Pulisic has at least found his form again (and more) but it hasn't effected the results because of the other problems in the team. He had his dip in a phase when the results were still good. I think Yarmo producing right away with Philipp converting his chances only masked some of our problems. I see the Köln game as an example for that. The two combined for the early goal but then Köln had their chances to equalize until we got the controversial 2:0 by the video ref. After seeing the test games before the season, I was probably not the only one here who was surprised that the start went so well. But the issues we all saw during the preseason games never went away.
What I hated about Tuchel was his constant desire to prove how intelligent he was. He rotated for the sake of rotating. His idol Guardiola is still growing as a manager. There was a point, where Guardiola basically played the same football as Van Gaal. The Dutch team in 2014, with Robben had a different formation, but it was all about getting the ball to Messi/Robben. Guardiola moved towards a system full of constant movement and interchanging of positions. I look at City and he has a very, very consistent selection.It's not rocket science that the more consistent the lineup the better for the team. Last season Chelsea played virtually the same 11. This year Guardiola plays the same formation for every game, with virtually the same tactics and they are incredible. If Tuchel had stopped trying to proof he was a genius and played a consistent formation last year, then he it would have been another great season. If Sammer's health allows I would want him back. Sadly he does not get along with Watzke, but for the rest of the season he would do no worse than Bosz whilst we wait for Nagelsman. Come Tottenham I want to see this team. Burki Toljan--Bartra-Zagadou--Raphael Yarmolenko--Weigl--Gotze--Dahoud--Philipp -------------Auba----------- If they play well then keep them there for the Tottenham game. Those are all the most technical players we have and we can play a quick passin game.
Who knows how long he will last with the board? I know you rate Pulisic's potential very highly, but he has never been a player for Dortmund and his form has never been vital to the club. There are some problems that Bosz cannot be blamed for. 1. Sokratis' poor form and the lack of a world class centre back in general. This problem goes back to ever since Hummels left. 2. The loss of Dembele. Dembele was carrying the team some games last season. If he had been hear then quite a few games we lost or drew would be wins just based on his ability. 3. The loss of Reus. Pretty much the same as missing Dembele. The big problems that are Bosz' 1. Too scared to drop older influential players, that don't deserve to start like Sahin. 2. Playing players out of position to suit his system, rather than finding a system to suit the players. 3. Picking too many static players. Too many 11s picked by Bosz lack dynamism and movement. You cannot have Sokratis (current), Piszczek, Yarmolenko, Gotze, Castro and Sahin all starting.
It's a well known fact that some players, particularly younger ones and those playing in positions down the middle rely on systems and coaching instructions. Sokratis has always done well in a well-drilled system. PB's system is anthing but that. So I cannot blame him. Not sure how you get around to putting Yarmolenko, Gotze and Sokratis in the same basket as Sahin and Castro. The latter two have not and would not function in any system at all. Sahin does not have the legs, Castro has never had the talent. Gotze has been an MVP contender so far despite coming back from a debilitating health condition and being deployed in a crooked system while playing a unfamiliar role.
Sokratis is not young, he is very experienced and has been the captain. Secondly Sokratis has been poor for a lot longer than Bosz has been here. His poor form predates Bosz and is a big concern. Part of Bosz's problem is apart from Zagadou, who has been very good all considered he has actually not used the youngsters much. He has gone for the most experienced players. I put them in the same basket, because they all lack dynamism. Pirlo was an unbelievable player even when in his later days at Juventus, but you could not play three Pirlo's together. That team would lack legs, hence why he was best with at least 2/3 of Marchisio, Pogba and Vidal next to him. Yarmolenko in my opinion has done very well. With Dembele leaving so late, I don't think the club could do much better than him, I have pleasantly been surprised with him. Gotze is getting fitter and better all the time. His touch and close control are excellent, he rarely gives the ball away. I have faith he will continue to get better and better. Sokratis has been very, very bad for a while, but the level of performance or ability is besides the point. You need to play a balanced team. In too many matches we have played players that lack energy, dynamism and mobility. Even with Dahoud not playing close to his full potential his energy alone has transformed the midfield. The same when Raphael has played. Give Yarmolenko an energetic dangerous right back overlapping and he becomes twice as dangerous.
If that's the case then I can slot pretty much every BVB player including Reus and PEA in your definition. Apart from Lionel Messi, there is no player who can do everything with occasional exceptions like KdB, Pogba, Naingolan and the likes.
Individual players and individual mistakes are not the problem.... that is a farcical statement and a deflection that Bosz and Watzke are using right now. Players make mistakes.... that's exactly the reason you need a solid tactical structure. When a FB makes a mistake, that shouldn't directly lead to an opponents scoring chance. If it does..... your system is terrible. Yesterday we went into the half on a respite thanks to that penalty.... and VFB game out in the 2nd half and had us dead to rights. Bosz is consistently being outcoached even in regular Buli matches. In the CL, it's like watching someone play checkers while everyone else is playing chess.
I was only using Pulisic as an example of a player out of form and saying there might be some justification for his poor form but when it extends to nearly every player in the team, then it is not really on the players. When Bvb were winning this year, Pulisic was on fire, he was a player and his form did matter. If you don't believe me ask Phillip about that hat trick. His form matters because he is one of the top players in minutes played this year. You really have no idea what CP could do if he wasn't on an island, because the coach is too stupid/stubborn to try and put any player in a position to succeed. Which was my real point. I mean Julian sucks compared to last season and did he suddenly forget how to pass? Yarmo is simply not good enough, right now, to be a key 90 min player for a team with BvB's aspirations. All one foot and tires on the hour like clockwork. Auba is never going to look good playing with his back to goal, and trying to do combinations in tight spaces. Bartra is a mind********ed shell of himself after trying to play right back. Dembele is hurt why do people assume that never happens at BvB. On top of that he wasn't going to help your defensive woes. Who knows how Dembele's no defense playing self would have fared on the wing in a system that requires fullbacks and no fullback behind him. If you play him central like TT often did what are you going to do with Mario?? The best you could have hoped for, with a healthy in form Dembele, is papering over the cracks that have been caused by PB. I saw the word farcical earlier, and I would use it here to describe PB's whole approach to coaching this team-farcical. You guys have a team built to work in half spaces to create chances, which will have somewhat narrow starting positions. PB has a system that uses wide spaces to create chances and he forced that on a side who had all their wide players hurt. I won't even get into his high line stupidity. I know I came late to the game of football, a JCL BvB fan, and an American, but I think PB is woefully underperforming. Long term, I think his failure to give more than a handful of minutes to Sancho and Isak could be the most damaging aspect of his tenure, if it lasts beyond the first of the year. BvB really needs to be "that team" that provides young phenoms a path to first team football. If they lose Mislintat then it becomes even more important to be "that team." Neither may be ready right now, but calling Sancho back from the U little WC looks really petty if you aren't going to give him more than a five or ten minutes a month. I see very little PB is getting right, and it seems in the Bundesliga where it is very difficult to make up points on the top 2-3 clubs. Teams can ill afford to fall off the pace for long losing multiple games on the bounce.
PB doesn't have a clue how to use width. It's a mixture of lower league approach and gettin players to rely on their individual strengths. What's worse is that it exposes the defence particularly the FB who have to cover two men in the case of a counterattack. PB has not got a goddamn thing right with this squad. He hasn't improved anybody. His tactics are flop. He's getting outcoached by everybody and their grandma. German media says he's not good enough to coach at this level. Two draws against Nikosia prove he is certainly not ready for Europe and his stubbornness show he will never be ready. Watzke says he's calm, methodical and analytical in training. Ffs so are con artists. The guy had one good season at Ajax. Isn't it possible it was a fluke? We risk losing players, our head scout, CL football and are in a dire downward spiral. Watzke isn't willing to right the ship. We are in full crisis mode.
1. Messi cannot do everything. Messi would not do well defensively in central midfield. 2. Yes exactly most players can't do everything, so you pick a balanced team, where the team mates compensate for each other. 3. Klopp in his last year was doing the exact opposite of Bosz, but with the same problems. He was picking lots of players that were good at running and had energy, but no one with the ability to pass the game. You need a BALANCED line up. Even a team full of Iniesta's would struggle.
I am in full agreement that Bosz is terrrible and needs to go. He has far too many faults. That is a given. He should be fired right now. However, Dembele as you said would paper over the cracks, because he would allow us to win games like Friday 3-2. He was doing that all season. That's what the very best players do even when the manager is playing a poor system, they cover up the cracks and win games. A big part of the reason Dembele got injured was because he stopped training to force his move and then rushed back to impress Barcelona. Bosz is terrible and should be fired, but things were not perfect last year. We just finished 3rd and that was with Dembele carrying the team. Take out Dembele from last season and the team does not make top 4.
Lastly on Sancho and Isak, they are both just kids. They shouldn't be playing more and especially when the team is struggling. Qualifying for the Europa League will be good for them. They can get some minutes there. Next season is when they start to feature more regularly or be sent out on loan. As for Pulisic, don't put too much expectation on him. He is only 19. Unless you are Pele, you aren't world class as a teenager. It's when Pulisic is 21/22 you should begin to expect consistent performances. As things stand when everyone is fit, he is not in Dortmund's best 11. Talented youngsters have a couple of good games showcasing their talent, but they lack consistency.
Dembélé was good but without Weigl, PEA and Reus, we wouldn't have reached 3rd either. There were lots of good things TT introduced to compensate for lack of Mo and a stuttering defence.
Also we could have had a shot at the title had Bürki not gotten injured and we had bought Mo sooner. Having to deal with Ginger's awful defending cost us dearly.
As I said previously the defence has been a problem for a while. Sokratis has played poorly for a while. Yes Bosz deserves heavy, heavy criticism for not getting the best out of Auba or Weigl. He deserves a lot of criticism for a lot of things. However, he does not have Reus or Dembele, who manage to cover up a lot of cracks. TT did a lot of things to look smart and over complicated the game. Heynckes has gone and simplified things at Bayern. Their results have drastically improved. Last year Conte kept things simple and had excellent results in the Premier League. He had a long winning streak with a regular team. Pep is doing the exact same this year. Tuchel ruined last year by constantly trying to come up with new formations, new tactics, new players etc. He deserved a lot of blame for last year.
If I have this right, you are saying those two are so good they would be immune to Bosz's ability to get players to play well below their potential?
No that wasn't a point I was trying to make, but I guess I did it unintentionally. That said, I will state that Reus and Dembele are so good that even being brought down below their potential would be winning matches. Dembele did it for large spells last season and Reus has done it throughout his career. Apart from Auba, Reus and Dembele were at least one probably a couple or more levels above every other player in the squad. EDIT Schalke are winning so at best we are going to be 5th, if Hannover win could be 6th by the end of the weekend.