April 2016 - Lens v Auxerre

The Bay Boys on Euro tour
for the first time!

The moment I returned from our first trip to Lens in 2010 with Holly and Jasmine, I had been telling anyone who would listen how amazing the whole experience had been. My friends had humoured me and used supportive phrases such as:
"That sounds good.."
"You seem to have had a good time"
"Really? Get the drinks in."
Silly Andrew had taken the plunge and thoroughly enjoyed himself two years earlier and finally we had convinced my good pal The Boy Mark (from www.wbayblogger.blogspot.co.uk fame no less!) to accompany the veteran Sillyboy and I to Lens and then Kortrijk (Silly's favourite team). This had taken a great deal of sweet-talking to his good wife who had decided that some peace and quiet from him might be quite an attractive and pleasant proposition so our first European trip away with him was born.

Border
 Security
Sorted!

For the first time, we decided to try the route from Hull to Zeebrugge to cut down on the driving since Hull was two and a half hours drive away from us and Zeebrugge was an hour and a half from Lens. The only down side was two nights spent on the ferry but surely our talented trio would make the journey fly by...?

How he laughed...

As the weekend drew nearer, the tragic terrorist attacks of first Paris then Brussels had Silly worried that we could be targets and I was banned by him from posting anything to my Lens friends to say we were coming. A little bit of reassurance was needed by him but eventually he felt a bit more relaxed about coming. Life must go on, we told him and that meant not thinking the worst about the fact that we would be travelling to countries that had had terrorist attacks. We talked about how it had been during the 70s and 80s when the IRA were active; how life then had carried on.
Yes, there had been bombings.

How we laughed.....

Yes, there had been bomb scares.
Yes, there had been increased security at events and ports.
But our trip to see a Ligue 2 game and a Belgian playoff game would hardly feature high on a list of ISIS targets, Mark and I reassured him.
At Hull ferry port, amused himself with Snapchat an app that Mark and I, as OAPs are stilll unwilling to join in with. It amused him though and kept his mind off terrorist worries!

The night was split into three sections. the first of which was listening to an old guy on the piano pumping out 60s and 70s hits whilst wearing a 'pork pie' hat. We decorated yellow dusters with the Northern Lensois logo and wrote little messages from England as we chilled in the 'lounge'. Predictably, one member of the group wrote about the recent Adam Johnson trial and also tested his design skills to the max with some anatomical drawings so I decided to call the creative session closed after we had completed 12 of the 16 dusters. Needless to say the drinks flowed fairly freely all evening so, eventually, we decided it was time to venture downstairs to the disco where they were thrashing out not only hits of the 60s and 70s but also....the 80s!

Early morning and ready for Lens!

Creative genius!

It wasn't until nearly midnight that the disco started, and the Jam was played. Mark and I strutted our stuff for a while but it had all been too much for Andrew, , and he soon headed off to the cabin: no stamina the youth of the day!
He was to be followed quite closely by Mark and I. The fact that there was only ourselves and some lads heading over to Belgium for the Flanders bike race left in the bar meant the atmosphere wasn't quite so kicking. The final section of the journey, sleep, beckoned us.
After leaving the ferry, the Belgium passport control officer in the booth spotted the Lens shirts Mark and I were wearing and asked us if we were: "Schhports fairns?" A great introduction to the country and the commencement of our DIY course in Flemish. Silly, it has to be noted, still wasn't joining in: despite bringing a Kortrijk shirt with him to wear the next day!

New old boy band photo?

"I don't wear football shirts...." he pleaded. Yeah, whatever!
Finally arriving at our favourite Formula 1 inn, after a tour of Lens and the club shop of course, we soon took a taxi to La Loco where we joined by a lot of the lads from the teams that had played at Preston in the Worldnet tournament. They were very impressed with our handiwork the previous evening, once we had explained that it was a British holiday tradition. La Loco was soon awash with duster-wearing heads! Result!
Next stop, after enjoying the gastronomic delight that is Fricadelle (don't ask what is in it) Sandwich Americain, was Chez Muriel to pick up our tickets from the brilliant Pascal and Arnauld. Meeting both again was a delight as their knowledge of both the club and the region is second to none and they still liked nothing better than to share it with their visitors. Perfect hosts! While we were there, I managed to get my traditional pre-match photo taken with an away fan. I chatted to an Auxerre fan who was with his Lens-supporting mates. Had really been over two and a half since I had chased up a street in Arras in pursuit of one of his compatriots? The atmosphere at the bar was its usual chilled and friendly self.
The same could not be said for the security at the turnstiles. When we arrived through the turnstiles there was the traditional search. So, in order to assist them, I pulled out a rolled up Newcastle United shirt I had brought for one of the lads from La Loco. This completely changed things. Suddenly I was threatening! Here I was dressed in Lens shirt, hat, home-made Lens Union Jack and duster hat and I was being told that I was going to cause trouble with another club's shirt: not even a French shirt!

Proud of you boys!
#Lensfans

"But I'm a Lens fan. I don't want trouble!" I protested, in French as I was sent off to see the senior steward. Andrew came over to me and asked what was happening and he was sent over to see the CRS sniffer dog. The senior steward then came over, slightly bemused and asked what was the problem to which I replied "No problem..." and wandered off to see Andrew who was being eyed up by a nervous looking CRS dog handler with a machine gun...
"You like dog?" he was asked in English.
"Yes, I love dogs!" Andrew replied with a nervous smile and bemused manner. The dog itself appeared to Andrew to be "evasive but happy" as it sniffed around him for....something and eventually... in the same way Andrew just wandered off once it had lost interest in him. Both of us wondered whether they had actually thought we had done or would do anything wrong or not.
We certainly were none the wiser!

We were joined in the Marek by Jeremie and straight away he hit it off with the others. At first the atmosphere seemed a bit flat, despite the Marek's best efforts: perhaps because of the last few results that had seen Lens slip behind in the chase for third spot. At the start of the match they had stood in seventh, five points off Le Havre in third.  Defeat away to second placed Nancy had combined with draws at home to Clermont and away to Laval to make chances of promotion look decidedly tricky. However more than 25000 fans had still turned up. The third best attendance of the day in France.
The Marek carried on regardless and the lads joined in, in their own way, to add to the noise level. Things had simmered along gently with Auxerre having an effort tipped over the crossbar by young goalkeeping starlet Vachoux but in the 38th minute the stadium erupted. A great ball from Chavarria was taken down perfectly by Autret, who advanced on goal before slotting the ball in the gap between keeper and post. Lens were ahead! The next thing we knew we were hurtling down the steps, everyone trying to stay upright as a good old search from the 1970s and 80s swept us forward. Our friend the crowd surfer, and his friend, passed us by on their way to the bar/toilet/friterie soon after as the atmosphere picked up.

Getting tense out there!

A certain goal by Bourigeaud was foiled by a defender pulling his arm. Whether the Auxerre defender deserved to be sent off was an argument for another day but sent off he was and a penalty was awarded. After a long nerve-racking wait Wylan Cyprien stopped up to take the kick and after a shuffle, his effort low to the keeper's right was saved. Instead of getting down-hearted, the Marek picked up the pace. The fact that Lens had only scored more than one goal this season on four occasions was not even a consideration.
Into the second half and Lens pushed towards the visiting goal as Auxerre struggled to cope with the pressure but Lens just couldn't score. In fact throughout this season they have struggled to score that second goal. As a result they have drawn 13 of their games: the majority of them 1-1 after being ahead failing to press home their advantage. I was almost resigned to the fact that this was to be our fate tonight. To make matters worse Auxerre seemed to sense this fact too and began creating their own chances.
But no! A corner was played to Bourigeaud, who whipped the ball through to the back post where the towering frame of Abdoul Ba drifted in. The ball bounced in front of him as he swung to connect before hitting the underside of his thigh and squirming over the line. Andrew had watched the previous occasion Jeremie, Mark and I had been sent hurtling but not taken note. The delighted crowd surged forward again and he ended up at the bottom of a pile of bodies somewhere to our right.
The atmosphere throughout the stadium changed as a mini-carnival began. We were also delighted to report that one of our hats, made by Andrew, which had 'tigres rouge' written on it, had made it onto the leaders' tower. It had all been worth it! A final goal a minute before the end was the perfect ending to the game and mirrored my first ever score at Stade Bollaert (Boulogne 3-0). Mark's debut magic had worked in the same way Andrew's had done when he witnessed Lens beating Niort 2-0.
The mood back at Chez Muriel was elated. Even if they didn't get promoted, this was still a memorable game. As the cars passed, each one shouted, waved scarves and flags and beeped their horns. Enjoying these continental celebrations, we stood outside Chez Muriel on a warm April night. This result had given Lens some of their pride back.

Our final port of call was La Loco for a couple more beers and a Croque Monsieur. There, we were cornered by a well-tanked-up bloke; who was the same age as me, it turned out but obviously had had a far rougher paper round. He kept on telling me about how he loved Doncaster and kept asking me whether I liked Doncaster or not. This conversation was in French but nevertheless kept getting repeated every couple of minutes. The rest of the bar breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled up a chair next to me. Even my own friends, Mark and Andrew disappeared to the bar. I found myself trapped in a conversation of Groundhog Day proportions. Thankfully the sound of celebrating fans attracted his attention and once he headed off, we made our escape.
Our final act of the evening took place as I heard my voice being called by an Englishman. A figure was running after us. It only turned out to be England Under 19 Captain Taylor Moore...shouting out for me! Definitely one memory to boost my ego...what a night! What a celebratory!
I would sleep well tonight!

Northern Lensois in the French press 2015!

The Northern Lensois these English Blood'n'Gold

Previously a fan of Newcastle United, the English group decided to tackle British football, become too frica, civilized and agreed to come and support the RC Lens. And it was not for the wallet Mammadov. Beautiful intuition.

The country that invented football, where it is customary to support the club of your hometown or your neighborhood, they would appear aliens. When many Frenchies pulsate with the exploits of the stars Man U, Man City, Chelsea or Arsenal in front of their TV screen, they plug into matches in Ligue 1, and RC Lens in particular: even if they are sometimes mocked or chambered by their compatriots. Richard, Alex and Adrian - the most active in Northern Lensois - can't be called "gloryhunting  bastards": the equivalent of French footix (supporters who loved football in France when they won the World Cup in 1998). "The  English football has sold its soul to the devil for money, claims Richard from the outset, 45 years teacher and founder of this group of fans blood and gold in the UK. Now there is no more atmosphere in the stadiums.  "

Love consumed in Bordeaux

Like many English fans who no longer believe in a Premier League governed by money, Richard and his friends turned to amateur football. Now, "When saturday  comes," they lift their pints and sing songs in praise of the team Whithley Bay, their small town North East of England near Newcastle, who plays in the Northern Division One Football League, which is the 7th country level, only the equivalent of the DH in France. "There  are 250 fans in every game, said Richard.There, at least, we sing and have fun. Not like Premiership grounds, full but quiet, as bibilothèques.  "Even more surprising, the old fans of Magpies or Rovers were enamored of Racing Club de Lens. "I  was on holiday in the Gironde, says Richard in good French. I went to see a match in Bordeaux, I met fans of Lens, we hit it off, they sang the whole game, a fantastic atmosphere. I finally found the stadium atmosphere of my youth, when we were all standing in terraces and we sang the whole game.  "The click. For several years, Richard has indeed deserted St James' Park . "The  Newcastle fans now only 'sing when they win'. And it's the same everywhere in England. Except perhaps at Crystal Palace, where all fans gather in one place and where there is a leader to the songs.  "Above all, he admits not being able to pay to get in, especially since he became a Dad: "To have a season ticket at St James' Park, it costs £ 500 for the cheapest (around 700 euros, editor's note). At Arsenal, the cheapest is 1000 pounds. Only businessmen can afford season tickets. And they do not sing, they are just there for the show. It's sad.  "Richard is nostalgic for these popular stages"  all-seater  "70-80 years. Without these businessmen that the Football Association has targeted to fill the aisles and eradicate hooliganism "Now, stadiums no longer vibrate, supporters of subclasses are found in pubs to watch the games, it is the One tradition that remains. But beware, because young people do not love football as their elders, they prefer the Xbox.  "

"We  even had a picnic at the top of a  heap"

So, Eldorado for an English fan of  "subclasses" lies on the other side of the Channel?This is certainly what Richard thinks since he discovered Bollaert: "Even in Ligue 2 matches in Lens are electric, he believes and travels several times a year to support the Blood and Gold. Standing in Marek, it pulses, it has voice, it sings for 90 minutes. My English friends I've taken all wanted to come back.  "The British are"  moving  "when Bollaert croons Les Corons, including Alex, whose mother is Ch'ti. While they admit they do not always watch great football football but a "wonderful atmosphere and the pride of the  fans' compensate for the rest. "We  are very proud to be accepted by the Lens fans says Richard. They are very friendly and love the English when they come to the Worldnet tournament (international meeting of supporters, ed) in Leeds and Preston each  summer." True friendships are born between them. And the passion of the British in Lens even goes beyond football: "Before the game against Monaco in Amiens, we went watch Boulogne-sur-Mer and the Belgian club Kortrijk. We have Northern friends in these clubs too. We even had ​​a picnic on top of Un Terril (mining slag heap). We love this region.  "The Facebook page UK Lens Division has 70 likes. The Northern Lensois count 165 members. "Some  Englishmen who lived in Calais and others who met at Lensois Worldnet or have followed the adventures of Lens in Europe on TV a few years ago," says the leader of the Northern Lensois. They are about ten who travel regularly to France for Racing. Including Richard, subscribed to France Football. On the Web, they comment on the news of the club. They gather to watch matches on the Internet. "I also listen to France Bleu Nord, but do not understand everything, especially when Christian (Palka, the star commentator local radio, ed) talks too  fast." These Sticks so British are now looking forward to the Blood and Or find their lair Bollaert. After all, L2, it's still better than the Northern Football League. And it's not Taylor Moore who say otherwise.

Yannick Lefrère

RC Lens: how two English became absolute fans of Blood and Gold!

PUBLISHED ON 08.19.2015

BY EMMANUEL Crepelle

No need to live in the region to be a fan of Racing. Alex and Richard, two Englishmen, are living proof. At each move, they live what they sought in France and they no longer find in their country: the fervour of the fans and the atmosphere matches. Meet…

If there is something good, as sacred as the cup of tea in the country of his Majesty, that's sport. Rugby or football, Richard Stephenson chose his camp since his early childhood. Unconditional supporter of Newcastle, he has gradually diverted English stadiums to support the RC Lens. Not because the fries were crispier and more cold beer in France across the Channel (that's obvious). No, rather a story of attitude and atmosphere in the stands. And above all the story of a first virtual meeting via Facebook.

Grandfather minor to Grenay

On the other side of the screen, Alex Halls, born in England of a mother from Grenay. "My grandfather was a miner; even if he was not going to see the matches of Racing, he was still talking. "Normally Alex lives in York (North of England) set up the English fan page (expatriates or not) Racing (RC Lens UK division): "Initially I was the only group member, and then Richard came." Suffice to say that both are here today. Difficult today to choose between which is the biggest fan, they have their own way to know. At Alex on the right arm the tattoo with the three letters RCL, Richard the English car in the colors of Racing. The love of the jersey meets throughout the year and even more like last Friday when they were able to cross the channel to watch a game. If Alex is content in a jersey, Richard is more demonstrative: blood and gold socks (gift from his wife, who understands she should support the passion of her husband fan), laces to the two colors ... and watch with piece of yellow bracelet and another red. "This is the watch of our tenth wedding anniversary ... I bought two watch straps. Now my wife says it's a clown show. "But Richard, a teacher in life, has more than one trick in his bag. He still likes to tell how he had obtained permission to repaint his classroom and had surprised his headteacher when she discovered the result ... Blood and Gold. "Since, she has often changed my classroom."

A jersey with his name

Each movement (two to three in the season) has a price, but every time it's the same emotion. The audience, singing, communion with the players. All that is no longer found in the stadiums of his country and he has found in his new club. Via the Internet, the friends follow the games, communicate with an even broader community and look out for the latest news of theRacing on Facebook. 

A meeting with Gervais Martel and Eric Sikora in Lens-Créteil had no small effect. Richard and Alex were in heaven!

Northernlensois dans la presse

Les Northern Lensois, ces Anglais Blood'n'Gold

Publiee 20.5.15

Auparavant fan de Newcastle United, ce groupe d'Anglais a décidé de plaquer le foot brittanique, devenu trop friqué, policé et convenu, pour venir supporter le RC Lens. Et ce n'était pas pour le porte-monnaie de Mammadov. Belle intuition.

Au pays qui a inventé le football, et où l'on a coutume de supporter le club de sa ville natale, voire de son quartier, eux pourraient faire figure d'extraterrestres. Quand nombre de Frenchies vibrent aux exploits des stars de Man U, Man City, Chelsea ou encore Arsenal devant leur écran de TV, eux se branchent sur les matchs de la Ligue 1, et du RC Lens en particulier. Et tant pis s'ils sont parfois moqués ou chambrés par leurs compatriotes. Richard, Alex et Adrian - les plus actifs des Northern Lensois - peuvent les traiter de « glory hunting bastard », l'équivalent des footix en Angleterre. « Le foot anglais a vendu son âme au diable de l'argent, clame d'emblée Richard, instituteur de 45 ans et fondateur de ce groupe de fans sang et or d'outre-Manche. Désormais, il n'y a plus aucune ambiance dans les stades. »

Amour consommé à Bordeaux

Comme beaucoup de fans anglais qui ne se reconnaissent plus dans une Premier League régie par le fric, Richard et ses potes se sont tournés vers le foot amateur. Dorénavant, « when saturday comes », ils lèvent leurs pintes et entonnent des chants à la gloire de l'équipe de Whithley Bay, leur petite ville du Nord-Est de l'Angleterre proche de Newcastle, qui évolue en Division One de la Northern Football League, soit le 7e niveau du pays, à peine l'équivalent de la DH en France. « Il y a 250 supporters à chaque match, indique Richard. Là au moins, on chante et on s'amuse. Pas comme dans ces stades de Premiership, pleins mais silencieux, comme des bibilothèques. » Plus surprenant encore, ces anciens fans des Magpies ou des Rovers se sont amourachés du Racing Club de Lens. « J'étais en vacances en Gironde, raconte Richard dans un bon français. Je suis allé voir un match à Bordeaux, j'ai rencontré des fans de Lens, on a sympathisé, ils ont chanté pendant tout le match, une ambiance fantastique. J'ai enfin retrouvé l'ambiance de stade de ma jeunesse, quand on était tous debout dans les terraces et que l'on chantait pendant tout le match. » Le déclic.

Depuis plusieurs années, Richard a en effet déserté St James' Park. « Les fans de Newcastle ne chantent plus que quand ils gagnent. Et c'est partout pareil en Angleterre. Sauf peut-être à Crystal Palace, où tous les supporters se regroupent au même endroit et où il y a un leader pour les chants. » Surtout, il avoue ne plus pouvoir se payer de place au stade, surtout depuis qu'il est devenu deux fois papa : « Pour être abonné à St James' Park, il faut débourser 500 livres pour le moins cher (près de 700 euros, ndlr). À Arsenal, le moins cher est à 1000 livres. Seuls les hommes d'affaires peuvent s'offrir des abonnements. Et ils ne chantent pas, ils sont juste là pour du spectacle. C'est triste. » Richard est nostalgique de ces stades populaires « all-seater » des années 70-80. Sans ces hommes d'affaires que la Football Association a ciblé pour remplir les travées et éradiquer le hooliganisme : « Maintenant, les stades ne vibrent plus, les sous-classes de supporters se retrouvent dans les pubs pour regarder les matchs, c'est la seule tradition qui demeure. Mais attention, car les jeunes n'aiment pas le foot comme leurs aînés, ils préfèrent la Xbox. »

« On a même fait un pique-nique tout en haut d'un terril »

Alors, l'eldorado pour un fan anglais des « sous-classes » se situerait-il de l'autre côté de la Manche ? C'est en tout cas ce que pense Richard depuis qu'il a découvert Bollaert : « Même en Ligue 2, les matchs à Lens restent électriques, estime celui qui se déplace plusieurs fois par an pour soutenir les Sang et Or. On est tous debout dans la Marek, ça pousse, ça gueule, ça chante pendant 90 minutes. Mes amis anglais que j'ai emmenés ont tous voulu revenir. » Ces Britishtrouvent « émouvant » quand Bollaert entonne Les Corons, notamment Alex, dont la maman est ch'ti. Certes, ils avouent tous ne pas assister à un aussi bon football que sur leurs terres, mais « l'ambiance magnifique et la fierté des supporters » compensent le reste. « Nous sommes très fiers d'être acceptés par les supporters lensois, confie Richard. Ils sont très chaleureux et les Anglais les adorent quand ils viennent au Worldnet festival (rencontre internationale de supporters, ndlr) à Leeds et Preston chaque été. » De véritables amitiés sont nées entre eux. Et la passion de ces British pour Lens dépasse même le cadre du football : « Avant le match contre Monaco à Amiens, nous sommes allés supporter Boulogne-sur-Mer et le club belge de Courtrai. On a des copains du Nord dans ces clubs-là aussi. On a même fait un pique-nique tout en haut d'un terril. On aime cette région. » 

La page Facebook UK Lens Division compte 70 likers. Les Northern Lensois comptent 165 membres. « Quelques Anglais qui ont habité sur Calais et d'autres qui ont rencontré des Lensois au Worldnet ou qui ont suivi les aventures de Lens en Europe à la télé il y a quelques années », explique le leader des Northern Lensois. Ils sont une dizaine à se déplacer régulièrement en France pour suivre le Racing. Dont Richard, abonné à France Football. Sur la Toile, ils commentent l'actualité du club artésien. Ils se réunissent pour regarder les matchs sur Internet. « On écoute aussi France Bleu Nord, mais on ne comprend pas très bien, surtout quand Christian(Palka, le commenteur vedette de la radio locale, ndlr) parle trop vite. » Ces Ch'tis so british ont désormais hâte que les Sang et Or retrouvent leur antre de Bollaert. Après tout, la L2, ça reste mieux que la Northern Football League. Et ce n'est pas Taylor Moore qui dira le contraire.

Par Yannick Lefrère

Voix du Nord Article

RC Lens: comment deux Anglais sont devenus fans absolus des Sang et Or!

PUBLIÉ LE 19/08/2015

PAR EMMANUEL CRÉPELLE

Merci Taylor Moore....class act!

Pas besoin d’habiter la région pour être fan du Racing. Alex et Richard, deux Anglais, en sont la preuve vivante. À chaque déplacement, ils vivent ce qu’ils ont cherché en France et qu’ils ne retrouvent plus dans leur pays : la ferveur des supporters et l’ambiance des matches. Rencontre…

S’il y a bien quelque chose d’aussi sacré que la tasse de thé au pays de sa Majesté, c’est bien le sport. Ballon ovale ou ballon rond, Richard Stephenson a choisi son camp depuis sa prime enfance. Supporter inconditionnel de Newcastle, il s’est petit à petit détourné des stades anglais pour supporter le RC Lens. Pas parce que les frites étaient plus croustillantes et la bière plus fraîche en France qu’Outre-Manche (c’est une évidence). Non, plutôt une histoire d’attitude et d’ambiance dans les tribunes. Et surtout l’histoire d’une rencontre d’abord virtuelle via Facebook.

Grand-père mineur à Grenay

De l’autre côté de l’écran, Alex Halls, né en Angleterre d’une mère originaire de Grenay. «Mon grand-père était mineur ; même s’il n’allait pas voir les matches du Racing, il en parlait toujours. » Normal alors qu’Alex gère depuis York (au nord de l’Angleterre) une page de fans anglais (expatriés ou non) du Racing (RC Lens UK division) : « Au départ j’étais seul membre du groupe et puis Richard est arrivé. » Autant dire que les deux se sont bien trouvés. Difficile aujourd’hui de les séparer au petit jeu de qui est le plus grand fan, ils ont chacun leur manière de le faire savoir. À Alex sur le bras droit le tatouage avec les trois lettres RCL, à Richard la voiture anglaise aux couleurs du Racing. L’amour du maillot les réunit tout au long de l’année et plus encore comme vendredi dernier quand ils peuvent traverser la Manche pour assister à un match. Si Alex se contente du maillot, Richard est plus démonstratif : chaussettes sang et or (cadeau de sa femme, qui a bien compris qu’elle devrait faire avec la passion de son fan de mari), lacets aux deux couleurs… et montre avec un morceau de bracelet jaune et un autre rouge. « C’est la montre de nos dix ans de mariage… J’ai acheté deux bracelets. Maintenant ma femme dit que c’est une montre de clown. » Mais Richard, instituteur dans la vie, a plus d’un tour dans son sac. Il s’amuse encore à raconter comment il avait obtenu l’autorisation de repeindre sa salle de classe et avait surpris sa directrice quand elle avait découvert le résultat… Sang et Or. « Depuis on me change souvent de classe. »

Un maillot à son nom

Chaque déplacement (deux à trois dans la saison) a un prix, mais à chaque fois c’est la même émotion. Le public, les chants, la communion avec les joueurs. Tout ce que l’Anglais ne retrouvait plus dans les stades de son pays et qu’il a trouvé dans son nouveau club. Via Internet, les deux amis suivent les matchs, communiquent avec une communauté encore plus large les dernières infos du Racing. Et sur Facebook, la rencontre avec Gervais Martel et Éric Sikora à Lens-Créteil a fait son petit effet. Richard et Alex sont aux anges !

August 2015: VIPs v Créteil

It had only seemed like five minutes since we had recovered from the trip back from our Summer holiday in France and I was setting off again. It was the overnight bus this time as everything had been booked late. Alex was to be joining me but he was travelling by Eurostar...thanks to shopping at Tesco, who offered him money off whenever he shopped there. Me? Our family shopped at Morrisons who offered vouchers for school gardening and money off petrol but not trains!
Having recovered from moving a wall in the garden and then building a pond with Odessa, I was finally able to get packed and set off at 10:30, after enjoying a celebratory meal for Holly's exam results. The rest of the house were heading for bed as I closed the front door and there was a big part of me wondering what I was doing. When the Metro in front broke down with 25 minutes to my bus leaving, I wondered even more as I raced to find a taxi into Newcastle.
The bus ride down to London wasn't as easy as I had remembered to sleep on, as my head kept bouncing off the window every time the lens scarf I was using a pillow slipped from under me. Add to that my neighbour who kept nodding off then shouting every time he came back to reality before making wild jerking movements....Oh and the coach was hot! Damn Hot! This was not relaxing!
Arriving in Lens 16 hours later I had to find Alex, check in at our Campanile before I finally could shower away the sweat and aches from the journey. Bruno came to collect us because we were late for our date with the press. Complimentary beers from Bruno certainly helped any aches and pains. The two reporters from La Voix du Nord who met at Bruno's restaurant seemed pleased with their photos and our answers after we had twittered on to them about our Lens traditions: sending each other pictures of yellow and red objects, planning journeys at the start of the season for April or May, the chats we have during live feeds from the games and finally my red and yellow trainers and socks: they were most impressed...but in a professional way: like a scientist studying a strange species.

Finally it was time to head to the stadium but Bruno had one more trick up his sleeve with a meeting with Club President and Mr Lens himself, Gervais Martel! Also, they had arranged for me to receive a shirt with my name on: you had to scrape me off the ceiling: could this evening get any better?
Every turn we were greeted by young ladies in black cocktail dresses and red or yellow neck scarves, all welcoming you with a friendly "Bonjour!"

Excuse me....what are they?

We headed to the inner sanctum that was only for invited guests of Gervais himself. Complimentary drinks, food and piano player...good job I had a shower before I left the hotel!
Next it was up to the seats and the Marek sounded even better from here and the white padded leather was certainly a change from the plastic bucket seats we were used to. Only half of the VIP seats were ready so our part of the Lepagnot looked a bit empty but the rest of the stadium was full. Only the top tier of the Trannin end had not been opened. The Lens fans had got behind the team and the club now more than their last drop into the depths of Ligue 2 when crowds struggled to break the 15000 level.
The team responded in a way they hadn't the previous weekend and went on the attack straight away. They were rewarded when Christian Bekamenga deflected the ball past the visiting keeper. Alex and I leapt about as if we were on the Marek while around us the celebrations were still in evidence but in a slightly calmer fashion. The visitors, who had won their first two games of the season, were on the back foot and it would have been even better if Nomanjanahary hadn't had his double effort saved by the keeper then the post.
More drink and food arrived in the interval as we waved our VIP wristbands at the be-scarfed ladies in cocktail dresses. We felt like Wayne and Garth in Wayne's World flashing their laminates as they sent off backstage at the Alice Cooper concert.

Selfies with our buddie,
Gervais, in the background.

In the second half, Lens tired and let Creteil back in. A slow pass out of defence was chased down for Pereira to score and the nervousness returned to the team. Not that the fans allowed that to worry them as they continued to sing their hearts out.
However at one point the stadium held its breath as a mistake in the Lens defence allowed Créteil's Pereira a run on goal. Delle, in the Lens goal was caught in two minds and the forward burst past him before rolling the ball towards the empty net. The pessimists in the crowd, myself included, expected it to nestle into the four corner of the net but...miraculously it trickled past both posts and to safety. Although, at the final whistle the fans whistled their disapproval, Lens still were unbeaten and improving with each game: all they had to do now was play for the full game and not run out of juice after 75 minutes.
Disappointed, the players forgot to thank the fans before they headed for the dressing room but once the Marek had sung "Where are the Lens players?" or a rough translation of that, they re-emerged to massive applause and were relieved of their shirts by the grateful throng. One lad in front of us even ended up with a pair of shorts...not sure I would have gone that far.........of course I would have!

Caught on camera, Alex and I applaud the players off...

Bruno then took us on a tour of the parts of the VIP areas that were open and we had a chance to meet the great Captain Siko, saviour of the club after the Jean-Louis Garcia nonsense. He was an extremely modest man, especially when I reminded him of that fact. We also got to meet another famous former player, however the subsequent amounts of alcohol that were incurred that evening impaired my memory of his name...answers on a postcard please...Alex?

Alex in VIP room number 3

Alex managed to get his friend to smile....
mine wasn't quite so helpful...was it the beard?

We also finally got to meet up with fellow Englishman Taylor Moore who, despite not getting onto the pitch for the second game out of three was still amazingly happy, in love with the club and proud that his younger brother was playing for the youth team. He also hinted his other brothers might be joining...could this be the beginning of a new dynasty at the club, akin to the Hazard clan (even though two of them played for Lille)? Let's hope so.

The inner sanctum. Always the last to leave....but what a night!
Glad to say the pianist kept going!

A fond farewell to an amazing ground! 

We walked back with Bruno and our new other best friend Jean Philippe, manager of Bruno's restaurants. J-P even had time to help a drunk who had been sleeping soundly on the pavement until he was awoken by the combined efforts of JP and the lady from a nearby shop. The ambulance soon arrived to take him away and allow him to escape their attentions.
We bid our farewells after an amazing evening and then met up with Jeremie who accompanied us to our final port of call: La Loco. The evening finished two and a half hours later in the best possible fashion.

Satisfied and happy!