Some Blood and Some Gold - Lens Official Program

[ChrisS]

Some Blood and Some Gold!

Volume 1, Issue 1


With the auction wrapping up and the multitude of bonanza deals in the rearview, preparations are well underway for match day 1. Let’s have a look at the squad as a whole and highlight the new members of the team.


Goalkeepers:

Despite the transfer committee activity looking to bring in another goalie, Samba keeps his place as the Lens #1 between the sticks. American Bono was brought in to deputize Samba.


Defenders:

Not too many changes to the backline. Danso, Gradit, and Haidara remain, with the latter being named captain. Wonderkid Buchmann is expected to fill the fourth spot. Only 19 years old Buchmann is a modern fullback who will be a threat when joining the attack. Rhomas keeps his position as a depth player who will still get plenty of minutes. Last but not least, the club brought in 23 year old Georgian Gocholshvili. Gocholshvili represents an interesting swing player who has not quite discovered his best position yet. He is an exciting addition who is expected to play in defense as well as in a holding midfield role.


Midfielders:

Fofana is expected to occupy the defensive midfield role with Guevara being deployed alongside him in a double pivot. From an attacking standpoint Balde returns to be joined by Ahamada and veteran Bellarabai. Looking at the current roster this trio represents the core of what the new manager will be trying to do with the attack. The versatile Samed is also back and will surely find his way into many lineups this season.


Forwards:

The front line is probably the biggest mystery in the preseason. Last year's top two have gone to be replaced by Becker and Conway. Becker is a like-for-like replacement for Simon and Conway injects more youth into the attack. Supporters will be hoping last season’s struggles in front of the net will be improved. The pressure falls on the two new additions to finish chances.


It should be an exciting season for Lens. The squad still have a lot of developing and evolving to do, but the board feels they have a squad that can be competitive. Realistically, promotion is not a reasonable target. Not being at the bottom of the table and possibly flirting with a playoff spot is the reality of where the club is situated at the moment.


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[ChrisS]

Some Blood and Some Gold!

Volume 1, Issue 2


Transfer Updates


There have been a handful of changes made to the squad since our last issue. Working our way from front to back, Conway never made it to opening day but was swapped for M_Rajovic who was subsequently used in a part exchange for A_Martial. Becker remains but has dropped a spot in the pecking order. Per the club’s own statements, the change was due to the growing concern of a lack of goal scoring potential which led to the transfer team addressing it sooner rather than later.


In midfield, N_Afamada also did not make it to opening day. He was also shifted. This left Lens with only two clear attacking midfielders. At the time setting up with three defensive minded midfielders to go along with the two attack minded was thought to be the right approach. Defensively it did, but the team struggled when falling behind, which was addressed as previously mentioned.


Samba remains the #1 keeper. Defensively J_Bryan was added to the unit and quickly earned a starting role. Gradit is now the swing fifth defender, which still sees him earning plenty of minutes. Thai was not necessarily an area Lens were looking to add to, but when Juve put Bryan up for sale it was a good piece of business to add him. The real story in defense, of the season so far has been seventeen year old sensation T_Buchmann. He’s is as of this publication, first in the squad in key tackles, second in key passes, third in shots taken and has a goal. He is also currently leading EFL 2 with three Man of the Match performances. The sky's the limit for this wunderkid.


Competitions


EFL Cup


Union Berlin 2 - 0 Lens


Disappointed to be out of the competition after one match against a division rival. Lens were thoroughly defeated. This is our lowest point of the season so far.

EFL 2


Lens 0 - 0 Marseille


Difficult first fixture against a strong opponent. Lens hung in there with 65% possession and 8 shots on goal. 17 year old debutante Bachman was MOM. Pleased with the point, many had this one penciled in as a loss.


FC Porto 3 - 2 Lens


Porto scored in the first minute which put Lens in a difficult spot, having to attack much more than we would have liked. Managed to get even by halftime due to a deflection. It didn't last long as Porto just had too much for us. A PK in the 87th minute helped the score line look a little closer than it was. Playing from behind is not our strength at this point in the project. Good game Dan.


Lens 1-0 Frankfurt


Len's tactics are proving to work really well when ahead and not so well when behind. Got really lucky to get a PK in the first minute. That's two matches in a row that a PK was given in the first minute, fortunately this time it was for us. Despite not finishing more chances the match played out like we had hoped. We had a 59% to 41% edge in possession and 7 to 3 in shots on target. Buchmann once again showed his quality and why management has shown faith in the 17 year old. Man of the match for the second time this season.


Good game Jason.


Atalanta 3 - 1 Lens


Gary was the bus driver and Lens got taken to school in this one. Down 2-0 within the first 10 minutes proved to be too difficult to overcome. Managed to make it 2-1 halfway through the first half but in truth we were completely off our game. We had a slight edge in possession but Atalanta had TA for most of the match. Very few opportunities created for Lens. This is one to forget and on to the next. RB Leipzig next which will be a challenge for us.


Good game Gary.


RB Salzburg 0 - 0 Lens


Not the most exciting match. 50-50 on possession, Salzburg had a slight edge in shots on target. Buchmann earned his EFL 2 leading third Man of the Match award, he has been a great addition to our team. Lens have shown they can defend but scoring goals is a challenge so far. We will have to review our tactics and make the necessary adjustments.


Lens 2 - 0 Schalke


Easily our best performance of the season. We switched up our tactics and went with two strikers which also allowed us to field our best eleven from the start. Our strikers combined for nine shots and Martial got his first goal for us. Buchmann continues to impress adding his first goal of the season but it was Fofana playing in a slightly more advanced role who earned Man of the Match honors with a well rounded display. Possession was 57 to 43 with nine shot on target to Schalke's three. I am hoping we can use this match as a platform to keep improving.


Ajax 1 - 1 Lens


Another point against a stronger opponent. Lens were unlucky to concede an own goal 12 minutes into the match. For the first time we showed an ability to fight back and equalize in the 69th minute with a strike from Martial, his second in as many matches. Ajax has just dropped to 10 men which opened up some space for us. Possession was 55 to 45 in our favor and shots on target were an even 4 a piece. Both teams were stout defensively. Lens move up to 9th on the table which is fantastic. Over the past three matches we've managed to score more than concede which is a proper turn in the right direction.


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[ChrisS]

Some Blood and Some Gold!

Volume 1, Issue 3


August was an interesting month for Lens. It began with the gaffer being away from the pitch due to covid. However that did not disturb the performance of the team as Lens put together a nice little unbeaten run culminating into a rise up to 9th on the table. It was short lived however as the month came to an end in the midst of a three match losing streak sinking the Red and Gold to 14th.


Transfer Updates


There were a few shifts among the squad with role players coming in and out. Like for like for the most part but a year or two younger. On the other end of things, veteran center back M_Roberts was brought as cover with J_Gradit being elevated to a larger role and J_Bryan being moved on.


The major transfer of the new month was the addition J_McGinn via the spot auction. The transfer team wasted little time in acquiring the attacking midfielder, submitting a bid during the spot auction period. They pulled off a massive signing at a bargain basement price, only 27 million. J_McGinn is an instant starter and a large boost to the attack having already recorded a goal and assist in his first six matches.


Academy


The academy is moving right along with goal keeper J_Dudek leveling up to 20 at just 18 years of age. Midfielder N_de_Jong is approving an improvement in his passing while newcomer Juninho is honing his deadly shot. The 17 year old midfielder is working hard to break into the first team sooner rather than later. If these three continue to grow and improve at this rate, we may see one or more playing for the Lens first team by their 19th birthday.


Competitions


FLT Cup Round 2


Norwich City 1 - 1 Lens >> Norwich wins on pens


Much like how everyone else probably feels, losing on penalties sucks. I thought we were evenly matched on paper but Norwich outplayed us and deserved to win. With all the chances they had Samba was the real hero to keep us in the match. We were hoping to have a decent run in the cups but were knocked out after one match in both. Now our sole focus will be on the league.


EFL 2


Round 8


Lens 1 - 2 Lyon


Gave up a goal 10 minutes in. We managed to equalize but Lyon were determined in this one. They took the lead for good at the 81st minute. Martial had 6 shots without being able to convert. We're not going to have many positive results if we have to rely on defenders to score goals. Sixteen shot total with only 8 on target. Lyon just wanted the points more than we did.


Round 9


Union Berlin 2 - 2 Lens


A point here earned by pure luck. Union Berlin's # 1 keeper went down injured which allowed us to score two goals, otherwise they outplayed us. After getting knocked out of the EFL cup and this performance, Andy's team is quickly becoming one of our least favorites to play. Down 2-0 after 8 minutes, we have got to sort out the early goal problem that is beginning to become a trend. Lens did go with a new system for us, 4-2-2-2 which probably will not be seen again.


Good game Andy, unlucky to not get all 3 points here.


Round 10


Lens 2 - 0 Villarreal


Great game and fantastic result for Lens in this match. It was very even throughout as seen by the 50/50 possession share. After beng zero - zero at the half, Lens finally broke through with a Bachmann lob at the 75th minute. This opened up the game quite a bit, which led to Villarreal conceding a penalty four minutes later. Martial was able to convert, putting the game away for Lens. Delighted to pull out three points here/



Round 11


RB Leipzig 0 - 1 Lens


Well played professional match from the lads here. A quick 4th minute goal allowed us to control the match and see the game through. Lens controlled possession 58-42 and pretty much gave Leipzig fits.


Round 12


Lens 0 - 1 Real Betis


Real Betis came out attacking while Lens tried to quell their momentum shifting to a 4-2-3-1 formation. This seemed to blunt our attack, however upon review when your attackers have 9 chances among them, you have got to feel confident that one of those will be converted. Unfortunately this was not the case and Lens took the narrow defeat.


Round 13


Valencia 1 - 1 Lens


Big match against one of the league leaders Valencia. Lens deployed a 4-4-2 diamond shape and managed 62% possession. Keeping the ball away from Valencia was crucial to success in this one but quite honestly they were still dangerous. Lens managed to grab the lead midway through the fist half but were unable to hold it. Halftime adjustments by Valencia saw them equalize at 56 minutes then nearly take the lead moments later. Happy with a draw against a strong side.


Round 14


Lens 2 - 0 Sparta Prague


Splendid match from Lens. Controlled possession and kept a clean sheet. McGinn opened his account scoring first which would ultimately be the game winner. Martial also scored to close out Sparta. This was a textbook example of what the new coaching staff are trying to do. Have the edge in possession, keep a clean sheet, and convert on a couple of chances to see the game through.


Round 15


Lens 2 - 2 Real Sociedad


A bit more dramatic than the usual performances of late. Socidada held a 1-0 lead into the half. A feisty Lens equalized with a little over 10 minutes to play in regular time. Then quickly adding a second strike from the teen sensation Buchmann to pull ahead. Only for Socidad to return the scoreline to level not even a minute later. A lapse in concentration and perhaps a little guilty of celebrating before the final whistle. A learning experience for the squad but also a well fought match and Socidaid were deserving of at least a point.


Round 16


Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - 1 Lens


The start of the current losing streak. There was a miscommunication among the Lens coaching staff resulting in a less than optimal setup. It should have been good enough to win and was competitive however. Nil-nil at half then Shakhtar opened the scoring shortly after the result. We managed to pull even and were doing our best to hang on for a draw. Shaktar pulled ahead with about fifteen minutes to play. Despiste creating three chances after the manager ordered a full out attack, Lens fell short.


Round 17


Lens 3 - 4 Benfica


We never expect a good result when giving up four goals. This was a wild contest where Lens took an early lead. Rather than our usual calm and composed performance, the lads decided to go toe to toe and left ourselves quite open at the back. We had plenty of opportunity but a match like this leaves way too much to change, we were completely out of control. Two losses in a row here.



Round 18


Rennes 3 - 2 Lens

Another poor performance. Rather than trade punches like in the previous match, Lens were constantly chasing the game. We managed to pull 2 back but once Rennes grabbed a third with 22 minutes to go, it was obvious we had no legs. Our squad is not built for these wide open contests and hopefully the manager and coaches can correct this before it gets much worse. I_Balde is suspended for the next match due to yellow card accumulation. August ended on a three match losing streak.


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