With Sir Alex Ferguson retiring as Manchester United manager at the end of the season, OTP looks at some of the runners and riders who could replace him. 1. David Moyes The Everton manager has long been thought of as being Fergie's preferred successor and is already favourite for the post with the bookmakers.
Over the summer Ben Arfa seems to have got himself into a little trouble with the France manager
Laurent Blanc at Euro 2012, and new manager Didier Deschamps left him out of his first squad last
week against Uruguay, and after we thought that Ben Arfa would not even make the Newcastle squad
yesterday because of injury, [.
Didier Deschamps was last night named the new France manager, replacing Laurent Blanc, who resigned
following the Euro 2012 tournament, after France had been beaten 2-0 in the quarter-finals by
eventual winners Spain. Didier Deschamps - the new France manager We had reported last Wednesday
that Deschamps was the hot favorite that the French Football Federation [.
Didier Deschamps has become the latest French world cup winner to take the French hotseat
following Laurent Blanc's resignation following this Summer's Euro 2012 finals.
Deschamps left Marseille almost a week ago following the clubs poor Lique campaign and spent
days mulling over the French Federations job offer.
We reported yesterday that The French Football Federation had opened disciplinary proceedings
against four of their players Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa, Jeremy Menez and Yann Mvila for
misbehaving at Euro 2012. Didier Deschamps as Marseilles manager And with Laurent Blanc giving up
the France manager job after the Euro 2012 ended, it seems that [.
There is just no end to the toxic storm which encircles the French national team. After
seemingly breaking from the dysfunction which defined their World Cup 2010 campaign, Euro 2012 was
to be their fresh new start under the fresh new Laurent Blanc regime. Yeah, didn't happen.
Wenger commits to Arsenal by BA France are looking for a new manager after former Manchester United
defender Laurent Blanc resigned from the national side after a disappointing exit from Euro 2012.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was being mentioned as a potential replacement, but the Frenchman has
publicly reaffirmed his commitment to the Gunners.
After a rather disappointing campaign in Poland and Ukraine from Les Bleus, peppered with the
now standard in-fighting and bad attitudes, manager Laurent Blanc has stepped down.
The 46-year-old decided not to extend his contract after it expired recently, and who could
blame him, after the likes of Samir Nasri acted the gobshite at Euro 2012.
International suspensions in the wake of a disappointing major tournament exit are becoming
something of a national pastime for Les Bleus. After the clusterfuck that was South Africa 2010,
Laurent Blanc seemed to right the ship, losing to Spain in the quarters, but that's nothing to cry
about. (On a double by Xabi Alonso?
France international striker Olivier Giroud is reportedly finalizing a transfer to Arsenal that
the player himself has described as a dream come true.
Giroud, 25, endured a frustrating Euro 2012 campaign as Les Bleus went from a 23-game
international unbeaten run to two consecutive 2-0 defeats in which they were outplayed completely
by Sweden and Spain.
Poker della Germania, Italia ok, escono Inghilterra e Francia Di Fabrizio Landolfi In Polonia ed
Ucraina sono state giocate tutte le partite dei quarti di finale di Euro 2012. Il Portogallo ha
sconfitto la Repubblica Ceca per 1-0, mentre la Germania ha superato la Grecia con un netto 4-2. La
Spagna invece, ha eliminato la Francia di Laurent Blanc vincendo la sfida per 2-0.
It seems that Hatem Ben Arfa may have had a little relapse back to his old ways,  during the
Euro 2012 Championships, after France had surprisingly been beaten 2-0 by Sweden, to finishÂ
second in Group D behind England. Ben Arfa in action for France And during the altercation in the
dressing room between some of France's  players and manager Laurent Blanc after the [.
It seems that Hatem Ben Arfa may have had a little relapse back to his old ways,  during the
Euro 2012 Championships, after France had surprisingly been beaten 2-0 by Sweden, to finishÂ
second in Group D behind England. Ben Arfa in action for France And during the altercation in the
dressing room between some of France's  players and manager Laurent Blanc after the [.
France knew the task would be a difficult one, and plotted a defense-minded approach to trying
to stop Spain's relentess possession and nearly unstoppable control. Though well-intended, 'Les
Blues' simply couldn't stop Spain's domination and became the latest victim to fall short in the
quest to dethrone the reigning European and World champions.
After France's disastrous 2008 Euro outing followed in quick succession by the 2010 World Cup
debacle which saw France go through a self existential paroxysm as the country re-examined what
constitutes being French (see Alain Finkelkraut), getting out of the group stage in the 2012 Euro
might constitute improvement.
After showing signs against England that they could be real contenders for Euro 2012, France
went out with an almighty whimper against Spain on Saturday night.
Laurent Blanc started with right-back Mathieu Debuchy on the right side of midfield (with
Anthony Reveillere talking the gifted full-back's place in defence), a tactical decision that told
us all we needed to know about how Les Bleus would approach this fixture.
France are the latest team heading for the airport, well beaten 2-0 by Vicente del
Bosque's men in Donetsk this evening.
Spain did not play fluently and a fine goal apart were never thrilling, but still won
comfortably enough. The French had already lost their way in their abject 2-0 defeat to Sweden in
Kiev on Tuesday, which was followed by the sort of changing-room row they hoped they had left
behind in South Africa two years ago.
I've never seen a side as comfortably in control with a one-goal lead as this Spanish side.
Compare today with yesterday's quarterfinal. No matter how dominant Germany were, they still
conceded an unlikely equalizer and had to furiously rally in the final 30 minutes.
Xabi Alonso scored a powerful first-half header and added a stoppage-time penalty to help
defending champions Spain defeat France 2-0 at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk.
In a vintage performance that saw the Spaniards open the scoring early and play the game out
with a majority of the possession, Vicente Del Bosque's men proved to be too good for Laurent
Blanc's Les Bleus.
TweetSpain vs France is tough to call and In The Stands' Rolly Pelovangu feels if there is to be an
upset in the Euro 2012, it would be here. That is to say France eliminate Spain. But I feel this
France team is too young not yet ready to crack a major tournament so [...]
TweetSpain brushed France aside 2-0 to send Les Bleus crashing out of Euro 2012 leaving In The
Stands' Rolly Pelovangu to question whether this youthfully French side are ready to win big
things. In the end it wasn't even close. Two goals by Xabi Alonso the second from the spot gave
holdes Spain [.
Defending champions Spain start the Euro 2012 quarterfinals with a match against Group D
runner-up France. The match will take place at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine with kickoff
scheduled for 20:45 local time.
Spain manager Vicente del Bosque
"Everybody thinks we're favourites because we won the EUROs four years ago and the World Cup two
years ago.
In a new section on the site, I want to get the opinions of Newcastle fans regarding a topic of recent interest. In the inaugural From The Terraces, I ask the question: If you could replace Alan Pardew with any manager right now, who would it be? Needless to say, there were some interesting responses: [.
Many thanks to "ToonBano" from the Toon blog www.toonbano.com for his fifth guest blog here – wt. Apologies for the sensationalist headline but bear with me there's a point to it. My patience with Alan Pardew has been down to a thread for most of this season (just have a little look in my archive [.
The man who last led France to international glory as a player is now in charge of doing the
same as a coach.
Former France captain Didier Deschamps was hired as manager of Les Bleus on Sunday, agreeing to
a deal that will see him take charge of one of the more troubled sides in international soccer.
To be honest with you, even though AVB wasn't my first choice (Laurent Blanc was), the optimism in
me has started swelling up. Something's telling me that we'll be pushing on further with Andre
Villas-Boas as head coach.
Look, I loved Harry Redknapp. I really did. He did a fantastic job for us when he came in so let's
give the guy credit.
Various reports in today's newspapers say that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has offered the
Spurs job to Andre Villas-Boas and wants him to start on July 1.
Former Chelsea boss Villas-Boas has impressed the Spurs hierarchy with his plans for the club
even though he was axed at Stamford Bridge after less than eight months in charge.
Your whistle-stop guide to the latest Premier League arrivals Name: Olivier Giroud Age: 25
Position: Striker Signed from: Montpellier Fee: £12.8million Did you know? He was released by
Grenoble in 2010, with coach Mehmed Bazdarevic claiming the striker "not have the level to play at
the elite". Grenoble's treasurer is probably now ruing that assessment.
The right back position is one Fulham haven't really had figured out since the 2008-09 season.
Last season Stephen Kelly led the team with 21 starts at the position. Chris Baird led 2010-11 with
just 16 starts. John Paintsil, making 37 starts in 2008-09, had just 21 in 2009-10.
In fact, since 2001, only 4 players have made 30 or more appearances (which equates to a little
over 75% of the season) at right back: Finnan 01/02; Volz 03/04, 04/05; Rosenior 06/07, Paintsil
08/09.
The right back position is one Fulham haven't really had figured out since the 2008-09 season.
Last season Stephen Kelly led the team with 21 starts at the position. Chris Baird led 2010-11 with
just 16 starts. John Paintsil, making 37 starts in 2008-09, had just 21 in 2009-10.
In fact, since 2001, only 4 players have made 30 or more appearances (which equates to a little
over 75% of the season) at right back: Finnan 01/02; Volz 03/04, 04/05; Rosenior 06/07, Paintsil
08/09.
Spain are now just two steps away from retaining their European Championship title and become
the first team to ever do it. They have a chance to do so because they beat France yesterday. A
French side that conceded defeat to the defending champion even before a ball was kicked in
anger.
Spain are now just two steps away from retaining their European Championship title and become
the first team to ever do it. They have a chance to do so because they beat France yesterday. A
French side that conceded defeat to the defending champion even before a ball was kicked in
anger.
1. Guy Roux A former Auxerre player, Roux is best known for his incredible 44-year managerial stint at the club. Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc, Basile Boli, Djibril Cisse and Philippe Mexes are among those to come through during Roux's time in charge. He retired in 2005 before briefly taking charge of Lens in 2007.
Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year deal to stay at White Hart Lane. The Welsh winger will now
be in London until at least 2016. Who will be managing him there this upcoming season? Andre-Villas
Boas? Laurent Blanc? ... Continue reading →
Following news of a dressing-room argument with journalist-shusher Samir Nasri at the center,
France manager Laurent Blanc made a few changes for his side's quarterfinal match against Spain.
Namely, he left Nasri on the bench and didn't bring him into the match until the 65th minute. Spain
went on to sleepwalk to a 2-0 win and after the match, Nasri once again expressed his displeasure
with his country's journalists, who have been critical of his manner of existing.
