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In Defence of Bielsa: Players are to Blame for OM Nightmare

Another year, the same problem. Another manager, the same problem. The more things change, the more they stay the same. That is, in reference to another implosion from Olympique de Marseille. It should be no surprise. Four coaches since 2011/12 and four distinct periods ending with the feeling of hitting rock bottom.

In 2012, it was Didier Deschamps who found himself in the middle of a boardroom battle with then-sporting director Jose Anigo and president Vincent Labrune. The uncertainty and in-fighting led to 10 defeats in 11 games, punctuated only by the Coupe de la Ligue final victory over Lyon. Marseille would finish the season tenth.

In 2013, Elie Baup used up much of the goodwill that he had built by leading an unfancied OM side to second place, playing the most mind-numbing but freakishly effective brand of football, by then losing six in seven, leading OM to mid-table obscurity pre-Christmas, allied to a devastating six straight defeats in the Champions League. He was sacked shortly after.

In 2014, Anigo was handed the caretaker role until the end of the season. However, having already been blamed for much of the club’s problems since the Deschamps era, the fans were less than impressed by his interim appointment. It was made worse by consecutive defeats in the two domestic cups, including a 4-5 reverse at home to a youthful Nice side. OM would then miss out on European football for the first time in 10 years, finishing sixth amidst uncomfortable images of fed-up fans publicly threatening the team in a heated atmosphere at the Velodrome.

But 2015 probably takes the biscuit. A new dawn was heralded in the summer, when Vincent Labrune handed the reins to Marcelo Bielsa, the famed Argentine coach noted for his high-pressure brand of football, as well as unrivaled attention to detail. Would a Marseille squad full of high-potential, but underachieving players buy into his demanding training and skill-refinement regime?

Initially, it seemed that way. OM’s brilliant form in the first part of the season was well documented. The team played well, the coach received the plaudits. OM ending the year first generated great hope that Bielsa’s charges would maintain a tilt at the title, with the side’s free-flowing attacking brand of football enthusing Ligue 1 watchers the world over. With Lyon and PSG also in the mix, it made for a tantalising title race.

In 2015, that hope has imploded. And spectacularly so. Marseille’s latest crisis has been a gradual deterioration, nothing like what had been witnessed in previous seasons. With hopes inflated given the team’s increasingly positive performances, the cracks began to show with narrow defeats to Montpellier and Nice at the turn of the year. Unusually however, OM went largely unpunished, as the top three all stumbled each time they had the chance to try wrest control of the Ligue 1 title race.However, as Lyon and PSG have both accelerated as they reach the final straight, the Provence club have reversed onto the brick wall. The past month (April 2015), began with OM still in the title race, playing Paris Saint-Germain in the most anticipated Classico of recent times.

Leading 2-1 at the break, Bielsa’s side would have moved to within a point of the lead had the result held. Having eventually lost 2-3 in a pulsating encounter, the result might have dented title hopes, but certainly did no lasting damage to the club’s aim of returning to the Champions League.

The following weeks have been nothing but a nightmare. Les Gones and les Parisiens have both pushed on, fighting a tense battle for the title. Even Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco have appeared on the scene to push OM off the podium. Another poor show away to Bordeaux, comical defending in the 1-0 defeat to Nantes, and then Marseille’s nadir:

Faced with a must-win home game to relegation candidates Lorient, Bielsa’s side had to win to ensure Champions League qualification remained in their hands (with a match to come against direct rivals Monaco in two weeks). In addition to the growing sense the team was being hard done by in terms of some controversial refereeing decisions, now the players managed to harm themselves – adding a little humiliation into the bargain – much to the chagrin of their long-suffering fans.

It wasn’t enough for OM to go 0-2 down early in the first half. Not even that much of the damage came from Jordan Ayew, who left OM last summer, and is held in high regard by many fans at the club. Not even for OM to rally back to 2-2, before going down again seconds later, forcing them to claw back the score to 3-3 through Michy Batshuayi. OM then conceded two late goals to seal a scarcely believable 3-5 defeat. The second time they have conceded five goals at home in two years.

With Champions League hopes all but over, and the Bielsa effect well and truly dead, who is to blame? For the purpose of this article, we can leave the questionable refereeing decisions aside. The bottom line is that OM have failed to take advantage where rivals have slipped up.

Marcelo Bielsa’s methods have long been scrutinised and dismissed as draining, with the second half of his Athletic Bilbao tenure mirroring that of his current OM malaise. He simply asks too much of his players, with punishing, gruelling workouts followed by heavy video lectures and scrutinisation of opponents’ play.

For me, that is no excuse. Marseille’s squad might be light in terms of numbers and arguably quality; however, OM were largely spared a punishing schedule after elimination from both domestic cups at the first hurdle. After the first weekend of January, the club only had 19 Ligue 1 fixtures to look forward to. In stark comparison, Paris Saint-Germain would face 32 meetings in that period, having won the Coupe de la Ligue, qualified for the Coupe de France final and exited the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

It is simply no excuse for players to complain of the workload, given their considerably easier schedule.

For me, it is the players at the club who should shoulder much of the blame from the latest implosion. Bielsa is not perfect, and his tactics can be be questioned – including during the capitulation against Lorient. The Argentine coach is the first to hold his hands up to any errors, doing so in many of the defeats that have come the team’s way this season.

One can question why the coach is not more accommodating to changes. For example, his insistence on playing a clearly out-of-form Florian Thauvin remains up for debate. His stubbornness is also an issue. But a coach lives and dies by his decisions.

Whereas Thauvin’s performances have left a lot to be desired, it is not the main issue of OM’s current malaise. Nor is it a pressing issue.

The issue lies in the mindset of the players, and the culture of thinking that they are owed something. When something does not go their way, footballing suicide usually occurs, and the team completely tanks. It is an issue that has not just dogged Bielsa, but also each of the aforementioned coaches.

It was apparent against Lyon in March where OM were denied what they believed to be a legimitate goal through Lucas Ocampos. Feeling aggrieved, the team lost its balance, shape, and most crucially their minds and Jeremy Morel epitomised OM’s lack of concentration by earning a red card, thus depriving the team of a key defender at a key time.It was followed by the loss against PSG, where OM felt that several decisions had not gone their way, allowing (it pains me to say), a far more experienced and mature Paris side to earn a valuable win. Against Bordeaux, the squad felt they were handed a raw deal again, with penalty shouts for a foul on Alessandrini and for a Yambere handball dismissed, before Willy Sagnol’s men went on to score and triumph 1-0. A poor Fanni backpass and Mandanda slip led to another 1-0 defeat at Nantes, ahead of the Lorient debacle.

Bielsa, a coach who is not renowned for holding his tongue, has tired from defending the indefensible. The attitude and mentaity of the current crop of OM players stinks. With the title gone, and Champions League football now a distant objective, many key players have now focused their efforts on which Premier League club will be courting them over the summer. It feels like the entire playing staff has given up.

Say what you like about Bielsa, but he is right on this one. To coin a phrase from Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, what Marseille have, are players who are ‘specialists in failure’. The likes of Rod Fanni, Morel, Steve Mandanda and Andre-Pierre Gignac have all been there and done that when it comes to crisis moments in the last four years.

Marseille have gone from a team challenging hard for the title, to fighting for Europa League football in four short weeks. It is enough to make any long-suffering fan tear their hair out.

The problem lies within the culture which seems to be prevalent at OM. After a good run, the players feel like that they are entitled to the riches and attention of Champions League football and a title race that goes down to the wire. As Andre Ayew observed in the aftermath of the Lorient disaster: “we have to stop pretending being something that we’re not.”

And the bottom line is that OM do not deserve anything. The players, save for a few who undoubtedly have bright futures such as Batshuayi and Mendy, do not deserve plaudits and honours. It is solely their job to translate the coach’s demands on the pitch and they have failed spectacularly, instead providing a masterclass in how not to fight in a title race.

Instead, what we are left with are limp, weak players who are unable to hold their own when the pressure gets too much, or when the attention gets a little too hot for comfort. Gone are the days of experienced and tough-minded personnel. These are now replaced by players who often simply seem not to care about their current predicament.

Bielsa and his coaching staff launched a mini-revolution last summer, aimed at galvanising a Marseille squad for whom, if rumours are to be believed, senior players would get away with dictating training sessions on their own terms. Under the uncompromising Argentine, that would no longer be an issue.

On Monday, a club source close to the management told RMC that players have begun to lose interest in his methods, particularly since the title was lost. In what world did the current crop of players believe that the title was a real objective, before the positive winning streak that put OM firmly in contention?

It was also rumoured that the Argentine coach felt betrayed by his players’ efforts, as they are unable to follow his instructions on the pitch. There were even some news reports that some players were even mocking the coach for his methods and selection. It hardly bodes well for the club that is expected to lose the 59-year-old in June.

It is hard to see where OM can progress from here. Four games left in the season, nothing short of a 100% record will see the club in a position to snatch a place in the Champions League. But it shouldn’t have to be like this, particularly given the lofty heights that OM has enjoyed for the vast majority of the campaign.

The positive work that has been done by the club and the playing staff is threatening to be undone in six short weeks at the end of what had been a stirring campaign. The blame does not lie fully with the coach; without him, none of this would have been possible given the lack of spending this season.

Instead, the blame lies with OM’s players. The long and short of it is that Marseille are in dire need of a clearout, being held back by players who are used to implosion, and are unable to motivate themselves for a fight in difficult times. Whether this can be achieved or not will be known in the summer.

Instead for now, the onus is on Marseille’s current squad to recover from their seemingly unstoppable decline and salvage what they can from the season.

Four games, 12 points. There really is no room for error. Finishing third would still top off a positive season with a return to Europe’s top table.

Failing that, and this summer could be very, very painful on the Canebiere.

OM: Sans Thauvin à Metz

Après avoir très (trop ?) longtemps été protégé par Marcelo Bielsa, Florian Thauvin a visiblement été écarté par l'entraîneur argentin qui ne l'a pas retenu pour le déplacement de l'OM vendredi à Metz en ouverture de la 35e journée de Ligue 1. Ce dernier devra par ailleurs revoir une nouvelle fois sa défense en l'absence de Jérémy Morel, suspendu, et de Brice Dja Djédjé, blessé à une cuisse. Baptiste Aloé devrait faire la paire avec Nicolas Nkoulou en charnière centrale. Le groupe marseillais: Mandanda, Samba - Aloé, Andonian, Fanni, Mendy, Nkoulou, Tuiloma - Alessandrini, Bangoura, Imbula, Lemina, Romao - Ayew, Batshuayi, Gignac, Ocampos, Payet

Les nouveaux maillots de l'OM ?

Alors que la saison 2014-2015 de Ligue 1 touche à sa fin, la suivante se prépare déjà depuis de longues semaines au sein des clubs français. Au niveau du recrutement, évidemment, mais aussi des équipements et notamment des maillots, dont les nouvelles moutures commencent à être dévoilées.

Généralement très bien informé, le site Footyheadlines.com a révélé les tuniques de l’Olympique de Marseille pour la saison prochaine.

A domicile, les Phocéens évolueront dans leur traditionnel maillot blanc, avec comme nouveauté un logo cerclé d’or. A l’extérieur, l’équipement sera principalement dans des teintes noires, avec des bandes verticales bleues ciel sur le maillot.

Metz: Aucun retour pour l’OM

Pour la venue de l’OM, vendredi soir en ouverture de la 35e journée de Ligue 1, Albert Cartier a convoqué un groupe du FC Metz semblable par rapport à la défaite contre Paris (3-1), le week-end dernier.

Seul Guido Milan, tout juste victime d’une rupture des ligaments croisés du genou gauche, est remplacé par Chris Philipps. Romain Rocchi, Sylvain Marchal, Jonathan Rivierez ou Kwame Nsor sont toujours indisponibles, alors que Johann Carrasso, Siargei Krivets et Juan Falcon sont toujours mis à l’écart.

Le groupe: M’Fa, Oberhauser - Bussmann, Choplin, Métanire, Palomino, Philipps - Doukoure, Kashi, Lejeune, Malouda, N’Daw, Ngbakoto, Sarr, Sassi, Ikaunieks - Maïga, Ben Youssef.

Lyon: Lopes encense Jallet

Présent jeudi en conférence de presse, à deux jours du match entre l'OL et Evian-Thonon, comptant pour la 35e journée de Ligue 1, Anthony Lopes n'a pas tari d'éloges à l'égard de Christophe Jallet, arrivé l'été dernier entre Rhône et Saône.

Pour le jeune gardien rhodanien, l'ancien latéral droit du PSG, auteur d'une saison pleine sous ses nouvelles couleurs (31 matches de Ligue 1 disputés pour un but) "apporte de la sérénité, de l'expérience. C'est un bon vivant, il rigole avec tout le monde".

Un vécu qui pourrait grandement aider l'OL en cette fin de saison. Les Gones comptent trois points de retard sur le leader parisien. "On a quatre matchs à jouer. Il faut faire carton plein pour espérer maintenir le suspense", poursuit Lopes.