[FM10] The blood that Corsicas through my veins...

AC Ajaccio - Season 1: 14th, Ligue 2

AC Ajaccio - Season 2: 1st, Ligue 2 Champions; Coupe de Ligue finalists

AC Ajaccio - Season 3: 7th, Ligue 1

Rayo Vallecano de Madrid / Albacete Balompié S.A.D - Season 4: 18th, Liga Adelante

Albacete Balompié S.A.D - Season 5: 9th, Liga Adelante

Albacete Balompié S.A.D - Season 6: 1st, Liga Adelante Champions

Albacete Balompié S.A.D / Atalanta - Season 7: 6th in Serie B (promoted)

Atalanta - Season 8: 7th in Serie A (resigned in October)

Sparta Rotterdam - Season 9: 14th in Eredivisie (joined in November)

Sparta Rotterdam - Season 10: 7th in Eredivisie, KNVB Dutch Cup winners

Sparta Rotterdam - Season 11: 2nd in Eredivisie, KNVB Dutch Cup winners, Dutch Super Cup winners.

Sparta Rotterdam - Season 12: Eredivisie winners, KNVB Dutch Cup winners, Dutch Super Cup winners

Sparta Rotterdam - Season 13: Eredivisie winners, European Champions Cup winners, Dutch Super Cup winners

Sparta Rotterdam - Season 14: Eredivisie winners, KNVB Dutch Cup winners, Dutch Super Cup winners

Sparta Rotterdam - Season 15: Eredivisie winners, Dutch Super Cup winners

SpVgg Greuther Furth - Season 16: 11th in 2.Bundesliga (joined in October)

First job was to junk all the staff, bar the goalkeeping coach. I could only have 6 staff, so my options were limited.

A lot of the French national staff was tapped up to feature in my glorious revolution, including Gerard Precheur as my Ass Man and Defending coach.

Erick Mombaerts and Patrick Gonfalone were next. They'd be dealing with Ball Control and Shooting/Set Pieces respectively.

Luc Rabat made up the final FFF coach to join me, his domain was Tactics.

Domenico Noterino was brought in as Attacking coach and Andrea Sandri was hired for Strength/Aerobic.

Finally, Roger Hoare was hired as a new Physio.

Next, I looked at players.

Having been given no money and the squad already containing the 5 loan players for the season, I set about getting rid of as much as possible, in order to get in funds.

DM/MC Ludovic Guerriero was the first out the door, he went to Crotone for £500k. Next was ST Georges Ba, who went to RBC for £70k. The undoubted star of the first team, MC Benjamin Andre was offloaded to TSG Hoffenheim for £700k and finally ST Julien Viale was sold to Torino for £350k.

This bought in £1.6m into my coffers.

Spending-wise. I signed two players to come in 2010-11, after their loans had finished. ST Genero Zeefuik for £50k from PSV and DRC Matteo Darmian for £350k from AC Milan.

I used the 48-month payment option a lot for my signings, however AMRC/FC Simon Feindouno and GK Anssi Jakkola from Siena came in on free's first. DM/MC Rene Krhin was the first money signing to come, for £750k from Inter Milan. Next was GK Luis Robles from Kaiserslautern for £500k and then AMLC Marko Perovic (who was going to be trained into a DM) for £850k from Basel.

Last two so far to come in have been ST Dawid Nowak for £500k from Belchatow and DM/MC Justice Wamfor for £85k from Germinal Beerschot.

The first game of the season was against Vannes OC in the Coupe De Ligue.

This was a hard fought battle, very physical and a lot of my players came out with less than 60% fitness.

We took them to extra time and then penalties. A 0-0 draw good for us, as we won 3-2 on pens.

AC Ajaccio 0 - 0 RC Strasbourg (H)

The first game of the 2009-10 Ligue 2 season was a hard-fought point against promotion-chasing RC Strasbourg

The condition of our players was again an issue as Rene Krhin finished with 50% fitness.

However, we limited Strasbourg to one shot on target for the whole game which is a step int he right direction.

AC Ajaccio 0 - 1 Stade Lavallois (A)

.....................................Ulrich Le Pen 72

A disappointing away defeat to Stade Lavallois was compounded by Jean-Francois Riviere's 5.9 rating. We allowed 17 shots on goal, which points to an issue with our closing down.

Our fitness seems to be getting better with game time. Lowest rating was a 61% fitness today.

AC Ajaccio 0 - 1 Stade Malherbe de Caen (H)

...................................Ludovic Clement 26

A shocking 1-0 home defeat by Caen, was for the fact that we had one shot on target in the whole game and only 4 shots overall, compared to Caen's 23!

Their goal came from a 30 yard free kick.

Elie Dohin, my right back injured himself in the 12th minute and I brought on a 15 year old replacement, who proceeded to get a 5.9

I started off as a 4-1-3-2, however I moved to a 4-4-2 at HT. It didn't seem to work.

I think I may start with 4-4-2 from now on, just to try and get some goal-scoring opportunities.

Good luck with this.

What are you hoping to achieve first season?

oh and by the way, the thread title? Shocking.

Good luck with this.

What are you hoping to achieve first season?

oh and by the way, the thread title? Shocking.

Not getting relegated!

And there's nothing wrong with the title!

Main aim is to get to Albacete.

AC Ajaccio 1 - 1 FC Metz (A)

Dawid Nowak 6...........Vincent Bressat 79

Our first goal of the season came from our new striker. A long ball forward was flicked on by Riviere and Nowak finished crisply into the corner.

The equaliser was bad play by Robles, who conceded at his near post

The game was extremely equal, with shots, possession and everything other major stat was almost equal.

We played a withdrawn 4-2-4

This seemed to get us a lot more movement forward and suited our players.

There is still time in the transfer window, so I'm trying to get in some new wingers.

Coupe de Ligue Second Round

AC Ajaccio 0 - 2 Clermont Foot Auvergne 63 (A)

.....................................Nicolas Haquin 19

.....................................Ahmed Madouni 44

A disappointing 2-0 defeat for us. Although I had no expectations of getting through, the way in which we surrendered so meekly was bad. 4 players under 6.0 and we let 26 shots against us.

The first goal came from us not man-marking the lone opposition ST like I should have done and the second was hesitancy from Luis Robles in not coming for a hanging cross.

We really need to find a formation that's going to work. I think I'm going to have to do a 4-5-1, which I hate and never use

Think Robles is going to be dropped for the next game, as he's not performed to the standard I need.

Two new signings debuted in this game, AMLC Zezeto from Metalist Kharkiv for £600k and D/WB/AMR Miroslav Radovic for £110k from Legia Warsaw.

Ligue 2

AC Ajaccio 0 - 0 Havre AC (H)

The much-vaunted 4-5-1 made it's first appearance in this game and it seemed to have a good effect as we drew 0-0 with fifth placed Le Havre.

However, again, creating goal-scoring opportunities was a problem as we only mustered 4 shots all game and only one on target.

Laurent Quievreux played instead of Robles and promptly walked away with the MOM award. Interesting.

Ligue 2 Transfer Deadline

A quiet end to the transfer window for me, as I offloaded DC Mickael Charvet to Le Havre for £130k and GK Thierry Debes for £40k, also to Le Havre.

Mantova took DR Remi Cilla off my hands for £600k, which all went into getting my wage budget down from £11k in the red. However, Cilla won't be out the door til January, due to the lateness of the deal.

A quick look at our stats so far, see us as the lowest scorers in Ligue 2 with one measly goal, but with the joint second-best defensive record with 3 goals conceded.

August 2010

17th AC Ajaccio: P5 W0 D3 L2 F1 A3 3pts

Ligue 2

AC Ajaccio 1 - 0 Dijon FCO (H)

Dawid Nowak 20

Our first win of the season came from a goal that had shades of Andrey Arshavin's wonder goal against Blackburn IRL. Dawid Nowak skipped two tackles, ran up the byline and then hammered a shot into the roof of the net past the Dijon keeper at his near post!

We had 20 shots on goal, however 7 long shots that were all off target. We limited Dijon to only 6 shots, none of which were on target.

It seems that we've turned the corner, but I'm not going to subscribe to that theory until we get a few more results.

Ligue 2

AC Ajaccio 4 - 1 Angers SCO (A)

Dawid Nowak 33, 87..............Obbadi 52 (pen)

Simon Feindouno 71

Zezeto 90

And success breeds success as we thump 17th-placed Angers SCO 4-1!

Dawid Nowak thumped home a volley in the 33rd minute, thanks to good work from debutant AMR Jose Vitor. And despite some pressure, we held on well against the Angers attacks for the rest of the first half and went in comfortably one up.

The lead lasted 6 mins in the second half and Carl Medjani hauled down an Angers player during a mad corner scramble and they dispatched the resulting penalty. 1-1.

I immediately reacted by changing to my 4-2-4 and subbing DM Thomas Deruda for AMR/FC Simon Feindouno. This, coupled with a double substitution 10 mins later consisting of DM Sebastien Grigori and AMLC Marko Perovic for Carl Medjani and Jose Vitor, was what won me the game.

In the 71st minute, Nowak slung over a high looping cross and Feindouno slammed in a header to give us back the lead. Cue much celebration by the manager!!

Nowak then got the better of an injured Angers DC in the 87th minute and was given the freedom of the opposition half to slot the ball past the keeper. 3-1 and I was in heaven! But we wasn't finished and an errant pass let in Marko Perovic, who stood the ball up for a marauding Zezeto to bullet a header into the net.

I was really pleased with our side in this game, with the reaction to the changes and performances and, if I'm honest, I'm pleased with myself too!

Ligue 2

AC Ajaccio 2 - 3 Tours FC (A)

Sebastien Grigori 59, 79.......Abuda 13

.............................................Ali Gherieni 89

.............................................Yannick Yenga 90+2

Utterly, utterly devastated is the only way I can describe how I feel at this result.

Tours were third coming into this game and again, the 4-5-1 worked well enough, however our defence were slow to react to the through ball and they went 1-0 up.

MC Grigori restored parity in the second half with a rasping 30 yard strike. I again swapped to a 4-2-4 and brought on the same players that helped me in the last game.

When Grigori's second long-range strike went in, I thought it was again going to be my day. However, a shot from a corner went in off DR Elie Dohin to make it 2-2. Dohin was again at fault for their winner getting caught out for pace as Yenga went past him and powered a shot into the far corner.

The lack of pace in our defence really was exposed in this match, especially as in the pre-match meeting I was told to play a higher defensive line. This advice I ignored as I felt that it was suicide.

There were things I could have done to avert this, perhaps change to a 4-4-2 from the 4-4-2, go to Contain and Retain Possession, instead of trying to hit them on the counter when they went to a traditional 4-2-4. I'll certainly learn from this as it was a heart-breaker of a defeat.

Dohin is being fined and possibly transfer-listed for his 4.6. Really, really annoyed!

Ligue 2

AC Ajaccio 2 - 2 CS Sedan-Ardennes (H)

Zezeto 57..............................Sidibe 66

Dawid Nowak 62....................Lasimant 90+3

GGAAAAHHHH!!! For the second time in two games we concede an injury-time goal. This one was against the leaders Sedan. They'd only conceded 3 goals all season up to this point, so I took notice of my Ass Man's recommendation that I play narrower. So I lined up in a 4-1-3-2 formation.

We traded Sedan chance for chance and hit the post early on through Nowak's clever shot on the turn.

0-0 at HT and I was pleased with my team and thought we could win.

On 57 mins, Nowak slid the ball through for a suspiciously-offside looking Zezeto to put us 1-0 up. I tweaked and made us slightly more defensive and counter-attacking. Then on 62 mins, a through ball from defence found Nowak with the freedom of the Sedan half and he tucked it away with aplomb. 2-0 up and I'm gaping at the scoreline.

I man mark their AML/AMR and two ST's, yet on 66mins, a cheeky reverse pass sees one of their unheralded MC's gallop through and make it 2-1. It was annoying, as I hadn't considered him a threat and so therefore had not sorted out any instruction for him.

We continue to look dangerous on the break, yet deep into injury time, a corner is headed out and they lash in a 30 yard shot to equalise. Again, it was something that hadn't happened all game and I should have accounted for it.

Robles came back into the starting lineup and played well enough. Dohin was dropped, yet took his week's fine for poor performance like a man.

Nowak's goal put him into the Ligue 2 Top Goalscorers chart with 5. He also leads the league in MOM awards with 4.

At the end of the month, we look like this.

September 2010

14th AC Ajaccio: P9 W2 D4 L3 F10 A9 10pts

Ligue 2

AC Ajaccio 0 - 3 SC Bastia (A)

Thomas Deruda s/o 70.........Xavier Pentecote 2, 63 (pen)

............................................Fabrice Jau 44

I read the riot act to my players after this game. We were utterly bossed out of this game with our bitter rivals.

The writing was on the wall in the first minute when they slung in a cross and headed it past Robles. We had a few chances, but nothing was forthcoming.

Again, my lack of foresight in marking the MC's was exposed when their MC broke through and slotted home for #2.

HT arrived, and all the defence were in the 5.4-5.6 range. So I was 'angry' at everyone and sent them back out. It took 15 mins for the bollocking I gave them to stop registering as Jean-Phillippe Sabo decided to run over someone in the area and we were 3-0 down.

Shameful as it is to say, I'd given up by that point and we meandered to the finish, taking in a stupid sending off by Deruda, for his second yellow.

Again, Ass Man's report said that they play well against normal width. So I used the 4-1-3-2 again. I think I need to cultivate a wide formation. Deruda will get a warning for his sending off and I think I'll change Robles in goal too.

Ligue 2

AC Ajaccio 2 - 3 FC Nantes (H)

Zezeto 25..............................Monsef Zerka 10

Simon Feindouno 84..............Henry Quinteros 67

.............................................Jean-Claude Darcheville 90+3

Another game, another 90+ minute winner scored against us.

However this game was a little different. We had 9 first team players out injured or unavailable. This included an entire first choice midfield line. My subs were three AMR's, a DC and an injured DM

We were forced to go with the 4-1-3-2 again, due to the narrow pitch and, on seeing Zerka hadn't scored for 385 mins, I paid special attention to marking him.

It didn't matter as a deflection off Carl Medjani put the ball into his path with an open goal gaping and he gobbled it up.

Zezeto slammed in a rocket from the box to equalise and we kept testing the Nantes keeper, but he was equal to everything. Nantes then took the lead with a soft goal that trickled through Quievreux's hands. 2-1 down and Medjani's rating at 4.3, I took him off and played the AMR through the middle.

The game ebbed and flowed until Jean-Phillippe Sabo, who also had a terrible rating of 5.1, sent in a deep cross for Simon Feinduono to smash the ball past their keeper in the 84th minute.

With all my midfield at 60% or less and having no subs for them, I defended for my life and prayed. It wasn't answered as another long-range shot was blocked, but the rebound fell to a wide open Nantes player who scored.

I'm really, really annoyed we lost to ANOTHER 90+ goal, but that's tempered by the fact we had 9 first-team players out. I'm really hoping we can pick up again soon!

Ligue 2

AC Ajaccio 2 - 1 En Avant de Guingamp (A)

Dawid Nowak 47...................Grax 60

Jose Vitor 63

What a welcome win that was. Gone was the 4-1-3-2 that had been used recently and in came the withdrawn 4-2-4. Plan was to attack from the off! I told them to do it for the supporters for a team talk.

First half saw them have more efforts, more possession and just more of the game.

HT, and I thought the game was there for the taking, we played wider and dropped deeper and barely two minutes after the restart, Dawid Nowak popped up to finish after a goalmouth scramble.

They immediately went to 4-4-2 from 4-2-3-1, so I changed to Counter and marked the newly-brought on striker.

However, that second attack focal point meant that their original striker, after being superbly marshalled in the first half, was left free and he powered home a 20 yard strike to bring them level.

However, AMR Jose Vitor waltzed through two challenges at the edge of the 18 yard box before rolling a shot which hit both post before trickling in to put us 2-1 up in the 63rd minute.

We then were awarded a penalty after a clumsy challenge on Carl Medjani, but Zezeto put this penalty against the woodwork.

Guingamp pushed hard for an equaliser, completely dominating us in the final 10 minutes, but we held strong for once!

Players were forced into the team just after injury and our fitness at the end was shameful, no-one over 70%. This really needs looking at and I'm going to uprate our fitness training as soon as possible.

Jean-Phillipe Sabo had another game to forget and I'm really starting to wonder about him being what I need in the DL position. Finally Stade De Reims came in with a £120k bid for AMR Christopher Kinkala, who's not in my plans at all!

Ligue 2 ..........23.10.2009

AC Ajaccio 2 - 0 AC Arles Avignon (H)

Zezeto 45+1

Dawid Nowak 77

Jose Vitor missed pen 43

A good win against Ligue 2's basement side was had here.

We started with the withdrawn 4-2-4 again, however it took us til the 41st minute to get our first shot on target. Minutes later, Zezeto danced into the box and was tripped. Jose Vitor stepped up and put the ball against the inside of the right-hand post. Another missed penalty.

Luckily, with HT approaching fast, Zezeto finished strongly to put us one up at the break.

We'd played well, but we just weren't putting the opposition to the sword like I wanted. So I told them all I was disappointed and sent them back out.

We had 7 blocked shots in the second half and finally Dawid Nowak sealed the deal with a low finish. Our fitness was much better this game, with only 3 players below 70% fitness (who were subbed on about 65mins).

AMR Christopher Kinkela's been shipped out to Reims for £120k and I'm monitoring Zezinho from Juventude as his loan to Santos finishes in December. I'll need £1.5m to tear him away.

I've also been drawn away against CFA-D side US Orleans in the Seventh round of the French Cup.

Last two so far to come in have been ST Dawid Nowak

You sure that was a good idea? He is the most injury prone player ever!

You sure that was a good idea? He is the most injury prone player ever!

So far, he's my top scorer and not been injured once

Ligue 2

30.10.2009

AC Ajaccio 3 - 1 Stade Brestois 29 (A)

Jose Vitor 38.........................Socrier 10

Dawid Nowak 63

Zezeto 68

Miroslav Radovic s/o 79

A good away win for us in this game.

I followed my Ass Man's advice to the letter in this game, changing to a 4-5-1, slowing the tempo, playing wider and having a higher defensive line. I wished the team luck in the team-talk and then shouted for us to Control, Play Wider, Push Up, Retain Possession and Play Ball To Feet.

However, I'm definitely going to stop trying to mark out players who are on barren scoring runs, as the Brest player who was on his scored against me, despite him being marked tightly

However Jose Vitor headed us level after a mistake from their keeper in coming for a cross and we went in at the break at 1-1.

Coming out, I changed the two wingers to Inside Forwards and it paid off as a wonderful through ball put Dawid Nowak through to put us 2-1 up. 5 minutes later, Nowak slipped the ball to my 15 year old full back Frederic Landreau, who slid a slide-rule pass through for Zezeto to finish sweetly into the bottom corner.

We then shut the game down and, although Radovic was sent off for his second yellow, we really didn't look troubled.

My 15 year old DRL is a start of the game regen and he's being coveted by teams like Arsenal, but he's far too good to let go, so I hope he'll stay for a long time. With Dohin's cruciate injury last month, he's in the driving seat. My only worry is burn out. Radovic will be dropped after serving his ban and we'll have to see if he can get back in. I've also picked up CFA-B's Pau FC as a feeder club.

And our progress so far?

October 2009

10th AC Ajaccio: P14 W5 D4 L5 F19 A17 19pts

So far, he's my top scorer and not been injured once

Which is not reflective of real life, as I don't believe I have heard of a month where he was not injured in the Polish Ekstraklasa! It is also the reason he has no caps for the national team despite being a really good striker, HE IS NEVER FIT to play for the national team!

In the game he has an injury pronency of:

but IMO it should be

I spoilered them in case you did not want to see hidden stats.

Not to mention his low Stamina and Natural Fitness.

Not to mention his low Stamina and Natural Fitness.

Yeah, the low Natural Fitness is a bugger! As is the Stamina, but I've got him on a special program and hopefully it will help!

Ligue 2

6.10.2009

AC Ajaccio 0 - 2 La Berrichonne de Chateauroux (H)

............................................Luis Robles o.g 68

............................................Titi Buengo 90+1 (pen)

A horrible game that was compounded by the fact it was my own fault (and PolskaGOLA jinxing me!!!)

We started with the 4-5-1 again, which was horribly ineffective. We did not have one shot on target this game, this against a team that was 7 places below us.

Dawid Nowak decided to get himself injured in the 12th minute and, unthinkingly, I put Jean-Francois Rouviere on. This was a bad idea, as Rouviere had neither the pace, nor the finishing to play the lone striker.

After 35 mins, there had been one off-target shot by Chateauroux and that was the whole sum of action.

HT came and went, with the mantra of 'You can win today!'

I decided I wanted more pace up front, so subbed Rouviere and bought on Perovic, moving Zezeto up front and went more attacking.

This changed nothing. And on 68 mins, Luis Robles 'did a Fabianski' and palmed a corner into his own net.

We huffed and puffed and nothing happened, then finally, in injury time as usual, we conceded a penalty and the Chateauroux striker who, as usual, had a barren streak over 500 mins slotted home the penalty.

Absolutely rubbish. A lot of the blame lies with me for not selecting the right formation, for bringing on, then subbing Rouviere and for not being able to adapt to a bad game.

Nowak is only out for 3-4 weeks thankfully, so that is a silver lining.

Ligue 2

13.11.2009

AC Ajaccio 2 - 2 FC Istres OP (A)

Zezeto 48..............................Rafik Saifi 29

Jean-Francois Riviere 90.......Mamadou Doumbia 54

A good comeback from us in this match. Nowak's injury in the last game meant I was starting with Simon Feindouno in the lone striker's position on the 4-5-1 I was using. We had no other injuries so to speak, so we were mostly at full strenth

However, a cross field pass split our defence in the 28th minute and the pass back across found the Istres striker free to slot home the opener.

We huffed and puffed, but nothing came of our endeavours until HT.

I sympathised with the team and changed to the withdrawn 4-2-4, Riviere came on in the target man role and we instantly looked a lot brighter. The equaliser came 3 mins after the restart, as Rene Krhin's laser-guided through ball found Zezeto cutting in and he cut across the keeper and slotted home.

Istres re-took the lead with a header from a corner which seemed to evade Landreau on the near post.

We attacked, but the Istres keeper was equal to everything we could throw at him. One last throw of the dice on 90 mins saw us go full on 4-2-4 and the ball was played down the left to Perovic who sent in a dangerous low cross. And outpacing everyone in order to slam the ball into the net was Jean-Francois Riviere. A perfect answer to my lack of confidence in him. 2-2. Amazing!

We've now got 8 players out injured now Ranging from 9 days to 9 months . So I signed the amusingly nick-named AM/FC Potato on a free as a cover.

Looks good, but you've been plagued with injuries

How are you faring in the league?

Looks good, but you've been plagued with injuries

How are you faring in the league?

12th in Ligue 2, 17th is the minimum placing.

French Cup Seventh Round

21.11.2009

AC Ajaccio 2 - 2 U.S Orléans (5-6 on pens) (A)

Potato 12...............................Garry Franchi 4

Zezeto 45..............................Valérian Peslier 57

Sebastian Grigori m/pen 75..Garry Franchi s/o 82

A really disappointing defeat, even with 8 players out injured.

Playing the withdrawn 4-2-4 with an attacking mentality, I told the lads I expected a win.

This did not go to plan as we conceded a goal from a corner after 4 minutes

However, new signing Potato put us level with a sweet finish from a Sebastien Grigori through-ball. Potato was excellent all night as he made some great runs. Although his stats aren't the best, he'll do as a backup for Nowak and Riviere.

It was after his great work that Zezeto finished on the rebound to put us 2-1 up on the stroke of HT.

However, only being 2-1 up at half-time, I told the players I was disappointed and sent them back out.

Again, we were undone by a deflection off one of our defenders as the flick off Fournier saw the Orléans striker poke the ball in to level the match at 2-2.

We were awarded a penalty on 75 minutes, but as our season has gone so far, Grigori put the ball too close to the keeper and we missed yet another penalty.

A horror tackle on Potato was rewarded with a straight red for the Orleans player, but we couldn't break through and ET beckoned.

Again, we couldn't finish the tie off and it went to penalties. We netted the first, but Justice Wamfor's penalty was well-saved. Orleans then blasted the ball over the bar. We traded penalties until our seventh penalty when Remi Fournier stepped up and blasted wide.

I didn't really pay enough attention to this match, so a defeat was all I deserved really. But it's still annoying!

Ligue 2

24.11.2009

AC Ajaccio 4 - 4 Clermont Foot Auvergne 63 (H)

Zezeto 22.............................Lois Arnaud 55, 74

Remi Fournier 53, 81............Nicolas Haquin 88

Sebastien Grigori 77 (pen)...Jerome Ceillier 90+4

To describe myself as disappointed at this game would be a massive understatement

The pre-game advice said that Clermont played well against a high-tempo, deep 4-4-2. So I went with a normal 4-5-1. Potato again, leading the line. I also changed my corner routine.

And my changes proved he was right as Zezeto burst through to score a placed shot in the 22nd minute. Clermont complained of offside, however Potato (who WAS offside) had no input into the play.

HT came and I encouraged them to continue playing as they were.

On 53 mins, the corner routine was a success as a lofted ball found Remi Fournier to bullet a header into the net. 2-0 up and coasting. However, Fournier was AGAIN the unlucky target of a bad deflection as the Clermont striker burst through the middle, Medjani's tackle dispossessed him, however the ball bounced off Fournier and left the striker a gift to finish.

A slow start to step up led to Clermont equalising in the 74th minute. The defence's communcation was slow and Clermont beat the trap and equalised.

Barely two minutes later however, Clermont conceded a penalty after a rash tackle and Sebastien Grigori stepped up to finish coolly into the right-hand side to put us 3-2 up.

3-2 became 4-2 in the 81st minute as Fournier buried another header from a corner and I changed the most exhausted players and the tactics to shut down the game. Contain, Retain Possession, Pass To Feet and Take Less Risks.

The Clermont strikers combined to finish low into the corner in the 88th minute, despite being suspiciously offside, to pull it back to 4-3, so I man-marked everyone and prayed.

It didn't work, as after conceding a corner in the 93rd minute (the last minute of AT), their central defender sent a header into the far corner in the 94th minute

ANOTHER 90+ minute goal conceded. I'm getting really tired of this now. Simply as we're limited to just 5 subs rotating with the first team until the rest of the injured players return.

I try to shut it down, however we just don't have the fitness to do it, without the players to rotate. I don't know what I'm going to do, simply as the loans made earlier in the season by the previous administration mean that I can't loan anyone else and I don't want to buy, when I have a lot of players coming back!!

Ligue 2

27.11.2009

AC Ajaccio 0 - 1 Nimes Olympique (A)

.............................................Johnathan Ayite 17 (pen)

This was again, a frustrating defeat. It was made worse by the stat that we had one shot all game

Again starting with the slow-playing 4-5-1, we were utterly outplayed by Nimes who had a barrage of shots on goal, including an amazing 4 shots against the bar.

Carl Medjani conceded the penalty, which Nimes duly converted and their dominance was complete. They went to a flat 5-3-2 afterwards. So what I did at HT was tell our team to buck their ideas up and then changed to a 4-1-3-2, which was a stupid idea I realised, as they were solid all through the middle, so I changed again to the deep 4-2-4 in the 80th minute and tried to throw the ball forward. To no avail

The team were exhausted as it was only 3 days between this and the heartbreaker against Clermont. God I need some players back!!

November 2009

12th AC Ajaccio P18 W5 D6 L7 F25 A26 21pts

Ligue 2

4.12.2009

AC Ajaccio 1 - 2 Vannes OC (H)

Simon Feindouno 4 (pen)......Valéry Mézague 25

Remi Cilla s/o 86...................Erwan Quintin 87

Well, that's utterly gutting.

We went into this game with the attacking 4-2-4, as the pre-match report said they struggled against it.

It seemed like the perfect start as Vannes conceded a penalty within 4 mins and Simon Feindouno stroked the penalty home for his first goal in over 400 minutes of play.

We conceded a free-kick on the half-way line in the 25th minute and a long ball sent over was headed in by the Vannes midfielder, over the mis-jump of Leyti N'Diaye, in for the suspended Medjani.

We battled hard, but come the 60th minute, we had Rene Krhin down to 60%, so I bought on Sebastien Grigori as a replacement.

Come the 84th minute, there were two with green crosses next to their names, down to 60%. So I swapped the recently-booked Cilla to LB (I don't have any more cover there) and bought on Radovic at RB. Next was the injured Marko Perovic, who was replaced by Jose Vitor, with Zezeto swapping to his AML position and Vitor taking the AMR position.

Two minutes later, Cilla ran into the back of a Vannes player and picked up his second yellow. I set my changes and waited for the ME to update. The resulting free-kick was put into the recently vacated left-back position and the Vannes right back rolled the ball into the far corner. 2-1 to them.

We attacked and attacked, but couldn't equalise. A sickening way to lose.

We lost another player to injury, despite getting Dawid Nowak back for this game. We're back on 9 out

Ligue 2

9.12.2009

AC Ajaccio 5 - 0 Stade Lavallois (H)

Dawid Nowak 2, 53

Simon Feindouno 20

Zezeto 25

Leyti N'Diaye 64

A fantastic performance from us today that really made me sit up and take notice.

A fully fit Dawid Nowak was in the starting line up for the first time since his injury and I started the game with the withdrawn 4-2-4, but swapped to the 4-1-3-2 as soon as I clicked as I realised that Laval would struggle against narrow width teams.

However, in the time it took to change the formation, Dawid Nowak put us in front with a lovely finish. 1-0 up and on the formation change, we looked very dangerous. Simon Feindouno then scored a carbon copy of our first to put us 2-0 up.

Nowak then slid a beautiful reverse ball through to Zezeto who squeezed the finish in at the near post. 3-0 up and crusing, I was in heaven!

HT came and I kept my mouth shut, preferring the guys to continue on how they were playing!

And less then 10 minutes into the second half, Feindouno took out two defenders with a gorgeous flick that left Dawid Nowak free to slot home #4.

And my corner method worked again as Leyti N'Diaye headed home #5.

We dropped the tempo and just relaxed through the rest of the game. I was really impressed with how we controlled the tempo throughout the game. Let's hope this is a springboard onto another couple of wins.

Before the match, we put in bids for Columbus' AMLRC Gulliermo Barros Schelotto (£600k) and D/ML Heath Pearce (£250k) from FC Dallas. I also said that Xavi would win World Player Of The Year

Ligue 2

10.12.2009

AC Ajaccio 1 - 4 Stade Mulhere de Caen (A)

Simon Feindouno 27 (pen)....Anthony Deroin 41

.............................................Kasey Wehrman 64

.............................................Kandia Traore 66

.............................................Sambou Yatabare 70

No report for this one. Utterly disgusted. 3 goals in 6 minutes should NEVER happen!

This was a terrible way to finish 2009. Bid for Barros Schelotto was accepted, but he didn't fancy France in winter, it seems and the Heath Pearce bid died because I didn't want to go higher than £250k.

I'm going to have the winter break with the players on a heavy fitness schedule, see if I can get players back before my next game. Thomas Deruda has regained full fitness now, but he'll need some time before he's match fit.

So far Santos haven't made a bid for Zezinho and if his loan ends without a bid for him, I'm right on it. I think I may put Perovic up for sale, he's good, but if I can get in Zezinho in, he'll be the #1 left winger, with Zezeto as back up.

2009

13th AC Ajaccio P21 W6 D6 L9 F32 A32 24pts

Start of January 2010 Transfer Window

I signed Elie Dohin and Remi Fournier to new contracts, whilst leaving the other 5 to expire.

I've just realised that Zezinho's loan finishes in at the END of 2010

So it's all about the waiting game for me

A £600k bid has gone in for Sogndal's Even Hovland, a D/DM/MC who will be very useful to us in the run in.

GK David Jensen, from FC Nordsjaelland, arrived for £3k, as Christopher Kinkala and Remi Cilla both departed.

Ligue 2

15.01.2010

AC Ajaccio 2 - 0 FC Metz

Zezeto 45+2, 63

We responded well to the Christmas break with a good 2-0 win over 9th placed FC Metz

We started out with the 4-1-3-2 as the pre-match report said they do well against the 4-4-2 and wide play.

Jean-Phillippe Sabo had recovered from his torn groin muscle, so he was put in the side and Frederic Landreau was relegated to the subs bench. Thomas Deruda was also in the side for the first time since his injury. I told the players to put in a good performance for the supporters to wipe away the memory of the last defeat and sent them out.

The game started out badly for us, as Metz had a succession of corners and shots in the first half hour. Rene Krhin and Dawid Nowak both sustained minor injuries by then and struggled to finish the half.

Nowak began the move that led to the first goal, his pass to Simon Feindouno was then knocked out to a wide-open Zezeto on the right wing, he cut inside and finished strongly inside the keeper's near post.

1-0 at HT, and as our players mostly had 'Okay' as their morale, I encouraged them to carry on as they were playing.

On 63 mins, a wild clearance from the Metz box fell to Remi Fournier. His short pass found Marko Perovic on the edge of the box. His pass forward was flicked on by Potato and Zezeto lashed in from the edge of the box.

We continued to maraud forward, N'Diaye sent two headers over the bar from corners and Justice Wamfor had two penalty shouts turned down. Finally, the final whistle went and we'd beaten Metz in a great win!!

Luckily Krhin's injury was only for 4 weeks and Nowak appears to have come out unscathed.

Good updates, mate. How many points are you off the play off spots?

Good updates, mate. How many points are you off the play off spots?

14 points

I'm all about beating relegation for a few seasons.

Ligue 2

22.1.2010

AC Ajaccio 0 - 1 Havre AC (A)

.............................................Kevin Anin 13

An extremely average performance against one of the top sides in this division.

We started off with the withdrawn 4-2-4 and were punished in the 13th minute as the Havre player headed in from a corner. We had the ball in the net through Perovic, however, the strike was ruled out for offside.

After this, it was a very dull game. I chose to encourage at HT, but we didn't perform.

Marko Perovic was injured and taken off in the 54th minute, but even that failed to inspire us and we coasted to the finish in second gear.

Perovic's injury meant he was out for 5 weeks and joins Gregori, Vitor, Krhin and long-term victim Elie Dohin on the treatment table.

Ligue 2

29.1.2010

AC Ajaccio 3 - 3 Angers SCO (H)

Dawid Nowak 19, 29.............Jamal Alioui 8

Leyti N'Diaye 71....................Anthony Modeste 16

.............................................Claudio Keseru 90 (pen)

Gahh! Another frustrating draw.

We lined up in a 4-5-1 as the pre-match report said Angers struggled against this formation. Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi signed a new contract with us a day or two before the match and he went straight into the subs for the first time this season due to injuries to Krhin and Gregori's lack of fitness. I told the guys to do it for the supporters and sent them out.

However, the start was not quite as we wanted it as the Angers full-back thumped home an offside-looking header to put Angers 1-0 up in the 8th minute. 8 minutes later, the Angers top-scoring striker beat the offside trap and put them 2-0 to the good.

I was angry and changed the dynamic of the side and tried to sub Pierazzi for Gregori as he was down to 62% fitness by the 19th minute. However, I screwed it up and subbed Justice Wamfor instead. Feck.

I then subbed Gregori for Letyi N'Diaye and moved Carl Medjani from DC to DM.

This seemed to galvanise us and Dawid Nowak finished low under the keeper to pull back a goal for us. Then 10 minutes later in the 29th minute, a lobbed in cross by Simon Feindouno had the defence in all sorts of trouble and Nowak pounced to equalise and pull us level at 2-2.

HT came and I gee'd the team by telling them that they could win this game.

The second half and we took the lead for the first time with a N'Diaye header from a corner in the 71st minute. All was working smoothly until Pierazzi took down a Angers player in the area in the 90th minute and the Angers player finished easily.

Another 90 min goal and loss of two points, but it was my own fault for screwing up the substitution early on in the game.

End of January 2010 Transfer Window

A busy-ish transfer window for us closed at midnight, with only two players coming in directly, the afore-mentioned David Jensen and MC Lars Henrik Andreassen on a free from Tromso. Andreassen is now the most expensive player in the team at £1.7m!

However, we've been extremely busy on the Bosman front, with no less than 4 players coming in to join us in the summer, along with Matteo Darmian and Genero Zeefuik.

Those players were D/WBL Nicoló Buono from Sampdoria, ST Adriano (no, not that one) from Braga, DL Jonas Elmer from Aarau and GK Lionel Letizi from OGC Nice.

This will solve a lot of our problems next season, as long as we can keep this up and not get relegated.

Sales-wise, joining Remi Cilla and Christian Kinkela in departing the club were DC Yoann Pulard off to Salernitana for £40k and ST Jean-Francois Riviere shipped off to Aarau on £22k. Finally, MC Quentin Lucas departed the club for £35k to Scunthorpe.

Biggest transfer in Ligue 2 was DRC Jérémy Sorbon leaving Stade Malherbe de Caen for Girondins Bordeaux for £2.5m and the biggest transfers in the rest of Europe was a triple swoop for Man City, who bought Luka Modric for £30m, Oleg Gusev for £20m and Aaron Lennon for £17m

Jan 2010

13th AC Ajaccio P24 P7 P7 L10 F37 A36 28pts

Ligue 2

5.2.2010

AC Ajaccio 4 - 1 Dijon FCO (A)

Dawid Nowak 1, 63, 84.........Miguel Rodrigues 26

Zezeto 39

Yowsers! We do the double over Dijon this season with a thumping 4-1 away win! Pre-game report states that they struggle against a high-defensive line and 4-5-1, so we go in with that very formation and style. Lars Henrik Andreassen makes his first appearance for the club after signing on a free from Tromso

And we got off the the perfect start after only a minute, when good harrying work by Simon Feindouno led to a through ball for Dawid Nowak to run on to and he didn't miss! 1-0 inside a minute!

However, Letyi N'Diaye, in the starting lineup due to Remi Fourner's suspension, inexplicably dawdled on the ball and the Dijon player picked his pocket and finished easily! Sheer madness!

However, the dominance of our play means that Justice Wamfor's through ball found Zezeto cutting in from the left and he slid the ball under the keeper for 2-1.

HT, and I told the guys to keep going. Rene Krhin was again substituted through lack of fitness and Thomas Deruda brought on.

Our spell of dominance continued and on 63 minutes, Jean-Phillippe Sabo's cross found the head of Nowak and he guided the header into the corner. 3-1.

10 minutes later, I brought on Potato for Simon Feindouno and went to a 4-1-3-2 formation to see out the game.

However there was still time left to score, as Potato's beautifully weighted through ball found Nowak in plenty of space and he completed his hat-trick with a rolled finish past the despairing Dijon keeper.

Andreassen did well on his debut and I expect big things from him!

Ligue 2

12.2.2010

AC Ajaccio 3 - 2 Tours FC (H)

Dawid Nowak 9.....................Serge Gakpé 5

Roman Genevois o.g 34.........Gaetan Englebert 65

Remi Fournier 50 ..................Karim Saidi s/o 76

Another good win against a club higher up in the league than me.

Pre-match gave me no indications as to what to play, so I decided to play through the middle with our 4-1-3-2. Simon Feindouno hasn't scored for over 400mins, but I gave him the target man role next to Dawid Nowak.

However, we again conceded an early goal as both my DC's ran towards their striker and he slipped in his partner to finish in the corner.

We equalised four minutes later, as Lars Andreasson hit a thunderous strike from 30 yards which the keeper spilled and Dawid Nowak gratefully snapped up the rebound.

Then came the trading of long shots going over the bar. We had a lot of possession, but just wasn't creating anything. Then, in the 34th minute, a corner was sent in from the left and Remi Fournier's header was cleared off the line by a Tours defender. However, it was cleared into the back of another Tours defender and the ball ricocheted back over the line. 2-1 up.

HT came up and I encouraged the team to keep playing like that and to try to make the game safe. Krhin looked like he was struggling, so I was going to give him 15 mins and yank him off.

5 minutes after the restart, we won a free kick around 25 yards from goal. Dawid Nowak stepped up and curled a shot over the ball and onto the foot of the post, the Tours keeper nowhere near it. The ball came out to an unmarked and on-rushing Remi Fournier who slammed the ball into the net. 3-1.

On 58 mins, an ugly challenge on Dawid Nowak saw his condition drop to 56% and a yellow card for the Tours player. Not wanting to risk him, I immediately subbed him, Rene Krhin and Lars Andreasson for Potato, Sebastien Gregori and Leyti N'Diaye. Carl Medjani then moved up to the DM role, to accomodate N'Diaye at DC.

Then we gave away a free kick 25 yards out and Tours took advantage, their player curling it into the far corner to make it 3-2 in the 64th minute.

Then, in the 76th minute, the player that had been booked for the challenge on Nowak. scythed through Potato as he was running through the center and the referee had no hesitation in pulling out a straight red. Commentary on the replay suggests it wasn't a straight red, but he was gone no matter what.

We shut the game down from there and rode the game out for the win.

This result rocketed us up to 10th place and did wonders for our confidence. Zezeto picked up his third yellow card however and will miss our next game.

Ligue 2

19.2.2010

AC Ajaccio 3 - 6 CS Sedan-Ardennes (A)

Dawid Nowak 18...................Eyemen Henaini 7, 36, 51

José Vítor 58........................Alexis Allart 29

Leyti N'Diaye 82...................Andrey Tikhonov 57

............................................Luis Robles o.g 71

............................................Dijbril Sidibe s/o 54

Humiliating. Completely and utterly humilitating. I cringed as I changed stuff throughout this match.

I made the STUPID mistake of going with a formation I hadn't used this season, when it said Sedan struggled against a 4-4-2, I went with a 4-4-2. And boy, did I suffer for it.

Sedan's first goal came in the 7th minute, a classic through ball shredding my defence and their striker finished easily.

However, we fought back and a beautiful cross-field ball from Radovic found Dawid Nowak on the edge of the area. He ran into the area, with the defender shepherding him away, before turning sharply, cutting in and finishing low at the near post. It's possibly the best goal I've seen scored this season by us! 1-1

Then we fell apart. A free-kick just inside our half was taken and we switched off, allowing the Sedan striker to score. And, as ever, he hadn't scored in over 900 minutes of play

Then in the 36th minute, another complete miscommunication on a through ball meant that the first Sedan striker to score was again left utterly free to slot home for 3-1.

HT, and I was angry at ALL of my players. I gave them a flea in their ear and set them back out.

Rene Krhin was again bought off at HT after a bad tackle lowered his condition, Justice Wamfor was his replacement.

5 minutes after the restart and the freedom of the middle of the park was given and the Sedan striker completed his hat-trick from 20 yards with the defence just standing there. 4-1.

In the 54th minute, after yet another bad tackle in the middle of the park by Sedan, their player picked up his second yellow and was sent off.

That was the sign to attack as much as possible. I went to 4-1-3-2 and concentrated everything on getting up top. Simon Feindouno was taken off, his goal drought still continuing, and Potato was bought on.

This didn't go according to plan, after only 3 minutes, as a wide ball into the box landed at a Sedan player's feet and he evaded two tackles to finish from a tight angle. 5-1 and I was ready to turn the whole thing off.

However, straight from the kick-off, José Vítor was put through by Andreassen and finished to pull it back to 5-2 and give us a glimmer of hope with 30 mins still to play.

10 minutes later, Remi Fournier was left in a crumpled heap and needed to be taken off. Leyti N'Diaye was bought on as his replacement. It was going from bad to worse.

Humiliation was complete, 3 minutes later as from a Sedan corner, the ball headed back in was caught and taken over the line by Luis Robles as he lost his balance. 6-2.

Carl Medjani was also injured in the 79th minute and, having used all three subs, I had to improvise. It was 10 vs 10.

There was still time for Leyti N'Diaye to bullet in a header from a corner on 82 minutes and for Nowak to hit the inside of the far post, but the damage was done.

I think I would have preferred not scoring at all in the end. Simply as it gives the illusion that the game was even slightly close. All the defence scored less than 5.5 and Robles was 6.1.

Fournier will be out for 3 weeks and Medjani only sustained a dead leg so he'll just be out for a week. Some serious work is needed and NOT using that 4-4-2 again will help!

Ligue 2

26.2.2010

AC Ajaccio 2 - 2 SC Bastia (H)

Dawid Nowak 34...................Vitaly Rodionov 13

Justice Wamfor 90+2...........Xavier Pentecote 88

Well, this was a victory of sorts considering the last game and the last result against Bastia (0-3!!)

We stuck with the 4-1-3-2 and put in a 90% fit Medjani in the defence because he was the best we had! Krhin was relegated to the bench and Sebastian Gregori was back. Also back in the first XI was Zezeto, after his ban finished.

I told the team to do it for the supporters and sent them out. We started brightly and had a few shots on goal, nothing particularly threatening however.

In the 13th minute, Radovic lost the ball at the halfway line, the Sedan player hared off down the wing and sent over a glorious cross to the far post where the Sedan striker bulleted in a header with aplomb. 0-1.

I had faith that we could do better though, and left it as it was. And in the 34th minute, I was rewarded when a long ball out from the back found Simon Feindouno on the right wing. He cut in and slipped the ball to Dawid Nowak, who took a touch and slammed it into the roof of the net from 6 yards. 1-1.

HT came and I told the boys to continue to making the supporters proud and to carry on. Radovic made the mistake for the first goal and he hadn't played well at all so I took him off and replaced him with Frederic Landreau, my 16 year old starlet.

We were also struggling with ratings as only two players in the team were over 6.6 by that point.

The second half started dully, and continued to be as bad throughout. First incident of note was Jean-Phillippe Sabo's booking for a foul on the left. Sabo would finish with a rating of 5.5 . Quiéveroux made some good stops from the Bastia strikers and I made my last two subs, bringing on Rene Krhin and Potato for Dawid Nowak (again due to a crunching tackle) and Sebastien Gregori.

The game burst into life in the 88th minute as Krhin's trackback and tackle was woeful and the resulting ball left the Bastia striker to round the keeper and make it 2-1 to Bastia. I raised my eyes to the heavens in exasperation.

However, as the clock ticked past 90 mins, a ball from Landreau found Potato in the middle. His ball out to the wing was perfect for Feindouno who sent over a deep cross which was met powerfully by Justice Wamfor who planted a powerful header in the far corner! 90+2 mins! Finally we got a measure of revenge against all the teams that scored 90+ goals against us!

Quite happy with the result, but not the performance. 10 games left to go and I'm hoping for a top 10 spot, but just not being in the bottom 3 would make me really happy!

Feb 2010

12th AC Ajaccio P28 W9 D8 L11 F49 A47 35pts

As an aside, have some stats

Top Scorers

Dawid Nowak........18

Zezeto......................12

Simon Feindouno...5

Top Assists

Simon Feindouno...7

Marko Perovic..........4

Dawid Nowak..........4

Ligue 2

8.3.2010

AC Ajaccio 0 - 1 FC Nantes (A)

....................................Djamel Abdoun 57

Another game where the score really doesn't reflect the game.

We played a high defensive line and a slow tempo'd 4-5-1 to combat Nantes, in combination with the offside trap, which I don't like to use much, but this game needed it.

The only problem was that we had nothing up front. We had one shot all game.

HT came and I told them to just go out and enjoy themsleves.

The first incident of note was a booking for a Nantes player, two minutes after the restart.

Nantes took the lead in the 57th minute, the Nantes right winger finding himself in oceans of space in the box and finishing nicely.

I made a double substitution in the 69th minute, Sebastien Gregori and Justice Wamfor off for Rene Krhin and Thomas Deruda.

We were desperately mediocre today and it'll take a lot to pull us up after the last 3 games

Ligue 2

12.3.2010

AC Ajaccio 0 - 3 En Avant de Guingamp (H)

Leyti N'Diaye s/o 18..............Christian Bassila 39

.............................................Bakary Koné 65

.............................................Christophe Avezac 74

It's getting embarrassing now..

At home again, so I went for the 4-1-3-2. Dawid Nowak was out with food poisoning so I went with Potato up front. Remi Fournier had recovered, but was only given a place on the bench.

Any hopes of getting anything out of this game was utterly dashed when Leyti N'Diaye decided to scythe down the on-rushing Guingamp striker as he was clean through. N'Diaye rightly walked and we had a mountain to climb. I immediately brought on Fournier for Potato and went to a variation of 4-5-1.

Guingamp finally broke our resistance with a header from a corner by their DC in the 39th minute.

At HT, I told them to relax and just play as I didn't expect anything out of the game.

Thomas Deruda was playing badly in the middle, so I subbed him for Justice Wamfor in the 50th minute. They clearly took my half-time team-talk to heart as they left the full back free on an inswinging free-kick and they took full advantage to put Guingamp 2-0 up in the 65th minute.

A crossfield ball by the goalscorer was picked up by the other full back and he took two steps before crashing a 30 yard strike past Robles at his near post.

Lars Henrik Andreasson followed Deruda off the pitch immediately, replaced by Sebastien Gregori.

The game ended as dully as it begun and we were left to took at the battered remains of our season. 8 games to go and we're only 6 points clear of the drop zone.

Both Krhin and Deruda have 3 yellow card bans coming up, added to that is N'Diaye's ban.

Ligue 2

19.3.2010

AC Ajaccio 0 - 1 AC Arles Avignon (A)

............................................Sebastian Piochelle 38

Just what do I have to do? Seriously?

I had my most attacking formation on, the 4-2-4, and we had everyone back that I consider to be key players (apart from Perovic). They were the bottom club, 15 points from safety.

We started well and battered them early on. They blocked 6 shots in the game and just utterly frustrated us.

Their goal was sheer luck, it was a 30 yard shot that floated up and over Robles' dive, clipping the underside of the bar and bouncing down just over the line in the 38th minute.

We also hit the bar late on and we just couldn't break through. The Arles keeper got Man Of The Match, says it all.

Really frustrated with the team atm. We can't get any sort of win from anywhere atm. Nowak pulled his hamstring in the last minute which means 4-5 weeks out and probably the rest of the season. AAGGHHH!!