German Football 2017/18

[Brown Gooner]

Dont mind him. Brown Gooner thinks jokers like Shurrle and Gotze will go ahead of Özil.

Gotze (if he can pull up his socks) will go ahead of Stindl as a backup for Mesut.

Schurrle, like Podolski, seems to do better for the NT than his club. Sané has been underwhelming for Die Mannschaft and Schurrle could pip Sane with a good finish to the season and as it is Löw likes players with whom he has previously worked with. Brandt (Leverkusen) and Gnabry (Hoffenheim) have been very good lately in the BL so they too have a decent chance.

If Reus can stay fit till June and be in ok form then he will be a difficult player to omit for Russia.

Weigl can sneak in too because Can seems to have suffered a serious injury.

@Borussin - Gotze still has time on his hands. I am a Bayern admirer but the Gotze transfer was not the right thing to do.

You guys need a better coach and I can see Gotze being back to his best again.

 

[Brown Gooner]

Dortmund need to do something and fast.

Getting a new coach and reinforcements in the midfield should be top priorities.

Trying to sign Michy from Chelsea should be the other priority.

 

[NieThePiet]

Michy will be out for the rest of the season.

Rose from RB Salzburg is a new candidate for the manager position. He did quite well there, would be the much better solutation than Stöger.
Favre or Rose would be a good solution for them.

 

[Toby]

Rose from RB Salzburg

Isn't he the designated Hasenhüttl successor at Leipzig? Red Bull like to keep their best assets in the company. Leipzig could very well still fail to qualify for international football. Along suspended contract talks between them and Hasenhüttl, Rose could actually end up in eastern Germany come July, with the Austrian free to go.

In February, reports suggested Ralph Hasenhüttl held off on contract talks, weighing his options. DoF Ralf Rangnick was believed to favour an early separation, if the coach didn't extend until the summer, to avoid haggling during a running out contract.
With Leipzig's recently dodgy form, it is now Hasenhüttl who has come out to say he'd be open to extend his contract, with the club now being unsure about it.
With Rose doing a good job at Leipzig's franchise-sister Salzburg, RB would have someone already in their own ranks at hand for a smooth takeover. Furthermore, Rose's hometown actually is Leipzig. He could well be enticed by the opportunity to coach there.

 

[Borussin]

Leipzig have been ok this season, considering they had a long European run, they actually did pretty well, with such a young squad. If Leipzig are unsure of keeping him, then that to me would be a bit crazy. He's done very well for them, and I'm not sure getting rid of him to bring in a coach with just 1 year at the top level would be so necessary.

But I do hope Marco Rose comes to the Bundesliga though, surely it is just a matter of time.

 

[dashsnow17]

Holy crap, VAR forced the players to come back onto the pitch during half-time to take a penalty in the Mainz v Freiburg game? Toilet roll thrown on the pitch and all the while Sven's very own Diallo and Soyuncu were playing? Not to mention two of the worst kits of all time? Damn I should've watched that.

 

[Borussin]

what is wrong with Mainz kit It's just their usual red and white kit, it is not like they where wearing their carnival kit!
The toilet rolls where part of their very good protest against Monday night football, Mainz fans really did a fantastic job.
Don't think you can give Sven any kudos for Diallo and Soyuncu Both played well, Diallo played at left back.

 

[Toby]

If Leipzig are unsure of keeping him, then that to me would be a bit crazy.

The reports earlier this year suggested Rangnick was open to let Hasenhüttl go no matter the performance if he didn't extend his contract before July, just to avoid having to negotiate contracts with a coach on his last year.

Now the way they slightly "underperform" this year along stalling contract talks and another in-franchise coach (Rose) doing a great job, going by what we know a separation might actually be on hand. Rangnick is a tough power player, he's not afraid of making seemingly hasty, harsh decisions, like firing Zorniger and taking over himself. If he thinks Rose is the better option for Leipzig, he won't be sentimental.

But I do hope Marco Rose comes to the Bundesliga though, surely it is just a matter of time.

He's been linked to Dortmund recently. Would you consider taking him? Feels kinda like Bosz: A championship and a good EL run. And if say, something crazy happens, e.g. Leipzig fire Hasenhüttl and get Rose - would you take Ralph for BVB?

 

[Borussin]

He's been linked to Dortmund recently. Would you consider taking him? Feels kinda like Bosz: A championship and a good EL run. And if say, something crazy happens, e.g. Leipzig fire Hasenhüttl and get Rose - would you take Ralph for BVB?

With Rose, I have so little to go on. But I would say regards similarity to Bosz, I am not so concerned with that as he's a lot younger, whereas there may have been some suspicion with Bosz cos he was 53 when he went to Dortmund, yet had done very little of note at a high level, and even in the EL that season, he looked out of his depth at times, I remember watching them away to Schalke, where they where so lucky, and he was totally outcoached that game.

I would actuallly say maybe, the idea of Rose is similar to the situation with Jürgen Klopp coming to Dortmund, i.e. a coach with out too much top level experience, although he did have 3 years of Bundesliga experience, but of course with a far smaller club. But the difference is, at that time, Dortmund where in a financial mess and the club was rather detached from the fanbase, and where seen as a faded giant that needed serious revival, which we of course got to a level with Kloppo that few imagined possible.

Now the pressure is very different. Now the expectation is to be in Europe every season and to be challenging for honours.

If a club looks at Rose, you could ask - why don't they go for Hannes Wolf? For me those 2 are similar in level / stature. Wolf did a great job with Stuttgart but of cousre they got very panicked regards relegation and decided to take the step of firing him which kinda saddened me! But he is a good coach and of couse with BVB history too.

I quite like Hassenhüttl, but he is very pragmatic, although that isn't such a bad thing.

I am very torn with BVB's next step. The ideal for me would be to get Nagelsmann, but that seems difficult to do till next year when a clause is triggered in his contract. After that I actually think I might be ok with them taking a risk on Rose or Wolf. I wouldn't be concerned about it being another Bosz style situation, as they are on very different stages of their careers.

 

[NieThePiet]

Looks like Hector from Cologne will join Dortmund for 8€m (release clause).

They need a good Leftback. Hector surely isn't world class, but think he is doing always doing his job. Schmelzer isn't good enough for a club with the ambition like Dortmund (credit for Klopp how he dealed with Schmelzer and Großkreutz, winning the league etc.). Guerreiros future isn't sure, maybe he will be a CM in future and to many injuries at the moment.

They still need at least a RB Backup for Pischu. Weiser or Henrichs? Toljan doesn't have the quality for me. Maybe Passlack one day.

 

[dashsnow17]

what is wrong with Mainz kit It's just their usual red and white kit, it is not like they where wearing their carnival kit!
The toilet rolls where part of their very good protest against Monday night football, Mainz fans really did a fantastic job.
Don't think you can give Sven any kudos for Diallo and Soyuncu Both played well, Diallo played at left back.

Awful kits in different ways. The colours of the Mainz kit are fine obviously, it just looks a bit cheap and inelegant. Freiburg's away kit though, Jesus those are some bad colours. Looks like a bruised plum. I like their shirt sponsor though, it's refreshingly un-corporate.

 

[Toby]

why don't they go for Hannes Wolf? For me those 2 are similar in level / stature. Wolf did a great job with Stuttgart but of cousre they got very panicked regards relegation and decided to take the step of firing him which kinda saddened me! But he is a good coach and of couse with BVB history too.

Best step for Wolf would be to take a Bundesliga midtable club in steady waters. A team like Frankfurt, Bremen, Hannover or Hoffenheim. Dortmund is too big for him right now. He was completely out of his depth towards the end of his time at VfB.

He got the team promoted, but apart from preseason games, even after 1.5 seasons there was no clear idea to be seen. He stabilized the defense with a back 5, but completely sacrificed any offense. Even in 2. Bundesliga Stuttgart seldomly showed great plays. He was too afraid of of conceding 'cause he didn't believe his team could score enough. But a back 5 being your only blueprint for defensive stability is a very one dimensional approach. Korkut is now showing that the team is still stable with a back 4 and two strikers up top, while finally scoring every now and then.

Wolf's ideas seemed to be too complex for the players at hand, and instead of going for basic tactics and movement, he went for a very defensive system which he never could get to work properly - his 5-2-3 always seemed disjointed and lacking cohesion. The little ideas that did show seemed bright, but overall there wasn't enough that did show. Clearly a talented guy but nowhere near top team material right now - just seems like he isn't able to get his ideas across to the players and on a pitch under the merciless pressure of top flight football.

 

[Toby]

I like their shirt sponsor though, it's refreshingly un-corporate.

I like that, too. Regional registered cooperative company made up of smaller to medium-sized businesses, a lot of them still operated by the original owners. I buy their stuff regularly.

 

[dashsnow17]

I like that, too. Regional registered cooperative company made up of smaller to medium-sized businesses, a lot of them still operated by the original owners. I buy their stuff regularly.

Oh is that what Schwarzwaldmilch is? I thought it looked like the logo of a strawberry farm or something haha

 

[Toby]

Oh is that what Schwarzwaldmilch is? I thought it looked like the logo of a strawberry farm or something haha

Yes. It's basically small, mostly still family led farms producing dairy products in the Schwarzwald/Swabia region between Stuttgart and Freiburg, that got together under the umbrella of one cooperative head company to make survival easier for them. You can also only buy their products in that region.


6 minutes in, Bayern already ahead with a goal in the DFB semis.

 

[NieThePiet]

Bundesliga is so boring. Only 5 minute in the DFB Pokal and Bayern is already leading against Leverkusen.

 

[Toby]

Bundesliga is so boring. Only 5 minute in the DFB Pokal and Bayern is already leading against Leverkusen.

8 minutes 2:0

 

[NieThePiet]

8 minutes 2:0

1:2

I expect a fast 1:4 now.

 

[Toby]

1:2

I expect a fast 1:4 now.

Dodgy defending by Bayern. In such situations they lack Neuer.

Maybe a tight 3:1, 3:2 until Bayern take it up a notch in the last half hour to make it 4:2 or 5:2

 

[Toby]

I really like Leverkusen's fluid pressing formations here. It transforms from 4-2-4 into 4-4-2 into 4-3-3 into 4-2-3-1 depending on how Bayern come out of their half