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The Wanyama malaise: new controversy surrounding CF Montréal

FOXBOROUGH, MA - APRIL 8: Victor Wanyama #2 of CF Montreal before during a game between CF Montreal and New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium on April 8, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts (Photo by Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images).

If you only knew how deeply I love our Montreal soccer club.

Yes, I cover it with emotion/passion… and yes, when it’s racking up victories, I sometimes get carried away with excessive positivism. No cheering in the press box doesn’t apply to me: I prefer not to ask for a media pass and show up at games in the stands with my 15-year-old son. Time flies and every moment spent at the Stade with ti-cul will never come back. But it does leave some beautiful memories.

Someone who sh*t on the Alouettes this weekend on social networks should read or reread the above paragraph…

But when I cover the club at training sessions and press briefings, I’m not with my son… and certainly not with the chums from 1642. I do it professionally, neutrally and with one thing in mind: to get the real, relevant information.

That information isn’t always easy to find…

Unfortunately, over the past year, this information has been more negative than positive. It’s no wonder that podcasts and specialized programs (not paid for by Apple TV and/or MLS) are sometimes heavy on substance…

In 2023, we were treated to what fans call a lost season. Wilfried Nancy was replaced by Hernan Losada, even though there were 1,001 red flags surrounding him. What was bound to happen happened: the team didn’t play the style of football required at the start, Victor Wanyama (the only DP player) was benched more often than not, the attack failed to cut through and we didn’t make the playoffs.

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This year, we allowed ourselves to be collectively full of hope.

A new coach who seemed to know how to weld this group together (with his traditional handshake at the start of the event), reinforcements up front (Coccaro, Martinez and Iankov), a record number of season tickets and a vibe around the club that really stood out from last year.

But drama is never far from CF Montreal. I should have known…

The club has decided to multiply its individual ticket prices by 15 or 16 for the arrival of Lionel Messi…

Mathieu Choinière has asked to be traded…

Olivier Renard left after ten days of rumors…

Vassili followed two weeks later…

Just about everyone got injured…

And the team, this morning, has won just one of its last 14 games in all competitions. No win in two outings against a CPL club, need I remind you?

CF Montreal are just one point off the bottom of the East…

But the drama reached another level over the weekend. Especially as the club has been losing far too much for a while now! #AlwaysWorse

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On Friday, I was informed – a few minutes before Laurent Courtois’ media availability – that Victor Wanyama had most likely not boarded the plane that took the boys from Quebec to Colorado.

Since at 11:30 a.m. I only had one source, and I was still trying to confirm it, I didn’t dare ask Laurent Courtois directly about Wanyama at his press briefing. Instead, I asked him if there had been any changes among the injured and if there were any new absentees in relation to Wednesday’s match. His answer: Sosa will be suspended, Campbell will be back from suspension and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint will be back from injury.

There was no mention of Wanyama.

A few minutes after this press briefing, I was able to confirm that Wanyama was not in Colorado; that he had remained in Montreal.

I was told that when Victor was told at the Nutrilait Centre on Wednesday that he wasn’t going to be in the starting line-up, he really didn’t take it well. With Piette and Choinière in the national squad, he was expecting to play. Reportedly, before the game, he told the staff that he wouldn’t be accompanying the team to Colorado for the next game.

A few hours later, he entered the match in place of Nathan Saliba, and was seen to refuse – perhaps justifiably – to wear the captain’s armband. He took it in his hand and offered it to Josef Martinez, then to Jonathan Sirois (whom he accepted). It was like a game of hot potato in elementary school…

After Wednesday’s game, no questions were asked about Victor Wanyama.

And on Saturday, he was definitely not present to face the Rapids.

Officially, Montreal CF told the media that Victor had simply asked for special permission to stay with his wife and new child, born the week before. Victor had played two games (in Montreal) since…

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Was Victor sitting on the birth of his son to avoid traveling with the team? Quite possibly. Was that the real reason for his absence on Saturday? I have huge doubts. If he had an important role with the team – a role that goes with being the only designated player on that team – I’m convinced he would have been in Colorado. And so are the people I talk to!

But that’s not the case.

The factremains that almost everyone bought the parental leave story to explain Wanyama’s absence…

Until around eleven o’clock last night, when Joel Waterman published a story that added a lot of fuel to an almost extinguished fire by confirming that, no, there’s more to Wanyama’s case than a new fatherhood story…

“Disrespect will come and go, but I know you always stay the same. ” – Joel Waterman, in a photo of him and Victor Wanyama

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The excellent Nilton Jorge wondered if it was really necessary to go with such a story when Waterman is hundreds of miles away from the team. After all, Waterman is the co-captain of this team… and several sources have told me over the past few months that he almost was the captain, period.

Who’s disrespecting whom according to Waterman?

We know the disrespect is towards Wanyama…

But who is it coming from?

Some people on social networks have suggested that the lack of respect comes from the fans… a theory I don’t subscribe to at all. I don’t see why Joel Waterman would attack Montreal fans. Especially since the fans are pretty smooth with the club’s (only) DP.

Disrespect doesn’t come from the coach, the president, the owner or anyone else in the organization.

Since the decision not to start him in Wednesday’s game probably came from the coach, it’s safe to assume that Waterman is talking about Laurent Courtois on Instagram. And that would be worrying.

A co-captain indirectly criticizing his coach in public is never a good sign. #Controversy

But watch out! Wanyama and CF Montreal didn’t get along last year and Laurent Courtois wasn’t there. So Waterman is probably targeting the organization or someone higher up than Courtois in his story.

If that’s the case, it’s also worrying. Mathieu Choinière (with whom Waterman spends a lot of time right now)… Joel Waterman… are the leaders all going after their bosses? #RespectYourBoss #BeProfessional

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This has got to stop
Wanyama was brought to Montreal under Rémi Garde. His first stay wasn’t catastrophic. But to have extended him for two more seasons, even reducing his salary, was a mistake. A big mistake.

Whose mistake? Your guess is as good as mine.

Last year, Victor Wanyama’s wife (Serah Teshna) took to Twitter to talk about the lack of respect shown to Wanyama. This year, she’s silent, but we can assume she hasn’t changed her mind.

Last autumn, Victor Wanyama let it be known that communication was nil with Hernan Losada; this year, communication is good with Laurent Courtois, but the facts remain the same. He’s not playing much.

The mercato will open soon and CF Montreal still doesn’t have a sporting director. A major reshuffle took place a few weeks after the start of the campaign…

The many season ticket holders – both new and old – who are seriously considering not renewing their contracts…

Players coming out publicly to say, demand or question all sorts of things…

It’s time to put an end to all this.

Gabriel Gervais must appoint a new sporting director (Luca Saputo?) and he must disclose the organization’s new soccer structure to the public. He must seriously evaluate the option of terminating Victor Wanyama’s contract(a la Harry Novillo?); Victor is no longer in a position to help the Montreal CF to the extent of his salary. He must ensure that Joel Waterman and Mathieu Choinière have no real intention of leaving Montreal, since the club needs them. He needs to convince Joey Saputo to spend a little to help the team (and to renovate Saputo Stadium).

When the best insider in MLS describes your organization as the most dysfunctional in the league, you’ve got to do something big, and fast! And the right moves!

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Montreal CF has today off; it’s back on the pitch at Stade Saputo tomorrow morning. Will Victor Wanyama be there, and if so, in what frame of mind?

I’m repeating myself, but the club has won just one of its last 14 games. The next two games (Philadelphia at Montreal and New York City at New York) will be decisive.

I love my club. I wish it the best. I wish us the best. But it’s getting late (again)…

A team whose strategy is to sell its best players can’t string together seasons of misery and think it won’t affect its relationship with its fans.

Overtime

– We still don’t know what that “something else”was…

– Does Duke really have Mihailovic in his blood?

– Bravo to this former Montreal CF!