Former high-level footballer and iconic coach of Stade Malherbe Caen for more than 250 matches, Patrice Garande is today helplessly witnessing a very worrying start to the season for his favorite club in Ligue 2. Speaking in the debrief of the Dunkirk – SMC match (3-1) of France Bleu Normandie this Monday evening, the former technician who saw the Calvadosiens remain in 16th place and therefore in the position of play-offs for maintenance took several times the word to express his dismay. Supported by Nicolas Seube, he sees big gaps in the weed squad which is definitely unable to get back on track even though we thought it was slightly better a few weeks ago.
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“If there are some who weren’t worried (before D16), I think they might be now! The team is a lot sicker than I thought. We have a sick team, guys who aren’t going to look for anything, we don’t see anything, nothing! We see substitutes giving their all, including a kid (Tomé) who managed to score… Otherwise, there is no collective idea, no common thought in this team. Not everyone plays the same football. Some players are below their level, some don’t want to do it. I’m going to name some names: (Tidiam) Gomis, when he wants to go deep, he’s capable of it but he doesn’t want to do it. We are slowly sinking, and that doesn’t worry anyone! »
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A glaring lack of commitment
“In the identity of Stade Malherbe, there is something that does not depend on the quality of the players, it is the attitude and behavior. This team is not a team of competitors, it rallied behind the panache of Nicolas Seube last season because they were completely on the street and that brought some to a level much higher than what they really have, with incredible enthusiasm. This year, the same players came back thinking they would have a quiet season, there was the arrival of Mbappé (in the shareholding)… and today we are here! I wonder: who on the team can afford to be complacent? We can get through it, miss things, but the opponents run a lot more than us, practically all have a collective game superior to ours… And that’s unfortunately the reality! I’m worried. »
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Restart the SMC machine
“There is a French Cup match in Guingamp, which is another competition. But if we’re betting everything on the fact that we’re going to beat Clermont (01/03/2025) because the team isn’t great yet, okay, but if things don’t go well, how will- what do we do? As I told President Ziad Hammoud, if we do not take three players in the winter transfer window, we will be in very, very great danger. The other teams are prepared for this, they play not to go down, while Stade Malherbe, apart from the climb, I don’t see what else they can play other than the climb. Of course we are rebuilding, but the truth is still on the ground. The results of the first team are what will allow the project to succeed. You can work well outside, but if the team loses all the games…”
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Nicolas Seube on an ejection seat in Caen?
“You know my opinion on the matter, I think that changing the coach is not the only solution and that Nicolas Seube has extenuating circumstances. That said, he is a young coach. He does not have 45 games on the bench with the professionals. He’s also doing his apprenticeship and I don’t think he gets much help. Through his players, I have already said what I thought of them. But it has to shine through throughout the club, that we feel that we have ambition and that at Malherbe, we cannot produce matches like that! What disappoints me is that the players don’t run or run less than the others. And if they think they are doing as much as the others, they need to ask themselves the right questions. There are players who are not at their level and I wonder: where are the executives? Where have we seen rebellion? We play ball, but at the end there are no shots, no shots after 25 minutes, and as soon as the opponent scores a goal it’s over. Clémentia, I think he’s better than Mandréa, but I also think he’s subject! When he concedes a goal, he has to shake up the guys in scoring. But we don’t see that in anyone…”
Source : francebleu.fr
