Hey Lyon, Wake the %#$@ Up

By: Inara | July 16th, 2007

Lyon lost to Reading today.

Reading. You know, that team that placed eighth in the EPL, that just got promoted from the Championship? The team that knocked out both of Chelsea’s goalkeepers last season? Yeah, that one.

Before smug EPL fans can claim that Reading is better than Lyon and that the EPL is a gazillion times better than L1, it’s time for a reality check - for them and for us.

Reading: Congratulations, Royals. I would normally point out that today was a really bad Lyon performance. Which doesn’t take away from their victory of course, because they played with a lot of heart and courage, and unlike those lazy Frenchmen on the pitch, they actually, you know, scored. And normally I would get annoyed that these fans seem to think Reading are suddenly better than Lyon and worthy of being L1 champions.* But I’m too pissed at my own team right now to care about others, so Reading can enjoy their moment in the sun.

Les Crap: I try to be a half full glass person instead of a half empty one. When Lyon suck, I say they did moderately well. But today, after watching that horrid performance in Seoul, I think it’s time that I lay down some harsh truths.

They played like chickens with their heads cut off. I know they’re tired. They’re jet lagged. They hate coming to Korea. They’re afraid of picking up injuries. They’re annoyed at Perrin because he changes the tactics and players with nearly a 100% turnover in every game. They haven’t developed a team connection yet. Etc.

But those excuses don’t hide the fact that they should have won today. How in the world do we think they can compete in the CL against EPL giants like Liverpool and Chelsea if Lyon can’t take care of their promoted clubs? And before I get yelled at for taking this friendly so seriously, I’ll say it right now: I don’t care about the prize money, because Lyon don’t need it, nor do I care about the Peace Cup, since Lyon have bigger fish to fry.

But what I do care about is team performance, and if Lyon can’t score goals now - which btw is their biggest problem - then how can we expect them to do it later? It’s not the defeat that upsets me but the scoreline. I could have handled a 2-1 loss, or even better, a 3-2 loss. But the fact that Lyon didn’t score a single goal really disturbs me.

Now Lyon’s hopes of seeing the final depend on them winning against River Plate with a 2+ goal differential (unlikely after what I saw today) and that Reading don’t win against S-Pulse with a 2+ goal differential (also likely).

Match Highlights:

THE GAME:

The lineup went from this in the first half:

Vercoutre
Réveillère - Cris - Müller - Belhadj
Källström - Santos - Bodmer
Keita - Baros - Mounier

To this in the second half:

Vercoutre
Réveillère - Paillot - Müller - Belhadj
Källström - Diarra - Govou
Rémy - Benzema - Ben Arfa

First off, defense was utter crap. Reveillere conceded a stupid penalty (which Vercoutre did save…props for that). But neither of the fullbacks fulfilled their defending duties today, and Muller showed why he can’t replace Squillaci. Only Cris was good, and it’s thanks to him that Lyon didn’t just lie down and let the English walk right into the net. So can someone explain to me why he was replaced by Sandy Paillot in the second half? I hope it was for a good reason. Belhadj was again probably man of the match, along with Keita, though that doesn’t say much today. However, he had a very sweet free kick. Now if only we could teach him how to defend…

Lyon’s midfield utterly dominated theirs. In true English style, Reading’s tactics consisted of hoofing balls from their back line to their forward line, so I guess in their case, midfielders aren’t that important. Our midfield was average. Bodmer had a few bright moments, as did Kallstrom, but I got really pissed at Fabio Santos, who was so busy arguing with the referee every five seconds that he forgot to do his job. And why did Perrin decide to sub in Diarra instead of Toulalan? I don’t buy the freshness excuse. Edit: Apparently Toulalan is injured.

Offensively, we were a disaster. Keita and Mounier had some good runs and some ridiculously easy chances (Reading’s defense is rather weak - their gk saved the game for them on his back). Baros and Benzema were both crap, and so were Govou, Remy, and Ben Arfa.

Lyon’s attack had the bite of a grandmother in dentures.

Oh, and as Corey pointed out earlier, why does Mounier play better than Ben Arfa, especially since Ben Arfa has three times the talent and three times the experience? If someone could answer that, I’d be grateful.

Conclusion:

Other than “We Suck,” we can also add that Lyon’s strike force is like a man in desperate need of viagra. A lot of pretty foreplay but no penetration.

* Thanks to alert reader Isis for the link.