2010–11 Ligue 2

The 2010–11 Ligue 2 season was the 72nd since its establishment. Caen were the defending champions. The fixtures were announced on 22 May 2010 and the season began on 6 August and ended on 27 May 2011.^[8] The winter break would be in effect between 22 December and 14 January 2011. There were three promoted teams from the Championnat National, replacing the three teams that were relegated from Ligue 2 following the 2009–10 season. A total of 20 teams currently competes in the league with three clubs suffering relegation to the third division, the Championnat National. All clubs that secured Ligue 2 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.^[9][10] In addition, German sportswear company Puma, whom the Ligue de Football Professionnel share a partnership with, provided a brand new match ball for the new season.^[11][12]

Ligue 2

Season	2010–11
Champions	Évian
Promoted	Évian Ajaccio Dijon
Relegated	Vannes Nîmes Grenoble
Matches played	380
Goals scored	861 (2.27 per match)
Top goalscorer	Sebastián Ribas (23 goals)
Biggest home win	Le Havre 5–0 Grenoble (27 May 2011)[1]
Biggest away win	Angers 0–3 Sedan (27 August 2010)[2] Sedan 1–4 Évian (8 April 2011)[3] Vannes 0–3 Sedan (15 April 2011)[4]
Highest scoring	Istres 5–3 Sedan (11 March 2011)[5] Istres 5–3 Châteauroux (27 May 2011)[6]
Longest winning run	4 games Tours (17 August – 10 September) Boulogne (29 January – 24 February)
Longest unbeaten run	13 games Boulogne (6 August – 29 October)
Longest losing run	4 games Grenoble (13 – 30 August)
Highest attendance	24,442 – Metz 3–0 Nîmes (20 May 2011)[7]
Lowest attendance	1,709 – Istres 1–0 Tours (13 August 2010)
Average attendance	6,252[7]
← 2009–10 2011–12 →

Teams

Ajaccio

Angers

Boulogne

Châteauroux

Clermont

Dijon

Évian

Grenoble

Istres

Laval

Le Mans

Le Havre

Metz

Nantes

Nîmes

Reims

Sedan

Tours

Troyes

Vannes

Location of teams in 2010–11 Ligue 2

Grenoble was the first club to suffer relegation to Ligue 2. The club's impending drop occurred on 10 April 2010 following the team's 4–0 defeat to Toulouse. On 3 May 2010, both US Boulogne and Le Mans were relegated to Ligue 2 following defeats. Le Mans relegation was confirmed following their 3–2 loss away to Nancy, while Boulogne suffered relegation after losing 1–0 to Saint-Étienne, who both Boulogne and Le Mans were trailing. Having earned promotion to Ligue 1 the previous season, Boulogne's return to Ligue 2 meant a short-lived stay in the highest division.^[13] Due to suffering relegation to Ligue 2, Le Mans will unveil their new logo and new name, Le Mans Football Club, as well as their new stadium, MMArena, while playing in the second division.

In the Championnat National, Évian was the first club to achieve promotion to Ligue 2 after defeating Amiens 1–0 on 16 April.^[14] On 7 May, Stade Reims made their return to Ligue 2 after one season in the Championnat National following a convincing 4–2 win over Luzenac. With Troyes drawing with Cannes the same day, Reims' second-place position and promotion was secured. The following week, the final club in National achieved promotion to Ligue 2 with Troyes' 2–0 win over Cassis Carnoux.

Teams relegated to Ligue 2

• Le Mans
• Boulogne
• Grenoble

Teams promoted to Ligue 2

• Évian
• Reims
• Troyes

Stadia and locations

After earning promotion to Ligue 2 for the 2010–11 season, Évian were rumored to be pursuing a move to play their home matches at the Stade de la Praille in Geneva, Switzerland after it was determined that their current facility, the Stade Joseph-Moynat, did not meet the Ligue de Football Professionnel's standards. Thonon-les-Bains, the commune where the club situates itself, is a few kilometers from the Swiss border and is only 34.6 kilometres (21.5 mi), a 45-minute car drive, from the city of Geneva. It was reported that the club's president, Patrick Trotignon, had been in the process of advocating for the move since the beginning of the 2009–10 Championnat National season just in case the club had achieved promotion to the second division. The vice-president of Swiss club Servette FC, who occupy the stadium, questioned the move citing possible schedule conflicts, as well as the health of the pitch if both clubs were to use the stadium on a weekly basis.^[15] However, his claims were refuted by Benoît Genecand, who serves as president of Fondation du Stade de Genève (FSG), which owns and operates the facility. The club responded immediately to Genecand's comments via a press release posted on the club's official website.^[16]

Évian petitioned to the State Council of Geneva and obtained approval from the LFP for the move in early May. On 20 May 2010, Évian received a favorable ruling from the French Football Federation with the Federal Council voting in favor of the move. According to the federation, the move now had to be agreed upon by a UEFA executive committee, which is composed of seventeen officials.^[17][18] On 8 June, UEFA officially denied Évian's request to play at the Stade de la Praille meaning the club will likely play its home matches at the Parc des Sports in nearby Annecy.^[19]

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity	Average Attendance1
Ajaccio	Ajaccio	Stade François Coty	10,660	3,280
Angers	Angers	Stade Jean Bouin	17,100	6,292
Boulogne	Boulogne-sur-Mer	Stade de la Libération	15,004	8,581
Châteauroux	Châteauroux	Stade Gaston Petit	17,173	6,082
Clermont	Clermont-Ferrand	Stade Gabriel Montpied	10,363	3,993
Dijon	Dijon	Stade Gaston Gérard	9,111	5,751
Évian	Annecy	Parc des Sports2	12,500	4,674
Grenoble	Grenoble	Stade des Alpes	20,068	5,235
Istres	Istres	Stade Parsemain	17,468	1,824
Laval	Laval	Stade Francis Le Basser	18,739	5,557
Le Havre	Le Havre	Stade Jules Deschaseaux	16,454	7,380
Le Mans	Le Mans	MMArena3	25,000	8,826
Nantes	Nantes	Stade de la Beaujoire	38,285	11,270
Nîmes	Nîmes	Stade des Costières	18,482	6,392
Metz	Metz	Stade Municipal Saint-Symphorien	26,700	7,389
Reims	Reims	Stade Auguste-Delaune II	22,000	8,184
Sedan	Sedan	Stade Louis Dugauguez	23,189	8,952
Tours	Tours	Stade de la Vallée du Cher	13,500	6,287
Troyes	Troyes	Stade de l'Aube	21,877	8,877
Vannes	Vannes	Stade de la Rabine	8,000	3,687

¹Source
²Temporary facility as current home stadia, the Stade Joseph-Moynat, doesn't meet the LFP's stadium criteria.
³Replaced the Stade Léon-Bollée in January 2011.

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager1	Captain1	Kit Manufacturer1	Shirt Sponsor1
Ajaccio	Olivier Pantaloni	Thierry Debès	Duarig	Géant
Angers	Jean-Louis Garcia	Grégory Malicki	Umbro	Next Generation
Boulogne	Michel Estevan	Grégory Thil	Uhlsport	Boostyle
Châteauroux	Didier Tholot	Vincent Fernandez	Nike	Le Seyec
Clermont	Michel Der Zakarian	Michaël Fabre	Kappa	Clermont-Ferrand
Dijon	Patrice Carteron	Sebastián Ribas	Nike	Sita-Suez
Évian	Bernard Casoni	Cédric Barbosa	Duarig	Direct 8
Grenoble	Yvon Pouliquen	Nicolas Dieuze	Nike	Flash Kado
Istres	José Pasqualetti	Gary Coulibaly	Duarig	Kertel
Laval	Philippe Hinschberger	Johann Chapuis	Duarig	Lactel
Le Havre	Cédric Daury	Hassane Alla	Airness	System U
Le Mans	Arnaud Cormier	Didier Ovono	Kappa	LOUÉ
Nantes	Philippe Anziani	Stéphane Darbion	Kappa	Profil+
Nîmes	Thierry Froger	Benoît Poulain	Erreà	Mac Dan
Metz	Dominique Bijotat	Romain Brégerie	Kappa	Peugeot
Reims	Hubert Fournier	Cédric Fauré	Lotto	IDEC
Sedan	Landry Chauvin	Jérôme Lemoigne	Nike	Invicta
Tours	Daniel Sanchez	Julien Cardy	Duarig	Rica Lewis Groupe
Troyes	Jean-Marc Furlan	Gaël Sanz	Duarig	Urbanéo
Vannes	Stéphane Le Mignan	Patrick Leugueun	Adidas	Breizh Cola

¹ Subject to change during the season.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment	Table
Reims	Marc Collat	Mutual consent	16 May 2010	Off-season	Hubert Fournier	18 May 2010[20]	Off-season
Châteauroux	Jean-Pierre Papin	Resigned	18 May 2010[21]	Off-season	Didier Tholot	1 June 2010[22]	Off-season
Metz	Joël Muller	Mutual consent	14 May 2010	Off-season	Dominique Bijotat	4 June 2010[23]	Off-season
Troyes	Patrick Rémy	Mutual consent	22 June 2010[24]	Off-season	Jean-Marc Furlan	23 June 2010[25]	Off-season

In-season

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment	Table
Grenoble	Mehmed Baždarević	Mutual consent	1 September 2010	20th	Yvon Pouliquen	6 September 2010[26]	20th
Nîmes	Jean-Michel Cavalli	Contract terminated	8 November 2010	17th	Noël Tosi	8 November 2010	17th
Boulogne	Laurent Guyot	Contract terminated	27 December 2010[27]	12th	Michel Estevan	30 December 2010[28]	12th
Nîmes	Noël Tosi	Contract terminated	2 March 2011[29]	17th	Thierry Froger	2 March 2011[30]	17th
Nantes	Baptiste Gentili	Resigned	6 March 2011[31]	15th	Philippe Anziani	6 March 2011	15th

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or Relegation
1	Évian (C, P)	38	18	13	7	63	41	+22	67	Promotion to Ligue 1
2	Ajaccio (P)	38	17	13	8	45	37	+8	64
3	Dijon (P)	38	17	11	10	55	40	+15	62
4	Le Mans	38	17	11	10	48	37	+11	62
5	Sedan	38	15	14	9	57	37	+20	59
6	Angers	38	14	15	9	41	32	+9	57
7	Clermont	38	12	16	10	51	49	+2	52
8	Boulogne	38	13	13	12	35	41	−6	52
9	Le Havre	38	12	13	13	43	38	+5	49
10	Reims	38	12	13	13	53	51	+2	49
11	Istres	38	12	13	13	45	47	−2	49
12	Tours	38	13	10	15	52	59	−7	49
13	Nantes	38	11	14	13	38	40	−2	47
14	Châteauroux	38	12	11	15	41	47	−6	47
15	Laval	38	11	14	13	36	43	−7	47
16	Troyes	38	13	7	18	35	45	−10	46
17	Metz	38	10	15	13	43	40	+3	45
18	Vannes (R)	38	12	8	18	39	61	−22	44	Relegation to Championnat National
19	Nîmes (R)	38	9	10	19	35	46	−11	37
20	Grenoble (R, D)	38	7	12	19	36	60	−24	33	Resigned to the National 3[a]

Source: Ligue 2
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. On 26 May 2011, following a preliminary review of each club's administrative and financial accounts in the Championnat National, the DNCG ruled that Pacy Vallée-d'Eure, Strasbourg, Gap, Grenoble, and Cannes would be relegated to the Championnat de France amateur after the organisation determined that the clubs were enduring financial difficulties. The clubs had the option to appeal the ruling.^[32] On 24 June 2011, Pacy Vallée-d'Eure officials confirmed in a press conference that it would accept its relegation to the fourth division in an effort to smooth over its €350,000 debt into next year.^[33] Two weeks later, Grenoble confirmed on its website that the Appeals Board of the DNCG had informed club officials that it will be relegated to the fourth division.^[34] Grenoble, subsequently, entered liquidation on 7 July. On 13 July, Grenoble's relegation was validated after the French Football Federation confirmed via letter to SAS Épinal that the club would be replacing Grenoble in the Championnat National.^[35] On 8 July 2011, the Appeals Board of the DNCG confirmed that both Strasbourg and Gap would remain relegated after the clubs failed to convince the board of its intent to fix its financial liabilities. Strasbourg has a deficit of over €4 million, while Gap's debt has exceeded over €80,000.^[36] Following the appeal denial, Gap officials announced that the club would appeal to the CNOSF, the National Sporting Committee of France.^[37] On 18 July, despite both clubs still having the option to appeal the DNCG rulings, the Ligue du Football Amateur (LFA) announced that Red Star and Cherbourg would replace Strasbourg and Gap, respectively, for the 2011–12 edition of the Championnat National.^[38] On the following day, Cannes had its appeal to remain in the Championnat National rejected by the DNCG.^[39] Similar to Gap, following the decision, Cannes announced its intent to appeal the ruling at the CNOSF.^[40] On 29 July, the CNOSF gave a favourable ruling for Cannes recommending to the federation that Cannes should remain in the third division.^[41] On 3 August, the CNOSF ruled Gap confirmed the demotion of Gap to the Championnat de France amateur.^[42] The French Football Federation determined whether Cannes would be allowed to participate in the league on 4 August, one day before the season was set to begin at the federation's annual executive meeting.^[43] At the meeting, the Federation re-affirmed its decision to relegate Cannes to the CFA stating it "trust the DNCG and followed its decisions".^[44]

Results

Home \ Away	ACA	ANG	BOU	CHA	CLR	DIJ	EVI	GRE	IST	LVL	LHA	MFC	MET	NAN	NMS	REI	SED	TOU	TRO	VAN
Ajaccio		1–0	2–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	0–0	2–3	1–0	3–0	0–0	2–0	3–0	3–0
Angers	3–1		0–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	3–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	0–0	1–3	0–0	1–1	2–0	0–1	0–3	2–2	3–0	3–0
Boulogne	0–1	2–1		3–2	1–1	0–1	1–2	2–0	2–0	0–0	1–1	1–0	0–2	0–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	3–2	2–0	0–1
Châteauroux	1–2	1–2	1–1		3–1	0–3	0–1	4–3	0–0	1–0	2–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–0	3–0	1–0	0–2
Clermont	2–0	1–2	1–0	0–1		2–2	3–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	0–0	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–0
Dijon	1–1	0–0	1–1	3–1	0–1		5–1	2–1	0–1	2–0	0–0	3–2	2–1	0–0	1–0	3–2	1–1	3–2	0–1	4–1
Évian	1–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–1	0–2		2–0	3–2	3–0	1–1	3–0	4–3	3–0	1–0	1–2	2–2	1–2	3–0	4–0
Grenoble	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1		0–2	1–2	1–0	0–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–2
Istres	2–2	1–1	0–1	5–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–1		0–1	0–2	0–0	2–3	2–1	0–0	2–0	5–3	1–0	2–0	3–0
Laval	0–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–0	0–0		2–1	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–0	1–2	3–0	2–2	0–0	1–0
Le Havre	2–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	0–0	5–0	1–2	1–0		1–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	2–1	1–1	4–3	1–2	3–4
Le Mans	3–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–0	1–0	4–0	1–0		0–0	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	3–0	1–0	0–1
Metz	2–2	1–1	3–1	0–0	3–3	3–1	0–2	0–1	0–0	4–0	2–0	0–1		1–1	3–0	0–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	1–0
Nantes	2–0	2–0	1–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	0–0		2–1	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	2–0
Nîmes	1–2	2–0	0–1	1–1	1–2	0–2	1–3	1–0	2–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	2–0	2–2		2–2	2–0	2–3	1–0	2–1
Reims	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–3	1–2	1–2	4–1	0–0	1–1	2–1	3–0	2–2	2–1	1–1		1–0	4–1	0–1	3–1
Sedan	4–1	0–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	0–0	1–4	1–0	5–1	2–0	1–1	2–1	3–1	3–1	1–0	0–0		1–0	1–1	4–0
Tours	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–2	0–1	1–0	2–2	2–3	2–0	0–0	0–1	2–2	2–1	0–2	2–1	4–3		1–0	2–0
Troyes	3–0	1–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–1	3–2	0–0	0–1	2–1	0–2	1–3	3–2	0–2	1–2		0–1
Vannes	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–1	2–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–1	1–1	4–3	1–2	1–0	3–1	4–1	0–3	0–0	1–0

Source: Ligue 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Statistics

Top goalscorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 Sebastián Ribas Dijon 23 2 Thorstein Helstad Le Mans 21 3 Sloan Privat Clermont 20 4 Julien Toudic Reims 16 5 Grégory Thil Boulogne 15 6 Nassim Akrour Istres 14 7 Guie Abraham Tours 13 Brice Jovial Le Havre 9 Filip Đorđević Nantes 12 Jean-François Rivière Ajaccio Richard Socrier Ajaccio Jérôme Lebouc Laval Last updated: 25 May 2011 Source: Official Goalscorers' Standings

Assists table Rank Player Club Assists 1 Rudy Haddad Châteauroux 10 2 Lossémy Karaboué Sedan 9 3 Kevin Lejeune Tours 8 Jérôme Lebouc Laval Christian Kinkela Ajaccio 6 Romain Alessandrini Clermont 7 Johan Cavalli Ajaccio Claudiu Keșerü Angers 9 Vincent Gragnic Reims 6 Last updated: 25 May 2011 Source: Official Assists' Table

Awards

Yearly

The nominees for the Ligue 2 Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and Manager of the Year. The winners were determine at the annual UNFP Awards, which was held on 22 May.^[45] The winners will be displayed in bold.

Ligue 2 Player of the Year

Player	Nationality	Club
Benjamin Corgnet	France	Dijon
Rudy Haddad	France	Châteauroux
Sloan Privat	France	Clermont
Sebastián Ribas	Uruguay	Dijon

Goalkeeper of the Year

Player	Nationality	Club
Benoît Costil	France	Sedan
Bertrand Laquait	France	Évian
Grégory Malicki	France	Angers
Johny Placide	Haiti	Le Havre

Manager of the Year

Player	Nationality	Club
Patrice Carteron	France	Dijon
Bernard Casoni	France	Évian
Landry Chauvin	France	Sedan
Olivier Pantaloni	France	Ajaccio

Team of the Year

Position		Player	Club
GK		Benoît Costil	Sedan
RB		Sébastien Corchia	Le Mans
CB		Grégory Cerdan	Le Mans
CB		Benjamin Genton	Le Havre
LB		Cédric Fabien	Boulogne
CM		Romain Alessandrini	Clermont
CM		Olivier Sorlin	Evian
AM		Rudy Haddad	Châteauroux
AM		Benjamin Corgnet	Dijon
FW		Sebastian Ribas	Dijon
FW		Sloan Privat	Clermont

List of 2010–11 transfers

Main articles: List of French football transfers summer 2010 and List of French football transfers winter 2011