olympique Lyonnais : 0 - 2

>> Team Sheet

Irrespective of Bordeaux's result against Nantes, Claude Puel's men will see out the weekend in top spot after a 2-0 win away to Grenoble sent them four points clear of their nearest rival.
Lyon went ahead early through one of their first chances, with Benzema's skidding cross finding Ederson in the box in the 15th minute. The Brazilian held off the defence before beating Grégory Wimbée in the Grenoble goal with a low shot.

Despite going behind, Grenoble played solidly, looking particularly threatening from set pieces. Lyon, while perhaps not demonstrating much inspiration, were well organised and effective, shutting out Grenoble and going further ahead in the 77th minute.

Swede Kim Källström's cross found Cesar Delgado at the far post and the Argentine moved well to send his volleyed shot past Wimbée and into the far side of the net.

Lyon almost went another goal ahead when France international Jérémy Toulalan hit the post in the 89th minute, but the game finished 2-0 to the French champions, who hang on to top spot, while Grenoble slip to provisional 12th spot on the table.

Olympique de Marseille / Havre AC : 2 - 0

>> Team Sheet

Marseille notched their first win at the Stade Vélodrome since Week 17 with an assured display against visiting Le Havre, coming out comfortable 2-0 winners.

Marseille were always in control against the league's bottom side, taking the lead in the 25th minute, when Benoît Cheyrou latched onto a poor clearance to find a surging Valbuena in the Le Havre area. The diminutive forward made it two goals in two Ligue 1 matches in the new year, beating Christophe Revault with an angled shot along the ground.

Marseille continued to threaten, dominating possession, but spurned several chances to widen their lead over a shaky Le Havre defence before defender Ronald Zubar rose highest at the far post to nod home Karim Zinani's wide free kick for his third of the season.

Le Havre barely hung on for the rest of the match and Marseille could have gone further ahead, but their two-goal victory is enough to put them into third place, equal on points with Bordeaux ahead Les Girondins' clash with Nantes on Saturday night. Le Havre on the other hand remained rooted to the foot of the table, four points adrift of Valenciennes in 19th place.

Toulouse and Nice keep pace
Toulouse beat Nancy 3-0 at home to hang on to fifth place while Nice accounted for Auxerre on Saturday night.
Saturday, January 17, 2009

Toulouse FC / AS Nancy Lorraine : 3 - 0

>> Team Sheet
Toulouse continued their strong form, notching their third win in a row in an unbeaten streak that has now stretched to seven matches.

While Toulouse weren't often troubled by Nancy, who sat back somewhat after the first fifteen minutes, Alain Casanova's men didn't make the most of their chances in the first half but did go into the break a goal to the good thanks to an own goal four minutes into stoppage time from Brazilian defender Silva André Luiz.

Despite Toulouse captain and playmaker Etienne Didot coming off injured, Nancy couldn't get back into the match and Gignac scored Toulouse's second (81') to once again take the lead in the Ligue 1 scorers charts before setting up Brazilian Paulo Cesar with a fine cross to make it 3-0.

Toulouse remain in fifth place while Nancy stay in tenth ahead of Sunday's matches.

>> Ligue 1 scorers charts

OGC Nice / AJ Auxerre : 2 - 0

>> Team Sheet
Nice made it three wins in a row, taking the points against a lacklustre Auxerre with two second-half strikes.

Nice cam out swinging in the first half but a well-organised Auxerre side reacted well after a shaky beginning, with Benoît Pedretti taking control in the midfield and Kévin Lejeune and Kenya international Dennis Oliech causing problems in wide positions.

Nice fought back with chances for Anthony Modeste but it wasn't until a few minutes into the second half that they hit the mark. Auxerre failed to clear a corner and Cyril Rool headed the ball back into the box, finding France youth and B international Loïc Rémy who scored on his second attempt after Olivier Sorin blocked his first shot.

Auxerre flagged visibly for most of the second half and in the first minute of stoppage time, Nice added a textbook second. Ivory Coast midfilder Emerson Faé released Drissa Diakité on the right and the Malian crossed low for second-half subsitute Habib Bamogo to side-foot home.

Nice climb two places to provisional sixth place while Auxerre's winless streak extends to a worrying seven league matches, seeing them remain in 16th spot.

FC Lorient / Valenciennes FC : 1 - 1

>> Team Sheet
Second-from-bottom Valenciennes put in a spirited performance to draw 1-1 away to Lorient whose unbeaten run is now at nine Ligue 1 matches.

The visitors went ahead in the 27th minute through winter signing Jean-Claude Darcheville who capped his Valenciennes debut with a goal. The former Glasgow Rangers man used his powerful physique to surge onto Gaël Danic's corner and blast a header past Fabien Audard.

Lorient won a series of corners however and it was third time lucky in the 43rd minute for defender Michaël Ciani, who missed a brace of chances before losing his markers to meet Marama Vahirua's corner and send a header past Nicolas Penneteau and into the VA goal.

The game finished 1-1 after Lorient failed to impose their game against a rugged Valenciennes side, missing several chances.

The deserved draw sees Lorient remain in the top half of the table in ninth place while Valenciennes remain in 19th place, four points away from leaving the relegation zone.

AS Saint-Etienne / Le Mans UC 72 : 1 - 1

>> Team Sheet
Alain Perrin's men started strongly in the first half but fell back soon after, allowing Le Mans to create some excellent chances, notably through defender Mouhamadou Dabo, who came agonizingly close just before half time when he tried to lob Yohann Pelé from 30 metres out.

Saint-Etienne reacted first in the second half however, with club top scorer Bafetimbi Gomis losing his marker to get on the end of Geoffrey Dernis's free kick and turn the ball home for his sixth of the season.

Saint-Etienne pressed forward, and with a star performance from Japan international Daisuke Matsui, appeared to be in the driver's seat before Le Mans snatched a draw with a fluid passing move.

Gervinho broke and serviced Anthony Le Tallec on the right, who crossed first time for Norwegian Thorstein Helstad, who blasted home a point-blank header to even the scores and claim a point for his side.

Le Mans climb one place to 11th while Saint-Etienne remain just above the relegation zone, three points clear of Sochaux, who take on PSG on Sunday night.

Bordeaux make it five in a row
Bordeaux notched their fifth consecutive Ligue 1 win when they won 2-1 away to Nantes, hanging on to second place and keeping Lyon’s lead at the top of the table to one point.
Saturday January 17, 2009

FC Nantes / FC Girondins de Bordeaux : 1 - 2

>> Team Sheet
Bordeaux continued their imperious form against a timid Nantes outfit, going ahead in the 11th minute through man of the moment Yoann Gourcuff. The France midfield sensation made it two goals in as many matches, capping off a splendid team move as he met Benoît Trémoulinas's powerful cross at the near post to head home for his fifth of the season.

Laurent Blanc's men took their lead into the break and continued to move an ill-at-ease Nantes around the pitch with ease before Morocco international striker Marouane Chamakh added another in the 70th minute, losing his man and pouncing on Jérôme Alonzo's poor clearance of Geraldo Wendel's cross to head his side into a 2-0 lead.

Despite Nantes' pulling a goal back through Serb Filip Djordjevic, Bordeaux won a deserved victory to stay within one point of leaders Lyon. The loss sees Nantes remain in 15th place on 23 points, six clear of the relegation zone.

BB Bob

18-01-2009, 09:13 AM

Ligue 1 P W D L GD Pts
1 Olympique Lyonnais 21 12 6 3 +13 42

2 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 21 12 5 4 +17 41
3 Olympique de Marseille 21 10 8 3 +13 38

4 Stade Rennais FC 20 9 10 1 +12 37

5 Toulouse FC 21 10 7 4 +8 37
6 OGC Nice 20 9 6 5 +6 33
7 Paris Saint-Germain 20 10 3 7 +3 33
8 LOSC 19 8 8 3 +9 32
9 FC Lorient 21 7 7 7 +2 28
10 AS Nancy Lorraine 20 6 7 7 -2 25
11 Le Mans UC 72 20 7 4 9 -3 25
12 Grenoble Foot 38 21 6 7 8 -7 25
13 SM Caen 19 5 8 6 +2 23
14 AS Monaco FC 20 6 5 9 -2 23
15 FC Nantes 21 6 5 10 -10 23
16 AJ Auxerre 21 5 5 11 -9 20
17 AS Saint-Etienne 21 6 2 13 -14 20

18 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 20 2 11 7 -6 17
19 Valenciennes FC 20 3 7 10 -9 16
20 Havre AC 21 3 3 15 -23 12

BB Bob

18-01-2009, 09:20 AM

Some snaps of last nights games

Ederson

http://i.eurosport.fr/2009/01/17/492450-3872251-317-238.jpg

Baky Koné

http://i.eurosport.fr/2009/01/17/492478-3872915-317-238.jpg

Loic Remy

http://i.eurosport.fr/2008/11/29/483725-3717422-317-238.jpg

Gomis

http://i.eurosport.fr/2008/12/21/488414-3796570-317-238.jpg

Gignac

http://i.eurosport.fr/2008/12/22/488651-3801848-317-238.jpg

Goucuff & Chamakh

http://i.eurosport.fr/2009/01/17/492482-3873024-317-238.jpg

Sorry all you Valenciennes et Lorient fans out there! Any guesses?

http://i.eurosport.fr/2009/01/17/492464-3872611-317-238.jpg

kabbott

18-01-2009, 11:57 AM

BB Bob

18-01-2009, 02:23 PM

Solid but umimpressive performance from Lyon. They never really looked in trouble, but I expected them to blow Grenoble off the park straight after the kick-off.
Delgado is starting to show some quality when he is on the ball.
Lyon seemed to be playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Delgado tucked in behind Benzema and Ederson and Kallstrom the wide boys. Except they are not really wide players, so except when Benzema went out wide from time to time, the players seemed to be sucked into the middle. Still, 3 points when you don't play very well are always very welcome.
For the moment Lyon - Barcelona in the Champions' League looks very one-sided.
It'll be very interesting to see what shopping Président Aulas has planned for the coming weeks.

Replacing Govou and some new Full Backs look to be the priority. The former is the tricky one. You can probalby find someone who will compete in le Championnat, but the Champions League? That one is trickier.

Maybe a Fred replacement? I should think that Spurs have probably had a look, but Lyon aren't going to want to sell without a replacement lined up.

BB Bob

19-01-2009, 08:05 AM

Week 21 - Sunday, January 18, 2009

17:00 SM Caen 2 - 2 AS Monaco FC
17:00 Paris Saint-Germain 2 - 1 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
21:00 LOSC 1 - 0 Stade Rennais FC

1 Olympique Lyonnais 21 12 6 3 +13 42

2 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 21 12 5 4 +17 41
3 Olympique de Marseille 21 10 8 3 +13 38

4 Stade Rennais FC 21 9 10 2 +11 37

5 Toulouse FC 21 10 7 4 +8 37
6 Paris Saint-Germain 21 11 3 7 +4 36
7 LOSC 20 9 8 3 +10 35
8 OGC Nice 20 9 6 5 +6 33
9 FC Lorient 21 7 7 7 +2 28
10 AS Nancy Lorraine 20 6 7 7 -2 25
11 Le Mans UC 72 20 7 4 9 -3 25
12 Grenoble Foot 38 21 6 7 8 -7 25
13 SM Caen 20 5 9 6 +2 24
14 AS Monaco FC 21 6 6 9 -2 24
15 FC Nantes 21 6 5 10 -10 23
16 AJ Auxerre 21 5 5 11 -9 20
17 AS Saint-Etienne 21 6 2 13 -14 20

18 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 21 2 11 8 -7 17
19 Valenciennes FC 20 3 7 10 -9 16
20 Havre AC 21 3 3 15 -23 12

BB Bob

19-01-2009, 08:06 AM

Paris edge out Sochaux
PSG made it six wins from their last nine matches when they beat a tough Sochaux outfit 2-1 at the Parc des Princes on Sunday night, while Caen drew 2-2 at home to Monaco.
Sunday January 18, 2009

Paris Saint-Germain / FC Sochaux-Montbéliard : 2 - 1

>> Team Sheet
Sochaux travelled to Paris knowing that a win would see them edge out of the relegation, ahead of Saint-Etienne on goal difference, and Francis Gillot's men put in a committed performance against PSG.

Paris also had extra motivation, having suffered a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Bordeaux in Week 20, and clearly had the upper hand throughout the match.

While Sochaux fought hard, they created only a few chances, whereas Paul Le Guen's men were wasteful with theirs.

Nonetheless, Paris went into the break 1-0 up thanks to club top scorer Guillaume Hoarau, who went into equal second place with Bordeaux's Fernando Cavenaghi on the scorers charts, stroking home from the spot three minutes into injury time at the end of the first half.

Sochaux started the second half smartly and pulled one back in the 51st minute, with new signing Czech striker Vaclav Sverkos capping a counter-attack with a fine skidding volley from the edge of the area that beat Mickaël Landreau in the Paris goal to draw the scores level.

Paris reacted well though, lifting to re-take the lead twelve minutes later through Peguy Luyindula, preferred to France international Ludovic Giuly in attack, latched onto Sylvain Armand's flick-on header from a Jérôme Rothen corner, tapping home the simple finish.

Paris pushed on after going back in front and held out Sochaux to take all three points, hanging on to sixth place, just six points behind leaders Lyon. Sochaux remain in 17th place, still in the relegation zone three points behind Saint-Etienne.

SM Caen / AS Monaco FC : 2 - 2

>> Team Sheet
Caen snatched a dramatic late equaliser to end their match against Monaco 2-2 at the Stade Michel-d'Ornano.

Monaco had by far the better first half, scoring as early as the fifth minute through Colombian striker Juan Pablo Pino, who put on a show in eliminating three defenders before beating Vincent Planté with an angled shot.

Caen had great difficulty dealing with Monaco's passing and movement, unable to get onto the front foot, and paying for it in the 22nd minute when Argentine midfielder Alejandro Alonso made the most of Caen captain Nicolas Seube's poor clearance to fire into the empty net and give his side an unexpected 2-goal lead.

Monaco seemed to come back from the break content to sit back, defend their lead and attack on the counter, but the space they left open gave Caen room to breathe and get back into the match.

Despite some more fireworks from Pino, whose angled shot scraped the outside of the post, Caen began to take the upper hand and in the resulting move, pulled one back through France international Steve Savidan, who notched his eighth goal of the season when he rose highest to meet Tunisian Fahid Ben Khalfallah's cross and blast a header past Yohann Thuram-Ulien.

The goal put the wind back in Caen's sails and the hosts pushed up in attack, creating several dangerous chances with some fine work from Ben Khalfallah and Benjamin Nivet.

Monaco did their best to hold out but two minutes into extra time, Anthony Deroin set Nivet clean through into the area with a first-time pass. Nivet made no mistake, stroking an angled shot past Thuram-Ulien to snatch a valuable point for his side.

The draw sees Caen and Monaco remain in 13th and 14th places respectively, equal on 24 points.

Rennes’ unbeaten streak cut short
Lille snatched a late winner at home to put an end to Rennes’ 18-match unbeaten streak, going one win short of third-placed Marseille with a game in hand.
Sunday January 18, 2009

LOSC / Stade Rennais FC : 1 - 0

>> Team Sheet
Lille breathed life back into their campaign with their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 win in a tight encounter at home to high-flying Rennes.

Evenly matched, the two sides fought hard in a muscular encounter, with Lille proving the more enterprising of the two. A frustrated Rennes side, who before the game boasted the equal-best defence in the league, were solid if uninspired, bringing an agression to their game that could have seen striker Moussa Sow sent off in the first half for an irregular tackle on Mathieu Debuchy in the first half.

In the end it was thanks to an astute move from Lille coach Rudy Garcia that Lille broke the deadlock and took the points.

In the 75th minute, substitute Nicolas Fauvergue played a neat one-two with Brazilian winger Fernandes Michel Bastos on the edge of the area, collecting the return pass on the penalty spot and turning his shot into diving Rennes captain Petter Hansson. The deflection completely wrong footed Nicolas Douchez in the Rennes goal and the ball sailed into the net.

Lille piled on the pressure in the final 15 minutes, creating a series of chances that drew a second bookable offence from Bruno Cheyrou, who was sent off with just minutes to go.

The win sees Lille keep pace with the chasing pack, just three points behind Marseille, with a game against Le Mans in hand.

The loss put paid to Rennes' impressive unbeaten streak of 18 matches but the Bretons are still well placed in fourth spot on the table.

kabbott

19-01-2009, 06:21 PM

4:3 to you for the loto. So when's the next post BB Bob?

BB Bob

19-01-2009, 06:24 PM

Next post?

kabbott

19-01-2009, 06:25 PM

Puel: ‘We still have work to do”

Despite his side’s 2-0 away to Grenoble, Lyon coach Claude Puel knows it will take more work and more matches before the champions regain the imperious form that has made the title theirs for the past seven seasons.
With just six points from their previous six matches and their lead whittled down to just one point by challengers Bordeaux, Saturday night's win in Grenoble was a crucial one for Claude Puel and his men.
While it wasn't a vintage display of dominance and attacking verve, Lyon were solid and organised and got the job done. But Puel knows it will take more than that to hold off the stiff competition posed by nearest rivals Bordeaux and Marseille.

"We deserved the win. Tonight's match was a good reaction to what happened during the week. The commitment shown by my players was very important tonight. You always have to bounce back. There is still work to do, especially in retaining possession. We sat back a bit too much at moments – it's crucial that we move forward as a team and back up our attacking moves."

Lyon has been silent so far during the winter transfer window, but that's not to say that nothing will happen at the club before the transfer deadline at the end of the month.

"As for transfers, it's difficult to find a player who can really bring something to the club. We'll keep working on it though, and we'll see what happens in the next few days."

Fred wasn't even on the bench so he probably really is on the way out. Stoke City were mentioned FFS! I can't believe he'll go there.
Yanis Tafer, 18, was on the bench however, although he didn't come on.

BB Bob

19-01-2009, 06:28 PM

Puel's teams at Lille were never the most exciting to watch. Winning, yes. But not with the style that Aulas surely wants.

As for Fred - he's a tart and you'll be better off without him. He's so wrong in the head, he'll probably got to Man City with Bellamy. Or Marseille, of course, but that goes without saying.

BB Bob

21-01-2009, 12:27 PM

Ben's piece this week:-

Boardroom blitz leaves PSG shaky

PSG president Charles Villeneuve's shock departure heralded a week of off-pitch chaos in France

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Clubs/Club%20Home/2009/1/20/1232453721655/Charles-Villeneuve-001.jpg
Charles Villeneuve's exit could unsettle PSG just when the club appeared to be on the verge of stability. Photograph: Jacques Demarthon/AFP/Getty Images

Who said French football was predictable? Seven of the top eight teams may have won their matches last weekend, but it was the week that their bosses took leave of their senses: Paris Saint-Germain's president wrote a letter that eventually condemned him to the sack, Marseille's president threatened to quit after a public row with the majority share-holder, and Lyon bid more than €10m for a 30-year-old striker who cost just €5m six months ago and whose CV lists improving team morale alongside scoring goals.

The PSG story is perhaps the most surprising of all, given that the club appeared to be on a stable footing at long last. But on Friday president Charles Villeneuve sent a letter to the board that criticised their running of the club and demanded more power for himself and more investment in the transfer market. The letter was leaked to Le Parisien, which did not go down well. Villeneuve knew he was under pressure as he attended PSG's 2-1 win over Sochaux, so he did what any media-savvy ex-TV presenter obsessed with his own image would do: in an ostentatious display, he sat himself between Sports Minister Bernard Laporte and ex-Cabinet Minister Philippe Séguin, and chose to have dinner with Arsène Wenger instead of meeting Sébastien Bazin, president of shareholders Colony Capital. By then, though, the board had forced Villeneuve's departure by resigning en masse.

That sparked Phase Two of the Villeneuve media offensive: get a high-profile player (one who was on a list of transfer targets for the next 18 months, along with Gabriel Heinze and Mathieu Bodmer) to back him. "Firing him is almost as if they are seeking instability, and it could bring on an even more serious crisis," Nicolas Anelka told Le Parisien. "It's a big loss for the club. Villeneuve just wanted to be sure the shareholders intended to build a club capable of bringing back the days of [David] Ginola and [George] Weah." Bizarre, then, that last week he was reportedly offering to sell the club to Arab investors: a task that, as president and not a shareholder, is definitely not part of Villeneuve's remit.

Bazin is expected to take over as acting president, though he is not popular with the fans, as confirmed by the banner unfurled on Sunday, "Colony: A Great PSG or Get Lost". If there is any substance to journalist Pierre Ménès's allegation, as revealed on the TV show 100% Foot, that Villeneuve had found out about an unaccounted-for €15m in the club's coffers, then the deposed president's version of events promises to be interesting.

The timing could not be worse, as it comes just as PSG are getting things together on the pitch. They might have found it easier on Sunday had Sochaux goalkeeper Jérémy Gavanon been dismissed for a deliberate handball outside the area in the first 15 minutes but a Guillaume Hoarau penalty and an effort from Péguy Luyindula, in the side for Paul Le Guen's first team-change in nine matches, won them the game. Spare a thought for Claude Makéléle, though: L'Equipe reported he had been asking questions about PSG's future direction on Friday, while on Sunday he went off injured at half-time only to get home and find that thieves had nicked his Porsche, his Mercedes, some watches and a few thousand euros in cash.

Despite that drama, PSG are up to third, six points behind Lyon and only three from the Champions League place that Marseille currently occupy after their busy week ended with a comfortable 2-0 win over rock-bottom Le Havre. The signings of Brandão and Sylvain Wiltord (on loan) were overshadowed, though, by the complaints of club owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who moaned that he had stumped up the funds for Bakari Koné, Hatem Ben Arfa, Hilton and Elamin Erbate in the summer, even though he had recommended they sign a youngster by the name of Yoann Gourcuff. "I gave my opinion but they went for other players, and now it's up to them to achieve the goals we set."

Marseille president Pape Diouf offered to resign if Louis-Dreyfus was unhappy with him - a slight over-reaction - but he got the response he wanted from his players. "We respect Pape Diouf and he's the man for this situation," Mamadou Niang told Fabulous Sport. "It's not exactly a crisis here and we still think we can win the title." The mood of Eric Gerets has not improved, though. He ranted at one journalist for reasonably asking about Modeste M'Bami's omission, and seems more disengaged from his squad than ever before. One L'OM insider admitted, "I wouldn't be surprised if he stands down before the end of the season."

All of which might suggest that Lyon, who comfortably beat Grenoble 2-0, have it easy again at the top of the table but that's far from true. Influential defender Cris claimed there are no leaders in the Lyon dressing-room and the day after Sidney Govou criticised the team spirit last week – "You either have the unity or you don't and we don't" – he was ruled out for the season with an Achilles injury; while Fred, deemed psychologically unfit for the weekend, has probably played his last game for the club (and would be a good January signing as he's a free agent in the summer). Lyon are now short of options up front and have bid over €10m for Steve Savidan, France's favourite former dustman, who was on the score-sheet again as Caen came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Monaco.

Lyon thought they were being clever last summer by selling Loïc Rémy to Nice for €8m and inserting a first-refusal clause in the 22-year-old's contract, but how they could do with him now. Rémy scored as Nice beat Auxerre 2-0 in front of scouts from Real Madrid, Juventus and Fiorentina. "It's a sure thing he will end up at a very big club as he has all the qualities and the mentality for that," said Nice sports director Roger Ricort, who has promised to give Rémy his watch if he scores 10 goals this season. Despite missing two months through injury, he's already got seven.

Elsewhere, Bordeaux beat Nantes 2-1 and Gourcuff scored again, this time with a header. Laurent Blanc as good as admitted that his future at the club is tied in with that of the young midfielder: "I would like to continue but it will depend on several factors and I want to know the club want the same things as me."

The surprise losers of the weekend were Rennes, whose 18-match unbeaten record was finally ended after a 1-0 defeat at Lille, the team against whom the run began. If the superb Michel Bastos can maintain his current form - he has scored five and set up five of his team's last 11 goals - then Lille have to be considered dark horses for a Champions League spot. With three points separating the five teams chasing third place, it may all come down to the fine details: which may or may not include a president in possession of all his marbles.

Results, Week 21: Grenoble 0-2 Lyon, Marseille 2-0 Le Havre, Toulouse 3-0 Nancy, Nice 2-0 Auxerre, Lorient 1-1 Valenciennes, Saint Etienne 1-1 Le Mans, Nantes 1-2 Bordeaux, PSG 2-1 Sochaux, Caen 2-2 Monaco, Lille 1-0 Rennes.

BB Bob

21-01-2009, 12:27 PM

Double post - sorry!

BB Bob

23-01-2009, 02:37 PM

4:3 to you for the loto. So when's the next post BB Bob?

Quel con! Selon Homer Simpson "Doh!". Félicitations à toi aussi pour "la mille"

Allez OL (après le Gym, bien sur)

kabbott

23-01-2009, 03:34 PM

Shocking news this. I meant to post this when it happened, but things couldn't have got any worse. This is happening much too often.
RIP Clément Pinault.

Pinault dies of heart attack.

Clément Pinault, a defender with Ligue 2 club Clermont, succumbed on Thursday evening to a heart attack he suffered on Sunday.
The 23-year-old played for his club in a 2-0 win over Brest on Friday January 16. Two days later he had a heart attack while resting at home after playing cards with Clermont team-mates.

Clermont coach Didier Olé-Nicolle said: "We were ready for the news. But it's tragic news, so unfair, really terrible. I am thinking of his family."

Pinault came up through the Le Mans youth system. Henri Legarda, president of the Ligue 1 club, said: "We are in a state of shock. Clément was a real member of the Le Mans family, a winner who loved competition and loved life."

Frédéric Thiriez, president of the French League, said: "The football family is in mourning. I would like to express my condolences to his family, his team-mates, and the directors of Clermont."

kabbott

24-01-2009, 11:35 AM

4th round of La Coupe de France this weekend. One fixture is missing: the yet to be played Concarneau v Lyon from the 3rd round which kicks off at 3 o'clock heure française.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2009

20:30 EA Guingamp - Stade Brestois

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009

20:00 AC Ajaccio - Vannes OC
21:00 Dunkerque - LOSC

SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2009

15:00 Schirrhein - Toulouse FC
15:00 Dijon FCO - Villefranche-sur-Saône
16:00 FC Lorient - Tours FC
17:45 US Boulogne CO - SM Caen
18:00 ESTAC - Rodez
18:00 Vitre - US Créteil
19:00 Romorantin - CS Sedan
20:30 Stade Rennais FC - AS Saint-Etienne

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2009

15:00 Havre AC - Le Mans UC 72
15:00 Grande-Synthe - Grenoble Foot 38
17:30 GFCO Ajaccio - Paris Saint-Germain
20:45 AS Monaco FC - OGC Nice

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2009

20:45 Concarneau ou OL - Olympique de Marseille

kabbott

24-01-2009, 11:38 AM

Sorry a bit slow today. Some results already in:

EA Guingamp 2 - 0 a.e.t. Stade Brestois
AC Ajaccio 2 - 0 Vannes OC
Dunkerque 0 - 3 LOSC

kabbott

24-01-2009, 11:55 AM

French Cup. The potential banana skin:

Schirrhein (Div 7) v Toulouse

Casanova serious about Schirrhein

Alain Casanova has warned his Toulouse team to prepare Saturday's French Cup tie with minnows Schirrhein as if they were heading into a Ligue 1 match.

The top-flight side start Saturday's fourth-round encounter against the seventh-division amateurs as overwhelming favourites, but Casanova is aware that anything less than a professional approach could see his club on the receiving end of one of the biggest shocks in the competition's history.

"Mentally, we have to approach it the right way," said the Toulouse coach. "Motivation and commitment are what makes the difference in these sorts of games. We're well-prepared, though, we'll respect our opponents and do the job in a professional manner."

Sheer pleasure for Schirrhein

Schirrhein’s French Cup adventure continues on Saturday when the seventh division club take on Ligue 1 club Toulouse for a place in the last 16.
Schirrhein, from Alsace in the east of France, have been this season's surprise package. They knocked out Ligue 2 club Clermont to set up the tie with Toulouse, earning widespread national media coverage.

Since beating Clermont three weeks ago the part-timers have tried to prepare themselves along more professional lines.

Coach Hervé Sturm, who passed his coaching badge at the same time as Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc, says his players have made a real effort: "To make training some of my players have made arrangements with colleagues. I even have a student on my books who has been skipping classes to make training sessions!"

Sturm has watched Toulouse's last three matches on television, a luxury not normally afforded him when preparing a local league fixture, and says his side have to approach the match without fear.

"We've got to take a few risks. The worst thing would be to get knocked out having played ultra-defensively. If you can't have fun on a day like this there's no point turning up.

"If we get thrashed it will hurt. But on the other hand it would be what I could call a logical result given the difference in level."

Toulouse are not taking the match lightly. Coach Alain Casanova says: "I'm not going to make many changes to my first-choice team. We have prepared for this game as if it were a Ligue 1 fixture. We have had them watched by our scouts. In many ways we would have preferred to have been drawn against a fellow Ligue 1 side because we know the way the other teams play."

Cup goal

Despite his club's ambitions to build on their current position of fifth in Ligue 1 - just five points behind leaders Lyon - Casanova is refusing to field a weakened team in Alsace.

"Sometimes you can employ turnover, let some players take a rest, and that will be enough," he said. "Sometimes the cup is not among a club's main objectives - that's not the case for us. Anyway, when I bring in other members of the squad, they perform at the same level as the others and show their quality. Each match is important, and it's out of the question not to take this one seriously."

kabbott

24-01-2009, 11:59 AM

And some Lyon news. At least one player is back from injury!

Pjanic out to prove a point

The future starts now for Miralem Pjanic with the teenage prodigy poised to take his place in the Lyon side to face part-timers Concarneau in their rearranged third-round French Cup tie on Saturday.

When the 18-year-old Bosnian international joined OL in an €8m move from Metz last summer, he described the switch as "a dream." The reality has proved somewhat less idyllic, though, with a broken leg sustained in league action against Sochaux in late October bringing a sudden halt to a promising start with the seven-time Ligue 1 champions.

"It was my first serious injury. I was really sad, because I knew that it wouldn't be easy to get through it," said Pjanic. "When you see your friends playing, you want to play too. But I didn't switch off, and at every match, I was with the team in the dressing-room."

Prior to his injury, the teenager had made seven league appearances for Claude Puel's side, though he had featured in the starting line-up just twice. Puel then nursed him back into action by bringing him off the bench against Lorient and Grenoble in Weeks 20 and 21, but Pjanic insists he is not frustrated by his bit-part role.

'Earn my place'

"Coming on like that is exactly what I need," said the midfielder, who was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina before growing up in Luxembourg after his family fled the Balkans conflict. "The coach will eventually give me a chance. I want to earn my place - that's what I came here for and I am determined to do that. I work hard every day to achieve that, and at Guingamp [where Concarneau will play their Cup tie], I hope to play from the start."

With Juninho, Ederson and Kim Källström all unavailable, Pjanic is likely to get his wish in Brittany, and he hopes to provide the creative spark to help the holders overcome their fifth-division opponents and set up a fourth-round date with Marseille.

"It's a chance for me to show how much I've improved, and let the coach know that he can count on me," said Pjanic. "We want to go all the way in this competition. I was in the stands when Lyon won last year after being invited by the club, and it must be a great feeling to win it - I hope I'll manage to do it some day."

BB Bob

25-01-2009, 08:41 AM

No surprises yesterday apart from Boulogne winning the battle of La Manche v Caen:-

EA Guingamp 2 - 0 a.e.t. Stade Brestois
AC Ajaccio 2 - 0 Vannes OC
Dunkerque 0 - 3 LOSC
Schirrhein 0 - 8 Toulouse FC
Dijon FCO 4 - 1 Villefranche-sur-Saône
FC Lorient 2 - 1 a.e.t. Tours FC
US Boulogne CO 3 - 1 SM Caen
ESTAC 1 - 2 Rodez
Vitre 1 - 1 a.e.t.
9 to 8 US Créteil
Romorantin 0 - 0 a.e.t.
5 to 6 CS Sedan
Stade Rennais FC 2 - 0 AS Saint-Etienne

Lyon beat Concarneau 6-0 and now play Marseille on wednesday.

kabbott

25-01-2009, 10:48 AM

Lyon beat Concarneau 6-0 and now play Marseille on wednesday.

It's a big week for Lyon. After the cup game mid-week, Lyon take on St Etienne at the weekend. I wonder what sort of a reception Reggie will get.

BB Bob

25-01-2009, 06:41 PM

Only a good one I hope.

How do you feel Lyon are playing this year compared to last year? Is it Lyon that are worse or the pack that are better?

kabbott

25-01-2009, 07:07 PM

Only a good one I hope.

How do you feel Lyon are playing this year compared to last year? Is it Lyon that are worse or the pack that are better?

A quick answer, 'cos I'm a bit busy tonight, is both. Lyon have had a hatful of injuries, and a leader such as Coupet is no longer there. I'm not questioning Lloris's talent, but I think Coupet's mere presence kept everyone on their toes. The other teams are obviously progressing too.

Anyway, here's the draw for the next round of La Coupe de France. There's one final match which is being played at the moment, n'est-ce pas, BB Bob?

mardi 3 mars 2009:

Rennes (L1) - Lorient (L1)
Boulogne-sur-Mer (L2) - Toulouse (L1)
Guingamp (L2) - Le Mans (L1)
Dijon (L2) - Grenoble (L1)
Rodez (Nat) - Paris-SG (L1)
Lille (L1) - Lyon ou Marseille (L1) ()
Sedan (L2) - Vitré (CFA)
AC Ajaccio (L2) - Monaco ou Nice (L1) ()

BB Bob

26-01-2009, 09:03 AM

Monaco 1 Nice 0

Hey ho, Not a good weekend in the cup for either of my teams.

And I broke my thumb 3 weeks before going skiing.

Grrrr

kabbott

28-01-2009, 10:15 AM

Big Cup game tonight.

Lyon v Marseille

Wiltord: 'My heartwarming Lyon return'

Veteran French international Sylvain Wiltord is looking forward to his French Cup Round of 32 return to former club Lyon on Wednesday night with his new Marseille team-mates.

Wiltord, 34, won the title in each of his three seasons with Lyon before moving to Rennes in the summer of 2007. The forward joined Marseille on a six-month deal in January's transfer window, after failing to gain a regular starting place in Brittany.

He said: "It's going to be a real heartwarming experience for me to return to Lyon as I have only great memories of the club.

Lack of match fitness

Wiltord is short of match fitness and is unlikely to start at the Stade Gerland, although the club's new Brazilian striker Brandao could play his first full 90 minutes for OM since joining from Shakhtar Donetsk in mid-January.

Wiltord said: "My great friend at Lyon is Sidney Govou but unfortunately he's injured. I will try to speak to him before the match. Personally I love football and I just want to get back out on to the pitch even if I know my fitness is lacking a bit."

Lyon struggling

Pundits and a glance at the Ligue 1 table suggest that Lyon are much less dominant than in previous seasons. Wiltord sees this as an opportunity for OM.

"It's true that a lot of people are saying that they're not as good as in previous years. But I think that Lyon will be right up there at the end of the season. That said if they are going through a bad time then we'll take advantage of it."

Juninho issues Marseille warning

Lyon’s priority for the season is an eighth Ligue 1 title in a row but skipper Juninho and his team-mates would love to get one over bogey club Marseille in Wednesday night’s French Cup tie.

The competition is at the Round of 32 stage for two of the giants of the French game with the winner facing a tough away match at Lille in the Round of 16 on March 3 or March 4.

Brazilian playmaker Juninho is back from the rib injury which forced him to sit out Saturday's 6-0 Round of 64 win over Concarneau. The 33-year-old is well aware of the OM fixture's bleak Cup history for his club.

"We have a historic rivalry with Marseille," said Juninho. "We don't have great memories of our recent French Cup games against them as they've often knocked us out."

Marseille have Cup edge

In fact Marseille are unbeaten in their last five French Cup matches against Lyon, including the 1976 final, and have not lost to the French champions in their last four Ligue 1 matches.

The most recent meeting of the two clubs was a turgid goalless draw in Ligue 1 at the Stade Gerland on December 14.

"That wasn't a good match," admitted Juninho. "Both teams defended a lot and technically it was mediocre. Maybe this time the game will be more open."

OL and OM play football in contrasting styles. "They have players who move a lot and make plenty of runs," said Juninho. "We do that far less because we play the ball to feet."

Wiltord return

Wednesday night's clash could see Juninho come up against his former Lyon team-mate Sylvain Wiltord, newly arrived at Marseille from Rennes.

Juninho said: "I'm happy for him. The influence he brought to the dressing room is something we lack today. He's a winner and so ambitious. He's always there when it matters, although I hope that won't be the case on Wednesday."

kabbott

29-01-2009, 03:00 PM

Lyon 1:0 Marseille

Ben Arfa: 'Lyon outclassed us'

Hatem Ben Arfa's return to Lyon was an unhappy one, the forward admitting Marseille were "outclassed" as they slipped to a rare defeat against the Cup holders.
Karim Benzema fired OL into an early lead and after that Marseille were never in the Round of 32 tie.

Ben Arfa, who joined Marseille last summer from Lyon in a big-money move, came on as a first-half substitute for Bakari Kone after the Ivorian came off worse in a challenge with Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris but was unable to change the course of the match on his old stomping ground.

'Head and shoulders better'

Ben Arfa said: "After the early goal they were head and shoulders better than us. Lyon played very aggressively but without the early goal it could all have been different."

Marseille coach Erik Gerets tried everything to get back into the game against a Lyon side reduced to ten men when Abdul Kader Keita was sent off. OM finished the game with four forwards including Sylvain Wiltord, and the veteran, who was making his first appearance for his new club, went closest to forcing an equaliser against his former club.

Wiltord goes close

Ben Arfa said: "We did our best to score and it could have worked with Sylvain Wiltord but we didn't succeed. It's a real shame."

It was OL's first win over OM since Gerets took over in September 2007 and their first Cup win over their rivals since 1973. Lyon face a testing Round of 16 tie with Lille on March 3 or 4.

Lyon's Italian left-back Fabio Grosso said: "We deserved to win. We had a lot of chances. Now we have to focus on our big Ligue 1 match against Saint-Etienne this Sunday."

Next up Lille v Lyon ...

...and back "home" for Claude Puel, Bodmer and Keita. If he wants, Keita can stay up there and Bastos can swap with him!

BB Bob

29-01-2009, 06:02 PM

Have you enjoyed your day off today? It means no Equipe tomorrow which is a shame.

Let's see how Reggie gets on - is it his first game against Lyon since he left?

kabbott

29-01-2009, 07:20 PM

Have you enjoyed your day off today? It means no Equipe tomorrow which is a shame.

Let's see how Reggie gets on - is it his first game against Lyon since he left?

Sorry BB Bob, no day off for me. Le privé it is for me, not on religious grounds. It's just that when you pass "le concours" to be a teacher, be it state sector or private, only the private sector guarantees you don't get sent somewhere dodgy. I was already living in Lyon so the choice was simple for me. I've got absolutely nothing against the state system - my daughter goes to a state school. We take the same exams, we get the same wages and we also have the same grievances as far as pay and working conditions are concerned. We just strike less because we are dependent on families who pay school fees and who are generally disgruntled with state sector teaching
because of the high rate of absenteeism (teachers cracking up) and the number of days lost through strikes etc. Our position is rather ambiguous/ambivalent. We would like to strike but can't really.

GodstoneEagle

29-01-2009, 07:25 PM

Hope you're doing ok chaps, sorry I haven't checked in for a while.

BB Bob

30-01-2009, 06:28 PM

Here goes nothing again.....

Week 22 - Saturday, January 31, 2009

19:00 AJ Auxerre FC Lorient DRAW
19:00 Havre AC AS Nancy Lorraine DRAW
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 FC Nantes HOME
19:00 AS Monaco FC Grenoble Foot 38 HOME
19:00 Paris Saint-Germain SM Caen HOME
19:00 Valenciennes FC OGC Nice AWAY
21:00 Stade Rennais FC Toulouse FC HOME
Week 22 - Sunday, February 01, 2009

17:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux LOSC HOME
17:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Olympique de Marseille AWAY
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais AS Saint-Etienne HOME

Et voilà! Enjoy the games!

BB Bob

30-01-2009, 06:30 PM

Hope you're doing ok chaps, sorry I haven't checked in for a while.

Hello matey. I don't know if you've been following le Championnat this year, but it's been quite an interesting season so far. Not a lot of quality, of course, but that goes without saying. The odd nugget has kept us going - if you get a chance to see Gourcuff's goal against PSG, check it out.

BB Bob

31-01-2009, 10:33 AM

6J4PGiJl2dQ

kabbott

31-01-2009, 01:14 PM

This week it's the fall.

Week 22 - Saturday, January 31, 2009

19:00 AJ Auxerre FC Lorient HOME WIN
19:00 Havre AC AS Nancy Lorraine HOME WIN
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 FC Nantes HOME WIN
19:00 AS Monaco FC Grenoble Foot 38 HOME WIN
19:00 Paris Saint-Germain SM Caen AWAY WIN
19:00 Valenciennes FC OGC Nice HOME WIN
21:00 Stade Rennais FC Toulouse FC HOME WIN

Week 22 - Sunday, February 01, 2009

17:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux LOSC DRAW
17:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Olympique de Marseille HOME WIN
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais AS Saint-Etienne HOME WIN

BB Bob

31-01-2009, 01:25 PM

That's what I thought, too. He can have the rise next week!!!

GodstoneEagle

31-01-2009, 01:50 PM

Gourcuff is so good. When he went to Milan it just didn't seem like the right move though. That bordeau team has some top players now, I like Gouffran but think Chamakh should score more than he does.

?Has Cavenaghi left yet?

kabbott

01-02-2009, 10:16 AM

Yesterday's results:

Week 22 - Saturday, January 31, 2009

19:00 AJ Auxerre 0 - 0 FC Lorient
19:00 Havre AC 2 - 3 AS Nancy Lorraine
19:00 Le Mans UC 72 0 - 2 FC Nantes
19:00 AS Monaco FC 1 - 0 Grenoble Foot 38
19:00 Paris Saint-Germain 2 - 0 SM Caen
19:00 Valenciennes FC 1 - 0 OGC Nice
21:00 Stade Rennais FC 0 - 0 Toulouse FC

Week 22 - Sunday, February 01, 2009

17:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux LOSC
17:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Olympique de Marseille
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais AS Saint-Etienne

kabbott

01-02-2009, 06:51 PM

I'll take the two scores today as long as Benzema does the business tonight against Reggie et les Verts. No snow here by the way. Clear skies 3°. Allez l'OL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 22 - Sunday, February 01, 2009

17:00 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 2 - 2 LOSC
17:00 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 1 - 0 Olympique de Marseille
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais AS Saint-Etienne

And a good bit of punting so far today too.

kabbott

01-02-2009, 09:02 PM

21:00 Olympique Lyonnais 1:1 AS Saint-Etienne

That's all they deserved. Good Juni free kick (again!) for the goal. Highlight of the game was Piquionne's performance. He was so bad, we could sign him up!!
He misssed about three open goals and then contrived to get himself sent off. Grotesque. Oh well. Still one point ahead of Bordeaux, but only just. Bonne nuit.

BB Bob

01-02-2009, 10:09 PM

I had planned on watching the game tonight, but snow and the M25 go together like - well, Piquionne and three open goals, I guess. Shocking - a 2 hour journey took me 5 hours. A bottom 3 performance from the British road network.

Oh and no points either.....

I haven't totted up yet - I'll do it tomorrow.

Godstone, I heard some rumours about Cavenaghi and Spurs, but that doesn't mean much these days. With luck - for les Girondins anyway - he'll stay for the rest of the season.

Bonne nuit à tous

BB Bob

02-02-2009, 07:37 AM

Lacombe laments lack of luck
Guy Lacombe's disappointment was clear after seeing his Rennes side miss out on a place in the top three as they were held to a goalless draw by Toulouse on Saturday.

The former Sochaux and Paris Saint-Germain coach attended the post-match press conference for barely a minute, but made his feelings clear as his side slipped down to fifth having taken one point from the last six.

"For us, it's very, very disappointing," said Lacombe, who saw his team's 18-match unbeaten run ended by Lille in Week 21.

"I don't think any other team has troubled Toulouse quite as much as we did. Our first-half performance was top-class. We had one or two hairy moments after that, but - on the whole - we played very well. We're just lacking a bit of luck - it's going to have to come back."

Casanova: 'Satisfied'

Toulouse boss Alain Casanova was more upbeat having taken a point away from one of his club's main rivals for a place in the top five come the season's end.

"When you come to Rennes, to play a team that has the potential to challenge for the title, and you leave with a point, you've got to be satisfied," said Casanova, whose team extended their unbeaten run to nine matches in all competitions.

"It was a very intense match. Rennes put us under a lot of pressure for 90 minutes, and played with a lot more maturity than we did. I find it a shame that we didn't show more poise in trying to win the ball back. That's how we could have opened the score. But I think that - taking the whole match into account - we deserved a draw."

Luyindula: 'J'aime PSG'

Peguy Luyindula expressed his desire to remain at Paris Saint-Germain just minutes after helping the club from the capital move into the top three on Saturday.

The French international forward has been the subject of intense recent speculation regarding his future at the Parc des Princes. Negotiations to extend his current deal with the club are on-going, but Luyindula publicly underlined his intentions in the wake of his team's 2-0 defeat of Caen at the Parc des Princes.

"I want to stay, I want to help the squad. I want to be an important figure in the dressing-room, and I have a deep love of Paris Saint-Germain," said the 29-year-old, who grabbed PSG's second goal against the visitors from Normandy, his fourth league strike in just seven starts.

"We're going to try and finish as high up the table as possible. I will do everything and give my all regardless of what happens or my own personal situation. I have a year-and-a-half left on my contract. I'm here to fight for Paris Saint-Germain."

Re-think

However, he warned that the club would have to re-think the financial aspect of the contract extension they are currently proposing.

"I listened to the propositions, and - knowing what some of the others earn - they seemed strange to me," said Luyindula, who took a wage cut when he arrived at the club.

"So I took the logical step of saying that I wasn't satisfied with that. But I'm not someone who puts money above everything else - I've already proved it."

Le Guen: 'Peguy worked hard'

Regardless of the behind-the-scenes wrangling, the former Lyon and Marseille forward gave a committed display against Caen which did not go unnoticed by coach Paul Le Guen.

"Peguy worked very hard for the team this evening, even if he was a bit unlucky in the second half. But what sticks in my mind is the way he got stuck in, and I continue to be satisfied with his contribution," said Le Guen, who saw Luyindula's strike partner Guillaume Hoarau open the scoring with his 13th league goal of the campaign.

"We played well and created chances. Caen also had two good chances that Mickaël Landreau dealt with. The pitch wasn't the best, so - on the whole - I'm happy."

Bordeaux take top spot

A 2-2 draw at home to Lille on Sunday night saw Bordeaux take top spot – on goal difference ahead of Lyon’s clash with Saint-Etienne – while Marseille missed their chance to clinch third place with an upset 1-0 loss away to Sochaux.

Sunday February 1, 2009

FC Girondins de Bordeaux / LOSC : 2 - 2

Laurent Blanc's men knew that a win against Lille would put them two points clear of Lyon and place maximum pressure on the champions to get a good result in the Rhone derby against Saint-Etienne. But Lille weren't going to make things easy for them.

Bordeaux dominated in the first half and went ahead through former Manchester United forward David Bellion in the 15th minute. Bellion pounced on a defensive error by Adil Rami and raced the ball into the area to beat Grégory Malicki with a deft touch from close range.

Despite failing to trouble Ulrich Ramé in the first half, Lille came back from the break firing, and were back on level terms after just three minutes after Ludovic Obraniak smashed home a spectacular shot from the edge of the area, the Bordeaux defence having failed to adequately clear Yohan Cabaye's free kick.

The goal spurred Lille into life and they began to dominate their hosts, snatching the lead in the 57th minute when Rami redeemed himself with a clinical angled shot that somehow slid under the arms of Ramé and into the net.

Three minutes later however, French football's man of the moment, Yoann Gourcuff, stepped in to score what could be a crucial goal in Bordeaux's challenge for the title.

The France midfielder evaded the Lille defense before rising highest to smash home Brazilian Geraldo Wendel's free kick with a powerful header, getting Les Girondins back on level terms and rescuing the point that sent his side to the top of the table – on goal difference – ahead of Lyon's match later on Sunday night.

The draw sees Lille hold steady in seventh place.

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard / Olympique de Marseille : 1 - 0

Marseille travelled to the Stade Auguste Bonal looking to bounce back from their midweek elimination from the French Cup at the hands of Lyon with a win over second-from-bottom Sochaux.

Amid heavy snow, however, Marseille's plans came undone as they failed to convert their dominance into goals, lacking incisiveness in attack and patience in their construction of play.

And so it was that, against the run of play and from one of their very few chances, that Turkey international Mevlut Erding struck in the 24th minute for the only goal of the game.

When Vitorino Hilton failed to clear a long high pass, Sochaux captain Romain Pitau was first to the ball, releasing Erding into the area where the club's top scorer rounded Steve Mandanda to turn the ball into the empty net for his seventh strike of the season.

Marseille did everything they could to strike back but Sochaux held firm to hold onto the three invaluable points that see them finally climb out of the relegation zone, if only on goal difference.

The loss is a heavy blow to Eric Gerets' men and their title challenge, as they failed to take the opportunity to clinch a place in the top three and stick with leading duo Bordeaux and Lyon.

Lyon keep their noses in front

Despite being reduced to ten men, Lyon managed to hold on against local rivals Saint-Etienne for a 1-1 draw that sees the champions wrest top spot back from Bordeaux, going one point clear.

Olympique Lyonnais / AS Saint-Etienne : 1 - 1

The stakes were high at the Stade Gerland for the Rhône derby between Lyon and Saint-Etienne on Sunday night: not only did it mark the return to Lyon of former coach Alain Perrin, now in charge of Saint-Etienne's struggle to break free of the relegation zone, but also saw Lyon in the unfamiliar position of having to get a result to maintain top spot on the table, with Bordeaux having taken a provisional lead, on goal difference, earlier in the evening.

The first half was a tight affair, with Lyon dominating but failing to convert their advantage into goals, while a combative Saint-Etienne created just a few slight chances.

The game came to life however just after the break, with Belgian youngster Kevin Mirallas beating Hugo Lloris with a deft chip after being released into the area by Dimitri Payet.

Just four minutes later however, Karim Benzema won a free kick on the edge of the area after drawing the foul from Saint-Etienne's Senegalese defender Mustapha Bayal Sall. Up stepped dead ball maestro Juninho, who wrong-footed Jérémie Janot with a superbly taken strike to get back on level terms.

But Lyon didn't have long to get back into the game however, with former Saint-Etienne striker Frédéric Piquionne picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Mouhamadou Dabo.

Despite their numerical inferiority, Lyon managed to keep hold of the reins of the match, managing to hold off a Saint-Etienne side that had smelled blood and did all they could to exploit the situation and snatch the three invaluable points.

In the end however, the draw served both sides well; Lyon return to top spot, one point clear of Bordeaux, while Saint-Etienne once again climbed out of the relegation zone after briefly slipping back down following Sochaux's surprise win over Marseille earlier in the evening.

BB Bob

02-02-2009, 07:59 AM

Bien joué, kabbott.

3-2 down at mi-temps, you held your nerve (better than Lyon did, anyway) and came back to win 4-3!

kabbott

02-02-2009, 09:09 AM

Bien joué, kabbott.

3-2 down at mi-temps, you held your nerve (better than Lyon did, anyway) and came back to win 4-3!

Day off BB Bob?

BB Bob

02-02-2009, 09:12 AM

kabbott

02-02-2009, 10:28 AM

In my dreams. Unfortunately my rail network is the only one providing any service today. All of our trains are on-time although whether they will be when its time to go is another matter altogether.

A bit of snow and London grinds to a halt. There are no buses, half the tube lines are down and no services from Kent or Surrey. I mean, it's not like there was no notice that it was going to snow.....I guess in Lyon, you are just a bit more geared up for this kind of thing.

Just as well I did make it in, though, as no-one else has...

Don't you believe it! Although we're only down the autoroute from the Alps, there's always total panic when it snows in the city of Lyon. This is mainly due to the fact that the French don't know how to drive in normal weather conditions, so you can imagine what it's like when it snows!
Strangely enough Lyon is about the only place in France which hasn't been affected by snow at any time this year. I'm sure our day will come before the winter is up. Oh and it's time for me to pop into work for a couple of hours!

BB Bob

03-02-2009, 12:06 PM

Lyon limp to stalemate but rivals fail to draw advantage

Lyon can take little home comfort from their 1–1 draw with St-Etienne

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2009/2/3/1233660108927/Araujo-Ilan-and-Jeremy-To-001.jpg
Saint-Etienne's Araujo Ilan, left, vies with Lyon's Jeremy Toulalan during the 1-1 draw on Sunday. Photograph: Philippe Merle/AFP/Getty Images.

Conspiracy theories, team-mates fighting over a chair, a Raymond Domenech cameo and a surprise jujitsu champion: only one top-eight team may have won, but last weekend's action in France was memorable for other reasons.

The game of the weekend was Lyon's derby match against St-Etienne, whose coach, Alain Perrin, guided Lyon to their first ever league and Cup double last season. Perrin is still waiting for the watch that the Lyon president, Jean-Michel Aulas, had promised him, and instead received a mini-replica of the Ligue 1 trophy when the two men met in the tunnel before the game. In return, Perrin mischievously gave his former boss a St-Etienne scarf.

If that didn't ruin Aulas's night, the match almost did: Lyon were unconvincing yet again in the 1–1 draw, their fourth in a row at home. It could have been worse, as after the second-half dismissal of Frédéric Piquionne, Lyon's former Sainté striker who was handed a rare start, the referee Stéphane Lannoy ignored Jean-Alain Boumsong's clear trip on Ilan Araujo. "We were robbed of the three points," moaned Perrin. "When a referee who is 10 metres away doesn't blow for a penalty, it shows that it's good to have a president who puts pressure on the referees." If anyone knows about that, it would be Perrin. In response, Lyon released a statement: "We are surprised and disappointed by M Perrin's defamatory remarks," it read. "He probably wanted to explain his team's inability to beat a team reduced to 10 men."

Lyon have now failed to win at the Stade Gerland since mid-November, a run of form in which they have failed to beat Valenciennes, Lorient and Marseille. As L'Equipe put it: "They are a lot less scary these days." And despite Aulas insisting the club "need to spend big" in the January transfer window, reported moves for Julien Faubert, Pascal Chimbonda, Charles N'Zogbia, Keirrison, Péguy Luyindula and Ricardo Oliveira all failed to materialise.

The title-race would be even more interesting if Lyon's rivals were able to capitalise on the champions' slip-ups, but Marseille continued their shaky form with a 1–0 defeat at Sochaux, their first away loss for more than a year, while Bordeaux drew 2–2 with Lille. This was the week that Laurent Blanc finally signed a two-year contract extension (with a release clause, apparently, if the France job comes up) while doubts over Eric Gerets's future gather momentum. The Belgian cuts an increasingly unhappy figure at l'OM and could be tempted to return to Germany, where he had offers last summer, at the end of the season. The signings of Brandao and Sylvain Wiltord are an admission that his summer recruitment has not worked, while two more attacking players will produce a further selection headache considering he has yet to work out an attacking system for his team.

The Sochaux match-winner was Mevlut Erdinc, their top scorer who despite playing for France Under-18s, is now a senior Turkey international. "My parents are Turkish but I didn't really decide to play for them, I just got a call-up so went along," he said. His parents showed the same sangfroid after an immigration officer spelt their surname "Erding" when they first entered France (hence the name on the back of Mevlut's shirt). This was Sochaux's third win of the season and keeps them in the relegation zone, but only one point behind St-Etienne and Auxerre. "We've drawn 11 out of 22 games, but if we can just pick up some wins, we'll be fine," said Erdinc, whose home town of Saint-Claude, famous for "les pipes", can now claim another popular export. Mevlut handled himself well when faced with his sniggering inquisitors on Fabulous Sport last week, who could not wait to point out that "une pipe" is also French slang for a blow job. "I'm proud to come from the town of 'les pipes'," Mevlut deadpanned.

PSG were the only top-eight side to win this weekend, a 2–0 victory over Caen, and their steady improvement has shown the importance of getting recruitment right. The stats bear this out: 74% of PSG's league goals have been scored by their new signings. Guillaume Hoarau, in his rookie year in the top flight, is now Ligue 1's joint top scorer, having won more headers (340, with a 45% success rate) than anyone else; another new signing Stéphane Sessègnon has completed more dribbles than anyone else (60 compared to Hatem Ben Arfa's 58); while no team has scored more headed goals (seven) than PSG. Hoarau's form may be too soon to earn him a call-up to the France squad for next week's friendly against Argentina but he should soon be moving up L'Equipe's list of top five players from La Réunion, which currently reads: 1 Florent Sinama-Pongolle; 2 Laurent Robert; 3 Jean-Pierre Bade; 4 Didier Agathe; 5 Hoarau.

The France coach, Raymond Domenech, appeared on TV show Canal Football Club on Sunday night for an entertaining interrogation at the hands of Christophe Dugarry. "I've always liked Christophe and I liked him as a player, but now he's a journalist, he has to brush up on his facts," said Domenech when accused of playing Eric Abidal at centre-back for the first time in his career during Euro 2008. "People talk to me about communication issues, but I'm talking now, so what's all that about? I'd rather talk about the team but everyone wants to talk about me!"

Dugarry's former team-mate Bixente Lizarazu was also back in the headlines: on the day that fellow full-back Willy Sagnol sadly quit the game for good, Lizarazu was winning gold in the Brazilian Jujitsu European Open in Lisbon. "When I saw the other competitors on Friday with their shaved heads and cauliflower ears, they all looked like killers, and I said to myself, 'What the hell are you doing?'" he said after dispatching two Italians and an Englishman in the Under-76kg category, 35-40 age group.

Perhaps the Le Mans duo Anthony Le Tallec and Ibrahima Camara had seen Liza in action: both men were thrown out of the team's lunch meeting after fighting when Camara had taken Le Tallec's seat. Their row continued in the hotel lobby, and as the team-mates squared up to settle their differences, the coach, Yves Bertucci, waded in and suspended both from the squad. The team could have done with that fighting spirit against Nantes, who beat them 2–0. "We were crap and that simply wasn't good enough," the captain, Mathieu Coutadeur, apologised. Bertucci's job has now gone to Le Mans' sports director, the man behind all their signings, Daniel Jeandupeux, with the ex-coach kept on as assistant.

Elsewhere, goal-shy Rennes and Toulouse played out a predictable 0–0 draw while Valenciennes continued their improvement with a 1–0 win over Nice. At the bottom, Le Havre lost 3–2 to Nancy, their seventh defeat on the spin. France's oldest club look doomed to the drop, but still continue to produce great players from their youth academy. How's this for a starting XI of recent Le Havre graduates? Mandanda, N'Zogbia, (Alou) Diarra, Boumsong, Chimbonda, (Lassana) Diarra, Digard, Dhorasoo, Hoarau, Niang, Sinama-Pongolle. It's a side that might even beat Lyon, on their current form.

Results, Week 22:

PSG 2–0 Caen

Valenciennes 1–0 Nice

Auxerre 0–0 Lorient

Le Havre 2–3 Nancy

Le Mans 0–2 Nantes

Monaco 1–0 Grenoble

Rennes 0–0 Toulouse

Bordeaux 2–2 Lille

Sochaux 1–0 Marseille

Lyon 1–1 Saint-Etienne

BB Bob

03-02-2009, 12:17 PM

Here is the table after this weeks games:-

1 Olympique Lyonnais 22 12 7 3 +13 43

2 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 22 12 6 4 +17 42
3 Paris Saint-Germain 22 12 3 7 +6 39

4 Olympique de Marseille 22 10 8 4 +12 38

5 Stade Rennais FC 22 9 11 2 +11 38
6 Toulouse FC 22 10 8 4 +8 38
7 LOSC 21 9 9 3 +10 36
8 OGC Nice 21 9 6 6 +5 33
9 FC Lorient 22 7 8 7 +2 29
10 AS Nancy Lorraine 21 7 7 7 -1 28
11 AS Monaco FC 22 7 6 9 -1 27
12 FC Nantes 22 7 5 10 -8 26
13 Le Mans UC 72 21 7 4 10 -5 25
14 Grenoble Foot 38 22 6 7 9 -8 25
15 SM Caen 21 5 9 7 0 24
16 AJ Auxerre 22 5 6 11 -9 21
17 AS Saint-Etienne 22 6 3 13 -14 21

18 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 22 3 11 8 -6 20
19 Valenciennes FC 21 4 7 10 -8 19
20 Havre AC 22 3 3 16 -24 12

BB Bob

03-02-2009, 12:24 PM

OK, OK. League 2 round up for the week:-

Friday, January 30, 2009
20:00 SC Bastia 1 - 1 RC Strasbourg
20:00 Stade Brestois 4 - 1 ESTAC
20:00 Dijon FCO 2 - 1 AC Ajaccio
20:00 Nîmes Olympique 1 - 1 Clermont Foot
20:00 CS Sedan 0 - 0 Angers SCO
20:00 Vannes OC 1 - 0 Tours FC
20:30 LB Châteauroux 0 - 0 RC Lens
20:30 FC Metz 2 - 1 Amiens SC
20:30 Stade de Reims 0 - 0 EA Guingamp
Monday, February 02, 2009
20:30 US Boulogne CO 0 - 3 Montpellier HSC

An away point for Clermont is an away point, but they must have hoped for better against Nimes. Meanwhile, after a great result last week, Reims run out of puff against En Arrière Guingamp.

I can't believe Angers are 2nd in the table. They had to get special permission to play in L2 when they got promoted last season. A really nice little club, but little is the operative word. A 15,000 capacity stadium
http://www.lfp.fr/images/club/stade/petit/501931.jpg
averaging about 7000 a game.

Ligue 2 P W D L GD Pts
1 RC Lens 21 13 2 6 +8 41
2 Angers SCO 21 10 8 3 +12 38
3 FC Metz 21 11 5 5 +9 38

4 Montpellier HSC 21 10 6 5 +18 36
5 RC Strasbourg 21 9 8 4 +8 35
6 US Boulogne CO 21 10 5 6 +5 35
7 Vannes OC 21 9 4 8 -2 31
8 Dijon FCO 21 7 7 7 -2 28
9 Tours FC 21 8 4 9 -3 28
10 SC Bastia 21 7 6 8 -2 27
11 ESTAC 21 7 6 8 -3 27
12 Stade Brestois 21 8 2 11 -2 26
13 Clermont Foot 21 6 8 7 -3 26
14 EA Guingamp 21 5 10 6 +1 25
15 CS Sedan 21 6 7 8 -6 25
16 Amiens SC 21 5 9 7 -1 24
17 AC Ajaccio 21 6 5 10 -7 23

18 LB Châteauroux 21 5 7 9 -5 22
19 Nîmes Olympique 21 3 8 10 -12 17
20 Stade de Reims 21 3 7 11 -13 16

BB Bob

03-02-2009, 12:48 PM

I know what you are thinking. "Is anyone really interested in this stuff, cos I'm not?", "Where are these places and do I care?" and maybe "Doesn't BB Bob have anything better to with his time?"

Yes it's time for our spasmodic coverage of the National Division

vendredi 30 janvier 2009
19h30 Calais (14) 1-1 Cassis-Carnoux (4)
20h00 Libourne-Saint-Seurin (19) 0-3 Istres (2)
Cherbourg (16) 1-0 Paris FC (6)
Cannes (7) 3-0 Beauvais (11)

samedi 31 janvier 2009
18h00 Croix-de-Savoie (8) 1-1 Gueugnon (15)
Louhans-Cuiseaux (9) 1-0 Niort (18)
Pacy-sur-Eure (12) 2-0 Entente SSG (20)
18h30 Bayonne (17) 0-0 Sète (5)
19h00 Rodez (13) 0-1 Créteil (10)
20h00 Laval (1) Arrêté Arles (3)

Equipe Pts J. G. N. P. p. c. Diff.
1 Istres 43 19 12 7 0 33 10 23
2 Laval 42 20 12 6 2 27 13 14
3 Arles 34 19 10 4 5 27 18 9

4 Cassis-Carnoux 32 20 8 8 4 22 21 1
5 Sète 30 21 8 9 4 17 12 5
6 Cannes 30 21 8 6 7 24 21 3
7 Paris FC 28 19 8 4 7 25 23 2
8 Louhans-Cuiseaux 27 20 7 9 4 21 21 0
9 Créteil 27 19 5 12 2 22 15 7
10 Pacy-sur-Eure 26 20 7 5 8 22 22 0
11 Croix-de-Savoie 26 20 7 5 8 20 23 -3
12 Beauvais 23 20 6 5 9 25 28 -3
13 Cherbourg 22 19 4 10 5 19 21 -2
14 Calais 21 19 5 6 8 17 21 -4
15 Gueugnon 20 20 3 11 6 18 19 -1
16 Bayonne 20 19 5 5 9 10 16 -6
17 Rodez 20 20 5 5 10 18 22 -4

18 Niort 18 20 3 9 8 13 20 -7
19 Libourne-Saint-Seurin 16 20 4 4 12 17 33 -16
20 Entente SSG 13 19 3 4 12 12 30 -18

Pénalités :
Sète : -3 points
Louhans-Cuiseaux : -3 points

A quick focus, then, on Istres:-
http://cache.images.soccerway.com/new/teams/903.gif
The club's honors include winning the Coupe de Provence in 1933,1982,1987 and 1989 and the DH Méditerranée in 1982 and 1990 - so not much there then. From 1977, the club ran through the lower regional divisions and, in 2004, the club played in L1. They finished last however and were relegated from L2 the following year. Maybe this is the year of their renaissance?

Location is not far from Marseille
http://www.realenglish.tm.fr/istres1.gif

The town itself looks quite pretty:-
http://www.tourinfos.com/collectif/r0021/d0013/m0003/photo/z042065a.jpg

A rather fetching "pyjama" kit
http://www.fcistres.com/fichiers/articles/images/Sans%20titre%206.jpg
http://ef.img.v4.skyrock.net/ef1/fcistres0607/pics/582945943_small.jpg

A 17,363 stadium, le Stade Parsemain,
http://es-fossurmer.footeo.com/footeo/es-fossurmer/stadiums/mini2_0.714457001175608040.jpg
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/1103568.jpg

If you don't behave yourselves, I'll start on the CFAs....

BB Bob

04-02-2009, 07:15 PM

Oh dearie dearie me.

OGC Nice 1 - 1(3 to 4) Vannes OC

I think I'm going to have a nice bottle of Bombadier now....

Latest in the other one:-

Paris Saint-Germain 0 - 1 FC Girondins de Bordeaux
BELLION (17 ')

First Half 28' gone

BB Bob

04-02-2009, 09:43 PM

Paris Saint-Germain 0 - 3 FC Girondins de Bordeaux

Finished

BELLION (17 ')
DIAWARA (87 ')
WENDEL (90 ')

BB Bob

05-02-2009, 09:38 AM

Painful, this one......

Vannes drive into fairytale final

In driving rain on the Côte d’Azur, Ligue 2 newcomers Vannes, competing in their first-ever League Cup, qualified for the final with a heart-stopping penalty shootout victory over Nice on Wednesday.

Having already eliminated Ligue 1 sides Valenciennes and Auxerre before their quarter-final triumph over Metz (on penalties) three weeks ago, Vannes had already exceeded all expectations in this year's competition.

But with just one more match standing between both sides and a trip to the Stade de France, Nice coach Frédéric Antonetti may have been wary of the driving rain which lashed the Stade du Ray – more reminiscent of Vannes' native Brittany than the Côte d'Azur.

Hellebuyck against the crossbar

Nice midfielder David Hellebuyck came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first-half with a curling free-kick that crashed back off the crossbar.

However it was the second division giant killers that went in front on the hour mark when forward Ghislain Gimbert beat the offside trap and bore down on Lionel Letizi in the home side's goal. Letizi made the initial stop but the ball fell to Seid Khiter – on loan from Ligue 1 side Valenciennes – and the former Lens forward slotted the ball home.

Late equaliser

However, Nice equalised with just three minutes left to play. Hellebuyck picked out Chaouki Ben Saada on the edge of the area and his left-foot effort caught out Christophe Revel in the Vannes goal.

Loic Rémy hit the post two minutes into extra-time but there was no change to the scoreline as the match went to penalties.

Revel the hero

Revel again proved to be the hero for Vannes, stopping the penalty from Remy while Cyril Rool's effort rebounded off the crossbar. Kemal Bourhani scored the winning penalty for Vannes who qualify for the first national Cup final in their history on March 29 at the Stade de France, where they will take on Bordeaux, who defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the second semi-final.

Bordeaux cruise into League Cup final

Late goals from Souleymane Diawara and Geraldo Wendel to add to David Bellion’s first-half strike put the icing on the cake as Bordeaux cruised past Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final at the Parc des Princes.

Defending champions PSG were looking for revenge for their 4-0 humbling at the hands of Les Girondins in Week 20 of Ligue 1 last month and the capital club made a bright start to their home clash.

Landreau no chance

However Paul Le Guen side, without captain Claude Makelele, was rocked in the 17th minute with a superb goal to Bordeaux's David Bellion who connected to Franck Jurietti's cross from the right with a powerful downward header that gave Mickaël Landreau no chance in the Parisian goal.

PSG pushed for an equaliser before the half-time break, however Mathieu Valverde, substituting for Ulrich Ramé in the Bordeaux goal denied Mateja Kezman a one-on-one chance on the half-hour.

Just rewards

The home side enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the second-half but were kept at arm's length by an excellent defensive display from Marc Planus and Diawara. And with time running out, the two combined to cap excellent individual performances with a clinically taken counterattacking goal – running 80 metres as Bordeaux broke from defending a corner, Planus delivered a telling cross which Diawara met first time from the edge of the area with a deftly cushioned lob which left Landreau no chance.

And Wendel added a third in the final minute of the match as he was released by compatriot Fernando, squeezeing the ball past the hapless Landreau in the PSG goal as Les Girondins return to the Stade de France on March 29 where they will meet Ligue 2 surprise packet Vannes in the League Cup final.

kabbott

06-02-2009, 04:14 PM

Ex-Palace player called up to French squad.

Carrasso call crowns remarkable rise

Cédric Carrasso's call-up to the French national side for next week's friendly with Argentina marks an incredible rise to the top for the Toulouse keeper, who was once thought to be too fat to make the grade.

As a youngster, Carrasso was the classic stereotype of schoolboy football - the overweight kid who gets stuck between the posts. While he still proved promising enough to catch Marseille's eye as a teenager, the Avignon-born youngster's 'refuelling' habits meant he was still far from certain of making a career of the beautiful game.

It was a character-building loan spell at English side Crystal Palace, where he played just once during the 2001/02 season, that set Carrasso down the road that would eventually lead to Les Bleus.

On his return to Marseille, a leaner meaner Carrasso dislodged Vedran Runje as the club's number one only for his ascension to be brutally halted when he sustained a serious knee injury in an exhibition match.

Barthez barrier

On his return to fitness, Carrasso then found his path to the first team barred by the imposing Fabien Barthez. However, he turned working alongside France's greatest-ever keeper every day to his advantage, learning the tricks of the trade from the 'the Divine Bald One' until the pupil surpassed his master to become the club's number one goalkeeper for the 2006/07 season.

Even the arrival of the highly-rated Steve Mandanda in the summer of 2007 did not stop Carrasso's upward trajectory. However, where the ex-Le Havre and current French number one failed, another major injury succeeded - a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in training in August that year leading to five months on the sidelines.

During his absence, the Mandanda-phenomenon took hold of the Stade Vélodrome and OM coach Erik Gerets, forcing Carrasso to look elsewhere, landing at Toulouse last summer in a €2.5m deal.

'Team effort'

"I've only been at Toulouse a few months, and now I'm called up when before I was at big clubs," declared the 27-year-old, who appeared as surprised as the public and media alike that he was Raymond Domench's choice to join Ligue 1 counterparts Mandanda and Hugo Lloris of Lyon as the squad's last line of defence.

"It's also down to a squad and a team at Toulouse that has shown an irreproachable attitude and that has achieved results on the pitch. It's a little bit a victory for the whole team and the staff. They deserve recognition for what's happened since the start of the season."

Ironically, Carrasso will be returning to familiar territory for his first taste of the international arena as France will play host to Diego Maradona's side at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome.

"That's something extra. I'm delighted, because Marseille was my whole life until the last few months at Toulouse," said Carrasso, who joined the OM youth academy aged 13. "It's funny that my first game will be there. It'll be fantastic to go back to the Vélodrome with Les Bleus."

kabbott

06-02-2009, 04:16 PM

Lloris tops keeper poll

Hugo Lloris can head into this weekend’s encounter against former club Nice with confidence after being voted Ligue 1’s best goalkeeper in a poll of French top-flight footballers.

The Lyon number one – who remains behind Steve Mandanda in the pecking order in the French national set-up – received 85 votes from the 209 players questioned, 19 more than his Marseille counterpart.

Rennes keeper Nicolas Douchez, who had been tipped to join the duo in the French squad for next week's friendly with Argentina only for Raymond Domenech to opt for Toulouse's Cédric Carrasso, was a distant third with 37 votes, 27 more than fourth-placed Carrasso.

The same trio came out in the same order when their peers were asked which would be the national team's future keeper with Lloris receiving 100 votes to Mandanda's 85, while Douchez picked up only 13.

OM number one Mandanda can draw comfort from the fact that the Ligue 1 goalkeepers questioned voted for him ahead of Lloris on both points, while Domenech insisted on Thursday the current national team hierarchy would remain in place until at least after next Wednesday's friendly at the Stade Vélodrome.

BB Bob

06-02-2009, 04:17 PM

He was the man I coined a song for when he was at Selhurst!

Les patisseries
Les patisseries
Qui a mangé
Qui a mangé
Les patisseries

To the tune, of course, of Who Ate All The Pies - well he was pretty chubby back then!

Maybe in my own way I've helped him get where he is today (or maybe not...)

kabbott

06-02-2009, 04:21 PM

Another one we let go too early! Le beau, le gros Cédric.

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0809_l1_rennes_toulouse_carrasso_art.jpg

kabbott

06-02-2009, 04:25 PM

France's best keeper. Was an Aiglon, never to be an Eagle?

http://www.frenchleague.com/photo/moyenFormat/0708_l1_nice_lloris_art.jpg

kabbott

06-02-2009, 04:26 PM

Zidane: 'Bordeaux can take title'

Former Girondins star Zinédine Zidane has backed Bordeaux to push Lyon all the way to the Ligue 1 title this season.

The ex-French international spent the formative years of his career with Les Girondins, and as well as retaining great affection for his former club, believes his ex-international team-mate and current Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc has built a side capable of picking up the club's first Ligue 1 title since the 1998/99 season.

"Although Lyon are still a little bit ahead, Bordeaux can be champions," said Zidane, who spent four seasons in the south west before joining Italian side Juventus in 1996.

"If there's a team that can give Lyon cause for concern this season, it's Bordeaux. They have a really good team, and play good football. It reminds me of the side of 1996 [in which Zidane featured, which reached the UEFA Cup final]."

'Deserve title'

Zidane and Blanc played in the French sides that won both the 1998 World Cup and EURO 2000, and the ex-Real Madrid star said his former team-mate has created a side in his own image at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

"We saw a good Bordeaux side at Paris on Wednesday," said Zidane, who retired in 2006. "They defend well – that's where you can see Laurent's hand. I would have liked to have played under him as a player. Gerets isn't bad for OM either. Bordeaux has quality players that can win them a game. They deserve to be champions."

Bordeaux's title tilt faces its stiffest test of 2009 this weekend when they head to the Stade Vélodrome to face Marseille. Zidane, who was born in the south coast city but never played for OM, admits his hometown club still has a privileged position in his affections.

"My heart will always been cut in two, but if I had to pick one, I would have to go for OM, of course," revealed the 36-year-old, who said he would watch the match at home. "I hope we'll see a good game."