retired_confal2

Thanks Simon, kind of you to say so. You are of course very welcome to use any characters from the story. One thing, though: a Frenchman would only be called 'David', not 'Dave' -there was a French 'entertainer' in the 70s whose stage name was 'Dave', and since then calling your son like that would be tantamount to condemning him to ceaseless taunts and mockery...

A Marseille-based story? Like the sound of that :thup:


Game reports and team news (source: 'Bocca Vera!' fanzine, February issues).


7th February 2004, Stade Municipal (att. 2998). National.

Bourg-Péronnas 0
AS Cannes 4

Goals: Zoko (0-1, 21), Moustaïd (0-2, pen. 35; 0-4, 87), Toledo (0-3, 47).
Shots: Bourg-Péronnas 3(2), AS Cannes 18(15).

A dominant performance by the league leaders, based upon a very solid back four in which Vargas was outstanding. New signing Harlington Shereni, just back from the African Nations Cup, made a convincing début for the club at the heart of the defence.

With only twelve league games left, Cannes are sitting comfortably upon a twenty-point lead over closes rivals Valenciennes, with Louhans-Cuiseaux in third place twenty-two points off the pace.


14th February 2004, Stade Jean Bouin (att. 2582).French Cup Eleventh Round (last 16).

Joué-lès-Tours (CFA) 0
AS Cannes 4

Goals: Magallanes (0-1, 3; 0-4, 54), El-Kadouri (0-2, 13), Toledo (0-3, 20).
Shots: Joué-lès-Tours 1(1), AS Cannes 32(15).

Cannes progress to the Quarter-Final, helped by an easy draw against an 'amateur' -or semi-professional- side. They wasted no time in going for their opponents' throat, then allowed themselves to relax once they were three-up after twenty minutes of play.

The shock result of the Eleventh Round was Lyon's home defeat against Angers (L2), a game in which the home side saw two of their players sent off. Metz beat Auxerre 2-0 at home in the only 100%-Ligue 1 fixture.


15th February 2004.

Olympique de Marseille manager Alain Perrin is sacked*.

The draw for the French Cup Quarter-Final sees Cannes drawn to play Toulon (CFA) away, in a game to be held on 13th March 2004. Another very favourable draw, on paper at least.


18th February 2004, La Bocca (att. 2612). National.

AS Cannes 2
Beauvais 0

Goals: Mutiu (1-0, 4), Emanuelson (2-0, 79).
Shots: AS Cannes 14(10), Beauvais 2(2).

Striker Mutiu made his return, after winning the African Nations' Cup with Nigeria. Mutiu appeared three times as a substitute during the tournament. Befroe the game started, the crowd at La Bocca gave the Nigerian a standing ovation, and as usual there were several green-white-and-green flags visible on the terraces.

Young Délis Ahou made his début at left-back, and looks as though he will need more playing time with the Reserves before his potential can be judged properly. In short, he was not particularly impressive. And yet it was an easy win, for a Cannes side composed mostly of back-up players.

Before travelling to second-placed Valenciennes for their next league game, the Mediterraneans have extended their league to twenty-two points, as Valenciennes were held to a draw away.


21st February 2004, Stade Nungesser (att. 2544). National.

Valenciennes 2
AS Cannes 1

Goals: Inkango (0-1, 8), Hissein (1-1, 34; 2-1, 61).
Shots: Valenciennes 8(5), AS Cannes 13(9).

In a relatively even game, Valenciennes came out winners as they were able to better exploit the hesitancy of Cannes' central defence. With Chelidze, Vargas and Shereni all needing a rest, Filimonov lacked protection and confidence, producing a poor display overall. His see-saw form since the beginning of the season has been one of Le Spliff's major worries, though Cannes did not seem to be attempting any goalkeepers during the January transfer window.

Valenciennes showed more composure in the last ball and in front of goal, and Mahamat Hissein (16 goals in 27 league games) was deservedly designated as man-of-the-match. Despite this win, it does not look as though Valenciennes have enough games to close the gap and challenge for the National title, but stranger things have happened in French football.


28th February 2004, Stade Ange Casanova (att. 2541).National.

GFCO Ajaccio 1
AS Cannes 1

Goals: Mutiu (0-1, 1), Libbra (1-1, 64).
Shots: GFCO Ajaccio 2(1), AS Cannes 17(6).

A dreadful result for Cannes considering the way the game unfolded. Very one-sided for long stretches, though Cannes' approach play was too often spoilt by impatience, and there were a lot of hopeful long-range shots attempted. And although Toledo collected yet another man-of-the-match award, the finishing was very poor.

And yet, with Valenciennes held to a draw away again, Cannes find themselves nineteen points ahead with only nine games laft, and although mathematically Valenciennes still have a faint chance, it is difficult to see how Cannes could drop that many points over so short a period.



* (note to the reader): that's only a couple of months more than he lasted in real life...

retired_tonytranbg79

Still a great story. are you going to be able to resist the temptation of applying for the Marseille job?

retired_sroch3032

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tyrone the Mag:
Still a great story. are you going to be able to resist the temptation of applying for the Marseille job? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll place a bet he will finally lose his battle with temptation and end up at Marseille!

Nice work OMDave Keep it up :thup:

retired_zjx510

I expect Dave to stay at Cannes and move to Marseille in our online game when his little brother get sacked :cool:.

retired_confal2

Cheers, Tyrone and Dark_Soccer. Though I'm afraid (and it really does pain me to say this ) Kozak is right about this one. If I leave Cannes now, most of the plot -such as it is, and I don't really have a clue where it's going, to be honest- is rendered obsolete. And besides, I'm not at all sure they'd give Le Spliff the job; he is still 'unproven' at this stage in his career...


Diary entry (source: David Le Spliff's personal diary) -dated 2nd March 2004.

After we lost for the first time in the league, at the end of January, I had a feeling our second defeat wouldn't be too long in coming. Only this time it was a reasonably fair reflection of the game, and a result which paradoxically didn't worry me too much at all. With our three main central defenders unavailable, and Sacha [Filimonov] still far from performing the way I'd hoped he would when I signed him, we were always going to let in a goal or two, and once again we were left to rue too many missed chances...

But the big new this month for us was that we're through to the Quarter-Final of the French Cup, and we've been granted another lucky draw: we play Toulon away, in a game which is almost a derby. A decent side in the early eighties, they're now rotting away in the CFA and looked doomed to mediocrity for years to come. And so the dream goes on, amplified by the thought that we stand a more than reasonable chance of reaching the Semi-Final. In any case, our next Cup game will be the highlight of my career so far, and hopefully it will not end in bitter disappointment. The lads are as determined as I am to see to it that it does not, and from now on we'll be fielding our first (available) eleven in Cup ties.

Which shouldn't prevent us from obtaining the National title this season. Anything is possible, of course, but dropping nineteen points in nine games just doesn't seem possible, particularly given the way the team has performed all the way through the season. Besides, this is assuming that Valenciennes win all their remaining games. If anything, the gap will widen a little more as we have a relatively easy run-in ahead of us.

Not celebrating quite yet, but I'd put my house on it if I had one of my own...

retired_confal2

Game reports and team news (source: 'Bocca Vera!' fanzine, first two weeks of March).


3rd March 2004.

Laurent Mohellebi tore a groin muscle in training, and his unavailability is estimated at around two months.


6th March 2004, La Bocca (att. 2555). National.

AS Cannes 2
Romorantin 1

Goals: Baradji (0-1, 19), Toledo (1-1, 27), Diawara (2-1, 36).
Shots: AS Cannes 24(11), Romorantin 1(1).

The scoreline flattered the visitors, and the manager was clearly unhappy about the fact that their goal came from the only chance they had in the whole game. But as ever, the essential was done by half-time, and it's another three points in the bag for Cannes, who are getting closer and closer to securing an all-important promotion spot.

Toledo was yet again designated by the 'Bocca Vera!' team as the best player on the pitch, and on a less positive note centre-half Jorge Vargas damaged his heel and will be out for about a week.


12th March 2004.

Sacha Filimonov announced that he had put in an official request to be placed on the transfer list. This follows reports that the Russian goalkeeper had recently been reprimanded by his manager on several occasions during post-match team talks.

When asked what his response to the request had been, manager David Le Spliff was brief and to the point:

"He's not leaving before the summer, for the simple reason that we cannot at this time recruit any players. Once our season is over and the transfer window opens, he is free to do as he pleases, but until then I expect him to fulfil his contract with the utmost professionalism."


13th March 2004, Stade Jacques Mayol (att. 2804). French Cup Quarter-Final.

Toulon (CFA) 0
As Cannes (Nat) 2

Goals: Toledo (0-1, 40; 0-2, 62).
Shots: Toulon 5(3), AS Cannes 9(5).

For the seventeenth time in his thirty-one starts for the club, Toledo Róbson was man-of-the-match. Early on in the game Cannes were on the back foot, and Filimonov was decisive on a couple of occasions, but soon their superior technical ability enabled them to reassert their usual control of proceedings. All in all it was a logical result, despite the good fight put up by Toulon.

On the same day, Cannes were officially promoted to Ligue 2 football, with just over two months remaining in the National season. Valenciennes were held to a goalless draw away to Angoulême, and have slipped down to third.


14th March 2004.

The draw was made for the Semi-Finals of the French Cup, and Cannes rode their luck once again as they avoided the two potential opponents from the Ligue 1. They will play at home to Mulhouse, the amateur minnows from the CFA who have taken everyone by surprise this year. The other semi-final is the greatest rivalry in French football; Olympique de Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain. Both games will take place on 24th April 2004.

retired_bbcarr

it's back \o/

promotion \o/

cup semi-final \o/

retired_confal2

Cheers Simon Going pretty well, yes -it was uncanny the way L1 teams dropped off like flies in the Cup, and I just kept getting the easiest possible draws...At this stage I was dreaming of an OM-Cannes final, as you can imagine

Diary entry (source: David Le Spliff's personal diary) -dated 15th March 2004.

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to retain any sort of focus on the here-and-now, and no matter how much I try to convince the players otherwise, our season is a huge success already as things stand. I think the locals are as shocked by what has happened over the past nine months as I am. It is as though an invisible, metaphorical and all-powerful hand had been removing every obstacle in our path, one by one, until we found ourselves further up than we had ever imagined we might climb, in the dazed euphoria of this suddenly rarefied air.

I suppose these are the times when players, coaches and managers most clearly realize that football is so much more than a job, and why they got into it in the first place. Hopes. Aspirations. Dreams that can happen. It can still go wrong, I know, but what we've done so far can't be taken away from us, and that's a nice thought to hold on to just this minute...

I've more or less given up on finding out what happened to Toledo that night at the Ambassadeur. I see the Bertuzzi brothers at every home game, and it's always the same shrug and apologetic smile -nothing new, not much we can do, a lot of work for a gendarme in this town...Why do I always get the impression that Grégoire, the older one of the two and capitaine, is laughing at me beneath his outgoing, jovial sollicitude? His younger brother, the sous-lieutenant, never speaks other than to say hello, always seems in a hurry to get back to the stands -where nothing much happens before the game kicks off, I'm sad to say, but then La Bocca is hardly the Vélodrome...

Auguste, our technician and all-purpose repairman, came into my office this afternoon and handed me a video tape, smiling broadly.

"A gift" he said, and winked. For a moment I was slightly worried, but I put it on my desk and thanked him, telling him I'd watch it this evening, which I have.

The tape is now playing for the third time, a ninety-minute compilation of the best passages of play in our home games, filmed by Auguste himself. I had no idea he'd been preparing it, and I can honestly say it's one of the best gifts I've ever received. Though I'll confess I found it unsettling to see myself giving instructions from in front of the dugout -no wonder the players take the pïss out of me about it; I look like the clowns who wave in airplanes on the runways -stiff and solemn and somewhat incongruous...

retired_bbcarr

an OM-Cannes final would indeed be something special :cool:

retired_tonytranbg79

Jean Reno is :cool:

sorry ive just watched Leon, fb film. I could see him playing Le Spliff .

Anyway its been a long time but i'm glad its back. Congrats on promotion. :thup: