Les Verts Action thread - St-Etienne 04/05 [R]

The new 04/05 shirt (the contract with Duarig is up at the end of the season. Expect Adidas to come in with some $$$)

http://www.madeinsport.com/fr/descP...&Langue=fr&IdMdl=11636&Devise=XEU&idPtn=HAVAS

Nice enough to be bought, but overseas fees are a killer.

Why is it so late in the season? Production was delayed to allow a new major sponsor (Konica) to come aboard as it was another of the summer soap opera.

 

Alex still has defenders in the Verts fans, who thought he would come back this year after the promotion.

That's far from what PSG fans think of him

I thought he did not that bad. If Sir Alex would get the same treatment from a ref against Arsenal this weekend, he'd go bezerk...

For Baup, it doesn't get easier. Derby loss, OM scandal and now his old team comes to town. Not an easy month...

 

Matchday 11 is in the books.

St-Étienne 0
Bordeaux 0

​

Team notes from L'Équipe

• J. JANOT 6
• V. HOGNON 5.5
• Z. CAMARA 5
• J. GARRIDO 4.5
• H. ILUNGA 5.5
• D. HELLEBUYCK 7
• J. SABLE (c) 6
• P. FEINDOUNO 5
• D. ZOKORA 6
• N. MARIN 6 B. GOMIS (79e)
• F. PIQUIONNE 5

My view from La Belle Province:

A boring draw at home, a little disappointing.

Kudos to the fans for the nice atmosphere. There was some nice tifos and kop shots showed on TV.

[Rant]
Listening to the game, I kept getting frustrated.

Was it because Garrido is the next best imitation of a traffic cone?
Was it because all of action looked individual effort and no collective play?
Was it because our defense played with fire with those offsides?

No (still I really don't like Garrido, only a few months before the mercato).

Then, what's wrong???

How about the idiots from TV5 describing the match.

Look, les Verts are a promoted team. They will not set the pitch on fire. They will struggle like every promoted team. Sure, they will regret not winning, but there is still 27 games to go in the season. St-Étienne wasn't relegated Saturday.

Sure, not holding on to those leads hurts, but it a growing process. Hopefully, Le Tallec can revitalize the offense.

Also, St-Étienne plays a very conservative football right now. I say with another RB, the team gains confidence in the defense and would be going much more forward. I'm scared to death right now when Garrido gets one on one with an opponent as he's sure to pass and put in a good ball for the opposition's forward.

[End of rant]

Standings after 11 games

• 15 Bastia 13
• 16 Lens 12
• 17 Saint-Etienne 9
• 18 AC Ajaccio 8
• 19 Strasbourg 8
• 20 Istres 6

Ok, come year end, Lens will be higher. So, that's 5 clubs for 3 places.

Next up: Lille away (expect a counter-attack game from Les Verts, but not a result)

 

The ratings are a reference, not a bible.

I'm sure PSG was judged severly because a) they're PSG b) they were home c) they were playing Ajaccio for crying out loud and only won 1-0


As for our offense. It's not ideal, but a better defense would help free up our play.

Whose the most disliked right now? Garrido or your Boskovic???

 

This weekend, Les Verts travel north to a surprise package of this season

Association Sportive de Saint-Etienne-Lille Olympique Sporting Club Métropole​

Last meeting was last year when Les Verts went to Grimonprez-Jooris for the League Cup's 1/8 finals and came away victorious 2-1 in their run to the semis.

Last league game were in 2001 & 1996... a long long time ago.

Line-ups tommorow. For Liverpool fans, expect the return of loanee Anthony Le Tallec to the starting 11.

No TV in North America, guess we'll have to endure a PSG game instead... (just kidding ganu )

 

Zokora will miss the Nice game due to yellow cards accumulation.

Baup banned from the touchline. It meant something in the 80's, but now he'll just send his order to an assistant via a cell.

As for the fines, did you see the game? Don't tell me our Ultras didn't put on a nice show.

 

Baup has launched an appel and will be on the sideline this weekend.


Projected lineup is the same safe 11 as last week

-----------Feindouno--Piquionne----------
Hellebuyck---------------------------Marin
-----------Sablé (c)----Zokora-----------
Ilunga-----Camara-----Hognon-----Garrido
------------------Janot------------------


However, I'd rather go more aggressive and insert Le Tallec just fresh off his ankle injury straight to the 11 and also replace the off-form Garrido.

-----------Piquionne-----Le Tallec--------
Hellebuyck----------------------Feindouno
-----------Sablé (c)----Zokora-----------
Ilunga----Hernandez----Hognon----Camara
------------------Janot------------------

This leads to Marin being dropped. He's got lots of heart, but is short on talent and that's what we need right now and Camara moving to RB a position he's supposed to be able to man.

I doubt Baup goes to this lineup, but reinforcements will be needed at the mercato.

My prediction: 2-0 Lille as our offense once again sputters. (please prove me wrong...)

 

Matchday 12


Lille Olympique Sporting Club Métropole 1
Association Sportive de Saint-Etienne 0


Goal: S.Dumont 9'

Ratings from L'Équipe

J. JANOT 6
V. HOGNON 6
S. HERNANDEZ 5.5
Z. CAMARA 5.5
H. ILUNGA 4.5
D. HELLEBUYCK 5.5
J. SABLE (c) 5
P. FEINDOUNO 5 L. COMPAN (85e)
D. ZOKORA 5
N. MARIN 5.5 A. LE TALLEC (65e)
F. PIQUIONNE 4

Media view:

Football365.fr:
"Les hommes de Elie Baup jouent bien au football et possèdent des techniciens de talent en leur sein avec les ZOKORA, FEINDOUNO, HELLEBUYCK entre autres. Mais voilà, il y a toujours des erreurs grossières, couplées à un manque de réussite indéniable, qui empêchent les Stéphanois de simplement marquer des points. Cette fois, c’est ILUNGA qui dégage un ballon anodin dans l’axe et qui permet à Lille d’ouvrir le score. Ensuite, ni PIQUIONNE, particulièrement peu inspiré ce samedi soir, ni MARIN qui pourront renverser la tendance."

Quick translation: Stupid mistakes (this time Ilunga) with a lack of true goal scorers are dragging Les Verts down

My view from La Belle Province:

No rant this time around.

A win was a lot to ask going away to the L1's 2nd place team, but some real good chances were wasted.(Piquionne all alone against the keeper and he can't score... ) A draw was achiveable.

At least Baup showed some sense by taking out Garrido and moving Camara to RB. If Le Tallec could somehow break out, it would be a great tonic to our poor offence.

12 matchdays gone, 18th place. A lot of encouraging signs, but not a lot of points. However, it could all change suddenly as the fixtures before the winter break will make or break the season.

(current rank of opposition in bracket)
13e journée Saint-Etienne - Nice (10th)
14e journée Bastia - Saint-Etienne (16th)
15e journée Saint-Etienne - Rennes (12th)
16e journée Metz - Saint-Etienne (8th)
17e journée Saint-Etienne - Toulouse (11th)
18e journée Saint-Etienne - Caen (12th)
19e journée Istres - Saint-Etienne (20th)

Nice: no big clubs
Ugly: No nice TV matchup unless there's a huge unknown Istres fanbase...

With good results against Bastia, Caen and Istres and a few other draws, Les Verts will creep up the table fast.

 

Juju is more than a great story in the days of mercenary football.

He's from Marseille, but came up from the St-Etienne academy.

He's stayed at St-Etienne through tick and thin (scandals, relegation to L2).

Last summer, he could have left from greener pastures as a free transfer, but decided to ink a new deal in order to help restore the Vert's glory days as their captain.

His game is far from perfect, but he's got a lot of heart and is an incredible asset to the team.

 

Media watch

Le Progrès 11/03


Interview with Baup: time for Les Verts to toughen up...

«Il faut qu'on se fasse mal pour pouvoir inverser le cours des choses. Mes joueurs doivent aller chercher au plus profond d'eux-mêmes pour renverser les scores. Il n'y a pas que les autres qui peuvent égaliser dans les arrêts de jeu».

«Il ne faut pas avoir d'état d'âme. On joue dix minutes, une demi-heure, une heure alors qu'il faudrait s'arracher tout le temps quand on est sur le terrain. On doit aller jusqu'au bout dans la volonté, l'abnégation, le surpassement. Je réclame plus de révolte même si on a mal, même si on est fatigué. Il ne faut pas s'écouter».

It's time to turn up a notch the intensity, suffer more and will the team to victory.

Piquionne: S'cusez...

«Deux fois qu'on monte dans le Nord, deux fois que je suis nul». Frédéric Piquionne faisait cette déclaration samedi soir au micro de nos confrères de la télé. Il était conscient d'être passé à côté, d'avoir gâché une énorme occasion de but. Alors, quelques secondes après le coup de sifflet final, il a tenu à s'excuser auprès des supporters de l'ASSE. Visiblement, hier matin, la déception ne s'était pas encore complètement estompée. Fred était toujours marqué: «Si j'ai digéré ? Même pas».

Missing a one on one with the keeper... Well, there's a reason he was loaned by Rennes. If he was really good, he wouldn't be here.

That begs the question:

Time to break the bank for reinforcements or throw in our best hopes from the academy?

This debates now creeps up its ugly head as no miracle solution is possible.

The youngster have potential (Houri-M, Idriss-F, Perrin-M, Kamara-D), but will they get burned by the pressure of 30,000+ fans and a club in a relegation battle?

I can't make my mind up. Let's hope the directors know better.

 

Result from the "Commission de discipline de la LFP"

Suspended due to yellow cards accumulations: Feindouno & Ilunga

They should miss the Creteil League cup game, which is much better than a L1 one.

Also, Elie Baup is suspended for the Nice & Creteil games.

Good week on the fines front, only 250 € for flares.

 

Matchday 13 (will it be lucky?)

After their trip up north, Les Verts travel to the Stade municipal du Ray on the sunny Côte d'Azur.

Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice Côte d'Azur vs AS Saint-Etienne​

Last meeting:
2003 League cup 1/4 finals

AS St-Etienne 2-0 OGC Nice
Fabrice JAU 32, Lilian COMPAN 54pen

Otherwise, not much history, the last league game was in 1995.

Still, since the numbers look so good, here's the history between the two clubs:

Games 38
Victories Saint-Etienne 23 (60.53%)
Draws 11 (28.95%)
Victories Nice 4 (10.53%)
Goals Saint-Etienne 83
Goals Nice 41

There will be a shuffle of the pack as Zokora, who was on for all the games up to now, is suspended due to yellow cards accumulation.


Concensus of the manager's choice amongst fans

---------Piquionne-----Feindouno--------
Hellebuyck--------------------------Marin
-----------Sablé (c)-----Perrin-----------
Ilunga-----Hognon-----Camara-----Garrido
------------------Janot------------------

My preference:

-----------Piquionne-----Le Tallec--------
Mendy--------------------------Feindouno
---------Hellebuyck----Sablé (c)----------
Ilunga----Hernandez----Hognon----Camara
------------------Janot------------------

 

Oops... it's actually Les Verts who are hosting the game.

Remains to be seen how will the Chaudron react to the current slump.

 

Lucky matchday 13

AS Saint-Etienne 2
Nice Côte d'Azur 1

​

Goals:
Saint-Etienne Feindouno (25' penalty & 90')
Nice Agali (29')


Les Verts freeze Les Aiglons (44°F in Le Chaudron vs 75°F on the Côte d'Azur...)


Ratings from L'Equipe.fr

J. JANOT 5.5
V. HOGNON S. HERNANDEZ (18e) 5
Z. CAMARA 5.5
J. GARRIDO 4
H. ILUNGA 5
D. HELLEBUYCK 6
J. SABLE (c) 5.5
P. FEINDOUNO 7
N. MARIN 5.5 L. COMPAN (71e)
F. PIQUIONNE 4.5
F. MENDY 5.5 L. PERRIN (93e)


My view from La Belle Province:
Piquionne is in a slump, Garrido is horrible, Feindouno dived, but you know what?

It doesn't freaking matter... 3 pts are 3 pts.

The bad luck of the last minutes of the game turned Saturday.

Next up is Bastia.

Allez les Verts... Allez les Verts!!!