A little less than a week after the DNCG sanctions, the blow is still there among OL supporters. The latter, already pessimistic, fear the worst with John Textor.
The sanctions did not get the better of OL's rather successful start to the season. Tuesday at the beginning of the afternoon, the queue was quite large on the Bron side. It is certainly not the school holidays, but the arrival of Corentin TolissoMaxence He would lie down or even Enzo Melebe attracted people to Decathlon. After several years of separation, the Lyon players managed to recreate a real relationship with their supporters. Last season allowed us to strengthen ties that had weakened and the presence of numerous supporters for the signing session confirmed this.
This OL has managed to attract everyone's sympathy thanks to this extraordinary journey. And whether we like it or not, have Tolisso et He would lie down at the head of the bill still remains a seller for the club and its equipment supplier Adidasat the origin of the operation. “Sessions open to the public are quite rare so it’s a good opportunity to be able to meet them a little”whispers Marine, who took advantage of the proximity of the Lyon 2 University to see the Lyonnais present. Above all, it was smiles that marked this session, far from the tumult that can happen behind the scenes. If the athlete was favored during the day, the sanctions against the club have not been forgotten.
“How can you talk about Botafogo with what’s happening here?”
The youngest like Mattéo are far from all these considerations, above all happy to have had an autograph on his jersey. But, among the oldest, there is inevitably concern. The threat of relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of the season had the effect of a real shock wave. “It was something unthinkable just two years ago. The situation was already precarious at the end of the Aulas era, but we have never reached such an extreme”confides Jacques, who came to accompany his grandson Mattéo. Everyone will say that they are not financial experts and that there is necessarily data that they do not have.
However, John Textor's sleight of hand seems to have worn out more than one supporter of theOL. The American has managed to seduce with seemingly innocuous gestures, such as drinking a beer with the supporters before a Coupe de France match or attending a U17 derby. This brought his popularity rating back up, but it has certainly never been as low as it has been in the last week. And it wasn't his post-DNCG press conference that allowed him to regain the love of the crowd.
If some concede that there may be a certain desire on the part of the authorities to make OL an example, the owner's speech is far from being accepted. “We clearly have the impression of being taken hostage and that our club is no longer considered. Instead of talking about OL, Textor makes big statements about the project at Botafogo, fumes Maxence, swimsuit Tolisso on the shoulders. What does this have to do with the situation here? He sold everything and we still find ourselves with the knife at our throat. Who tells us it won't start again next summer? Then the winter after?”
A winter that promises to be harsh
With the control of the payroll and the ban on recruiting, Lyon supporters expect not a bloodletting, but to see the athlete and Pierre Sage suffer from this shaky situation. Malick's sales Breathing and Rayan Cherki are announced as more than probable and “It would be another blow to the head if we lost both”for Theo. However, they remain the two highest market values in the squad and one of the two clearly risks being sacrificed in an attempt to plug the holes.
The sale of Cherki would both bring in money and shed a large salary. Enough to tick all the boxes of a sure contender for a departure. Here again, fans like Mattias do not understand the Textorian strategy. “We are clearly not in a strong position, but saying that everyone is for sale clearly does not help to raise prices. We saw it this summer, no one wanted our unwanted people. How to do it better this winter when we are even more in the red?”
Confident for several weeks, the Lyon fans are not discouraged. However, in this house of cards which is gradually starting to sink, it is difficult for them to continue to believe in a bright sporting future when the field is more than ever at the mercy of the financial markets…
