Domenech continues to be under pressure

The latest voice in the "Domenech out" campaign, is the French World Cup winning manager - Aime Jacquet. In a recent statement, the former France manager spoke out that Domenech has overstayed his welcome, saying that in this role one should only stay 4 years otherwise you become stale. That statement could not be any more spot on!

The criticism of of Domenech is nothing new, however this is the first time a peer with such stature makes such a statement. This is very telling, why? The fact that former and current players such as Pires, Liza, Dugarry, Giuly, Mexes, to name a few have been vocal about their distaste for the current French manager is old hat, the fact a manager that won the ultimate triumph for Les Bleus and did so after he too was under intense criticism speaks volumes for where the current manager sits in the eyes of most followers of Les Bleus. What is even more telling is what is not being said or done...mainly that none of the current players seem to be rushing to their manager's defense. It would also appear that none of the current players are telling former players to zip it. Least we forget Henry played with the 98ers - Liza, Dugarry as well as with Pires for both club and country - so the current French captain, could if he wanted, surely make a few calls and tell his former teammates to tone it down. The only issue is that I believe Henry is equally as frustrated, I am sure that the bust up occurred prior to the Romania game has a strong element of truth to it, unlike the backpedalling both camps did post game.

So where does this leave the FFF? Clearly they are steadfast with their desire to stay with Domenech, otherwise they would have sacked him after the awful Euro campaign. It would be awkward if they were to sack the manager after he qualified Les Bleus for the World Cup. What about Domenech? Well he is stubborn and has repeatedly stated that he will not leave because he is not a quitter...good for him...too bad he is also not much of a national team manager. I am not sure if the players can force the manager out. I know the majority of the fans want him out - a recent survey showed that the majority of French have no faith in Domenech. Where does that leave Les Bleus for the World Cup? I fear stuck with Domenech. Which leaves the fans of Les Bleus in a dicey situation - if France does well next summer we are all happy but Dumbenech gets vindicated...or France crashes out, Dumbenech gets canned (hopefully) but France waste an abundance of talent for another tournament. Alas, I fear that France head to South Africa with a huge cloud over their heads. Some teams rally when the are faced with such adversity...I am not sure this group has that mentally since it appears that much of them feel the same malaise. Alas, get ready for Les Bleus to spend a nice 3 game tour of South Africa next summer before heading home.