Olympique Lyonnais Cafe II [R]

[guignol]

Hello Lyon fans, Ben Arfa made it into my UEFA fantasy team. I know u're playing Barca next (all the best, I F*** hate that team) so i was wondering wat r the chances of him starting? is he usually a starter? he's on red hot form ryt?it's clear to me he's going to start; and if i had to put money on a scorer it would be him. you see, he's got an attitude that's getting to be a big problem... to opposing defenses! y'all think my boy karim is big??? well, check THIS s... out!

[AfrcnHrbMan]

it's clear to me he's going to start; and if i had to put money on a scorer it would be him. you see, he's got an attitude that's getting to be a big problem... to opposing defenses! y'all think my boy karim is big??? well, check THIS s... out!

Speaking of that do you think theres any jealousy brewing between him and benzema, not that the latter is so much in the spotlight, and being courted by every team under the sun. I could see that making him push for playing time and exposure.

[guignol]

Speaking of that do you think theres any jealousy brewing between him and benzema, not that the latter is so much in the spotlight, and being courted by every team under the sun. I could see that making him push for playing time and exposure.if there's any jealousy it's at a healthy level that can only help both players. they have been teammates since they were kids, literally.

a few years ago it was ben arfa that everyone had pegged as the next zidane, and benzema was the wallflower. that proptected karim and let him blossom naturally, and i think the reversal of roles really helped hatem dig in and get the work done.

[lefutur]

Lyon just completely fell apart today. JUninho is still indespensible and OL's backline is terrible.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I think today was an aberration. Yes, there have been games this season when the defense has looked less than solid, particularly in the beginning of the Champions League campaign, but overall, I think it's been competent.

[guignol]

my only look at the game was from the 365 direct... the main problem was probably getting the ball to the strikers... apparently crosas had a lot of balls but after like two practices you can't expect him to run the team... and anderson being out and bodmer having to fill in at CB again didn't help. the whole thing can be put down to all the new faces and reshuffling... hopefully the team will get back on track soon, because 3 pts is not much of a lead.

[guignol]

i apologize for bering too busy to make an RCL-OL thread, but now it's perhaps best... just make that world GO AWAY!

but there is ONE bright piece of news to come out of that match: toulalan's suspension for his 3rd yellow will be served against croix-de-savoie... ouf! :o

[guignol]

i opened up this week's gazette in les cahiers du football expecting to read those loveable imps gleefully running roughshod over my beloved gones... so was a bit surprised to find this...

this week is brought to you by the number 3

like the three goals allowed by lyon against lens, their third defeat by that score this season, and above all for their slim three point lead over bordeaux, which revives a championship race that's been dead since january 2005. paradoxically, if it seems happy news for 19 other clubs, there's no real cause for worry in the confines of tola-vologe, nor durable cause for excitement in the rest of the hexagon.

because one would do well to remember the incredible combination of circumstances that led OL to make such a weak showing at bollaert. All it took was for Cris, Coupet and Müller to be injured for several months, Govou and Cleber Anderson to follow suit, for Fabio Santos to have to rush back to brazil just before his girlfriend's childbirth, for Juninho to break a toe, Keita to be grabbed up by the CAN, and Fred to have a wallet-ache, to force the leader to put one knee on the ground.

and still, OL has a three point lead. for bordeaux one can see possibilities opening up, but only under the condition that the jinx stays put between saône and rhône. unlikely. it would be more plausible that an OL with a "normal" amount of bad luck would have a good 10 point lead. but if that's what it takes to make ligue 1 interesting, we could always tie one of benzema's arms behind his back.

[lefutur]

thats awesome! :)

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Sadly, I have to agree. Bordeaux I think will be the dauphin, but it likely won't be this close months from now.

[lefutur]

how did Boumsong look the other day?

[guignol]

funny how journalists things can get twisted, but like this? :confused:

sky headlined an article:

"I am not afraid by Manchester United," the goalkeeper told L'Equpe [sic]
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11806_3110915,00.html

but when you go tu l'équpe, errr, l'équipe, the quote reads:

Manchester ça me fait très peur.
http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/20080205_110833Dev.html

which is not exactly the same thing! :D

[SportBoy333]

Bordeaux's president explains why OL are not loved.:D

http://news.maxifoot.com/info-074002_80221/football.php

[guignol]

well, if bordeaux is the well-loved poulidor of L1 then i'm a monkey's uncle. :D

[SportBoy333]

http://www.francefootball.fr/FF/mag/Une_FF_20080314.jpg

[lefutur]

I guess it doesn't matter that OL are out of Europe since the results are rigged this year anyway

http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2008/03/14/was-the-champions-league-draw-fixed

[NicolasN.]

Is this article written by Marion Cotillard ? :p

It's hard to say if the draw was fixed but I hardly believe in it even though I found it questionable when Marseille played PSG during each cup... In my opinion, it's just a fan good at predictions...

Anyway, Aulas said in FF that he regrets to sign Delgado during the past winter because it wasn't the right time for him to join L1. He thinks that Delgado might become one of best L1 player for the upcoming season (come on JMA, it was FF not football365).

Aulas is still considering Keita as the best right winger of the league even though he is suffering from competition because Govou is having the best season of his whole career.

He said that Lyon will have their new stadium by the end of 2010. It will allow them to earn 100 million Euros more per season. When Lyon will have this amount of money they will be able to challenge the best teams in Europe but for now it's too early for Lyon to think about winning the champions league.

[Inara]

Oops, I forgot to open a thread for Monaco-OL...

I guess I'll put my observations on here. Great match by everyone, though I was a bit alarmed at seeing all the Monaco players knocking the sh!t out of Toulalan. For some reason, Benzema and Fred (who you'd expect to be the most fouled players) got off a lot easier.

It was great seeing Keita do so well today. It wasn't just his goals but his overall play. He's such an explosive player that I just can't wait until he's in top form. It's too bad we had to wait so long for him, but better late than never!

I liked Boumsong and Cris playing together. They did a good job, no screw ups. I'm almost ready to concede the fact that perhaps Boum Boum's reputation was mostly hype.

Almost. :p

[guignol]

could only catch the second half on radio snce i was watching G jr.'s basketball game... what i learned from that above all was that ASM was just putrid in the first half, and that OL was solid and professional.

i was worried to see a lineup with boumsong and cris together, because they're both gamblers, but apparently they did wery well.

i wasn't worried about govou or juni being absent, and was above all perplexed about rumors that crosas and delgado would start, since it was pretty evident both keita and bodmer would get the job done. by the end of the season hopefully everyone will have forgotten those 23M€.

when crosas and delgado did come in i didn't hear their names once... though it's true that hit&sport had stopped their usual taut pbp faced with such a lack of rhythm. when i first tuned in i thought the match was OVER... it took a couple of minutes to realize otherwise! even without a score i knew from the calm in the announcer's voice that OL had sewn up the match, but how were these two anyway?

[Inara]

Crosas had a pretty solid match if you keep in mind that though he was subbed in for Toulalan, he actually moved up to right midfield, and Bodmer dropped back. Delgado is a fast guy, but it's obvious he's still getting his bearings. He had a great opportunity to score but chose to pass the ball to Kallstrom (I think). But I think as time goes on, he'll be able to understand and communicate with his teammates better. Unlike Crosas, who can get by with French, Delgado doesn't know any.