The 3 blind mice of Les Bleus
At 15:00 EST, at the Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Les Bleus will face a Serbian side that currently sits atop Group 7 in UEFA qualifying for World Cup 2010. By 17:15 EST, they will have either closed the gap against Serbia with only matches against Austria and the Faroe Islands remaining, or they will have ensured that, at best, they will have to enter into the UEFA play-off competition for a World Cup spot. Either way, Raymond Domenech will still be their coach, and therein lies the problem.
The 1-1 draw against Romania this past Saturday has put France in a precarious position, and it seems that everyone but those in charge is aware of that fact. Les Bleus are, nominally at least, lead by Thierry Henry, and he has spoken out against his gaffer. What did Titi have to say, and just what the heck is going on with the French national team?
They look bored to me.
Titi was overheard telling Domenech that the players were bored in training and lacked organization on the pitch. Although there have been the requisite denials of a rift between manager and star player, it is clear that Raymond has lost this team. When questioned about his decision to have Florent Malouda in the stands (i.e. not even available as a substitute), Domenech told L’Equipe that he had informed the starting XI of their role and that the rest “wasn’t [his] problem.” Unfortunately, this meant that players in Malouda’s position didn’t find out that they weren’t playing any role in the match until they arrived in the dressing room. That seems to me to be a recipe for a few malcontents in the squad.
Even worse, the selections for the starting XI have continually perplexed almost everyone watching Les Bleus. As noted on Goal, the NY Times footy blog, Domenech has many technically gifted players at his disposal but they are rarely the sum of their parts. In examining his decisions for the match against Romania, L’Equipe highlighted numerous instances where the gaffer simply appeared to have lost touch with reality:
1. Partnering Willy Gauloises with Julien Escude, who had 9 caps up until that point – Previous matches have resulted in starts for Philippe Mexes, for whom I have equal disdain. However, Eric Abidal and Sebastien Squillaci are also available, and one of them is likely to start given that Escude is apparently injured. Actual conversations that took place between myself and my dad on Saturday: 1st minute, match time – ME: Escude? I hate that guy!; 55th minute, match time – ME: SEE!?!? That’s why I hate that guy! After the match, Domenech claimed that Escude acquitted himself well and had not “been in any difficulty.” Alrighty, then.
2. Partnering Jeremy Toulalan with Lass Diarra in the midfield – Again, Toulalan is one of the players at the top of my s**te list given that I feel he is inept going forward and his (lack of) speed is a defensive liability. More importantly, this is an untested partnership and it was clear that Toulalan was even more useless than normal as he had no clue what to expect from Lass. With Franck Ribery on the bench, continuing to start Toulalan could be considered criminal. Unfortunately, Domenech gets somewhat of a pass on this one, as Ribery has been nicked up and he struggled on the pitch after his 51st-minute substitution.
3. The insistence on a 4-5-1 formation – Honestly, I’m not quite sure what they were smoking over at L’Equipe with this criticism, given that Domenech clearly used a 4-3-3 formation (Titi, Gignac and Anelka up top). However, in the past he has been reluctant to play 2 strikers together, often resulting in a more defensive-minded set-up. Perhaps his use of the 4-3-3 this past Saturday was his response to the critics?
Although there have been rumblings that a potential partnership of former coach Gerard Houllier and current assistant Alain Boghossian could replace Domenech should Les Bleus lose to Serbia today, Federation Francaise de Football president Jean-Pierre Escalettes (as well as UF favorite Michel Platini) continues to back the embattled gaffer as the first choice for leading the squad to South Africa. Despite the overwhelming outcry amongst supporters, and now players, it appears that Domenech is here to stay. So, once again I find myself torn – hope we fail so that Domenech gets fired, or hope that we qualify knowing that would ensure an even longer stay for that nonce.
In the end, I have to hope that Les Bleus can overcome the incompetence of Raymond and qualify for South Africa. If they don’t, Fernando Torres would be sad. And no one wants to make Nando sad.
They’re just not a good “team” despite all their individual brilliance. Same with Portugal… just 11 guys running around trying to do it themselves. No coherence. No trust or belief in ones teammates.
Take Argentina, too… Messi on Saturday tried to dribble through everyone alone, as he clearly wasn’t feeling like passing to his brethren would do any good.
You’ll scrape into the tournament, and exit in the group stage. And that will be hilarious
I agree with everything you said, except your last sentence. It would not be hilarious.
He’s like the French Bob Bradley.
France was in a similar situation entering 2006. Of course, a Zidane can erase a lot of problems. I was amazed when Domenech made it past Euro ’08.
@Lucius: Bradley is like Domenech minus the wacky quirkiness or any trace of charisma.
“Tell me how you play football, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
France is Billy Bob in Slingblade.
Seriously,France – like England – should never have to worry about NOT making the WC or Euros.
I agree with everything you’ve said Kid.. Although i don’t hate Toolalah because he runs so damn much.
I’d add one more thing.. that evra and sagna are better wide players than that midfield. So they pushed up a lot and left gallas and escude (why no abidal/squillaci is beyond me) to deal with the constant counter attacks which is no good.
Also, a few times, Henry/Anelka/Gignac didn’t look like they knew anything about playing together or even if they actually knew who each other were.
I do however, admire the bold move to play all 3 of them at once.
How can’t someone create a great midfield out of Diaby, LassD, Gourcuff, Ribery, and Nasri? and a great set of strikers out of Anelka, Henry, Benzema, and Gignac?
And even if he does get fired.. do you think Alain or Gerard will do anything differently? of course not, for they are puppets of the sacred FFF
exactly – all the talent in the world, yet they look like they don’t know hot to play together. That is a function of improper training, which Titi mentioned.
As for who I would prefer as coach – Blanc, Deschamps, or Tigana. The first 2 are probably not willing at this point since they are more concerned with club matter, but Tigana…
I’d be willing to take back everything bad i’ve said bout the brotherhood of the FFF if they took on a member of Club 98 as head coach.. Short of a mass uprising or month long strike, i don’t see that happening.
Tigana would be interesting but i feel like his opportunity passed already