Welcome to the "Frog," my little piece of cyberspace to talk about my passion - le foot (or soccer for my North American friends) especially anything around French football. Of course I will have some guest contributors that might want to discuss other aspects of footy!
I support Les Bleus, Arsenal and PSG but really just love watching, analyzing and following the beautiful game.
"You have to trust your teammates, always. If not we are lost."
Friday, June 25, 2010
Les Bleus are dead long live Les Bleus! Turning the page...
We will now be subject to all the spin control from the players of the French National Team. Starting tonight with Henry on the Grand Journal and Abidal on TF1, it will be interesting to see if they are asked tough questions, doubtful and what spin they put on this entire fiasco. Patrice Evra is also rumored to be planning a public interview as well. A good blog post for Sport24 argues that if, the perpetrators of the mutiny are going to speak, then the players that tried to do the right thing - Lloris, Gourcuff, Sagna to name three - need to also speaking their mind.
However I would argue, allow the guilty parties to make their cases in public. I think the French supporters know who is to blame in this situation from the players point of view. Those that were not active participants should stay above the fray, do not get embroiled in a who said what did what airing in public. Allow Laurent Blanc to come in on July 1st and take care of the situation.
Laurent Blanc, needs to sit down with his players individually and figure out what really happened, at least try to piece enough of the puzzle to get a good sense of what transpired. Then he needs to tell his team. "That was the past, it was unacceptable but it was not under my watch so I will not punish you for it. However, if I get a sense that any of that has carried over, you will be dealt with swiftly and severely. There is a new sheriff in town so behave." He should confront some of the main perpetrators individual and tell them - what you did was reprehensible if I call you up for the team you will follow my rules and if you do not, I will find a replacement for you. No one is bigger than the team."
It will be interesting to hear what is said over the air waves. If it is true that Henry was one of the ring leaders, then is is a truly sad day. The all time leading scorer and one of France's greatest players would go out in shame - hand ball against Ireland and then this, not a good way to end one's international career.
2 comments:
Anonymous
said...
the biggest problem I believe will be Ribery. He's still young enough and shows plenty of promise for the next world cup, but he needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. He lets his ego get too big, and it gets in his way. If Blanc can humble him up a bit, then he'll be all set to go.
Oh I completely agree, look for a more in-depth post about the future of the team and Blanc. I will convey some thoughts on Ribery, but I completely agree - the others will be easier to deal with because they most likely do not figure in the long term plans for Les Bleus - Ribery on the other hand still has much to give in terms of playing. However does the ego and attitude issue overwhelm the ability on the pitch?
2 comments:
the biggest problem I believe will be Ribery. He's still young enough and shows plenty of promise for the next world cup, but he needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. He lets his ego get too big, and it gets in his way. If Blanc can humble him up a bit, then he'll be all set to go.
Oh I completely agree, look for a more in-depth post about the future of the team and Blanc. I will convey some thoughts on Ribery, but I completely agree - the others will be easier to deal with because they most likely do not figure in the long term plans for Les Bleus - Ribery on the other hand still has much to give in terms of playing. However does the ego and attitude issue overwhelm the ability on the pitch?
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