There's Always Next Season

Comes a time every season when you have to acknowledge that the fat lady has indeed sung, that the orchestra is across the road in the pub, and that all we are left with is either the elation of success, the disappointment of failure, or something in between, a sense of ‘fair enough, let’s go again in August’. For us it is failure, on and off the pitch as Duchatelet is still in situ. For our near neighbours it is something more than success. Palace somehow remain in a division well above their status, Millwall inconceivably will find themselves in the second flight. The world is indeed upside down. It will right itself sooner or later. But for those looking for an inspiring miracle from across the Channel. I’m sorry to say that Lyon Duchere didn’t quite manage to secure promotion to France’s second division.

Going into the final round, Duchere needed five results to go their way in order to move up from seventh to third and go into a play-off against the team finishing third-bottom in Ligue 2. One of the five was not surprisingly them winning their final game, away at Epinal. That didn’t happen, Duchere going down 1-2 against a team which needed to win to have a chance of avoiding relegation. Seems it was goalless at half-time, when the Duchere players perhaps saw how other games were going and accepted the inevitable. Epinal scored first, Duchere equalised, but Epinal scored another to secure the three points. It did them no good. With Pau winning 3-0 away at Concarneau – a team which earlier in the season looked like running away with the league only to fall apart – Epinal managed to get above Bastia but still ended fourth-bottom and drop into a regional fourth division. I hope the Duchere and Epinal players shared a glass or two in mutual commiseration.

With their victories in the previous round of games, Chateauroux and Quevilly Rouen had already guaranteed that they would take the top two places and automatic promotion. Seems they hadn’t stopped celebrating as the former only scraped a 1-1 home draw with lowly Les Herbiers to end the season while Rouen got turned over 4-0 away at Chambly, who like Duchere went into the final round with a chance of that third spot and promotion. As a result of their home point Chateauroux – who had defeated Duchere in the penultimate round – take the title of champions, but you get the impression that neither they nor Rouen could give a toss about that – and may still be celebrating.

So Chambly did what they needed to do. So did Marseilles Consolat, who beat Bastia 3-2 to consign them to relegation. And so did Paris FC, with what looks like a comfortable 2-0 home win against Creteil (which for the record meant that so far of the five games that Duchere needed to go their way four had not). The team that really blew it was Dunkerque. A victory at home to Boulogne would have ensured third place for them. But in what looks like the game of the round they went 0-2 down in the first 30 mins. They got back on level terms by the 72nd minute only for Boulogne to score again in the 79th minute. Dunkerque drew level again six minutes later, but couldn’t find the winner that would have lifted them from sixth to third. Consequently it will be Paris FC who go into the play-off for the chance to get up into the second division alongside Chateauroux and Rouen, despite managing only 30 goals in the 34 games (they conceded just 18).

In the play-off Paris FC will face Orleans, who went down 1-4 away at Le Havre in the final round but still finished above Red Star, who went down 0-1 at Auxerre (who could themselves have dropped into the play-off spot if they had lost and Orleans won). But the media not surprisingly focused on the top of the table, which truly went to the wire. Six teams going for two automatic promotion places and a play-off spot, with little between them. The stats will show that all six of them won their games. But even the BBC picked up on what happened, as Amiens scored a 96th-minute winner to move back up from sixth to second place. They go up with Strasbourg, leaving Troyes in the play-off place.

So La Duche have to content themselves with a first season in France’s third division which they surely would have taken when the season started. In terms of attendances and resources they are punching some way above their weight, over-achieving. They were top of the league early on and always in with a shout of promotion. At half-time against Dunkerque they were sitting second, with three-and-a-half games to go. But they just fell short, lost their last three games (and actually lost five of their last eight, winning only two). No matter, it was a fine campaign. They can consider themselves as a club on the rise. What I wouldn’t give to be able to say the same about us this time next year.