Domenech announces his starting 11

The starting 11 for Les Bleus:
Lloris - Sagna, Gallas (cap.), Escudé, Evra - L. Diarra, Toulalan, Gourcuff, Malouda - Anelka, Gignac.

Hmmm, interesting...Escude rather than Squillaci? Are we back to a 4-4-2? Granted Diarra and Toulalan are holding midfielders so they might slide deeper to sit in front of the back 4. Gignac might drift back to play on the right wing, so in reality we might find Les Bleus back to a 4-2-3-1...again if this line up cannot secure the full 3 points from the Faroe Islands they do not deserve to be in South Africa for the World Cup. Domenech should have played the central defensive pairing he will be using against Romania, rather than "testing" players. We shall see. I am not worried about this match, but very concerned about the upcoming games versus Romania and Serbia....

Henry out...yet no one to replace him

So Titi Henry has declared out for the match on Wednesday. Yet Domenech has not called up a replacement. And with Ribery being questionable on whether or not he can play, I wonder why some replacements have not been called up. Maybe Domenech does not need to see other players, or use this as an opportunity to try some new blood...no need....this team is clicking so well right now!

Players he should think about calling up - Valbuena, Sinamo-Pongolle, Obertan or N'Gog. Have a look at these players for at least a few practices in preparation. Come on Domenech, take advantage of these situations rather than sitting on your hands. Frustrating

Sigh, lost opportunity for PSG

Ugh so frustrating, PSG playing a 10 man Montpellier with over 60 minutes in the match, get a 1-0 lead and then decide to pretend they are Les Bleus and give up a last minute goal off a set piece. PSG looked very dangerous for the most of the second half, granted they had a man advantage, but they demonstrated an ability to attack, string passes together, defend counter attacks, and overall looked dangerous in front of the goal. Sessegnon was pulling the strings, Guily was dangerous on the wing, and Erdinc looked very dangerous up front. The Franco - Turk created himself a number of threatening opportunities in front of goal and was unfortunate to have not put a goal away. The main area of frustration for me was PSG's inability to put in a second goal after dominating the match. They seemed satisfied to have a 1-0 lead with a one man advantage, rather than going for the coup de grace and getting the second goal PSG sat back....and got burned.

I realize it is the first game of the season, and this game was on the road. So any time you get a point from the road you need to be satisfied. But when you play a team that was in Ligue 2 last season and have a 1 goal lead, late...you need to bring home the fill 3 points! And please put a defender on the far post!!!! It does leave a bad taste....



Ah great defending....come on! Last minute of the match, PSG should have had every player DEFENDING!!!! Then again Coupet should be very accustomed to this, since Les Bleus could not defend a set piece for him either.

Ligue 1 gets under way! Meet the new boss same as the old boss

Ok a gratuitous quote from one of my favorite songs and bands. But it is somewhat appropriate...granted Lyon did not win their 8th straight title, however the new boss is one of France's storied clubs who has 6 titles to its credit. They will head into these season as one of the main favorites to secure the title again and repeat.

This season should be as competitive as it was last season, while the league might not be as sexy as the big 3 leagues - England, Spain and Italy - it remains one of the most competitive so worth taking a look.

So who will be the top 5 teams this season?

#5 - Toulouse. The TFC held on to two of their most important players - Sissoko and Gignac - at least for now. They played very well last season securing a place in Europe. Gignac was the leading scorer in France, although if you asked him to do something with his left foot or head he would have scored ZERO goals. Toulouse did lose wing back Mathieu who was always a fringe international but gave TFC a good balance in the back. Additionally they will be with a new keeper - Yohann Pele from Le Mans. I think they have enough talent and balance to make a run at the top 5 this season. Of course if they lose either or both of their stars before the close of the transfer window that will drop them to the middle of the pack.

#4 - Marseilles. The second place team from last season made some serious moves this off season. Adding a new manager in former favorite son Deschamps. Adding players such as Heintz to bolster the defense. Morientes to add some veteran presence up front - let us not forget that the Spaniard played for Deschamps when Monaco made a run to the 2004 Champions League finals. Also adding Cisse (Edoaurd not Djibril, who also, like Heintz had played at hated rival PSG) and Gonzalez to the midfield. It will be interesting if Valbeuna stays with Marseilles. Deschamps does not appear to have any interest in the French play maker, at least does not seem to see him in the long term plans for Marseilles. I think if he leaves the club, Deschamps will be very disappointed in his decision. With Zenden leaving as well, granted a shell of his younger self, Marseilles will be without their midfield creative forces if they are without Zenden and Valbeuna. Yes Ben Arfa remains, but he has a lot on his shoulders this season. After coming over from Lyon last season, his first campaign with Marseilles was littered with pouting incidents, injury, and overall disappointment. Much will be expected of him if Marseilles is to do well this season. I think there are many question marks around OM and they will slip down the pecking order.

#3 Lyon - The 7 time champion lost their mojo last season. After leading much of the season they fell apart at the end and watched Marseilles and Bordeaux leap frog them in the standing. This off season many of the parts that led to their success have left - Juninho and Benzema - being the two biggest fist. Granted the Brazilian had lost much of his effectiveness but he was still a valuable player. Benzema of course was the jewel of the squad but could not resist the pull from Los Galacticos of Real Madrid. They did add Bastos and Gomis, that will add some muscle to the squad. Bastos today is probably a step up from Juninho. Gomis, while still a raw talent, will not come to the levels of Benzema, however he should shine for Lyon with the improved talent around him. The key player for me will be how 2 of the youngsters step up - Pjanic and Mounier. The two young midfielders were sitting on the bench last season watching the veterans now it is their turn. Pjanic was one of the best young players in France a few season ago playing for Metz. Mounier is looked at as one of France's up and coming players. Now is their time to shine. I think they are still one season away, but they will show progression.

#2 Bordeaux. The defending champion should have a strong squad this season. Without the constant questions swirling around whether or not Gourcuff would stay is no longer hanging over their heads, will mean even greater stability to the club. However they are rumored to lose Chamakh to Arsenal and have already lost Oberton to Manchester United, wonder where the goals will come from? If they do lose Chamakh, much will be asked of Gouffran who was a disappointment last season. I wonder where the goals will come from for Bordeaux. They still have enough talent and fire power to secure a top 3 finish.




#1 PSG. Ok I know...crazy....maybe a little too much of my bias as a PSG fan coming into play. However, PSG have not lost some of the key players I feared they may loose - Sessegnon, Clement, Chantome or Sakho. They did switch French keepers, seeing Landreau move on and adding Coupet. What I think is promising is that PSG have a full season under their belt with the majority of the effective, least we forget that heading into their late season match up against OM, PSG was 2 points out of first place. They then spiraled out of contention. I think that having UEFA cup games in concurrence with these matches weighed heavily on PSG. Falling out Europe might be a blessing in disguise for PSG this season. The midfield is solid with Sessgnon, Chantome, Clement, Guily, Makelele, and even Rothen. Hourau should continue to grow up front. Luyindula has rediscovered his form. Kezman will hopefully bounce back and contribute to the offence. The addition of Erdinc is intriguing, if he plays to the level he did at Sochaux, PSG will have a lethal offensive strike force. Armand, Sakho, and Camara are solid in the back. And in veteran shot stopper Coupet, you have a solid veteran back stopping the defense. The question is around the depth on defense. PSG are a veteran team, so the window to grab a league title might be open for 1 - 2 seasons. Without Europe, I think PSG will be focused and ready to take a run at the Ligue 1 title. I am going to go out on a limb and say that PSG will bring the Ligue 1 title back to the capital!


It should be another interesting and entertaining season in France. While the league might not have the star power found in Spain, Italy or England it is competitive and should prove a title that will come down to the end of the season to be decided!

Looking forward to the start, and with TV5 and Sentanta I will have plenty of matches to watch.

Ribery taking a vacation in the Faroe Islands

Clearly Ribery is not ready for the opening of the Bundesliga season nor France's game versus the Faroe Islands. So my question is, why does Domenech insist on having him part of the France group? Maybe it is to build camaraderie? Or to integrate Ribery? Okay the last one was silly. I am just not sure what keeping the Bayern man around does for the squad. Maybe it would be better to bring another player in who might play, but more importantly is fit enough to train, allowing Domenech to see the player with other members of the French national team. There are whole host of other offensive players that Domenech could have taken a look at - Hourau, Menez, Briand, Sinama - Pongolle, Luyindula, even Savidan or maybe another defender - Mexes or Clichy - or maybe even a youngster - Feghouli, N'Gog....Appears to be a lost opportunity for Domenech to take a look at a player that might help at some point during the last push for qualification. Alas, sometimes Domench's methods leave me wondering...oh wait...not sometimes, almost all the time. Sigh.

Higuain....for Les Bleus???

Hmmmm very interesting little note about Real Madrid's Higuain. The Real man who tallied 22 goals for Real last year seems to be absent from all of Maradona's plans for Argentina. Maybe that is because the young Franco-Argentine used to play for River Plate and not Boca...France and Higuain have been down this road before, Domench calling him up for a match against Greece where Higuain turned down Les Bleus saying he did not feel French (the land of his birth but where he did not even spend an entire year!) and that he always wanted to play for his father's native land. Cannot really fault him for that....however now that he is not getting called to the senior Argentine squad he is stating he might switch to France. While I would love to have the option to select him, and with the World Cup around the corner I am sure he wants to ensure he will be in South Africa (then again neither France nor Argentina are guaranteed to qualify!) as a player.

However, I think that this is a smoke screen, that Gonzalo is just trying to stir Maradona to select him and tie him to Argentina. If I were Domenech I would find a way to speak to the Madrid player, see how serious he is, and if he appears sincere....call him up and get him on the pitch for the Faroe Island game!! Lock him down with Les Bleus!!!!

WC qualifing on the horizon, Domenech announces his squad

Just when summer descended on Boston...World Cup qualifiers started again reminding the Frog that summer lasts about 2 weeks in the world of footie as well as in New England! France will be heading to the Faroe Islands on August 12th. Outside of fans of Les Bleus and the Faroe Islands, this game will be back page material since the US will be in Mexico City! But I am a fan of Les Bleus! So I do care. So let us take a look at the squad:

GARDIENS : Carrasso (Bordeaux), Lloris (Lyon), Mandanda (Marseille)
DÉFENSEURS : Abidal (FC Barcelone), Escudé (FC Séville), Evra (Manchester United), Fanni (Rennes), Gallas (Arsenal), Sagna (Arsenal), Squillaci (FC Séville)
MILIEUX : A. Diarra (Bordeaux), L. Diarra (Real Madrid), Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Malouda (Chelsea), Sissoko (Toulouse), Toulalan (Lyon)
ATTAQUANTS : Anelka (Chelsea), Benzema (Real Madrid), Gignac (Toulouse), Henry (FC Barcelone), Rémy (Nice), Ribéry (Bayern Munich)

An interesting collection. So let us get into the roster

The Good:

• Consistency, Domenech seems to have a rhythm to who he is selecting. His strike core is built around Henry, Benzema, Anelka with flyers on Gignac, Remy. Ribery to me is a midfielder in the French system. The keepers have been consistent, granted I still think the French keeper is playing in Florence - Frey. Midfield will by built around Toulalan and Lass as the holding midfielders with Gourcuff pulling the offensive strings. The one area with lack of consistency is the central defensive pairing...but more on that later.
  
• Staying with Malouda is the right move. After being sent to international siberia, the Chelsea winger has found his feet again for both club and country - notice he received and extension at Chelsea and has been called for the past few games for Les Bleus. He offers Domenech a true left footed winger and coupled with Gourcuff and Ribery could be a solid line of three offensive midfielders sitting behind the strikers. He was the quiet man for Les Bleus in the World Cup 2006, and his veteran experience is key. Something else that is a positive is his experience playing on the same side as Abidal during their times at Lyon. Both men have an understanding that cannot simply be developed over a few weeks at Clairefontaine.
  
• NO BOUMSONG!!! Whoohoooo. Ok....granted...I know that if any of the French players are injured, the first player called up will be Boumsong, and then he will get a start. Ugh. But for now I am going to enjoy the fact that Domenech left his binky at home.
  

The Bad:

• Um again, what is up with no Mexes? Not sure what his role is within the team, granted Squillaci had good showings the last few matches, but Mexes should have been included in the team. Domenech needs to decide what his central defensive pairing is and STICK with it! The clock is ticking. Teams that have success start with strength down the spine and that really starts at the back with the keeper and the central defensive pairing. France won in 1998 because Blanc and Desailly were rock solid, this carried over to Euro 2000. France's run in 2006 was in large part because of Zizou, but also because of Thuram/Gallas in the back. Since Thuram has retired, France does not have a clear defender to shoulder Gallas. Mexes, on paper, is the most talented player and the one that should find himself there. Squiallaci and Escude are both solid central defenders, but sure they give what a Mexes can bring to the table. Then again maybe sticking with Gallas is where the problem also stems from....what about Mexes - Squiallaci? Mexes is more in the mold of Desailly, roaming central back, takes chances, and is a bull. Squillaci is more like Blanc. Smooth, solid, and knows how to position himself...hmmmmm....food for thought.
  
• No Clichy, well not really bad, just an indication of the depth and competition at the position - Abidal and Evra - hard to argue that Clichy is not the 3rd option. Too bad France could not leverage some of that depth and trade with another country for a new central defender or new manager.
  

The Ugly:

• The situation with Pat Vieira, why is this "ugly" mainly because I fear that we have a situation similar to Desailly, Thuram, Sagnol, Petit....and the list is long, what list is that? French internationals that have overstayed their usefulness in the international team. All these players were crucial during different times of France's successful tournaments. The World Cup will be held just under a year from today, that means another 10 months of wear and tear on Pat who recently has shown much difficult in staying healthy for any significant stretch of time. Les Bleus need to get their core established early this international season, first they need to do so to have the best chance to qualify, and second they need to be ready, if they do qualify, to have a core of players who know they are heading to South Africa. I am not convinced hoping that Vieira somehow discovers a rebirth is a good strategy. Domenech needs to determine if he has a player that can act as a Vieira, a box to box midfielder that can shoulder a more traditionaly holding/defensive midfielder. Could Sissoko be the answer? Maybe, but he is only a tender 19 years old, a lot to ask of a young player.
  

Then again if he can replicated these types of runs, get him in the line up now!!

Arsenal rumors abound!!!!

Oh my, Pat Vieira coming back to northern London??? Really? As every article mentions, and I will as well, the last time Pat kicked a ball wearing the #4 for Arsenal coincided with the last time Arsenal won silverware - the 2005 FA Cup finals, literally the last kick of the game when Vieira struck the winning PK against Manchester United.



What struck me from watching the video was the number of seasoned players Wenger had at the time on the squad - Ljunberg, Vieira, Pires, Edu, Lauren....granted not all of them needed to stay, but wonder if Arsenal would have fared better had Wenger kept some of his 30+ players.

I digress, back to Vieira, on the surface I like the idea. I am a huge Pat Vieira fan. He was at the core of the success of those Arsenal teams in the 90s. He was a "box to box" midfielder a player that could win the ball on his end with a hard tackle and then carry it into the other side of the pitch with ease. He would even chip in a number of goals on his own. More importantly he was the steel of the Arsenal teams, all one has to do is look back to his encounters with the other hard man of the EPL during those days - Manchester United's Roy Keane. However the Vieira of today is pales in comparison to that combative Gunner. Age and the rigorous of his position have taken a toll on him. So what would he bring were he to return? Clearly he is no longer the galloping force he once was, and he really needs to be managed in order for him not to break down. Could he play a similar role Makelele did during the last few seasons for Chelsea - playing in the big games, being rested as much as possible? To me that is the best for Vieira. Wenger would have to manage his appearances very cautiously, and really look to Vieira to be a manager on the training ground to be a leader in all facets of the game for his young Gunners. If Vieira is expected back in Arsenal to once again control and dominate the middle of the park, I fear that we will all be disappointed. If Wenger looks to Pat to play 50% to 70% of Arsenal's games and use his experience with the team in the dressing room and training pitch, then it might work.

On another note, interesting that the rumors around Wenger signing De Rossi. While the Italian has pledged his future to AS Roma, sometimes those are the signal that the player is on his way out. Glad to see Wenger read one of my earlier posts about players he needed to sign! I hope that Wenger is serious in the pursuit of the Italian. I also think that should not preclude him from pursuing St Etienne's Matuidi nor Vieira. De Rossi could be used higher up the pitch, shouldering Cesc, allowing a rotation of Vieira, Matuidi and Denilson in front of the back 4. When Arsenal want to milk away a lead or play more defensive, De Rossi could slot back and becoming a second holding midfielder. With a De Rossi and Vieira on your side, you do not have to concern yourself with where does the "toughness" come for your team...again maybe too much to hope for, but one can always dream!

Question is....if Vieira comes back to Arsenal will Cesc give him back the #4 kit???