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Sat. July 12, 2025
Preseason Friendly
Le Mans FC (France Ligue 1) vs. Dover
Stade Leon Bollee, Le Mans, France
Le Mans are a traditional top 5 team but are coming off a disappointing 7th placed finish last year. I just did some business with them, bringing in young winger Jonathan Langlet, who will be on the bench today and likely will get some playing time at some point.
We are a very tired team right now as we build up our stamina and fitness for the coming season. Simply put, I start the players who are the most fit at this moment. Newcomer Rodolfo Lopez will start today.
Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, S. Nasri, R. Hamon, R. Lopez
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Le Mans 1 - 5 Dover
Goals - Gianluca Bolis (8.2), Mads Pedersen (8.0), Chiquinho (8.3), Paul Moses (9.2), Sergio Mendez OG
Assists - Paul Moses 2, Gianluca Bolis, Emmerson Harvey (6.9)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (8.5), Rodolfo Lopez (7.4), Rayane Hamon (7.4), Saber Nasri (7.3), Renato Gaucho (7.5)
Attendance - 16,338
Solid start to the main preseason schedule as we start with two games in France. Paul Moses was sensational and we need to keep him healthy this year! Gianluca Bolis also had a great start but I’m hunting hard for someone else to push him on the right side of the midfield. A good start as well for big signing Rodolfo Lopez at right fullback.
Contract Extension
-- We come to terms on a four year contract extension with GK Manuel Perez. Much to my chagrin, I had to include a minimum release clause but I was able to get it set at £25 million, a solid number. Perez is currently travelling with the Mexican national team.
U18 Players Released
-- I give outright releases to nine players on the U18 team that came up through our academy. They were all 0.5 potential players and I don’t waste my time or theirs if they aren’t capable.
Season Ticket Sales Update
-- We’ve sold 4513 season ticket packages and are still expected to end up around 8600 total.
Transfers OUT
-- I’m happy to see that deep backup Steve Reed, a right fullback, has accepted a contract with Stoke, thereby closing off a £650,000 transfer deal with additional clauses that could see it rise to £750,000. Reed joined our club on a free from Liverpool in July 2022, spent two years here as a rarely used backup and spent last year at MK Dons in the Championship on a season-long loan. In all, he played 13 total games for our club, starting three of them and contributing one assist. We wish him well at Stoke.
-- We also clear midfielder Marcel Quade off our books in a modest £450,000 deal with Modena. Quade was signed on a free from Austrian club Sportvereinigung Ried for our U18 club in July 2022. He then spent two seasons away on loan, first with Savona in Italy and last year with Colchester in the Championship. He never played a senior level game for our club.
Next Up
-- We conclude our two game preseason tour in France with a game against the defending Champions League title holders Olympique Lyonnais.
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