Nantes have sacked manager, Georges Eo, following the 5-2 home defeat by fellow relegation strugglers Valenciennes at the weekend.
The man made one major mistake. He signed Fabien "Casino" Barthez at the mid-season break.
As we have stated previously, operators like Barthez tend to perform to cement their place in the team before returning to type. Following two excellent performances in the 1-0 defeat at Troyes and the 1-0 victory over Nice, the slippery slaphead managed to let in 7 goals in the next two games (out of a total of twelve shots on target - which takes some doing!).
We advised when Barthez arrived that Nantes should be traded against in the French Relegation Markets and our view hasn't changed with the removal of Eo.
Expect a couple of Barthez "on form" matches under the new manager Michel Der Zakarian - with suitable irony, the next match is against Marseille (one of Barthez's former gambling locations).
A final (and open) question. How did it take Ferguson so long to determine the Barthez hidden agenda?
PS Post Match Update - Barthez was truly heroic as he kept the Marseille attack at bay throughout in a 0-0 draw.
