It's international week, so things are rather quiet on the Lyon front. Here's what's been going on:

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Fabio Grosso is back in training and is expected to play against Lille on October 18th. This is good news because if he does well, he play against Steaua a few days later.

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France coach Raymond Domenech under attack from Gregory Coupet

France coach Raymond Domenech does not protect his players and is responsible for a bad atmosphere in the team, says goalkeeper Gregory Coupet.

From Telegraph.co.uk

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If your beloved club was to be bought out by an bajillionaire, would it be better to spend insane transfer fees on a number of players or bring in a coaching staff that could make the West Ham reserves play like Milan's Dream Team of the late 80's and early 90's. So why not build [...] Click to continue reading...

The French redeemed themselves and bought Raymond Domenech some extra time to stay on as manager. Thierry Henry and Nicholas Anelka scored 2 second half goals to lead the way before Serbia pulled one back through Branislav Ivanovic.
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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 Click to continue reading...

The 4-2-3-1 from France Manager Raymond Domenech was really a breath of fresh air, with Bordeaux's Yoann Gourcuff featuring in the Zidane spot, and Thierry Henry playing wide left. France had a great shape and looked like a healthy side, even in the first half that finished 0-0.

Benzema - Had a quiet first half, which is the polar opposite of how he played when he broke into the France team in the qualifiers for Euro 2008. Click to continue reading...

I have no idea why the French federation continues to repose its confidence in a manager that his team has stopped responding to.

Raymond Domenech might be relieved that Maximilian Robespierre and the Jacobins are not around. But it is hard to to avoid bad puns. The embattled France manager finds his neck on the line and against a good Serbian side, he is minus Samir Nasri.

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France coach Raymond Domenech has handed Arsenal left back Gael Clichy his first senior start in les Bleus' World Cup Qualifier against Serbia this evening. The 23-year-old was on the bench for Austria's 3-1 mauling of Domenech's men last Wednesday, but after Man United fullback Patrice Evra's abysmall peformance, Clichy finally gets his well deserved start. Click to continue reading...

France midfield maestro Samir Nasri will miss his countries World Cup qualifier against Serbia this evening because of pain in his right knee. Nasri felt a nagging pain after Tuesday's training session, and coach Raymond Domenech decided to rest him "only as a precautionary measure," said team press officer Francois Manardo. Click to continue reading...

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 loss to Austria provides a fitting occasion to reflect on Domenech's tenure.

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The pressure is building on France coach Raymond Domenech after a humiliating 3-1 loss to Austria gave Les Bleus a dismal start in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Click to continue reading...

France continued their poor form on Saturday in the first game of their qualification for the 2010 World Cup with a 3-1 defeat to Austria. After a dismal performance at the Euros this year Raymond Domenech just managed to keep his job but has been given a point's target of 5 ... Click to continue reading...

Wow, a huge upset in the first round of European World Cup qualifiers as Austria beat France 3-1. When you look at those lineups, there is no way that France should not at least have come out of Vienna without a draw, and even that would have to be considered an upset. I am sure that the pressure is now squarely on Raymond Domenech, but it really should be on the French FA for keeping Domenech after the debacle that was the French performance at Euro 2008. Click to continue reading...

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 be extremely predictable.

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If you've been following the conversations in the comments on this blog, you know that last week Sébastien Frey followed in David Trezeguet's footsteps and announced his international retirement.

You also know that Frey is 28. Which is... Well, it may not be infancy for a goalkeeper, but it's not exactly retirement age either.

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PRIMO INCONTRO DOPO LA DISFATTA EUROPEA: I BLEUS QUESTA VOLTA SI AFFIDANO AL DIFENSORE ROMANISTA

Mexes:Conquisterò la Francia

Philippe: «Con Domenech ci siamo chiariti, ora voglio prendere il posto di Thuram»

Di PIETRO TRIA
Philippe Mexes è pronto. Per lui inizia una nuova stagione,
non solo con la maglia giallorossa ma soprattutto con
quella francese: aumentano le responsabilità dopo il ritiro
di Thuram e cambia il rapporto con il ct Raymond Domenech. Click to continue reading...

So Lassana Diarra is the next leader of France and is a favorite of Raymond Domenech, yet he couldn't get into a game for France during Euro 2008. I have a lot of respect for Lillian Thuram, he was one of the best defenders that I've seen play the game. I also rate Diarra very highly, but something doesn't quite make sense here. Click to continue reading...

Right. So Frederic Piquionne is a Lyon player. He was nabbed for €4.5m on a four year contract from Monaco. Everyone is excited. Really.

*tumbleweeds*

Or maybe not. Umm...

A new player? What?

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David Trezeguet has hinted that he may once again wear the blue of France but only 'if things change.' That could be a huge boost to the French qualifying campaign for World Cup 2010. Even though the Juventus striker was prolific in Serie A last season with 20 Goals Raymond Domenech ... Click to continue reading...

Arsenal have signed 21-year-old French attacking midfielder Samir Nasri.

Now that Nasri's signed, and taken over the number 8 jersey, recently vacated by Lassana Diarra, Arsenal supporters want to know good he is.

Here's some video of Nasri playing.



Samir Nasri only played briefly for France at Euro 2008. Click to continue reading...

It seems that David Trezeguet has had enough.

In all honestly, I knew this was bound to happen, but it still makes me sad when a player hangs up his international boots, especially when they are forced into it.

While I freely admit that I don't think Trezeguet has a place on the team anymore (even without Domenech's help), nothing will ever erase his years of devotion to the NT.

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David Trezeguet announced today that he has retired from international competition for France. This decision is obviously in response to the news earlier in the week that France coach Raymond Domenech would remain as coach, even after France's terrible showing at the Euro's. Trezeguet was left off the Euro 08 squad by Domenech, even after he scored 20 goals for Juventus this past season. Click to continue reading...

By JAMES CLARKAn occasional Pardew's Guardian feature leading up to the August kickoff ...1) Will Julien Faubert become the force he was originally predicted to be down the right flank for West Ham? The Hammers' capture of the fleet Frenchman (pictured above, top) made headlines last season, and sometimes for the wrong reasons. Click to continue reading...

Raymond Domenech continues on as the manager of the French national team and that is a huge mistake. The time has come for a change at that position and Didier Deschamps is and was the person to take over and lead the team through the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. It seems like there are a lot of politics at play in this decision, but ultimately the right decision for the team must be made and that would have been to go ahead with Deschamps. Click to continue reading...

Dear Raymond,

We've reached a dead end. The team isn't progressing. In fact, it's regressing. Something has to change.

Given the talent that France has, this is hard to believe. There has to be something the sélectionneur can do to unleash the skills and abilities of these players.

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Okay, I thought I was taking a couple days off to collect myself, but then this juicy nugget floating down the old Inter-tubes. The fates, the muses and even perhaps the gentle bard himself must have smiled upon Raymond Domenech today. How else can you explain the thespian/manager keeping his job as head boss of the French national team? Click to continue reading...

Let's say you're the coach of a team of exceptionally talented players. These players are handled poorly and crash out or a major tournament far earlier than expected. What happens then? If you're Italy's Roberto Donadoni, you're out of a job. If you're France's Raymond Domenech, though? Nothing. Click to continue reading...

Apparently France coach Raymond Domenech's bizarre post-game proposal to his lady friend Estelle Denis hasn't gone over that well with either the French public or Denis herself. Following France's tournament-ending 2-0 loss to Italy Tuesday, Domenech, in a desperate attempt for some love, figured the exit of a major international tournament was the perfect time to ask for Denis' hand in marriage. Click to continue reading...

According to grief counselors, there are five stages to the grieving process: Anger, denial, bargaining, depression, and... Proposing to your babymama on national TV.

Oh, wait. That's just Raymond Domenech. The France coach. (At least for the moment.) After France crashed and burned in the group stage with one draw and two losses, Domenech had this to say when asked about the team's play:

"The only thing of that I can think of at the moment is for me to marry Estelle.

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As Jeff said yesterday, the gig is probably up for Raymond Domenech. And four names are being bandied about as possible replacements. Tell us which of the four you'd prefer to see. Or would you rather have Raymond stay? (I'm being serious here. It's Click to continue reading...

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Or, alternatively, when you're soon going to be unemployed, grab your baby-mama and make it legal before she can get away. And if you can deflect media attention away from your failures at the same time, so much the better. That seems Click to continue reading...

Many have said that Raymond Domenech is mental. Leaving Phillipe Mexes at home with his feet up, bringing Samir Nasri on and then off again about four seconds later, playing Eric Abidal at centre back. All these things were wrong wrong wrong.

If we were to sit down and try to conjure a visual metaphor that illustrates Raymond Domenech's Euro 2008 performance, we couldn't be able come up with anything better than this.

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The French participated in Euro 2008, but only in name. Their performance was a still, lifeless damp squib. The blame lies with one man, Raymond Domenech. France missed their renowned number 10, but, more pressing was the lack of any number 10 in Domenech's formation. The French used a depressed 4-4-2, with two [. Click to continue reading...

Italy 2-0 France
Au revoir, mes enfants. You got the feeling it wasn't going to be France's day when Franck Ribery had to go off injured after just 8 minutes, having messed up his ankle in by getting tangled up with Gianluca Zambrotta. Ribery has been one of the few bright spots for France in this tournament, although I do think that Samir Nasri, who came on as his replacement, deserved more playing time as well. Click to continue reading...

Viva gli sposi

Raymond Domenech al termine della gara persa contro l'Italia annuncia urbi et orbi il suo imminente matrimonio.

Probabilmente sarà l'ultimo atto ufficiale da commissario tecnico della nazionale francese.

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