Les Bleuets [R]

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Thought I would update this now that Digard has signed at PSG. I really think he's capable of starting immediately there, as he's already better I believe than Sammy Traoré, Mendy, and Dramé. I am only suggesting he play in defense since the team appears stronger in midfield.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

In what appears bizarre this offseason, a bunch of Bleuets or former Bleuets are actually extending their contracts to stay in L1. I know, shocking, isn't it? Anyway, thought I'd mention the noteworthy ones.

Etienne Didot and Jimmy Briand have both extended their stay at Rennes.

Julien Quercia has extended his deal at Sochaux.

Rémy Riou has decided that he'll extend another year at Lyon to his already present deal, though he's accepted a loan to Lorient again.

[Douai]

In what appears bizarre this offseason, a bunch of Bleuets or former Bleuets are actually extending their contracts to stay in L1. I know, shocking, isn't it?
Yeah.It seems the French talent always leaves France.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Though I would update this now that the sélectionneur has retained 20 guys at Clairefontaine to prepare. Here is the list.


Gardiens de but
Johann Carrasso (Montpellier HSC)
Simon Pontdeme (Chamois Niortais)

Défenseurs
Paul Baysse (FCG Bordeaux)
Jean-Yves Mvoto (Paris-SG)
Damien Da Silva (Chamois Niortais)
Guillaume Borne (Stade Rennais)
Garry Bocaly (Libourne-Saint-Seurin)
Quentin Othon (RC Strasbourg)
Jean-Alain Fanchone (RC Strasbourg)

Milieux de terrain
Kévin Bru (Stade Rennais)
Etienne Capoue (Toulouse FC)
Malaury Martin (AS Monaco)
Granddi Ngoyi (Paris-Saint-Germain)
Steve Pinau (AS Monaco)
Damien Plessis (Olympique Lyonnais)
Bakary Sako (Berrichonne Châteauroux)
William Vainqueur (FC Nantes-Atlantique)

Attaquants
Frédéric Nimani-Ngalou (AS Monaco)
Rudy Gestede (FC Metz)
Kevin Monnet-Paquet (RC Lens) Bocaly, it appears, though, is injured, which is very bad for us. :( However, the attack looks healthy and if we are to win this thing, we'll be scoring in bunches.

[Douai]

Johann Carrasso (Montpellier HSC)


Is that Cédric Carrasso's brother?

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Is that Cédric Carrasso's brother?

Yes. It is. Sadly, he's not much better than his brother, and actually, he likely is not as good. However, he will start in net for this tournament as his backup, Pondemé, is not better. Montpellier's Anthony Scribe is arguably the best out of this group, but he's too inexperienced, as he's actually the #4 keeper at his club. However, he has a ton of ability, and dominant in the air with his 1m92 frame. He could be on Les Bleus I think someday.

Anyway, thought I'd write a few more profiles on this group.

Johan Carrasso (88, Montpellier): Like his brother, Johan has good, though not outstanding, reflexes, though unlike big bro, he's not as big (1m85 vs. 1m92). He doesn't do anything outstanding, though he's solid and decently reliable.

Anthony Scribe (88, Montpeliier): Scribe is likely the best in terms of ability out of the 3 U-21 goalkeepers that happen to be at Montpellier, as he has the best physique and handling, with Jourdren (who we will get to immediately after this) better only at reflexes. The issue is, at the moment, he's #4 on the goalkeeper pecking order behind the (relatively) veteran starter Pionnier, backup Jourdren and Carasso. We can say that he hasn't developed as quickly as Jourdren or Carasso, even though he could exceed them someday as a player. I hope that he gets to play soon, as he can be big.

Geoffrey Jourdren (86, Montpellier): Jourdren has been compared to Fabien Barthez, with good reason! Like Barthez, his reflexes are his highlighted feature. They are outstanding, and like Barthez, make up a bit his size (1m81). However, the comparisons don't end there. Like Barthez, he's more than a bit eccentric, we could say. Jourdren is definitely seen, one would think, as the starter at Montpellier very, very soon if not already.

Note: Jourdren is not on this U-19 team, he is now appearing on the U-20 team, with which he sucessfully won the Tournoi de Toulon about a month ago.

[Douai]

So would you say our U-19 squad is average at best? The squad doesn't seem very interesting.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

So would you say our U-19 squad is average at best? The squad doesn't seem very interesting.

There are guys who right now can win a match on their own at this level (Nimani, Monnet-Paquet, Pinau), as well as guys who will one day be solid guys in L1 or beyond (ASM's Malaury Martin, Metz's Gestede). However, this team would not be as good as a U-19 "vintage" team of a couple of years back that would have featured Nasri, Ben Arfa, Benzema, Ménez, etc.

Then again, I didn't think that our U-19 squad that won it in 2005 was "outstanding" either. I think at this level, it's hard to tell which teams will win. What matters more to me is trying to notice players who stand out. Hopefully that will happen in this tournament as well.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

After getting a draw against a PSG reserve side (1-1), in which the U-19 team dominated much of the game, the final cut has been announced, as 18 guys will be heading to Austria.

Gardiens de but


* Johann Carrasso (Montpellier HSC)
* Simon Pontdeme (Chamois Niortais)



Défenseurs


* Jean-Yves Mvoto (Paris-SG)
* Guillaume Borne (Stade Rennais)
* Paul Baysse (FCG Bordeaux)
* Garry Bocaly (Libourne-Saint-Seurin)
* Quentin Othon (RC Strasbourg)
* Jean-Alain Fanchone (RC Strasbourg)



Milieux de terrain


* William Vainqueur (FC Nantes-Atlantique)
* Granddi Ngoyi (Paris-Saint-Germain)
* Damien Plessis (Olympique Lyonnais)
* Malaury Martin (AS Monaco)
* Etienne Capoue (Toulouse FC)
* Steve Pinau (AS Monaco)
* Bakary Sako (Berrichonne Châteauroux)



Attaquants


* Frédéric Nimani-Ngalou (AS Monaco)
* Rudy Gestede (FC Metz)
* Kevin Monnet-Paquet (RC Lens)

Bocaly appears healthy, which is a big plus on the defensive end. Expect the 3 Monaco guys to start. Carrasso is the starting keeper. KMP (Monnet-Paquet) will start up front.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I wanted to report that our U-19 team did wonderfully today. :) Despite being down to 10 men after Sako was sent off for a tackle in the box, our team then rallied to score 5 unanswered goals, including a hat-trick by Lens' Kevin Monnet-Paquet, along with a brace for the captain, Monaco's Malaury Martin, to win 5-2 over Serbia.

Of course, that is not to say there aren't areas where they have to improve (particularly on the defensive end). However, given the situation of being down 2-0 and with 10 men, being able to make such a comeback is more than impressive.

KMP and Malaury Martin are definitely L1 star material, if not more.

[Douai]

I wanted to report that our U-19 team did wonderfully today. :) Despite being down to 10 men after Sako was sent off for a tackle in the box, our team then rallied to score 5 unanswered goals, including a hat-trick by Lens' Kevin Monnet-Paquet, along with a brace for the captain, Monaco's Malaury Martin, to win 5-2 over Serbia.

Of course, that is not to say there aren't areas where they have to improve (particularly on the defensive end). However, given the situation of being down 2-0 and with 10 men, being able to make such a comeback is more than impressive.

KMP and Malaury Martin are definitely L1 star material, if not more.

So it is worth watching?

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

So it is worth watching?

Hard to say. First off, there are not any streams of it, so it's not as if one could watch it anyway (except if there are feeds that I'm not aware of). Also, despite today's win, I'd have to say that we're likely underdogs against Germany in the match on Wednesday. However, we definitely showed more desire or heart that I had expected of this team. I mean, obviously, it's hard to compare this U-19 team to 1996, which featured Henry, Trez, Anelka and Gallas. Today, though, this team did prove that it can win, and with tremendous flair as well, but they also have determination to grind it out when they're back against the wall.

In Kevin Monnet-Paquet, Garry Bocaly, Malaury Martin and Frédéric Nimani, if he can get off the bench, we have 4 guys who would be starters on any team at the tournament, meaning they're among the best U-19 players out there.

The issue with this team, however, is that the other players aren't of the same quality, in my opinion. Bakary Sako, who got sent off in this game, looks nothing more than an ordinary player at best. Same can be said of William Vainqeur, who went off injured in this game and likely won't be playing anymore in the tournament.

In any case, this team plays with speed and intensity, so on those qualities, they're worth watching.

[Douai]

Hard to say. First off, there are not any streams of it, so it's not as if one could watch it anyway (except if there are feeds that I'm not aware of).

You could probably find it on fbtz.com. I will try looking there.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

You could probably find it on fbtz.com. I will try looking there.

Merci, mon ami, je l'esseyerai mercredi.

[Catel]

Or www.rojadirecta.com :)

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Merci Catel.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Alright, I am a lot happier with the U-21 team selection than that of the senior team, so here it is:

Gardiens de but
Geoffrey Jourdren (javascript:cvespoirs(338687);) (Montpellier HSC)
Hugo Lloris (javascript:cvespoirs(317985);) (OGC Nice)

Défenseurs
Habib Bellaid (javascript:cvespoirs(338689);) (RC Strasbourg)
Mouhamadou Dabo (javascript:cvespoirs('366699')) (AS Saint-Etienne)
Younes Kaboul (javascript:cvespoirs(316372);) (Tottenham Hotspur FC)
Cyriaque Louvion (javascript:cvespoirs(389335);) (Le Mans UC)
Florian Marange (javascript:cvespoirs(338702);) (G. Bordeaux)
Yassin Moutaouakil (javascript:cvespoirs(356692);) (Charlton)
Charles N'Zogbia (javascript:cvespoirs(303464);) (Newcastle United)

Milieux de terrain
Yohan Cabaye (javascript:cvespoirs(316380);) (Lille OSC)
Clément Chantôme (javascript:cvespoirs(338708);) (Paris-SG)
Didier Digard (javascript:cvespoirs(356687);) (Paris-SG)
Yoan Gouffran (javascript:cvespoirs(303461);) (SM Caen)
Sylvain Marveaux (javascript:cvespoirs(338710);) (Stade Rennais)
Blaise Matuidi (javascript:cvespoirs(316402);) (AS Saint-Etienne)

Attaquants
Hatem Ben Arfa (javascript:cvespoirs(316401);) (Ol. Lyonnais)
Issiar Dia (javascript:cvespoirs(326400);) (AS Nancy L.)
Serge Gakpe (javascript:cvespoirs(390152);) (AS Monaco)
Jérémy Ménez (javascript:cvespoirs(317986);) (AS Monaco)
Dimitri Payet (javascript:cvespoirs(356709);) (AS Saint-Etienne)
All I can say about the attackers is that's some depth. Of course, none of those guys are out-and-out strikers, they all can play on the wing, though all of them would be starters I believe on any L1 team.

I'll have profiles and anything else I can think of for those interested.

[guignol]

payet is turning out to be something of a disappointment up cabin creek way...

as for hatem, i hope he's happy... if i were him i'd be thinking how close i'd be to the big time if they only gave me a chance!

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I don't know, guignol. I think Payet's had some good games this season. He was good in the matches I watched anyway (alright only 1, the opener against ASM).

Anyway, I think the depth is amazing at this level, though yes, I would hope that Ménez and Ben Arfa get into the senior team before the Euro.

[SportBoy333]

Tell me about the 2 PSG midfielders. Do you think they will be huge for PSG in the future ?