Deschamps second list, now it gets real for Les Bleus

Deschamps unveiled his second list as head of France, as always with these lists some surprises by who made the list as well as those off the list. The list:

Gardiens : Landreau, Lloris, Mandanda
Défenseurs : Clichy, Evra, Jallet, Koscielny, Rami, Réveillère, Sakho, Yanga-Mbiwa
Milieux de terrain : Cabaye, Capoue, Diaby, Gonalons, Matuidi, Mavuba, Valbuena
Attaquants : Benzema, Giroud, Gomis, Ménez, Ribéry, Payet

The surprises that were included - Landreau, Reveillere and Mavuba.

Landreau - the former French international appeared to be in purgatory after he was dropped for Mandanda just before the Euros in 2008. Landreau was always seen as the "next" keeper for Les Bleus, I remember watching him come up the ranks for Nantes back in the day. He had his moments but for France might always be remembered for giving up against Scotland in a Euro qualifier. It is an interesting move from Deschamps, I am not sure that Landreau will really threaten Lloris as the #1 and is he really someone you want as your #2, not that he is not up to the task, but he is also no spring chicken (granted 33 is not "old" for keepers). Or is this a move to shake things up, send a message to his team that no position or player is guaranteed a spot?



Reveillere - This was a surprise to me because I am not sure where the Lyon player slots. The 32 year old right back is behind Jallet and Debuchy, the fact the Lille right back is absent might be the main reason for this call up. Yet it appears to me that Deschamps will lean on Jallet to man the right side until Debuchy and Sagna are back in form, so where is the need for Reveillere? Why not call up a player such as Corchia for cover on the right side?

Mavuba - A surprise for me because he did not show case very well against Uruguay, I realize that was a small sample size. I am surprised that Deschamps went back to him rather than call back a Diarra or even M'Vila. I know on the latter DD stated that the fact the Rennes midfielder was in flux with regards to his club was what left him out...but that is a weak reason.


It is good to see Menez back in the list, I think he will shore up the right side of the offense. And if paired with right back Jallet, you might get some advantages since they both play for PSG together. The big question is whether or not Deschamps will look to roll out a 2 man attack again. It was just short of a disaster against Uruguay...but he also does not have a real #10 playmaker without the likes of Nasri, Gourcuff or even Ben Arfa. However, the return of Cabaye should have a huge upside for Les Bleus and the midfield.

At first blush I look for the following:

Lloris in goal.
Jallet on the right, Clichy on the left, with Kos and Rami paired in the middle (although do not discount Mbiwa getting a look)
Diaby and Cabaye as the holding players
Ribery on the left and Menez on the right...and this is where it gets tricky...I think he will roll out Giroud and Benzema again, looking to Benzema as a fake #9 and seeing him float deeper in the formation. If he does not go with 2 strikers could we see a three pronged attacking midfield of Ribery, Valbuena and Menez?

Lots of questions leading up to Sept 7th!

Allez les Bleus!!!

No surprise - third keeper for France v Poland this Thursday

Le President announced that his keeper from Bordeaux will get the nod this Thursday against Poland. Not a big surprise at all; however, after a poor goal given up against Ukraine, I am beginning to question whether or not the hierarchy in goal is written in stone. Mandanda has had a great season for OM, but I feel as if his latest showing for France puts him a bit on shaky ground. What about the likes of Landreau with LOSC? Or Ruffier at Monaco?

Lloris remains the #1 choice but I would not close the door on looking at picking 2 from the 4 keepers: Mandanda, Carrasso, Ruffier and Landreau for the other spots.

France World Cup squad - Part 1 - Goalkeepers

And away we go....first part of what should be 4 parts on who should head to South Africa for Les Bleus. I will break up my discussion into who should go and who Domenech will call up on the 11th. The basics:

• 23 total players
• Probable breakdown - 3 keepers, 8 defenders, 7 midfielders and 5 strikers
• I categorize players such as Malouda and Ribery as midfielders, they are wingers which to me is a midfield position
• I will assume that Domenech will favor the 4-2-3-1 formation

So with these ground rules let us jump into who the keepers will be for Les Bleus -

Who Should Go:

• Hugo Lloris (Lyon): Can you really argue with the Lyon keeper? I will admit I had doubted him when he was first called up as the France #1, I felt that Frey was the deserved #1 for Les Bleus. However the matches against Ireland in the play off as well as how he has played for Lyon, clearly makes him the undisputed #1 for France and I would argue one of the top 5 keepers in the world currently. He can steal games on his own and with a questionable defense in front of him might be called upon to do so! A no-brainer.
• Steve Mandanda (Marseilles): He was the surprise call up in 2008 for the Euros making the squad as the #3 keeper behind Coupet and Frey. This was a major surprise since Landreau was always seen as the 3 member of the France goalkeeping roster. Post Euro he was given the first shot at securing the #1 spot, while his performances were not terrible they did nothing to cement himself in that role. He is a strong shot stopper but I question his ability to command his area. While I do not think he could cost France a game he will not win one either...making him a #2 at best or the out right #1 for England were he British.
• Mickael Landreau (Lille): The aforementioned former France #3 should be back in the squad as the #2...he has had a very solid season for Lille the reason why the Northern France club is sitting in 3rd place. Let us face it....the only reason Landreau was dropped from the national team is only known to Domenech, the play on the field did not diminish to a point that he should be banished to the waste lands. Maybe he did not have the proper astrological sign for Domenech.  I think the 30 year old would welcome a trip to South Africa, even if it means he will be sitting in the stands or on the replacement bench. However since his days at Nantes he has been nothing but the consummate professional and his experience will be invaluable for Lloris and Mandanda.

Who Domenech will take:

• Lloris - Even Domenech knows that the Lyon man is France's clear #1
• Mandanda - No reason to change now...
•  Carasso (Bordeaux) - Domenech will probably forget to read the papers to learn that the Bordeaux keeper has a number of injuries keeping him out of action. At least this is the #3 keeper spot and if Les Bleus need to play him ... well they have bigger problems!

Other keepers that might get a look:

• Ruffier (Monaco) - he has been outstanding in a number of matches this season. Watch what he did against PSG earlier in the season as well as this past weekend in the finals of the France Cup. He is also getting scouted by some big European clubs, he should be in the conversation for the national team.
• Janot (St Etienne) - the 32 year old is probably too "old" to get his first call up for France to head to South Africa, but the tattooed headed keeper has played very well the past few seasons.

No Vieira for Lithuania

Domenech announced his list of players for the upcoming double confrontation versus the Baltic nation of Lithuania, who is also sitting atop of the group with 5 points on top of Les Bleus. So first the list -

Gardiens
Cédric Carrasso (Toulouse)
Hugo Lloris (Lyon)
Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenseurs
Gaël Clichy (Arsenal)
Rod Fanni (Rennes)
Patrice Evra (Manchester United)
William Gallas (Arsenal)
Philippe Mexès (AS Rome)
Adil Rami (Lille)
Bakary Sagna (Arsenal)
Sébastien Squillaci (FC Séville)

Milieux
Alou Diarra (Bordeaux)
Abou Diaby (Arsenal)
Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid)
Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux)
Samir Nasri (Arsenal)
Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich)
Jérémy Toulalan (Lyon)

Attaquants
Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
Karim Benzema (Lyon)
Jimmy Briand (Rennes)
André-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse)
Thierry Henry (Barcelone)

Nothing shocking, Gignac and Rami a bit of a surprise but when you peel the onion back not that much of a surprise. So lets dive in:

The Good:

• As I mentioned, Gignac was a bit of a surprise. However he fully deserves the call up. He is the leading scorer of Ligue 1 (17 goals) and allows Domenech some options offensively. He is strong in the air and can play out wide, and could operate as the lone striker up front if need be. Additionally he has been on quite a roll as of late, scoring a bundle of goals in recent matches, more than can be said for . Of course I am not sure if the Toulouse man will even see the pitch for either match, but it will be good to have him at Clairefontaine. I just hope he has more of a chance than did other strikers who were given a "cup of coffee" such as Savidan (granted Gignac is 7 years younger than Savidan so has more time ahead of him to cement his spot with Les Bleus).
  
• The other "surprise" is Rami from Lille. Well not entirely a surprise, I have been calling for him to be part of the squad well ahead of donkeys like Boumsong, and Rami had been called for an A game for Les Bleus. Thankfully the Lyon central defender is injuried otherwise I am sure Domenech would have found a way to include him in his list. The Lille central defender has already been approached by Lemerre to play for Morocco, his parent's native land, but turned down the offer hoping to earn a full cap with France. It would appear he might achieve that goal by next month. Rami might have a decent chance to see the pitch based on the injuries that plague the central defenders for Les Bleus.
• Another Gunner is back in the mix, Diaby, is playing very well for the Goooners and deserved to be in the mix. The issue for Diaby is where does he play for Les Bleus? While everyone likes to compare him to Vieira, their games are very different. Pat is more of a tackler, defender, hard man at the midfield, while Abou is more offensive and potentially more of a wing player. Not sure if he has the discipline or game to be one of the two that sits in front of the back 4. However, based on his play, and to some degree on his potential it is good to see him in the mix. The nice element as well, Diaby gives Domenech a natural left footed player.

The Bad:

• While I do not have too much critique with regards to the list, I think that not having Landreau in the mix is bad. I recognize that Carrasso has had a solid season with Toulouse, but the PSG keeper is having, arguably a top 2 performance in France. He is clearly one of the main reasons PSG is contending for the title and not for maintenance in Ligue 1. What I think is bad is more, once again, Domenech's completely asinine way to manage his keepers. I am not saying that Mandanda or Lloris are not deserving of battling for the #1 strip...but neither has translated their club success into success with Les Bleus. That should at least mean that Landreau should and needs to be considered for the roster. Don't get me started on Frey...who is the clear #1 for France.
• Hourau, it is not bad that he was not selected but bad that we constantly hear a drum beat about the tall PSG striker needing to be included on the list. First I am not saying that Hourau's recent form for PSG does not give him legs to stand on with regards to being called up, he, like Landreau are some of the main reasons PSG is contending. However, his game does not match with how Domenech has decided to run his squad. Hourau is tall striker that is a "pivot" a player where the offense will pivot on leveraging his height to play high crosses and through balls. He can also shield defenders so can receive passes and distribute off to players filling the channels. This style is, however, very static, not what Domenech has apparently wanted for Les Bleus. To me Hourau is a taller version (potentially) of Trezeguet, granted Trez can pick up the ball much deeper. If Trez has no role with Les Bleus, not sure Hourau will either. Maybe he can be a joker, come into a game late and change the dynamic, very similar to what Trezeguet brought to France early in his career. But let us please stop with the constant drum beat that Hourau is the answer for the French attack.
  

The Ugly:

• Again nothing that is ugly, other than the fact injuries are hurting Les Bleus. Speaking of injuries, the fact that Pat Vieira is not on the list is not ugly, he does not deserve to be on the list based on his recent action for Inter. What is ugly is that we might never see Pat done the #4 shirt for Les Bleus.

Overall this is a good list, there are not too many players I would have switched for another. Based on Domenech's prior statements I would expect we see the following line up -

Mandanda
Sagna - Mexes - Gallas - Evra
Toulalan - Diarra
Ribery - Gourcuff - Henry
Anelka (or Benzema)

I think Henry is playing very well for Barca and has found his place on the left, Ribery is the best player in the Bundesliga, what worries me is Gourcuff. No doubt he is the key to much of the French offense but I fear he is hitting a wall. I hope that Domenech would consider slotting Nasri on a wing and sliding Ribery into the middle. Up front I am not sure either Anelka or Benzema are lighting up the scoreboard right now, but both should be more than adequete against Lithuania. LDiarra is a no brainer as holding midfielder. I might actually look to play Diaby there, knowing that he might be more offensively minded than Toulalan, and more importantly brings more size to the line up. That will be crucial. Why? France struggles on set pieces and the one way I see the Balts drawing or even defeating Les Bleus in one of these matches is via the set piece. Finally I think the back line is fairly straight forward. Maybe Sagna sits in favor of Fanni and maybe Clichy and Evra split the matches. Mexes and Gallas should be the central defense short of an injury to either one. Mandanda is the best keeper in France right now, hopefully he carries it over to Les Bleus.

Just based on this list, France has the fire power and talent to expect the full 6 points from these upcoming matches. Unfortunately this is Les Bleus of the Domenech era so who knows which team will show up. Lithuania have nothing to lose and have played very well. I think both matches will be much more difficult than anyone would otherwise think....let us hope Les Bleus don't get ambushed.

PSG's lost opportunity...sigh

Ok I have finally recovered...sort of....from a difficult sport watching weekend. France got trounced by England in the six nations tourney, the Bruins got mauled by the Penguins, and of course PSG lost to hated rival Marseilles. Well at least Arsenal won and Manchester United lost, then again that might too little too late...ok so lets try to revisit the PSG game.

The Good:

• Both teams looked to carry the game to the other, both teams allowed their offenses to attack. Guily and Hourau looked good as the up front tandem for PSG with Luyindula and Rothen roaming the flanks. The defense looked fairly solid, until they lost Camara to a red card. Marseilles' Zenden looked a completely different player and Brandao looked dangerous up front, the first goal being a great piece of work between both players.
• The fans appeared fairly restrained. This derby match usual leads to numerous arrests, violence, and overall fan mayhem. This match seemed to be much more tame, which is good for the security in Paris.
• The keepers, both Landreau and Mandanda are at the top of their games and both played well. Granted Landreau gave up 3 goals, but none were his fault they were all superbly taken chances by OM. Mandanda looked solid and showed more confidence in taking on the balls lobbed into the penalty area. What pains me, is that based on this showing, and more importantly his season so far, it is clear that Landreau should still be in the mix for France's #1 slot, too bad Domenech is a bit clueless when it comes to managing his keepers.

The Bad:

• Giving up 3 goals...ugh....how can that be anything but bad!!!
  
• Missed opportunity for PSG, with Lyon losing at home to Auxerre, Paris had a great opportunity to at least draw even with the leaders in France. With a win, PSG would have been 2 points clear of Lyon and leader of Ligue 1. What a lost opportunity. First of all, there was no need for additional motivation for PSG in this game, anytime PSG plays OM there is no need for either team to be motivated to play hard. But what really kills me is that PSG had a fantastic chance to take the lead of the title chase...this from a team that was battling relegation last season. Granted Marseilles was also highly motivated, with a win they would draw even with PSG in second place, and 1 point behind Lyon. Additionally they would want to avenge the 4-2 loss at the velodrome.

The Ugly:

• Missing Sessegnon, it was clear that the one element that Paris missed was their talented #10. Sessegnon has become the intrigal part of PSG, controlling the center of the park being supported by Makelele, Chantome and Clement with the above mentioned on the flanks. Without the Benin international, PSG was not able to control the middle of the pitch as well as the pace of the game well enough to slow down the Marseilles counters. For PSG to have a real chance to win the Ligue 1 title, Sessegnon will need to stay out of suspension trouble and stay on the pitch. The next few weeks will be crucial, leading up to the April 25th match at Gerland against Lyon. Sessegnon will be vital in allowing the PSG offense to continue to click.

This was not a devastating lose for PSG. They remain 1 point behind Lyon and still have a match against the leader. The upcoming stretch will be crucial - Toulouse, Nice, Lille, Le Havre and then Lyon. Other than Le Havre, all these teams are in the top half of the table. Marseilles and Lyon have an easier stretch but their final part of the season is brutal, including a head to head between OM and OL. If PSG can be in first place by the last month of the season, they stand a good chance to some how winning the title. Not bad for a team that seemed destined for Ligue 2 last season.

Some low lights of the game....from a PSG's fans perspective -