Err why would we drop either Gomez or Muller? If Gomez can replicate his club form internationally, then you would bench the Golden Boot winner of 2010 World Cup? Muller as RW and Klose/Gomez CF, that's a lock and rightfully so. No need to revolutionize the team every 2 years, very few changes are actually needed for 2012 as the team is already good enough.
That's never happening, and Friedrich is actually quite comfortable with the ball as well, it's just that Hummels and Badstuber are really good with it. It's either Schweinsteiger or Kroos, both of them cannot be together in that setup because the midfield would be overrun. Khedira is exceptionally good with the ball too, although Kroos and Schweini are world class distributors and essentially do the same job. Muller is not getting dropped, not with the kind of work he does to defend and bring the ball back. His work ethic is astounding and even with Gotze's technical finesse, Muller is too important to this setup. He isn't that good up front either, the right hand of midfield is the best place for him to be and it would be wrong to change that paradigm. Schmelzer is my #1 for left back, He completed 61% of his 361 tackles and made 1301 passes and a total of 101 crosses, highlighting just how complete his game as been. He played every single game for BvB last season, he could be suffering fatigue which is why he didn't do so well.
All I am for is to bring in Schmelzer, Hummels and Howedes in defense, as well as Schuerrle in attack on the right. Finally, Gomez should feature forward. On the bench go Aogo, Kroos, Gotze, Boateng, Badstuber, Friedrich. Sounds pretty good to me.
We need to see next season how good either Schmelzer or Goetze will be and how good Dortmund's ridiculous run made them look or if they are the real deal. Just give it a bit more time with either of the two, people are so quick to drop Podolski and yet he keeps scoring by the dozen again and again. I don't really think he's going to get dropped, especially if he continues his club form which he was pretty good last season.
They had 3 good chances (Villa and Puyol in the first half and that Iniesta's cross in the second half) and Puyol's goal which wasn't exactly a great chance.
You're right, but Schuerrle played better this season and was rightfully rewarded a spot in the starting 11. If he can score 1 goal every 2 game, why not? He's better anyway... If Podolski scores more goals the upcoming season then by all means, he should have a place in the starting 11 - thats the way it should be. He's not going to get dropped, but will face really tough competition for once - he HAS to perform with Koeln or else will remain on the bench.
LOL is he? We don't know if he will shit his pants vs a good team, it's nice to do vs crap opposition or the Bundesliga but that's a different story. Too many people are hailing Schurrle as some super player far too quickly. Lets wait and see what he does next season. I like that at least he tries to defend unlike Podolski who watches from far away.. the guy is a nightmare for any LB that plays for Germany. Podolski needs a new club anyways, a bigger club to play with that can at least play in Europa League. He should move this summer.
But you know those stats don't tell the whole story.. Also, Schuerrle is 20 while Podolski is 26. The latter's stats are way below the standard he should be reaching for and he never really had a great Bundesliga season while Schuerrle has significantly overachieved and is easily one of the top 25 performers this season. We've obviously yet to see how he will continue and anything is possible but at this point there's no question his game is more well rounded and that's something to invest in and something that LWF role has been needing for a while, but only because it has been lacking for Podolski. If he can grow and hone his game I'd be more than happy to see him continue there because he can be a very good asset.
the worrying part there is that it has been the best BL season in years for Podolski. Podolski has definitely the advtange of being proven at the big stage but it also seems like his game has reached a certain peak and I don't really expect any significant development anymore. That's why people would prefer Schürrle, it's the hope to get in future more than Podolski can do even if both are about equal at the moment. Though I would personaly prefer Götze over both of them. For me it's an issue that Löw uses a system which has three fake strikers and it's down sides could be seen in the two recent matches. We just lack the manpower in midfield if Podolski and Müller act like strikers and Özil is also not someone who supports the midfield enough. That makes the defence vulnerable and limits our CMs in going forward. For once I would really like to see a real midfielder on the wings who can also take some of that creative burden from Özil. Not to mention that Götze has by far the highest potential. Schürrle can become a player of international class but Götze can achieve pretty much anything and thus I rather see him sooner than later integrated into the team.
He scored more goals for Mainz this season than any other player for Mainz in one single season, and he is only twenty years old. Clearly, he is a much wiser investment for the time being. Podolski will be 28 come the 2014 world cup, and given how he plays - it is unlikely he would have developed into the kind of midfielder we need. Schuerrle can develop more, him being with someone like Ballack at Lever can only further contribute to his development as well. Of course, if Podolski scores 20+ goals next season, then he'd surely play in the starting 11. He doesn't need a bigger club, anyways - no bigger club will take him and give him what he wants, an automatic start.
Is Gotze a workhorse like Schuerrle? Either way, I would prefer whoever is more effective throughout the season. Thats the way it should be, a meritocracy. Currently, Schuerrle is still mor effective than Gotze, at least at scoring and pressuring the other team. Should Gotze elevate that part of his game, then he'll probably be my #1 choice too.
Thing is club form and international form is also different though, Gomez was beasting in Stuttgart and sucked for Germany and the hilarious pre-WC episodes here of people being so sure Cacau would be a much better choice over Klose due to his club form (which was obviously overrated). We don't know if Podolski will develop further, but he seems to have stagnated imo for about 3 years or so and hasn't improved at all from how good he used to be. Then again there is the case with Klose who was more of a late bloomer. I would like to see Schurrle tested, on Tuesday to start over Poldi for that matter even if vs awful opposition. However I just want to be more patient because we constantly see players that are young have a fantastic season or two and not much happens afterwards. I mean Podolski himself after the World Cup in 06' looked like he would be the best striker in the world in 2 more years.. and look what happened. I would like others to play over Poldi in some matches to see how they "mix" with the team but not forget about him.
Cacau was never material for this level, he was always merely a backup - he is far from good enough. Gomez has that tendency, when his confidence drops - his performances drop accordingly. Now he has done exceptional for Bayern, and no surprises if he scores multiple times again during the next game on Tuesday. With Podolski it was different, he did what Kroos did, go to Bayern. The pressure is one there, 2 bad performances - you're on the bench and if the other players perform, you'll never get your chance until something happens. Simple as that. Podolski had a few bad seasons at Bayern, which is why nothing much happened afterwards. With Schuerrle, he will likely feature at Bayer and have every chance to score as many goals as possible. Next season is career defining for him, more important than other seasons because it'll determine if he will play at the Euro as a regular, should he score many goals, or if Podolski will play. The same for Poldi, he started scoring goals once he knew his position at the NT was in trouble, and he'll be looking to stay at Koln next season to score as many as possible. Whichever of them scores more - plays on the left, simple as that. Course Gotze is in the mix, but I would be surprised if he did feature in the starting 11 at Euro 2012. He needs more than one season, and needs to show his scoring prowess.