Indeed, though sorry you lost the game. On the other hand, one Newcastle scorer in that game was Charles N'Zogbia, who I thought I'd mention as he's another Le Havre youth product (Lassana Diarra is another) who's got a lot of ability and could be on Les Bleus eventually.
glad to see anelka finally getting another chance with the national team and proving his worth. it's clear that he's passed up trezeguet, saha, and cisse in the pecking order, and you can even argue that he's passed henry too given henry's injuries. (although i believe that if healthy, henry is still france's #1 striker). and yea, france has a load of young, bright talent. does anyone think clichy will get a call up?
I do! Dumbenech is calling up 35 guys, so I think Clichy could definitely make it. I know if I was in charge, I'd definitely think he'd make a list of 35. However, I don't think he'll get a senior cap. Oh, I should mention that the 35 will be split between an A Team (senior team) and an A' team, which would be the equivalent of a B team. Only issue when it comes to getting him into the A team is well, two of the best left backs in Europe. Patrice Evra and Eric Abidal.
oh yea...forgot about evra. i was only thinking of abidal. pity for clichy...he had to play backup to england's #1 left back for all those years too.
I'd take Clichy over Evra any day. And Anelka is great, but I'd take Trezeguet and a healthy Louis Saha over him as subs or strike partners for Henry.
Interesting viewpoint. I don't know if I'd agree, though as I hear Saha will be back in action soon. According to what I've seen (keep in mind it's only the EPL Highlights Show and a bit of browsing around EPL sites), Pascal Chimbonda and Charles N'Zogbia should be considered by Domenech. Especially as I don't think it's a terrific idea to have 4 defensive mids on the bench, be it Toulalan, Mavuba, the Diarras or Diaby. Additionally, François Clerc, while not horrible, has done little to convince me he'd be an outstanding choice at right back.
can't really speak for mavuba since i've never seen him play, but as good as toulalan, both diarras, and diaby are, i also don't agree with calling up all of them and keeping them on the bench. especially when your starting central midfielders are already makelele and vieira. and as much as i like trezeguet and wish his partnership with henry does well, i think it's obvious at this point that it's not going to work. i always thought it'd be a match made in heaven if their contrasting styles of play were able to complement each other. and especially since they're like best friends.
I really think the reason why the Henry-Trez partnership hasn't worked as it did before when they were both at Monaco is Henry is a much different player now. Henry in those days was on the wing and would often supply crosses, as well as more direct passes to Trez, giving him some good finishes. Henry these days will go out on the wing, though then he'll cut inside to shoot. Henry won't always shoot, as he'll get teammates involved as well, though when he does it's typically earlier in the play (like if he's double-teamed on the flank, he'll cross or pass to a teammate). In other words, when Henry-Trez were at Monaco, Henry was a pass-first guy. Now he isn't, though he does often get teammates involved. However, now that it's earlier in the play, those teammates have to know what to do after with the ball i.e. distribute the ball well. A guy like Dennis Bergkamp or Robert Pires was brilliant at that. Trez isn't. Trez is the ultimate "end action" guy. He's the one who applies the finish to all the work that's been done before. Except if Henry becomes the pass-first supplier as he was at Monaco, the Henry-Trez combination will be less effective. (Alright, I'm sorry to everyone who had to read this verbose dissertation.)
Very interesting, and given how well thought-out your argument is, I'm inclined to believe you. As I still haven't seen the Henry-Saha partnership fail, though, I'll take that over Henry-Anelka. And as I think France's attack would work best in a 4-3-3 templae with Malouda and Ribery on the wings, Trezeguet is still a viable option as the second striker, just coming off the bench. I'll leave that to the France supporters to give the word on, though.
I really appreciate your reading and commenting on that. I didn't think anyone would. I don't know about Saha, though. He did score this weekend to salvage a win for MU, though the guy can best be described in the words of Guy Roux. "He has a lot in common with my grandmother's blouse. When you stich it up at the bottom, it then tears at the top." (He actually said this about about Barthez, but you get the point.) In other words, Saha gets injured way too often, and given that Anelka is averaging about a goal a game this season thus far, I think Saha should be behind him in the pecking order. I actually have liked Saha, I was one who thought he should have been on the team much earlier then when he did finally join, but I think his days as a French international are coming to an end. Saha is 29 and his best days could be in the rearview mirror. Benzema, Sinama-Pongolle and Briand are all more than a half-decade ahead of the MU striker, while being a bit more versatile too. It's only my opinion, though, you do have a point that Henry-Saha has worked on occasion in international competition.
since he's not coming to lyon, i'm happy he's staying at bolton... i think that's what he wanted too.