derby time!

[guignol]

well derby time is on us again... i have to admit i've never been too excited about these... the first years i started following OL, ASSE wasn't even always in D1, and there's never been much at stake in terms of standings for a long time.

luckily the club and the players really take this to heart, and we can expect a signal effort before the return match against roma.

the biggest news about the match is about the refusal of the loire department to move the match to friday to give OL an extra day of rest before their CL fixture, and OL's saying they'd send a B-team (not the kind of B-team OM sent to paris last year; the B-team many say would probably win L1 in their own right). in any case, one of the big names are being left home.

bothe sides need 3 points: OL to get things really going, and ASSE to really join the CL spothunt for good.

this will be a good match!

[Inara]

Le groupe : Coupet, Vercoutre – Clerc, Réveillère, Cris, Abidal, Squillaci, Baros, Govou, Malouda, Fred, Källström, Wiltord, Tiago, Diarra, Benzema, Juninho, Toulalan.

Ben Arfa jouera avec la CFA ; Cacapa, Fabio Santos, Müller et Berthod s’entraîneront samedi matin.


What happened to the B team plan? :( Half of the B team has been left behind. And Ben Arfa has been sent to the CFAs?

Now I'm really curious, why is Ben Arfa not playing anymore? :confused: :confused:

[lefutur]

Now I'm really curious, why is Ben Arfa not playing anymore? :confused: :confused:

especially since malouda isnt exactly tearing it up on the field lately, you would think they would at least want him on the bench as a possible substitution. and with these rumors that benzema is looking for more first team action at another club you would think they would view ben arfa as a valuable commodity for the future.

[Allez Lyonnais]

Now I'm really curious, why is Ben Arfa not playing anymore? :confused: :confused:
My guess is that Houllier is having issues with his defensive contribution and work rate rather than his actual ability. Otherwise it is inexplicable.

[DaeHaMinGuk]

I would hate to lose Ben Arfa, or Benzema, for that matter. Why couldn't we have loaned one of them out in Jan?

[Allez Lyonnais]

I would hate to lose Ben Arfa, or Benzema, for that matter. Why couldn't we have loaned one of them out in Jan?
Having Benzema as a third choice is not rich for a club like Lyon and you know we need depth in every single sector. Although I've been thinking the same thing about Ben Arfa; why not let him have some experience elsewhere since he's not seeing much first team action?

[Nandinha84]

Wow! Great game!

Coupet is the only goalkeeper that I know that dribbles the striker (should not be the other way?) with some often.

Källström is so...viking, isn´t he? He stunned the referee and dindn´t feel a thing...

Tiago is so talented! Beautiful goal, beatiful smile (Am I right, Inara?;) )

Fred, like the brazilians commentators said,is showing to Dunga his value in FK, because right now the only freekicker in seleção is Ronaldinho. Not that Ronaldinho is bad or anything but is good to have options.

What happened with Cris? Yes, he did play well, but what´s up the complaining?Everybody could see that yellow card comming but Cris. It was the only time in that game that Lyon needed Juninho (c).

Juninho did not played one single minute, but he made part in a cute scene in the end of the game: he and another player from St. Etienne exchanged their jerseys, smiles and repect. I know that they do this all the time, but it was very significant in a match interruped for 20 minutes because of disturbance in the seats.

[Inara]

It was a great match until the 49th minute. Lyon was in total control, just passing St. Etienne to death. The stoppage in play ruined their momentum unfortunately. I think we would have seen another goal if play had kept going.

I'm disappointed in the supporters...

I'm also disappointed that we let in a goal. It was a really careless mistake by our defense, not brilliance from Gomis.

Fred was awesome. Two goals from free kicks - not bad, considering that he's only taken two free kicks this year. Last year, he took only one, and he botched it. So being able to count on Fred is a nice perk, especially since Juni isn't always on target, and Kallstrom blows hot and cold on fks. He's better at corners, I think.

As for all the yellow cards (Toulalan, Cris, Malouda, and Reveilliere), my understanding of the situation was that they wanted to get suspended now as opposed to risk being suspended during the League Cup final against Bordeaux. Had any of them picked up a yellow card next week against Marseille (and they probably would), then they'd miss the Bordeaux match.

Not that Houllier really cares about having them suspended against Nancy. He still has a lot of choices. :rolleyes:


Källström is so...viking, isn´t he? He stunned the referee and dindn´t feel a thing...

Tiago is so talented! Beautiful goal, beatiful smile (Am I right, Inara?;) )


Tiago always seems so surprised any time he scores, like he didn't expect it to happen. And then remember how happy he was during the League Cup match against PSG, when Wiltord scored? I was like, awww. He's just so adorable (what can I say, he brings out the fangirl in me).

Seriously though, Tiago is an underrated player. He brings elegance to our midfield, as well as creativity that Essien wasn't able to provide. His style of play wasn't suited for Chelsea, but he fit right in at Lyon. Juventus has their eye on him, but I'm hoping he won't leave us anytime soon.

As for Kallstrom...his nickname is Kongo Kim because of his physique. He's really quite strong. He isn't fast, but what he lacks in pace, he makes up in power and creativity (when he remembers to turn on the light bulb). I personally think he's too good to be a squad player, but there is just too much quality in Lyon's midfield that he only plays when Tiago or Juni sit out.

[DaeHaMinGuk]

A female OL fan? I think I'm in love.

[guignol]

a pretty good match, and scoring 3 goals doesn't hurt the confidence one bit before roma!

the tiago-toulalan-källström midfield worked really well, and in pure OL style from the old days: all 3 players took on the whole panoply of tasks. i always figured a big swedish farmboy like kim must have some tackling in him, and he pulled off a couple of gems. the icing on the cake was diarra's time on the pitch, he was excellent and a good thing too since he's very likely to start tuesday.

the crowd trouble was unfortunate, but really it comes down to this: someone in the ASSE kop threw a flare (smuggled in to celebrate a goal, but at 0-3... :D ) into the OL supporters section. it could have ended there, but the two groups kept chucking that one flare back and forth until some CRS decided to let off some tear gas... which visibly affected the players only. a brilliant idea!

[Nandinha84]

And then remember how happy he was during the League Cup match against PSG, when Wiltord scored? I was like, awww. He's just so adorable (what can I say, he brings out the fangirl in me).

I know, I was just kidding.:p

[lefutur]

A female OL fan? I think I'm in love.

haha. yes. i had no idea Inara was a girl either. is that a sexist comment? ;)

[Inara]

A female OL fan outside of France...stranger things have been known to happen!

Lyon is just so wonderful it reaches across the great gender divide ;)

[Nandinha84]

A female OL fan outside of France...stranger things have been known to happen!

Lyon is just so wonderful it reaches across the great gender divide ;)

Amen!

[DaeHaMinGuk]

A female OL fan outside of France...stranger things have been known to happen!

Lyon is just so wonderful it reaches across the great gender divide ;)

Ya, I became a fan of OL from the 3-4 days I enjoyed Lyon in the summer of 2004.

[guignol]

i had no idea inara was a girl either! inara, you may want to check out...

an all-girl OL supporters club:
http://monsite.orange.fr/oelleclub/

a club that is always present in numbers at the ladies' matches:
http://www.hexagones.org/site/gpe_presentation.php

btw, a couple of years ago OL ladies had 6 members of the USWNT on the squad. they didn't stay long (with the exceptions of danielle slaton and the awesome lorrie fair, less than a season) but since then the distaff side of OL has really taken off on all levels. they are leading the league and are sending 6 players to portugal with the NT, and the results of the younger divisions is just as impressive they've firmly entrenched themselves at the top with perennial powerhouses juvisy and montpellier and if they keep improving at this rate they'll dominate the domestic scene just like the men do now, and will be looking at europe with eager eyes. brava!

[DaeHaMinGuk]

Lorrie Fair wasn't bad looking...

[guignol]

Lorrie Fair wasn't bad looking...i'm not talking about that... i meant she was djila diarra with a ponytail!