Allez Les Verts

Four Players Arrive in Three Days

Bleua Gasquet’s suggestion that player arrivals were imminent has proved to be accurate, as four players arrived within a three day period.  Three were free transfers, as expected.

First to arrive on 29 July was Cesar Huerta (22), a Mexican left-winger who was being pursued by Eintracht Frankfurt.  Huerta is quick and tricky and is expected to immediately fit in to left midfield.

He was closely followed later the same day by Marcel Ruiz (23), a Mexican central midfielder.

The following day (30 July), Ola Solbakken (25) joined to augment the options on the right of midfield.

All three are expected to play big parts in the coming months, as they are believed to be well acquainted with Gasquet’s high-activity approach.

ASSE completed their first, and possibly only, purchase of the summer window, when Jorne Spileers (19), a Belgian centre-back, arrived from Club Brugge for €3.8 million, plus Antoine Gauthier, a central midfielder deemed surplus to requirements.  He is expected to get game time as the season progresses, but maybe not so much at the very beginning, as Gasquet works on integrating the youngster into his methods.

“We are really pleased with our new players,” Gasquet said.  “They are all a major part of our change in direction, and I expect great things of them.

“Huerta, Solbakken and Ruiz are available for our next match, but Jorne Spileers will take a little longer.  We hope our fans will quickly get behind the arrivals.”

When asked about further arrivals, Gasquet was less certain.  “The budget is small, and at the moment I’m not expecting any other new players.  However, we have a whole month, so you never know.”

Huerta Scores on Debut

Cesar Huerta made himself an instant hero with the ASSE supporters, as he scored a late winner in his first match, against Stade Lavallois.  Les Verts took the lead twice in the match, only to be pulled back each time and, when Lavallois equalised for the second time late on, it seemed a second consecutive draw was on the cards.

However, Huerta scored after receiving a short corner, shifting into the box and firing across the goalkeeper through a mass of bodies and into the far corner of the net.

Otherwise, man of the month was Ibrahim Sissoko, with no less than 7 goals in the league, to take the Ligue 2 player of the month award.  The 28-year-old striker has been on fire and has certainly benefitted from the improved approach play from the team as a whole.

Sissoko Celebrates Another Goal

ASSE were hit with an injury blow, as loanee striker Irvin Cardona picked up an injury against Amiens that sees him miss three months, from a department of the club short on personnel.  Ameins equalsed to firce a point through a veteran striker – Andy Carroll, no less.

Perhaps the club will be able to find a replacement for Cardona, as they sold midfielder Thomas Monconduit (28) for €1.8 million to Hansa Rostock on 29 August and therefore potentially have some money available, though it will be tight, with only a few days of the window left and only a small amount to invest.

ASSE lead the table at the end of August on goal difference.

Two Mexicans arriving - not the most surprising thing, I've seen today 😉

Good start for Les Verts, especially in attack with goals flying in.

There is room for improvement defensively though. I know what you mean with corners, but for me it's mostly free kicks that are (almost) certain goals against me. I do concede the occational corner, where I couldn't have done anything about it. But I don't fint it to be often. 

Gasquet Accused of “Overpaying for Panic Buy”

The ASSE Ultras accused manager Bluea Gasquet of making a panic buy, with the purchase of Manchester United youngster Charlie McNeill on transfer deadline day.  They further accused him of ‘wildly overpaying’ for the player, as the fee was €1 million for an “unproven kid at senior level”.

McNeill Signs for St-Etienne

A statement from the group included the following:

“Gasquet has made a fool of himself, buying an unproven kid as a replacement for Cardona.  If he thinks that this is the way to get our club back into the big time, he’s sadly mistaken and obviously out of his depth.

His transfer dealings so far have been woeful, with the single exception of Huerta.  None of the others have made any impression so far.  Marcel Ruiz has been played in the number 10 role and can’t hit the target from 5 yards.  Solbakken hasn’t made much of an impression, and neither has Bukhari.  Spileers is clearly too young and hasn’t been seen that much, and now we have a Manchester reject billed as some kind of saviour.  If he was good enough, wouldn’t United be keeping him?”

In answer to the criticism, Gasquet was robust.  “We are starting a project here.  The fans can see the progress we are making on the pitch, as we are top of the league despite not yet being fully converted to the new style. 

Gasquet is defiant

“The new players are still integrating and I expect they will improve the team as the season progresses.  Charlie will be a success here and, instead of criticising him before he’s kicked a ball, perhaps they should wait and see.”

Dream Debut for McNeill

Charlie McNeill became an instant hero at ASSE, as he scored FOUR GOALS in his debut match for Les Verts, earning him the Man of the Match award in his first match for the club.

The 19-year-old got off to the best start possible, slotting home in just the 5th minute and then scored another three, including the goal that rescued a point in an incredible 4-4 draw against Bordeaux at the Matmut Atlantique.

After the match, manager Bleua Gasquet was full of praise for his new signing.  “That was Charlie just getting into the groove.  What a fantastic debut for the boy, and against one of the better sides in this division.

"He’s not really had much time to settle in, and yet he produces that.  I did say that people needed to wait and see, and now they’ve seen what he can do.”

McNeill was ecstatic.  “I really enjoyed that.  It went better than I could have ever expected.  I hope I’ve given the gaffer things to think about in the games to come.”

Certainly, he’s answered the critics who derided his signing; long may that continue.

Great impact for young McNeill. 4 goals in his debut and a 10 out of 10 performance. Well done.

If only his teammates could have defended better in the other end. Certainly let the man down there.

Reminds me a bit of Rasmus Højlund, who did so well for Man United in the Champions League, only to see the defence - and Onana in particular - give goals away so easily in the other end.

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@CO88LER5 wrote:
I can't believe how many goals I concede from corners.
Still not worked out how to stop it.

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Now I think of it, I would say that the majority of the corners, I face, are passed short to someone, rather than crossing it straight into the box. Don't they do that in your save(s)?

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@CO88LER5 wrote:
No. Almost everything (probably 75% minimum) is straight into the box

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Strange. In my save I would say that 60% of corners - give or take - are taken short.

Table Toppers In September

Apart from the Bordeaux score-fest draw which saw Charlie McNeill’s thrilling debut, Les Verts played two other matches in September, which saw Marcel Ruiz break his duck in the match against against Troyes, and then follow that with a brace in the demolition of Paris FC.  It seems the Mexican midfielder has finally found his stride at the top of the diamond, as he also made two of the other goals in that match.

As a result, St Etienne lead the table at the end of September on goal difference, with Troyes only one point further behind in third.

Ibrahim Sissoko continues to lead the golden boot chase, his brace against Paris FC taking him to 10, which is double that of his nearest competitor.

It all seems to be going to plan for Gasquet at this point, with the club in a far better position at this time of the year than they were last season.

Slip-Up at St-Etienne

Les Verts’ stay at the top of Ligue 2 BKT came to a halt during October, as their first defeat of the season – at PAU FC – gave AC Ajaccio the chance to take over.

Les Verts felt they should have won that game, as they had more possession, more shots and more passes than their rivals, but Pau were more clinical.  Strangely, Louis Mouton was allowed to play against his parent club and actually opened the scoring, which did not go down well with the travelling fans.  St-Etienne remain incapable of defending corners, as two of Pau’s goals came from that source.  “It’s something we are working on, trust me,” said Manager Gasquet.

Routine victories against Dunkerque, Concarneau and Grenoble completed the results in October, which was notable for the goal contributions of Marcel Ruiz, including a hat-trick against Grenoble.  The Mexican midfielder seems to have found his scoring boots, after breaking his duck in September. 

Ruiz scored a total of 5 in the month, making up for the suddenly barren Ibrahim Sissoko.

St-Etienne are therefore second in the table, one point behind Ajaccio and a comfortable six ahead of Troyes in third.

Despite his barren spell, Sissoko continues to lead the scoring charts, both nationally and for St-Etienne.  Ruiz now sits third in the national list, and Charlie McNeill 6th.

Looming Exodus from St-Etienne Threatens Promotion Push

Leaked emails have revealed that at least two of the experienced loanees are likely to leave the club in January.  FC Lorient have threatened to recall midfielder Stephane Diarra and Augsburg have issued similar threats in respect of striker Nathanael Mbuku.  Diarra hasn't played much so far, but Mbuku has featured in 8 of the 13 fixtures played to date, scoring three goals.  It is not known whether Irvin Cardona will face recall from his club, yet, although the striker is currently out injured with a broken toe and therefore his lasck of game time recently can be explained.  Prior to his injury, he started every match alongside top scorer Ibrahim Sissoko.

The leaked emails

When coupled with the three departures already announced in September, that represents a significant reduction in squad size, especially in terms of experience for the second half of the season.  The club has already said it does not have much money to fund incoming players, so how it is expected to maintain a promotion push is a question left unanswered.

Added to the sense of looming crisis, it is believed that a number of senior players are becoming unsettled at the lack of progress with new contracts.  The agents of goalkeeper Gautier Larsonneur, centre-back Dylan Batubinsika and midfielder Florian Tardieu have all leaked comments to the Press recently at their frustration with the lack of engagement on the subject from manager Bleua Gasquet.

Manager Under Fire

Despite the encouraging start to the season, compared to last, it seems that the good ship ASSE is sailing into suddenly choppy waters.

Same old story with loan players, needing 95% of games - give or take - to avoid being recalled prematurely. A broken toe, and that's pretty much it.

St-Etienne Slip Further Behind

The end of November saw St-Etienne slip further behind in the championship race, together with their first double defeat this season.

First up was the top-of-the-table clash with Ajaccio, which the team lost at home by 1-2.  They were not helped by two red cards in the first half, for bad tackles.  The remaining players tired visibly in the latter stages, which is when Ajaccio struck twice to win the crucial battle.

Further frustration followed, with a defeat to Guingamp at the Stade de Roudourou, in a limp display from which only the goalscorer, Charlie McNeill, came out with any credit.

Irvin Cardona returned from injury for the home match against Annecy, and he hit a hat-trick to announce that he was fully fit.  We wait to see what his future holds, as the January window approaches.

Cardona collects the match ball

As a result, St-Etienne are now four points behind Ajaccio albeit with a match in hand.  More pointedly, the chasing pack have closed the gap and now Les Verts find themselves looking over their shoulder.

Ibrahim Sissoko continues to struggle in front of goal, having failed to find the net for two months, now.  Accordingly, his leadership of the Golden Boot race has now disappeared and he now finds himself joint second, still on 10 goals for the season.

Mbuku: I Want to Stay

Nathanael Mbuku has told the Press that he would prefer to stay at St-Etienne, rather than go back to the reserves at Augsburg in January.

Mbuku after scoring in October

The 22-year-old striker has featured in 10 of the 16 matches for St-Etienne this season, some of them from the bench, and he is “quite pleased” at the game time he is getting.

“I know that, back at Augsburg, I will be in the reserves, so I don’t really understand why they want to recall me.

“At the end of the day, they are the club I’m contracted to, so I’ll have to go along with their demands, but fans here should know that I would like to see out my loan.  It’s looking like an exciting season for us and I’d like to be part of that.”

We shall have to wait and see, but it’s currently not looking good, according to sources in Germany.

Whoa, two red cards in one game. These two certainly sold you out, starting a two game loss streak. Still in a pretty good position though.

Regrettably, my XBox has decided it cannot now find the file for this career.  

It was perfectly fine when I signed out a couple of days ago, but now it simply isn't available.  I have no means to recover it, although I am still trying.   I don't know if this is a fault in EAFC24, or some kind of hiccup in the XBox/the file saving process in 'the cloud', but I have yet to find any information that lets me know how I can try and find it.  The XBox is remarkably bad at letting you see saved game files (as opposed to the game software).

It's a pity, because it was starting to develop into a fine career.  I just lost a thriller 4-3 against PSG in Round 32 of the cup, which was therefore going to develop into a nail-biting chase to see whether I made it to the end of the season without getting fired - in the space of just one month, my approval rating plummeted from 94 to 70!  I was planning on reporting on this as a crisis of confidence arising from the departure of the 3 players sold and the three loanees leaving, coupled with player unrest about contracts, but I obviously can't do that now.

I might start a new ASSE career, but at the moment this has annoyed me enough to wait for a bit.

Awful news. The amount of time and consideration that one puts into a save - only for the game/the console to destroy the effort with a blink of an eye. Sorry to hear that mate.