Restore Reims! (FGC)

1.7.08

The drizzle put a damper on many of the press' moods, but not on the beaming speaker at the podium.

"I am pleased that Chairman Jean-Pierre Caillot and the Board of Stade de Reims have seen fit to select me as their new Manager. It will take time, but my goal is to restore the club to the type of glory it has seen in the past."

A reporter stood up at the pointed hand, "Marcel, do you feel the club will need a makeover to succeed?"

"Please, I have just been chosen. I have not even met with the staff or players yet. It is much too soon to make any statement on what the club needs."

Another raised up, "Will the Board allow you the funding to make any needed additions?"

"I have the assurances of the Chairman and the Board of a modest transfer budget. I am not prepared to discuss whether we have specific needs at this time- again, I have just begun and will offer no comments on the current status of the club until I have had time to evaluate."

The questions continued with more of the same as I survived my first news conference.

I did feel fortunate that the Board had selected me, Marcel Verve, to take over. It would be my first Managing position after working as a Coach for several seasons at Saint-Ettiene after my playing career finally ended. It would be a challenge, but I meant what I had told the press- the plan was to restore Reims to a place of honor.

2.7.08

"I want to reassure you Carlos that you will remain as my Assistant Manager. In addition, I would like to offer you a contract extension."

I could see the relief in his eyes and his shoulders dropped as the tension left, "I am really happy to stay here at Reims."

"Unfortunately, I offered a mutual termination to Jean-Pierre Bertolino. I just don't feel he is the right coach to help us develop the squad. I will be bringing in at least a couple new coaches. Also, I will be signing some additional scouts."

Lopez stirred, "And what of the squad?"

Honesty is my policy and I told him frankly that we had no wiggle room on our weekly wage budget, so that there might be a few departures. For the most part I assured him that I was going to retain core players for at least this season. I also let Carlos know that for now, I could not see us pursuing any additional players until there was room on our weekly wage budget to accomodate changes.

***

5.7.08

Our first transfer sale was fullback Johann Truchet, who was sold Guingamp for 70K. Truchet looked to be the spare part with both our starters at fullback and our cover.

***

6.7.08

We completed the sale of forward Yann Kermorgant to Metz for 120K. I had attempted to negotiate a new contract with Kermorgant, but his wage demands were excessive and that led me to cash in on him now before his contract ran out at the end of this season.

***

7.7.08

Reims (2) Rapid Wien (0) Friendly

Reims- Mario Stuckler 57-OG Matthieu Fontaine 81

Rapid Wien- None

MOM- Matthieu Fontaine, Reims

I was pleased with our efforts in our first friendly. It wasn't a polished effort- that was not a realistic expectation going into the match- but we played with poise and determination in earning the win.

Nice start in the friendly, best of luck with the challenge Faramir.

Thanks Weg- it is a good challenge I needed a change of pace from the East Stirling storyline I have been playing (not posted yet) and this seemed a good way to break things up

***

9.7.08

Our first addition to the club was the free transfer signing of 28 year old rightwinger Hugo. The Cameroon player (with French Nationality) had only been playing on the National side and hadn't played club football in several seasons. He still has the physical tools to help us on rightwing and we needed the cover he will provide us.

***

10.7.08

Our second addition was another free transfer signing as we landed 22 year old leftwinger Toufik Zerara. Zerara had come up in the Souchoux youth program and spent last season with Belgian side GBA. His speed down the left side is a welcome addition to the club.

***

14.7.08

FSV Frankfurt (1) Reims (3) Friendly

Frankfurt- Michael Schneider 29

Reims- Cedric Faure 43 Toufik Zerara 45+1 Christophe Mandanne 90+3

MOM- Toufik Zerara, Reims

We had bad luck in the first half, with two posts and a crossbar and Frankfurt had it in the second half. I was again pleased with our determination and execution in the win.

***

17.7.08

Dusseldorf (0) Reims (3) Friendly

Dusseldorf- None

Reims- Jonathan Kodja 8 Cedric Faure 36 Shiva-Star N'Zigou 49

MOM- Cedric Faure, Reims

Another good effort for us as we leaned heavily on our keepers in the match to eventually take the 3-0 win.

I'm glad to see another writer having a shot at Reims, even if our starting points are seven years apart. Good luck, Faramir.

Nathan- Good luck to you as well! It will be interesting to see how our varied starting points make for differing stories (same success though )

***

Ligue 2 Odds

Lens          5-2 
Metz          5-2 
Strasborg     5-2
Sedan         6-1        
Montpellier   6-1
Troyes        8-1
Reims        33-1

***

19.7.08

Reims (2) Nurnberg (0) Friendly

Reims- Jonathan Kodja 23 Matthew Spiranovic 86-OG

Nurnberg- None

MOM- Toufik Zerara, Reims

I am glad I was forced to give youngster Jonathan Kodja a chance due to injury. He has really impressed me

with his play in the friendlies. Toufik Zerara also continues to demonstrate why our scouts liked him so

much.

***

21.7.08

BV Veendam (0) Reims (5) Friendly

BV Veendam- None

Reims- Cedric Faure 23 Demba Toure 40 Sylvain Didot 49,74 Ferhat Gorgulu 52-OG

MOM- Sylvain Didot

Veteran midfielder Didot impressed me as he took over the match in the second half in our surprising 5-0

win on the road.

***

23.7.08

Altona 93 (0) Reims (3) Friendly

Altona- None

Reims- Alexandre Barbier 8 Demba Toure 15 Cedric Faure 45

MOM- Alexandre Barbier, Reims

We completely outclassed Altona in handing them a 3-0 defeat. The score could have been much worse as we

specialized in hitting the posts and crossbar today.

23.7.08

"Carlos, I made the decision to send Williams Martinez and Salim Arrache back to their

clubs. Neither was going to start for us and sending them back freed up a big amount in weekly wages that

we can use to help address the shortcomings the squad still has."

Lopez nodded at me, "I was going to suggest that as well. Martinez and Arrache weren't pleased to find out

they wouldn't be starting for us. I thought it might cause problems during the season.

***

"Here is my Senior team summary Marcel," offered Carlos Lopez.

"Thanks Carlos, I will take a look at them in a few minutes."

Reims 2008-9 Senior Summary

Keepers

Johann Liebus- 29- Solid keeper overall- very pleased that you signed him to a new contract

extension- worth #1 keeper

Kossi Agassa- 30- Togo national keeper- solid overall and good #2

Defenders

Mickael Tacalfred- 27- solid overall fullback though better on the defensive side of play

Habib Balde- 23- best at rightback, but can provide cover anywhere on the backline

Julien Ielsch- 25- quick and active fullback, but on the smallish side and may have trouble dealing

with bigger wingers and/or defending against crosses

Marc Giraudon- 27- stronger and bigger than Ielsch, but not as good at anticipating or tackling

Alexandre Barbier- 29- excellent overall defender- team leader

Brahim Thiam- 34- Mali national defender and our best defender- losing abilities with age- just

arrived from Caen on free transfer

Matthieu Fontaine- 21- developing youngster, may not be ready for full-time starting duties but

fine for cover

Midfielders

Vincent Gragnic- 25- quick winger- can also play in center of pitch- much better offensive player

than defensive

Hugo- 28- fast, powerful winger- not as technically skilled as Gragnic, but good cover

Thomas Gamiette- 22- slight midfielder- better on wings, but can provide cover for any midfield

role

Toufik Zerara- 22- Fast winger- excellent signing, our fans enjoy him already- like Gragnic, much

better offensively than defensively

Wilfried Moimbe- 19- loaned from Bordeaux- another slight player who has little physical presence-

decent cover

Sylvain Didot- 32- veteran team leader, but declining skills and physical abilities- dicey to

depend on him as a regular starter this season- team leader

Younousse Sankhare- 18- loaned from Paris-SG- excellent overall midfielder- your decision to make

him a starter rankles some on the team, but so far appears to be a good choice

Biagui Kamissoko- 25- excellent defensive midfielder- strong and good positional play- starting

role as holding midfielder seems appropriate

Sylvain N'Diaye- 32- veteran defensive midfielder- good cover for Kamissoko- solid player and

leader

Lucas Deaux- 19- not as technically skilled as others, but has shown flashes of potential- worth

keeping on Senior side to help development

Forwards

Cedric Faure- 29- best scorer on the club and good in most ways around the goal- good player

Demba Toure- 23- just came over from Grasshopper- never shown a history of scoring, so not sure if

we can count on him, but good overall forward

Shiva-Star N'Zigou- 24- Probably better at rightwing, but needed up front due to lack of depth at

forward- unsure how much scoring we can expect from him

Chrisophe Mandanne- 23- loaned from Dijon- lack of height and strength will likely limit his

usefulness, but good cover

Jonathan Kodja- 18- has already shown surprising touch around the goal in the friendlies-

impressive youngster who has surprised the coaching staff

26.7.08

I was starting to try and pick up role players or younger players who might develop with our increased funding and 20 year old center defender Antoine Gourguechan was the next to sign on free transfer list.

***

28.7.08

It was a coup for us to sign 30 year old versatile defender Yannick Zambernardi on free transfer. Zambernardi had started for Scottish side Hibernian the past few seasons. Zambernardi will mix in well with Braham Thiam and Alexandre Barbier in our starting center defenders.

***

29.7.08

Adding to our depth in center defense was the signing on free transfer of 22 year old Mathieu Pelletey. Pelletey may get a shot at some Senior time further into the season. Also signing on with the club off the free transfer list were 23 year old forward Junior Moukoko (late of Servette) and 19 year old center mid Brice Leglene (Reims becomes his first professional club). Both offer us more depth and cover.

***

1.8.08

Tours (4) Reims (3)

Tours- Tenema N'Diaye 10,57 Gaeten Englebert 30 Anthony Lopez Peralta 77-P

Reims- Biagui Komissoko 5 Cedric Faure 43 Demba Toure 66

MOM- Tenema N'Diaye, Tours

It was a bitter blow to see them win on a penalty after they had been complaining and whining for the previous 10 minutes before the penalty about every one of our tackles in the area. Still, though the penalty was what lost the match for us, our backline play was what let us down in the match. After looking so good in our friendlies, our backline fell apart on crosses throughout the match. Johan Liebus wasn't able to come up with the big save, while Peter Jehle did for the home side. I was pretty pleased with a lof of our play and with the determination we showed while fighting back twice from one-goal deficits. We need to settle down and play better defensively if we want to show much in Ligue 2 play, as we are not a side that has the offense to trade goals with clubs. We again proved the old saying, "Success in friendlies means nothing." It is clear we missed club captain Alexandre Barbier, out with an injury, in the match.

4.8.08

Another free transfer addition for us as we continue to try to build depth. Joining us is 22 year old center mid Edouard Chaya, late of Bastia. Chaya is a polished youngster and may see Senior playing time after some training with the club.

***

6.8.08

An excellent addition to the club, though we had to pay the MLS side Chicago Fire 150K to land him, is 22 year old center defender Bakary Soumare. Soumare is an exciting youngster, who is already playing for the USA Under-23 National side. He is big, quick and strong and our scouts loved his competitive nature. Soumare will likely wind up the partner of Alexandre Barbier as our starting tandem, with Yannick Zambernardi and Braham Thiam providing the cover- while the other youngsters then have time to develop. I was very pleased to beat out Lens to get Soumare, because they had been after him hard too.

***

11.8.08

Reims (2) Metz (1) TV

Reims- Demba Toure 32 Braham Thiam 70-P

Metz- Sebastien Renouard 24

MOM- Demba Toure, Reims

We overcame a poor start and the loss of Cedric Faure to injury in the opening moments as we fought back for a 2-1 win over favored Metz in our home opener. Early pressure on our part led to nothing thanks to good tackling by the Metz backline. Cedric Faure was carted off in the opening minutes and that hurt our offense. I was very unhappy that Sebastien Renouard wasn't called offside on the play he scored. He looked clearly behind our backline. Demba Toure answered Renouard's goal as he deflected a sharp cross from Hugo past Germano Vailati. Both sides sought the lead in the second half, but it was Toure again as Romain Rocchi tripped Toure in the area. Braham Thiam celebrated his 250th match by calmly converting the penalty kick. We held on from there to earn the close win. The win was costly injury-wise as Faure will be out a couple weeks with a bad ankle and Toure picked up a slight injury late in the match.

15.8.08

Chateauroux (1) Reims (2)

Chateauroux- Jacob Mulenga 13

Reims- Vincent Gragnic 53 Jonathan Kodja 87

MOM- Vincent Gragnic, Reims

I was really happy with our fightback win over Chateauroux. We started the match very well, but fell behind when Braham Thiam failed to intercept a cross and Jacob Mulenga was left with an easy finish past Johan Liebus. Our shooting was more than a little wasteful in the first half and I let the boys know that we expected much more effort in the second half. They responded well and Toufik Zerara made a pretty cross to a trailing Vincent Gragnic that allowed Gragnic to fire a shot past Vincent Fernandez before he could get over to the far post. We took all three points from the match when a bad misplay by both defender Mickael Cerielo and keeper Fernandez allowed Jonathan Kodja to take the ball and push it into the open goal for a match-winning goal in his debut.

That's a promising start to your league campaign despite that opening day defeat, Faramir.

Thanks Nathan Better than I expected to start, since it is clear we will have to win a lot of close matches to do well in Ligue 2...

***

22.8.08

Reims (2) Nimes (1)

Reims- Christophe Mandanne 2-P Alexandre Barbier 32

Nimes- Jean-Jacques Mandrichi 10-P

MOM- Alexandre Barbier, Reims

After a wild start to the match, which saw both sides convert penalty kicks in the first ten minutes, we settled into a good rhythym and after converting a throw-in for the lead played well through to the final whistle. Jonathan Kodja deserves credit for triggering our penalty kick, which Christophe Mandanne converted past Guillaume Lovergne, as he forced Ludovic Jeannel to take him down in the area. Nimes got back even when Marc Giraudon was called for a disputed push in the area and Jean-Jacques Mandrichi converted the penalty past Johan Liebus. The eventual match winner came on a throw-in from the left. Aliou Cisse made a bad header trying to clear the throw-in and Alexandre Barbier darted in to head past Lovergne. We played solid football with the lead and missed a couple of good chances to add to the lead in the second half as we worked hard through the final whistle to take all three points from struggling Nimes.

29.8.08

Montpellier (0) Reims (0)

Montpellier- None

Reims- None

MOM- Mapou Yanga Mbiwa, Montpellier

We were outplayed by Montpellier and fortunate to come away with a split of the points as Johan Liebus did an excellent job in goal. Liebus was well supported by team captain Alexandre Barbier, who won a number of key headers. The home side outplayed us badly in the first half and we really only had one scoring chance. The second half saw us settle into a better approach and we generated some chances, but Laurent Pionnier was equal to all of our challenges. They had two golden opportunities to win the match late, but both missed wide on dangerous chances.

31.8.08

We stunned many when we were able to land heavily sought after 24 year old Italian Striker Alessandro Matri. Matri was co-owned by Cagliari and Rome and it cost 110K to each of them to complete the transfer purchase. Matri was sought after by close to a dozen other European clubs and it was slightly surprising to have him select us. With our lack of depth at forward, gaining Matri was a great boon.

***

10.9.08

Brest (2) Reims (1) Coupe de la Ligue 2nd Round

Boulogne- Anthony Le Gall 46,86

Reims- Yannick Zabernardi 48

MOM- Anthony Le Gall, Brest

Wasted chances in the first half came back to haunt us as we lost a close 2-1 match to Brest in our 2nd round Cup match. We outplayed Brest, who are 2nd place in Ligue 2 at present, in the opening half but failed to capitalize on the quality chances we generated. Steeve Elana deserves part of the credit for his fine work in goal. Anthony Le Gall came on to start the second half and he revitalized Brest, scoring in the opening moments for the home side to take the lead. We hit back immediately when Yannick Zambernardi deflected a cross past Elana. Le Gall scored the match winner when he deflected a late cross off the left upright and into the goal past Perica Radic. We played hard but not effectively.

13.9.08

ESTAC (0) Reims (1)

ESTAC- None

Reims- Alexandre Barbier 15

MOM- Alexandre Barbier, Reims

Closely played from start to finish, we were able to edge Troyes when we converted an early corner for the only goal of the match. Our backline play, helped by the debut of Bakary Soumare as Alexandre Barbier's defensive partner, was extremely solid and the reason we were able to take all three points from the match. We struck for the lone goal when Barbier deflected Toufik Zerara's corner past Quentin Westberg. Westberg made several saves to keep the home side in the match, but his play was trumped by Johan Liebus. Liebus turned in a superb clean sheet with several key saves to help us gain the close win. The second half was taut as both sides came close to scoring and I was very relieved to hear the final whistle.

16.9.08

Reims (1) Ajaccio (2)

Reims- Christophe Mandanne 78

Ajaccio- Chieck Diabate 46,63

MOM- Chieck Diabate, Ajaccio

Failure to defend Chieck Diabate led to a disappointing 2-1 loss at home to Ajaccio as we just didn't play as well we needed to for a better result. A scoreless first half was highlighted by our poor finishing as Cedric Faure and Demba Toure failed to put any of their shots on goal and overall gave the ball away too often to Ajaccio. We fell behind in the opening minute of the second half as Chieck Diabate overpowered Bakary Soumare and deflected Stephene Darbion's cross past Johan Liebus. Diabate struck again when he again deflected Darbion's cross after Soumare failed to intercept the looping cross. We got a glimmer of hope when Christophe Mandanne, on for Faure, whipped a shot past Thierry Debes to draw a goal back. We couldn't come up with the equalizer as Debes made the key save of the match when he parried away a header from Wilfried Moimbe in the late moments.

I compliment your signing of Bakary Soumare. He's been pretty decent for my USA side so far. Shame about the loss to Ajaccio but I am sure you will bounce back. Best of luck in returning Reims to the top.

gavrenwick- He is one of the best looking young centerbacks I have seen, and already being scouted by Major Euro clubs further on. Thanks very much on the good wishes

***

19.9.08

Reims (1) Guingamp (0)

Reims- Sylvain N'Diaye 25

Guingamp- None

MOM- Toufik Zerara, Reims

It was a very pleasing win as we edged 2nd place Guingamp 1-0 in a rough, spirited match. We started very well in the match and put the pressure on Guingamp. Stephane Trevisan made a pair of excellent saves in the early going to keep the match scoreless. We finally broke through when Toufik Zerara laid off a pretty pass for Sylvain N'Diaye to drill past Trevisan off the underside of the crossbar for his 1st goal at Reims. We played a consistent defensive game and limited Guingamp to mostly longer shots in the second half and Johan Liebus was equal to all the challenges in earning another clean sheet in a good win. Alexandre Barbier will be suspended after receiving another yellow card and N'Diaye suffered a twisted knee that will keep him out of action for three weeks. We also lost Boukary Soumare for a month with a pulled hamstring.

29.9.08

Lens (3) Reims (1)

Lens- Dejan Milovanovic 7 Toifilou Maoulida 45+1,51

Reims- Biaguik Komissoko 18

MOM- Toifilou Maoulida, Lens

First place Lens was sharper than us, especially in finishing, and that was the difference as we played a good match, but not mistake free in losing 3-1. Dejan Milovanovic blasted a 25 yard free kick that eluded Johan Liebus into the upper left corner to give Lens the early lead. We equalized when Biagui Komissoko deflected a cross from Julien Ielsch past Vedran Runje. Toifilou Maoulida took over the match in first half injury time with a dazzling run through two attempted tackles and then firing a shot past Liebus. Maoulida made another powerful move in our area for his brace and the two-goal lead. We had a few chances, but Runje got the best of our shooters today. Overall, we didn't play too badly against the heavily favored club, but that level isn't good enough against a club of this caliber.

3.10.08

Reims (2) Clermont (1)

Reims- Cedric Faure 34 Pierre Bouysse 86-OG

Clermont- Kevin Bru 24-P

MOM- Medhi Benatia, Clermont

This was not a pretty win. Still, taking all three points from the match assuaged my feelings about the very one-sided officiating and some of our wasteful play. The referee gave away a very disputed penalty kick when Toufik Zerara was called for a push in the area and Kevin Bru gave Clermont the lead with a penalty conversion past Johan Liebus. I was proud of the squad as we battled back and Cedric Faure fired into an open goal after Pierre Bouysse parried Demba Toure's initial chance. The second half saw us hammering away at the visitors, but it took a huge mistake by Bouysse, as he lost control of Zerara's shot into his goal for the decisive marker. It was a win we needed.

14.10.08

Reims (2) Dijon (1)

Reims- Cedric Faure 49 Alessandro Matri 81

Dijon- Remi Soyeaux 61

MOM- Alessandro Matri, Reims

Another hard working effort, another late goal and another close win as we edged Dijon 2-1. The first half was scoreless as both sides squandered good scoring chances with inaccurate shooting. I wasn't happy with our overall play and made my point in the dressing room that I expected to see more from them in the second half. They responded well and we took the lead early in the second half as Alessandro Matri laid a pass off for Cedric Faure to bury in the upper left portion of the goal past a diving Landry Bonnefoi. Dijon evened the match when Remi Soyeaux blasted a dangerous free kick past Johan Liebus. The match winner came when Thomas Gamiette, on for a tiring Sylvain Didot, looped a centering pass that Matri calmly flicked past Bonnefoi when he came out to challenge. The match hurt us injury-wise as Toufik Zerara, Biagui Kamissoko and Bakary Soumare will all miss a couple weeks with various ailments.

20.10.08

Strasbourg (2) Reims (1)

Strasbourg- Franck Dja Djedje 4 Emil Gargorov 53-P

Reims- Cedric Faure 83

MOM- Cedric Faure, Reims

I was frustrated by our miscues and by the officiating today as we played well enough to at least split the points with Strasbourg, but instead wound up with a 2-1 loss. A pair of misplays cost us an early goal as Vincent Gragnic missed intercepting the cross and Julien Ielsch failed to mark out Franck Dja Djedje as he deflected the long cross from Romulo inside the far post past Johan Liebus. We played a strong first half and created good opportunities, but saw our equalizer waved off when Alessandro Matri scored as they ruled him offside. We missed some good chances with wild shooting as well. In the opening moments of the second half Alexandre Barbier was called for a push on Kandia Traore and Emil Gargorov converted the penalty kick. We got a glimmer of hope with an incredible 30 yard strike from Cedric Faure, but the officials again took a hand when Faure's chance at an open goal was waved off and keeper Christopher Muhr given a foul, but not a yellow card- nor properly a last man redcard- as he fouled Faure when Cedric tried to take the ball past him. Faure boomed a rocket free kick, but Muhr got fingertips on it to push it away to preserve the win for the home side.

24.10.08

Reims (0) Brest (1)

Reims- None

Brest- Francois Masson 78

MOM- Francois Masson, Brest

Another wasted effort for us as our forwards disappeared in the match and Brest finally took advantage of an opportunity- albeit an offside not called- as they scored in the second half to edge us 1-0. We dodged an early bullet when another penalty kick was awarded against us as Vincent Gragnic was called for a push in the area. Johan Liebus saved the penalty from Renaud Cohade to keep the scoreline tidy. We created some good chances, but our forwards shot poorly on the few shots they managed, as the Brest backline did a good job in marking out Cedric Faure and Alessandro Matri. Braham Ferradj was well beyond Mickael Tacalfred when the ball was played to him. Ferradj made a long cross to Eric Sitruk and Sitruk crossed back for Francois Masson to deflect past Liebus for the only goal.

31.10.08

Vannes (3) Reims (1)

Vannes- Jerome Lebouc 1,13 Mickael Tacalfred 52-OG

Reims- Yannick Zambernardi 30

MOM- Jerome Lebouc, Vannes

Struggling Vannes handed us a stinging 3-1 defeat as Jerome Lebouc scored two early goals and we continually wasted scoring chances. We absolutely fell down with our backline play against Jerome Lebouc as he scored an early brace due to our poor marking and tackling. Our only highlight in the first half was Yannick Zambernardi deflecting a cross from Edoard Chaya past Benoit Costil. Our shooting was tragic, especially Cedric Faure, who missed the goal on numerous chances. We compounded our troubles early in the second half as Mickael Tacalfred headed past Johan Liebus while trying to clear the ball on a corner. It was a frustrating match and we have to settle down and play better if we want better results.

7.11.08

Reims (2) Bastia (1)

Reims- Alessandro Matri 44 Cedric Faure 86

Bastia- Yannick Cahuzac 6

MOM- Cedric Faure, Reims

We finally found a way to win as we again overcame a poor start to fight back for a dramatic 2-1 win over 5th place Bastia. I started Lucas Deaux in the midfield and that proved a very poor decision as he missed intercepting a pass to Yannick Cahuzac and Cahuzac wheeled and blasted past Kossi Agassa. Agassa settled down as he received the start due to resting Johan Liebus and made several good saves in keeping us close. We struck for the equalizer late in the half as Cedric Faure slipped a pass through to Alessandro Matri and Matri showed the finishing touch we had been hoping to see in snapping his shot past Austin Ejide. Both sides sought the decisive goal in the second half and good backline play helped Agassa keep us even under early pressure. The match turned on a brilliant pass from Matri that found Faure breaking between the backline as he ripped a rising shot past Ejide for a sensational match winning goal with his 5th of the season.

11.11.08

Sedan (1) Reims (3)

Sedan- Youssef Sekour 1

Reims- Toufik Zerara 47 Cedric Faure 49 Bakary Soumare 62

MOM- Toufik Zerara, Reims

Redcard- Sylvain N'Diaye, Reims 22

It would have been easy for our squad to quit. We fell behind in the opening minute of the match and saw Sylvain N'Diaye sent off with an immediate redcard in a questionable call in the first half. The fact we not only didn't quit and instead came out and dominated our arch-rival in the second half and fought back to hand them a devastating 3-1 defeat. Habib Balde earned my ire in the opening minute when he lost the ball to Damien Tiberi and Tiberi crossed for Youssef Sekour to deflect past Johan Liebus. Our entire side, especially Liebus, was incredulous when Sylvain N'Diaye was redcarded for a hard tackle on Marcus Mokake. We managed to survive the remainder of the first half only down a goal. I let them have a piece of my mind at halftime- though we had done well to only be a goal down- I hadn't seen the kind of heart and determination we needed to make a difference in the match. They took the message to heart and roared into the second half. Hugo turned into a force as he made a good right side run and he crossed for Toufik Zerara to deflect past Vincent Briant for the equalizer with his 1st goal for Reims. Less than two minutes later it was another Hugo cross that Cedric Faure deflected past Briant for the lead. We kept after them despite gaining the lead and it paid off when Zerara's free kick was deflected by Bakary Soumare for his 1st goal at Reims. We lost Alessandro Matri to injury, but we sustained our defensive effort to keep our 3-1 win.

Nice to see you back to winning ways after that slight blip in form. Nice to Soumare on the scoresheet too!

gavrenwick- Thanks very much Soumare really appears to be a great find. Not sure if I can keep him with all the major clubs scouting him already- but will enjoy his presence while here

***

19.11.08

Reims Lands Delle

In a surprise move, Reims was the winner over several other suitors for promising 18 year old keeper Joris Delle. Delle was purchased for 130K from Metz. According to reports from sources at the club, their scouts are convinced Delle has a wealth of potential. It had been clear from the beginning of the season that Reims Manager Marcel Verve had been seeking a young keeper to pair with Johan Liebus. The arrival of Delle may also answer the rumors that other clubs have been seeking Kossi Agassa.

***

22.11.08

Reims (1) Tours (2) French Cup 7th Round

Reims- Jonathan Kodja 78-P

Tours- Bocundji Ca 18 Olivier Giroud 89

MOM- Bocundji Ca, Tours

I wasn't unhappy with the effort, but the failure of our backline to deal with crosses was what got us broomed out of the French Cup as Tours edged with a dramatic match winner in the waning moments for the 2-1 win. We started poorly, again, and Bocundji Ca slid past Jonathan Joseph-Augustin's inattentive marking and ineffectual tackling allowed Ca to score past Kossi Agassa. I wasn't happy with our uneven effort in the first half, as we wouldn't have been close except for the efforts of Agassa in goal. We began creating better chances in the second half and our pressure finally paid off when Christophe Mandanne was tripped in the Tours area by Julien Francois and Jonathan Kodja converted the penalty kick past Peter Jehle for the equalizer. We yielded the match winner when Gaetan Bong crossed and Olivier Giroud outleapt Habib Balde to power a header past Agassa for the match winner.

25.11.08

Reims (5) Amiens (2)

Reims- Cedric Faure 4,14 Alessandro Matri 10 Habib Balde 29 Hugo 49

Amiens- Everton Santos 41 Sebastien Heitmann 53-P

MOM- Cedric Faure, Reims

Our offensive explosion finally arrived as we scored four goals in the first 29 minutes to help bury struggling Amiens early. Our passing was superb in the first half and Cedric Faure whipped a shot past Paul Delecroix off a good pass from Younousse Sankhare to get us a flying start. Faure then maneuvered past attempted tackles and blasted off the crossbar for Alessandro Matri to head home the rebound as we moved ahead 2-0. Faure made it a pair of goals when he blistered a 25 yard shot past Delecroix that gave Sankhare his 2nd assist. Habib Balde stepped up and intercepted a poor clearance before beating Delecroix cleanly from 25 yards for his 1st goal of the season. We lost our concentration late in the half and that resulted in a goal by Everton Santos after our failure to clear the ball away from our area. Sankhare completed a hat-trick of assists early in the second half as he setup Hugo to score his 1st goal at Reims. Julien Ielsch made a silly foul in our area to allow Sebastien Heitzmann to conclude the scoring when he converted the penalty kick.

28.11.08

Boulogne (2) Reims (2)

Boulogne- Damien Perrinelle 17 Johan Ramare 86

Reims- Bakary Soumare 21 Younousse Sankhare 24

MOM- Bakary Soumare, Reims

We could have won the match, but I have to give Johan Ramare credit for a precision 30 yard shot into the upper right corner for the dramatic equalizer. We started poorly as Younousse Sankhare did a poor job marking Damien Perrienelle and Perrinelle headed past Johan Liebus on a cross from Nicolas Rabuel. We quickly hit back as Bakary Soumare drilled a 20 yard shot past Jean-Francois Bedenik off a pass from Toufik Zerara. We gained the lead when Edouard Chaya slipped a pass through and Sankhare made up for his earlier mistake by hammering a shot past Bedenik. Our failure to build on that lead, despite repeated good chances, was the reason we didn't take all three points in the match. Ramare's strike was a good shot and I can't fault my side for the play that led up to it, but it was still a disappointing result.

5.12.08

Reims (0) Angers (0)

Reims- None

Angers- None

MOM- Bakary Soumare, Reims

More wasted opportunities and a very ineffective effort by Cedric Faure left us splitting the points with Angers in a scoreless draw. We outshot them 13-4 in the match and dominated large stretches, but our forwards were unable to shake the tight marking put on them by the Angers backline. Our midfield could have been the difference in the match, but failed to make a strong enough showing as our passing and crossing was only mediocre in the match. Jean-Daniel Padovani made the two best saves in the match late in the first half as he made a diving parry on a Toufik Zerara free kick and then he palmed away a strong header from Bakary Soumare off a corner. We need to find better finishing to win these type of close matches.

French Ligue 2- Midseason

1- Lens           46 pts (+23)
2- Brest          45 pts (+23)
3- Guingamp       33 pts (+7)
4- Reims          33 pts (+5)
5- Metz           31 pts (+9)
6- Chateauroux    30 pts (+4)
7- Ajaccio        30 pts (-2)

16.12.08

Metz (2) Reims (1)

Metz- Yann Kermorgant 1 Pa**** Cisse 33

Reims- Hugo 7

MOM- Hugo, Reims

I was very unhappy with Johan Liebus. For the 3rd time this season he was beaten in the first! minute by a shot from distance. That kind of start, especially against a club as good as Metz is, puts us at a huge disadvantage. We fought back after Yann Kermorgant scored on Liebus and Hugo evened the match with a fluke goal as he tried to cross for Cedric Faure and it looped over Germano Vailati to equalize. We clearly missed Alexandre Barbier as Pa**** Cisse outleapt Jonathan Joseph-Augustin to deflect a cross from Laurent Agouazi past Liebus. We hammered away at Vailati the rest of the match, but never had really good chances as Matri was taken out of the match by the Metz marking. I am disappointed in Matri's performances overall since coming here and trying to figure out if I should let him go back to Italy- where he is wanted by several clubs.

19.12.08

Reims (2) Chateauroux (0)

Reims- Alexandre Barbier 52 Toufik Zerara 89

Chateauroux- None

MOM- Toufik Zerara, Reims

As frustrating as our loss to Metz was, I was really happy with our determined effort as we defeated Chateauroux in a match where we outplayed them by a large margin. Though we weren't able to score in the first half, we were creating good opportunities. Our shooting was still lacking and I laid into them at halftime about actually challenging Gaetan Deneuve with shots on target. We wrested control of the match in the opening moments of the second half. After some furious pressure, it was Alexandre Barbier who deflected Toufik Zerara's corner past Deneuve for the lead. We didn't let up with the lead and Deneuve was forced to make a trio of key saves to keep the visitors in the match. Zerara put the match out of reach when Biagui Komissoko deftly passed to him in the area and Zerara buried his shot past Deneuve. Johan Liebus earned his clean sheet with two timely first half saves.

13.1.09

Nekash Chooses Reims

Highly prized 17 year old Israeli midfielder Brian Nekash chose Reims out of the swell of clubs chasing the talented youngster. Nekash really believes his opportunity to take on a significant role might come sooner with Reims and was very happy with his discussions with the club. With loanee Younousse Sankhare currently occupying one of the starting spots, it appears that Nekash has his eye on a future opening.

***

16.1.09

Nimes (2) Reims (1)

Nimes- Jean-Jacques Mandrichi 64-P,84

Reims- Alessando Matri 45

MOM- Jean-Jacques Mandrichi, Nimes

I am more than a little tired of seeing questionable penalty calls against and we suffered another one today. Joris Delle gave a good showing in his debut in goal and managed to keep the match scoreless through the first half with several very good saves. We took the lead in the late moments of the half when Alessandro Matri knocked home the rebound after Nicolas Puydebois parried a header by Alexandre Barbier on a corner. The equalizer was handed to the home side when Toufik Zerara was whistled for holding in the area. Jean-Jacques Mandrichi converted the penalty kick to knot the match at 1-1. Nimes came up with the match winner when Jonathan Joseph-Augustin failed miserably in his marking of Mandrichi and he headed a corner past Delle. I have seen enough of Joseph-Augustin's poor play and his whining about not playing.

20.1.09

We quickly found a new home for Jonathan Joseph-Augustin as we completed his 240K sale to Boulogne. I am happy enough with our depth to dispose of the very disappointing Joseph-Augustin.

***

22.1.09

Another finding a new home was unhappy Brahim Thiam. Thiam expected to be a starter and hadn't played much because he is too slow to play in our defensive system. I was initially worried about disposing of a player that some considered a leader, but an unhappy player in the clubhouse is no help- so it was an easier choice to let him move on free transfer to Gueugnon.

***

23.1.09

Reims (2) Montpellier (1)

Reims- Christophe Mandanne 54 Biagui Kamissoko 79

Montpellier- Hugo 62-OG

MOM- Christophe Mandanne, Reims

This was not a good match, nor a very good effort overall. We were fortunate to survive a very unsteady performance by keeper Johan Liebus- his worst since I have been here- and a bad match from Cedric Faure. The first half was a struggle as Montpellier controlled the midfield and we played with little assertion or confidence. The thing that saved us in the first half was the terrible shooting of the visitors as they failed to really challenge a struggling Liebus. I brought on Christophe Mandanne for Cedric Faure to make a point and Mandanne made an immediate impact as he found space and deflected a pretty cross from Hugo past Laurent Pionnier from just inside the edge of the area. Hugo gave that goal back, but it really was more of an accident and was because Liebus lost control of the ball and it carrommed back into the goal off the back of Hugo's leg for an own goal. We were carried through to an undeserved win as Biagui Kamissoko rifled a shot past Pionnier from 25 yards for what would prove to be the match winning goal. We will take the result, but I wasn't happy with the performance.

Always had a soft spot for Reims, partly because I went there on holiday once and partly because Robert Pires used to play for them. Great win against Montpellier

m1234566778- I didn't know much about them until the challenge. My favorite French side- that I have played several times- is Noisy-le-Sec.

***

27.1.09

I continued to try and evolve Reims on the fly after making further decisions about who we should keep and who should go. Those I am working to sell are not really because they are bad players, but rather players we are paying too much for compared to what we actually need them for. Our club is not rich enough to be paying top wages for players who are 2nd line players. That is one of the reasons I was happy to land promising young left winger Thomas Zerbini. The 20 year old Zerbini had been released from the Strasbourg youth program over the summer and was pleased to finally find a new club. We were also able to get 22 year old center midfielder Stephane Marignale from Lille on free transfer. Marignale came up with Gueugnon before moving to Lille, but Lille never played him and was willing to let him move with his contract coming up. Marignale is solid hard working midfielder who should help our depth this season and may develop into a more important player.

***

29.1.09

English side Carlisle became a big customer of ours today as they landed both 24 year old forward Demba Toure and 25 year old rightwinger Vincent Gragnic. They paid us a club record 375K for Gragnic and 200K for Toure. Both Toure and Gragnic were among the highest paid players on the club and it helps both in building up our transfer kitty and reducing our weekly wage payroll. We now have a 775K transfer fund and our weekly wages are down to 103K a week, versus our budgeted amount of 134K a week.

29.1.09

To combat the loss of Toure, I was able to land two promising 20 year olds from Nantes. Dali Gonzalez came to us for 90K, while Yoann Arquin arrived on free transfer. Gonzalez is an Argentinean who also has French citizenship and was pleased to move to our club where he will clearly have a better opportunity. I am happy to get a good left footed forward, something our club was completely lacking. Arquin is a very solid overall forward, not especially flashy, but with few weaknesses- very polished for his age. The best part is that the two youngsters only cost us 2,000 a week, compared to the 7,500 a week that Toure was earning.

***

31.1.09

As the deadline approached, we signed 27 year old versatile midfielder Cedric Faivre on free transfer. Faivre is here to add depth to our midfield and could well become a gameday sub because of his versatility.

3.2.09

Ajaccio (0) Reims (1)

Ajaccio- None

Reims- Cedric Faure 16

MOM- Carl Medjani, Ajaccio

After our undeserved win, I was worried about our trip to Corsica to face Ajaccio. I need not have. Despite all the tribulations at the transfer deadline, the squad focused well and we played a smart, determined match to edge the Islanders 1-0. We turned a throw-in into the only goal of the match when Younousse Sankhare outmuscled two defenders and slipped a pass across to Cedric Faure. Faure spun past his marker and slammed his shot into the roof of the goal past Laurent Bernardi. We played a strong positional match on defense, something we didn't do against Montpellier. Johan Liebus was solid today and benefitted from the strong midfield and backline play in putting up another clean sheet.

6.2.09

Reims (1) Troyes (0)

Reims- Cedric Faure 66

Troyes- None

MOM- Bakary Soumare, Reims

Patience was needed in this match as it took us until the second half to begin breaking down the Troyes backline and generate the chances that resulted in the only goal of the match. Both sides played conservatively in the first half and chances were few. Cyrille Merville made a terrific close-in parry on Alessandro Matri, while Johan Liebus pushed a screamer from Eloge Enza Yamassi over the crossbar in the scoreless first half. We ramped up the pressure early in the second half and Bakary Soumare turned in a wonderful play as he moved up and intercepted a poor clearance kick, heading it forward to Cedric Faure. Faure showed his sensational finishing ability as he blasted a shot past Merville into the upper left corner of the goal for his 10th goal of the season. We made that goal stand up as the winning margin and Liebus had another clean sheet. The win cost us skipper Alexandre Barbier, as he suffered a badly sprained ankle that will cause him to miss the next six weeks.

13.2.09

Guingamp (0) Reims (0)

Guingamp- None

Reims- None

MOM- Badara Sene, Guingamp

The final whistle found me both relieved and disappointed at the same time. We were more than a bit fortunate to escape with splitting the points in the scoreless draw, but we had three excellent chances that we just weren't able to cash in on that might have given us all three points. Stephane Trevisan made the save of the match early on when he somehow got a hand on a booming blast by Cedric Faure in the early moments of the first half. Guingamp had some excellent chances of their own and Bakary Soumare had to hack one ball off the line to save us during a period of heavy pressure by the home side. The home side was incensed when Eduardo's late second half goal was waved off when he was ruled offside, but it was a good call and one that needed to be made. We escaped with another Johan Liebus clean sheet and a point that was hard earned.

23.2.09

Reims (2) Lens (1)

Reims- Cedric Faure 50 Sylvain Didot 90+2-P

Lens- Aruna Dindane 20

MOM- Yoann Arquin, Reims

The odds were clearly against in facing 2nd place Lens, who are battling tooth and nail with Brest for the top spot in Ligue 2. We lost Johan Liebus for at least a month with a sprained ankle midweek, and were forced to go with young Joris Delle in goal. Early on, it was Delle's inexperience that hurt us when Lens took the lead after Yohan Demont flicked on a header to unmarked Aruna Dindane. Delle overcommitted on the Demont header and could not get into position to save Dindane's short header into the left corner of the goal. Delle settled down after that and made a couple key saves to keep us close going into the second half. Yoann Arquin had a terrific debut and his silky running allowed him to setup Cedric Faure beautifully to smash a shot past Vedran Runje for the equalizer. The match was tense as it moved into the late moments and it was our turn- finally- to get a break on a penalty. Aleddine Yahia jostled Arquin as he moved with the ball in the area in second half injury time and Sylvain Didot capped a great win for us when he converted the penalty kick past Runje for his 1st goal of the season. Injuries continue to pile up as Younousse Sankhare suffered a fractured arm and will miss a month or two. It is likely I will give Stephane Marignale a start as we move from this Monday TV match to a Friday match.

Massive win over Lens, Faramir.

gavrenwick- Thanks much I was pleased with it

***

27.2.09

Clermont (2) Reims (1)

Clermont- Kevin Bru 4 Franck Chaussidiere 35

Reims- Yannick Zambernardi 79

MOM- Kevin Bru, Clermont

We didn't deserve a better result, but at least we tried to fight back after falling behind 2-0 in the first half. Kevin Bru blistered a 30 yard free kick past Joris Delle in the early moments to get Clermont away on a flyer. We compounded the error with generally poor play throughout the first half. Cedric Faivre had a poor first start as he missed intercepting a pass that left Franck Chaussideiere with an easy finish past Delle for his 5th goal of the season. We really didn't start well in the second half, but finally started creating some chances and Mickael Fabre made good stops on Dali Gomez and Christophe Mandanne to keep us off the scoreboard. We finally got a glimmer of hope when Yannick Zambernardi deflected a Thomas Zerbini corner past Fabre to ruin the clean sheet. We couldn't come up with the equalizer and wound up with a close loss.

6.3.09

Dijon (1) Reims (1)

Dijon- Eric Carriere 36

Reims- Nicolas Fernades 21-OG

MOM- Eric Carriere, Dijon

We battled, but battled ourselves as much as Dijon, and were happy enough to come away with a split of the points in a 1-1 draw. We benefitted from more good work by Yoann Arquin as his running created the chance for him to cross for Cedric Faure. Nicolas Fernandes desperately tried to head the cross away, but still put the ball into his own goal. Dijon equalized when Eric Carriere slipped past two attempted tackles and drove a rising shot over Joris Delle's right shoulder into the roof of the goal. The rest of the match had plenty of action, but no goals as we battled to the 1-1 draw. The draw leaves us in 4th place, three points adrift of 3rd place Metz and three points ahead of 5th place Chateauroux.

13.3.09

Reims (2) Strasbourg (1)

Reims- Toufik Zerara 7 Christophe Mandanne 87

Strasbourg- Kandia Traore 38

MOM- Toufik Zerara, Reims

A late match winner gave us all three points in a closely played 2-1 win over Strasbourg. We got off to a great start when Toufik Zerara boomed home a 25 yard free kick into the upper left corner of the goal past Regis Gurtner for the lead. Joris Delle made a couple good saves early, but could not stop the powerful finish of Kandia Traore as he swung past Bakary Soumare to equalize. Both sides had good chances early in the second half and missed close. Yoann Arquin, who had another good match and continues to impress, had to leave with an injury and that brought on Christophe Mandanne. Mandanne wound up the hero when Julien Ielsch sent him a good pass to find him unmarked and Mandanne slipped a well placed shot past Gurtner for the dramatic match winner. Arquin suffered a pulled hamstring and will miss a month.

20.3.09

Brest (1) Reims (1)

Brest- Benoit Leroy 84

Reims- Bakary Soumare 14

MOM- Bakary Soumare, Reims

We almost had the three points today, but Brest equalized on a goal that I felt was offside in the late going and we had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Brest. Brest had only allowed 16 goals this season coming into the match and seemed a bit stunned when we took the lead as Bakary Soumare deflected Toufik Zerara's corner past Steeve Elana in the early going. There were other chances that were missed by us as we shot over the goal several times. We were trying to play shutup shop football when Brest scored as Benoit Leroy drifted past Soumare and deflected Francois Masson's cross past Joris Delle.

3.4.09

Bastia (2) Reims (0)

Bastia- Florent Ghisolfi 74 Ludovic Genest 80

Reims- None

MOM- Florent Ghisolfi, Bastia

Our patchwork lineup didn't work well today and Johan Liebus showed his rust as he made his return from in jury. That added up to a 2-0 loss to Bastia when the finally scored in the second half. Our play, at least somewhat due to the patched together lineup, was very choppy in the match as we had moments of brilliance and more moments of poor play. Our few chances were wasted and Alessandro Matri had another difficult match. Bastia finally turned their pressure into a goal midway through the second half as Florent Ghisolfi shook free of his marking to deflect a cross from Eric Cubillier past Liebus. Ludovic Genest took advantage of our loss of Yannick Zambernardi to slip past Lucas Deaux to make it 2-0. It was a disappointing result, but we were able to rest a few regulars. The loss dropped us into 5th place as Guingamp overtook us for 4th place.

Come on Reims. Hows the table looking for your side, Faramir?

gavrenwick- Well, hanging around the edges of the top tier, but not really threatening the best clubs. Could be worse though

***

10.4.09

Reims (0) Sedan (1)

Reims- None

Sedan- Markus Mokake 70

MOM- Sofyane Cherfa, Sedan

A bad defensive mistake by Mickael Tacalfred cost us the only goal, as we lost to fierce rival Sedan 1-0 at home. We played a bad first half and let Sedan dictate the play the entire half. The second half was better, but our shooting- led by Younousse Sankhare- was atrocious. We wasted many good chances in the second half and Sedan made us pay when Tacalfred didn't even try to intercept the cross that found Markus Mokake in front of Liebus to head home. Vincent Briant made two key saves in the late going to ensure we couldn't equalize.