Feel the Strasbourg experience ! [R]

You know it is a new season when Strasbourg starts crashing again, so I thought it was a good opportunity to begin the thread. After all, our ridiculous failures give rhythm to the French leagues. Our bizarre and comical setbacks are the bass drum of French soccer.

Since I guess no one follows Strasbourg, here is a chronology of the facts. Strasbourg is the only team whose highlights require a sitcom laughing track.


- last season we finish 4th. The president, Philippe Ginestet, fires the coach Jean-Marc Furlan who was still under contract. Furlan sues the club and makes big money.

- Ginestet had an ambitious real estate project : a brand new, gigantic international level stadium... for a sluggish league 2 team. He swears that taxpayers won't have to pay. It appears that his partners are crooks and wanted, precisely, to suck the taxpayers dry. Fortunately, the mayor refuses to bring the dough. The project disappears, Ginestet quits the chair BUT (admire the simplicity of the thing) remains the team principal owner.

- The Strasbourg board employ another president, Leonard Specht, who is an adversary of Ginestet -- who is still, if you follow well, the major owner. So the president hates the main owner.

- Specht recruits old misanthropic glory Gilbert Gress (68). He is not officially the coach, since he's beyond the age limit. Anyaway, the main owner hates the president, and the coach hates everyone.

- Due to stadium blunder, and various lawsuits, the club is broke. Most good players leave. Insults start flying in the locker rooms.

- Coupe de la ligue vs Istres. We get utterly thrashed 6-1. It appears that we are an amateur level team. Not surprisingly, the golden era coach reveals himself as a bubbling old geezer.

- After a little more than one month, and two official games, Gilbert Gress is fired. The president, Leonard Spech, quits. Since Gress wasn't officially coach, it is still unclear if any lawsuit will follow.

Right now, nobody chairs and the coach is an interim. Anyway, the local lawyers are rejoicing : the Racing will fill their pockets this season. But soccer ? Soccer ? What is soccer already ?

 

Loss 0-3 vs Clermont. We're now last of ligue 2.

Supporting Strasbourg is really something special. Maybe an unique experience in the world of soccer.

 

RACING CLUB DE STRASBOURG : THE TELENOVELA.

Philippe Ginestet, the club owner, wanted to sell. First, an estonian businessman, Roman Loban, was interested, who recruited an executive president, Julien Fournier.

Then, the estonian dropped. The club was actually bought by a parisian trader, Alain Fontenla. Julien Fournier remains in charge. The coach, Pascal Janin, is fired and replaced by Jean-Pierre Papin.

A situation that lasts.... one week. Alain Fontenla, after being owner for one week, is now selling the club again. Jean-Pierre Papin is dismissed even before he started to work, and Pascal Janin is recalled. Julien Fournier remains executive president, even though nobody pays his wage.

It appears that Fontenla didn't have the cash ! His intent was to speculate on players' value. We're talking about a sluggish team at he bottom of league 2, that's heading directly to national... How the heck can someone expect to speculate on players' value ? Yes, the guy is a trader. I suppose that's how they think.

So : the executive president is, so to say, an unpaid worker who directs a team without owner. The coach was fired and re-hired in the same week. You can imagine how team morale is.

You've always dreamt to be a team owner ? A team is here, cheap (actually it's worthless). It can be yours. Since Strasbourg is a very special team, it could be the adventure of your life ! It will probably lead you to bankruptcy... er, I mean, to glory !

I like this team. Every season something new happens. There is no room for boredom... except on the pitch itself.

 

The DNCG and the tax department are on our trail too.

And the most amazing thing : we won last game. Pascal Janin is a hero. The guy works without owner, without president, without staff, without budget, without team, he has been re-fired and re-hired countless times, he doesn't even know who he is working for... and yet he managed to put 11 guys on the pitch and make them actually play soccer.