EXCLUSIVE – It’s (already) the end of Benoît Poulain’s second stint at Nîmes Olympique. It will have been shorter than the first for the captain of the Crocos (36 years old in July), who will not be kept and who confided in Midi Libre when the club is relegated from Ligue 2 to National.
You hesitated to commit to Nîmes last summer. If you had known, would you have come? Do you regret this choice?
No, because I had an idea of what awaited me. I had spoken with people from the club, I knew what state he was in. I also knew that there was only one objective, it was maintenance, and it is therefore a failure.
I hesitated because it’s always difficult to come back, what’s more in a difficult context. In addition, I did not really know what I would be able to do, because I was coming out of a complicated season (almost white with Eupen, in Belgian D1, Ed).
But Nîmes is my club, and I wanted my children to see me play here. I really appreciated the coach (Nicolas Usaï) during my trial, there was still a good working environment, that convinced me.
You left in 2014. How has the club changed in nine years?
The club has completely changed. Already, you work with 5 or 6 permanent employees (administrative). Out of curiosity, I went to see some organization charts of Ligue 2 clubs on the internet. I invite you to go and see that of Le Havre, for example. It is not comparable!
In terms of organization and skills, I think a lot of L2 clubs work better than Nîmes. But what struck me the most was the poisonous atmosphere at the stadium. I experienced difficult atmospheres when I started at NO, but it was more punctual.
If not, in your opinion, what was missing to maintain itself?
Many things. The construction of the workforce, first, which seemed to me a little light at the start and a little unbalanced. We lacked left-handers and offensive side players. It had been built to play 5-3-2 but there was no flexibility to change the system.
Then there were players who didn’t want to be there. When you take what they weighed in payroll and you’re on a tight budget, that’s a problem. There were also a lot of recruits, some of whom did not know the professional level.
Afterwards, there was the management of contracts: too many players were free in the event of a descent. When you have to save yourself at all costs because you know that the following season, you are still under contract but that your salary will be divided by four if you go down, you move…
Finally, we had a problem with the volume of play and the impact. We often got “eaten”. It’s not a question of desire, it’s a question of player profile. With coach Bompard, we progressed with the ball, but we regressed on the defensive block. We didn’t have the ability to defend properly. We surely had the weakest defensive block in Ligue 2. And defensively, we all cracked, one by one.
On some matches, it was Maël (De Gevigney) who ran the most in the team. It’s not normal for him to be a defender. If he made mistakes, it was because he was too exposed, he had too many “heads or tails” situations to play.
Last thing: there are a lot of arbitration decisions against us, which have prevented us from getting out of our negative spiral…
Behind the scenes of the interview: tacos, match bonuses, Premier League and “Monsieur”
TACOS “Some people are criticized for going to tacos or going out at night. Which was not true on the night of the descent. And I can tell you that even if they go to tacos after a game, and they laugh, they are not super happy to go down!”
PRIMES “Here too, there is a structural problem. Young people who are not professional and who have taken part in Ligue 2 matches have not been able to receive the “match sheet” bonus. As there is no longer of approval, they are under amateur status (and not aspiring or trainee pro, editor’s note) and therefore cannot be paid by the professional section (SASP), but must be by the Association. touch have been provisioned, but they haven’t received them yet…”
FULHAM “When I was in Bruges (with whom he played the Champions League, editor’s note), I had to sign in the Premier League, at Fulham. We agreed. But the club’s sporting director blocked me. That’s went badly. I went to see the president, who listened to me but who told me that he couldn’t do anything if his sports director had decided so. I had a bad experience of it, but it is an example of the separation of powers between the management and the athlete. At Nîmes Olympique, this structure is lacking.”
SIR During the interview a few days ago with Nicolas Usaï, the former Crocodiles coach called Benoît Poulain “Monsieur”. Reaction of the person concerned: “It’s nice. In a career, it works with some coaches and others less. In Nîmes, it was the case with Nicolas Usaï, in the same way as (the late) René Marsiglia that I really appreciated (in 2014, editor’s note). Humanly, these are the two that marked me the most.”
There is also this coaching change in November, which surprised a lot of people, including you, the players…
For me, what broke the season, psychologically, was the way and the timing of the change of coach. The president is the boss, he can decide that things are not working well and that we need to change. We were not 3rd in the championship. But I think it has to be decided with the right people.
No one in the squad was surveyed, and there was no sporting director. Nicolas Usaï had managed to build unity and energy around him and his staff. He was holding the thing. We beat Amiens and Bordeaux perhaps not by talent, but by unity. I would like my little finger to tell me who made this decision and who was consulted. Breaking the dynamic that existed then was risky. And for coach Bompard, arriving in these conditions was not easy.
It’s easy to tell all this after, but I want to clarify that I said all this to Rani Assaf when he wanted to see me after the departure of the coach, in November, after I declared in Midi Libre that I was surprised. Personally, I saw the president alone three times this season: this time, to sign and to negotiate bonuses.
Have you seen it again to discuss your future? You are not injured, you were not in Laval and you will not play this Friday, June 2 against Sochaux, why?
The coach announced it to me last week five minutes before training, telling me that he was not counting on me next season and that he was going to play younger people. There too, the way… I was a little chafouin. Then he received me this Tuesday with Sébastien Larcier. We explained ourselves. They told me it was a sporting choice.
But there is something else: I started 19 league matches. In the twentieth, my contract was extended for a year and I received a bonus… I am not injured, and I continue to train. On this subject, I understand that the supporters complain when they see me at the feria in the situation in which we are. But when you’re kicked out… I was ready to go to Laval, and I would have gladly played against Sochaux!
You had already gone down with Nîmes in National, you played there then went back up to Ligue 2. What should NO do to bounce back?
Sébastien Larcier and the coach, if they stay, will start from scratch, from a blank sheet. Afterwards, there is really a fundamental problem at the club. Today, I’m more sad than angry.
You know, if I’ve never publicly asked the supporters to come to the stadium, it’s because in their place, I wouldn’t have come… Today, when you’re a Nîmes Olympique supporter, you don’t feel part of club life. Comments are always closed on social networks. And in addition, as we did not offer a great show on the ground…
For me, a club must perform well in three areas: finance, sport and marketing-communication. In the first, a priori, it’s fine. In the other two, it’s really not terrible. As long as the club will not be structured correctly… The National, it is not easy, even with means, and there will be six descents.
So it will be without you… What will be your future?
I’m not going to make a hasty decision. But at 36 years old (in July, editor’s note) it will soon be time…
2023-05-30 19:36:23
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