Bonjour, and happy new year! Bienvenue to season four, our third in Ligue 1. If you’ve forgotten where we left off before Christmas, we finished eighth, which sadly wasn’t enough for European football, but we do seem to be heading in the right direction. Let us resume…

Manolo hangs up his boots. I had high hopes for him, but he was plagued by injuries…

The League Cup draw could be a lot worse…

My prayers for a cash injection go unanswered yet again, so more freebies and regens it is, starting with my first signing from the original Basque Boys…

Here is Jose Maria Bakero’s reincarnation, who became brilliant when I was at Bilbao, so let’s hope for more of the same this time…

The marquee signing is Ismael Urzaiz, who left Bilbao for Portugal, only to be released after just one season. Oh well, their loss is my gain…

Big Mik Loinaz! He was an absolute beast for me at Bilbao, and hopefully he can still do a job despite being in the twilight of his career…

And finally, it’s Julio Salinas Junior…

The two new regens along with Aurelio and Nando all head to Portugal on loan…

I’d call that a decent summer’s business, and it leaves the squad looking like this. Until someone gets really good and commands a high transfer fee, I won’t have any money to spend, so this will be it for the foreseeable…

Here’s how we lineup to start the season. I’ve decided to trust youth and give Sotero a chance at right-back, and Urzaiz in for Calle up front is the only other change. Let’s go…

We begin at Lyon, and offer nothing in the first half, but start to play in the second, and a couple of changes on the hour do the trick, as Calle proves me wrong for benching him…

Following up a good win with a damp squib of a defeat has become one of our bad habits, and it doesn’t take long for it to creep back in as we falter at home to Nantes…

Cannes turn out to be more like cannot, denying us a chance to bounce straight back…

The losing run extends to three at home to PSG. There’s one word I’d use to sum up this performance, and it’s in the middle of Kanu’s first name…

Marseille make it four. We have twice as many shots on goal as them, but still end up losing. It can’t go on like this, can it?…

Sorry Mick, not today! We finally end our losing streak against Caen, but it’s not without its struggles, as we come from behind twice to haul ourselves out of the relegation zone…

I’m half expecting us to slip back into losing ways again after that win, but we’re superb at Lille, and we even keep a rare clean sheet!

In the cup, Loinaz makes it three goals in as many games to round off a business-like performance from a much-changed side…

Nimes await…

Revilla puts on a masterclass as we keep up the good work against Nancy…

But then the fine run looks set to come to an end away at rock bottom St. Etienne, until ACG wins it with the last kick of the game…

Loinaz has scored four goals in five games, and has been largely responsible for our recent upturn in form, but now we have to do without him for three months. F*cking great…

Guingamp of all teams end the winning run, but they’re two points below us in eighth, so maybe a draw with them isn’t actually too bad.

Our ten men deservedly lead 14th (yes, 14th) placed Monaco at half time, and then manage to withstand immense second half pressure to see it out, with Leighton on absolute fire…

It’s plain sailing against Nimes in the cup, and a quarter-final with Nancy is the reward…

A quick sale between games sees Karmona depart for £36k. More money I won’t see…

Auxerre are a place below us in the table, but even so, I’ve no idea where this result came from! Maybe we’re finally starting to get the measure of the big teams…

With Karmona leaving and a few injuries, I decide to bring in some wingback cover. He’s not getting any younger, but will provide some short term backup…

We get our first taste of what it’s like to be involved in a top four clash at second-placed Strasbourg, and once again defy the odds and romp to a 3-1 win as Calle and Kaiku extend their tallies to ten each for the season…

The fine form continues as we take an early lead against Bordeaux, but they start to pile on pressure, and are eventually rewarded. We have a late penalty shout dismissed, but I’ll certainly take a point…

It’s a rollercoaster of a match against Montpellier, who keep coming back every time we score, but ACG finally settles the nerves…

A fifth straight away win keeps the momentum going at Lens, thanks again to Leighton, who makes save after save to protect the points…

And then completely out of the blue, our good form goes out the window as we lose to 15th placed Nancy in the cup. We have two goals disallowed, but it’s a good chance blown…

Leighton had the entire winter break to get injured, but he decides to do it now. He’s been brilliant, so this really isn’t good news…

Last up this week are the Juddermen, who we fail to get any change out of, but on the plus side, it’s a clean sheet for our reserve keeper…

After losing four in a row, I really was starting to worry, but they remain our only four losses at the halfway mark after a remarkable turnaround, which sees us sitting pretty in third place. There’s a long way to go yet, but things are looking good for the time being…

So, we’ve returned from the festive break with a bang after a spluttering start. I do hope you’ll be back next week to see if we can kick on and keep up this fine form for the rest of the season. See you then. Au Revoir!