The summer though was the calmest it had been since a certain Azerbaijani appeared on the scene promising Lens fans the moon - Ibrahimovic....Ronaldo....why not?
Because he ran out of money. That's why!
His heart may have been in the right place at the start and Hafiz had rescued the club at the time but the complete silence from him and the constant chaos that the club lurched from and to on a regular basis hardly endeared him to the fans. Finally a ruling in Paris ended the relationship and the Solferino group moved in. Although a bit of a mystery, the reassuring part was that Champions' League runner up Athletico Madrid had a part of the purchase. Ignacio Aguillo, a member of their board of directors was member of the shadowy consortium so you couldn't help but dream that there might be a happy ending for us.
In the same fashion that Kamboare had arrived with an influx of new players, so too did Alain Casanova. the old guard of Valdivia, Chavarria disappeared off onto the horizon, as did Nomanjenahary, Cyprien and Gbamin. Actual money, however was paid by Lens for a player as Englishman John Bostock arrived, who certainly had the English Lens fans talking. This news was tempered by the non-appearance of England U19 international Taylor Moore who we all assumed would be considered by the incoming manager. However, after leading the young lions to the Euro Championship finals, he had unfortunately found himself unwanted...despite being given the number 6 shirt at the club again. Let's hope the club don't regret him leaving...if he does in fact leave. I doubt we could afford to buy him back in the same way Manchester United paid £89million for Paul Pogba...somehow.
Luckily, our good friend Bruno came to our rescue as he organised for us to have tickets in the l'Epagnot: surely worth bonus points!
Arriving at the Simply Market to collect our tickets, we asked a completely stressed checkout girl if she knew who was running the reception ...it was her...not the man in the shirt and tie who was strolling about looking important whilst scowling a lot.
Eventually she was able to get a breather and fetch us our coveted envelope.
Off to La Loco to meet the others and as we sat having a small beer, the lads on the table struggled with the idea that we could be so knowledgeable about Lens and be English. They insisted on buying us all a drink as they questioned us. Finally, they agreed to a photo with me wearing a t-shirt that my mother in law had had made for me. She has shown as much disbelief as my new friends have towards my love for Lens. Quality! |
| Traditional Lens wall photo: the new Abba? |
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| Destination: the bar! |
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| The ladies enjoy hospitality! |
There were also hot dogs, chips, various meats, cheeses...and alcohol. Having nominated Odessa as driver for the evening, I was able to take full advantage of the free bar. Unfortunately, the whole novelty of the afternoon meant my pre-match focus was not on the game. I was far too relaxed: I predicted that we would win 2-0, no problem. A Bostock through ball split the visiting defence and when the Tours keeper was caught on the edge of his box, all it needed was an excellent control and whipped shot from Bourigeaud which fair flew into the net. It all seemed odds on for Odessa's first win.
I was far too confident and heading for a fall. This soon arrived. New signing Fofana stretched for a through ball and a Tours forward took full advantage, plunging to the ground.
The referee seemed to take great delight in waving a red card in the Lens player's face but still I didn't believe we were going to throw it away. My plan was simple - soak up the pressure then hit them on the break late on. Ob's a good'un!
A Tours back-heel was followed by their equaliser; just five minutes before half time. Thankfully, a selection of cream cakes gave us fortitude for the second 45 but just nine minutes into the second period it became obvious that it would take more than that as the Lens defence allowed two free headers for the visitors to take the lead.
Finally I woke up from my contented bubble to the distinct possibility that we could lose. There was no room for sentimentality. Tours may have introduced me to French football all those years ago but that didn't make a difference. My mind cleared. I was focused. Alex, in his very smart shirt and trousers combo, and I joined in with the Marek's chants, along with a small child in front of us who seemed to enjoy annoying his doting dad.
The tiring Bourigeaud was soon replaced by new boy Kévin Fortuné and the team seemed invigorated. Fortune had a shot tipped over the bar and crosses drifted past the posts without anyone getting a foot in. Finally, in the 92nd minute Another Bostock cross ended up in front of SuperKév. The young prodigy from Béziers wasted no time in volleying home. I'd like to say I had never doubted it for a minute but I had. One final chance followed and the Stevo family had a new 2-2 draw to look back on.
"Fortuné's on fire, your defence is terrified!"
There was just time for a visit to La Loco....
