The Valenciennes Post
Squad5 Oct 2026
Santiago de Ossa breaks a bone — 90 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 90 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Benoît Costil signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Benoît Costil commits to Valenciennes for another 2 years.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Ylan El Hadary is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Valenciennes
Samir Belloumou 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
95% of the income goes out in wages at Valenciennes
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Market5 Oct 2026
Experience through the door at Valenciennes
Benoît Costil arrives at 39 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Market5 Oct 2026
Experience through the door at Valenciennes
Brian Rowe arrives at 38 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Thibault Maréchal 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 Thibault Maréchal is on it.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes Samir Belloumou a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Valenciennes. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
- The dugout Justin Lacombe knocks on the manager's door
- The dugout The manager plants his flag on Jean Louchet