Updated 27^th April 2006

PLACES REMAINING. For anyone in the Paris area wanting to travel to Amiens for the away game on Saturday, Red Star FC 93 are arganising a coach. Departure is 2pm CET, Stade Bauer. For details: tel +33 1 40 11 04 26, or by e-mail : redstar189@aol.com PRESSURE ON. In disposing of Avion 2-0 yesterday evening, Oissel are back in the running for a promotion spot, whilst Avion appear to have one foot back in the DH. ALSO THIS WEEKEND. A full fixture list in store for all Red Stars' teams: CFA 2 : AMIENS - RED STAR LIGUE DE PARIS Reserves : PARIS SG - RED STAR Futsal : RED STAR - DRANCY, Saturday 29th (2-15pm CET), gymnase Tommy Smith, Saint-Ouen Under 18s (DH) : NOISY-LE-SEC - RED STAR Under 18s (PH) : RED STAR - PLAISIR Under 15s (DSR) : RED STAR - LE BOURGET, Sunday 30th (1-30pm CET), Bobigny Under 15s (PH) : GARGES - RED STAR Under 13s (DH) : RED STAR - CRETEIL Under 13s (DHR) : EVRY - RED STAR DISTRICT Under 18s (Excellence) : AULNAY - RED STAR Under 13s (1st division) : RED STAR - GAGNY Under 15s (2nd division) : RED STAR - BAGNOLET Under 13s (3rd division) : AULNAY - RED STAR Critérium Benjamins : RED STAR - LA GARENNE : 7-2 Benjamins critérium : EPINAY - RED STAR 1 Benjamins critérium : EPINAY - RED STAR 2 Benjamins critérium : EPINAY - RED STAR 3 Benjamins critérium : EPINAY - RED STAR 4 Poussins critérium : RED STAR 1 - COSMO FC Poussins critérium : RED STAR 2 - COSMO FC Poussins critérium : RED STAR 3 - COSMO FC Poussins critérium : RED STAR 4 - COSMO FC Talents critérium : RED STAR - DRANCY With five games remaining, Red Stars' under 15s DSR are on course for promotion to the DH. Sunday they are at home to Le Bourget. Table : 1. LES LILAS 43pts, 2. RED STAR 40 pts, 3. Créteil 37 pts (1 game in hand), 4. Le Bourget 36 pts, 5. Antony 34 pts (1 match more played), 6. Saint-Ouen l’Aumône 32 pts, 7. Versailles 30 pts, 8. Bondy 26 pts (1 match more played), 9. FC Mantois 25 pts, 10. Paris SG 14 pts (1 match more played) CAMERS AT BAUER. Franco-German TV Channel Arte are presently making a film using youngsters at Stade Bauer. Boys and girls from Red Stars' youth teams were filmed for a documentary to be shown during the World Cup. Nice to see the televised press at Red Star for a positive reason, instead of muck-raking as they have been doing recently.

Updated 24^th April 2006

RED STAR LEAVE IT LATE. Why are they called Red Star FC 93 ? Well, 93 is the postcode of the departement of France where Red Star are based; but after Saturdays top of the table showdown with Saint-Quentin, 93 could also mean the minute during the game when perhaps the championship season tipped in favour of Red Star. With three minutes gone into injury time, and the draw looking a likely outcome, Red Star threw everything and the kitchen sink forwards and were rewarded when Taïeb Abdallah, a midfielder who by his own admission "isn't really a goalscorer" showed the instincts of a Gary Lineker to receive the ball in the penalty area with his back to goal and then to spin on the spot and blast a fierce low shot in the opposite corner to the visitors' goalie. Abdallah, "not a goalscorer", was responsible for one of the most important goals of last season too, when in the clash against Meaux he lashed in a fierce shot from the edge of the box to give Red Star an important advantage in the title race. Not forgetting also the numerous goals he has scored from free-kicks. Red Star might have nearly lost the game near the final whistle but a linesmans' flag ruled for offside ruled out the goal to the relief of Red Stars' supporters. Taïeb Abdallahs' shot beats the Saint-Quentin defence The victory was made even sweeter by the news that another of Red Stars' title rivals Valenciennes, whose first XI are virtually in the L1, slipped up at home to Abbeville, losing 1-0. Red Star must be wary of Abbeville, a club fighting to pull away from the wrong end of the table. Next up for Red Star is a trip to Amiens to play a side that has already beaten Red Star, 2-1 at Bauer. A tough task awaits Yann Bell and his team-mates. The club are once again running a bus to Amiens (some 70 miles north of Paris). The bus leaves Bauer at 2pm CET newt Saturday; contact 0033 1 40 11 04 26 of mail us at john@allezredstar.com if you're interested. ACTION PHOTOS FROM SATURDAY. Stade Bauer on Saturday Guillaume Langlet & Bilal Hammami Some of the fifty or so Saint-Quentin supporters whom had made the trip, giving atmosphere to the game Red Stars' under 13s, ball-boys on Saturday RESULTS IN THE CFA 2. This evening, Le Havre are at home to Evreux. - RED STAR - SAINT-QUENTIN : 1-0 - OISSEL - ARRAS : 0-0 - AVION - ROUEN : 0-1 - CAMBRAI - AMIENS : 2-1 - ENTENTE - CHANTILLY : 2-0 - VALENCIENNES - ABBEVILLE : 0-1 - ARMENTIERES - SAINT-OMER : 1-2 LEAGUE TABLE. 1. LE HAVRE 71 pts (1 game in hand), 2. RED STAR 67 pts, 3. Saint-Quentin 67 pts, 4. Entente 65 pts, 5. Valenciennes 65 pts, 6. Saint-Omer 61 pts, 7. Arras 60 pts, 8. Amiens 59 pts, 9. Oissel 58 pts (1 game in hand), 10. Cambrai 57 pts, 11. Rouen 55 pts, 12. Evreux 55 pts (1 game in hand), 13. Abbeville 53 pts, 14. Armentières 51 pts, 15. Avion 46 pts (1 game in hand), 16. Chantilly 40 pts. GENERALLY GOOD WEEK-END. For once, Red Star enjoyed a good weekend. Other than the first XI and their great win, Red Stars' indoor footballers beat Sarcelles 6-5 last Thursday; yesterday the Under 18s took an important step towards safety in the DH with a win over Entente SSG (3-2). Red Star raced into a 3-0 lead before conceding a goal before half time. Three game remain, underlined coach Eric Santamaria, to be sure of avoiding the drop Red Star must beat Noisy-le-Sec (leaders), Les Lilas and Brétigny.

Updated 21^st April 2006

MUST WIN, NO CHOICE. Red Star have no choice but to win Saturdays' vital clash against Saint-Quentin, one of their two main rivals for promotion to the CFA. Since the New Year the statistics tell the whole sorry story; whereas the visitors have taken twenty five points from their nine games, with one defeat (away at Entente), Red Stars' dismal run has left them with just nineteen, a poor return for a promotion candidate. On their travels the club from the Aisne have won on five occasions (Evreux, Oissel, Valenciennes, Armentières, Abbeville), four draws (Chantilly, Cambrai, Rouen & Amiens), three defeats (Saint-Omer, Le Havre & Entente). They also thumped Valenciennes 4-1. At home Red Stars' less-than-ideal record is five wins (Le Havre, Saint-Omer, Evreux, Abbeville, Avion), four draws (Entente, Armentières, Arras, Cambrai) and three defeats (Oissel, Amiens, Rouen). An important statistic that cannot be forgotten however, is that Red Star have already beaten Saint-Quentin 3-0 away back in snowy November. Red Star celebrate after beating Saint-Quentin In their last game Saint-Quentin struggled to overcome lowly Chantilly, winning 3-2 after being 2-0 down. The winner came four minutes from the end of the game. On that day they lined up as follows: Delahaye - Rhajaoui, Ducatteau, Héloïse - Blondeau (Kambou 30, Bouglenan 67), Ewané, Accart (captain) - Forgon, Langlet (Olivier 30), Ben Khalafallah - Canedo. Coach : Abdeslam Smaïli. Coach Abdeslam Smaïli, born 24th November 1965 in Meknes, Morocco. Played for Laon, Cheminots Reims, Reims-Saint-Anne and Reims before starting out his coaching career with Reims juniors, then the Under 15s, the "C" team before arriving at Taissy where in five seasons he took them into the CFA 2. He arrived at Saint-Quentin in July 2005, a man with potential to succeed. A. Smaïli in the middle of the photo ELSEWHERE IN THE CFA 2. Valenciennes are at home to Abbeville, Sunday afternoon. All the other games take place Saturday except Le Havre v Evreux, Monday 5-30pm CET Avion v Rouen; Armentières v Saint-Omer; Cambrai v Amiens; Entente v Chantilly; Oissel v Arras. THE TABLE. 1. LE HAVRE 71 pts, 2. Saint-Quentin 66 pts, 3. Valenciennes 64 pts, 4. Red Star 63 pts, 5. Entente 61 pts, 6. Amiens 58 pts, 7. Arras 58 pts, 8. Saint-Omer 57 pts, 9. Oissel 56 pts (1 game in hand), 10. Evreux 54 pts, 11. Cambrai 53 pts, 12 Rouen 51 pts, 13. Armentières 50 pts, 14. Abbeville 49 pts, 15. Avion 45 pts (1 game in hand), 16. Chantilly 39 pts. REFEREES. Red Star v Saint-Quentin will be officiated by Gérard Dany assisted by Dominique Godefroy & Serge Krieff. Joachim Lémy is the fourth official. UNDER 18S. With four games remaining, ReD Stars' under 18s (DH) have a vital game at Bobigny (1-30pm CET) against Entente. Should Eric Santamarias' youngsters win, then they will quit the relegation zone, as Aulnay & Brétigny play each other. Hopefully the CFA 2 experience gained at Evreux will stand them in good stead. ACCIDENT. Cyrille Mbomé, player with La Vitréenne has recently been killed in a road accident. Passenger in the car was former Red Star defender Robert Gomis, who was seriously injured. AllezRedStar.com express their deepest condolencies to the players' family and his team mates.

Updated 19^th April 2006

GIRARD BACK. But not restored to full duties. Jean-Luc Girard will be in charge of training sessions and will sit on the bench for the six remaining matches until the end of the season, when he will leave the club. The decision was announced Saturday following intensive negociations between president Bruno Davoine and Girard at which Patrice Haddad acted as go-between. Finally an agreement was reached which will see the return of the regular first teamers, now slipping back rapidly in the championship following some disappointing results and the stand-off at Evreux which saw Red Stars' Under 18s take to the field in a 2-0 defeat. Eric Santamaria has been named director of football. WEEK-END RESULTS. Saint-Quentin struggled to overcome lowly Chantilly 3-2 (1-2, at half-time) whilst Valenciennes beat Evreux 2-0. The other results: - LE HAVRE - ARMENTIERES : 2-0 - ARRAS - CAMBRAI : 1-0 - AMIENS - OISSEL : 5-1 - ENTENTE - ROUEN : 1-0 TABLE. Le Havre stroll on at the top whilst Red Star slip out of the top three for the first time since late 2005. Chantilly will be playing DH football next season whilst Avion are also in deep trouble. 1. LE HAVRE 71 pts, 2. Saint-Quentin 66 pts, 3. Valenciennes 64 pts, 4. Red Star 63 pts, 5. Entente 61 pts, 6. Amiens 58 pts, 7. Arras 58 pts, 8. Saint-Omer 57 pts, 9. Oissel 56 pts (1 game in hand), 10. Evreux 54 pts, 11. Cambrai 53 pts, 12 Rouen 51 pts, 13. Armentières 50 pts, 14. Abbeville 49 pts, 15. Avion 45 pts (1 game in hand), 16. Chantilly 39 pts.

Updated 10^th April 2006

LATEST NEWS. So Red Star went to Evreux, took the youngsters who did remarkably well but still lost and on side M. Davoine and on the other the Red Star first team players stay samped out in their respective positions. Today, the site of the Collectif des Amis du Red Star carries a statement from the players which without saying a great deal more than has already been said, confirms their position in the stand-off. Why the players decided to communicate their grievances by means of the Collectifs' site is unknown; given that on AllezRedStar.com all and sundry have used their rights to express freely their opinions on the subject - M. Davoine has issued a statement on the official site, the positions for and against of various supporters', the position of former Red Star striker Claude Chazottes, Red Star youth coach Philippe Huet, even the Collectif have expressed their opinions - it is slightly strange that the statement should appear on a site that receives less visitors than AllezRedStar.com. Still, it is the decision of the players, we respect that decision as we do the Collectif. Red Star were featured on France 2 Televisions' Sunday sports magazine Stade 2 yesterday. The report, which started with scenes of the players meeting outside and inside a local café, firstly managed to transpose the captions under the interviews with Nabile Yessad and Philippe Cuervo. A bit on the history of the club followed by scenes of Red Stars' first team training "in private" at Stade Marville also managed to include a scene with supporter Tarek to the fore. An interview with captain Reevis N'Simba with as an insert Jean-Luc Girards' goal in 1996 against Olympique de Marseille at Bauer. Then the scene switched to the first team players in a car en route for Evreux where they watched the game from the stands. Some action from the game, including the first goal conceded before twenty seconds of statement from M. Davoine. The forum is still dominated by one or two individuals, the talk is still about the players' strike and so on. Your reactions please : john@allezredstar.com. We have had this mail from one of our Dulwich friends: It's so difficult & frustrating to be looking in from afar & seeing the club in such a mess. Am I the only one who is angry with the players for saying "The club is dead & it's your fault" to the president? And then not playing at all! Just who do they think they are? The Club is about the supporters & the proud past history. Just play the games and see out the season, then rebuild for next year, and try to challenge again. Register some of the supporters if need be just to make up the numbers and not get forcefully relegated. Red Star have got through worse than this in the past, and hopefully will continue at Stade Bauer for many years to come. I'm just sorry I can't make it over for another game this season to show my support. I'm more concerned about the ground being closed down by the FFA for fans alleged misbehaviour. Is it me, but there appears to be a bit of a witchhunt against Red Star, where the authorities are getting out & out hooliganism confused with passion? Having said that it's time for you all to be careful & to 'police your own'. Fingers crossed things get sorted out, and if promotion is being blown this time we can go up next season!. Wilson Grosset (Evreux), Kamel Boumedanne & Hadji Liheouel (2) in action at Evreux POST-MATCH REACTIONS. Coach Eric Santamaria spoke of the unusual circumstances behind the game; on Wednesday Red Stars' under 18s were warned that they might have to be on first-team duty on Saturday and this was confirmed Friday evening in training. Most had never played as a team before, so there was a lack of cohesion between the players. In any case this has been a good experience for them and should help them in the future. President Bruno Davoine was proud of his players, who wore the shirt with pride, tried hard and were not ridiculed by the occasion. Defender Demba Diawara spoke to the press, saying that he was disappointed and had made an error on the first goal, letting the attacker get his header in. He did go on to say that despite eveything Red Star were well-organised and can and will get better. Demba Diawara BACK IN ACTION. As we mentioned in our match report, in the team on Saturday was Samir Sahridj, a likeable young man who first made is name as one of the better players in an otherwise awful 2002-2003 season. His career very nearly came to an abrupt end following a violent tackle in a CFA 2 game at Aubervilliers that season. Samir, a bright student at the Sorbonne, was told by doctors that he may be crippled for life, but he fought back and after a few substitute apeparances this season with Red Stars' reserves, played with heart and courage for an hour at Evreux. Your correspondant was witness to several brave tackles made by Samir where AllezRedStar.coms' man winced as Samir went into the tackle. Brave man, respect where it is due. Samir Sahridj, fantastic courage. On the way back from the game, AllezRedStars' correspondant received a phone call from the Saint-Quentin coach, Sami Smaili. Saint-Quentin are along with Valenciennes Reserves one of Red Stars' closest rivals for promotion. Sami was looking forwards to what he called the seasons' cup final in two weeks at Bauer to decide the promotion issue and hope that Red Star will have their full first team back in action for this game. A nice sporting gesture. It would be easier for Saint-Quentin if Red Star sent out their under 18s again, but in his words, promotion would have a true value if it was to be achieved between the two first teams. Left, Evreux coach Michel Hamel and Red Stars' Eric Santamaria AllezRedStar.com would once again like to thank Evreux' president Norbert Lecomte as well as all the staff at the friendly club for the welcome which we received and for making our work for the site on the day problem-free. Bruno Davoine with his Evreux counterpart Norbert Lecomte CFA 2 RESULTS.. Saint-Quentin beat Cambrai 2-1 and Valenciennes beat Chantilly 1-0 to keep up the pressure. Elsewhere : Rouen - Le Havre 1-1, Arras - Armentières 2-0, Amiens - Entente 1-1, Saint-Omer - Avion 0-0 & Abbeville - Oissel 1-1. TABLE. 1. Le Havre 67 pts (23 matchs), 2. Red Star 63 pts (24), 3. Saint-Quentin (23) 62 pts, 4. Valenciennes 60 pts (23), 5. Entente 57 pts (23pts), 6. Saint-Omer 57 pts (24), 7. Oissel 55 pts (22), 8. Arras 54 pts (23), 9. Amiens 54 pts (23), 10. Evreux 53 pts (23), 11. Cambrai 52 pts (23), 12. Rouen 50 pts (23), 13. Armentières 49 pts (23), 14. Abbeville 49 pts (23), 15. Avion 45 pts (23), 16. Chantilly 38 pts (23)

Updated 5^th April 2006

DEVELOPMENTS. Well, basically there aren't any. There was no training session planned anyway for yesterday evening, so at present there is stil no news on the players "strike". Local fish & chip paper Le Parisien must have been rubbing their hands in glee at another chance to twist the knife into Red Star. Todays' paper carries an article on the crisis at the club with the heading "Mutiny at Red Star". The article announces the sacking of coach Girard, and illustrated by a photo of Red Stars' bucket & spongeman together with one of the more outspoken supporters of the club, and the players in the background, goes on to give the point of view of President Davoine: "the club had split into pro and anti-Girard clans and the situation was becoming intolerable. Results have been suffering as a consequence". During the Monday evening meeting between the players and the clubs' directors, the article goes on to say, the unanimous decision of the players was to down tools in support of their coach. Captain Reevis N'Simba accused the president, saying "The club is dead and it's your fault !". Meanwhile, youth supremo Eric Santamaria, promoted to first-team duties will be forced to play the under 18s in both the reserves and the first team. The FFF rules state that if a club declares forfait for three games then they are automatically relegated. With the rump of the under 18s on first team or reserve duty then the future looks grim for Red Stars' under 18s. Reactions on the forum have been forthcoming; several supporters have taken the side of the beleaguered ex-coach, but the majority of the supporters whom remember the dark days of the previous junta have understood the logic of removing the coach. The general feeling is that it is a pity that things should have come to this. Some supporters have appealed to the players to drop their boycott of Saturdays' trip to Evreux, saying that Red Star and its 109 year history should come before any grievances. Elsewhere Red Star have announced that they will be running a bus trip to Normandy for any supporters who care to come along. Mail us for details: john@allezredstar.com. Same address for your reactions into the current row at Red Star. LAST WEEKENDS' RESULTS. CFA 2 : RED STAR - ROUEN : 1-2 CHAMPIONNAT FEDERAL (Under 14s) : RACING - RED STAR : 3-0 LIGUE DE PARIS Reserves (DHR) : RED STAR - TREMBLAY : 2-2 FUTSAL : TREMBLAY - RED STAR : 1-3 Ladies : RED STAR - LIMAY : 1-4 Under 18s (DH) : RED STAR - PARIS SG : 2-2 Under 18s (PH) : ANTONY - RED STAR : 4-2 Under 15s (DSR) : BONDY - RED STAR : 0-2 Under 15s (PH) : RED STAR - ENTENTE n.c. Under 13s (DH) : ANTONY - RED STAR : 0-2 Under 13s (DHR) : RED STAR - PALAISEAU : 1-1 DISCTRICT Under 18s (excellence) : RED STAR - EPINAY : 1-3 Under 15s (2nd division) : LE BOURGET - RED STAR : 5-1 Under 13s (1st division) : SAINT-DENIS - RED STAR : 10-2 Under 13s (3rd division) : RED STAR - LE BLANC-MESNIL : 1-5 Benjamins Critérium : RED STAR 1 - STAINS : 1-1 Benjamins Critérium : RED STAR 2- STAINS n.c. Benjamins Critérium : RED STAR 3 - STAINS n.c. Benjamins Critérium : RED STAR 4 - STAINS : 2-1 Poussins critérium : EPINAY - RED STAR 1 : 3-1 Poussins critérium : EPINAY - RED STAR 2 : 1-5 Poussins critérium : EPINAY - RED STAR 3 : 2-4 Poussins critérium : EPINAY - RED STAR 4 : 2-0 Talents critérium : RED STAR - LE BLANC-MESNIL : 3-6

Updated 4^th April 2006

GIRARD OUT, SANTAMARIA IN. Following a meeting yesterday at Stade Bauer, Red Star FC 93 and their current first-team coach Jean-Luc Girard have parted company. Youth coach Eric Santamaria steps up to fill the void left by Girards' departure. Relations between Jean-Luc Girard and the clubs' directors had been somewhat frosty since the formers' involvement in a failed coup d'état at the club AGM in January. Jean-Luc Girard had proposed the candidature of former Jean-Claude Bras cohort Gérard Cuzin as club president in the place of current incumbent Bruno Davoine. In recent months form has been shocking at Red Star who at Christmas were ten points clear of the chasing pack. Following the AGM Red Star laboured to beat a very ordinary Abbeville before a woeful performance at Valenciennes saw Red Stars' previously unblemished away record disappear. Another poor performance at Oissel was offset by a fine victory at title rivals Le Havre. Red Star appeared to be on an upward path with a laborious if effective win at home to strugglers Avion. Another setback at Armentières was followed by two poor draws at Bauer against Arras and Cambrai. Red Star then had to fight back to earn a draw at Saint-Omer where the game ended in an ugly brawl before Saturdays' dismal defeat against Rouen. From the last ten games, out of a potential forty points Red Star have taken just over half, not exactly promotion material. Meanwhile reactions have been quick to surface; the players are involved in a stand-off with the club and at present it is not known if they will make the trip to Evreux on Saturday. Eric Sanatamaria has put the under 18s on standby just in case, so as to avoid declaring forfait for the game. One point for a defeat is better than zero for a forfait. More details will follow as the situation unfolds. Stade Bauer, Satuday; Jean-Luc Girard prepares for the substitution of Franck Gueï by Davidson Charles LE PARISIEN. Paris' local rag picked up on our "exclusive" story of the club swap with Scotands' Albion Rovers. Here is a translation of what they said: "Red Star and Albion Rovers (Scotland D4) made an unusual announcement Saturday in their respective web sites. Should Red Star gain promotion to the CFA, the hundred-year old club would take part in the Scottish Championship next season and Rovers would take Red Stars' place in the CFA. A news item covered in great detail and part of a supposed UEFA programme ! It finally turned out to be an elaborate April Fools' hoax that would have brought a smile to the faces of the green & whites' supporters" PHOTO FROM SATURDAYS' GAME Régis Roch : « Next time, don't forget your shorts when you leave the changing rooms ! »

Updated 3^rd April 2006

GRIM WEEKEND. AllezRedStar.coms' April Fool prank on the "club-swap" scheme with Scottish club Abion Rovers was one of the few moments of light relief this weekend, as Red Star slumped to yet another defeat, one hardly becoming of pretendants to the champions' crown. Although the second half was better than the rubbish served up in the first period, Red Star still lost and failed to show the brilliance that took the storming to the top of the championship and to be runaway leaders at Christmas. Another sigh of relief came at the announcement of nearest rivals Saint-Quentin also losing at 2-1 Sannois, but hoping that your rivals lose is no way to win a championship. To prove the point Valenciennes ahve put themselves back in the frame following a fine 1-0 win at Amiens, a potential banana skin avoided. There are seven games remaining, a total of twenty possible points; Red Star travel to Evreux next weekend, where their hosts are very inconsistent. On Saturday they lost 2-1 at Cambrai but during the week they beat Abbeville to ease relegation fears. No doubt on Saturday they will be fired up to face a Red Star sadly lacking in confidence. Elsewhere this weekend, Oissel kept their hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Armentières; leaders Le Havre slipped to a surprise defeat at home to Saint-Omer 0-1; Chantilly looked to be doomed following a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Abbeville and also at the wrong end of the table Avion are in trouble after going down 1-0 at home to Arras. THE LEAGUE TABLE. 1. LE HAVRE 65 pts (22 matchs), 2. Red Star 63 pts (23), Saint-Quentin 58 pts (22), 4. Valenciennes 56 pts (22), 5. Entente 55 pts (22), 6. Saint-Omer 55 pts (23), Oissel 53 pts (21), 8. Amiens 52 pts (22), 9. Cambrai 51 pts (22), 10. Arras 50 pts (22), 11. Evreux 49 pts (22), 12. Rouen 48 pts (22), 13. Armentières 48 pts (22), 14. Abbeville 47 pts (23), 15. Avion 43 pts (22), 16. Chantilly 37 pts (22) PROJECTILES. Red Star could be in big trouble after several incidents at Stade Bauer. During the first half a toy car was lobbed from the appartments behind the goal onto the pitch, drawn to the attention of the offficials by the visitors' keeper. In the dying seconds of the game stones were thrown onto the pitch from over the roof of the stand on the Stade Joliot Curie side of the ground. Finally as the players were leaving the pitch a firework was set off from the stand where the Red Star fans were congregated, landing on the roof of the Bauer stand. This sent the fourth official at the game scurrying to note this in his match report. Already in trouble this season, the club risk to be in deep trouble now, with possibly the closure of the ground, a fine or worse still, the loss of precious points which the club can ill-afford to lose, give the recent run of awful results. ON ANOTHER POSITIVE NOTE. After the game there was the presentation of the AllezRedStar.com trophies, which could have seen a better atmosphere for the ceremony. The defeat left a bad taste in the mouth, but the apparent ignoring of the ceremony by numerous Red Star fans could be seen as a snub to the award winners and a lack of respect. Nevertheless, Nabile Yessad (season 2002-2003) and Vincent Fourneuf (season 2004-2005) were on hand to receve their awards, coach Jean-Luc Girard received his award for his achievements as a coach last season moments later after extracting himself from his usual post-match duties. A photo feature on the ceremony will shortly appear. Bravo to our winners and the pride expressed on the faces of the parents of Vincent Fourneuf was one of the brighter moments of the day ! Nabile Yessad & Vincent Fourneuf ALL THE WAY FROM. Gabon, where a delegation of coaches and players from the African country were present at the game. Bruno Davoine, Pascal Mathieu and the representants from Gabon at the game Saturday A VISITOR. To Red Star on Saturday evening was last seasons' speedy winger Bourama Ouattara who has just signed his first professsional contract with D2 outfit Châteauroux. A winning start on his debut as his new team ran out 2-0 winners at Clermont. Bourama at Stade Bauer on Saturday evening SCOTLAND THE BRAVE. Jst in case you really thought it was true (as did several Red Star supporters !) our article published on Saturday 1st April was in fact an elaborate hoax, planned in conjunction with Albion Rovers webmaster David (it was all his idea !) See: www.albionrovers.com. Most Red Star fans joined in on the prank, Laurent in particular musing on the idea of kitting out our supporters in kilts but we did receive one or two irate mails on the subject... it appears that Red Star have one or two sense of humour donors in their ranks. Note also that local rag Le Parisien carried an echo on our prank. 250 000. All the goings on at Red Star have made interest in our site explode with nearly a quarter of a million pages visited during the month of March. Thank you all for tour interest in our club, not bad indeed for a fifth divison club in a country where outside of the first division few clubs are mediatised to the degree we see in the UK. IT WAS SIX YEARS AGO. Hard to imagine now, as Red Star struggle to maintain their grip on the CFA 2, that six years ago Red Star were minutes away from a League Cup final appearance at the Stade de France against PSG. Hard to forget the dramatic penalty shoot out in the semi-final at Marville against Gueugnon. Difficult to forget also the slide from grace, the humiliation of sucessive relegations from the National, the CFA and the CFA 2 and the near-disappearance of this once-great club caused by ineptitude and mis-management. COLLECTORS ITEMS. AllezRedStar.com have several hand-painted plates (13 euros) and glasses (10 euros) for sale. Funds go towards the cost of the trophies presented by AllezRedStar.com for the player year. Interested ? Mail us at : redstar189@aol.com.

Updated 1^st April 2006

ITS OFFICIAL: RED STAR ON THEIR WAY TO SCOTLAND ! Recently the FFF and the Scottish FA met and decided on a revolutionary "club-swap" scheme as part of a bid for closer international ties. The FFF appealed to amateur clubs in the CFA and those in the CFA 2 with a chance of promotion to be involved ina club-swap with their counterparts from four European countries. The idea is that for one season only, the clubs will swap championship and compete in each others' championship. The FFF and UEFA have thrown their weight and their money behind the scheme designed to build cultural and sporting links between the clubs. The footballing authorities will take in charge all the various costs of operating this scheme, such as transportation costs, accommodation for the players and staff as well as a monthly salary of 2 500 euros. Note that squads will be strictly limited to twenty-two players and five technical staff, with the option of three "jokers" in case of squad depletions. Amongst the eighteen clubs with the possibility of competing in another championship, four have been drafted onto the final shortlist (three from the CFA and one clubs to be promoted from the CFA 2 at the end of the season). Red Star are one of these four clubs. Should Red Star miss out on promotion, then either Herbiers ou Concarneau, currently leaders of their groups will be selected. Therefore it is critical that Red Star are promoted this season. Red Star therefore could take their place in the starting line up for the 2006-2007 season in the Scottish 3rd Division. Red Star will be changing places with ALBION ROVERS, club located in the town of Coatbridge near Glasgow. Red Star will have the towns' top scporting facilities at their disposal, the Time Capsule sports Center”, training facilities at Langloan Outdoor Sports centre and St. Margaret's High School in nearby Airdrie Albions' players will be taking the opposite direction, heading for Saint-Ouen in 2006-2007. Their players will have such facilities at their disposal Stade Marville and Stade Joliot Curie. They will be living in a center belonging to the county council in Vert Galant. A large part of the costs will also be met by the European Commission including part of the travelling costs of the supporters. A fixed price of 22 euros will be charged for the bus to Beauvais airport, the flight to Prestwick and a transfer to Coatbridge. A season ticket will cost 199 euros including admission to the ground. For those unable to fly, a cheaper option of a coach trip will be available; at a cost of ten euros the 18-hour cross-Channel trip can be made. Stade Bauer has not been overlooked; a grant of 500 000 euros will be available for the refurbishment of the old stadium. Albions' historic ground at Cliftonhill will also receive a facelift. Red Star will also receive additional educational grants of 100 000 euros. On March 16th the two chairmen, Frank Meade and Bruno Davoine met to put the final touches to the scheme along with representatives from the FFF. Of course the snack bars at each stadium will have it's menu changed accordingly to meet the varying palates of the new supporters. For Red Stars' fans who chose to remain at Bauer, the "buvette" will be featuring Scottish delights such as local beers and not forgetting haggis. Before the new season gets underway, two friendly matches have been arranged on Saturday 3rd June in Scotland and the other during the Winter Break on December 25th. For more details on Albion Rover, consult their excellent web site:

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