The AS Saint-Etienne schizophrenic season has yet to see its epilogue. In trouble in the standings, 17th and three points ahead of the Nîmes dam, the Greens were nevertheless qualified for the final of the Coupe de France. But complicated seasons are often difficult to digest internally. The team claims today that the atmosphere is cloudy to say the least in Forez, where on Friday, at l’Etrat, the training center of AS Saint-Etienne, Roland Romeyer, the chairman of the board, Bernard Caïazzo, chairman of the supervisory board, Claude Puel, the general manager, and Xavier Thuilot, the general manager, had a heated exchange, to say the least, during which the coach threatened to leave the ship.
According to the sports daily, Claude Puel would have said to Roland Romeyer that his interference was beginning to seriously annoy him, he and his buddy, Xavier Thuilot, came in his luggage to occupy the post of general manager, after the departure of Frédéric Paquet. The former manager of Leicester City, who on October 4, 2019 initialed a contract until June 30, 2022, asked the shareholders-presidents to let the duo Puel-Thuilot pilot the club on a daily basis, threatening to slam the door of the club once the season is over. An exit to the taste of disavowal on the part of Claude Puel, whose man at the origin of his arrival in Forez was none other than Roland Romeyer. When Bernard Caïazzzo campaigned for a return of Jean-Louis Gasset.
Some shots that don’t pass
If Claude Puel decided to sound the alarm, it was that the situation had gone beyond the bearable for the coach from Castres, scalded by several interventions by Roland Romeyer, in particular towards his right arm. In November, when Puel, Bonnevay, his assistant, and Thuilot had resided in a hotel in Saint-Galmier, Romeyer had asked Thuilot to pay half the bill. He was quick to ask his new president for an explanation. Bernard Caïazzo, who plays the firewalls, had been warned from the day of the derby against Lyon of the duo Puel-Thuilot’s intention to leave the club if Romeyer did not stop intervening behind their backs.
Roland Romeyer’s willingness to intervene in contract extension negotiations for several players, including Charles Abi, Wesley Fofana and Mahdi Camara, will also have annoyed the Puel-Thuilot duo. The newspaper explains that Romeyer took advantage of Thuilot’s presence to finalize the extension of Abi. The president agreed to an extension of two years, that is until June 30, 2024. Between the obsession of a president who does not want to let go of the reins and the will of a general manager who wants to s ‘impose in a sick club from the point of view of results, the duel promises to be fierce. While waiting to see an outcome to this soap opera, Roland Romeyer would have agreed to take a step back. Xavier Thuilot, should see his area of expertise be formalized in writing at the next supervisory board scheduled for late March. Summer promises to be hectic in the Forez.
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