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Sacre bleu! It's the Ligue Une 08/09 thread! featuring much Lyon dominance

Orzelek

By Orzelek,
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The Governor

The Governor

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Lyon looked rather imperious when I went to see them on Sunday night. Really impressed with Benzema, while Grosso also gave a good account of himself on his debut. Spoke to a number of fans in my so-so French and their excellent English and they seem certain that Diouf is heading their way from Bolton. We agreed that Europe will be tougher for them this season and that their squad still needs a bit of work on it.

Auxerre have a tough start to the season, but I see no reason why they shouldn't be challenging for a top six spot at least.

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Santa, look at my pert ars

Santa, look at my pert ars

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Good to see there are a couple of other Rennes supporters on here icon14.gif Rennes just robbed of a CL spot last season. If it were the Prem there would probably have been a court case.

Looks like we're doing the usual ***** start to the season again. Hopefully won't wait too long this year before our 10-game winning streak, unlike the last two seasons.

What are your reasons for supporting them?

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Orzelek

Orzelek

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Itandje accepts Liverpool role

Liverpool FC have signed RC Lens goalkeeper Charles Itandje as back-up for Pepe Reina.

Lens regular

Former French Under-21 international Itandje will be asked to provide competition for Reina after bringing to an end his six-season stay with Lens. The Ligue 1 club said through their website: "He leaves Lens after six years of good and faithful service. We wish him good luck." Itandje made 170 appearances for the northern side after joining from Red Star FC 93.

Carson move

The 24-year-old is likely to make a quick return to France when Liverpool travel to Toulouse FC for a UEFA Champions League third qualifying round first-leg tie next Wednesday. Current Anfield No2 Scott Carson is expected to move on loan to Aston Villa FC, the team Liverpool meet in their Premier League opener on Saturday.

Good keeper, but if I was him I'd choose a club where I'd be 1st choice

Rangers bring Cousin to Glasgow

Rangers FC have completed the signing of striker Daniel Cousin from RC Lens for a fee of around €2.2m – the 30-year-old agreeing a three-year deal with the Scottish Premier League club.

French success

Gabon international Cousin moves to Glasgow after three seasons at Lens in which he scored 26 goals in 101 Ligue 1 games. The player, who also enjoyed a successful spell with Le Mans UC 72, passed a medical at Ibrox on Thursday and could be registered for Rangers' UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie against FK Crvena Zvezda.

'Very happy'

After becoming Rangers manager Walter Smith's tenth summer recruit, Cousin said: "I am very happy to be a player for Rangers. I am not 100 per cent fit but if the coach asks me to play this weekend, then I will play. I saw Ibrox for the first time today and it's a fantastic stadium. I cannot wait to play there." He could make his debut when Rangers host Saint Mirren FC on Saturday.

Nilsson agrees St-Etienne switch

AS Saint-Etienne have confirmed the signing of SC Heerenveeen's Swedish international forward Lasse Nilsson on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

Swedish influx

The 25-year-old joined the Dutch club from IF Elfsborg in 2004 and went on to score 21 goals in 75 Eredivisie appearances, including nine last term when he was ever-present. "I had several offers on the table but was quickly convinced that St-Etienne were the best club for me," Nilsson said. "Few Swedish players moved to France until recently where it has become a league where my countrymen have played well." Toulouse FC striker Johan Elmander and Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Kim Källström are the best known Swedish imports in Ligue 1.

Good player, I think he'll do well in France icon14.gif

Carrasso commits to Marseille

Having been named as Olympique de Marseille's No1 goalkeeper ahead of the new season, Cédric Carrasso has received his second piece of good news in recent weeks after being handed a two-year contract extension until June 2011.

Trophy hope

Coach Albert Emon decided to start the season with the 25-year-old between the sticks, despite the promising Le Havre AC custodian Steve Mandanda arriving on loan this summer, and watched Carrasso keep a clean sheet in the goalless Ligue 1 opener at RC Strasbourg last weekend. Carrasso, who is in his eighth season at Marseille, punctuated by loans at Crystal Palace FC and EA Guingamp, said: "For three or four years the team has been continually improving. I hope we can win a trophy this season." OM will compete in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

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Orzelek

Orzelek

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Benzema lengthens Lyon contract

Olympique Lyonnais have awarded striker Karim Benzema a two-year contract extension that will keep the teenage French international at the club until June 2012.

Teenage talent

Lyon were keen to secure the services of the homegrown Benzema, who scored his seventh league goal for the six-time French champions in last Sunday's 2-0 season-opening victory against AJ Auxerre. He has made 41 Ligue 1 appearances over the last four campaigns. The 19-year-old – part of the France side that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship – also marked his senior international debut with the only goal against Austria in a March friendly, before appearing in Les Bleus' UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier against Georgia in June.

Good news for Lyon

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ghostwriter

ghostwriter

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Originally posted by niggle:

any reason why the toulouse game is being played at 3.30pm on wed. Seems such a strange time to play a cl game.

as herman said, 15/8 is a bank holiday so assume something to do with that. will TF1 (they had the CL stuff last year anyway) be showing it?

(possibly a pointless question as i am probably more likely to be able to respond to that than most people in this thread icon_biggrin.gif)

things do seem to be conspiring against lyon a bit, second lengthy injury, could give some of the others some momentum and confidence to make some semblance of a title challenge. not too sure which team that would be though, as long as it is not marseille or psg.

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Orzelek

Orzelek

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What a crap day for my teams in France icon_mad.gif

Bordeaux, Marseille and PSG all loose icon_mad.gif

Marseille opportunity for Moussilou

Olympique de Marseille have signed striker Matt Moussilou on loan from OGC Nice with the option of a permanent transfer next summer.

Short stay only

Moussilou will be given the chance to earn a full-time contract with the Vélodrome club after a short-lived stay at Nice. The 25-year-old had arrived there last summer from LOSC Lille Métropole but made only seven Ligue 1 starts before being loaned to AS Saint-Etienne.

'Untapped potential'

Although he failed to score for Nice, he was more prolific with Lille, registering 24 goals in 98 games. Marseille president Pape Diouf said: "We will do everything we can to restore his confidence and tap into his potential." Moussilou also brings UEFA Champions League experience to OM – who will compete in this season's group stage – having appeared 16 times in the tournament with Lille in 2004/05 and 2005/06.

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Philip Rolfe

Philip Rolfe

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Originally posted by T!mbo:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by T!mbo:

Mahama Vahirua :*********)

\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/ </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

what this gentleman said, but multiplied a lot icon_cool.gif

*rows canoe*

Yeah, Lyon losing not too surprising, Lorient are tough to beat and Lyon are struggling defensively to put players out. Fortunately, nobody else seems to be arsed to challenge them right now, the team I've been most impressed with early on is, strangely, Lorient.

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Orzelek

Orzelek

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Kalou ends fleeting Lens stay

Ivorian striker Bonaventure Kalou has surprisingly departed RC Lens to join Abu Dhabi-based side Al-Jazira Club just six weeks after signing for the French UEFA Cup hopefuls.

Cocu welcome

The 29-year-old has made five appearances since being brought to the club by the now departed Guy Roux on a three-year deal from Paris Saint-Germain FC at the end of July, yet is on the move again. Al-Jazira have matched the €1.5m that Lens paid PSG, taking advantage of regulations stipulating that although European clubs cannot buy new players following the closure of the transfer window, that does not apply elsewhere. Kalou will play alongside former PSV Eindhoven midfielder Phillip Cocu at the United Arab Emirati side.

icon_redface.gif

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Philip Rolfe

Philip Rolfe

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OK, we've not had an update in here for a while, damn them international breaks, but France still unsurprisingly rocks. Here's what's what.

After 9 rounds Nancy still lead the way. They're playing some great stuff, led by Fortune and Kim up front, but they're the definition of a team. Bordeaux are playing alright and are in second, with David Bellion holding second place in the scoring charts with 6 goals so far. Valenciennes are third, holding off an improving Lyon, who are being led by Karim Benzema, probably the best player in France now. He leads the league with 8 goals, including a hattrick against Metz recently.

At the other end, Caen and Metz are predictably struggling. The teams above them, however, will not have expected to be where they are. Lens, Sochaux, Marseille, Auxerre, Lille, and PSG, in reverse order. Auxerre are woeful and are genuine relegation candidates, the others at least have enough talent to turn the situation around. Lille have the rather awesome record of 1-7-1 so far. Marseille have been diabolical, and have sacked Albert Emon. His replacement is Eric Gerets.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Team P W D L F A GD Pt

1 AS Nancy Lorraine 8 6 1 1 15 5 10 19

2 Girondins Bordeaux 9 5 3 1 12 6 6 18

3 Valenciennes 9 5 2 2 13 9 4 17

4 Olympique Lyonnais 8 5 1 2 15 8 7 16

5 Le Mans 9 5 1 3 13 11 2 16

6 Stade Rennais 9 4 3 2 9 7 2 15

7 Nice 9 4 2 3 10 7 3 14

8 AS Monaco 9 4 1 4 13 9 4 13

9 RC Strasbourg 9 3 3 3 8 6 2 12

10 Lorient 9 3 3 3 10 11 -1 12

11 St Etienne 9 3 2 4 9 9 0 11

12 Toulouse 7 3 2 2 9 9 0 11

13 Paris S.G. 9 2 5 2 7 8 -1 11

14 Lille 9 1 7 1 9 9 0 10

15 AJ Auxerre 9 3 0 6 6 15 -9 9

16 Olympique Marseille 9 1 4 4 7 12 -5 7

17 Sochaux 9 1 4 4 8 14 -6 7

18 RC Lens 7 1 3 3 3 5 -2 6

19 FC Metz 9 1 2 6 4 14-10 5

20 Caen 7 1 1 5 5 11 -6 4

</pre>

Setanta's live games this weekend is Caen vs Toulouse.

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Orzelek

Orzelek

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Pouplin ruled out for Rennes

Goalkeeper Simon Pouplin has been ruled out of Stade Rennais FC's UEFA Cup first round return against PFC Lokomotiv Sofia with a hip injury.

Group stage goal

The former French Under-21 international has been hampered by the knock for the last fortnight but did appear in Rennes' 3-1 win in Sofia last Thursday. He will not feature in the second leg, however, after suffering a relapse in training and, according to club doctors, the 22-year-old will be out for four to five weeks. "I hope I can be back for the first UEFA Cup group stage game [on 25 October – should Rennes advance]," said Pouplin. His absence gives a chance to Patrice Luzi.

And not suprised about Emon. Marseille's start to the season has been poor

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Orzelek

Orzelek

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Pauleta is the new record-goalscorer at PSG:

Pauleta landmark in PSG triumph

Pauleta struck his 100th goal for Paris Saint-Germain FC and became the club's joint-record scorer to secure their first home win of the season and book a place in the French League Cup quarter-finals.

Pauleta record

PSG had failed to gain victory in seven Parc des Princes fixtures before tonight, but a 2-0 defeat of Ligue 2 Montpellier-Hérault SC ended that run. Portugal's leading international marksman took just seven minutes to register and bring up his PSG century, and not long after home goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau had saved Grégory Lacombe's penalty, Pauleta put the result beyond doubt in injury time. He thus equalled Dominique Rocheteau's PSG record tally of 100 goals.

Lens pip Monaco

Paul Le Guen's side will meet Valenciennes FC on 15/16 January after they won 2-0 at high-flying Stade Rennais FC thanks to goals from Mody Traoré and Grégory Pujol. RC Lens set up a tie against AS Nancy-Lorraine with a 2-1 victory at AS Monaco FC, where efforts from Razak Boukari and Eric Carrière sandwiched a Frédéric Piquionne strike.

Lyon through

Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais beat SM Caen 3-1 and will take on the winners of Thursday's encounter between Ligue 2 outfit Chamois Niortais FC and Le Mans UC 72, while in the other quarter-final Olympique de Marseille have set up a tie against AJ Auxerre. A draw for home advantage will be held on Tuesday. The winners of the final at the Stade de France on 29 March will enter the first round of the 2008/09 UEFA Cup.

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Orzelek

Orzelek

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Originally posted by Meitheisman:

Is Lyon making it 7 in a row really a question? I'm willing to bet money they're taking the league again this year.

Looks like a sure bet for me, although I don't think you'll find very high odds for this

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