A horrible season for Red Star saw the club from the Paris suburbs relegated back to the third tier following a narrow defeat at Auxerre on the final day. That was the culmination of a turbulent campaign for many reasons as the famous old team from Saint-Ouen, on the northern edge of the French capital, were once again forced to lead a nomadic existence. After finishing fifth last season, only narrowly missing out on a second straight promotion despite playing home games in the Picardy town of Beauvais, this season Red Star used the Stade Jean-Bouin, the rugby stadium that lies across the road from the Parc des Princes in Paris, as their home. They never settled there, winning just five times as only bottom side Laval picked up fewer points at home. Red Star also struggled after losing so many key performers from last season, and Portuguese coach Rui Almeida was sacked in December with the team sitting 16th and having been eliminated from both cups by lower league opponents. His assistant Manuel Pires took over the team, with Claude Robin, the former Troyes coach, brought in to work alongside him as Pires lacked the necessary coaching qualifications. Ultimately Red Star continued to limp along, holding on to 16th place until a defeat at Tous saw them drop to 17th. That was part of a run of six consecutive defeats that eventually saw them drop into the bottom two and they managed just one win from their last 11 games as they slumped back down into the third tier Championnat National.
Few of those players signed last summer made a major impression, although the Tunisian creator Idriss Mhirsi did well, scoring or setting up 10 goals. Anatole Ngamukol scored seven times and Julien Toudic added five goals after signing in January, but there was not enough depth to their attack, with only two clubs scoring fewer goals. The club will now likely return to their traditional home, the creaking Stade Bauer, and will hope to rebuild in the National.
