Paris is perhaps the most productive city for player development in the world. But could you beat one of the richest, most global clubs in football using only players from the City of Lights? Martin Vert has been set that challenge.
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November is a relatively short month, thanks to the international break, and we head into it on a high after an unbeaten October. Tweaking the formation has given our attacking players some renewed confidence, and Yahia Fofana has been so good that frankly I half expect him to get a call-up to the national side. But as long as he keeps doing it for us, I don’t mind.
On a personal note, I have been linked in the press with the vacant post at Lille. I am flattered and I think it really shows how far we’ve come as a club that I am being touted for the job at a side who were champions just three years ago, but I of course reaffirm my commitment to Red Star. There’s a job to be done here, and I’m going to do it.
First up is a visit from Montpellier. So far they are inconsistent, but tending toward poor form, and they sit just in the lower half of the table. We are one place outside the European places, and I would very much like to push on into those places. Derby born Stephy Mavididi has been leading the line here for a few seasons, and he’s the dangerman. Doukansy comes back in for the suspended Mike Cestor.
The inverted winger pays off early this time, when Christopher Attys floats a ball forward and Traore, who has drifted inside, volleys into the bottom corner. It’s a lovely goal, and I’m thrilled. For the next ten minutes we look so comfortable that I think this might be a walkover. Foolish. Mavididi sets me straight when he breaks through the defence and fires past a stationary Fofana. The second half is very even, until Michael Barreto collects the ball on the right and drives into the box. What happens next is one of the most obvious dives I’ve ever seen, and I expect him to get booked, but miraculously VAR awards the penalty. Barreto picks himself up and fires home, and we survive a late Montpellier onslaught.
Mamadou Tounkara has decided that, actually, playing for a side at the right end of Ligue 1 is quite nice, even if our €2.5m outlay on Steve N’Goura didn’t impress him (and to be honest, it hasn’t massively impressed me). He’ll be staying, so we can focus our recruitment efforts on finding that elusive, affordable Parisian superstar striker to lead the line. But before that, a trip to Lorient.
The Brittany side have had a tough time of it so far this season, in the relegation zone and only off the bottom because they’ve scored a couple more goals that Strasbourg. Brandon Soppy was their big summer signing, and he’s an exciting, young, Parisian-born wing-back I’ve got my eye on, but he hasn’t been getting much game time. Which may explain why they are in a relegation battle.
Cestor is back from his suspension so Doukansy can move forward again and anchor the midfield. Brahimi has a knock so Massouema replaces him, and I’m feeling good. We can carry on our unbeaten run here.
Soppy does start this one, and Lorient are pretty solid with him in a back three. In fact, Lorient don’t look much like a relegation threatened side at all, and hit post and bar along with drawing a number of very good saves from Yahia Fofana. We aren’t shrinking violets though, and create chances of our own. N’Goura wastes a couple of opportunities, and as we enter the final stages of the game I bring Tattevin on to support him. That pins Lorient back in their box, which allows Moussa Diarra space to drill into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Another 1-0, but I like a 1-0. 1-0 is pure, perfect, professionalism.
The post-match presser confronts me with the question of just how good Fofana has been. He had another Man of the Match performance, which brings him level with Neymar. The Brazilian is also the only player in Ligue 1 with a higher average rating than him. His seven clean sheets is equal with Marseille’s Steve Mandanda for the most in the division. And only Gianluigi Donnarumma has a better conceded:games ratio. So I reply with total and complete honestly, that I wouldn’t even replace him with Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Why would I?
The international break gives me some pause for thought. N’Goura really hasn’t performed like a club record signing, but perhaps that’s my fault. It really isn’t fair to heap all the pressure of leading the line on the shoulders of an untested 18-year-old. Tattevin is the senior striker, and at 23 should be just entering his prime. He’ll come back in for a few games, see if he can cause any problems with Traore providing more support from the right.
Camara and Farrugia both picked up suspensions in the last game, so they’re out. A newly settled Mamadou Tounkara will fill in at the back, but Farrugia presents a different problem. Erhling is still injured, and Barreto would mean changing the system, so I opt for Bilal Brahimi. That will keep the shape, at least. The other option is reserve left back Nicolas Senzemba, who makes the bench. Lille have started to turn their form around since Dejan Stankovic took the job, after I declined it, so it’ll be a good test.
We deserve absolutely nothing from the game, and yet we come so close to taking everything. Lille have clearly put their early season struggles behind them, and pin us in our own box for the whole of the first half. Again we are indebted to Fofana for keeping us in the game, along with some desperate defending. I lay into the lads at half time, and tell them to buck their ideas up and try to create something. And we do, for all of ten minutes, but that’s all it takes for Brahimi to fire in from a tight angle. We fall back and hold out until the 86th minute, when Jonathan David, who should already have five, finally finds a way past Fofana. We hang on for a point, but that could have been an embarrassing beating.
And that’s it for November. We sit in the Europa Conference League place, and European football would be a magnificent achievement, but there is a long way to go yet. As ever, our defence is king. Only PSG have conceded fewer goals than us, and they’ve spent more than €450m over the last three seasons. Which is 100x more than we have. If we’re counting.
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