Week 7’s Biggest Tops and Flops

By: Sarah | September 27th, 2009

First, let me introduce myself. I’ve recently started blogging for The Offside-OM, and I will be contributing to the Ligue 1 blog as well.

Now, on to the the players that most impressed and disappointed us this week…

The Tops

The Whole Valenciennes Team:
Bisevac Celebrates His Goal

Given that I write for the OM blog, I am clearly biased. However, I do try to give props where they are due. And, I think the Valencienne team last night proved that teams without a lot of money and “stars” can beat the very best if they play as a unit, take their chances and have confidence. Even more impressive is that they came from behind twice to equal and then surpass OM’s goals. They were focused, vigilant and not afraid to impose themselves. Congratulations to the whole team and extra props to Rafael, the defender who headed in the winning goal! I will be hoping that they continue this attitude when they play Bordeaux (11/21 and 3/28), PSG (5/5) and Lyon (5/8). Also, if anyone is interested, The Offside is looking for someone to blog about this team….for more information, click here.

Frederic Thomas

Frederic Thomas Celebrates His Goals

Thomas scored twice in Le Mans’ 3-0 win over Lens this weekend. I didn’t see the game, but from what I have read the game was even more one-sided than the score line suggests (despite a stellar performance Lens goalkeeper Vedran Runje). Thomas’s goals helped Le Mans move into 15th place on the table (and out of the drop zone), dropping Lens into 13th place. Thomas’s second curling shot into the top corner from 30 yards out was particularly beautiful. Check it out at the 34 second mark here, along with the other goals.

Bafetimbi Gomis:

Gomis Celebrates His Goal

Gomis’s 72′ goal for Lyon not only gave his team a 2-1 win over Toulouse, but his goal also sent OL to the top of the table (although only briefly as Wendel’s goal sent Bordeaux back to the top). The whole team did pretty well to battle back after Toulouse scored in the opening minutes of the game.

The Flops

Didier Deschamps…and the Whole OM Defense:

Defensive Dissapointment

Last year’s defensive debacles were suppose to be a thing of the past after this summer’s major investments in Heinze, Cisse, Rool, Diawarra, M’bia…in addition to securing longer contracts with Taiwo (until 2011) and Mandanda (until 2014). The season began well defensively, with OM only allowing in 4 goals in the first six games. Perhaps we should have seen the signs when Heinze and Cisse allegedly got into a fight in the OM dressing room after the Milan-OM game in the Champion’s League (in addition to their arguing on the pitch after the 2nd Milan goal). Both of them seem to want to be leaders, but neither of them seem willing to take responsibility for their errors (which, in my opinion is the most important quality in a leader). But, let’s take a second to sympathize (at the very least empathize) with the players. DD deployed a starting 11 of almost entirely new players yesterday– 6 out of the 11 players last night were purchased this summer (Diawarra, Heinze, Cisse, Rool, Gonzalez and Morientes). And, frankly it looked like it last night– and DD did nothing to help establish some control and structure. The fact that two of their goals came from set pieces is just ridiculous– and further proof that the team is not getting enough specific instructions from DD regarding defensive strategies and marking.

Lille Offense
Lille Goal Celebration Against Nice
Lille can only blame themselves for falling into the “drop zone” this week. They had plenty of chances to score this week, if they had managed to get even a few of their shots on target. I will give some credit to the Nice goalie, who made some excellent saves. But, given the number of chances Lille had, this game should have been over after the first half alone.

Nice…with the exception of Loic Remy and David Ospina
Remy Continues to Look Dangerous for Nice
Remy was the only Nice player who managed to look even a bit dangerous in front of the goal. He saved Nice with his 60′ goal, but the rest of the team could barely manage a shot towards the goal (much less on target). Defensively, Nice did nothing to break up Lille’s momentum, resulting in several scary moments for the Nicoise fans. David Ospina (Nice Goalie) deserves a lot of free drinks after his performance.