French attacking midfielder out of World Cup...not the one you think

Ribery and Grenier for one Cabella?

With all the smoke swirling around the healthy of Ribery, another attacking player had to bow out of the French squad. The OL midfielder, Grenier, had to pull out of the squad. In my opinion not the biggest loss. I have never been enamored with the Lyon play-maker. He has some talents and is good at set pieces, but I am not convinced he is a game changer coming off the bench. Which would have been his role. In his place DD, called up Cabella to replace him. Not a surprise. A like for like attacking midfielder. To me, Cabella is a player that can bring something off the bench - pace, attacking minded dribbling, a player that can
single handily break down a defense 1 v 1.

Of course the Ribery story will not go away, with some reports stating that DD has also called up Schneiderlin. In anticipation of a Ribery announcement? I hope not. However I would rather DD make a decision of leaving Ribery at home if there are too many questions of his fitness than drag him to Brazil and then play the "what if game" every day...something to continue keeping an eye on. Of course Schneiderlin is not a like for like swap. If Both Ribery and Gernier are bowing out, DD has replaced them with another attacking minded player and with a more defensive minded player. This could have some ramifications on the line ups and tactics for DD. More on this if the time comes.