Marseille in meltdown: Inside OM’s historically bad start to the season after chaotic summer of discontent

Amid OM’s terrible results, which have come off the back of a historically bad transfer window for the club, the pressure on both the manager and the hierarchy is cranking up.

During Le Classique against PSG, Marseille’s last match before the international break, there were protests around Stade Velodrome as the fervent fanbase voiced its deep discontent with the hierarchy. One banner in the stands read ‘2016: Champions project, 2026: Ligue 2 project’ – a nod to where their side finds itself after a decade of McCourt’s stewardship. ‘McCourt game over!’ was the blunt message of another.

However, Lamperti doesn’t foresee the American’s reign coming to an end anytime soon. “We rarely see him in Marseille. So for now, I think he’s here to stay. He’s never hidden that he’d like a minority investor to come and help him, but the problem is that this minority investment would need to be between 200 and 300 million [euros].

“The price is quite high, and at 200 or 300 million, you could buy a club today. Why would you put that money into a club without being the boss, or having much say? McCourt never ceases to repeat that he’s still here for years and years, that it’s a heritage investment, and that he’s not going to leave. So we’ll see what happens.

“I think there’s going to be more and more protests. But I don’t think he necessarily feels them, since he’s far away and doesn’t come to the stadium often.”

Inevitably, Genesio also finds himself under scrutiny. While he has insisted he won’t step down, the 60-year-old has held showdown talks with the leadership, having grown increasingly frustrated by McCourt’s ongoing silence on the financial situation that is the root cause of Marseille’s problems this season. The board, in turn, is running out of patience with the coach’s outspokenness about their predicament.

It has since been claimed by L’Equipe that it’s unlikely that Genesio will still be in charge of OM come Christmas, albeit they are not in a position to sack him due to the potential financial ramifications. The perspective in Marseille is that his job should be safe, but there is a fear that he could walk away.

“OM are aware of having a great coach, and given the current situation, it may be almost unexpected to have such a coach, because of all the restrictions,” Lamperti says. “So I don’t think he’s under excessive pressure. On the contrary, we trust him, because the team is playing pretty well, despite the five consecutive defeats. Against Paris, they [the fans] didn’t get mad at their defeat.

“The only problem is that there’s a lack of depth, there aren’t enough substitutes. So after a while, it gets more and more complicated for players who last 45 minutes, sometimes an hour, and then it gets more complex. The question we’re asking ourselves is whether or not Bruno Genesio will end up being discouraged by all this, and leave of his own accord.”