ChristopheVAFC

Thank you very much, we hope SR has learned from his mistakes this year.

SR hasn't missed everything with us this year, there have been positive changes internally and in the way the club operates, but unfortunately the sporting side of things has gone wrong and SR has promised us to do better next year and to be more vigilant about recruitment. We'll wait and see Sékou Mara, I take him from you every day, but I'm not sure he wants to play in the French 3rd division haha.

Hello friends! Some news from my club since the official announcement of our descent into the 3rd division. After losing to Pau 4-1 at home on 13 April and sealing our relegation, we travelled to Paris to take on Paris FC (not Paris SG haha), also losing 2-1. This week, we had 2 home games, against Ajaccio (Corsica) and Grenoble: Result: 2 wins. Which is a first for our club since the start of the season. Unfortunately, it's more than too late to wake up. It's more a question of honour if we're going to finish the league well. As far as I know, the club really want to make amends with the fans following the descent and are already working on building a squad for next season. We supporters have told the directors to be more vigilant about recruitment and to choose players who know the country and also the league and who also have experience. A descent is never pleasant, but we hope to be back in Ligue 2 as soon as possible. The supporters' groups have called a strike in the kop stand this week, to symbolically show that they are already on holiday haha, they will be back for the last home match on 10 May. Allez VA!

My warmest congratulations to our friendly club Goztepe on winning the league title and moving up to the top division. I wish them all the best for the future.

I wish Gavin a speedy recovery, and there's no doubt that the substitute goalkeepers in your team will be working hard to get the best out of him at the end of the season!

When I look at what Goztepe and Southampton have achieved this year, I'm not worried about next season. What's more, we have plenty of time to prepare for next season. I hope we'll have a great season and play a leading role in the division. I can't blame Sport Republic because I know that my club was sick before the takeover and that it takes time for everything to fall into place. They're already doing a lot of things outside the sporting sphere and that's already been positive (links with supporters, organising round tables, partnerships with local elected representatives and businesses, etc.). I'm convinced that things will go much better next year.

The good thing is that we're not too far away and it's pretty easy to get here. It's a real pleasure to be able to welcome you one day!

It's a real pleasure to chat with you in any case! If it wasn't for SR, we'd never have been able to talk to each other, and I think that's great! It helps to create links between supporters. No problem, you and all of you would be very welcome to join us at Valenciennes. A pleasure to welcome you!

We're going to try and get the message across to him!

Coincidentally, I had just arrived in Southampton on Friday 29 March, and was going to buy some things in the club shop at the stadium, when my friend and I were approached by Phil Parsons, who offered to talk to us for a few minutes. It was very interesting, and he actually told me that there would be a tournament this summer with the 3 clubs. It was a surprise for us, and a very nice one in any case

More and more people are saying that we're going to have a big clean-up this summer and that we'll be hiring more qualified people who are more interested in our club. I'm waiting to see, but I know that now that relegation has been confirmed, SR is already starting to think about next season, so there's no excuse for falling behind like we did this year! Wait and see, as they say!

I think this type of tournament is really interesting, as it gives you the chance to meet teams with a different style of play and different levels of ability.

I can confirm this information, which I obtained myself from the CEO of Southampton, whom I met on my visit here at the beginning of April. I would normally be there

Where I am rather conciliatory towards Sport Republic is that before the takeover they did not have access to information about the club (number of employees / financial situation / state of the facilities), because the former management was rather opaque on these subjects, and we knew this, because knowing the behaviour of our former president, we knew that he was going to show malice and bad faith. He promised Sport Républic a club with little work to do and ready to rediscover its ambition, but when SR took over the keys to the club, it was one problem after another, which didn't help SR to have a good season. Now, following the relegation, SR has all the time in the world to continue its project of rebuilding our club and I am convinced that next year we will have a much better season because SR will have put the right people in their place. I can't thank SR enough for buying my club, because with our previous directors, we were heading for bankruptcy and a descent into National 3 (5th division in France). The project will take a little longer than expected, but we won't give up!

Communication by Sport Republic after official relegation: https://www.va-fc.com/articles/communiqué-de-sport-republic-21783

A speedy recovery to Gavin and I hope the other goalkeepers in your team will do their utmost!

Congratulations to you, my friends, on last night's fine victory over Preston! Now we have to keep up the pressure on the top 3 teams in the league. We're keeping our fingers crossed for you here in Valenciennes and we sincerely wish you all the best for the end of the season!

This summer, the directors of Sport Republic plan to organise a triangular pre-season tournament at Saint Mary's Stadium between Southampton FC / Göztepe Spor Kulübü and VAFC. Confirmed by the CEO, with whom I had a few words during my visit to you at the beginning of April. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=934167052048408&set=a.121663713298750

Hello folks, It is with great sadness that I announce the official descent of my club VAFC to the 3rd division following yesterday's 4-1 defeat by Pau. We've known about it for several weeks, but it's now official in sporting terms. I wish us a speedy return to Ligue 2 with a scenario like yours or like our friends at Goztepe. There are 6 games left before the end of the season and we're going to make the most of them. May Sport Republic do their utmost to ensure that we go up again next year! Allez VA!

Hello everyone. Match day for Valenciennes, who welcome Pau to the Stade du Hainaut this evening at 7pm French time. If my team loses, we will be mathematically relegated to the 3rd division. I wanted to share with you a video from an interview yesterday with Ben Chorley, the club's sporting director, who looks back over the season and takes stock, where you can understand how Sport Republic realised all the work that needed to be done here. Don't hesitate to let me know what you think, folks.

Match day for you my friend It's the final straight for you, and we hope the team will give it everything they've got, so don't think too much about winning as many games as possible.

A good match to all! Go Saint's!

The owner of this flag told me about its significance, but there's no link with Sport Republic on this flag. Initially, he wanted to make a big red and white flag and he just thought it would be nice to put other things on it.

Thank you very much! I've loved my club for 20 years and I'm ready to do a lot for it!

The French Cup came to an end for my team last night... There were 1,200 of us Valenciennes supporters on the 20-hour round trip bus journey last night. Facing Olympique Lyonnais, a Ligue 1 Uber Eat club, it wasn't easy... We'll be back next year!