Unnamed Trialist

Cover of L'Equipe: David, King of Suspense

I'm just glad they got a win, and a clean sheet. They need to tighten up and get results, they've really not done well these last weeks.

Really hard to watch David in these conditions, sometimes the decision-making and overall play is so bad, it's a miracle they are still leading the league. As I don't think Galtier has any ability to improve the play, and is showing himself unable to adjust to teams that have already got Lille's number (these weaker sides holding them rather handily lately in Ligue 1), it's most likely they'll end up 3rd. I don't think they are even at the level of Lyon or Monaco now. I mean: exactly what solution is there for this team, playing this way, with this coach? Don't see it.

Thanks @Ian Kennedyfor the updates. Give him well wishes from all Canada fans, we are excited about his year, glad Regensberg looks like they will stay up in B2, and know he'll recover and be back at it soon enough. The important thing is to be properly healed, not rush, and think about his career in the longer term.

Somewhere today, maybe on Twitter, I saw the rumour of coach Wheeldon to CF Montreal. Anyone else?

Rumours on Fisk's new destination? Some of these other players being dropped make sense (the keepers), although it is a bit late and they are going to have to get moving on things.

You made me realise how good Josh was in Turkey, I guess back then it was harder to pay attention. But still, pretty good for Simpson.

Good explanation. I feel that most pro teams in a beneficial situation late in a game are delaying in all sorts of minor ways, and that whatever is added on, if not blatantly excessive,, is probably not enough. So let them finish the attacking play, which, as you say, is not finished if a defender sent it out for a corner. Same with 5-10 seconds left--if the team needing a goal is passing back and forth looking for the ideal cross in to the guys in the box, dawdling and not showing urgency, then whistle. If they send in a long ball and it is not cleared outright, don't call the pla

As with a few other countries when reffing (Lille got bad reffing both legs, despite being inferior to Ajax) the Spanish refs in international play are often making stuff up as they go along. I remember one WC, perhaps Germany, when one ref broke the record for yellow cards, he got stuck on a dumb criteria and would not back down. Defects of an obsessive media culture in Spain that perverts the reffing. Even Spanish VAR is absurd at times. Not all of them are bad, and Gil Manzano is not the worst (Mateu Lahoz, in contrast, is pure chaos); my favourite is Del Cerro Grande (Spanish refs are

Compare Lille to Ajax. The Dutch play a very relaxed possession game, and rather calmly slice through any pressure out of the back and move into the attack. Lille's physicality was wasted. All the Ajax players are on the same page, and they have a rather impressive choral pace in their off the ball movement, everyone is adjusting constantly. They don't do more only because they have a rather modest squad and then sell their talent off readily. Classic possession football, and Lille was embarrassing beside them. Late, when a single goal could have tied things up, they missed the most obvi

I think it has been too few minutes to judge. In matches where they are ahead usually. And with tactical variations. I'd like to see him start on the attacking left (edit meant right) some match if Müller is still out.

Edit your post or some posters are going to freak out.....

I'm relieved you thought Borjan was one of our top 15 players, otherwise you would have been left with putting Hoillet in goal or something.

As I see it, we can't put Davies in the back line for Canada. In pretty well any match. It would be a tactical error. We expect too much from him going forward, and as seen vs the US, he can get caught up and leave the backline exposed (he was really poor that match). So just take him out of that role altogether, and let someone else play LB and stay in a more defensive role, with no attacking expectations. You ensure your back line and defensive shape, and let Davies go forward and explore attacking options with the rest of our strike force. As we are weak at CB, even in the best o

Great article, very well written.