Second Division Group B. As far as names go, Group B looked the stronger and tougher championship than Group A – St. Etienne, Lyon, and Nice were here – but the season actually mirrored Group A: two leaders competing between themselves on top, one outsider at the very bottom, and the bulk of the league quite equal and thus more concerned with avoiding relegation than anything else. At the end, only one team was promoted from this groups, but two came to it, relegated from First Division and that made in turn the last three relegated to Third Division.
FC Valence was out of the game from start and settled in the last place with 11 points.
AEPB La Roche-sur-Yon ended 17th with 29 point and went down.
CS Cuiseaux-Louhans – 16th with 29 points and the third relegated team.
AS Beziers – 15th with 30 points. Managed to survive.
CO Le Puy – 14th with 31 points.
FC Limoges – 13th with 31 points and the only team to stay in this group for the next season.
FC Martigues – 12th with 31 points.
FC Grenoble – 11th with 32 points.
FC Sete – 10th with 32 points.
FC Gueugnon – 9th with 33 points.
AS Cannes – 8th with 34 points.
Olympique Lyon – 7th with 35 points. Food for thought: Schumacher was on the peak of his world fame in 1985. Ten years earlier he was considered rather hopeless and Topalovic was the first goalkeeper of 1. FC Koln. Later the roles reversed, Topalovic became non-entity and did not last long even in Lyon’s second division squad.
Olympique Ales – 6th with 35 points.
CS Thonon – 5th with 38 points.
La Paillade Montpellier – 4th with 41 points.
Olympique Nimes – 3rd with 42 points. Good or bad, Nimes was on top of the bulk of the league, but not able to challenge the leaders.
St. Etienne – 2nd with 48 points. Stronger than the general level of the league, but lost the race for the first place. And eventually lost its second chance to return to first division to Rennes. Strange to see one of the most exciting clubs of the 1970s in second division, but that was the reality.
OGC Nice prevailed in the battle for promotion and won the championship. 20 wins, 10 ties, 4 losses, 73-29 goal-difference and 50 points. Like St. Etienne, Nice declined sharply and it was not sure at all they could climb back to leading place in French football, but second division was a bitter pill to swallow and they did their best to return to top flight. And succeeded.