Full Version: [FR] Ligue 1
French league talk here...
This fish likes OM!
Same here. PSG and Monaco also.
OM surprised me with the recent signings - Loïc Rémy and André-Pierre Gignac. Can they replace Niang and Bakari?
OM surprised me with the recent signings - Loïc Rémy and André-Pierre Gignac. Can they replace Niang and Bakari?
Just noticed, Auxerre have gathered only 3 points in the first 4 Ligue 1 games. Good news for us.
Nice. Lets hope that their bad run of form continues.
Last night I was watching the matchday 1 (?) highlights on tv5monde. I must say, that league may not boast many big name teams and players, but it's very entertaining to watch nonetheless. and apparently people in France are way more attentive compared to Italy. you rarely see empty seats.
Exactly. It goes that far that when I visited Paris a couple of weeks ago all tickets for PSG friendly match against Roma were sold out.
As for the league results: everything is up side down this year. The strongest two teams, Marseille and Lyon catched a awfull start with just 4 points so far and Marseille was hit big time with the Ben Arfa rif, while Auxerre, Bordeaux or Lille don't do exactly well also. We'll see, it will be interesting, that I'm sure.
As for the league results: everything is up side down this year. The strongest two teams, Marseille and Lyon catched a awfull start with just 4 points so far and Marseille was hit big time with the Ben Arfa rif, while Auxerre, Bordeaux or Lille don't do exactly well also. We'll see, it will be interesting, that I'm sure.
Given that they have neither Chamakh nor Cuffcuff, I think Bordeaux IS going to struggle this year.
QUOTE (Tennie @ Aug 31 2010, 12:32 PM) 
Given that they have neither Chamakh nor Cuffcuff, I think Bordeaux IS going to struggle this year.
Me to. Kukuf on the other hand will choke once more like he always does when something more is expected.
QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Aug 29 2010, 05:01 PM)
OM surprised me with the recent signings - Loïc Rémy and André-Pierre Gignac. Can they replace Niang and Bakari?
I believe it's a great improvement.
So Kuffkuff did choke. Lyon were beaten by his old club Bordeaux 2-1. Seedorf replacement! Hah! 
QUOTE (Jack Sparrow @ Sep 20 2010, 07:13 AM)
So Kuffkuff did choke. Lyon were beaten by his old club Bordeaux 2-1. Seedorf replacement! Hah!
Exactly. There was a reason Milan passed him away
.
Gourcuff went to Lyon?
Didn't know that...
hm
Apparently in Carlo's book, he calls Gourcuff "very strange and selfish"
hm
Apparently in Carlo's book, he calls Gourcuff "very strange and selfish"
His French teammates thought that way too. Even if it was the pot calling the kettle black.
QUOTE (Jack Sparrow @ Sep 20 2010, 02:38 AM)
His French teammates thought that way too. Even if it was the pot calling the kettle black.
what
why would the pot call the kettle black?
QUOTE (Bluesummers @ Sep 21 2010, 01:56 AM)
what
why would the pot call the kettle black?
why would the pot call the kettle black?
because the pot is a racist
why would the pot be racist?
QUOTE (Bluesummers @ Sep 21 2010, 12:56 AM)
what
why would the pot call the kettle black?
why would the pot call the kettle black?
It's just a saying.
I think it means calling somebody 'strange and selfish', when you are yourself.
Still makes no sense. How does that refer to a pot and kettle. I understand its saying but why would there be a kettle and a pot in it lol.
Because both the pot and the kettle turned black after being used for years in the stove. 
And then both started pointing fingers at each other, so on and so forth.
And then both started pointing fingers at each other, so on and so forth.
See? See how I contribute? You don't have to be a grammar 'nazi'....you can use your online OCD to help other people too.
QUOTE (MizNelson @ Sep 20 2010, 04:23 AM)
Gourcuff went to Lyon?
Yup, and I have to say that was mildly disappointing for me, as I still kept hope of him coming back to us one day.
Who knows maybe there is still yet hope one day!
Okay, let's stay focused on the french league, shall we?
Ha. 
We only care about Gourcuff in that league. 
We only care about Gourcuff in that league.
QUOTE (Jack Sparrow @ Sep 21 2010, 10:55 AM)
Ha. We only care about Gourcuff in that league.
We only care about Gourcuff in that league. That would be foolish enough
If we were smart...you'd think we'd have better things to do in our time than waste lives on an internet forum.
QUOTE (Jack Sparrow @ Sep 21 2010, 12:02 PM)
See? See how I contribute? You don't have to be a grammar 'nazi'....you can use your online OCD to help other people too.
Yeah, well always happy to count on my trusty pirate friend for the good cause.
Together we shall fight, um, help other people! Yup, that's the word, help.QUOTE (TriniKing_CE @ Sep 21 2010, 12:04 PM)
Yup, and I have to say that was mildly disappointing for me, as I still kept hope of him coming back to us one day.
Who knows maybe there is still yet hope one day!
Who knows maybe there is still yet hope one day!
I'd say fuggedaboutit, Trini, no way he is coming back.
Kaka has more a chance of returning than him. We've had this discussion countless times here and other places, but it seems that people would much rather prefer to see a finished article in Milan, as opposed to someone who improves and grows with the club. But that's okay, everyone has their own preferences. Heck, there are people who don't even like this guy:
As for his French teammates, well those who did comment are actually the scum of the earth, the lowest of the low. Certainly he wasn't too keen on their idea of partying and clubbing during the World Cup of all things. A city boy among street rats, if you must.
Then again, there were his teammates who had good opinion of him, including Lloris and Toulalan, among others.Leaving his performance aside, Gourcuff is an individualist (or loner as one of our coach put him), and truth is that he will get ostracised no matter what happens. Still I can understand some people saying he was not right for Milan, and if that's their opinion, it must be respected. To alter a saying "There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate Gourcuff, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be Gourcuff".
Okay, maybe not millions, but you get the drift. He is no way near an absolute star player, needs miles of experience and improvement, and I can only hope he realizes his potential. World football needs new icons for the next decade, and the more the merrier. I had seen enough of his games in both the French league and the CL last season to see his good side - at times it felt like he was the only one playing for his team, creating chances, scoring free kicks, dominating the midfield. He has his flaws too, and is prone to flop as conveniently put. I am sure most of you guys have read the stories, here's a quick recap (appropriately as this is the French league thread as well):
QUOTE
Resentment over Gourcuff treatment behind implosion
GROUP A FRANCE 1 SOUTH AFRICA 2 There is a symbolic aspect to the power struggle in the heart of the team and the ills of wider French society
YOANN GOURCUFF could be forgiven for thinking the whole world is against him. Having been ignored by many of his team-mates for the past three weeks, France’s mercurial misfit saw his unhappy World Cup come to an end even more prematurely than that of his colleagues when he was sent off for an elbow in the first half against South Africa yesterday.
Trudging down the tunnel, Bordeaux’s talented playmaker looked dejected, but he must also have felt some relief his personal trials in South Africa were over.
The rift between Gourcuff and several high-profile players, including Nicolas Anelka and Franck Ribery, was the trigger to Les Bleus’ dramatic implosion over the last few days.
Gourcuff is seemingly from a different mould to the others. Intelligent, polite and well-spoken, the 23-year-old does not fit in with what many in France are calling the “spoilt brat” generation. He enjoyed a comfortable childhood in Brittany where his father, Christian, the respected coach of Lorient, ensured he received a rounded education. Clean-cut and good-looking, he is an excellent tennis player, and counts the former Olympic swimming star turned celebrity Laure Manaudou in his social circle.
Most of France’s squad grew up in much tougher conditions in the poorest suburbs. Ribery was raised in a run-down council estate in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Eric Abidal lived in one of Lyon’s most deprived areas, while Thierry Henry, William Gallas and Anelka all spent their childhoods in so-called quartiers difficiles outside Paris.
It is no coincidence these are the players who have frozen Gourcuff out in South Africa. They resent the way the French press builds Gourcuff up as Zinedine Zidane’s successor. They envy the positive attention he receives from the media. They regard him as arrogant and pretentious because he reads books and expresses himself eloquently when analysing a game.
Raymond Domenech wanted to build his attack around the 2008/09 French Player of the Year, but several senior players objected, pressurising the coach to restore Henry or Florent Malouda to the line-up. In the opening game against Uruguay, Anelka and Ribery made their stance abundantly clear by refusing to pass to Gourcuff.
To behave in such a way at a World Cup is unforgivable and many are calling for Anelka and Ribery to be banished from the team for good.
Yet Domenech did not feel he had the authority to sanction them, and instead dropped Gourcuff for the second game against Mexico.
Anelka then went too far by firing a tirade of expletives at Domenech at half-time in that game. The decision to send the Chelsea striker home in disgrace would not have been taken lightly by the French federation. Anelka is a hugely popular figure in France’s multicultural suburbs, and his public shaming is unlikely to sit well in areas where racial tensions run high.
Less than five years ago, these suburbs were transformed into battlefields as disaffected youths, largely from immigrant backgrounds, rioted night upon night for three weeks. Nobody is suggesting France’s soccer debacle will spark similar scenes, yet there is an acutely symbolic aspect to the power struggle in the heart of the team and the apparent ills of wider society.
Indeed, French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut has been quick to link the dreadful behaviour of Les Bleus to a wider social problem. “It feels like France has been invited to look into the mirror – a terrible mirror,” he told radio station Europe 1.
“We have moved on from the Zidane generation to the scum generation. Laurent Blanc (Domenech’s successor) should ignore players like Anelka, Ribery, Evra, Gallas and Abidal, who have behaved in a shameful manner, notably with Yoann Gourcuff. They are a gang of thugs. It’s not possible to have these ethnic, religious divides in the France team.”
Finkielkraut is known for his forthright views, yet there can be little doubt cultural differences were behind France’s demise. Interestingly, Gourcuff’s closest acquaintances in the team are Hugo Lloris and Jeremy Toulalan. They are white, but this is not a colour issue. Ribery, of course, is white too, yet he identifies more with those from similar social backgrounds.
Ribery is also idolised by the North African community in France, partly because, like Anelka, he has converted to Islam. But also because he rose to the top from the most difficult of starts and remained humble despite his immense success.
The humility now seems to have gone, however, and France’s campaign appears to have further highlighted a divided nation.
Source
GROUP A FRANCE 1 SOUTH AFRICA 2 There is a symbolic aspect to the power struggle in the heart of the team and the ills of wider French society
YOANN GOURCUFF could be forgiven for thinking the whole world is against him. Having been ignored by many of his team-mates for the past three weeks, France’s mercurial misfit saw his unhappy World Cup come to an end even more prematurely than that of his colleagues when he was sent off for an elbow in the first half against South Africa yesterday.
Trudging down the tunnel, Bordeaux’s talented playmaker looked dejected, but he must also have felt some relief his personal trials in South Africa were over.
The rift between Gourcuff and several high-profile players, including Nicolas Anelka and Franck Ribery, was the trigger to Les Bleus’ dramatic implosion over the last few days.
Gourcuff is seemingly from a different mould to the others. Intelligent, polite and well-spoken, the 23-year-old does not fit in with what many in France are calling the “spoilt brat” generation. He enjoyed a comfortable childhood in Brittany where his father, Christian, the respected coach of Lorient, ensured he received a rounded education. Clean-cut and good-looking, he is an excellent tennis player, and counts the former Olympic swimming star turned celebrity Laure Manaudou in his social circle.
Most of France’s squad grew up in much tougher conditions in the poorest suburbs. Ribery was raised in a run-down council estate in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Eric Abidal lived in one of Lyon’s most deprived areas, while Thierry Henry, William Gallas and Anelka all spent their childhoods in so-called quartiers difficiles outside Paris.
It is no coincidence these are the players who have frozen Gourcuff out in South Africa. They resent the way the French press builds Gourcuff up as Zinedine Zidane’s successor. They envy the positive attention he receives from the media. They regard him as arrogant and pretentious because he reads books and expresses himself eloquently when analysing a game.
Raymond Domenech wanted to build his attack around the 2008/09 French Player of the Year, but several senior players objected, pressurising the coach to restore Henry or Florent Malouda to the line-up. In the opening game against Uruguay, Anelka and Ribery made their stance abundantly clear by refusing to pass to Gourcuff.
To behave in such a way at a World Cup is unforgivable and many are calling for Anelka and Ribery to be banished from the team for good.
Yet Domenech did not feel he had the authority to sanction them, and instead dropped Gourcuff for the second game against Mexico.
Anelka then went too far by firing a tirade of expletives at Domenech at half-time in that game. The decision to send the Chelsea striker home in disgrace would not have been taken lightly by the French federation. Anelka is a hugely popular figure in France’s multicultural suburbs, and his public shaming is unlikely to sit well in areas where racial tensions run high.
Less than five years ago, these suburbs were transformed into battlefields as disaffected youths, largely from immigrant backgrounds, rioted night upon night for three weeks. Nobody is suggesting France’s soccer debacle will spark similar scenes, yet there is an acutely symbolic aspect to the power struggle in the heart of the team and the apparent ills of wider society.
Indeed, French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut has been quick to link the dreadful behaviour of Les Bleus to a wider social problem. “It feels like France has been invited to look into the mirror – a terrible mirror,” he told radio station Europe 1.
“We have moved on from the Zidane generation to the scum generation. Laurent Blanc (Domenech’s successor) should ignore players like Anelka, Ribery, Evra, Gallas and Abidal, who have behaved in a shameful manner, notably with Yoann Gourcuff. They are a gang of thugs. It’s not possible to have these ethnic, religious divides in the France team.”
Finkielkraut is known for his forthright views, yet there can be little doubt cultural differences were behind France’s demise. Interestingly, Gourcuff’s closest acquaintances in the team are Hugo Lloris and Jeremy Toulalan. They are white, but this is not a colour issue. Ribery, of course, is white too, yet he identifies more with those from similar social backgrounds.
Ribery is also idolised by the North African community in France, partly because, like Anelka, he has converted to Islam. But also because he rose to the top from the most difficult of starts and remained humble despite his immense success.
The humility now seems to have gone, however, and France’s campaign appears to have further highlighted a divided nation.
Source
But as Fillipo said, let's put the focus back on Ligue 1.
So be it. As for our former French lad, let's not sell him short, and of course not hype him up as well. Call him for what he is (or was in his time here). At least he won the Champions League, LOL!
QUOTE (acid911 @ Sep 21 2010, 08:56 AM)
Because both the pot and the kettle turned black after being used for years in the stove. And then both started pointing fingers at each other, so on and so forth.
And then both started pointing fingers at each other, so on and so forth.I don't see any fingers.
QUOTE (Fillipo Simone @ Sep 21 2010, 10:42 AM)
Okay, let's stay focused on the french league, shall we?
Oh, okay. I will from now on.
*leaves thread*
QUOTE
Ribery is also idolised by the North African community in France, partly because, like Anelka, he has converted to Islam. But also because he rose to the top from the most difficult of starts and remained humble despite his immense success.
Did that include bonking an underage prostitute right before the World Cup, despite the fact that he's married? Not exactly my definition of humble.
QUOTE (MizNelson @ Sep 21 2010, 07:39 PM)
Did that include bonking an underage prostitute right before the World Cup, despite the fact that he's married? Not exactly my definition of humble.
It's not moral but it certainly isn't pretencious or arrongant. Sorry, I don't see any connection; IMO a person can cheat his wife 100 times and still stay humble.
What Fillipo said, is unfortunately, the sad hard truth. But then again, I don't think he's all that humble either, plus Ribery's perfomance has been going down since the last year or so, ever since Robben signed for Bayern. Oh well.
But then again, I don't think he's all that humble either, plus Ribery's perfomance has been going down since the last year or so, ever since Robben signed for Bayern. Oh well.
Lorient-PSG 1:1; someone collapsed on the PSG bench, any informations?
Ha? on the bench?! that's not happened before has it?...
QUOTE
There were worrying scenes on the PSG bench as France international striker Hoarau collapsed in the aftermath of Nene's equaliser, but he walked back to the changing room unaided after receiving attention from medics.
"Guillaume banged his head in the first half," said Kombouare.
"He carried on playing on the adrenaline but it swelled up. It's better now though."
"Guillaume banged his head in the first half," said Kombouare.
"He carried on playing on the adrenaline but it swelled up. It's better now though."
Nene scoring an absolute stunner for PSG's win.
French league started to be real interesting once Lyon got detronized.
French league started to be real interesting once Lyon got detronized.
How's Makoun? I haven't watched much French football for years so don't really know him, but Villa have been linked with him constantly since Houllier took over.
You bought him...find out for your own self. 
Football Manager used to love him a few years ago, that's enough recommendation for a lot of people on this forum
he is a cameroon born giovinco...with a little less talent
QUOTE (Milan Are Brilliant @ Jan 21 2011, 03:56 PM)
Football Manager used to love him a few years ago, that's enough recommendation for a lot of people on this forum
David Moyes uses Football Manager to scout players and is one of the best managers, in my opinion, in World football. That's good enough for me!
Odd that he has no work permit yet though, Dzeko didn't seem to have any trouble.
So, interesting season after all. Lille win their first title after half a century and more, while Lyon stays only 3rd (good news, I despise Lyon with all my heart). Sadly, Monaco could be the team relegated after next weeks final round.
PSG fail to secure CL while Monaco gets relegated first time after 1976 
QUOTE (kurtsimonw @ Jan 21 2011, 07:25 PM)
David Moyes uses Football Manager to scout players and is one of the best managers, in my opinion, in World football. That's good enough for me!
Odd that he has no work permit yet though, Dzeko didn't seem to have any trouble.
Odd that he has no work permit yet though, Dzeko didn't seem to have any trouble.
so sad to see Monaco get relegated tho
To think they were in a CL Final just 7 years ago.
why is that so sad, do you guys really care that much? 
Well, I like Monaco allot. Don't know exactly why. Maybe because of Weah's time there.
Was a bit shocked to seen Monaco go down. Seem they are like the Deportivo of ligue 1. Used to be good years ago and now are relegated
Shame rather liked them
Shame rather liked them
Indeed. Both semifinalist some years ago in the Champions League, and now on the bottom. Deportivo's fall wasn't that kind of a shock, it's Monaco's that I really did not expect.
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