Saint-Étienne stomps, Saint-Étienne sinks. But the Greens have the weapons to get by. On the last day, Claude Puel's players, completely nonexistent in the first period, were led 3-0 at the break. Before transforming into second, dominating his opponent, and returning to 3 goals to 2. Unfortunately insufficient. This single match proves that the club from Stéphane is capable of the worst as well as the best, and that it lacks only consistency and regularity.
All the ingredients are there, except ...
On paper, ASSE has a lot to pretend to be better than a disturbing 16th place, just 2 points from the red zone. Especially since the club comes out of a more than correct 2018-2019 season, with a 4th place. With regard to the team, the management, the institution, it is difficult to find inconsistencies or upheavals which would explain this rout. Claude Puel is an experienced coach, who is not in the Loire to play maintenance. The two presidents, Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo, know what the club represents in the history of French football, and the importance for the supporters to play the leading roles in Ligue 1. ASSE did not achieve a bad mercato, at least on paper, by recruiting Boudebouz (3.5 million), Cabaye (free), Bouanga (4.5 million) or Palencia (2 million).
But the results are what they are, and Sainté finds himself playing maintenance, because he has lost games that he should not have lost. In fact, there are 3 essential things missing from the Greens: first, a creator. A man capable of energizing the game, reversing matches on flashes of genius, making the right strike or finding the right interval at the right time. As does Payet in Marseille, Di Maria in Paris, or Mollet in Montpellier, for example. The previous year, Saint-Etienne had these players: Remy Cabella, now exiled in Russia, and Wahbi Khazri, whose effectiveness has not really been the same for a year. The Tunisian international (53 caps) has so far scored 3 goals and delivered 2 assists on the 25th day (having missed 9 games). At this point in the season the previous year, the former Bordeaux player had already pierced the nets 12 times, for as many last passes (in 22 games).
The second lack of this Stéphanoise team, and which made its strength last season, is the absence of leaders, of executives. Stéphane Ruffier, whose talent is no longer to be governed is no longer as decisive. Yann M'Vila, imperial sentry the previous year, no longer finds its mark. And the club's icon for 16 years, Loïc Perrin (34), if he still seems as professional and involved, is on the downward slope. Just like Mathieu Debuchy or Yohan Cabaye (both 34 years old), who, despite their experience, and their irreproachable state of mind, no longer have the same impact.
Serious lack of unity
The last thing missing from the Forez club is a consistent game background. Puel's arrival on the Geoffroy-Guichard bench first had the “new coach” effect, which often happens when a new tactician is appointed during the season. Indeed, the first matches of the former Leicester coach are good omens, with in particular victories against Lyon (1-0), and in Bordeaux (0-1). Since ? Nothing. Because the problem is perhaps deeper ... Rumors report problems inside the locker room, between Puel and his executives. Some players would not have appreciated the battle that their coach fought in the media against Timothée Kolodziejczak, much appreciated by his partners. After the victory on the ground of Paris FC in the 16th finals of the Coupe de France (3-2), Puel had notably said in a press conference about his central defender: “we are even less likely to see him. I saw a great state of mind in the team and I want to keep this state of mind. You draw the consequences that you want ”.
To which former Sévillan had replied in an interview with L'Équipe: “I do not accept that he questions my professional integrity. To say that I am lax, stingy with my efforts while I work on a daily basis in order to find myself in the best conditions for the club is painful for those around me. ”
It was already quite serious like that, except that the 58-year-old manager added a layer, still at a press conference: "I have no difficulty making my choices in defense. […] When a player enters the group, it is because I consider that he has his place and that he is in the state of mind ”
Now Sainté has to pull himself together if the club wants to avoid the worst. In order to avoid the worst. Because the flagship club of the 70s and 80s in France is suffering, and only a united team could dispel the gray areas that obscure their season.
Read also
- Ligue 1 ranking
