There have been some very strange selections so far in the Euros, for me Raymond Domenech's utterly inept management of the French side stands out head and shoulders above anyone else. This is despite Aragones playing Xavi ahead of the marvellous Fabregas, but here my opinion is probably a bit more contentious.Firstly how on earth Domenech can leave both Clichy and Sagna out of his squad is beyond belief. I have seen Abidal in action several times this year and he's been pedestrian at best, dodgy defensively and lethargic offensively; both Clichy and Evra are miles better. Sagnol in his prime would not half the player that Sagna is, so playing an ageing Sagnol ahead of Sagna is indefensible.
Flamini should be in the French squad, he was one of the best players in the Premiership last season; so how the mediocre Toulalan, who I barely noticed on the field of play in France's bore draw with Romani, can be starting while Flamini is not even in the squad is again well beyond me.
France have some great individuals but collectively were a very lethargic bore, and this has invariably been the case under Domenech's command. The man even admits that astrology affects his team selection, it certainly doesn't appear to be down to who is best at football. They played with no tempo and no drive, it was all so very predictable and drawn out.
If the likes of Flamini, Clichy, Evra and Sagna were involved then France would have a little bit more tempo, a little bit more zip and they might just be able to have a crack at winning it. As it is they look but a shadow of their great world cup winning side, admittedly they do not have the quality in the centre of their team from the front to the back, however they should be blooding their young players ahead of the likes of Sagnol, Thuram, Makelele et al. Maybe France will prove me wrong, I doubt it though, and even if they do they are certainly not preparing well for future championships.
