German National Team News & Discussion Thread - EURO 2012 & Beyond [R] II

At the most opportune moment....

 

I've seen a fair bit of Arsenal this season because I was curious about Mertesacker's progress in England and all of his flaws aside, I believe he truly improved this season, even in the turbulence that is Arsenal. I'd even say we're seeing the same level of consistency from him now that we saw from him in Germany.

Podolski's numbers aren't bad for his debut season in England but he still goes missing in large chunks in games and is very reliant on the service around him. In the big league matches this season he's only really done well against Liverpool and Spurs and even in those games he wasn't involved in many parts of the match. Like always, he gets himself into good positions but his decision making let him down sometimes. That said, I think he's on course for a good first season in England all things considered.

 

Podolski shouldnt be a starting player for a top 4 team. He is invisible most of the time in each game. He rarely tries to dribble. He offers very little creativity. He is a limited player. His stats may look decent but they dont tell the whole story. He only scores against poor teams. Arsenal barely create any chances this season and Podolski is one of the main reasons(also arteta and cazorla being poor and theo shouldnt be a lone striker). Sometimes Poldi will make a good one-two or a decent cross but it is not enough. His movement in general is poor. He just stays isolated wide on the left. Did you know that Arsenal ''have scored 57.5 percent of their goals in 20 percent of their games. Big scores against Reading, Newcastle, Tottenham, and Southampton have contributed 23 goals to the Arsenal tally. That means they’ve only scored 42.5 percent of their goals in the remaining 80 percent of their games. 17 goals in 16 games makes it barely over 1 goal per game.''


I can not see Podolski improving with time. His performances so far are what he's shown for the national team for years.Wenger keeps harping on how important scouting is for success and all this kind of stuff but his scouting has been poor over the last few years. People who've watched Podolski play knew he wouldnt suit Arsenal's style. He is not a game changer.He's a decent sub but not a regular starter for a team who wants to win trophies. The way he gave the ball way for City's second goal was very poor.

 

You kidding? His best game was probably against liverpool, and even then he looked out of it. Podolski just isn't used to working his ass off for more than 20 minutes a game. He has great fitness, a superb shot and when he wants to can be reliable in defense.

But against City, he lost the ball 3 times in critical areas, had one shot on goal all night and generally looked hapless. This is in part because Arsenal just don't have a quality squad at the moment. Wenger has to go to the transfer market, big, or else they'll definitely be out of the top four. Giroud isn't adapting quickly enough, Walcott is well, walcott and they have no reliable right winger like Mueller or Oscar. Carzola plays every single game, he's bound to look exhausted. I think its about time Wenger stopped ********ing around and went and bought himself a world class striker and winger.

 

I would say above average, its just that Arsenal don't have a goalscorer. Walcott has done well against opponents like Reading, but thats it. Podolski has 12 goals alright, but none of them came against half decent opponents.

 

But regardless, this is Podolskis first season. The EPL needs time, even Hazard has had bad games this season. I am sure podolski will improve, but he needs to be supplemented by having a great striker, something Arsenal lack.

 

Arteta and Carzola are not poor, thats for sure. Carzola just looks exhausted, if anything, Carzola has been the best signing of the year, barring RVP of course.

With Diaby back in shape, it would be interesting to see how Arsenal do because he's such a quality player, but they really need to buy a couple more players.

 

With the national team he has a lot of great players around him including a striker and he still sucks. Podolski will not improve with time.

 

I think he will, just not at the level we need him at. Reus is exploding and really has a chance to prove himself with another 20+ goal campaign.

 

If he plays at a top team like Arsenal and he is supposedly at his peak ( 27 years old) , then we should compare him to the other great left wingers like Ribery for example but he comes nowhere near that level. Arsenal with Ribery would have 10 more points than they currently have. Germany with Ribery would beat the crap out of Spain

 

I don't think it's fair to compare him to Ribery. Ribery is one of the top 3-4 best wingers on the planet. Podolski is just a SS who has been converted into a winger because most teams don't play a 2 striker system any more. I think he would be devastating in an EPL team that plays 4-4-2 where he can play off the main striker (Poldi was exceptional for Germany before Loew moved him out to the wing in order to accommodate the Gomez-Klose pairing at the beginning of EM2008).

All that being said, I would put money on him scoring against Bayern in the CL r16 match.

 

Look, we can hope at this point that he can become a valuable squad player, nothing more, nothing less.

 

I missed this one, was it really that bad? The reviews on the Arsenal seemed generally positive for him, it was even suggested that Walcott be subbed off ahead of Poldi. By the sounds of it, Arsenal really stunk out the joint. They were playing with 10 men though, but in the end Wenger only has himself to blame.

That's more than a little harsh. Every player goes through an adjustment period anyway, when moving to a new league. So odds are we see Podolski play better next season, barring injuries.

 

Wenger got it all wrong, he sold 3 of the best players in the world and brought in less than ideal replacements. Podolski was horrid, for me he was the worst on the pitch.



That's more than a little harsh. Every player goes through an adjustment period anyway, when moving to a new league. So odds are we see Podolski play better next season, barring injuries.[/quote]

 

Schurrle? Hes on course for a better season than last, but I don't know how his stats are superior to those of Podolski. He is more penetrative and offers more intelligence, but I feel he's very, weak. I think its about time for him to move to a bigger team where he can really grow as a player.

 

Schürrle is having a great season, much more consistent than Podolski for sure.

 

Well, statistics don't necessarily paint the whole picture, and scoring goals against a team like reading or such doesn't necessarily mean youre being more consistent. Especially considering he's gone absolutely missing against United and City who are the two very best clubs at the moment (and I believe chelsea as well even).

I haven't been looking at Schurrle intensely because I don't believe he's the world class talent I thought he would turn out to be, at least not yet. When he was 19, his performances were impressive and his stats were quite convincing, but he's been a similar player for over 3 years now. He's good if you give him space to make a run or a pass, mark him well or bully him and he's out of the game.

This is in contrast to Reus who I vastly underrated at first but gave some of his best performances against Bayern munich, Manchester city and real madrid. Being a winger is exceptionally difficult, probably the most difficult in my opinion because you have to do all the running and come into 1 v 1 situations a lot, but Reus has that extra dimension to him which no other winger in Germany has. He can pass like Ozil and shoot like Podolski and has the stamina of a ********ing horse. He has improved his game every season and I hope remains at Dortmund for at least 2 seasons before making his big move.

 

It's not all about stats. If anyone has watched both play this season it's very clear who is the more consistent and effective player. Schürrle has been consistently good for Leverkusen and important in their great Hinrunde. Podolski has been hot and cold.

 

Dortmund IS a "big move". Unless you're talking about Barcelona, I suppose. Awfully hard place to get a place in the squad at though.