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The french league has from my view allways been in the shadow from english,italian and german leagues. I don't think PSG´s wealth will change that ,at least not in the near future but one thing puzzles me:
Doesn't french football have any proper derby games?
Even a big city like Paris only have one club, atleast in the top flight.
PSG lÓM is hardly a derby game is it?
CTID!!

Redna wrote:The french league has from my view allways been in the shadow from english,italian and german leagues. I don't think PSG´s wealth will change that ,at least not in the near future but one thing puzzles me:
Doesn't french football have any proper derby games?
Even a big city like Paris only have one club, atleast in the top flight.
PSG lÓM is hardly a derby game is it?
CTID!!

I've lived in France a couple of times and to my mind the lack of proper "derbies" as we would know them is mainly due to geography. All of the main rivals are bloody miles away from each other....PSG-OM.....Lyon-Paris/Marseille....I lived in Auxerre when Guy Roux was manager and they were winning everything and even matches against PSG which is a pretty short and easy journey didn't have any real "rivalry" feel to them.

I've been to Olympique Marseille a couple of times....when they were working their way back to Ligue 1 and the atmosphere there was mental...but loads of trouble was between OM fans....."french" vs "immigres" usually.

I think the lack of derbies is a geography thing mainly though

ant london wrote:

Redna wrote:The french league has from my view allways been in the shadow from english,italian and german leagues. I don't think PSG´s wealth will change that ,at least not in the near future but one thing puzzles me:
Doesn't french football have any proper derby games?
Even a big city like Paris only have one club, atleast in the top flight.
PSG lÓM is hardly a derby game is it?
CTID!!

I've lived in France a couple of times and to my mind the lack of proper "derbies" as we would know them is mainly due to geography. All of the main rivals are bloody miles away from each other....PSG-OM.....Lyon-Paris/Marseille....I lived in Auxerre when Guy Roux was manager and they were winning everything and even matches against PSG which is a pretty short and easy journey didn't have any real "rivalry" feel to them.

I've been to Olympique Marseille a couple of times....when they were working their way back to Ligue 1 and the atmosphere there was mental...but loads of trouble was between OM fans....."french" vs "immigres" usually.

I think the lack of derbies is a geography thing mainly though

There's one great exception, though: Lyon - Saint-Étienne. It's only 60 kilometres between the cities and the rivalry is quit fierce.

French football also has an odd feel to it to me; the whole system appears to be dependent on gambling, and games seem to be played 6 days a week, just to get people into the bookies to watch games (which seem to double up as the village bar in quite a lot of towns I've stayed in). Maybe someone can correct me on this if I'm wrong, and maybe it varies at different times of the season due to UEFA competitions, etc.

I've always had a feeling it's a vicious circle - without the football being played the way it is, the bookies/local bars would earn less money, but the sport might pick up. However, the sport/league seems to earn a lot of its money from betting franchises (pools, etc.), so it needs the gambling to stay alive. I've got no idea how much of an effect this system has on attendances and fan behaviour, though.

It's a massive generalisation but I just always got the feeling that football isn't as widely followed with the same enthusiasm and passion as in the UK, Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy etc....Obviously the fanatic diehards still exist but that block of significant travelling support just isn't there...and travelling support is what makes derbies so intense generally

How come Platini isnt going mad about PSG's spending?

I read somewhere that one of the biggest rivalries is between Ajaccio and Bastia. Several seasons ago they played in the Ligue 1 together. Also, the first ever game between these clubs was abandoned because fans started a massive umbrella fight :)

ant london wrote:It's a massive generalisation but I just always got the feeling that football isn't as widely followed with the same enthusiasm and passion as in the UK, Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy etc....Obviously the fanatic diehards still exist but that block of significant travelling support just isn't there...and travelling support is what makes derbies so intense generally

There might be enthusiasm and passion in Spain, but there is pretty much no travelling support at all.

mr_nool wrote:

ant london wrote:It's a massive generalisation but I just always got the feeling that football isn't as widely followed with the same enthusiasm and passion as in the UK, Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy etc....Obviously the fanatic diehards still exist but that block of significant travelling support just isn't there...and travelling support is what makes derbies so intense generally

There might be enthusiasm and passion in Spain, but there is pretty much no travelling support at all.

When I snook into el Clasico back in 2005, it was due to lax security because people were nipping in and out of the ground to buy Burger Kings midway through the game. Unbelievable.

lets all have a disco wrote:How come Platini isnt going mad about PSG's spending?

It's baffling, innit. I haven't heard about a single story where that twat has even mentioned PSG's spending!

Moonchesteri wrote:

lets all have a disco wrote:How come Platini isnt going mad about PSG's spending?

It's baffling, innit. I haven't heard about a single story where that twat has even mentioned PSG's spending!

I get the feeling that only us are worried about FFP coz the likes of Chelsea,PSG and those Russian teams with all the dosh don't seem to give a monkeys about FFP.

I went to Montpellier v Rennes many years ago. There were no away fans whatsover. I supported them as they played in red and black stripes and Montpellier had failed dismally against the shite in Europe.
Admission was reasonable, refreshments extortionate, and the home fans had one song only "Allez Allez Montpellier" ad nauseum. It was like being at Everton! (Not that Everton fans sing about Montpellier)

Their league went on a downfall, if you ask me, however, i always enjoyed their cups. I remember, i think in 2000 or something like that, a team called Callais (the professionals can correct me) went from their most lower league, into the final of the Cup, with Nantes if i recall. They lost it, but it was a wonderful story for them.

I lived in Paris a couple of years, so i like PSG, but that is it. I went once at a PSG-OM derby at it was nuts, remembered it ended 1-1, with Laurent Robert, the ex Newcastle player scoring a screamer, while Gallas equalised.

Moonchesteri wrote:

lets all have a disco wrote:How come Platini isnt going mad about PSG's spending?

It's baffling, innit. I haven't heard about a single story where that twat has even mentioned PSG's spending!

Well the Platini family seem to have developed quite the relationship with the men from Quatar.His son Laurent Platini is employed by QSI(Quatar Sports Investments) which is run by the Quatar government.It's QSI who are providing the financial backing for Psg.Im not sure exactly in what capacity his involvement is with Psg but i know i read an article about it.

It all seems pretty dodgy between Platini Snr and Quatar i reckon as they now somehow are hosting a world cup, quite astonishing really.Also this year Quatar based tv channel Al Jazera purchased the tv rights to the french league for a whopping 240 million(well by normal standards thats a lot for the french league).

lets all have a disco wrote:How come Platini isnt going mad about PSG's spending?

Two reasons - 1) Its a French team doing it;
2) His son works for the PSG owners

Amazing eh?
http://swissramble.blogspot.co.uk

Went to bordeaux v nancy about 3 years ago when Blanc was manager. Home fans had a good selection of songs. Nothing like the english games though. Nancy brought 11 fans!!! To be fair french games are a long trek. Bordeaux were 2 hours drive from me normally but we got a coach which took forever. (i did post about it but cant find it).

Most french games are sunday evening about 6pm gmt. Dont know about this betting lark but most towns have a PMU bar where you can put a bet on whilst getting lashed.