Ligue 1 Orange finale

It's a peculiar thing to start the review of the final day of the season in which the title was won by Lyon to note first, thankfully PSG was saved from relegation but such is the case. With PSG's noble victory 2-1 over Sochaux on the strength of Amare Diané two goals and Bordeaux and Lens 2-2 draw, PSG was saved.















Of course the real story was Lyon's victory which secured their seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title. Their 3-1 victory over Auxerre was never in-doubt as only a minute into the match Karim Benzema scored and the second was added by Fred ten minutes later.

On the opposite end of the table, Lens which had flown so high last year and bordered upon a Champions League spot is sent down to Ligue 2 with Strasbourg and Metz. It is a painful taste for Lens and hopefully a short-lived exodus. Equally said, PSG and Toulouse which look condemned pulled-off the Ligue 1 "great escape". From Ligue 2, Le Havre, Nantes and possibly the best excuse for a road-trip next season Grenoble.

In another odd side-story with Nancy seemingly having locked up third place and the final Champions League spot, they lost to Rennes 3-2 while Olympique Marseille beat Strasbourg 4-3 on two Djibril Cisse goals as well as one each by Sami Nasir and Mamadou Niang. With this swing, Marseille which seemed to have dropped any chance of the Champions League next season with squandered points finds itself in third place and in the Champions League. Allez l'OM Allez!

As an aside, Marseille, which is owned by Robert Louis-Dreyfus the CEO of Adidas-Salomon, unveiled it's kit for next season using a argyle-vest pattern a hint of things to come from Adidas. The jersey is available online now -
























































































Final table ~

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	38	24	7	7	74	37	79
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	38	22	9	7	65	38	75
Olympique Marseille	38	17	11	10	58	45	62
AS Nancy Lorraine	38	15	15	8	44	31	60
Saint-Étienne Loire	38	16	10	12	47	34	58
Stade Rennais FC	38	16	10	12	47	44	58
Lille O.S.C.	38	13	18	7	45	32	57
Nice-Côte d'Azur	38	13	16	9	35	30	55
Le Mans	38	14	11	13	46	49	53
Lorient	38	12	16	10	32	35	52
SM Caen	38	13	12	13	48	53	51
AS Monaco FC	38	13	8	17	40	48	47
Valenciennes FC	38	12	9	17	42	40	45
Sochaux-Montbéliard	38	10	14	14	34	43	44
AJ Auxerre	38	12	8	18	33	52	44
Paris Saint-Germain	38	10	13	15	37	45	43
Toulouse FC	38	9	15	14	36	42	42
Racing Club de Lens	38	9	13	16	43	52	40
RC Strasbourg	38	9	8	21	34	60	35
FC Metz	38	5	9	24	28	64	24

PSG out of relegation!

In his final home match for PSG, Pedro Pauleta enjoyed a great send-off as PSG and Saint-Etienne drew to a 1-1 tie that (thankfully) sees PSG out of the relegation zone with one match left in the campaign.

Ligue 1 Orange update

Call it the Champions League spot that no-one seems to want to win but within Ligue 1 Orange today, Nancy gave up third-place position while playing to a lifeless 1-1 against Valenciennes and Olympique Marseille made a mess of their match against Monaco and narrowly escaped with a 3-2 victory.

In the early match today, Pascal Berenguer scored at the ten minute mark to give Nancy the lead but by mid first half Valenciennes took control of the match. Early in the second-half Johan Audel tied the match and with few serious scoring chances it ended as a 1-1 draw. This was a dreadful result for Nancy who left the door wide-open for Marseille to regain third-place.

Marseille road into Monaco knowing the result of the Nancy match and with Monaco possessing a horrible home record, the match seemed to be a perfect opportunity for them. Monaco played extremely sluggish the first half but despite presenting little offense threat they were only behind 1-0 at the half on Sami Nasri's goal at the twentieth-eighth minute. At the start of the second half Monaco's play continued to be quite passive and then for some unexplained reason, came alive at the fifty-fifth minute and attacked the porous and confused Marseille defense. At the fifty-sixth minute Ignacio González headed home a crossing volley while the Marseille defense stood and pointed out marking responsibilities. Five minutes later, Marseille took the lead once again as Taye Taiwo scored on a goal post rebound as he somehow threaded home a strike through a crowd. The comedy of Marseille's defensive woes continued a few minutes later, as a very weak punch by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda off a corner was brilliantly chipped into the vacant goal by Jerko Leko. With the game now tied it looked like Marseille was going to squander a brilliant opportunity. However at the eighty-second minute a highlight film back-heel by Mamadou Niang set-up Djibril Cisse for another one of his patented finishes and to seal the 3-2 victory. The win puts Marseille back in third place with a tight one-point advantage over Nancy and three matches remaining.

the relegation battle

Each Football season marks the exciting race to the respective championships. However at the opposite end of the table are the battles to avoid relegation which have the potential of destroying a franchise. Likely the saddest example of this is Leeds United which only a few years ago was playing within the Champions League and now is trying to battle up from League 2. This results in some of the most passioned play and each year a few teams rescue their teams fortune and make the "great escape". Within Serie A, Ligue 1 Orange and the Premier League the relegation fight is tight, "can't miss" action as noted below.

Serie A
With four matches left to play it is premature to call but it appears that Cagliari has won the "great escape" of all the leagues, coming up from near extinction and playing as a upper half of the table team since their January victory over Napoli. Over the last fifteen matches they have earned twenty-five points including draws against Roma and Juventus and their escape while not guaranteed, seems very close. Of course what is quite obvious is that with three teams tied in the final three positions and the fourth only one point above, anything can happen.

With Parma visiting Reggina tomorrow, the table could radically change and of all the clubs, Reggina is likely in the best position to jump out of relegation as they face Catania, Empoli and Cagliari in successive weeks. Livorno's schedule is a mountainous challenge as they face A.C. Milan, Atalanta and Torino before meeting Empoli the final weekend. Empoli's schedule includes tough matches against Genoa and Udinese before facing Reggina and Livorno the final weekends. Parma's road is unquestionably the most difficult and why I expect them to be relegated as they face Genoa, Fiorentina and InterMilan after tomorrows match against Reggina. For them to avoid relegation, a win tomorrow is critical.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Catania Calcio	34	8	11	15	29	39	35
Cagliari	34	9	8	17	33	51	35
Torino	34	6	16	12	32	43	34
Parma	34	6	13	15	39	55	31
Livorno	34	6	12	16	31	50	30
Empoli	34	7	9	18	26	48	30
Reggina	34	6	12	16	29	52	30

Premier League (England)
With two matches left to play and Derby County long since resigned to their fate, the battle of the bottom two positions is tight, in particular with the final spot now occupied by Birmingham City. However before you cast Derby aside, they will have an enormous impact on this race as Reading must come into Pride Park to face them in the final weekend of the campaign. Derby's fans have been some of the most loyal in the league and I expect a stellar performance from Derby that day. Reading will not want to come into the final weekend needing points however they face the very difficult task of facing Tottenham next weekend, so this is going to be a very trying situation for the Reading faithful. Fulham's situation is a peculiar one because in-fact this is far too good of a squad to be in this situation. Todays stunning second-half recovery against Manchester City for a 3-2 victory is just part of a odd season of squandered points. While their chances to escape relegation are not easy, I expect the likes of Jimmy Bullard, David Healy and Brian McBride at their attacking best in next weekends match against Birmingham City at Craven Cottage. Their final match of the season is a brutal task of visiting Portsmouth so the task of moving up two positions won't be easy. After todays match, in which Birmingham City threw away a two-goal lead against Liverpool, you have to question the passion of the squad and whether they have the mettle to overcome next weekends tussle against Fulham and the following weekend against Blackburn. Gary Megson's Bolton might have the toughest challenge as they face Sunderland and title-chasing Chelsea the final two weeks and to escape relegation they must earn points against Roy Keane's squad.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Middlesbrough	36	8	12	16	33	52	36
Bolton	36	8	9	19	33	53	33
Reading	36	9	6	21	37	65	33
Birmingham City	36	7	11	18	42	59	32
Fulham	36	6	12	18	35	60	30
Derby County	35	1	8	26	17	76	11

Ligue 1 Orange
Much of the ongoing storyline is whether Paris Saint-Germain will escape relegation and given Strasbourg's extremely difficult final three games against Nancy, Caen and Marseille it would appear that Strasbourg is headed down. PSG's chances of avoiding relegation were given fresh life with a overwhelming 3-1 victory today against Auxerre. The real showdown is coming with the three-way tie between PSG, Lens and Toulouse.

Next weekends match between PSG and Toulouse, in Toulouse, will go a long way in deciding either squads fate. Toulouse is a significantly better squad at home and I expect a tight defensive battle as a they won't want to let the PSG offense to get untracked. Following that match, PSG plays Saint-Étienne and Sochaux-Montbéliard as well as the final in the Coupe de France. Remarkably they could actually be relegated but win two domestic titles and receive a UEFA Cup bid. St. Etienne is in a tight battle with Marseille for the final UEFA Cup spot so points will be at a premium. Toulouse after playing PSG next weekend, has tough matches against Rennes and Valenciennes. Lens schedule includes difficult tests against Monaco, Lille and that final weekend against Bordeaux and likely has the most difficult challenge of the three clubs.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Auxerre	35	11	8	16	30	46	41
Toulouse	35	8	14	13	32	38	38
Lens	35	9	11	15	40	48	38
PSG	35	9	11	15	33	42	38
Strasbourg	35	9	8	18	30	44	35
Metz	35	4	8	23	23	59	20

PSG defeats Auxerre 3-1

The Paris Saint Germain fight to avoid relegation from Ligue 1 Orange took a strong step forward with a 3-1 victory today over Auxerre. On the heels of Amara Diané's brace and Pauleta's goal at the three minute mark, PSG held for 3-1 victory which brings them level with Lens and Toulouse, whose matches are minutes away.

Ligue 1

From Ligue 1 action this weekend:

Sunday
FC Girondins de Bordeaux 1 Toulouse FC 0
Lille O.S.C. 3 Olympique Marseille 1
In front of 50,000+ at the Stade Vélodrome put on foul lackluster display today in losing 3-1 to Lille and tossed away a perfect opportunity to step two points in front of Nancy.

Within the wind and rain of tonight, l'om never played with a fire or commitment and after Mamadou Niang scored at the twelve minute mark the match was controlled by Lille. Kevin Mirallas struck for two goals and Jean Makoun added the third at the sixty-seventh minute when he walked into the goal-mouth unmarked to tuck in a rebound.












Saturday
Olympique Lyonnais 2 RC Strasbourg 1
AS Nancy Lorraine 1 Le Mans 1
Racing Club de Lens 3 Sochaux-Montbéliard 2
stunning clutch performance by Lens that sees them out of the relegation zone and further pounds a painful nail into the PSG coffin.
AJ Auxerre 0 FC Metz 0
Stade Rennais FC 1 Valenciennes FC 0
AS Monaco FC 2 Nice-Côte d'Azur 0
SM Caen 3 Paris Saint-Germain 0
Saint-Étienne Loire 1 Lorient 0

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	34	22	5	7	68	34	71
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	34	20	7	7	59	35	67
AS Nancy Lorraine	34	14	14	6	38	25	56
Olympique Marseille	34	15	10	9	50	38	55
Saint-Étienne Loire	34	14	8	12	41	33	50
Lille O.S.C.	34	11	16	7	39	28	49
Stade Rennais FC	34	13	9	12	37	39	48
Le Mans	34	13	9	12	40	43	48
Nice-Côte d'Azur	34	11	14	9	30	28	47
Lorient	34	11	13	10	28	32	46
SM Caen	34	12	10	12	39	45	46
Valenciennes FC	34	12	8	14	39	33	44
AS Monaco FC	34	12	7	15	35	41	43
Sochaux-Montbéliard	34	10	12	12	32	38	42
AJ Auxerre	34	11	8	15	29	43	41
Toulouse FC	34	8	14	12	30	35	38
Racing Club de Lens	34	9	11	14	38	45	38
Paris Saint-Germain	34	8	11	15	30	41	35
RC Strasbourg	34	9	8	17	30	41	35
FC Metz	34	4	8	22	23	58	20

Upcoming matches

Saturday
Saint-Étienne Loire @ FC Metz
Toulouse FC @ Lille O.S.C.
Racing Club de Lens @ Le Mans
RC Strasbourg @ Stade Rennais FC
Nice-Côte d'Azur @ FC Girondins de Bordeaux
AJ Auxerre @ Paris Saint-Germain
Lorient @ Sochaux-Montbéliard
SM Caen @ Olympique Lyonnais

Sunday
AS Nancy Lorraine @ Valenciennes FC
Olympique Marseille @ AS Monaco FC

your daily Marseille update

just in-case you see a rainbow in the horizon and hear the happy sounds of blue-birds chirping...it is likely related to Marseille's 2 - 1 victory today over Metz in a match that just ended.

Metz took a quick lead with a Cedric Barbosa goal at the third minute. Marseille tied it with Djibril Cisse strike at the thirteenth minute and finally took the lead with a Samir Nasri in the fifty-sixth minute.

Coupled with a Nancy 2-1 loss to Lille, Marseille is now tied for third and a Champions League spot with five matches remaining in the schedule.

Allez l'OM, allez

Ligue 1

The Ligue 1 title is pretty much Lyon's with a solid race for the Champions League qualifying spot between Nancy and Marseille. Quite possibly the biggest "race" is to avoid relegation and the dreaded thought of PSG being demoted (hmm..they need a coach familiar to the area who can teach them to win. I wonder who).

Saturday
Saint-Étienne 4 Le Mans 1
SM Caen 1 Valenciennes FC 0
Lille O.S.C. 0 Nice-Côte d'Azur 0
Sochaux-Montbéliard @ AJ Auxerre
AS Monaco FC 2 RC Strasbourg 0
important win for Monaco that should guarantee their safety

FC Lorient Bretagne Sud 0 Toulouse FC 0
Bordeaux 2 Stade Rennais 0
Metz 1 Lens 1

Sunday
Nancy 1 Paris Saint-Germain 0
Marseille 3 Lyonnais 1
In a weekend full of stunning matches (Juventus ~ Palermo, Leeds ~ Leyton, Monterrey ~ Veracruz) this was one of the best.

Throughout the year, Marseille has exhibited multiple personalities, often a porous defense, sometimes lacking offensive vision and at other times, looking like a rival to the top clubs in Europe. Today Eric Gerets squad were the brilliant attacking team and humbled the soon to be league champions, Lyon.

Marseille opened the scoring at the twenty-sixth minute with a Djibril Cisse strike and only a few minutes later Mamadou Niang neatly tucked in the second of the match. Lyon drew one back before the half but Niang headed home his second of the day early in second half.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	32	21	4	7	65	32	67
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	32	18	7	7	56	34	61
AS Nancy Lorraine	32	14	13	5	36	22	55
Olympique Marseille	32	14	10	8	47	34	52
Nice-Côte d'Azur	32	10	14	8	27	24	44
Stade Rennais FC	32	12	8	12	35	38	44
Le Mans	32	12	8	12	36	42	44
Lille O.S.C.	32	9	16	7	34	26	43
Saint-Étienne Loire	31	12	7	12	37	32	43
Lorient	32	10	13	9	27	31	43
SM Caen	32	11	10	11	35	43	43
Valenciennes FC	32	11	8	13	37	32	41
Sochaux-Montbéliard	32	10	11	11	29	34	41
AS Monaco FC	32	11	7	14	33	39	40
AJ Auxerre	32	11	7	14	29	40	40
Racing Club de Lens	31	8	11	12	35	40	35
Toulouse FC	32	7	14	11	28	34	35
Paris Saint-Germain	32	8	11	13	28	35	35
RC Strasbourg	32	9	8	15	29	37	35
FC Metz	32	4	7	21	22	56	18

Wednesday
Racing Club de Lens @ Saint-Étienne Loire

Saturday
Stade Rennais FC @ Olympique Lyonnais
AJ Auxerre @ Le Mans
Saint-Étienne Loire @ FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
AS Nancy Lorraine @ Lille O.S.C.
Toulouse FC @ AS Monaco FC
Olympique Marseille @ FC Metz
RC Strasbourg @ Valenciennes FC
Racing Club de Lens @ Lorient

Sunday
SM Caen @ FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Nice-Côte d'Azur @ Paris Saint-Germain

Ligue 1

Monday
Stade Rennais FC @ AS Monaco FC

Wednesday
RC Strasbourg @ Paris Saint-Germain
incredibly important match for both teams in the fight to avoid relegation. A victory by PSG would draw them out of the relegation zone and pull Lens in, while a victory by Strasbourg would provide them four points of cushion.

Saturday
Saint-Étienne v Le Mans @
Valenciennes FC @ SM Caen
Lille O.S.C. @ Nice-Côte d'Azur
(for those who read over this quickly I want you to consider the "horrible" road-trip of a playing in Nice)
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard @ AJ Auxerre
few will consider the season a success but Sochaux has pulled off the great relegation escape of the season earning twenty points in twelve matches since the January break.
AS Monaco FC @ RC Strasbourg
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud @ Toulouse FC
a highly strategic match for Toulouse as they will need to match pace with Lens and Strasbourg
Bordeaux @ Stade Rennais
Metz @ Lens
Paris Saint-Germain @ Nancy
Lyonnais @ Marseille
highlight match of the weekend. If Marseille is to make a run at a Champions League spot they will need to come out with three points.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	31	21	4	6	64	29	67
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	31	17	7	7	54	34	58
AS Nancy Lorraine	31	13	13	5	35	22	52
Olympique Marseille	31	13	10	8	44	33	49
Le Mans	31	12	8	11	35	38	44
Nice-Côte d'Azur	31	10	13	8	27	24	43
Lille O.S.C.	31	9	15	7	34	26	42
Lorient	31	10	12	9	27	31	42
Valenciennes FC	31	11	8	12	37	31	41
Stade Rennais FC	30	11	8	11	33	35	41
Saint-Étienne Loire	30	11	7	12	33	31	40
SM Caen	31	10	10	11	34	43	40
AJ Auxerre	31	11	7	13	29	39	40
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard	31	9	11	11	28	34	38
AS Monaco FC	30	10	7	13	30	37	37
RC Strasbourg	30	9	8	13	29	34	35
Racing Club de Lens	30	8	10	12	34	39	34
Toulouse FC	31	7	13	11	28	34	34
Paris Saint-Germain	30	7	11	12	27	34	32
FC Metz	31	4	6	21	21	55	18

Saturday
FC Girondins de Bordeaux 2 AS Nancy Lorraine 1
Two Fernando Cavenaghi goals including a late penalty strike gave Bordeaux the win and a safe six point cushion.

Sunday
AJ Auxerre 2 Lille O.S.C. 0
Le Mans 1 SM Caen 1
Olympique Lyonnais 2 Valenciennes 1
A Sidney Govou at the sixty-fourth minute gave Lyon a tight win and moves them closer to their seventh successive championhip

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 1 OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur 0
Toulouse FC 2 FC Metz 0
Two late goals from Achille Emana provides Toulouse a lifeline to safety.

Olympique Marseille 2 Lorient 1
Played in a brutal storm, this game was much like Marseille's peculiar season of multiple personalities. The first half continued the tailspin that started with the Zenit collapse in the UEFA Cup and of numerous matches where valuable points were squandered.

The first half was all Lorient with them controlling play and Marseille barely able to launch a respectable offensive surge. It looked bleak for Marseille as they played like the first half of the season squad that threated to be relegated. The half concluded as Lorient converted on a ridiculous penalty call (albeit a dive that would make old Jürgen Klinsmann fans pleased) to take a 1-0 lead and you would assume the season was drifting away.

The second half started with an offensive flurry with Cisse, Niang, Cana, Akale and Nasri working brilliantly together like the Champions League squad that started strong in the fall. After the Akale goal early in the second-half it looked like Marseille had squandered its chance only to have Mamadou Niang break the tie at the eightieth minute and give Marseille the victory.

Allez l'OM, allez

PSG - Lyon

quick update with PSG - Lyon match.

Jerome Rothen of PSG scored at fifty-second minute to bring the match to 2-2 tie. Extremely important match for PSG to avoid relegation

Ligue 1 relegation

With eight matches left in the Ligue 1 season the relegation battle is quite tight with the unfathomable of PSG being relegated a very distinct possibility. With Marseille stumbling and bumbling its way since losing to Zenit in the UEFA Cup, it continued its charitable ways with a completely uninspired performance today in a 1-0 loss to Sochaux, drawing PSG back into the relegation zone and once more the fires of this heated rivalry were stoked a little higher.

As we look at the table you can quickly see that the fate of FC Metz is sealed but the final two spots are separated by seven teams within only seven points.

Toulouse FC looks to be a very difficult situation as their remaining schedule is mostly mid-table teams excluding Metz and PSG and they haven't won a match since before Christmas. Todays draw against Le Mans certainly isn't going to improve confidence as they lacked any sort of offensive threat and were lucky to gain the draw on a own-goal.

In PSG's situation their lax schedule may see them through as they play Strasbourg, Lens, Caen, Toulouse and Sochaux. Each of these matches are key to their survival and ones that can earn valuable points from. This is a perfect situation in a difficult time and they should be able to get through but it is anything but guaranteed. What makes this odd of course is that with solid performance PSG could climb the table easily and leaving teams above scrambling.

Lens has definitely been playing better since the break starting with their stunning win over Lyonnais. With very winnable matches against PSG, Metz and the balance against mid-table teams, excluding the season ending match against Bordeaux, they can make up enough points to avoid relegation but they will need to take a better tactical stance's in match preparation and play.

Arguably the toughest schedule of the threatened group is RC Strasbourg which still must play Nancy, Lyonnais and Marseille. If they are to advance they must maximize results against PSG, SM Caen as well as Stade Rennais FC and AS Monaco FC. With improved play by Lens and the easy schedule of PSG, RC Strasbourg will find itself being drawn back into relegation.

FC Sochaux Montbéliard is still technically obviously quite close to relegation but since the start of January have won twenty points and playing more like a mid-upper table. With a schedule that includes Lens, Metz and PSG, along with other mid-table teams they will easily escape relegation and in-fact I expect them to finish above fifty points. Both AJ Auxerre and AS Monaco FC will easily escape relegation as long they continued existing standard of play.


Ligue 1 (relegation concerns)

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
AS Monaco FC	30	10	7	13	30	37	37
AJ Auxerre	30	10	7	13	27	39	36
RC Strasbourg	30	9	8	13	29	34	35
FC Sochaux Montbéliard	30	8	11	11	27	34	34
Racing Club de Lens	29	8	10	11	33	36	32
Paris Saint-Germain	29	7	11	11	26	30	32
Toulouse FC	30	6	13	11	25	34	30
FC Metz	30	4	6	20	20	53	18

Ligue 1

Ligue 1

Saturday
Olympique Lyonnais 3 AS Monaco FC 0
Lyon continued to march towards its seventh straight championship

Paris Saint-Germain 1 Valenciennes FC 1
- Pauleta scored @ the 81st minute to earn PSG a much needed draw.
St Etienne 0 Toulouse 0
Le Mans Union Club 72 1 Stade Rennais FC 1
FC Sochaux Montbéliard 1 AS Nancy Lorraine 1
- Moncaf Zerka scored at the 82nd minute for Nancy to avoid the loss.
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud 1 AJ Auxerre 1
Lille O.S.C. 5 SM Caen 0
OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur 2 FC Metz 1
- very important victory for Nice as it looks to close the gap between Marseille.

Sunday
FC Girondins de Bordeaux 3 RC Strasbourg 0
- Resounding victory for Bordeaux on two Carlos Henrique goals as they maintain their position for a Champions League spot

Racing Club de Lens 3 Olympique Marseille 3
A completely unpredictable match that was started with Marseille taking a complete control by the half with two superb goals by Samir Nasri and Benoit Cheyrou. However at the half Marseille came out flat and by the mid 55th minute, momentum changed and Lens scored three goals including and stunning strike by 73rd minute by Loïc Remy. With the victory seemingly in-hand, in the 89th minute Lens' defense broke-down and left Djibril Cisse completely unmarked 6 yards from the goal where he neatly tucked in a cross.

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	29	19	4	6	58	26	61
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	29	16	7	6	51	30	55
AS Nancy Lorraine	29	12	13	4	32	19	49
Olympique Marseille	29	12	10	7	42	31	46
OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur	29	10	13	6	26	21	43
Le Mans Union Club 72	29	12	6	11	33	36	42
Lille O.S.C.	29	8	15	6	33	24	39
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud	29	9	12	8	24	28	39
Valenciennes FC	29	10	8	11	33	28	38
Stade Rennais FC	29	10	8	11	30	34	38
AS Saint-Étienne Loire	29	10	7	12	30	30	37
AS Monaco FC	29	10	7	12	29	33	37
AJ Auxerre	29	10	7	12	26	36	37
SM Caen	29	9	9	11	29	41	36
RC Strasbourg	29	9	8	12	29	33	35
Racing Club de Lens	29	8	10	11	33	36	34
Paris Saint-Germain	29	7	11	11	25	30	32
FC Sochaux Montbéliard	29	7	11	11	26	34	32
Toulouse FC	29	6	12	11	25	33	30
FC Metz	29	4	6	19	20	51	18

Saturday, March 22
- updates to follow on all of these matches as we get closer to the end of the campaign.

FC Metz @ AS Nancy Lorraine
FC Sochaux Montbéliard @ Olympique Marseille
Lille O.S.C. @ RC Strasbourg
FC Lorient Bretagne Sud @ OGC Nice-Côte d'Azur
incredibly important match for both teams in their race to overtake Marseille for the fourth spot and a trip to the UEFA Cup
AS Saint-Étienne Loire @ AJ Auxerre
FC Girondins de Bordeaux @ Valenciennes FC
Le Mans Union Club 72 @ Toulouse FC
AS Monaco FC @ SM Caen


Sunday, March 23
Racing Club de Lens @ Stade Rennais FC
Paris Saint-Germain @ Olympique Lyonnais

when it's More than a Game

The following is a brief excerpt from "More than a Game" a highly detailed book on dry-land training for Hockey. "More than a Game" is dedicated to Hockey purists, to those who know it is more than a game and part of their heritage.





Chapter 1: The Pathway to Greatness™

Theory is defined as a particular conception or view of something to be done or of the method of doing it; a system of rules or principles is a peculiar concept.

When it comes to the development of an athlete, the phrase “theory” raises a unique eyebrow of terminology and actual action. Through the looking glass, the ultimate question keeps begging to asked and for that matter, answered. What precisely are the goals of training and more directly does (off-ice in this situation) actually enhance performance?

It was a question I first raised as a young athlete. Muttered under my breath bewildered how most training seemed to dilute playing abilities and do little to improve physical attributes needed in sport. And yet some thirty years later not only has the very same question been swept underneath the proverbial rug but generations of athletes have to been trained simply to train.

As a young athlete moving unknowingly and somewhat reluctantly into the coaching ranks, I considered this intently. The link between the practicality of training, medical science and the knowledge of the function of sport skills seemed to have rarely walked the same path. While only in its infancy the dawn of the new training world was beginning, the birth of the testing-day accomplishments super-ceding the goal of the athlete; to perform better. And so as I sit back now in this hard-to-conceive year of 2007, the world of coaching has sunk to levels I could never have believed. Mirroring a listing society, the obvious is no longer obvious.

The climate of the present training world is a cloudy, murky cauldron of half-truths and clever marketing ploys. Poor grade salesmen hawking his wares at the swap meet now litter the world of sports performance coaching. Tools and gadgets and fairy tale dreams of grandeur rule the world now, again clouding the truth. Little things that shine and glimmer to keep the attention away from the fact that hard work done the right way is the course to take. But it is 2007 isn’t it and as I pen “hard work” on this page, I give-away my graying temples and the out-of-date, oh-so unfashionable notion of “things worth having are worth working for”.

Why and how this happened is an amusing, if not maddening question that likely is at best, guess-work to answer. Yet the facts are rather simple, the barrier to entry into the world of coaching is set incredibly low and results have been diverted from enhancing performance (on the ice) to testing day accomplishment that may have nothing to do with this. Sadly for athletes that “train to train”, goals are rarely met and questions later on abound. What went wrong, how did this happen to which no answer stems an unfulfilling tide of emotion.

Prior to even conceiving dry-land training the goals of training need to be spelt out succinctly. I also wish to expand the notion of “training” to a broader idea of “developing an individual” as a culture we must address the need for responsible leadership that is sadly astray in the athletic world. One of the greatest gifts a coach can give an athlete is showing a positive direction to lead their lives but every coach must recognize that with every action there is a consequence.

In the simplest form the goals of our training (in this case for Hockey) are;

• elevates on ice performance
• improves the quality of the incumbents life

I wish to place heavy stress on these points in particular with the final comment. Sadly this is the one that isn’t stressed enough because as coaches, mentors, trainers, concerned parents success never comes at that hands of teaching poor values. It is an error that plagues the sporting world today as we deal with some athlete’s that are extremely poor examples in our society. And while I note this, I am not pointing the figure at the athletes but instead pounding the gavel down hard and proclaiming blame upon the coaching profession.

The origin of modern sport was to enhance the quality of life, to be a conduit to teaching principles that will better their life and to simply elevate society. Our role as coaches / trainers starts at the basic fact that we are teaching and molding the minds of tomorrow. The foundation that we build is not merely one that will show itself on the ice but throughout a lifetime.

Training Focus

The question of where training went wrong is a peculiar one. From one vantage it has become too generalized, the training of most athletes lack the necessary varied stimuli to develop a solid foundation. From another standpoint, the training industry has been inundated with gadgets to assist “specialized” work that is both foolhardy and ineffective. And finally from yet another standpoint, most situations lack the organic and reactive nature of sport. The plan of attack used by Renegade Training™ first develops an infallible foundation of general athleticism that specialized sports skills can be developed upon but in a manner that is easily transferable to the chaotic nature of competition.

The basis of the Renegade Training™ protocols is based upon understanding of fluid, natural movement that is both organic, instinctive and reactive. With this in-mind the Renegade Concepts of Training™ were set in stone that is a part every training decision made. These concepts need to be understood clearly and cannot be emphasized enough as they weave there way through every aspect of training. These concepts are:

• Movements trained, not musculature
• Efficiencies of movement reinforced
• Motor patterning and grafting of movement
• Postural alignment is emphasized and perfected
• Stabilization in the most destabilized training environments
• Force developed such that it can be projected, accepted and redirected at maximal levels
• Adopt chaos as your “home”. When Hell becomes the cradle you rest in – all else is easy.

be a part of the Renegade Hockey Club and have a chance to train in the exclusive RHC off-season training camp

Important Business readings / points

Crude Oil hits $108 mark
America's Economy; The Economist
FRB Beige Book

Ligue 1 tables

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	28	18	4	6	55	26	58
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	28	15	7	6	48	30	52
AS Nancy Lorraine	28	12	12	4	31	18	48
Olympique Marseille	28	12	9	7	39	28	45
Le Mans Union Club 72	28	12	5	11	32	35	41