I’ve just noticed Nancy have been relegated again down to Championnat National 2 (4th tier) for the first time in their history. Back-to-back relegations from Ligue 2 as well. What I want to know is, why are 6 teams of an 18-team league relegated? And are Nancy financially f*cked hence the relegations? @Philip The Frog or anyone who has any knowledge.
But of course. There were 6 relegated slots in N1 (the equivalent of L1) because the Qataris want all divisions to have 18 teams (instead of 20 for L1 & L2 currently) so that PSG have the time to go on a Qatar trip and suck up to the Prince in early January. They gave the money, the league said cheers. It's that simple. It is said that there will be 6 relegation slots next season too but I hope not because I drunkenly waged a friend 100€ on it not happening! Nancy are said to be in financial trouble but I honestly have never seen a club go bust because they got relegated from the 3rd to the 4th tier. The TV money isn't that big and only the top 3 divisions are countrywide so their travel expenses will consist of much less money. Even if they can't make it work financially, they can still sell players. I reckon a lot of noise was done about Nancy over nothing. It's more the fact that such a big club never stooped so low in the football hierarchy for a long time. Happened to loads of other big clubs (Reims the main example) and they're still alive! I could go on and give examples of clubs going bust but getting back in the top divisions after reforming (Bastia, Grenoble, Le Mans, Strasbourg and that's just off the top of my head). Besides, Nancy going bust wouldn't change much in terms of perception: the French have a very low opinion of any football that isn't Ligue 1 (actually any football that isn't PSG, OM & OL) so whether Nancy are in the 4th tier or right down the bottom of the footballing pyramid won't change a thing: very few people will turn up!
I didn’t know the shake-up (or sheikh-up) filtered right down to tiers 3 and beyond. I thought that was something just happening between Ligue 1 & 2. Good luck to Nancy. They have a bit of history so it’s not nice to see a side like that struggle.
Lens’ moneyball strategy I hope pays off. Lois Openda and the way he departed was a tad classless, less so for Seko Fofana. The fear is Napoli are now after Kevin Danso and Facundo Medina is one of the best left footed centre backs in world football so will soon be in demand. Stijn Spierings and Andy Diouf are really smart replacements, the team just needs another holding midfielder and striker ahead of the new season.
That same Jackson Pollock inspired designer who defaced the USA women national team’s white jerseys with the horrid paint drippings got into and messed up Lille’s jerseys that way too. P.S. Maybe they’re lucky shirts. Lille manage the draw with a late added-time equalizer away...Nice!
You could argue he's won and achieved plenty in his career. Success in South America and Europe - won league titles, domestic cups and the Champions League (& Copa Libertadores). Other than more success at international level he's probably achieved more than most ever will in their career. Neymar probably should have had hit greater heights than he has but he's not had a bad career by any means. Sad he's off to Saudi at such a young age but he's had his share of injuries and is probably looking for a final payday before retirement. Some of it may just be greed but he has had some rotten luck with injuries that have partially stopped him doing more in the game.
After PSG’s Champions League disappointments in the two Messi years, plus Marseilles reeking in their CL appearances recently and not qualifying this season, I’d think Ligue 1 faithful would instead be feeling somewhat humbled. And what have Lyon done lately after Memphis left? When Lille won the league in that crowd-less pandemic season, what was the consensus opinion of Ligue 1 fans. Utter fluke? (Burak seemed a real flop the season after.) Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Ligue 1 despite recent disappointments in CL.
My post wasn't precise enough. I meant that French people of a low opinion of domestic football that isn't Ligue 1. They are actually more enthusiastic about CL nights (don't give a shit about the EL & ECL just like the rest of the planet) but ultimately know it'll end badly for the French sides. Regarding the Lille question, I honestly think people were happy that someone else than PSG won the league. That's about it. I see Marseille did another superb CL campaign by getting knocked out before the CL play-offs. In some way, it's almost better than losing every single of their group stage games...
I only caught the very end of Marseilles-Brest. The announcer said that OM’s fans could be breathing some sighs of relief. So this is what it has come to, relief at defeating a middling squad on one’s home pitch. LOL. Despite their low table standings after 2 matches, PSG-Lens is the one to watch this week. Go Lens…and btw the McDonalds logo looks perfect for their uni colors. (And, I feel a Big Mac Attack coming on…) P.S. Apparently Asensio felt it, too, dammit. But just like last week, Mbappé is waaaay too enthusiastic in celebrating his teammates’ tallies for a club he has refused to re-sign with next season. Feels weird to me. Maybe a bit less would be more.
What a farce this transfer saga with Kolo Muani to PSG. Tbh I can understand that he wants to play Champions League with PSG rather than Conference League with Frankfurt. But not okay is his behaviour to get the transfer done. Frankfurt wanted 100m €, PSG didn't want to pay that , so Frankfurt denied the transfer. And then Kolo Muani did an "Ousmane Dembelé" stunt back then in Dortmund like a spoilt brat. Didn't want to train and was therefore out for Frankfurt's important 2nd leg in the Conference League at Sofia. He had a valid contract ffs until 2027. End of the story is that Frankfurt finally let him move to PSG for 95m € . It's for the best, imo, an "unhappy" player in the lineup is like poison but personally I hate such behaviour when players don't respect their contracts. Anyway, Frankfurt gets a lot of money for him (given the fact that he came on a free from Nantes in 2022). btw: Now he plays with the mentioned Ousmane Dembelé in the same team. In German the saying is "Gleich und Gleich gesellt sich gern". Looked it up what it's in English and found this: "Birds of a feather flock together"
Uncool that. Not quite sure we need him this season but once Mbappé is gone, he'll come in handy. Don't think the pricetage is too much. We were always going to pay what Frankfurt wanted. Let's see what happens for Kolo Muani under a PSG shirt. Not convinced it'll end well...
So sad to see the difference in quality of PSG in comparison to Lyon, once one of the best clubs in the division. They have been battered tonight though. As I write this OL have just scored a VAR awarded penalty.
Hadn't realised Laurent Blanc was managing them. Doesn't seem ideal having a man who since leaving PSG in 2016 had only managed 2 seasons in Qatar.
Lyon were hopeless against PSG. Tolisso already caught napping in the 2nd minute - he didn't play that badly overall, but PSG were just too much for one of the most defeatist Lyon sides I've seen. What a downfall - and now even Jean-Michel Aulas, the retired President, blasted John Textor, OL owner, for failing to convince the French financial watchdog. I don't want to see another downfall like Bordeaux.
