(R) VfB Stuttgart Thread 08/09

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

So far he's been very good, besides the blunder in Gyor.

[footyfan1]

So far he's been very good, besides the blunder in Gyor.

I don't know any keeper who doesn't make a mistake every now and then.......

[benztown]

I'm actually surprised how much of a difference Lehmann makes...:cool:

[gmonsoon43]

I'm actually surprised how much of a difference Lehmann makes...:cool:

I agree, he was very suspect at times in the Euros and it made me worry about Stuttgart picking him up originally.

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

I don't know any keeper who doesn't make a mistake every now and then.......

Of course, but since he's only played 5 competitive matches for us so far and we're all already praising him, it's only fair to also mention the one match in which he messed up.

Not as a way of holding something against him, as he's been very good for us up until now, but instead simply as a means of keeping things objective.

[footyfan1]

Of course, but since he's only played 5 competitive matches for us so far and we're all already praising him, it's only fair to also mention the one match in which he messed up.

Not as a way of holding something against him, as he's been very good for us up until now, but instead simply as a means of keeping things objective.


Well, as you know, some people can't be "objective" when it comes to Jens Lehmann.... ;)

[Rainer24]

I'm actually surprised how much of a difference Lehmann makes...:cool:


That should really only be the case if you have already forgotten how crappy Schäfer was, in which case you are a luckier man than I.


So far we are in the UEFA Cup and ahead of both Bayern and KSC. It hasn't been perfect, but I am still about as happy as a pig in poop.

[benztown]

I'm not only thinking about Lehmann's saves, but also how he seems to give confidence to our back line. He generally seems much more involved in the game.

[Rainer24]

I'm not only thinking about Lehmann's saves, but also how he seems to give confidence to our back line. He generally seems much more involved in the game.


Well, he's certainly not hurting for self-belief, which did seem to be the case with Schäfer quite a bit of the time.

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

Agree: one of Lehmann's biggest fortes is the respect he commands and his aura of confidence. Strikers don't like to have to confront him, in fact no one has scored yet this season in a one-on-one situation with him. And he also is really assuring to our backline and gives them good advice, which I think has really helped the performances of Delpierre and Tasci in front of him so far.

[footyfan1]

I'm not only thinking about Lehmann's saves, but also how he seems to give confidence to our back line. He generally seems much more involved in the game.

Which is why we've missed him terribly since he left Dortmund. Roman Weidenfeller can make the saves, but he doesn't command the area or the defense like Lehmann did.

[The Old Lady Hertha]

Which is why we've missed him terribly since he left Dortmund. Roman Weidenfeller can make the saves, but he doesn't command the area or the defense like Lehmann did.

Seems like most keepers have that problem nowadays.

I think its what separates the elite from the rest to be honest.

[footyfan1]

Seems like most keepers have that problem nowadays.

I think its what separates the elite from the rest to be honest.


I think too many keepers are afraid to piss off their teammates these days. Guys like Lehmann and Kahn never had that problem. LOL!!

[The Old Lady Hertha]

I think too many keepers are afraid to piss off their teammates these days. Guys like Lehmann and Kahn never had that problem. LOL!!

I'd agree with that except that Tim Wiese is a dick IMHO and he has absolutely no control over his area lol

[squidward123]

Which is why we've missed him terribly since he left Dortmund. Roman Weidenfeller can make the saves, but he doesn't command the area or the defense like Lehmann did.

absolutely. Jens was for germany and at club level a strong, charismatic presence who could take the defence and his area by the scruff of it's neck. I always felt much safer with him in the team.

[richo]

I agree with all the comments. Last year Schaeffer (spelling?) just didn't seem to inspire confidence in his teammates. I was lamenting Teemu's departure all year even though he didn't exactly shine with Valencia.

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

In recent news, Marica and Pardo both got injured in their last NT games and are now doubtful for our game against Hoffenheim. :(

Also, Fischer may also miss the game after suffering a minor injury in training.

So in a worst case scenario we could be without 3 of our 5 senior side strikers for the game :(

However, it is unlikely that none of our 3 injured strikers will recover in time.

[Equilibrium]

I agree with all the comments. Last year Schaeffer (spelling?) just didn't seem to inspire confidence in his teammates. I was lamenting Teemu's departure all year even though he didn't exactly shine with Valencia.
I found it very weird and confusing that people doubted Lehmann as an amazing signing for Stuttgart. I thought best signing for Stuttgart these last 2 seasons the second it happened, easily. I honestly have not made in any games I have played some mistakes that idiot of a goalie made last season with Stuttgart. I remember that FK which he ran the other way before a Hamburg player took the shot that went in. React over predict every time, main point good goalies always know.

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

Hey guys, back to business in 45 minutes!

Coming up today is a match i'm really excited - 'away' to Hoffenheim. The funny thing in it is, the game's played in Mannheim which is only about 50 minutes from Stuttgart. I'm expecting our fans to outnumber Hoffenheim's in their own 'home match' and thereby give our side an 18th home game this season :D I'm curious how many people end up going, I was planning to but unfortunately I only arrived back to Stuttgart 1 hour ago and it would've been too tight to make it. Either way, should be a fun experience!

Also a very exciting game, Hoffenheim are very close to us and I, like most fans(there are exceptions) can't stand them at all, so it would be an awesome event if we could beat them today! Not to mention it would be very important for the standings: if we win, we've got 3 wins out of 4 ahead of Derby-week where we'll smash KSC out of town and get more points. So if we win this, the early situation will be looking good for us. However if we lose, we're gonna have a very mediocre tally of two wins and two losses, which I wouldn't be satisfied with. And it won't be easy to get a result today, Hoffenheim have looked pretty strong so far, they've got a good coach and some very strong players so it won't be easy to beat them today, though i'm cautiously optimistic. It's very possible that we lose this, but i'd still be highly disappointed with such a result. A draw would be a result we could live with, but we have to go into this game in the role of favourites and looking for 3 points.

Due to many injury problems in attack, we might play with Gomez as our only striker. I have no clue who'll line up today i'll admit. Kicker has this, very funky, lineup:
-----------------Lehmann
Boulahrouz---Delpierre--Tasci-------Magnin
------------Khedira-----Hitzlsperger
-----Lanig--------Simak-------------Boka
-----------------Gomez

Very weird. I'm liking the defense, Boulahrouz should be in the starting lineup for the first time, which is awesome. And Magnin is fit now and should also start for the first time this season, which is good as Boka's looked clumsy at leftback. I'm pleased with our defense.

The midfield is crazy. Pardo's injured :(, and I guess with a one striker formation, we would play 2 DMs, so I can live with Khedira's inclusion. But Boka on the leftwing seems a very weird option for me. Basturk is injured, so Simak is back in the starting side. I can live with that. :)

Anyway, injury list already seems to be picking up where it left off last season: Cacau, Basturk and Pardo all have to miss the game, Osorio given a break. And Marica and Fischer are not fully fit and it's unclear whether they can play.

I don't know whether this lineup is accurate at all but we'll have to see. Hopefully are boys put in a good performance!

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

Well, the game ended 0-0. To be honest I can live with the result, but I can't be satisfied with our performance.

We had many injuries to deal with and so Veh decided to change the team around into a VERY strange formation, I think maybe the first time in VfB's history that they played in this formation.

Here's how it looked:
-----------------Lehmann
--Boulahrouz-----Delpierrre-------Tasci--
-----------Hitzlsperger---Khedira
-Hilbert---------------------------Boka
------------Lanig-------Simak
------------------Gomez.

So, a 3-6-1. Well, despite our numbers in midfield, we weren't able to control the match, and Hoffenheim played better throughout. The team clearly wasn't used to this formation, can't blame them really, and they won't get used to it 'cause once Pardo, Magnin, Cacau, Marica, etc. return we won't see this anymore. No one was particularly bad in midfield, though I think Hilbert stood out as our worst player in midfield since he was completely invisible over long periods of the match, whereas Boka on the other wing was a constant presence.

Gomez didn't do well with this lineup, he's the sort of striker who needs someone next to him, not the type who can do well up front by himself. And he was very poor, although admittedly he didn't get any big chances either over the course of the game.

The defence actually coped alright despite only being made up of 3 men. All our defenders who played today are very strong and all did well. Tasci looked a little out of place a couple of times but did alright overall, Boulahrouz was also good but had to be subbed off towards the end after he made some minor mistakes and was in danger of getting sent off. Delpierre was a rock, excellent performance.

The man of the match though was definitely Lehmann. On a mediocre day for our side, he stood out by keeping a clean sheet, made one excellent stop and many other ones, and was constantly safe on crosses - a completely new feeling for me after a year of seeing Schaefer flap ineffectively at every ball that came into the box.

But yeah, we won't be making it to Europe if we play like this on regular occasions. We were lucky to get a point today, but this isn't enough. I trust it was because of the injuries that forced us to play in a different way to what we're used to, but nevertheless I hope for a step up in the coming games.

Now we're gonna have our first Uefa Cup leg coming up on Thursday, then on the weekend it'll be derby time again. There, we'll need a win. And we'll have to attack better than today.