Une Saison en Enfer - Ligue 1 and French Football thread 2010/11

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/sarkozy-wenger-brown.jpg

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2010/6/21/1277132082601/The-France-squad-huddle-t-006.jpg

THEY'RE NOT READY

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SHE MOST DEFINITELY IS READY

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HE'S ALREADY GONE

I WASN'T READY. The Trophée des champions was last week (in Tunisia!) and I missed it. Nil-nil, Marseille beat PSG on penalties.

I HOPE JIBE AND BAADERONIX ARE READY because that's me all out of knowledge.

Starts tomorrow by the way.

In the US it looks like Fox Soccer Plus will be showing at least some Ligue 1 games. This Saturday they have PSG vs Saint Etienne (delayed) and on Sunday they're showing Bordeaux vs Montpellier (live).

Great Nike / Mamadou Sakho commercial with music by Oxmo Puccino

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmRJxn6cvKA

Caught the end of PSG-St Etienne just now. PSG playing some lovely passing stuff, albeit that St Et were pushing up and leaving room. Three very nice goals for a 3-1 win.

I didn't even notice the big story until injury time - OM getting their title defence off to a flying start by losing 2-1 at home to newly-promoted Caen. All goals at least partly down to blunders from what I could see, though by all accounts Caen were good value for it.

Spurs have supposedly offered Nice £7m for Loic Remy. Can't say I know the chap. Any good?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/LoïcRemy.jpg/250px-LoïcRemy.jpg

Here's a picture of him (in the foreground)

yes i need to know more about this guy- pacy/strong/tricky?

"new Thierry Henry".

also hey there le guys!

supporting... lille this season. anyone else going to pick a team? (some already have some obv.)

Yeah okay - I'll have PSG, they looked tasty from the little I saw of them on Saturday (feel like I'm going against everything I hold dear here)

Depressed by news that Newcastle are haggling over taking Ben Arfa on loan. Jibe was quite enthusiastic about him iirc

shall we do spain/italy/germany/general 'other' threads as well?

Maybe one general thread for the others unless we can recruit local knowledge, and treat this as a pilot scheme meantime?

Does the season start everywhere else this weekend? One of the channels I don't get seemed to be promising live Russian footy this afternoon.

D'oh, forgot they play through the summer instead.

As captain of les Bleus in the summer, it has been said by certain pundits in the French media that Evra lacked leadership in his role, with former defender Thuram particularly critical of the part the Manchester United man played in South Africa, where the French team even went on strike from one training session.

“He has sullied my name without knowing what had happened,” Evra raged in Le Figaro. “What we did in South Africa was serious. Why put the oil on the fire? It is not enough to walk with books on slavery, glasses and a hat to become Malcolm X.”

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2890/world-cup-2010/2010/08/09/2062476/insert%20url

^ wtf is this dude lately imo

eh nakh not evra.

hopefully you mean where tf and not what tf.

also loooooooool evra.

evra seems to have become quite anglicized

as a player he's gone from a kinda haphazard lw/lwb at monaco to a committed and tenacious defender

and this takedown of self-appointed spokesperson for the subalterns / talmudic voice of reason thuram is very much in keeping with that english habit for cutting ppl down to size

altho his contretemps w/ the fitness coach was very french

he's better than ashley cole too isn't he

he's not as good going fwd, better at the back. they're much of a muchness.

takedown of thuram is pure french imo

haha evra's expression

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2010/6/21/1277132082601/The-France-squad-huddle-t-006.jpg

if they could only take their hands out of their fucking pockets that wd be a suitable template for a late renaissance depiction of political conspirators

Haha, that's it exactly! I hadn't even noticed Evra's face. Needs sidelighting & deep shadows, but otherwise perfect.

firembrandts

And so, inevitably, les bleus begin the new era by going down 2-1 in Oslo. The starting XI boasted 35 caps between them, of which Mexes and Nasri had 28. Eight players made debuts tonight.

L'Equipe is pretty happy with the outcome - decent going forward, a bit ropey at the back seems to be the verdict.

Caen are having a storming start to season - having beaten Marseille last week, this week they turn Lyon over 3-2. a hoy hoy's Lille taking on ismael's PSG right now - a fairly mundane 0-0 at half-time.

Back from holidays and ready to help keep this thread alive ismael! Well maybe not right now since I haven't seen a single game from this new season obv, as the Ligue 1 is not really one of the championships to be broadcast around the world.However, I can comment a bit on a couple of teams who aren't up to par right now: Lyon and Marseille.
In the offseason, Lyon has let go of a number of players (Boumsong, Clerc, Govou) who were amongst the highest salaries in the team and Ligue 1 for some. They've only bought one player, Jimmy Briand, from Rennes, as a replacement for Govou. They also have a number of young players from their academy, some of whom apparently had a good U19 or U21 (can't remember which it was) Euro. One of the main changes tho, is that Toulalan will move down the field and play central defender. Which, in my mind is fucking stupid. He's the best defensive midfield in France imo and Puel puts him in defense. Meaning that Lovren, who Lyon bought in Jan for 10M€ iirc stays on the bench (well right now, Cris is injured, so I guess Lovren will get to play). Add to that the fact that right now Lisandro is injured, Ederson just sustained a big injury while playing for Brazil (aproximately 5mns after setting foot on the pitch) which will keep him off the fields for a few months at least, Delgado is injured. And in their last game, Cris and Bastos were injured too. So Lyon is going to field a young team in the upcoming games. Apparently, they don't have too much money to buy players so they'll remain quiet. Or at least that's what was expected, but with all those injuries, they might buy a player or too. Anyways, as much as I want to see them do well in Ligue 1 and the Champions League, it doesn't look likely right now. Especially since from what I've read here and there, they still play like they did last year, which means they control the ball but are unable to build chances for themselves.

Marseille.... last season's champions. What can I say? Marseille is known for always being in the news for this and that and this offseason has been no different. Just like about every offseason since forever, the management has talked about buying a great striker. This year apparently, they were in talks to buy Luis Fabiano but it looks like it's not going to happen. There was also some terrible management this summer. Niang was supposed to stay in Marseille and would not be sold whatever the price, Ben Arfa was told he could leave if a club made a decent offer for him. That was in the beginning of the summer. Now, Niang is gone to Fenerbahce and Ben Arfa, who Newcastle made an offer for, is told that he has to stay. He now refuses to practice and play with Marseille, saying that Marseille shouldn't have gone back on their word like they've done. Playing outside of France, far from the gaze of spectators who always expect the most from him since he's been presented as a boy wonder for the past 5 or 6 years, would definitely do him some good I think.

Hatem Ben LOLfa

Is there a match of the day equivilant I can download every week btw?

Nice to have you back, Jibe. Where did you go on holiday?

Bordeaux having a shocker too, by the looks of things. Them, Marseille and Lyon - one point between them.

Anelka banned for eighteen matches, Evra for five, Ribery three and Toulalan one

a hoy hoy: Match of the day equivalent? I've never seen motd but I guess you're looking for a show with highlights from all the games. There's Canal+ Football Club that does this, every sunday at 7pm (which means no highlights from the sunday evening games tho)

ismael klata: went to thailand and cambodia. And yeah, most of the big teams expected to be on top are just not ready yet. Bordeaux and Marseille are in the relegationzone, Lyon is just outside of it, Lille isn't doing too good either (same as last year... and last year that cost them a spot for the Champions League). The big surprise is obv Caen with 6 points from 2 games against Marseille and Lyon. I'm also intrigued by PSG who seem to have spent their money cleverly this summer and who could play for the top spots if they don't go in full crisis mode like they usually do every year.

Is there a match of the day equivilant I can download every week btw?

i've never DL'd this Ligue1 2010-11 Matchday 2 Review WS PDTV XviD-433 but it sounds about like what you're looking for. around on trackers. not sure what language.

a hoy hoy, I could start a thread for the Bundesliga if there's interest.

Also: supporting Rennes this year, Metz in Ligue 2, although I have no great hopes for either (even though S.R.F.C. do seem to be off to a good start.)

Yeah, they're off to a good start but the problem with Rennes is that they're perpetual underachievers. They usually have the means and the players to end in the top 5 but they rarely end up there. They're a nice team tho

anelka seems amused by his 18 match ban

I could start a thread for the Bundesliga if there's interest

Are you in Germany? I'd have nothing to contribute, but yeah I'd be interested - always fascinating to learn something new. Plus I see that St. Pauli are back, everyone likes them.

He is very amused indeed. And I must say some of his comments have me laugh. There's one which wasn't put into the article linked by ismael which I found particularly great. Basically he says he doesn't care about this ban because "he already plays in blue every weekend with Chelsea"

french footballers give good quote imo

Ismael -- Yes, I'm in Germany. Starting Bundesliga thread now.

Here it is

Agreeing with Anelka that the bans are stupid

lol

First hour of Ukraine-France was pretty dire, then this guy came on and lit it up briefly - two goals and an assist in 15 minutes. I'd only seen his name as the assists leader in France this year, haven't caught a Sochaux match. Anyone know much about him?

great name, that's all I know

Oh, I was coming here to say exactly the same thing as you boxall.

I watched the first 15mns of the game, left and came back when the score was 1-1, around the 80th minute, just in time to see Marvin Martin light up the game. Having scored two goals on his debut, he obviously earned a comment about how Zidane had done the same on his debut. Strangely, the interviewer didn't mention that the last player to score two on his France debut is Bafé Gomis.

I was thinking about writing a little round-up of this season, mentioning a few players to watch out for and Marvin Martin was gonna be one of those. Anyways, yeah, he's a good passer obv, best in Ligue 1. He plays for Sochaux, who were very enjoyable this season, playing attacking football (and it paid off they finished 5th). He's part of a group of young players at Sochaux that have proved quite good (him, Boudebouz, Ideye and Maïga being the most talked about). Rumours had him maybe leaving Sochaux since the head coach left for Bordeaux, but after this game I can bet there are going to be even more rumours about him.

And I'd like to add that I really hate commentators for forgetting that Gomis scored two on his debut, love that dude! (also, it's supposed to be their job to know stuff like that, at times it feels like football ended with Zidane here... which you know isnt entirely false)

The commentator on my stream only compared him to Xavi, not Zidane. I hope someone comes up with a more realistic reference point soon. Modric, maybe?

You should definitely do that round-up Jibe.

Yeah, he's def not a Zidane, but that's the easy comparison point for lazy commentators. As to the round-up, I'm thinking about it, but I'm also helping my parents move, looking for a job and a place, while proving far too competent in the art of procrastination !

so no-one's commented yet on the looming Man City-fication of PSG?

Ha, I was actually researching their ownership about a month ago - I had the prospect of a bit of spare cash and if there's one club who might be an investment that could make you rich PSG is the one imo. (that's a MASSIVE if obviously)

Of course I got no further than tracing them to a US venture capital fund, but this all shows I had the right idea for once.

Anyway, what's the plan for them now?

true size of their cash envelope still a bit of a mystery but they already sent a pretty strong signal by snatching Gameiro, 2nd league scorer with Lorient this season. They also seem about to hire Leonardo as general manager. Can't say, as a supporter, that I'm not excited.

I have heard rumblings. I've even started seeing rumours saying that when Arsene's contract is up he might want to indulge himself. I'm annoyed that this means Sakho isn't leaving but if this makes Ligue 1 a force to reckon with in Europe again, I'm excited.

Yeah this looks good for PSG. Buying Gameiro is def a good move, though that may not be their most pressing need (a DM, a right winger seem more urgent). They benefited from a bit of luck there tho, as apparently Laurent Blanc advised Gameiro not to go to Valencia and stay in France in a team where he wouldn't be a sub. The price they bought Gameiro for is approx what Colony Capital were spending for the entire summer, so yeah, thx Qatar!

They've also got themselves a decent goalkeeper in Douchez. This year their team lacked a good keeper and an efficient attack (Hoarau and Erding are good, they just can't seem to score lol) so I think they'll grab one of the CL spots (if they find a good replacement for Makélélé).

Which is not good news for Lyon, because things are not looking good right now. They've already let go of Chelito Delgado :'( (but he's going to play for the Rayados, which is my team in Mexico so that's good :D), rumours are sending Toulalan to Malaga (ugh, this sucks, i really hope he stays). Also, we won't be able to get rid of Cris, who, as great as he was in years past, has had a terrible year and is payed far too much money for his actual worth.

has claude retired?

Yup

Heaven needed more accents aigus.

Sylvain Marveaux. What's he like?

Injured, quite often. Otherwise, good left winger. Have not seen him play too much tho. I think he's quite good at free-kicks.

tipped as a hot prospect a year ago but then spent most of the season in the reserve as punishment for not renewing his contract. Not sure where he stands now.

he was injured in october or november and hsan't played since i think

haha ok

sports papers/sites are having a field day with the PSG rumour mill these days - now Ancelotti's tipped as new coach... o_0

yeah. there are no real stories to talk about, no players being bought or anything so they're having their fun sending just about everybody to PSG. Let's see, I've read rumours about Eto'o, Berbatov, Ganso, Cambiasso, Wenger, Ancelotti, even a Mourinho one. Writing for a sports paper/site has to be the easiest job in the world: choose a player you like, write a story about your favorite club having gotten in touch with the guy, sit back and watch the money flow. Ok, maybe not that much money, so you choose another player you think sucks, a club you dislike and off you go again. And again and again.

I've just spent 10 days away from the internet and any news and come back to see that PSG is going to be the club to beat this season. if the rumours are right that pastore has indeed signed for them, PSG is going to be unstoppable. and their attack is going to be scary :
gameiro
nene - pastore - menez

they've bought quite a few players : douchez and sirugu , bisevac, gameiro, matuidi, menez, sissoko. each of them being a nice improvement compared to last season - douchez and sirugu > coupet and edel, gameiro (twice second best scorer in ligue 1) > hoarau & erding, matuidi & sissoko > aging makelele, menez > giuly who struggled to play 90mns every week. and obv pastore ! (if he has indeed signed)

i'm guessing you're enjoying this quite a lot baaderonixx.

in the meantime lille has replaced their players who've gone rather intelligently (payet for gervinho, pedretti for cabaye, basa for rami) , marseille seems to be doing ok too with a good central defender (nkoulou), amalfitano, diarra. and the younger of the ayew bros, jordan, who's in great form of late (end of last season and preseason games). rémy seems to be doing quite well too. their trophée des champions game (usually coupe de france winner vs ligue 1 winner, but since lille had won both they played against 2nd place team in ligue 1, OM) was v entertaining apparently, ending with a 5-4 victory for OM even though they were trailing 3-1 at the 85th minute!

all this makes me scared for lyon, who've sold toulalan and delgado and haven't bought anyone yet. they're short on cash and seem to want to let their young players come up to the first team. also, all their creative midfielders are injured or away for the beginning of the season and the all important CL qualifier - ederson is out for a few months, gourcuff just had surgery on his ankle and should come back around the beginning of september, pjanic has a small injury but should hopefully be back for the 1st game of the season, grenier is at the U20 world cup (as are 6 other lyon players). they really need a central defender as cris has been awful those past 2 seasons and while john mensah is back, he'll more than likely spend half of his time injured. they also need a defensive midfielder because they only have gonalons right now, no one to replace him apart from Koné, a youth team player, if he's injured or suspended (which will probably happen seeing as he does get his fair share of yellow and red cards). i'm really not too optimistic about their chances this season. not optimistic about even getting a CL spot at the end of the season, which would be the end of a very long streak.

Terrific stuff Jibe! I was hoping you'd do one of these but didn't wanna pressure you!

grenier was supposed to be a new kakà, how do you rate him

and yeah obv i affirm the stupidity of any of those 'new' nicknames

kaká, then

Should be a way to bookmark single posts for later reference -- thanks Jibe! :)

Yeah thanks again Jibe, great update, always inspiring!

I'm thinking about doing the same for the lol-Dutch league, like you have done so eloquently. But I don't know if anyone is waiting for updates from a league that once brough Afonso Alves as a big promise to England ;_;

Please do! I'm from Norway, our league is beneath yours in the pecking order! :D

yeah i think people would read updates about the eredivisie, especially about news afellays and afonsos

@Anatol, we do seem to get some good Norwegians every now and again from your league :)

I'm seriously considering it, inspired by Jibe's wonderful efforts.

Ah, from my team even? Grindheim? One of the good guys. Is Pa there still? :)

I think Grindheim was great over here! Always wanted PSV to pick him up, sadly didn't materialize.

Haha, well, what to say about Pa? He left this summer for Qatar, but was one of the biggest cult figures in Dutch footballers. What a butcher! His last goal was fantastic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T5TWCdWcAY

I was sad to see him go!

<3

thx glad you appreciate my updates! would love to read yours on the eredivisie le bateau, if only cos the dutch league was the only one i had access to on the tv when i was younger so i have a fondness for it.

@nakh: he hasn't had too many chances to play last year though when he did come on, he proved quite good, did a better job than gourcuff usually (who really was awful last season, i hope he'll reach bordeaux godlike levels soon). problem is if all of lyon's players are fit, he should come after gourcuff, ederson and pjanic in the pecking order. luckily for him most of these players have a bad habit of injuring themselves or underperforming.

a charity game between ManU and OM is anout to start. i hope the money they raise will go to pay for the millions who'll turn blind thx to marseille's kit...

http://le13emehomme.football.fr/public/.maillot-om-europe-2011-2012_m.jpg

sorry for postin this shirt again but it is just so fugly. i don't know who's worse, the crazy ppl who designed this or the fools at om who accepted this design...

thank jibe

i hope gourcuff gets back to his old self, though i read that he is an introverted type, probably liable to long slumps in form when his confidence deserts him...

Pretty good but not up to Jibe standards obv ;)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/aug/04/ligue-1-2011-12-season-preview

Is Niang really gonna start as first choice up front for Caen? A 16 yr old? Blimey!
Have you seen much of him Jibe?

he's young enough to be mamadou niang's son

Haven(t seen much of Niang, no, but he did have quite a nice stretch at the end of Caen's season. That article is actually very good though there are a few incorrect facts. One of them being that the second highest transfer in Ligue 1 history is Anelka to PSG for around 30M€. Also, I disagree with a couple of their team targets : Rennes isn't gunning for top 6, they should be trying to be top 4, maybe even aim for CL spots, while Sochaux isn't aiming for top 4, they should hope for a repeat of last season's success and try and be in the top 6.

Are they going to lose Marvin Martin soon, to PSG or another league?

Right now it looks like they're keeping him. Which if i were him would be the best case scenario. However, as with all ligue 1 clubs, if a really good offer came through, he could leave. We'll just have to wait and see till the 31st of august.

No wonder Marseille figures past and present have been queueing up for a pop at PSG. "You can't go out and buy a style of play, a culture and an identity," the former president Bernard Tapie said

lol can't get over this

I've really not been doing my job contributing to this thread but Jibé seems to have it covered. It does look indeed like Marvin M. will stay at Sochaux since PSG is pretty flush in center midfield and no other L1 club would be able to afford him. The guy or his agents seem wise enough to focus on the L1 for now.
I'm puzzled by the PSG/Berbatov rumours since we def. do not need another striker, otoh the defense and the wings could do with some good subs.

the season has now started. new season, same old lyon. in the first fifteen month, they've already conceded a goal on a set play and lisandro has scored a great goal.

Too late for a new thread?

Nah, do it Jibe! :-)

oh well same as it ever was... (#psg)