Was Eric Gerets message taken on board against Toulouse? Did OM do their best to score? Did the changes make a difference? The stagnation in the League, is it worrying? These are questions that need to be answered after the draw against Toulouse.

Has the message of Erik Gerets been taken on board?

Oui. Last week the coach based his talks on «team work » which had to be undertaken by everyone, otherwise they would find themselves on the bench. Against Toulouse, the mission was accomplished as far as the coach is concerned. «There is nothing for me to reproach my players over , he explained on Monday, they understood that our organisation needed to change quickly and it was done. We were also dependant on the form of individual players on the day, it’s something you have to accept.»
OM played as a solid block and the defencsive work was done with great seriousness at the Stadium. «Everyone took part in the defensive work and that reassured us all » confirmed Benoït Cheyrou.
All of this was done to the prejudice of the offensive sector, while OM didn’t score on Sunday? This isn’t the opinion of the midfielder who see’s this as a stepping stone: «Since the start of the season we know that we need to progress in this domain. It’s not necessarily detrimental to the offensive sector, it’s just a primordial steeping stone in order to be stronger in the future.»

Did OM do the best they could to score?

No and this is an opinion shared amongst the OM players. The efforts were not questioned, but the methods were. «Nobody can say that we didn’t try, but in a match as tight as that one it’s difficult. Just as in each match, I try and put out a team that can score, for everyone present in the ground and any other spectators » states Erik Gerets. Against Toulouse it really was the methods used that did not work. «When everything is closed down through the middle and there is very little space,as was the case during the game, you need to take advantage of the space down the wings, we didn’t do that often enough » notes Erik Gerets.
Benoït Cheyrou believes that a cause was also the poor use of their set pieces and the lack of «d’individual exploits.» «We should also have tried to play in triangles more often, but we were not able to use these methods to open up the match » juge Cheyrou.
More specifically, and it is the opinion iof the coach, the team played too deep throughout the match. «I want us to recuperate the ball as high up the field as possible as you use less energy, we still have a lot of work to do in that domain, what we are doing at the moment we need to be doing 25 metres further up the field » he says.

Were the changes benficial?

Yes. At the hour mark, the entries of Valbuena and Samassa brought more dynamism to the side and contributed to the mulitude of chances that they created towards the end of the match, with the tactical changes being the real key. «We found a lot more space as our opponents were tired , states Erik Gerets, but they brought us their talent. I would have liked to have seen Valbuena play further forward as his speed is very useful in the final 15 metres, that’s where he can make the difference.»
Mathieu, himself, declared that he was «fairly satisfied » on his official website  : «I’m getting my pace back and not feeling any pain anymore. I haven’t felt as good as this in months, but I still couldn’t last out the full 90 minutes.»

OM are treading water in the League, is it worrying?

No. Even if a good result would have been beneficial, OM are still in the same position in the League and are concentrating on their play. «Right from the start of the season, we haven’t focused on the League standings or the other teams. At the end of the season we’ll do all the sums and see where we are » states Cheyrou.
The coach is focusing on the future. «November has always been a poor month for Marseille. If we miss out at the end of the season, we’ll all remember when we dropped points. But, in general, the second half of the season is always better for us.» There are three more games in the League before the winter break in which OM will be able to turn things around.