Our Players Are Dropping Like Flies

By: Inara | August 13th, 2007

The battle for first place has only just begun, but Lyon are already in the midst of a serious injury crisis.

The latest soldier among the fallen is Cris, Lyon’s captain and defensive stalwart. Cris, whose bald-headed charges down the pitch are a crucial part of Lyon’s campaign. Cris, the Police Officer who strikes fear into all the hearts of Ligue 1…Cris, who now faces six months on the sideline thanks to an awkward collision during last Saturday’s game against Toulouse.

Six MONTHS.

The loss of Cris is a big blow in itself, but coupled with the fact that Lyon don’t have any fit and experienced central defenders is undoubtedly giving the management sleepness nights.

Lyon’s third choice CB, Patrick Muller, pulled a thigh muscle two days before the game and will be out for another week or two. Because of that, Sebastien Squillaci, who is just returning to fitness after hurting his foot during the Peace Cup, had no choice but to return to action, however prematurely.

There is also Sandy Paillot, who was just recently promoted from the youth team. As promising as he is, he clearly isn’t ready to be more than a substitute in minor L1 matches. Mathieu Bodmer used to be a CB in his early days at Lille and filled in adequately for Squillaci during the Peace Cup and even against Toulouse. But he’s a midfielder, not a defender, and therefore not a permanent solution.

Lyon have no choice now but to buy an additional CB. Forget a striker or a left winger, the priority is now cover for Cris (as well as for Coupet). So far, some interesting (and creepy) names have been linked with Lyon, including Gabriel Heinze, Mikael Silvestre, Lilian Thuram, Mario Yepes, Dario Simic, Luisao, and Jean-Alain Boumsong.

Heinze and Silvestre earn a lot of money at Manchester United, and considering the fact that they would only be filling in for Cris, it doesn’t seem like a good alternative. I also doubt United will let them leave for peanuts either. The same goes for Thuram, who is earning close to 5m per year with Barcelona. Also, these three play for bigger clubs that Lyon and may not want to take a “downward step.”

Yepes, on the other hand, would actually be a good signing.

He’s been linked with Lyon before, but he’s the second highest paid player at PSG, so he won’t be a cheap alternative. He’s known for his temper, and as Colombian, he’ll be using up one of Lyon’s precious non-EU slots. Also, PSG just don’t want to sell their players to Lyon.

The scariest name on the list, Boumsong, is just a no, no, no, and NO. I’ll volunteer myself as Lyon’s backup CB before I accept him on the team.

As for Dario Simic (AC Milan) and Luisao (Benfica), I think that’s just speculation more than anything else.

It’s unfortunate that we missed out on Nancy’s Pape Diakhate and Rennes’ Mario Melchiot, but there are some good options in L1 that wouldn’t break the bank. My personal favorite is John Mensah at Rennes. He’s talented, young, strong, and would be a good #3. However, Rennes might not let him go since they are in the UEFA Cup. A great signing would be Guirane N’Daw, but Sochaux said he can’t leave. Another Sochalien, Jeremie Brechet, could be another possibility. He is a former OL player, so that adds to his value.

Who here misses Claudio Cacapa? I do. He’s probably laughing at us from Newcastle right now.