Another lost French football giant?

While the world shifts from club football to world cup and continental cup qualifiers during the international break, big news is being ignored in European club football. Lyon are in serious trouble and may even be relegated to Ligue 2 in the French Football System. 

Almost eleven months ago, Lyon were in danger of being relegated to Ligue 2. They sat bottom of Ligue 1 at 10 points in 15 matches, a whopping 26 points behind leaders PSG. Many people thought Lyon was a done deal after they shipped off Dembele, Barcola, Lukeba, and tons more talent in the summer transfer window. A coach carousel, scouting failure, and terrible negotiations in the past few years sunk Lyon from Champions League to non-Euopean caliber. Lyon have lost tons of money since their golden years and were even hesitant to part with multiple coaches last season despite both of them being unable to lift them out of rock bottom of the league. Lyon eventually hired a manager who took them out of the relegation zone last season and who has started the 24-25 season decently, but with continuous free transfers, money owned to players and coaches, and a lack of a recent cash injection from a multi-club ownership group, it seemed inevitable that sanctions would eventually arrive at OL Lyon. 

The French financial play regulators (DNCG) are known to be notoriously strict, and Lyon’s desolate financial situation finally triggered their sensors. They have not been give a points deduction but a provisional relegation, meaning that if they don’t get their financial situation under control, they will be relegated to Ligue 2, even if this time they don’t sit close to rock bottom. Lyon have reported acquiring over 500 million euros in debt, although that number could be greater if Lyon are hiding any debt from the public. Their American-based ownership group, which owns large stakes in both Crystal Palace and a currently successful Botafogo, is hoping to be able to close the gap through the other clubs’ revenue without selling any of Lyon’s biggest players.

However, the DNCG has placed a transfer sanction on Lyon, meaning that if they do choose to sell players, they will not be able to immediately replace them in the January transfer window until they are cleared. The question is if they are not able to raise money from the ownership group’s other clubs, how will they build up enough to present a stable financial situation to the DNCG. Their current squad value is around 240 million euros, which is a far cry from the 500+ million they currently have in debt. Their revenue from last season is over -100 million euros, meaning that they spent over 100 million euros more than they sold. 

If Lyon wants to avoid following the same fateful path as many of their former rivals, including Bordeaux, the team that broke their championship streak only 16 years ago, the American ownership group must get innovative to right the ship financially and find a way to redesign the club as one that generates young talent to sell for profit, not as one that buys expensive players from other clubs just for them to lose value by the time they are sold.

Can the Yankees take Game 5?

The 2024 New York Yankees have been a rollercoaster. They started as the best team in baseball, slumped for almost two months, finished strong, and eventually made their first Fall Classic since 2009. Now, they have to generate the spirit required to beat the best team in baseball three times in a row.

The Yankees came into the postseason as clear favorites to win the American League, and made relatively light work of the two AL Central foes they came across. With a lack of runs on the AL side of the bracket, the Yankees hoped to bring their pitching dominance over opponents to the World Series. 

The Dodgers have been plagued by pitching injuries this year. They have lost key starters Dustin May, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Gavin Stone, and of course Shohei Ohtani between the last year’s postseason and this series. They have relied on Bheuler and Yamamoto throughout the season, although they have both been inconsistent. The critical turning point seemed to be trading for Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline, but even that hasn’t stopped the runs from leaking through. Despite outsourcing the Mets by a whopping 20 runs, they still let 26 Mets runners cross the plate. 

The Yankees have had luck with pitching injuries this year, with Cole, Rodon, Gil, and Schmit playing for the majority of the year. Cole has been dominant in the postseason so far, allowing 7 runs in over 18 innings with only one homerun against in four starts. His start in Game 1 of the series almost secured the Yankees the opener, with the only run against him courtesy of a couple of Juan Soto fielding mishaps. Rodon had a rocky start in Game 2 and was quickly pulled, but has been a solid option for the Yankees all year. Schmidt had a similar start in Game 3 to Rodon’s start, but has also been consistent for the Yankees. Gil, despite a huge slump beginning in early June, has been an AL Rookie of the Year candidate and kept the Yankees in a win-or-go-home Game 4. 

Tonight, the Yankees will try to keep their season alive once again with another Cole vs Flaherty duel. If the Yankees can keep the Dodgers, especially Freeman, from getting extra-base hits, they may be able to swing things back to Los Angeles and force a Game 6. Yesterday, the Yankees’ youngest players shined as spirit and hope returned to their lineup. They will need another massive offensive showing to keep pace with a lineup often referred to as “Murderers Row 2.0,” led by Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman. With the expectation of runs off of a weak Dodgers pitching staff finally fulfilled with a Game 4 massacre, can the Yankees continue to score?

With general manager Cashman’s, manager Boone’s, and countless Yankees players’ jobs hanging in the balance, can the Yankees entertain the rowdy home crowd and try to use the hurt from 2004 to fuel the drive? They surely hope so.