AS Monaco thread [R]

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Considering we lost against Lens in the Coupe de la Ligue when we were favorites and this game appears no different, I hope we can get a win. It won't be easy, though, I believe, if we trouble their defense enough, I can see us eking out on the odd goal.

Here are the lineups.

AS Monaco FC:

9 Koller - 18 Piquionne
10 Ménez - 21 Meriem
7 Bernardi - 5 Pérez
13 Muratori - 2 Monsoreau - 4 Modesto - 25 Cufré
30 Roma


RC Lens:

27 Dindane
18 Monterrubio - 10 Carrière - 26 Demont
22 Lacourt - 28 Sablé
2 Ramos - 4 Coulibaly - 25 Bisevac - 15 Laurenti
1 Runje

[SportBoy333]

Thats a strange lineup.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

This ref sucks, we've had 2 goals taken back by the ref. Alright, yes, the first one was offside, though the second was legit. Argh!

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Nice win today. Will do a recap, though now, let's celebrate! Actually no, since if Bisevac's header had gone in instead of hitting the bar, this could have been another bad game. Though we have to congratulate 2 of our 3 starlets, Ménez and Gakpé, for a superb 2nd goal that was the nail in the coffin, if there's anything worth mentioning in this one, it's that Ménez displayed skills of the highest class.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Alright, overall, I'm quite happy with the result, even if it came against a Lens team that really didn't play very well yet almost got an equalizer with 10 minutes to go. Here's a quick take on our guys.

Ménez was man of the match, often tormenting Laurenti and obviously scoring the 2 goals. Gakpé was a brilliant substitution because he got an assist right after walking on to the pitch. Meriem was kinda disappointing as he didn't really do anything. Koller was especially dominant in the air and gave a very good effort. Piquionne also gave a good effort, though didn't do as much as Koller. Bernardi and Pérez weren't bad nor outstanding. Actually, we've seen better from Pérez this season, Bernardi was alright. Monsoreau and Modesto were solid overall. Cufré and Muratori not as much, whereas Berthod coming on as a sub didn't do anything bad in his 2 minutes, which was a positive. Roma didn't have much to do though he was likewise solid.

[SportBoy333]

Koller and Piquionne should keep playing together since they won. Dont mess with things when they are going good.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

It didn't work in the Vélodrome, so it's hard to draw conclusions. Although in this one, admittedly Piquionne was actually more of a supporting attacker than an out-and-out striker, as Koller was very much the target man.

[SportBoy333]

Ricardo is interested in Tiago and Lassana Diarra.

http://news.maxifoot.com/info-071513_71220/football.php

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Either one would make a huge impact, I think. I believe Tiago would fit the team as it is constructed better than Diarra, and I think they're about the same in terms of overall level, though obviously Tiago is more accomplished right now.

If Keller lands either one and doesn't sell Ménez this winter, he deserves all the credit in the world, not only that, then I think actually this team is going places. :)

D. Le Tallec
Ménez - Gakpé - Pino
Tiago
D. Zola
A. Traoré - Schwechlen - Basa -Adriano
Costîl


Of course, I doubt that we'll get any of the players above that are not already ours, but that team would be able to challenge L'OL in a couple of years.

[SportBoy333]

I dont think they will get either of them but its nice to know they are showing some ambition for a change.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I actually think Keller's doing a good job. He's got a point about the refs too. We haven't been helped at all this season by their calls.

It's odd that I'd say this, but I wouldn't mind selling Ménez if we get Diarra plus a bunch of cash (5 million Euros or more at the minimum). Our midfield does have to upgrade if we are to challenge for anything this year.

[SportBoy333]

Problem is that other English team will want Diarra so why would he choose Monaco over them

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Well, Diarra's priority should be to make the Euro roster, as even though Domenech likes him, he's by no means a guarantee. Right now, he is not playing enough. Yes, moving to a mid-table EPL side would also get him status as an automatic starter, though one could argue he'd be more prominent in the eyes of Domenech by appearing at a "top" side in L1.

Alright, we haven't been a top side in L1, but with a good run, anything can happen.

[guignol]

Problem is that other English team will want Diarra so why would he choose Monaco over themthere are plenty of reasons. ASM still has a pretty good chance of playing the CL next year, they're only 5 points away and the teams in front of them are all surmountable. plus he'd play every week somewhere ray would see him. no english team fits all those criteria.

plus, even if it's a bit tacky for my tastes, until they put a topflight football club in bora bora monaco is about the most pleasant place to live there is. and money? we got it!

[soccer krazy]

17 yr old nigerian Lukman Haruna joins monaco
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7157525.stm

[soccer krazy]

Jan koller joins Nurnberg
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=537456

[SportBoy333]

Jan koller joins Nurnberg



Thats too bad but I read that it was his call and the club wanted to keep him. I guess he really liked playing in Germany when he was there and was desperate to return even if it wasnt with a good team. He should have finished the season here and then moved to Germany for 1 more season and then retire. They got some money for him rather than let him leave for free in June.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Well, I "watched" the Coupe de France game against Brest today initially on a really poor (50 Kbps) stream, though I was able to hear the commentary and was able to watch the highlights in comparatively better quality after the match.

First off, though I'm sad to see Koller go, arguably it was his departure that opened the door for Djamel Bakar, who would be today's hat-trick hero. Coming on as a sub, Djamel scored 3 goals in a span of less than 20 minutes! The guy's speed is electric, as he has by far the best speed on the team (including Ménez/Pino/Gakpé). Speaking of Ménez, Jérémy is today's other hero, as his coming on in the second half turned the game. He got Brest's keeper sent off, and added an assist which gave Bakar his hat-trick.

Other than the two French U-x internationals (Ménez is with the French U-21s, Bakar has been with the U-19s), no one stood out though not everyone was horrible. Admittedly in the first half, everyone was pretty horrid. Leko in particular was the worst, losing the ball easily and not being able to do anything in midfield. Sambou on his debut wasn't bad, but he's got some work to do, though one can see glimpses that he'll likely be a better player than say, Modesto. Pino had a good match I thought, as he was our only attacking threat throughout the first half. Piquionne emerged in the second half as a Koller-type, as he was holding balls up for Ménez and Bakar, as well as giving the Brest defenders a bit of trouble in the air. Our defense overall was solid, as despite being dominated in midfield throughout the first half, we only conceded one goal.

The key takeaway from the match, though, is obviously Bakar's breakthrough. He's improved a lot since joining our academy, and today he was able to display why our in terms of attacking speed/skill, our team is as good as any in France (except both l'OL and Bordeaux arguably). With him, as well as obviously Ménez, Pino and Gakpé, we have guys who are able to cause havoc to any defense. If only we had better players in defensive midfield and at the back, we'd have ourselves a (more) dangerous team.

I wonder now, though, with Bakar's success today, if Ricardo will look at others who are doing well at our academy, such as Schwechlen, Zola, Malaury Martin, Bulot, Mongongu and Mollo. I don't think we have to rush them, though if some are ready now, why not try them out?

[SportBoy333]

I really hope Tiago is coming. He will have to leave his current team if he wants to make it to Euro 2008.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I hope he does too, but they've been saying we're not able to afford his wages.

I am happy that Ménez, Pino and Bakar were able to show their stuff today though because I really think getting these guys some more action helps the team in many ways. If they continue to shine, then the best case scenario is that they'll be starters at the club in years to come. If we have to sell them or they want to leave, then we'll get good cash for them. The worst case scenario is that they don't pan out, but then we'll know to go looking again, though I don't think it will happen. As I've said before, I know we have a bunch of good players in our academy. Although I'm not advocating that we should throw them into the proverbial fire if they're not ready yet, if they show they're ready to go, then why not do it?

Anyway, if Tiago doesn't come, I hope that we do get a midfielder or a defender. I hope we get more for Koller than the papers are quoting, though I do understand why he wanted to leave, as he's more certain of a starting role at Nürnberg than he is here.