The Official French Ligue 1 Thread

[J-Mezzy]

Is Monaco building a bigger stadium? They will have to if they hope to avoid FIFA fair play issues. I hope they can play in the CL next year if they qualify, but I don't know how that will work out given the amount of money they've spent already.

[b-ball forever]

For now Monaco isn't building a new stadium, but maybe the Russian club owner will try that later on.

FIFA fair play is a new implementation, so we have yet to see how it pans out. It's likely just a question of balancing accounts, so investors can still increase club income if they're creative enuf.
The financial tight ass NBA validated AK47's contract, so if's there's anybody capable of evading financial restrictions, it's the Russians

Each year France has it's 2 first placed teams automatically qualified for the champions league, and the 3rd placed team that goes thru CL qualifiers. Of course anything can happen, but Monaco will very likely finish top 3.

[J-Mezzy]

PSG moves into a tie with Monaco for 1st place after Monaco tied 1-1 last night. This should be a good race, but I have to go with PSG, they are just much deeper.

[b-ball forever]

Since the issue of James Rodriguez not starting all the time was brought up earlier, here's an interview with Monaco coach Claudio Ranieri : http://www.footmercato.net/ligue1/monac ... uez_115901

« James Rodriguez est un grand joueur, » « Quand il a le ballon quelque chose se passe, mais il doit mieux défendre. Il peut jouer sur un côté mais je pense qu'il est meilleur derrière Falcao.»
« Je suis convaincu que James Rodriguez marquera une dizaine de buts cette saison. Je le lui ai dit ». « Le problème de James n’est pas physique, c’est un problème de mentalité. Il pense comme un attaquant. Mais quand on joue sur un côté, on doit attaquer et défendre », a lancé l’entraîneur de l’ASM.

« Oui, c’est pareil, sauf qu’aujourd’hui Lucas défend plus que les autres. Quand James va voir qu’il ne joue toujours pas, peut-être qu’il va entendre ce que je veux lui dire »

Basically he's saying that Rodriguez is a great player who does nice things offensively when he has the ball, but it is indeed mainly for defensive purposes that Ocampos and Carrasco are in more often right now, which sorta makes sense given that both the fullbacks Fabinho and Kurzawa are offensive minded and often run upfield. Gotta have wingers who can switch back when needed.

He says that he's sure that James will score about 10 goals this season, but the problem is that for now he has a striker's mentality and thinks like a forward. He wants his wingers to play on both sides.

Also says that it's a similar situation to Ocampos at his arrival last season (lack of defensive focus), and now Ocampos plays much better defense and is starting after Ranieri told him he had to improve his D if he wanted to play more. "When James sees that he isn't always playing, maybe he will understand what I'm trying to tell him."

He also says that for now he thinks that while he can play on the wing, his best position would be as an offensive center midfielder behind Falcao.

I'm pretty sure that Rodriguez will wind up starting by the end of the season, like Ocampos did last year, he's just gotta improve his D (and preferably also his explosiveness).


There are 2 big games this week with Monaco hosting Saint Etienne on Saturday, then Marseille-PSG on Sunday.

[b-ball forever]

PSG moves into a tie with Monaco for 1st place after Monaco tied 1-1 last night. This should be a good race, but I have to go with PSG, they are just much deeper.

PSG has more talent overall for now, and I think will add on another piece or 2 during the winter (most likely a central/defensive midfielder like Cabaye for example). Agree that PSG should repeat, but Ligue 1 often has upsets.

[J-Mezzy]

Hmm. I figured that was the issue since Rinieri seems like a defensive minded coach. I hope he gets better defensively since that will help us on the national team. I still think James should be a winger, he is just much better there than as the central guy even though he can do both.

Any chance they sell him if this "marriage" doesn't work out?

Monaco has to win Saturday. Also, PSG seems to do a lot better in the CL than they do in the domestic league. Is there any particular reason for that?

[b-ball forever]

I seriously doubt they'd sell Rodriguez just yet since he hasn't been bad overall, just good offense with a lack of defensive focus. Maybe next year if sth goes wrong or other players are brought in at his position and he wants out.

PSG plays better in the CL since guys like Lavezzi or Pastore play with significantly more effort there for some reason than they do in Ligue 1. Pastore himself has admitted lacking motivation in the smaller fixtures. Also, some of the small Ligue 1 teams decide to play ultra-defense/counterattack with added aggression when they face Paris, to try and break the rhythm of the game

[J-Mezzy]

Well, James is not a selfish guy, but I doubt he will be happy not being a key guy on the team. He was the star at Porto and was/is considered one of the promising young talents in football. If he is not starting by the end of the season, I could see him wanting a move.

How is Lucas Moura doing? Is he in the same boat as James? I see him coming off the bench a lot.

[b-ball forever]

Lucas Moura's situation is somewhat similar, except that he's going against heavier competition.

Laurent Blanc likes to play 4-3-3 more often instead of 4-4-2, which leaves less spots available up front/on the wings. It's working good for the team overall with the inside trio of Matuidi/Verratti/Motta always dominating the midfield so far, but it forces Cavani out of his natural position with him playing side forward instead.

Lucas is in competition with Ibra/Cavani/Lavezzi/Pastore/Menez for the 3 spots up front, and he needs to improve his chemistry with Van Der Wiel on the right wing. He was playing better on the right with Christophe Jallet last year, but Van Der Wiel has stepped up his game this season and is now the starting right back.

[Foye]

I seriously doubt they'd sell Rodriguez just yet since he hasn't been bad overall, just good offense with a lack of defensive focus. Maybe next year if sth goes wrong or other players are brought in at his position and he wants out.

PSG plays better in the CL since guys like Lavezzi or Pastore play with significantly more effort there for some reason than they do in Ligue 1. Pastore himself has admitted lacking motivation in the smaller fixtures. Also, some of the small Ligue 1 teams decide to play ultra-defense/counterattack with added aggression when they face Paris, to try and break the rhythm of the game

Lavezzi must be one of the laziest soccer player of all-time.

[b-ball forever]

In terms of pure laziness by PSG players, Ronaldinho beats Lavezzi there.

Ronnie was addicted to the Parisian nightclubs and would party all time, even bringing one night stands to his room late during pre-game preparation phases, and half assed some practice sessions.

Of course the security agents at the Parc des Princes were often also security agents at nightclubs, so word always got around inside the club real quick.

That led to him and then coach Luis Fernandez often butting heads.

Of course he was also so talented that he was still able to consistently mystify the opposition despite the poor work ethic :

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5nZKAziam8[/youtube]

[J-Mezzy]

2 assist for James on today's game on the 2-1 win. Wonder if he will be a sure starter now, Ocampos and Carrasco are also playing well.

Hoping PSG lays an egg tomorrow

[cgf]

I really like a lot of the talent Monaco have on had. The more proven stars like Falcao and Moutinho and the wily vets like Abidal, Toulalan and Carvahlo are a good foundation for all of the gifted youth they have on hand as Rodriguez, Kondogbia, Ocampos, Carrasco, Martial, Isimat-Mirin, Fabinho, Kurzawa, Lopez, Riviere and Germain is a pretty sweet collection of youngins. As those kids develop and they add more stars once CL quali is secured, they could turn into a real powerhouse if Ranieri's defensive focus doesn't hold them back creatively. Would be pretty cool to see France having two teams capable of being regulars in the QFs of the CL.

[J-Mezzy]

Yeah, the team is stacked with young stars. Ranieri is doing a good job getting results, but I do feel that his defensive focus will prevent them from truly unlocking their full potential. I love coaches that demand all of their players to defend like Jupp and Klopp, but I am not fond of coaches that rely on defense as their main strategy and lack the creativity to let their player grow. Monaco could be so much more fun to watch if he let go of the reigns a bit.

[cgf]

That's my concern with them as well, will Ranieri's focus on defending prevent them from developing the fluidity that a team who can put out the likes of Rodriguez, Ocampos and Carrasco in between Falcao and Moutinho-Kondogbia should develop? Especially in that league where they don't need to destroy the game to ensure they grind out results with their more defensive formation playing two destroyers behind Moutinho.

If they could hijack the Honda move in the winter they'd be set to have a beautiful attacking 4-2-3-1 with Moutinho partnering Kondogbia or Toulalan in behind the Japanese #10.

[J-Mezzy]

Completely agree. Not that I think that they should be dominating games in Ligue 1 because the competition is tough there, but the games shouldn't be as closed up and lacking attack. The coach also wants to move James to the central role, and he can do it, but they would be amazing if they can get a true "10" like Honda or Mata while having James/Ocampos/Carrasco running the wings.

I was also surprised at the criticism of James' defense. Like I said earlier, he is no world beater in defense, but he has never struck me as a lazy player. He always puts in the effort to make runs to defend and put pressure on opponents.

[J-Mezzy]

In terms of pure laziness by PSG players, Ronaldinho beats Lavezzi there.

Ronnie was addicted to the Parisian nightclubs and would party all time, even bringing one night stands to his room late during pre-game preparation phases, and half assed some practice sessions.

Of course the security agents at the Parc des Princes were often also security agents at nightclubs, so word always got around inside the club real quick.

That led to him and then coach Luis Fernandez often butting heads.

Of course he was also so talented that he was still able to consistently mystify the opposition despite the poor work ethic :

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5nZKAziam8[/youtube]

Ronaldinho could have been one of the all time greats if he had great work ethic and dedication. His part life prevented him from reaching his full potential.

Anyways, what do you know of Gianelli Imbula? Chelsea have been linked to him for a while and we want to know if he is worth the $25 million that we are rumored to be willing to pay for him.

[b-ball forever]

Imbula is a nice talent and one of the nice surprises in Ligue 1 so far : rarely loses the ball and keeps it moving, good size and athleticism level, plays both ways, high activity level, keeps his calm and plays smooth, hard worker, and a good all-around skillset. Somewhat similar to Paul Pogba.

He's certainly worth more than the 7.5 mill euros Marseille spent this summer to acquire him from Ligue 2 side Guingamp, and has the potential to wind up being worth 25 mill, but there's no guarantees he'll wind up becoming a key player at Chelsea for sure as he's only only been playing in Ligue 1 for 2 and a half months so far.

An advantage Imbula would have moving to the Premier League is the adaptation ability. One of the main issues adapting to the EPL is the very high physical level of play there, and since Ligue 1 is a rather physical league as well (alltho not as much as EPL) many former Ligue 1 players manage to achieve success with their new team easier (Hazard, Cabaye, Giroud, Loic Remy, Drogba, Moussa Sissoko, Petr Cech, Sagna, Evra, Makelele, Gael Clichy, Henry, Anelka, Viera, Pires, Wiltord, Desailly, Deschamps, Petit, Ginola, Cantona...)

But for now, I'd rather go after Pogba, who has been playing at a high level for a longer time, won player of the U20 tournament, and has already been called up on senior national French team (with some good games there too). Actually, with PSG being able to use another central mid and the Juventus president saying they might not be able to hold onto Pogba, I hope they go after him this winter.

[J-Mezzy]

Ospina had a beastly game today in Nice's win over Marseille.

[Boognish]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzh6Py7d8lw[/youtube]

Ibra!