Why the SM Caen calendar is controversial
The Professional Football League has been unveiled Ligue 2 calendar for the 2022-2023 season, this Friday noon. A program that has caused the disappointment of many Caen supporters.
A first… and a last away game
First oddity of the calendar, the SM Caen will begin its season outside and will close it… outside. Usually the League tries to balance things out and meeting it on the first day is the same as on the last day. Not next season, where the order of matches will return will not respect that of the first legs. Thus, Malherbe will start with a trip to Nîmes and will end with a trip to Pau.
Caen supporters deprived of boxing day
Due to the World Cup in Qatar, the Ligue 2 championship will be on hiatus from November 12 to December 26. To make up for lost time, the League has decided to organize an English-style boxing day during the end-of-year holidays. A good idea on paper, from which Caen supporters could not disappear: the two matches of their club over this period will take place away. And it won’t be next door since Malherbe will go first to Bastia then to Saint-Etienne.
The trip to Le Havre scheduled for a Friday
On September 2, Malherbe will challenge his Le Havre rival on the lawn of the Océane stadium. A meeting eagerly awaited by Caen supporters, many of whom make the short trip. But this year, the match will be scheduled before the international break in September… on a Friday evening. The goal is to leave the players available to their selection as quickly as possible. A date that will make the trip more difficult to organize for many fans, due to the professional constraints of each…
No home game for two and a half months?
The last point is still speculative. But if the Girondins de Bordeaux were definitely demoted to National by the DNCG (the club appealed the decision), Malherbe would find themselves without playing at home… between November 12 and January 28! That is two and a half months without a match at the Michel d’Ornano stadium. One thing is certain: the lawn should not suffer too much this winter.