Is help on the way?

By: Jay | October 2nd, 2007

I have written at length about Lens president Gervais Martel’s notable screw ups during last year’s transfer period. The losses of Jussie and Thomert turned out to be crucial down the stretch last season and the loss of Itandje, Keita as well as the unintelligible loan of Issam Jemma have cost the Lensois dearly. Even Daniel Cousin’s departure for Rangers now looks bad.

Add to this comedy of errors the mediocre cast of characters (i.e. Tixier, Monterrubio, Pieroni, Laurenti, Bisevac, etc. etc.) which Lens assembled to replace such luminaries has been unforgivable. At least Tixier is gone but sadly coach Jean-Pierre Papin seems to be intent on giving extensive playing time to most of the other washouts instead of developing our formidable core of young talent.

There is also no doubt that Martel should rightly be blamed for the Guy Roux fiasco. As the club’s president he certainly should have made sure the old man would be able to handle the club’s coaching duties for the forseeable future. Moreover, his sudden departure threw the club into a tailspin from which it has yet to recover. Indeed, Roux’s actions cost the team one of it’s most important and expensive signings of the year. It is now known that Bonaventure Kalou was lured by his old mentor Roux only to abandon the squad for the Emirates’ Al-Jazira when Roux retired.

Nevertheless, it seems Papin has finally realized he needs to find some firepower somewhere and it could come in the form of 21 year old Nigerian star in the making Joseph Akpala. Mercato 365 has reported that the Lens headman was in Belgium recently scouting the young forward at his current club the Royal Sporting Club de Charleroi of the Belgian league. Akpala has been called one of the revelations of the Belgian Jupiler league this season. I recall a certain other forward who starred in the Jupiler league and now stars at Lens……can you say Aruna “Mr. Danger” Dindane?

It has also been reported that the Lensois are courting Strasbourg striker Eric Mouloungui. The talented 23 year old Gabonais is on Papin’s shortlist of potential transfers and it might be sooner rather than later that he may be wearing the blood and gold.

So help may be on the way after all, let’s just hope its not too late or we will be spending all next year contemplating possible moves to get us out of Ligue 2.