davehibb Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 A wonderful read and an amazing career! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 (edited) 2036-37 Season Review Ligue 2 Results Jul-Dec --- Results Jan-May We may have limped over the line in order to gain promotion having picked up a lot of draws in the run in, but this was a fantastic season. We were predicted dead last but instead we'll be banging heads with the big Ligue 1 clubs next season . Coupe de France We were so close to causing a great upset and winning the cup as a 2nd tier side, but fell at the last hurdle. The wins against Rennes, Lyon and Nice stand us in good stead for next season when we'll be facing them in Ligue 1. Player Stats Blanc --- Freitas Our small squad managed to cope with the combination of league and cup, supplemented by U19s players on the bench making the odd appearance. Guillaume Blanc was the standout player, smashing 31 Ligue 2 goals which when you look at his attributes is pretty astounding. I also wanted to highlight Freitas, who was our hottest prospect from last season's youth intake who's been developing very well and made the right back position his own. Other mentions go out to Schmitt, who's yet again been a creative force, and newbie Alexandre Thomas who burst onto the scene with a bang. Finances We're still in a fair bit of net debt, but we're in a much better position than before and we can even spend some money, cautiously of course. Also in other good financial news, all first team players are contracted for the next two seasons so there won't be any huge wage rises. Facilities Our training facilities are currently being upgraded and recently £400k was put into ground maintenance, presumably sorting the crumbling sections of the ground to bring the stadium condition from very poor to average . Edited September 22, 2021 by smp20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 5 minutes ago, davehibb said: A wonderful read and an amazing career! Cheers @davehibb, glad you've enjoyed it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 PSG reassert their dominance, winning the league for the first time in six season with a 20 point gap from Dijon and also picking up their second Champions League trophy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 Two familiar member of staff join Balmont's backroom. There are many more who are willing to join, we just can't afford their wages! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 Charles Simon, who spent his entire career at Dijon playing for the first team and skippering the 2nd team, has joined as a second tram coach. He's an ok coach, hopefully he can develop well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 A fantastic start to our first Ligue 1 campaign with an away draw against Monaco. That isn't the kind of finish you'd expect from a striker with 6 finishing, 8 composure and 9 decisions Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 Ouch, that must be quite some damage to his achilles to be out for half a year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 What the hell Guillaume Blanc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 Happy 99th Birthday, Guy! It's 18th October 2037 and we mark Roux's 99th birthday with a 3-0 win over Montpellier . He'd be very proud of the result and three academy goalscorers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 A record that Balmont enjoys breaking Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 What a great way to mark your 100th game - winning against the current champions of France and Europe! Some nice upgrades too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 Balmont's return to Stade Gaston-Gerard is not a good one... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 2037-38 Mid-Season Review Ligue 1 Results It took us a little while to register our first Ligue 1 win but once we had, we started to kick on. At home we're on an eight game winning streak including some thumping wins and finishing off the year with home wins vs PSG and Lyon. On our travels we haven't been great, in fact we haven't won a game away so far. However, we've picked up some draws including against Monaco and Marseille. Balmont won't want to remember his Dijon return, that's for sure. Ligue 1 Table Unless we really mess it up we're not going to be in a relegation battle and actually as it stands we've got a chance of European football. Monaco have had a horrific season so far and to our surprise we're ahead of them. Dijon lead the pack with just one point separating them from the Parisians. Player Stats We've had to deal with injuries to Touati and Belhadji but to be honest the youngsters that have stepped up in their place have done a better job. The key performers have been centre back Konate, winger Schmitt, keeper Denis and - saving the best until last - talisman Guillaume Blanc. What a hero! Magnifique Blanc Not so long ago I was wondering if he'd be effective in Ligue 2. Here's Blanc, smashing up Ligue 1 despite being pretty awful on paper. 20 goals in 19 league games is Assale / Vega form! (Assale is now Assistant Manager at Dijon, while Vega is leading the line at Lyon after being pushed out at Dijon). Captain Denis - Non-League to Ligue 1 I wanted to highlight the career of our keeper and captain Clement Denis. He started out with Sedan but only ever played in their 2nd team before dropping to 5th tier side FC93 BBG. He was only there a season before being picked up by Chambly, but only ever played for their second team before being released. Another 5th tier side - Corsicans Cote Bleue - picked him up where he had a decent season before finding his way to Auxerre. Since then he's gone from 2nd team keeper to No. 1 and captain, rising through the leagues. What a career so far! Youth Preview Another good looking intake, yes please! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 Safe to say that this is deserved Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjericho Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 I think you're doing an even better job at Auxerre than at Dijon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 Nicely done so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 10 hours ago, kingjericho said: I think you're doing an even better job at Auxerre than at Dijon It's going well so far but breaking the big teams will be very hard! 42 minutes ago, deltablue said: Nicely done so far. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 Youth Intake 2038 A very exciting intake with three 2 star CA players and several others with good potential. French-born Armenian striker Putulyan looks class and will become Blanc's eventual replacement. If Putulyan doesn't end up as good as he looks, then Lefebvre could become the one! We lack quality down our left hand side so JCD is a quality addition to the squad. Results A nice run in the cup before losing heavily in Monaco. We also had a good run of form - 7 games unbeaten and our first away win - before succumbing to straight away defeats in March before the intake. Ligue 1 Table We did climb up to 6th place, but the recent straight defeats saw us slip back down into midtable. I'm very happy with midtable, though we're still in with a shout of European Football which is a nice situation to be in. Our pacey left winger Amrani broke Bouyer's L1 youngest goalscorer record . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 2037-38 Season Review Results We had big home wins againt Lille, Marseille and Valenciennes and even managed to pinch a draw against Dijon in the Abbe-Deschamps meaning we had a spell of 17 games unbeaten at home, losing our first and last fixtures there. Alas, it's a different story on our travels, but we did manage to pick up our 2nd away win of the season vs Amiens. Ligue 1 14-3-2 at home, 2-6-11 away. If we can keep a good home record and turn a few losses in to draws and draws into wins away from home we can really push on up the table. I'm very happy with our points tally; 57 points would usually bag you 7th or 8th in the table. Dijon won the league for the first time under new manager Capoue, albeit with the lowest points tally championship in the save so far. Player Stats Blanc and Thomas formed a formidable strike partnership with Blanc smashing home 37 Ligue 1 goals in 36 games. Schmitt was yet again our key creator, while young keeper Mo Le Grand staked his claim as our new number one. I will be looking to move on players that aren't HG at club over the next year or so. Alexandre Thomas We've all seen Blanc, it's time to see his sidekick. Thomas is easily the better player on paper and missed just one league game in total, in fact just 1 game all season. Dijon are sniffing after him so we better offer him a new contract. Facilities Did I hear the name 'Guy Roux Park' being bandied around Finances Our net debt is now down to £600k which is pretty much the interest on the loan. I think we can safely ask for a few more upgrades. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 These are expensive upgrades, but they'll be worth it in the long run. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 From French Non-League to Premier League Champions Spurs on a huge contract - I doubt he'll care too much that he'll be sitting on the bench, or the dugouts... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 We could have plunged for a HOYD from the Netherlands who were ridiculously good, but I think Jessy Martin is a much more interesting option. He was born in the city and came through the academy, even making 52 first team appearances before bouncing around the lower leagues. Welcome back, Jessy! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 There's no better way to start the season! An away victory against Dijon!!!!!!! Some nice upgrades too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 Sweet Sixteen Introducing Aram Putulyan! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingjericho Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 That's a record that will never be beaten!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 50 minutes ago, kingjericho said: That's a record that will never be beaten!! Thanks to the luck of the fixture list it literally cannot be beaten. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 2038-39 Mid-Season Review Results We had an incredible start to the season, winning our first 4 games three of which were away including Dijon and Monaco! Then it all went pear shaped in September. A home loss vs Valenciennes preceded a drubbing at the hands of PSG. Our form picked back up a little in October and since then we're winning more than we lose. Putulyan has had an incredible breakthrough season and hopefully he'll only get better! Ligue 1 Table The big two are miles ahead, Dijon the only side to take points off PSG. I'm very happy with our 5th place, though it's very tight and a lot could happen between now and the end of the season. Player Stats With the exception of up top we've had a pretty settled side. Le Grand in goal with a back 4 of Freitas, Lagourde, Lekue and Belhadji. Schmitt has been ever present on the right, as has Diallo on the middle but gets subbed off a lot, who plays alongside Oudin. Amrani is our first choice left winger, but he's been plagued with injuries so Rougier has filled in. Thomas has been leading the line, quite literally as he's now our captain, but after banging in 4 goals in the opening two games he's failed to hit the net. He's been playing ok though. The other striker position has been shared between Obounet and latest sensation Putulyan. Sadly Guillaume Blanc missed the start of the season through injury and he's even picking up little niggles here and there meaning he just hasn't got back into the side. Sentiment out the window, the younger players need to be prioritised, especially when they look like this: Youth Intake Preview I'm excited about the prospect of a quality defensive mid coming through . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 23, 2021 Author Share Posted September 23, 2021 (edited) Not exactly sure he's that proud of his debut where he got sent off after 13 mins for scything a player down for no reason.... Edit: Steam restarted and I'm back to a save before this game... Don't worry Jean, it never happened.... Edited September 24, 2021 by smp20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 Putulyan is going to be great! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 24, 2021 Author Share Posted September 24, 2021 2039 Youth Intake Another very promising intake, though we do have a dilemma with two AMCs now. Olivier is a defensive mid dream. He's already good enough to perform the defensive side of the game in Ligue 1, he just needs to get quicker, stronger and a bit better on the ball and he's a skipper in waiting. Boumal oozes quality but lacks in work ethic and speed. If we used a traditional no 10 he'd be ideal, but he'll need to be retrained as a striker, winger or DM. I'm undecided which. Abdelli is overshawed a little by Olivier, but theres no reason why he couldn't become a classy DM option. He really can't see much in front of him though with vision of 2 . Another AMC, but this time it's an obvious retrain as a complete forward. Results Alex Thomas is finally bagging goals again and his strike partner Obounet has ousted Putulyan back out of the team. An early exit in the cup makes Ligue 1 our only focus and bar a thumping from PSG and Valenciennes getting the double over us it' been going well. We managed to get our best away victory yet against St Etienne with Obounet smashing 4 past them. Ligue 1 Table Bar an almighty slip up, a European spot it looking likely. We face Lyon next at home and a win would give us an outside chance of CL football, but we're far from ready for it. PSG have been rampant this season! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 24, 2021 Author Share Posted September 24, 2021 2 hours ago, deltablue said: Putulyan is going to be great! Yes I've got a great feeling about him too . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 (edited) Ligue 1 Results Aug-Dec --- Results Jan-May A great season for us as we break the club points record, even beating the title winning 95/96 tally. We book ended the season with a double over Dijon, the last game of the season being a 5-4 thriller! If it wasn't for a Lyon injury-time goal we would have got a Champions League spot, but I'm very happy with 4th place and a berth in the Europa. Coupe de France Great in the league, disappointing in the cup. Player Stats This is very much a settled team now, though that will always change as we bring through talented youngsters from the intakes albeit a little slower in the future unless it's a potential wonderkid. Le Grand has been ever-present between the sticks while in front of him Freitas, Lagourde and Lekue have always played when fit. JCD came into the squad once he had turned 16 and has been a mainstay, ousting Belhadj from the first 11. Diallo had a poor season ratings wise but I feel he will only improve with experience; Oudin was the better performer with Babin mostly coming off the bench when Diallo was having a poor game. Schmitt has established himself as a club icon and there's no wonder with his assists and regular double figure goal tallies from right midfield. Amrani has been plagued by injuries, meaning Rougier has often played on the wing and he's been terrible. Alexandre Thomas became club captain at the tender age of 17 and despite a patch of going without goals (nearly 20 matches!) he has been incredibly influential on the pitch. He adds the spark / creativity to the side. His strike partner started as Alex Obounet but the emergence of Putulyan means that they've ended up sharing the role and last years revelation Guillaume Blanc frozen out through injury and poor performance. First XI GK - Le Grand DR - Freitas DC - Lagourde DC - Lekue DL - David / Belhadj DM - Oudin DM - Diallo MR - Schmitt ML - Amrani CF - Thomas AF - Putulyan / Obounet New Era This makes me very, very happy . The man (alongside chairman Hamel of course) that more or less created the club as it is now is having a stadium named after him. Very fitting, considering he has just turned 100 years old. Facilities Our Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment are now as good as they can get . Finances A solid financial state for the club, though a hefty bank-loan for the new stadium means we'll be paying back over £500k a month in total. Edited September 26, 2021 by smp20 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted September 25, 2021 Share Posted September 25, 2021 21 hours ago, smp20 said: Yes I've got a great feeling about him too . I see he's been brilliant already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 26, 2021 Author Share Posted September 26, 2021 On 25/09/2021 at 09:53, deltablue said: I see he's been brilliant already. Oh yeah, even if he had to retire tomorrow through injury he's already had a great career Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 26, 2021 Author Share Posted September 26, 2021 2039-40 Mid-Season Review Ligue 1 Results 8-1-0 at home, including a 4-1 win over Dijon and 4-0 over Monaco, contrasted to 3-2-5 away. Putulyan and Thomas have now forged a formidable partnership up top. Ligue 1 Table 4th place and well within a shout of Champions League football, but on this trajectory we will end up with less points than last season. Let's hope we can up it away from home to at least match last seasons 76 points. Europa League With the exception of against Milan, our 2nd string / rotated side played these games so I'm happy to have come through the group in 2nd place. We now have a tricky first knockout tie against Benfica. Player Stats Putulyan has 19 in 19 Ligue 1 Games. We have such a young team with mostly teenagers so it's exciting to see them doing well already. Youth Intake Preview Oooh I hope the winger can give Schmitt a run for his money . 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 26, 2021 Author Share Posted September 26, 2021 A nice couple of awards for our strike partnership . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 26, 2021 Author Share Posted September 26, 2021 A rarity! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 2040 Youth Intake The promised Cameroonian right winger comes through, but our HOYD believes Dubuc to be the best prospect. A few potential first teamers so it's been a good intake. I'm a bit on the fence with Dubuc. He'll be re-trained as a striker. Meyoooooong!! I really like him, definitely my highlight. Tommy Roy looks like a decent prospect, like him. Results A very busy period and mixed emotions. Let's talk about the cup first. We had a tricky route, Tours being the only side we should have trounced and our U19 prospects did the business. A good away win vs Amiens preceded a penalty win in Rennes setting up a QF tie against our rivals. We thoroughly deserved our 2-0 win, but went on to lose 2-1 to 2nd tier Reims when really we should have got to the final (vs PSG, obviously...) from that position. Our league form at the start of the new calendar year was truly woeful, picking up just 2 points from the opening 5 games. We had to wait until we faced Dijon in Mustardville to get our first 3 points of the year and that 6-2 thumping was well worth the wait. Since then we've 4 on the trot. In the Europa League a strong Benfica side comfortably beat us in Lisbon, making it a very difficult task to overcome and we were unable to make up the aggregate. Ligue 1 Table PSG have effectively won the league already as Dijon have been well off the pace, not helped by our double over them for the second season running. If we keep our recent form up we could push Dijon and Lyon for a CL spot, however a run of bad form and we could slip out of a European spot altogether. 10 games, fingers crossed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 Bit of a landmark! Not sure if I've ever got to 1,000 games before, if I have it's exceptionally rare. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 Reims beat PSG in the final Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 Results Just a quick end of season update as I'm pretty annoyed with how it ended and I'm ready to bury it. Ligue 1 Solid 4th place finish, but miles off last years points tally. PSG absolutely smashed it. Player Stats Putulyan was Ligue 1 top scorer with 32 goals and he's now a club icon....he's still only 17! Finances Facilities upgrades and bank loan paybacks meant the finances took a hit, though the recent Ligue 1 prize money has put us back in an okay position. Facilities We're heading into the final season in the Stade Abbe-Deschamps, let's hope we can make it a memorable one. Our facilities are just one upgrade away from State-of-the-Art and they should be there come August. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 Surely he'd want to make it to 50 years! What a servant. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 Whoops.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 March 2041 Update Ligue 1 Although there is an outside chance of a title challenge, I'd consider it unlikely. I'd be very happy if we can keep 3rd place as Lille aren't far behind us. Coupe de France Good wins against Rennes and Monaco set up a rivals tie and we won it on pens to steer through to the semis. Sochaux await and if we win it, we will face Nantes in the final. European Football We deliberately played our 2nd string in the Europa League groups to help with rotation and although we didn't do well against the better sides, away and home wins vs Cluj was enough to clinch 3rd place and get to the Europa Conference knockouts. Liverpool, Napoli and Sevilla are in the tournament, but we've had a nice draw so far and should be into the quarters providing our 2nd string don't screw it up in Aberdeen. Youth Intake A little bit disappointing to be honest. Coutty looks half decent but not much to be said for the rest. Player Stats Wonderkid Putulyan has been immense, scoring 31 Ligue 1 goals in 27 games. Thomas has also done well across all competitions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 4 minutes ago, smp20 said: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 31 minutes ago, Deisler26 said: You git Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smp20 Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 5-2 aggregate win over Aberdeen and 5-0 aggregate win over Standard Liege puts us through to the semis where we face Liverpool! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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