It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mattia Viviani will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
1‑2 to Sochaux, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad13 Sep 2038
Mervin Gbeme 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 Creteil will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Stade Rennais were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Two goals and a mark of 9.18 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.26 at 39, and nobody on the pitch was better.
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Alidu Seidu 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.
The name of Richard Dupuis has come up in conversations Stade Rennais were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Dijon will make the call about Raymond Leroux this week. Stade Rennais have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings23 Aug 2038
A brace, and Mervin Gbeme takes the afternoon — 9.09
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mervin Gbeme provided it, and the 9.09 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.82 at 39, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mervin Gbeme. 4‑3 against Nimes, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Stade Rennais and Nimes, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Boardroom23 Aug 2038
15 academy players handed senior numbers at Stade Rennais
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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Player ratings16 Aug 2038
Édouard François could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 8.40
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 8.40, 1 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Denzil Uchenna decided nobody was going anywhere. Red Star had no time left to answer.
“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 Stade Rennais, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Alidu Seidu 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Filippo Calvo scored in the 86th minute, Valenciennes had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Stade Rennais took the lot.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.80 at 39, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Aug 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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 easiest signature of my career.” Moussa N'Diaye and Stade Rennais agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.85 at 39, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Édouard François will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The offer from Dijon for Raymond Leroux 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 Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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 has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The club looked outside for a month, found nothing it preferred, and handed the job to the man who had been doing it anyway. He knows the building; now he has to prove he knows the rest.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
Alidu Seidu 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.
“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 Stade Rennais, and it is not being withdrawn.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Day 41 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
The offer from FC Nantes for Richard Dupuis 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.
Squad12 Jul 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mervin Gbeme 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dominique Gaillard and Stade Rennais agree another 4 years.
196 appearances across 12 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
The offer from Stade Lavallois for Marc Joly 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jul 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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 offer from Clermont Foot for Édouard François 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 Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Raymond Leroux will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad28 Jun 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Randal Kolo Muani 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 mood at Stade Rennais has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 Stade Rennais, and it is not being withdrawn.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Richard Dupuis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The phone has started ringing about Marc Joly again, and this time the name on the line is Nimes. Stade Rennais are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad21 Jun 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mervin Gbeme 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
Alidu Seidu 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 offer from Red Star for Mikhail Volkov 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.
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.
Day 13 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
The arithmetic ran out, and everybody could see it coming from a distance. The hard summer starts now, and next season's fixtures will be full of unfamiliar names.
Four paragraphs on the club website, none of them about football. The board thanked him, wished him well, and had the search under way before the page went up.
The coaching staff has emptied out entirely and there was nobody internal to promote, so the club has appointed a name almost none of its supporters will recognise. Clubs recover from this; none of them enjoy explaining it.
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer from Red Star for Alexandr Temirov 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.
Squad7 Jun 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mateo Jurić-Petrašilo 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 loan was meant to give him football. 30 games and 0 goals later he is back at Stade Rennais no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their doing.
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Carl Ludvig Kapstad-Rambekk leaves Stade Rennais the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
The mood at Stade Rennais has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
Nobody at Stade Rennais 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.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Stade Rennais, and it is not being withdrawn.
46 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Albert Grønbæk and Stade Rennais agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
6 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Stade Rennais could ask drops and the wages Alexandr Deryugin can ask rise.
The mood at Stade Rennais has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Stade Rennais is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Apr 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
60 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Position 17 and 25 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
Squad19 Apr 2038
Mervin Gbeme 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.
Nobody at Stade Rennais 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.
67 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
Squad12 Apr 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Stade Rennais know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
74 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.68 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“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 Stade Rennais, and it is not being withdrawn.
Randal Kolo Muani 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 terracesThe press have found their man in Albert Grønbæk
609Edition
The Stade Rennais Courier
29 Mar 2038
From our football correspondentCrisis
The terraces29 Mar 2038
The mood at Stade Rennais has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
81 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom29 Mar 2038
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Stade Rennais
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him 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 Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
88 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Anthony Rouault signs something — a contract at Stade Rennais or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
95 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.08 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
102 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom8 Mar 2038
Nobody left the Stade Rennais dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The mood at Stade Rennais has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
109 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
2‑5 against Stade Brestois, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.03 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
116 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Alidu Seidu 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.62 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Christofer Babela Tsembo has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
311 appearances across 14 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.83 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Randal Kolo Muani 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 offer from FC Metz for Raymond Leroux 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.
Boardroom8 Feb 2038
Nobody left the Stade Rennais dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
“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 Stade Rennais, and 0 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
The mood at Stade Rennais has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Stade Rennais is running low.
310 appearances across 14 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.64 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Philipp Kalajdzic has just signed for Stade Rennais, and for once the answer mattered.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Mikey Allen reports back to Stade Rennais with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad1 Feb 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.20 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mikey Allen will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad25 Jan 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Randal Kolo Muani 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.
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Stade Rennais and RC Lens in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Add another name to the list: FC Metz have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Raymond Leroux. The answer from Stade Rennais has not changed — yet.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.21 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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 offer from FC Metz for Raymond Leroux 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.
Alidu Seidu 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.
“I watch every Stade Rennais game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at FC Lorient runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The terraces4 Jan 2038
The mood at Stade Rennais has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2038
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.17 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
A 2‑1 win over Chamois Niortais, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Marked 8.41 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Antoine Lopez and Stade Rennais agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Noham Diop will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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.
At 39 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.12 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Randal Kolo Muani 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.
6 goals in one match, Randal Kolo Muani on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Stade Rennais and LOSC Lille.
Player ratingsThe one thing Noham Diop could not do
593Edition
The Stade Rennais Courier
7 Dec 2037
From our football correspondentCrisis
The terraces7 Dec 2037
The mood at Stade Rennais has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Stade Rennais is running low.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.46 at 39, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Alidu Seidu 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.
12 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.97 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Alidu Seidu 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Stade Rennais and Angers SCO, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Player ratings16 Nov 2037
Denzil Uchenna was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.03. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mattia Viviani and Stade Rennais agree another 1 years.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Boardroom9 Nov 2037
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Stade Rennais
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
6 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad9 Nov 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Richard Dupuis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Randal Kolo Muani 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 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Mervin Gbeme was at the centre of it, FC Metz were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Noham Diop will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.00 at 38, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Denzil Uchenna at his very best
The words a physio says slowly. 15 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.84 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Albert Grønbæk signs something — a contract at Stade Rennais or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Stade Rennais is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Oct 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Randal Kolo Muani 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.
Marked 8.79 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Albert Grønbæk and Stade Rennais agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
The words a physio says slowly. 36 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Alidu Seidu 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.
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.
8 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
The words a physio says slowly. 43 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.
Stade Lavallois go through and Stade Rennais go home, 3‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Two goals and a mark of 8.98 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Marked 8.86. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Stade Rennais.
Player ratings21 Sep 2037
Ilies Bouramala was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.50. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The words a physio says slowly. 50 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.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Richard Dupuis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The deal that would have taken Mikey Allen to Nimes has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Stade Rennais with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
The words a physio says slowly. 57 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.48 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Guilherme Lino will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The deal that would have taken Raymond Leroux to FC Metz has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Stade Rennais with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Chamois Niortais kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Stade Rennais will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Two goals and a mark of 8.36 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.02 at 38, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Alidu Seidu 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.
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.36 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer from FC Lorient for Raymond Leroux 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.
Squad24 Aug 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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 name of Marcel Guérin has come up in conversations Stade Rennais were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marcel Guérin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The offer from AS Nancy for François Thomas 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.
Alidu Seidu 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.
13 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Benoît Huet has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
46 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Position 16 and 32 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Randal Kolo Muani 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 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.
The name of Sébastien Pons has come up in conversations Stade Rennais were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
60 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Stade Rennais lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Stade Rennais, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from FC Nantes for Sébastien Pons 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 Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad27 Jul 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Stade Rennais is running low.
The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
The offer from RC Strasbourg for Marcel Guérin 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. François Thomas will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Alidu Seidu 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 45 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Guilherme Lino will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The words a physio says slowly. 52 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
The words a physio says slowly. 59 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.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mikhail Volkov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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 name of François Thomas has come up in conversations Stade Rennais were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The words a physio says slowly. 66 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.
Boardroom22 Jun 2037
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Stade Rennais
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The deal that would have taken Marcel Guérin to FC Lorient has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Stade Rennais with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 73 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from FC Metz for Sébastien Pons 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Guilherme Lino has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
In brief
SquadWords at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 80 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Stade Rennais can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Noham Diop will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
286 appearances across 13 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: FC Metz have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sébastien Pons. The answer from Stade Rennais has not changed — yet.
The words a physio says slowly. 87 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.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Squad1 Jun 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noham Diop 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 words a physio says slowly. 94 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.
Boardroom25 May 2037
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Stade Rennais
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Alidu Seidu 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.
In brief
SquadAlbert Grønbæk falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 101 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.
Position 16 and 32 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 words a physio says slowly. 108 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The words a physio says slowly. 115 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sébastien Pons will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The words a physio says slowly. 122 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Stade Rennais is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 129 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.
Position 16 and 32 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 136 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Alidu Seidu 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.
3 in front and in complete control, and it finished with LOSC Lille the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Stade Rennais will enjoy reviewing.
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.14 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sébastien Pons will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A season average of 7.39 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad23 Mar 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Marked 8.07 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Denzil Uchenna had Stade Rennais level again within 2 minutes, and Paris Saint-Germain never got to play with a lead at all.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Noham Diop will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Hervé Poirier did not need any: 7.74, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Mar 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Randal Kolo Muani 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.
4 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
The 88th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Albert Grønbæk decided nobody was going anywhere. Angers SCO had no time left to answer.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.46 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Albert Grønbæk and Stade Rennais agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
8 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Albert Grønbæk and Stade Rennais agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Alidu Seidu 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.
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.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Stade Rennais and FC Metz in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Alidu Seidu 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Franco Iannuzzi has just signed for Stade Rennais, and for once the answer mattered.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings2 Feb 2037
A brace, and Mervin Gbeme takes the afternoon — 8.86
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mervin Gbeme provided it, and the 8.86 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.24 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The offer from AS Nancy for Sébastien Pons 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.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Stade Rennais, and it is not being withdrawn.
The bid was some way short and Stade Rennais did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad19 Jan 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Red Star the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Stade Rennais will enjoy reviewing.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Stade Rennais, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer from US Creteil for Richard Dupuis 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.
Squad12 Jan 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Randal Kolo Muani 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 31 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.92 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jan 2037
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Noham Kamara. 3‑1 against AJ Auxerre, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.32 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match27 Dec 2036
Denzil Uchenna wins it after the whistle should have gone
92 minutes played. Denzil Uchenna found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Tours went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 7 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Hervé Robert 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.
In brief
Player ratingsDenzil Uchenna was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Two goals and a mark of 8.60 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Stade Rennais and FC Nantes in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Position 16 and 14 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.85 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stade Rennais they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beaten 3‑5, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad8 Dec 2036
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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 Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.21 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 Dec 2036
Noham Diop was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.79. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
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.
10 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 15 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Noham Diop will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.79 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stade Rennais can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“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 Stade Rennais, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Stade Rennais is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Albert Grønbæk 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anthony Rouault, and the manager let it.
Squad10 Nov 2036
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Esteban Lepaul 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.
Player ratings10 Nov 2036
Noham Diop was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.61. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
9 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Randal Kolo Muani 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.
A performance of 8.82 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings3 Nov 2036
Noham Diop was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.46. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Noham Diop had Stade Rennais level again within 4 minutes, and Toulouse FC never got to play with a lead at all.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Stade Rennais know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Noham Diop will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Stade Rennais the goodbyes have quietly begun.
28 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.00 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Oct 2036
Words at Stade Rennais training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Albert Grønbæk 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 Stade Rennais will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
FC Metz will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Stade Rennais were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings20 Oct 2036
A brace, and Noham Kamara takes the afternoon — 9.15
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Noham Kamara provided it, and the 9.15 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two goals and a mark of 9.04 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stade Rennais have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.14 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stade Rennais this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.