Marked for Frédéric Perrin
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Feb 2031
No end in sight to US Creteil's wait for a win
25 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at US Creteil has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom3 Feb 2031
The caretaker keeps it: Interim Coach confirmed
A month of looking elsewhere ended where it started. He already knows every name in the building; the rest of it he now has to prove in public.
Market3 Feb 2031
Gaël Nsombi has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Creteil they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom3 Feb 2031
Deadline passes with 5 signed and 7 gone
That is the business done at US Creteil until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad3 Feb 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Arsène Elogo and US Creteil agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Feb 2031
Gaël Nsombi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match1 Feb 2031
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Transfer targets3 Feb 2031
US Creteil asked and LOSC Lille said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad3 Feb 2031
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Jan 2031
21 matches without a win for US Creteil
The run now stands at 21, and the questions being asked around US Creteil are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom6 Jan 2031
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Interim Coach clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
Market6 Jan 2031
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom6 Jan 2031
An empty coaching office at US Creteil
There is nobody left to promote and nobody left to run a session. The board have brought in a name the supporters do not know, and the question of how a club gets here will outlast whoever answers it.
Market6 Jan 2031
Only the photograph left for Gaël Nsombi
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gaël Nsombi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around US Creteil the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Boardroom6 Jan 2031
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Interim Coach recited it perfectly.
Match4 Jan 2031
No clean sheets in sight for US Creteil
6 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad6 Jan 2031
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; US Creteil are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Sep 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match21 Sep 2030
No end in sight to US Creteil's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at US Creteil has to find a result from somewhere.
Market23 Sep 2030
Yan Marillat has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Creteil they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad23 Sep 2030
Gaël Nsombi 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.
The dugout23 Sep 2030
The manager makes an example of Fabien Antunes
“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.
The dugout23 Sep 2030
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Match21 Sep 2030
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout23 Sep 2030
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout23 Sep 2030
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 Jun 2030
Pressure builds in the US Creteil boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Boardroom3 Jun 2030
the manager has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at US Creteil can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad3 Jun 2030
A fracture rules Olivier Durand out for 77 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Creteil will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market3 Jun 2030
The bid was some way short and US Creteil did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market3 Jun 2030
The name of Yan Marillat has come up in conversations US Creteil were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Yan Marillat in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Creteil this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Guilherme Venâncio has, at US Creteil, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad3 Jun 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Frédéric Perrin and US Creteil agree another 2 years.
Market3 Jun 2030
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Yan Marillat has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at US Creteil.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market29 Apr 2030
“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 Creteil, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Apr 2030
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Bruno Fernandes
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. US Creteil will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Gaël Nsombi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Arsène Elogo 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 dugout29 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Frédéric Perrin, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 Apr 2030
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Creteil, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Dec 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Fabien Antunes
82 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. US Creteil lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match24 Dec 2029
Every point is an argument now for US Creteil
Position 13 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market24 Dec 2029
“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 Creteil can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings24 Dec 2029
Age has not caught Romain Montiel yet — 8.25
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.25 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
Ivan Furmanov: 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 Creteil have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Gaël Nsombi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match22 Dec 2029
2‑3 to Angers SCO, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad24 Dec 2029
A row about effort at US Creteil
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arsène Elogo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings24 Dec 2029
Marked 8.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Nov 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Fabien Antunes
110 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. US Creteil lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match26 Nov 2029
7 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market26 Nov 2029
“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 Creteil, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Gaël Nsombi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
Nicolas Reut gets it from the manager
“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.
Squad26 Nov 2029
A row about effort at US Creteil
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Furmanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at US Creteil, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead26 Nov 2029
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Frédéric Perrin’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and US Creteil needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market26 Nov 2029
The shop window has Nelson Lung in it
US Creteil have let the market know Nelson Lung can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces5 Nov 2029
The mood at US Creteil has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom5 Nov 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at US Creteil
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at US Creteil is running low.
Boardroom5 Nov 2029
Interim Coach has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at US Creteil can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Player ratings5 Nov 2029
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.95, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market5 Nov 2029
“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 Creteil can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Nov 2029
A muscle injury sidelines Thomas Carbonero for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. US Creteil will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Gaël Nsombi in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Creteil this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Nov 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Frédéric Perrin commits to US Creteil for another 2 years.
Match3 Nov 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Romain Montiel. 2‑1 against Red Star, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout9 Apr 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Market9 Apr 2029
Joshua Frau has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Creteil they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Gaël Nsombi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Frédéric Perrin and US Creteil agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Words at US Creteil training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arsène Elogo 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 dugout9 Apr 2029
Gaël Nsombi gets it from the manager
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Apr 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at US Creteil
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at US Creteil is running low.
Boardroom2 Apr 2029
Paul Renault has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at US Creteil can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market2 Apr 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Gaël Nsombi in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at US Creteil this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Frédéric Perrin and US Creteil agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Words at US Creteil training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arsène Elogo 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.
Market2 Apr 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Fabien Antunes has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at US Creteil.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
Arsène Elogo loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Arsène Elogo's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
The manager makes an example of Boubacar Diallo
“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.