The Chamois Niortais Herald
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Nobody could get near Laurent Jean
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A brace, and Luc Girard takes the afternoon — 8.55
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Luc Girard provided it, and the 8.55 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A debut Stéphane Marchand will not forget — 7.76
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 0 on the scoresheet, 7.76 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
Market3 Aug 2026
Frédéric Barbier raises the bar for Chamois Niortais
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Chamois Niortais heard it as anything else.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Thomas Henry 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 Chamois Niortais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Chamois Niortais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Laurent Jean 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.
Match1 Aug 2026
Chamois Niortais see off Stade Lavallois
Three points for Chamois Niortais, 2‑1 the final word against Stade Lavallois in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
Chamois Niortais supporters have found a favourite in Stéphane Marchand
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Stéphane Marchand has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Market3 Aug 2026
Pro Patria watching Michel Adam
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Chamois Niortais have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
In brief
- Squad Laurent Jean knocks on the manager’s door
- Squad Luc Girard is off the mark for Chamois Niortais
- Market Christophe Dupuis told to find a new club