Putting The Sparkle Back Into Stade de Reims Champagne (FGC)

[Nathan Pike]

Stade Reims

Back Then:

Champions of France: 1949, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1962

French Cup winners: 1950, 1958

European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League):

1956 Real Madrid 4-3 Stade Reims

1959 Real Madrid 2-0 Stade Reims

Star Players: Just Fontaine, Raymond Kopa

Legendary Manager: Albert Batteux (9 league titles – 5 with Stade Reims and 4 with Saint-Etienne)

And Now (July 2001):

French National (3rd tier of French football)

Board Expectation: A respectable league position

Current Manager: Nathan Pike (former Tottenham and Olympique Marseille midfielder in his first managerial role)

Technical Details:

CM01/02 3.9.60 (original data) with all French leagues selected on a maximum database

[Nathan Pike]

Everyone has to start somewhere. My start is at Stade de Reims Champagne, more commonly known as Stade Reims.

The club of today is a far cry from the one that won 6 French titles and 2 French Cups as well as being twice runners-up to Real Madrid in the European Cup Final in an astonishingly successful 14-year period from 1949 to 1962.

Today Stade Reims languishes in the French National, the third tier of French football. There are 21 players on the club’s books with an average age of 26.48 years, so the squad definitely needs an injection of youth.

Goalkeepers:

Olivier Tingry – GK, 29, French

Defenders:

Wilfried Bertrand – SW/D C, 26, French

Patrick Desseaux – D RL, 34, French

David Ducourtioux – D RL, 23, French

Fabrice Harvey – D R, 36, French

Dioutou Fall – D C, 22, Senegalese

Cyril Lafond – D C, 26, French

Ludovic Liron – D C, 23, French

Franck Mazuel – D C, 32, French

Midfielders:

Christophe Laurent – DM C, 26, French

Olivier Letang – DM C, 28, French

Jeremy Denquin – M RC, 24, French

Serguei Iakovlev – M R, 27, Ukrainian

Emmanuel Viard – M/F RLC, 29, French

Jonathan Guillou – M C, 22, French

David Francois – AM/F RC, 31, French

Ludovic Pallier – AM/F R, 23, French

Forwards:

Rodrigue Akpakoun – F RLC, 26, Benian/French

Cedric Liabeuf – F RL, 21, French

Abdelkader Adoul – S C, 20, French

Cyril Cassese – S C, 28, French

My immediate priorities are another goalkeeper and a left-sided midfielder. There is £1M in the transfer kitty, but I suspect I’ll have trouble attracting anyone of quality to Stade Reims considering the position they are in.

I have three weeks until the club’s first league fixture away to Pau on 14th August 2001 and there are currently no friendlies scheduled in which to evaluate the players. It’s going to be a hectic start if I’m going to put the sparkle back into Stade de Reims Champagne.

[Wegason]

As long as you lose to Pau, I'll support your title assault Hang on a minute, I'm not Edgar Allen! Best of luck with the challenge Nathan.

[Nathan Pike]

I dealt with the gaps in the squad first as goalkeeper Stephane Cassard was quickly signed on a free transfer. The 28yo Frenchman was formerly with Montpellier, Le Havre and Sochaux and he may well be my starting keeper.

Looking for some flair on the left of midfield I was lucky to land Agostinho. The 25yo Portuguese D/AM L was previously with Spanish side Malaga and Vitoria Guimaraes in his native Portugal and he looks a class above the rest of my squad.

In the end there was only time to organise one friendly as non-league Bayonne were lined up for a match at our 7,000 capacity Stade August-Delaune. I was very annoyed however when Arles accepted and then cancelled another friendly that would have given me valuable time to analyse the squad further.

28.07.01

Friendly

Reims 3 Pallier 4, Cassese 20, 46

Bayonne 2 Renard 25, Ipharraguerre 49

Cassard; Desseaux, Lafond (Liron), Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier (Iakovlev), Francois (Letang), Denquin (Guillou), Viard; Akpakoun (Adoul), Cassese (Liabeuf).

I sent the team out in an attacking 4-4-2 formation with Bertrand wearing the captain’s armband. Pallier quickly fired us ahead after 4 minutes and Cassese doubled the lead with a strong header from Desseaux’s cross in the 20th minute. When Cassard could only block Ipharraguerre’s shot after 25 minutes Renard pounced on the rebound to pull the score back to 2-1. The second half began sweetly as Cassese drove in Pallier’s cross after 46 minutes, but again we conceded soon after scoring as Ipharraguerre headed home from a corner to make it 3-2 in the 49th minute. Both sides punctuated the second half with a swathe of substitutions that killed off any rhythm to the match and in the end I was more than happy to accept a 3-2 win in my first game in charge.

[Nathan Pike]

04.08.01

National Round 1

Pau 0

Reims 3 Agostinho 13, Cassese 86, Denquin 88

Cassard; Desseaux (Francois), Liron, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Viard, Denquin, Agostinho; Akpakoun (Adoul), Cassese.

It’s a great start to the season as Agostinho caps his debut with a fine free-kick after 13 minutes to open the scoring. A dominant first half ends with us still only one goal up. Despite excellent chances to Cassese and Akpakoun the second goal will just not come. Desseaux succumbs to an ankle injury after 66 minutes which forces a reshuffle, but it is not until the sending off of Pau’s Maurice after 86 minutes that we finally seal the match. Cassese heads home Denquin’s corner for the second goal from the restart and then Denquin himself turns in the rebound from Francois’s blocked shot to make it 3-0 after 88 minutes.

After the match Desseaux is ruled out for a month with an ankle ligament injury.

[Nathan Pike]

10.08.01

National Round 2

Reims 1 Denquin 90+2

Angouleme 0

Cassard; Harvey, Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Viard (Francois), Denquin, Agostinho; Akpakoun (Adoul), Cassese.

Angouleme gives us a much tougher match than Pau, but neither side finds much to trouble the opposing keeper in the opening first half other than Agostinho’s speculative shot which strikes the crossbar after 37 minutes. The introduction of Adoul for Akpakoun after 55 minutes livens up our forward line and the substitute goes close on several occasions. We definitely have Angouleme on the ropes, but the goal will not come. Finally in the second minute of injury time Adoul wriggles free to fire in a fierce effort, but the keeper Chauray pulls off a superb save. He could not however hold the ball and Denquin lunges in to stab home a late winner for Reims.

[Nathan Pike]

14.08.01

National Round 3

Besancon 2 Capoue 51, M’Banza 90+1

Reims 5 Lafond pen 15, Viard 35, 56, Francois 89, Adoul 90+3

Cassard; Harvey (Francois), Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Viard, Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul, Cassese.

Adoul’s performance against Angouleme earns him a start today. A corner after 15 minutes results in a terrific scramble in the Besancon box and ends in a penalty for us after their keeper Desmars hauls down Lafond. Desmars is booked, but he can’t stop Lafond from giving us the lead from the spot. The lead is doubled after 35 minutes when Viard’s long cross fortuitously swerves into the net to make it 2-0. The goals keep coming as Capoue pulls one back for Besancon with a terrific long shot that leaves Cassard grasping at thin air in the 51st minute. Viard’s second goal is much more deliberate as he makes it 3-1 with a well-placed shot in the 56th minute. The team holds the lead well until Francois appears to caps the day with a fourth goal via a fine header. M’Banza heads home for Besancon in injury-time to make it 4-2, but Reims has the final word as Adoul deservedly heads in Denquin’s corner just before the final whistle to make the final score 5-2.

After three rounds and three wins Reims sits atop the National division and leads on goal-difference from Toulouse, Cannes and Clermont.

[EvilDave]

Nice start Nathan, well-written and off to a flyer in the league. Good luck with the challenge, I'll be following

[Nathan Pike]

Thanks for the support, EvilDave. There's a long way to go yet.

And Wegason, sorry about beating Pau (and I recognise your reference to flipsix3's great story).

[Nathan Pike]

18.08.01

National Round 4

Reims 0

Dijon 1 Gibert 33

Cassard; Letang (Guillou), Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Viard, Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul, Cassese (Francois).

36-year-old Harvey has shown he’s not the answer at right-back, so defensive midfielder Letang is pressed into action there. Despite shading the overall play, Reims falters in front of goal, particularly Adoul. After 33 minutes a fine attack by Dijon results in Gibert drilling a shot past Cassard for a 1-0 lead to the visitors. With Letang looking uncomfortable I replace him with Guillou in the 64th minute as we shift from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2, but Dijon still defends well. Cassese has managed only one shot, so Francois replaces him for the final twenty minutes. It matters little in the end though as our 100% record is ended as Dijon triumph 1-0 at our stadium.

[Nathan Pike]

25.08.01

National Round 5

Brest 0

Reims 2 Agostinho 42, Pallier 52

Cassard; Letang (Liron), Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Viard (Guillou), Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul, Cassese (Francois).

Defensive midfielder Letang gets another chance at right-back, but it just doesn’t work for him and he must be subbed at half-time by the central defender Liron. By then we are a goal up as the wingers Pallier and Agostinho combine for Agostinho to volley a shot past keeper Cado for a 1-0 lead after 42 minutes. The roles are reversed in the 52nd minute as Agostinho’s shot cannons off the crossbar and Pallier drives home the rebound to make it 2-0. Thankfully Agostinho and Pallier are in great form because our strikers Adoul and Cassese can’t muster a shot between them in the whole ninety minutes. The defence looks strong however with Cassard making several fine saves and Lafond and Bertrand snuffing out their forwards as we win 2-0 on the road.

[Nathan Pike]

31.08.01

National Round 6

Reims 4 Pallier 6, 90+2, Guillou 58, Adoul 70

Calais 1 Thetis 17

Cassard; Liron (Fall), Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Viard (Guillou), Denquin, Agostinho (Francois); Adoul, Cassese.

Liron is today’s right-back in the problem position caused by Desseaux’s injury. Pallier lashes in a loose ball after 6 minutes to give us the lead, but it is soon 1-1 when Thetis nods home a corner after 17 minutes. Calais gives us a tough battle, but Cassard is on top of his game and he denies Vasseur twice with fabulous saves. Viard is carried off after 53 minutes with a badly gashed leg, but his replacement Guillou takes only five minutes to make an impact as he beautifully lobs Schille to restore our lead. That breaks Calais’s spirit and Guillou picks out Adoul for a headed goal after 70 minutes to make it 3-1. In injury-time Pallier ices the cake with a volley from Denquin’s corner to make it 4-1 and take us back to the top of the National table.

[Nathan Pike]

Desseaux’s injury can’t be covered with the personnel that we currently have, so I sign Hamada Jambay, a 26yo D R/L who comes in on a free transfer after service at Toulouse and Marseille.

After six matches we are top of the table and the team is looking impressive with Cassard looking brilliant in goal. Bertrand and Lafond are forming a solid partnership in the centre of defence whilst Ducourtioux has the left-back position under control. Only the right-back position is an issue due to Desseaux’s injury, but Jambay has been signed and Desseaux himself will soon be fit again. On the wings Pallier and Agostinho are providing great service as well as scoring themselves. Denquin is proving to be a great holding midfielder who can also score goals, but Viard has been running hot and cold in the attacking midfielder’s role. Guillou may well take Viard’s place now that he has been injured. Up front Cassese has worked hard without getting the rewards whilst Adoul has ousted Akpakoun who was initially a starter. The versatility of Francois makes him a fine bench player in this league where only three substitutes are available for selection.

Pos     Team                Pld  Won  Drn  Lst  For  Ag   Pts
-------------------------------------------------------------
1st     REIMS               6    5    0    1    15   4    15 
2nd     Toulouse            6    5    0    1    15   7    15 
3rd     Racing CP           6    4    2    0    15   9    14 
4th     Clermont            5    4    1    0    9    4    13 
-------------------------------------------------------------
5th     Lusitanos           6    4    1    1    8    4    13 
6th     Dijon               6    4    0    2    7    6    12 

[Nathan Pike]

04.09.01

National Round 7

La Roche 0

Reims 5 Adoul 3, 33, 79, Lafond 4, pen 26

Cassard; Jambay (Fall), Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier (Francois), Guillou, Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul (Akpakoun), Cassese.

Jambay makes his debut at right-back and we are 1-0 up after 3 minutes as Pallier releases Adoul for a confident close-range finish. A minute later it is 2-0 as Lafond crashes home Denquin’s corner. La Roche are shell-shocked as shots rain in on their goal, but the third after 26 minutes is a penalty by Lafond after Guillou is fouled by Rognard. Ducourtioux overlaps down the left wing in the 33rd minute and picks out Adoul who volleys Reims into a 4-0 lead. The brilliance of the first half cannot be maintained into the second period, but the quality is still high. Adoul collects a hat-trick as he heads home Agostinho’s cross after 79 minutes to give us an excellent 5-0 triumph which leaves the chairman and his board absolutely delighted with our performance.

[Manxie_Ash]

Really, really good start. Keep it up

[Faramir]

Good start Nathan! I almost signed Jambay (seven years after you did ) as he was on free transfer again when I was looking for backfield depth.

[Nathan Pike]

I appreciate the support, Manxie and Faramir.

----------

08.09.01

National Round 8

Reims 3 Denquin 21, Adoul 38, 44

Toulouse 2 Bancarel 40, 50

Cassard; Jambay, Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux (Desseaux); Pallier, Guillou, Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul, Cassese.

This is our first big test as league leaders as we host second-placed Toulouse. After a slow start Denquin breaks the deadlock in the 21st minute with a surging run and a shot high into Revault’s net from eighteen yards out. Revault then denies Adoul, Pallier and Guillou as we start to take control. A deserved second goal arrives when Cassese crosses for Adoul to head home after 38 minutes, but with two minutes Bancarel pulls a goal back for Toulouse from a long throw-in. However we still take a two-goal lead into the break when Adoul heads in Pallier’s excellent cross to make it 3-1. Toulouse starts strongly in the second half and Bancarel pounces on a loose ball after 50 minutes to beat Cassard and make it 3-2. The players react well though and they boss the remainder of the match with Guillou and Adoul both hitting the crossbar with attempts to extend our lead. In the end Reims wins 3-2 to extend their lead at the top of the National table.

[Nathan Pike]

15.09.01

National Round 9

Clermont 2 Boulanger 53, 90+1

Reims 2 Cassese 59, Adoul 83

Cassard; Jambay, Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Guillou (Viard) (Akpakoun), Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul, Cassese.

Having disposed of Toulouse we now face third-placed Clermont who are the only unbeaten club after eight matches. Our start is very good as we pen Clermont back, but the final ball or shot on goal always goes astray. The closest we come to scoring is when Adoul’s free-kick strikes the side-netting after 29 minutes. The second half sees Clermont open the scoring after 50 minutes as Boulanger’s hopeful shot deflects off Lafond and completely deceives Cassard. Having gone a goal down against the run of play we respond with Guillou’s shot that smacks against the post. A minute later Cassese sidefoots home a loose ball to make it 1-1 and draws us level. Viard replaces Guillou as we go for the winner, but he is injured himself and Akpakoun takes his place. In the 83rd minute Pallier dribbles clear and drives a shot goalwards, keeper Enjoiras makes a great block, but the ball spins free and Adoul stabs us into a 2-1 lead. We looked to have done enough to win it, but in the first minute of injury-time Boulanger slides in at the near post to turn in a Gas cross to make the final score 2-2.

[Nathan Pike]

22.09.01

National Round 10

Reims 3 Adoul 8, Cassese 10, Pallier 90

Lusitanos 0

Cassard; Jambay (Desseaux), Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Guillou, Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul, Cassese.

Lusitanos are the visitors this week and we overpower them with some fine football, although better finishing from us could easily have doubled the final scoreline. Guillou continues his fine form with a precise cross after 8 minutes for Adoul to head us in front. Just two minutes later Cassese nets the rebound from Pallier’s blocked shot and it’s 2-0. After that the one-way traffic continued, but the woodwork denies Adoul and Agostinho further goals. Lusitanos ride their luck in the second half as Pallier and Lafond also find the frame of the goal, but finally in the 90th minute Guillou breaks free and lays the ball off for Pallier to lash it home for a 3-0 win.

[Nathan Pike]

In the space of one week both of my first-team coaches are poached by Second Division clubs. Daniel Bolvin joins Le Havre whilst Lionel Richard moves to Nimes. There’s £60K in compensation for the club as a result. I immediately set about finding replacements and the first to sign is the former Beavais player David Ringot, a man with excellent attributes in all the coaching departments. A couple of days later the former Greek international Giannis Kallintzakis signs on for his first stint as a coach after retiring from playing at the end of the previous season.

I’ve decided that I’ve seen enough of the players in training and on the pitch to make some decisions about their futures. Skipper Wilfried Bertrand and winger Ludovic Pallier are in the final year of their contracts, but they are both offered improved deals until June 2004 which they quickly accept.

Right-back Fabrice Harvey is 36 years old, but amazingly he has a contract until June 2007 when he will be 42. I transfer-list him after seeing that he no longer has the physical attributes to keep pace with the game, but I doubt there will be many takers. Right winger Serguei Iakovlev is also transfer-listed after failing to impress me, but at least there is some chance that another club will come for him.

[Nathan Pike]

29.09.01

National Round 11

Boulogne 0

Reims 5 Cassese 8, Agostinho 20, 45, Bertrand 21, Pallier 73

Cassard; Jambay (Desseaux), Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Guillou (Francois), Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul (Akpakoun), Cassese.

Cassese finds the net for the third game running as he volleys us into an 8th minute lead at Boulogne. The home side then register what turns out to be their only shot on goal as Ternisien shoots straight at Cassard after 12 minutes. A stunning twenty-five yard effort from Agostinho soon has us 2-0 up after 20 minutes and a minute later Bertrand celebrates his new contract with his first goal for Reims as he prods home a loose ball following Denquin’s corner. We keep the pressure up and go into the break 4-0 up after Agostinho curls a delightful free-kick into the top corner of the Boulogne net. The players continue their fine player into the second period, but with the game obviously in hand I make a triple substitution to give the bench players a run. Francois again impresses and he is unfortunate that I cannot find a starting position for him. In the 73rd minute Francois weaves past two tackles and unselfishly sets up Pallier who drills the ball home to make it 5-0. That’s the third time we’ve scored five goals in a match this season and it was our most dominating display.

[Nathan Pike]

September was another fine month as we maintained our lead at the top of the National table. Four wins and a draw left us unbeaten since mid-August, but Clermont and Toulouse are still breathing down our neck. Abdelkader Adoul has 9 goals so far which puts him third on the goalscorer’s chart behind Clermont’s Vincent Boulanger on 11 goals and Toulouse’s Anthony Bancarel on 10 goals.

Pos     Team                Pld  Won  Drn  Lst  For  Ag   Pts
-------------------------------------------------------------
1st     REIMS               11   9    1    1    33   8    28 
2nd     Clermont            11   8    3    0    21   11   27 
3rd     Toulouse            11   8    1    2    29   15   25 
4th     Racing CP           11   6    4    1    28   18   22 
-------------------------------------------------------------
5th     Sete                11   6    2    3    19   11   20 
6th     Cannes              11   6    2    3    18   15   20 
7th     Calais              11   6    2    3    19   17   20 
8th     Lusitanos           11   6    2    3    16   14   20 

[Nathan Pike]

02.10.01

League Cup Preliminary Round

Reims 2 Francois 20, Cassese 42

Boulogne 0

Tingry; Desseaux, Fall, Bertrand, Ducourtioux (Jambay); Pallier, Francois, Denquin, Agostinho (Viard); Adoul (Akpakoun), Cassese.

Boulogne are the visitors just three days after we put five past them on their own ground, but today is a League Cup tie and I have made several changes. Tingry starts in goal and Fall replaces Lafond at centre-half whilst Francois gets a start in the centre of the midfield at Guillou’s expense. Francois takes 20 minutes to justify my faith as he times a late run into the box to head home Agostinho’s cross. Ducatel hits our crossbar after 41 minutes as Boulogne threaten an equaliser, but a minute later Cassese nods in Desseaux’s cross to give us a 2-0 half-time lead. Boulogne put us under plenty of pressure in the second half, but Tingry puts in a solid display in goal to keep a clean sheet whilst Francois twice hits the post in a man-of-the-match performance as we move into the First Round of the League Cup.

La Roche come in with a £100K bid for winger Serguei Iakovlev which I immediately accept. The Ukrainian is obviously keen to go as he knows he is not part of my plans and the deal is done and dusted in less than twenty-four hours.

[Nathan Pike]

05.10.01

National Round 12

Reims 1 Adoul 5

Noisy-le-Sec 2 Boniface 45, Terrier 61

Cassard; Desseaux, Fall (Jambay), Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Francois, Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul, Cassese.

Cassard returns in goal, but Fall and Francois keep their places at the expense of Lafond and Guillou as we return to league action. Adoul soon has his tenth goal of the season as he clips in Francois’s cross after 5 minutes to give us a 1-0 lead. Adoul the misses from the penalty spot after 20 minutes when Lucas saves his penalty after Nancy had earlier fouled Cassese just inside the box. Despite having little of the play Noisy-le-Sec equalise right on the stroke of half-time as Cassard can only block Diop’s header and Boniface drives in the rebound. Adoul, Desseaux, Pallier and Denquin all come close to restoring our lead, but again against the run of play our opponents breaking away and Terrier heads home Ibrahim’s cross to give Noisy-le-Sec a 2-1 lead after 61 minutes. Their keeper Lucas then tops off his man-of-the-match display by saving brilliantly from Pallier, Agostinho and Adoul in the last fifteen minutes to ensure we go down 2-1 at home for our second defeat of the season.

[Nathan Pike]

09.10.01

National Round 13

Sete 1 Moureaux 61

Reims 2 Cassese 11, Pallier 24

Cassard; Desseaux, Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux (Jambay); Pallier, Francois (Guillou), Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul, Cassese.

Agostinho and Pallier both go close early on before Cassese strikes the opener against Sete after 11 minutes with a well-placed shot. Reims continues to control the match and Pallier heads in Agostinho’s free-kick to make it 2-0 in the 24th minute. Both sides hit the woodwork just before the break as Follana heads against post for Sete and Pallier volleys against the crossbar for Reims. Sete starts the second half stronger than us and they get a goal to pull it back to 2-1 as Moureaux curls a fine free-kick past Cassard after 61 minutes. Another Moureaux free-kick crashes against our crossbar in the 77th minute as the home side comes within an inch of equalising. Late on Guillou has the ball in the net from Agostinho’s cross, but it is ruled out for offside. In the end it doesn’t matter as we win 2-1 to continue our reign at the top of the table.

After the match I take a call from the manager of Second Division side Grenoble as he offers me £230K for midfielder Jeremy Denquin. The offer is quickly rebuffed in no uncertain terms. Denquin is going nowhere as far as I’m concerned.

[Nathan Pike]

13.10.01

National Round 14

Reims 4 Adoul 45, Pallier 53, 65, 81

Ales 2 Boukoko 72, Falzon 89

Cassard; Desseaux (Jambay), Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux (Viard); Pallier, Francois, Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul, Cassese.

A low key first half appears destined to be scoreless as Ales are the closest to score when Boukoko crashes a shot against the crossbar in the 27th minute, but Adoul changes that in injury-time when he leaps high to home Ducourtioux’s deep cross for a 1-0 lead. A fine flowing move after 53 minutes involving Francois and Agostinho ends with Pallier heading home at the far post to double our lead. We are now in total control and Agostinho picks out Pallier again in the 65th minute for our right-winger to head us 3-0 ahead. Boukoko pulls a goal back for Ales when he drills in a loose ball after 72 minutes, but Pallier grabs himself a hat-trick in the 81st minute with a sweet volley from the edge of the box as the score moves to 4-1. In the 89th minute Boukoko dries a low cross through our area for their substitute Falzon to knock in his first ever goal and make the final scoreline 4-2, but we were never seriously threatened throughout the entire game.

We now have a two-week break due to internationals, but instead of recharging everyone’s batteries it ends up with Cassard, Viard and Liabeuf all suffering injuries. Cassard’s thigh strain is the most important injury and although he will probably miss only one match with Tingry able to deputise for him, it does leave us with only one fit goalkeeper.

In the break First Division Troyes makes a bid of £100K for David Francois, but instead I offer him an improved contract until June 2004 which he signs within a couple of days. Striker Cyril Cassese also signs a new contract up to June 2004 as well. With the re-signing of this pair I now have all the entire first team squad on contract until at least the end of next season.

[Nathan Pike]

27.10.01

National Round 15

Angers 3 Savevjong 65, Savidan 84, Maufroy 90+1

Reims 0

Tingry (Akpakoun); Desseaux, Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Francois, Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul (Guillou), Cassese.

Tingry starts in goal due to Cassard’s injury, but he only lasts 12 minutes before tearing a calf muscle. Striker Akpakoun volunteers to come on as a substitute in his place, but we will really be up against it now. Angers senses our vulnerability and they throw men forward looking for the opening goal. Stroni hammers a shot against the crossbar with Akpakoun flatfooted after 17 minutes and then in the 30th minute Stroni finds the net, only for it to be ruled out for offside. Lafond comes close to giving us the lead with a 37th minute header before we ride our luck again as Baylet’s header is ruled out for offside against Hutteau after 42 minutes. It’s 0-0 at the interval and soon after the restart Adoul misses an open goal with a horrific miskick from six yards out in the 51st minute. Our defensive luck runs out in the 65th minute when Savevjong bundles home a loose ball to give Angers a 1-0 lead. Akpakoun does his best with a couple of nice saves, but after 84 minutes he is beaten again as he fails to catch Hutteau’s cross and Savidan nods in a simple header to make it 2-0. In injury-time another high ball into the box deceives Akpakoun and Maufroy heads another goal as Angers wins 3-0 to give us our biggest defeat of the season so far.

Tingry’s calf injury will keep him out for month and that means that I may have to sign an extra goalkeeper on loan in order to cover Cassard, although our regular number one should be fit to return for our next match.

[Faramir]

Time to shrug off that last match Nathan. Sorry to see the loss to Noisy-le-Sec, but they remain my favorite French side, so.... Good luck on getting out of National!

[Nathan Pike]

Time to shrug off that last match Nathan. Sorry to see the loss to Noisy-le-Sec, but they remain my favorite French side, so.... Good luck on getting out of National!

Thanks Faramir. Having only three substitutes (in the CM01/02 version anyway) means that I can't have the luxury of a second keeper on the bench, so we were obviously under the cosh when Tingry got injured and Akpakoun had to take his place.

Hopefully we'll get our revenge on Noisy-le-Sec in the return match (and unfortunately disappoint you into the bargain ).

[Nathan Pike]

October wasn’t the best of months with two wins and two losses in our four league matches, but those teams close to us also failed to do their best and we were able to maintain our lead of the National table.

As would be expected our fine form has lifted the profiles of our better players and other clubs are now starting to watch our best performers. Bids have already come in (and been rejected) for Denquin and Francois whilst media speculation has been busy with regards to possible moves for Pallier, Agostinho and skipper Bertrand.

Pos     Team                Pld  Won  Drn  Lst  For  Ag   Pts
-------------------------------------------------------------
1st     REIMS               15   11   1    3    40   16   34 
2nd     Toulouse            15   10   3    2    35   18   33 
3rd     Racing CP           15   9    5    1    34   21   32 
4th     Clermont            15   8    5    2    25   17   29 
-------------------------------------------------------------
5th     Calais              15   8    3    4    26   24   27 
6th     Sete                15   7    4    4    24   16   25 
7th     Dijon               15   7    4    4    17   14   25 

[Nathan Pike]

03.11.01

French Cup Sixth Round

Carquefou 1 Marchand 31

Reims 5 Adoul 12, 102, 104, Viard 108, Akpakoun 112

Cassard; Desseaux (Jambay), Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Francois (Laurent), Denquin (Guillou), Viard; Akpakoun, Adoul.

Agostinho is serving a one-match suspension for yellow cards accumulated and Cassese has a slight knee strain, so Viard and Akpakoun start in their places in this French Cup tie against non-league side Carquefou. As would be expected we set about our inferior opponents as Akpakoun, Adoul and Viard all went close to scoring. The first goal soon arrives as Adoul nets the rebound from his own blocked shot after 12 minutes. Totally against the run of play Carquefou equalise as Marchand towers above Bertrand to head them level at 1-1 after 31 minutes. For the remainder of normal time we pummel Carquefou with shot after shot with Pallier striking the post and Jambay hitting the crossbar in the closest attempts, but the ninety minutes ends with the teams tied at 1-1. Having lasted to the end of normal time Carquefou roll over and die in extra-time as Adoul scores with a fine volley and a header to register a hat-trick. Further headers from Viard and Akpakoun drive the final score out to 5-1 as we move through to the Seventh Round.

With reserve keeper Olivier Tingry out for a month with a calf muscle injury I bring in Martigues’ 20yo third string keeper Laurent Tudela on loan as cover for the rest of the season.

League rules allow us one free transfer signing (which I have already used on Hamada Jambay) and one transfer signing between the end of August and the end of December. Looking for a strong central defensive signing I offer Benfica £100K for their B team centre-half Nuno Abreu. The offer is accepted, but Abreu rejects the moves as he fears he will have trouble acclimatising to life in France.

[Nathan Pike]

09.11.01

National Round 16

Reims 1 Pallier 78

Racing CP 0

Cassard; Jambay, Lafond, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Guillou, Denquin, Agostinho; Adoul (Akpakoun), Cassese.

We are back to full strength for the visit of third-placed Racing Club de Paris in what should be a tough encounter. Instead we find that only one player stands between us and a big win and that is the former French international keeper Bernard Lama who has been playing out of his skin for Racing CP since joining them on a free transfer at the start of the season. Lama makes seven or eight brilliant saves throughout the match and it takes a superb effort from Pallier to beat him in the 78th minute and win the match for us. Pallier dribbles past Diallo, Lalisse and Dicanot before unleashing a vicious rising shot that rips into the top far corner of Lama’s net to make the score 1-0 as we maintain our one-point lead over Toulouse at the top of the table.

Valence has had a poor season so far and they currently prop up the National table in 20th place, but their best player has been their 23yo centre-half Eric Kossingou. A bid of £150K gets the nod from the Valence manager and Kossingou is soon on his way to the Stade August-Delaune as our newest team member.

[Nathan Pike]

17.11.01

League Cup First Round

Reims 1 Cassese 45

Nimes 0

Cassard; Jambay, Kossingou, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Guillou, Denquin, Agostinho (Viard); Adoul (Akpakoun), Cassese.

This is a very tight League Cup match as we host Second Division side Nimes who currently occupy seventh place in that league. Kossingou immediately comes into the side for his debut replacing Lafond. Adoul’s free-kick after 23 minutes is the first decent attempt on goal, but it sails a foot wide of the net. Cassard saves well from Moses after 37 minutes as Nimes produce their first real chance. In the 45th minute Nimes are caught offside and Kossingou takes a quick free-kick which finds Cassese and he loops header from twenty yards over the keeper Delaroche who has stranded himself in no-man’s land after coming for the cross and misjudging it. Zugna goes close after 52 minutes as he finds the side netting with his shot, but we reply with Jambay’s long range effort that clips the crossbar after 66 minutes and substitute Viard’s header that flicks the outside of the post in the 83rd minute. It ends 1-0 in our favour and I am very happy with this hard-fought win, although a bad gash to Agostinho’s left shin will keep him out of action for the next two weeks.

[Nathan Pike]

24.11.01

French Cup Seventh Round

Saint-Malo 0

Reims 2 Pallier 48, Adoul 70

Cassard; Jambay, Kossingou, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier (Laurent), Guillou, Denquin, Viard; Adoul, Cassese.

Non-league Saint-Malo is our host in this French Cup tie and as expected they put out a defensive formation against us. Adoul and Guillou are particularly prolific with their first half shots at goal, but they either miss or shoot into a zone where the home keeper Leclerc can make a save. After a dozen shots by Reims in the opening forty-five minutes it is still 0-0. That soon changes after the break when Leclerc can only parry an Adoul shot in the 48th minute and Pallier rams in the rebound to finally put us 1-0 up. Guillou hits the crossbar with a header after 52 minutes, but it isn’t until the 70th minute that we raise a second goal as Adoul scores from Denquin’s blocked shot. The resulting 2-0 wins sets us up with a trip to Boulogne for the next round.

Later in the week Second Division pacesetters Saint-Etienne offer me £320K for midfielder Jeremy Denquin, but just like Grenoble’s earlier offer it is immediately dismissed.

[Elrithral]

Cracking first half of the season, great read as well.

[Nathan Pike]

Elrithral, I'm glad you're enjoying it, because I certainly am!

----------

28.11.01

National Round 17

Reims 3 Pallier 12, Cassese 42, Adoul 90

Cannes 2 Pacios 39, Suarez 56

Cassard; Jambay, Kossingou, Bertrand, Ducourtioux; Pallier, Guillou, Denquin (Francois), Viard; Adoul, Cassese.

It was back to league action with a match that appears close when the final scoreline is looked at on its own, but it in fact was always under the control of Reims. Things start brightly as Reims attack and Pallier has the ball in the net after 11 minutes, only for it to be ruled out for offside against Adoul. No matter – in the next attack Pallier surges past Monnier and Luciani and rifles us into the lead from just inside the box. Guillou goes close to doubling the lead as he heads against the post in the 20th minute as Reims still dominate. However in the 39th minute Cannes’ first serious attack sees Muller cross for Pacios to volley a shot under Cassard’s body to make it 1-1. The response is quick in coming as Pallier works his way down the right wing and crosses for Cassese to head us back in front at 2-1. The restart after the interval sees continued Reims pressure with Ducourtioux coming close to another goal, but against the run of play Suarez gets in at the near post after 56 minutes to head Cannes level at 2-2. Francois, Viard and Adoul all go mightily close to restoring our lead, but Cannes continue to hold us out. Finally in the 90th minute Pallier hammers a loose ball goalwards, keeper Collard can only block it and Adoul lashes home the rebound to give us a 3-2 win.

[Nathan Pike]

In a month dominated by French Cup and League Cup action we managed to win both of our league matches to maintain our one point lead over second-placed Toulouse. Ludovic Pallier’s goalscoring efforts have seen him move to third on the National’s scorer’s table with 11 goals, one behind both Abdelkader Adoul and Toulouse’s Anthony Bancarel on 12 goals, but well behind the league’s top scorer Vincent Boulanger of Clermont on 18 goals.

Pos     Team                Pld  Won  Drn  Lst  For  Ag   Pts
-------------------------------------------------------------
1st     REIMS               17   13   1    3    44   16   40 
2nd     Toulouse            17   12   3    2    40   18   39 
3rd     Clermont            17   10   5    2    32   19   35 
4th     Sete                18   10   4    4    27   16   34 
-------------------------------------------------------------
5th     Racing CP           17   9    5    3    34   23   32 
6th     Calais              18   9    5    4    27   24   32 

[Nathan Pike]

01.12.01

National Round 18

Valence 0

Reims 1 Denquin 13

Cassard; Jambay, Kossingou, Bertrand, Desseaux; Pallier (Adoul), Guillou, Denquin Francois (Viard); Akpakoun, Cassese.

Akpakoun replaces Adoul and Francois takes the place of Viard as both players are not fully recovered after the midweek match against Cannes. Francois lasts only 13 minutes though as a crunching tackle from Traore injures the midfielder in the lead-up to our goal scored by Denquin with a low shot from twenty yards out. Viard comes on in Francois’s place as the bottom side Valence gives us a challenging contest. Former Valence old boy Kossingou is booed every time he touches the ball, but then again his regular pointing to the scoreboard doesn’t help his case in the eyes of his former fans. Guillou hits the crossbar after 33 minutes and Fayolle does similarly for our opponents after 41 minutes. In the second half Cassard must save well from Pottier and Hubert to keep us in front whilst only a goal-line clearance from Gauthier stops Denquin from finding the net a second time. Valence’s hopes end in the 83rd minute when Traore receives a second yellow card and is sent off. Ten minutes later a tight encounter ends 1-0 in our favour.

[Faramir]

You're doing some nice work Nathan