Silence, it is flowing. Overwhelmed in Lorient (2-0) Saturday afternoon without even taking up armsOlympique de Marseille continues to sink. At this charge, Habib Beye’s males even see the specter of a clean season returning with out qualifying for the European Cup subsequent season, which might be a catastrophe for this membership, each from an financial and sporting perspective.
And as if that wasn’t sufficient, it was the second chosen by Mehdi Benatia, the resigning sports activities director that McCourt finally convinced to stay at the club till the tip of the season, to take out the sulphate and water all of the gamers in a speech lasting greater than 5 minutes, within the corridors of Moutoir, which can go down within the historical past of the membership and Ligue 1.
Benatia takes out the sulphate
“I’ve no downside being informed that the gamers I introduced again, who have been superb in September, are very dangerous in the present day. No downside. That I introduced in a brand new coach (Habib Beye) who isn’t good both, I settle for that… However after I see the match we’re having in the present day, even when I do not need to discuss, I’ve to come back to the press, as a result of it is a scandal. It’s a scandal,” he complained.
“You play Lorient, which has nothing left to play for, and you do not win a duel, you do not have a race ahead, you are not enterprising, you do not strive something… You have a look at them and, within the stadium, they are going ola as a result of they’re making a bit of bridge for you, hook… Sure, that is it, the reality,” he continued, with a black look.
A bunch that already has its head elsewhere?
However this was solely a foretaste of what was to observe, as a result of the sports activities director had lots of messages to convey to his gamers, whom he publicly suspected of already having their minds set on their future tasks, lots of which can be written very removed from Marseille.
« If you come right here, when you’ve got 5 finals to play for a Champions League goal, it should be seen, besides that it’s not seen, he declared earlier than talking on to a journalist he is aware of nicely. What number of do you assume went into the locker room and turned the desk over? Zero, nobody. The whole lot is ideal, the bottles are in place, all that. So the truth is, you play at Olympique de Marseille, you play a match like that and also you settle for it? »
“There are some who will depart, as a result of they’ve the World Cup, they have already got a membership… After which in two months, we are going to say to ourselves: ‘Ah, rattling, he is really good!’ However right here, then again, you did not make an effort. That is what’s extra critical, he continued. So I informed them to not plan something for the following 4 weeks. We will spend a bit of extra time collectively on the Commanderie. (…) Spend the morning, within the afternoon, we go to work, with a superb nap within the center. And we go to work. »
The introduced horror movie happened
This isn’t the primary time that Mehdi Benatia has been expressed so strongly and for thus lengthy this season, proof that there’s nonetheless not a lot going proper on this membership in latest months. The final time was on the finish of September, after the altercation between Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe. At a time when Roberto De Zerbi was nonetheless the coach and Pablo Longoria the president. Since then, little by little, the 2 robust males from the beginning of the season have left however the issues have remained. It was already perpetually in the past.
At this level within the season, we puzzled if the OM season could downright turn into a horror film. It’s a must to imagine that we have been proper. It stays to be seen whether or not this speech may have the anticipated impact on the gamers or if, quite the opposite, it might definitively mark a complete break with the gamers. Habib Beye and his employees will rapidly have the chance to appreciate this since Mehdi Benatia has warned the group, they may spend much more time collectively till the tip of the season to save lots of what can nonetheless be saved.
“So I informed them (the gamers) to not plan something for the following 4 weeks. We will spend a bit of extra time collectively on the Commanderie. (…) Spend the morning, within the afternoon, we go to work, with a superb nap within the center. And we go to work. If the gamers assume that somebody on the membership has given up, we are going to present them that we’re able to spend on daily basis on the Commanderie. There are individuals who arrive at work on daily basis at 7 a.m. and who do not earn what we earn. If, to spice up issues up, it feels good to spend time collectively, we’ll do it. »
