Clearly, the ESSM Le Portel season is turning into a nightmare. On January 26, the northern club, which had just suffered the heaviest defeat in the history of Betclic ÉLITE against Paris Basketball, chose to dismiss its coach Kenny Grant.
Except that to end a contract prematurely, you still have to find an agreement. And mired by its financial problems, the northern club had to resolve to recall the American-Swedish coach at the helm. The latter must confirm his return to the site.
While the ESSM has decided to agree to release players, like Ivan Février, to survive economically, the former coach of Aix-Maurienne should therefore end a season in freewheeling, by aligning a few still fit professionals surrounded by young shoots from the hopeful squad. Already without a victory in the ranking – their only success was administratively withdrawn – the Stellistes have almost no hope of maintaining their position.
Return to ELITE 2 with the smallest possible deficit
But the essential is no longer there for President Rivoal’s club: its objective is to curb spending as much as possible, or even save, in order to achieve the least difficult financial landing possible. Because the plan is to return to ELITE 2 with the agreement of the DNCCG, without starting with an abysmal deficit which would then reduce Porteloise’s ambitions in a division where they would be entitled to a good place.
