Marked for Stéphane Leclerc
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Oct 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from Dominique Leclerc at 21 — 8.17
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Dominique Leclerc did not need any: 8.17, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match24 Oct 2026
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Jean-Pascal Fontaine and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match24 Oct 2026
Three points for Chamois Niortais, 2‑0 the final word against Nimes in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.14, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sébastien Pons commits to Chamois Niortais for another 4 years.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Chamois Niortais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Robert Robert 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.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Chamois Niortais, and 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match17 Oct 2026
Nimes make it 4 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Nimes have 4 straight wins of it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Nimes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nimes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Oct 2026
Nimes keep winning on the road
4 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match17 Oct 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Clément Depres’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Nimes.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A mark of 7.89, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Nimes told Martial Godo something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Charles Louis, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match26 Sep 2026
A 0‑6 beating by Tours was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match26 Sep 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Chamois Niortais and Tours, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Jérôme Lefebvre and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Beaten 6 times: a bad day for Jérôme Julien
3 saves does not settle the argument about whose fault it was, and the argument will run all week. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines whoever caused them.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Chamois Niortais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Robert Robert 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.
Loan watch28 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Nimes to sit and watch. I want to come back to Chamois Niortais and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑6, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
Nimes say no — this time
The offer from Trapani for Keba Sylla was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market31 Aug 2026
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Nimes
Vincent Pirès 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.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AC Milan have kept their man, and Nimes go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Braga have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Benfica: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Evrald Loubacky
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Nimes will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Nimes have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.