AS Monaco thread [R]

[guignol]

Argh! We have signed Berthod, boo! Why, oh why?hey; the kid's gotta make a living!

you'll see berthod's not that bad. in fact if he learns how to hit a barn door with a cross he'll be pretty good.

[SportBoy333]

MONACO/JAN KOLLER:

"To make my last year of contract"
Cyrille CAP - Wednesday July 04, 2007 - 20h25

At one year of the term of its contract, Jan Koller evokes its future with the ACE Monaco. Several foreign clubs are interested but the Czech attacker does not want to leave the Rock.

Jan Koller, Reading (England), Alkmaar, Twente (Holland) were interested in you. Could you leave Monaco?
I intended to speak about some of these contacts, but only in the newspapers. That never arrived until me. As of the end of last season, I expressed my will to remain, a transfer is thus excluded.

Did you speak with your agent and your leaders?
Very quickly, I let know with my agent that I remained here. The leaders, them, never asked me to leave. There remains to me one year of contract and I want to go to the end.

Did you already discuss with Ricardo, your new trainer?
Not, not yet. One has just begun again, the group reforms oneself gradually. I too much did not follow his work to Bordeaux but I saw that it aligned often only one attacker at a peak. I discussed him with my friend Vladimir Smicer, who explained me that it made good drives and a good tactical organization. It is a good trainer.

Precisely, that becomes Smicer?
It is currently involved with Slavia Prague. It awaits an interesting proposal. If it does not come, it could remain in Slavia.

Ricardo wished to prolong it in Bordeaux. It could join you in Monaco...
(To laugh) I would like! But I do not know any more.

http://www.mercato365.com/infos-clubs/monaco/article_174123_-Faire-ma-derniere-annee-de-contrat-.shtm

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

you'll see berthod's not that bad. in fact if he learns how to hit a barn door with a cross he'll be pretty good.

That's what I don't get. I mean I know that Mangani, who was seen at Clarefontaine as having an extremely accurate cross while earnings comparisons to Lizarazu on his service, is likely not ready yet to be a L1 starter (though I believe he'll be very good when he is ready), though why the commitment to Berthod? I'm not that troubled by the signing, as we definitely have to have depth after the departures this offseason, but I wasn't expecting Ricardo to apparise him that highly. It makes me question his judgment with other players, though hopefully he'll sign Grafite from Le Mans, as go the rumors.

If we get Grafite, I'll be happy because we'll have a guy who can definitely score 15-20+ goals with good service.

[SportBoy333]

I dont wanna see Le Mans get relegated. I have found quite an affection for them.

[guignol]

here's something berthod will bring to the rock that is very important: he's been at OL in a champion team, practices at champion practices and has suited up for 4 years in champion changing room. he came up through a training academy that has produced champions, champions, champions.

he has played regularly for france since the age of 15 and even captains the espoirs occasionally these days (remember he's still pretty young). this guy knows what winning is all about.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

guignol, we appreciate it, but you don't have to sell Berthod to us. Management already bought him, but we appreciate the effort. :D J/K. I agree though, that he has a lot of experience with Les Espoirs, but with that logic, we'd buy Jérémy Gavanon (not to offend him or anything, but compared to other keepers that have played for Les Espoirs, he'd have to rank near the bottom). The issue I have with Berthod is not about his character or demeanor at all, since I believe they're quite good. It's more that he's not that fast, he doesn't dribble very well, and to be kind, he's not the best crosser in the world. His abilities are average at best, and I'd rather have signed a better player. Either that or allow for a player who has the ability to be significantly better than average (Mangani) to develop. Though, I'll admit, Mangani is not ready yet.

Then again, Monsoreau did have a decent year with us, I think. So who knows, but I'm hoping that we do sign better players soon.

Oh and to address the Grafite issue, I don't want to see any team relegated, but I don't want us to be relegated either!

(To give Le Mans credit, though, to have Grafite, Yohann Pelé, Bangoura, Basa, Coutadeur and Sessègnon is quite impressive.)

[SportBoy333]

I wouldnt mind if certain teams got relegated. Auxerre and Lille come to mind.

[minus]

What are the chances of Pino starting this year????

[SportBoy333]

Piquionne interview


L1 - Monaco - 06/07/2007Piquionne : «L'année ou jamais !»
À 29 ans, Frédéric Piquionne entame son premier début de saison avec l'AS Monaco. Une saison qu'il espère moins mouvementée que la précédente : le néo-Monégasque était parti au clash durant le mercato hivernal avec les dirigeants stéphanois bien décidés à ne pas le laisser s'envoler chez l'ennemi lyonnais. Finalement, il s'est retrouvé sur le Rocher. Mais l'attaquant aux 11 réalisations la saison dernière n'a pas ravalé ses ambitions pour autant. Frédéric Piquionne rêve toujours de Ligue des champions et d'équipe de France à laquelle il a pu goûter. Et pour lui, «c'est l'année ou jamais !»

« - Frédéric, comment allez-vous ?
Après quatre semaines de vacances, je vais très bien. On a toujours envie d'avoir un peu plus de congés mais vu que la reprise s'est faite en douceur, ça va ! C'est le moment le plus important de la saison de toute façon. On a intérêt à ne pas se blesser durant cette période de préparation car après, on prend un retard assez conséquent. Et il faut le combler. C'est vraiment un moment où il faut être très concentré.

Comment s'est passée cette seconde partie de saison avec Monaco ?
Elle a été formidable. Je me suis très vite intégré. Je suis entré dans un groupe performant qui n'était pas du tout à sa place au classement. C'est dommage que le club ait commencé la saison comme ça, car avec le groupe que l'on a, il y avait vraiment quelque chose à jouer. En plus avec l'équipe de France à la clé, c'était vraiment une superbe saison.

Partir de Saint-Étienne au mercato, dans les conditions que l'on connaît, n'a pas été trop dur pour reprendre avec l'AS Monaco ?
Il y avait une certaine pression et beaucoup d'attentes sur moi. J'espère avoir satisfait le club en tout cas. C'était plus difficile pour moi sur la fin car je me suis blessé et j'ai eu une baisse de forme.

Quels sont les objectifs du club cette année, et quels sont vos objectifs personnels ?
L'objectif du club est de retrouver l'Europe. On est clair là-dessus. Et il faut se donner les moyens pour le faire. Concernant mon cas personnel, je veux continuer de progresser avec mon club et de figurer en haut du classement des buteurs. Je vais essayer de me donner les moyens de mes ambitions. C'est l'année ou jamais !

C'est-à-dire ?
D'abord, c'est l'année ou jamais pour le club, car ça fait longtemps que Monaco n'a pas fait de Coupe d'Europe. Mais c'est aussi l'année ou jamais pour moi, car à 29 ans, j'ai envie de jouer une Coupe d'Europe. Je suis venu au club pour ça. J'ai besoin, et le club aussi, du haut de tableau, des grands matches et de faire plaisir à notre public. Il faut que l'on rivalise avec les grands clubs de France et moi avec les grands buteurs.

L'Euro 2008 doit aussi être un de vos objectifs, vous qui avez été sélectionné pour la première fois en Equipe de France cette année (Lituanie-France) ?
L'Euro 2008, c'est dans un coin de ma tête. Mais comme je le dis souvent : pour y retourner, il va falloir que mon club soit en haut de l'affiche et que je sois performant, régulier et surtout décisif. C'est à moi de faire le boulot sur le terrain. L'équipe de France, on a toujours envie d'y retourner car pour ma première sélection, j'ai passé dix jours exceptionnels. C'était une véritable aubaine pour moi. Ca m'a permis de voir mes capacités et d'avoir un pied dans cette équipe. Je vais essayer de donner le maximum pour y retourner, ça c'est sûr, car je n'ai pas envie que ça s'arrête.

Vous pensez avoir une réelle chance ?
Ce sera une décision du coach. Il y a plein d'attaquants qui postulent en équipe de France. Je peux aussi bien marquer 20 buts en France et ne pas être dans la liste. Ce sera un choix.

En parlant de choix, pensez-vous avoir fait le bon en signant à Monaco ?
Monaco, c'était un bon choix. Je suis venu ici car les dirigeants me voulaient et qu'il y avait un objectif commun : retrouver l'Europe. Et c'est ce que nous allons essayer de faire dès cette saison.

L'épisode du mercato entre vous, Lyon et Saint-Etienne, est-il définitivement oublié ?
Oui c'est oublié. Aujourd'hui, cet épisode est loin derrière moi. C'est clair que j'éprouve toujours de la rancoeur envers les dirigeants mais pas au niveau des supporters et des joueurs, qui ont été remarquables avec moi. J'ai passé trois belles saisons à Saint-Étienne. Le seul souci, c'est quand j'ai parlé «d'esclavage» car ce mot a été mal interprété. Aujourd'hui, j'ai fait mon choix, un bon choix, et tout ça est oublié.

Que pensez-vous du comportement des dirigeants stéphanois qui ne veulent pas laisser partir Zoumana Camara et Bafétimbi Gomis ?
C'est dans la continuité du comportement qu'ils ont eu avec moi. Ils veulent à tout prix montrer que ce sont eux les plus forts. En plus là, ce n'est même pas Lyon ! Mais ça peut malgré tout se comprendre. Ils veulent bâtir une bonne équipe pour l'année prochaine et garder les meilleurs éléments. Je pense que chaque joueur peut comprendre cette envie des dirigeants mais quand on a des propositions extérieures, ils n'ont qu'à se mettre au même niveau.

Que pourrait-on vous souhaiter de mieux pour cette saison ?
Que l'on soit en Ligue des champions en fin de saison... C'est l'objectif principal.»

Propos recuillis par Jean-Christophe Drouet

http://www.francefootball.fr/FF/breves2007/20070706_080608Dev.html

This guy has no chance of going to Euro 08. Puh-lease ! Did he actually say he can score 20 goals ? No chance in hell he scores that many this year.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

In the interest of tying up loose ends,

This guy has no chance of going to Euro 08. Puh-lease ! Did he actually say he can score 20 goals ? No chance in hell he scores that many this year.

Of course he will. I mean, with the reserve team. ;)

What are the chances of Pino starting this year????

Quite high, if he is able to stay off the injury list. Of course, it also depends on whom we acquire, though I definitely expect him to get into some more action this year.

[SportBoy333]

10-15 goals next year for Piquonne. I think 12 or 13.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Thought I would update this after our 2-0 victory over Lausanne (yes, it's only Lausanne).

One of my good friends in France, who's actually a fan of l'AJA (Auxerre), got a feed of the game as his father works in the French media industry.

I watched some of it yesterday, then a little of it today, and here are some thoughts.

It appears that Ricardo wanted to play 2 different sides in each half, with the side in the first half as his idea somewhat of a starting lineup, with the exception of those that were not available (Cufré, Leko, Veigneau, Plasil, Maurice-Belay), at Clairefontaine with the U-19 team (Nimani, Martin, Pinau) and those who are almost assured of a starting place (Roma).

First half lineup:

----------Piquionne----------

Ménez------Kallon------Pino

-----Bernardi-----Meriem-----

Muratori-Monsoreau-Bolivar-Modesto

----------Ruffier----------

Second half lineup:

----------Koller----------

Gakpé----Licata----Bakar

----Meriem----Mongongu----

Berthod-Lescure-Lô Sambou-Modesto

----------Ruffier----------

We had quite good wing play in both halves, while being extremely offensive minded in the first half, both Bernardi and Bolivar joined the attack as well.

Goal #1 came on a defensive error, Kallon outpaced the defense and finished.

Goal #2 was a header from, who else, Koller, off a Meriem free kick.

In the second half, our defense did not appear as strong, as while Lô Sambou is a beast of a defender, he's got more than a bit of work to do on his defensive awareness.

Here are some other thoughts.

Koller did his typical thing, which is stand tall and head it when it comes.

When Kallon is able to dribble around a goalkeeper, he will score.

Ménez really shot out of the gate, as he outpaced and dribbled by a bunch of defenders early on, though his shots did not hit the target.

Meriem did his typical thing, good job on set pieces.

Pino definitely showed a lot of dribbling skill, though regrettably, his finishing was not of the same quality.

[SportBoy333]

Thought I would update this after our 2-0 victory over Lausanne (yes, it's only Lausanne).


WHO ????

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Hmmm, I suppose no one pays any attention to the Swiss. Lausanne are actually now in the Swiss Challenge League, the equivalent of L2 over there, but in their better days, they did develop Patrick Müller.

[SportBoy333]

Hmmm, I suppose no one pays any attention to the Swiss. Lausanne are actually now in the Swiss Challenge League, the equivalent of L2 over there, but in their better days, they did develop Patrick Müller.

Kinda hard to keep up to date with the Swiss 2nd division when living in the States you know. Anyway, you mentioned Kallon and I had totally forgotten about him. I always seemed to read that either he wanted to leave or they wanted to get rid of him. Anyway, I think he is needed now more than ever and will help the team if he plays well. I really dont like the 4-5-1. Ricardo sucks. I'd prefer Koller and Piquonne up front and send Pino to the bench.

[Douai]

Thought I would update this after our 2-0 victory over Lausanne (yes, it's only Lausanne).

Sounds like Meriem had a good match. So Lille was right to be interested in him?

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Kinda hard to keep up to date with the Swiss 2nd division when living in the States you know. Anyway, you mentioned Kallon and I had totally forgotten about him. I always seemed to read that either he wanted to leave or they wanted to get rid of him. Anyway, I think he is needed now more than ever and will help the team if he plays well. I really dont like the 4-5-1. Ricardo sucks. I'd prefer Koller and Piquonne up front and send Pino to the bench.

Dude, I mean, seriously I don't follow the Swiss League either. Tell me about it, it's hard enough keeping up with L1.

Yeah, I think the issue with Kallon is that he'll disappear during a match or pout that he doesn't get service. He's not a striker in Koller's sense, but during periods when we're getting dominated in midfield, he won't be doing anything to help the situation. Then again, having said that, he can play almost anywhere in the attacking half of the field, and he does fit our "speed" team, so I expect him to start.

Sounds like Meriem had a good match. So Lille was right to be interested in him?

When Meriem is having a good game, he can be very good because he's a good passer, dribbler and a threat with his free kicks. However, he can look very ordinary otherwise. I think overall, Meriem is a starter on many L1 teams, though he's not international-class. Considering the depature of both Bodmer and Keita, I'd think he'd start at Lille.

We'd happily exchange him for Makoun :D (though I mean you'll never accept that).

Oh, and to address the formation issue, Ricardo often played 4-2-2-2 at Bordeaux, and that could work here, except I don't think we have enough at the 2 ballwinning defensive midfield slots now that Touré is gone. That is, except if Distel Zola and Malaury Martin are ready to take over in defensive midfield.

[SportBoy333]

The back 4 is still the weakest part of the team. It's probably the reason we will finish mid table. Do you have confidence in any of those guys ??? Muratori, Monsoreau, Bolivar,Modesto, Berthod,Lescure,Lô Sambou. They have to sign someone else 'cause thats a sad group. When they had Evra, Givet, Squillaci, Ibarra, Rodriquez, Maicon now those were quality defenders.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

The back 4 is still the weakest part of the team. It's probably the reason we will finish mid table. Do you have confidence in any of those guys ??? Muratori, Monsoreau, Bolivar,Modesto, Berthod,Lescure,Lô Sambou. They have to sign someone else 'cause thats a sad group. When they had Evra, Givet, Squillaci, Ibarra, Rodriquez, Maicon now those were quality defenders.

I agree, the back 4 is definitely where we have to either buy reinforcements or wait for our prospects to develop.

Mangani is capable of being as good as Evra, though he's a bit more of a Lizarazu-type (he won't attack as often as Evra, though he's also a very accurate crosser).

Schwechlen is capable of being another Squillaci, though he likely won't be as good. He isn't as good in the air, though he's quite similar in other areas.

Now, among the guys mentioned, I'd have to say Bolivar and Monsoreau would be the pick of the lot. They're actually solid, I think, though obviously they do have weaknesses, such as Bolivar's weakness being his lack of speed. I think they're not starters on a Championnat-winning team, though I think they're alright for us for now.

As for the others remaining, unlike a lot of ASM fans I'm not high on Muratori or Lô Sambou. Muratori is too short and weak I think to be an efffective defender, whereas Lô Sambou, though obviously not short, he's got a ton of work to do on his defensive awareness/reading the game, as well as distribution.

Modesto and Berthod are average players at best. Lescure a couple of years ago I think looked quite good in French youth teams, but as it turns out, much of that was due to him having better defenders around him.

Ricardo has, though, mentioned that he's looking to get another defender. I would say we require a minimum of 2, as Mangani/Schwechlen appear a year or more away.

[SportBoy333]

L1 / MONACO :

Monsoreau, la tête à Monaco
Jean-Pierre PIBET - mercredi 11 juillet 2007 - 09h01

Après trois semaines à l’étranger, mercato365.com revient en France pour vous plonger dans les coulisses de l’AS Monaco. Le club de la Principauté a vécu une intersaison riche en rebondissements. Aujourd’hui, gros plan sur Sylvain Monsoreau.

Parfois, le bonheur des uns fait… le bonheur des autres ! Pour Sylvain Monsoreau, c’est ce qui est arrivé durant l’intersaison. En signant à Marseille, Gaël Givet a offert sa place dans l’axe à l’ancien défenseur de Lyon qui rêvait de retrouver son poste de prédilection. Après avoir connu le flanc gauche puis l’entrejeu, « Sly » va enfin revenir à ses premières amours, là où il se sent le plus à l’aise et où son potentiel s’exprime le mieux.

« C’est vrai que c’est une satisfaction de pouvoir jouer à mon poste, confirme le Monégasque sur le site Internet de l’ASM. Mais je n’oublie pas la saison dernière, qui a été satisfaisante dans la mesure où, en partant de Lyon, j’avais comme principale ambition de jouer. C’est ce que j’ai fait, à des postes différents certes, mais j’y ai pris du plaisir. J’ai retrouvé ce qui me manquait à Lyon, l’envie de jouer. »

« Je ne me suis pas pris la tête »

En retrouvant l’envie de jouer, Sylvain Monsoreau a renoué avec l’ambition. L’arrivée de Ricardo et la confiance des dirigeants le motivent pour cette saison. Même s’il s’est posé quelques questions en fin de saison dernière, il a rapidement compris que son avenir était sur le Rocher. « Je ne me suis pas pris la tête. Je savais que les dirigeants voulaient faire un choix entre Gaël et moi, qu’ils ne souhaitaient pas faire jouer une concurrence entre nous. Gaël m’a dit qu’il souhaitait connaître autre chose. J’avais très envie de poursuivre l’aventure. Je n’aurais pas aimé passer encore une seule année dans un club, ça ne me ressemble pas. »

A 26 ans, Sylvain Monsoreau espère maintenant reprendre le fil d’une carrière qui s’annonçait prometteuse à Sochaux. En signant à Lyon, on lui prédestinait l’équipe de France. Mais comme presque tous les joueurs de la génération Pedretti, l’exil loin du cocon sochalien a été dur à vivre

http://www.mercato365.com/infos-clubs/monaco/article_175203_Monsoreau-la-tete-à-Monaco.shtml