Lizarazu Retires From Internationals

[drummerboy]

LIZARAZU has retired from the French team. With the other retirements, ie Thuramm and Dessaisse (Sorry about spelling) the French team to face Ireland will have an almost new back four.

[NeilMcD]

It still wont be bad, with Sagnol, Silvestre, Gallas, Mexes, Candela, and a few others too

[eirebhoy]

Neil, trust me on this one. Robbie will have come up with defences twice as good as Gallas-Silvestre on a number of occasions. No matter how good they are as individual's, neither of them are 1st centre halfs for their clubs. They are both 2nd's which leaves them very prone to mistakes. Remember, a striking partnership is not the only partership in football.

[NeilMcD]

I dont have to trust you , I know enough about football to not rely on your for my information. if you actually look at what i say, i have said they wont be bad. Now, they wont be bad. I did not say they will be world beaters I said they wont be bad. And mark my words they wont be bad.

[eirebhoy]

Every team has a first choice centre half and he is always the player who gives the order's and keeps things organised. Someone like Mattew Upson may be better than Cunningham but Cunningham is definitely Birmingham's first choice centre half. Just as a team needs an out and out striker and a forward, a holding midfielder and central midfielder, they also need the right partnership at the back.

Gallas and Silvestre will be all over the place IMO just as the Man Utd defence were with Silvestre and Brown, Newcastle were with O'Brien and Bramble, Arsenal without Campbell. We have a replacement for Cunningham in Breen but the French now have no experience centre half.

Maybe Silvestre learned a lot from his time without Rio but I think he'll need at least 5 matches with Gallas before they learn each others game, etc.

Connolly is certainly a better forward than Clinton but that doesn't mean he is going to be Robbie's partner. I could tell that before they played together just as I'd tell that Heffernan wouldn't be a good partner for Robbie.

BTW, this is only my opinion, not "information". It is also not a direct reply to Neil's post.

[Greenbod]

Not a bad thread...not a great thread...not a good thread... but not bad!

[Adrianovic]

Heffernan a good partner for Robbie? If he had the ability the maybe. But I suppose that's a completely different debate...

Ade