thanks to the takeover of new president thierry gomez, troyes avoided bankruptcy to finish 10th the following season. in 2004 jean-marc furlan, who had spectacular results in coupe de france with amateur side libourne saint-seurin, was appointed manager. in his first season, the club secured promotion by finishing third, largely due to the great performances of two young strikers on loan, sébastien grax from as monaco and bafétimbi gomis from as saint-etienne. the club played some attractive football, in the style of former manager alain perrin. the club maintained itself in ligue 1 in 2005–2006, but failed the following season (2006–07), finishing in 18th position. furlan left at the end of the season, and denis troch became the new manager. after failing to win promotion, with troyes taking only 4 points in the last 11 games of the season and finishing in 6th place despite being in the top three during the majority of the season, troch was sacked at the conclusion of the season. ludovic batelli was appointed next season, but had to struggle against relegation. he was sacked in april 2009 and caretaker manager, claude robin, previously troyes' director of formation, did not manage to avoid relegation.