Patrick Guillou, former AS Saint-Étienne defender, has delivered a particularly severe analysis of the club's failure. The former Vert does not just point out sporting errors. He questions the direction taken by the club since the arrival of Kilmer Sports and believes that ASSE has lost sight of the essential: on-field performance. Since several months, Patrick Guillou has been alerting on the limits of the Stéphanois squad. After the elimination in the playoffs against Nice and the maintenance in Ligue 2, the former Vert believes that the warning signs were visible for a long time. For him, the main problem lies in the state of mind that accompanied the promotion project. "Since the first day, we are told that it's almost a formality and that it will be a healthy journey to return to the top division." A statement that he summarizes in one word: sufficiency. According to him, ASSE had ideal conditions to return to the elite. "It was a golden season to directly promote. You have the biggest budget. You play every Saturday night. You have 34 matches. And you can't promote with the biggest squad?" For Patrick Guillou, this inability to achieve the goal cannot be reduced to a few injuries or a bad playoff match against Nice. The problem is deeper. "The locomotive is no longer the sport" The former Stéphanois criticizes the directors for having progressively shifted the center of gravity of the project. "The locomotive is no longer the sport. The locomotive is the business." Patrick Guillou does not question the economic development of the club. However, he considers that the priorities have been inverted. "We are happy to have never had so much attendance. We are happy to have never sold so many jerseys. We are happy that the non-alcoholic beer is 7 euros and that we exceed all the numbers. We do storytelling. But that's not the locomotive." Before adding a formula that summarizes his analysis: "The locomotive is the green rectangle." According to him, the commercial performances and the image of the club cannot mask a simple fact: ASSE has not fulfilled its sporting mission. "Kilmer Sports in the sights" Patrick Guillou also targets the global strategy implemented since the takeover of the club. He points out the numerous announcements that accompanied the sporting counter-performances. "Every time there is a counter-performance, we announce a new joyful announcement." The former defender mentions the recruitment of new staff, the announcements around the club's structures or the organizational evolutions. "We bring in the physical trainer of Chelsea, the recruiter of a big club. Every time, everything is super well done." But for him, the problem remains the same. "People no longer look at the green rectangle." This criticism directly targets the philosophy carried by the current directors. Patrick Guillou recognizes the skills of the Kilmer Sports staff but believes they have not yet fully understood what AS Saint-Étienne is. "At Saint-Étienne, it's an emotional sport. It's a passionate sport." "A recruitment and a method questioned by Guillou" Another sensitive topic: the sporting policy implemented over the past two years. Patrick Guillou questions the sporting policy implemented by the AS Saint-Étienne directors. He believes that the sporting policy implemented by the directors is too focused on commercial performances and not enough on sporting performances.