Domenech fired! Witch hunt continues

The main culprit for many of the problems surrounding the French National team is finally getting some of his punishment - he was fired from the FFF. Granted this is probably 2 or 3 years too late, he should have been sacked after the 2008 Euro fiasco. Better late than never, but the action from the FFF feels a bit empty. Granted Escalettes never had the back bone to do the necessary and fire Domenech when he should have been sacked. Escalettes continued support of Domenech made it virtually impossible for Inspector Clouseau to be axed and created a false sense of support from players, former players and other France football pundits. We all know how that ended. To me Domenech cannot suffer enough embarrassment and disgrace, but the only thing that will allow us to move on from the Domenech era will be some success on the pitch. Let us hope Tuesday we enjoy that emotion.

Au revoir Escalettes! Long live Les Bleus

So after a week of continued revelations about the fiasco Les Bleus suffered in South Africa and after many, including this blog, had called for his scalp, Escalettes finally did what he needed to and stepped down. Clearly his roles as head of the French Football Federation could no longer be allowed after it was his decision to maintain the man at the heart of all this - Domenech. After hitting rock bottom in South Africa, this latest move is an indication that Les Bleus are starting to come out of that darkness. The question remains who will step into the role? There are plenty of apt candidates - it will be interesting if the federation goes with someone who was so vocal against Domenech - Christian Teinturier - or with someone seen more as a moderate like Le Graet or Desumer. Or could the Federation reach to an outsider? What about a Guy Roux or an Aime Jacquet? The former is one of the masters when it comes to running a development system and putting in place the necessary infrastructure and the latter has the cache of being the manager of the World Cup championships and has demonstrated an ability to put a strategy together and preserver during the good and bad. He also has a good relationship with Blanc. 

The good news is France has jettisoned 2 problems - Domenech and Escalettes. Come August 11th it will be interesting to see if Blanc has cleaned house when it comes to the players - Evra, Abidal, Henry, Gallas and Ribery to name a few who were thought of as the problem children in South Africa will have to be dealt with. The question remains how will Blanc handle that situation...stay tuned.

Les Bleus arrive back home...let the blame game begin

The South African "adventure" has finally come to an end for Les Bleus. With the team landing in Paris earlier today, the players can now go back to their clubs, some will never be back in Blue some we might see in 6 weeks against Norway for Laurent Blanc's first official match...so what to make of this fiasco, or is there anything more that needs to be said? Let me recap, I have been writing about this through out the entire mutiny...now there is some new information that has come out - such as the fact that Evra's lawyer supposedly wrote the letter they had Domenech read, the tension in the bus and so on.

So let me put a period on all the on goings. Who is to blame in all this?

1. The one that shoulders the most blame - the Federation and in particular Escalettes. As I have stated in the past, it is inexcusable that the direction of the Federation stuck with Domenech for this long. Many of the radio podcasts I have been listening to have all made similar points, after 2008 we were told that things would "change." That the federation was sticking with Domenech, even though France crashed out in the first round of the Euros. They added new staff and support structure. Brought in Boghossian, one of the members of the 1998 side, to help manage with Domenech - clearly a move to try and appease the voices from the 1998ers that were disgruntled with the way the team was going. None of this changed anything. The team still had no direction, no strategy and apparently no desire to win. Sometimes you cannot blame the coach, because he is clueless and cannot get out of his own way. That is when the federation is suppose to step in and make the necessary changes. Shame on you Escalettes, I place 45% of the blame on  your shoulders. You should step down or I hope you will be told to step down, the federation needs some new leadership.
2. Blaming Domenech is easy, but he deserves it. What has he done in 4 years, since his team made an improbable run to the World Cup finals? According to Houllier, who is the technical director for France, stated that for a long time Domenech has worked in isolation from the remainder of the federation, not taking any input not communicating...just being Domenech Clearly Domenech had lost complete control of his team and it is also clear that 6 years of a grating style with his players and the media came back to haunt the astrologically guided manager. His actions in South Africa further demonstrated his ineptitude - not shaking hands with Parriera, blasting his players in a press conference prior to the South Africa game, reading the statement during the player strike and really just showing a complete lack of ability when it came to tactics and strategy. How can you not use one of your substitutes at the end of the Mexico game when just scoring a goal and cutting the deficit to 2-1 gave you a better chance to advance...the manager deserves much of the blame let us say he gets 35% of the blame.
3. The players have nothing to be proud of either. The way they have handled themselves is nothing short of juvenile. However I will say that sometimes you are subjected to terrible and inept leadership for 6 years and you reach a breaking point. I was listening to Wenger, who has managed Anelka, and the Arsenal gaffer basically stated that for Anelka to snap like that, he must have been pushed to the limit. The player strike was ridiculous and unacceptable....but understandable. The rift between some players and others is not unusually in a team, again these players all have massive egos are the stars sometimes at the club level and do not always want to play nice in the sandbox...but guess what...that is the manager's responsibility to take care of that behind closed doors. Clearly Domenech either was unaware, incapable or did not care enough to rectify this situation. Are the supposed actions of Gallas, Evra, Abidal, Henry and Ribery tolerable, no. Laurent Blanc will have to make some difficult decisions on some of these players. However unlike Domenech, I think the former Bordeaux manager will take control of his dressing room.

This problem started at the top. Without strong leadership there is no respect. Without any respect, players let their massive egos take over and you get what we had in South Africa. Blanc will have a difficult task ahead of him, but he has the cache, ability and honeymoon period to really mold and shape this team.

Good riddance Domenech please take Escalettes with you.

Parreira calls Domenech "lame"...I would have chosen harsher terms

Ah the saga continues even after France have crashed out of the World Cup, actually I am getting somewhat excited about hearing all the dirty laundry being aired over the next few days as well as who writes the first book! The South African manager, Parreira, called the Domenech lame for not having the sportsmanship to shake hands after the match. I could think of some more appropriate albeit harsher terms! As suspected, Domenech's school boy protest stems from what Parreira said about the way France qualified. He called out Henry saying he cheated...well that isn't exactly a news bulletin. And for Domenech to not shake the man's hand because of a statement made months earlier that was echoed throughout the sporting world is completely idiotic. Domenech should have shaken the man's hand and spoken his peace then and there something such as:

"Good job coach, but I don't appreciate your public statements about my player, stick to you own business. However congratulations on a well deserved win." 

Instead Domenech is caught by the cameras looking like a 5 year old that is going home with his ball so no one else can play. A great image to encapsulate who Domenech is and has been for France over the past 6 years. Someone who just doesn't get it.

France v South Africa...the end of an Era....thankfully

I found myself, as I am sure the majority of the watching audience, rooting for South Africa once they went up 1-0.  Clearly the circus that has revolved around Les Bleus caught up to them...well maybe it caught up to them 2 years ago when Dumbenech as not sacked after crashing out of the Euros. The final group standings:

Group A			MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	Pts
	Uruguay		3	2	1	0	4	0	+4	7
	Mexico		3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	4
	South Africa		3	1	1	1	3	5	-2	4
	France		3	0	1	2	1	4	-3	1

Thankfully North Korea is in this World Cup other wise France might have ended dead last of all the teams. Looks much like 2002, other than this time we scored a goal, but little joy in that!

Not sure how much there is to say about this game or the World Cup, I will need a few days to digest this wasted few weeks! So let us give this game a try:

The Good:

• South African victory, they deserved a win they played positive football and had a real chance once they were up 2-0. Very unfortunate, on a fantastic link up not to be up 3-0 when Mphela cut behind Gallas and saw his point blank shot miss the upper 90 of the French goal. Lloris also made some great saves during the second half to keep his team within striking distance...of what I have no idea..but still. With the win they ensure they will not finish last in the group, gave themselves a chance to go through but it was too little too late.
• THE END OF THE DOMENECH ERA!!!!! Sad that this is a "good" but it really is the silver lining for long suffering France fans who have watched this bumbling idiot run this team into the ground and waste 4 years of our lives (I give him a "pass" on his first 2 years because they did have a great run at the World Cup 2006). Now if we can also get rid of Escalettes it will make all this pain worth it...
• Lloris...funny to see him as good after his mistake cost Les Bleus the first goal. However he could have easily mailed this game home, but made save after save and demonstrated brave goalkeeping on more than one situation where he had to make plays diving into on coming strikers' feet. He is a pillar on which Les Bleus will be built moving forward.
• Uruguay - Mexico. Why good? I am glad that game did not end in a 0-0 draw from the few minutes I watched it was clear that neither team was looking for a simple draw. I think both sides wanted to avoid Argentina at all costs.

The Bad:

• The red card on Gourcuff, not really sure how that warranted a straight red card other than it was committed on a player from the host nation. The Bordeaux player was jumping for a head ball and while his elbow was high he did not swing it with any malicious intent. Watch any game and you see much worse elbows on the same ball a dozen of times that never get called. A poor call that changed the game. Another questionable call by the official.

The Ugly:

• The French adventure in South Africa how can it not be considered anything but bad? Starting with questionable roster selections - no Benzema nor Nasri? Through what appeared to be an interesting move - going to a 4-3-3 only to see that jettisoned at the first game with no explanation and reverting back to a 4-2-3-1 that had not been used in any practice session! Couple this with a nonsensical shuffling of line ups - Govou on the right really? Anelka as lone striker when that is clearly not his best place. Ribery in the middle...um really. Let us not forget the mutiny over the past 48 hours, Anelka sent home, players not practicing and Domenech reading statements.  Then there was Domenech coming out prior to the South Africa game and blasting his players, hey you might be mad at them, but reserve that for after the game! Show some leadership. Oh then there was the game - France showed some signs of life but lost 2-1 and it could have been worse. I will say Les Bleus showed more fight than they had during the Mexico game. Thankfully the adventure for Les Bleus is over, France will head home on Wednesday turn the keys over to Laurent Blanc, who has a difficult task ahead but in some ways made much easier after this result, more on that later.
• Domenech...yes he gets his own bullet point. I am sure I will have a longer post in a few days outlining how terrible the past 6 years under this idiot has been for France, the players and the fans. However it ended in a very ugly manner for him - not shaking hands with his counterpart! There is no reason not to shake hands with your opponent. South Africa played well, played hard and deserved the victory. I am sure that Domenech was bitter about some comments Parreira made after France knocked off Ireland to get to the World Cup...but seriously Domenech shake the man's hand, whisper what you want to him but that act puts a final exclamation point on what a complete buffoon you have been and are -

• And by extension Escalettes. How could you have allowed such a buffoon run this team for SIX years!!!! I understand allowing him to go tot he Euros in 2008, he did have a World Cup finals on his resume. But after that disgraceful adventure to allow him to continue is criminal! He was the only one that kept the faith in Domenech and he, as Inspector Clouseau, also needs to go away. Escalettes stated he would not be stepping down, however in July the Federation's committee will have their meeting, where hope he is "convinced" to depart his post. There is no other way to look at this than to blame Escalettes for wasting 2 years of this team's time and energy let alone the fans.

So the end of the French run at this World Cup comes to an sputtering and embarrassing end. But there is a silver lining in this otherwise pitch black cloud. Laurent Blanc will come in this week or next and has carte blanche to do what he thinks is right to rebuild this side. This is not always the case, new manager sometimes have to live in the shadow of the previous managers decisions that "seemed" to work or have to put up with established expectations in the dressing room. This is different. This team has reached such a rock bottom point, no one in the Federation, the press, the dressing room or in France will have any Domenech legacy to defend, other than one of ineptitude. Blanc's honeymoon should prove much longer than most. Now what he does with this honeymoon is up to the man. However, unlike Domenech, I think Blanc has the insight, intelligence, respect and vision to put this train back on the right tracks.

It all starts again in 6 weeks with a friendly against Norway and the real fun begins Sept 3rd when Les Bleus kick off their Euro qualifying campaign.

ALLEZ LAURENT BLANC
ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!!! 
 

Clean house!!!

The wise sage that is Guy Roux has it right when he says everything needs to be reset...the French Federation must look internally and do some house cleaning. How can Laurent Blanc be expected to properly manage this team if those from the federation continue to masquerade in positions of power. Let us start with Escalettes!

The circus is in town for a few more days!

One thing the French National team does well, like all my compatriots is strike! So why not protest the on goings with Anelka with a nice little strike! Love it! The players decided to take a practice session off in protest of the manner in which the Anelka affair was handled. Domenech had to read a statement as to why the players were absent from the practice field as well as intervene in a heated confrontation between Evra and a member of the French staff.



After the altercation the entire team sequestered themselves in the team bus for half an hour. Domenech then read a prepared statement by the team about no practicing to protest the situation, but did emphasis the gratitude the team had towards their fans and would ensure they did something to make up for the missed practice. The drama continued when the bus returned to the hotel...without Domenech. The players refused to give their manager a lift back home!

Clearly the coaching staff and the federation have lost complete control of the situation. You could argue that a team needs to be quiet and listen to their manager, unfortunately when a team or an organization continual feels continually frustrated and poorly led, if at all, it comes to a breaking point. Which is what we are witnessing today. We all know that Domenech's last game will be on Tuesday, but based on what has happened the past 48 hours I think it is crystal clear that the entire Federation needs to rethink its leadership structure - starting with Escalettes. There are capable options that could run the Federation - Guy Roux, Aime Jacquet, Gerard Houllier, or Arsene Wenger (long shot but he would bring instant stability and credibility) to name a few. Knowing that Laurent Blanc will be the next man in charge is reassuring from a team management stand point, but the federation has demonstrated a poor ability to manage the situation and must also change and earn back the trust of fans and players.

We have reached a point of no return...mutiny on the bounty cannot hold a candle to this drama! Who knows what will transpire on Tuesday. Will the players decide who they want on the pitch? Will they even listen to what Domenech has to say? Might they also use their own substitution rotation? All joking aside, the only real solution would be to have Domenech sit in the stands, allow Boghossian to run the team for the one match. This will at least allow the team to stand a chance and have some semblance of normalcy. What will be interesting to see is whether or not this situation has actually united the team - give them a focus to show Domenech and the Federation and the critics that they are better than what they have shown.  We will see in 48 hours!

The French ship keeps taking water - Anelka you SOB

Waking up this morning I was looking forward to reading the English tabloids to read about how poorly the Three Lions were playing and how the "savior" Capello was not living up to his reputation. Instead I have been spending my time reading about how the French camp has been thrown even deeper into malaise, hard to believe. All revolving around Anelka losing his mind...

According to L'Equipe there was a bust up between Anelka and Domenech at the half time of the Mexico match. To recap - Domenech apparently told Anelka that he was drifting too deep and was not holding the position he was play as the center forward. Anelka then treated Domenech to some verbal abuse telling the gaffer to "F*** off, you SOB" after which Domenech told the Chelsea man he was going to be substituted in favor of Gignac.

Just when you thought the French soap opera could not get any crazier...it does. Of course this is completely unacceptable and Anelka needs to leave the squad. While Anelka has changed his ways and had apparently matured the past few years, the old "sulk" can still rear its ugly head. The sad truth is that what Anelka said to Domenech is what 65 million French fans have wanted to tell the manager...I know I have wanted to say this on more than 1 occasion. Clearly the camel has had a broken back for at least 6 months if not 2 years, this was not the final straw just the latest public affirmation of what we all knew - Domenech has completely lost the team. The cracks really started months ago when they were rumors that Henry confronted Domenech during a training session.  After the manager criticized his team, Henry turned around and said that he and his teammates had grown frustrated by the fact they were lost, unclear of their strategy, had no style and basically had no idea what was expected by the manager. Of course the federation, Domenech and Henry started a crash PR campaign after this showing unity only to see Henry banished to the bench! Based on some reports, this latest incident comes after Anelka has constantly communicated with Domenech that he is not a true center forward, but more a supporting forward like he is at Chelsea. Apparently this fell on deaf ears. Apparently Anelka had had enough at half time of the Mexico game. We cannot forget that Anelka was one of the few players that supported Domenech...the fact the incredible sulk has become so frustrated and angry at the manager is telling.

So with one game to go in the Domenech era, it is clear that the team no longer listens to him, that he has completely lost the plot and that once again Escalettes needs to face the music as to why he has stayed with such an incompetent manager for this long. Add to this the story from Houllier that Domenech has completely gone rogue and it paints an ugly picture for France - the fact Domenech did not even tell the youth manager about who he was selecting for the World Cup is criminal.

France head into the last game which such a cloud over its head I would not be surprised if Les Bleus give the hosts a victory. Les Bleus have been shamefully bad. I blame Domenech I blame Escalettes I blame the players. The players needed to show some pride and professionalism - but sometimes after being led wandering in the desert for the past 6 years by an incompetent manager it takes its toll. Escalettes and Domenech, on the other hand, have zero excuses. Both have been given chance after chance...and have done nothing but waste supporters' time, money and passion.

Anelka needs to apologize to his teammates, the federation and the fans. He then need to return home. Domenech needs to apologize to everyone for wasting the past 2+ years of this team. Shameful.

DISGRACEFUL - France v Mexico - the better team won

What can you say...France looked completely flat, had no heart, no desire and no idea what they were doing on the pitch. From the start it was clear that Mexico came to play and knew what they had to do to get the result. This result encapsulates what has proven to be a wasted 2+ years with this team and manager.

The Good:

• Only one more game with Dumbenech at the helm. The friendly that will be played on Tuesday between the host and France will be the final game of Domenech's tenure and based on what I am seeing today I would not be surprised if the hosts got a victory. Laurent Blanc you have a monumental task ahead of you, but there is only one way and that is up!
• Mexico. Kudos to El Tri, they came out firing on all cylinders took it to the French defense and were not
  
  afraid to take their chances when offered to them. Unlike their first game when they escaped the tie fortunate to have not lost to South Africa they were clearly the better team this match and earned their rightful 3 points. Dos Santos was completely unstoppable, he was eating Gallas' lunch and dinner at will. Salcido was making dangerous runs from his fullback spot and kept catching France out of position - forcing Sagna to make emergency covering runs.   

The Bad:

• Complete lack of game by France. There was nothing on the pitch today. Ribery as the "creative" player nothing, Anelka as the lone striker nothing, Govou on the right less than nothing, Gallas terrible, Sagna looked out of sorts....France played incredibly poorly. There was clearly no strategy or system of game that the French players were aware of or were attempting to execute on.
• We know there is no leadership on the side line, there was clearly none on the pitch. Domenech looked like a defeated man from the start. No energy. No passion. He just stood there like a befuddled statue watching after France went down by a goal. And he leaves a sub on the bench! Hey dummy you are down 2-0 just getting a goal back could be huge but instead you leave - Henry and Cisse on the bench - TAKE OUT TOULALAN or a DEFENDER!!! Again I really should not blame Domenech anymore he cannot help himself and his ineptitude - Escalettes this is all on you!
• No pride from the French players. None of the players appeared to care that they were completely dominated by Mexico and that they will be on a plane back to France in less than a week. Back to the leadership issue, this is what happens when you have a team run by a complete idiotic moron. 4 years ago you had players such as Thuram, Vieira, Makelele and Zidane who could at least lead from the pitch. This time there is neither.

The Ugly:

• The ugly ugly part of all this is the wasted 2+ years France has had to suffer with Domenech at the helm. It is borderline criminal what the FFF and Escalettes have forced France to suffer by sticking with Inspector Clouseau. Let's face it, had France not shocked the footballing world 4 years ago Domenech's job was already on the line! After 2008 and a disastrous Euro he should have been sacked immediately upon leaving the pitch against Italy, go propose to your girlfriend....you're fired. It is not as if France did not have some options to be the national team manager. So what we have had to suffer was a wasted 2+ years. Players such as Vieira, Henry, Trezeguet and Coupet to name a few have been mishandled and will most likely have ended their career for France under a dark cloud - created by Domenech. It is also disgraceful how poorly the next generation has been handled - Mexes, Benzema, Nasri, Menez, Ben Arfa to name a few - have been constantly shuttled into the squad and then out without any real reason. Malouda was banished for a while only to be brought back as a starter. The fact that Dumbenech asked Makelele to come back for the World Cup is SHOCKING. With the likes of Toulalan, LDiarra, ADiarra, Diaby, Flamini, Mavuba just to name a few it is not as if France had a shortage of players at the holding spot. Just inexplicable. Add to this the inexcusable selecting of players such as Govou and Boumsong and it is baffling how Domenech has lasted this long. He has shown no ability to manage his team from a player perspective, on the field tactics, long term strategy or basic PR. Clearly his players have no respect for him and are not buying what he his selling. At least the Argentine players want to try and give efforts for Maradona! As my friend Sam stated, Domenech has been TRYING TO GET FIRED yet no one upstairs realized this. Alas my fellow supporters of Les Bleus, we have had to suffer with this idiot at the helm of our team, we cannot blame him too much since he cannot get out of his own way...we need to blame Escalettes for sticking by him for this long. Probably the only man on the planet who wanted to keep Inspector Clouseau this long.

DUMB AND DUMBER

So I sit here and turn my eyes and thoughts to Wednesday when Laurent Blanc will start his tenure as manager of Les Bleus. He has a mountain of task ahead of him, but the cupboard is clearly not bare, by any stretch of the imagination. Let us face it, there is only one way to go, that is up.  The Euro qualifiers will be difficult, they always are, but France have a manageable group.

We have wasted over 2 years with this bumbling idiot running the team. It is a shame. It is painful. But things can only go up from here. Sometimes ineptitude gets rewarded this is a perfect case of that happening. I will not be surprised if South Africa beat Les Bleus on Tuesday and that France will challenge for the worst team in this tournament. It seems clear that being a supporter of Les Bleus the past few seasons is a combination of incredible highs - 1998 victory, 2006 finals and incredible lows - 2002 World Cup exit and the current iteration of the team. I guess we are due for a better outcome next time....one can hope.

Zizou calls it as he sees it - Les Bleus are out of sorts

No surprise but former France star Zinedine Zidane took his national team to task, something we are all doing right now. The basic gist of Zizou's criticism is that the players need to step up on the field and play as a unit the overarching issue is...drum roll...the trainer and his lack of communication. No surprise there. None of this is new to anyone who has suffered while watching Les Bleus over the past 2 years. It has become almost comical to hear all the voices critical of Les Bleus and then hear their idiotic manager come out and try to paint a pretty picture of the situation. It reminds me of Alferd P Newman, the Mad Magazine mascot, "What me worry?" Every time I hear or read what Domenech is spouting that image comes to mind.

As more time has gone on since the Uruguay match, I have come to realization that the South African adventure might be very short lived. Watching other sides - Germany, Argentina, Holland even the US - you realize very quickly that while France have ridiculous amount of talent available, the leadership is completely lacking and devoid of intelligence. Watching the Argentina match what struck me was what appears to be a desire to play for Argentina and for Maradona. Regardless of what you think of the former Argentine captain he commands the respect of his players. Alas no one respects Domenech, whatever his players say publicly the effort and results on the pitch give the true story.

What is frustrating is Escalettes, by sticking with the Inspector Clouseau, has wasted golden opportunities to contend for some silverware. While France has become one of the global games powers, it cannot afford to ever "take off" any tournaments. Unfortunately sticking with Inspector Domenech, France has taken a step if not 2 back. Rather than being able to build of the success of the 1998ers and integrating the next generation of the likes of Benzema - Nasri - Ben Arfa - Menez. the manager has fumbled and bumbled his way to South Africa. Les Bleus have very little hope of doing much this tournament, there is a good chance they might not make it out of the group. Blame the players if you want, they do deserve to shoulder some of the blame. However it is the man that has led them for so long that shoulders the bulk of the blame. The nice thing is he will be gone very soon, the sad part is that  his ineptitude has set Les Bleus back. Good luck Laurent Blanc, your task is only getting more difficult.

Escalette critical of Domenech...

Interesting - Escalette (maybe the only man in France that supports Domenech) comes out and is critical of his manager. Basically what he states is that Domench did not need to be so "firm" prior to yesterday with his statements about giving the final list of 23, since he has until the end of the month to submit the final list.

«Peut-être n'aurait-il pas dû être aussi catégorique avant, il suffisait de dire: On va voir, peut-être 23, peut-être 30. Mais ce n'est pas ça qui va faire que l'équipe de France va réussir ou non en Afrique du Sud», a estimé M. Escalettes.

As Escalettes states "Maybe he should not have categorically been so outspoken about the 23..."

Hmmmm, is Domenech's last champion starting to waver on him? There is still time for Blanc to take over now!!!

A note to Escalette - look at the Ivory Coast

Sigh, I wish the Ivory Coast FA could be switched with Escalettes and the FFF powers that be...clearly the Elephants understand the importance of the man managing the team and are willing to make difficult decisions to give their squad a fighting chance at the World Cup. As they close in on the Dutch Master, I can only sit back and dream that the FFF would make a similar move.

Petit said it best - Domenech is in denial

Great piece posted on L'Equipe.fr from Manu Petit about the current state of Les Bleus (in french). Here are the highlights:

• The players are "hiding" because they lack in confidence when they play for France.
• Les Bleus do not demonstrate an ability to control their game nor their destiny.
• This is a result of not having any confidence in themselves, doubting themselves and an overall lack of direction.
• A lack of mental strength and overall self belief is clearly present amongst the players.
• Players are constantly played out of their comfort zone - Ribery on the right, Gourcuff too high...
• No attack or defense as a team but rather as individuals: dumping the ball off to the likes of Anelka and Ribery to simply wait and watch them take on the opposing defense alone.
• This has been a malaise suffered by the side for a few years now...and cannot be written off to the players having not been on the pitch or the practice ground together - since many have been together with Les Bleus for a few years.
• And an inability as of late of being able to take on and beat the big nations - Argentina and Spain.

However the best is what Manu closes with - the fact that when he hears Domenech's post match discourse it reminds him of an addict that cannot admit he has a problem and constantly claims all is fine. I could not agree with you more Manu. I have a feeling the majority of the other fans out there would also agree with your statements...too bad Escalettes is not one of those, maybe he needs to check into a rehab clinic as well.

Domenech comdemns Benzema?

So the Benzema vs Domenech drama continues, in an article from the Telegramme de Brest, the France manager calls out his young striker: stating that it is inadmissible to not give 100% whether you play 90 minutes or 5 minutes. Based on Domenech's track record, we should not expect to see the Real striker getting more time with Les Bleus. While the France manager has a point, I still cannot side with him, maybe Benzema would not make these statements if Domenech were a better communicator and manager to start with. I do not mean that Domenech needs to coddle his players, but he, and I have stated this before, needs to do a much better job explaining to his team what he expects of them as a group and as individuals. In his mind he might feel he does a good job, but based on the constant reaction from players I would question that.

The current situation with Benzema and what he stated, taken in isolation, makes the Real Madrid striker look like a selfish and sensitive professional football player, taken in context of the clouds that seem to constantly be hovering over Domenech and Les Bleus and one has to continue to wonder how Domenech has remained where he is, clearly it appears he has lost his team...probably since the Euros....yet he continues to have the reigns of the national team. The only person that does not seem to think there to be any problems is Escalettes, and clearly that is all Domenech needs to remain where he is.