Just for starters, I'm all for hiring a coach who doesn't speak french to lead the Canadiens if he's better than french candidates. Most journalist speak english in Montreal, and if they don't, Bergevin could hire an interpretor. I'd be really intrigued to see how fans and media would react if we somehow signed an elite anglo coach... No offense to Cunneyworth, but his pedigree did not make the pill easy to swallow...
But as for your example, it doesn't really work. In France, french is the only official language. We are not surrounded by roughly 26 M strictly anglo canadians and more than 300 M americans. We never had to defend our language. In Quebec, french canadians had to fight to preserve their culture. You can't really compare these two situations.
Plus Marseille has not been under a foreign coach for quite sometimes now (unless you're talking about Gerets, who's from Belgium and speaks french). Ravanelli played in Marseille and says he'd like to be their coach at some point. But he'll probably never be, since he failed miserably in Ajaccio, his first position as head coach of a L1 side. Paris would have been a better example, Carlo Ancelotti (Italy) was the manager last year.
I know late, but just to reply:
The argument is made that most in Québec won't
understand an English coach, as though a translator wouldn't be acceptable. But yes, there's also the defense of the culture reason. Let's also consider that the Montreal Canadiens are the Montreal Canadiens, if we want to be really specific about it. It's a team with French + English heritage in a city of English and French (and a lot in between), if we really want to split hairs. France isn't made up of English and French, so it's different in that way from Quebec. One could make the argument that there isn't a significant population of Marseille or Paris that is English. Also, in terms of defending the culture, the politics of Québec right now are so far to the side of culture defense that it's ludicrous (and has been demonstrated definitively) to suggest that French needs any defending any more. I'm sick of what this has done to the economy and my cherished team. I also think the protesting Cunneyworth haters are in the minority. Very vocal minority. Most of the backlash was the media and the "people won't understand" argument.
Your point is a good one about France, I'm just saying, there are many angles to come at this from to discredit the anti-non-French coach policy. In this scenario I like to err on the side of "let's cut the bs policies that have hurt us, i.e., language before winning". We need a Cup and the process needs to begin in earnest ASAP.
And again, I get Québecois heritage if one will consider growing up in Montréal a die hard Habs fan (obviously) to count for any of that.
Anyway, the situation has clearly taken a disastrous turn since the only French candidate I would have been ok with is now unavailable. (Though Boucher apparently has the out clause.)
I was so depressed to have to move half way around the world in September for work (believe me, it's not unrelated to the effect language politics has had on Québec's economy and jobs; and I'm perfectly bilingual) because I'd be away from the Habs. I still watch every game (albeit mostly a few hours/a day after), but it still feels different not being in Canada. Now...I'm sort of hoping that Price and Subby get their Golds and this (at least one) year away ends up being a tank with Therrien. If it does happen, it better be an Edmontonian collapse, and without trading away our young core or prospects. I don't reallllly want this, but I suppose it's easier to tune out the horror show from where I'm typing.
I like Eller....but a lot of the Eller love comes from people who don't want to admit that we did not get enough in that Halak deal. I think the team should do everything to help Eller succeed just like they do with DD. If they don't want to do that then just trade him. I guarantee you Lars would be a much further along player if he stayed in St Louis.
Respectfully disagree. He should be the #2 center hands down with tons of minutes. Trading him will be a colossal mistake. Eller is one of the guys who doesn't have to go somewhere else to have success. He can do it here if put in the right situation. Please plz plz Bergevin don't trade him!
I am very happy with the Halak trade ftr. In fact I think we won it.