Martin Samuel in the Times agrees with a recent bigmouth column re Desailly – ‘same applies to the ponce Petit too’, says bigmouth
"Should we be surprised at the French malaise? Not in all cases. Desailly arrived at Chelsea having won Serie A with AC Milan, yet often performs as if he considers emulating the achievement in England beneath him. I have seen him take Emile Heskey and Michael Owen single-handed in a match when the spotlight was on him, then perform with casual incompetence against Bradford City or Derby County. Playing for France in Euro 2000, he was unrecognisable as the same player seen at Stamford Bridge. He walked into the team of that tournament, yet is never even mentioned as a potential Footballer of the Year.
By exiting as meekly as this, France's players insulted us all and devalued their own currency in the process. Who would stake their fortune on a member of a team so clearly lacking in ambition? Lilian Thuram for Manchester United? You would want to see the whites of his eyes before pushing ahead with that deal.”
Sepp Blatter’s mate chips in:
"We must now work on reconstruction, say thanks, bravo, goodbye and see you, said Michel Platini."
A reader mails in:
What's the difference between France's and China's World Cup campaign? Three days [ba-boom!].
And: What's the difference between a Fresher and the French? After two weeks a Fresher will manage to score at least once [ba-ba-boom!].
David Revault d'Allonnes, football reporter for Liberation, is quoted in Telegraph;