Everything had started so well with a goal from the tenacious, yet injured, Bakary Koné, which thus freed the crowd at Stade du Ray, who had been holding their breath since the first seconds of the match. But it was without taking into account the halftime break that favored the northerners who, within 5 minutes, turned around a situation that was hardly favorable to them, especially with Kovacevic’s expulsion right after the one-hour mark. Jussié from the penalty spot and Dindane with a perfect technical move shattered the hopes of the Nice supporters to gift them a Christmas victory and, more importantly, three precious points.
The Corsican will form his commando unit
“We all need to question ourselves immediately. It’s crucial to implement a commando spirit to ensure we stay up. There are mines everywhere in this club. People should know this. And I’m capable of resisting them. I’ll take my responsibilities on January 2nd, the date we resume. By that, I mean I will then form a real commando unit. In our situation, we need performers, men, not whiners. Those are the ones we need to eliminate.” Frédéric Antonetti isn’t known for mincing his words, and the sports return at the red and black club is likely to be quite heated, with accounts yet to be fully settled.
But what exactly are these “mines,” and who are these “whiners” the Corsican technician is talking about? Some players, like the recent recruits Moussilou and Veigneau, are in the club’s crosshairs, having never managed to settle into the Nice squad. But, beyond the field, isn’t the truth also elsewhere at the heart of this OGC Nice 2006/2007, which today urgently needs to find solutions to get itself out of trouble.
Management, I love you… me neither
Between the famous whiners and “those who throw spanners in the works,” Antonetti will have a tough job rebuilding trust greatly damaged by all the latest poor performances and, moreover, he will have to face undisguised enmities from other directors and Nice technicians who, according to him, “rejoice when we lose.”
It’s a gloomy atmosphere then in a club that would really need to regain some color before embarking on a rather rough path in the league and in the French Cup where the Niçois will visit Créteil to start the year; then it will be back to the reality of the league with a risky trip to Nantes in a match worth its weight in points. The agenda doesn’t get any easier with the reception of Toulouse, a trip to Lyon, the visits from Bordeaux and Troyes at the Ray before going to Valenciennes. A packed schedule indeed for a team that must at all costs avoid defeats to hope to escape the relegation zone as quickly as possible.
Yet, the Gym could really use a thorough audit at all levels because while some players can be blamed for their lack of conviction, it remains that some sectors of the Azuréen club are in just as sorry a state as their Ray home. Patchy marketing, a chaotic relationship between the pro group and the sports association responsible for managing the youth teams, and a bad habit of tripping up in recruitment are also reasons why the Nice machine suddenly seized up after a last season that was otherwise promising.
