I think Anelka would start in either team, actually. Tevez (and also Rooney actually) can play as the "9 and a half" allowing Anelka to be the No. 9 or as Anelka is a bit of a "9 and a half" anyway, play him in that role with one of the others up front. At Chelsea, he could compliment Drogba well, Kalou is a good player but like his brother he's inconsistent.
I think he'll go to Man City too. I think he likes it in England. About making the champions league I hope so but I just don't see it happening. Liverpool or Chelsea will have to drop out of the top 4 as I don't see Arsenal or United doing it. Citeh is level on points with Pool now, so theyre gonna have to remain very consistent to knock them off. Nico will certainly help. I really hope they do it, Im not a huge Pool fan.
OH yea, and apparently Willy Sagnol wants out of Bayern. I think he was directly quoted as saying 'I don't want to play for Bayern anymore'. Thats harsh. I thought they would give him the armband soon.
Yes OM was mentioned as a possible destination for him but it was quickly shot down due to his high wage demands. I love to see it happen though.
Given his coming up with us and l'ASSE, I doubt he'd want to go to Marseille. We really should think about having a look at him, though as aforementioned, his wage demands could be a bit too high.
A long time ago he said he wouldnt go to Lyon because he was a St. Etienne guy. He never said anything about OM. I still believe he'd jump at the chance to go there.
Saint-Etienne guys aren't exactly fond of l'OM. Tactically though, he'd be the ideal fit there because Bonnart isn't really a right back.
Well what I think will happen is that he'll go to some place like Manchester Utd. where he can continue to play at a really high level for a couple of more years and then after hes done there either finish his career in France or retire.
I read on OMplanete that Younes Kaboul could be loaned to either Fiorentina, Auxerre, Marseille or Monaco. Now they said they got their info from the Daily Mirror so its probably not reliable.
Kaboul has been crap .. reminds me of Boumsong when he was playing at Newcastle . IMO another case of leaving too early , but that's what you get when you move to a bigger league and stupid mistakes week in week out is not going to go un-noticed .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elie_Ikangu Elie Ikangu, b. 1987 plays for RBNY in MLS. I know he's got no shot with the national team; just thought I'd throw it in there.
Kalifa Cissé was absolutely awesome for us in defence against Manchester United yesterday, had Tevez in his pocket all day and was voted Man of the Match!
Lille got Rio Mavuba. http://news.maxifoot.com/info-072674_80122/football.php Also not quite French abroad but Daniel Cousin is leaving Rangers after only 6 months to sign with Fulham FC. I dont know how Rangers conned them into giving them 4 million for this guy.
Yeah I saw the deal was for 4 million and I couldnt believe it. I hope he enjoys playing in the Premiership because its only gonna be for 5 months and after that its HELLO Coca Cola Championship.
I know that your old pal Tommy Smyth is a fan of Cousin. I believe he calls him the big man from Gabon.
Lassana Diarra has made his move to Portsmouth from arsenal for 5.5 million pounds. More playing time is his excuse. Then he goes around and calles Pompey a stepping stone, the minute he gets there. I don't like this kids attitude. He's full of himself, and thinks he's much better than he his. He talks as if he's an automatic for euro 08 as well. That's a laugh. If it wasnt for Sagnol and Vieira's injury problems he wouldnt have seen any action in a les bleus shirt.
Yeah if thats his attitude than I'm glad he's using Portsmouth as a stepping stone rather than a French team. They get what they deserve over there since they sign foriegners rather than invest in homegrown players.
I'm typically one who is against this type of attitude, but could it be that he's actually right? I'm not a that huge a fan of Diarra (I definitely have Toulalan ahead of him) and I'm not anti-Portsmouth (I'm not anti-any EPL except some of the London clubs), yet I think with his transfer he arguably becomes the best they've got on that team. And being a starter is hugely important since we've seen what can happen with those stuck on the bench at their club. Rio Mavuba, anyone, who's essentially the same as Diarra? Diarra does have the advantage of versatility, though, which is why I do think he should be among the 23 chosen since he's able to cover at the back as well. Though if I'm Domenech, he's the 23rd guy (assuming they're taking only 2 keepers, if they're taking a third, he drops out).
We all know Diarra is right, but there are things you don't say. Obviously he wants to start for a big club, and Pompey isn't that, but you don't go disrespecting the team that is supposed to help you get there. Like with Essien - when he signed on to Lyon from Bastia everyone knew why he was doing it, but he had the grace to pretend like Lyon was where his heart was at (at least until it was time for him to move on).
Alright, very good point, Inara. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think Diarra is deserving of being in the national team, even if his versatility is a bonus. I wasn't completely aware of not only his behavior/mentality in this example with Portsmouth, but the guy also kissed up to Domenech ahead of the Italy qualifier. Don't know why I did not read about this before, but it does appear that he's the type of guy who will do literally anything to get into the first team. I wouldn't have thought I would say this months ago, but I'm beginning to think François Clerc is a better option at right back now (though in no way is he threatening either Sagnol/Sagna if I were sélectionneur).
Why did Mavuba fail at Villareal ? I dont understand why he didnt stick it out over there rather than come back so quickly. Lille doesnt have an option to buy him, correct ?