No big news in France-land that I’m seeing, aside from the fact that we apparently broke Philippe Mexès when he was on international duty.
Oops. Hate when that happens.
(Get well soon, Philou. At least for Roma’s sake.)
And on a related note, was Eric Abidal a surprise in [...]

Sensitive young souls, cover your eyes. Everybody else? Please join me in wishing a Happy (slightly belated) Birthday to Noémie Lenoir, Mrs. Claude Makélélé
Noemie was born on September 19, 1979, 29 years ago yesterday.
(More photos below the jump.)

It was not a great day for French teams in the Champions League. Marseille lost to Liverpool 2-1 after taking an early lead, and Bordeaux got decimated by Chelsea, 4-0. (And it could have been worse.)
The only bright side? Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka both scored for Chelsea.
First it [...]

Having a look around the French press today, these two are getting the rave reviews. Lots of headlines about Anelka changing the game when he came on and Gourcuff having a great game on his full debut.
Not as much ink for Henry and his sublime opener, but he’s had his share over the years, [...]

First thing: Raymond Domenech has kept his job. For now.
According to Christian Teinturier, the VP of the FFF who was apparently the only guy to ask for change on July 3, is saying:
We had spoken of three matches. We will make the assessment after those three matches. We are [...]

I’m buzzing from that France performance. I wrote about it a bit already, but the buzz still hasn’t subsided.
I’m wary of getting carried away with hyperbole, but Yoann Gourcuff was a revelation, I thought. Starting in that most coveted of positions, central attacking midfield, the number 10 position, the Zidane role, he had [...]

L’Equipe is saying that Philippe Mexès, Patrice Evra and Samir Nasri are out, to be replaced by Eric Abidal, Gaël Clichy, and Yoann Gourcuff.
Yeah, I know. Me too.
On the plus side, it looks like Eric Abidal may get the opportunity to redeem himself as a central defender! On the minus… In the [...]

After France’s shocking performance against Austria, losing 3-1 to kick off the World Cup Qualifying campaign, many supporters have turned their thoughts to le sélectionneur, Raymond Domenech, and posed the question: “Why hasn’t he been sacked already?”
Coming on the heels of a woeful Euro 2008 campaign, and a shocking stay of execution, the [...]

Okay, let’s look at the bright side.
Um…
I know there’s something…
Oh, got one! Actually, more than one!
1) Jérémy Toulalan gets better every game, and is looking more attack-minded as well. He’s becoming less wary about shooting from distance, which can knock defenses off guard — a good thing, as our offense can [...]

The game is half over in real time, but Setanta is broadcasting on a little over an hour time delay.
If you’re watching on Setanta, leave comments!