Budget, training, recruitment … What future for Caen in National?

Officially relegated to National after a twentieth defeat of the season against Martigues (0-3), Stade Malherbe de Caen lived a painful evening on Friday evening, marking the end of a catastrophic season. On the lawn of Ornano, the supporters cracked. “” One, then two, then ten supporters invaded the lawn. Quickly cause a snowball effect. This time, anger was no longer contained (…). In the middle of chaos, tears. Those of supporters but also of some club employees, people who dedicate their lives to Malherbe. The chalice to the dregs. “, describe Ouest-France. This relegation also marks a historic turning point: Caen had not known the third step for 41 years. The descent is experienced as a real trauma for the club and its faithful, with a feeling of abandonment mixed with that of a huge mess. But in this slump, remains the question of the future of the club.

The Mbappé clan project remains topical

However, a withdrawal from the Mbappé clan, an 80 % majority shareholder for less than a year, is not on the agenda. According to several sources close to the club, investors do not intend to disengage. The team reports that this decision is explained both by the current impossibility of financially promoting the club, but also by the desire to really implement their project, still embryonic.

The Real Madrid player's family, who had taken control in the summer of 2023 with ambition, now wants to build a recovery plan. But for that, it will first be necessary to convince the DNCG. Still according to The teamthe club's structural deficit amounted to 11 million euros last year. Part of this sum should be filled to hope to keep professional status, essential to maintain a certain stability.

An austerity cure in sight?

This relegation also mechanically leads to a drastic reduction in the budget. The SMC, which worked with around € 15 million this season, will have to reduce the wing. According to the regional press, the payroll will be one of the first positions to be reduced, with 13 players at the end of the contract or loan. Departures like those of Alexandre Mendy, Bilal Brahimi or other elements with exit clauses are expected. “”The National is a very difficult championshipcomments Pierre Mankowski, emblematic coach of Stade Malherbe, at Here Normandy (ex France Bleu). When we see clubs like Valenciennes or Bordeaux who have come down, they do not necessarily go up immediately at first. Everything is negative because now, we will have to solve the problems with the players. Some are still under contract, some will at all costs want to leave, some will not find a club and all that will still be very complicated. Afterwards, we will have to save money. So here we will attack the employees of the club who have nothing to do with it. The positive, it may be in a year if Malherbe goes back to solid bases, but in the meantime you have to set them up.»

On the side of the club employees, the concern also remains lively. The memory of the 2021 social plan, where 23 full -time equivalents had been dismissed, reappeared. Posts are feared, even if they could be less massive. To believe The teamthe current management, represented by Ziad Hammoud at the presidency and Reda Hammache at the sports leadership, should be renewed. Hammoud, although inexperimated, retains the confidence of the Mbappé clan. Hammache will have the opportunity to build a coherent workforce from the offseason, with the advantage of knowing the national championship well, which he had known with Nîmes between 2019 and 2022.

Make on training to bounce back

In this gloomy context, training remains one of the rare reasons for hope. Ouest-France Stresses that the youth sector, dear to Kylian Mbappé, should retain its means and its central role in the project. The performance of the U17 and U19 teams, both at the top of their championships, testify to a promising tank. The magazine Foot Normand warns, however: ” In an ultra-competitive field such as the recruitment of young players, a national descent could seriously lessen the seduction potential of the Malherbe stadium. (…) Some opposing clubs do not hesitate to recall the sporting situation, to say the least, delicate, “red and blue”. »

Questioned by the media, Pascal Plancque, club technical director, recognizes this risk but wants to remain confident. “” It is true that it can create an uncertainty. But Caen has an excellent reputation for training. Kids, what they want is to be well trained and have the opportunity to evolve as a first team He explains. A promise that the SMC has recently kept, with the examples of Brahim Traoré, Noé Lebreton or Godson Kyeremeh. This is perhaps where Caen's renewal can start: by building a young, ambitious collective, and rooted in the club's DNA.