Rennes have more money than Lens and Nantes ?

[SportBoy333]

It appears to be true but it doesnt make sense to me nor is it that fair. Lens and Nantes have bigger fanbases than Rennes and they have bigger stadiums and better attendences than Rennes but Rennes seems to have more ambition than they do. Very soon Rennes is gonna steal one of Lens's best players(John Utaka) and we already know they have more ambition than Nantes does. I guess it all comes down to who has the richest owner and does he want to spend the money to win. I think Lens and Nantes deserve better owners than what they have. In a perfect world Lens and Nantes would be outspending Rennes and they would have better teams but that is not happening. Lens and Nantes have always been 2 of France's best supported teams Rennes is just some club with a rich owner whos spending money to win.

[Nanbawan]

Burn Rennes ! Burn !!!

Lol, first of all, François Pinault does not give a dam about your opinion.

Secundo : Life's a biyatch ! Life isn't unfair but it is not fair either...

Tercero : You're wrong about the Rennes fanbase, if the team performs on European grounds you can expect good support from the whole Brittany. You are probably talking about die hard fanbase.

And Rennes is not 'some club', they had little success in the past but that's one of the traditional side in ligue 1. But I concede, second in a region that breathes football to Nantes, yet 'Rouges et Noirs' are not responsible fot the 'Canaries' slump.

[RandyNA74]

Rather than bashing Rennes, I think they should be looked at as a very positive success story for French soccer. Yeah, they aren't the biggest club in the country, but they are a quality side with a motivated owner. Who cares if Lens and Nantes have more fans? Why should Rennes stump their own growth just because other clubs have more support? Then there is no purpose in playing the games. Let's just make the final standings based according to number of fans and we don't even have to play a single game.

At one point in its history, Lens made the jump from being just another club to being a side with ambition, and successes followed. This further developed Lens' support. Should Lens have said "hey we aren't Paris and Marseille, so let's just sit back and take it up the ass so the bigger teams can continue to prosper while we go nowhere"? Of course not.

[SportBoy333]

Toulouse is in a similar situation as Rennes. Toulouse does not have the history and fanbase than Lens and Nantes do but they seem to have more ambition and are doing better than those 2 teams. I just think its not fair that Toulouse and Rennes have more ambition than Lens and Nantes do when the 2 latter teams have more tradition and more fans than the 2 teams who are spending more money. Lens and Nantes's stadiums are always packed while Toulouse and Rennes's stadiums are only full for the big matches.

[RandyNA74]

I can see your concern. Perhaps the clubs just don't have the financial backing they once enjoyed. Look at Parma in Italy for example. Not sure how to explain Nantes and Lens' relative demise, but it's good to see the various Toulouse and Rennes out there trying to make their way up the food chain.

[iougs]

it comes and goes .. depends who's in charge and how much money they can pour in ..

Look at Bordeaux not so long ago .. they were able to bring really big names to the club (in the 80s) .. look at what they do now recruiting wise.

goind around in circles ..

iougs-

[sl7vk]

Rennes is Brittany's #1 city... It draws support from a one hour radius of the city minimum. Rennes just needs to improve its facilities, and it could be a very successful club.
Nantes deserve better. How they're in debt I don't know. 30,000 for every match, and they always sell, never buy... I'm baffled at that one.
Lens will be back. Large stadium, and fervent fans. Soccer is full of good years and bad ones.
Additionally, I wouldn't throw Toulouse in the same pile as Rennes. Toulouse has great facilities. Closer to those of Nantes than Rennes.

[SportBoy333]

Im throwing Toulouse and Renes in the same pile because they are both showing ambition by buying good players and neither club is traditionally considered to be one of the best supported French teams throughout the country. Nantes and Lens are traditionally more supported and bigger than them but Nantes and Lens arent spending as much money as Toulouse and Rennes are.

[sl7vk]

Im throwing Toulouse and Renes in the same pile because they are both showing ambition by buying good players and neither club is traditionally considered to be one of the best supported French teams throughout the country. Nantes and Lens are traditionally more supported and bigger than them but Nantes and Lens arent spending as much money as Toulouse and Rennes are.

Toulouse have great support. Their stadium is great, and the fans down there are excellent as well. Before they got relegated they were one of the "larger" french teams.
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~euroavia/photos/galleries/Toulouse/STADIUM.JPG
Stadium Municipal (http://www.stadiumguide.com/toulouse.htm)

[SportBoy333]

Toulouse do not have better support than Lens and Nantes. That's just not true.

Attendance: Ligue 1 2004/05

Rank Team Total Avg.
1 Marseille 969,578 51,030
2 St Etienne 794,268 41,803
3 Lyon 692,438 36,444
4 PSG 671,858 35,360
5 Lens 668,707 35,195
6 Nantes 570,952 30,050
7 Toulouse 475,673 25,035
8 Bordeaux 444,874 23,414
9 Rennes 420,813 23,378
10 Caen 372,204 19,589

Lens averaged 10,000 more per game than Toulouse did and Nantes 5,000 more.

[sl7vk]

Toulouse do not have better support than Lens and Nantes. That's just not true.

Attendance: Ligue 1 2004/05

Rank Team Total Avg.
1 Marseille 969,578 51,030
2 St Etienne 794,268 41,803
3 Lyon 692,438 36,444
4 PSG 671,858 35,360
5 Lens 668,707 35,195
6 Nantes 570,952 30,050
7 Toulouse 475,673 25,035
8 Bordeaux 444,874 23,414
9 Rennes 420,813 23,378
10 Caen 372,204 19,589

Lens averaged 10,000 more per game than Toulouse did and Nantes 5,000 more.

I never said that Toulouse were better supported.... Just wait one or two years, they'll be a consistant top 7 League 1 outfit. They'll have 33,000 average attendance. There are still a lot of disenchanted fans that are bitter about what happened a couple of years ago. Just give it time Sportboy.... And where is Randy when I need him.... :)

[RandyNA74]

Somebody called?

Toulouse is still recovering from its bankruptcy etc. which saw the club sink as low as L3 not long ago. The club went from L3 to flirting with a UEFA spot this year in a very short period of time. The new ownership is smart, motivated, and seems to know what they are doing. In a short period of time, this club has all the ingredients to reach higher standards in L1. As far as what Toulouse fans are capable of, just look at rugby. ;)

Nantes and Lens do have outstanding fan bases. But in a few short years you will be able to add Toulouse to that list. Don't forget, we are talking about boisterous southerners here. :D

[SportBoy333]

Well Toulouse did finish ahead of Bordeaux in attendence this year for the first time ever so I will give them credit for that. However Bordeaux's decline on the pitch has hurt their attendence quite a bit.