I'm still trying to come to terms how clubs like them and Lens and Metz have had a hard time coming back up to Ligue 1.
They have a hard time coming back up because in France the gulf between the "haves" and the "have nots" isnt as wide as it is in other countries so obviously that makes it harder. As to why the gulf isnt as wide it probably has something to do with clubs having to be profitable, no massive debt allowed, the dncg factor, etc.
So far for the "big" teams in Ligue 2 Lens 0W 2L Monaco 0W 2D Nantes 0W 2L Metz 0W 1L Looks like another long season for the teams trying to re capture their former glory.
I guess it's arguable but they have 57 season in the highest divsion, including 37 consecutive seasons between 1967-2002, three cup titles and the season Lens won the league Metz had the same amount of points but finished 2nd due to having conceded five more goals and produced players like Pires, Saha, Adebayor & Pjanic in their academy. As for this season. Le Mans now with 3 losses in 3 games, massive stomach punch for the fans after they just missed promotion by so little last year. The Bastia train to Ligue 1 is still going strong though with 9 points.
The CFA season has already started and Cannes and Strasbourg didnt play their scheduled matches. I'm not sure whats going on.
Strasbourg set the CFA2 attendance record. 9,813 vs AS Illzach Modenheim. The previous record was in 1999, 4,734 spectators attended the match between FC Rouen vs USON Mondeville. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5_uRbYDyiE"]Record d'affuence en CFA2(9000 pers) : RC Strasbourg 4-1 Illzach-Modenheim - YouTube[/ame]
New AS Monaco manager http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...ocId=CNG.37f490980793ed822010b69c4858a6ab.8d1
Monaco staying in Ligue 2 or even going down to the NAT is fine by me, but it's a bit depressing that Lens are looking just a bad in Ligue 2 as they did last season., they did beat Amiens last night so perhaps they are starting to get their act together. Stade de Reims back in Ligue 1 I think would be pleasant surprise for most.
New Paris FC logo. I have no idea why teams introduce logos after a season starts and it reminds me of Le Mans's new logo, too sleek and too modern looking.
Question to the readers: If Boulogne drops to League 3, which looks like a real possibility, would it be in Bakary Soumaré's best interest to come back to MLS? I ask this here in the French section because I really don't know how French League 3 pays nor what the competion level is compared to MLS. I have been following Bakary's career since he was on the Chicago Fire because I thought at the time and still think I haven't seen such a combination of athleticism with tough, smart on-the-edge-defending. In short: I miss watching Bakary work and I think he deserves better than the situation he is in (even if he doesn't come back to Chicago). I've seen him through the internet a few times in Boulogne and he still has all the stick-to-your-man-like-glue skill you would want in a central defender but it seems to go completely unoticed and unappreciated because of that crappy, offensively-impotent team he plays for in Boulogne.
It's not called Ligue 3 it's called The National and considering that its not a fully professional league I would imagine going back to MLS would be the better option but if they did go down they would get to keep their professional status for a few years. The National is composed of professional, semi-professional, and amateur teams and its not that stable (a bunch of teams were relegated last year due to bad finances) and MLS is a much more stable option.
Of all the small town clubs Reims is the one I'd like to see make a return to the top flight. So much history around that club.
National after 10 fixtures 1. Epinal 23p 2. Rouen 23p 3. Niort 20p 17. Gazélec Ajaccio 9p 18. Red Star 93 9p 19. Besançon 6p 20. Bayonne 5p The first place team just came up from the CFA this year. I dont know what that says about the league. Nimes has the highest budget in the league and they are in 5th.
Just turned on Bastia - Lens and there's a massive brawl/riot going between the teams withstadium security trying to seperate them. First on the pitch but now that the game has ended it seems to have moved into the hallways. Never a dull moment on Corsica.
I like the Corsican derby but they havent played it in a few years and wont next year either if Ajaccio get relegted and Bastia get promoted.
I wish the Monaco president would resign. All he does is blame others for the club's failure and takes no responsibilty for himself. http://www.planete-asm.fr/actualite/8785-club-nouvelle-mise-au-point-de-franzi.html
ASM doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of staying up imo. marco simone was a very mediocre analyst at C+, taking the managerial job at monaco showed incredible bravery/naiveness/egotism/insanity (pick one or more). potentially we have the makings of the biggest influx of capital and infrastructure Notional has ever seen if Le Mans and Lens also go down. those three stadiums would possibly account for 50% of seating in that league next year.
La Beaujoire WAS PACKED OUT LOOKED LIKE A LIGUE 1 MATCH NANTES VS LENS today what a game ! nice win for Nantes
La Beaujoire wasnt packed, there were over 28,000 there but thats still a great crowd for a match between 2 historic clubs. Looks like Nantes are in the hunt for promotion. I really hope Lens and Monaco dont get relegated.
then again, the arrival of lens, monaco and, say le mans would give the all-pro L3 you're dreaming of one helluva jumpstart!
Your boy Gorgelin is in last place. I have read that he's not the main reason and he's played well but he's on a bad team still. Good news is your OL reserves are in 2nd place in CFA group B right behind Lyon Duchere. Wow ! Cannes are in 14th place in CFA C, Strasbourg are 5th in CFA2 C but the good news is Grenoble is in 1st in CFA2 Group E. Looks like it shapng up to be a great year for your region in the lower divisions.
RC Lens 4-2 CS Sedan Saison 2011/2012 - 14ème journée Lundi 07 novembre 2011 - Stade Félix Bollaert 19806 spectateurs / 9° not bad for a ligue 2 game