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The France manager is demob happy and hellbent on a new tactical system to confound his critics

Raymond Domenech has already been guilty of one indecent proposal, in the eyes of his fellow Frenchmen. Who can forget his offer of nuptials to his long-term girlfriend in the aftermath of France's dismal exit from Euro 2008? Toes are still curling. Yet Domenech is nothing if not unpredictable and as the manager has prepared for what will be his swansong in the job at the World Cup finals in South Africa, he has effectively gone and done it again.

Having staked his reputation in recent years on a system built around two screening midfielders, he might reasonably have been expected to take his 4-2-3-1 with him to Cape Town, where France kick off their Group A campaign tomorrow night against a potent Uruguay. But that would have lacked Domenech's patent flair for the dramatic and so, at the end of last month, he decided to rip up the manual and try something new. There might only have been 16 days before the World Cup started but the players had three warm-up games and time together as a squad to get their heads around the manager's sudden desire to use only one midfield anchor and ask them to master a version of 4-3-3.

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The fans are worried and so, of course, are the media, not least because the warm-up matches did not go well. France looked good in the victory against Costa Rica but they were afforded all the time and space they wanted. When Tunisia and China kept bodies behind the ball, France floundered. Domenech's team conjured a goal from a set-piece to draw with Tunisia but they could do nothing against China and slipped to an embarrassing defeat.

Domenech's strategy looks risky at best, inexplicable and foolhardy at worst. "Why change now?" the critics have asked. The manager, however, does not care about them. Indeed, he offers the impression that he does not care about anything. Even by French standards of insouciance, Domenech wins the prize.

The French Federation has taken the decision to replace him after the finals with Laurent Blanc and Domenech appears hellbent on going out with a bang of his own making. It is often suggested that the midfield talisman Zinedine Zidane called the shots for France at the last World Cup, rather than the head coach, while on-field leaders such as Lilian Thuram and Willy Sagnol did likewise in Euro 2008. This time, there can be no such allegations. Domenech is doing things his way.

His squad selection stirred controversy which, in itself, is nothing new. In 2006 he omitted Robert Pires, among other notables, having professed himself to be suspicious of players, like the midfielder, who were Scorpios. In 2008 he deemed Mathieu Flamini, David Trezeguet, Philippe Mexès and Gaël Clichy to be surplus to requirements.

For South Africa, there is no Patrick Vieira, no Karim Benzema and no Samir Nasri. Big personalities have made way for players who are less likely to make waves if they are left on the bench. The squad may be less talented but there is an argument for it being better balanced.

Are there enough leaders? There were a lot of players looking at their bootlaces when China scored what proved to the only goal last Friday and the issue of the captaincy has been moot since Domenech made his boldest decision of the buildup.

Thierry Henry, his one-time anointed leader and infamous Hand of Gaul perpetrator, has endured a torrid season at Barcelona and Domenech, after many insomnia-wracked nights, decided that he would leave him out of the squad altogether. He travelled to Barcelona towards the end of the season to break the news to him in person. Henry, chasing a French record fourth appearance at a World Cup, was left to brood.

But he arranged another meeting with the manager days later and in it, he persuaded him that he still merited inclusion. Domenech relented yet he made it plain that Henry would travel as a squad member. He was nothing more than a second-half substitute in the warm-up matches. Henry's profile has been painfully low but, when he has spoken publicly, he has supported Domenech's decision as "logical". A penny for his private thoughts, however, would be worth the investment.

One consequence has been that the captaincy has passed to Patrice Evra, which in the process has incensed William Gallas, who was the vice-captain to Henry. Gallas is sulking.

There is a school of thought that the situation may yet benefit Henry, by allowing him to explode from the shadows. Nicolas Anelka was poor in all three warm-up games and, already, there is a push in some quarters for Henry's reinstatement.

Expectation levels could hardly be lower in France, where a first-round exit is feared. There are problems on the pitch, in particular with regard to the form of Sidney Govou. The winger admits that he is not playing well. Then there is the issue of Gallas's fitness and the understanding he has with his central defensive partner Eric Abidal.

The scandal that broke in late April has not helped; Benzema, Govou and Franck Ribéry are alleged to have had sex with an underage prostitute which, if proven, could lead to three-year jail terms for them while the Uefa president, Michel Platini, caught the mood two months ago when he dismissed France's chances of success. "There is a Raymond problem," he said, "which is a problem of personality, not as a coach. His proposal after the Euros hurt the whole of France."

And yet, despite it all, the remaining dreamers among the fans look at Ribéry, the in-form Florent Malouda, the outstanding goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and the mercurial Yoann Gourcuff and continue to dream. What if Anelka turns it on? Preparations, which took in the traditional glacier walk at Tignes, not to mention buggy-racing, skiing and shooting, have had the desired bonding effect.

France arrived at the last World Cup with serious doubts over their chances and they barely slithered through the group phase. But the tide turned when they shocked Spain in the last 16 and, rather abruptly, marched gloriously on to the final. France are capable of almost anything. With Domenech in charge, it is wise to expect the unexpected.