The Raf begins on Saturday with a trip to Caen, its third consecutive season in L2, with the desire to perpetuate itself at this level.
The problem with the exceptional is that it tends not to withstand the passage of time. Either it is fleeting, and then only constitutes an ephemeral parenthesis of the ordinary. Either it manages to be prolonged, but gradually loses its tasty character, as the demands of everyday life are redefined. At the risk of approaching the taste of the ordinary. It is somewhat in this last situation that Rodez Aveyron football finds itself, on the eve of its third consecutive season in Ligue 2.
Should we regret it? Certainly not. The excitement of returning to the second floor of French football, after 26 years of absence, has certainly passed, but the two maintains obtained in the meantime within the professional world underline the merits of Raf. The Aveyron club, even if it still figures as a featherweight in the division, has managed to keep its place in the middle of Auxerre, Caen, Sochaux and other regulars at the high level. A performance far from trivial, which allows the blood and gold to equal their longest tenure in this division. And again, the reference brand, produced by the Michel Poisson team, was established between 1990 and 1993, at a time when this championship included two pools of 18 teams.
Promising recruitment
The question surrounding the nascent season is precisely whether Rodez is able to make his hole in a more sustainable way in L2. From a sporting point of view, one would be tempted to answer that he has all the means. Laurent Peyrelade’s team can ride the rhythm of a successful second part of last season. Relegated at the end of the Christmas break, the Ruthenians raised the bar to obtain their maintenance, obtaining 15th place in the final standings, 9th in the return phase. Even if the summer saw the departures of two holders, David Douline (Servette) and Valentin Henry (Sochaux), most of the important elements of the team have been, at least for now, retained. Rodez even managed to add experience to his squad, by going to look for players in search of revival, like Lorenzo Rajot, lining during the rise of Clermon, last season, Clément Depres, who showed good dispositions in Ligue 1 with Nîmes before seriously injured, or Enzo Zidane, who had several mixed experiences in Spain, Switzerland and Portugal. With also Bradley Danger, author of a good season in Chambly despite the descent of his team, as well as the young Adilson Malanda, Lucas Buadès and Killian Corrédor, the Raf is on the starting line with a complete and coherent squad. Certainly the most attractive since his rise to Ligue 2 in 2019.
To the point of increasing its ambitions? Even if the blood and gold obviously aspire above all to maintain themselves, it is not trivial to see that the cursor has been set a little higher. “12th place or better” was mentioned by President Pierre-Olivier Murat. “After having been ninth in one half of the championship, why not be at the end of the season?”, said Captain Pierre Bardy.
Reduced workforce
Another curiosity for the coming season will be to see how Laurent Peyrelade and his staff will come to terms with a reduced workforce. By going from 26 to 18 field players, the Ruthenian decision-makers have taken the gamble of reducing the quantity in order to increase the quality. The calculation does not seem silly, especially as 7 of the 29 elements of the workforce had less than 10 games on the clock last season.
But with this choice, dictated in part by the economic context, the Ruthenian coach will have fewer possibilities to resort to the turnover he likes so much. He also saw executives (Poujol, Ruffaut, Tertereau…) leave the club after having taken part in its rise. Another risk, possible recruitment errors or repeated injuries, whose workforce was preserved last season, could have a greater impact on the course of the season.
With a lighter workforce, will the Raf be able to dream of going higher? What is certain is that to keep its place in Ligue 2 in the medium term, the club will have to continue to grow. And not just in the field. In terms of infrastructure, this involves the creation of the Paul-Lignon training and moulting center, the second phase of which began this summer. Structures necessary to continue in the professional world, while the outlook is not always encouraging for French football, hit by the crises, that of Covid-19 and that of TV rights. The restructuring of professional championships could make the equation even more complex in the medium term. Ligue 1 will only have 18 clubs from 2023-2024 and it is not excluded that its little sister will follow suit.
But before looking into these more distant problems, begins an exciting season for Rodez, who intends to make Ligue 2 his ordinary.
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