Good management of an ice hockey club cannot be short-term and without projecting into the future. A responsible leader must show the contrary d’anticipation and a great financial rigor. Fortunately, most of the club presidents currently in office in France are much less “adventurous” than some of their predecessors. We have undeniably gone from great amateurism to a little more professional management. It must be said that since the creation of the CNSCG (National Commission for Monitoring and Control of Federal Management) the latter has been on the alert and is much more demanding.
However, we must remain very vigilant because, if the hecatomb we witnessed a few years ago was interrupted after serial bankruptcies in particular of several big elite clubs, the three relapses that we have recently observed in the Magnus League (non-validation or compulsory liquidation), Dijon in 2017, Epinal in 2018 and then Lyon in 2019, prove that the danger still exists when attempting a risky bet on the financial level . Especially since there had already been a new serious warning signal in 2005 with the simultaneous demotions of the two finalist clubs of the Magnus League, namely Mulhouse (crowned champion) and Tours who was his dolphin after his two defeats in the final 2-6 and 0-3.
To illustrate this problem of adventurous management, I am going to recall a very eloquent episode which occurred some twenty years ago. Indeed, in June 1998, Joël Labatut, the president of the Dogues de Bordeaux (now the Boxers), announced his resignation during the general assembly of his club because of a significant liability which amounted to to 412,000 euros current. The leaders of French hockey at the time should have immediately realized that the professional team of Gironde was obviously doomed and that this club should be demanded in debt immediately stop the charges. Especially since the resigned Bordeaux president was well aware of the extent of the problem since he was the director of a bank!
But the passivity of the former supervisory federation (FFSG) enabled his successor, Pascal Ducos, to re-engage the senior Gironde team the following season in the championship of the “Elite League” (Ligue Magnus today ). However, the latter presented a budget totally virtual! Indeed, this ephemeral president evidently attempted a very risky poker move by asserting, without having obtained a formal guarantee, which he was going to cash soon, according to his words, “a very important municipal subsidy”, which was unfortunately not the case ….
Being in charge of ice hockey in the newspaper L’Equipe, I was very dubious about this presentation in my eyes a little too optimistic of the situation. So, I contacted the new president of the Bordeaux club to have an explanation. But following this unconvincing telephone conversation, I asked for confirmation from Jean-Marc Gauzere, the sports manager at Bordeaux city hall, in order to find out the truth about this famous promise. To my amazement, the deputy mayor (Alain Juppé) told me in a firm tone that there was absolutely no question of the municipality paying such substantial aid to the hockey club given its alarming financial situation. He added: “The hockey team that plays in the Elite League must be put in parentheses. »
As incredible as it may seem, it was this interview, published the next day in the national sports daily, which made it possible to deny the reassuring remarks of the president and finally opened the eyes of the federation officials who seemed to discover the deception! Suddenly, while his hockey players had already played eight matches in the championship (seven defeats and one draw), the Bordeaux leader was forced to admit that he had tried a bluff. From then on, he had no other solution than to immediately withdraw his professional team in full competition! This forfeit logically led to the cancellation of all the results obtained by the Dogues de Bordeaux and the establishment of a new classification …
If I tell this edifying story about a club which seems to have finally got rid of its financial mistakes to adopt a more responsible management, it is because some club presidents (they are a minority) do not hesitate today to sometimes take their desires for realities. For reasons only of disproportionate ego and blindness, they engage their teams in the French championship without being sure of being able to finance them until the end of the competition. The still recent packages in the Magnus League that I have already mentioned from Dijon, Epinal and Lyon are proof that professional clubs need to be led by competent, rigorous and prudent managers. The same goes for all the other divisions.
Of course, one cannot fault a president for being very ambitious for his senior team. It is even his duty! But by remaining reasonable without attempting a lying poker move. Speculate on hypothetical cash inflows to achieve its ends, in particular by putting local elected representatives in front of a fait accompli, by also betting on random sponsorship and hoping for illusory leniency from the CNSCG, is an unforgivable fault. Because let’s not forget that in the end the main victims of a financial bluff causing the downfall of a club are its licensees. Not to mention the collateral damage it causes.
I recall that during this same 1997-1998 season at the beginning of which Bordeaux was forced to withdraw, the Grenoble club was also placed in receivership. Jean-Jacques Bellet, the president of Brûleurs de Loups, then warned the famous international defender Jean-Philippe Lemoine that he was unable to pay his salary. Suddenly, the captain of the France team found himself in an unprecedented situation since he was forced into unemployment and had to play in Grenoble. as a simple amateur with his team! Unfortunately, at the end of the season, despite this economy, the Isère club continued to have cash flow problems. Deprived of resources, the Grenoble club was therefore obliged to start again from the lowest level of French hockey in Division 3. However, the purgatory was short-lived for the “Burners of Wolves” since it only lasted one year. The time for the Grenoblois to easily win the modest title of Division 3 after a very impressive course of 17 victories, a draw and no defeat! Not to mention memorable river scores against Roanne (36-1 and 29-1) or against Albertville (29-0). To be conquered without peril, one triumphs without glory …
In short, with the very difficult period we are currently living through, because of the global Covid 19 pandemic and the very severe restrictions it imposes, it is necessary learn from the past and not to venture into risky financial management. In this regard, I recall that in 1989 Thierry Lacarrière, the former president of the French Volants de Paris, had a behavior that deserves to be saluted when the club of the capital finally managed to win the title of champion of France in Magnus League. Indeed, the president of the “Volants” could have got drunk after this long awaited success and pretend to ignore that his treasury was in the red. But he preferred to stop the fees rather than file for bankruptcy as had become a fashion in almost every other club in the elite championship.
At the time Thierry Lacarrière declared: “It is a question of honor and self-esteem. I would rather scuttle my team before it is too late rather than go to an inevitable bankruptcy filing and then ask the city of Paris to pay off our debts. Without forgetting all our service providers that we would put in the straw. The Club des Français Volants, created by my father 50 years ago, has too great a history to use such procedures and end so miserably. So I would wait for better days. “
Today, 30 years after their last elite coronation, the French Volants are still waiting for another opportunity to regain their past standing by playing in the Division 2 championship. I add two more recent examples which also deserve to be mentioned. cited. Those from the Villard-de-Lans and Brest clubs who asked their departures volunteers of the Magnus League, in 2014 and 2016 respectively, because they wisely preferred a demotion to the lower division so as not to compromise their financial balance. I recall that the Brest club had already voluntarily scuttled twenty years earlier, following the decision of President Briec Bounoure, after winning two consecutive French champion titles.
Indeed, a club president should not succumb to the temptation to bluff like a poker player, but be the guarantor of a budget which he has been given the management with confidence. We must have respect for the many volunteers who devote themselves and do not count their hours of presence to bring our favorite sport to life on a daily basis. Without forgetting the situation of the players for whom it is the livelihood. These don’t have to be just chips thrown across a casino carpet with your fingers crossed for good luck.
You will no doubt say that I am breaking open doors. Unfortunately, I think it is necessary to remind some of this basic requirement. Because there are two or three clubs (all divisions combined) in which their presidents still obviously have the temptation to play sorcerer’s apprentice. My conviction was recently corroborated by President Luc Tardif himself, since he said in an interview: “Overall, the clubs are behaving well even if there are always some who cannot help themselves …” did not finish his sentence, but we can guess what he meant.
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