On the sporting front, SC Sète’s season has been a success overall with promotion to Regional 2. On the financial front, it has been necessary to make some drastic cuts. Stefan Paler, president, explains.
While a large budget was announced at the start of the season, the club experienced a complicated year financially. How is it possible ?
I started the club and everything was already established for salaries, with R1 recruitment. The steering committee had to provide €15,000 per head, except that there were seven of us at the start and only three donated. We also had a list of sponsors worth €300,000, but only Dalkia and Suez kept their commitments. Apart from them, the only ones who kept their word were the city with €240,000 in subsidies in total, as well as a €40,000 promotion bonus at the end of the season.
While we announced a budget of €700,000, we ultimately left with much less than half. And with €50,000 of payroll per month. So I had to make decisions and part with employees. There were drastic cuts in the salaries of certain educators, we had to do a big clean-up because there were far too many positions for an R3 club. And I warned the players, I promised them that they would all be paid until the end.
Were they?
Today, almost all the players and educators have been paid. We will be at 100% in a few days. Including the players who are leaving. Everyone who has done their job will be paid.
There was some grumbling during the season…
There were rumors and discontent. But you have to know that in Sète, there are no volunteers. And many were sitting in an armchair. What was neglected, and I take full responsibility for it, is the women’s section. But that will change.
As for the players, it was complicated for some to accept the delay, unlike the educators. Some didn’t play the game, they didn’t have the right mindset. It’s humanly “understandable”, but there was no support for the club. The love of the jersey, today, pays off.
There was also discontent among the young people since an entire team decided to leave the club.
Franck Casalis’ U15s are leaving, indeed. He made a club within the club and did not respect the charter that we wanted to put in place. From then on, we did not want to keep him. The children made the choice to follow him and we did not block them. But if tomorrow they want to come back, they will be welcome. In any case, the circus is over!
You separated from your treasurer Éric Fviens very early on. What happened ?
We had a disagreement, on the operation, too important to continue. But his return to the club is envisaged.
Will your sporting director, Nando Soares, continue?
He wanted to stop, because we are all very tired from this season. And he was on the front line. But he stays and keeps his functions.
Recruitment is almost complete
Promoted during the season from the reserve (D1) to R3, Adil El Hasnouni was reappointed as coach of SC Sète. And the work has already been done since recruitment is almost complete.
In terms of departures, four players will no longer wear the Sète colours at the start of the school year. These are Robin Taillan, Guillaume Cros, Lilian Alquier and Sofiane Faraji.
On the arrivals side, five signings have already been made official, including the return of Thibault Balp and the arrivals of Yohan Loisel, Maël Debza, Yohan Guillaume and Merouane Lallaigui. “We are still waiting for two players, a left piston and an attacker”précise Adril El Hasnouni. “For this recruitment, we targeted a few positions where there was either departure or failure. We didn’t touch too much on the group which was satisfactory. We targeted on quality but also on the state of mind, because we will come across increasingly compact teams and we needed decisive players individually but especially collectively. » The objective, of course, will be to move up to Regional 1.
The first team achieved its objective, but the reserve team had great difficulties, finishing last in D1 with two forfeits. What happened?
When I arrived, the first team had its squad, which wasn’t the case in D1. And for their first training session, there were only six players… We still managed to put together a team. But with 17 players in the first team, injuries and cards, it was difficult to get them to go down. And we only saw promotion.
When Christophe Rouve left, we needed a coach for R3. We called Fabien Allix but he needed time to think. After a while, we appointed Adil El Hasnouni, who was coaching D1. But some players left after he left. Then we appointed Sébastien Saez in reserve. And, if Fabien Allix had 26 players in U18, it was still very complicated to bring them to D1… We even had to call on veterans.
It’s a failure, but it will be different next season with seniors and U18s who will be forced to go if they don’t play with their team. I would like to point out that with the withdrawal of Juvignac, the reserve could remain in D1. And she will be coached by Karim Krini.
A year after your arrival, is the reconstruction work still underway?
Today, the accounts are balanced but there is still a lot of work remaining. Player salaries will thus be reduced by more than 50% next season, to be more in line with the level at which we play. We also want to train kids who are having academic difficulties. We will also support educators, because everyone must now be qualified. And those who already are will move to the next level.
On a sporting level, the three objectives are to bring the first to R1, the reserve to D1 (or R3) and the U19s to National. And we want respect at all levels. A charter will be put in place and it will be applied. Because the kids must come for fun, with respect for adversaries and institutions. We want competence, rigor, joy and life. SC Sète was sorely lacking, all that must change.
