There is only one game left for theUS Orleans in this 2021-2022 season, it will be this Friday against Laval, National champion, at the Grand Clos de Saint-Pryvé stadium (8:45 p.m.). But the time was already on the record this Monday, May 9, in the Tribune 100% USO, with Philippe Boutron. the President of US Orleanswho made his first public appearance on May 4, gave us news of his state of health more than four months after the explosion of his car on the Dakar which killed him. heavily injured in the legs. He also took stock of the Orleans season and indicated the state of the club’s finances. Selected pieces.
His health
I walk with crutches, for me it’s an important step forward, but to find a normal walk, it will still be very long. I hope to leave the hospital at the end of May, then I will do rehabilitation in Orléans.
I’m no different since the attack, but it allowed me to see things differently, to see that everything can stop overnight. The little worries of everyday life, sometimes we realize that it is not as important as health.
The balance of the season
It’s disappointing, we had the potential to do better, we saw it in the return matches. We had other ambitions. There were certainly mistakes made, we will try to do better next year.
The players who did not behave in adequacy with the club, and the change in the pattern of play, moving to three behind, allowed us to have a good return phase. Overall there was more solidarity, the players showed a lot of courage and ambition, it paid off.
Xavier Collin is the right choice. He fits perfectly with the spirit of the club, he is a fighter who is aware of economic realities and he is a leader of men, so he has the required profile.
His current role
All final decisions are mine. As soon as I get out of the hospital, I’m going to get back into it.
I am very attached to this club, I have invested a lot of time and money in it. We have built something solid, since we are at the highest level in all categories for the association, apart from the first team which, unfortunately, should be in Ligue 2, everything else is working properly. We are not going to abandon the boat, on the contrary.
My concern is the sustainability of the club, if an opportunity arises with big investors, what happened in Châteauroux with the Saudis, I will not be against it, because it would be for the good of the club. .
The coming season
The objective remains to move up to Ligue 2. We have the infrastructure of a Ligue 2 club. To avoid making the same mistakes as this season, we are going to reduce our squad and recruit experienced players. We see it with Laval and Annecy, who are going up this year, they recruited players who had a lot of experience, that’s what we were lacking.
For the recruits, it is in progress, the negotiations continue. Same for contract extensions.
USO Finances
We are within our budget, but it’s complicated because we have Ligue 2 structures, we have a training center, a women’s team in D2, these are significant expenses and it’s difficult to cope with them in National. We are going to close the training center, because we no longer have the means to continue. It is temporary, the objective is to reopen it as quickly as possible, but given the structures imposed in the training centers, we cannot continue.
We approach the passage in front of the DNCG with confidence, we are in the required criteria, I think that there will be no worries.
We applied for an extra year of professional status. I’m hopeful we get it, because Red Star got it last year. There is a big project to make a professional D3 and next year there will be a lot of professional clubs with the downhills of Nancy and Dunkirk, so I’m hopeful that we can keep it.
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