In bad shape in Ligue 1, OM are going through a complicated period on a sporting level. Despite a level of play considered disappointing, especially offensively, the club remains confident in the current squad. Looking for a trigger, a dynamic… and while waiting for the winter transfer window, which could allow the leaders and Gennaro Gattuso to make some adjustments.
Four defeats in a row away from home, tenth in the Ligue 1 standings, with certainly one game in hand, OM are going through a troubled period sportingly. The brightening comes from the European matches, where the Marseille club is first in its Europa League group (ahead of Brighton, AEK and Ajax), but Marseille will not be satisfied with that. Like the coach Gennaro Gattusowho did not want to hide behind Sunday evening a cruel scenario against Lens – with a goal conceded at the last minute – and who considers that “certain players are at 50 or 60% of their capabilities”, everyone within the club is very lucid about the current situation. Marseille looks very disappointing and some players are not regaining their level or are having difficulty reaching the OM level. This is an obvious fact shared internally. The offensive sector, which lacks binding and automatisms, is particularly worrying.
The state of mind and physical investment are not called into question
The observation is implacable, and OM is seeking the solution. The first remedy is as old as time, and will involve work and a state of mind, considered positive despite worrying results. Gattuso brought a good atmosphere on a daily basis, a smile, a desire. The Italian boosted the players and restored morale in the locker room, inevitably a little disturbed by a chaotic start to the season, between a crisis behind the scenes and a change of coach.
OM has confidence in the Calabrian to reverse the trend and move up the rankings. With a united locker room, frustrated but determined players… and statistics (high-intensity races and kilometers covered) reassuring about everyone’s investment, the staff keeps their morale up and wants to believe that it will only take one click to start, finally, a positive dynamic.
OM and Gattuso are already working on the January transfer window…
Will salvation come through the January transfer window? Probably. According to our information, a reflection is underway within OM and discussions have already taken place between Gennaro Gattuso and the managers to consider some adjustments within the squad.
A number of recruits is not necessarily fixed, because it will depend on market opportunities and the financial possibilities of OM. But the club should quickly work on at least two reinforcements, to stick to Gattuso’s style, the gaps that he has targeted and the absences that must be anticipated (Rongier’s injury and departure of the internationals concerned by the CAN).
…but the club remains confident in its recruits
Will the month of January also serve to acknowledge, without delay, the failure of certain players who arrived this summer, even if it means getting rid of them as quickly as possible? This is not the trend. OM maintains confidence in its recruits and is counting on everyone, unless certain players inform the club of their desires elsewhere. Two recruits had already left OM after six months, under Pablo Longoria, but it was not only linked to their level of play.
Luis Suarez (the Colombian) did not accept being an understudy or even a third choice behind the irremovable Alexis Sanchez, and his moody gestures had annoyed the leaders, who were only too happy to see Almeria offer a transfer for the Colombian. Ruslan Malinovskyi had a style that did not fit Marcelino’s playing principles, and he carried a certain blues to Marseille.
Today, OM cannot accept the idea that the summer transfer window is a failure. One of the areas of tension among supporters concerns the lack of effectiveness of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Olympian club understands this pressure and this impatience but nourishes the hope that his scoring qualities have not disappeared, he who was scoring goals with Barça a little over a year ago.
