Moussa Dembélé takes over Wosley Fofana, symbol of Lyon’s domination of the Greens in the derby on Sunday at Parc OL. – Jeff Pachoud / AFP
- Beaten in the derby by OL (2-0) on Sunday, ASSE welcomed Stade Rennais to the semi-finals of the Coupe de France on Thursday.
- Today 16th in Ligue 1, with only two points ahead of the red zone, Saint-Etienne is in great danger.
- In addition to the sports crisis, there was also an internal crisis for the Greens, with the dismissal of Stéphane Ruffier by Claude Puel or the dismissal of the director of the recruitment cell.
This Thursday, AS Saint-Etienne will receive the
Stade Rennais in Geoffroy-Guichard, in the semi-finals of the
French Cup. The only breath of fresh air at the start of this depressing start to the year, the venerable competition represents the last chance for the Greens to save a season that is currently catastrophic. A crucial meeting that Stéphanois will prepare out of sight. Due to the epidemic of
coronavirus, all ASSE training
will take place behind closed doors this week.
What if we also sang only half of the time?
Honoring this Green Jersey means giving your best from start to finish! At the moment, for some it is far from being the case!
Let’s all move together to make our Colors shine as it should be! #ASSE #LePeupleVert pic.twitter.com/YVQy8CuLef– ASSE-Le Peuple Vert (@ LePeupleVert42) March 2, 2020
A very convenient explanation to escape the wrath of the green people, some supporters joke. If the accusation is of course exaggerated, it is nevertheless tempting to make the situation a symbol of the leaden screed which is currently falling on the club. Already entangled for many months in deep internal conflicts, illustrated by the dismissal, in mid-February, of the director of the recruitment cell David Wantier, the ASSE has plunged into the crisis for several weeks.
A curious atmosphere has settled in L’Etrat
The first wick was lit indirectly by Claude Puel on February 23. By choosing to dismiss
Stéphane Ruffier for the benefit of Jessy Moulin, for the reception of Reims, the Stéphane coach has drawn the wrath of the agent of the emblematic goalkeeper.
Questioned by L’Equipe, Patrick Glanz squarely fired a missile salvo at Claude Puel, accused of “spitting on a legend of AS Saint-Etienne”.
⚽️ #ASSESDR
💬 Christophe Josse addresses the replacement of Ruffier by Moulin and pays tribute to ASSE goalkeeper # 2 # DL1 pic.twitter.com/6JOeEfD0Mh– beIN Ligue 1 Confo (@ beINLigue1Confo) February 23, 2020
Since the coach’s reply and the passing of arms between him and Patrick Glanz, a curious atmosphere has settled around the Etrat’s training center. A sort of “mini-witch hunt” to believe one of our interlocutors, to the point that the majority of our sources categorically refuse to see their words taken up in the press, even anonymously. “If I speak, the management will try to find out who it comes from and that can put me in difficulty,” testifies a close to the club.
“We can judge Claude Puel when he can really create his workforce”
It must be said that sports results do not help calm the mood. Defeated Sunday in the derby (2-0), on the lawn of OL, ASSE thus found itself in 16th place, with only two small points ahead of Nîmes, 16th and barragiste. Suffice to say that the dreams of the Champions League cherished last season today seem far away. However, the workforce of Stéphane, certainly faced with the injuries of its rare creative players like Hamouma and Khazri, is not that different from that ranked 4th under the direction of Jean-Louis Gasset. In any case, it remains much better on paper than that of a traditional candidate for retention.
But the coach’s waltz, with the temporary experience of the inexperienced Ghislain Printant and the arrival of Claude Puel as a firefighter on duty, did not help. When the latter was appointed in October 2019, Fousseni Diawara, former side of the Greens in the 2000s, wanted to be confident, even seeing in the former Leicester coach “a man capable of bringing Saint-Etienne back to LDC” . “It’s true, I was excited to see him at the controls,” recognizes Diawara, who wishes to remain nuanced: “Claude Puel has of course his share of responsibility but when he can really create his workforce and work in an environment that he created himself, then we can really judge it. “
The double presidency of the club and the management of the departure of Galtier pointed out
The former Green reminds us, “Puel has always turned his eleven, it was already the case at Losc, we don’t find out today”. Another source abounds: “Puel is a very good coach and a builder. We know his methods which are different from his predecessors – Galtier as Gasset were, them, paternalists – and it takes time to assume them. “
On the Ruffier case, Fousseni Diawara admits that “touching a legend like him, it can impact the group”. “But Puel wanted to get a message across,” he adds, “that no one is untouchable. And the fact that his agent got involved shouldn’t have done Ruffier any favors. Others also point to “the eternal problems linked to the club’s double presidency” and the mismanagement of Christophe Galtier’s departure, which is at the heart of some of ASSE’s main concerns. Diawara wants to remain optimistic in any case: “The main thing, he believes, is to ensure the maintenance this season. Then it will be time to think about how to straighten the club. “