retired_heathermarie

(I actually finally have the time to start posting this, and I still have stuff to write up... oh well. At least I'm into the challenge somewhat, it was my favorite candidate. )

February 2005

February 4: Montpellier 1-1 Nancy (Mansaré; Chrétien)
Att: 9,487 MOM: Fabien Boudarène (Nancy)

Vorisek suffered a fractured rib during the match and he'll be missed for the rest of the month, most likely. Still, not a horrid result especially with Troyes losing to Brest to prevent them from gaining ground.

February 12: Racing 92 1-2 (ET) Montpellier (Dobo; Godemèche, Michalowski) (Coupe de France 10th Round)
Att: 4,077 MOM: Nicolas Godemèche (Montpellier)

Let's see... Racing had 9 yellow cards and had two players sent off. We played a relatively clean game. And we needed Michalowski to bail us out in the 118th minute because Racing just wouldn't die. I don't even know if we deserved to win this one, but the important thing... is that we did.

The draw for the round of 16 is another nice one... Valence away. Would have preferred one of the big boys, but at least we have a good chance at reaching the Quarter Finals.

February 18: Niort 3-0 Montpellier (Coulibaly, Facciuto, Deschamps)
Att: 6,023 MOM: Jérôme Foulon (Niort)

I guess we were still reeling from the Racing result. Then again, we were due for a bad game and an end to our league unbeaten streak. Fatigue might be setting in, but the home stretch isn't the place for it in my opinion.

February 25: Montpellier 2-0 Brest (Godemèche 2)
Att: 5,402 MOM: Nicolas Godemèche (Montpellier)

A great performance by Godemèche ensures that we wouldn't be caught napping by Brest this time around. It was a huge improvement over the past two games, as we put a serious dent in the away team's promotion hopes.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Montpellier 30 16 10 4 44 21 +23 582nd Troyes 30 16 8 6 49 32 +17 563rd Le Havre 30 14 10 6 54 35 +19 52--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Grenoble 30 14 10 6 43 29 +14 525th Brest 30 13 8 9 37 30 +7 476th Nancy 30 12 9 9 39 29 +10 457th Niort 29 10 11 8 37 33 +4 418th Gueugnon 30 10 11 9 42 42 0 419th Angers 30 11 8 11 39 39 0 4110th Créteil 30 9 11 10 44 41 +3 3811th Laval 30 9 11 10 32 33 -1 3812th Lorient 30 7 15 8 43 46 -3 3613th Guingamp 30 8 11 11 28 43 -15 3514th Châteauroux 29 8 10 11 23 33 -10 3415th Dijon 30 5 17 8 37 40 -3 3216th Le Mans 30 8 8 14 29 42 -13 3217th Sedan 30 6 13 11 37 41 -4 31--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th Reims 30 8 7 15 26 36 -10 3119th Clermont 30 7 7 16 24 48 -24 2820th Amiens 30 5 11 14 26 40 -14 26</pre>

retired_heathermarie

March 2005

March 9: Valence 1-3 (ET) Montpellier (De Freitas; Bugnet, Mansaré 2) (Coupe de France 11th Round)
Att: 8,565 MOM: Fodé Mansaré (Montpellier)

We had to come back from an ugly early goal by Valence, but they're similar to Spanish club Valencia in name only. We fought back to tie the match then waited for Mansaré to get his second wind. His goals in extra time sealed our passage to the quarters.

We finally get a big... well, semi-big name in the Quarter Final draw. We'll host Saint-Etienne, currently smack in the middle of the Ligue 1 table.

March 12: Dijon 1-0 Montpellier (Mangione)
Att: 4,269 MOM: Barel Mouko (Dijon)

Classic example of throwing away a game right here. Domination of the midfield, great shots on net, good defense... and we lost it all thanks to a lucky free kick goal, and as such make life a little more difficult for us on top.

March 18: Montpellier 1-0 Reims (Lafourcade)
Att: 6,172 MOM: Nicolas Godemèche (Montpellier)

The good news is that Reims did not have a single shot at all in the match. The bad news is that we only had 7, two of which were on target; and we needed an injury time goal at the end to ensure we got the three points. I'll take the points any way they come right now, but sexy football this was not.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Montpellier 32 17 10 5 45 22 +23 612nd Troyes 32 17 8 7 51 33 +18 593rd Grenoble 32 15 10 7 49 32 +17 55--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Brest 32 15 8 9 40 30 +10 535th Le Havre 32 14 10 8 54 38 +16 526th Nancy 32 14 9 9 43 30 +13 517th Gueugnon 32 12 11 9 46 44 +2 478th Angers 32 11 10 11 41 41 0 439th Niort 32 10 12 10 38 37 +1 4210th Lorient 32 9 15 8 47 47 0 4211th Laval 32 10 12 10 34 34 0 4212th Châteauroux 32 10 10 12 27 35 -8 4013th Créteil 32 9 12 11 48 46 +2 3914th Guingamp 32 9 12 11 31 45 -14 3915th Dijon 32 6 17 9 38 42 -4 3516th Le Mans 32 9 8 15 31 44 -13 3517th Sedan 32 6 14 12 37 43 -6 32--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th Reims 32 8 8 16 27 38 -11 3219th Clermont 32 7 7 18 25 51 -26 2820th Amiens 32 5 11 16 28 48 -20 26</pre>

retired_heathermarie

April 2005

April 1: Laval 0-0 Montpellier
Att: 6,190 MOM: Fabrice Catherine (Laval)

The promotion-chasing teams gained a little ground on us after this poor performance. Laval are fairly safe from relegation but they still managed to put up a good fight, and probably came away with more pride after this one - while our pride was bruised thanks to Godemèche being out for a month with a broken shoulder.

April 11: Montpellier 1-0 Le Havre (Mansaré)
Att: 8,789 MOM: Alexander Vencel (Le Havre)

It was a penalty that separated us from Le Havre on this day, and that'll really hurt their promotion ambitions, but I couldn't care less. The important thing is that we're 9 points up on 4th place Grenoble with 4 games to play, meaning promotion is within our grasp.

April 20: Montpellier 0-3 Saint-Etienne (Sakho, Hellebuyck, Sablé) (Coupe de France Quarter Final)
Att: 16,890 MOM: Alaeddine Yahia (Saint-Etienne)

...If this is how we're going to play in Ligue 1 next season, I'm not sure if I want us to get promoted. Possession was about even, but there's still a large skill gap between us and a mid-table Ligue 1 side. Few positives to take away from this performance, but at least we received 275,000 Euros for the loss and another 465,000 Euros for the large gate. Money makes the world go round.

April 23: Gueugnon 1-1 Montpellier (Bougherra; Mansaré)
Att: 5,793 MOM: Johan Liébus (Gueugnon)

We'll have to wait for the next round for promotion after this result. The team collectively decided to play defensively in the second half despite my orders not to stop at just one goal... and that's what it gets you. A draw.

April 29: Montpellier 0-0 Troyes
Att: 8,723 MOM: Juan Luis Montero (Troyes)

Good performance? Hardly. A bit of luck involved in getting the point? Definitely. But we'll be able to get revenge on Troyes... next season. In other words, the draw clinched promotion for both of us, making it official that we'll be challenging Ligue 1 next season! However, there's still the matter of the Ligue 2 title, with Troyes just a point behind us...

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st P Montpellier 36 18 13 5 47 23 +24 672nd P Troyes 36 19 9 8 55 35 +20 663rd Grenoble 36 17 11 8 56 35 +21 62--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Le Havre 36 16 11 9 60 40 +20 595th Brest 36 16 10 10 46 37 +9 586th Nancy 36 15 9 12 48 39 +9 547th Gueugnon 36 13 12 11 49 52 -3 518th Guingamp 36 12 12 12 39 49 -10 489th Lorient 36 10 17 9 54 51 +3 4710th Laval 36 11 14 11 37 36 +1 4711th Angers 36 12 11 13 46 46 0 4712th Niort 36 11 14 11 40 40 0 4713th Châteauroux 36 11 11 14 30 40 -10 4414th Créteil 36 10 12 14 51 52 -1 4215th Sedan 36 8 15 13 42 46 -4 3916th Reims 36 10 9 17 30 39 -9 3917th Clermont 36 10 8 18 32 54 -22 38--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th Dijon 36 6 18 12 39 51 -12 3619th Le Mans 36 9 9 18 31 49 -18 3620th Amiens 36 7 13 16 32 50 -18 34</pre>

retired_bootcamp_nat

NIce work there. But we all know how important the League 2 title is! Definately crucial in the short term giving you that immediate extension to 5 years from 3... hmm

retired_heathermarie

(Oh, that title is very crucial... at least, that's what I thought.)

May 2005

May 13: Angers 1-0 Montpellier (Gourvennec)
Att: 15,049 MOM: Mohamed Benhamou (Montpellier)

Apparently the players think that they can rest easy since promotion's been secured, and that the league title means nothing to them. Let's just say I put the idea of winning the season's last match into their minds and tried to make it stay there.

May 20: Créteil 1-0 Montpellier (Gallon)
Att: 9,283 MOM: Grégory Malicki (Créteil)

...The players didn't listen, and we cede the league title to Troyes. Actually, Troyes won today as well, so we really ceded the title to them last week. Whatever. The important thing is that we can look forward to bigger and better things next season. The league gives us a nice cash purse of €875,000 for second place as well, which soothes the pain somewhat.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Troyes 38 21 9 8 61 37 +24 722nd P Montpellier 38 18 13 7 47 25 +22 673rd P Grenoble 38 18 11 9 59 39 +20 65--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Le Havre 38 17 12 9 65 41 +24 635th Brest 38 17 10 11 49 39 +10 616th Nancy 38 15 9 14 49 42 +7 547th Laval 38 13 14 11 40 36 +4 538th Gueugnon 38 13 14 11 50 53 -3 539th Guingamp 38 13 12 13 42 51 -9 5110th Lorient 38 11 17 10 56 53 +3 5011th Niort 38 12 14 12 43 43 0 5012th Angers 38 13 11 14 47 48 -1 5013th Créteil 38 12 12 14 54 53 +1 4814th Châteauroux 38 12 11 15 32 43 -11 4715th Reims 38 11 9 18 33 42 -9 4216th Clermont 38 11 9 18 35 56 -21 4217th Sedan 38 8 16 14 42 50 -8 40--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th R Dijon 38 6 19 13 40 54 -14 3719th R Le Mans 38 9 10 19 34 53 -19 3720th R Amiens 38 7 14 17 33 53 -20 35</pre>

retired_heathermarie

Season 1 Recap (2004/05):

Ligue 2: Choked during the last two games, so I failed to get that two-year extension right away; however, the team did earn promotion. 2nd place.
Coupe de France: Had a good run with some lucky draws before falling to Saint-Etienne.
Coupe de Ligue: Crashed out in the Preliminary Round to Sedan.

Challenge Status: No goals accomplished so far. Within the next 2 (4 if a trophy is won) seasons, one of the following must still be accomplished:

- 2 Ligue 1 championships
- 3 Coupe de France/Coupe de Ligue triumphs
- The Double (Ligue 1 title + Coupe de France)

Team Stats:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Name Apps Gls Ast MoM Pas Tck Drb Sh T Av Rat-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mansour Assoumani Gamali 0 (2) - - - - 4.00 1.00 - 7.00Fatih Atik 0 (2) - - - 76% 2.20 4.39 - 7.00Mohamed Benhamou 45 - 1 7 51% - 0.04 - 7.22Hervé Bugnet 41 (2) 10 4 - 82% 0.79 3.43 53% 6.95Bruno Carotti 44 1 1 - 79% 1.83 0.20 40% 7.14Julio Colombo 43 1 4 - 71% 2.20 0.80 - 7.21Nicolas Esceth-N'Zi 12 (10) 3 3 - 80% 0.45 1.73 48% 6.86Thierry Gathuessi 1 (2) - - - 65% 1.30 - - 6.67Nicolas Godemèche 39 6 8 5 80% 3.08 1.09 45% 7.62Nenad Jestrovic 22 7 12 1 84% 1.13 1.55 55% 7.36Alsény Keita 2 - - - 66% 4.50 - - 7.50Jérôme Lafourcade 0 (13) 3 - - 81% 0.19 1.89 - 7.08Jimmy Mainfroi 5 - - - 70% 5.00 1.80 - 7.40Fodé Mansaré 40 10 6 8 79% 1.70 4.88 36% 7.65Frédéric Mendy 15 (5) - 1 - 68% 2.21 0.12 - 6.90Sébastien Michalowski 29 2 - - 81% 2.47 0.98 30% 7.28Guillaume Moullec 40 - 2 1 70% 2.81 2.10 - 7.45Martin Petras 39 - 3 - 75% 2.18 0.38 23% 7.23Jean-Christophe Rouvière 36 3 4 - 80% 2.24 0.54 35% 7.14Petr Vorisek 42 10 4 5 82% 1.78 0.85 38% 7.05</pre>

retired_heathermarie

Roll of Honor (2004/05):

French Ligue 1: Monaco
Relegated: Ajaccio, Metz, Istres
French Ligue 2: Troyes
Promoted: Montpellier, Grenoble
Relegated: Dijon, Le Mans, Amiens
Coupe de France: Saint-Etienne 2-0 Rennes
Coupe de Ligue: Lens 1-2 Lyon

Champions League: Valencia 1-1 (3-4 pens) Juventus
UEFA Cup: Schalke 04 0-0 (5-4 pens) Sevilla

Dutch Eredivisie: PSV
Relegated: FC Den Bosch, ADO Den Haag
Amstel Cup: PSV 1-2 Ajax

English Premiership: Arsenal
Relegated: Portsmouth, Fulham, WBA
English Championship: Derby
Promoted: Wolves, Leeds
Relegated: Leicester, Stoke, Sunderland
FA Cup: Liverpool 0-1 Newcastle

German 1. Bundesliga: Werder Bremen
Relegated: Bielefeld, Nürnberg, Hannover 96
German 2. Bundesliga: 1.FC Köln
Promoted: Greuther Fürth, Karlsruhe
Relegated: 1860 Munich, Frankfurt, Oberhausen, Saarbrücken
DFB-Pokal: Bayern Munich 2-0 Nürnberg

Greek National A Division: Olympiakos
Relegated: Kerkyra, OFI, Kalamaria
Greek National B Division: Larisa
Promoted: Kalamata, Kastoria
Relegated: Panachaiki, Poseidon N. P., Panileiakos
Greek Cup: Xanthi 3-0 Ionikos

Italian Serie A: Juventus
Relegated: Messina, Lecce, Livorno
Italian Serie B: Torino
Promoted: Genoa, Perugia
Relegated: Crotone, Vicenza, Cesena, Treviso
Coppa Italia: Juventus 0-0 Sampdoria; Sampdoria 0-1 Juventus

Romanian Divizia A: Steaua
Relegated: Gloria, CFR Cluj, FCM Bacãu
Romanian Cup: Steaua 2-1 Rapid

Spanish Primera División: Barcelona
Relegated: Málaga, Getafe, Levante
Spanish Segunda División: Elche
Promoted: Celta, Sporting
Relegated: Málaga B, Salamanca, AlmerÃ*a, Eibar
Copa del Rey: Real Madrid 2-1 Osasuna

retired_bbcarr

Congratulations on the promotion Though I suspect you may need the extra two years to be able to complete your targets

retired_heathermarie

(We shall see.)

2004/05 Team Stats:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Name Apps Gls Ast MoM Pas Tck Drb Sh T Av Rat-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mansour Assoumani Gamali 0 (2) - - - - 4.00 1.00 - 7.00Fatih Atik 0 (2) - - - 76% 2.20 4.39 - 7.00Mohamed Benhamou 45 - 1 7 51% - 0.04 - 7.22Hervé Bugnet 41 (2) 10 4 - 82% 0.79 3.43 53% 6.95Bruno Carotti 44 1 1 - 79% 1.83 0.20 40% 7.14Julio Colombo 43 1 4 - 71% 2.20 0.80 - 7.21Nicolas Esceth-N'Zi 12 (10) 3 3 - 80% 0.45 1.73 48% 6.86Thierry Gathuessi 1 (2) - - - 65% 1.30 - - 6.67Nicolas Godemèche 39 6 8 5 80% 3.08 1.09 45% 7.62Nenad Jestrovic 22 7 12 1 84% 1.13 1.55 55% 7.36Alsény Keita 2 - - - 66% 4.50 - - 7.50Jérôme Lafourcade 0 (13) 3 - - 81% 0.19 1.89 - 7.08Jimmy Mainfroi 5 - - - 70% 5.00 1.80 - 7.40Fodé Mansaré 40 10 6 8 79% 1.70 4.88 36% 7.65Frédéric Mendy 15 (5) - 1 - 68% 2.21 0.12 - 6.90Sébastien Michalowski 29 2 - - 81% 2.47 0.98 30% 7.28Guillaume Moullec 40 - 2 1 70% 2.81 2.10 - 7.45Martin Petras 39 - 3 - 75% 2.18 0.38 23% 7.23Jean-Christophe Rouvière 36 3 4 - 80% 2.24 0.54 35% 7.14Petr Vorisek 42 10 4 5 82% 1.78 0.85 38% 7.05</pre>

retired_heathermarie

Preseason 2005

One good piece of news before the transfer spree began; Portsmouth were supposed to purchase Valéry Mézague from us after having him loaned out for a year, but all of a sudden they couldn't afford the transfer fee... so I basically picked up a good player for nada.

The transfer market was... well, a *little* busy as I attempted to add some depth and skill to the squad.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Player In From Fee---------------------------------------------------------Manuel Sol Chivas €70kAntonio Filippini Palermo €170kDragan Mladenovic Rangers €190kSigurvin Ólafsson KR €190kAdrian Mãdãlin Ionescu CFR Cluj €40kJason De Vos Ipswich €190kThomas Christiansen Hanover 96 €3kJean São Paulo €190kPlayer Out To Fee---------------------------------------------------------Fatih Atik Sète €550kNicolas Esceth-N'Zi Clermont Season LoanJimmy Mainfroi Rouen €425k</pre>

I feel bad about signing someone from Rangers but he was the best man available for the price. Didn't break the bank but I think I brought in some solid players who should make a difference this year as we avoid relegation.

Again, the French teams like to play their friendlies in early July, which I'm not a fan of... so I took some of the team's cash and flew out to the Faroe Islands instead.

July 5: Caen 0-0 Montpellier
July 24: VB 0-3 Montpellier (Mansaré, Filippini, Bugnet)
July 28: K� 0-4 Montpellier (Christiansen, Jestrovic, Rasmussen og, Cissé)
July 31: G� 0-3 Montpellier (Jestrovic 2, Christiansen)