The 2014–15 Ligue 2 season was the 76th season since its establishment.
Teams There were three promoted teams from Championnat National, replacing the three teams that were promoted to Ligue 1 following the 2013–14 season. A total of 20 teams competed in the league with three clubs relegated to the third division, the National. All clubs that secured Ligue 2 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.
On 18 April 2014, Luzenac became the first team to secure a spot in the Ligue 2 following a 1–0 victory over Boulogne-sur-Mer, which gave them an advance on the 4th placed team, Red Star, that couldn't be surpassed in the last games. By gaining promotion for a professional level for the first time in its history, Luzenac, the club of a village of 600 inhabitants in Southern France, became the smallest club in the history of professional football in France. Orléans was the second team to gain promotion to Ligue 2 on 2 May after a 2–0 victory against Paris FC. This marked a return for Orléans in the professional leagues after a twenty-two-years absence. Gazélec Ajaccio was the third and last team to achieve promotion on 9 May 2014. This means that for the first time since the 1997–98 season, a Derby of Ajaccio will be contested between Gazélec and AC Ajaccio.
On 20 April, Ajaccio officially suffered relegation from Ligue 1 after a 2–1 defeat in the Derby Corse against archrivals Bastia. This ended a three-year stint for Ajaccio in Ligue 1. Valenciennes FC were the second team to suffer relegation on 4 May. On 5 June, Luzenac's promotion was revoked by DNCG for financial reasons, but the club decided to appeal.
On 25 June, the DNCG relegated Valenciennes FC to the Championnat National because of their approximate amount of €8 million in debts, this allowing Châteauroux to remain in Ligue 2. On 4 July, DNCG confirmed its denial of Luzenac's promotion despite the appeal, allowing Istres also to remain in Ligue 2. On 11 July the ruling against Valenciennes FC was revoked and FC Istres was once again relegated. Luzenac was found to have an inadequate stadium, thus they were denied promotion. They were also denied re-entry to the Championnat National, so they later entered the regional leagues.
Stadia and locations
Club Location Venue CapacityAjaccioStade François Coty 10,660AjaccioStade Ange Casanova 5,000AngersStade Jean Bouin 17,835AvignonParc des Sports 17,518AuxerreStade de l'Abbé-Deschamps 21,379BrestStade Francis-Le Blé 15,583ChâteaurouxStade Gaston Petit 17,072Clermont-FerrandStade Gabriel Montpied 11,980CréteilStade Dominique Duvauchelle 12,150DijonStade Gaston Gérard 16,098LavalStade Francis Le Basser 18,467Le HavreStade Océane 25,278TomblaineStade Marcel Picot 20,087NîmesStade des Costières 18,482NiortStade René Gaillard 10,406OrléansStade de la Source 8,000MontbéliardStade Auguste Bonal 20,005ToursStade de la Vallée du Cher 16,327TroyesStade de l'Aube 20,842ValenciennesStade du Hainaut 25,172
Personnel and kits Team Manager1 Captain1 Kit Manufacturer1 Main Sponsor1Ajaccio MacronSuite HomeGazélec Ajaccio MacronCarrefourAngers KappaScaniaArles-Avignon LegeaGroupe NicollinAuxerre AirnessRemarques LOUALT, VitransBrest NikeQuéguinerChâteauroux NikeClermont PatrickCrédit MutuelCréteil NikeSFB Béton, HolcimDijon KappaDVF, Doras, IPSLaval KappaLactelLe Havre NikeApiNancy NikeDane ElecNîmes ErreàMarie BlachèreNiort PumaRestaurant Le Billon (home), Cheminées Poujoulat (away)Orléans Maxime BrillaultKappaCTVLSochaux LottoPeugeotTours NikeCorsicatoursTroyes KappaBabeau Seguin, FSEValenciennes UhlsportGDE Recyclage 1Subject to change during the season.
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointment Clermont Foot Régis Brouard End of contract 16 May 2014Pre-season Helena Costa 16 May 2014 Chamois Niortais Pascal Gastien End of contract 16 May 2014 Régis Brouard 21 May 2014 Sochaux Hervé Renard End of contract 17 May 2014 Olivier Echouafni 17 June 2014 Châteauroux Jean-Louis Garcia Resigned 29 May 2014 Pascal Gastien 4 June 2014 Créteil Jean-Luc Vasseur Signed by Reims 14 June 2014 Philippe Hinschberger 17 June 2014 Clermont Foot Helena Costa Mutual consent 24 June 2014 Corinne Diacre 28 June 2014 Nîmes René Marsiglia Mutual consent 24 June 2014 José Pasqualetti 25 June 2014 Valenciennes Ariël Jacobs Resigned 11 July 2014 Bernard Casoni 17 July 2014 Arles-Avignon Franck Dumas Resigned 22 August 2014 18th Bruno Irles 22 August 2014 Arles-Avignon Bruno Irles Sacked 20 October 2014 19th Stéphane Crucet 20 October 2014 Ajaccio Christian Bracconi Sacked 18 October 2014 12th Olivier Pantaloni 6 November 2014 Tours Olivier Pantaloni Resigned 21 October 2014 20th Gilbert Zoonekynd 21 October 2014 Créteil Philippe Hinschberger Sacked 18 November 2014 18th Thierry Froger 18 November 2014 Le Havre Erick Mombaerts Resigned 10 December 2014 8th Thierry Goudet 28 December 2014 Arles-Avignon Stéphane Crucet Sacked 29 December 2014 20th Victor Zvunka 1 January 2015 Châteauroux Pascal Gastien Sacked 9 February 2015 19th Cédric Daury 16 February 2015 Valenciennes Bernard Casoni Resigned 24 February 2015 17th David Le Frapper 25 February 2015
League table
Results
Season statistics
Top goalscorers
Rank Player Club Goals1 Mickaël Le BihanLe Havre182 Jonathan KodjiaAngers15 Seydou KonéNiort4 Youssouf HadjiNancy14 Karl Toko EkambiSochaux6 Youssef AdnaneTours / Brest13 Anthony Le TallecValenciennes8 Nicolas FauvergueAjaccio12 Mana DembéléNancy10 Idriss SaadiClermont11 Benjamin NivetTroyes
Source: Official Goalscorers' Standings
Attendances
# Club Average 1 Nancy 14,919 2 Troyes 9,659 3 Sochaux 9,290 4 Dijon 8,709 5 Angers 8,622 6 Valenciennes 8,105 7 Stade brestois 7,557 8 Le Havre 7,271 9 AJ auxerroise 6,077 10 Stade lavallois 5,582 11 Tours 5,129 12 Nîmes 5,029 13 Châteauroux 4,975 14 Chamois niortais 4,664 15 Ajaccio 4,182 16 Orléans 4,140 17 Clermont 3,099 18 Créteil 2,433 19 Gazélec 2,308 20 Arles-Avignon 1,397 Source:
References