Marked for Kurtys Pitchecanin
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at US Orleans
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
$4.7M on the table at Olympique de Marseille. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
Everything agreed with Olympique Lyonnais, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Market24 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Orleans can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
US Orleans offered $2.4M; Monaco said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
$1.1M on the table at RC Strasbourg. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Jean Vercruysse and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tom Bayliss is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Warren Ngako, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 May 2028
US Orleans are in real trouble now
Position 16, 29 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
The dugout8 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” US Orleans may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 May 2028
Wassim Nia breaks a bone — 16 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 16 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market8 May 2028
Jordan Morel hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what US Orleans can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 May 2028
Tom Bayliss was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad8 May 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Johann Obiang commits to US Orleans for another 2 years.
Squad8 May 2028
Jean Vercruysse falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout8 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout8 May 2028
Robin Legendre asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match25 Oct 2027
9 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market25 Oct 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at US Orleans, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
Roberto Vanegas: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” US Orleans have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Up for the corner, and Sidney Obissa delivers — 7.88
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Sidney Obissa scored, was marked 7.88, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Jean Vercruysse was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match23 Oct 2027
Three points for US Orleans, 1‑0 the final word against Pau FC in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A row about effort at US Orleans
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Johann Obiang was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Appearance number 100 for Jordan Morel
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Market25 Oct 2027
Roberto Vanegas is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at US Orleans has been clear about where Roberto Vanegas stands, which is more than many ever get.