Window Shopping

History and the rumour mill both suggest that a number of Ligue 1's stars will be bound for England during the January transfer window. As the likes of Eden Hazard and Stéphane Sessègnon scan atlases ("Où est Blackpool? Ah, il y a une plage quand même...") and search in vain for their passports, I'll endeavour to produce a profile of the most significant signings before - or shortly after - they occur.

Football in France is Still Rubbish

Like flax seeds and the Toyota Prius, Football in France is Rubbish is now endorsed by The Guardian. These are heady days but rest assured, my head won't be turned by the trappings of fame. I haven't forgotten this blog's raison d'être: football in France is still rubbish.

The following link will direct you to 99 other football blogs - a superb way to waste a day or two:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/dec/31/100-football-blogs-to-follow-2011

Back to the Footy

So far, Sow good.

Here's a brief summary of the Ligue 1 table as it stands at the season's midpoint. Lille are top with a game in hand and have scored more goals than any other side. This thanks in large part to stiker Moussa Sow, the league's leading scorer with 14 goals in 18 matches. For PSG, Nenê has been almost as prolific, scoring 13 from the left-wing. PSG lie second, a single point behind Lille.

Level with PSG are miserly Rennes - who have scored and conceded far fewer goals than any of their direct rivals - and Claude Puel's resurgent Lyon. Marseille trail Lyon by just two points, suggesting that this season may soon take a familiar turn. Bordeaux complete the triumvirate of recent champions: despite a disastrous start to his time in charge, Jean Tigana has manoeuvred the Girondins into eighth place. Autumn's pace-makers St. Etienne and Brest occupy sixth and seventh respectively.

So close is the title race that a mere five points separate Lille from Montpellier, currently tenth. At the wrong end of the table, Auxerre are victims of their own success, unable to cope with the twin demands of the league and Champions League. Monaco's desperate showing is also a surprise. They're scrapping with Caen and Lens to determine which two teams are relegated alongside hapless Arles-Avignon.

Fixtures resume on January 15th.

The Hairy Hackers' Rule Book

Joey Barton would have felt at home on the pitches of Victorian Britain.

I'm currently reading Jonathan Wilson's peerless book on the history of football tactics, 'Inverting the Pyramid'. I could eulogise all day about the author's meticulous research and the clarity of his writing but instead I urge you to discover them for yourselves.

With the exception of Helenio Herrera who twice represented France (despite being born in Argentina and raised in Morocco) and then managed Puteaux and Stade Français before perfecting Catenaccio at Inter Milan, the French haven't played a prominent part in the tactical genesis of the game. That said, I can't resist sharing the following quotation attributed by Wilson to F.W. Campbell, one of the pioneers present at a meeting called in 1863 to formalise the rules of the fledgling sport known as football. High on the agenda, was the legitimacy of "hacking" at an opponent's shins:

'If you do away with [hacking], you will do away with all the courage and pluck of the game, and I will be bound to bring over a lot of Frenchmen who would beat you with a week's practice.'

One wonders what Mr Campbell would have made of Arsène Wenger's Arsenal: French, flimsy and not a decent set a whiskers between them.

French Football Addicts Endure Cold Turkey at Christmas

Naturally, I've spent much of the past week fretting over what to give family and friends this Christmas (a mosquito net for Didier, a copy of 'Das Kapital' for Eric, snoods for everyone else). I've also been contemplating the value of the mid-season break, which calls a halt to all matches in France between December 22nd and January 15th.

Many players and managers in England envy their continental conterparts, although fans and shareholders of Premiership and lower league clubs tend to relish the abundance of festive fixtures. The tangible benefits of a hiatus during bleakest winter are obvious: players and pitches can recuperate. But this time of year isn't merely about the tangible, it's about the magical...

If Wayne Rooney awakes on Christmas morning to find that long desired Hornby train set at the bottom of his bed, he will have just a couple of hours in which to assemble and play with it before he must report for "light training" with Ebenezer Ferguson. Meanwhile, across the Channel, Yoann Gourcuff will be free to spend the entire day tearing round on his new tricyle or sitting happily on his daddy's knee. Gourcuff père - who currently manages Ligue 1 side Lorient - can forget tactics and turn his attention to turkey and TV.

Thus the Gourcuffs will enjoy all the magical elements that make up a typical family Christmas: too much food and booze, the constant threat of an almighty argument, 'Trivial Pursuit' and 'The Great Escape'. In comparison, the Rooneys' Christmas may seem rather hollow.

The FA is unlikely ever to sacrifice one of the most lucrative traditions in its dominion. As I see it, anyone in England who favours a Christmas without football has only one hope.

So, all together now: "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

Damien Comolli: a Divisive Figure

The mastermind behind the resurgence of Spurs and St. Etienne?

There are those who would describe Liverpool's recently recruited 'Director of Football Strategy' as a snake. In a press conference last week, Harry Redknapp reacted angrily to the suggestion that Comolli deserves credit for assembling the current Tottenham squad. Arsène Wenger was similarly withering in his assessment of Comolli's influence on Arsenal's transfer policy: Comolli has been quick to talk-up his former role as a European scout for the Gunners. On November 9th 2008, Comolli became 'Sporting Director' at St. Etienne and was instrumental in the club's improved showing earlier this season. Ultimately though, he may weaken St. Etienne - and Ligue 1 - by facilitating the transfers of, respectively, Blaise Matuidi and Lille's centre-back Adil Rami to Liverpool.

It's worth noting that two managers were sacked during Comolli's second spell at St. Etienne, which lasted two years. His work at Tottenham coincided with the brief, unhappy tenure of Juande Ramos. Based on that evidence, Comolli doesn't engender stability.

In his capacity under - or rather alongside - Roy Hodgson, will Comolli prove to be a snake, an asset or simply ineffectual? Time will tell. Nonetheless, it's hard to overlook the symbolism of Liverpool's interest in a player named Eden Hazard, a teammate of Rami at Lille. Hodgson is clearly tempted to bring Hazard (undeniably, a tasty prospect) to Liverpool, but the manager must beware. Acquiescence to Comolli could lead to a fall from grace.


Damien Comolli's CV from 1996
1996-2003: European scout for Arsenal
2004-20005: 'Technical Director' of St. Etienne
2005-2008: 'Director of Football' at Tottenham
2008-November 2010: 'Sporting Director' of St. Etienne
November 2010-present: 'Director of Football Strategy' at Liverpool

A Tribute to Tony Goal

Definitely poker... though perhaps not the blonde.

According to Wikipedia: 'A limerick is a five-line poem in anapestic or amphibrachic meter with a strict rhyme scheme (aabba), which intends to be witty or humorous, and is sometimes obscene with humorous intent. It may have its roots in the 18th-century Maigue Poets of Ireland, although the form can be found in England in the early years of the century.'

I've never composed a limerick before but was inspired to do so by Tony Cascarino's autobiography 'Full Time', in which Ireland's most capped footballer reveals that his Irish ancestry is entirely fictitious. Like our Tone, limericks are most closely associated with Ireland, however, their true origin (like our Tone's) is unclear. This form of poetry therefore seems the perfect medium through which to express my admiration for an unlikely hero of French football - and for his book, to which the adjectives 'witty', 'humorous' and 'obscene' can be applied without hesitation.

A clue to be found in his name,

Cas wan't the Emerald he claimed,

More a rough diamond

Who shone with Ireland,

Running for Jack until he was lame.