Lens back to life in Ligue 1
By: Xavier | July 18th, 2009
May 17, 2008 was a day that will live in infamy for Racing Club de Lens and its many passionate supporters. Former Lens Offside blogger Jay Smallings said it best when he wrote “no more Lens”. For an iconic club who had dazzled Ligue 1 for the past 17 years the dreadful descent into the second division was truly shocking and downright heartbreaking. The relegation of the storied French club prompted LFP president Frédéric Thiriez to publicly acknowledge the devastating blow to the French footballing world by stating “French football will endure but Les Corons will be silenced over northern skies”. Even dreaded Lille fans were stunned into the realization that the venerable northern derby would not be played out in the upcoming campaign.
So the sang et or swallowed their bitter pill and trecked down to the mysterious world of Ligue 2 where exotic names like LB Châteauroux, Stade Brestois and Vannes OC would fill the unglamorous friday schedule put out by France’s Canal Plus. But Lens would persist in its quest to return to the top flight where it had been such a menacing presence through the years.
Au Nord c’était les corons
A new year and and a promising future awaits Le club artésien with bright young stars like Kevin Monnet-Paquet, Razak Boukari, Steven Joseph-Monrose and Darnell Situ among others, Lens is poised for a glorious rebirth.
I will be pleased to cover this exciting new phase in the club’s history and I look forward to hearing from fans and foes alike. My good friend Johnny over at the Lyon Offside has done an extraordinary job and I look forward to exchanging ideas with him. Moreover, I hope to have the peripatetic Londoner Jay Smallings contribute whenever possible.
Let the games begin and let us rejoice in the realization that we can once again be fier d’etre lensois!
Category: l'actualité (Matches and More)
Tags: Darnell situ, Kevin Monnet-Paquet, l'actualité (Matches and More), lfp, ligue 1, racing club de lens, Razak Boukari, Steven Joseph-MonroseSubscribe
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Comments | Add your comment
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Welcome back to Ligue 1. Ligue 1 missed the Felix-Bollaert atmosphere.
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Great to see this blog up and running again!
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this is great! let’s fill the other blogs!
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Hopefully GM can put the Grey Goose down once in a while and keep Lens where they belong: In L1 and at the top of the table.
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http://www.rclens.fr/node/25449
Pics from the match. I’m still not convinced by these kits. “That retail scanning bar code” at the bottom of the kits kills them. You should do a post about the new kits.Posted from
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Good match recap:
http://www.francefootball.fr/FF/breves2009/20090718_210945_lyon-revient-de-loin.html
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Lens has really a bright future with Boukari,Monnet-Paquet,…Maybe someday one of these players will go to Lyon.
Also,dont worry Xavier.I am sure you will be better then John.It is not so hard.
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Johnny, you do not want me to write a post about these dirty blue rags they have for kits. They look like an experiment with Pepto-Bismol gone bad. My favorites were always the white kits.
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Whow! This guy just took a shot at you Johnny.
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Yeah, the whites and I loved last year’s checkered one too. I like the “Invecta” sponsor with the italicized graphics.
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I like the “Pepto” kits, it’s just that barcode that makes it weird. They had a really nice training kit last year I think, the same color.
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Hey,Johnny take it easy.Why do you attack me so hard?I was just joking and motivating Xavier because he is new and has just started with writing and you are expirienced in this job.I thought you will understand that I am joking but you really disappointed me now.
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Also John,sorry if I insulted you but how I sad I was just joking and I think that you wrote much more badly things about me.I didnt know that you are so easy to provocate.Sorry
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Theo, it sounded like you were saying that my writing was so bad that anyone could do better. It sounded like a sarcastic shot and that’s why I took offense. If you say no, than I believe you. Sorry if I misunderstood you.
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JOHN,It is OK.Maybe it really sounded so but you should know that I like your writing,if it wasnt so I wouldnt be visitng the lyon offside and writng comments.We all know how well are you doing your job at Lyon offside.We should just forget all this and I hope that you arent angry anymore at me.
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No, problem Theo. My apologies.
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Xav: So has your pal Runje officially been relagated to the bench by Kasraoui?
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Well, Runje is hurt right now like always. That guy could strangle Mother Theresa and the Lens fans would give him a standing ovation for it. Nevertheless, its still a brief matter of time before Kasraoui is in for good. By the way, I can’t post because the pictures still don’t work. They are trying to fix it.
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Too bad Dechamps is being an ass and not letting this kid go out on loan:
http://goal.com/en/news/11/transfer-zone/2009/07/13/1379055/didier-deschamps-wont-allow-charles-kabore-to-leave
He and Seydou would make a fine pair.Posted from
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This is great! There are so many active blogs here now!
Posted from
United States
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