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BadManager

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23 "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"

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    Canberra, Australia

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    Dijon FCO

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  1. Annakin. Not sure about this. Yoda senses much anger in him.
  2. That's, um, quite a start to the season. The decision to stick with Aldershot looks justified. Liking the returns from Stewart and Spencer.
  3. Very good season last time out. I must admit, I thought Monster might look at Metz or Empoli to broaden horizons a bit but building this side another level certainly seems a good bet based on history.
  4. October 2033 Dijon FCO Ligue Un Angers SCO (12th, 5-0-5, 12pts, GD -1) v Dijon FCO (15th, 2-3-4, 9pts, GD -2) – Ligue 1, match 10 of 38 One change for this game, Castro starting at left back rather than coming off the bench later on. A steady and balanced start to the game, although Ansudane may have got a knock. It was something to consider later when looking at subs. As the half wore on Angers started getting more shots, but none were really chances until early in the second. In the 56th minute it took good reflexes from Mbaye low and to his left to keep out the first really dangerous move, the third shot in about two minutes but the only with any risk attached to it. And that was about the only serious move either side made for the game. Result : Drew 0-0. That match was followed by another international window. World Cup Qualifiers Steve Ansudane : Scored but lost 5-2 to Egypt – (Friendly) goal and good against Madagascar Angel Castro (Ecuador) : Poor in 4-2 loss to Paraguay – poor again as Brazil won 3-0 Ismir Curri (Josovo) : Average losing 1-0 to Ireland – and again average as they lost 6-1 to the Netherlands Asnjorn Farstad (Norway) : On the wrong end of a 7-1 to Belgium and played poorly like all the defence – an easier time against a much weaker Liechtenstein and a 3-0 win Screve Kabangu (DR Congo) : A goal in his sides's 2-1 loss to Cameroon – scored ahd played well in 2-1 over Algeria Mandiou Kamissoko (Mali) : Only played 20 minutes against South Africa Moustapha Mbayae (Senegal) : Not great as they won 2-1 over Equitorial Guinea – (Friendly) Solid in 2-1 over Bosnia-Herzegovina European U19 Qualifiers Thibaut Thomas (France) : Average against Montenegro – only 23 minutes in loss to Belgium – and average again against Turkey Dijon FCO (15th, 2-4-4, 10pts, GD -2) v Olympique de Marseilles (2nd, 6-4-0, 22pts, GD +12) – Ligue 1, match 11 of 38 The first half went almost as aniticpated, but slightly better as OM didn't actually put any of their advantage onto the scoreboard for at least some of the period. That changed after 32 minutes, with one of the less dangerous looking moves finished with a looping cross-goal header. The same man rom the same position nine minutes later, this time by foot. That position being alittle inside the area on a 45 degree angle on their right (our defensive left). A third shortly afger the break came courtesy of some sloppy Mbaye work, just not laying gloves on one he should have got to. And then it became a our. Garcia denying Diop a third by turning it past Mbaye for him. A horror of an own goal. Things got no worse f4rom there, but they didn't get better either. Disappointing, but it can happen when a side fighting relegation plays a side looking for champions league again. Result : Lost 4-0. Stade Rennais FC (10th, 4-4-3, 16pts, GD 0) v Dijon FCO (16th, 2-4-5, 10pts, GD -6) – Ligue 1, match 12 of 38 Rennais put us under pressure early, and we cracked. A chance at a good clearance was instead delivered straight to a Rennais player who had a short pass on and from there a simple tap in. I need to look at what happened just before that though, another time defending a corner where we had nobody at all jjst outside the area ready to even give us a hope of cleaning up any clearance. That was the one that opened up the chance and missed clearance that followed. We pulled it back thirty minutes later, a corner headed across the six yard box by Seck and Farstad able to head home. Being on level terms was short lived again though, Rennair able to go straight up the middle unchallenged from the half way line and slide one home. Ten minutes into the second half, and Farstad with the head again. This time coming forward for a free kick. Joly, the shortest player on the field, somehow got the assisting header. A 67th minute penalty showed how much we were dominating the air, it came as a corner was being delivered. Ansudane hit just inside the right upright, and the ball was held. After that Rennais started getting on top and piling on pressure again. And four minutes later they took the lead, a blast from one of their midfielder's proving too good. And right at the death, it became four against us as we tried to get creative and it backfired. Result : Lost 4-2. Very annoyed at that. Angers SCO (Ligue 1, 8th) v Dijon FCO – Coupe de la Ligue, 3rd Round Since playing us Angers have been in winning form, including knocking over PSG 4-1 in their last outing. This looked bad. A stroke of luck early on, as a goal which looked to be scored by a player about five metres onside was called offside. Angers really are looking batter than a couple of weeks back. We almost scored from our first foray, Gabriel's shot just tipped wide from a full length dive. No offside issues with Anger's second goal, one of the most creative players in the league managed to skip past two tackles and get in cross unmarked, leaving the whole goal open wide and it got smacked home. Amnd out passing was terrible, utterly terrible every time we got the bal near their area. Just before half time they bagged another, a free kick followed by a series of short passes across the goalmouth and finally when Mbaye was on the wrong angle, a quick hit home. We did drag one back ten into the second half, but that required Angers to make a serious mistake and Gabriel only just managed to hit it straight. Another shortly before time, and we were really poor everywhere across the pitch. Result : Lost 3-1. Morale has hit a low point again, and I don't see a way out of this. We don't have the players to change the formation greatly, most players have been cycled through and under-performed. We've tried short slow game, speeding up and more attacking, ad the result is the same. Defence doesn't stop anything, and no connections made up front. Relegation is definite, and my job cannot be safe. We are abysmal. Every season I think we might be slightly better, and we aren't. Dijon FCO (16th, 2-4-6, 10pts, GD -8) v AJ Auxerre (6th, 6-3-3, 21pts, GD +5) – Ligue 1, match 13 of 38 Early on the game was even and not many chances were coming, but we took a lead after just 13 minutes from with a well placed ball for Ansudane to run onto, getting in behind the defence and sliding it under an outstretched goalkeeper. The ball from Goni was exactly what an attacking style of mid should do, put it in front of the forward who can break from just behind the defence. And it stayed that way for the half, not many chances for either side, Auxerre perhaps having slightly more of the ball, but no further score. We perhaps edged the second, making the only half-realistic attempt and held on for a seriously overdue three points. Result : Won 1-0. At least the month ended well, but it was a bad one. Well, it didn't end that well. Ansudane will probably miss a game through injury and Theuns is suspended. We were only goal difference out of a relegation place before the last game. The other teams that were level with us all drew.
  5. September 2033 Dijon FCO Ligue Un The internationals actually started in August, but best to wrap them up in one hit. World Cup Qualifying Steve Ansudane (Comoros) – poor game and lot 2-0 to Egypt; two goals, man of the match, 3-2 against Tanzania Angel castro (Ecuador) – poor against Peru in 2-0 loss Asbjorn Farstad (Norway) – good game 0-0 vs Hungary; not much better than average against Faroe Islands in 2-0 win Screve Kabangu (DR Congo) – poor in scoreless draw with Cameroon; reasonable against Togo in 1-1 Moustaphe Mbaye (Senegal) – solid in 5-1 over Equatorial Guinea; and again in a second 5-1 this time over Tunisia Izmir Curri (Kosovo) – solid game and an assist in 3-1 over FYR Macedonia Friendlies Izmir Curri (Kosovo) – good game in 2-1 loss to Russia Under 19 Friendlies Yohann Rolland (France) – subbed on against Bosnia-Herzegovina; only got 25 minutes against Slovakia In the middle of all that, a serious injury to Kouassi. Out for 2-3 months. Dijon FCO v FC Metz – Ligue 1, match 6 of 38 Metz gave us an early scare, but after that we seeemd to slightly edge the game. Kabangu was fed twice for reasonable chances, to be perfectly fair the second one was not a great ball and he did have to do a lot of recovery work himself. It took until the second half for a good chance to come, Ansudane controlling the ball and finding time only to put it into the crossbar. But it was Metz who scored, a blistering run down the right wing beating two men and a simple cross and finish the result. We were playing around with the ball on the edge of their area, with no seeming desperation as the clock ticked passed 90 minutes. Eventually something came through to Ansudane near but on a tight angle. Their goalkeeper made a hash of closing the angle down, and Ansudane scored. At 12 on target shots to 2, we deserved something. Result : Drew 1-1. Dijon FCO (19th, 1-2-3, 5pts, GD -2) v AS Saint-Etienne (18th, 2-0-4, 6pts, GD -3) – Ligue 1, match 7 of 38 The earlier results had not gone well from a positional view. But even without that, we really needed the points here. And it started alright, with Dean able to get a goal 22 minutes in to cap a period of being on top – but not getting many shots in. Ten minutes later, once again the opposition managed a free head from a corner. Thankfully into the crossbar and cleared. We were getting the ball deep into their area a lot, but part of that was that they were hanging back very deep which meant having numbers every time we attacked them. Still with an hour played, we had 10 on target shots to 2. Robert Joly got his first ever goal for us in the 67th minute, Goni's shot blocked but fell to Joly on the edge of the area and nicely placed through the defence and past the keeper. Saint-Etienne got back into it with ten to play, when our defence goes missing it really goes missing. And Mbaye might need replacing, he seems to have hit “that point”. Five minutes later and surely we had the game secure, Kabangu getting a slightly dubious one to restore a two goal advantage. And so it was. Result : Won 3-1. Montpellier HSC (18th, 2-0-5, 6pts, GD -2) v Dijon FCO (12th, 2-2-3, 8pts, GD 0) – Ligue 1, match 8 of 38 A couple of changes for fitness with the short break as we headed into this one. Not that anyone was very tired, but I decided to let them start on the bench. The possibility of making subs a little early certainly in mind. Kabangu looked like he might come off early, but managed yo play through at least for a while. We looked the better side, until it happened. A corner. Far post header, Mbaye got gloves to it but just patted it in. We kept control of the ball well, but created no chances. After picking up the tempo and making some subs – not who I expected – Gabriel was on the end of a long ball and held up long enough for Ansudane to run in. The chip pass was not great but thankfully Ansudane did enough to equalise in the 77th minute. And immediately we threw it away again, having cleared our defence never tried to get back into position and two Montpellier players were left wide open. A third following stoppage time. Result : Lost 3-1. Dijon FCO (14th, 2-2-4, 8pts, GD -2) v Paris Saint-Germain (1st, 5-3-0, 18pts, GD +17) – Ligue 1, match 9 of 38 The first half went through with little happening for either team. From our point of view, that's a win. Obviously PSG outplayed us, but without seriously threatening. I fully expected them to come out firing in the second half. It took four and a half minutes for what was a pretty good goal to go in. We were loose in the marking but it was still something special. In an absolute shock to everyone invovled, Joao Gabriel got his first goal for us. He started in place of Kabangu and drew us level. We walked it up the middle and it was Goni who found himself in a position to put in the assist. On 72 minutes we floated a corner in from the left. Seck at the far post got the second head on, a clear one to put home. He went just a touch narrow and marginally outside the upright. And we escaped with a point. PSG had the better of the stats sheet, but not a lot more realistic chances. Result : Drew 1-1. After going down 20-0 across three games last season, we'll take that. The Montpellier game was a let down, making the month overall a slightly disappointing affair when paired with the inability to take the win against Metz.
  6. August 2033 Dijon FCO Ligue Un We had been trying to get some players on loan, especially a striker. However, we just can't get anyone in of the required quality to boost the team. Either the wage requirements for the loans is ridiculous or other clubs get preferred. So, we begin without much change from last season. Bony departed for £450k, though we don't see a 30% of that due to sell-on arrangements. It did give some wage wriggle room. Ansudane won't play the first game, leaving our starting side like this We could easily play a third central mid instead of Rolland. Dean and to a lesser extent Joly swap in and out easily enough, or Goni or Joly can switch into Kouassi's position. Farstad might under some pressure from Seck. I have to say that the pure defensive nature of all our defenders is a concern, there is no drive from the back at all. And we are still vulnerable down the sides, but were getting better (at least, less bad) returns this way. Toulouse FC (Predicted 7th) v Dijon FCO – Ligue 1, match 1 of 38 Toulouse had a bad time last season, and their expectation of being around European qualifying is more suited to the club. Starting away to them with a side down on morale was going to be a test. We were brought undone twice in the opening 30 minutes. First a long bomb, route one style that went over the back and there was a Toulouse striker about ten metres clear by the time anyone got near the ball. Thankfully, Mbaye did well and got some suport as Farstad ran back to apply pressure. Then ten minutes later a short throw from near the corner flag, a quick cross to the near post and into the net. Somehow, it was was called offside so didn't count. We then finally had a few minutes with the ball at the correct end of the pitch, but failed to make any realistic chances even if we did win a couple of consecutive corners. Toulouse made the most of their corner chance with an hour played. Their winger rising above the pack and heading hard and true. And a second from a corner on the other side, again direct to head and in, just four minutes later. We had played ourselves into the game before that little period took it all away again. To lose on corners like that is a real concern, both right near the goalmouth and well above our defenders jumping reach. Result : Lost 2-0. We already know this side is vulnerable to the cross, add the set piece corner, and we look set to concede a lot again. Ah, the man of the match against us just moved to Tottenham for £22m. He could have done that a couple of day earlier. Dijon FCO v Stade de Reims (Predicted 20th) – Ligue 1, match 2 of 38 Ansudane in, Ansudane scores. Third minute, and he provided some lateral movement that was missing in our first game. That gave him space and he was able to turn and shoot, with time to place the shot. He had a second 20 minutes later, Goni doing well from what seemed to be a poor position, evading a man and sliding the pass across the penalty area for Ansudane to slip onto while Kabangu was stuck out wide having received the initial throw. He seemed to have the defence spooked, a penalty given for a push when the ball was going well over everyone's head. He took the kick himself, and had a hat-trick inside the first half hour. The scoring stopped at that stage, but the game was won. OK,. It didn't quite stop. Ansudane gathered a fourth after 83 minutes, a short range effort after a string of passes. And Kabangu got one late as well, Curri's free kick parried but our man reacted quicker than anyone for an angled put-away. Result : Won 5-0. Happy with that. When our front pair works, they work well; but it must be kept in mind this was against the favourites for last place. Olympique Lyonnais (Predicted 4th) v Dijon FCO – Ligue 1, match 3 of 38 Rolland and Kouassi rotated out for this one, with the short turnaround, giving Dean a start in the middle. The side from Lyon were simply too good, right from the start. And with three strikers, we had no chance of stopping them. It was the central one who really hurt though, scoring twice in a five minute period midway through the furst half. Both in quite different ways. And then we just fell apart, another conceded from a corner a couple of minutes after that. A fourth came early in the second half, thankfully that was all there was. Its amazing a team can line up so attacking, but be so hard to break down defensively. We were looking just as composed and working for each other going forward, but under such pressure that we could not actually get any shots away. Result : Lost 4-0. Dijon FCO v AS Monaco (Predicted 3rd) – Ligue 1, match 4 of 38 Kouassi missed this game, after being injured coming on as a sub in the previous one. In the opening minute we were put on the back foot three times. Yet we hald a lead after two minutes, Goni the recipient of some luck as wer ran up the middle getting dispossessed continually but the tackle just laying the ball to our next player in line. Goni was the one on the end of that just a few meters form goal. Half an hour in and corner trouble hit us again. A bit odd this one, we were beaten in the air, but the ball just dropped and died. Mbaye unfortunately had flown for the ball earlier and was on the ground, all our defenders either around where the header was lost or on the wrong side, allowing a Monaco player the most simple tap in of all time with a stationary ball almost on the line. A couple of changes, including Joly coming on as attacking mid and Goni going back to the middle, and we got a lead back Kabangu the scorer, all three attacking players involved a couple of lateral passes to open the angle. Again, Mbaye was on the ground as a simple shot was taken. This time blocked coming for the ball by his own man and it squirted out sideways. We cleared three times before that, but always blindly straight to an opponent. And a stoppage time sinker, something we suffered a lot last season too. Simple passes, well executed, and our defence unable to cope. Result : Lost 3-2. The wage budget was used up signing a 25 year old Brazilian striker. That should allow us to rotate three strikers on form and fitness, and put some pressure on Kabangu and Ansudane. Havre Athletic Club (Predicted 19th) v Dijon FCO – Ligue 1, match 5 of 38 Both teams on three points, Havre on the bottom via goal difference. Its early, but this is a big game in terms of a relegation scrap. In what is always a bad sign, former loanee Paleka lines up against us. Well, that was a bad start. Havre left with three open targets on the edge of the area and one sliding it home easily enough after 20 minutes. Havre were clearly looking the better side for much of the game, we had to try something so I just told the guys to go attacking. On 65 minutes it almost came unstuck. Kabangu and Ansudane got in each other's way after Goni laid in the through ball, in the end Ansudane got boot first and equalised. We really were not good enough, but looked better when in a more attacking mode. Result : Drew 1-1. An international window will start September, a month which ends with a horror show. August was, well, ordinary. The table doesn't mean a lot yet, but the relegation threatened are separating ourselves from the others. Offers came in for our best youth players came in, I want more than is being offered for these guys though. The bids are all for 4.5 or 5-star potential players.
  7. June - July 2033 Dijon FCO Ligue Un I forgot to add the transfers history of the season. To the career history, and the reading isn't getting any better Season|Team |Competition | W| D| L| GF| GA| GD|Posn | Notes 20/21 |Sarnese |SerieC Cup | 0| 1| 1| 1| 2| -1|Group | | |SerieC/C | 7| 7| 26| 16| 79| -63|19th |Playouts 21/22 |Sarnese |SerieC Cup | 0| 2| 0| 0| 0| 0|Group | | |SerieC/C | 3| 7| 17| 25| 66| -41|20th |Resigned 37 of 38 games 22/23 |Melfi |SerieC Cup | 0| 1| 0| 2| 2| 0|Rnd 2 | | |Italian Cup | 0| 0| 1| 0| 2| -2| |2nd Qual Rd | |Serie C/C | 13| 13| 11| 47| 41| +6|11th | 23/24 |Melfi |SerieC Cup | 0| 1| 1| 1| 2| -1|Group | | |SerieC/C | 6| 5| 10| 20| 27| -7|14th |Sacked 21 of 28 games 23/24 |Achilles '29 |Jupiler League | 0| 6| 7| 10| 16| -6|14th |Playoff round 1 24/25 |Achilles '29 |Jupiler League | 1| 7| 8| 11| 25| -14|16th |Sacked after 16 of 38 games 24/25 |Stranraer |Scottish League 2 | 8| 2| 2| 21| 10| +11|6th |Took over 10th, after 24 of 36 25/26 |Stranraer |Betfred Cup | 2| 1| 1| 6| 4| +2|Group | 2nd in Group | |Challenge Cup | 1| 0| 1| 4| 5| -1|2nd Rd| | |Scottish Cup | 1| 0| 1| 3| 2| +1|3rd Rd| | |Scottish league 2 | 15| 11| 10| 44| 37| +7|4th |Lost playoff semi 26/27 |Stranraer |Betfred Cup | 1| 0| 3| 6| 7| -1|Group |4th in Group | |Challenge Cup | 4| 0| 1| 12| 5| +7|QtrFin| | |Scottish Cup | 1| 0| 1| 2| 2| +1|3rd Rd| | |Scottish league 2 | 5| 3| 11| 17| 32| -15|8th |Lost playoff semi 26/27 |Vendee Herbiers |French National | 3| 0| 1| 6| 4| +2|13th |Took over 16th, after 30 of 34 27/28 |Vendee Herbiers |French National | 18| 5| 11| 55| 46| +9|3rd |Playoff | |French Cup | 3| 0| 1| 14| 3| +11|8th Rd| | |Ligue 2 Playoff | 0| 0| 2| 0| 6| -6| | 28/29 |Vendee Herbiers |French National | 11| 9| 14| 41| 48| -7|13th | | |French Cup | 5| 0| 1| 21| 5| +11|10thRd|One win in extra time | |Coupe de la Ligue | 0| 0| 1| 0| 2| -2| | 29/30 |Dijon FCO |French Ligue 2 | 14| 16| 8| 48| 37| +11|5th | | |French Cup | 4| 0| 1| 16| 3| +13|11thRd| | |Coupe de la Ligue | 0| 1| 0| 2| 2| 0|Prelim|Penalty loss 30/31 |Dijon FCO |French Ligue 2 | 21| 6| 11| 57| 35| +22|1st |Promoted Champions | |French Cup | 1| 1| 0| 1| 0| +1|8th Rd|Penalty loss | |Coupe de la Ligue | 0| 2| 0| 4| 4| 0|1st Rd|1 pen win, 1 pen loss 31/32 |Dijon FCO |French Ligue 1 | 9| 10| 19| 43| 68| -25|15th | | |French Cup | 4| 0| 1| 8| 3| +5|Semis | | |Coupe de la Ligue | 1| 0| 1| 4| 5| -1|4th Rd| 32/33 |Dijon FCO |French Ligue 1 | 11| 12| 15| 43| 61| -18|13th | | |French Cup | 3| 0| 1| 6| 7| -1|QtrFin| | |Coupe de la Ligue | 1| 0| 1| 2| 1| +1|4th Rd| ================================================================================================================ Total Games 464 177 129 202 619 706 -87 35% 25% 40% 1.22 1.39 -0.171per game ================================================================================================================ Titles Dijon FCO French Ligue 2 2030/31 Awards Manager of the Month Stranraer Scottish League 2 2024/25 April, 2025 2025/26 October, 2025 Manager of the Month French Ligue 2 2031 Some awards were still being announced after the month ticked over. It was hardly a surprise that PSG's Brendan Rogers win manager of the season. Around the leagues English Premier – Man City 85, Liverpool 83, Chelsea 78, Man United 73 Italian Serie A – Inter 92, AC Milan 80, Juventus 76, Napoli 73 Spanish La Liga – Barcelona 100, Valenica 92, Real Madrid 90, Sevilla 64 European Champions League – Real Madrid on penalties 1-1 against Chelsea Transfer window opening: We had a backup goalkeeper already signed to arrive at the start of July. Robert Joly would likely stay when returning from loan, partly because Bony had expressed a wish to leave. With a replacement just about ready to begin rotating through it seemed reasonable to accept the request, if a decent deal could be done. They had been good for us, but the time of Antoine Bisson and Alberto Lischio at the club was over. Bisson played 111 games for Dijon, Lischi 114. Landeta's loan ended and he returned to Pamplona, after not getting the game time any of us would have liked. We also released James Fofana after 111 games at the club, age was starting to show. A depth issue might arise at some point. At that point, we were still over the wage budget due to the annual increments. And then I went and signed a new left back and tried for a centre back. The left back, Faboien Ferrero, is probably a slight improvement but not enough to make any real difference. The centre back did not end up coming here after agreeing terms. That did mean we had to find some deadwood to get rid of. There were plenty, it was getting anything for them – or even a zero offer in some cases – that was proving tricky. Joubert went to FC Metz for an initial £450k, so left back upgrade is basically paid for. That brought me back under the budget. In the end, I am very disappointed that more business did not occur before the season began. We just can't afford the type of player who will improve the squad, and certainly not enough of them. To the players who had internationals during the off-season. World Cup Qualifying: Izmr Curri (Kosovo) : decent but lost 1-0 to Poland; alright in a 5-0 smashing by Netherlands Asbjorn Farstad (Norway) : good in easy 5-0 over Liechtenstein; solid in 1-0 loss to Turkey Friendlies: Steve Ansudane (Comoros) : poor as Ethiopia won 5-1 Angel Castro (Ecuador) : disappointing in a tough 2-0 loss to Argentina, alright in 1-0 over Qatar Michel Gassama (Congo) : good game in 1-0 win against Egypt Screve Kabangu (DR Congo) : hattrick in 5-4 win over Ivory Coast, average in scoreless game against Peru Mandoiu Kamissoko (Mali) : not good as mail won 1-0 against Algeria Moustapha Mbaye (Senegal) : solid and clean sheet in 3-0 over South Africa; not called on much in 6-0 over Mozambique Elimane Seck (Senegal) : good against South Africa and Mozambique Under21 Friendlies Tiego Neves (France) : fairly good in the time he played in 3-0 over Scotland; decent enough 5-2 over Norway Under19 Friendlies Thibaut Thomas (France) : bog-average in 4-0 over Austria Finally, the previous clubs that I am still tracking: Sarnese (Italy) – Serie D still Melfi (Italy) – Serie C/C, 7th Achilles '29 (Holland) – Jupiler 16th Stranraer (Scotland) – League 2, 7th again, two seasons after relegating Vendee Herbiers Football (France) – 11th first season after being relegated to CFA-D A bad run of friendlies. Two (arguably three Hertha are Bundesliga after all) big clubs, and a draw against what seemed to close to first team West Brom is good, but some poor results against teams well below our status. The opening month of the league isn't an easy one either, not the toughest but not easy. And before the season begins, no big shock with the season preview.
  8. Liking the story approach, and writing in the third person about Monster's journey certainly adds to that. Also, that's a food set of results from the position the club was in on arrival.
  9. Its not great, but that may be the only way to complete the journey. Its been an epic, it needs a conclusion in whatever manner can be achieved.
  10. May 2033 Dijon FCO Ligue One Dijon FCO (13th, 9-12-13, 38pts, GD -22) v Olympique Lyonnais (3rd, 23-3-8, 72pts, GD +31) – Ligue 1, Match 35 of 38 [Match 17, Lost 4-0] Lyons weren't breaking us down as expected early on, although we certainly did have periods of having to hold the pressure. One of those saw us counter through Rolland and Ansudane. Running down the right the latter cut inside and managed to get the ball into Kabangu's path for us to have a goal without Lyons having taken a shot after 23 minutes. Lyons started pushing harder as a result, but made a big mistake after Mbaye cleared. A Lyons midfielder misjudged his header, just getting a glance on it and putting in front of Kabangu who broke the lines before they could recover and then ran around the goalkeeper for an open second a few minutes before half time. Not much was happening after the break, we brought on Stella for one of very few appearances. With the situation in the league, he is one player I would like to give some experience to now we have dead game. With around ten minutes to play, Ansudane presumably sealed the match with a blast through the gloves and into the underneath of the upright. And si it remained. Result : Won 3-0. FC Lorient (20th, 3-11-21, 20pts, GD -39) v Dijon FCO (13th, 10-12-13, 42pts, GD -19) – Ligue 1, Match 36 of 38 [Match 18, Drew 1-1] Lorient are not confirmed to relegate yet, that could happen this match. We made some selection changes for this one. Maybe that was a mistake, Lorient dominant early on and should have scored twice inside the first four minutes . We started going forward a bit more toward the end of the half, Kabangu squandering our only good chance. Ten minutes into the second half, arguably against the run of play, we managed to get on the board. Kabangu was double teamed, opening up room for Ansudane and the easy pass was followed by an almost equally easy goal. Two minutes later, Jay Dean scored his second of the season. Poor goalkeeping diving over the top of one that probably could have been gathered on foot. A third came with Kabangu firing hard from the edge of the area. The goalkeeper was there but the ball bounced from his hands into the net. Goni got injured late, which was a disappointment. Kouassi might come back before season's end to fill the role. Result : Won 3-0. I think its fair to say the scoreline flattered us. It ended up that Goni's final game of the season was a man of the match performance. Dijon FCO (13th, 11-12-13, 45pts, GD -16) v Toulouse FC (16th, 9-7-20, 34pts, GD -24) – Ligue 1, Match 37 of 38 [Match 19, Drew 1-1] A horrible mistake in the Toulouse defence, well two horrible mistakes really. A poorly directed backpass compounded by a dreadful first touch just as Kabangu was running down the recipient. Form there he ran on and wrong-footed the goalkeeper to put us ahead inside 75 seconds. Five minutes later we got very lucky again, a Toulouse striker slamming the ball into the crossbar with Mbaye no chance of laying anything on it. Mbaye was forced into an excellent save early in the second half, with Toulose creating more good chances than we were. On 70 minutes we kept having to clear, only for the ball to come back every time. On what I think was the sixth in succession, we finally couldn't keep the ball out and the long expected leveller came. They got a very easy second just minutes from the end to sink us. The stats sheet said we had twice as many shots in the game, but really the quality was not there. Result : Lost 2-1. Unlucky perhaps, but also deserved. Montpellier HSC (10th, 15-9-39, 54pts, GD -2) v Dijon FCO (13th, 11-12-14, 45pts, GD -17) – Ligue 1, Match 37 of 38 [Match 1, Won 1-0] Completely against the run of play, Theuns put one down the wing which Ansudane took to the corner and crossed in to Kabangu. And somehow accurate enough for him to gather an apply a close range finish. Both sides had plenty of half-chances throughout with few being realistic. On 78 minutes Mbaye floated under a cross, fel on his face, and an unmarked man on the far post was left a simple tap in. Not good enough in defence. That was followed by one of the more annoying penalties. Bony fouled a man just as the shot was going well wide. The call was correct, but there was no reason at all. Again, we had a lead to blow it with stupidity in the final 15 minutes. Result : Lost 2-1. And so the season ends. Two collapses getting us zero points from two leads. An interesting set of club awards, not exactly what I expected. I'm not sure Curri played on the right all season. Kouassi rarely plays in the selected position, usually as an attacking mid and sometimes on the right wing. We seemed to get better results playing a diamond. I would have also had Garcia ahead of Seck, but there is not much between our central defenders. Who knew this was an award in France? The new wage budget will be basically the same as we are spending now, with £9m in transfer available.
  11. April 2033 Dijon FCO Ligue Un Paris Saint Germain (Ligue 1, 1st) v Dijon FCO – French Cup, Quarter Final PSG won the Coupe de la Ligue during the week, so any chance they weren't taking cups seriously looked a little hopeful. Maybe they won't care about us given they have Champions League quarter-finals soon. We were 0-15 against them this season before this game, so not expecting anything. Ansudane unavailable with a second injury in quick succession. The PSG side didn't look a lot like their league side, but way too good for the likes of us still. It took them 25 minutes to score, but after that it didn't take long to do so again. And by half time it was four, only one of which we should have stopped. Kouassi got injured with around twenty minutes left to play, after we had made all our subs. Result : Lost 5-0. That's what their reserves do to us when we're playing well. PSG are just another planet. OGC Nice (4th, 16-7-8, 55pts, GD +9) v Dijon FCO (13th, 8-11-12, 29pts, GD -20) – Ligue 1, Match 32 of 38 [Match 14, Won 3-0] By the time we played this game, PSG had wrapped up the league title. Nice completely dominated throughout. It took them ages to actually manage to score. In fact, not until their next match. Result : Drew 0-0 Dijon FCO (13th, 8-12-12, 36pts, GD -20) v Angers SCO (14th, 9-8-15, 35pts, GD -12) – Ligue 1, Match 33 of 38 [Match 15, Won 3-2] We were certainly on top, the ball was in our possession and their defensive half for most of the opening half; but could not get a shot on target. They did, and beat the keeper, after about 40 minutes. Thankfully it was offside. Finally we made a proper move, after playing around with the ball for what seemed an excessive amount of time. It was Landeta who decided to try and make a play, Ansudane managed to slip in behind a defender and give us the lead the flow of play suggested we should have had long before. That was immediately followed by a very weak concession, failing to close down easily closed spaces and Mbaye waving the ball past at hip height so close it almost hit him. We did take the lead back though, Seck an unlikely goalscorer having come forward for a corner and unexpectedly finding himself with the ball after it had initially been cleared and put back into the area. Result : Won 2-1. Girodinis de Bordeaux (11th, 10-15-8, 45pts, GD +1) v Dijon FCO (13th, 9-12-12, 39pts, GD -19) – Ligue 1, Match 34 of 38 [Match 16, Won 3-1; League Cup, Lost 1-0] The game started slowly, with neither team getting many shots away. When we did, we wasted ours. Bordeaux did not. Twenty minutes in they got their first shot, and first goal. It wasn't long until they had three, from only five shots. Meanwhile, Ansudane had launched toe-poke after toe-poke, dribbling many on line but easily picked off. We threw everything at trying to create something to at least be able point to a goal for our control of the play. All that happened is we lost that control, but did not concede again. Result : Lost 3-0. Truly pitiful result after being on top, but not able to take advantage on the scoreline. That was a short and mixed month. The results were not great, but we avoided the relegation playoff the day before our next match with Nimes Olympique 12 points adrift and only having three games remaining. In those terms, the board's objective is achieved. We aren't any better than last year, but are paying more in wages. That's a net step backwards.
  12. I have played it. April should be up soon. I can't say I went into it with any confidence the cup was winnable.
  13. March 2033 Dijon FCO Ligue One AJ Auxerre (Ligue 1, 5th) v Dijon FCO – French Cup, 11th Round In the third minute Farstad had gone forward to add pressure around the goal on a free kick, and put the ball home for us. He was only about six metres offside, so it really didn't count. We even controlled the opening stages, but as the game wore on Auxerre started getting well on top and we had to pull back a little and be patient. Ansudane came on as a sub on the left wing, with around 65 played he went on a run beating two men and cutting inboard to lay off for Curri to score despite being heavily marked. Again Farstad got himself on the end of a flick on following a free kick, this time onside, but putting the ball narrowly wide. We lost Landeta to injury late in the game, which at least Kouassi ten minutes and he looked alright. Result : Won 1-0. And that will end the cup, PSG in the quarter final and next in the league. Dijon FCO (14th, 7-10-11, 31pts, GD -18) v Paris Saint Germain (1st, 23-5-0, 74pts GD +63) – Ligue 1, Match 29 of 38 [Match 11, Lost 11-0] We were reasonably competitive early on, but never looked like making a breakthrough. And when Renilton was on the end of something we looked to have covered, it set the stage for the floodgates to open again. That was on 15 minutes, a second came for PSG on 33. At least it was only two in a half, much better. Possibly the worst injury of all occurred with 20 to play, Mbaye getting a sprained wrist. Neves may be a future goalkeeper, he's not a “now” goalkeeper. PSG kept up the pressure and the goals. After that first goal we never again looked in the same league as them. Result : Lost 4-0. FC Metz (15th, 7-7-15, 28pts, GD -15) v Dijon FCO (14th, 7-10-12, 31pts, GD -22) – Ligue 1, Match 30 of 38 [Match 12, Drew 1-1] Things started well for us. Metz suffered a third minute injury, and more importantly Kouassi scored an eighth minute goal. We're playing the narrow 4-3-1-2 for a few games while Landeta is injured, partly for that reason and also because single striker just hasn't been working. Kouassi as attacking mid can work. After that Metz upped the ante, and we started fouling all over the place. A mad scramble with 30 played seemed to have given Metz a goal, but somehow despite the slides, the open tap ins and everything else neither a goal or a penalty eventuated and Neves eventually found a way to hold the ball. With 80 minutes gone we dropped back to a central diamond to try and avoid exactly what happened. Metz on a ruin, no pressure, in behind and an easy goal. A last minute chance for us, foiled by Ansudane being brought down in the box by the last defender. No foul, then sub Senechal sprayed the second effort wildly into the stands. Once again we can't secure a win after leading at 80 minutes. Result : Drew 1-1. Dijon FCO (14th, 7-11-12, 32pts, GD -22) v SC Bastia (9th, 12-6-12, 42pts, GD +3) – Ligue 1, Match 31 of 38 [Match 13, Drew 3-3] I can't quite describe how bad the opening moments were. Bastia did not do anything especially clever, yet had unmarked men everywhere and a cross from deep was volleyed home like it was the of training and just mucking about before hitting the showers. No urgency in their play, yet nothing to cause them any stress either. Five minutes later, our reliable players were giving the ball upo cheaply yet somehow we got a high percentage shot away. Kouassi hit the crossbar. Kabangu finally got on to a rebound and hit home from a metre out. We had equalised, but were playing very badly. Some very patient passing in the attacking third, something I wasn't keen on given how we had given the ball up earlier, resulted in Ansudane scoring our second. A lot of short passing under some tight marking, sometimes we can be not terrible. Of course, there are other times. We followed that with an end to end move that began with a risky backpass. Neves thankfully not asleep, Kouassi in the middle os some quicker movement up the middle, making a mistake and recovering, then feeding Kabangu for our third. A well placed shot this time, perhaps he is being played into form. When it works, the Kouassi, Ansudane, Kabangu combination can be very good. Kouassi had four assists just a few minutes into the second half and both strikers a brace. And Kouassi looked a certainty for a goal himself, but his touch was just a little heavy allowing their goalkeeper to take it off his feet. Bastia grabbed a second, the other (Carlos) Ansudane the scorer. I'm still not sure if the two are related but I presume so. Result : Won 4-2. After we started so poorly, that first goal seemed to provide a spark. We then went into an international window, carrying some momentum hopefully. We gained a point on Toulouse over the month, leaving us ten points clear with seven to play. We should be safe now. PSG are just dominant. Ansudane got injured at training, he was dropped from the Comoros squad as a result. World Cup Qualifying Izmir Curri (Kosovo) : played the full game without impact in a loss to Ireland Angel Castro (Ecusador) : decent enough in a draw against Argentina, alright in a loss to Chile European Champs U19 Qualifying Yohann Rolland (France) : not great against Turkey, or in the loss to Portugal, or when subbed off against Sweden Friendly James Fofana (Sierra Leone) : man of the match in a scoreless game against Guinea-Bissau Michael Gassama (Congo) : media said he was lucky to be in the squad as he hasn't been getting club football but did well albeit against Burundi Moustapha Mbaye (Senegal) : OK in a draw with Cameroon Screve Kabangu (DR Congo) : hattrick against Zambia Selimane Seck (Senegal) : on as a sub in that game against Cameroon
  14. Off to South America it seems. I just realised how many levels you have set yourself in Europe. That's quite a task.
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