There are circumstances in any form of life in which a dominant entity succumbs to an unexpected demise. Football is by no means an exception, with one of French football’s most renown clubs AS Monaco now fading into obscurity in one of the most dramatic falls from grace in many a year.

Think back to May 2004. The club was on the verge of history, lining up against the modest Jose Mourinho and his Porto side in the finale of the UEFA Champions League. In the year of the underdog, in which Greece won the European Championship, two of the most unfavourable clubs in the last-16 shocked the continent to make it to the last two.

Coached by Didier Deschamps, the first-XI that night consisted of present & future household names such as; Patrice Evra, Fernando Morientes, Ludovic Giuly, Jerome Rothen and even Emmanuel Adebayor warming a seat on the bench. To call a winner on that night could have been left to a flip of the coin, nobody could predict an outright winner as both met on an even keel. Although the Portuguese ran out comfortable 3-0 winners and lifted their second European Cup, the achievement of Monaco actually getting to the final has been somewhat forgotten.

Runners-up in Ligue 1 the previous year, they overcame European juggernauts Chelsea and Real Madrid in the knock-out stage, not to mention finishing top off their group ahead of PSV Eindhoven and a Deportivo La Coruna team at its peak. Although it was just over seven years ago, a lot has changed since then with the club now floundering to an all time low.

At present, Monaco are sitting at the bottom of Ligue 2 after falling through the trap door of France’s top tier at the end of last season. They have only accumulated one win in 14 league games, not to mention being humiliated by Sedan 4-1 in the Coupe de la Ligue back in July. They have had eight draws in total with five defeats – which could have been six had it not been for a goal from Marama Vahirua four minutes from time to earn a 2-2 draw at home to Le Mans last Saturday.

It is such a sorry state of affairs for one of the most successful clubs in French football. Ever since that night in Gelsenkirchen back in 2004, the club have gone nowhere near to replicating any such feats with a string of mid-table finishes. Nobody could have predicted a relegation battle last season, considering they finished 8th the previous year. Although that is nothing to brag about, they looked stable, making their demise all the more baffling.

A number of reasons can point to why this has happened. Although it is such a big club, the fan base is vastly small in comparison to the other big hitters in Ligue 1 such as Marseille, PSG and Lyon. Monaco’s average attendances at the Stade Louis II have ranged from anywhere between 8,000 to 12,000 over the years, emphasising the lack of core support they behold. Also, for a club that has never struggle financially, the inability to keep and attract bigger names led to a more orthodox route by the board to focus on nurturing young talent.

This was perhaps a thought leading back to the 1980’s/1990’s where they had the likes of Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Lilian Thuram, Emmanuel Petit, Fabien Barthez and even overseas imports such as the George Weah who went on to become FIFA World Player of the Year. Names that are now bestowed in football folklore for achievements ranging from domestic triumphs to the pinnacle of winning the FIFA World Cup.

It was a method that ultimately flopped, the young prospects at the club failed to reach the heights the club expected. With the team’s average age at 24, youthful exuberance is – again – being heavily relied in. Even with the experience of players like Petter Hansson and Ludovic Giuly, who returned to the club at the ripe old age of 34 in the summer, they are way past their best to have an impact on the team.

The lack of stability in the boardroom is also a key indication to the demise as since 2003, there have been five different Chairmen. The man in the hot seat at the moment, Etienne Franzi, stated upon his election in 2009 that he was unsure of what the organisational structure of the club would be. Again, a lack of direction and indecisiveness played havoc with on-field matters.

Where does the club go from here? First and foremost, they have to avoid relegation for a second-year running. The catastrophic effect that would have on the club is a harrowing thought for not only the club’s fans but also for the neutrals that identify Monaco as a marquee name in European football. This is a club that has won seven league titles, umpteen domestic cups and played regular European football over the course of its history.

In seven years, Les Rouges et Blanc have gone from Champions League runners-up to relegation fodder. Succumbing to the National will be horrendous but they have time on their side to turn it round. If things continue in this vain however, any ambition to replicate finer years may just be a considerably long pipe dream.

Thanks to Ross Mackiewicz for this excellent article on AS Monaco. For more of Ross’s work check out his twitter feed and his excellent Paris St-Germain blog