Reasons emerge for French failure. Could something similar be going on with England?

The strange one and the stroppy one

Insulting

France striker Nicolas Anelka has been sent home from the World Cup after verbally insulting coach Raymond Domenech during the Mexico game, skipper Patrice Evra has said they have a traitor in the group and they are looking like an absolute rabble. 

It was widely reported that Anelka, a man with a reputation for being somewhat single minded and difficult to get on with, had a row with coach Domenech, a man with a reputation for being at least one sandwich short of a full picnic, during the 2-0 defeat to Mexico. Anelka was totally ineffective in the first half of that game and was substituted at half-time.

Apologise

Anelka missed training yesterday and was then asked personally by French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes to apologise to Domenech. The player refused to do so.

The FFF issued a statement saying that Anelka’s half-time comments to Domenech were ‘totally unacceptable’.

“Faced by the refusal of the player to publicly apologise, the president took the decision in total agreement with the coach and the official members of the delegation present to exclude Nicolas Anelka from the squad.”

Also involved in the meeting was captain Patrice Evra and his strange reaction to the incident will surely send shockwaves through French football. He says he feels sorry for Anelka. That seems to be a strange way for a captain to support his manager. He went on to add even more confusion to the already confused picture.

“The problem of France is not Anelka, but the traitor among us. We must eliminate the traitor from the group because he wants to hurt the team.”

This is not the first time Anelka has fallen out with a national coach and by all accounts, there appear to be very few people he hasn’t fallen out with at one time or other. He actually refused to play for his country for the three years they were managed by Jacques Santini.

Strangers

The France team were very poor in the 0-0 draw against Uruguay and then even worse in the 2-0 defeat against Mexico. They looked like a team of strangers with no plan, cohesion or any idea of what they were trying to do. Qualification out of their group now looks unlikely and is out of their hands as a draw between Mexico and Uruguay in the final group game will see both of those teams into the next round.

Before the mess surrounding Anelka came out there were reports that Domenech had also had a training ground row with Florent Malouda, who was left out of the side for the first game, whilst the dreadful Govou was selected.

Bad

The situation has become so bad that French sports minister Roselyne Bachelot has felt the need to issue a statement.

“The very high pressure weighing on Les Bleus does not authorise any form of slip-up. The players must keep in mind that they’re wearing France’s colours and are considered as role models by many youngsters. This obliges them to show restraint and dignity.”