Girondins Update

Girondins Bordeaux 1-0 Racing Club Lens

Four wins in a row and yet another coming against a side in direct competition for a European spot. The headline on the clubs official website today is 'Un Bordeaux à l'italienne!' and to be honest this pretty much sums up their season, ie get a 1 goal lead then batten down the hatches and ride it out like the Italian sides do. Prehaps I'm too used to English football where for a side to be 3 points clear in second they would have to be knocking goals in left right and centre and playing attacking fast-flowing football every week, but I can't really get my head around how Bordeaux are doing so well. The game itself was apparently one of the worst games in the history of footbal with both sides only managing one shot on target each, Lens didn't actually register theirs until the 92nd minute whilst Bordeaux's single on target effort was a penalty!! Nevertheless I am not criticising was was another solid performance and a fantastic win. Laslandes 28th minute penalty was his 120th career goal and one on this years most vital, Lens are one of the league strongest sides so to take 4 points from the 2 games against them is pretty impressive.

Bordeaux are hoping to bring Juventus striker Olivier Kapo on loan for the rest of the season. He has spent the first half of the season at Monaco but is having personal problems with the management and is eager to work with Girondins coach Ricardo. He is a quality striker and would be an excellent aquisition for the team.

Beto for Bordeaux

Bordeaux have confirmed the signing of Portuguese defender Beto from Sporting. They had been chasing Beto for some time and are delighted to finally have his signature to bolster the squad and hopefully add stength to Les Girondins challenge for the automatic Champions League spot. Chairman Jean-Louis Triaud has described Beto as "More than a winter signing, reinforcement for the future." Obviously great things are expected of the young Portuguese who has never played for any other club than Sporting and if he can bring anything extra to the challenge as Dauphin to Lyon then he will be made more than welcome at Parc Lescure.

Photo taken from www.jornaldamadeira.pt

Girondins Update

Bordeaux 2-1 Strasbourg

A 92nd minute winner from Julien Faubert made it three league wins in a row for Bordeaux but once again they had to do it the hard way. In the 10 minute Strasbourg were awarded a penalty after a reckless foul by Bordeaux keeper Ulrich Rame, although Rame escaped with a booking Le Pen was not as charitable as the referee and fired home from the spot to give the Alsaciens an unlikely lead. Despite trailing Bordeaux were completely dominating this game and the equaliser duely came from Fernando in the 37th minute (I managed to listen to the first half live on Wit FM and actually managed to understand the commentary!! Usually after a goal I start celebrating then find out 5 minutes later it was only a corner or worse that the opposition had scored...). Strasbourg's game plan completely fell apart just before half time when Moslim was given a straight red card, surely now Les Girondins would go on to rack up a big tally? Well err no, Strasbourg defended like men possesed and although Bordeaux had racked up 9 shots on target to their 3, in truth the Alsacians deserved a draw - if only for being bloody determined!! Luckily for the Bordeaux public there was to be one more shot on target, the one that would claim the three points and save some serious blushes. Julien Faubert controlled a long ball into the box and shot from an impossibly tight angle, the ball hit Strasbourg keeper Cassard's hand and was diverted into the net. Another slightly fortunate win for Bordeaux but another three points in the bag and another step closer to that prized Champions League spot.

Control Arms

Lack of controls on the arms trade is fuelling conflict, poverty and human rights abuses worldwide. Every government is responsible. The Control Arms campaign is asking governments to toughen up controls on the arms trade.
(Quote from the Control Arms homepage)

The Control Arms Campaign is NOT a charity, it is not asking for any money - just your face. They are aiming to present the governments around the world with a petition of a million faces asking for a treaty to scrictly regulate the sale of arms. By going on the campaign website and emailing them a picture of your face you can play a part in making it harder for firearms to fall into the wrong hands.

Like most global issues, this is a problem that really can be solved by the 'big' nations. To put the arms trade into context, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the USA, UK, France, Russia, and China are together responsible for eighty eight per cent of reported conventional arms exports. It is clear to see that if just those five countries tightened their arms sales the whole industry could be policed more effectively.
British and American Troops are risking their lives against terrorist and insurgent attacks on a daily basis in Iraq. Putting the issues of whether the war was justified or not aside a frightening statistic is that North Afrifca and the Middle East account for 39% of the USA's arms exports and an unbelievable 72% of the UK's. We are sending our forces to protect people against terrorists that WE effectively armed. Something there does not quite add up.

Please note this campaign is NOT anti-government or anti-Military, nor is it calling for a total ban on the arms trade. It is simply a sincere attempt to Regulate a trade which by it's loopholes and failings has allowed rougue states and terrorist groups to arm themselves and to kill and maim millions of innocent civillians. Please visit the website and add you face to the Million Faces gallery. If you do not wish to be in the petition at least read the website and give some thought to the campaign.

www.controlarms.org

La Coupe de la Ligue est terminé pour les Bordelais

OGC Nice 2-1 Bordeaux

Cancel the Eurostar and hotels there will be no trip to Paris in April as Bordeaux crashed out of the Ligue cup quarter finals at the Stade du Ray last night. Nice had taken the lead from a David Bellion penalty on the stroke of half time but could could only hold the advantage until the 53rd minute when Vladimir Smicer scored a brilliant individual goal. Smicer's leveller seemed to give Bordeaux the incentive to take the game to Les Aiglons but the two sides as desperate not to lose as they were to win just cancelled each other out and the game went into extra time. Unfortunately a second consecutive win on the south coast was a bridge too far for les Bordelais and with 10 minutes to go Balmont scored the goal that sent Nice into the semi finals.
It was a real shame as I was certain that although it was always going to be a tough game, Bordeaux would have the metal to force their way through but on the night Nice just had that bit more about them. The supporters in the Stade Du Ray are well known for the atmosphere they create and no doubt the fans had no small part in willing their team on to victory. Fans from these Islands (GB) always insist that they are the best fans in the world based mainly on the fact that the league is old and well organised and better supported. Attendances may be higher at British games but the culture we have of sitting down and being quiet to be honest is embarrassing I would love to force the inhabitants of Oxford's East stand to spend a game in the Stade du Ray or especially Kop Sud at St Etienne. They wouldn't know what had hit them.
Anyway well done to Bordeaux for getting as far as the Quarter finals - it just wasn't to be. There is still the CDF but more importantly that Champions League spot is still far from secure and that is the prize that every supporter wants most of all.

Girondins Update

Monaco 0-1 Bordeaux

What a win!!!! I genuinely didn't expect a result here as to go to Monaco with them as one of the form sides on Vieri's debut is the sort of fixture you dread as a fan but instead it will be one of the most memorable results of an impressive season. Camel Meriem was unavailable for the game but to do the double over the club he dumped Bordeaux for was no less satisfying and more to the point it kept Les Girondins in 2nd and on course for the Champions League. It took until the 70th minute for the breakthrough in a predictably tight game but Denilson picked a perfect game to score his first Ligue 1 goal. Monaco tried to get back into the game but the meanest defence in the top flight soaked up what pressure they had to offer and the points went securly back to Aquitaine.









So after 22 games played Bordeaux sit in 2nd place only 1 point ahead of Auxerre but seven points ahead of Monaco who dropped to 9th, well out of the European places. But Monaco are a bigger club - aren't they Camel...

To Brum to watch The Villa!!

I decided to dig a bit deeper this week and instead of going to Banbury thought I'd give this Premier League lark a go. Being an Oxford fan and also with my love for the non-league game I'll admit I've always been very cynical about the Premiership but I went to Villa in the right freame of mind ie to have no pre-conceptions and to sit back and enjoy good football for a change. I got what I asked for as it was a really exciting match, the stadium was fantastic and the Birmingham public were as ever thoroughly welcoming and genuinely helpful.
Determined to see the sights of Birmingham I arrived at Moor St Station at 10.00 and headed straight into the Bullring. Birmingham has been tranformed into a fantastic city, not only does it look the business but there's a whole new positive feel to the town that makes you realise how over-rated London is. After a good look around Birmingham Art gallery and Museum (well recommended) I made my way to the ground.

Villa Park is a short train hop away from New St to Witton and the ground is clearly visible as soon as you get off. For me Villa park is what a Premiership stadium should be, it manages to combine excellent modern facilities whilst still having an old stadium feel to it. All the stands are quite photogenic but the Trinity road stand is something to behold, it is a three tiered affair not unlike the West stand at Old Trafford and it seems to go on for miles!! I chose to sit in the lower tier of the famous Holte End which had great views of the pitch and seemed to be where most of the noise came from.
Villa park has a reputation for being a bit quiet and to be honest it was, however it is no worse than 90% of British crowds and it isn't easy to create an atmosphere in such an enormous stand. In my opinion they do OK. I have to give a mention to the 3900 West Ham fans who really added to the day, they were on their feet and singing for 90 minutes and definately made the atmosphere memorable. I don't intend to write a report on the game as there will be countless better written but I will say that it was hugely entertaining and West Ham fully deserved the points.

The link below will take you to my photo's of the game which are in my opinion pretty good...
http://public.fotki.com/girondinant/aston_vila_1-2_west_ham/

Girondins update

Bordeaux 1-0 Auxerre

An 87th minute winner from Alonso gave Bordeaux a hugely important win over second place Auxerre who had been the first team to beat Les Girondins back in August. I can find very little information on the full details of how the game panned out, but I was able to listen to the first 20 minutes of the second half and that combined with (very very roughly) translating the report from the official site has assured me the win was well deserved. Thanks to other results the three point lifted Bordeaux back up to second although PSG could have moved above them had they not lost away at toulouse on thursday. All games equal Bordeaux now sit 14 points behind behind Champions (might as well start calling them that) Lyon, and 1 and 2 points ahead of Auxerre and PSG respectively.

Tomorrow they travel to 8th placed Monaco for a very difficult game which in my opinion Bordeaux will be very lucky to take a point home. Although Monaco have lost their captain Evra to Man Utd they have the huge talent of Christian Vieri up front who will surely bag a few goals over the season. There is also the small matter of Mr Meriem. This weasely little bastard left Bordeaux at the end of last season because apparently Monaco are such a bigger club and he couldn't resist the lure of the Champions league. The fact that they've got no fans, no money, got dumped out of the champions league in the qualifying round and sit in 8th whilst Bordeaux are second and have Bruno Cheyrou doing a much better job than Meriem ever did could be called poetic justice...

Pictures from the Shrewsbury game.

Not much to say on this. The first picture is of the tunnel and South stand just before the game. The second is of an Oxford first half corner - one of the few times we actually managed to attack. After that I couldn't be bothered to take anymore.

Pictures from Banbury 4-2 Kings Lynn

Banbury lost 1-0 to Merthyr Tydfil on saturday but they have still been a revelation this season and still sit in the last play-off place. Were they to win promotion to conference South it would one of the biggest success story in the county since Oxford's rise to the top flight in the 80's. These are pictures from the previous weekend when they beat Kings Lynn(who hadn't lost for a couple of months) 4-2 at Spencer Stadium.

And another defeat...

It's official. Oxford really are rubbish, in fact Sunderland aside we probably have the worst run of home results in the football league (don't quote me on that) with 5 defeats out of the last 6 home games. On saturday we managed a stunning 0-3 home defeat to mighty mid-table Shrewsbury, could have been worse I suppose - we could have been at home again tonight!! As it is we travel to Peterborough where I imagine we will be well and truely done over.

With Oxford such a waste of time at the moment I really feel like just jumping on a Plane and going to watch Bordeaux. With the sales at bmi baby I could acually fly there and back and stay 3 nights in a hotel for about the same amount of money that I'd spend on a weekend with an away game and a couple of nights out, probably less in fact. Obviously It's logistically more complicated than that but it does make me wonder about not buying a season ticket next year at Oxford and trying to get to Parc Lescure more often. Thing is I'd soon get bored of the City plus the football itself is a little Negative, although not quite as negative and shite as Oxford's. It won't happen but it's something fun to think about at work.

For the record Bordeaux won 3-1 away at Wasquehal in the CDF with goals from Perea (41’), Francia (69’), and Marc Planus (92’). The CFA side fought well and scored through Mouissi in the last minute to cause a nervous few minutes of injury time before Planus got the third goal to finish the match.

Oh no, Oxford are at home!!

Unfortunately Oxford are at home this weekend and I really can't be bothered watching another rubbish game. Win, lose or draw you just know it's going to be negative scrappy crap that gives the lower league sides like us a bad press. To pretend I won't go though is silly as I've got a disease which means i can't miss home games no matter how useless Oxford are or how much i don't want to be there. I actually think we should beat Shrewsbury, they are low down the table but have been playing good football and beat local rivals Wrexham on Tuesday which means Oxford can't take them lightly and may actually TRY AND PLAY FOOTBALL!!! Another game like Mansfield where they assume the game is over just because they score one lucky goal then end up losing, and I may seriously consider not going for a while.

In France Bordeaux travel to non-league Wasquehal in the 32eme round of the Coupe de France this saturday. By FA Cup standards this is equivalent to the 3rd round ie when the Premiership sides play their first game but the lesser sides have been in the competition for some time. Wasquehal are from the Lille Metropole area and are actually the true occupants of the Stadium Nord Where Lille OSC play their home games while their Grimonprez Jooris stadium is re-built. Whatever side Les Girondins put out it should be a fairly simple victory and passage into the next round.



These are a couple of the pictures I took When I went to see Bordeaux play Sochaux at Parc Lescure in October.

Girondins Update

AS Nancy 0-0 Bordeaux

Hmmm, not too bad. A little frustrating to get only a draw out of this as Nancy are a comparitively poor side and yet again Bordeaux didn't take the game to them. Being fair though Les Girondins have the best defensive record in the country and this was another solid away point, if they make sure these results are complemented by home wins then a European spot should be fully achievable. Having seen Bordeaux three times now I can imagine the sort of boring frustrating negative game it would have been to watch and I'm glad It wasn't one I tried to go to. In the comfort of my own home I can see that it was a decent result now it's time to move on and 'kick some butt' for the rest of an enormously important month that includes home games agains Auxerre, Strasbourg and RC Lens, an away match at Monaco (bring it on Camel!!) and the League cup Quarter final away at Nice.

The right results could see Bordeaux shoot back up to the table (results went badly yesterday and we've slipped to 5th which could soon turn into 6th if either Auxerre or Monaco beat each other tonight) and be looking forward to a cup semi final, the wrong results could well see the season ruined.

Oxford Ushited

All I'll say is that the Mansfield game didn't exactly go to plan. We were accidently leading 1-0 at half time but Mansfield (one of the worst sides in the history of football) managed to come back and win 2-1, yet two day's later we go up to Chester and bloody win!! I cannot not be arsed with mid-table football, It's all so unpredictable that although we are once again within touching distance of the play-offs you know we'll just lose a couple of games and drop right back down again. Inconsistancy is what really pisses fans off, when your team is just plain rubbish and you get relegated everyone seems to pull together and stand up and be counted as fans but it's nothing seasons like the one we're having that really ends up driving fans away.

On Monday I didn't actually bother listening to the Chester game, I went to watch Banbury beat Kings Lynn 4-2 at Spencer Stadium. It was a funny game, well worth watching and I shall post some sort of report/pictures later on - not that any bastard will read it, it just gives me something to do...