Benzema does not feel right with Les Bleus...hmmmmmm

So the latest from Madrid is that French star, Karim Benzema, does not feel at ease with Les Bleus. Shocking! Well really not. When you have a manager such as Domenech who is quirky and changes ideas as often as he changes his briefs, it is difficult for players to gain confidence and more importantly understand where they fit in overall system. Let us look at the Domenech and his actions of the past:

• Takes Trezeguet to Germany for the World Cup. But seems to favor Saha as the first striker off the bench. Has to use Trezegol in the finals since Saha was suspended (I believe that the yellow card against Portugal in the semi finals was one of the underlying reasons Les Bleus did not win the WC. Saha would have come in for Les Bleus rather than Trezegeut and I believe that Petit Louis' game would have lent itself to a goal in extra time for France...). We all know that Trez missed his PK, and somehow Domenech appears to have punished him for that post WC. Trezegol then goes into international exile...but gets called up for a match...he did not even have his boots with him since he never expected the call up, and then he is never to be seen from again.
• What about Malouda? He inexplicably fell off Domenech's radar and now is back on. Was it due to Malouda's lack of first team play with Chelsea? Maybe but when he was first ignored he was still getting in some good run with the London Blues.
• How about the keeper situation? I have ranted about this many times but the handling of the keeper situation from day 1 has been HORRENDOUS!!!! Goalkeeper is the one position in footie that needs special attention, they are creatures of habit, need to know the heirarchy and at times need coddling (this is coming from someone who wears the reusch gloves for his club on sundays!). From Barthez to Coupet to Mananda to Frey, Domenech has shown a complete lack of managerial skills when it comes to his keepers.
• Then there is Mexes, who is an absolute star in Italy, but for France looks like a second division hack.
  
• The "old guard" now I am firm believer that a footie manager, whether for the national team or club, needs to be firm when it comes to turning over his club. There needs to be a balance of experience and youth, and the hardest decision at times is when to replace the experience with youth. However a manager needs to do this while still allowing the old guard to save face and to have the recognition it deserves...neither of which Domenech was able to do with the likes of Pires and Giuly.
• Finally the way he handled Makelele, not allowing the veteran to retire from the international game as he had wanted. Rather threatening to fine him and his club if did not accept the France call ups...of course this had the "special one" saying that Domenech was treating Makelele as a "Slave." While Makelele did return to play for Les Bleus, and clearly gave all he had for France. In the end it was all for naught. Maybe Domenech should have looked for a younger player to fill in that spot rather than force an aging star to continue to battle for club and country.

So what to make of Benzema's comments? While I agree that sometimes these players whine and seem too shy away from responsibilty when they are not performing, I also think one only needs to look at the track record of Domenech to see a manager that instead of getting the most out of his talent, appears to some how take talented players and reduce them to average footballers. I have no problem with managers that are not loved by their players, as long as that manager also puts those footballers in a position to be successful. I have yet to see Domenech being able to do that with what is a very talent pool of players, and I fear that he will have wasted the likes of Ribery, Evra, Diarra, Benzema, Nasri, Mandanda, Lloris, Sagna, Clichy, Gallas, etc. Too bad the French FA does not have the brains to do what is right.