Une saison contradictoire

What is going on at Bordeaux? For a start my 'easy money' 11/1 bet on them to win the league now looks like £5 down the Paddypower drain as they are currently in 6th place and a whopping 21 points behind runaway (again) leaders Lyon. Despite some impressive victories over the likes of Marseille at home and PSG at the Parc de Princes not to mention being the only club to win at Gerland the home of the mighty OL, they have struggled to find any real consitancy and have suffered some woeful results both home and away. The objective every season has got to be to play in a European tournament and since Les Girondins are hanging around the Inter-toto spot and still well in touch with the UEFA spots you can't be too harsh. Frustratingly whilst last year they were drawing games that they should have won, this season they are being beaten regularly in games where a draw would have been acceptable. Hopefully they will sort themselves out and put a winning run together to consolidate their place in the top half as the league is once again so tight that a run of three defeats could see you fighting the drop whereas three wins will probably put you second!
Unfortunately the European dream is well and truely over this year after being dumped out of the UEFA Cup by a 120th minute Osasuna goal. In truth Bordeaux never really looked like getting much out of this Basque 'derby' of sorts and the pitifully low attendance at the Parc Lescure leg summed up the genral feeling around the club. Now that the European distractions are out of the way perhaps they can concentrate on sorting out the faltering domestic season and ensure another crack at Europe next September.
At the end of the month it is the eagerly awaited Coupe de la Ligue final at the Stade de France against Lyon. I had come very close to getting tickets for this from www.francebillet.net but by the time I had ran a hotel and Eurostar search they had gone off general sale!! As Wayne and Garth would say "Denied!!!" Before the big final though there are three league games to contend with starting with Sochaux at home this coming saturday in a repeat of the fixture I managed to get to last year. Although Sochaux are much improved this year a win is both expected and imperitive.