That’s the good news. The bad news is, well, everything but this it seems like. I haven’t gotten any updates as to whether Remy will play tonight, and I’m sure we can all assume that this will be his last big match for us, as England has continued to beckon him (Tottenham and Arsenal, among others).

The starting 11 as follows

I’ll be sure to add a lot more to this post later after the match tonight, so check back in! ALLEZ L’OM!

Didier Deschamps has stated that the club will not lie down and let MHSC walk all over them. But with a match on Saturday that could be a last grasp at avoiding a totally unsuccessful season, I wouldn’t be surprised if a “B team” is put in tomorrow evening. Azpi and Remy are missing from the group tomorrow already, and I wouldn’t doubt that Valbuena and Andre will dawn the tracksuit through the entire 90 minutes.

Tomorrow is a chance for us to have a hand in who wins the title, and none of us want the big money QSG boys to win it. I would not be surprised if the supporters are cheering on their usual southern rivals tomorrow. The Vélodrome should become a home away from home for MHSC tomorrow evening. I’ll say it now, Allez Montpellier!

Joyeux Noël et bonne année!

First off a happy holidays to all OM fans and readers of the Offside! I just want to express for sincerest thanks to all those who read and contribute to this site!
Thought I’d put my xmas list up for Marseille so here goes…

1.) Defensive reinforcements in the transfer window
2.) Success to all our African internationals in the Cup of Nations
3.) Defeating Inter Milan in the Champions League
4.) Lump of coal for PSG
5.) Players out of form hopefully rediscover it
6.) Valbuena continues to kick ass and take names
7.) The people of Marseille stop robbing our players
8.) Taiwo comes back (yeah right)
9.) A better sponsor than BetClic next year
10.) We get back into the top 3 where we belong.

Without a doubt our player of the year...

So our very own Andre Ayew lost out on winning the 2011 CAF player of the year. Out of a near endless pool of talent, Andre made it to the very end of the ballot along with Barcelona’s Seydou Keita and Manchester City’s Yaya Toure who went on to win. That is some serious talent to be among and the very fact that Ander is so young speak volumes as to where he is and where he is going as a footballer. While the trophy eluded him this year, Andre remained upbeat and optimistic towards the future…

“Of course I wanted to be in front with my family and countrymen all here but it did not happen,” he said.

“I am 22 years and a young player so I simply have to keep working hard.”

Well Andre can always take solace in the fact that he won the BBC’s 2011 African footballer of the year not to shabby. Also with the African cup of nations nearing, perhaps some revenge on Toure’s Ivory Coast?

For as long as Deschamps has been with Marseille the team has been consistently linked with Italian strikers. Undoubtedly the result of DD’s Serie A connections, I’ve always viewed many of these rumors in apathy. Mainly due to the fact that an overwhelming majority of these strikers are either in the twilight of their careers or well past it.

We now draw closer to the transfer window and while its our defense that needs reinforcements, its taking a back seat to a striker. If you’re listening to the transfer talk Gignac is being fancied by Fulham and of course the Ayew brothers will have the African Cup of Nations to attend. So as much as we need to address our defense, our attack is going to be incredibly thin. I just don’t want to see the team sign someone who is obviously over the hill. In the month of December alone we’ve been linked with Diego Milito, Marco Borriello, Pippo Inzaghi, Maxi Lopez, and Amauri. Out of this list the only player I’d be happy with is Maxi Lopez, the rest are far too much of an investment for the team to make at their respective ages. Remember how we were burned with Morientes? You know its a real shame Montpellier are doing so well I’d love to see Giroud or Belhanda play for the club. One can dream…

Rockstar

The match save for the last ten minutes was extremely disappointing for us. Lorient went down to ten men in the 32nd minute and automatically I assumed we had this in the bag. Yet the fish served to be ever stubborn as the only opportunities we really had were two free kicks from Valbuena that didn’t connect. What annoyed me particularly in the first half was how easy the Lorient players seemed to fall from little or no contact. I mean if guys like Valbuena or Jordan Ayew are bossing you around on the pitch, hit the gym.

The second half saw Deschamps switch Cheyrou in at the expense of Diarra adding a bit more pace and attack to the midfield. Things finally began to heat up around the 50th minute when OM finally set their sight in goal. Yet Lorient still persisted as shots by Amalfitano, Cheyrou, and Remy were either ballooned over the net, deflected, or just fell short. Lorient keeper Audard sure had his hands full and things only got worse for the guy when he unfortunately stretched out his groin. I cant even imagine the pain of such an injury yet Audard soldiered on and stayed in the match.

The match looked as if it was heading to another scoreless tie until Innocent Emeghara once again exposed how fragile our defense truly is by outwitting both Nkoulou and Mandanda to give Lorient the lead. Going down 0-1 (76th, 0-1) whatever, but conceding to a team that only has en men, that’s just embarrassing. With the season hanging in the balance, OM finally put Lorient against the wall when Valbuena curled in a beauty of a shot that left Audard and the rest of Lorient dumbfounded (84th, 1-1). But did “Le Petit Vélo” revel and celebrate in his equalizer? Just a wave of the hand as to speed things up, after all there was still work to be done. The last ten minutes of the match Lorient did everything they could to hold on. Remy was unlucky with a header and Amalfitano had a rocket of a shot saved by Audard. Then in the final seconds of the match Valbuena was awarded a controversial free kick on the edge of the box. Somehow finding an unmarked Cheyrou who did the rest as he headed in the winner (94th, 2-1). Another great comeback another week where we keep ourselves in the hunt for glory!

I’m happy with this result for OM, things could have been worse after all. While Inter doesn’t have quite the storied history with Marseille as the Rossoneri, there are some notable events to draw from. The obvious being the UEFA Cup quarterfinals in 2004 when we won both legs 1-0. We’ve also seen the two managers of the respective clubs square off in the past as well. Again in 2004 when Deschamps saw victory with Monaco against Ranieri’s Chelsea in the champions league.

Whats interesting is how in many respects both clubs have been experiencing an identical season. Two giants of their leagues who suffice to say have been under performing in all ares on the pitch. The Champions League at least for the fans has served as sort of a pause from their domestic woes. This certainly isn’t the Inter that hoisted the Champions League trophy back in 2010 but then again we aren’t the Marseille that won the league that year either. Well until February…..

N9UF throwback

Growing up I always envisioned having a mythical job in which I did nothing and got paid for it (handsomely might I add). While that fantasy was just that a dream, the reality for many footballers across the world is receiving a salary and essentially never seeing any first team play. This does not mean I’m somehow sticking my nose up to those who are marooned on the bench. On the contrary commitments to practice and continually developing your skills at a top level are nothing to scoff at.
Then there is the case of Julien Rodriguez (who?). You know that guy who came over from Rangers a few years back had a well enough first season then peaced out. Disagree with me if you want but the guy hardly has played and was rarely even on the bench. But you know what at the end of every week JR got that check and laughed straight to the bank. In all this time the man has amassed a small fortune and done well basically nothing. Zero appearances this year and the same goes for last. Get this when Marseille held a meeting with him a while back to talk about basically parting ways, JR whipped out that contract flipped off DD and rode away in his Ferrari presumably running every red light along the way. The party will indeed continue for JR until this year when FINALLY OM will nix him from their expenses. So when ever you hear someone say that famous “there is no free lunch” line you set them straight and school them on the story of JR the man who’s been living the dream in the south of France.

Je t'aime le petit vélo!

My voice is gone. But it doesn’t matter we are through! Once I collect my thoughts and get over this adrenaline rush, I’ll come up with something so watch this space. Allez L’OM!