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The messages that JHE wanted to convey – Season

Tuesday, early evening, Jacques-Henri Eyraud has finally spoken, thus emerged from a long period of discretion vis-à-vis the media. In the heat of criticism since the announcement of the recruitment of Paul Aldridge and the immediate reaction of André Villas-Boas on this subject, the president of OM therefore summoned the journalists of Provence, The Team and RMC Sport and spoke on this hot topic, as well as on other issues. After reading these three interviews, delivered a few hours apart, it is interesting to note the messages that JHE wanted to convey during this exercise.

Defuse the Aldridge bomb

This is the subject that set the powder on fire. Since the start of the season, the elements of OM’s language have mainly turned to the need to reduce the club’s deficit, under the constraint of financial fair play. We obviously understand that the priority is not to strengthen the team but, on the contrary, to be more efficient in the sale of players. The arrival of the English “facilitator” is therefore perceived as the start of a big clearance sale and this is what drives André Villas-Boas to get out of his usual phlegm. JHE therefore endeavors to clarify this arrival while protecting the owner of the club: “I have decided to recruit Paul Aldridge as an adviser. He has a precise and defined mandate and will work for a little over a year with us. He will bring us a lot on the transfer market in England, but not only…”explains Eyraud in Provence. He will do the same in other media, always emphasizing that Aldridge is his choice, and that he is not coming to sell off the workforce.

Reassure Zubizarreta, and therefore AVB

When he left last week, the Olympian coach assured that his future at the club was linked to that of his sports director. JHE therefore had to reassure him on this point, and that’s what he did on RMC, Provence and The Team : “Andoni obviously remains the full-time sports director of this club. He remains the architect of this team, without whom no transaction, be it an acquisition or a disposal, can be envisaged”. With the arrival of Aldridge to open the doors of the English market, it was good to specify it.

Deny the departure of important players this winter

It is the fear of Villas-Boas and the supporters. By dint of asserting the need to balance the accounts and by recruiting Aldridge, we understand that OM will study any interesting proposal this winter. Sure The Team, JHE is – in part – reassuring: “There will be no departure this winter, except an offer that we cannot refuse. Weakening the team is not our intention”. It remains to be seen how much an offer cannot be refused and for whom …

The threat of financial fair play

This is the main reason for the austerity policy at OM. It is not his choice, and JHE does not hesitate to make it known, to Provence as elsewhere : “We have an imperative which is to respect the settlement agreement with UEFA. These are the rules, we will get there”. He insists on RMC Sport on the urgency of this constraint: “We will have to strike a balance fairly quickly so that we get into the nails, it is fundamental for us. It is also a constraint which is obviously mine. I sometimes have the wrong role”.

Its balance sheet and its errors

After the soap Garcia which cost him a lot in terms of popularity, JHE defends his work at the head of the club: “Of course I made mistakes, does he recognize on RMC. But I will continue to do it, even if I hope that success will be there “. He also defends himself on transfers, like that of Kevin Strootman in the summer of 2018: “I find it wrong to talk about specific cases like Kevin. You could also tell me about the successes of Sanson, Rongier or others”. For the moment, he believes that the time is not on the balance sheet.

The future of the club and Frank McCourt

This is the last part of the interviews given to RMC Sport and to Provence. Unsurprisingly, JHE dismisses any rumor of an American disengagement: “We talk very often, several times a week. He follows very precisely the evolution, progress and challenges that are ours. He is very involved (…) Obviously, not all sales are the agenda “.

In conclusion, we feel a Jacques-Henri Eyraud who wanted to empty his bag after several months under the fire of critics. By communicating well, the Olympian president however endeavored to deliver elements of languages ​​worked upstream, which explains the substance and the shape in all equal points in these three different interviews.

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