LAST MINUTE (9:30 AM): The board meeting scheduled for today has been postponed to a later date that has not yet been defined.
Is it a solution to have fired a President who nevertheless had honorable results in recent years? Could the problem lie in other areas within the club? Should we continue to trust Frédéric Antonetti? Are Roger Ricord and Eric Roy really the right men for the situation?
These are questions that the club’s shareholders, Gilbert Stellardo, Marcel Governatori, and Franck Giudicelli must find answers to, as the club’s sports situation seems increasingly worrisome.
Nice Premium asked Rudy Salles, a Deputy, Director of the RNCA, and former reporter at L’Equipe Julien Schramm to give their opinions on the crisis that seems to be settling at the heart of the Gym.’
Nice Premium: OGC Nice has just faced another failure against Toulouse. What do you think of the current situation of the club?
Julien Schramm: It’s obviously very delicate, but it’s certainly not desperate. The Gym must stay the course and trust the people.
Recapture the adventurous spirit that the club had when it was relaunched a few seasons ago
Rudy Salles: The situation is very concerning. The club is going through a crisis in its sports results but also in its management, it seems. On the sporting front, OGC Nice has seen better days, but I think the situation can be rectified.
I trust the players to give their best until the end of the championship and do everything to ensure the team’s survival in league 1. However, I fear this will not be enough without reconsidering the technical management.
NP: Maurice Cohen is no longer the President of the club. In your opinion, could this be the solution to avoiding a crisis and relegation to League 2?
JS: It is rare to see a president leave; generally, he clings on, and it’s the coaches who are sacrificed. It is to the credit of Maurice Cohen, who has done a tremendous job in recent years stabilizing the club in the elite both sportingly and financially. The problem is not in his departure… but the dossier of the Grand Stade weighed heavily.
RS: I don’t know if it’s the solution, but he couldn’t stay in such a context. I believe that the club needs to be seriously taken over by people who are competent and have a genuine team spirit.
NP: How do you envision the future of the red and black house?
JS: Not to question everything especially. Keep believing. That comes through on the field and results. Commando spirit, with the people at the center of everything, not the system that often protects them.
RS: It’s a club to which we are all very attached. It must overcome these difficulties to bounce back as quickly as possible. I remember tough periods a few years ago when my then-deputy André Bonny, Deputy for Sports at the City of Nice, did everything to save the club. He took care to bring together everyone who had something to say or to do to save OGC Nice, coming from all political backgrounds. These efforts were successful.
I also remember another more recent period where an experienced coach, Gernot ROHR, whom I always supported, managed to meet the challenge by preventing OGC Nice from being relegated to the National level. At that time, OGC Nice was leading the standings for several months to the great pride of its supporters. One can wonder today why Gernot Rohr was pushed out?
NP: Finally, do you have any insight into the problems affecting the club this year while last year the future seemed serene, and especially the remedies to address them?
JS: The Grand Stade again and always. Like a stop to the ambitions of the Gym, which has spread to all levels of the club.
RS: I am not privy to what is happening inside the club and thus I cannot comment on this question. There is clearly a crisis of confidence between the players, the coach, the leaders, and even the municipality.
What to say today about the meeting that was held a few days ago between Messrs. Peyrat and Cohen to talk about the construction of a grand stadium? We were announced a project which was manifestly just a PR stunt without substance. The Mayor of the City receiving the President of the club while he was about to be “ousted” to discuss the future of Nice’s stadium? This is, to say the least, surprising.
I am neither a club executive nor a coach, but like many supporters, I also know that if the team were strengthened with one or two top-tier attackers, we would score more goals and undeniably earn more points in the standings. The question is why has OGC Nice not done this or is not able to do it?
