Lyon Would Like You to Know…

By: Inara | October 12th, 2007

Unlike most clubs, when Lyon officially deny things, it’s probably true.

Today, Eurosport asked themselves why Lyon felt the need to publish three official notices on their website, all refuting various rumors and accusations.

First, Lyon deplore the rumor that club officials are unhappy with Kader Keita’s performances and are regretting the amount spent on him. Contrary to this report, Keita isn’t going anywhere this January and is in fact expected to have a good season.

Lyon are pleased for Hatem Ben Arfa’s call up and feel justified in naming him the successor of Florent Malouda. They are also glad to be proven right about Fabio Santos and consider themselves sufficiently armed in midfield.

Lyon would like to reproach L’Equipe for taking Alain Perrin’s words out of context and for creating a polemic where none exists. According to the club, Bernard Lacombe and Perrin have an excellent working relationship. This is in response to this article, where the two men are seemingly antagonized by each other.

Lyon also want everyone to know that they have never considered exchanging Francois Clerc for Jean-Alain Boumsong, and furthermore, the comments attributed to Jean-Michel Aulas regarding that transfer are false.

Hmm. Instead of alleviating any concern I might have felt after hearing those rumors, Lyon’s denials have deepened my misgivings, since Lyon denounce things only when problems are getting nasty behind the scenes.

Before, Lyon’s preferred method of dealing with a crisis was to circumvent it, and that was how they maintained their reputation as a serene club nestled quietly between the Rhone and Saone. But in the last several months, with the team continuously embroiled in drama that shows no signs of abating, it’s become apparent that despite being the best managed club in Europe, Lyon have yet to figure out to solve a crisis.

Instead, they panic and then post official statements deny everything.

It’s aggravating, and it almost makes me wish for the days when everyone was one big happy family, and we could pretend that the players were all BFFs with each other. But as much as we OL fans bemoan the girly cat fights in the locker rooms, it’s inevitable. The bigger a club gets, the higher the stakes – and the demands.