Here is a preview of the new French season which begins this weekend,

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-...v=afp&type=lgns

Lyon shooting for a 7th consecutive title but it may be a bit more difficult this year as they have a new coach and lost Abidal, Malouda and Tiago. Marseille lost Ribery but get Djibril Cisse for a full year plus added Zenden, Ziano and Cheyrou. And perhaps more importantly there's Nasri another year older. Still it would take a brave person to bet against Lyon.

Lyon lost over the weekend and also lost Cris, their central defender for 6 months due to a ACL injry. Add that to goalie Gregory Coupet's 4 month injury absence and suddenly Lyon looks a lot more vulnerbale than they have in many years. They have until the end of the month to look for some help and it appears like for once they may actually need some.

Those are some difficult positions to replace for Lyon but ultimately i think their biggest loss may turn out to be Florent Malouda. I think he is really going to shine now he's with Chelsea.

Lyon got off to a slow start for them in league play and still are 0-2 in Champions League games but they seem to be putting things together now and are back in first place in Ligue 1. No surprise there. In the Euro 2008 qualifying thread there is discussion about the development of Lyon's young forward Karim Benzema and how he potentially can be an ideal partner for Thierry Henry with France. But he's also doing well with Lyon and scored the other day when they beat Monaco 3-1 to take the league lead. Lyon let others have their fun for awhile now they are back to retake their title.

Both Benzema and Ben Arfa are a pair of exciting young attackers with Lyon and despite the club's slow start to the season, behind these two Lyon are picking up their play and lead the French league by 4 points after Benzema and Ben Arfa keyed their win over PSG. Maybe Lyon knew what they had with those two and allowed older players to leave knowing these two could be the foundation upon which to build upon?

Allez L'OM
Like I said, Cohesion is the big word for this team!!!

A much needed 2-1 win for Marseille over Lyon, it drags OM out of the relegation zone and keeps, for now, Lyon from yet again running away with the league title.

I never understand either Marseille or PSG, each year you look at their roster and think they should be a competitive team but every season they underperform. One of these years they'll shock us all and actually live up to their potential!

This is the league table in France as it heads into a 3 week year end break:

Lyon 39
AS Nancy-Lorraine 35
Bordeaux 33
Caen 31
Le Mans 30
Valenciennes 29
Nice 29
Lorient 27
Monaco 25
Marseille 25
St. Etienne 25
Toulouse 25
Rennes 25
Strasbourg 24
Auxerre 23
PSG 22
Lille 21
Lens 20
Sochaux 16
Metz 7

Lyon are back where we all expected them to be but the surprise is Nancy are hanging close only 4 points behind. Bordeaux are also having a good season only 6 points behind. As Martin wrote in the previous post, Marseille and PSG always promise much but deliver little so their current league positions aren't that surprising even if you would expect them to perform better. The two teams who have shocked me with their poor play have been Lille and Lens who in the past 3-4 years have been the best teams in France not named Lyon but this year they are fighting against relegation. And what is there to say about Metz? One of the poorest teams in any top level league in Europe.

You can include Monaco in the list of teams who have underperformed recently in France. Other than Lyon all of the other supposed "big teams" in France have been very inconsistent this century. Anybody have any theories why this has happened? I was thinking the high tax which is assessed in France keeps the teams from bringing in big name players but despite that teams like PSG, Monaco and Marseille have had good players but as we've noted they have underperformed. I find this a curious situation.

What Pablo Correa has done as Nancy's coach has been wonderful. He led that team up from promotion 3 years ago and each year they have been rising up the table in Ligue 1 where now they are 2nd in the league only trailing Lyon by 4 points. This is a pretty learned group of football fans on this message board but I bet even here many could not name many of Nancy's players yet there they are in 2nd place in France. It is a tremendous accomplishment.

Pablo Correa played many years in Uruguay but finished his career at Nancy and has stayed there ever since. With his current success he may get offers from elsewhere but it seems like he's a Nancy club man. It would be great if he can stay there and continue to build that club up.

You've stumped me El Profe! I know Michael Chretien, the Franco-Moroccan right back, forward Youssouf Hadji, another Moroccan international and Cameroon's Landry Nguemo are on the team but beyond them I'm at a loss for naming any other current Nancy players (I do know this is where Michel Platini got his playing start!). You are right their success without having many name players is good to see. I was reading in one of the South American forums on this message board about how many lesser known teams were having success in South American leagues now but it was remarked that this rarely happens in Europe. Nancy is a team bucking that trend. Villarreal in Spain are another team like that too. More power to them.

Super Eagle I believe you are correct. Well Wikipedia agrees with your assessment.

This is one of the instances where Wikipedia is correct. Platini did start off with Nancy. Interesting that Nancy are in 2nd place while Bordeaux, where Zinedine Zidane first made his name, are in 3rd place. Zizou didn't start off at Bordeuax, he began his career with Cannes, but it was with Bordeaux where he first came to international attention.

Lille and Lens were two little teams which did well for several years but now they are slipping as it looks like their sales of a few key players has adversely affected them.

I've also always wondered about why relative wealthy clubs like PSG and Marseille almost always disappoint. Lyon has showed that with their wealth, at least for Ligue 1, they can maintain their consistency but Marseille and PSG just can't sustain that. Maybe it has to do with organization within the club but from what I've read Marseille have improved that in recent years but it is like every other year they do well. Maybe one year Lyon will slip up or another team will bottle the magic the Lyonnais have found but until then it is Lyon and then all the rest in Ligue 1. And Lyon have continued their dominance under different coaches, first Le Guen then Houllier and now Perrin so it isn't just a matter of the team having a good coach. It is them having the best players.

Lyon are battling injuries in their central defense and just lost Cleber Anderson for the year while Cris has yet to play this season so the club acquired Jean Alain Boumsong from Juventus. He was at one time a pretty good defender but has struggled ever since he went to newcastle. Still he's a pretty good insurance policy until Cris returns.

Lyon are furious with Juventus because Lyon had flown Boumsong in and were all set to present him to the media and have him ready for this weekend's derby against St. Etienne when Juve said they needed Boumsong for one more week so he could play in next week's 2nd leg of the Coppa Italia. Since Juve are loaning the player to Lyon there isn't much Lyon can do about it but still they are rightfully pissed. Surprise, Juventus acting like a-holes???!!! That can't be! :lol:

Lyon coughed up some more money and have now purchased Boumsong outright and he's their player now. Juventus must have been just holding out to drive up his price. Everybody knows their always up to some trick!

It is interesting to see that Bordeaux now coached by Laurent Blanc is remaining close to Lyon in the title chase in France. Nancy are still there too but Blanc is achieving success with his first club in charge. It would be refreshing to have a legitimate title race in France.

Marseille are too far back to win the title but they've been climbing up the table recently and Djbril Cisse has been providing their goals. They just have too much talent to have been stuck in the bottom half of the league. I think Marseille will be a team to watch in this 2nd half of the season.

I am talking in the Spain forum about how pleased I am that Real Madrid has a big lead in La Liga but that is because I am a Madrid supporter. I wouldn't feel that way if I was a neutral or supported another club. So as a neutral in regards to France's clubs I am glad to see there is a much closer title fight this season than in recent ones. Lyon play good football but I like that Bordeaux and Nancy are pushing them this year. It is about time France has a good title race.

Lyon have signed offensive midfielder Ederson a Brazilian who plays for Nice. He'll remain with Nice until next summer when he'll join Lyon who view him as an eventual replacement for the aging Juninho.

In my opinion the title race is a two team affair between Lyon and Bordeaux. Nancy are 8 points behind and don't seem to have the depth to maintain their challenge.

These are the current standings:


1 Lyon 46
2 Bordeaux 42
3 Nancy 38
4 Nice 37
5 Monaco 34
6 Caen 34
7 Lorient 33
8 Le Mans 33
9 Marseille 32
10 Valenciennes 32
11 Rennes 30
12 Paris SG 29
13 St-Etienne 29
14 Strasbourg 29
15 Lille 27
16 Lens 27
17 Toulouse 27
18 Auxerre 26
19 Sochaux 23
20 Metz 9

I think Metz can start planning for next season in Ligue 2.

Well, I like to see L'OM move up the table in a very rapid fashion. I guess it shows how demanding the Champion's League can really be.

L'OM, Olympique Marseille for those not in the know, are doing a good job of climbing up the table. After beating Nice last weekend they're now 5th in the league. 14 points behind Lyon is probably too much but they're putting themselves in a good position for European competition next season. This is a big week for L'OM too. Home to Spartak Moscow this week in the UEFA Cup then on Sunday home to PSG in France's biggest rivalry.

Bordeaux are hot on Lyon's trail after Bordeaux crushed Monaco 6-0 today. Johan Micoud and Fernando Cavenaghi with 2 goals each. Cavenaghi has been on fire in 2008. About 4 or 5 years ago while with River Plate he looked like the 2nd coming of Gabriel Batistuta then his career suffered after a transfer to Russia and he had some difficulty adapting once he arrived at Bordeaux but he's back on track now and looking like the forward who promised so much at River Plate. He's one to watch.

Lyon had their mind on their Champions League game with Manchester United and rested some starters, including their own striker in good form, Karim Benzema, and as a result lost 1-0 to Lemans. Lyon's league lead is now only one point.

You need to remember that sick ass midfield Los Millonarios had back then. I think they had Ortega, D'Alessandro, Coudet, and Cambiasso.

Marseille left it late but came from behind to beat PSG 2-1 to move nearer the top and to push PSG closer to the relegation zone.

Cavenaghi has been getting the job done at Bordeaux. And it helps having a player like Micoud around who even as he gets up in age is still a talented playmaker.

Laurent Blanc was always such a classy player on the field, I am happy to see him achieving success in his young managerial career. Lyon fans may be worried that Bordeaux is getting closer to them but every neutral is pulling for a close title race and likely wishing Bordeaux well. I can't recall Bordeaux being challengers since they had Zidane and Christophe Dugarry.

Bro, they are always on the top half of the table. They were runners-up a couple of seasons ago. It's just Lyon has been so damn dominant the last 6 seasons. Can they make it 7 in a row??? This looks to be Lyon's toughest test.

And on Sunday Lyon host Bordeaux in their top of the table battle. Lyon are currently 3 points up on them. Looks like Lyon are extending Benzema's contract which will make him the highest paid player in France. Hopefully that enables him to stay with Lyon a few more years at least. I'd like to see what he could do there as the team transforms from the Juninho led era to the Benzema and Ben Arfa led team.

I don't know about others here but Juninho after all his years of brilliance with the team is starting to show his years. They've already lined up Ederson with Nice to replace him next season. Well, actually I am not sure if it to immediately replace Juninho next year or if he'll be groomed to fill that job.

I'm glad to see Fernando Cavenaghi back scoring goals now with Bordeaux after his exile in Russia. I've always rated him as a potentially lethal striker. A little slower version of Gabriel Batistuta but one who, like Batigol, can strike the ball well.

Welcome back Nkono, good to read your comments here.

As we've discussed in other topics, it is all about confidence, and now Cavenaghi finally has his back after his spell in Russia. That is an interesting comparison with Batistuta, as I think about it, I can see some similarites although I would agree that Cavenaghi isn't as quick as Batistuta was in his younger days. If Cavenaghi keeps playing well he might be able to force his way into consideration for Argentina's national team as they are in search of a center forward.

4-2 win for Lyon with 2 goals from Mathieu Bodmer, one from Karim Benzema and another from Kader Keita. Wendel and Cavenaghi, the latter via penalty with Bordeaux's goals. So normalcy has been restored in France with Lyon now 6 points in front.

Lyon may have trouble getting over the hump in Europe but they still know how to get it done in French league play and are winning while rebuilding their team as they've integrated young players like Benzema, Ben Arfa and Toulalan into their team. It is not easy to continue winning while remaking your team but Lyon are achieving just that.

It isn't exactly Ligue 1 new sbut is related to the French Cup, as Marseille, the biggets club in France, were eliminated from the Cup by an amateur team who play in what would be the 5th division of France!

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-...uters&type=lgns

Carquefou are the name of the team and they've now eliminated Nancy and Marseille, two of the top 4-5 teams in the French league in this Cup competition. On to the quarterfinals for the ultimate giant killers.

Two more goals from Fernando Cavenaghi, one a header, the other a PK, as 2nd place Bordeaux beat 3rd place Nancy 2-1.

PSG won the French League Cup 2-1 over Lens with a 90th minute penalty converted by Bernard Mendy. PSG are still in danger of being relegated but they're now assured of playing in the UEFA Cup next season!

PSG are very much in danger of releagtion, PSG, Lens and Strasbourg all have 8 games remaining, the rest of the league have 7 and this is how the bottom of the standings look in France:

Monaco 37 points
Strasbourg 35
Lens 34
Toulouse 34
PSG 32
Metz 17

It is a given that Metz will go down but PSG only has these 8 remaining games to get it in order and avoid the drop. Wouldn't that be a huge story if a club their size went down?

PSG with an important league win today, beating Strasbourg 1-0 so now the table looks this way at the bottom:

Monaco 37 points
Strasbourg 35
PSG 35
Lens 34
Toulouse 34
Metz 17

Now only Lens has a game to make up on the others. Another big game this weekend when Strasbourg play Monaco, a team who have not won since 23 January!

PSG couldn't stand success and lost again over the weekend to drop back into the relegation zone but the main story from France was Marseille beating Lyon, a win whch keeps Bordeaux in the title fight and keeps Marseille on Nancy's tail in the dispute for the third and final Champions League spot.

With 6 games left Lyon lead Bordeaux by 6 points. Nancy lead Marseille by 3 in their battle for 3rd place.

With Bordeaux winning and Lyon tying over the weekend, Lyon's lead is only 4 points now! Quietly there has become a league title race in France! I don't know if this is true but I can't recall Lyon ever being pushed this closely this late in the season in their other recent championship winning seasons.

Thanks to www.rsssf.com I was able to look this up and in Lyon's 6 consecutive title winning seasons the only times they've been closely challenged for the championship were in their first three of their consecutive titles.

For their first title of this streak in the 2001-2 season, Lyon beat out Lens by 2 points. The next year they won by an even closer margin, 1 point over Monaco and 3 over Marseille. The next season (2003-4) they beat PSG by 3 points and Monaco by 4. Their titles won subsequent to that were with double digit margins in points. So yes it is good that Bordeaux are challenging Lyon now as this is the closest Ligue 1 race since the 2003-4 season.