Another defeat, this time meaning elimination in the race to Stade de France, which Frédéric Antonetti thought was well underway after the hard-won qualification at Créteil just a few days ago. The scenario was notably different from previous defeats, but that curious impression of bad luck mixed with a clear lack of success still looms over the eagles who seem to have more and more trouble taking off.
“Now the situation is difficult, we must not hide from it.” The coach from Nice is at least realistic, but difficult does not mean desperate, and if the commando spirit was somewhat lacking Saturday night in Montpellier, it is now urgent to regain the serenity needed to focus on the only competition in which the Niçois are still contenders, the league. Ranked 19th with 16 points from 3 wins, 8 draws, and 10 losses, President Cohen’s men must absolutely win this Wednesday against Toulouse, who hold a good sixth place, just a few points from the European zone.
The supporters and their forum are rumbling
“Tonight, I am ashamed,” “I’m coming back from Montpellier, and it’s scary. It’s true that we hit the woodwork, but so did they, and without a great Gregorini, we would never have reached extra time,” “The only ones proud of the red & black colors seem to be the supporters only!!!!”. These are just a few excerpts from the many reactions posted on the official OGC Nice forum, which is concerned about a situation that no one really envisions a favorable outcome to. Faced with this acknowledgment of failure, some talk about changing the coach, others about replacing the leaders, or even both, and President Cohen must currently be struggling to manage his club’s position, his supporters’ strike, or even hostilities between certain executives of the red and black house.
If a time has indeed arrived, it is undoubtedly that for a real assessment of the club, aiming for an audit that is as much sporting, human, as financial of a mechanism that seemed well-oiled but whose engine has suddenly seized up at the start of this new 2006-2007 season.
