No one was shocked when Bordeaux decided to sack Jocelyn Gourvennec this week after a run of two wins in 15 games. However, Jérémy Toulalan’s request to have his contract terminated and the club’s decision to appoint Gus Poyet as Gourvennec’s successor came as big surprises. What was a disastrous season for one of France’s grand old clubs has now ventured into the unknown.

Disappointed and frustrated at his manager’s removal, Toulalan asked to “end his Bordeaux adventure,” as a club statement put it, five months before his contract was up. “I was not surprised by his request,” admitted club president Stéphane Martin. “When the results began to decline, he told me to tie his personal fate to that of Jocelyn.”

Toulalan’s show of solidarity hints at the true extent of the disarray at the club. After the defeat to Caen in midweek that finally instigated Gourvennec’s sacking, a small group of players – Brazilians Jonathan Cafu, Otávio and Malcom – appeared in an Instagram video leaving the Stade Matmut Atlantique laughing and joking with their partners, seemingly unaffected by their latest sub-par display and its grave consequences.

They were swiftly condemned by the media, fans and club. “Faced with this lack of maturity, solidarity and respect towards the institution and all its components, Bordeaux will summon the three players as soon as possible, for a disciplinary interview,” read a club statement. Malcom was subsequently forced to apologise publicly but his team-mates’ lack of professionalism was one step too far for Toulalan, who had his contract cancelled on Thursday and becomes a free agent.

The attitude of this Brazilian clique has reportedly been a concern for some time, with Malcom in particular guilty of not been listening and pretty much doing whatever he wants in training. The dressing room had become fragmented and Toulalan, who attributed their poor run to this attitude rather than Gourvennec’s ability to eradicate it, had seen enough.

Bordeaux have repeatedly lacked cohesion and intensity since their demoralising 6-2 shredding at Paris Saint-Germain. Their humiliating defeat to fourth-tier Granville in the Coupe de France and disastrous 3-0 home loss to Strasbourg before Christmas typified their weak spine and lack of fight.

The club reacted to the departures of Gourvennec and Toulalan by appointing Poyet on Saturday, a decision that has been greeted with a mixed reaction. The move is a risky one given Poyet’s rollercoaster managerial career to date. He won League One with Brighton but was sacked while live on Match of the Day; he saved Sunderland from relegation but was sacked after a run of one win in 12 league games; he spent six months at AEK Athens before falling out with the club’s president; he was sacked by Real Betis after four months as the team were floundering near the bottom of La Liga; and he resigned from his job with Shanghai Shenhua after four straight losses left them languishing near the bottom of the Chinese Super Leageu – despite the fact they were paying Carlos Tevez a fortune to bring them glory.

A prominent member of the Bordeaux supporters’ group, the Ultramarines, says fans are “skeptical and disappointed”, while the club’s majority shareholder, Nicolas de Tavernost, told L’Équipe that the club would “know in a few weeks” if he was the right man for the job. Poyet may not even have been first choice; Michel Preud’homme was reportedly lined up for the job but Bordeaux could not afford to pay his salary and the €750,000 compensation fee required by his former employers, Club Brugge.

Despite all the turmoil, the team produced their best result in months on Saturday afternoon under interim coach Éric Bedouet, beating Claudio Ranieri’s fifth-placed Nantes 1-0. Footage of a jubilant team celebrating their victory portrayed a side far more united than was alleged. The fact that previously inept forward Nicolas de Préville won the game with a bullet header only contributed to the idea that the dynamic in the squad may be better off without Toulalan and Gourvennec, even if De Préville’s celebration was oddly muted.

Poyet’s task remains a sizeable one. He is taking over an imbalanced squad that desperately needs a striker and a more solid defence but is not short of egos. When Toulalan left he took with him much of the “maturity, solidarity and respect” that Malcom and his friends failed to show last week. It might take more than Poyet’s imposing personality to bring it back.



Ligue 1 talking points

Memphis Depay celebrates after scoring Lyon’s winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain. Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

• Nabil Fékir was given the man of the match award in Lyon’s 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain after scoring a fine free-kick and being the creative fulcrum for the hosts. What made his performance even more impressive was that he did not play in his normal No10 role but as a central midfielder. Fékir has improved his work ethic this season but was now being asked to take on a bigger load – and against the league leaders to boot. Lyon were the better for his performance, though, with Tanguy N’Dombélé now freed to influence the attack. This tactic will not always be ideal against more defensively minded opposition as it leaves Fékir too far from goal but, against PSG, it was a stroke of genius from the oft-embattled Bruno Génésio.

• Lyon’s win turned on two moments: Dani Alves’ red card and Memphis Depay’s wonderstrike in injury time. The Dutchman has seemed indifferent lately, failing to be spurred to greater heights by the competition he has faced from Houssem Aouar, but his winner was a thing of beauty. He now has nine goals this season, an impressive number for a wide player, but he still too often only hints at his talent. If Génésio can wring this sort of desire from him on a regular basis, Lyon will be favourites for second place and could make a real run at the Europa League.

• Nice reclaimed sixth place with a stodgy win 1-0 over St Étienne, who seemed determined to kick the hosts to bits. Wylan Cyprien was superb for Nice, who have now won six of their last eight games in the league. He is still working his way back from the cruciate injury he sustained last spring but seems to be picking up where he left off last season. He will be key if Nice’s recent improvement is to continue.

• Lille, currently 18th in the league, were disappointing in their 3-0 defeat at Troyes on Saturday, but they will have been relieved to see Toulouse, Saint-Étienne and Angers all losing. Lille play six of the top seven in the next two months, so are in real danger of losing touch with the teams above them.

Quick Guide Ligue 1 results Show Caen 0-2 Marseille

Nantes 0-1 Bordeaux

Amiens 3-1 Guingamp

Montpellier 2-1 Toulouse

Rennes 1-0 Angers

Strasbourg 3-2 Dijon

Troyes 1-0 Lille

Nice 1-0 St Étienne

Monaco 3-1 Metz

Lyon 2-1 PSG

Ligue 1 table