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When I go into the boardroom, there are three faces opposite me. Patrice and David look very happy, broad smiles on their face. Steve also has a smile, but his is more fixed, more forced. They are pleased with how the season has started; and why shouldn’t they be, with eight wins from eight. Steve brings up our slight overspend on wages, and Patrice waves him away. Which pleases me. Less pleasing is six goals conceded in those eight games. But it’s a balancing act, and so far we are tipping toward promotion, so I’ll bite my tongue.

Bastia-Borgo are first up for October, and they have struggled. They are just outside the relegation zone, and they have trouble scoring, so maybe a clean sheet is on the cards regardless. Their 4231 formation can be dangerous though, and Stephane Sparagna is fit, so we bring him back in. It’s harsh on Kevin Gomis, but Sparagna is about our only defender who can actually pass the ball.

We are magnificent again, knocking the ball around like we own it. Bastia can’t keep up with us, but I’m worried it’ll be a frustrating afternoon as half time approaches. But Durand beats his man, cuts it back to El Hriti who lays it to Guel. His lovely curling cross is nodded in by Ba, and we’re ahead at the break. Bastia come out better in the second half, but the only chance the really create is a free kick, and the goal they score from it is disallowed for offside. We add a second and they manage their only shot (that counts) late on, to no avail.

We come off the pitch to find that Bourg-Perronas have held Chateauroux, allowing us to put a little gap between us which we’re pretty happy about. And the press are clamouring for Damien Durand, who has been ever-present and put in consistently great performances. He’s another that isn’t from Paris, but he’s on a two year contract so I have some options with him. Josue Homawoo has earned another Togo call up, and Cadiou joins up with Guadeloupe.

Steve seems to have had an impact on Patrice and David, and I get an email from the Chairman explaining that they are concerned about the wage overspend, and are reducing the amount I will get from transfers to 20%. It’s a blow, and means I will fight tooth and nail to keep Durand, but I’m not overly concerned – around a third of the wage bill will disappear when the season is over, and I can build again. We are paying a lot of money to a couple of players, and as impressive as they have been I’m not sure we can justify it. More worrying is the fracture in Meissa Ba’s lower leg. We’ll be lucky to see him this again side of Christmas.

Concarnou are another of the 4231 merchants, and are perhaps the most average team in the division, with 3 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats in their nine matches. Gomis comes in for Homawoo, and Mayoro Ndoye for Cadiou. Darell Tokpa will be the replacement for Meissa Ba, and now has a prolonged chance to prove himself.

We miss Ba badly, and it almost costs us. We create enough chances, but Tokpa is wasteful. And Concarneau are creating chances of their own, although they never really threaten Butelle’s goal. We push into the attacking 424 with half an hour to go, but it doesn’t force the opening. In the end, a catastrophic defensive mistake from Concarneau saves us, when a clearance cannons to Mayoro Ndoye, who gives Michael Nilor the easiest chance he’ll ever have. We’ll need to be better against Chateauroux. Aniss El Hriti picks up a red card late on.

It’s international week, and while France squeeze past Belgium in the Nations League, Homawoo and Cadiou pick up more caps for their counties. Cadiou has a good performance as Guadeloupe win comfortably. And for us, it’s the French Cup, against Void-Vacon. They are a few divisions below us – too low for our scouts to put together a decent report – but our forms and their (lack of) quality means we should be confident. I ring the chances and give some of the fringe players a chance to impress, including William Baku who has a slight knock.

It’s a very professional performance against a weaker side. Dieng powers a header home early on, and Nilor puts away a penalty. He gets his second and our third just before half time, and it’s job done. We don’t build on the lead, but with an injured, amateur player as part of our reserve squad, that’s fine. And another clean sheet is always nice.

The sixth round draw pits us against FCM Aubervilliers, another side from a couple of divisions below us, and I get a reminder that I’m supposed to include seven of the first team in a Cup squad. A reminder and a €7000 fine. Lovely.

On top of the fine, we get bad news from Africa where Josue Homawoo has fractured his back in a Togo training session. He’ll be out for a couple of months, which is a big blow, but then this is the reason we are overspending our wage budget. Kevin Gomis just got more valuable.

Chateauroux are a very good side. They score as they need to, and have the kind of defensive record I would kill for – just two goals conceded in nine games. With the injury to Ba they are going to be tough to break down, but we’ll go with the strongest squad we have available and see where it gets us. Three points aren’t as vital as they were a couple of weeks ago, but winning would send a message about just how dominant we are. And that’s what I want.

That was… not what we wanted. Chateauroux match us beat for beat, but we are the better in the first half. Damien Durand’s lovely strike is immediately cancelled out by Bryan Soumare, and we go in level at the break. They come out strongly in the second half, and when Jason Tre gets sent off and gives away a penalty as the last man, the momentum swings decisively. They score the penalty, and then add another for good measure. It’s our first dropped points of the season, and it doesn’t feel good.

We retreat to the training ground to lick our wounds. Chateauroux were huge preseason favourites for this division, so defeat to them, especially after having a man sent off, isn’t the worst thing in the world. We’re hurt, but luckily we have the sixth round of the French Cup next, which is the perfect tonic for our confidence. We make some changes, but not all of them. I don’t want another fine.

We put in another professional cup performance, and Aubervilliers haven’t got an answer. It would be nice to convert more of our chances, to outperform our xG, but a win is a win, and after the bruising our egos took against Chateauroux, we’ll take it and move on.

We’re top of the league as the month ends, but Chateauroux can close the gap to a point if they win their game in hand. Sete are nine points back in the playoff place, and we’re ten points clear of fourth placed Annecy, so there isn’t much to complain about. We’ll get back on track in November.

This is Paris: November 2021

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