The FC Nantes Sentinel
Market23 Aug 2027
Fodé Doucouré turns Le Mans FC down
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Fabien Centonze: 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.” FC Nantes have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A brace, and Ignatius Ganago takes the afternoon — 8.32
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ignatius Ganago provided it, and the 8.32 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market23 Aug 2027
Yoann Court puts it in writing
“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 The request is on a desk at FC Nantes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Tempers go at FC Nantes
Ismaël Bennacer 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.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
6 academy players handed senior numbers at FC Nantes
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Match21 Aug 2027
FC Nantes see off FC Lorient
Three points for FC Nantes, 2‑0 the final word against FC Lorient in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market23 Aug 2027
One of our own: Roger Bernard joins the FC Nantes first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Roger Bernard is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market23 Aug 2027
Michel Richard steps up from the FC Nantes academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Michel Richard has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Player ratings Ez Abde was on a different afternoon to everybody else
- Boardroom A promise the FC Nantes board did not keep
- Player ratings A defender's afternoon for Ismaël Bennacer