Vieira’s “forfait,” Henry Won’t Start. Benzema and Anelka, anyone?

Looks good, what’s the story with Henry though? Is he injured?

looks like a good lineup, but i think if gomis were to take benzema’s spot then that would be better.
Gomis and anelka seem to ahve real good chemistry

Henry being out is probably a good thing. As we saw in the Paraguay game, Anelka can be a great second striker/set up man. However, I don’t think it’s a good idea to play Toulalan with Makelele. Toulalan hasn’t shown much evidence that he can play forward (unlike Viera) and Flamini would probably be better as a replacement to Viera.

From what we’ve seen sofar, many goals came from a defensive mistake, and I am hoping that experience will prevent that kind of thing. If there’s a place where we have experience, it’s the defense.
So Henry also carried that experience up front, but after all, Anelka has accumulated a lot of play along the years; if he keeps a good attitude, he’ll bring something really good; he’s fast, he fights, he has a killer instinct – shall we see the Butterfly?
I’m a big fan on turning the table: if you’re a team who is going to defend against Benzema and Anelka, who are connected with Ribery, do you feel lighthearted?

OK, we’re next…in 19 hours. Can you feel it?

Laurie,
Maybe that was the dilemma Domenech was already facing on this photo on the train to Zurich:
http://www.fff.fr/serv/diaporama.php?id=446268&np=6
Wow, the weight of the World on his shoulders.

richs’ problem !
being “forced” to use anelka and benzema .. damn !
hurt ribery and nasri and i’ll laugh a little more
don’t know why are u worried about benzema.
he was far better than henry this year, amongst the top top forward with rooney, torres, nistelrooy or toni.
lack of experience ? … is that what u think when u see him play or just what u should think by knowing his age ?
he plays all year long like he’s played in ligue1 for ten years.
look at your opponants, italy lose definitively cannavaro
netherlands we’ve vanpersie who’s hurt for months and just might be back, but we also lose babel and now robben !
no more left player to play winger, and wingers are all our strengh.
if you are scared by anelka-benzema … how your opponent should be ?

Domenech certainly sounds less self-assured in the run-up to these games. It’s as if he’s trying to lower expectations.

(He also looks like he hasn’t shaved in three days there.)

It’s not that I don’t like Benzema-Anelka. I love them both. But that Gomis-Anelka chemistry against Paraguay was tantalizing. I’m hoping that Ribery-Benzema-Anelka can link up beautifully also.

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Dan, never bet money when you are emotionally involved

Yes NLfan, that’s what I was thinking, when you look from the other side, Benz/Anelka is still great.

Laurie, yes, the 3-day growth add to the dramatic flavor; remember Domenech dabbled in acting btw, he’s reading a really big book. What’s your guess? Goal-Scoring for Dummies?
By contrast on a later pic, Coupet seems to enjoy some cheap book that doesn’t look like “War and Peace”

Whatever works, guys, and good luck.

Ribery with Anelka and Benzema should be nice to see. All three of them have the ability to eliminate opponents and create opportunities. Anelka and Benzema aren’t so similar in my mind.. Anelka is fast and he’s good at outpacing opponents, but he scores less. While Benzema is good at dribbling and scores more.
Players like this could beat any defense, it’s just a matter of them connecting with each other. They’ll need better passing than against Colombia.

Doume, you’re right about Coupet. That looks like a comic book!

http://www.fff.fr/serv/diaporama.php?id=446268&np=8

Laurie: After extensive research (yes, i’m pathetic), I’m 99% certain the book on your link is this : http://www.amazon.fr/dp/2290303410 . The picture on the cover is definitely the same one, and it’s from the J’ai Lu collection.

dont see why ppl r so worried…
as long as ribery and benz are in, we dont need henry.
anelka is good cuz he can hold the ball, pass, good vision, and
most importantly SPEED!!!
we will see tomoro if viera is missed, or if toulalan can step up.
Aller les bleus!

Allez!

WOW! Looks like France are really going to run right over Romania. This is Frances game to relax. Romania cant score on France. 4-0 France.

remember world cup 2002, don’t be over confident, no zidane the french team is crap

Set, amazing detective work!
Somehow I love the idea of a goal-keeper reading a book from the Dalai Lama called “Art of Happiness: Wisdom and Serenity Everyday”. Very cool. I feel better somehow that he reads that instead of a comic book!
Thanks for that, Set

Set, how much do I love people who are even more detail-oriented-nerdy about this team than me?

And how the hell did you figure that out? I can’t make out one word on the cover, but you’re absolutely right.

(But is anybody else wondering if he’s ripped the cover off that book and wrapped it around something a little less…erudite?)

Well, I recognized the little logo at the top left, because it’s a common brand of books, here. I went at amazone and looked for books from this collection. There’s so many books from them that it looked impossible. I was trying to decypher the title but with no result. Then I went to amazon and looked at the best sales from the brand and the cover was there.

Now the font of the title is entirely different, but you can recognize “Le Dalai-Lama” with some sort of line erasing the title in the middle of the letters. I suppose it’s a different edition of the book.

There’s also some kind of weird artefact in the middle of the Buddhist guy’s head. I suppose it’s the angle and a picture compression approximation problem but you’re probably right with your theory of a fake cover. Maybe he’s just looking at pictures of Estelle Denis.

I agree with the above statement about playing both Toulalan and Makalele… both are great, but play the same role: playing way back and staying defensive, never pushing up… Vieira when he’s in form was able to push the line forward and start-up the offense, like Pirlo/fabergasc… we don’t have that now. Diarra I fear plays the same extra defensive role

Flamini plays that role more, which is why I was hoping he’d get picked up… I don’t think this game will be as wide open without that true center mid pushing up from Toulalan/Makalele’s defensive stops.