Montpellier's defeat at Puy-en-Velay is symbolic of a nightmarish year with a more than complicated last six months.
Montpellier thought it had experienced the worst against Marseille (0-5) in Ligue 1, on October 20. A heavy setback which cost Michel Der Zakarian his place. The Montpellier residents experienced a worse humiliation, Saturday evening, at Puy-en-Velay (4-0). Eliminated by a N2 team playing three divisions below most normally in the world. Tactically dominated, beaten in the game and “eaten in every duel”as recognized by Jean-Louis Gasset, the coach.
Attitudes that we didn't think we would see again after the arrival of the ultras from Butte Paillade to the Grammont training center on October 31. They wanted players who would no longer sin through envy and wet their jerseys. This had been the case until then, but on Saturday evening, in Haute-Loire, the MHSC fell back into its ways. Suffering its 18th defeat in 36 matches in 2024 for 8 draws and 10 wins. But only two successes since the start of the 2024-2025 season, proof of a decline in the results.
Quality players but not at their level
We know the different reasons for this decadence. The drop in TV rights prevented President Laurent Nicollin from recruiting and the group which needed to be renewed only received the reinforcement of a player on loan (Rabby Nzingoula) and two others free after the end of the transfer window (Birama Touré, Nikola Maksimovic). Added to this were numerous injuries since Montpellier had to do without at least ten players for a long time. There are nevertheless enough quality players – provided they play at their true level – to do better than a last place in Ligue 1 and a pitiful elimination in the Coupe de France.
The latter marks the first stoppage since Jean-Louis Gasset became the coach. Who, if he restored consistency to his team at La Mosson with two draws (Lille, Nice) and a victory (Brest) against European teams, does not succeed any more than his predecessor away with “no points taken, no goals scored”. To the point that the Montpellier coach spoke of a problem “mental”. He didn't like the way at Le Puy either. “The truth came back to us. Being like that, playing like that and not having the character to react, it's very hard.”
The truce is coming
The man in the cap didn't want to analyze the match too quickly and shoot at his men. “We’re going to say it’s a day off. We’re going to use that.” Will he make strong decisions when he returns from vacation to wake up a locker room that only moves forward with blows? One thing is certain, this truce is coming to cut this bad dynamic. “Let them clear their heads, like us. Because we have been under pressure for two months, we have been suffering, we have been living very poorly”did not hide Jean-Louis Gasset admitting the previous weekend that he had taken “120 years and 7 games”.
With this elimination, Montpellier will now only play at the end of the week and Ligue 1 with the mission of saving itself. This is what Stéphane Dief, the coach of Le Puy and former winner of the Gambardella Cup with the MHSC, wanted.“Last season, Dunkirk lost here and had a good second half of the season.”
Forgetting 2024 to bounce back better in 2025: the first wish of the new year for Montpellier residents.
