The offer from Rodez AF for Esteban Mouton was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
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 Orleans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal 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.
US Orleans asked and Zaragoza said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
US Orleans have made the call to Valencia. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
US Orleans have made the call to Bologna. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“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 Orleans, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. US Orleans know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Orleans is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Yannis Clementia 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 Jul 2028
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal 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.
US Orleans have made the call to Olympique de Marseille. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. US Orleans have done the hard part with RC Strasbourg, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Florent Sanchez and US Orleans agree another 4 years.
Yannis Clementia and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Alaa Bakir 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olympique de Marseille have kept their man, and US Orleans go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“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 Orleans, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alaa Bakir 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.
US Orleans asked and Stade Brestois said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yann Massombo 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.
US Orleans have made the call to RC Strasbourg. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Grégory Berthier trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. US Orleans know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
US Orleans offered $120.0K; FC Metz said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Alaa Bakir 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.
US Orleans asked and Stade de Reims said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Guillaume Khous 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.
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.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. US Orleans lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have shaken hands with FC Metz; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around US Orleans they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
US Orleans offered $910.0K; Olympique Lyonnais said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Amiens SC have kept their man, and US Orleans go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
$110.0K on the table at FC Metz. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alaa Bakir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 29 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“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 Orleans can pretend not to have heard.
US Orleans have gone to FC Metz with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” US Orleans have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
US Orleans offered $1.9M; Stade de Reims said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Alaa Bakir 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.
US Orleans asked and Stade Briochin said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yann Massombo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and US Orleans have had the benefit of it.
Yannis Clementia 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.
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.
Squad22 May 2028
Alaa Bakir 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.
“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 Orleans, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Orleans is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Alaa Bakir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 May 2028
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yann Massombo 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.
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.
“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 Orleans, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal signs something — a contract at US Orleans or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 US Orleans would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
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 Orleans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yann Massombo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Esteban Mouton will call it something else in private.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Orleans is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Yannis Clementia 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alaa Bakir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Steven Luyambula is on it.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Steven Luyambula’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and US Orleans needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal signs something — a contract at US Orleans or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Steven Luyambula trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Yannis Clementia 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alaa Bakir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yann Massombo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. US Orleans would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.
39 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Orleans is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Yannis Clementia 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Alaa Bakir 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.
7.38, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. US Orleans had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Rémy Richard was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the US Orleans dressing room was either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Le Mans FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Stéphane Guillaume after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
ESTAC Troyes next, and one man in the Le Mans FC dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at US Orleans is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Yannis Clementia 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yann Massombo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.67 on the card, and the US Orleans support went home talking about one name.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Rémy Richard chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Position 17 and 19 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.
The deal that would have taken Leonardo Buta to LOSC Lille has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Red Star with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Red Star this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Marius Lemaître is living that version at Red Star, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Jordan James 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.
Red Star asked and US Orleans said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
US Orleans have gone to Olympique Lyonnais with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
6 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
“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 Orleans, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Deadline passes with 4 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at US Orleans 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.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at US Orleans heard it as anything else.
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 Orleans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alaa Bakir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Orleans, and it is not being withdrawn.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
US Orleans have gone to Olympique Lyonnais with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The name of Grégory Berthier has come up in conversations US Orleans were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. US Orleans have done the hard part with Clermont Foot, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at US Orleans can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alaa Bakir 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.
Olympique Lyonnais will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Paul Moulot has pre-agreed a move to US Orleans, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
In brief
Player ratingsTrévis Dago beats them one at a time
The phone has started ringing about Stefan Bajić again, and this time the name on the line is Stade Rennais. US Orleans are listening politely and promising nothing.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Alaa Bakir 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.
US Orleans asked and Sochaux said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Trévis Dago 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Yann Massombo 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Rémy Richard after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alaa Bakir signs something — a contract at US Orleans or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Stefan Bajić has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Alaa Bakir 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.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 34 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for US Orleans is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
“I watch every US Orleans game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Valenciennes runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Grégory Berthier trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Alaa Bakir 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at US Orleans, and 4 appearances in 16 say he has earned the hearing.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Trévis Dago 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal has come out of that comparison in the side, and US Orleans have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Guillaume Khous
“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 Orleans can pretend not to have heard.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Youness Aouladzian scored, was marked 7.35, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Alaa Bakir 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
A point taken on 95 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mamadou Diako has his answer from US Orleans; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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 Orleans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“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 dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Rémy Richard kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“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 Orleans, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal that would have taken Stefan Bajić to FC Nantes has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to US Orleans with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Alaa Bakir 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.
Johann Obiang 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Steven Luyambula
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” US Orleans have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Stade de Reims paid $530.0K and US Orleans took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Le Puy Foot 43 wanted more than $110.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Monaco have kept their man, and US Orleans go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Dominique Hubert 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.
“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 Orleans can pretend not to have heard.
US Orleans have gone to Le Puy Foot 43 with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Alaa Bakir 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 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. LOSC Lille have kept their man, and US Orleans go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at US Orleans, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Stade Brestois have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
US Orleans asked and EA Guingamp said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
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 Orleans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at US Orleans has been clear about where Grégory Berthier stands, which is more than many ever get.
Grenoble Foot 38 have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
US Orleans have gone to Le Havre AC with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
$110.0K was the most the club would pay and Le Puy Foot 43 were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alaa Bakir 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.
US Orleans asked and Stade Brestois said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Johann Obiang 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.
He is 19, and nobody at US Orleans signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mamadou Doucouré trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Stefan Bajić signs something — a contract at US Orleans or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Everything agreed with Montpellier HSC, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alaa Bakir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Johann Obiang 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.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
Le Mans FC paid $190.0K and US Orleans took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alaa Bakir 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.
Guillaume Khous 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.
A loan enquiry to Stade Brestois: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
US Orleans have made the call to Stade Rennais. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Robin Legendre trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 Orleans, and it is not being withdrawn.
Everything agreed with LB Chateauroux, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alaa Bakir 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.
Johann Obiang 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Stefan Bajić signs something — a contract at US Orleans or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at US Orleans. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Adham Ribeiro trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 Orleans can pretend not to have heard.
Alaa Bakir 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.
AJ Auxerre paid $30.0K and US Orleans took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olympique de Marseille have kept their man, and US Orleans go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alaa Bakir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Orleans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at US Orleans can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” US Orleans may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Mokwa 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.
Johann Obiang 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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
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.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Paris 13 Atletico defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at US Orleans was different afterwards.
In brief
SquadBan served, and Koffi Djidji returns to the reckoning
The words a physio says slowly. 35 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
David Mokwa 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.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around US Orleans are no longer polite ones.
Squad15 Mar 2027
David Mokwa 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“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 dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Rémy Richard was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the US Orleans dressing room was either.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Johann Obiang commits to US Orleans for another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
David Mokwa 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.
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 Orleans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Rémy Richard after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Mamadou Doucouré will call it something else in private.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at US Orleans can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
David Mokwa 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Mokwa 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.
Johann Obiang 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.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Rémy Richard after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
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 Orleans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“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.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Rémy Richard chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The words a physio says slowly. 29 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
David Mokwa 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alaa Bakir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
US Orleans asked and Udinese said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Rémy Richard to a room that had heard them before.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Orleans will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Orleans can pretend not to have heard.
David Mokwa 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.
US Orleans asked and KV Kortrijk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Orleans will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
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 Orleans this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Mokwa 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason US Orleans will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation US Orleans did not have in the autumn.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at US Orleans training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Mokwa 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.
Johann Obiang 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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. US Orleans will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
In brief
The dugoutHalf-satisfied: Rémy Richard on the draw
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 46 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
David Mokwa 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.
Marked 6.75 on 15 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
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.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandre Coeff and US Orleans agree another 2 years.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Dijon scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.