Now that the quarter of the championship is reached, Toulouse has a comfortable lead over its pursuers, thanks to its 23 points taken out of 27 possible. Thus, the
Now that the quarter of the championship is reached, Toulouse has a comfortable lead over its pursuers, thanks to its 23 points taken out of 27 possible. Thus, the Violets are 4 points ahead of their dolphins Ajaccio and Sochaux, and even have 8 points ahead of the first team not qualified for the play-offs, Pau FC, 6th with 15 points. A ranking that resembles that of last year where the Paris FC had got off to a great start. So what similarities can we find between these 2 courses?
The Parisians were 5 points ahead of Troyes, 2nd, on the evening of the 9th day, and 7 points ahead of 6th, Toulouse FC. These positions in the overall standings look like this year, with different teams. To obtain this total, the men of René Girard had mainly faced teams that will end up playing maintenance during the season: Châteauroux, Pau, Niort, or even Nancy or Chambly. They had met Caen or Amiens, but these 2 teams were struggling and will not have a good season. A calendar quite close to that of Toulouse this year, since apart from Ajaccio, Pau and Le Havre, all the other opponents of the men of Philippe Montanier are in the bottom quarter of the standings.
Last season, the Parisians collapsed from the 11th day, at the very beginning of a rather diabolical sequence: Auxerre, Grenoble, Sochaux, Troyes, Clermont and Toulouse were indeed part of their opponents in this second quarter of the championship. They had only managed to take 2 points against these 6 teams, seeing their lead melt like snow in the sun before the break. Worse, they took only 10 points out of 27 possible, or barely more than one point per game, and they were 6 points behind the Trojan leader at mid-championship.
However, the Toulouse calendar is very similar to that of Paris FC last season, since after Caen Monday, the violets will play almost only top 10 teams: Sochaux, Auxerre, Paris FC or Nîmes, as well as Rodez and Niort, who have made a good start to the season. This sequence seems perhaps slightly less complicated on paper, but remains much more noted than the first quarter of the championship which has just ended. Advantage for the Hautes-Garonnais, they will receive 5 times against only 4 trips.
If the start of the season is exciting on the Île du Ramier side, it will be a question of negotiating the next 9 matches as best as possible to take the lead in the middle of the championship, or even with a comfortable lead if the results follow. But it will also be necessary to be wary of opponents who will not let the teammates of Brecht Dejaegere get too far ahead in their direct encounters.
iolets are 4 points ahead of their runners Ajaccio and Sochaux, and even have 8 points ahead of the first unqualified team for the playoffs, Pau FC, 6th with 15 points. A ranking that resembles that of last year where the Paris FC had got off to a great start. So what similarities can we find between these 2 courses?
The Parisians were 5 points ahead of Troyes, 2nd, on the evening of the 9th day, and 7 points ahead of 6th, Toulouse FC. These positions in the overall standings look like this year, with different teams. To obtain this total, the men of René Girard had mainly faced teams that will end up playing maintenance during the season: Châteauroux, Pau, Niort, or even Nancy or Chambly. They had met Caen or Amiens, but these 2 teams were struggling and will not have a good season. A calendar quite close to that of Toulouse this year, since apart from Ajaccio, Pau and Le Havre, all the other opponents of the men of Philippe Montanier are in the bottom quarter of the standings.
Last season, the Parisians collapsed from the 11th day, at the very beginning of a rather diabolical sequence: Auxerre, Grenoble, Sochaux, Troyes, Clermont and Toulouse were indeed part of their opponents in this second quarter of the championship. They had only managed to take 2 points against these 6 teams, seeing their lead melt like snow in the sun before the break. Worse, they took only 10 points out of 27 possible, or barely more than one point per game, and they were 6 points behind the Trojan leader at mid-championship.
However, the Toulouse calendar is very similar to that of Paris FC last season, since after Caen Monday, the violets will play almost only top 10 teams: Sochaux, Auxerre, Paris FC or Nîmes, as well as Rodez and Niort, who have made a good start to the season. This sequence seems perhaps slightly less complicated on paper, but remains much more noted than the first quarter of the championship which has just ended. Advantage for the Hautes-Garonnais, they will receive 5 times against only 4 trips.
If the start of the season is exciting on the Île du Ramier side, it will be a question of negotiating the next 9 matches as best as possible to take the lead in the middle of the championship, or even with a comfortable lead if the results follow. But it will also be necessary to be wary of opponents who will not let the teammates of Brecht Dejaegere get too far ahead in their direct encounters.
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