Raymond Domenech Still Clueless

Can "Le President" unseat Domenech?

For quite a while now, some of us have been wondering out of morbid curiosity who will (eventually) replace Les Bleus gaffer Raymond Domenech.

Some of us (alright, just me) have been praying that the answer will come sooner rather than later, as Ray-Ray is not what you would call “popular” amongst supporters of the French national side. It has recently been made clear that Domenech will be stepping down after World Cup 2010, and he weighed in on who might replace him. Noting that Laurent Blanc and Didier Deschamps were listed as prohibitive favorites, he suggested that the French Football Federation should also look at individuals such as Alain Giresse or Paul Le Guen.

What? Why would we hire someone who screwed the pooch at Paris Saint-Germain and now coaches in Africa (note: this applies to both men)? Admittedly, Le Guen has done a nice job with Cameroon, but his departure from PSG was acrimonious and he isn’t particularly well-liked at the national level although he is still revered in Lyon.

I’ve long hoped that Lolo or Didier would be the successor (although I was hoping they would be on board prior to WC 2010), and it appears that things are heading that way in spite of Domenech’s astrology readings. It has been reported that Laurent Blanc has an agreement in principle to become head man for Les Bleus as soon as the current campaign is completed, and nothing would be make me happier. His success as a player flowed from Barcelona to Marseille to Inter to Man United, while his improvements at Bordeaux as gaffer have resulted in the possibility of his second consecutive Ligue 1 title.

There’s only one problem – the agreement has been denied by both FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes and by Lolo himself.

Translation from the video: “What do you want me to say? I said that I wouldn’t speak of it any more, but I’m going to do it anyway. I am going to be very brief, and very polite, because I have to. I categorically deny everything that has been said. Full stop.”

Strangely enough, there is almost no other coverage of the “will he, won’t he” shenanigans in most of the other French media sources that I regularly use. No mention of either the alleged agreement or its denial by Le Parisien, on the official FFF website, or by France Football.

Clearly these types of denial occur all the time before the event and no one is surprised when the allegations become reality. It does Blanc (and Bordeaux) absolutely no good to confirm his appointment at this time, as it would potentially destabilize his club during their title push. It is far more likely that the official confirmation of Blanc as gaffer for Les Bleus will come in May, just after the Ligue 1 season has concluded and just in time for the current national squad to go into South Africa with Blanc on board in some capacity as “advisor” to Domenech.