The Domenech debacle continues....can we please end this nightmare?

So after a restless night pondering what we witnessed yesterday at the Stade de France, something else that bothered me from the match yesterday that I have read on other blogs - why call up players and not play them???? Looking at the first half "high lights" makes one wonder why not play the new call ups...



Dumbenech, rightfully so, called up the likes of Ben Arfa, Rami, Cheyrou to name a few. However rather than play any of them in the second half he sticks with his usual - Govou comes in for the right side and Malouda on the left. Hmmmm, you are down 2-0 at half time of a friendly, it cannot get much worse that what was demonstrated in the first 45 minutes maybe use the second half to get your call ups a run. How about this for an idea -

Take out Toulalan who had a bad game - lots of running yes, but chasing the Spanish shadows - bring in Cheyrou in his place. It would be nice to see the natural left footed player see what he can bring. He plays a deep lying role and can link the offense to the defense but he is also more of an offensive presence than the Lyon man. Remove Henry

who was also not covering  himself in glory and slot Ribery on the left, bring in Ben Arfa and have him hold up the right channel. This would give you 2 legitimate creative offensive players on the wings. You can then allow Gourcuff to drop deeper to get some separation from the blanketing Spanish defense. Let Anelka get some time with this formation but then, as he did but too late, bring in Cisse to add a new dimension to the offense. Finally take out Escude, who had a terrible first half, and allow Rami to get some run with Ciani in the center of the defense. Again not to beat a man while he is down, but I fear that Escude has done nothing the past few games but put into question whether or not he deserves a plane ticket to South Africa...to me that is a resounding no. Reading some of the player rankings, I am not alone in some of these thoughts.

France will have 3 more matches prior to the start of the World Cup - however those matches will have the 23 players that will be on the plane to the World Cup - so they are tune ups and not games to determine who makes the roster. The fact Domenech does not see this game as a bad omen is a bit concerning. I am sure he has to say the "right" things for the press. However the fact he demonstrates ZERO sense of urgency or concern is very disconcerting. Giving Spain the credit they rightful deserve is fine, but to say you still have time to work things out and that you only lost because of 2 mistakes demonstrates a slipping grasp of the reality of the situation. It might not hurt to call out some of your players - Henry, Gourcuff, Toulalan, Escude - they are professionals and need to have a fire lit under their behinds if France has any aspirations this summer.

Unfortunately Domenech continues to demonstrate a complete lack of ability to provide strategic vision, tactical insight or simple motivation to this side. I am beginning to question whether or not Les Bleus will even emerge from their group...a fear that others have also pointed out.