After Lyon’s worst start to a Ligue 1 season in the 21st century, the club’s owner, John Textor, has written an open letter to fans of Les Gones. OL find themselves at the foot of the Ligue 1 table with only two points from their opening 7 matches. They are also the only team in Europe’s top 5 leagues not to have scored a goal in the first half or have led a match this season.
The American businessman opened his message by addressing the disappointing nature of Lyon’s performance against Reims which saw them lose 2-0, “Football is football and it’s cruel sometimes. Unfortunately, although the coach and the team worked intensively throughout the week, we lost our match today.“
Despite Lyon’s poor performances which have seen fans become restless and disappointed, he has urged fans not to lose faith and to continue to support the players through a difficult period, “I know how difficult it is for the fans to continue to provide support, but I have no choice but to ask you to continue to do so – to provide positive encouragement to a fragile team, even in difficult circumstances.“
Lyon have already had two managers this season with Laurent Blanc dismissed after just 4 matches. The Eagle Football Group owner commented on what he believes to be a “solid” start to life for Blanc’s predecessor Fabio Grosso: “Fabio has done a solid job. He learns more about his players every day. Some players respond well to the work asked of them, while others clearly don’t. Unfortunately, when Fabio tests certain players in this situation, he doesn’t always learn positive things, but he will make adjustments accordingly.”
Textor is planning to raise funds at the Groupama Stadium by selling off physical assets including the newly-built LDLC Arena and Lyon’s NWSL franchise OL Reign. This cash injection could allow the club to do business in January, after the businessman, who also owns Botafogo and Molenbeek, revealed the restrictions replaced on the club have been lifted: “As you know, in January we will have no governance limits on our ability to strengthen the team. Rest assured that I will NEVER allow this club to lose its prestige.“
The Crystal Palace minority shareholder closed his message by saying, “Our goal remains to find success again this season. I believe in Fabio’s work, and I believe in his team philosophy – he will find the players who meet those expectations, and we will climb the rankings. Allez L’OL!”
GFFN | Liam Wraith
