9 out of 21 and no final in the cup. Philippe Clement has had better moments as a coach, including at Monaco. Or what is the perception about the 47-year-old coach who exchanged Club Brugge for the principality during the winter break?
“They are quite happy with his work over there,” said Eleven Sports commentator Sirik Geffray. “The players don’t grumble about his approach either, but Monaco mainly lacks efficiency.”
“Last weekend everything came together in the 1-2 defeat against Reims: Monaco missed opportunities, scored an own goal and swallowed the 1-2 in the 94th minute.”
“They have had a really bad period with 2 out of 9 against low flyers and also the elimination in the cup against Nantes.”
“Okay, Nantes is good this season, but Monaco will play in the league against Marseille on Sunday and there is really a lot of pressure on that match.”
“L’Equipe wrote this week that the crisis lurks around the corner in the principality. Then you know enough.”
“Monaco will play 12 more matches in the league and 7 posters are against teams above them in the standings. March will be tough and crucial: they will play against Marseille, Braga in the Europa League, Strasbourg, Braga again and then PSG.”
“Those 5 matches will determine whether it will be a good end to the season or not. The Europa League can now become a goal, but the ambition of the chairman was the top 3 and the Champions League. Making up for that gap will not be obvious. still: it’s going to be very tough.”
A team that leaves points behind, you expect annoyances there. “Apparently it’s not that bad,” says the Ligue 1 follower.
“There is no whining about the work of Philippe Clement, about the atmosphere and the game, but if you don’t get results, it is of course difficult.”
Sirik Geffray expects Clement to finish the season. “But if he does not achieve the objectives, it could be the end of the story. That was also said at his performance: the board has little patience.”
That patience is therefore tested by a lack of efficiency, the Achilles heel of this Monaco. “The core of Clement is quite okay, but due to covid and injuries he has not yet been able to have his full selection at his disposal, although they do not take that into account in the final verdict.”
“And yet Clement will certainly not regret his move. Otherwise he would have chosen the wrong job, although I think he expected more from it.”
“If he loses on Sunday, the pressure will increase even more. Don’t forget that the teams ahead of them are also looking for those European tickets. They won’t just jump over Strasbourg, Lens, Nantes and Lille.”
And then there is the current political context. Monaco is in Russian hands and at Philippe Clement’s club they shift a bit uncomfortably in their seats for fear of the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At Monaco there is still concern and they are not so sure anymore. The Russian owners would not immediately be on the European radar, but should fear sanctions based on an American list (Putin Accountability Act).
The link between Monaco’s bosses and Vladimir Putin is said to be less close than that between Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the Russian president.
For example, owner Dmitri Rybolovlev has been away from Russia since 2010 and made a large part of his fortune before Putin came to power, but the serenity at the club – L’Equipe wrote this week – is somewhat lacking.
There will be no conviction from French football for the time being, although Reims appeared at the kick-off on Sunday 5 minutes later. However, they claimed that statement had nothing to do with Monaco as an opponent.
