Date: September 1, 2025 Author: Hugo Dempsey
If you had offered me 9 points from the first 12 available back in July, when I was staring at a €0 transfer budget and a broken ankle on my star signing, I would have bitten your hand off.
August is in the books, and the "Dempsey Era" has officially launched. It hasn't been boring. We've seen "Angeball" in full flow, we've secured a signature that will have top European clubs envious, and we've paid the price for our intensity with a busy physio room.
Here is the debrief of a wild opening month.
⚽ The Match Diary
vs USL Dunkerque (A) | WON 5-2 The Statement Performance. We arrived in the rain, but we brought the thunder. Any worries about where the goals would come from were answered emphatically by Adrien Hunou. His hat-trick (29', 66', 75') was pure instinct. But the real story? Henri Saivet. The "Pirlo Experiment" is officially a success. Playing as the channel midfielder, he arrived late in the box twice to score a brace.
vs Troyes (H) | WON 1-0 The Grinder. After the fireworks, the grind. Troyes came to park the bus, but we unlocked them immediately. Yoann Salmier rose highest from a corner in the 2nd minute, and then we controlled the game. It wasn't pretty, but clean sheets win titles.
vs Grenoble (H) | WON 1-0 The Fairytale Moment. This game was drifting towards a frustrating 0-0. We were tired. I threw on young Julien Astic for some energy. You couldn't write the script: with his third touch since coming on the pitch, the kid fires home the winner in the 65th minute. The Gabriel-Montpied erupted.
vs Laval (A) | LOST 2-3 The Reality Check. Football has a way of humbling you. We started with a comical own goal from Mamadou Samassa in the 2nd minute. Henri Saivet doubled our advantage with his third goal of the month, but our makeshift defence (more on that below) was too open. A valuable lesson: if the press isn't synchronized, good teams will pick us apart.
League Table
📰 Notable News: The Future is Bright (and Injured)
It hasn't just been busy on the pitch. We’ve had significant movement in the squad and the medical bay.
🌟 The Coup: Amara Diouf.
I can officially confirm that we have agreed to a deal to sign Senegalese sensation Amara Diouf. He will join us on a free transfer in June 2026 when he turns 18. This is a massive victory for our recruitment team. Diouf is widely considered the best teenage talent in Africa. To convince him that Clermont is the right place for his development—over huge European suitors—validates everything we are building here.
🇮🇶 Welcome: Sajjad Mahdi
We have also bolstered our defensive ranks with the arrival of Sajjad Mahdi, a 22-year-old Iraqi left-back. He’s a relentless runner who fits the "Angeball" physical profile. He made cameo appearances off the bench against Troyes and Grenoble before making his full debut in the loss to Laval. He’s raw, but he has potential.
🏥 The Injury Crisis
The intensity of our new system is taking a toll. We are currently facing a defensive crisis:
Cheick Oumar Konaté: Hamstring Strain (Out 2-4 weeks).
Ivan M'Bahia: Back Strain (Out 2-4 weeks). Losing two key defenders simultaneously is a headache, and it forced us to reshuffle the backline against Laval. We need to manage the training load carefully in September to prevent this from becoming an epidemic.
👋 Loan Watch Ibrahim Coulibaly has joined Quevilly on loan for the season to get valuable first-team minutes.
⏳ Deadline Day Looms
As I write this, the transfer window is ticking shut. The reality is simple: we have €0 left in the budget and zero room in the wage budget. Unless a miracle happens, or we are forced into a sale we don't want to make, our business is done. The phone is on, the coffee is brewing, but I expect (and hope) for a quiet night. We are going to war with the soldiers we have.
⏭️ Next Up: September 2025
We now head into a crucial international break, which couldn't have come at a better time. We don't play again until September 12th, when we face Saint-Étienne. This two-week gap is a blessing in disguise. It gives our medical team precious time to work on Konaté and M'Bahia, and hopefully, we can get at least one of them back on the grass before we face Les Verts.
Rest up, reset, and we go again.
Allez Clermont!
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