The two large groups of CF Montreal supporters went on a silence strike last Wednesday in protest against the lack of commitment and will of the players for a month. What followed was a charged, but cordial, discussion between CFM actors and supporters after the meeting.
What was the content of this dialogue after the club’s elimination from the Canadian Championship?
“My perception of things is that it was a good discussion,” underlined Samuel Piette, who we saw interacting with a certain intensity at that moment. […] I’m not going to start making excuses. The only thing I wanted to do was agree with them, because they are right. And to understand their discontent.
“But it was also to let them know that we too are affected. Maybe we’re even the first, because in the end, we’re the ones who aren’t doing the job right now. We show up every day, and we’re not proud of ourselves. »
On a l’impression qu’on marche un peu sur des œufs parce que la confiance est tellement fragile en ce moment, et les résultats ne sont pas là. On voulait simplement leur dire qu’on avait besoin d’eux et qu’on allait tout faire pour renverser la situation.
Samuel Piette
Pour l’entraîneur Laurent Courtois, qui a lui aussi discuté avec les supporters, leur manifestation est « totalement compréhensible ».
« Moi, je suis droit devant, dit-il. Je commence à reconnaître les faces de certains supporters, maintenant. Je sais à quel point ils soutiennent, et ne tournent pas [le dos] depending on one dynamic or another. »
Colleague Alexandre Pratt suggested to supporters, in his column on Friday, to give CF Montreal an unconditional ovation. A wave of love that could restore this “confidence” to the wearers of the Bleu-blanc-noir, as the supporters of the Philadelphia Phillies did with regard to the hitter in difficulty Trea Turner, last year . An initiative that worked for the major league baseball player.
Read the column “CF Montréal needs an ovation”
We submitted the idea to Piette, Courtois and George Campbell on Friday at the Nutrilait Center. What do they think?
“To give us a standing ovation, I think it would be a bit [l’autre] extreme, replies Piette. But that was kind of my message. In good times and bad, we need them […] to give us back that confidence. But in time, it is up to us, with our actions, to regain it. »
“It has to come from us,” Campbell believes. Of course we like to have as many fans as possible. But the intensity starts from us. It doesn’t matter if there are 1,000 or 20,000 people in the stands. »
Additionally, Courtois does not believe there will be “a lack of support” on Saturday.
“As for the Miami match, I see those who are there and who support. And those who want to follow the wind, we’ll see. »
“Am I not doing enough? »
Piette concedes: the fact that he is a local guy places him at the forefront of the setbacks of the club that he “loves with everything [son] heart “. His friends and family tell him about it. He can read the banners of disgruntled supporters in the stands.
Maybe I take it more to heart than some who aren’t local. [Des joueurs] who do not speak French, who can understand a little less what is happening.
Samuel Piette
“I take the example of Cóccaro, at the end of the match, when I was talking to the supporters: he asked me what was said. I think he could see from the faces of the fans that they weren’t very happy, but he didn’t understand. »
His status as captain makes him question what to do, too.
“You ask yourself questions: am I not doing enough, are there things I need to do a little more, talk more, hold small meetings? »
“That’s a bit why, at the moment, the team is not doing so well,” said Piette. There is a lot of doubt about how we can get back on the path to victory, and this confidence that has been lacking lately. »