French Football Weekly

Falling Giants and Bouncing Minnows by French Football Weekly

Happy New Year! Kris, Jez and Phil are here to round up the Coupe de France 16emes, and the 70% of Ligue 1 that happened at the weekend. Monaco have changed manager, the transfer window is open, TV coverage is...occasionally problematic, and unused goalkeepers with their shirts.

Phil and Jez get together for a Christmas pod to round up the 9th round of the Coupe de France, game 19 in Ligue 1, and the standings at the halfway point.

Kris and Jez have a look at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table where it's all getting a bit fraught in the run up to Christmas. There's one more round before the winter break...

The FFW team are dropping like flies but Kris and Phil are here to cover two rounds of Ligue 1 that saw a lot of movement in the table, the first managerial sacking of the season (Guess who...) and the European games.

Kris, Phil and Jez round up game 15 in Ligue 1 and game 5 of the various European fixtures as four of the French teams have qualified already, one's in a very exciting group, and one may drop down and continue their campaign. There's a midweek round as we head towards Christmas, so there will be two rounds to cover in the next pod.

Kris, Phil, and (for a while) Jez look back at an international break that saw France qualify for the World Cup, a red-card-heavy round of Ligue 1 games featuring yet another abandoned game, and some weird moves on and off the pitch in the women's game.

Kris and Phil round up the last round, Europe, how the various European competitions fit together, Saint Etienne finally winning a game, and more. Next up - international break! Oh, the fun...

Kris, Jez and Phil take a look at the bottom of the table, as results at the weekend featured comebacks, long-range strikes, unexpected wins, and apparently ageless Jimmy Briand. Jez is mournful about Metz, Phil thinks far too many teams are too good to go down, and Kris has a cold. They also look forward to Matchday 4 in the various European competitions where several of the French contingent hav...

Kris and Phil are on their own this week to round up an un-classic Classique and Nice's last-minute comeback against OL, as well as St Etienne's ongoing problems and whether or not Lens are going to keep hold of their current position. Features red cards, arrests. Europe, stats, a nod to Ligue 2 and the Coupe de France.

It was a cracking round of games that Kris, Jez, Rich and Phil have to round up featuring boatloads of goals, some absolute worldies, and red cards all over the shop.

After France won the Nations' League, Kris, Rich, Jez and Phil gloat about / analyse the semi-final agains Belgium and final against Spain.

Several teams had a weird week over the European games and the League games at the weekend. Kris, Jez and Phil are here to round up the Rhone derby, Lille's win over OM, and Rennes' unexpectedly comprehensive result against PSG. We look forward to the Nation's League semi-finals and potential final day, and there's a look back at the legacy of Bernard Tapie, who died this week.

A full house of Kris, Jez, Rich and Phil to round up game 9, the upcoming European games, and a nod to to the Coupe de France and Ligue 2.

It's been a while, but Kris, Rich and Phil look back over rounds 6 and 7 of Ligue 1 and the European matches in between. We look at the main questions - PSG's attitude, which teams will challenge them, what are Saint Etienne doing, and more.

Kris, Rich and Jez debrief les Bleus' September international break. After two matches it looked like it was going to be a post-mortem but, after the 2-0 win over Finland, maybe France have stumbled over a blueprint for the future - with Griezmann at the centre of things of course! The question is will Mbappe put team over ego?

As we trundle into an international break, Kris Rich and Phil round up game 4 in LIgue 1, the European draws, key transfers, and the upcoming set of World Cup qualifiers for les Bleus.

After an eventful weekend, Kris, Jez, Phil and Rich get together to round up all the Ligue 1 action, including goals, red cards, bottles, pitch invasions, presidents grabbing the microphone, the CRS showing up, and upcoming disciplinary issues. They look at the 'big' teams having a bit of a mare, the players who impressed, and some mild transfer chat.

34 goals in the second round of Ligue 1, with comebacks, red cards, players being sent to train with the reserves, managers doing their previous clubs - Kris, Jez, Phil and Rich try to pick out the best (and worst) performances of a chaotic weekend.

Ligue 1 kicked off at the weekend and there were goals, comebacks, arrests and more. Also, a small matter of Lionel Messi leaving/etc Barcelona. Kris, Jez, Rich and Phil are all over all of that - and who to watch out for as the season progresses.

We're back! Kris, Jez, Phil and Rich - the band is back together. Mere minutes after the end of last season, when Lille beat PSG to the title and PSG again failed to win the Champions League, the Euros went badly, the French men's team went 100% Ripoll at the Olympics, and French sports journalism now has TV rights specialists on the books, we are *back*. Trophee de Champions, new teams, new playe...

Well, that went badly. Kris, Jez and Phil look back at the loss on penalties against Switzerland, issues throughout the tournament, and the many elephants there are in the room right now.

The Group of Heck is over, and Kris and Jez have a late-night meet-up to review Portugal 2 - 2 France which put France top of the group as Germany also drew 2-2 with Hungary. This sets France up with a match against Switzerland in the round of 16.

Game 2 and things are a bit problematic; Kris, Jez and Phil look back over a 1-1 draw with Hungary, and the build-up to the key final game on Wednesday against Portugal. Also, Germany's bounce-back against the title-holders, and the sad loss of a legend of social media. Shortly after the game, it was announced that Philippe Vignolo - @Philousports on Twitter - had died of a heart attack. It's a me...

Game 1 is done! Kris, Jez and Phil analyse France 1 - 0 Germany - the selection, the system, the silkiness... Also Hungary's crumble against Portugal in the other Group F game, Phil's boss, and how TV dealt with Christian Eriksen's collapse.