MHSC: Forget 2024 to bounce back better in 2025, the wish expressed by the people of Montpellier at the dawn of the new year

La trêve des confiseurs ne sera pas de trop pour les Montpelliérains afin de revenir avec d’autres intentions le 29 décembre à l’entraînement. MAXPPP – Lionel Ciochetto

La défaite de Montpellier au Puy-en-Velay est symbolique d’une année cauchemardesque avec six derniers mois plus que compliqués.

Montpellier thought they had experienced the worst against Marseille (0-5) in Ligue 1, on October 20th. A heavy defeat that cost Michel Der Zakarian his job. The Montpellier team experienced a worse humiliation, Saturday night, at Puy-en-Velay (4-0). Eliminated by a N2 team playing three divisions below the most normal in the world. Tactically dominated, beaten in the game and “eaten in all the duels”, as Jean-Louis Gasset, the coach, acknowledged.

Attitudes that we didn't think we'd see again after the arrival of the Butte Paillade ultras at the Grammont training center on October 31. They wanted players who would no longer sin through envy and sweat their socks off. Which had been the case until then, but on Saturday night, in Haute-Loire, the MHSC fell back into its old ways. Suffering its 18th defeat in 36 matches in 2024 for 8 draws and 10 wins. But only two wins since the start of the 2024-2025 season, proof of a decline in results.

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Quality players but not at their level

We know the different reasons for this decadence. The drop in TV rights prevented president Laurent Nicollin from recruiting and the squad that needed to be renewed only received the reinforcement of a loaned player (Rabby Nzingoula) and two others who were free after the end of the transfer window (Birama Touré, Nikola Maksimovic). Added to this were the numerous injuries since Montpellier had to do without at least ten players for a long time. However, there are enough quality players – provided they play at their true level – to do better than a last place in Ligue 1 and a pitiful elimination from the Coupe de France.

This latter marks the first setback since Jean-Louis Gasset became the coach. Who, if he has restored consistency to his team at La Mosson with two draws (Lille, Nice) and a victory (Brest) against European teams, is not succeeding any more than his predecessor away with “no points taken, no goals scored”. To the point that the Montpellier coach spoke of a problem “mental”. He didn't like the way Le Puy played out either. “The truth came back to haunt us. Being like that, playing like that and not having the character to react, it's very hard.” 

The break is coming

The man in the cap didn't want to analyze the match too quickly and shoot his men. “Let's say it's an off day. We'll use that.”Will he make strong decisions when he returns from vacation to wake up a locker room that only moves forward with the help of sticks? ? One thing is certain, this break is coming to cut this bad dynamic. “Let them clear their heads, like us. Because we've been under pressure for two months, we're suffering, we're living very badly”, Jean-Louis Gasset did not hide the fact, admitting the previous weekend that he had aged “120 years in 7 matches”.

With this elimination, Montpellier will now only play at the end of the week and Ligue 1 with the mission of saving itself. This is what Stéphane Dief, the coach of Le Puy and former winner of the Coupe Gambardella with the MHSC, wanted. “Last season, Dunkerque lost here and had a great second half of the season.”

 

Forget 2024 to bounce back better in 2025: the first wish of the new year for the people of Montpellier.