France Football ran a story that Laurent Blanc might look to put together a list of 23, none of which were in South Africa. Take that! A bold move by the new France manager, one that would send a clear message:
"I blame no one, I blame all of you. The entire team will be punished for their actions in South Africa. I am the new boss do not test my authority."
I think it would be a bold and strong move from the new manager. Rather than trying to figure out who was responsible, who really wanted to practice, who picked on who etc etc. By not selecting any of the 23 that went to South Africa it should make clear who is in charge and that all will win and lose together.
If Blanc does take this course of action, who could be part of the 23?
GK - Landreau, YPele and Ruffier (not sure how he will be regarded since technically he was not part of the 23).
DEF - Fanni, Rami, Cissokho, Ciani, Mexes, Tremoulinas, Sakho, MDabo
MID - MSissoko, Cheyrou, Ben Arfa, Nasri, N'Zogbia, LDiarra, Menez
FWD - Benzema, Remy, Gameiro, Briand, Ait-Fana
If Blanc goes with a 4-1-3-2, based on what he stated post press conference here is the line up:
Landreau
Cissokho - Rami - Mexes - Fanni
Cheyrou
N'Zogbia - Nasri - Menez
Benzema - Remy
An interesting line up, you could insert Gameiro late in the game to take advantage of his pace, or even try an Ait-Fana as a true wide winger. Menez can also move up and become a 3rd striker. N'Zogbia can track back and assist Cheyrou in terms of defensive midfield. Let us see what happens over the next few weeks. Blanc has thrown down the gauntlet, clearly we all know who is in control. Bien fait Laurent!
15 comments:
Frog, what's interesting about this is that
1. That would still be a very strong team, with Ben Afra, Nasri & Benzema, Diarra, Sakho amongst the most talented French players, period.
2. You'd still have a fair amount of head cases!
I hope this is not true. I am sure its true Lloris, Sagna, Toulalan did want to practice. I mean they even look like good people. Atleast keep Lloris Please!
It's clearly a weaker team (and I agree with the head cases comment). But there are essential players from the "dirty 23" that need to be back on the team.
But I hope this stings them and they show they can earn it
maybe do this for a friendly or two, but if laurent blanc plans to head into euro qualifiers without lloris, gourcuff, toulalan or sagna, then i was wrong to believe he was the right man for the job.
Menez is hugely underrated, in fact unknown to some. He would be great to see alongside Nasri.
I don't think anyone should be banned from the team. Maybe I am just crazy though.
By the way! Did you see France stomp Netherlands 4-1 today in U19?
Good point @SSJ then again name me a national side that does not contain its fair share of head cases!
Otherwise I do not believe that if Blanc does this for the Norway game that he will banish the "dirty 23" for the rest of their careers. Blanc has stated that he will always take the players that are performing the best on the pitch...so I am sure that the Sagnas, Diabys, Gourcuffs, Llorises of the world will find their way back into the French side very soon. But a worthy message regardless!
nice choices. this shows how deep french talent is and lets players like Ribery (who is not as good as he thinks) know that nothing can be taken for granted. That's not to say that anyone from south africa is banned--just that they will have to fight to warrant inclusion. in any case, this line-up couldn't do any worse than the south africa side.
now that benzema has been indicted, he will probably not make the cut. Maybe Blanc will give Kakuta a shot?
Benzema has not been tried nor found guilty of any offense, he and Ribery have been placed under "judicial investigation." Granted that is not somewhere you want to be, but I have a feeling this will not go much further. Bottom line is the woman in question admitted to have lied to the players about her age so I think they will get a fine and probation but no real jail time. Having said that, maybe Blanc leaves Benzema off his first list.
Kakuta would be a very interesting player to look at, I almost included him in the first list. Blanc has been at the U-19 European Championship matches so is clearly looking at this young crop. Another would be Griezmann. However I will throw another name into the ring - Obertan. He has played well in the pre-season tour by Manchester United. I realize it is against lesser opponents, but the young winger played well when given a chance with ManU and if anyone would know him would be his former club manager Blanc.
being placed under "judicial investigation" sounds very much like being indicted (which simply means being formally charged with a crime--doesn't mean being found guilty). i would think that is serious enough to warrant benzema's exclusion from the team until he is formally exonerated, given blanc's desire to start fresh and turn the page on the scandals of the domenech era. obertan is a fine choice. france has many exciting young players who deserve a shot
Oh I agree, being under "judicial investigation" is not what anyone would want to have hanging over their heads! I do think that this will give Blanc pause for thought with regards to Benzema and especially Ribery (couple this with his actions in South Africa).
There are some players that will warrant inclusion by Blanc. The real question will be - what if Ribery and Benzema are found guilty of lesser charges and given a financial penalty yet start playing well on the pitch - does Blanc have to leverage them to get France qualified for the Euro? Right now all we are talking about is a friendly on Aug 11th. The rubber hits the road in Sept then we will see how Blanc handles all the soap opera.
I hope that the new 23 play well enough to make everyone forget about ribery, who is not a team player.
I think France could qualify w/o any of the south africa 23. it's an easy group
Ehhh, not sure I would say it was an "easy" group. Romania is always difficult on Les Bleus. I am also very nervous about Bosnia. They are an up and coming nation with the likes of Dzeko and Pjanic they have some legitimate game changers. Les Bleus always have had a tough go of it against the Eastern European foes.
France, with Laurent Blanc, should qualify but it is not as simple as it would appear.
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