AS Monaco thread [R]

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I hope SuperSebGrimaldi is doing ok. This game might have killed him. lol

Actually, it almost looks as if I jumped ship at the right moment. ;)

[guignol]

congratulation on your historic first-ever GRAND SLAM... considering the competition this week from our gones it's impressive work!

http://www.cahiersdufootball.net/images2/2008_02/equipe_pauvretype_25.jpg

[SportBoy333]

There seems to be a feud going on between Piquionne and Ricardo and that cant be good since he is one of thei best attacking players and if he was forced out the team would continue to sink even lower than they have.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I won't comment on when I jumped ship ;), but I will say that I don't believe Piquionne's departure, if it happens, will be that bad. However, this will not help if they decide to sell him as it would look as if they were trying to get rid of him. I don't deny Piquionne is a starter and deserves to start, though eventually there will be better options than him.

[SportBoy333]

I heard that he wants to play for PSG.

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Come to think of it, having Piquionne stay could actually be bad for the club as he's known as a lazy guy. Not the best of examples for Ménez, Gakpé or Bakar, all of whom are expected to be better players than him.

[NicolasN.]

Come to think of it, having Piquionne stay could actually be bad for the club as he's known as a lazy guy. Not the best of examples for Ménez, Gakpé or Bakar, all of whom are expected to be better players than him.

Ménez is known to be lazy as well :p

Anyway, that's right Piquionne wants to come to PSG...

Perhaps, Ricardo will bring some fantastic unknown Brazilians as he did with Bordeaux (Wendel, Alonso, Fernando)...

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I know, which is why it's often frustrating watching the ASM attack this season as the players are good enough, though how they execute as a team isn't.

Oh, BTW, Nicolas, not a big deal but Alonso isn't Brazilian. ;)

And actually there have been Brazilians already brought in, though other than Nenê, none of them have been that good. (Bolívar was bought by ASM before the arrival of Ricardo.)

[NicolasN.]

I know, which is why it's often frustrating watching the ASM attack this season as the players are good enough, though how they execute as a team isn't.

Oh, BTW, Nicolas, not a big deal but Alonso isn't Brazilian. ;)

And actually there have been Brazilians already brought in, though other than Nenê, none of them have been that good. (Bolívar was bought by ASM before the arrival of Ricardo.)

My bad, I always thought he was Brazilian lol

Thanks to correct me.

[rossgreen]

Do you have any center forwards in the youth system that could take Piquionne's place, or would you have to buy one?

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

What Monaco actually has in abundance are a good many wingers/attacking midfielders who can play as strikers or central attackers if called upon. The list is deep and includes Ménez, Gakpé, Nenê, Bakar and Pino who is out on loan in the1 Belgian league. All of these guys are eventually expected to be better than Piquionne, if they aren't already.

The downside is none of these guys are out-and-out strikers, and while Piquionne isn't either, he is a more experienced finisher than any of the others.

If Monaco management wanted to be cheap, they could call back on Gonzalo Vargas, the Uruguayan who's on loan at Sochaux, who is also a more experienced finisher than the other guys.

Although in the end, as an objective observer now, the correct thing to do, given circumstances, may be to let everybody develop and they could do so very quickly (as was the case with both Gakpé and Bakar).

After all, Ménez did score a hat-trick at Sochaux when he was an U-18 player in the senior team. He can definitely develop into 15-20 goalscorer in the league, even if his strengths are on the wing (then again, back when Henry was at this stage at Monaco, they believed he'd be better on the wing as well).

[SportBoy333]

I don't understand why you are just an "objective observer" now. What team do you support ???

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Well, I meant objective as in I'm not following the team really anymore, so while out of the 5 "major" clubs (major as in they're able to actually attract foreigners), I definitely support Monaco, though they're not "my" team.

Besides, I've been more focused on the national team, although in doing so, I do track some of the guys at ASM (Ménez, Gakpé, Bakar among the pros, Zola, Schwechlen, etc. back at the academy).

[SportBoy333]

Keita double propels Lyon nine points clear in France

PARIS (AFP) - An Abdul Kader Keita double score propelled Lyon to a 3-0 thrashing of Monaco on Saturday to leave them nine points ahead at the top of the French league.

Brazilian Fred got the second goal against Monaco, who were virtually non-existent in the opening 45 minutes.

Second-placed Bordeaux have the chance to close the gap on Lyon on Sunday when they host Strasbourg.

Though the result in itself was not a surprise owing to Monaco's lacklustre season, it was Lyon's first victory at Monaco during their run of six consecutive league victories. During those years Lyon managed five defeats and a draw.

It was also the first time in their history that Lyon had scored more than two league goals at the Principality club.

Lyon coach Alain Perrin admitted a seventh title was looking more likely following this result. "We played a great match and the players showed real desire in an away match that is never easy," Perrin said.

"We really excelled in the first half in a match of two distinctly different 45 minutes of play. A point would have pleased me but three points have given us a major boost in our quest for the title."

He said they would be looking to consolidate on this victory in their next league match against Paris Saint Germain at home.

Struggling Paris Saint Germain are in action later Saturday against Valenciennes.

Monaco had packed their midfield with five players but could still not stop Lyon threatening on their goal early on.

Monaco keeper Stephane Ruffier had to deal with shots from Jeremy Toulalan and Kim Kallstrom but could not stop Lyon from going ahead in the 20th minute when Keita, who had got the better of defender Vincent Muratori, sent a half-volley into the net.

The goal sparked off a period of Lyon domination and Keita managed to hit the post after once more getting the better of Muratori. Fred then got the second goal in the 35th minute having got the better of Monaco's Bolivar.

Just three minutes later came the third goal when Keita easily lobbed Ruffier.

Monaco coach Ricardo conceded they had lost to the better team. "We came up against an opponent on top of their game," he said. "There's not much to say about the match as Lyon were superior both technically and tactically. We did have some chances but just were not able to score."

http://www.soccerway.com/news/2008/March/15/keita-double-propels-lyon-nine-points-clear-in-france

[SportBoy333]

Pastor says Ricardo not in danger of losing his job.

http://news.maxifoot.com/info-075520_80321/football.php

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

Get rid of Pastor.

[SportBoy333]

Look how many guys they have in charge over there

Président : Michel PASTOR

Vice-Président : Gérard BRIANTI

Vice-Président : Adnan HOUDROUGE

Directeur Général : Marc KELLER

Directeur Sportif : Jean-Luc ETTORI

Manager : Gomes Raymundo RICARDO

Adjoint : Patrick COLLETER

Adjoint : Jean PETIT

So who exactly is in charge of the transfers ? Doesnt look like Ricardo has much influence. Keller and Ettori are calling the shots. The 2 vice presidents, I have no idea what they do

[SportBoy333]

Pastor resigned

http://www.asm-fc.com/article.aspx?id=5400

[SportBoy333]

Btw, new president lives in the US and works for US soccer

Jerome de Bontin
http://www.ussoccerfoundation.org/atf/cf/{4AB68129-5AD7-4143-BFC9-BDBD63658B29}/debontin.jpg


Family
Resides in Chicago, Illinois
Wife : Helga
Children : Three children

Employment
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mékar Financial Services and Founder and President of Sustainability Investments LLC


Soccer
- Board of Directors, US Soccer Foundation
- Chair, US Soccer Foundation Development Committee
- Trustee, US Soccer Foundation Investment Committee
- Director of the Board, AS Monaco Football Club

[SuperSebGrimaldi]

I remain very detached from the club, but I have a bad feeling about this.