Valenciennes

[Toadhall Saint]

2 hours ago, ChristopheVAFC said:

Hello friends, how are you today?

News from Valenciennes, who are back in league action tonight with an away game at Dijon.

Our team did not play last week because it was the French Cup, but a friendly match against Boulogne sur Mer (League 2) was still organised, ending in a 2-2 draw.

Tonight's match is the penultimate game before the winter break. It will be a tough away game against the second-placed team in the league (VA is 12th out of 17).

I'm predicting a draw tonight, but I expect it to be a difficult match on the pitch of an opponent who is having a good season.

As usual, I'm sharing the YouTube link to tonight's match below:

Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m. French time.

I'm also sharing two press articles (one from last week and one from today).

Allez VA !

Bon chance!

[ChristopheVAFC]

Good evening, friends.

The match between Dijon and Valenciennes has just ended...

A heavy defeat against the second-placed team in the league, with a score of 4-1...

The season is proving more difficult than expected, even though the recruitment has been fairly consistent...

Players who know the league and performed well last season...

I can't understand it, but I think the end-of-year holidays will do us good and I think the club will be active in the transfer market next January...

Have a great evening everyone and come on Valenciennes!

[Holmes_and_Watson]

A grim showing from VA.

4-1, with our Rento getting the 1 on 89 mins, as he sped between defenders. Dijon had 2 chances shortly before that and 1 shortly after, to have made it 5.

The first came from a clearance that instead arced high and back into the VA box. The keeper parried the close range shot only for it to be put in on the rebound from that. The clearance wasn't the worst thing. It's only 4 mins into the match. It was the first head going down and that the whole defence were shown to be less reactive and quick.

A second came shortly before half time. VA not strong enough to carry the ball anywhere. No surprise when it's taken from them, and an excellent shot finishes the move.

VA's amazing team talks continue. A few minutes into the second half and they pass to nowhere. Dijon pick it up, work it with few passes into the box, where the scorer ghosts past the defence.

Dijon's final goal was a header where the VA defender was easily outmuscled.

VA were brushed aside in that game. Dijon didn't have to put in too much of a fight to be easy winners.

 

[Weston Super Saint]

11 hours ago, ChristopheVAFC said:

The season is proving more difficult than expected, even though the recruitment has been fairly consistent...

Players who know the league and performed well last season...

Welcome to our world!

'Tis the Southampton SR way.

[Convict Colony]

12 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

A grim showing from VA.

4-1, with our Rento getting the 1 on 89 mins, as he sped between defenders. Dijon had 2 chances shortly before that and 1 shortly after, to have made it 5.

The first came from a clearance that instead arced high and back into the VA box. The keeper parried the close range shot only for it to be put in on the rebound from that. The clearance wasn't the worst thing. It's only 4 mins into the match. It was the first head going down and that the whole defence were shown to be less reactive and quick.

A second came shortly before half time. VA not strong enough to carry the ball anywhere. No surprise when it's taken from them, and an excellent shot finishes the move.

VA's amazing team talks continue. A few minutes into the second half and they pass to nowhere. Dijon pick it up, work it with few passes into the box, where the scorer ghosts past the defence.

Dijon's final goal was a header where the VA defender was easily outmuscled.

VA were brushed aside in that game. Dijon didn't have to put in too much of a fight to be easy winners.

 

Your doing a good service bro keep it up I read them.

VA being horrific, Fred must be on suicide watch.

[SuperSAINT]

36 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

Your doing a good service bro keep it up I read them.

VA being horrific, Fred must be on suicide watch.

#FredWatch

[FredVaFC59100]

5 hours ago, SuperSAINT said:

#FredWatch

is SR out yet ?

Wake me up before they go go.

[ChristopheVAFC]

Hello friends, I hope you are all well?

Today is Valenciennes' last league match of 2025.

They are hosting FC Sochaux Montbéliard, who are currently at the top of the league, at the Stade du Hainaut.

It will be a difficult match tonight against a confident team who are currently on a roll.

Two former players (Julien Masson and Aymen Boutoutaou) are returning to Valenciennes, as is our former coach from last year (Vincent Hognon).

It's a difficult situation with the fans unhappy and the team coming off a heavy defeat at Dijon last week (4-1). It won't be easy for anyone tonight...

I'm hoping for a draw tonight, which would be very good given the current situation.

The match kicks off at 7.30pm French time and can be watched on YouTube via the link below:

Have a great day and a good weekend.

Allez VA !

[ChristopheVAFC]

"Raised in every way," a week of high tension in Valenciennes

From the thrashing in Dijon (4-1) to this final match of the year against Sochaux, Valenciennes endured a difficult week trying to recover, come to terms with the disappointment of their first half of the season, and focus on the essential adjustments needed.

The radio silence that followed the Valenciennes players' match in Dijon continued on the bus ride home, a journey that must have seemed endless before their arrival at Mont-Houy at 3:30 a.m. The next day, Stéphane Moulin tried to recover from a sleepless night and a match whose content had "frightened" him, while his assistant, Patrice Sauvaget, watched the reserve team's match featuring Samy Baghdadi and Mark Inchaud, two summer signings from whom much more was expected. The victory and first place for Pierre Blois's team are obviously not enough to overshadow the oppressive atmosphere that has descended upon Valenciennes.

The owners were not pleased.

The performance in Dijon stunned many: the fans, of course, whose banner ("You're a bunch of...") served as a welcoming committee upon their return from Burgundy, but also internally, where the feeling of failure is widespread. This includes the very highest levels of Sport Republic. The thrashing against Dijon, and more broadly, the first few months of the season, have considerably irritated even Dragan Solak, the owner and main financier of the investment fund that owns Valenciennes. The Serbian billionaire had, until now, excelled at delegating and keeping a watchful eye on things from afar since acquiring Valenciennes.

"We misjudged the individual and collective value of this team." - Stéphane Moulin

“In those moments, when nothing is going right, we get a lot of flak from everyone, and rightly so,” admits Stéphane Moulin, who has even more opportunity to sense the immense disappointment while chatting with some supporters after Wednesday’s training session. Faced with the defeat in the Dijon match, the coaching staff doesn’t want to dwell on the team; the focus is on simple things to avoid further damaging their badly shaken confidence, even though the question of their overall level can no longer be ignored.

It becomes all too obvious as soon as the opponent is a bit tougher, like against Fleury, Dijon, or the upcoming Sochaux match. “We made a mistake in analyzing the individual and collective value of this team. And I do mean ‘we,’” emphasizes Stéphane Moulin. “We made mistakes, but I take full responsibility, and I work with the players I have.” "For now, it's not what we expected; obviously, it's far from sufficient."

Decimated Central Defense

While the past week has been difficult at all levels, the coming weeks will be marked by the urgent need to strengthen the team, target the right players, and shake things up. It's no longer a possibility; it's now a necessity. With all this going on, we almost forget that there's a match to play. Facing Sochaux, who arrive firmly entrenched in the top three with their three former Valenciennes players – Vincent Hognon, Julien Masson, and Aymen Boutoutaou – whose mere presence will further highlight the choices made last summer. Since the headwinds continue to blow in gusts, Valenciennes will field a central defense that is both decimated and experimental due to the absences of Thomas, Coeff, and Landre. All this in an atmosphere that reeks of tension in the stands.

Those who attend will see Valenciennes sporting a new shirt sponsor (Burger King), officially announced on Thursday, which seems to be the only bright spot in recent days. As has often been the case since Sport Republic took over, VAFC has been far more effective behind the scenes than on the pitch. It's never too late to offer a more nuanced perspective and add a touch of color to what has been a rather gloomy week so far.

VAFC – Sochaux, Friday at 7:30 pm at the Stade du Hainaut. Unavailable: Landre, Coeff, Thomas, Baghdadi, Collet (injured), Belloumou, Inchaud (doubtful)

[spyinthesky]

Bonne chance Christophe.

[ChristopheVAFC]

1 hour ago, spyinthesky said:

Bonne chance Christophe.

Thank you 🙂

[Holmes_and_Watson]

A fan protest going into added time in the second half, not only prolonged the tedium of this one, but got the match abandoned.

Tensions between SR and the support have reached a new level. I imagine Sochaux will get awarded the points, possibly a 3-0 win by default and VA will be in some bother.

The channel tried to fill some time by showing the highlights, only to find there weren't any.

A nice drop into midfield space after 5 mins, allowed a first time ball into a channel. 2 VA defenders could have cleared it. Neither took responsibility and conspired to allow a crisp shot away for the opener.

And that was it for Sochaux. They only had to watch VA fail to make a correct decision or pass in the final third. And that's what they did. 

There was a brief glimmer when Our Rento came on around 72 mins. As much the novelty of having someone to pass to. He did get in between the defence and the keeper. Other strikers might have got the ball on goal and taken the hit. Rento put it wide.

There had been a VA shot well over the bar on 67. That only became a shot after the first player slipped. A couple of other efforts went tamely at their keeper. That was despite VA actually having some numbers up. They have no idea what to do with it, and overcompensate or panic.

Pretty much the same as we've seen for most of the season. Now with added desperation and lower confidence.

Keen SR watchers are seeing one genius all-in approach, being abandoned for the next all different, but still all-genius approach fall flat on its face too.

[ChristopheVAFC]

Valenciennes – Sochaux: Tense situation with supporters, match abandoned

During Valenciennes' match against Sochaux for the 16th round of the National league, some supporters left the stands and attempted to enter the pitch while the Hainaut club was trailing. They were quickly stopped by around thirty stewards. The referee abandoned the match.

With Sochaux leading 1-0 at the start of stoppage time, several Valenciennes supporters left their section and tried to invade the pitch at the Stade du Hainaut. Around thirty stewards quickly intervened to prevent them. Faced with the situation, the referee decided to immediately stop the match and sent the 22 players back to the dressing rooms.

The match was abandoned

Around thirty helmeted police officers positioned themselves at the entrance to the tunnel to prevent supporters from accessing the Valenciennes stadium. The club's general manager, Yoann Godin, went to speak with them while they were still on the sidelines. It was no use…

At 10:05 p.m., after more than thirty tense minutes, the referee decided to abandon the match.

[ChristopheVAFC]

Just got back from the stadium...

To be honest with you, friends, it was a tough night...

I told you it would be a complicated and difficult match, and unfortunately that's how it turned out...

We started the game badly with a defensive error that cost us the only goal of the match in the 5th minute, scored by Aymen BOUTOUTAOU, a former Valenciennes player who was still with us last season...

As usual, we were unable to come back and the game continued...

In the 90th minute, angry fans tried to storm the pitch but were blocked by around 50 stewards...

The game was stopped for almost an hour before the announcer declared it over for good...

May the holiday season be good to everyone, and I expect a lot more changes in January...

Have a great night, friends!

[Dusic]

Probably time for SR to get Rasmus more involved at Valenciennes after seeing how well Goztepe have done under his leadership.

[ChristopheVAFC]

8 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Probably time for SR to get Rasmus more involved at Valenciennes after seeing how well Goztepe have done under his leadership.

This is the first time I've seen this at the Stade du Hainaut since it opened in 2011...

I'm sad tonight, because we all would have liked the season to go much better...

As for SR, given that Southampton is doing better and things are going well at Goztepe, I think they'll work to make things better at Valenciennes, that's what I tell myself...