"Release the hounds!" - Lille OSC official thread [R]

Discussion in 'France: Clubs' started by Allez Lyonnais, May 12, 2006.

  1. Allez Lyonnais

    Allez Lyonnais New Member

    Jul 26, 2005
    TX
    Claude Puel has transformed an underachieving club into a force to be reckoned with in L1. The club is not quite there yet, but with its ambition and future grand stadium, who knows what it's capable of? :rolleyes:

    I'll try to get this thread going. If anyone can just invite English-speaking lillois here, that will be great!!!
     
  2. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Hahahaha, there's hardly any French ones!!!!

    Seriously, I'll be in the unlikely position of pulling hard for Les Dogues tomorrow as well as Bordeaux. Hopefully Lens won't draw yet again (or lose for that matter) and we can steal fourth place.

    The stadium is a key part of their becoming truly into their own. From what I hear, though, it won't be a short wait.
     
  3. SportBoy333

    SportBoy333 Member+

    Jun 27, 2003
    I doubt Claude Puel will still be there when the stadium is actually built. I dont think this thread will be that sucessfull. Why dont you guys just post in the Monaco thread instead.:)
     
  4. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Merci to Les Dogues for fighting back against Rennes...helped get us a UEFA Cup spot.
     
  5. SportBoy333

    SportBoy333 Member+

    Jun 27, 2003
    Now we can start the speculation as to where they will play their Champions League matches that is assuming that they beat their qualifying round opponent.
     
  6. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Stade de France probably.
     
  7. SportBoy333

    SportBoy333 Member+

    Jun 27, 2003
    I'd rather Rennes or Marseille or Lens get the 3rd CL spot because they have more money and better stadiums but Lille did earn it unfortunately.
     
  8. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004

    Ooops, that's out for September as Ben Hur (yes, Ben Hur) has it booked for the month! Le Bollaert will be difficult with Lens in the UEFA Cup and matches are not allowed to be played at the same stadium in the same week. Valenciennes don't care much for Lille so not sure how agreeable they'd be. It will be interesting.
     
  9. SportBoy333

    SportBoy333 Member+

    Jun 27, 2003
    How far is Valenciennes from Lille ?
     
  10. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Roughly 55 KM.
     
  11. SportBoy333

    SportBoy333 Member+

    Jun 27, 2003
    but Lille play in Wasquehal's stadium correct ?
     
  12. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Correct, but it's not up to UEFA standards. Come to thing of it I doubt VAFC's Stade Nungesser meets their standards either.
     
  13. SportBoy333

    SportBoy333 Member+

    Jun 27, 2003
    Wasquehal are a bad team they are in the 3rd or 4th division I think. Lille, Lens, Wasquehal, Valenciennes , all these towns are close by each other so its hard to know where exactly if you are an outsider. I know Calais is somewhere near there too.
     
  14. Allez Lyonnais

    Allez Lyonnais New Member

    Jul 26, 2005
    TX
    What a feat this is! They made it to the C1 for two years in a row!!

    There's no denying that it is totally deserved.
     
  15. sl7vk

    sl7vk Member

    Mar 3, 2005
    Salt Lake City
    Club:
    AS Nancy Lorraine
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Hey look! Another Monaco coach that has had wild success once Monaco have canned them! Go figure?
     
  16. mixmastermatt

    mixmastermatt Member

    Nov 18, 2003
    St Albans, England
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Hey guys and gals wassup?

    I live in Kent in England at the moment and was thinking about making the trip over to Lille to catch a game next season. How easy is it to get tickets to Lille games? I know the stadium capacity is just over 18,000... is it usually sold out?

    Cheers

    Matt
     
  17. gaijin

    gaijin New Member

    Aug 1, 2004
    Malaysia
    The Stade Nungesser is clearly not UEFA standard nor Ligue 1 for that matter. But given the fact the club has been promoted in quick succession the LFP will no doubt be quite lenient in the amount of time the club can rebuild their stadium. Since gaining promotion to Ligue 2, they have put a roof over the old Pouille tribune which was built back in 1992 (I think.) Thus fully converting one side of the athletics track which surrounds the stadium. I believe they have stuck some seats in one end of the ground that runs parallel to the sidelines which used to be a covered terrace and have since refurbished the opposition end in the 1992 development. The next stage would be to build another stand on the currently disused cycling end, which is just one end of the former cycling track with no places for spectators at all. The current capacity is about 11,000 ish and should they build a new terrace on the disused side (which is what I think they will do to comply with both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 standard) this will bring the overall attendance to around 15-16,000. This would marginally set the team with a stadium that would be suitable for Ligue 1 and 2. I think the league requires around 20,000 seats for supporters, but given certain circumstances this is not always the case (see Bastia and Ajaccio.) In the long run, if the team wants continual success they would have to completely refurbish the ground which doesn’t have decent facilities or move to a new one.

    Of all the teams who have been promoted, Valenciennes have the poorest stadium. Sedan finally ditched their old Stade Emile Albeau for the spanking new Louis Dugauguez in 2000 and it has hosted Ligue 1 football in the past. Along with of course, Lorient and Le Moustoir which is another smart ground. I think the final stage would be to redevelop the south stand, which still has the old cycling track that houses the away fans. Could well be left empty if the French authorities have their way. But of course it blows that Caen aren’t there, because their stadium rocks. The new stadium at Reims should be ready for next season, whilst Gueugnon are well underway in their 4 step redevelopment of the Jean Laville.

    As for Lille, the new stadium is still a long way off as completion hasn't yet restarted. Should the club get their wish for the planning permission. Work will probably start in October of this year and be finished in around two years for possibly January 2009. The finished capacity would be about 50,000-55,000 seats. The maximum date could even be as far aback as 2010 or 2012 depending on various outcomes with the local government and planning authorities. The stadium could well even be built in Lesquin, which makes the current Villeneuve d'Ascq venue close in comparison. Given the fact that both PSG and Lens are in the UEFA Cup and the Stade de France may or may not be available, UEFA could well sanction an alternate move. However, should Les Dogues qualify for the CL group stages, I am more than certain they would get the SdF again for some of the latter group games. The UEFA Cup regulations would adequately support the current venue. Lille are currently upgrading and have upgraded the stadium to a reasonable level during their stay, putting in some new facilities and seats, but the situation is still way off to coming close to a high standard.

    The old Stade Grimonprez Jooris with its funny angular stands was great because it was stuck right in the centre of the town. The possibility of Lille either building another one close by (which was the initial plan) or even refurbishing the old stadium (which was the second plan and hit by huge complaints over crowd flow and stand size issues)

    I will be in Lille next October and hopefully at that stadium, so I should be able to tell you what its really like.

    If anything the whole situation seems to have relieved the pressure of Puel and his players and the whole mess off the field is not having a detrimental effect on it. 2 years in the Champions League in succession is an amazing achievement for his young squad, especially when some posters (well just Sportboy) opined that they were just a one season fluke.

    [​IMG]

    And for what’s its worth I can't stand Robert Hossein. Bastard.
     
  18. gaijin

    gaijin New Member

    Aug 1, 2004
    Malaysia
    Nah, doesn't fill out since they moved out of town. You should get a ticket easy.
     
  19. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    The next stage is actually to build in new stadium for the 2008/09 season. Everything is in place, I believe they are just awaiting approval from the local authorities. Here's betting they are in a new stadium before Les Dogues.
     
  20. Allez Lyonnais

    Allez Lyonnais New Member

    Jul 26, 2005
    TX
  21. SportBoy333

    SportBoy333 Member+

    Jun 27, 2003
    Dernis was a fringe player so his loss wont hurt too much. By the way, Gygax played very well vs. Les Bleus. He almost had a goal.
     

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