Where Lyon ranks amongst the biggest European clubs

[sl7vk]

What's amazing to me about Lyon is that I think bloody Halihozic could manage the team and they would have success. Every manger has had success with this team, what does that say? We know what Santini brought to the table (with his consequent results with France, Tottenham, and now Auxurre), but it will be interesting to see how PLG fares with his next club. With Houllier now having tremendous success, are all these manager reaping the benefits of working in a superior organization/system?

[gaijin]

As a PSG fan, I hope Aulas falls down the stairs... :D







j/k ;)

[guignol]

As a PSG fan, I hope Aulas falls down the stairs... :Dactually he did have a fall last season. he slipped on the tarmac boarding the plane for bastia: ruptured tendon and arm in sling for a month!

[gaijin]

actually he did have a fall last season. he slipped on the tarmac boarding the plane for bastia: ruptured tendon and arm in sling for a month!
Please tell me that a St-Etienne based company was responsible for the tarmacing...

:D

[guignol]

amid all the talk of OL being under the microscope and an imminent target for raids by "big" clubs, here's a quote from juninho's interview on the uefa site http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/Kind=512/newsId=359504.html


"My wish was to stay at Lyon because I love the town, I love the shirt and my family is happy here,"

“I want to play for the best club in Europe. If I can achieve that with Lyon it would be more beautiful than achieving it elsewhere.”

this is something we've seen before, notably with sonny anderson, who still has his heart (and family) here and wants to come back to coach after his qatar adventure. the quality of life here is exceptional, beating places like manchester or turin hands down, and arguably even on a par with london or madrid.

[Looper121]

Good for Pernamnebanmabernaco...I like the way he thinks.

[lefutur]

the quality of life here is exceptional, beating places like manchester or turin hands down, and arguably even on a par with london or madrid.

I'm still a little sad that my job offer didnt come through over there.

Maybe someday...

[guignol]

I'm still a little sad that my job offer didnt come through over there. Maybe someday...when our site goes headhunting for engineers and other wunderkind at headquarters in paris, they generally have one important question:

when can i start?

[Bruiser]

Carew is a 2nd rate striker, if he was good he would have signed with a bigger club a while back. He was on loan for Roma a few years back and was absolutely horrible.
Doesnt have anything to do with who have more fans Arsenal are a bigger club than Lyon period. Lyon cant lure and attract a player like Thierry Henry and Arsenal have him and I dont care how they got him. John Carew ? lol please. The biggest clubs have the best players.

Riight.. How is it to be clueless?

Canal+ interview with: Henry

- "John Carew would be a perfect partner for me upfront. He's what I'd call a complete striker."

O, and it goes on...

- "He can keep hold of the ball, he can direct the play, he's fast, he's good in the air and good with the ball in his feet. He's always been a great player, but Gerard Houllier in Lyon was the one who picked up his scent. I'm astonished that none of the "big" clubs didn't pick him up when he played in Turkey."

- "He has it all. And for a forward like me it'd be a dream to play upfront with John. People don't seem to understand how fast he is, and with a so big body it's an achievement in itself."

- "We send text messages and congratulate each other all the time. But lately it's mainly me who's doing the congratulating."

In light of Henry's oppinion of Carew, YOUR oppinions kind of withers away into small ugly shrubs, dont they. I remember I had this so-called "discussion" with a couple of other self-titled "Carew-haters" on these boards, and I remember they made total asshats of themselves too. It's unavoidable. All Carew-haters are reduced to morons, by their very own words. It's all kinda funny, really.

Lyon is on top of Europe now. Among the 2-3 hardest teams to beat, and it's all due to their great players and their management.

Three cheers for Lyon.

[fishbiproduct]

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/212423/2/Nailed.jpg

:D

[lefutur]

In light of Henry's oppinion of Carew, YOUR oppinions kind of withers away into small ugly shrubs, dont they..

oh snap!

[marakana10]

Riight.. How is it to be clueless?

Canal+ interview with: Henry

- "John Carew would be a perfect partner for me upfront. He's what I'd call a complete striker."

O, and it goes on...

- "He can keep hold of the ball, he can direct the play, he's fast, he's good in the air and good with the ball in his feet. He's always been a great player, but Gerard Houllier in Lyon was the one who picked up his scent. I'm astonished that none of the "big" clubs didn't pick him up when he played in Turkey."

- "He has it all. And for a forward like me it'd be a dream to play upfront with John. People don't seem to understand how fast he is, and with a so big body it's an achievement in itself."

- "We send text messages and congratulate each other all the time. But lately it's mainly me who's doing the congratulating."

In light of Henry's oppinion of Carew, YOUR oppinions kind of withers away into small ugly shrubs, dont they. I remember I had this so-called "discussion" with a couple of other self-titled "Carew-haters" on these boards, and I remember they made total asshats of themselves too. It's unavoidable. All Carew-haters are reduced to morons, by their very own words. It's all kinda funny, really.

Lyon is on top of Europe now. Among the 2-3 hardest teams to beat, and it's all due to their great players and their management.

Three cheers for Lyon.

I never said I hated Carew... i just said that he has yet to establish himself as good as any of the following: Henry, Sheva, Ronaldo, Makaay.. the list goes on. He is good and I always knew his potential when he was at Valencia, and questioned where he was and was delighted when Lyon picked him up because I knew he would start to shine over a period of time... I never said he would be the worst striker Lyon has ever seen.

[marakana10]

If he can score 15+ goals for the next 3 seasons then I will give him respect. He has NEVER done that. And I'm not saying I dislike him because I don't but I have still yet to see him realize his full potential. There is a difference between saying you really dislike someone and illustrating by DATA that he hasn't done much.

[marakana10]

His history:

Domestic Football (Valerengen Oslo, Rosenborg Trondheim, Valencia CF, AS Roma, Besiktas, Olympique Lyonnais)

75 goals/190 matches = 39.47 % Strike Rate

European history: (Uefa Cup, Cup Winners Cup(with Oslo), Champions League)

21 goals/65 matches = 32.31 % Stike Rate

International:

9 goals/24 matches = 37.5% Strike Rate

Overall: 105 goals/279 matches = 37.63 % strike rate

Well, you see what I'm talking about. He has potential but it hasn't summoned up to anything. He has had some great runs with some clubs but he has yet to put it together. IT seems that Lyon is finally his place, and if he screws this up then I don't know where he will get a better chance to be honest. He is 26 and he is reaching the prime of his career. Can he produce? Let's wait and see.

[Bruiser]

"His history" is of absolutely no significance. What every player and every team in football is judged by is today's results and today's skills. Today Carew is among the best strikers there are, and today Lyon are among the best clubs there are. Why don't you dig up some of THIS years stats of Carew.

[marakana10]

I marvel at your "unimportance" of history. One does not become the best overnight, and you're right, Carew is having so far his most excellent season but I'm still yet to jump on the train and say he's the best striker in the world... you've got to be kidding. Ronaldo who has 7 goals in 7 games, as well as Eto'o who has 13, Ronaldinho 10, Villa 8, Trezeguet 11, Gilardino with 7 in 8, Toni with 13, Cruz 9, Pauleta 8, Klose 15, Klasnic 10, Lampard 11, RvN 10, Bent 9, Drogba 9, Henry 8 (injured the last month before return), Bonazolli 8, Tavano 8, Chiesa 8, Altintop 10, Smolarek 9, Van der Vaart 12. Therefore history does matter, because I bet you haven't heard of a 1/4 to 1/2 of these guys before. One good season doesn't ensure you greatness, plus Carew isn't even the top scorer in the French League thus how can one marvel at his magnificance? Pauleta is ahead of him by 3 goals.

[DaeHaMinGuk]

amid all the talk of OL being under the microscope and an imminent target for raids by "big" clubs, here's a quote from juninho's interview on the uefa site http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/Kind=512/newsId=359504.html


"My wish was to stay at Lyon because I love the town, I love the shirt and my family is happy here,"

“I want to play for the best club in Europe. If I can achieve that with Lyon it would be more beautiful than achieving it elsewhere.”

this is something we've seen before, notably with sonny anderson, who still has his heart (and family) here and wants to come back to coach after his qatar adventure. the quality of life here is exceptional, beating places like manchester or turin hands down, and arguably even on a par with london or madrid.

C'est vrai!

I really enjoyed Lyon the 5 days I was there in 2004. I even saw Cacapa on the subway!

Lyon also has some of the nicest people around. I recall an instance where I was lost, and some patrons walked me about 1/4th of a mile to my destination when I told them the address I was looking for.

My experience in Lyon is why I suppor L'OL.

[guignol]

I really enjoyed Lyon the 5 days I was there in 2004. I even saw Cacapa on the subway.it's true that it's a great town, and the team is really embedded here. everyone knows and loves juninho, even if they know nothing about foot and care less. he's such a nice boy! and take greg coupet: they dedicated a youth sports complex to him recently and his part in the opening ceremonies did credit not only to him, and the club, but to football in general. a real role model. even nicolas anelka is a great guy when he's in lyon, like when he helped dedicate stade marc-vivien foé, there must be something in the air!

i've seen cris and bergougnoux at the airport and patrick muller and sylvain wiltord in restaurants. if you go to nightclubs you're sure to see govou and malouda from time to time. it's a cozy town and the players are a real part of it.

[Bruiser]

I marvel at your "unimportance" of history. One does not become the best overnight, and you're right, Carew is having so far his most excellent season but I'm still yet to jump on the train and say he's the best striker in the world... you've got to be kidding.
Sure alot of players build up for several seasons towards their prime, and that is exactly what Carew has done. This is his first season among the big guys. You hear it from players and managers all around Europe that Carew is among the best strikers. What you have to understand is it's not just amount of goals that makes you a top striker. It is your ability to finish the shots you get and the ability to be a threat to anyone you play against. That is Carew, and that's why he is feared alot more than players that have more goals than him.

[SeanBGeary]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/jonah_freedman/11/03/world.rankings/index.html

yes i realize its sports illustrated, and yes I know they're not exactly a juggernaut in the realm of soccer writing, (though to their defense, they were one of the few major magazines to predict france to win in 98), nonetheless, its nice to see OL getting some love..