Marked for Patrick Chevalier
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 Mar 2032
Only the photograph left for Thomas Lemoine
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Thomas Lemoine will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad1 Mar 2032
Words exchanged at FC Metz
Mads Bidstrup 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.
Squad1 Mar 2032
A row about effort at FC Metz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mustapha Sissoko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market1 Mar 2032
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout1 Mar 2032
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2032
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at FC Metz would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market1 Mar 2032
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Nathan Mbala’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout1 Mar 2032
Marlon Pineau knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marlon Pineau trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout1 Mar 2032
When it matters, Adam Foret plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad1 Dec 2031
Henri Louis breaks a bone — 30 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 30 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout1 Dec 2031
Jahyann Pandore: 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 Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 Dec 2031
A falling-out at FC Metz
Mads Bidstrup and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Words at FC Metz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lamine Camara 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.
Market1 Dec 2031
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at FC Metz, another week without a signature from Quentin Forget.
Market1 Dec 2031
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Yaniss Mladjao has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at FC Metz.
Market1 Dec 2031
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Lamine Camara’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout1 Dec 2031
“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.
Squad1 Dec 2031
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at FC Metz would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 May 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 May 2031
Emmanuel Samba 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 dugout19 May 2031
“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.
Market19 May 2031
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Hicham Mahou’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout19 May 2031
Adam Foret gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Adam Foret is on it.
Match19 May 2031
FC Metz have something to play for
Position 4 on 43 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
The dugout19 May 2031
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The dugout19 May 2031
Leny Grebot knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Leny Grebot trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market19 May 2031
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Jackson De Sousa leaves FC Metz the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout28 Apr 2031
Walid Nechab: 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 Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Mads Bidstrup 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.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Words at FC Metz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ismaïl Bamba 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.
Market28 Apr 2031
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Alban Lafont’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout28 Apr 2031
Yaniss Mladjao has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at FC Metz will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout28 Apr 2031
Junior Paredes knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Junior Paredes trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Mar 2031
51 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. FC Metz lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market17 Mar 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.
Squad17 Mar 2031
A falling-out at FC Metz
Mads Bidstrup and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Mar 2031
Words at FC Metz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mustapha Sissoko 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 dugout17 Mar 2031
The manager makes an example of Junior Paredes
“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.
Market17 Mar 2031
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Djibril Cappe’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad17 Mar 2031
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and FC Metz will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The dugout17 Mar 2031
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The dugout17 Mar 2031
Emmanuel Samba knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Emmanuel Samba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
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Boardroom
The FC Metz production line keeps running
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The dugout
The manager plants his flag on Mehdi Lahmadi
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Mar 2031
59 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. FC Metz lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout10 Mar 2031
Bilal Salmi: 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 Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Words exchanged at FC Metz
Mads Bidstrup 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.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Words at FC Metz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel Samba 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 dugout10 Mar 2031
“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 dugout10 Mar 2031
Thomas Lemoine has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at FC Metz will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings23 Dec 2030
Nathan Mbala beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 39. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market23 Dec 2030
“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.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Henri Louis breaks a bone — 75 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout23 Dec 2030
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” FC Metz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market23 Dec 2030
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad23 Dec 2030
A falling-out at FC Metz
Mads Bidstrup and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Lamine Camara 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 dugout23 Dec 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Habib Diallo, and the manager let it.
Player ratings23 Dec 2030
The afternoon belonged to Maxime Colin
A mark of 7.64, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings21 Oct 2030
Successful dribbles: 31. 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.
The dugout21 Oct 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” FC Metz may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market21 Oct 2030
Only the photograph left for Bryan Song
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bryan Song will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around FC Metz the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 Oct 2030
A falling-out at FC Metz
Mads Bidstrup and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Oct 2030
Lamine Camara 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.
Match19 Oct 2030
FC Metz caught on 90 minutes
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then AC Ajaccio scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Market21 Oct 2030
No place for Bryan Song in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Bryan Song has his answer from FC Metz; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Match19 Oct 2030
A 1‑1 draw with AC Ajaccio leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout21 Oct 2030
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings16 Sep 2030
Successful dribbles: 34. 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.
Market16 Sep 2030
Brahian Cuello has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match14 Sep 2030
Whatever happens, FC Metz do not lose
9 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad16 Sep 2030
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Bryan Song is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad16 Sep 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at FC Metz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout16 Sep 2030
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Roger Lambert after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Squad16 Sep 2030
Words at FC Metz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sid Ahmed Lahmer 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.
Match14 Sep 2030
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Clermont Foot came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
The dugout16 Sep 2030
Brahian Cuello knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at FC Metz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 May 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Charles Olivier
23 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. FC Metz lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout20 May 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” FC Metz may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market20 May 2030
Adam Foret has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around FC Metz they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad20 May 2030
Mads Bidstrup 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.
Squad20 May 2030
A row about effort at FC Metz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lamine Camara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout20 May 2030
The manager makes an example of Yanel Zeze
“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.
Market20 May 2030
The Hicham Mahou story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Hicham Mahou signs something — a contract at FC Metz or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout20 May 2030
When it matters, Adam Foret plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market20 May 2030
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.