Like every Monday, the Sainté Night Club met. Nolan Roux, former Ligue 1 scorer and Sylvain (Peuple Vert) commented on the first third of the ASSE championship while looking ahead to the future. Extract.
Roux believes in Stassin
Nolan Roux (Ex-ASSE) : “Lucas Stassin? Even if he was a crack player, a player with a lot of quality, who comes from another championship, remains human. If he signs in Ligue 1, it’s because he has talent, obviously. But when you join a poorly ranked team, which does not create a lot of chances per match and which is struggling to maintain its position, the adaptation is necessarily more complicated.
Arriving without knowing the Ligue 1 championship, at only 19 years old, is a huge challenge. Yes, it is possible to succeed right away, but it is very rare. There is a necessary adaptation period: the pace is different, the style of play is faster, and you have to get to know your teammates. This young player has qualities, that’s undeniable, and he won’t lose them. With time, training, and gaining playing time, he will inevitably progress. At 19, he still has a long way to go.
It's true that, given the amount of his transfer, expectations are high. Many hope that he will immediately become ASSE's flagship striker. And of course, that would be the ideal, the perfect scenario. But you have to respect the steps: like in any profession, you have to learn and adapt before you can show your full potential. As an attacker, a goal can be enough to break the deadlock, to gain confidence and start a positive dynamic.
He is there, he is progressing, he is accumulating playing time. Perhaps he still seems a little tender, but that is normal: he is discovering a new environment and a demanding championship. We can't just say to him: “You are the ASSE striker, it's up to you to carry the team and score.” Of course he wants to do it, he works for it, but it takes time.
He's played eight games so far, but those aren't eight starts. In total, he has 213 minutes of play and already three assists to his name. And that counts! Three assists means three goals for the team. Obviously, he would like to score himself to unlock his personal situation, but you have to be patient.
I said it upon his arrival: we should not expect immediate miracles, neither from him nor from the other young players. They are present, they give what they can. Of course, you shouldn't waste too much time either, because the championship is moving quickly. But these players, including Lucas, will be decisive at the end of the season. He will score his goals, maybe not a lot, but each goal will be precious.“
What is there to be optimistic about for ASSE?
Sylvain (Green People): “JI think that beyond all that, there is an element that should not be overlooked. You surely remember this superb opportunity he had against Lille, where he recovered the ball from the feet of the defenders, went alone on goal and could have unlocked his counter in his first match. Unfortunately, he misses. I think if he had scored it could have changed a lot of things.
At 19, when you arrive at a club like that, without disrespecting the Belgian championship, there is still a real milestone to overcome between the Belgian D1 and Ligue 1. This transition is all the more difficult when you only have one professional season behind you.
As Nolan rightly said, sometimes all it takes is one goal for everything to change, whether in the player's head or in the perception we have of him. Whatever happens, he remains decisive: he has already delivered three assists and obtained a converted penalty. It’s not nothing, far from it.”
Stassin has the qualities to win
Nolan Roux (Ex-ASSE) : “He's not yet an established striker, the type to whom you can say: “Yes, he scores 10 goals every season.” He is a young player arriving in the French championship. As you rightly pointed out, there is a significant difference between the Belgian championship and Ligue 1, but even within French football, there is a huge gap between Ligue 2 and Ligue 1.
At the age of 19, he arrived from Belgium to play in Ligue 1, in a club that played for survival. So it makes sense that he still has a lot to learn. This is part of his learning process. But he has the qualities that are undeniable. Otherwise, he would not have signed for ASSE.
I observed his movements, his sense of purpose, and those aspects are there. Afterwards, yes, it's certain that during his first match against Lille, if he had scored this famous occasion, perhaps it would have changed everything. We will never know, but it could have freed him mentally and started a dynamic. For the moment, he is in the middle of a period of discovery. Is he showing some restraint? Maybe. But it's part of the process, and it will all work out over time.”
Lucas Stassin needs time at ASSE
Nolan Roux (Ex-ASSE) : “I was a striker, I know what it’s like. He has the moves, he has the sense of goal, he moves well. But we also have to take into account that he arrives in a team where no one has yet played with him. Nobody knows him, neither in Ligue 1 nor in Ligue 2. His teammates must learn to understand his movements, to anticipate his intentions. And he, for his part, must learn to adapt to the team's game.
He still needs to get playing time, and I think he'll get it when he starts scoring more. It's often like this: a coach waits for an attacker to be decisive to give him more responsibility. By scoring, he gains credit. It's all part of the process.
For now, he must sort out what can be harmful for him and concentrate on the essential: progressing with the club and, selfishly speaking, scoring goals. Being decisive sometimes means scoring on half a chance, and that's the kind of success that will eventually happen. But that requires him to free himself a little more and, above all, for the team itself to be more free offensively.
When you watch a match and an attacker doesn't even have a chance, it's tough, mentally. Saying to yourself after such a match: “Come on, next time I'm going to score”, it's complicated. I've always said: I'd rather have three chances and miss them than not have any at all.
And that’s particularly important at 19 years old. Even if we have time on our hands, we arrive at a club with personal and collective objectives. We can easily put harmful pressure on ourselves by thinking: “I have to score quickly, I have to score quickly”.
It's already happened to me, and even at 33 or 34: we put this pressure on ourselves. And by focusing on that, we don't score. We can ask ourselves all the questions in the world, but there is only one solution: the field and the work. But I'm not worried. If we were talking about a 35-year-old player, with eight games without a goal and approximate movements, then, yes, I would worry. But at 19, no. He still has plenty of time ahead of him.
