Holiday time

Yes Carlo, I'm away for ten whole days Just a short post to say that I'm going away on holiday for the next ten days or so, so don't expect any insightful, informative, thought-provoking on this blog until after the Easter weekend. In fact, probably best not to ever expect any insightful, informative, or thought provoking stuff here, then at least you won't be disappointed, ahem. I'm off to France to check first-hand that all is good in the PSG hood, cheerio fol...

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The Rumour Mill: PSG linked with cast-offs from Arsenal, Liverpool, and Real Madrid

Flourishing you say? Generally I find the Daily Mail highly offensive. I'm aware that this is an experience almost as universal as knowing what wearing a t-shirt feels like, but still: it's true.* They outdid themselves this week by linking Paris St-Germain with a move for Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole. Sod the scare-mongering, racial hatred, and the continuing presence of Liz Jones, this is without doubt the worst thing Paul Dacre's rag has ever printed.  Fortunately the story is, as usual with the Mail, light on substance and big on generalisations. You may vaguely remember that Cole is on loan at our Ligue 1 rivals Joe Cole's Lille. I say vaguely because he hasn't done much in recent months, losing his place...

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PSG 1-1 Bordeaux: Not on song

Paris St Germain once again relinquished the leadership of Ligue 1 this weekend, only managing a 1-1 draw at home to Bordeaux on Sunday. With Montpellier having scraped a 1-0 win over St Etienne the previous day, the advantage is once again with Rene Girard's charges. I watched the first half of the Bordeaux game and the less said about it the better. Apparently it perked up after the break, but during the bit I saw PSG were struggling to break down a resolute but unambitious Bordeaux outfit. After half-time Les Girondins took the lead. The Parisien back-line was less a line, more a zig-zag as Nicolas Maurice-Belay ran on to Obraniak's through ball before squaring for Chieck Diabete to slot home. But as ever PSG didn't lack fight, and were level almost immediately. A clever ball from...

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PSG 1-3 Olympique Lyonnais - Magical Lloris thwarts Parisiens

Via this week’s Football Ramble, I’ve discovered that Wayne Rooney wants to become a stand-up comedian. Initially I thought this might in itself be an April Fool’s joke being played a week early, a little bit of googling reveals the full story. “Wayne's a regular at comedy nights in Liverpool and Manchester,” a source told the, ahem, Daily Star. “He's always been a funny guy and has said before he'd love to be a comedian. We've all been going on at him so he's vowed to us and the rest of his friends that he will get up on stage next time he's out.” The mind boggles as to what sort of routine Rooney would put together, though given the sophisticated nature of footballer humour it would probably involve throwing a bucket of...

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Caen 2-2 PSG: lastminute.fr

Jallet: PSG's latest last-minute man  As procrastinators across the world will tell you, doing stuff at the last minute is no bad thing. A looming deadline tends to focus the mind, hence why my productivity is pretty low at present but will (hopefully) increase later in the week. In footballing terms, Paris St Germain are certainly Ligue 1’s greatest procrastinators. Christophe Jallet’s late equaliser at Caen on Saturday night meant PSG have scored in the last five minutes of each of their last five games. Over the course of the season we have gained an impressive 12 points thanks to goals in the last 15 minutes of matches, while "losing" just two points in the same period (Jonathan Petroipa's late equaliser for Rennes back...

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If anyone can Carlo can as PSG head to, er, Caen

Paris St Germain head for Caen this weekend with the squad looking a bit stretched. Fans of other Ligue 1 teams are probably snorting into their pastis at the notion that the most expensively assembled squad in the league's history having selection problems, but Carlo Ancelotti's options are somewhat limited. Nene and Momo Sissoko are suspended (Sissoko will serve a two-game ban for his indescretion last week), while Clement Chantome has joined Bodmer and Maxwell on the injured list. Carletto has hinted a switch to 4-4-2 could be on the cards, with a recall for Super Kev after his last minute heroics against Dijon, and a sojourn on the left-flank for Pastore.  Meanwhile Ancelotti has been speaking about the possibility...

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Dijon 1-2 PSG: Gamiero strikes late to cheer up Sarkozy

Poor old Nicolas Sarkozy. The French president was sat at the Stade de France yesterday afternoon looking thoroughly miserable as France slumped to defeat against England in the Six Nations. I feel his pain, I’d probably be a bit grumpy if I was forced to sit through 80 minutes of rugby. Sarko, one of PSG’s most famous fans, was hopefully cheered by the news from Dijon, where Kevin Gameiro scored a last minute winner to keep the ten-man Parisiens top of the Ligue 1. “We played well in the first half without scoring,” said Carlo Ancelotti afterwards. “After Sissoko's sending-off, things obviously became more difficult. We changed the position of Javier Pastore and opted for a more defensive set-up. The team showed great mental...

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Record-breaking PSG head for Dijon

"Certainly PSG is the club of all records," announces Le Parisien today. Sadly this latest record is about as welcome as a copy of Phil Collins' greatest hits, as the club is set to post a loss of €100million this year. Buying a load of expensive players and hiring an expensive manager, as well as paying off his predecessor, are the obvious reasons for this. If accurate, that figure makes us more financially viable than Manchester City (£197million, or ~€235million losses last year) but less thrifty than Chelsea (£67million or ~€80million losses). The comparison with the two Premier League teams probably isn't massively relevant as those two clubs are at a different stage of their project, and have more revenue from TV rights, Champions...

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The PSG Rumour Mill: Not so super Tuesday

For me there’s something a bit wrong about one of the defining moments in the race to elect the leader of the free world being named Super Tuesday. Whenever I hear the event mentioned I half expect Simon Cowell to appear and start critiquing Rick Santorum’s speeches or something. Personally I think they should just throw Obama, Romney et al out the window and elect David Palmer (above) from 24. Except that he’s fictitious and dead, so that might not work. So far it hasn’t been a particularly super Tuesday over in Paris, as nothing much seems to be happening at the PSG . But in the absence of any real news, the rumour mill is still functioning correctly. Over in Italy, Napoli’s Marek Hamsik may or may not be fluttering his eye-lids...

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PSG 4-1 Ajaccio: Menez and his top boyz

I haz the mad skilz As footballing weekends go, this one couldn't have gone much better for those of a Parisien persuasion. Marseille got done by Toulouse, Lille managed to throw away a two-goal lead against Auxerre, and perhaps most importantly an Olivier Giroud-less Montpellier could only draw 1-1 with Dijon. It was all set for Paris St Germain to reclaim the leadership of Ligue 1, and they did so at a canter, beating Ajaccio 4-1. Looking at the bare statistics, you may think that the score-line flattered PSG; after all, two of the goals came in the last five minutes. But Carlo Ancelotti's men were well worth their three-goal winning margin, and could've run up a bigger score were it not for some wasteful finishing in the closing stages. Ancelotti...

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PSG's month: February

"Don't panic, we'll be top again soon" So month two of Carlo Ancelotti's reign has been and gone, and while the Italian still has yet to taste defeat as Paris St Germain boss, there have been a couple of bumps in the road. February began with a routine-but-not-really 3-1 victory over Evian at the Parc-des-Princes. Thiago Motta was making his debut in the middle of the park, and did little to surprise anyone, popping the ball about with all the skill and grace of a footballing Roger Federer. After a promising opening 45 minutes, PSG fell to pieces like a footballing Andy Murray, going behind on the stroke of half-time. But with all the resilience of a footballing Novak Djokovic they fought back in the second half, Nene squeezing...

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