France National Team callups ** SPOILERS **

[drac78]

Gomis replaces Ribéry who's injured...knowing Domenech, I'm sure he'll start against the Faroe Islands LOL

[drac78]

All hail Domenech, we won 5-0!!...against a bunch of amateurs though :p

[talk2smc]

All hail Domenech, we won 5-0!!...against a bunch of amateurs though :p

:p

yea, i was asking TheLionLyon how long since you scored more than 3, and he said almost a year.
so good to get that out of the way v. the mighty Faroe Islands!

(not that Italy has been doing a ton of high scoring:o)

good to see Gignac get a brace tho, big fan of him, even tho hes out of the gates a bit slower this year than last.

[TheLionLyon]

All hail Domenech, we won 5-0!!...against a bunch of amateurs though :p

Yeah, we beat the Faroes 5-0. We are SUPPOSED to do this to them. Henry tried to make an excuse before we even stepped on the field, just in case we sucked again like in Torshavn, by saying "This is a different Faroe Islands team from previous years". :rolleyes: Please.

JPE, Domenech, and the players probably thinks us destroying the Faroe Islands, yes the Faroe Islands, makes up for everything that has happen over the past year. It doesn't and it shouldn't. Should we even be celebrating this victory, anyway? Really.

[Yonathan]

Well well, you guys are ready for play-off anyway.

[talk2smc]

so its to be Ireland with the 2nd leg in France.

have to root for Trap against Dom, thats easy. but tbh, everyone thinks this is a difficult draw for Ireland...im not so sure. i saw them all qualification in Italy's group, and they could hold their own.

[TheLionLyon]

Domenech will go with same squad he called up for the Faroes and Austria with both Gourcuff and Ribery returning replacing Sissoko (or maybe Diaby) and Gomis.

The back is what scares me. Who will partner Gallas in the back? I'm hoping Squillaci, but Domenech, for some reason, ditched that pairing. Other than that second centre back spot, everything else is self-explanatory and Trappatoni (sp?) should know the lineup that's coming and already be prepared for it.

Diarra and Toule in midfield, Gourcuff in front of them with Ribery and Henry on the wings, and Gignac up top.

Saying all that, we win 3-0 in Dublin and drop everyone back at home to preserve the score. We better win because that showdown with Spain (which I will be attending :D) in March will be pretty irrelevant if we don't.

[TheLionLyon]

Same previous squad, except Clichy drops out due to injury and Cissokho :D replaces him. Gourcuff and Remy also return with Gomis being left out. Happy for Cissokho.

This two-legged playoff will be over in Dublin. I do have a feeling that Ireland will score first though.

EDIT: Also, I think Domenech will piss a lot of players off because, come June (if we qualify), he's not going to leave Vieira off the team even though their will be better options and Vieira being on the team will cause discomfort between Diarra and Toulalan, who are a legitimate World Cup midfield tandem.

[drac78]

What a useful addition to the squad Cissokho is! Now we're safe in case BOTH Evra and Abidal get injured, but I think he should've called up a 4th left back just in case Cissokho picks up an injury too :rolleyes:

anyway, Domenech should be sacked just for not calling up Cheyrou:mad::mad:

[TheLionLyon]

What a useful addition to the squad Cissokho is! Now we're safe in case BOTH Evra and Abidal get injured, but I think he should've called up a 4th left back just in case Cissokho picks up an injury too :rolleyes:

anyway, Domenech should be sacked just for not calling up Cheyrou:mad::mad:

Evra and Abidal are both yellows cards away from missing the second leg. That's why Cissokho's needed. Also, Abidal is slowly being converting into that second centre back role alongside Gallas. He's been completely unreliable over the past year on the left side, which is why people were calling for Evra, as he gets forward in the attack much better. Same with Cissokho

Cheyrou won't get into the squad until after Domenech's reign is over. He's still out after the World Cup, right?

[TheLionLyon]

Check out the new shirts.

http://www.fff.fr/common/bib_img/images/470000/5000/091110113022_2.jpg

This might be our final shirt with Adidas.

[Murkurial]

Check out the new shirts.

http://www.fff.fr/common/bib_img/images/470000/5000/091110113022_2.jpg

This might be our final shirt with Adidas.

And they couldnt've chosen a better "Future Old Trafford Star and Greatest Player the World Has Ever Seen" to model it.

Seriously though, I like it but there's a lot goin' on there. He looks like a Power Ranger.

Now to find a place to pre-order.

P.S. I dunno what Mexico did to piss Adidas off but they shat all over them with their new jersey.

[talk2smc]

simplicity in my mind, always the key.
take the stripes down the sleeves, and the red and white "ab" stripes and its a great kit

[Chelsky_15]

co-sign the power rangers thing murkurial said although despite that, i kinda like it :o

[talk2smc]

well...pretty blatant cheating by Henry. sad to see tbh..i feel for the Irish, and particularly for Trap. dreams shot down with a cheating play... i can see this 10 years from now still being discussed and talked about.

Trap did so well with Ireland too. and Dom so poor with France...

[TheLionLyon]

well...pretty blatant cheating by Henry. sad to see tbh..i feel for the Irish, and particularly for Trap. dreams shot down with a cheating play... i can see this 10 years from now still being discussed and talked about.

Trap did so well with Ireland too. and Dom so poor with France...

I think the only way the discussion of this will be elongated will be if we make something out of our appearance at the World Cup. We're in a lose-lose situation because if we suffer elimination early, people are going to be saying Ireland could have done better. If we go far, then we didn't deserve the spot. TBH, we probably wouldn't care either way. I mean I (and most of France) have sympathy for the Irish, but there's really nothing we can do.

[talk2smc]

I think the only way the discussion of this will be elongated will be if we make something out of our appearance at the World Cup. We're in a lose-lose situation because if we suffer elimination early, people are going to be saying Ireland could have done better. If we go far, then we didn't deserve the spot. TBH, we probably wouldn't care either way. I mean I (and most of France) have sympathy for the Irish, but there's really nothing we can do.

true enough, and I unlike some arent condemning the team..i mean what was Gallas supposed to do? Not score? of course thats ridiculous.

however, i think it mars the whole FFF. not only have France played so poor under Dom, but then imo getting outplayed by Ireland, then the handling by Henry, then the manner in which he celebrated, then the denials that he handled it...

i took similar stick from De Rossi's elbow WC 06...as you say, theres not much you can do. you stick with your country, but at the same time, cant condone any of the action

[TheLionLyon]

true enough, and I unlike some arent condemning the team..i mean what was Gallas supposed to do? Not score? of course thats ridiculous.

however, i think it mars the whole FFF. not only have France played so poor under Dom, but then imo getting outplayed by Ireland, then the handling by Henry, then the manner in which he celebrated, then the denials that he handled it...

i took similar stick from De Rossi's elbow WC 06...as you say, theres not much you can do. you stick with your country, but at the same time, cant condone any of the action

Yeah, I mean, as a supporter, even a player, there's nothing you can do about it now. You are going to be constantly reminded of how your nation cheated their way into the World Cup. OK, but what am I supposed to do? Not support them at the finals? That's ridiculous. I mean, I agree with you about the handball. Isn't that enough?

That's what really gets to me about the team and Domenech. They know, over the past few years, they have played like crap, but Domenech and Henry, as he is the captain and speaks alot, always sweeps it (the poor performances) under the rug by either saying they played good (Right. :rolleyes:) or by crediting the opposition. During his post match interview, Domenech said the team lack decent skills. However, his excuse now........we qualified for the World Cup. So in his mind the lacking of skills is now irrelevant. He's is very stupid person and I hate calling people stupid.

[TheLionLyon]

Gardiens de But

Cédric CARRASSO Girondins de Bordeaux
Hugo LLORIS Olympique Lyonnais
Stève MANDANDA Olympique de Marseille

Défenseurs

Jean-Alain BOUMSONG Olympique Lyonnais
Michaël CIANI Girondins de Bordeaux nouveau
Aly CISSOKHO Olympique Lyonnais
Julien ESCUDE FC Seville
Patrice EVRA Manchester United
Rod FANNI Stade Rennais
Adil RAMI LOSC
Bakary SAGNA Arsenal F.C.

Milieux de terrain

Benoît CHEYROU Olympique de Marseille nouveau
Lassana DIARRA Real Madrid
Yoann GOURCUFF Girondins de Bordeaux
Moussa SISSOKO Toulouse F.C.
Jérémy TOULALAN Olympique Lyonnais

Attaquants

Nicolas ANELKA Chelsea F.C.
Hatem BEN-ARFA Olympique de Marseille
Sidney GOVOU Olympique Lyonnais
Thierry HENRY F.C. Barcelone
Florent MALOUDA Chelsea F.C.
Loïc REMY OGC Nice
Franck RIBERY Bayern Munich
Louis SAHA Everton F.C.


Congrats for Cheyrou. Took awhile to get that callup. Domenech probably wouldn't have included him in there if Diarra wasn't injured. That's just how he is. Surprised to see Vieira not in the squad knowng Domenech. I thought Domenech didn't care about form, yet Ben Arfa's in, but Benzema's not. Benzema injured right? Also, why Fanni continues to get called ahead of Chalme continues to baffle me. Gameiro should have been called as well, maybe take out Govou. Wonder who will start in the CBs role for the Spain match. Rami - Boumsong or Boumsong - Ciani. No offence to Escude, but no. LOL

[talk2smc]

man, he does make some odd choices.

[drac78]

Cheyrou has finally been called up!! Ciani deserves it too and it's great to see Saha back!

Now, wtf are Boumsong and Govou doing in the squad?! I know they play for Domenech's favourite team but, seriously, wtf?? I swear if Boumsong goes to South Africa instead of the likes of Rami or Ciani...

I'm not sure I'll watch this game though, it should a pretty boring game with the players trying to avoid injuries or fatigue before important CL games...

[drac78]

Also, why Fanni continues to get called ahead of Chalme continues to baffle me.

couldn't agree more, what must Chalme do to be called up??

[Whoah10115]

What's happened to Escude? He's just been off the last couple years, prone to a lot of mistakes. I still think he's a great player, but maybe he's past it. Squillachi has been great for Sevilla.


I think it's pretty hilarious that Domenech exists. One great French filmmaker has to make a new Dr. Strangelove about Domenech and the FFF. Brilliant film, I can see it.

[TheLionLyon]

FFF schedules England and Brazil for next season. First match we wear our new Nike maillots will be against Brazil. Nice!

[Raioneru]

saha is uncertain, d. cisse is back in the team :D

[TheLionLyon]

Posted this somewhere else. Don't feel like typing about he who shall not be named. Please August.......hurry up.

It is getting to a point where accepting callup is pointless and a spit in the face by Domenech. I actually feel sorry for Rami, Cissokho, Cheyrou, Ben Arfa, Remy, Sissoko, and Fanni. Four days of their life they will surely not get back. I guess Domenech is sending 14 players to the World Cup. I wait….I forgot Vieira. *sigh*

[drac78]

Escudé shocking...as usual. Henry, you were a great player, now plz retire.

[TheLionLyon]

Interview with Domenech after the thrashing he received from Del Bosque.

«Quels enseignements tirez-vous ?
Je confirme que l'Espagne est un vrai favori de la Coupe du monde.

Dans votre équipe qu'est-ce qui vous a plu, déplu ?
Il y a eu des bonnes séquences dans la récupération du ballon, l'essentiel c'est le moment où on les a pressés. Mais on a mal négocié les bons ballons et on a fait deux erreurs sur leur pressing.

Il y avait une classe d'écart, êtes vous inquiet ?
On a supervisé l'Espagne sur une dizaine de matches. Le ballon est toujours insaisissable. L'opposition était très forte. Le match bascule sur des erreurs. Je ne suis pas aussi catastrophé que vous semblez l'être. Il y a trop de moments où on a été indécis. Mais il y a des choses intéressantes pour la Coupe du monde.

La prestation de Henry vous a déçu ou inquiété ?
Tout le monde a connu Titi mieux sur un terrain. Mais le fait de moins jouer et rentrer ensuite dans ces matches de haut niveau lui pose un problème. Mais l'objectif de la préparation est de mettre tout le monde à niveau à ce moment là. Ca soulève quelques questions. Mais rien ne m'inquiète pour le moment.
«Les joueurs ont besoin de soutien»

Les sifflets sont descendus assez vite des tribunes: êtes-vous déçus ?
Il y a même eu des Ole ! Ole ! au bout de cinq minutes... Je trouve que c'est dommage, les joueurs ont besoin du soutien du public, même quand on souffre contre le champion d'Europe. A cette période de l'année, on a toujours perdu. Les joueurs de l'équipe de France ont besoin de soutien. Qu'ils ne l'aient pas, j'ai du mal à saisir ça. Mais l'important est de bien se préparer pour le Mondial.

N'était-ce pas l'occasion de tester de nouveaux joueurs ?
Ce n'aurait pas été honnête de les jeter en pâture. Il y a besoin d'expérience et de maturité pour aller au sacrifice.

Pourquoi choisir Ciani et pas Boumsong ?
Depuis la fin de l'Euro 2008, on n'a pas eu la même charnière centrale plus de deux fois. C'était l'occasion de voir de nouveaux joueurs dès le début de match. J'ai pu associer Ciani à un ancien (Escudé).

Avez-vous peur que la question du positionnement de Ribéry pourrisse la préparation ?
Non, pas du tout. C'est une chance d'avoir des joueurs polyvalents, c'est un plus, ça permet des changements qui ne mettent pas l'équipe en déséquilibre. L'important c'est le collectif, ce qui est positif pour le collectif, tout le monde en a conscience.

Même Ribéry ?
Ribéry en est conscient, il sait que l'équipe est la base de tout succès.» (AFP)

Or that you are an embarrassment. I would hate to interview this guy. Domenech comes off as a very stupid, yet cocky individual.

[TheLionLyon]

Anigo is claiming that Valbuena is in the squad of 23 to go to the World Cup, yet he doesn't know if Ben Arfa and Cheyrou are in the squad. :rolleyes:

[chelsea_fan]

:mad: would like to see ben arfa in the world cup, a player with immense talent.

[TheLionLyon]

Gardiens de but

* Cédric Carrasso (FCG Bordeaux)
* Mickaël Landreau (LOSC)
* Hugo Lloris (Ol. Lyon)
* Steve Mandanda (Ol. Marseille)

Défenseurs

* Eric Abidal (FC Barcelone)
* Gaël Clichy (Arsenal FC)
* Patrice Evra (Manchester United)
* Rod Fanni (Stade Rennais)
* William Gallas (Arsenal FC)
* Marc Planus (FCG Bordeaux)
* Adil Rami (LOSC)
* Anthony Reveillère (Ol. Lyonnais)
* Bacary Sagna (Arsenal FC)
* Sébastien Squillaci (Séville FC)

Milieux de terrain

* Vassiriki Diaby (Arsenal FC)
* Alou Diarra (FCG Bordeaux)
* Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid FC)
* Yoann Gourcuff (FCG Bordeaux)
* Yann M'Vila (Stade Rennais)
* Florent Malouda (Chelsea FC)
* Jérémy Toulalan (Ol. Lyonnais)

Attaquants

* Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea FC)
* Hatem Ben Arfa (Ol. Marseille)
* Jimmy Briand (Stade Rennais)
* Djibril Cissé (Panathinaikos)
* André-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse FC)
* Sidney Govou (Ol. Lyonnais)
* Thierry Henry (FC Barcelone)
* Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern Munich)
* Mathieu Valbuena (Ol. Marseille)


Benzema, Vieira, Sissoko, Cissokho, Escude................:eek:

I like Clichy and all, but 3 caps doesn't amount to experience. Tremoulinas should of been called up in his place. Had a wayyyy better season. Ironic that Domenech decided to reward a player's great play with a call up and drops a player with bad play RIGHT BEFORE the World Cup when he refused to do this during the qualifiers. Idiot. :mad: Poor Benzema. :(

[drac78]

Benzema, Vieira, Sissoko, Cissokho, Escude................:eek:

I like Clichy and all, but 3 caps doesn't amount to experience. Tremoulinas should of been called up in his place. Had a wayyyy better season. Ironic that Domenech decided to reward a player's great play with a call up and drops a player with bad play RIGHT BEFORE the World Cup when he refused to do this during the qualifiers. Idiot. :mad: Poor Benzema. :(

well Benzema has barely played this season so it's not that unexpected.

-Glad to see Escudé and Boumsong have finally been left out.
-I hope at least one of Valbuena and Ben Arfa goes to South Africa
-Govou...yea right

[TheLionLyon]

well Benzema has barely played this season so it's not that unexpected.

-Glad to see Escudé and Boumsong have finally been left out.
-I hope at least one of Valbuena and Ben Arfa goes to South Africa
-Govou...yea right

Briand, Valbuena, Fanni, Planus, Landreau, Diaby, and Clichy will miss out. I really really hope M'Vila (I doubt it, too many DMs) and Ben Arfa make the squad. Out of all the shock callups, they deserve to be there. Valbuena will have to pull off a "Gomis" to make it to South Africa. Too much competition on the wings and nobody is touching Gourcuff in the middle.

[drac78]

Briand, Valbuena, Fanni, Planus, Landreau, Diaby, and Clichy will miss out. I really really hope M'Vila (I doubt it, too many DMs) and Ben Arfa make the squad. Out of all the shock callups, they deserve to be there. Valbuena will have to pull off a "Gomis" to make it to South Africa. Too much competition on the wings and nobody is touching Gourcuff in the middle.

there's too much competition cuz Domenech plays the wrong players on the wings imo, ideally it should be: Malouda (Ben Arfa)-Gourcuff-Ribéry (Valbuena..and NOT Govou) and then Anelka up front

[TheLionLyon]

there's too much competition cuz Domenech plays the wrong players on the wings imo, ideally it should be: Malouda (Ben Arfa)-Gourcuff-Ribéry (Valbuena..and NOT Govou) and then Anelka up front

Of course that is the proper way to place them. Problem is Ribery likes playing on the left and he and Domenech have butted heads over the issue. The English media is overhyping Malouda's form to force Domenech's hand. It will be interesting to see if Malouda starts on the left and Ribery on the right (like in 2006).

[drac78]

Of course that is the proper way to place them. Problem is Ribery likes playing on the left and he and Domenech have butted heads over the issue. The English media is overhyping Malouda's form to force Domenech's hand. It will be interesting to see if Malouda starts on the left and Ribery on the right (like in 2006).

I don't care if he likes playing on the left, the team is more important than the individual, that's what Domenech should tell him. Malouda had a great season, he even kept Zhirkov on the bench :(

[talk2smc]

:( benz...

no Mexes, im sure hes shocked. :p

[TheLionLyon]

I don't care if he likes playing on the left, the team is more important than the individual, that's what Domenech should tell him. Malouda had a great season, he even kept Zhirkov on the bench :(

But, not only does he like playing on the left, he is best utilized playing there. Yes, the team is more important than the individual, but sometimes playing the individual out of position damages the team as a whole. Look how risky it is to the team playing Abidal in central defence. He has no business being there. If Domenech tells Ribery to play on the right, he will oblige without a problem, but he probably won't like it. I personally think that Domenech will go with Ribery on the left and Anelka on the right.

[Chelsky_15]

Of course that is the proper way to place them. Problem is Ribery likes playing on the left and he and Domenech have butted heads over the issue. The English media is overhyping Malouda's form to force Domenech's hand. It will be interesting to see if Malouda starts on the left and Ribery on the right (like in 2006).

i don't think that's fair, he's had a tremendous season and been an integral part of our success. he even won the chelsea players' player of the year

[Whoah10115]

HAHA Benzema, that's what you get for being a moron. And stop doing that shit with your eyebrows!

[drac78]

But, not only does he like playing on the left, he is best utilized playing there. Yes, the team is more important than the individual, but sometimes playing the individual out of position damages the team as a whole. Look how risky it is to the team playing Abidal in central defence. He has no business being there. If Domenech tells Ribery to play on the right, he will oblige without a problem, but he probably won't like it. I personally think that Domenech will go with Ribery on the left and Anelka on the right.

The problem is Henry, we have to find a place for him cuz we all know Domenech will never drop him, even if he's completely useless now, so if he plays as a lone striker that means Anelka won't play there, and so he'll be on the right wing. It's a shame cuz that means there is no place for both Malouda and Ribéry...

[Den1412]

---------Anelka-----------

---------Henry------------
Malouda--------Ribery-----

[TheLionLyon]

---------Anelka-----------

---------Henry------------
Malouda--------Ribery-----

Gourcuff will not be dropped. He's the centerpiece. It will be either:

(1) Ribery on the left, Gourcuff in the middle, Anelka on the right, and Henry up top.

(2) Malouda on the left, Gourcuff in the middle, Henry on the right, and either Gignac or Anelka up top.

(3) Malouda on the left, Gourcuff in the middle, Ribery on the right, and Henry up top.

I prefer the third with Malouda and Ribery switching wings at different moments during the match, but I am expecting the first one.

[Whoah10115]

I find it funny that Anelka will be on the right. A striker, fighting to play a position he can't really play. Honestly, what's it like having this guy as your coach? His idea for the captain is a guy who has become satisfied...whatever.

[ketcchyshubby]

They could win 2 world cups in a row with these players, shame about the coach who's just embarassing.

[vaudevillian]

Why is Samir Nasri not there . And Diaby is..wtf...we dont even want him at arsenal. He fucks it up in big games.

[Kert]

Interesting stuff from Domenech. Nasri out of the squad while Diaby is included. Nasri was pretty good replacing Fabregas.:confused:

[TheLionLyon]

Interesting stuff from Domenech. Nasri out of the squad while Diaby is included. Nasri was pretty good replacing Fabregas.:confused:

Why is Samir Nasri not there . And Diaby is..wtf...we dont even want him at arsenal. He fucks it up in big games.

Alot of people surprise at Nasri's exclusion. I've been explaining his likely exclusion on a couple of forums. It's common knowledge that Nasri (Benzema as well) doesn't get along with some of the veteran players in L'Equipe. I've read that Ribery hasn't liked him since their days together at Marseille. Emmanuel Petit stated after the list was announced that their relationship with some of the players probably had a lot to do with both Nasri's and Benzema's exclusion from the team, aside from their form, well Benzema’s,

[vaudevillian]

That is what coaches are for. to keep the teams together/solve problems in team. Fuck thats a loussy reason. Godforbid gourcuff/Ribery gets injured, NAsri is a very strong replacement.

[drac78]

Oh come on now, we have better players than Nasri, who has been average at best for Arsenal this season, yea yea I know he was great against Porto...

[reelone]

WTF???
why include Diaby when your entire midfield selections are DM's all of which are better than him.
Mexes should be on there, Roma went something like 20 games undefeated.
Why include Govou if you called up Valbuena?
Rami, Ben Arfa- good calls
If Benzema is not playing well the why the f is Henry on there?
No Nasri? That's a disgrace. watch Gourcuff catch a hamstring first game.

[talk2smc]

Mexes should be on there, Roma went something like 20 games undefeated.


add a couple on to 20 ;)

but he often wasnt playing during that time, the CB pairing Ranieri used most often was Burdisso/Juan with Riise at LB, and Cassetti at RB.

Domenech also hates Mexes. always has. as do most FFF fans. :o

[TheLionLyon]

Domenech also hates Mexes. always has. as do most FFF fans. :o

Nobody other than Domenech dislikes Mexes. He (Mexes) screwed up in the Austria match in WCQ, took the blame completely, and hasn't played since. I am a big proponent of the Gallas-Mexes CB partnership, but it was a complete failure in the Austria match and I guess Domenech hasn't forgotten.

Anyway, at this moment, Mexes doesn't deserve a call up over Rami or Planus. Maybe injury-prone Squillaci, but not the other two.

[Raioneru]

WTF???
why include Diaby when your entire midfield selections are DM's all of which are better than him.
Diaby is better offensively, it gives more options.

Mexes should be on there, Roma went something like 20 games undefeated.
talk2smc and lionlyon answered that already.

Why include Govou if you called up Valbuena?
govou can defend, valbuenna is too slow. they just dont give the same options.

Rami, Ben Arfa- good calls
If Benzema is not playing well the why the f is Henry on there?
I wondering too, it seems that in france, thierry henry benefit from a global approval rate close to 90%, because he is the only one performing within the strikers (if you call that performing, because I think they all suck)

No Nasri? That's a disgrace. watch Gourcuff catch a hamstring first game.

Oh la la! not too fast, Gourcuff, though he didnt have a good season this year, is light years ahead of Nasri. Nasri can't do anything special, therefore he doesn't deserve to be a Central Attacking midfielder in this team thats already struggling.

[reelone]

govou can defend, valbuenna is too slow. they just dont give the same options.


they are like for like, should've chose Nasri over one of two.


Oh la la! not too fast, Gourcuff, though he didnt have a good season this year, is light years ahead of Nasri. Nasri can't do anything special, therefore he doesn't deserve to be a Central Attacking midfielder in this team thats already struggling.




They only have Gourcuff as Att Mdfld could use Nasri as backup. Dude there is no reasoning for leaving Nasri out.

[Raioneru]

Ben Arfa is much better than Nasri and he is an att mdfld
malouda is left att mdfld, not winger cause thats not really his role for chelsea.
ribery is a left att mdfld, but he can play on the right (wonder if he wants to...)
Malouda and Ribery are capable of providing backup if Gourcuff injures himself.

[TheLionLyon]

It's all but confirmed now. Deschamps announced that Blanc will be the new coach of the national team. Deschamps and Blanc are the odds-on favorites, so with Deschamps making that statement and also saying he will be at Marseille for at least another year, it seems likely.

[ketcchyshubby]

Nasri is overrated.

Oh, shit, did I just type that?

[reelone]

Vieira moved to Manchester City in January to try and force his way into contention for South Africa, but only found out that he was not going when Domenech announced his squad live on TV on Tuesday night and has attacked his boss for a ''lack of class''.

"As the national team coach had sporting criterions, I can accept the decision without any problems,'' he told Canal + Sport. "However, I didn't receive any phone call with him for six months, even if I always had a good relationship with him, even when he was in trouble.

"Considering my number of caps (107 caps) and years in the French team, I would have liked more frankness, a phone call.

"Now I have turned the French team's page. I would have preferred him to tell me, 'You don't have the right level anymore, there are young players better than you. Mourinho did it at Inter, and I accepted it.

"Discovering it at the last moment, in front of the TV, that tactlessness, lack of class, which is what affected me the most. But that won't erase all the beautiful years I spent in blue. Will I finish my career? No. I am sure I won't stop my footballing career."

Domenech earlier confirmed it had been a very difficult decision to leave out Vieira.

He said: "Patrick Vieira, it is the most delicate choice. We talked with Pat, we tried to plan for the World Cup. It has been a wrench. It is a real moment of emotion. It was difficult considering the whole season."
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=785524&cc=5901

Now his beloved Viera is letting him have it. Domenech is a joke, not even the players respect him. I would get rid of the guy right now and give Blanc a month to train with the players.

[TheLionLyon]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=785524&cc=5901

Now his beloved Viera is letting him have it. Domenech is a joke, not even the players respect him. I would get rid of the guy right now and give Blanc a month to train with the players.

Vieira just has sour grapes. He thought Domenech would pay him back for "supporting" him during those days when Domenech was going enduring serious backlash from the country. Problem is Domenech had an epiphany and started evaluating some players based on their form and not because they kiss his ass.

[ajdw]

Milan must be sick they let Gourcuff slip away :p...but on a serious note I think you guys have been making some really valid points, i don't get to see Ligue 1 often ( :( ) so i don't know much about the home based players like M'Vila, Rami, Valbuena. Idk, I still would have liked to see Nasri on team. I think it's unfair to leave someone out because of relationship issues. I also happen to think that he is good defensively ( not Diarra like but... :p ). Huge fan of Benzema also, I don't like excuses but it was his first season away from home not to mention the pressures of Real and the intense competition. I think he should have gotten a chance as well.

[ajdw]

Squad cut down to 24. The players out are Landreau, Fanni, Rami, Ben Arfa, Briand and M'Vila. What do you guys think?

[Raioneru]

Squad cut down to 24. The players out are Landreau, Fanni, Rami, Ben Arfa, Briand and M'Vila. What do you guys think?

lol, deserved.
:D

[drac78]

Ben Arfa should've been kept and Govou left out...but wait Govou plays for Domenech's favorite team...

[Raioneru]

Ben Arfa should've been kept and Govou left out...but wait Govou plays for Domenech's favorite team...

Its a matter of defensive skills,
like they say, a guy like Govou is a gem for french coaches because though he is an AMD he can defend.

[drac78]

Its a matter of defensive skills,
like they say, a guy like Govou is a gem for french coaches because though he is an AMD he can defend.

yea but we are France not the Faroe Islands, we should be attacking not defending :p plus we already have the two defensive midfielders

[Raioneru]

yea but we are France not the Faroe Islands, we should be attacking not defending :p plus we already have the two defensive midfielders

lol yeah but this is ray we are talking about, there is no style, so basically the player dont really know what they are doing, its basic stuff they do on the pitch: attack - defense, back and forth

let's wait for the 1st friendly match, I mean, I dont have a lot of hope, but we never know.

maybe Gourcuff will have made that deal with the devil in time, and be awarded twice the skills zidane ever had (looooool :eek: )

[ajdw]

Zidane x 2 :eek: that's scary stuff

[Yusuf]

I hear we are finally going to see the back of his highness domenech. Blanc is taking over?

[ajdw]

After the WC. But idk I'm getting a weird feeling about this situation, weird good. Hopefully something good happens :p

[reelone]

damnit the retard dropped Rami and Ben arfa, what a douche.

[TheLionLyon]

They just completed the Ribery billboard in Boulogne. Nike stopped after the investigation came out, but continued construction after it died down. I'll get into that below. Here's a pic of it:

http://manager.publiatis.com/documents/%7BED5B1581-A82A-452A-A55A-70552A0F7B67%7D/accounts/%7B1DC91D5B-932F-447B-A4D8-137AF119D0F5%7D/rib.jpg

Regarding Nike continuing the construction, it's pretty obvious. In 2011, the national team will be switching to Nike. Even though Nike has several French players like Ben Arfa, Lloris, Toulalan, Valbuena, Evra, Abidal on their payroll, Ribery is the token guy. He's featured in all of the brand's campaigns and shunning him would basically destroy Nike's hopes of eliminating Adidas's stranglehold on the country, which is why they went after France all along.

[Round]

Tonight the team faces France Costa Rica, a first test, which will see the evolution of the team and the state form of William Gallas.

[deviant]

So whats the French team of the future looking like? lineup/squad


---------------Lloris--------------
Sagna---Cissokho----?????---Clichy
--------------Lass----------------
Ribery---------Diaby--------Ben Arfa
-------------Gourcuff-------------
------Benzema--------------------

Mandanda, Gignac, Toulalan, Valbuena, Planus?

[Raioneru]

there will be a friendly match soon enough.

[TheLionLyon]

So whats the French team of the future looking like? lineup/squad


---------------Lloris--------------
Sagna---Cissokho----?????---Clichy
--------------Lass----------------
Ribery---------Diaby--------Ben Arfa
-------------Gourcuff-------------
------Benzema--------------------

Mandanda, Gignac, Toulalan, Valbuena, Planus?

Blanc will anounced his first squad on 4 August. He is petitioning to the federation that none of the 23 players at the World Cup be called up for the friendly. It will be discussed in four hours. As for the future of the NT, for future matches, Blanc will retain everyone except for Henry, Gallas, Abidal, Evra (too much competition), Govou, and Anelka. Cissokho's a left back by the way.

[Murkurial]

Blanc will anounced his first squad on 4 August. He is petitioning to the federation that none of the 23 players at the World Cup be called up for the friendly. It will be discussed in four hours. As for the future of the NT, for future matches, Blanc will retain everyone except for Henry, Gallas, Abidal, Evra (too much competition), Govou, and Anelka. Cissokho's a left back by the way.

Damn, feels like it really wasn't too long ago that Evra really won that job. After he put his stamp on the position at United. Still disappointing to hear that he played such a shitty role in what went down in SA.

[TheLionLyon]

The proposal by Laurent Blanc passed. None of the 23 players will be called up for the friendly against Norway. Essentially, a one-game suspension.

[Raioneru]

fuck this, I hate collective penalties, but I guess it was bound to happen.

[vaudevillian]

Looks good, very good.



---------------Lloris---------------
Sagna---Mexes----?????---Clichy

--------------Lass-----------------

Ribery---------Nasri--------Ben Arfa

-------------Gourcuff--------------

--------------Benzema-------------

[reelone]

The proposal by Laurent Blanc passed. None of the 23 players will be called up for the friendly against Norway. Essentially, a one-game suspension.

Wow, first big move by Blanc.
Can't wait to see the team and the new beginning of Les Bleus.

[TheLionLyon]

The future is bright. :D

[Raioneru]

The future is bright. :D

yup I saw the match too ;)

[TheLionLyon]

WE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER!

Le groupe des Bleus

GARDIENS : Ruffier (Monaco), Douchez (Rennes).

DÉFENSEURS : Fanni (Rennes), Rami (Lille), Mexès (AS Rome), Sakho (PSG), Trémoulinas (Bordeaux), Cissokho (Lyon), Debuchy (Lille).

MILIEUX : L. Diarra (Real Madrid), Sissoko (Toulouse), Mvila (Rennes), Nasri (Arsenal), Cabaye (Lille), N'Zogbia (Wigan), Matuidi (Saint-Etienne).

ATTAQUANTS : Ben Arfa (Marseille), Benzema (Real Madrid), Rémy (Nice), Briand (Lyon), Ménez (AS Rome), Hoarau (PSG).

LOL at the four holding midfielders. Finally some versatility in the squad. Menez, Ben Arfa, Benzema, and Nasri. The band's back. :D

[drac78]

No Cheyrou :(

Ruffier

Fanni - Rami - Mexes - Trémoulinas

L. Diarra - Sissoko

Remy - Nasri - Ben Arfa

Benzema

[ajdw]

I had the slightest hope to see Frey oh well im elated :D . I didn't know Ménez was French :eek: very nice indeed!

[TheLionLyon]

I had the slightest hope to see Frey oh well im elated :D . I didn't know Ménez was French :eek: very nice indeed!

Frey retired and I doubt he would be considered if he un-retired since he clearly has a National Front attitude regarding the national team.

[reelone]

Goalie

Fanni-Rami-Mexes-Cissokho

-----L.Diarra--Cabaye

-----------Nasri
Remy-------------Ben Arfa

---------Benzema

[Round]

I await the first game of Laurent Blanc at the head of the selection with impatient, this young generation will be motivated to polish the team jersey from France.

[TheLionLyon]

A loss is a loss, but that was a very entertaining match on both sides. Both their goals were flukes, so I doub't Blanc will get heat from the media because he has given them what they have wanted for so long: a free-flowing attacking team. He must solve the CB pairing though. Rami and Mexes could work and should be given another chance, but with the performance of M'Vila today (outstanding!), Blanc might have to move Toulalan to CB permanently.

[Raioneru]

I was so amazed by the talent in that team, I dont even miss the "others".

thank god.

I will retain (offensively) menez, nasri, BEN ARFA (I JUST LOVE HIM :P ), Benzema!

[Murkurial]

I was so amazed by the talent in that team, I dont even miss the "others".

thank god.

I will retain (offensively) menez, nasri, BEN ARFA (I JUST LOVE HIM :P ), Benzema!

Is he still something of a hothead? I've always liked him as a player but problems arised between he and Benzema at Lyon and I heard he's gotten into his fair share of tiffs with the Marseilles manager. I'm sure his ass is out of the NT if he pisses Blanc off but I'm wondering if he's shaped up recently. As it looks like he'll be easier to mold into something given his age, why not kick Ribery to the curb and throw him on the wing.

[TheLionLyon]

Is he still something of a hothead? I've always liked him as a player but problems arised between he and Benzema at Lyon and I heard he's gotten into his fair share of tiffs with the Marseilles manager. I'm sure his ass is out of the NT if he pisses Blanc off but I'm wondering if he's shaped up recently. As it looks like he'll be easier to mold into something given his age, why not kick Ribery to the curb and throw him on the wing.

You can change Ben Arfa's personality. He's just one of those players that hates being forced to do things. He wants you to let him be him and I think that's what Blanc yet him do in the Norway match. Just put him on the right and said "do whatever you want, just get me a goal" and Arfa got him one. If Ben Arfa feels to believe your hindering his talents, he'll tell you. Problem is he will tell you in an nonconstructive way.

Everyone that played was impressive tonight, aside from Ruffier's gaffe and Diarra who was just plain awful. I think only Lloris, Mandanda, Sagna, Gourcuff, Toulalan, Diaby, Ribery and Gignac will be the only players returning from the WC. Cissokho's offensive performance and link up with N'Zogbia in the first half was a breath of fresh air compared to Evra and I'm sure Blanc played him for the entire 90 to see if he was really the guy to replace him. Since Blanc is extremely versatile with formations and doesn't just play one all the time, I wouldn't be surprise if we see something like this in a few months against an ultra-defensive team.

---------------Lloris----------------
Sagna---Toule----Mexes-----Cissokho
--------------M'Vila------------------
-------Nasri--------Gourcuff----------
Ribery------------------------Ben Arfa
--------------Benzema----------------

:cool: Question is would Ribery be able to handle being in a lineup that features so many influential players. Blanc will have to explain to him that this is a team and there is no Kopa, or Platini, or Zidane running the show anymore. Once the "stars" understand that, we will be back. This team has so much friggin potential, it's unreal. :D I really really want to get tickets for when they play Brazil in February.

[Murkurial]

---------------Lloris----------------
Sagna---Toule----Mexes-----Cissokho
--------------M'Vila------------------
-------Nasri--------Gourcuff----------
Ribery------------------------Ben Arfa
--------------Benzema----------------

:cool: Question is would Ribery be able to handle being in a lineup that features so many influential players. Blanc will have to explain to him that this is a team and there is no Kopa, or Platini, or Zidane running the show anymore. Once the "stars" understand that, we will be back. This team has so much friggin potential, it's unreal. :D I really really want to get tickets for when they play Brazil in February.

Even with the poor showing at the WC, and the slightly less shitty showing at the Euro's, I can't help but be a fan of this NT and can definitely see myself following them for some time (some will say that's not really difficult given their past successes but it's certainly not due to any recent success). Gourcuff was probably the reason why I began to really pay attention to Ligue Un but I've always admired the quality of the individuals (not Ribery or Anelka :p) on the NT even if they weren't playing to their potential and were often the butt of many a joke, but I'm excited to see what the youngsters can do.

Too many good French footballers out there for this team not to do well under a competent manager. Gourcuff and Nasri in the middle together sounds especially nasty.

[drac78]

BEN ARFA (I JUST LOVE HIM :P )

I can't believe he might be on his way to Newcastle...seriously wtf is wrong with Marseille, he's one of their best players and they wanna get rid of him?!?

Anyway, I can't wait to see what the team will look like when our best players will be back, Hoarau, Remy, Fanni, Sissoko, Ruffier might be good Ligue 1 players but I'm sorry but we won't win a world cup with those guys. I'm still not a big fan of Nasri as well, I think he's terribly overrated.

[TheLionLyon]

I can't believe he might be on his way to Newcastle...seriously wtf is wrong with Marseille, he's one of their best players and they wanna get rid of him?!?

Anyway, I can't wait to see what the team will look like when our best players will be back, Hoarau, Remy, Fanni, Sissoko, Ruffier might be good Ligue 1 players but I'm sorry but we won't win a world cup with those guys. I'm still not a big fan of Nasri as well, I think he's terribly overrated.

Remy and Sissoko were great when they were on and both have a future in the national team. Ruffier can be a solid third GK. Hoarau has something that good strikers in France don't have and that's height so he will always be considered by Blanc. I agree with Fanni. Sagna's the starter and Blanc is just waiting for Corchia and MBiwa to get their U-21s career over for backup. Blanc practically cost the U-21s their match yesterday afternoon by taking the team's best players. Plus, Blanc didn't even play the captain.

[Whoah10115]

Diarra might have been awful but I think all he needs is a full season to place himself as the best true DM in the world. On his game he already is. I also think Flamini can have something to offer. Add M'Villa and Toulalan (greatest name ever), who can play CB...


Outside of Mexes tho, I've noticed some of the really good French CB's over the past few years have started to drop a bit. Gallas is still Gallas but that means he's also an ass and maybe too old an ass to consider, as he's an ass. Remy, Fanni. Is Squillachi past it or just not good enough?


Main question is the CB pairing for me. Who to play alongside Mexes. That's all.

[reelone]

This team with some more work put in can do some damage in the euro 2012.
Nasri, Mvila man of the match. And Remy looks like Henry's doppleganger without the dreads.:D

[vaudevillian]

---------------Lloris----------------
Sagna---Toule----Mexes-----Cissokho
--------------Diarra------------------
-------Nasri--------Gourcuff----------
Ribery------------------------Ben Arfa
--------------Benzema----------------

Thats a Hot Line up.
And players like Gignac,Diaby,Toulalan etc are also there..

[drac78]

Here's the squad for the games against Belarus and Bosnia:

Cédric CARRASSO (Bordeaux)
Hugo LLORIS (Lyon)
Stève MANDANDA (Marseille)

Gaël CLICHY (Arsenal)
bacary SAGNA (Arsenal)
Philippe MEXES (AS Rome)
Adil RAMI (Lille)
Mamadou SAKHO (PSG)
Benoît TREMOULINAS (Bordeaux)

Abou DIABY (Arsenal)
Lassana DIARRA (Real Madrid)
Alou DIARRA (Bordeaux)
Yann MVILA (Rennes)
Florent MALOUDA (Chelsea)
Jérémy MENEZ (AS Rome)
Mathieu VALBUENA (Marseille)

Karim BENZEMA (Real Madrid)
Kevin GAMEIRO (Lorient)
Guillaume HOARAU (PSG)
Loïc REMY (Marseille)
Louis SAHA (Everton

Pretty good list, plus Abidal and Toulalan haven't been called up which is GREAT!

[Lady Arsenal]

bof.

Central defence is still a BIG problem. Come on Laurent, get your kit on!

[TheLionLyon]

Here's the squad for the games against Belarus and Bosnia:

Pretty good list, plus Abidal and Toulalan haven't been called up which is GREAT!

Toule's suspended and Abidal's done. He's **** at CB and Blanc has showed it by calling up zero-capped Tremoulinas over him. Cissokho will be back in three weeks and Mathieu is a reliable backup, which is why I think Evra will have a hard time returning to the team. I am surprised he only called up one RB, which sort of confirms Sagna as the un-passable number 1.

Gameiro finally called up, but Saha........? If you wanted to surprise supporters, I would of preferred an Ait-Fana or Rivière.

[drac78]

Toule's suspended and Abidal's done. He's **** at CB and Blanc has showed it by calling up zero-capped Tremoulinas over him. Cissokho will be back in three weeks and Mathieu is a reliable backup, which is why I think Evra will have a hard time returning to the team. I am surprised he only called up one RB, which sort of confirms Sagna as the un-passable number 1.

Gameiro finally called up, but Saha........? If you wanted to surprise supporters, I would of preferred an Ait-Fana or Rivière.

He's only suspended for 1 game though so he would've been eligible for the game against Bosnia. I'm glad he's not in the squad, never really liked him, and I think we have better players in L/A Diarra or even M'vila. And he hasn't really been convincing at CB either.

It'll be interesting to see who plays LB, I'd like to see Trémoulinas start, I think he's very underrated and Clichy has been poor for Arsenal.

[TheLionLyon]

He's only suspended for 1 game though so he would've been eligible for the game against Bosnia. I'm glad he's not in the squad, never really liked him, and I think we have better players in L/A Diarra or even M'vila. And he hasn't really been convincing at CB either.

It'll be interesting to see who plays LB, I'd like to see Trémoulinas start, I think he's very underrated and Clichy has been poor for Arsenal.

Probably because he plays for Lyon. Toulalan's one of the best DM's in the world and had Blanc called him up, it would have signaled to M'Vila and the Diarra's that Blanc preferred him over them. I, and probably Blanc (assuming), would prefer a single DM start both qualifiers than one start against Belarus and Toulalan starts against Bosnia.

[TheLionLyon]

I said to myself midway through the first half that if we continued to play the way we were playing, Belarus were going to score late. I hope Blanc speaks up for the loss (Clichy, Menez, and Diaby were all awful) and doesn't complain like he's been doing recently.

[drac78]

I agree about Clichy, he's been pretty poor lately, I don't know why Blanc doesn't trust Tremoulinas, he's better than Clichy atm.

Anyway,Valbuena was quite good yet again, but I hope we'll never play with Hoarau-Remy again, I mean come on, this is international football, not some Ligue 1 game against Sochaux...

[TheLionLyon]

I agree about Clichy, he's been pretty poor lately, I don't know why Blanc doesn't trust Tremoulinas, he's better than Clichy atm.

Anyway,Valbuena was quite good yet again, but I hope we'll never play with Hoarau-Remy again, I mean come on, this is international football, not some Ligue 1 game against Sochaux...

Definitely agree about Hoarau. Tremoulinas should definitely start against Bosnia. What have you got to lose. I don't know remember Clichy getting forward and threatening aside from his long throws into the box. Sagna was getting forward, but his crosses were awful. This team is seriously in need of a Gourcuff or Nasri. Only positive thing I drew up after the match is that M'Vila will be the team's DM for a very very long time. He's already looked better than the Diarra's and with Toulalan's current predicament, I don't see him upended him either.

[talk2smc]

Menez awful?:eek:

:o

[cartbran]

(Clichy, Menez, and Diaby were all awful)
It's nice to see that they are at least consistently bad, so it's not like I have to sit around pondering whether the problem is anything other than the fact that as of right now, they are just not very good. No matter what anyone says. Clichy's been in poor form going on two years now and Diaby, well what is there to say? He looks like he should be an all star footballer, but he only plays like one 10% of the time and everyone points to those 1 out of 10 matches as proof of something. I have my doubts that he is ever going to "come good" as they say. Ya'll probably would have been massively more successful with a player like Nasri who can hold the ball, penetrate with the pass or the dribble and keep defenses on the back foot. Too for Les Bleus he has a bum knee.

[DanneS]

So there's another proof of why I don't see Clichy and Diaby as Arsenal first team starters. They make too many mistakes.
I'm sure Gibbs could soon fill Clichy's place in most games but the option of having both around, as a security, is ok

As for Diaby, well Arsenal has many options at midfield, and when he plays in the club with the right people he doesn't suck all the time.

It's unbelievable how deep a hole french football has dug itself into. And it doesn't end.

[TheLionLyon]

So there's another proof of why I don't see Clichy and Diaby as Arsenal first team starters. They make too many mistakes.
I'm sure Gibbs could soon fill Clichy's place in most games but the option of having both around, as a security, is ok

As for Diaby, well Arsenal has many options at midfield, and when he plays in the club with the right people he doesn't suck all the time.

It's unbelievable how deep a hole french football has dug itself into. And it doesn't end.

The players, well most of them, simply need some time obviously. Problem is there is a tournament to qualify for. Maybe not qualifying for the WC would of been a good idea if you look at it now. As for the Clichy and Diaby, I don't know what is the issue. From the comments on here and other sites (even Arsenal forums), they are simply not good enough and are being called up the the team simply because of the Arsenal/France connection.

I actually felt sorry for Wenger when he was commentating and Clichy made that mistake. I would of rather Clichy conceded a penalty than let that Belarus player rolled right past him like that. Wenger was trying so hard, as his manager, to speak highly of him, but he couldn't let him get away with such as monumental mistake regardless of if the offside player interfered. Diaby was clueless from the start. The moment I saw him at the beginning of the match not singing the national anthem like his other ten comptariots (this was made a big deal about ahead of the game), I knew he wasn't fully committed. He simply failed to do his job as a box-to-box midfielder the entire match.

Menez awful?:eek:

:o

Dude needs some confidence. I let most of my anger out on him the entire first half. It felt like he touched the ball more than any other French player in the first half and was afraid to make a difference. Passing was OK, at times, but he passed way too much even when he had a decent opportunity to shoot on goal.

[Lady Arsenal]

Yeah Menez suffered a little from stage-fright, too often passing it back 10 yards instead of taking a risk. They were all scared and needed a win to give them confidence. We dominated Norway and Belarus and lost both games because we weren't clinical when had chances.

Diaby either has an attitude problem or a fitness problem because to me he just looks lethargic and lazy. Clichy is a bit out of fashion with the Arsenal faithful, but he's unlucky because in front of him he has Arshavin and Diaby, the 2 laziest players at the club. If Blanc shows him faith he'll settle in and be as good as Liza, mark my words. He's quality.

And their goal was offside. Hleb clearly became active when he blocked Clichy from getting to the ball. Not only that, it was his presence which made us play offside in the first place. The linesman doesn't know the rules.

[reelone]

Dissapointing loss. The goal shouldn't of counted because the offside player touched the ball.
The team is showing potential. These players just need to get accustomed to each other to have the chemistry set in.Mvila and Diaby were a good pair in DM. Our CB's look unstable, they need discipline. They def. needed a playmaker to anchor the attack, Nasri will be very valuable to this team. Or a Ben-Arfa or Ribery, someone to dribble past the defense and shake their defenders up a bit.

[Round]

This is only the first game, but things are already much better, too bad the team and cracked late in the game, because the tie was not stolen. But it bodes well for the future, I think we can get a positive result in the next game.

[ugen64]

2 or 3 years ago, Clichy was the best left back in the Premiership, ahead of Evra and Ashley Cole. He's only 26 so there's no reason why he can't return to that kind of form. I think it's crazy people are saying Gibbs should start ahead of him, based on, what, 10 EPL appearances? As for France, the only alternative for this game was Cissokho, who has made exactly 1 appearance for France, and has just 1.5 seasons of experience for top teams. I don't watch Lyon that much so I don't know how good he looks for them, but don't you think if Clichy played for Lyon, he would make fewer mistakes than he does at Arsenal, simply because Ligue 1 is an easier league?

As for Diaby, he does have a languid style of playing, but I think he's improved his work rate significantly over the past year or two, and has become an important player for Arsenal. Against Blackburn, he completed 53 of 58 passes, made 3 interceptions, won 8 of 11 duels (including tackles and headers), made 6 clearances, and was involved in the buildup to Walcott's goal. Against Liverpool, he was even more efficient in possession, completing 50 of his 52 passes, made 2 interceptions, won 5 of 7 duels, and made 3 clearances. I don't think he should start ahead of Diarra, Toulalan, and Nasri, but he's certainly a good squad player for France.

[TheLionLyon]

2 or 3 years ago, Clichy was the best left back in the Premiership, ahead of Evra and Ashley Cole. He's only 26 so there's no reason why he can't return to that kind of form. I think it's crazy people are saying Gibbs should start ahead of him, based on, what, 10 EPL appearances? As for France, the only alternative for this game was Cissokho, who has made exactly 1 appearance for France, and has just 1.5 seasons of experience for top teams. I don't watch Lyon that much so I don't know how good he looks for them, but don't you think if Clichy played for Lyon, he would make fewer mistakes than he does at Arsenal, simply because Ligue 1 is an easier league?

Seriously?

[Raioneru]

Seriously?
lol my thoughts too
when you see that many arsenal players come from the french league, its insulting to say that its easier.

[Lady Arsenal]

Du beau, du bon, du Benzema

[drac78]

Valbuena!!!!

[Raioneru]

Valbuenna, Diaby, Malouda, and Benzema!

[TheLionLyon]

Valbuenna, Diaby, Malouda, and Benzema!

Were impressive for the whole match. I like Benzema because he was forcing it and being unselfish, which is what a striker is supposed to do. Valbuena was everywhere and made an impact without even taking a shot on goal. \

Diaby's got some great close control (and uses his body well), but freaks out when given a lot of space. Seems to have difficulty making up his mind. I remember, specifically in the 66th minute (somewhere around this time) where he made a pretty nice move and had enough space to take at least two touches and put in a shot. Instead, he made a horrible pass to Malouda.

It will be interesting to see what Blanc will do when Gourcuff, Nasri, and Ribery returns. Hopefully he was experimenting with the M'Vila, Diarra, and Diaby midfield. There is no need for that extra DM. Hopefully, Cissokho will be healthy by October. Clichy was alright today, but he hardly got forward these past two games. Maybe a coach's decision.

[flier5]

It will be interesting to see what Blanc will do when Gourcuff, Nasri, and Ribery returns. Hopefully he was experimenting with the M'Vila, Diarra, and Diaby midfield. There is no need for that extra DM. Hopefully, Cissokho will be healthy by October. Clichy was alright today, but he hardly got forward these past two games. Maybe a coach's decision.

Man Diaby is hot and cold, i don't know if Blanc will trust him with the box-to-box role in the long term, as one of the 2 in 4-2-3-1.. there's Gourcouff and Nasri for the advanced role.. what about the other Diarra and Toulalan?

[drac78]

Man Diaby is hot and cold, i don't know if Blanc will trust him with the box-to-box role in the long term, as one of the 2 in 4-2-3-1.. there's Gourcouff and Nasri for the advanced role.. what about the other Diarra and Toulalan?

No, no, no!! We don't need him, especially now that we've seen how good M'vila was, I think he has cemented his place in the team now. It should be M'vila+Diaby and maybe M'vila+one of the Diarras against really strong teams. Toulalan can stay at Lyon and practice his long range shots that never ever reach the target:p

[TheLionLyon]

No, no, no!! We don't need him, especially now that we've seen how good M'vila was, I think he has cemented his place in the team now. It should be M'vila+Diaby and maybe M'vila+one of the Diarras against really strong teams. Toulalan can stay at Lyon and practice his long range shots that never ever reach the target:p

I disagree completely with your assessment of Toulalan, but I do agree that M'Vila is now the guy at DM. The way he's played these past three matches has been amazing and you can tell Blanc likes him. Despite playing in the holding role, M'Vila actually played more box-to-box style than Diaby in the match yesterday. I think Blanc just let him roam around unlike a Makelele or Toulalan who were afraid to pass the halfway line into the attacking final third.

[Raioneru]

I disagree completely with your assessment of Toulalan, but I do agree that M'Vila is now the guy at DM. The way he's played these past three matches has been amazing and you can tell Blanc likes him. Despite playing in the holding role, M'Vila actually played more box-to-box style than Diaby in the match yesterday. I think Blanc just let him roam around unlike a Makelele or Toulalan who were afraid to pass the halfway line into the attacking final third.

but you don't give any argument in favor of Toulalan's return.
I'm siding with Drac, I dont want him back, he is one of the main instigator of the strike in SA, and I clearly don't see what he brings to the table compared to diaby, A. diarra, L. Diarra, or m'villa.

[TheLionLyon]

but you don't give any argument in favor of Toulalan's return.
I'm siding with Drac, I dont want him back, he is one of the main instigator of the strike in SA, and I clearly don't see what he brings to the table compared to diaby, A. diarra, L. Diarra, or m'villa.

Because, when in form, Toulalan is better than all three. Toulalan was not a main instigator in the strike, hence his one-game suspension. His only fault was allowing his lawyer to construct the protest letter, which, according to reports, all players agreed to. He didn't have a hand in any of the rumored bullying of players, direspect towards Domenech, or attempts to force the change of tactics.

Toulalan is simply in a struggle with regards to where he wants to play. Puel wanted him to be a CB at the start of the season and the player obliged simply because the position was weak and he had some experience in the position. As of today, that (the switch permanently to CB) has been a failure and Toulalan will be moving back to the DM spot starting this week for the sake of his career domestically and internationally. Blanc even stated that there were better options at CB than Toulalan.

I didn't give an argument in favor of a return to the team simply because I agree with drac only in that M'Vila has surprisingly used Toulalan's suspension and switch to CB to his advantage. Coupled with that and his talent, Toulalan will have a hard time getting back into the first eleven. He'd easily make the squad as a backup though.

[reelone]

Good to get a win under our belts. Gives this new team some confidence to start playing fluid football. Let's keep going from here.
Any news on Ben Arfa? He scored in the friendly before the qualifier and looked like he was up for it.

[Raioneru]

Because, when in form, Toulalan is better than all three. Toulalan was not a main instigator in the strike, hence his one-game suspension. His only fault was allowing his lawyer to construct the protest letter, which, according to reports, all players agreed to. He didn't have a hand in any of the rumored bullying of players, direspect towards Domenech, or attempts to force the change of tactics.

Toulalan is simply in a struggle with regards to where he wants to play. Puel wanted him to be a CB at the start of the season and the player obliged simply because the position was weak and he had some experience in the position. As of today, that (the switch permanently to CB) has been a failure and Toulalan will be moving back to the DM spot starting this week for the sake of his career domestically and internationally. Blanc even stated that there were better options at CB than Toulalan.

I didn't give an argument in favor of a return to the team simply because I agree with drac only in that M'Vila has surprisingly used Toulalan's suspension and switch to CB to his advantage. Coupled with that and his talent, Toulalan will have a hard time getting back into the first eleven. He'd easily make the squad as a backup though.

as long as he stays on the bench i'm fine with it. :cool:
and sorry but I still disagree, he's not better than any of these youngsters.

[TheLionLyon]

as long as he stays on the bench i'm fine with it. :cool:
and sorry but I still disagree, he's not better than any of these youngsters.

How so? Toulalan epitomizes everything a DM should be and he is one of the best in the world at his position. M'Vila easily has the potential to be better, but Alou (who's older btw) and Lassana, as great as they are, won't be ahead of Toulalan when it comes to exclusively playing as a DM.

[Round]

Finally a victory, more with the way the team of France had the mastery of the game and I think it bodes well for the future.

[drac78]

How so? Toulalan epitomizes everything a DM should be.

Slow, not the best in the air, and with an absolutely terrible long shot? :p

[Raioneru]

Slow, not the best in the air, and with an absolutely terrible long shot? :p

crazy right? :confused:

[TheLionLyon]

Slow, not the best in the air, and with an absolutely terrible long shot? :p

crazy right? :confused:

Yeah, apparently too slow to beat Bastian Schiewnsteiger to a ball in a UEFA CL semi-final. Oh wait! :rolleyes: Long shot? That seems to be your only vice with him as if other DMs average a goal a game or gets the keepers attention every game or something. And slow and not the best in the air would describe Alou Diarra (slow) and Lassana Diarra (not the best in the air), respectively. You can do better than that, right? :o

[deviant]

Lass is way more of an enforcer though better tackler, higher energy level, maybe better passer. Lass definitely has to be the starter for Blanc

[Raioneru]

Yeah, apparently too slow to beat Bastian Schiewnsteiger to a ball in a UEFA CL semi-final. Oh wait! :rolleyes: Long shot? That seems to be your only vice with him as if other DMs average a goal a game or gets the keepers attention every game or something. And slow and not the best in the air would describe Alou Diarra (slow) and Lassana Diarra (not the best in the air), respectively. You can do better than that, right? :o

as a Lyon supporter, you watch him more than us, but again I have never felt he brought anything substantial to this team. that's what I think, and I will stand behind it until I'm proven wrong by a stellar performance.

right now, we have 3 marvelous players (add lassana diarra to that) who can play that DM position, and from what I have seen, Toulalan won't be missed. he is physically weaker than the likes of diarra/diaby etc... technically I would go as far as to say that diaby blow him up :)

seriously, I want new players, and I'd rather build something with these young guys that sticking with Toulalan, again I have nothing personal against him, but I'm looking at the type of style Laurent is trying to achieve, and I don't think adding a DM with less physical power is the right solution.

[TheLionLyon]

as a Lyon supporter, you watch him more than us, but again I have never felt he brought anything substantial to this team. that's what I think, [B]and I will stand behind it until I'm proven wrong by a stellar performance.

I'll give you one. Re-watch the first World Cup group stage match against Uruguay. Try to limit your disappointment for the team as a whole and watch his performance. Hopefully you won't be critical of him because he didn't take any long-range shots.

right now, we have 3 marvelous players (add lassana diarra to that) who can play that DM position, and from what I have seen, Toulalan won't be missed. he is physically weaker than the likes of diarra/diaby etc... technically I would go as far as to say that diaby blow him up :)

I agree with the fact that the team has three marvelous DMs. I would say maybe five or six if you add in Matuidi, Capoue, and Mavuba. Your statement of Toulalan won't be missed can be said just the same about Lassana, Alou or M'Vila if you include three and exclude another. And Diaby plays in the box-to-box role. He won't be battling with Toulalan. He'll be going up against Sissoko, Cabaye, etc., and maybe even the Diarra's given that they can also play in the role if necessary. Ironically, Lassana played in this role under Domenech because he couldn't take over the DM spot from Toulalan.

seriously, I want new players, and I'd rather build something with these young guys that sticking with Toulalan, again I have nothing personal against him, but I'm looking at the type of style Laurent is trying to achieve, and I don't think adding a DM with less physical power is the right solution.

Blanc's style won't be achieved until Gourcuff or Nasri gets back into the team and he's able to play a 4-2-3-1 or a hybrid 4-3-3. Toulalan, like the other DMs, are perfectly suited for this style and formation. The point I am trying to make is that all these players are great, but to simply exclude Toulalan for reasons I still don't get is ridiculous (long-range shots?). And to say Toulalan isn't physical compared to the others is asinine.

[ugen64]

I think Toulalan is one of the best anchor DMs in the world. He's more of a Gilberto than a Vieira type player, from what I've seen, so he obviously needs a rather attack-minded player alongside him. He reminds me a lot of Gilberto actually. Not as good in the air, but a better passer. Gilberto was good enough to win a WC and several trophies in England...

[Lady Arsenal]

Some interesting conundrums present themselves in the lap of Mr. White. What to do with Nasri, Gourcuff and Diaby. If Abou's ankle signals his absence, then keep the tandem of Alou Diarra and the monstrous M'Vila, stick Nasri at 10 like in Norway, allowing Valbuena to maintain a much-merited starting berth? Or, as some people suggest, a wing-role for Samir, and Gourcuff in the middle? And what of Lassana, will he really play at RB? Will Blanc be thinking of perhaps a 2nd striker against a defensive Romanian team? So many questions, it is an interesting time.

[reelone]

Now, This is the France i've been waiting for.
They played really inspired today, came out guns blazin' from beginning to end. The offense seems to be almost there, Benzema needs more confidence but he's getting there. Valbuena is all over the place tiring the defense. Malouda is strong. So much wing play today, I loved it. DM spot is done. M'vila is the #1 and can be paired up. Defense still shaky but Rami and Mexes seem to be getting chemistry. They had some moments but at least they kept a clean sheet.
It's been since world cup 2006 that i felt this good.

[drac78]

Valbuena > Malouda :p

[flier5]

how would it work with gourcuff and nasri both starting? i was hoping they'd try that against weaker opposition

[ugen64]

how would it work with gourcuff and nasri both starting? i was hoping they'd try that against weaker opposition

Nasri can play as a winger - he's played most of his games for Arsenal wide. he also played a few games at DM and actually looked pretty good.

[ajdw]

Nasri can play as a winger - he's played most of his games for Arsenal wide. he also played a few games at DM and actually looked pretty good.

Yea he can play wide, though I believe he's best in the middle. That being said he still ends up all over the pitch ;). He was really good against Romania and he should have scored in both matches. As for DM, never! M'Vila is a monster!!! :eek: :D. There are also the Diarras and Toulalan for that position.

P.S can't wait to see what role Ribery has to play in this team.

[Raioneru]

Yea he can play wide, though I believe he's best in the middle. That being said he still ends up all over the pitch ;). He was really good against Romania and he should have scored in both matches. As for DM, never! M'Vila is a monster!!! :eek: :D. There are also the Diarras and Toulalan for that position.

P.S can't wait to see what role Ribery has to play in this team.

1. just think of it: nasri as iniesta, gourcuff as xavi, and you might have a better picture.
2. I have nothing against lassana diarra, but Alou is better. PLEASE NO TOULALAN ANYMORE
3. NO RIBERY ANYMORE, WE DONT WANT THEM BACK.
:D

[ajdw]

1. just think of it: nasri as iniesta, gourcuff as xavi, and you might have a better picture.
2. I have nothing against lassana diarra, but Alou is better. PLEASE NO TOULALAN ANYMORE
3. NO RIBERY ANYMORE, WE DONT WANT THEM BACK.
:D

gourcuff a very big xavi! :p....but i would like to see them play together, i guess i forget to mention that in my post...i love those two!!! :D

[ajdw]

Strikers??? Who's going to be partnering Benzema? Is he gonna be playing the lone role often? But knowing Blanc he has different tactics for each match. Im just so curious...the team has me so excited again!!!

[TheLionLyon]

3. NO RIBERY ANYMORE, WE DONT WANT THEM BACK.

What?! Ribery is 100x times better than Valbuena and Remy put together. If he lives with playing on the right wing and I think he will given Blanc's effective ruling over the team, the attacking line of Ribery on the right, Malouda on the left, Nasri/Gourcuff in the middle, and Benzema up front will be arguably one of the best in the world.

[Raioneru]

What?! Ribery is 100x times better than Valbuena and Remy put together. If he lives with playing on the right wing and I think he will given Blanc's effective ruling over the team, the attacking line of Ribery on the right, Malouda on the left, Nasri/Gourcuff in the middle, and Benzema up front will be arguably one of the best in the world.


no, ribery is a crying ass hole, I'm still not over that krysna shit they pulled in south africa, and the way they messed up that team.
Remy is brand new you have to give him time.
I believe you're underestimating a guy like Valbuenna who just did what has been asked from ribery for more than a year now, that is, to efficiently play on the right flank. he doesn't want to do it, I don't want to play people out of position when "they don't want to do it"

so be GONE

[Raioneru]

Strikers??? Who's going to be partnering Benzema? Is he gonna be playing the lone role often? But knowing Blanc he has different tactics for each match. Im just so curious...the team has me so excited again!!!

benzema is stupid, he should understand one, and only one thing:
Laurent blanc is giving him a pass to the NT even though he doesnt play in his club, and that its affecting him Mentally but Physically too. he needs to quickly wins his place, and GTFO of there, and find a club where hes gonna play

[TheLionLyon]

no, ribery is a crying ass hole, I'm still not over that krysna shit they pulled in south africa, and the way they messed up that team.
Remy is brand new you have to give him time.
I believe you're underestimating a guy like Valbuenna who just did what has been asked from ribery for more than a year now, that is, to efficiently play on the right flank. he doesn't want to do it, I don't want to play people out of position when "they don't want to do it"

so be GONE

Ribery has never said he doesn't want to play on the right. He simply said that he prefers to play on the left. Similar to Malouda saying he wanted to play on the left and not play second fiddle to some Zidane wanna-be (Gourcuff) during the pre-World Cup friendlies. No BE GONE for him, though, right? To ignore a player's quality and talent based on allegations that are still, to this day, unproven is ridiculous. I never said Remy and Valbuena were not good. I simply said Ribery is better than them, which is something that can't be argued against because it is true. Blanc knows this (http://www.france24.com/en/20100727-blanc-still-prepared-pick-ribery-benzema) and, come February, a healthy and fully fit Ribery will be in the team.

[Lady Arsenal]

Guess who just bought tickets for herself and her whole family for England v France at Wembley, at just 20 quid each!!! I'm already excited and it's 2 and a half weeks away.

For me personally this fixture is life and death. It's everything. That feeling in my stomach will be coming soon...

I just hope we can see the pitch :o

[reelone]

any news on the squad for the upcoming friendly vs England?

[TheLionLyon]

any news on the squad for the upcoming friendly vs England?

Essentially the same squad for the qualifiers, excluding Lassana Diarra, Abou Diaby, Aly Cissokho, Blaise Matuidi, and Mexes, who were replaced by Yohan Cabaye, Eric Abidal, and Younes Kaboul.

[Murkurial]

v/ffSnUGNBWDg

[TheLionLyon]

The design that has leaked is pretty original. Navy blue, Nike logo, and federation crest. That's it. If they attached a collar too it, it would make a pretty nice polo shirt.

[Murkurial]

^
Got a link to it?

[TheLionLyon]

Nike says they wanted it to be retro. (http://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2011/01/17/football-l-equipe-de-france-decouvre-son-premier-maillot-nike_1466564_3242.html)

Here's another good pic of it. (http://www.footmercato.net/equipe-de-france/le-nouveau-maillot-de-l-equipe-de-france-entre-en-scene_61192)

I like it. Looks better as a polo shirt, though.

http://www.fff.fr/common/bib_img/extensions/home_image_536126.jpg

Picture that was taken at the presentation

[deviant]

PARIS (AFP) - France coach Laurent Blanc on Monday expressed his dismay that the new multi-million euro France kit unveiled on Monday makes Les Bleus look too much like their Italian rivals.
"I find that the completely blue jersey is beautiful but a bit Italian," said Blanc after US sports apparel giants Nike unveiled the new kit in Paris.

"We know that the French are very attached to the blue-white-red. I made this remark but there's a clever thing on the sleeve that you can lift up and that's red inside.
"Afterwards it's a question of consistency and uniformity. It will be up to the players to decide if we lift up the sleeves or not.
"In any case when we play in blue we'll have white shorts and red socks so the blue-white-red will be visible."
Nike have agreed a record annual 42.6 million euro contract with the French football federation (FFF) until 2018 which brings an end to the 38-year era of German rivals Adidas (1972-2010).
Nike have completely broken with the Adidas era opting for a very refined totally blue jersey - between dark and light blue - the red motifs have disappeared with only the FFF emblem and the Nike logo in white.

lol...............

[Murkurial]

http://www.fff.fr/common/bib_img/extensions/home_image_536126.jpg[/IMG]

Picture that was taken at the presentation

I thought that they might play off of the kit designs from this past WC. I'm not the biggest fan of a collar but it's the French NT so I'll warm to it. Could use a little more red on the top though so I'm interested to see what it looks like when/if they sleeves are flipped up as Blanc said you could do.

And are those real people in that picture or wax figures, lol.

[deviant]

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_sow_experts__16/ept_sports_sow_experts-352864066-1295294130.jpg?ymzKjaEDw8ZA2m0U
From left to right: Alou Diarra, Yann Mvila, Florent Malouda and Abou Diaby

[Lady Arsenal]

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_sow_experts__16/ept_sports_sow_experts-352864066-1295294130.jpg?ymzKjaEDw8ZA2m0U
From left to right: Alou Diarra, Yann Mvila, Florent Malouda and Abou Diaby

Crap, I'll miss the adidas lines! That looks like the rugby top, i hope the blue is not as dark, I'm not a fan of navy for france. And what is this obsession with tight tops, it's really quite gay! I don't really like the look of it, especially the unnessecary faux emblem thing.

I suppose as long as the socks are red and we win, it'll do.

[deviant]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1371.snc4/164331_10150161269853079_51212153078_8513673_63333 85_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs041.snc6/167175_10150161269683079_51212153078_8513667_36172 25_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs027.snc6/165724_10150161269788079_51212153078_8513671_74523 73_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs011.snc6/166158_10150161269743079_51212153078_8513670_51722 77_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs745.ash1/163754_10150161269283079_51212153078_8513652_49421 26_n.jpg

[TheLionLyon]

v/ZlU9hA1HXhE

An interview with Dugarry and Blanc, a mini-commercial about the new partnership, and an interview with a guy who helped designed the shirt.

Nike are in a tough bind with regards to commercials and advertisements, hence, the appearance of Guillaume Hoarau in the ad. :eek: Arguably the most visible players in the national team are Nasri, Gourcuff, and Benzema and they have deals with Adidas. Sagna and Rémy are with Puma.

The most visible guys with Nike are, coincidentally, the four who are modeling the shirt, Ribery, and Lloris. Nike are getting a lot of the younger players like Kakuta, Griezmann, and Sakho, though.

http://photos.madeinsport.com/E11/1360095547_F_1_440.jpg

The Goalkeeper shirt.

Also, I just pre-ordered the home shirt off the federation's boutique. Expensive bastards. :mad:

[Murkurial]

1) That keeper shirt is AWESOME and 2) I'm surprised that Gourcuff (perhaps it's the Adidas connection [EDIT: Somehow missed Lion's entire middle paragraph when he said just this) isn't more visible in the shirt campaign. And it's not just because he's my favorite player that I'm asking this.

I didn't know that Malouda was contracted by Nike either.

Nike's about to get some more of my money as soon as I see what the away shirt looks like and if it comes with long sleeves.

EDIT: I didn't even see the striping on the back. And that lettering and numbering is pure sex.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f347/Murkurial/2011FranceMaillotHomeAuthenticNikeOfficialStoreFFF .png

EDIT 2: Just saw what it looks like with the sleeves flipped up. OmgI'mgonnaLincecum.

[Lady Arsenal]

Do you guys realise just how gay you'll look when you put it on? That shit is skintight :p

[Murkurial]

Do you guys realise just how gay you'll look when you put it on? That shit is skintight :p

I'm obviously doing it for the ladies. Whichever one's enjoy striped polos that you can see a guy nipples through...

[deviant]

Do you guys realise just how gay you'll look when you put it on? That shit is skintight :p
lol wtf so whats a real man suppose to look like? some douche swimming in a XXL shirt? :rolleyes:

[Murkurial]

In all honesty, if you check the shirt that Malouda's got on, it's only moderately tight around chest and I, and EDIT:[I'd] imagine a lot of (straight) guys wear fitted shit. It's definitely not gonna be skin tight but I'm still gonna wait until the away shirt comes out to see what they've done with it. I'd much rather go with a shirt with no collar and long sleeves and some more of that red worked into it.

I really do like the look of this home shirt though.

[reelone]

That whole promotional video for this cheap ass jersey?
The shit looks like it was designed in a day.

I could imagine all the bad cases of jogger's nipples this swimsuit is going to cause. :D

[deviant]

Abidal is an artist apparently
v/zbPcgppZ_bQ

[TheLionLyon]

http://karllusbec.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/nike-away-4.jpg

Away shirt. :)

[Raioneru]

Ribery and Evra are back, and the only thing I can say is that I really appreciated what evra said, but I don't think Ribery learned his lesson yet.
At the same time Ribery isnt a maestro in the art of public speaking so I will give him that. I hope he makes things right with gourcuff there is so much qualities in those two players, it would be abnormal not to have em in the starting 11.


even though gourcuff is another case... I don't know what the Lyon_lyon thinks, but Im not sure keeping him in the national team is the right thing to do for gourcuff.
Laurent blanc has too much faith in him, and I hope he realizes that.

[Murkurial]

For obvious reasons I'm hoping that Yoann gets shit together but perhaps those questions of his mental fortitude weren't without merit. In fact I'm pretty sure that they were damn near spot on.

[TheLionLyon]

For obvious reasons I'm hoping that Yoann gets shit together but perhaps those questions of his mental fortitude weren't without merit. In fact I'm pretty sure that they were damn near spot on.

Of course they were. He's is extremely sensitive for his age, which isn't shocking since he's been coddled his entire life. Saying all that, he plays better under Blanc and has performed well in the matches he plays in under Blanc, though others have overshadowed him in the matches (Nasri against England.......Mexes/Benzema/Menez against Brazil). Under Puel's style of play, Gourcuff has to over-analyze things, while under Blanc, all he has to do his be a play-maker.

Rolland Courbis said it best; Sharing the play-making duties with Nasri in the midfield will take a lot of pressure off of him. They can become like Xavi and Iniesta. If that doesn't fix him, then he doesn't know what will.

[Murkurial]

Rolland Courbis said it best; Sharing the play-making duties with Nasri in the midfield will take a lot of pressure off of him. They can become like Xavi and Iniesta. If that doesn't fix him, then he doesn't know what will.

I sincerely hope that it does. When's the match against Croatia again?

[TheLionLyon]

I sincerely hope that it does. When's the match against Croatia again?

On the 29th.

[talk2smc]

Mexes:)

[Raioneru]

Mexes:)

lol we dont see that often anymore on the forum, but hell yeah mexes has been perfect under Laurent Blanc :)

[TheLionLyon]

Just got those amazing polo shirts the national team players wear for leisure. :D

http://photos.madeinsport.com/E11/1360237624_F_1_440.jpghttp://photos.madeinsport.com/E11/FFF_POLO_RAYE_GRIS_PE73_1_440.jpg

Anyway, just when you thought everything was going good, Malouda has been quietly complaining about his role within the team on the field. His depressing form at Chelsea is having a lot to do with his invisible presence with the national team, not the tactics.

[Raioneru]

Just got those amazing polo shirts the national team players wear for leisure. :D

http://photos.madeinsport.com/E11/1360237624_F_1_440.jpghttp://photos.madeinsport.com/E11/FFF_POLO_RAYE_GRIS_PE73_1_440.jpg

Anyway, just when you thought everything was going good, Malouda has been quietly complaining about his role within the team on the field. His depressing form at Chelsea is having a lot to do with his invisible presence with the national team, not the tactics.


hey where can I buy them? on the nike website? love em so much!

___

I know laurent blanc wants to keep a backbone in the team, but Malouda has been poor for a long time now. maybe he should let ribery play on the left.

[TheLionLyon]

hey where can I buy them? on the nike website? love em so much!

___

I know laurent blanc wants to keep a backbone in the team, but Malouda has been poor for a long time now. maybe he should let ribery play on the left.

Nike Store had them, but sold out very quickly, so I got them off the federation website (http://boutique.fff.fr/fr_nv_fiche__Polo-France-bleu-marine-594568.html). I damn near passed out after seeing the exchange rate, but I really wanted them.

I agree that Ribery should be on the left. Menez would be great on the right. I'd like to see against Croatia:

---Sagna----Rami----Sakho----Evra---
-----------------M'Vila----------------
----------Gourcuff------Nasri----------
---Menez----------------------Ribery--
---------------Benzema---------------

I expect Blanc to go conservative though and play both Diarra and M'Vila in the starting lineup. Gourcuff will probably be benched. I'd also like to see him actually play players. Blanc manages matches like he's afraid to lose. I can understand competitive matches, but friendlies too? I really hope to get a good look at Gameiro, Sakho, Koscielny, and Matuidi against Croatia. See how they stack up at international level. Why call them up and not play them?

[deviant]

What about when Hatem Ben Arfa regains his form? I would like to see what he can do for the national team.

[TheLionLyon]

What about when Hatem Ben Arfa regains his form? I would like to see what he can do for the national team.

Having trouble getting back from his injury right now. He will be a hit or miss for the Euros if he misses the match against Belarus and the two friendlies in June when Blanc will call up about 30+ players to experiment with.

[deviant]

I snagged this review from another site

I was crazy excited when Nike took control of the FFF merch, they’ve been gradually raising the bar on how football and fashion and I imagined they’d bring their A-game for a nation that’s basically the home of the highest of high fashion. So I couldn’t wait to see how Nike intended to meet that challenge.
My package included three items. The home kit and Nike Sportswear sweater arrived on their own while I was sent the press-edition for the more recently launched away kit – hence the swanky box. The NSW collection of gear was an early statement of intent from Nike that their sponsorship of France was going to be about much more than just team kits.
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The home shirt is a wonderful example of less is more, I expected possibly an attempt to try too hard to be high fashion but Nike reeled it way back to a subtle but significant new blue and two tone collar. The sleeves were noticeably longer than an average kit, with reason…
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A single star for a single world cup. Wondering what Nike Better World is? Here, I’ll make it easy for you to check out if you want to read about a bunch of stuff Nike is doing to try and do their part for the world/environment that probably not too many people know about. I usually get the “recycled materials” rhetoric on press days but there were a lot of initiatives on the Nike Better World site that I had no idea about. Credit where credit is due.
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The collar button is actually really high, when the shirt was released Nike made a point of explaining that the details were designed to give players ways to customize the shirt to their own taste and you can open the collar up a lot or do it all the way up. I liked the feel of the collar, structured but not uncomfortable.
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As I mentioned, the sleeves were significantly longer than I was used to from a football kit. Too long for my taste, but they did have a purpose which was to allow the sleeves to be rolled up to reveal the third colour of the FFF – red.
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So as part of the customisation effort, a plain blue shirt with a collar can be quickly converted to have some seriously popping red detailing. I wouldn’t wear the sleeves down because of the length, but also because I loved how the shirt looked with the red sleeve turn-ups.
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A navy stripe down the sides completes the detailing, the same navy used for the collar.
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As has become the norm for Nike kits, the reverse side of the badge reveals a message intended to inspire. In this case – “Our differences unite us”. I actually didn’t even look that up, I’m just using my my powers of deduction. So if I got that wrong, feel free to let me know.
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Now the away kit may already be one of my favourite tops of all-time. Nike went all out on the fashion spin with this one, partnering with Paris boutique Colette and brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel on a collection of accessories inspired by the kit’s design. When have we ever been able to drop those brands in a conversation about a national kit? Like I said… A-game.
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Nike’s packaging has always been great but their press versions have been amazing lately.
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The kit pulls from the famous marinière striped shirt synonymous with France, sailors, mimes and the like. I thought it was a brilliant touch and one that could have been comical, but instead looks absolutely brilliant. I’ve always loved hooped shirts like Celtic or QPR, but can’t think of a lot of thin-striped football kits. I can’t wait to see France take the field in this and see what kind of new visual it creates out on the pitch.
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The sweater was a nice piece, a bit of a boxy US-streetwear fit which made sense coming out of NSW rather than a more streamlined European cut.
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One detail I really liked was a pocket on one side of the sweater that was completely hidden.
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I’m a big fan of pockets, even on fashionable items, but I wasn’t sure how a pocket on a sweater would keep its shape when full. From my tests a single item works – a phone or a wallet – but any more than that and one side of the sweater noticeably hang. Not the best look.
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