Let’s Talk About the Game

November 24th, 2008 | by: Laurie |

I think we need to discuss last week’s game before we move onto more interesting stuff. Like, say, Gallas’s autobiography.

First off, the biggie: What did you think about Steve Savidan?

I thought his energy level was a breath of fresh air. He’s waited a long time for this, and he really, really wanted to make an impact. Sometimes some of the longterm players (even the younger ones) can seem a bit jaded, so it was pleasant to watch someone who is so completely…not. Like I said in the comments, he reminded me of a six-month-old labrador puppy — all energy and willingness to impress. The team could use more of that.

Unfortunately that energy ultimately didn’t make him any more effective than any of the other players. My guess is that if he’s given the chance he’ll settle down a bit and maybe think through the shots, maybe take a little more time to set things up. The question is, will Domenech give him the chance? And if so, at whose expense? This club does not need five strikers, especially when it has to play several of them out of position to get them on the field together.

Yoann Gourcuff was a bit of a disappointment. Uruguay had his number and shut him down pretty effectively, and I don’t think he was having an on night. Let’s hope this is temporary, because for the team to even make it to the World Cup he’s going to have to be something close to the player everybody expects him to be. No pressure, Yoann.

I thought Hugo Lloris looked good in goal, although it did help that Uruguay couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with their shots. It would have been interesting to see what he could do if they’d had their shooting boots on.

It was interesting to see Patrick Vieira on the field again. A few tantalizing touches to remind us of what once was, and yet… I’m still thinking the team would be better off developing younger talent. (But at least he didn’t get injured. As far as I know.)

Franck Ribéry and Jérémy Toulalan continue to delight. Those two never seem to get jaded either. I always enjoy watching them, even when they can’t make things happen. Although I enjoy it more when they can.

Philippe Mexès had a much better game than against Austria, but that wasn’t exactly difficult. My head says he’s probably the answer to our centerback question, but my heart is not fully convinced that he and William Gallas can get the job done.

I’m also not fully convinced by Rod Fanni, although he had a good game. What do you think? Is he better than Bakary Sagna? What about Francois Clerc? Or should we be calling up someone else? And Patrice Evra didn’t seem as sharp as he has previously.

Henry wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t effective either. Ditto Anelka. Benzema didn’t seem to do a whole lot when he came on, nor did Nasri. (And has anybody else noted that bad France games seem to affect club form the week after? It’s as if the guys’ confidence gets sapped. Let’s hope it’s temporary. I for one have really enjoyed seeing our French guys score loads of goals for their clubs this season and want it to continue.)

And Alou Diarra and Jimmy Briand didn’t make much of an impression, to the point that I’d forgotten they subbed in till I looked at a match report.

Goal.com’s player ratings, which I mostly agree with:

Lloris: 5
Fanni: 6.5 (seems maybe a little high to me)
Evra: 5
Mexès: 5
Gallas: 5
Toulalan: 6
Vieira: 5
Henry: 5
Gourcuff: 5
Ribéry: 5.5
Anelka: 4.5

Subs:
A. Diarra: 5
Nasri: 4.5
Savidan: 6
Benzema: 5
Briand: 4.5

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gaston

uruguay is tough team, they lost to brazil 2-1 which slashed portugal 6-2, so uruguay was worthy opponent, but that is not an excuse for the team, we have top quality players who play in the most challenging clubs and leagues, we should be winning these matches. brazil, argentina, germany, italy all these teams manage a win whether beautiful or ugly game, and thats where i believe France is lacking, our mentality to win is not there, unless we are cornered like in the romania game or the team is extremely weak, only then will we win. we react in an emotional way, after the embarrassing austria game, the team was filled with hunger for victory and they got it, having calmed down from that victory the romania slight took them by surprise and had to react quickly. i see the team slowly returning to its 0-0 or 1-0 games with hardly any entertainment.

about steve savidan, his full of enthusiasm let him play a couple of games, and see how things turn out, same as gourcuff, now that he is known. players know his style of playing and will be able to shut him down, the key to overcame this is not get frustrate but creative with the ball. thats how great midfielder like zizou prevailed, its not each they played something was invented, defeders knew his style, some even played with him, its about creativity
Eric Escander

I liked Savidan and more players need his enthusiasm. Yoann Gourcuff didn’t have a brilant game but he had his moments. The main problem is that with the midfield in a box fromation there is no true central mildfielder which I think is where Gourcuff should play. Put him in the middle and he will string together the offensive attack. Him in the middle, Ribery and Nasri on the wings, and Toulalan in the back and you have a deadly midlfield. It would be nice to see Flamini intergrated into the team and I hope he gets called up again. Mexes played a good game and can rebuild his reputation. I just wonder if you paired him up with someone other than Gallas,or vice versa, what would happen? And no I don’t mean Abidal. I prefer Clerc at right because he is solid. He isn’t flashy but is effective. Fanni and Sagna are good but not always reliable. Lloris needs to stay at net because Mandanda is just horrible. Maybe things will change for Mandanda but for now keep him on the bench. So to sum up keep Savidan, drop Briand and replace him with Menez or don’t replace him at all, keep Alou and drop the other Diarra and Vieira and bring in Flamini, keep Lloris, and for goodness sake we need to be more creative with the formation. If some of these things get worked out we could find ourselves in South Africa.
Michel-Olivier

i agree with escander, but instaid of menez i would of call hoarau
http://france.worldcupblog.org Laurie

Wasn’t Gourcuff technically supposed to be playing in the center, behind Anelka and in front of Toulalan and Vieira, with Henry and Ribery on the wings? The game didn’t feel quite like that though, did it?
Aditya

You just completely ignored Savidan! And he did really good.