The French Invasion (Part Deux)

Hastings this was the site of the last invasion of Britain by French forces in 1066, according to my very little scope of British history and my unwillingness to click past the first link that Google gave me. Long has passed as the English plotted, but it seems the time for revenge is nigh as the Barclays Premier League raids Ligue 1 of all its talent.

The transfer window has been oddly quiet as the territories are marked; targets are laid down, pre-enquiries, enquiries and furthermore are set loose from the offices of chairmen country-wide. Sure, the transfers of Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones have caught the eye, but that’s mainly because of the huge pound signs that were attached to their signatures and their subsequent failure to impress at the European U21 Championships.

One area that has seen a lot of activity (activity that will undoubtedly continue over the coming months), is between the Premier League and Ligue 1.

But why? Why is France such a happy hunting ground for managers?

1. The first most obvious reason, is the money…

Players from the French League are dirt cheap (in comparison) as Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has found out, buying no less than 3 players from France thus far, Mehdi Abeid (from Lens), Yohan Cabaye (from Lille), Sylvain Marveaux (from Rennes) and that’s not including signing Hatem Ben Arfa on a permanent deal.

2. Good talent…

The French league has a reputation for producing the finest French and African talent there is, stars like Djibril Cisse and William Gallas all learnt their trade in France. Mr. Wenger has on occasion found a gem or two, his last two finds; Samir Nasri and Laurent Koscielny are not half bad.

And as much as there are other transfers yet to be made between the Leagues, I can see Yohan Cabaye being a star player, unless he proves to be a “Bebe in the mud”.

3. The risk factor…

Everybody loves a bit of a gamble. A little tongue in cheek bet. Put a pound on Swansea to beat United next season, it won’t hurt.

It’s the same way, what’re the odds that Manchester United’s French scout called Fergie a couple of season ago and went “I’ve got a lad with a giant shiny head fer ya Gaffa”, “is he good?”, “can’t take my eyes off ‘is ‘ed to be honest”.

And that’s how United signed Obertan. True story.

4.  Reputation…

Ligue 1 is falling into mediocrity, fast and players, every player only plays to be recognized to have his name recorded in the annals of history, you do that where there’s a fan base and no League has a bigger fan base than the Premier League. It’s almost impossible to resist, something like a Megan Fox, Jessica Alba sandwich.

One thing though, is for sure, it’s open season on Ligue 1 and managers and chairmen alike have come out all guns blazing and Ligue 1 and the Premier League alike will have a very different look after the English teams finish their shopping in France

Zein

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/QsZynAFC