In the Eye of the Storm: A Lens and Nantes Showdown
In the eye of the storm, Lensois and Nantais are sailing by sight in search of a new course. Let’s prepare this poster between RC Lens and FC Nantes, with the participation of Frédéric Happe from Agence France-Presse, Grand Ouest sports coordinator, who comes to offer us a detailed analysis of the Canaries and their start to the season.
“So guys, for Saturday, if you have a brother, a cousin, a dad who plays forward, I’ll take it”
Ahoy there, football fans! Buckle up as we navigate the turbulent waters of FC Nantes, who, let’s be honest, are more like a shipwrecked crew than a thriving football club at this stage. The port city once stood proud, but the only wave they’re riding now is the wave of mediocrity!
Poorly Embarked Boat Leaders
Ever see the painting “The Raft of the Medusa”? Pretty haunting, right? Well, that’s basically the new FC Nantes logo – it’s like they’re rowing away from reality while shouting, “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the drain!”
So, what’s the scoop? The market was as exciting as watching paint dry! Abline joined Nantes, but that was about as thrilling as a broken compass. The collapse of TV rights is hitting harder than my childhood dreams of being a rock star!
At the helm, we’ve got Waldemar Kita, managing the club like he’s directing a sci-fi movie. I mean, if you squint hard enough, you might mistake him for Admiral Ackbar, but I can also see a bit of Captain Couard – steering the ship right into an iceberg! Say what you will about his son, Frank Kita, but I bet managing a football club is a lot like managing a family reunion—everyone’s taking a side, and you’re left wondering who invited the weird uncle.
On the pitch? Leadership’s as rare as a unicorn. The captain’s armband has been passed around like a hot potato on a bad day. Last I checked, Nicolas Pallois is trying to rally the troops… at 37! He’s not exactly Achilles, but we’ll give him an A for effort.
Can We Talk Tactics?
Now, onward to tactics, which have been as clear as mud. Nantes is stuck in a 4-2-3-1 formation with a playmaker looking so lost, they’d need a map and a good GPS app to find themselves. And Tino Kadewere as a No. 10? That’s like letting a cat drive a car—just don’t do it!
Antoine Kombouaré, the man in charge, is feeling the heat, and with 3 points out of 21, you’d think he was trying to bake brownies without any chocolate! The man’s attempts at rousing the squad are about as effective as a chocolate teapot. His press conferences must sound like an episode of ‘Lost’—everyone’s scratching their heads minus the clarity.
Heading North!
So, are we ready to crown Nantes the ghost ship of Ligue 1? Well, not quite. Kombouaré’s glass-half-full attitude might just be what they need to avoid the dreaded drop to Ligue 2. Oh, the humanity! They’ve even managed to keep things competitive, sort of, like a catfight at a tea party.
And our main man, Moses Simon? He’s like a lighthouse but with slightly more chaotic energy! A couple of goals and assists but still makes you wonder if a GPS could help him with his decision-making. It’s always a wild journey with him! And if Johann Lepenant can kick these injuries to the curb and unleash his inner gladiator, things might just brighten up.
The Sky Was the Horizon
Both clubs might be floundering, but here comes the silver lining: RC Lens is moving ahead with a gentler trajectory, while Nantes feels like a dog that just can’t catch its tail. As an old wise man once said, “When in doubt, win the U19s!” Well, at least they’ve got that going for them.
Frédéric Happe gives his prediction, and I’ll add my two cents: Lens better be careful, or they’ll end up with more than just a surprise or two from Nantes. Buckle up, and may the best crew win while others just go fishing!
In conclusion, let’s raise our glasses (or whatever you have on hand), and wish both teams the best. Who knows? With a bit of luck (and perhaps a few fewer defensive blunders), they might just sail through the storm. Cheers!
Amid turbulent waters, both Lensois and Nantais are navigating with a blend of intuition and strategy as they seek a new path forward. We invite you to delve into an insightful preview of the impending clash between RC Lens and FC Nantes, featuring contributions from Frédéric Happe, the Grand Ouest sports coordinator for Agence France-Presse, who will provide a comprehensive analysis of Nantes’ recent performances and their challenging start to the current season.
The ship from the port city, which has disappeared as a symbol of the FC Nantes logo since 2019, increasingly resembles the Raft of the Medusa, which survives in troubled waters. It was because we had to weather the first summer surf with “the summer market [qui] was very calm, apart from the purchase of Abline, by force of circumstances since Nantes suffered like many the collapse of TV rights and did not manage to sell the four or five players it was ready to part with.” In addition to the problems with adjusting the squad, it seems that there are no longer any captains or leaders in all areas of the club, as our expert of the day analyzes.
First, at its head, Waldemar Kita seems straight out of the turfu with management of the club that may seem to come from a distant galaxy. And although he has some traits of Admiral Ackbar, his skills can sometimes be akin to those of Captain Couard of the Costa Concordia with an abandonment, albeit necessary, of the ship. “Since Kombouaré’s return to the bench, Kita senior has taken a step back from the day-to-day management of the club – which was an imperative condition for Kombouaré to accept – leaving his son Frank even more to act as an intermediary. […] In any case, there are not many people left to defend him in Nantes and have been for some time now. The sea serpent of a sale of the club can only resurface episodically, but as he seems to have an exaggeratedly high idea of the value of the club, there is little chance that this will come to fruition in the next few months, for lack of a sufficient buyer interested.”
On the field, leaders of men are rare and the captain’s armband is passed from arm to arm without finding its worthy wearer. “There is no leader on this team. The armband changed arms several times (Chirivella, Lafont, Castelleto, return to Chirivella). The only “leader”, in any case the only one who really seems to be trying to shake up his partners, would perhaps be Nicolas Pallois, who is at least very combative. But at 37, he is no longer a starter and the years are starting to take their toll.”
Tactically, FC Nantes is supposed to be organized around a playmaker. Same observation, with a turnover at the position and the latest choice, Tino Kadewere, who does not seem to have the profile for the position. “Since the start of the season, Nantes has played in 4-2-3-1, regardless of the players lined up. It is a system which nevertheless supposes having a playmaker supporting the center forward, but Nantes does not really have a player with this profile. Kadewere is used in ’10’ without having the technical qualities or vision of the game necessary for that.”
Antoine Kombouaré, at the helm of the team, is also the target of criticism. The results have been more than mediocre since mid-September, with a result of 3 points out of 21 possible. These criticisms against the Kanak coach find their origins in “the total ineffectiveness of his real attempts to revive players or steal his squad, and his communication which often seems quite blatantly out of step with the impression left by his team on the field.”
So, Lensois, let us beware of still water. Certainly, yellow and green fail in many areas of play. “The most glaring is undoubtedly the very poor offensive animation. It’s hard to explain the project when the team has the ball. Defensively it is also very difficult to find positive elements. There are far too many individual errors, due to lapses in concentration, technical errors or a lack of communication.” Add to this the mentality of a freshwater sailor and “the lack of realism in both surfaces. Nantes’ other big weakness is its lack of ‘mentality’ in the face of adversity. Nantes has not won a single one of the last 19 matches in which it found itself behind.” Frédéric Happe explains to us again.
However, Nantes has some resources in its crew. We will have to count on the speed and offshore liveliness of Moses Simon, the only one who seems to be getting his head above water. “Moses Simon who, with two goals and three assists, remains the most decisive player. He is the only player to regularly create differences through his running speed or one-on-one, even if in the last gesture or the last pass, he does not always make the right choice or the right gesture.” He is therefore floating a little but there are other potentially dangerous players, like Kadewere and the almost aptly named Lepenant, who brings a breath of fresh air to this team. “The only other player to really stand out is Johann Lepenant, who temporarily brought a bit of surprise and projection to the middle. But the blow seems to have already subsided and he was injured in the calf last weekend.”
The two clubs, which seem to be at the bottom of the wave, still do not have quite the same trajectory. Where RC Lens is in a year of transition, which for the moment seems to give some good reasons for satisfaction in the respect and continuity of a long-term club project, FC Nantes is struggling to see anything other than maintaining that is difficult to avoid the abyss of Ligue 2, “like three times in the last four seasons.” In the absence of a large-scale project, “Nantes’ only objective at this stage is to win back one day.”
Frédéric Happe, for whom the confrontation between FC Nantes and RC Lens has a special character since it is his first memory as Grand Ouest sports coordinator at AFP (victory for Nantes on a goal of Yacine Bammou against a Lens coached by A. Kombouaré), gets wet on a prediction: “2-0 for Lens. This is a team that seems to have the arguments to beat Nantes, provided they don’t lack too much realism in front of goal.” This will indeed be one of the challenges of the match for the only regular attacker present in the Lensois ranks, in the person of Rémy Labeau-Lascary, a young sailor trained at the club. The Lens attack is one of the least prolific in Ligue 1, with only 9 goals. Nantes scored 12. Be careful, Trannin and Delacourt supporters, the bullets risk falling on your head…
So let’s wish each other good luck and may there be no rabbits. Lens must absolutely set sail again, against an opponent who is struggling. In this legendary club on the Atlantic coast, the first team disappoints, but Frédéric reminds us “the tremendous epic of their U19s in the Youth League last year, who broke attendance records for an U19 match during their meetings at La Beaujoire, and the rise of the women to the elite in a few years.”
