Is Alain Perrin Fired or Not?
By: Inara | June 2nd, 2008
Lyon have officially announced that they are “reorganizing” the management of the club.
From the press release on the official website:
The Board of Directors of OL Groupe convened this morning to review the 2007/2008 season of Olympique Lyonnais’ men’s team.
The Board appreciates the performance of a team that won the French Championship and the Coupe de France, making it the first double in the history of Olympique Lyonnais, and for a strong performance in the Champions League knockout rounds, where they lost to the eventual winners, Manchester United.
They also took note of the several malfunctions at both the management and technical levels of the club that affected the squad daily throughout the season. Accordingly, the Board has defined a new direction for the club by appointing a general manager on a longer contract whose mission will be to advance the club in the Champions League, where Lyon have reached the quarter finals three times and the knockout rounds an additional two times. The Board has mandated that President Jean-Michel Aulas carry out the reorganization of the technical staff.
Jean-Michel Aulas met Alain Perrin and Christophe Galtier this morning in order to inform them of this new development.
So what does this mean? At first I thought that Lyon had fired Perrin and Galtier, but then I reread it more carefully (my French sucks). What it is saying is that Lyon recognize that the current way the club is managed is not effective, and that from next season, the coach will have more power and authority. But it doesn’t say whether Perrin will be at Lyon or not.
My guess is that the Board is still undecided on Perrin, but since Lyon were pressured to make an announcement, they did it in the vaguest way possible.
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Im confused ? all that post by OL said to me was ” Blah Blah Blah - We’ve done an ok job with winning trophies - Blah Blah Blah - we’re gonna try to get better in the CL - Blah Blah Blah - but first, we’re gonna waste more time in looking for a new Manager - Blah Blah Blah “
Posted from
United States
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I saw your article change title a couple of minutes ago, probably reflecting your hesitation as to the meaning of this typically french statement.
I think your understanding is correct, the only decision officially taken is this change of responsibilities and the search for a high profile manager.
We’ll have to be a bit more patient… Think of Lloris officially here, and Santos returning, as a distraction while we wait…Posted from
Sweden -
Santos returning presents a problem maybe, the fact that he’s a Foreign player and the guy we’re trying to sign Pjanic is also foreign ( if im wrong correct me, please ).
Plus he didnt WOW anyone when he went back to Brazil, if anything i thought he played his way out of Lyon. But then again im not manager, i just play one in video games.
Posted from
United States -
Megame: Yeah, when I first read the press release, I thought it said Perrin was fired. So I wrote up a post about that. But then I reread it and was like, “wait…actually no.” Then I got said.
It could also be that Aulas doesn’t have a replacement lined up yet, and they don’t want to announce anything until they know who will be taking over.
The third possibility - that Perrin will stay - is not something I want to contemplate.
Ronald: I think Lyon will loan out Anderson back to Brazil. Ederson has an Italian passport I think, plus I think Cris finally got his Portuguese passport, so that leaves Delgado, Fabio Santos, and Fred, which gives Lyon room to recruit one more foreign player if they want.Bruno at the Brazil Offside kept me updated on Fabio Santos, and according to him, he sucked at Sao Paulo. He also got suspended for a while because of an altercation with a teammate (which was also the reason he had to leave Lyon).
Posted from
United States -
Aulas was much clearer during the press conference, saying that Perrin staying was ‘not the tendency’. He is clearly fired but Aulas has no one to replace him yet.
Posted from
United States -
well, that doesnt sound so promising for Fabio Santos, which is why i would be dumbfounded if Lyon really want him back like that.
Plus i read a while back that Barcelona still have yet to recall Crosas and on the fence about it. He also said that he wants to go back to play for Barca, but is happy to be with Lyon and if Barca cant play him - that he wouldnt mind be lyon again.
Crosas is confusing.
Posted from
United States -
It was a Goal.com article
Posted from
United States -
I’m so confused. On one hand, Perrin accuses the club of not treating him without respect, saying that Blanc or Deschamps wouldn’t have been treated that way.
But then here, he seems to be indicating that he’s not fired exactly but will be given another role.
WTF?
Posted from
United States -
Aulas said that Santos is coming back. He is going to miss the end of the Brazilian season to go on vacation and then get back to Lyon in July. And his Sao Paulo coach seems to be quite happy with him : http://esportes.terra.com.br/futebol/brasileiro/2008/interna/0,,OI2913024-EI11421,00-Muricy+elogia+Fabio+Santos+ele+e+um+dos+melhores+do+time.html
Posted from
United States -
Perrin is fired but for financial reasons, Aulas has to find a reason for his firing, and thus is still thinking about the official reason.
Just like an firm, you can’t fire someone without a reason, especially since Perrin can argue that he succeeded at his job.
And to boot, Perrin won millions on OM’s back after his firing.It will cost Lyon a whole lot of money, but make no mistake, Perrin is gone.
Posted from
United States -
Inara, Aulas was very clear on RMC radio that there was very little chance that Perrin would be the “general coach” (he does not want to call the position “general manager”). They are going towards an agreement.
Posted from
United States -
(he said something like “Alain may not have fully processed what was said this morning”, which is no very kind ^^)
Posted from
United States -
Most radio shows tonight did interpret that Parrin was fired. It seems most of them based their interpretation on an oral answer of Aulas saying that he has still to solve some points with Perrin’s lawyer (for an article transcribing this declaration: http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/breves2008/20080602_202948_priorite-a-la-ligue-des-champions_Dev.html
Consequently everybody agree that Parrin will be fired, but nobody is able to say who will be next: every radio supporting its favorite (for example RMC claimed based on the profil made by Aulas that it can only be Deschamp…who is a consultant for this radio…)
Posted from
United States -
Well, Aulas is cheap, and I can totally see him not wanting to pay Perrin compensation. But I’m happy with Aulas’s assertion that Perrin isn’t the trend.
Aulas said that he prefers a French coach but that he isn’t excluding foreign options. Deschamps is free and has expressed interest in Lyon, it may just end up being him.
Posted from
United States -
Inara: I think you’re right. Aulas is cheap and playing a tactical game here. Perrin will probably not be fired, for several reasons (Not the OL style so far, that would be expensive, and you got to have good reasons for that (ie worse than the first double title in history)otherwise Perrin will sue the club as he successfully did with OM).
So what can Aulas do? Either:
- try to negotiate an “amicable” transaction with Perrin and Galtier lawyers,
- recruit the high profile “coach general” the OL Groupe Board defined, and let a frustrated Perrin operate under him with restricted responsibilities until he wants to leave,
- or propose him another job with less interferences with the new manager, eg coaching reserves, the OL Féminines, etc.. which he probably won’t accept.Now the funny thing is that Perrin, who is far from stupid, plays the candid and seems to genuinely believe he can apply for the big job, based on what Aulas told him. This is putting Aulas in an awkward position, and I have to say it is quite enjoyable to sometimes see someone playing games at him…
Posted from
Germany -
Yes, I think Perrin will try to piss Aulas off as much as he can. But hey, le’s face it, Aulas deserves it. It is nice to see that Perrin does have a bit of pride.
Posted from
Japan
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