At the final whistle in Annecy, the faces of the Saint-Etienne fans were mortified once again. Their concern was certainly increased tenfold after the L2 multiplex. Indeed, Saint-Étienne are 7 points behind Dijon, the first player not to be relegated. A delay that is beginning to be consistent and worrying. Let’s go back to the archives and see if any teams have already managed to maintain the same conditions as those of Sainté today.
An incapacitating start to the season
The Greens’ nightmarish start to the season is a continuation of the previous season. The Greens are carrying the heavy burden of sanctions imposed by the League after the incidents against Auxerre. And in particular the 3 penalty points inflicted. After matchday 16, the Greens died last in Ligue 2 with 11 points and 7 points behind the first player not to be relegated, Dijon FCO.
So yes, there are still 22 games to play for ASSE, but the face shown by Laurent Batlles’ team at the Parc des Sports in Annecy is worrying. We were told once again that the winter break had been good for the head and that the team came back with a completely different motivation and with a clear head. Clearly that was not the case on Monday night. We’ll see if on Friday, in a cauldron that should sound empty, the residents of Saint-Etienne will be able to raise their heads.
An almost impossible task?
This Tuesday morning, when we woke up, a question came to mind: “Has a team ever managed to stay in Ligue 2, having only 11 points after matchday 16?”. Furthermore, this season a significant fact must be taken into account: the last 4 teams in the championship are relegated to the national team. This makes the Greens’ task even more difficult.
Let’s go back to the 1998/1999 season, when the 2nd division championship switches to 20 teams. 24 seasons peeled and analyzed. We only kept seasons where the last of D2/S2 had 12 points or less on the clock after matchday 16. We have also agreed not to consider the 2019/2020 season, which was interrupted before its conclusion due to the pandemic.
At the end of these selection criteria, 19 seasons match our search. We recall here that depending on the season, retention was acquired in 17th or 18th place (after the jump-off), or even 16th as is the case this season. In fact, with the transition from L1 to 18 clubs at the end of the season, 4 first division clubs will drop at the end of the season, and the drop will also have to be transferred to L2. As it is the situation of the Greens that concerns us today, we will take as a criterion for the success of the comeback, a 16th place or higher at the end of the season.
They were 20 after J16 and remained there until the end of the championship
- Season 2006/2007 : After the 16th day of L2, Tours he died last with 11 points. 16th right now is Niort with 15 points. At the end of the season, the people of Tours will finish in the same place with 26 points.
- Season 2007/2008 : the departmental neighbors of Gueugnon they are in a bad position after J16, as they are 20th with only 11 points, like the Greens today. The 16th at the time (and therefore the first non-relegation in the current season) is a certain Dijon (like today) with 18 points (like today). The blacksmiths will not be able to get back on top and will finish last with 27 points.
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- This is also the case with Bastia (2009/2010 season, 10 points after J16), Grenoble (2010/11 season, 11 points after J16), Bastia CA (2013/14 season, 9 points after J16), Arles-Avignon (2014/15 season, 10 points after J16), Tours (2017/18 season, 5 points after J16), Red Star (2018/19 season, 9 points after J16) e Nancy last season (12 points after J16). All these teams were 20 after matchday 16 and never managed to get out of this place.
Teams that have come back but not high enough (18th or 19th place) to save themselves
Whether it was Cannes (2000/01), Creteil (2001/02), Besançon (2003/04) or Sedan (2013/14), these teams were 20 after J16 (with between 10 and 12 points), managed to extricate themselves during the rest of the season, but remained in the red zone and were relegated at the end of the season.
Auxerre and Nimes: Maintain accuracy in past configurations
season 2008/2009. the Olympian of Nimes, 3rd in the national team the previous season, returned to the second division of French football for the first time since 2003. The start of the season was very complicated for Nîmes coached by Jean-Luc Vannuchi. After matchday 16, Nimes are bottom of the league with only 9 points. After J17, the coach was fired and Jean-Michel Cavalli took over. A great comeback ensued and a crazy race to maintain. The crocos close the season 17th with 44 points and therefore remain. In the current configuration, the Nimois would sadly have been relegated.
Less than a decade later, Auxerre he took the example of Nimes. 20th after 11 points, Auxerrois had an excellent second half of the season to save themselves at the last minute by taking 17th place with 43 points. At the time still, only the bottom 3 of the championship went down to the national team.
Season 1998/99: The rescue of the OGC Nice by the Italians
After a 1997/1998 season in which the Nice side had a good run in the Coupe de France (1/8 final) but at the same time had to fight to stay in P2, the team from the south of France once again played the bottom of the table. The 98/99 season got off to a bad start despite the arrival of coach Victor Zvunka and the change of squad.
After the 16th day, the nicoises are last in the 2nd division with 11 points. On 10 December 1998 the club was bought by Francesco Sensi, then president of AS Roma. He arrives with a new coach in his luggage: Guy David and the goal of bringing Nice back to the football scene. Thanks to this conquest, Nice had a spectacular second half of the season and finished in… 14th place with 46 points. Return on capital.
Season 2011/12: The spectacular rise of AS Monaco
The Principality club started its first season in the 2nd division since 1977, very badly. After a disastrous start to the season, the Monegasques are 20th in the standings after 16 games, with 11 points. On 13 December 2011 the club was sold to Dmitri Rybolovlev (Russian businessman) who became the majority shareholder.
Photo : Patrice Aim / Icon Sport
To raise the bar, manager Marco Simone sees the arrival of 9 recruits in his workforce during the winter transfer market. AS Monaco will experience an extraordinary second half of the season and will finish in 8th place in the league with 52 points. Exceptional. The following season, the red and white will finish first in the league and enter Ligue 1. A model to follow for the greens, who hinted at a two-year project at the beginning of the season?
Season 2015/2016 : In the name or the definition of “when we want we can”
The Nimois had a busy summer in 2015. Penalized with 8 penalty points (!!) for a match fixing during the 2013/2014 season, the crocos start the championship with a considerable handicap. The club’s goal is clear: to stay in L2. Nîmes began the season with José Pasqualetti as manager, but the latter decided to leave the club. He is then replaced in the 2015 issue by Bernard Blaquart, who will become the hero of an entire people.
After 8 slow first games without a win, the efforts finally paid off and the Nimois reared his head. After J16, the Nimois who still carry the burden of 8 penalty points, are last with only 8 points on the clock.
Authors of an extraordinary second part of the season, the Nimes Olympique players brilliantly obtained a continuation at the end of the season even allowing themselves to finish in a beautiful 14th place with 43 points. Proof that nothing is impossible for the Greens.
Reasons to believe for the Greens?
You will tell me that yes, each season has its context, its adventures, its organization. Perhaps these 3 clubs were better armed and structured. Can you also tell me that the 9 teams mentioned at the beginning of the article have never managed to get out of this 20th place.
But now the Greens are 22 games away from securing this crucial support for the club’s future. The delay on Dijon’s first non-relegation starts to be consistent (7 points), but nothing is impossible. Furthermore, there remains a winter transfer window. This time you can tell me that the last flea markets have not been great successes. It can also be argued that the arrival of an expert striker like Charbonnier is a good signal sent. It remains to be seen the next recruits and if they will follow the results.
