Will Still’s tenure at Reims began with a feisty draw against PSG. The manager, born in Belgium to British parents, faces the club for a third time on Saturday. He has come a long way since his managerial debut, transcending the image constructed of him when he was given the job and bringing champagne football back to the region.
A former video analyst, Still arrived from Belgium as an unknown quantity. However, he quickly found fame over the course of a 17-game unbeaten run – the longest in Ligue 1 last season. During that time, the focus was as much on how he had taken Reims from the relegation conversation and into European contention as it was on his credentials, or his lack thereof, and his pathway to management. With each passing week, as Reims won more and more matches, the story about the Football Manager “geek” who did not have a coaching licence grew and grew.
It was a quirk that Still was, at least at first, willing to embrace. “I was just a very ordinary kid who played hours on Fifa and Football Manager,” said Still, who admitted to being “fixated” on the management game. His backstory, as well as the weekly €25,000 fine Reims incurred for his presence on the touchline due to his lack of Uefa Pro Licence at the time, provided a smokescreen that masked Still’s impressive work.
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Still has raised expectations at Reims. He took de-facto charge while former manager Óscar García was still at the club, overseeing a hard-fought goalless draw against PSG. García was sacked a few days later and Still was installed as interim and then permanent manager. He was charged by Reims’ executives with getting the club out of the relegation scrap. With four teams going down last season, the threat of a return to Ligue 2 for the first time since 2018 was very real. It did not remain a threat for long; the 17-game unbeaten run allowed them to look up the table instead of over their shoulder.
Still’s frustration after their defeat to Rennes, a team that ultimately qualified for the Europa League, exemplified the upgraded expectations. “The limits are there so we aren’t going to think about Europe or any nonsense like that because we saw today it is useless,” he said. His reaction to the defeat showed that notions of a European qualification lingered in a corner of his mind, at least for a time.
Reims ultimately finished 11th, but results so far this season have proved that last year’s run was not simply a flash-in-the-pan. A year ago, the prospect of Reims going top of Ligue 1 was unimaginable. However, when Monaco visited last month it was a real possibility. “Honestly, it’s no big deal. We’re keeping our heads. It doesn’t mean much to me,” said Still, playing down what would have been the crowning achievement of his young coaching career.
A win would have taken Reims top but, ultimately, they lost to the league leaders. “The only difference was the efficiency. We created chances, but we wasted them. If we had Balo [Folarin Balogun] on our side, it’s not the same match,” was Still’s post-match analysis. Balogun, who blossomed under Still’s tutelage, scored on his return to the club where he had spent last season on loan.
It was feared that Balogun’s departure would signify a considerable dropoff this season. The former Arsenal forward scored 21 goals for the club in Ligue 1 last season. Replacing that level of output for a club like Reims is a nigh-on impossible task, but Still has maximised the talents of the players at the club to drive up standards. “Since taking up my role, I have realised that I have asked a huge amount of my players and my staff,” he says. “I’m sure that two or three of them go back to their girlfriends or wives and tell them that the coach is gruelling.”
Despite his fears, his players are responding to his demands and bettering themselves. Junya Ito, who scored the winner in last weekend’s victory over Nantes, is going from strength to strength; Amir Richardson’s form this season has earned him a place in the Morocco squad; and Teddy Teuma, a former journeyman in the French lower divisions, has four goals and two assists in 10 Ligue 1 appearances this season.
Manchester City’s decision to send Josh Wilson-Esbrand to Reims is also telling. The European champions do not entrust every club with the development of their brightest prospects. The 20-year-old Englishman has begun brightly and is featuring prominently. Wilson-Esbrand was part of a wider and ambitious summer recruitment at Reims with players such as Keito Nakamura and Mohamed Daramy notably arriving for big money to supplement what is an already youthful and promising squad.
View image in fullscreenJosh Wilson-Esbrand has joined Reims on loan from Manchester City. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Manchester City/Manchester City FC/Getty Images
Still is the face of the club, but their impressive signings also reflect well on the people working behind the scenes. Reims are unique in not possessing a recruitment department, or even scouts, but their plan is working. Their ambition is not just to thrive in Ligue 1, but to “make it into Europe every three or four years”. This could be one of those years. They are fourth in the table, having scored more goals than leaders Nice.
They have risen up the table not by adhering to the possession-based style of play that has become almost standardised in European football, but by adopting a pragmatic, high-pressing, high-intensity approach. “We’re not afraid of anyone,” said Still after his team’s 2-1 win at Lille in September. “We know we’re capable of doing great things.”
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Reims’ return to prominence has coincided with downturns from some of the usual candidates for European places. Marseille are enduring a tumultuous season and Gennaro Gattuso’s arrival is yet to have the desired effect; Lens have shown glimpses of last year’s form but lack the defensive solidity and consistency that defined last season’s title challenge; Rennes are not living up to their billing, despite another summer of significant investment; and Lyon are too preoccupied with the prospect of relegation to harbour any loftier ambitions.
Despite Reims’ undeniable progress since Still’s arrival – including two draws with PSG – they are not expected to win on Saturday. However, Still’s side will be expected to compete and therein lies his success: not only has he changed the way Reims are perceived, but he has also asserted himself as one of the most promising managers in the game.
“I’m not just a geek who’s played Football Manager. I didn’t just land at Reims from behind my computer,” says Still. He has transcended that gimmick with hard work, results and by putting Reims – a club that competed in the first European final in 1956 – back on the footballing map. “The club trusted in me and gave me an opportunity. I want to give something back to Stade de Reims,” he says. Still has already done just that. European football next season would be an even more generous gift and he is showing himself capable of delivering it.
This is an article from Get French Football News
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