I have refrained from commenting on this transfer because I don't really not what to make of it. It just seems so ridiculous. We have been linked with alot of players anyway, it might work out.
honestly, I think once the coaching situation is taken care off we'll see a much more confident, affirmative and consistent side and who knows, gonalons might not actually be all that bad, maybe one or two youngsters show some quality, maybe the midfield won't be as lost with the new DM
Yeah I woulda sold Llloris and Bastos instead not to mention they both would bring you more money than Toulalan did. I guess he just didnt want to stay.
this has been rumored for a very long time in a number of places, reports were that we were just waiting for him to get his passport or something. even if to juve is not true, he has been linked with many teams, i believe he is gone. as for toulalan, i think lyon could have tried to squeeze malaga for more cash knowing their financial situation, we'll see how it ends up working out though
i think this is absolutely expected, the only detail to fill in is how much and today we read 13M€ + 2M€ if juve qualifies for the CL this season.
that would be pretty good. I think Aulas and co will accept an offer like that. 15M seemed kind of unlikely initially. That will go a long way towards settling OL's accounts and enabling us to buy some replacements in defense and n the midfield.
according to TF1 website, OL are prepared to make a 14M offer for Marvin Martin. http://www.tf1.fr/telefoot/news-foo...lions-d-euros-pour-marvin-martin-6541676.html Sochaux doesnt seem prepared to let him go easily however so I'm not holding my breath. But if it meant losing either Pjanic or Gourcuff to get his signature I would have no problem with that. I think Martin holds a lot of promise although he could easily be a flop as well. But Gourcuff doesnt seem likely to return to his old form at Bordeaux IMO and Pjanic isnt developing as hoped. Its also being speculated that the new coach may adopt a 4-4-2 formation that would put less emphasis on wingers so Bastos leaving may be less of a detriment to the team and also would mean that Licha and Gomis could link up together up top.
He's gone but its disapointing they want the youth coach to replace him rather than go go out and get a big name.
i would think a 4-4-2 would play more emphasis on the wingers *shrugs* martin would be a good pick up , but i wouldn't be ready to give up on gourcuff yet
well, what i meant is that by having 2 strikers you arent depending on the wide players to have to score as much as in the 4-3-3 but of course the wingers would still be there to feed the strikers. i just got the feeling that with Gomis all alone that Licha and Bastos had a lot of pressure to provide goals because Gomis, as good as he is at holding up play, and whatnot, certainly isnt going to score in every game. with a derivation of the 4-4-2 system the wingers just need to get behind the defense and provide decent crosses and/or cut inside and feed the strikers that way. i dont think that Lyon would ever completely drop the 4-3-3 because it comes so naturally to them, though. i think ideally, a 4-4-2 in a diamond might suit OL well. something like: -------------licha--------gomis----------------- ---------------martin/pjanic----------------- ------kallstrom------------gourcuff/briand---- --------------toul's replacement-------------
Kallstrom might go to Turkey so I'd put Braind there in his spot. Id go with Pjanic and not spend the money on Martin.
But Kim said that he wanted to stay at Lyon. he's not gone yet. If anything i expect Ederson to leave first. Either way I would prefer for Kallstrom to stay because he can always be relied upon and can fulfill many roles in the squad. Plus he's never injured, which is a huge plus in a diminished squad. Ederson could very well be out injured for another season. I say offload him.
I actually think Martin and Gourcuff together in that formation would be pretty terrific. With a decent DM that would be a midfield to challenge in Europe.
So I was wondering why they are going with a young, cheap coach and I thought it was due to lack of funds but I read how Aulas and Lacombe want more control back and by hiring this guy they can control him easily. Since they gave Puel full power to do everything and it didnt work out, they want to go back to the old way now.
rémi garde is no household name outside of lyon but he sure is one here. of all the polo shirts on the practice field, the one seen the most in the past 10 years is definitely the one with RG embroidered on it. the complete antithesis to the lippi type rumors. if the "big name foreign coach" school of thought might have made some sense when houllier resigned it's completely out of synch with our present reality. we need to solidify our base, focus on L1 and the domestic cups, start a new cycle, and rémi is the ideal candidate for that. when OL was on the cusp of winning the CL the step would have been a tad high but right now all the stars are in alignment. it's a golden opportunity, call it destiny. rémi garde was born in the suburbs of lyon, came up through the OL academy and was on the team that won promotion in 1989 (coached by another ex-OL player, raymond domenech). when "arsène who" was named coach at arsenal, his first move was to recruit garde and make him the first foreign captain in arsenal's history. after retirement RG came back to OL, was assistant to both PLG and GH. since then he's been on the staff in one position or another without interruption since. last year he headed the youth program, so part of the plan for next year may be to count more on what is after all a pretty good crop of youngsters. JMA and BL are going to take more control, but don't think of RG as their puppet or their lackey, he's more like their son. he's been being groomed to take over for nanar for a long time, so his promotion is like a natural progression in the family business.
Im pretty optimistic about this selection. I think he will be able to usher the kids into the squad successfully and give them the confidence they need to perform. Plus he seems like he would be a good humble guy that will be able to instill some pride and spirit into the more experienced guys. Emanuel Petit has a lot of good things to say about him from when they played together at Arsenal http://pub.kewego.fr/video/iLyROoafzyhy.html Just read an interview with him on L'Equipe's website and he seems to be saying the right things. He thinks that OL needs to find a joy in playing again, that the solidarity of the team is really important. He's right. Puel never instilled that kind of team spirit or wanted the players to have fun. He was an authoritarian above all.
Why do you have to 'start a new cycle' when you are a club as big as Lyon is ? Thats something that clubs like Bordeaux do.
it depends where you start the cycle from! though i was never a puel hater it's clear that during his tenure the club lost focus. feeling they were very close to winning the big prize they changed their recruitment policy, splashing big cash for players who had had big seasons like keita, bastos, gourcuff while letting players like rémy or mounier get away for chickenscratch and their management style, giving puel more power and a 4 year contract. it's not like we're starting over like we did (more than once) in the 90's... there's still the CL cash budgeted every year. and you can say barça getting rid of rijkaard, éto'o, henry... to concentrate on their locals was a similar move, and the parallels are not imaginary.