Following BlueCo’s purchase of RC Strasbourg Alsace earlier this year, the Ligue 1 club opted for an ambitious but highly youth-oriented summer recruitment. That approach has drawn stinging criticism, notably from the club’s own fanbase, but prior to their late victory over Le Havre AC, manager Patrick Vieira had called for patience in his young squad.
€53m was spent on four 20-year-olds in the summer and with many of Les Alsaciens’ summer recruits struggling to live up to their price tags – so far – criticism has been a constant in recent weeks. The club’s major fan group Ultra Boys 90 has previously described the squad as “unrelatable” and “unworthy”.
That criticism came in the context of a barren winless run. Prior to Strasbourg’s 2-1 victory over Le Havre on Sunday, the club’s last win in Ligue 1 came in the Derby de l’Est against FC Metz on 24th September.
However, speaking to Prime Video Sport after RCSA’s draw against Stade Brestois last Thursday, Vieira has called for patience in his players. “I love working with the players. The attitude is good. These are young players, which means that you need to repeat things, be patient with them, and make them understand the things that they need to improve on. You need to be behind them when things are going well, but also when things aren’t going so well and believe what we’re putting in place. We need patience. People need to understand that because these are players that are coming from Ligue 2, or let’s say, inferior leagues. They are players discovering Ligue 1,” he said.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
