Making it easier for Prem scouts, Ligue 1 will be shown in the UK this season by ESPN. I don’t think the calendar of games to be shown has been made public, but I expect that on the first day ESPN will focus on PSG (v. Lorient), Lille (v. St. Etienne) or Montpellier (v. Toulouse).

The official Ligue 1 website has an English version: http://www.ligue1.com/

A good article on French Football Weekly about the non-PSG transfers of the summer so far: http://frenchfootballweekly.com/2012/07/23/psg-grab-the-headlines-ligue-1-centre-of-smart-business/

And a video of Chelsea - PSG from last night, showing PSG looking very well already: http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/chelsea-1-psg-1-pre-season-friendly/ Ancelotti might be onto something. And I can see Ibra scoring from those two misses that Hoarau had.

The folks over at French Football Weekly are certainly working hard to find the silver lining to every cloud! PSG, Lille and Montpellier have done well, certainly, but it’s clear that the rest of the teams in the league are really struggling financially. Everyone is desperately trying to trim their wage bill and reduce the size of their squad, and they all find themselves in the position of having to sell before they can buy.

Hats off to Lorient though for getting their hands on Alain Traoré (“Alan Valderrama?!?”) - he looked really good last season and I thought he would go to a much bigger club.

One thing I really love about Ligue 1 is the way that players like Charbonnier or Raspentino who have done well in the second division are given the opportunity to make the transition directly to some of the biggest clubs in the country. I can’t imagine a top team in England signing a 23 year old from the lower leagues to be their 2nd choice striker. Of course, Bordeaux’s decision to shell out €3.5 million for Anthony Modeste after he scored 20 goals in Ligue 2 for Angers shows that it’s not always a wise decision.

French football is getting more interesting to me. Not just because of PSG but it seems to be improving. Their further ahead in future projects than Italy. Lille have a new stadium due to open which looks nice.

Ligue 1 will now be on the new network in America beIN Sports US. Which is the new network created by Al Jazeera who won broadcasting rights to La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1. Two channels beIN Sport 1 and beIN Sport 2. Which would be great if I got the bloody channels. Unless I’m missing something I don’t think my provider is picking it up, which is pissing me off. They still haven’t released what providers are going to carry the channel and it supposed to start broadcasting in August. Unless my eyes fail me I’m pretty sure it’s July now, so what’s the deal? Do they want people to watch?

I’m more interested in moving away in Fox Soccer, I think it could be good, provided the major carries pick it up Direct TV, Comcast, Time Warner, Cox (mine). I heard rumors that it will be mainly on dish and their trying to encourage people to subscribe to Dish Network, which if true is unbelievably stupid. Personally I’m done with satellite, not to mention the place I’m in now the home owners association has annoying rules and fees with people who have satellites dishes and can’t be arsed.

I like the principle from moving from Fox Soccer, mainly because that network is unbelievably sh-t. They don’t even try with Serie A. They’ve had the rights to the league for awhile now and all their content seems to be focused on the EPL. Not only that but the commentators are terrible. If the Al Jazeera coverage is anything like some of their other sports coverage then it will be significantly better then FSC, even if it’s on a smaller scale compared to some of the bigger football markets their channels are available in.

Ligue 1 is available on a very minimal basis in America, with beIN Sport they’ll have much more Ligue 1 content along with the other leagues listed above, also there’s a rumor that they intend to buy out GolTV, take their subscribers, which would give them the rights to the Bundesliga, Copa Libertadores, and MFL among others.

All this would be great if my provider was picking up the channel and right now 7/23/2012 nothing. The channel is due to launch on 8/15. It would be nice if someone can tell Americas soccer fans whether the channel is available on their provider, it’s a simple request FFS. I’d love to be able to watch Ligue 1 more regularly without a crappy internet feed.

Lyon seem really desperate to offload Michel Bastos.

Poor guy (all things are relative, I know). Two years ago he was playing for Brazil at the world cup, one year ago he was being chased by Juventus, and now at 28 years old he is being shipped off to either Al Ain or Anzhi Makhachkala for less than half what Lyon paid for him in 2009.

It turns out PSG’s move for Thiago Silva was a stroke of evil genius.

Who have Milan lined up as his replacement? Montpellier’s Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. And to add insult to injury, for a piddly €6.5 million.

If the transfer goes through, it will have been a masterclass in how to strengthen your own team and sneakily weaken your rivals in one blow.

Looks like PSG are the overwhelming favourites for the league, and understandably so.  But it’ll be more interesting to see how they get on in Europe.

jim82 - 25 July 2012 09:05 AM

Looks like PSG are the overwhelming favourites for the league, and understandably so.  But it’ll be more interesting to see how they get on in Europe.

Andy Brassell mentioned on last week’s World Football Phone In that at a recent press conference, Leonardo and the club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi talked at length about the club’s medium and long term strategy but didn’t mention the league title once. Their minds were very much on Europe.

I still think they will win the league with relative ease, but, like Arsenal, they may not care all that much as long as they finish in a Champions League qualification spot.

Actually I think at least one club will compete with PSG for the title next season. PSG will not be 100% in the race title as they want to impress in the CL (which they won’t, they’ll be mediocre just like any debutant side), and Lille have been doing very smart business indeed. Actually everything Lille have done in recent years has been very well-thought, not just their transfer policy. I would also love to see Montpellier challenge again by Belhanda, Cabella, Yanga-Mbiwa or Stambouli growing into awesome players, but I guess the chances of it happening are much lower. Still, Mounier and Herrera appear to have been excellent signings for them on the attacking front. I do not have any expectations from OL and OM, I’d just like them to do well in the EL because France needs the points for the UEFA coefficient.

Speaking of Lille’s smart development, check out this video about their wonderful training/formation complex: http://www.losc.fr/en/club/the-domaine-de-luchin

Not to mention the soon to be ready stadium, which looks brilliant.

Olivier Giroud’s mesmerizing good looks - 25 July 2012 04:01 PM

Actually I think at least one club will compete with PSG for the title next season. PSG will not be 100% in the race title as they want to impress in the CL (which they won’t, they’ll be mediocre just like any debutant side), and Lille have been doing very smart business indeed. Actually everything Lille have done in recent years has been very well-thought, not just their transfer policy. I would also love to see Montpellier challenge again by Belhanda, Cabella, Yanga-Mbiwa or Stambouli growing into awesome players, but I guess the chances of it happening are much lower. Still, Mounier and Herrera appear to have been excellent signings for them on the attacking front. I do not have any expectations from OL and OM, I’d just like them to do well in the EL because France needs the points for the UEFA coefficient.

You can usually count on my beloved Girondins de Bordeaux to put in a respectable performance in the Europa League. They’ll certainly do France’s UEFA coefficient more good than Rennes have in recent years.

Just Fontaine - 25 July 2012 08:38 AM

It turns out PSG’s move for Thiago Silva was a stroke of evil genius.

Who have Milan lined up as his replacement? Montpellier’s Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. And to add insult to injury, for a piddly €6.5 million.

If the transfer goes through, it will have been a masterclass in how to strengthen your own team and sneakily weaken your rivals in one blow.

I think the same thing can be said about Milan to be fair. I’ve been telling anyone who would listen I wouldn’t be surprised if Ibra was sold. It’s more a mutual separation than people realize, to a lesser extent Thiago Silva. Milan need defenders, if they turn around and spend that money on Mbiwa and Benatia or Ogbonna I think they’d be stronger defensively next season than if they kept Silva. Also if they end up with Dzeko and another big name up top that would be an upgrade over Zibra imo.

BlueCrew LA - 25 July 2012 07:51 PM

Just Fontaine - 25 July 2012 08:38 AM

It turns out PSG’s move for Thiago Silva was a stroke of evil genius.

Who have Milan lined up as his replacement? Montpellier’s Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. And to add insult to injury, for a piddly €6.5 million.

If the transfer goes through, it will have been a masterclass in how to strengthen your own team and sneakily weaken your rivals in one blow.

I think the same thing can be said about Milan to be fair. I’ve been telling anyone who would listen I wouldn’t be surprised if Ibra was sold. It’s more a mutual separation than people realize, to a lesser extent Thiago Silva. Milan need defenders, if they turn around and spend that money on Mbiwa and Benatia or Ogbonna I think they’d be stronger defensively next season than if they kept Silva. Also if they end up with Dzeko and another big name up top that would be an upgrade over Zibra imo.

Are Milan thinking straight though? If you believe what you read in the press, their first priority is to bring Kaka back. Surely even a cut-price Kaka from Real Madrid would swallow up all of the Zlatan transfer fee?

This probably belongs in the man crush thread, but in other news, Nice are bringing this handsome gentleman to Ligue 1.

Lyon continue their house cleaning: Kim Källström has been sold to Spartak Moscow for €3 million.

I wonder whether they will bring in Dijon’s Benjamin Corgnet to replace him (this is what the French press are suggesting). If so it would represent a remarkable career trajectory for him - he is 25 but only became a professional footballer 2 years ago, after playing amateur football for tiny clubs in the 5th tier until he was 23.

Also, this is not strictly speaking Ligue 1 news, but Bosingwa is reportedly on the verge of signing for Monaco. That would be a hell of a coup for them.

Same old Zlatan…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV01pgjNwFA

It’s half time in the Trophée des Champions (French Charity Shield equivalent), at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.

Montpellier 1 - 1 Lyon

Goalscorers:
John Utaka (for it is he) - 27’
Bafetimbi Gomis - 44’

An excellent individual goal from Utaka, and a fine header from Gomis in response.

Lyon looking very much like a work in progress (especially the defence) but with some talented individuals, while Montpellier look like a much more well oiled collective. Should make for a good second half.

Ridiculous penalty for Montpellier. An Estrada freekick hits a Lyon player’s arm in the wall, and the referee gives a spot kick.

Argentine striker Emanuel Herrera converts the penalty for his first goal in French football.

BlueCrew LA - 28 July 2012 09:11 PM

Same old Zlatan…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV01pgjNwFA

It’s a bit like watching one of those movies where the main character arrives in prison and has to send out a message not to fuck with him by beating one of the other inmates to a bloody pulp on the first day.

Menez and Nene know who’s boss now.

Jimmy Briand equalizes for Lyon. 2:2.

Drama. Red card shown to Montpellier’s Marco Estrada for a dreadful tackle on 17 year old Yassine Benzia.

2-2 at the final whistle, after an action packed last 15 minutes. Lyon and Montpellier both had excellent chances to win it.

No extra time, so it goes straight to penalties.

And Lyon win the Trophée des Champions 4-2 on penalties. Two excellent penalty saves from Lloris.

The Red Bull Arena (capacity 25,189) looked far from full though. Was anyone in the US aware that this game was going on? 

Just Fontaine - 28 July 2012 10:18 PM

And Lyon win the Trophée des Champions 4-2 on penalties. Two excellent penalty saves from Lloris.

The Red Bull Arena (capacity 25,189) looked far from full though. Was anyone in the US aware that this game was going on? 

Why were they holding it in another country anyway? Do they usually do it like this every other year. Seems like a strange idea especially USA of all countries, maybe somewhere that has a higher population of football fans would have been a better idea.

Roy Keane’s Mental Face - 28 July 2012 11:59 PM

Just Fontaine - 28 July 2012 10:18 PM

And Lyon win the Trophée des Champions 4-2 on penalties. Two excellent penalty saves from Lloris.

The Red Bull Arena (capacity 25,189) looked far from full though. Was anyone in the US aware that this game was going on? 

Why were they holding it in another country anyway? Do they usually do it like this every other year. Seems like a strange idea especially USA of all countries, maybe somewhere that has a higher population of football fans would have been a better idea.

It might be something to do with the increased television coverage of Ligue 1 in the US this season (explained in more detail by BlueCrew LA at the start of this thread). They might also have hoped that Thierry Henry and Sebastien Le Toux being at New York Red Bulls might have raised some interest in French football there (I’m clutching at straws). The official attendance figure was around the 10,000 mark, so it looks like they badly miscalculated how much interest the match would generate.

But they do this all the time: in the last four years the Trophée des Champions has been held in New Jersey, Morocco, Tunisia and Montreal. It’s usually more successful than this year though: even the game in Montreal, between Bordeaux and 2nd division team Guingamp, drew about 35,000 people.

Just Fontaine - 29 July 2012 10:34 AM

Roy Keane’s Mental Face - 28 July 2012 11:59 PM

Just Fontaine - 28 July 2012 10:18 PM

And Lyon win the Trophée des Champions 4-2 on penalties. Two excellent penalty saves from Lloris.

The Red Bull Arena (capacity 25,189) looked far from full though. Was anyone in the US aware that this game was going on? 

Why were they holding it in another country anyway? Do they usually do it like this every other year. Seems like a strange idea especially USA of all countries, maybe somewhere that has a higher population of football fans would have been a better idea.

It might be something to do with the increased television coverage of Ligue 1 in the US this season (explained in more detail by BlueCrew LA at the start of this thread). They might also have hoped that Thierry Henry and Sebastien Le Toux being at New York Red Bulls might have raised some interest in French football there (I’m clutching at straws). The official attendance figure was around the 10,000 mark, so it looks like they badly miscalculated how much interest the match would generate.

But they do this all the time: in the last four years the Trophée des Champions has been held in New Jersey, Morocco, Tunisia and Montreal. It’s usually more successful than this year though: even the game in Montreal, between Bordeaux and 2nd division team Guingamp, drew about 35,000 people.

To be fair though, the Red Bulls always struggle to get fans and Red Bull Arena is one of the poorest managed venues in the MLS imo. The actual venue plays a part in promoting these events which by all accounts people say they do a terrible job. Roma played a friendly their the day before and it was an utter disgrace, but I won’t bore you with that.

I think if they would have played in LA the HDC would have been at least 80% full. Promoting events is what AEG does….

Hmmm. So Lyon have sold both Michel Bastos and Kim Källström, and have decided to replace them with… Steed Malbranque.

Underwhelming to say the least. Malbranque is going to come out of retirement on a pay as you play deal (he mysteriously retired a year ago, only a few weeks after joining Saint Etienne and signing a two year contract).

It’s an absolute fire sale at Lyon at the moment. Lille have also approached them about signing Anthony Réveillère if and when Mathieu Debuchy moves to Newcaste. If that happens, don’t be surprised if someone like Pascal Chimbonda turns up to replace him.

Hope someone from the PL snatches Lisandro Lopez. One of my favourite players, his goal scoring record is ridonkulous.

The Fresh Prince of Pelé - 03 August 2012 03:44 PM

Hope someone from the PL snatches Lisandro Lopez. One of my favourite players, his goal scoring record is ridonkulous.

It’ll never happen. He is Lyon’s crown jewel, plus they paid €28 million for him and he is 29. Any club that wanted him would have to pay Lyon a very large fortune for him, and no one would do that at his age.

I agree with you though - he is an absolutely fantastic player. Until Ibrahimovic’s arrival, by far the most talented striker in Ligue 1. I hope he will have a career like Cris or Juninho’s, staying at Lyon well into his thirties and then maybe going back home to Argentina for one last pre-retirement adventure.

Can someone give me assessment of Kana-Biyik from Rennes?

Roma have been linked to this guy and I’ve never seen him play.

I have seen Rennes play four or five times last season, but they’re so much about hard, team work that nobody ever made an individual impression on my, the only one I can recognize by the way he plays is M’Vila. I know a couple of others by name, Pitroipa and Jiress Kembo, but I find it hard to identify them on the field. The run like bees and exchange positions a lot in attack… Sorry for not being of help.

French Football Weekly’s Preview to the Ligue 1 Season.

BlueCrew LA - 07 August 2012 09:41 PM

Can someone give me assessment of Kana-Biyik from Rennes?

Roma have been linked to this guy and I’ve never seen him play.

I’ve only seen a couple of matches he’s played in this season, but both times he looked very strong and very athletic. These are two typical characteristics of players brought up at Rennes: they tend to produce a lot of strong, fit, fast, hard working defensive players. Indeed, the manager Antonetti has described him as a player gifted with “rare physical aptitudes”. He has filled in at full back at times, and he is pretty speedy.

I did a little scouting on a Stade Rennais forum and a few fans criticised him for occasional lapses in concentration, but he is still young and the consensus seemed to be that he can usually rely on his pace to get him out of trouble when he makes the odd positional mistake.

In any case, he certainly has a good pedigree, coming from Le Havre and then Rennes - two of the best youth academies in France.

Didier Deschamps has named his first France squad for next week’s friendly against Uruguay:

Goalkeepers: Lloris, Mandanda

Defenders: Clichy, Evra, Debuchy, Jallet, Sakho, Koscielny, Yanga-Mbiwa, Varane

Midfielders: Capoue, Gonalons, Mavuba, Martin, Valbuena

Attackers: Benzema, Giroud, Gomis, Ribery, Payet, Briand

A few surprises:

- Ben Arfa and Mvila have been dropped because of their attitude during the Euros;

- Christophe Jallet, who is 28 and uncapped but is very good and has just been made club captain at PSG, comes into the squad;

- Rio Mavuba, also very good and captain of Lille, gets his first call up since 2008 (it seems Laurent Blanc really wasn’t a fan);

- Jimmy Briand gets a call up despite being pretty mediocre.

- No room in the squad for Mexes, but that might be a fitness issue.

Nasri and Menez are suspended, and Rami and Cabaye are injured, so no controversy there.

BALLS

That really is a surprising midfield.

Just Fontaine - 09 August 2012 11:36 AM

BlueCrew LA - 07 August 2012 09:41 PM

Can someone give me assessment of Kana-Biyik from Rennes?

Roma have been linked to this guy and I’ve never seen him play.

I’ve only seen a couple of matches he’s played in this season, but both times he looked very strong and very athletic. These are two typical characteristics of players brought up at Rennes: they tend to produce a lot of strong, fit, fast, hard working defensive players. Indeed, the manager Antonetti has described him as a player gifted with “rare physical aptitudes”. He has filled in at full back at times, and he is pretty speedy.

I did a little scouting on a Stade Rennais forum and a few fans criticised him for occasional lapses in concentration, but he is still young and the consensus seemed to be that he can usually rely on his pace to get him out of trouble when he makes the odd positional mistake.

In any case, he certainly has a good pedigree, coming from Le Havre and then Rennes - two of the best youth academies in France.

Well we need some athleticism on the back line, so that’s good to hear. I would prefer someone who’s good on the ball and a good passer out the back. Zeman teams usually have 10 above average passers at least which comes in handy building attacks. If Sabatini is scouting him he must be a decent passer.

Then again the same thing could be said about Kjaer, he’s actually very good on the ball. His concentration and situational awareness was poor though. I couldn’t imagine anyone being worse then him in those two areas, so I think we can deal with a few lapses as long as he’s learning. The athleticism is something Kjaer didn’t have and he was owned a few times last season, so when he did make a mistake he couldn’t use his athletic ability to make up for it. I’m a Spurs fan as well and the same could be said about Kyle Walker, but he started to improve towards over the course of the season.

Just Fontaine - 09 August 2012 11:53 AM

A few surprises:

- Ben Arfa and Mvila have been dropped because of their attitude during the Euros;

- Christophe Jallet, who is 28 and uncapped but is very good and has just been made club captain at PSG, comes into the squad;

- Rio Mavuba, also very good and captain of Lille, gets his first call up since 2008 (it seems Laurent Blanc really wasn’t a fan);

- Jimmy Briand gets a call up despite being pretty mediocre.

- No room in the squad for Mexes, but that might be a fitness issue.

Nasri and Menez are suspended, and Rami and Cabaye are injured, so no controversy there.

Would Kaboul be involved if he was fit?

BlueCrew LA - 09 August 2012 08:45 PM

Just Fontaine - 09 August 2012 11:53 AM

A few surprises:

- Ben Arfa and Mvila have been dropped because of their attitude during the Euros;

- Christophe Jallet, who is 28 and uncapped but is very good and has just been made club captain at PSG, comes into the squad;

- Rio Mavuba, also very good and captain of Lille, gets his first call up since 2008 (it seems Laurent Blanc really wasn’t a fan);

- Jimmy Briand gets a call up despite being pretty mediocre.

- No room in the squad for Mexes, but that might be a fitness issue.

Nasri and Menez are suspended, and Rami and Cabaye are injured, so no controversy there.

Would Kaboul be involved if he was fit?

Presumably yes. There is real competition in central defense now though: the senior quartet of Rami, Mexes, Koscielny and Kaboul could come under threat from the new generation of Yanga-Mbiwa, Sakho and Varane in the next couple of years. Yanga-Mbiwa is best placed to force his way in at the moment, but if Sakho and Varane start to pick up more game time at club level they could come into contention.

That long list of names in central defense could also go some way toward explaining why Kana-Biyik has decided to play for Cameroon rather than wait for a senior call up for France.

Menez is having a shocker.

Good goal by Ibra, true #9 goal that. A little fortunate with the bounce.

I can’t believe PSG haven’t scored again.

Links to highlights for this weekend’s games, for those who are interested (I recommend the Evian - Bordeaux game for some very attractive goals):

Montpellier 1 - 1 Toulouse

PSG 2 - 2 Lorient

Evian Thonon Gaillard 2 - 3 Girondins de Bordeaux

Saint Etienne 1 - 2 Lille

Stade Rennais 0 - 1 Olympique Lyonnais

Sochaux 2 - 3 Bastia

Nancy 1 - 0 Brest

Nice 0 - 1 Ajaccio

Troyes 0 - 1 Valenciennes