Imagine if Ben O could play on the right side. Big problem solved for the AWs!
Obviously getting to grips with the LB role more & more. Some good stuff in those highlights. He might even start the AWs March games at LB, if Libby is unfit.
Without Wood playing, a big reason to play FDV (his crossing) is basically lost. FDV doesn't have the pace of Cacace or Old, and at a World Cup that could be found out badly.
Reckon we may need to see some Ben Old left-back minutes for the All Whites next window 👀 https://t.co/36AasrtChX
Niche Cache. Old continues to impress as a LB in the French 2nd tier. As I posted elsewhere I think Baze should at least ponder the idea of Libby on the right flank & Ben O on the left.
His ASSE coach comparing him to 97 cap French international & 1998 WC winner Bixente Lizarazu is certainly high praise.
Ben Old is a left-back now, he’s even admitting it himself. Not a winger playing out of position but a genuine converted option having played nothing but fullback for the past two months. Successive St-Etienne coaches have not only picked him there but raved about his potential in the position. Oldy has embraced the opportunity, picking up the tricks of the trade remarkably quickly and turning himself into a first eleven player after beginning the season mostly stuck on the bench. And since he was on pre-game press conference duty this week, we’ve got quotes galore about how it’s all going.
“Yeah it’s obviously different, I’ve never really played a fully defensive role before. So when I moved into that position it was obviously a lot different but I think my qualities and my game really come out in this position and I think I've been able to adapt and learn the defensive side very quickly. So I’ve been very happy with my past three performances and I hope I can keep improving and helping the team.”
Asked about whether he sees himself as an attacker or a defender these days, he answered “both”, saying that his attacking instincts are part of why he’s been able to perform well as a left-back, being able to support the frontline. He also said that it didn’t take much convincing to get him to play there.
“No, it kind of happened quite naturally. Obviously, I came in because of an injury and played about 60 minutes off the bench and after that match they were thought this was a possibility for me. So I spoke to the coaches, the owners, because they wanted to make sure that if I play in this position, I committed to it because I have to learn a lot of things defensively. I’m enjoying it. I’m enjoying playing a lot after not playing for a long time and I honestly think this is a position that I can bring a lot of quality in and help the team out in a different way.”
If you’re wondering about how the positional swap might affect his All Whites standing, he said he spoke to Darren Bazeley as well and Baze told him that the most important thing was to be getting minutes. He also told him that learning different positions is always beneficial, unlocking new attributes and all that, but that he’s still going to be seen as a left winger first and foremost for the national team.
There was a bit of chat in there about how ASSE are playing more compact and more cohesively under the new coach Philippe Montanier. There was also a reference to how Montanier had compared Old’s attacker to left-back swap to a French legend who did something similar...
SE post match conference. Oldy starts speaking at 21 mins in with the help of a translator! https://youtu.be/miPkGBiGPZo
PM: “Ben Old? I am very satisfied! It reminds me of [Bixente] Lizarazu! Liza was initially a number ten while he was in the youth grades. I think that if he had remained there he would have had a good career but not as extraordinary as the one he had with the French team and Bayern Munich in particular. It's a good conversion for Ben Old. He's very aggressive, he's very intelligent. He's also discovering the position but is very complete. I find that defensively he now has the right reflexes. For me, this is good confirmation.”
BO: “Yeah, I obviously heard that he spoke about [the Lizarazu comparison] on the press conference, but he also mentioned it to me very early on. It's obviously amazing for him to... I wouldn't necessarily say compare me to him, but to be able to see someone at such a high level be able to do a similar change to me. He explained that it just made his level and his career so much better. So we've talked a lot about it because I think what they're worried about is that going from a left wing to a left back might seem like a bit of a reduction. But for me, and speaking to the coach and the staff and the players, we think that it's just going to be able to elevate me more and take me to heights, which maybe wasn't possible for a winger. So I'm very excited to be able to continue and improve in this position.”
Those new heights continued into a 3-0 win away against Pau FC. Fourth win in a row under Montanier’s leadership. Lucas Stassin scored twice (3’, 64’) to snap a long goal-drought before Joshua Duffus added another at the end (90+4’). Stassin hadn’t scored since September so his brace was very overdue (he also got assists in each of the previous two wins – one of many players thriving since the manager chance) and it’s also funky because he’s a Belgian international hoping to make their World Cup squad where he could come up against... his club teammate Ben Old playing for New Zealand.
We haven’t seen any goals or assists from Old since he switched to defence but he did have a big role in the second goal here. Really beautifully worked goal that included Old on the overlap out wide, whipping in a low cross for a lay-off for a slip pass for a square ball for a tap-in. Absolutely mint. That fourth win in a row sent ASSE top for a couple of days until Troyes won 2-0 away to Amiens to jump back ahead. But only by two points and Troyes have slipped up a few times lately. When Philippe Montanier took over, ASSE were fourth. Now they’re back in the title race.
Full game in a 2-0 win over Red Star (French version).
SE stay 2nd, and now have a 5 pt gap on Le Mans (3rd). The top 2 teams are automatically promoted, so good chance now Old will be back in Ligue One next season.
Spotted a green St Etienne shirt with Old 11 printed on the back in of all places the dining hall at a ski resort in France last week. A quick conversation with the wearer, he was very happy with Ben Old, even playing at left back.
As has been written elsewhere LB maybe the position where he has the highest ceiling, ie the spot where he has the best chance of playing regularly in a top 5 league.
Mentions his club coach reckons he's now one of the best one v one defenders in Ligue Two!
coochiee wrote: As has been written elsewhere LB maybe the position where he has the highest ceiling, ie the spot where he has the best chance of playing regularly in a top 5 league.
Mentions his club coach reckons he's now one of the best defenders (full backs?) in Ligue Two!
So much depth for that LB/LWB position now - Cacace, Old, de Vries, McGarry, and even down to Sam Sutton and Dalton Wilkins.
Compare that to the right hand side - Tim Payne, Callan Elliot, Storm Roux, Bill Tuiloma (as cover) and Dalton Wilkins who covers both sides.
The contrast is stark. If only he could have transitioned to a RB/RWB. 🥲
Good to see Oldie doing well though, and obviously he's got his managers backing over in France. Pretty much all you can ask for given he was on the peripheral figure for a fair while at the start of the Ligue 2 season. Will be another challenge entirely if they make the leap back up to Ligue 1.
If Dalton Wilkins could actually stay injury free for more than 10 mins, who knows how good he could be. Looks like he got a cameo off the pine at RB for Sonders on the weekend.
about 1 month ago· edited about 1 month ago· History
Bit depressing- watched his team chase the game for about 25 minutes needing to break down what turned out to be a team at the bottom of the table and they didn’t pass to him once.
I don’t know if they used him as an outlet earlier in the game, but the net result was a 2-0 loss.
about 1 month ago· edited about 1 month ago· History
Potentially costly loss for St Etienne. They stay 2nd, but only on GD now from Le Mans (3rd). 3 rounds left, and top 2 teams are automatically promoted.
Huge game next week hosting top of the table Troyes.
Big game. Top of the table clash. St Etienne (2nd, 57 pts) host Troyes (1st, 60 pts). Le Mans (57 pts) 3rd on GD could overtake SE unless they get a result against Troyes. 3 rounds left, top 2 teams automatically promoted
Find round. St Etienne (3rd) host relegated Amiens (last) in a must win. To finish 2nd and avoid the promotion playoffs SE need Le Mans (2nd) to slip up away at 2nd last Bastia - who still have a chance to avoid relegation.
Old the assist for the 4th goal as SE thrash relegated Amiens 5-0.
Le Mans were leading 2-0 at Bastia, but that match was abandoned. Bastia fans not happy at their team losing and therefore dropping down to Ligue 3. If that result stays a Le Mans win, St Etienne will finish 3rd and be in the promotion playoffs.
After more than 40 minutes of silence, the referee officially announced that the match between Bastia and Le Mans would not resume (0-2 at the time of the interruption). However, he did not confirm whether the result would stand, nor the final Ligue 2 standings.
It should be remembered that Bastia fans threw smoke bombs and agricultural explosives onto the pitch with only a few seconds of added time remaining in this match, part of the final round of Ligue 2 fixtures.
It is still unclear whether Le Mans' promotion to Ligue 1 is official, just like Bastia’s relegation to Ligue 3. A commission is expected to meet very soon to decide the fate of this match, as Saint-Étienne is virtually ahead of Le Mans in the standings until the result of the match against Bastia is officially validated.
Le Mans FC will have to wait for confirmation of their first return to the French top flight since 2010 after their final Ligue 2 match of the season against SC Bastia was suspended on Saturday following crowd trouble from the home supporters in Corsica.
Le Mans were leading 2-0 when Milan Robin struck in the 91st minute, triggering angry scenes in the stands from Bastia fans, whose relegation to the third division had already been confirmed.
"The match between SC Bastia and Le Mans FC has been stopped and will not resume," Ligue 2 said in a statement on X.
"A disciplinary committee of the LFP will meet in the coming days to decide the fate of the match."
I watched the SE game. Ben really has developed into a quality LB. He now defends very well and is good reading a game to go with his attacking skills. IMO he should be the AWs starting LB if Libby is not 100%. Hes getting big raps in the French football press. Le Mans will be awarded the win and get second place and auto promotion to Ligue 1 because they did no wrong. SE are in the playoffs. Not ideal for them as they are not in great form. They were safely in 2nd for ages but have screwed it up. They now have to win the playoffs then have to beat the Ligue 1 side that finish third to last. It would be a shame for Ben to spend another season in Ligue 2. Hes definitely a Ligue 1 quality LB
This quick one-two from inside his own half gave Ben Old his first assist since being converted to a left-back by Saint Etienne
Funnily enough as a natural winger it's been the attacking aspects that have been slower to develop... but he's getting there #FlyingKiwispic.twitter.com/hNNiabx25c — The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) May 11, 2026
So St Etienne to play Nice (16th, 3rd last in Ligue One) over 2 legs in a pro/rel playoff.
Nice lost 2-1 at Auxerre (15th) in a final day relegation 6 pointer.
SE host the first leg (23rd May NZT), with 2nd leg in Nice (26th May NZT). That 2nd leg I'm pretty sure is after, the date clubs must release their players for the WC.
coochiee wrote: So St Etienne to play Nice (16th, 3rd last in Ligue One) over 2 legs in a pro/rel playoff.
Nice lost 2-1 at Auxerre (15th) in a final day relegation 6 pointer.
SE host the first leg (23rd May NZT), with 2nd leg in Nice (26th May NZT). That 2nd leg I'm pretty sure is after, the date clubs must release their players for the WC.
Nice also being in the Coupe de France final this weekend has made this a mess. The promotion playoff was meant to be May 21/24 local time, 22/25 NZ time, so all before the release date, but because Nice have that final on May 22 local time, 23 NZ time, the playoff is now May 26/29 local time, 27/30 NZ time.
Surely Baze doesn't consent to Old playing the pro/re playoff for St Etienne? The 2nd game against Nice is May 30th NZT. We play Haiti June 3rd NZT.
With Libby & FDV's recent injury issues the AWs may need Old to still start the Iran game.
SE also with a young striker in Belgium's squad
Niche Cache
In that sense, a 0-0 draw may not have been such a bad outcome for ASSE. In any sense that’s what happened so it was off to a penalty shootout to determine whose hopes of promotion would be dashed and who’d advance to the final against Nice (who finished third-to-last in the top division). This was Ben Old’s contribution to that cause...
Yikes, not ideal. But that’s alright because they had a secret weapon in the form of goalkeeper Brice Maubleu... who was subbed on in the last minute of normal time (no extra time for this match) in place of their captain, no doubt with penalties in mind. Maubleu saved the first two penalties he faced so ASSE were already 2-0 up when Old missed his take. From there they traded successes before Aimen Moueffek missed for Les Verts with victory in sight and it was off to sudden death.
Three more successes followed apiece with the Saints each time converting while on the brink of elimination. Then Maubleu saved another and stepped up to be the hero himself... only to also miss. But then he made his fourth save of the evening and Mickael Nade scored to give ASSE a 7-6 penalty shootout victory. The dream lives on, with a two-legged final to come (which is going to make Ben Old one of the last players to arrive for the World Cup but so be it).
