So, in our ongoing look at the small clubs who once reigned supreme, we’ve got to ask “Who the heck are Saint-Étienne?”

But one story that’s failed to make the headlines is the exciting return of French football.

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Barely two months after French football smiled with glee at seeing a bigger, more wealthy adversary punished for their greed, they stumble over themselves. And to think this gigantic dose of football irony so nearly passed under the radar.

Who knows what French U19 coach Francis Smerecki was thinking when he wrote Kakuta’s name down in the squad but the fact of the matter is that until Chelsea hear back from the Court of Arbitration for Sport over their appeal proceedings, Kakuta is more likely to be playing Subbuteo than kicking a ball for France.

No skipping around this one for France and Kakuta

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See the French U19 squad in full (featuring Kakuta’s daft inclusion) on the FFF website.

Our predictions for where the rest of the top transfer targets will wind up next season:

Let the domin-aldo effect begin

Franck Ribery (AC Milan – ₤40 million)

David Villa (Real Madrid – ₤36 million)

Zlatan Ibrahimovich (Barcelona – ₤35 million)

Karim Benzema (Man U - ₤32 million)

Carlos Tevez (Man City – ₤26 million)

Samuel Eto’o (Man City – ₤26 million)

Emmanuel Adebayor (AC Milan – ₤24 million)

Andrea Pirlo (Chelsea – ₤24 million)

Arjen Robben (Man U – ₤19 million)

Rafael van der Vaart (Inter – ₤14 million)

Michael Owen (Liverpool – Free)

Sergio Aguero (stays at Atletico Madrid)

Pato (stays at AC Milan)

This year’s Ligue Un title is one of the most exciting in recent memory. Why? Because two clubs are vying for the championship and surprisingly, neither of them is Olympique Lyonnais. For the first time in 8 seasons a team other than Lyon will be crowned champions of France. With two matches to play Bordeaux sit top of the pile 3 points clear of nearest rivals Olympique Marseille. Out-going champions Lyon find themselves uncharacteristically in third spot 7 points off the pace.

Cracks in Lyon’s armor began appearing throughout last season. On numerous occasions the team scrapped points against lower placed opposition and rumors of player unrest permeated the press. Bordeaux pushed Lyon all the way through the campaign and the title was only secured on the last day of the season thanks to a fantastic opening goal by superstar striker Karim Benzema.

Boasting the revelation of the season, on-loan AC Milan midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, and one of the most astute and articulate young managers on the continent, Laurent Blanc, Bordeaux play a quick, attacking style of football supported by a solid back-line and dependable keeper. If Bordeaux do win the title they will be worthy champions having been the most attacking team in the league averaging 1.72 goals per game.

Never ones to excel on the European stage, next season Lyon face an unfamiliar assault on the UEFA Cup with Bordeaux and Marseille destined to take on the cream of the continent.

There once was a time, not too long ago, when Petr Cech was considered the best goalkeeper in the world -  the irreplaceable ingredient to Chelsea’s success. But then things went a bit pear shaped. Poor positioning. Sloppy mistakes. A growing uncertainty with high balls.  The once-impenetrable wall began to show cracks.  This was put into sharp relief in the Czech Republic v. Turkey match at the 2006 Euros. Cech was exposed three times in the final 15 minutes as Turkey overcame a two-goal deficit to knock the Czechs out.  We were again reminded of Cech’s increasing liabilities last weekend when Chelsea, 4-0 up against Bolton, let in 3 quick goals to turn a blowout into a nail-biter.  And last night, against Liverpool in the Champions League, Cech made one of his biggest blunders yet when he utterly failed to cover the near post on a cheeky free kick by Fabio Aurelio.

Petr Cech watches Fabio Aurelio's free kick hit the net

Cech’s drop in form can be traced back to one defining moment:  In October 2006, Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt challenged for a ball inside Chelsea’s penalty area and ended up knocking out Cech with a knee to the head. Cech recovered from his physical injury three months later, but he has clearly yet to overcome the mental repercussions. It’s yet further proof that, more than anything else, a player’s performance comes down to confidence. Even the hiring of Cech’s old goalkeeping coach at Rennes hasn’t stopped the slide. And now, after last night’s blunder-fest, Chelsea are faced with an idea that previously would have been considered blasphemous: If the club intends to fulfill its ambitions as the best in the world, then maybe, just maybe, Petr Cech is not the right man to have between the posts.

"Thanks Man City, but I'm doing fine in Milan"

One year ago Footy Factor received this confidential email from an anonymous source. At first glance the data is hard to digest. Upon further investigation, truths about player salaries become crystal clear.

- Kaka’s annual salary at AC Milan is roughly £7.5 million. You wonder how much Manchester City were willing to shell out in January.

- There are two players from the Bundesliga on the list, both from Bayern Munich, Luca Toni at #22 with over £4.5 million a year and Oliver Kahn at #35 bringing in over £4 million a year.

- 33 year old Sol Campbell is paid more than Raul, Rio Ferdinand, Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Samuel Eto’o.

- There are 5 goalkeepers on the list, the highest ranked, Iker Casillas brings in nearly £6 million per year and the lowest ranked, Petr Cech receiving £3.5 million.

- The Premier League boasts 14 out of the top 20 on the rich list.

- David Beckham at #44 is the sole representative of the non-European leagues, helping to boost the MLS profile with LA Galaxy.

- There are 3 African players, 3 Dutch, 3 French, 1 Ukraine, 1 Australian and 1 Swede on the list.

- Chelsea have 4 out of the top 10 and 5 out of the top 15 highest paid players.

- At 20 years old Sergio Aguero of Atletico Madrid is the youngest player on the list raking it in at #34.

Its fair to say that football salaries have gone berserk and are completely out of touch with modern economics, and that was a year ago. But in football, as in life, if you don’t ask then you don’t get. Full credit to Darren Bent in that respect.

Leaked Document 1 of 2

Leaked Document 2 of 2

With the current global economy suffering its worst decline in recent memory, this might just be the summer when football clubs look to player exchanges as a way of improving their squads without huge financial outlay.

Player trades are widespread in the US sporting community with some of the biggest transfers in basketball history involving the exchange of 5,6 7 or even 8 different players in a single deal. However, the notion of player trades has never quite caught on in the football world. The most high profile player swap deal occurred in summer 2006 when Ashley Cole traveled from Arsenal to Chelsea in exchange for then Blues defender William Gallas and £5 million. Three seasons later and its still unclear who got the better of that deal.

Footy Factor looks ahead to a defining 2009 summer and asks the question, what if…

Sign of the times?

…Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott swap for AC Milan’s Kaka?

…Chelsea’s Jose Bosingwa, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda exchange for Manchester City’s Robinho?

…Real Madrid’s Arjen Robben, Sergio Ramos and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar trade for Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo?

…Manchester United’s Nani and Carlos Tevez switch for Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery?

…Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o and Xavi trade for Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas?

…Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet and Tiago swap for Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero?

…Inter Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovich trades for Lyon’s Karim Benzema?