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Karl
Senior Member
USA
914 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 09 2001 : 8:07:01 PM
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One of the reasons I derive tremendous joy reading articles on the sites, "reggaeboyz.com" and "reggaeboyzsc.com" is the virtual flood of ideas that are floated. Our members cull great articles relevant to the Jamaican developmental process and initiate meaningful debates that provide real openings to the way forward.
Support: It is all about channelling the effort towards a rapid "fast forward" in rate of progress of the Jamaica Football Industry and thus world achievement of the Reggae Boyz. It certainly is not "sitting silently by" as wrong decisions are made. It certainly is not "sitting silently by" because there is a fear that individuals will be "upset". It certainly is, among other things, calling "a spade a spade" and giving advice that contributes in a positive way to Jamaica's Football development. Those contributions bear with it a responsibility that demands stepping forward to assist the continuous rapid progression of the development of our football industry. It is a responsibility that forces those with the interest of Jamaica as the primary driving force, to see beyond merely winning a football match and on to the social and economic benefits that will acrue to the individual, - be it player, coach, referee, administrator etc. - Jamaicans, wherever they reside and, indeed, the entire country. Support certainly is not being a "yes man". In fact, the "yes man" is a hinderance to progress.
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French talent inspires
Sun Sep 9 16:01:27 2001
French talent inspires - in the dugout and on the pitch
Ian Ridley
Sunday September 9, 2001
The Observer
Yesterday it was Laurent Blanc taking his bow at Old Trafford, and next on stage will be Steve Marlet at Fulham, all £12 million of him. Everywhere you look, the French influence on English football is evident and powerful. It is not just in the shape of Premiership players, for they seep down even into the Third Division. Nor is it just players, for Arsène Wenger and Gérard Houllier have managerial responsibility for no fewer than 11 of last week's England squad.
Who would have thought it, just a decade ago - the French teaching the English about football? Before then, they did have their moments, of course, notably in a World Cup semi-final in 1982, then winning thrillingly the European Championship of '84 before a memorable World Cup quarter-final against Brazil in '86 when Michel Platini was in his pomp. Even then, though, their domestic game was considered second-rate. Platini, to Juventus, was a rare export.
So when Didier Six arrived at Aston Villa at the tail end of his career in 1984, it was a curio, one which attracted much scrutiny. Now hardly a day goes by without talk of another Frenchman crossing the channel - every club should have one, it seems. Certainly more have than have not in the Premiership and elsewhere it is hard to go to a game and not discover a Gallic name or two. Marc Libbra announced himself at Norwich City with a remarkable goal to unlock Manchester City last month, for example. Meanwhile, a couple of fans of financially strapped Queen's Park Rangers are paying the wages of Eberli M'*****, also known as Dou Dou, in the hope that he will get them out of it.
At Sheffield United v Wolverhampton Wanderers recently, in the home squad there was George Santos and Benoit Croissant (I kid you not; he did not play, however, probably because Wolves might have had him for breakfast) while Ludo Pollet was there for the visitors. Swindon v Colchester last Saturday featured Eric Sabin in the home side's midfield, while Colchester fielded Thomas Pinault, a colleague of Marlet (whom Fulham's English players have probably already nicknamed Bob) in the French youth team. Even Rushden and Diamonds have Jean-Michel Sigere.
Once upon a time, 10 years ago and more, Scandinavian players were in huge demand in England. They were safe and reliable, good professionals, and well-suited to the rigours of the game here, being physically durable. And they came cheap. Now their place as the bargains of Europe has clearly been usurped. So what is it that makes the French the continent's most marketable commodity?
'An Italian manager told me the reason he liked French players was first that they are very skilful, then very well-trained and very well-developed,' says Houllier. 'They have good professional habits because of the academy system. They don't drink, they don't go clubbing and tactically they are solid.'
If Houllier were to bask in a role of footballing sage and visionary currently, who could blame him? For he can undoubtedly be credited with much that happened for the best to change the culture in France, and much of the recent improvement in English standards. He was the incumbent manager when the French era of underinvestment and underachievement reached its logical conclusion with them failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, then became technical director charged with revamping their domestic system. An astonish ing group soon matured and the result was the ultimate prize of 1998.
The architect of the French revolution then become leader of the Red revolution and the fruits of his Liverpool labours are manifest, most obviously in all seven England goals in their two recent World Cup games. Others, notably the club's enlightened director of youth, Steve Heighway, may have nurtured Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler, but Houllier has honed them. He has, too, turned Emile Heskey from the chump of Charleroi into the monster of Munich.
In making Liverpool trophy-winners again, he brought with him the standards of professionalism that served his own country so well. He admits that the French also had their problems with drinking, drugs and gambling in previous decades, but it was largely eliminated in the dash to professionalism that encompassed diet and nutrition, modern training methods and tactical awareness.
It is also the reason why Jean Tigana has achieved so much in a short time at Fulham. He may now be buying big, but he reached the Premiership within a year of taking over by using, and bringing on, a group of players mostly already on the books and imbuing them with up-to-date ideas.
Watching a French League game is to see why their players are so much in demand. On holiday just over a month ago, I took in Monaco v Sochaux. The former are an exception in France, a rich team bankrolled by Prince Rainier and playing in a designer stadium for his gratification and that of a few other spectators. The latter were newly promoted, hungry, eager and well organised.
There were, among modest Sochaux, rich pickings for Premiership scouts, as there are among even the most middling of French league clubs. Even without their gifted playmaker Camel Meriem - who should surely be a target for managers bemoaning the dearth of creative talents - there was on view a breed of player disciplined, athletic and attacking. And it is that, crucially, which makes the French so attractive.
They are Scandinavians with flair, brought up post-1990 when the rules were tightened in the aftermath of a negative, cynical World Cup to encourage more attacking play. Having caught the mood, it is why the Premiership has flourished - and Houllier's and Wenger's teams been so prominent in it - to become so attractive to television audiences. The comparison with a frequently dull Bundesliga was graphic in England's game against Germany.
Serie A and the exciting Primera Liga in Spain remain the preferred destination of the very best French players but the Premiership, with its growing status and profile, coupled with the success here of a clutch of their countrymen in the wake of Eric Cantona, runs them close. Then there is, of course, the financial element.
The Next Big Thing is likely to be Auxerre's striker Djibril Cisse, as hot in France, where he is top scorer, as Michael Owen is in England. He will probably spend this and next year at home before a move to Italy, but the success of his partner in the French under-21 attack, Louis Saha, at Fulham, plus a Serie A -rivalling salary, might yet lure him to England.
As Marlet's fee shows, the French are gradually coming to realise their market value. It is one reason why the top managers in England are looking for them ever younger. It was seen last week in Houllier recruiting two 17-year-olds from Le Havre. For the English, losing so many of their top players abroad would cause uproar. It is, though, a system that works well for the French. As Houllier says: 'The best players leave a league where players can develop. Good young players are given their chance very early because all the stars have gone.'
Thus do the majority of teams in France contain at least nine home-grown players, with only the biggest - such as Paris St Germain, Marseille and Lyon - fielding more than the odd foreigner. Mostly teams comprise youngsters on the way up, sprinkled with some, like Frank Leboeuf, returning wiser and richer from abroad and still capable of performing to a high standard, with a few journeymen in the middle of the two.
It is a mixture that appears to foster the progress of players. The Brazilian Ronaldinho looks to have been wisely counselled; his move to PSG, no doubt a transition transfer before Italy or Spain, may well further his development.
It is a mixture, too, that French spectators ('You have fans, we have spectators', as Michel Platini once said) seem to appreciate, with gates continuing to rise despite the absence of virtually all of their World Cup squad. What it also means is that there is real depth to their talent, as well as continuing production. And while the English may have a thrilling crop of young players, with Howard Wilkinson having established a technical department at the FA that has taken the best elements of the French system, it will take a while for England to boast a comparable 22 - and aspirant French players always talk about wanting to make les vingt-deux - rather than 11.
SVEN-GöRAN ERIKSSON says: 'I always change a winning team,' in order to freshen it, believing some players may not have the necessary mental and physical energy for the next challenge. After Munich, he did not at Newcastle, admitting it was a decision made with the heart as much as the head, because: 'It was not just a win, it was a big win.'
It was surely due, too, to the paucity of ready alternatives, which was seen when substitutions were made against Albania. The starting 11 has begun to look entrenched. Losing Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry would undoubtedly affect the French, but one suspects they would cope. Would England without David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen? Amid the justified jubilation of the past week, it is a point worth pondering, one that Eriksson will certainly be turning his mind to. And we shouldn't blame foreign players for the lack of depth. The trouble is not that there are too many French players in England, it is that there are too many who aren't.
Karl
Edited by - Karl on Sep 09 2001 20:09:45 |
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