L1 6ème Journée: l'OM v AS Monaco [R]

They should have used that lineup vs Liverpool.

 

We can't score We can't score We can't score We can't score We can't score We can't score We can't score We can't score We can't score We can't score

 

C'est fini,0x0.

And a huge boo at Velodrome.

 

Congrats Ricardo, King of 9-0-1 and Master of Catenaccio, fouls and diving. You've won an autograph of Helenio Herrera.

By the way, what about the rehabilitation of show in Ligue 1 Orange ?

 

Nice one, Catel. Although I surely must tell you that as a supporter of that team, I am happy he was the manager today, as a match like today's to hear the boos from the Vélodrome, it'd be music to my ears.

Although on another topic, is it not shocking the number of very good goalkeepers in L1 these days? Of course, there is Lloris and Mandanda at the top, yet who is to say that Rémy Riou, Landreau (yes, this season), Ramé, Pelé, Carrasso, etc. are not excellent and now today, Ruffier was impressive.

 

He's not any good.

 

The way that N'Koulou-Simic were defending, I don't know if Samassa would have helped, but both Niang and Koné are way too similar, in my opinion, to work effectively together. That's why I agree that prvev had a good argument that Gerets should have brought on Samassa, who is slow compared to the other two, though is much larger. In the end, we won't know, though it's apparent how a player such as Drogba, if there was some way to lure him back, would have been such an addition to this squad.

On the plus side if one is an OM supporter, the defense did well, though they weren't very well tested.

 

All they needed to do was try to keep Cisse around and they would have been fine. Luring Drogba back is a lost cause. Hopefully Cisse wont score a lot in Sunderland and he'll be booed and miserable and want to come back. How would you pay Drogba's salary without selling guys like Ben Arfa, Cana, Valbuena. Forget it.

 

No, I agree.

The key there is they are effective in counter-attacks.

Of course, to counter-attack, the other team has to attack, which we certainly did not intend to do.

But if Ben Arfa is healthy he can do damage even to the very tightest of defenses.

 

I actually think, though, I would sacrifice some of the midfield, as good as it is (I think that l'OM's depth in midfield is second to none in France), to get a true striker of top quality. Does not have to be a player with as high a reputation as Eto'o/Drogba, though a Kanouté/Luis Fabiano, or even a Rocchi/Suazo would help.

 

That makes sense but it will probably be hard to do due to the how poorly the club is run. I mean they could have done what you suggested this summer but they didnt forsee Cisse being a crybaby and quiting.

 

That was definately a surprise when they kept Zenden around. I was sure they'd get rid of him. Ziani, I thought they'd keep.

 

I think to l'OM's credit their, let's say "youth" purchases have done well, I think, like Mandanda(!), Kaboré, whereas their academy has cranked out Ayew, who will be interesting to follow at Lorient, as well as Nasri, considerably the best to come out of their academy. Valbuena I think was a purchase in a similar vein to the Mandanda and Kaboré signings, even if Libourne is kinda, well, the farm team.

 

Jordan Ayew is also on the books and would also be Abedi's son, I think. It's too early to tell if he will materialize into something, he is a U-18/U-17 I think, though he definitely looks decent, from what I've heard.

 

Drogba should have never left Marseille because unlike Ribery or Nasri he wanted to stay at Marseille and was never interested by joining Chelsea. Unfortunately, Bouchet wanted the big money he could get from Chelsea. I'm not saying that's the wrong option because that's also with the money they earned from the departure of Ribery for Bayern and Nasri for Arsenal that they could build a good team. However, when you have someone like Drogba who wants to stay so badly (he cried in his car before the press conference held to officialize his departure) in your team they should have kept him especially regarding what they have done with money they got from Chelsea. They wasted it with players who have done nothing at Marseille (Pedretti, Costa, Luyindula) and probably some agents.

Speaking of OM - Monaco, I think it's hard to blame Ricardo about his tactical scheme. His concern wasn't us to see a beautiful match but rather Monaco to get the best result possible which is, in my opinion, normal. Let's face it, Marseille have a much better roster than Monaco so if they tried to give more intensivity and pace to the game, they would have probably losed. The likes of Valbuena or Kone would have used their vivaciousness and their skills to make the difference if Monaco allowed them more spaces. Instead Monaco played defensively, lowered the game's pace with fouls or by not even trying to attack properly. They wanted to capalize on the few opportunities they would get. If Nimani or Park could have pulled the ball in net when they had to, it'd have been a perfect plan.

By the way, we'll see what will happen in the next few weeks but I'm not worried about Marseille. They have a lot of talented players especially in their midfield. Even if one of them is not as good as expected, they can replace him easily. They do have a problem of depth on the striker position and with the CB who is starting next to Hilton, though.

Up front, Niang is a great player, he is often bright but sometimes he can be really disappointing. I assume that he had two bad games against Liverpool & Monaco, however it's not that rare from him. I'm not worried about Niang as well. He'll come back to his usual form soon and will turn once again into one of Marseille key players as he's always doing.

Speaking of their "forwards", it's notorious that Kone is inconsistant but when he's in a good a day, he is really interesting. He was obviously in a bad day against Monaco but I don't think that's a so big deal for Marseille. He'll have undoubtly have better games and even if he doesn't, he can be replaced by Valbuena on the right side. Honestly, one game doesn't make the trick. Kone is a good player.

Some fans might regret that Cisse left Marseille which is understandable because Samassa is an unproven player. However, I thought it wasn't a so bad idea to attract a player with a different profile than the players already composing their roster. A target striker would offer new tactical possibilities to Gerets. It's fair to say that l'OM didn't have enough money left to attract a bigger name with this profile therefore they made a gamble with Samassa and are expecting him to step up.

That's somehow the same problem with the CB. They have bought Erbate for a cheap price to associate him with Hilton. Honestly, Erbate was not really convincing when he played against Rennes or even during the friendlies even though friendlies are not really relevant. Zubar replaces him now but he's always doing mistakes and lacks of focus. Marseille could expect Rodriguez to come back but he's still having troubles with his injury. Givet ? If he doesn't start against Sochaux, it'll be the ultimate proof that his career at Marseille is over. He has a really good salary and was kinda disapponting therefore Marseille are trying to force him to leave. I'm guessing that this position will remain Marseille main worry during this season.